Beef Sukiyaki

I'm way into my Marukai run today...Cooked the rest of the sukiyaki meat in the Nabe Pot pictured with a little butter and peanut oil.

Chopped up an onion (large, so Scott could fish out the onion pieces) added it to the pot. Added in bean sprouts...Deglazed the pot with sake. Then put in shoyu, mirin, sugar...water (some? taste...). Rough chopped Napa Cabbage, shirataki (yam noodles) cut shorter with scissors, regular tofu, spinach and sukiyaki meat.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer on low until you're ready to eat.

Big pot of rice...

MOCHI-SLINKYS - NON-STICK REYNOLDS WRAP

Mochi - Slinkys!!!

I picked up 2 packages of Mochi today from Marukai...My kids love mochi!

There are 14 stairs in front of my house, so the boys (usually) help bring the groceries upstairs...The mochi was spotted and subsequently requested for dinner...???

I preheat the oven to 200F...Cover a sheet pan with NON-STICK REYNOLDS WRAP and put 8 mochi on the sheet pan. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes. Then I crank the oven to broil and this is what happens! They look like Mochi - Slinkys right???

They devoured all 8...I cooked some sukiyaki meat, cut up cucumber and peeled a couple CA Mandarin oranges...They washed it down with big glasses of milk and are now playing handball. They'll probably be hungry again in 15 minutes!

SOUP

SOUP...Hearty Soup...

Got home really late tonight and had to whip up something quick cuz the Lakers game was starting at 7:30 (got lucky...it was delayed because of the Cavs/Bulls game!)...

As I'm driving home I'm thinking about what I have...Swiss chard (used the stems the other night for the "fries"), carrots, celery, onion, potatoes, San Marzano tomatoes (used the juice/puree for the pizza on Saturday), frozen brisket from last week, pasta, beans, cheese, a loaf of La Brea Pugliese...

Sauteed the mirapoix - carrots, celery, onion rough chop - in olive oil...add in the chard torn into 2-3" pieces...deglaze the pan with a splash of Sake, then added in chicken broth and the juice from the jar of San Marzanos - just the liquid. Add in the frozen brisket. Peeled potatoes cubed. Add in a handful of pasta (I used penne). Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and simmer partially covered until the meat has defrosted and the pasta is cooked - remove meat and shred. Add back into the pot with a can of canellini beans and bring to a boil again.

In a bowl add a pinch of red chili pepper flakes and a grind or two of fresh black pepper, then ladle in the soup and top with shaved parmigiano reggiano. Served with bread - warmed in a 500F oven for 10 minutes - and cheese.

FRIED CHICKEN - Sunday Dinner

Fried Chicken in a cast iron skillet

(in the background you can see the sheet pan w/rack)

Swiss Chard Fries

FRIED CHICKEN - I have developed this recipe pulling from many sources. Mostly from my grandmother, Nick's Mom. She doesn't do this first step, but she might start if I tell her how much it helps to penetrate and flavor the chicken.

I prep the chicken the night before. In a bowl I salt all the pieces, cover and refrigerate.

About an hour before I want to begin cooking, I remove the bowl from the refrigerator. After 30 minutes, I add in 2 eggs whisked with 1/2 C of milk (preferable whole milk), stir to coat all the chicken. While this sits I make the flour mixture in a large pyrex dish - 1 part bread crumbs to 2 parts flour, salt & pepper to taste (quite a bit of seasoning is needed - when you dip your finger in the flour mixture and taste, it should be salty). I dredge each piece in the flour mixture and place on a sheet pan with rack (I will use this same rack to drain the chicken after it's fried...There is no fear of cross-contamination as the whole sheet pan will go into the oven for 10-15 minutes at 350F). The chicken should sit on the rack for at least 15 minutes before you begin to fry - this helps the crust to set and it shouldn't separate from the skin and meat during cooking (Nick's mom does not do this consciously, rather she is slow and methodical in her cooking it just happened organically). The other thing that should prevent the crust from separating is bringing the chicken to room temperature.

I shallow fry in a cast iron skillet with peanut oil about 1/2 way up the side of the pan. Turn when brown, remove when brown to your liking on both sides. The chicken will continue to cook - both from residual heat and when you finish it off in the oven. When all the chicken is fried, place in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes (depending on your patience!).

While I had the fry station set up, I decided to try a recipe I had read in the Zuni Cafe Cookbook for Swiss Chard Fries - process is the similar - put the stems (only) into the egg, then flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Let the crust set for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Shallow fry until brown. The stems can be a little earthy in flavor, but it's a great way to use something that would normally be trash or compost.

We ate this with rice, sliced cucumbers and Fuji apples...This was the perfect Summer meal with EII Sauvignon Blanc.

Saturday Night Dinner - PIZZA

Pizza, Arugula w/Olive Oil, Lemon Juice & Parm & Tomatoes

Slice of Pizza with Prosciutto & Arugula

PIZZA DOUGH -

1 Packet Fleischmann's Yeast

6 C All Purpose Flour

3 tsp Salt

3 tsp Sugar

3 tsp Olive Oil

2 +/- C Warm Water

In the bowl of a mixer (I use a Kitchen Aid with a dough hook), put 1/4 C warm water and sprinkle in the yeast with a pinch of sugar. Stir to dissolve and let the yeast come alive - it will begin to bubble. Add in the next four ingredients and start the mixer on low speed. Gradually add in a cup of the water and then a 1/2 C more...You'll see if the flour will take all of the water or even more...The =/- is there because on some days you'll need more water and some days you'll need less - depends on a variety of things (like humidity or lack there of, water in the flour, etc.). Turn up the speed on the mixer and let it go for about 10 minutes...This will develop the gluten. Remove dough from bowl, olive oil the same bowl, put the dough back in and cover with a damp cloth. This can be made the night before and refrigerated at this point, or it could be left on the counter, or if needed sooner - it could be placed in a warmed oven (to the lowest setting) then turn off the oven and left to rise for about an hour. About 30 minutes before you want to start baking, preheat the oven to the highest setting. Divide the dough - depending upon the size pizzas you want to make 4-6. Roll into balls and let rest on a floured counter covered with the towel.

I use a combination of fresh mozzarella (sliced) and "low-moisture" mozzarella (grated). For sauce I use the liquid from a can of San Marzano Tomatoes.

I do not roll the dough with a rolling pin...I just stretch into the shape it wants to be made into. I sprinkle some flour on the peel, then add a couple spoonfuls of tomato juice/pulp, sprinkle on the grated mozzarella and place slices of mozzarella all around. Slide off of the peel onto a pizza stone

A few things that make this so much easier - I have a well-loved peel and a pizza stone.

Turkey w/Parmigiano Reggiano - THE SILVER SPOON

THE PHOTO DOES NOT DO THIS JUSTICE...IT IS DELICIOUS AND SO, SO EASY!!!!!!

Clockwise - Arugula w/Parm, diced tomatoes (center), "turkey & cheese", orecchiette

I often buy the turkey cutlets from Trader Joe's...I can saute them in olive oil for the kids or I can make them into turkey katsu (mayo, panko and shallow fry). Tonight the boys ate leftover brisket, but I had a whole package of turkey...Tomorrow night is dinner at Aki's with Poppy, Saturday I'm making pizza and Sunday, inspired by the Ad Hoc (Thomas Keller) and Pioneer Woman cookbook challenge, I will be making my fried chicken. Anyway, I either had to use the turkey or freeze it, so I opened THE SILVER SPOON cookbook (the cover says "Italy's best-selling cookbook for over 50 years & the bible of authentic Italian cooking"...don't own it? Get it!). I found a recipe that I had never tried - "TURKEY BREAST WITH CHEESE".

I cheat since I have the cutlets - I don't usually (EVER?) follow recipes...So I nixed the "pound the turkey steaks". I removed the cutlets from the packaging and salted them while they came to room temp. I preheat the oven to broil. About 30 minutes later I added pepper and dusted with flour. I heated a large, oven-proof saute pan (I really like All Clad!) with olive oil and added a pat of butter (the recipe just calls for butter). When browned on both sides, I splashed in a little wine (Sake actually...hey, it's what I had available!!!). Then shave Parmigiano Reggiano directly over the turkey and throw the whole pan under the broiler. When bubbly and beginning to brown I take it out and plate up.

Tonight I served with leftover orecchiette, arugula w/parm and diced tomatoes salt & peppered with a drizzle of olive oil. So yummy with EII Sauvignon Blanc - www.herblambvineyards.com

Brisket - PREP, BRAISING & A LE CREUSET

Braised Brisket, Roasted Carrots, Rice (hidden) & Arugula w/Shaved Parm

Brisket

I should have began this post two days ago when I prepped the brisket.

Day 1: I put a dry rub all over the 2 large pieces of brisket I picked up from Costco. Dry rub of your choice - anything that is suggested for beef and bbq...I always make sure there's enough (that means I add) salt, a little brown sugar and paprika. Refrigerate overnight.

Day 2: Remove meat from refrigerator, bring to room temp. Heat a pot - preferably one with a lid preferably a Dutch Oven preferably a Le Creuset (it does make a difference!!!) - add olive oil to coat the bottom. When nice and hot, add in the brisket (one at a time, if cooking more than one) and sear well on both sides (be patient!!!)...even if it burns a little it will still taste GREAT later/tomorrow! Remove meat from pot. Add in liquids (I vary this based on what I have around - this time it was red wine and chicken broth - other times it'll be beef broth, white wine, sake, water, beer, etc.) and deglaze the pan - stir the liquid in the pot and scrape browned bits of meat into the braising liquid. Rough chop an onion (I used a leek just because I had it and wanted to use it), garlic and a tomato (or a couple of small tomatoes), stir into the braising liquid. Add in the meat, turn off the heat and let cool, cover and refrigerate overnight...The real cooking will begin tomorrow.

Day 3: Begin at least 4 hours before you want to serve. Preheat oven to 350F. Remove Dutch Oven from the refrigerator and heat on the stove - bring to a boil. Simmer until the oven is preheated, then place in the oven and let it cook covered, checking every hour or so to make sure there is still enough liquid (should cover the meat by 1/2, leaving the top of the meat exposed). The two pieces I cooked fit side by side in the pot. It cooked for 3 hours. Remove pot from oven, uncover and remove meat from pot to a plate. Ladle the liquid through a strainer and into a bowl. Taste the liquid for seasoning...This will be the sauce/gravy that you add to the plate after the meat is sliced - I use the Dutch Oven to reheat the sauce (the French don't do their own dishes!). Everything can be held at this stage, so it is a great dish to serve when you're entertaining!

Tonight we ate it with rice, roasted carrots (from my MIL's farm box) and an arugula salad with parm. It was really delish with a bottle of EII Cabernet Sauvignon - www.herblambvineyards.com!!!