Sake-Miso Marinated Striped Bass

My sushi man kept grabbing pieces off the cutting board- 6 and gobbled them up! He also ate all 4 on the plate above. I didn't mind at all- he was actually eating raw vegetables :D
In this pic, he gave "2 thumbs up"!

Sake-Miso Marinated Striped Bass
With Wasabi Oil, Soy Syrup and Vegetarian Soba Noodle Sushi
Recipe adapted from Ming Tsai (he uses Alaskan Butterfish)

Serves 2

Marinade:
1/2 cup light miso (shiro-miso)
1/4 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
1/4 cup sake
1/2 Tb finely chopped fresh ginger
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2 Tb sugar
2 6oz filets of scaled Striped Bass (or any size that appeals, mine was probably 9 oz)

In a medium nonreactive bowl, combine the miso, mirin, sake, ginger, grapeseed oil and sugar and stir to blend. Add the bass, turn to coat and marinate, covered and refrigerated, overnight, or at least 8-12 hours.

Wipe the marinade off with paper towels.

Score the fish skin in 3/4" increments and then crosswise. This prevents it from curling up during cooking.

Preheat the oven at 400º, heat an oven-safe skillet on medium-high. I use a well seasoned cast iron skillet. It is fine to use a non oven proof skillet then transfer the fish to an oven safe dish.

Once pan is heated (allow 5 minutes over gas heat), drizzle in grapeseed oil, enough to cover the area where the fish will cook.

Sear the fish, skin side down, for 3-4 minutes, or until brown. Transfer to oven and cook for an additional 4 minutes (8 minutes per 1" of thickness).

Vegetarian Soba Noodle Sushi

Serves 2

1/4 pound dried soba noodles
1/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 cup chopped scallions, green parts only
1 Tb soy sauce
1/2 Tb finely chopped ginger
1 Tb rice vinegar
1 Tb Wasabi Oil (recipe below)
2 Tb chopped pickled ginger (gari)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 sheets toasted nori (sheets used to roll sushi)
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned
1/4 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and julienned
1/4 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and julienned
5 ounces Wakame (seaweed) salad (optional: I omitted)
Bamboo Sushi rolling mat
Freshly ground black pepper
Soy Syrup for drizzling (recipe below)
1 Tb toasted sesame seeds

To make the soba noodles, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with water and add ice. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook until slightly softer than al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer the noodles to the ice water. When cold, drain well. In a large bowl, combine the noodles, cilantro, scallions, soy sauce, chopped ginger, vinegar, wasabi oil and 2 tablespoons of the pickled ginger and toss to blend. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Have a small bowl of water handy. Place a sheet of nori shiny side down on the rolling mat with a long edge towards you. Evenly spread a layer of the noodles mixture on the bottom half of the nori and top the upper third of the mixture with 3 to 4 strips of cucumber and 2 pieces of each of the peppers. To roll, lift the mat, compressing it against the filling as you roll the bottom edge in on itself. Continue rolling toward the top edge until only 1/4-inch of the nori remains unrolled. Moisten a finger and wet the edge of the nori. Press the mat to seal the roll. Allow the roll to rest, seam side down, for 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining nori and filling ingredients. Cover the rolls lightly with plastic wrap and set aside.

When ready to serve, cut each roll into 5 pieces, 3 straight across and 2 diagonally.

Divide the sushi pieces among 2 plates. Add a small mound of the seaweed salad, if using, to each and top each with a piece of the Sake-Miso Fish. Drizzle over the soy syrup and wasabi oil (see recipes below), garnish with the sesame seeds and remaining pickled ginger.

Wasabi Oil

Makes 1/2 cup (keep remaining in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks)

1/4 cup wasabi powder
1 tablespoon mirin (Japanese sweet sake)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup grapeseed oil

In a small stainless-steel bowl, combine the wasabi powder, mirin and sugar and whisk to blend. Add a little less than 1/2 cup of water gradually, whisking, until a pancake batter-like puree is formed. Whisk in the oil. Let stand for 10 minutes before using.

Soy Syrup

Makes 1 cup (keep remaining in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks – it’s great drizzled on steamed vegetables too!)

1 cups soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
Juice of 1/2 a lime

In a medium saucepan, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar and lime juice. Bring to a boil slowly over medium heat, turn down the heat and reduce the mixture by three-fourths or until syrupy, about 15 minutes. I used a funnel to transfer it to an empty soy sauce jar.

Just got my salt water rod ready for surf casting, hopefully I'll catch a keeper I can cook myself (and not pay $17.99/lb!).....

Egg Salad Sandwiches

Growing up, I had a fondness for egg salad.
I'll never forget, during one long road trip to my grandparent's house in Ohio,
a sulfurous odor wafted into the car.
I said, "Wow, mom, you brought egg salad sandwiches??! Yayyy!!"
To which my parents replied, "No, it's just car exhaust."
I was disappointed but we had a good laugh over it.

Usually recipes call for celery but I prefer to leave it out.


Boil 5 eggs, remove shells.
To boil, place eggs in a pan of cold water to cover. Cover and put over high heat until it comes to a rapid boil. Turn the heat off and let the eggs continue to sit in the hot water for 11 minutes. Rinse under cold water until eggs are cooled off.

While the eggs boil, chop up 3 TB of your favorite pickle.
Add to that 1 TB chopped green onion, a tsp of a good mustard,
and a plop of mayonnaise (1/3 cup).
Salt & pepper to taste.
Add 2 yolks and smash them, mix together.
Chop the remaining eggs and combine.
Enjoy on a nice sub roll or white bread.

The taster did take a big bite but gave this a "thumbs under the table" and I ate the rest! Ha!
He has never been a big fan of eggs.

Vegetable Kebabs with Greek Marinade

Make the marinade the night before so the flavor has time to develop.

3 minced garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine (Cavit pinot grigio)
2 Tb fresh lemon juice
1 Tb chopped fresh oregano
2 sprigs rosemary
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Kebabs:
1 large red pepper cut into 1" pieces
1 medium sweet onion cut into 4 wedges
2 small zucchini, cut into 1/2" thick rounds
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 lb boiled small potatoes

Grill until the skins on the potatoes char a little bit.
It is preferable to start grilling the veggies before the meat.

Mango Salsa

I'll never forget the first time my mom made this, to serve atop chicken. We ate it poolside at my home growing up. It was outstanding and definitely left a great, "gourmet" impression on me!
It is also great on fish or pork.

• 1 mango, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup peeled, seeded and diced cucumber
• 1 Tb finely chopped jalapeno
• 1/3 cup diced red onion
• 1 Tb lime juice
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Combine the mango, cucumber, jalapeno, red onion, lime juice and cilantro leaves and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

I love these little beauties. I am lucky that they're readily available at our local fine produce purveyor, Russo's.

This is a simple way to make them. I also like to use them in breakfast hash.

Heat oven to 400º (hello toaster oven!).

Slice potatoes lengthwise. With a meal, estimate 3-4 halves per person. The tendency is to make too many.

Toss halves in a bowl (a cover on that bowl is handy) with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh ground salt and pepper, and rosemary (fresh or dried).

Places halves cut side down on foil. Nonstick foil is helpful.

Bake for 23 minutes then, using tongs, flip. Bake another 10 minutes.

Cole Slaw

This slaw is fabulous!

It is a take on the original KFC slaw and is one that I'll make from now on.

It makes a large batch, to feed 10-12 people.

1 head finely chopped cabbage (8 cups)
1/4 cup shredded carrot (1 medium carrot)
2 Tb minced onion
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk (use the rest of the bottle for pancakes)
1 1/2 TB white vinegar
2 1/2 TB lemon juice

Make sure the cabbage and carrots are chopped fine. I used the grater attachment for the carrots on my food processor and the blade attachment for the cabbage. You could also use the large holes on a cheese grater.

Combine the sugar, salt, pepper, milk, mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar and lemon juice in a large bowl and beat until smooth.

Add the cabbage, carrots and onion and mix well.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Keeps for 3-5 days.

*Taster approved though "it smells like a big fart" when you first open the stored container ;D

Jamaican Jerk Pork Tenderloin

The Marinade:

• 2 cups coarsely chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 to 4 Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, seeded and chopped (or any hot peppers you like)
  

Place ingredients in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth.

Slice 1 (1 1/2-pound) pork tenderloin lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, the other side. Open halves, laying each side flat.

Combine pork and green onion mixture in a dish or large zip-top plastic bag.
Cover or seal; marinate in refrigerator 3 to 24 hours. Remove pork from dish or bag; discard remaining marinade.

Prepare grill.

Place pork on grill rack; grill 8 minutes on the first side then 4 minutes the second side or until meat thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink). I placed it directly over the hot coals and left the cover off. It really depends on your grill and how hot the coals (or burners) are.

Slice thin and enjoy with cole slaw, roasted fingerling potatoes and even a mango salsa!

Cheesy Herbal Pizza Dough

Delicious pizza crust recipe to make the night before.

• 3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
  
• 1 tsp instant yeast
  
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
  
• 2 Tb olive oil
  
• 1 1/4-1 1/3 cups water (enough to make a smooth, soft dough)
• 2 Tb grated Parmesan
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  

1. Mix together all dough ingredients and knead on a lightly-floured surface until smooth and soft. Do not over-knead; dough should hold together but look rough on surface.
2. Allow to rise in a warm place, covered, for 45 minutes.
3. Refrigerate dough for 4-36 hours, to allow dough to slowly rise and develop flavor.
4. Shape into a 12-14 inch circle, top as desired, and bake on a pizza stone 400º for about 10 minutes, or until just beginning to turn golden.

Mint Limeade

The perfect thirst quencher on hot summer day!
Mint simple syrup can keep for a while in the fridge.
It's also great with lemon juice.
Try it with some vodka or light rum. Cheers!

Mint Limeade

Makes about 2 quarts

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
  
• 1 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, washed with stems removed
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• ice
• club soda
  

1. Make mint simple syrup by combining sugar, water, and mint in a saucepan and bringing it to a boil then immediately allowing it to simmer for 2 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Strain the leaves.
3. To assemble the limeade, add about 1 ounce each of the simple syrup and lime juice in a tall glass filled with ice. Top with about 6 ounces of club soda. Stir. Garnish with fresh mint or a lime wedge.

The mint was picked fresh from the garden. If you are not a green thumb, try growing mint. Or maybe not. It spreads fast and is fragrant and nice to pick. I find our little mint patch gets cut and used regularly for this particular drink. In the past I muddled the leaves, but who wants leaves in their drink? The mint syrup is a perfect solution to this problem and lends a refreshing green hue to the drink. Use a sprig of mint to garnish your glass.

Baked Stuffed Sole

When I browse the seafood counter at the local Shaw's, I often look but don't buy, opting for something easier, such as sushi.
After having some of my own fresh-caught flounder, as prepared by cousin Alan during our family reunion, I was wowed and inspired by his recipe. What I learned, simply, is to use Ritz crackers and mayo and crab meat for stuffing. In this case I tried chopped up shrimp. The shrimp adds a nice texture and it could even fool you into thinking it was lobster. Delicious!
So good, I want to make it again for dinner tonight.

Start with 2 filets of sole (aka flounder)
mix up:
6 Ritz crackers, crushed up using your hands
a dollop of mayonnaise (Hellman's of course)
a squeeze of lemon
chopped up parsley and green onions
6 shrimp, cooked and chopped up into small morsels

Put a heaping scoop on each filet, tuck ends under and place in a buttered baking dish. Top with a couple more crushed crackers and a pat of butter. Bake at 400º for 10 minutes.

The taster overwhelmingly approved this recipe!