Sushi Saturday: Nigiri and Rolls Galore

Like the true heroes of the kitchen you undoubtedly view us as, Kevin and I fought through the fast approaching food coma compliments of our earlier Miso Soup, Edamame and Sapporo Tempura Shrimp and Zucchini to finish our mission and create some tasty sushi. Thanks to our excitement for the task and a complete misunderstanding of fiscal responsibility, we had purchased far too much to stop now.

It was finally time to brave the uncertainty of our Asian market fish and turn the night into something legendary.

Basic Ingredients for a Super Sushi Adventure
Tuna

So focused and wearing my finest shirt!

Yellowtail (himachi)
Tempura Shrimp (see previous recipe)
Sushi Shrimp (but not super raw shrimp, that'd be bad)
Crab meat (stay clear of imitation even if it is way cheaper)
Cucumber, sliced long and thin
Avocados, sliced thin
Nori
Bamboo Rollers 
Saran Wrap
Sushi Rice
Spicy Mayo
Masago
Mint
Lemon
Wasabi
Ginger

Sushi Rice
Adapted from All Recipes

2 cups uncooked sushi rice
3 cups water
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt

1. Rinse the sushi rice in a strainer until the water comes out clear. Combine with the water in a saucepan or rice cooker, cover and cook for ~ 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Let cool.
2. Combine the rice vinegar, oil, sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium heat until all the sugar dissolves. Cool then stir well into the cooked rice. 
3. Always handle the rice with wet hands or wooden spoons dipped in vinegar and water to keep the rice from sticking.

This rice was billed as "Perfect Sushi Rice" from the random person who wrote the All Recipes article, so we had some pretty high hopes. Initially we were a little distressed by how vinegary and slightly sweet the rice was on its own, but, luckily, it actually goes extremely well with fish and managed to not shame its mysterious internet scribe.

Spicy Mayo
Equal parts Sriracha and Mayo

Alter the mayo/sriracha ratio to your taste

Cayenne Pepper
Salt
Garlic Powder


The secret to elevating even the most subpar sushi is the sweet kick of Sriracha based spicy mayo. I modeled this after the killer dipping sauce from my Heart of Palm "Crab" Cakes, but I just toned down the Cajun some.

Standard Nigiri

The basics of nigiri are simple. Just mold some sushi rice into a nice oblong shape, place a dab of wasabi on top to help stick the fish on and top with you expertly filleted sashimi. We made tuna, shrimp and the oh so perfect Texas Style Himachi, which deserves its own section.

Texas Style Himachi

Texas Style Himachi is the definitive nigiri in my opinion. Ever since being introduced to the powerfully spicy yet refreshing magnificence at Kubo's back in my impressionable college days, I have been a firm believer in this one cultural bastardization of sushi. For this slightly more complicated piece of sushi, top your rice with wasabi, a mint leaf, yellowtail and a jalapeno. Then lightly drizzle with some lemon juice. I may have made several extra of these as the night evolved into a roll making party because it was just too delicious to call it quits.

Just pure, utter perfection. Every simple layer is delightful.

Shrimp Tempura Roll

Everyone knows that if you want to feel properly disgusting from a sushi extravaganza, you're going to need to fill yourself with an ungodly amount of rolls.

To make a roll, cover a bamboo roller with saran wrap to prevent sticking. Then top that with a piece of nori, a thin layer of rice (that doesn't quite extend the full size of the nori) and your fillings. Rolling works best if you place all the ingredients toward the edge of the nori (and not the center as we were about to learn following that pic). Also, it's definitely worth cutting the pieces of nori to prevent from over-ricing the rolls. Once it's all rolled tightly, slice it evenly with the seam down. If your "skills" mimic our Kindergarten level ones, you will find yourself frequently tossing out the edge pieces, which may be a little uneven.

For our shrimp tempura roll we went with our previously made shrimp, avocado and cucumber. We then topped it with a little masago for some added crunch.

Our next great sushi excess will likely involve multi-colored masago because, damn, that'd be pretty. 

Inside-Out Yellowtail Roll

We decided to mix things up for our next roll by creating one that was inside-out. Simply put the rice before the nori, but beware this one is a little more unwieldy when it comes to cutting. Our filling consisted of yellowtail, cucumber and avocado (Are you noticing a theme? These are scientifically proven by us to give a nice combination of smooth, crunchy and refreshing.). We then rolled these in sesame seeds, but masago would also work quite well. Finally, feel free to top some pieces with tuna or shrimp for added color a la the rainbow roll. Another easy and delicious variation of this roll would be to substitute in the mint and jalapeno for a Texas Style Himachi roll (which I now severely regret not thinking of at the time).

We later realized that we spent $10 on roe purely for trying to make our sushi prettier...

Shaggy Dog Roll

Somehow Kevin's fancy camera even managed to make our shaggy dog roll look nice. My picture looked like an insane cry for help from two drunk children, so I will spare you from it.

To make the shaggy dog roll, top a shrimp tempura roll with crab meat (again, we highly recommend you spend the extra cash on real crab meat and not the cheap and not very shaggy imitation crab), spicy mayo and crispy tempura pieces (look at us being resourceful and using the failures from our frying).

Spicy Tuna Roll

The crown jewel of our rolls was without a doubt the spicy tuna roll. Our superb spicy mayo provided a creamy kick that made this by far the liveliest of our rolls. It's a shame that we saved this for last because we were no longer in any condition to truly appreciate its greatness.

The roll seemingly spewing out spicy tuna provides even more of a quote than the ever stoic Kevin did (but, darn it, how can I stay mad at those baby blues).

To make the spicy tuna roll cut your tuna in long, thin strips and dredge through the spicy mayo. Fill with the tuna and our standard cucumber and avocado. For added awesomeness and kick, top with jalapenos and diced spicy tuna.

Up close and personal with how to make the perfect roll even more delightful.

Our latest cooking bonanza may have been several months overdue, but it was quite possibly our best yet. We were extremely pleased with everything we made, but the Texas Style Himachi and Spicy Tuna Roll were the obvious highlights of the evening. We also learned an important lesson about excess, and will make sure to have at least 6 other people present the next time we decide to do this. Making sushi is incredibly easy and fun, so it's perfect for a big gathering of friends (who you can then make do all the work under the guise of "instructing"). Plus, everyone loves giant Japanese beers and sake, so we will be doing this again.

This may be my favorite pic because it looks like we're trying to sneak up on the sushi from below.

Sushi Saturday: Sapporo Shrimp and Zucchini Tempura

Following our delicious start of Miso Soup, Kevin and I wanted to venture back into our American comfort zone by deep frying meat and vegetables before going into full blown sushi mode.  For our tempura goodness, we chose zucchini cut in not one but two ways (cuz we fancy) and the ever versatile shrimp (also reserved for later use in sushi rolls).

Would a giant bottle of Sapporo elevate our frying efforts to new heights or would we have to call it a night following horrible oil splash burns (which would still totally be worth it for delicious friedness)?

Sapporo Tempura
Time: 20 minutes

Equal parts flour and Sapporo beer
Cayenne Pepper 
Salt and Pepper
Sriracha (recommended improvement)
Oil for Frying
Shrimp, peeled and deveined
Zucchini, sliced thin and long or in rounds

Make sure to save some Sapporo

1. Mix the batter by whisking together equal parts flour and Sapporo with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste. We highly recommend adding Sriracha for some garlic and extra kick.
2. Heat oil in a large pot to 370 F. Make sure there's plenty of extra room in the pot to prevent nice hot oil splash burns.
3. Coat your zucchini in the batter then fry for 3-4 minutes or until the golden brown and slightly puffed up. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate coated with paper towels to remove excess oil.
4. Repeat with the shrimp. Feel super awesome if you manage to keep your shrimp from curling, which we were unable to do.
5. Serve with dipping sauce and enjoy.

Hmm, these veggies look super delicious.

But how could we possibly make them healthier?

Much better. 

Was there really any doubt that fried shrimp and veggies would be amazing? While, this was fantastic as expected, it surpassed our hopes for the second course thanks to the incredible Sapporo batter. The only change we would've made (in case you didn't gather it by me suggesting it in the instructions and ingredients) would be to add sriracha to the batter for a little extra kick and garlic (fortunately, we were still able to apply it directly to the end product). Our decision to cut the zucchini two ways was also a brilliant way to bring some variety to the mix, and the delicate vegetables went beautifully with our light and airy beer batter. In non-veggie related news, the tempura shrimp ranked among some of the finest shrimp I've ever had (just narrowly missing out at number one behind my mom's incredible fried shrimp). The real struggle was making sure we didn't stuff ourselves on all the tempura perfection since we still had a whole lot of raw fish to deal with and thirty minutes to kill until the sushi rice was ready.

Who shot it better? Kevin and his fancy camera?

Or me and my iPhone after I cleared enough space for pictures? (Dammit, I didn't know we could use props!)

Coming up next, the thrilling finale of entirely too much sushi for two people to eat!

Sushi Saturday: Miso Soup

Sapporo may not have been used to make the miso, but it was instrumental in the night's success.

Kevin and I had a shocking realization this past week- We had not partaken in a massively extravagant cooking adventure in months. The most recent non-grilling event was our delightful Mother's Day Waffle-Off back in May (imagine that- law school, surgeries and jobs take up time), so it was time to revisit our cooking guy love with a vengeance! We would prove our culinary dominance and our bravery by having a night filled with the best Japanese cuisine has to offer- Miso, Tempura and Sushi.

Would we be able to rekindle our cooking chemistry with a one of a kind Sushi feast, or would we be felled by giant beers, sake and questionable fish?

Miso Soup
Adapted from All Recipes
Servings: 4-6

Soft tofu doesn't stand up to cutting well.

Time: 20 minutes

2 tsp dashi granules
4 cups water
2 tbsp red miso paste
1 tbsp white miso paste
8 oz silken tofu, drained and diced
2 Chinese Chives, diced into 1/2" pieces.

1. Combine the water and dashi in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and whisk in the miso paste. Stir in the tofu and green onion.
3. Simmer lightly for 3 minutes and serve.

I managed to not make a single "Miso horny" joke once all night! Adulthood achieved (Ahhhh, crap...)

While Kevin proved his manliness by getting oil scorching hot for deep frying the tempura (but more so I could cleverly force him to peel and devein all the shrimp), I took care of the standard appetizer fare of steamed edamame and miso soup. I was amazed at how simple it was to make miso. Seriously, just twenty minutes and essentially stirring like 5 ingredients into a pot of boiling and then simmering water is all that's required. Mixing red and white miso provided some complexity to our simple soup and allowed it to stand up to any restaurant miso I've ever had. We were definitely off to a great start to our flavorful journey to Japan (plus it's always super cool watching the miso clouds form and move about).

Kevin's fancy camera makes our mushy edamame look far more exciting than it was (note: be careful when steaming still frozen edamame). Also, enjoy the sneak peak of our tempura.

Stay tuned for the final two amazing chapter of Sushi Saturday: Sapporo Tempura and Sushi Rolls and Nigiri Galore! Watch as our creativity increases as a direct function of sake consumption!

The secret to fancy pictures is selective blurriness. Kevin's fancy camera makes me feel like I'm writing for an actual serious food blog. Take that, uninteresting tuna!

Adobo-Glazed Mini Turkey Meat Loaves and Garlic Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"

Recently, I've been trying to make a week's worth of meals at a time in an effort to eat healthier and cheaper (and so I can be super lazy once I get home because wearing pants is a sucker's game). After several, somewhat underwhelming attempts at crock pottery (I could've made a better stew on the stove in 1/4 of the time!), I decided to regroup and go for standard, less liquidy dinner-fare.

I stumbled across this mini turkey loaf recipe and was instantly transported back to an episode of the now cancelled Food Network show 24 Hour Restaurant Battle where the contestant made a meat loaf "cupcake" with mashed potato frosting as his signature dish. At last, I thought I could finally combine my loves of meat and cupcakes, but it was sadly not meant to be. This may have been one tasty and healthy dish, but it sure wasn't nearly as pretty as I imagined.

Adobo Glazed Turkey Meat Loaf
Adapted from Self.com
Servings: 12-14 loaves
Time: 1 hour

Mmm, raw meat bowl!

Loaves
1 slice wheat bread, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
Olive Oil
1/2 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 head broccoli, chopped finely
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 1/4 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 egg whites
4 1/2 tsp tomato paste

Must not type Adobe...

4 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp chili powder

Glaze
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp adobo sauce
1 generous squirt of Sriracha
2 tsp honey
3 tbsp chicken broth
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 tsp salt

Haha, it thinks it's muffins!!

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. Soak the bread in the soymilk for 10 minutes.
3. Sautée the onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until soft and translucent (about 6-8 minutes). Put in a large bowl.
4. Sautée the broccoli and peppers in olive oil over medium heat until the peppers soften and the broccoli begins to brown. Add to the large bowl. 
5. Realize that after countless recipes involving it, you still don't know how to properly spell broccoli (It should be brocolli, dammit!).
6. Add the soaked bread and remaining loaf ingredients to the large bowl and mix well.
7. Scoop ~ 1/3 cup of the loaf mixture into non-stick muffin tins. Pack well.
8. Bake for 10 minutes.
9. While the loaves are baking, make the glaze by whisking all of the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. If you can't find adobo sauce by itself, you can usually find canned chipotle peppers packed in it in the Mexican food section.
10. Brush each of the loaves with about 1 tbsp of the glaze and continue cooking for 15-20 more minutes (or until the internal temp reaches 160 F).
11. Get absolutely disgusted at how all the juices flowed out onto the muffin tin.
12. Let cool and remove from the tin.
13. Use about 2 loaves for one nice dinner serving or 1 for a light lunch.

This super packed inside is just as pretty as the outside...

Flavor-wise, these mini turkey loaves were a great entree for my week's worth of healthy dinners. The sauteed veggie filling really brings a lot to the dish, and the adobo glaze has a great honey chipotle quality to it for some sweetness and a little kick. It was also great having perfectly portioned pieces ready to go. Unfortunately, there was one major downfall to this dish, and that was its less than beautiful appearance. The juices from the turkey tend to come out during cooking and pool up in a less than flattering way. Just make sure to drain it well, and no one has to know. Fortunately, these mini meals only tasted better as the week went on, so it was well worth the aesthetic failure.

Garlic Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"

Adapted from Food Network

Servings: 4

Time: 30 minutes

Can you feel the excitement?

1 head cauliflower, chopped

1 tbsp cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup grated Parmesan 

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp chicken broth

Splash of soy milk

1 sprig of rosemary

Ground black pepper, to taste

Salt, to taste

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat.
2. Boil the cauliflower for 6-10 minutes or until well done.
3. Drain well and pat the cauliflower dry between layers of paper towels. Do not let cool.
4. Puree the boiled cauliflower, cream cheese, Parmesan, garlic, chicken broth, soy milk, salt, pepper, and rosemary together in a food processor until your desired mashed consistency is reached.
5. Mix in a tbsp butter and enjoy.
6. Get upset that neither your cauliflower mashed potatoes nor your turkey loaves are pretty enough to create a glorious meat cupcake.

Perfectly camouflaged "taters"

These cauliflower mashed potatoes were a good approximation of the real thing, but they couldn't quite reach the heights of your standard, amazing potato variety. The rosemary and garlic were nice touches to add some strong flavor, and the cream cheese and parmesan added a nice creaminess. But no matter, how hard I tried, I still knew I was having cauliflower (which I do like). I enjoyed this cross-veggie creation, but I think it could have been a lot better had I used a food processor instead of attempting to use a blender poorly for a smoother consistency (and that will be key for proper pipable meat cupcake frosting texture).

All in all, I was extremely happy with this foray out of my usual dinner cooking box. Aside from chopping, there wasn't a lot of effort involved, and it provided me with several days' worth of healthy meals that only tasted better as the flavors had more time to meld. Plus, there are plenty of options for repurposing the mini loaves later in the week for variety like sandwiches or meatballs in pasta or soup.

Alas, my quest for the meat cupcake continues...

The One Year Later Post: France and the Great Macaroon Journey

Aside from the food, the best thing about Paris is being able to look up and see the Eiffel Tower everywhere.

Continuing my series of posts I should have made a year ago, it's time to relive the glory that was blowing all of my money on food in Paris. 

Boudin ball making expert Maconda was spending a semester studying architecture in Paris and trying to better understand her French husband, so I had the perfect excuse to expand my cultural and (more importantly) culinary horizons. But how was I ever going to fit all the amazingness of Parisian living in to just one week?

Food goal number 1: Eat as many snails as I've seen before in my life. Success.

The plan was simple. While horribly jet-lagged, I would cram all the touristy things into the first four days with appropriate stops at fooderies for croissants, escargot, confit de canard and baguettes when I needed the energy to continue seeing the most beautiful art and buildings in the world. This would leave me with 3 days to live like the Parisian artist I always knew I could be (minus the actual creative talent but with the same propensity for berets).

Food goal number 2: Eat super fancy pretty things like this langoustine. 

Beyond my stereotypical ideas of walking around Paris eating an entire baguette while reading poetry in a striped shirt, there was one adventure my baking heart desired above all others. I wanted to spend the day walking the city in search of the best macaroons it had to offer. My journey would take me through over five arrondissements and hundreds of grams of sugar, and it will forever remain one of the greatest experiences of my life.

The Apértif:

Larnicol

The 6th (arrondissement)

Larnicol had by far the best airiness of all the macaroons I ate, and proper texture is absolutely key for true pastry enjoyment. These were solid macaroons to start me off before my actual walking expedition (Yes, my macaroon eating occurred on pretty much every day I was there. I just wanted to show proper French patriotism.), but I will really remember the fantastic shawarma we had before finding this bakery.

The Journey Proper:

Ladurée
The 8th

I got goosebumps before entering

It only seemed fitting to begin my day long macaroon trek here. The world famous Ladurée had some truly amazing macaroons, the biggest selection available and an incredibly efficient macaroon packaging system, but they weren't the best. I went in expecting to be absolutely blown away, but found myself merely whelmed.

Probably the prettiest overall

Grégory Renard
The 7th

At those prices, how could I not buy so many?

Grégory Renard was a tiny little bakery with great macaroons at very affordable prices. Plus it had an Eiffel Tower of macaroons! Originally, this was not on my list of places to stop, but, what can I say, giant edible window displays are truly the way to my heart (they're like my tasty shiny objects).

Hugo & Victor
The 7th

Pineapple, mango and vanilla bean-all absolutely unbelievably delicious

Hugo & Victor was the prized jewel of the macaroon journey. They really knew how to incorporate spices into the macaroons, and their mango was by far the best one I've ever had. Even the standard flavors you could find anywhere shined the brightest here. This is the place I went back to before leaving, so I could smuggle some into the U.S..

Pierre Hermé
The 6th

I think I finished only one of these, but, hey, at least I got the experience.

Pierre Hermé is the master of the weird combination. If you want an interesting macaroon to talk about go here, but be warned the chocolate foie gras is just as disgusting as it sounds, although the white truffle was surprisingly tasty. I was also heavily amused by them throwing away 3 macaroons that they deemed unworthy from a structural standpoint before finally approving one for me.

Un Dimanche Á Paris
The 6th

Silly disappointing pistachio

Un Dimanche Á Paris was extremely difficult to find, but had some tasty macaroons. The filling had more of a jelly consistency, which worked great for the fruit variety but not so well for the pistachio (While searching for the address just now I was pleased to find that even David Lebowitz found fault with their Pistachio, or at least its color, proving that I have super fancy sophisticated tastes.).


The Digestif:

Jean-Paul Hévin
The 1st

The Louvre and a strawberry-pistachio macaroon in the same day. Oh, to be that fortunate again.

Master Chocolatier Jean-Paul Hévin was fantastic at mixing up flavors like the strawberry pistachio on the far left (a clear top five macaroon), but the real reason to go there is for the amazing hot chocolates from the brilliant raspberry (or frambroise, one of the few words I learned how to say) to the very acquired taste of the oyster version. Maconda and I had previously gone there specifically for their supposed hot chocolate supremacy, and I was so enamored with them (I had the raspberry the first time) that I had to come back and see what they had to offer the macaroon game (and to test my food snobbery with the oyster chocolate mix). It's a short walk from The Louvre, so I highly recommend planning a stop if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

Yes, that is the oyster version. If you can get past the smell and the taste you are in for a hot drink...Stick with the classics, kids.

I highly recommend taking a day like this seeking out whatever it is that your belly-heart desires from macaroons to baguettes, hot chocolate, crepes, croissants or really any other mouth-watering French specialty. I felt like despite seeing all the brilliant monuments and art on other days, this was the day where I truly got to experience the city. Now I cannot wait to go back and explore Paris during summertime and create yet another cherished food memory.

I told you. That shizz is everywhere.