January 5, 2010 - Kimchi quesadilla and kalbi
January 3, 2010 - Homemade linguine with chorizo clam sauce
Fresh pasta is made with 2 ingredients: flour and eggs. Simple yet delicious! I really wish there were more Italian restaurants that actually use fresh pasta...
Making fresh pasta means that I can't just dump on pasta sauce out of a jar, so I looked for something special. This recipe was not the typical clam sauce that you imagine - the chorizo definitely added a kick to it!
January 3, 2010 - お雑煮 (Ozouni)
Happy new year!
A new year in my mind cannot be complete without having "ozouni", which is a traditional Japanese soup with mochi (sticky rice cake), vegetables, and dashi (stock). What you put in the soup depends on the part of the country you're from, which is Nagoya in my case. Ozouni from Nagoya is known for its light flavour and simple ingredients. For the first time I made dashi from scratch, using katsuo (bonito flakes), and konbu (kelp), and like anything made from scratch, it was well worth the time. It was a comforting start to the new year.
December 21, 2009 - Chicken and chanterelles on spinach and wild rice
Rice is a staple in my diet and I have many types of rice in my cabinet - Japanese rice, Indian basmati, Thai jasmine, and arborio. This is the first time I tried wild rice, but I also learned that wild rice is not actually rice but instead categorized as a type of grass. The recipe called for a lot of fresh chanterelles, which is hard to find in normal grocery stores and expensive if they do exist. I used dried chanterelles and it still made a very tasty dish.
December 20, 2009 - Chocolate soufflé
This year I had my first chocolate souffle. I ordered it for dessert at a restaurant, but the funny thing is that I don't remember which restaurant it was or what the rest of the meal was like. All I remember is the chocolate souffle that was warm, lightly puffed up at the top, and melt-in-your-mouth inside. It was love at first bite. I tried to find a recipe that was close to this as possible. I found this recipe and successfully made a puffed up souffle, but it wasn't as melt-in-your-mouth as I wanted it to be, so I think I will try another one next time.
December 19, 2009 - Almond crusted halibut crystal symphony
Not sure why the recipe is called this, but the symphony part definitely describes the beurre blanc, which is the hot butter sauce you see on the halibut. I think the sauce would work perfectly on other types of white fish as well. When I imagine French cooking, I always imagine fancy sauces that take hours to make, but this one is simpler than it looks!
December 16, 2009 - La noche de España
Patata Bravas - one of the most common tapas, fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce.
"Spanish chicken" - I'm not sure what makes this "Spanish".. It's like saying Greek salad except people wouldn't know what to expect when they hear Spanish chicken.
Some stuffed olives, marinated artichokes, and Gypsy salami (all store-bought) to complete the tapear experience. I miss Spain.
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