A Week's Worth of Meals

I can hardly believe that it's Thursday evening, and it is the first evening where we didn't have plans after work! It's nice to sit down and have a relaxing dinner, and catch up on some TV. With all this business of being so busy, I didn't have time to share all the wonderful things I made, so I thought I'd do a little week-in-review type post.

On Sunday, the menu called for Rock Shrimp Tempura and Hayashi Stew, both from Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking. I decided to make the tempura because I found rock shrimp at a local winter market, and it's an ingredient that is very hard to find. When I see things like this, I sieze the opportunity to use them in recipes I may not cook otherwise! This was a very cool play on a buffalo chicken type of thing - the shrimp were fried after being tossed in a tempura batter, but half of them were then coated with a chili sauce, while the other half were tossed with a wasabi sauce. The dish was also served with celery and cucumber, dunked in a handmade ranch dressing, a little something to cool the palate between the spicy sauces. I decided to serve it with a very simple Japanese beef stew, and some white rice. We used the tempura as an appetizer while the stew simmered!

On Monday night, we had friends over for dinner and massages. That's right...my vegetarian friends, who I realized, also eat fish! Hooray! I opted for a chapter out of Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys, called How To Fry Fish. Since this was a whole menu of items, it worked out perfectly for an impromptu dinner party. The main course, of course, was a fish fry with a Piquant Tarragon Mayonnaise. With it, I served Salt-Roasted New Potatoes, as well as a Green Bean Salad with Pickled Shallots. As an appetizer, I put out some melon mixed with lime juice and mint. A refreshing starter for this meal!

On Tuesday night, we had our weekly hydrotherapy session for the puppy, to work on building her muscles and save her from the pain of her hip dysplasia. By the time we get home on these nights, it's pretty late, but I had bought some Caribbean-marinated steak tips at that same Winter Market, and whipped up a batch of Lemon and Caper Mashed Potatoes, as well as a Fennel, Red Onion and Parsley  Salad to go along with them. This picture didn't come out great, but nonetheless, there it is!

Last night, we had some friends over for dinner as well, and I opted to make a risotto this time around. You all know how much I love making risotto! This one is from Jamie's Italy and in Italian, is called Risotto con Cipolle Bianche Dolci, Cotechino, e Timo, or Risotto of Sweet White Onions, Cotechino Sausage, and Thyme. It was a really delicious risotto, with a lot of bold, rich flavors. I served it with a simple dish of greens, cooked Italian-style, in some olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice!

And that leads us to this evening! Since I've been cooking up a storm amidst our busy schedule, I decide to make something a bit simpler today. The menu was entitled Sick Day and comes from Tyler Florence's, Dinner at My Place. I made a really simple chicken soup with carrots, onions and celery, but into that I added some store-bought tortellini, as well as some chicken-apple sausage. The original recipe calls for the uncooked sausage to be made into roasted meatballs...but I bought the pre-cooked kind, so I just sliced 'em up and threw them in the soup. It was really yummy, and soothing on a cold winter's night. With it, I served some baguette slices, toasted in the oven, and baked goat cheese seasoned with some black pepper. It was a totally simple and comforting meal!

Ah, a week in review! I hope that you enjoyed it, and I promise to get back on track this weekend. Tomorrow night, I'm going to try a new restaurant with my dear friend, Heidi. Don't worry, I will report back on Saturday! We've also got another chapter from The Professional Chef on the way, and don't forget to comment on the previous post to enter to win a bottle of MonaVie's (M)Mun. There's lots in store for the coming weeks, and I'm very excited to get started on all of it! We're also going to have people over for the Superbowl, so I have some planning to do!!! 

So much food, so little time!

Japan for an Evening

Well, we've finally arrived back in Asia for our Japanese dinner. Morimoto, one of my favorite celebrity chefs, has this amazing cookbook full of wonderful dishes that are a bit intimidating. However, I decided to try one for this special occasion! The recipe I chose for tonight's meal is called Nikujaga, his take on a meat and potatoes stew that is actually typical of Japanese home cooking. Of course, he takes an elegant turn on the dish, and it's interesting that the ingredients are decidedly un-japanese, but the meal as a whole is traditional to Japanese cuisine.

I gathered some shaved beef, mirin, soy sauce, potatoes, carrots, onions, sugar, green beans, yam noodles, lemon zest, and some beef stock (not pictured below).

I had a bunch of pots going on the stove for this one. I had half the mirin, soy sauce and sugar in one pot with a quart of beef stock, and the other half of all those ingredients in another pot with the other quart of beef stock. They both had to come to a boil, and the sugar needed to dissolve. Once that was done, the veggies (except for the green beans) went into one, and the other I brought to a rolling boil, because I was going to use it to flash-cook my shaved beef.

I used some chopsticks to dip each piece of shaved beef into the stock until it had just turned color, and then I transferred it to a plate. There was quite a bit of shaved beef in the package I purchased, so this took a little time, but I kept the cooked meat warm with some foil. Meanwhile, I boiled some salted water in yet another pot to blanch my green beans. It only took about 30 seconds of heat before I drained the beans and doused them in some cold water. Then I got back to dunking my beef into the broth.

Once the veggies had been simmering for about 1/2 an hour, I added the noodles to the mixture and allowed them to cook for about 5 minutes. To plate, each bowl got some noodles, veggies and broth. The shaved beef was draped on top and then a nice, handful of green beans got piled on top of that. Finish it off with some of the reduced beef stock, and some lemon zest, and serve! This was a hearty, delicious meal, and I will definitely keep it in my back pocket for a cold winter's night because it was warmed me from the inside out. Yum!

When I say quick...I mean quick!

Well, I think I set a record for the quickest dinner of all time tonight. Within a half hour of walking in the door, dinner was on the table and we were eating. I had some things in the fridge that I needed to use before they went bad, so I strayed from the "Journey Around the World" menu, in lieu of something quick, easy, and economical.

I had some leftover Greek salad from last night's dinner, and even though I had it with my leftovers at lunchtime, there was still enough for both of us for dinner. I used that, with the EVOO and lemon juice dressing as a bed for ... chicken! Pounded out chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper and sauteed in just a touch of butter!

With little prep time, minimal cooking time, and the easiest plating possible, this meal is a fantastic go-to if you have no time to dilly-dally in the kitchen. I pounded the chicken out between two pieces of plastic wrap, seasoned them with the salt and pepper, and into the pan they went. Five or six minutes later, I turned them, and 3 minutes later - tah-dah!! DINNER!!!

Tomorrow night, we have reservations for another Restaurant Week dinner, but on Wednesday night, we'll be traveling back to Asia for a Japanese dinner, courtesy of one of my favorite chefs, Morimoto! See you then!