A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Jenn's Birthday Sushi and (Hooray) the REAL Japanese steakhouse "Orange" Seafood Sauce Recipe

 

Saturday night, we were invited over to our good friends', Corbin and Jenn's, house to help celebrate Jenn's (cough)nd birthday where we were told there would be a few people and some finger foods--a total underestimation of the food and fun! We met Janis, a fellow foodie who took on the task of a 3-course sushi meal for nine people and her daughter, Jordan, who along with Jenn's daughter, Chelsea, made dessert for us all of chocolate chip cookies and fudgy brownies.  Good work, ladies! Also invited were another lively couple, Al, and his wife Melissa (can't believe I didn't get a decent picture of them all night)  whom I think (from my investigation on Facebook) might know a bunch of people I know which is even more fun. Melissa also had the dubious job of keeping me ante'd into the poker hands last night since she was sitting next to me instead of Gene.  I think she didn't realize she was going to have to take on his job all night of taking care of me but I thank her!

Happy Birthday, Jenn!  Thanks for the great party!

Look For This: FishEx Alaska Seafoods for fantastic Paula Deen Crab Cakes Recipe

Kayla, from Fish Ex, sent down a pound of King Crab legs and a 12 oz reindeer sausage from Alaska today. Let me tell you, that's a fun Fed Ex package to receive. Even the driver was excited. "Is this really seafood from Alaska?"  "Yep."  "Wow, you're so cool!"  Well, good heavens, now I have to order more just so I can feel all cool and full of myself to the Fed Ex drivers! 

Shipped on dry ice, it arrives like it came from next door...and when they read this, I bet the Rileys will wish it had been delivered next door by mistake.

You know, I could go on and on about how nice the crab was and how fun the reindeer sausage tasted but let me just put it this way: It's 7:30pm and I've already made those crab cakes, ate those crab cakes, tasted that reindeer sausage, and placed another order with Fish Ex to be shipped in this Thursday for dry scallops, shrimp, King Crab bisque, and another sausage for the family Halloween party. 

Do I really need to say much more?  Well, you know me.  I will anyway.  After you've checked out the rest of my pics, the Paula Deen recipe I used for the crab cakes, plus my own recipe for Jalapeno Lemon Aioli to top it with, go check out their website for more of the particulars:  www.fishex.com 

As for the order I just placed, the dry scallops are particularly appealing to me because I have thought, for years, that I was a scallop idiot.  I love jumbo scallops in restaurants but each time I've tried my hand at them at home they've always turned out soggy and rubbery.  I thought it was me.  Show of hands--anybody else had that problem? 

It's not us.  It's the scallops. Apparently the restaurant grade scallops are "dry" and the ones sold in the groceries are "wet" with sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) which binds to the protein fibers making the scallops slimey but preserves them so they last days longer in the seafood counter.  Feels like a terrible joke played on the consumer, doesn't it? 

The scallops available through Fish Ex are dry, meaning no chemicals added.  You can read more about it on their web site and there is also a great article in this month's Cooking Illustrated about the difference and how to overcome the STP by brining them in salty lemon water to mask, not remove, the STP.  I'll order the dry, thank you, and avoid the whole chemical quandary.

Now back to the crab....

Preparing for New Year's Eve: Caviar and Foie Gras

 

Gearing up for New Year's Eve, which I won the work lottery to be off for that one holiday. Yay!  No running down to help the ER with whatever idiocy the new year brings in!

We'll be celebrating at home with James and Lynn, and Aunti Miranda.  In preparation I got our caviar and foie gras order in to Petrossian, along with a mother-of-pearl caviar spoon.  As a presenter, I'm going to use one of the beautiful depression glass bowls from my grandmother's collection or Gene's grandmother's collection, I've forgotten who owned them but the set is beautiful.

And then Aunti and Lynn and I will be making accoutrement for the caviar and foie gras and other treats for the evening.  Gene and James are in charge of the champagne.

The one punchline so far was when Chase called me to verify an "odd" charge going through on my card. What? Don't I order caviar every day?  Puh-leaze.  Hehehehehe.  When I called Petrossian back and told them what happened the gal laughed and said "Don't worry about it. That happens ALL the time. At least they're checking to make sure it's really YOU."

www.petrossian.com

Petrossian is the same bar/company where we had caviar at the Bellagio in Vegas. We enjoyed it so much I ordered the same kind only twice as much, the Tsar Imperial.

The little blue bag in the upper right hand corner of the photo is the way the caviar came chilled. It has two mini cold packs, one on top and one on bottom of the jar of caviar to keep it chilled.  The spoon came in its own little velvet holder.

The Comforts of Sher's Home: File' Gumbo & Sharp Cheddar Mac & Cheese

This post and all the links contained in it are dedicated to Sherry Cermak, author of the What Did You Eat blog who died of a sudden heart attack a week ago today.  Sher was my friend, my confidante, and my personal cheerleader for the last decade.  I loved her, I miss her, and I cherish every memory of the friendship we shared.  I am a better person for having had the good fortune of having her in my life and I will always be grateful to Heavenly Father for allowing our paths to cross.  The fact that we met on a Robert Redford fan site is the ultimate proof that God does, indeed, have a sense of humor as twisted and perverse as our own.

All over the food blogging community today, you will find Sher's friends cooking her recipes in her honor as our way to say "Good bye and We love you, Sherry."

Personally, I couldn't decide which one dish to make from Sher's blog to honor her by so I picked the two dishes we probably talked about the most over the years.  The first is Sher's family's File'  Gumbo.  I love this dish not only for it's deeply comforting taste but for the stories Sher would tell about it and how hilariously offended she would get when her family's file gumbo was confused with regular gumbo.  She told me many times, proudly, that her family's gumbo was a thing of purity and should be touched by no Andouille, no chicken, and certainly no okra, not that they had anything against okra per se, it just didn't belong in their gumbo pot. According to Sher who was passionate on this subject, to say the least, it was actually close to heresy to even mention the words "okra", "sausage", and/or "chicken" in the same breath with Gumbo.  Shrimp and crab only, please.

As for the second dish, if you asked Sherry her favorite food she would say "Cheese", or at least that's what she always told me.  Her all time favorite was Cowgirl Creamery's Triple Cream.  She said it was heavenly.  I keep intending to mail order some but haven't gotten around to it yet.  When I do, you'll be the first to hear about it.

Sher's mac & cheese dish from Martha Stewart has no Triple Cream Cowgirl Creamery cheese in it but it was damn good anyway.  Sher and I used to laugh about how we both loved mac & cheese so much even the Kraft blue box was a treat now and then.  Yeah, except the blue box has no actual cheese in it, ahem. But it's the taste of childhood so it's still worth a splurge now and then.

The tomatoes in this recipe are a wonderful addition, roasted with thyme for summery herbiness.  When I first saw this on her blog, I thought "Tomatoes????"  But they really are necessary for the full effect.  No wonder Sherry was drawn to this recipe.  I have a feeling her love for fresh tomato, home-made bread, and real mayo sandwiches from the first sun-warmed tomatoes from her back yard were legendary to more folks than just me.

Doctor's Kitchen Monday: Orange Shrimp & Scallops over Rice Pilaf

Eating clean in the neighborhood!  Pardon my rip off of Applebee's slogan about "the neighborhood" but while we were in the mood to eat out, I knew neither Gene nor I really needed the extra fat and calories that seem to come as an automatic side to any restaurant meal.

What to do?

Eat out, only do it at home.

After perusing several recipes online I came up with this seafood dish loaded with veggies, fresh taste, and a little extra oomph for our not so ordinary dinner at home.

Featuring fresh thyme, Orange Broiled Seafood is a natural dish for Weekend Herb Blogging, created by the wonderful Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, hosted this weekend by Joanna of Joanna's Food.  The round-up of all the wonderful herbaliciousness is usually posted by late Sunday evening or Monday morning.  Please go see Joanna and Kalyn for more great recipes.

Healthier Fish & Chips

Gene and I don't eat much fried food but every once in a while you have indulge yourself, right? There's nothing better than good fried fish and home-made fries.  But then getting it from most fast food or chain restaurants is mostly a nightmare of wanting in taste and healthiness.

I think I found a way to make a very decent meal at home while still not breaking the artery bank. 

Dinner in a Snap

I needed dinner to be really fast tonight. Not from any crisis or anything, I just wasn't in the mood to cook so this afternoon I laid out a couple of tuna steaks and marinated them in this:

UPDATE: Rachel of Foodie Rachel was the first to say anything about the Mondo bottle.  I didn't marinade the tuna in purple kool-aid, I promise, I just stuck it in there to see if anyone would notice and say anything.  My marinade was:  the juice of the lime, soy sauce, a healthy teaspoon of minced garlic & ginger, a touch of Wasabi, and some minced lemongrass that I added after the photo was taken.

They were done lickety split on the George Foreman, although I wasn't crazy about the way the soy sauce darkened the colors.  They tasted great though.

And then rounding out the meal were some really nice pre-roasted and seasoned Mediterranean veggies from Schwan's that the only thing I added to was a handful of edamame.

And a kidney bean salad. Does anyone else make this?  It's something my grandmother used to make, sort of along the lines of pea salad. Normally there's chopped hard-boiled egg but I didn't take the time. It's just a can of rinsed and dried kidney beans, minced celery and green onion, a spoon full of mayo, a splash of lemon, and a hit of seasoned salt and pepper.  Then it's chilled for an hour or two before being served.

It tastes better than I think it looks.  I've never seen this anywhere but on my Nannie's table. Anybody else grow up with this?

Simple is Sometimes Best

Dinner was a very simple and easy roasted veggies and fish with a Harry & David Rosemary and Thyme grilling marinade.  Yum. Very nice. Glad I opened that bottle. I'll be swathing the roasties in that until it runs dry.  The veggies are simple. I put a kettle of water on to boil and parboil the veggies one type at a time just to get everything to come out in the even cooking time department and then throw the fish on the baking pan for the last 10 minutes. Couldn't be more simple.

My roasty veggies and fish with their rosemary/thyme marinade are my addition to this weeks Weekend Herb Blogging, created by Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen, and hosted this week by Rinku of Cooking in Westchester. Check out her blog later in the week to see this week's round up.

Sushi: Take Two

Okay, kids, this is my second attempt at making my own sushi with all those lovely big girl kitchen toys Aunt Miranda gave me for Christmas. It was just as fun the second time around.  I'm still getting my feet wet so I haven't traveled off the California roll beaten path yet but give me time. I'll get there.  Last time I used vegetables only, just to see if I could roll them. This time I stepped up to shrimp, cream cheese, cucumbers, and avocado in a couple of different variations. For dipping, I had soy sauce and a shrimp sauce that's very close to the seafood sauce at the Japanese grill restaurants, a recipe Aunt Miranda gave me. The red swirlies on top is chinese red pepper hot sauce.  Mmmmm...just enough of a bite to complement the wasabi.

For my first post on making sushi that shows step by step photos, click HERE.

The first time I made sushi, Gene was out of town. That was fine with me because it took the pressure off. This time he was home and I was afraid he would be a hard sell.  He loves seafood but the whole concept just isn't his he-man macho food style but you know what? He was very game and he ate a whole roll all by himself. Then he devoured a pound of naked shrimp. Then he asked where dinner was.  I'm kidding. He didn't ask, he just got up and made himself a grilled cheese sandwich, well I think it was actually two, to finish filling that skinny hollow leg.

For the shrimp sauce recipe, click below:

Doctor's Kitchen Monday: Soluble Fiber

(My first Phad Thai--don't sneer at my soggy little broccolis, this way I can get my family to at least eat it--we'll work up to less and less cooked with time.)

Let's talk about fiber:

We all know that we should take in 25 grams of fiber a day according to the RDI, Referenced Daily Intake, formerly the RDA, Recommended Daily Allowance.  The recommended amount of each, soluble and insoluble fiber, is not spelled out in that recommendation, although both are necessary to the body but work in different ways. 

Insoluble fiber is the fiber that the body can't use and is moved through the intestines without change. This provides bulk to the stool.  Soluble fiber is not broken down by the body either, but is turned into a gel when coupled with water and has a few unique properties dieters can cash in on.  For one, it slows down emptying of the stomach making us feel full longer, and it adds softening properties to the stool that make the whole elimination process faster and easier to tolerate. On top of those physical properties we can easily see and feel, soluble fiber also improves glucose metabolism.

To break digestion down into a quick nutshell:  Food is broken down into tiny bits of sugar called glucose which the body's cells can use directly.  Insulin is the "key" that unlocks the door to allow glucose into the cells. 

As we age and/or gain weight or become obese, our bodies function less efficiently and become insulin resistant which is a risk for developing diabetes. The numbers are scary.  According to a 2006 study by Dr. Laurie Barclay and Dr. Desiree Lie, there's a 20% chance of insulin resistance with every 5% increase in weight over the age of 20.  (Basically, that means I'm screwed because that's how I put my weight on, 5-7 lbs a year, after the age of 20.)  The normal weight population has a 4% chance of developing diabetes.  The obese population has a 46% risk of developing diabetes. If your weight is in between those two groups, your risk is in between those two figures.

Soluble fiber has been shown to control blood sugar spikes. The object of the game is to eat, transform the food into glucose, and have a steady supply available to the cells, rather than a spike and drop amount of glucose supplied, with an efficiently working insulin key.  Soluble fiber helps attain those objectives.  Not only does that aid us in losing weight, which is in its most basic form all about not eating more fuel than our bodies need for energy and using up the stores we already do have, soluble fiber aids us in feeling better all the time because our bodies are producing energy more efficiently and lowering our diabetes risk.

So what foods have plenty of soluble fiber? Oatmeal and barley are excellent sources in cereals.  Apples, berries, prunes, and citrus are all packed. Apples in particular are loaded with pectin which is soluble fiber.  So that gives an interesting twist to the old saying "An apple a day..." All beans, but lima, black, and navy beans are the highest sources in that family.  And for vegetables:  broccoli, brussel sprouts, bean sprouts, and carrots are soluble dynamos.

Interesting that three of those vegetables are often found together in stir fries.  Guess what I'll be eating more of?  Little Debbie Carrot Cakes.  Just kidding.  Little Debbie may be a sweet girl but her cakes are all but poison on anyone's diet just from the transfats alone.  Viva la stir fry! Which, as I've said before, to me just seems like hot salad over rice or noodles.  It's a way to break up the salad routine.  So viva la vegetables in general.

Also interesting that two of those vegetables (broccoli and brussel sprouts) are in the cabbage family.  Just something to keep in the back of your mind. Other members of the family include: cauliflower, beet greens, as well as mustard, collard, and turnip greens, swiss chard, kale, bok choy, rutabagas, radishes, and turnips, all good sources of fiber of both varieties.

Phad Thai is easy to make at home,full of flavor, and hosts the soluble fiber of bean sprouts. The genesis of the dish is rice stick noodles, fish sauce, egg, and chopped peanuts. Served on street food carts all over Bangkok and maybe one of the most recognizable Thai dishes in the states, Phad Thai has as many variations as possible ingredients, including those with tofu, shrimp, chicken, or without added protein. I added broccoli to the recipe I chose to increase the soluble fiber count.  Gene, who loves his down home cooking, but isn't necessarily unadventurous, really liked this dish.  With a little practice on my part (this was my first attempt) I think this could become a regular part of our meal repetoire.

For more on my personal diet story and the recipe, click below: