Meals Without Kids

In keeping up with the momentum of posting arbitrary images of my meals without my kids, here are a few leftover Las Vegas pictures and a couple from a holiday party at work. As for the Vegas snaps, the beau and I indulged in an all-you-can-eat sushi dinner capped off with two orders of salmon and tuna tartare and a caterpillar roll. The sushi was only "meh," so I won't post the name of the restaurant. The next day, I nabbed a breakfast sandwich with scrambled egg and bacon en route to McCarran International Airport (nothing to write home about, really, but again, I took a picture of it, so here it is)!

Also, interspersed in these random images are snaps of my work holiday lunch celebration at One Market and my entree of pan-seared flounder with black-eyed peas, grain mustard vinaigrette, and small herb salad, as well as the dessert, a duo of crème brûlée (vanilla and cappuccino) and solid biscotti cookies.

Working Eater Series: Popcorn, Elevated

Like most people, my "go-to" snack is popcorn. If it is not smothered in butter or margarine, laden with salt, or coated in a hard candy shell, it is a healthy, ethereal, and satisfying alternative to greasy and sugary snacks. And it usually is a staple in everyone's pantry! I usually try to air-pop my popcorn with dried corn kernels and a brown bag. All you need to do is fill a small paper lunch bag with 1/2 a cup of dried corn kernels, tightly fold or crumple it shut, and microwave it on high for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your microwave settings and when the popping sound decreases (just like the directions on the processed kind). Follow those directions, and you will have instant microwaved popcorn. For popcorn, do not resort to the artificially-flavored and carcinogenic popcorn brands of the Orville Redenbacher, Pop Secret, or Act II-persuasion.

However, plain popcorn is monotonous and buttered popcorn quickly gets tedious without something extra special to elevate it into "spectacular" territory.


For me, I love furikake, a slightly sweet and very umami/savory Japanese spice blend made of dried bonito fish flakes, seaweed, and other flavorings. If you are not familiar with furikake, think anchovies or fish sauce, but less salty and in a dried form. For a Japanese or Hawaiian-inspired popcorn snack, just add (1) slivers of nori (dried seaweed), (2) a couple of tablespoons of dried furikake seasoning, (3) several drops of dark sesame oil (very intensely flavored, so act with a judicious hand), and (4) a pinch or two of wasabi powder for the perfect flavor profile. You could also add salted peanuts too!


For a N'Awlins-inspired popcorn, dissolve a teaspoon or so of creole seasoning and a few dashes of Tabasco with a melted tablespoon of butter and quickly toss the mixture in with the popcorn and feast away!

For a South American-inspired popcorn, I usually just add salt, chile powder, and the juice of 1/2 a lime. This combo works with corn on the cob too, and it is divine!

I have also heard of additions of dried oregano, cumin, and parmesan cheese, but I have yet to try those flavor combos. Do you have any "spectacular" popcorn ideas to share? I would love to hear your suggestions!

In My Opinion...

As a featured publisher of Foodbuzz, Foodbuzz often sends me emails about their "Tastemaker Program," where they send free food samples to bloggers in exchange for honest feedback (and a blog post or two). Since I was trying to get back on the blog wagon and increase the frequency of my posts, I excitedly signed up for products from three companies: (1) Ghiradelli, (2) Kikkoman, and (3) Sargento. I actually purchase products from this companies on a regular basis (especially Kikkoman), so I was pretty confident I knew what I was dealing with. I enlisted my mother-in-law to be my wing-man (or wing-woman) and partner-in-crime (or partner-in-tasting). We tasted five products: (1) extra dark chocolate, (2) chocolate squares with roasted almonds and sea salt, (3) ginger-soy karage coating for fried poultry or fish, (4) muenster cheese, and (5) swiss cheese.


First, as to the chocolates, both my mother-in-law and I shared the same sentiments. The bitter extra dark chocolate had a rich and potent cacao bean flavor. Because we prefer milk chocolate, we enjoyed the lighter and milkier chocolate squares with the ethereal flecks sea salt and mini shards of almond. The salt intensified the richness of the chocolate, and the crunch from the almonds gave the creamy candies nice texture.


We will definitely purchase the sea salt-flavored Ghiradelli squares in the future, when this stash runs out. (The stash may or may not have already run out. Okay, who am I kidding, the stash already ran out the day I received it!)


Unfortunately, the disappointment of bunch was the Kikkoman karaage coating. Throughout my life, the only soy sauce product my family has used is Kikkoman. I honestly believe their soy sauce is the best Asian sauce on American shelves. It is dark, slightly transparent, and rich in luscious umami flavor. The burnt caramel-colored and liquid ebony sauce is painstakingly distilled and beautiful to behold. Therefore, based on my experience with their soy sauce, I was expecting the same for the karaage coating.

To its merit, this karaage mix makes cooking fried karaage chicken very easy. The box says it is ready in five minutes, and it truly is. All you need to do is empty the seasoned flour in your own bag (no bag is provided) and dredge some chicken or fish pieces in it. The coating did an awesome job of keeping the chicken juicy, ultra-moist, and flavorful on its own. However, I was really-really-really put off by the taste. They overdid it with the ginger flavor, so much that it reminded me of Pine Sol or household cleaning chemicals.


My mother-in-law agreed with my assessment.


Finally, as for the Sargento cheese, Foodbuzz asked us to compare sliced Sargento natural cheese
with processed cheese. So I purchased my favorite brand of processed cheese and Sargento's muenster and swiss.


I toasted a few "everything" bagels (with onions, rye seeds, sesame seeds, and more), placed a slice of each kind of cheese on the bagels, and then microwaved the cheese for 30 seconds in the microwave. I wanted to see whether the cheese could stand up to the powerful flavors of the bagel.


My mom-in-law and I were pleasantly surprised. We thought the cheese was "delicioso" on the bagels (I also fried some eggs for the bagels) and particularly liked the sharp twang from the swiss. It goes without saying that Sargento's natural cheese beat out the radioactive orange, high sodium processed cheese (although I do admit that I love that salty and perfectly meltable orange stuff, just as I love cheese in can and cheez whiz).

All in all, I'd say my mother-in-law and I had a pretty fun time bonding over our opinions about these new products, and would now buy a few of those products for ourselves on a regular basis. Have you tried these items? What do you think of them? And yes, you can now call me a "sell out."

Ranch Hand

This post is dedicated to finding food around the glorious Chinese supermarket, known to the public as "99 Ranch Market," but affectionately called "Ranch 99," by those who truly appreciate it. If you are from Southern California, then Ranch 99 runs through your veins, for you know that Ranch 99 sustains life on the earth. It sells a huge variety of seafood, Asian spices, frozen goods, ready-made foods, and other ingredients necessary for an Asian cook. Back in the old days, they used to mail you a 10% off coupon for your birthday and have a loyalty/frequent shopper card similar to those card programs with Safeway/Vons/Dominic's and Ralph's/Cala/Bell. I still have my Ranch 99 loyalty card, even though they discontinued the card program years ago. Only a crazed Ranch 99 fan would know these facts.

If you are a Ranch 99 fanatic, you often will know about reasonable eateries near any Ranch 99. Here is the scoop on a recent discovery of mine near the Ranch 99 in Daly City, when I was particularly hungry.

After a rigorous hour of shopping with the beau at Ranch 99 a few weeks ago in Daly City, our famished bodies could proceed no further. We therefore poked our hungry heads inside Majikku Ramen (a ramen restaurant located in the same indoor strip mall as Ranch 99) and decided to sit down to enjoy a bowl or two full of steaming, crinkled ramen noodles.

Since we were especially hungry, we started with a deep-fried appetizer of karaage chicken. These fritters (that are a Japanese version of America's chicken nuggets) never cease to provide me with oily gratification. The chicken chunks were battered and deep-fried until crisp and golden brown and served with a chilled and vinegary slaw. Majikku's version of karaage chicken was quite respectable, for the oil was neither stale nor foul, and the tender chicken was steaming hot.


Next, the beau and I shared a large bowl of their house-special tonkatsu ramen, which was rich, milky, and infused with the creamy flavor of pork bone marrow. The ramen was topped with thin slices of pork meat, bamboo, a garnish of small dried nori rectangles, half a boiled chicken egg, red pepper slivers, and minced scallions.


We also shared a creamy beef curry, with two types of root vegetable: carrots and potatoes. The beef fell apart into tendrils like chipped beef or pot roast. The curry seemed like a standard version of Golden Curry from the package, but was satisfying nonetheless. The soft, crimped ramen noodles were a luscious accompaniment to the curry gravy.


After our impromptu meal, I rushed home to check out Majikku Ramen online. I was surprised to see so many negative reviews on Yelp, since I thought that it was decent. Though a little on the pricier end of the spectrum for the quality of ramen, Majikku can deliver a satisfying meal for a hungry person who had been furiously shopping at Ranch 99.

Before I close out this post, I want to thank Phyllis from Me Hungry and Heavenly Housewife from Donuts to Delirium for presenting me with a "Sisterhood" award and April from the Life of an Everyday BBW for generously giving me the "I Love Your Blog" award. I wanted to pass the awards onto the following bloggers:

These ladies (and one gentleman, in the Duo Dishes) are true sisters (and a brother, again, I am referring to Duo Dishes), because of their encouraging comments, incredibly inspiring recipes and posts, and eye-popping photographs. They are beyond mere blog friends, but they are my blog family! Therefore, I wanted to pass along the Sisterhood Award to them, and thank them for their amazing blog content, unique perspective, and wonderful friendship. If you received this award, pass it along to 10 other bloggers!

• Deglaze Me
• The Duo Dishes
• The Food Gal
• The Life of an Everyday BBW
• Lisa Is Cooking
• Nook and Pantry
• Oishii Eats
• Pink Nest
• Rosa's Yummy Yums
• Sara's Kitchen
  

As for the "I Love Your Blog" award, since I received it a while back, I wanted to recognize five of my older blog friends who have been with me from the very beginning of my blog. I also want to recognize a couple of new friends too. These bloggers may not all be food bloggers, but they have always left kind comments for me and kept me blogging, even when I vowed that I would give up. As for the two new bloggers, I love their style of blogging and their charismatic flair. These are great bloggers, and best of all, great people. If you received this award, pass it along to 7 other bloggers.

• Christine-O
• Donuts to Delirium
• The Jesuit Gourmet
• A Movable Feast
• Me Hungry
• Rachel's Planet
• Small-Handed Adventures
  

Keep up the good work, blogging (or reading)!

Hot Pot, Translated Into My Language

When the beau and I went honeymooning in Europe, we took pains to eat what the locals ate. Thus, we refused to eat at eateries that served American, Mexican, or Asian food in Europe. First, such food was virtually guaranteed not to be good. Second, we could spend our money and fill the limited space in our stomachs with something much better, authentic European food. However, we did make a few slip-ups. In Switzerland, one evening, at a restaurant called Raclette Stube, we ordered their meat fondue, expecting an authentic "Swiss" dish.


When the meal arrived to our table, we were disappointed to discover that the meat fondue (which cost around 40 Swiss francs a head) or "fondue chinois," was simply a version of steamboat hot pot that is served in every-Chinatown, USA.

But thankfully, there were unique Swiss additions to the Chinese fondue. There were (1) creamy fingerling potatoes steaming in a towel-wrapped wicker basket; (2) sweetly brined cornichons (gherkins), pearl onions, and baby corns with a vinegary bite; (3) crisp Swiss potato chips, and (4) a beautiful variety of mayonnaise and aioli dipping sauces made with curry, dijon, and horseradish.


In addition to these interesting Swiss additions, I noticed several differences between Swiss "fondue chinois" and the "fondue chinois" that I eat in America. The Swiss restaurant did not provide a bowl or spoon to enjoy the meat broth in the fondue pot (I merely was given a two-pronged fork) and there were no vegetables, seafood, noodles, or meatballs to cook alongside the thin slices of meat.


My Swiss hot pot experience drew me closer to my own previous hot pot experiences, and reminded me of how I enjoyed hot pot at home the most. Furthermore, because of my rigid, cheapskate upbringing, my wallet has always been uneasy about restaurant hot pot. (If you're unfamiliar with hot pot, see my previous post on hot pot, here, where I explain this soup meal that you cook in and eat from a communal pot. You cook the quick-cooking raw meats and vegetables in a boiling soup, and quickly remove them to prevent overcooking.) A part of me cannot get over the concept of going to a restaurant to cook your own meal. Hey, I pay for someone to do that for me, and that makes me feel special for the evening!

I earnestly believe that hot pot is best done at home. Communal cooking encourages real social collaboration. I love seeing how ambitious guests take charge and step up to the plate--err, I mean pot! Hot pot can also be as mesmerizing as a Broadway production, replete with swirling steam emanating upward from the boiling pot and sizzling and spitting burner grates. But by far, the best part about entertaining with hot pot is that you allow your guests do the work, rather than laboriously toiling away with your back hunched over relentless, sweltering, and glowing spiral burners. Thus, by serving hot pot, you avoid any burn marks branded on your fingers and a lot of stress!

For hot pot, you need a table top butane bunsen burner or electrical hot plate. A table top heating source is a great investment for a working entertainer because it can be used for cheese and chocolate fondue and Korean barbecue (use a grill pan such as a cast iron pan that will retain heat for grilling, though). Such a table top heat source is critical for keeping the food piping hot, as any good caterer will tell you.

Although the "one pot" cooking method isn't conducive for catering to the whims of finicky eaters, check out your local Chinatown for "divided hot pots," which allow you to heat multiple types of broth in the same gurgling cauldron. Each divided pot section may hold alternative soup bases such as (1) a light, refreshing, and cleansing broth or (2) a spicy, nasal-piercing, and magma-hued stock, seasoned with fiery chilies.

Simplicity prevails in hot pot preparation. Hot pot entails only (1) the making of a soup base, (2) the gathering together of ingredients for each person's dipping sauce, and (3) the cleaning and chopping the vegetables. Here are some suggested hot pot ingredients:

Stock Base - Lace your stock or broth base with the one or more of following pungent ingredients for a highly memorable flavor:

• Fresh Ginger (Bruised)
  
• Miso Paste
• Cumin Powder
• Dried Red Chilies (Whole or Powdered)
• Szechuan Peppercorns
• Star Anise
• Five Spice Powder
• Bonito Fish Flakes
• Dried Taro Strips
• Bay Leaves
  

Dipping Sauce - Allow guests to dip their meat and other cooked hot pot ingredients in a variety of sauces made of three or more of the following ingredients:

• Soy Sauce
• Sesame Oil
• Rice Wine Vinegar
• Honey
  
• Chicken Eggs
• Sa-Cha Jiang (Taiwanese Barbecue Sauce made of Anchovies)
• Minced Garlic
• Sliced Scallions
• Chopped Cilantro
• Ground Sesame Paste (Japanese Goma)
• Ponzu Sauce
• Mayonnaise (Flavored with Curry Powder, Horseradish, or Dijon Mustard, in the Swiss Meat Fondue-Style)

Ingredients List - Next, the following ingredients should be the primary substance in your hot pot meal. Feel free to add:

• Thinly Sliced Daikon Radish
• Thinly Sliced Carrots
• Shiitake Mushrooms
• Enoki Mushrooms
• Straw Mushrooms (Canned)
  
• Soft Tofu (Blocks or Skin)
• Cellophane Mung Bean Noodles (Individual Bundles)
• Yam Noodles (Individually Self-Tied Bundles)
• Udon Noodles
• Shell-On Shrimp (Fresh or Dried)
  
• Squid
• Springy Precooked Asian Meatballs (Shrimp, Squid, Fish, Beef, Pork)
• Thinly Sliced Meat (Beef, Lamb, Goat, Pork, Chicken)
• Leafy Vegetable Greens (Napa Cabbage, Chrysanthemum Greens, Spinach)
  
• Frozen Dumplings or Wontons
  

In the end, after assembling the ingredients and watching your guests cook their (and your meal) you should be greeted with a rich caramel brown-colored broth surrounded by tender sheets of thinly sliced meat (such as rib-eye) poached until small meat ridges have peaked and the edges have curled. With those visual meat cues, the meat is done and the guests are now free to steep their meat and vegetables in a sweetened soy marinade, and shower their hot pot meal with a generous helping of angular scallions sliced on a bias.


Depending on your other ingredients, you and your guests might also enjoy crisp patches of nori (seaweed paper) which become absorbent floating blankets, wispy tendrils of poached egg, smooth-skinned dumplings with soft and uniform pleats, or circular curls of pinkened shrimp.


So to review, here's the game plan for hot pot:
Step #1 Prepare ample amounts of broth ahead of time and keep it on a low simmer during food preparation. Keep a large stockpot simmering on the range and keep refilling the table top pot with the liquid contents of the large stockpot, as you run low on soup on the table top pot.
Step #2 Defrost the meat and seafood (if frozen). When purchasing meat for hot pot, look for meat with thick white segments of fat encompassing the edges or interspersed in the meat like gargantuan continents (in a meat map of the world). The more fat, the more luscious and rich the flavor of the soup and tender the meat.


Step #3 Prepare the vegetables and tofu by (1) washing and leafing the greens, (2) peeling and slicing the daikon and carrots, (3) chopping the garlic, cilantro, and scallions, and (4) dicing the tofu into bite-sized blocks.


Step #4 Lay out the ingredients for the sauces.

Step #5 Set up the bowls, chopsticks, soup spoons, and spider ladles or regular ladles. For a cute touch, you can even label the different plates of meat and place settings (to give the guests a sense of ownership during their hot pot cooking process). They choose what meats go in, and when, so hot pot is definitely "cooked" by your guests.


Step #6 During your hot pot dinner, give verbal instructions to the guests to move the cooked pieces of meat to a specified, cooler area of the pot, or another "serving" bowl entirely, to prevent cross-contamination. Also provide multiple sets of metal scalloped-edged tongs (or spider strainers, which can be purchased in a Chinatown near you), to be sure that no one person monopolizes the hot pot and to allow each of the guests to be equally involved in cooking.

Finally, some hot pot fanatics say that it is a "must" to have ready-made foods at the guests' immediate disposal because of the lag time of cooking hot pot. Therefore, following the Korean and Swiss traditions, you may offer multiple "pickled" side dishes (panchan) with your hot pot, none of which need to be prepared from scratch. Buy canned or jarred preserved vegetables, or think about frozen and microwavable versions of steamed buns. You can even order side dishes to go! But I think the pickled additions are the way to go, since they lend a palatable and acerbic crispness and pleasant vinegar tartness to accompany the warm and soothing hot pot soup. And the pickles are addictive and delicious little snacks easily pinched between the tapered ends of a pair of lengthened and slender chopsticks. Now, I am not one who generally extols the virtues of premade goods, but as an entertainer, you'll need as much assistance you can get, and if the assistance is from factory laborers or automated, mass-producing, pre-packaging food machinery, so be it!

The only drawback of hot pot is the multiple dishes that you'll need to wash after the night is through. The upside however, is that you will have amassed a plentiful collection of petite, shatterprone dishes, although disposal ware should do.

Hope these hot pot tips helped, or at least inspired you do have a hot pot party for your friends in the future!

Ladies Lunch in Fillmore and Japantown

A few weeks ago, I met with a friend of mine for a leisurely lunch. We deliberately left our schedule open, for we planned on doing nothing except enjoying each other's company. We wanted to spend our day aimlessly browsing the designer shops, contentedly window shopping, and delightfully gazing at the idyllic scenery in hazy San Francisco.

My friend and I met at one of my favorite San Francisco restaurants, La Mediterranee. There, I ordered the lunch special, which came with a creamy, silken yogurt soup to start. The decadent and lemony soup invigorated my palate, and whetted my appetite for more. The taste and consistency of the soup reminded me of a homey cream of broccoli soup. For my main dish, I enjoyed a protein trio consisting of (1) chicken pomegranate, a fall-of-the-bone dark meat drumstick marinated, basted, and slowly baked in a sweet and slightly acidic pomegranate sauce with wild herbs, (2) a crisp filo levantine meat tart filled with lean ground beef and toasted pine nuts, and (3) chicken cilicia seasoned with cinnamon-spiced chicken and served over golden rice pilaf tossed with crispy almond slivers, chickpeas, and raisins. The chicken cilicia also came in a golden-brown filo wrapper, and exhibited a perfect balance of complimentary sweet, sour, and savory flavors with the hot chickeny interior and sweet dusting of powdered sugar. I also enjoyed the pillowy wedges of warm pita, which I dipped in a small mound of tahini-rich hummus.


After our filling and satisfying meal, we stopped by Dosa, a trendy and new Indian restaurant, to appreciate the luxuriously designed restaurant space, which oddly was once occupied by Goodwill. The vividly colored hanging chandeliers glittered and sparkled with their feathery and beaded outgrowths. We decided to order some refreshments, and I went with the sweet mango lassi, which had a hint of mint and a rich, smooth, custardy consistency.


As we wandered from shop to shop, we made our last stop in Japantown. First, we visited the Hotel Kabuki, to visit their beautiful tea garden and watch the peaceful koi fish eagerly encircle the whispering waterfall. Next, we stopped by San Francisco's Benkyodo Co., where we snacked on their "manju of the month," a sticky rice flour mochi cake filled with supple marshmallow and chocolate filling. As we dusted the sweet manju flour from our lips, we took a last stroll around Japantown, and a few hours later, concluded our restful and enjoyable mini-tour of San Francisco.


I hope my day gave you some ideas of where to visit if you ever come to San Francisco. All of these places are within walking distance of one another!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' Down the River

After reading Pioneer Woman's three-part series on sushi, my husband and I were inspired to make some homemade rolls ourselves. That, and we also had a huge produce bag of avocados leftover from the Super Bowl, which were perfect for some California roll lovin'.


I freely admit that I don't know jack-diddly or bo-diddly about how to roll sushi well or even elegantly, for that matter. Furthermore, I didn't fully comprehend the extent of my "sushi ignorance" until I married my beau, who was raised on weekly trips to sushi restaurants. I, myself, was raised on homemade sushi made from canned ingredients and scrambled eggs. But, I have learned a few lessons as a sushi rolling novice, the hard way, that I think would be prudent to share openly.

#1. "Great taste, less filling"
Go against your natural instincts to stuff sushi until it is bursting at the seams. Avoid the "overstuffed burrito" look. Sushi rolls are hard to roll, and they are even harder to roll if the slippery ingredients spill out and can't be contained by the delicate seaweed wrapper. Don't worry, even with a little bit of the ingredients, the sushi roll will taste wonderful. Be especially judicious with the sushi rice. You honestly just need coat the nori (seaweed paper) with a thin layer a few rice niblets in depth.

#2. When in doubt, use the full sheet of nori (seaweed)
You don't need to impress others on your first try. (And I have tried to impress the beau many times with my faux sushi rolling skills, with disastrous results.) Despite what the recipes and food blogs say, try rolling with a full sheet, as opposed to a half sheet. Even if you are rolling an inside-out roll! When you have sufficiently mastered the (difficult) art of rolling with a full sheet, then try rolling with a half sheet.

#3. Sushi as a group effort
There are going to be a lot leftovers. On your first several attempts to roll sushi, do it with friends and family so that you can eat the "rolling mishaps" together. If you are like me, you will be stuffed to the brim by the time you are starting to get the hang of sushi rolling because there will be a lot of "mistake rolls."


#4. Raw doesn't have to be the rage
When I was living in New Orleans, one of my co-workers (who was in his 50s) had never had sushi before. Therefore, the thought of eating raw fish was beyond reprehensible to him. Because I had lived in California (where sushi is everywhere), his fears were incomprehensible to me. But I thought about his adversity to sushi and remembered my childhood of growing up in Arizona, and my own animosity towards raw meats and seafood. I too was a late sashimi bloomer.

Even though the ethereal and delicate taste of supple and tender sashimi (raw fish) is unrivaled, if you too scared to try it, that's okay. Just know that "sushi" is not synonymous with "raw fish." If you are a sushi virgin who is recalcitrant towards raw fish, don't fret, you can experience good sushi made with vegetables (like vegetarian sushi with pickled carrots) and wholly cooked protein ingredients, like scrambled eggs. Don't let fears inhibit you from ever trying sushi at all!

#5. "Meat" in the middle
When you roll sushi, you always want the filling to be in the middle of the roll. Therefore, when using a full sheet of nori, line the sushi filling close to the edge nearest you. When using a half sheet of nori, line the sushi filling smack dab in the middle of the sheet.

#6. Sticky hands
When you roll sushi, you are going to start feeling like a cat that gets its paws stuck on a piece of masking tape, you'll be "stuck in a bind." Basically, you will get little bits of sticky rice all over your hands. Use a clean rice paddle or serving spoon reserved specifically for scraping off the sticky rice niblets from your sushi making paws. If you use fish roe for your sushi (and if you are like me), you will also get these little orange fish eggs everywhere too. A metal spoon comes in handy for scraping these little buggers away.

#7. Sharpen your mind, and your sushi knife
Many sushi teachers will tell you to moisten your knife with water before cutting into the sushi. The moistness helps the knife to break through the nori. During my sushi making sessions, I keep a damp paper towel on hand for moistening my knife. The wet paper towel also helps me to wipe off the sticky residue left on the knife by the rice. However, a dull knife won't help you at all when cutting through your sushi rolls. You need a nicely sharpened knife, otherwise, you'll get nowhere fast (or smushed sushi filling everywhere).

#8. "Mr. Cellophane, shoulda been my name,"
If you are making inside-out rolls, plastic cellophane, a sushi mat, and sesame seeds will make a world of difference. Simply put, you won't get rice everywhere if you use cellophane. First, wrap your sushi mat in cellophane and then spread sushi rice on one side of the nori. Then, sprinkle sesame seeds on the rice layer, before flipping the rice-side down onto the cellophane-wrapped sushi mat. Then, add the filling, and roll it up!


#9. Enough! Rice?
I always run out of sushi rice, and have way too much sushi filling leftover. Make sure you make enough rice (in my experience, 1 1/2 cups of dry and uncooked rice per person) for your sushi rolling session.

#10. Squeeze, squeeze!
Finally, although you don't need a sushi mat, you do need to have squeezing power in your fists to make sure all of the rice niblets and seaweed wrapper adhere together. Use force when rolling your sushi. And more power to you!

I hope you put these sushi making tips to good use. Feel free to comment and leave your own! Good luck in your sushi making endeavors!

Adopting Obama's Platform of Change

You are going to see some changes around here, starting today.

First, I am going to be doing more cooking posts. In fact, that is the reason that I started my blog in October 2005, though it hasn't been apparent from all the restaurant posts.

Second, I am going to start using larger images.


I hope you enjoy the changes! Oh, and the killer sushi spread is from Miyabi Sushi in SF.

What Happens in Vegas, Goes to Straight to My @$$

Before I moved to New Orleans, I promised to say good-bye to the Western United States the proper way. Thus, I stayed for a week in the Wynn Hotel and Casino. Unfortunately, I paid for it dearly. Both out-of-pocket and straight-onto-my-behind.

My entire experience can be summed up into thirteen eloquent words: "I friggin' ate Kobe beef and foie gras in one day! Whoa mama!" Despite these articulate words, PETA would have had a field-day on my face if they knew what I consumed at Vegas.

When a friend and I first arrived at the Wynn, my friend and I began our day with a few simple breakfast items. A spot of tea. Some fresh fruit. And a breakfast bagel. Quite good, but nothing blogworthy.

We followed up on our uneventful breakfast with a late lunch at Okada, a nice (but not entirely "upscale") restaurant in the Wynn. There, we temporarily appeased our voracious appetites with a warm bowl heaping with salted edamame beans. We pulled the edamame pods between the rows of our clenched teeth and munched heartily on the firm and verdant legumes, in eager anticipation of our next course.

For me, I stuck to the not-so-basic, and daringly ordered seared foie gras with barbequed eel, braised daikon, and leek-miso mustard.

Now I am not an avid fan of foie gras, but I actually was hypnotized by the contrasting textures of the duck liver. The foie gras was creamy and supple in the interior, yet caramelized and hardened at the edges. It was not grainy, tough, or overcooked, but possessed a subtle, milky, and custard-like texture. Unfortunately, the foie gras was a tad overpowered by a sodium-enriched liquid, which seemed as if it mainly consisted of soy sauce, soy sauce, and concentrated soy sauce. The alleged "mustard" was undetectable to my naked taste buds. However, the softened cubes of braised daikon and the intricate rectangles of crisp noodle skins were delicious accompaniments.

My friend and I shared the Chilean sea bass in a yuzu-soy sauce with braised taro and wild mushrooms. The sea bass came wrapped in parchment paper that had been twisted at the ends into a savory package reminiscent of a hard peppermint candy. As I opened the paper package, I was greeted with soft and gentle billows of steam. The fish meat was delicate and tender and it trembled slightly with the smallest disturbance. As excellent fish does, it melted in my mouth like a snowflake melts on one's tongue.

However, our day of sinful indulgence and decadence was not over yet. For dinner, my friend and I ambled on over to The Country Club: A New American Steakhouse, in the Wynn. There, I started with an appetizer of sea scallops and roasted artichokes bathing gently in a sweet pea ver jus. The scallops looked like amusingly stumpy marshmallows, and were tender and fresh with the essence of the sea. Similarly, the texture of the artichoke hearts was akin to that of a warm and fluffy baked potato.

But the most memorable item of the entire Vegas trip was my main dish that evening: I ordered a five-ounce serving of kobe beef (off the menu).

That evening, my Kobe beef cherry was popped.

I remember letting the first bite-sized portion of Kobe beef sit in my mouth without chewing. As greasy, yet immaculately tender portion of meat sat motionless in my mouth. Like a child with a tablespoon of goopy Robitussin in her mouth, I didn't know whether to swallow or let it sit there. I didn't want to do either.

Thankfully, I can't adequately describe what eating Kobe beef is like. But it actually wasn't a pleasant experience for me. Imagine scooping up a spoonful of butter that has been sitting on the counter that day and smearing it all over the walls of your mouth. Or squeezing a piece of spongy, oil-saturated bread into a fist-sized ball and swallowing it one whole gulp. Weird? Definitely. But I promise you my friends, that is what Kobe beef tastes like. And for even for a Passionate Eater, 5 ounces was too much.