Oh when the Saints~ Go Marching in~~~

Super Bowl Sunday today!!! and I wanted to root for the Saints by making New Orleans favorites, my way! haha… I’m not SO familiar with the Cajun cuisine being that I grew up in New Jersey in a Japanese household. So~~ Internet to the rescue! I searched many sites for different recipes for Seafood Gumbo, Oyster Po’Boy and other New Orleans favorites. I studied the recipes and came up with my own Gumbo. It turned out fantastic!!! Thanks Jordi for taking all the photos of the food and the seafood pasta with yummy seafood sausage! Paolo brought this amazing homemade Pecan pie. Oh, and I can’t forget the donuts Guia brought!! Adiaos know how to eat!! The food was amazing and we were ready to root for Saints. Except we got too busy eating for the fist half of the game. kk… The second half, we sang, “When the Saints Go Marching In.” every 2 minutes and annoyed the crap out of Colts fans. Congratulations to the Saints and Hurray to the city of New Orleans!!

Here’s what we had tonight from top left to right: Avocado & Arugula Salad, Lime & Mustard Cole slaw with Kohlrabi, Oyster Po’ Boy, Cajun Fried Frog Legs, Crab & Shrimp Gumbo, Pork Tamales (the last batch) & Seafood Pasta by Jordi, Pecan Pie by Paolo, Charlie brought Yummy Cupcakes, and Guia brought amazing donuts from K-Town in the city.

Here’s a recipe for you guys! Let me know if you make them. I would love to hear the responses. This is a recipe I came up with while I studied many Gumbo recipes online. I altered it to my liking.

Crab & Shrimp Seafood Gumbo

Ingredients:

1 medium Onion diced
1 Red Bell Pepper diced
3 Stalks for Celery diced
1  1/2 cup of Okra trimmed & chopped in 1/8 in. slices
1 cup of diced Tomatoes
1 1/2 cup of Andouille Sausages diced
1 can of Crab Meats
1 1/4 lbs of Small Shrimp with head attached, separate the head and place it a side. Remove the shell and devein the shrimp
1 bay leaf
6 cups of Chicken Stock
1 cup of White Wine
1/2 cup of Vegetable Oil
3/4 cup of All Purpose Flour
4 tbsp Creole Seasoning (See Recipe below or buy pre-made Creole Seasoning with salt)
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

For Garnish: Chopped Parsley & thinly sliced Scallions
Have the dish with Creole Boiled Rice or Jasmine Rice

1. Heat the Oil in a dutch oven or Cast Iron pot over medium heat
2. Whisk the Flour in to make brown Roux. Mix frequently to avoid the Roux from burning. (Should take 35-40min.)
3. Add the Andouille, 1tbsp of Creole seasoning, Onion, Celery and Bell Pepper. Cook, stirring often
(Cook for about 10min.) Add tomatoes and simmer for another 5 min.
4. In a separate small pot, Bring White Wine, 2 cups of Chicken Stock, and Bay Leaf to boil. Add the shrimp heads and simmer for 10 min.
5. Strain the shrimp heads out from the stock and set the stock a side (You can discard the shrimp heads at this point)
6. In a pot with #3 mixture, add the stock and #5 stock, remaining seasoning, and Okra
7. Bring it to a boil. Bring this down to simmer and cook for another 15 min.
8. Add Shrimp and worcestershire sauce and simmer for another 5 min. or until the shrimp is cooked
9. Add Crab meat and  serve over rice with parsley and scallions for garnish

[Creole Seasoning Recipe]
1/4 Cup Kosher Salt
3 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp Onion Powder
2 Tbsp Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbsp White Pepper
1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp Dried Thyme
1 Tbsp Dried Basil
1 Tbsp Dried Oregano

What is Capon?

The other day, my husband and I went to a butcher to get some game meat. Meat such as buffalos, ostriches and rabbits are healthier because they are lower in fat & cholesterol with more nutrients than some more common meats we consume everyday. Anyway, my husband discovered Capon. What is Capon?….. I love the name, Capon. kk… (Here’s more info on wikipedia) It’s basically a rooster that is prized for it’s tenderness. So, to make it even better! I brined the whole Capon for 8hrs or so and roasted them in the oven with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and some salt & pepper. OH MY! it’s a rooster… so imagine chicken.. but so much more juicier!! I wonder why it’s not sold everywhere?  I also made secret spicy green sauce… kk… it’s a secret unless you ask me for it. hahaha.

My husband goes out once a week to play poker with his buddies… and tonight was that night. So~ I had alone dinner tonight. This is the time where I eat quick (to make) and easy meals… oh and not to mention my favorites! haha… Tonight, I had avocado & baby arugula salad with ginger scallion sauce with rice. SO simple yet sooo good. (Oh, and black and red stuff on the side is Japanese pickled seaweed and Korean spicy marinated raw squid. I didn’t make them. ) I LUV Avocados and best part is that I didn’t really spend time cooking. haha.

One more work day to go~

Healthy Week Night Dinners

I had some umeboshi (sour plum) marinated chicken left over from Sunday Night. So I decided to use it as a topping for Udon (noodles). I rarely make Udon but figured it’s a good one dish dinner for busy weekday nights… To avoid using preservatives and MSG packets, I made the broth from dried mushrooms and Kelp.

For Hump Day on Wednesday, we finally decided to go see Avatar in 3D IMAX. I know I’m a bit behind but it turned out to be a fantastic hump day event! I was thoroughly entertained! As for dinner, I didn’t have much time to cook. But since it’s a hump day and all, I didn’t want to order take out food and spend money on quick and fatty meals. So I made few simple dishes…

Steamed sweet potatoes with feta cheese, Broiled Pompano fish with onion black bean sauce, balsamic vinegar marinated asparagus grilled on the skillet and kiriboshi-daikon (Japanese dried daikon radish simmered with fried tofu skin and carrots). kiriboshi-daikon is a Japanese comfort dish. I made them with my mother-in-law in my mind. She enjoys making healthy meals. Maybe I’ll introduce her to this dish next time I see her.

I ♥ Nutella and GOOOOO Saints!

I’ve always liked Nutella… but I remembered HOW MUCH I liked it, after having it during our Vermont snowboarding trip. So here’s our Saturday breakfast. Nutella and banana on the sliced french bread and cheddar cheese and egg beater omelet on the sliced french bread. I brewed the coffee but made warm foamy non-fat milk and ta dah~~~ Yummy breakfast!

So, Sunday Night Football!! I’m rooting for the Saints right now and I’m nervous. We had few people over tonight and had dinner together. Pre-Super Bowl? kk.. If Saints win, I’m making New Orleans favorites galore dinner. Seafood Gumbo, Po’ Boy, collard greens, rice and beans… and I’m adding bison burger on top of it.

Here’s tonight’s dinner menu: Roasted beets salad with feta cheese, spinach & garlic rice, Simmered Kale with Venison Sausage and potatoes, Umeboshi marinated skewered Chicken, Mussels Red Thai Curry and Yuzu Miso Marinated Salmon.

GOOOOOO Saints!

Sunday Night Dinner

So, with the Tamales I made yesterday, I made some salsa to go with and few other dishes. The dish on the right is simmered kale, potato and venison sausage. The whole fish on the bottom is Pampano from Pensacola, Florida. The last dish is simmered kabocha pumpkin with pork shoulder and peppers. We had early dinner with our friend Charlie and now, he’s sleeping on our couch with food coma. hahahah… Happy Sunday everyone

Tamales, Tamales & Tamales

I always thought Tamales are dried brick of corn flours with not much flavor and filling. yuk… until I got a chance to try the REAL homemade Tamales. My friend’s mom made them from scratch and it was DELICIOUS! He is Mexican American who grew up in Texas and supposedly, his mom makes them every year for the holidays. So I decided to give it a try this year.

When you make Tamales, you make whole lotta them… since my sister-in-law just gave birth and we have a group snowboarding trip coming up, I thought it’ll be a great opportunity for me to make these so I can give it out. OH MY GOSH, this process took so long!! It took me two days! Total of 10hrs! yikes. First 4hrs is mainly slow cooking the meat of choice. I braised pork shoulder and whole chicken for the Tamales fillings until they fell a part. Than you make the Tamales mixture and finally you wrap the ingredients with re-hydrated dried corn husks. 200 of them!!! Yeah, no wonder my friend’s mom makes them once a year during the holiday season when family and friends are around. It helps to have people helping you… cause after making 200 tamales, I was DONE… I didn’t wanna see another Tamales for a while. Although, my Mexican food loving husband ate like 6 of them already. hahaha, and he LOVES them. So I suppose this was a success. So, if you wanna try my homemade Tamales, come over people!!

I used the following link as a guide for my tamales.

http://www.deliciousdays.com/archives/2007/03/27/grandma-salazars-tamales/

Simple Pasta, Big Flavors

I wanted to have something hearty tonight for dinner but didn’t want to spend hours cooking. Pasta to the rescue! I decided to make seafood pasta.

The best way to prep clams are to get cold salted water ready and soak the mussels for at least 30min. Clams will spit all the junk out on it’s own.  I do this to all my clam recipes so I don’t encounter unpleasant sands in my mouth. Besides mussels, I added garlic, hot pepper, and golden enoki mushrooms to the pasta with tomato sauce. So simple yet so delicious!

New Year Dinner

My friend Mina was visiting her family in New Jersey from Tokyo and came to visit us for dinner tonight. I decided to make few dishes from traditional Japanese New Year food called “Osechi”. Usually, real Osechi dishes are more elaborate and festive… and have over 10-30 varieties of small portioned dishes placed in beautiful lacquered boxes with small compartments. But I’ll save that for next year. LOL. From the top left, I have sweetened mashed sweet potatoes called “Kinton”, sweet black beans and pumpkin squares with pine nuts. On the bottom left, I have mixed root vegetables called “kinpira gobou”, tofu and sesame seeds marinated green beans and dried tofu and simmered vegetable. I also made scallion miso glazed pork tenderloin.

Driving to New Orleans

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

My husband and I returned from our holiday trip in Florida on the 31st. We had few offers to party it up for the New Year’s count down, but we were too exhausted to leave the house. So, we started our new year at our home. I actually enjoyed this quiet start… it gave us time to recap on the year 2009 and to thank for such blessed year we had. Hopefully, 2010 will be even better year for all of us!

Oh, and here are some photos we took from our short trip to New Orleans from Pensacola, Florida. We drove 4hrs to New Orleans to spend a day there. Our main goal there was to have lunch at Commander’s Palace and to have the famous beignets at Café Du Monde. Yes, they are both food oriented goals… haha.  Surprisingly, the most memorable thing at Commander’s Palace was the $.25 martinis. At Café Du Monde, the coffee they served was FANTASTIC and beignets were slightly disappointing. It was not exactly what I expected. Either way, the short get-a-way was fun and we look forward to going back there to experience more of New Orleans. We stayed at Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, MS that night, which was a mid-point. Luckily, they placed us in the ocean view room and we were able to wake up to a beautiful sunrise over looking the ocean.

Surprise Catch

My husband and I drove to New Orleans for an over night trip from Pensacola, Florida. ( I will update on this one later…) Meanwhile, my father-in-law kept on fishing at his usual spot. When we returned from our 2 day adventure, my father-in-law told us that he caught few small sheep heads and bonito!! I was THRILLED to hear this catch of the day!! He said he caught 4 bonitos and gave 3 away ’cause he didn’t know how to prepare them. This fish has slightly reddish darker flesh and need to be prepped slightly different from the other fish he’s been catching. So I decided to prepare them 2 different ways. One version is slightly marinated with soy sauce and mirin. The other, I chopped it up and flavored it with scallions, grated ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil and topped it with dried seaweed. It was SO delicious!! What a treat it was for us to encounter this catch. The season for this fish is limited and we just HAPPENED to be here when he caught them. My father-in-law almost regretted giving these fish away! LOL… but bonito is best eaten fresh so it was probably for the best to share them with others Cheers to Pensacola, Florida!

Holiday Dinner in Florida

I’m in Pensacola, Florida visiting my in-laws for the Holiday. It’s pretty cold down here… and I definitely didn’t pack enough… BRRR. Since Pensacola is surrounded by water, we were able to get some fresh seafood. I’ve been cooking dinners every night but tonight, I decided to treat all of us and make Paella. YUM~~ I couldn’t get all the ingredients, so it’s not the most traditional Paella, but since the seafood is so good here, it turned out FANTASTIC! More seafood dishes to come!

Lucky Wife!

We are slowly getting back in to our normal daily routine. Even though all the weddings are done for the year and all our lovely visitors are gone, it’s hard to eat healthy during this time of the year with so many parties and dinners. As much as we love to eat out, I’m trying to cook as much as I can when we are home.

And guess what!! Monday night, I’m super tired coming back from work and not in the mood to prepare dinner. It’s the worst feeling when I’m circling through the TO GO menus I have at home in my head. (Usually, I can’t decide ’cause nothing sound too appetizing.) But I didn’t have to cook!! My  awesome husband was waiting for me at home with dinner he prepared for me! He made tomato and tuna rigatoni for dinner and it was SUPER! What a lucky wife I am!

Here are some other dishes I made during the week. We invited Jordi over for our Hump day dinner on Wednesday night. It was nice to have him back for dinner I made Yuzu Miso marinated Salmon with kabocha pumpkin/cucumber salad and daikon raddish salad.

For tonight, I made crab, avocado, and cucumber sushi rolls with grilled asparagus and Miso Soup. YUM YUM!

New Chapter

I’ve been slacking on my blog recently and I have a legit excuse! I got married over the weekend! After the reception, few of my friends went up to this store and asked if we can pose in the display window… fun fun! I will cherish every moment of my new chapter with much affection and appreciation. Now, back to cooking!

Beautiful Sunday Lunch

2 weeks before our wedding day, we made a reservation to a place called Blue Hill at Stone Barns . It was a nice break for us to breath fresh crisp Fall air and to enjoy such delicious food. The weather was just perfect for our romantic Sunday lunch with our good friends, Phil and Yuu. I absolutely recommend this place for special occasions. It was magical and LOVED every moment of it.

Discovering Pork Tenderloin

This is my first time making a dish out of pork tenderloin. I always thought they were too dry… I guess I never had good ones. They are lower in fat and cholesterol… so I thought I give it a try. Especially, tonight is the last night Jordi will be staying with us. (sniff sniff) I wanted to make something Jordi likes… and I can’t disregard PORK! He also likes Kabocha pumpkin, so for tonight’s last supper~ I made Ground Sesame crusted pork tenderloin with side of yuzu pepper, smashed Kabocha pumpkin with sour cream & Brussel sprouts with diced walnuts and shallot. This meal was a success! It was voted as ALL of our favorites!