Vanessa Loves Star Trek

Ok, so Star Trek isn't food but I loved the flick, it's coming out on DVD...and ever since Alias, I have been a fan of J.J. Abrams.

I have been enjoying Star Trek since before it became a franchise but I am not as fanatical as other Trekkies. For instance, I've been told that my cousin has recreated the bridge of the Enterprise in one of the rooms of his house...now that's a man cave.

Anyway, in honor of movie-time, here's a homemade version of the popular Hurricane Popcorn that I can only seem to find in stores in Hawaii. Now you can make it at home.

Take:
1 bag popped microwave popcorn (or pop 1/4 c. of kernals on stovetop)
3 TBL melted butter
1-1/4 c. arare/kakimochi (bite-sized Japanese rice crackers)
1/4 c. furikake

Shake in a 2 qt. plastic bag or a large popcorn bowl with lid. Feel free to increase the amount of butter, it would be more in line with the original recipe. Besides, you have to compensate for all the butter that will stick to the bag/container, right?

Oh, and if you don't like rice crackers, you can sub in wasabi peas or peanuts.

So enjoy with your favorite movie, perhaps Star Trek...uh, tomorrow.

Leftover...Cookies?

You read correctly. Halloween was slow here in the new neighborhood. Danno and I had purchased a mega box of Reese's mini peanut butter cups, then we were given more miniatures "just in case."

I needed to figure out a way to save us from ourselves. We were eating the equivalent of 4 (or more) whole candy bars everyday. Those miniatures are really too easy to eat but our trash can full of wrappers can tell no lies.

We were invited to a dinner party tonight and my buddy asked me to make dessert. I have seen similar cookies with candy Kisses. Surely I could adapt it to work for peanut butter cups...these are two dozen peanut butter cup cookies. Basically I used a half recipe of Toll House chocolate chip cookie dough sans the chips (and I substituted the AP flour with whole wheat flour...hey, it makes me feel better about dessert). They were baked at 350*F in a mini muffin pan for 9-10 minutes. I removed them from the oven and pressed in a mini cup until it was enveloped by the cookie but not overwhelmed by it. They went back into the oven for 3-4 minutes.

I got excited and tried to take one out immediately. C'mon, you would have too. But they need to cool completely before they can be removed whole--think chewy chocolate chip cookie.

The furnace installation guys really liked them (they cooled enough just as they were leaving) as did the dinner party hosts and their friends. I'm hoping I won't have to wait until next Halloween in order to make these leftover cookies again.

Peking Thigh

My mother-in-law, Joan, made Peking duck while my mom was visiting. She had done it years ago and wanted to try again. It was delicious. We ate it too quickly for me to have taken a picture.

Then she got an idea to try it with turkey thigh. The dark meat of the turkey thigh was surprisingly similar in taste and texture to duck except that it was much leaner.

Peking duck traditionalists will miss the fowl lipids but the skin held all the goodness from the sauce. Also, the meat to skin ratio skewed in the opposite direction (if you've ever eaten duck, you know what I mean) so maybe this ends up being healthier.

Anyway, I don't know how to make this, I just wanted to tempt your tummies. She made the Mandarin pancakes too. Very handy lady. I stir fried the bok choy. Hey, I had to do something.

I do know that making the duck involved boiling it in a sweet, gingery sauce, then hanging it dry and drip, then roasting it. Apparently, turkey thighs are less messy and intense since Joan could dry it on a rack in the refrigerator instead of hanging it from the curtain rod in the shower.

The only problem was that the thigh is so much thicker than any part of a duck that the meat closest to the bone just tasted like moist turkey.

I'm sure she'll try it again. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Taking Stock in Making Stock

Ok, so this doesn't save you time and it may not save you any money unless you get the bones for free but it tastes phenomenal.

In culinary school, we made stock every day and every time we were supposed to skim off the fat and scum from the top as it simmered. I don't do that anymore, not with beef broth anyway. It's dark. It's brown. As long as it's rich and flavorful, 99% of people tasting the broth won't know that I didn't meticulously skimmed the scum...most of which gets filtered out by the strainer and cheesecloth anyway.

For beef stock, roasting the bones and adding a little tomato paste are key. If you don't, the results will be devastatingly bland. The caramelization of the bones gives it depth and flavor. The acid in the tomato helps to break down the collagen into gelatin which gives the stock richness.

They say the ratio is 5:1, bones to mirepoix (the French trifecta of 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot, 1 part celery). I know it's a lot of math--I approximate, it's a culinary art after all not a science. The amount of water you add is as much as is necessary to cover everything in the pot.

Roast bones in 450*F oven on sheet pan or cookie sheet until brown, turning occasionally for even roasting. When done, add to pot. Place chopped veggies on the same tray and put in oven to roast a bit, mix in 1-2 TBL tomato paste (I've used ketchup in a pinch). The liquid and steam from the veggies will actually help deglaze the pan. When done, add that to the pot and use a spatula to scrape the fond (nice brown bits of flavor) from the pan into pot. Cover completely with cold water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 6-24 hours.

I like to do this an hour before bedtime. Then I finish up the next morning before work or if I'm feeling daring (or "running behind"), that night after work (adding water if necessary so that water line does go below food line while I'm away). To finish, I get a large pot suspend a strainer lined with cheesecloth on the rim and scoop in the stock, bones into it.

The stock is amazingly rich and those bones hold a surprising amount of fat that will solidify on top as it cools. Use it for cooking or discard in trash after it's cool (don't pour it down the drain unless you like dealing with plumbing problems). 5 lbs. of bones yields about 3-4 quarts.

I used bones from pasture-raised beef. You can't find that on the shelves of the grocery store. That's why I did it. It makes the house smell yummy, too, but this task is not for everyone.

You Kraut Do It

It's easy. Shred some cabbage. For every 5 lbs. Sprinkle and mix in 3 TBL of salt in a large bowl. Let it sit for a few minutes and the salt will extract moisture from the cabbage making its own brine.

Transfer to a gallon container (pickling crock or food-safe plastic container), pressing down as you go. I used glass jar, covered it with cheesecloth and weighted it down. I used a smaller glass container filled with water. Others have used a large, clean rock (that's been sanitized by boiling).

Store in a cool, dry place (but not the fridge...it's a retarded fermenter, I mean, it slows fermentation). Every day or so, check on it and remove the scum from the top. It will be ready in 3-6 weeks. It's up to you and your tastes. Then you can put in fridge or can it. Although "fresh" kraut has an amazing number of live cultures, so if you can (or preserve) it then you basically kill all that good stuff. I bet you it would still be tons better than the stuff you buy in the store though.

Good luck. That's my first batch when it was a week old. It is now a week gone!

Kids Test Kitchen

This is my young friend, Zoe. Together we rolled out some home-made fettuccine, which literally means "little ribbons" in Italian. I guess maybe we made "fettuccina" since Zoe wanted extra long pasta.

I couldn't convince her to make them "regular" length because it was "super" pasta. There is something really awesome about teaching children how to cook. None of my culinary school buds had that much enthusiasm when learning how to make pasta and neither did my comrades-in-arms at Lucques.

Apparently Zoe's specialty is fruit salad. She preps with a butter knife so the salad usually consists of soft things like bananas, canned peaches, and sometimes grapes or berries. Once she made me a side of carrot sticks and chopped almonds...also cut with the butter knife. Now, that's some resolve.

After a long day's work, it's all you can do to pick up the phone to order delivery pizza for dinner. But once a week or every other week, think about making food with your kid(s). It's good for everyone! Just look at little sis, Neve, enjoying the fruits of our labor.

If they are under 10 y.o., some easy things you can do are pizza dough or bread, pasta, tossing a salad, mashing potatoes, or shaking heavy cream into butter. Email me if you need recipes or ideas!

Hey, at age 7, my cousin Jenny asked me if I wanted an "egg in a frame" for breakfast. 5 minutes later she delivered a plate with a fried egg embedded in a toast frame. There were no shells. It was one of the nicest breakfasts I've ever had...and she had to pull out her step-stool from the bathroom to do it.

Teach 'em young, you might be able to sleep in some mornings and maybe even get breakfast in bed. Wouldn't that be nice?

Scottish Egg Brings Me Back

I don't even remember the last time I blogged. I'm not even going check. I will be embarrassed. Instead, I will talk about the culinary treat that brings me back to my food writing roots:

The Scottish Egg.









Have you ever tried one of these? It was love at first bite. It's a hard-boiled egg encased in sausage then breaded and deep fried. The only thing it's missing is bacon.

Thanks to Zach for ordering it and offering a piece. And thanks to Horse Brass Pub on SE Belmont and 46th for your super hot fryer!

Destination: Park Kitchen

Happy birthday to me. Danno took me to Park Kitchen for my birthday back in April. This is what I love about Portland...many of the dining establishments have seasonal menus! Living in Southern California helps one forget that there are actual seasons...it's always sunny, the leaves don't change colors and the sky, well, is always the same color (I won't say what color...).

This is not to say that So Cal restaurants don't have seasonal menus. Lucques (where I learned from the best) always has a Market salad and procures from the Santa Monica Farmers Market. But Portland has a strong Locavore movement. Maybe it's more apparent to me because Portland just isn't as expansive of an area as say, the Los Angeles Basin.

Anyway, on to Park Kitchen...it was a quiet night for them. This destination spot sometimes overflows with patrons waiting at the bar to be seating. That night, we were one of maybe four parties after 8pm. The previous Friday was apparently similarly unbusy but the Tuesday before was super busy. The economy is a crazy inconsistent creature.

Everything sounded so delicious that we decided not to decide and ordered the "Tasting Menu." It's the chef's selections for the day or night, as in our case. Let's start at the top...

Sizzling baby octopus...sauteed in butter, butter and more butter. The server recommended that we save the bread for last, in order to dip it into the buttery goodness at the bottom of the skillet. We listened to him the rest of the night.

Farm egg, braised leeks, nettles and duck ham...yeah, duck ham. I'm not the biggest fan of nettle but in combination with the creamy egg, tender leeks, and the flavorful duck oink, it was quite tasty.

You might not be able to tell, because I couldn't until I bit into it but that's a clam salad. Razor clams, celery root remoulade and ham to be precise. There was a surprising repetition of seemingly similar ingredients (clam, nettle, ham-ness) in the tasting menu but everything was refreshing. The julienned razor clam was tender and is warming me up to the larger clam's texture.

Nettle fettucini, saffron braised cipollini and clams was a surprise. I usually enjoy my smaller clams tossed in black bean sauce and my green pasta is usually spinach, so imagine my surprise when this plate arrived at the table. The fettucini was a tad more bitter than the standard green pasta but was nicely balanced by the mild cipollini onions.

Then we had Nic's sprouted salad with quinoa crunch. Apparently Nic is one of the cooks and grows sprouts in his garden. The salad reminded me of the Magic Mix from Jazzy Sprouts (sold at many So. Cal. farmers markets). The quinoa crunch was a thin, sweet cracker. It was simple and might have been my favorite part of the meal.

We finished the meal with a sticky date pudding with whipped yogurt and sesame and a rhubarb consumme, hibiscus, goat cheese panna cotta. I wasn't too crazy about the rhubarb or hibiscus but I loved the panna cotta. The other dessert ironically did not stick in my mind.

For us, the meal was definitely better than the dessert. It was a slow night for them so I hope that business picks up again for them this summer because it is a definite destination spot.

Yummy Romesco

When I was traveling in Spain, my first stop was Barcelona. That was where I first tasted a romesco sauce. It's a nut-based sauce that goes really well with the abundance of seafood in Catalonia, that northeast region of Spain.

I have such fond memories of that trip...I love to re-live some by making my own romesco. I like mine on the thicker side so that I can use it as a stuffing. I can always add more oil to thin it out into a dipping sauce.

Romesco Dressing
1 c. hazelnuts, toasted
1 c. almonds, toasted
3 cloves garlic, rough chop
3 ancho chilis, soaked in warm water until soft, then seeded and patted dry
1 TBL smoked paprika
2 c. roasted tomato
3 1" thick slices of bread, fried in oil or toasted
3 c. olive oil
2 TBL parsley, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
salt, to taste

In a heavy saute pan, heat 3 TBL oil and cook chilis for 5 mins. In food processor, blend nuts, garlic, bread cubes by pulsing the machine. When ground together, add chilis and pulse for another min. Then add roasted tomato and parsley. With machine running, slowly add enough of the remaining oil to make a smooth emulsion. Season to taste with lemon juice and salt.

Use less chilis and/or paprika if too spicy.

Buen Apetito!

Memories of Those Passed

It's strange that as I get older I know of more people dying. Maybe it's because when I was 6 y.o. I only knew maybe 30 people. Now, 30-some-odd years later, so many more people have touched my life.

Mama Lee's mama (my grandmother) passed away earlier this week and the father of my good friend, Rose, passed last week Thursday.

My grandmother lived in China, Hong Kong, and Canada, raised four kids mostly on her own, and could seriously crochet. How different her life was from mine. Unfortunately I didn't know her very well since she lived in Canada all my life. Neither of us traveled back and forth much and my Cantonese is so bad that telephone calls were awkward at best. I do remember the times that we did spend together...I remember a lot of dim sum, some serious snoring on her part, and when we were all in Vancouver for the World's Fair in '86, she complained about how expensive high tea was at some she-she hotel in Victoria. She, like my mother, would have rather had dim sum.

Rose's dad, Bob, was a very sweet man. I was fortunate to spend time talking and eating (of course) with him that week before Rose's wedding. He grew rubies for industrial use, invented some sort of dongle for ultrasound machines, and professed many things that are outside my realm of scientific understanding. Selfishly, I am most grateful to him for helping bring Rose, my spicy foodie sistah, into my life.

Many are sad because of your parting, Yu Sau and Bob, but effects of your lives will be felt for the rest of eternity. Thank you.

"My Beloved" Artichoke Hearts

Back in the 70's, I remember making salads with my dad. After spinning the freshly washed lettuce in our salad spinner, slicing cucumbers and carrots, and shaking the Good Season's Italian dressing package with vinegar, water, and oil, we would toss in a small jar of Cara Mia marinated artichoke hearts.

The hearts were always a treat. We didn't always have them because, well, they were expensive. It doesn't seem like that much of a precious treasure now that you can get a gallon jug of them...well, maybe not a gallon, but 32 oz is a lot...at Costco.

What I like to do nowadays is marinate them myself. They are really fresh if you cook your own baby artichokes but that just feels like a lot of waste. It's a lot of time and artichoke scraps for not a lot of return when you can get nice 'choke hearts from the freezer. I prefer the freezer chokes to the can because they have less of that can aftertaste and no salt.

Marinated 'Chokes
8-9 oz frozen artichoke hearts
3/4 c vinegar (white or apple cider)
1/4 c water
4 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
1 TBL salt
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne (depends on how hot you want it)
oil, enough to cover (olive, grapeseed)
1 qt jar w/lid (preferably mason)

1) Completely thaw artichoke hearts.
2) Place in 1 quart jar.
3) Combine vinegar, water, garlic, salt, dried herbs (lightly crushed), and cayenne in small saucepan. Bring to boil.
4) Pour hot liquid over artichoke hearts in jar.
5) Let sit for 10 mins then pour in mild oil to cover artichokes.
6) Cover. Shake. Refrigerate.

Good for up to 3 weeks...if they last that long!

Quiches Without Borders

When I was in Weight Watchers earlier in the millennium, one of the tricks to lower calorie desserts during the holidays was to bake a crustless pumpkin pie.

Pie crust is typically white flour, fat (butter, lard, shortening), and a little bit of cold liquid (I know a person who uses vodka). So you remove that and use fat-free condensed milk, all of a sudden you have a low-fat dessert (there's still of couple of eggs in the mix so it's not fat free).

What's the fun of eating a pie without crust, you ask?

Well, maybe you're gluten-sensitive or you're trying to lose weight but still want some of the goodies or you just don't like that crumbly crust...there are a number of reasons.

For me and my Quiche Without Borders, I just didn't want to deal with pie crust when making individual sized quiches. With mini quiches/tarts, there's always such an overwhelming percentage of crust that you don't experience with a slice from a regular 9-incher.

I don't recommend removing the crust from any recipe that requires a double crust (like an apple pie) because it requires that type of enclosure to help retain it's juiciness. But any single crust-er that holds its own shape (pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, quiche) will be just fine.

Spinach and Artichoke Heart Quiche
1-1/2 tsp, olive oil
1 oz, onion, small dice
2 eggs, beaten
4 fl oz, heavy cream
4 fl oz, milk
pinch, fresh nutmeg
6 oz, frozen spinach or 1/2 bunch fresh spinach, cleaned & stemmed
1 c., artichoke hearts, frozen (thawed) or canned

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Heat oil in saute pan. Add onions. Cook until translucent (2 mins).
3. Add spinach. When spinach wilts add artichoke hearts and heat for 2 mins.
4. Remove from heat and squeeze out all moisture. Roughly chop spinach and artichoke hearts.
5. In mixing bowl, beat eggs, cream, milk, and nutmeg.
6. Add veggie mix to egg mix. Stir gently to incorporate.
7. Pour mixture into 9" pie pan or 4-6 smaller, oven-proof dishes. They will puff up so do not overfill.
8. Bake at 350*F 20-30 mins, until set.

I love eggs. Enjoy!

Vanessa Hates, I Mean, "Loves" Exercise

Ok, folks. I just downloaded pix from a wedding I went to last month. Pretty much one year after my own. The photos were shocking. I am a bit fluffier this year than I was last. I blame it on the cold weather of winter in the northwest...I mean, I need insulation. It freakin' snows here. But it has gotten me thinking about exercise.

What does this have to do with food? Well, I have to practice what I preach. Back in the day, I used to teach cooking and, uh, NUTRITION classes. I want to get back into that. I was healthier back then. Maybe it was because I wasn't eating as decadently. Or maybe it was because I was planning a wedding, going to culinary school, teaching cooking classes, writing grants, working in a restaurant, and walking a dog.

Nowadays, I'm only doing one of those things. I'm not saying which.

So I had a birthday a couple days ago. You'll see the delicious morsels from that dinner soon. But in this next year of life, I vow to exercise enough to support my extravagant foodie lifestyle. If I don't, at the rate I'm going, I believe I'll be considered obese in the next two years. Yikes!

We should all exercise anyway, right?

I say it to you, my loyal readers, I will exercise 30-60 mins, 3-5 times a week. It's springtime anyway. I should be outside doing something. Who will join me? Well, virtually anyway....

Gourmet Doughnuts??

Can there be such a thing as a gourmet doughnut? Probably not...to be considered gourmet requires food to be of high quality ingredients, prepared accurately, and presented artfully. Doughnuts will always come in a flimsy paper box or bag. If it didn't, I don't think it would actually be a doughnut anymore.

Voodoo Doughnuts does a great job being artful and delicious...but it's still a doughnut from a paper bag after all. But don't let that fool you. Vooddoo is not like any other doughnut shop. They do weddings as well. I am a lover of the fried pastry but I guess I'm not that much of a fanatic. I would choose our lovely museum courtyard wedding over having it in a large pink building full of fried dough any day.

There is actually a doughnut called the "Voodoo Doughnut" which is in the shape of a person...or doll...with a mini stick pretzel in it. At the time of the visit, I was too full for my own doughnut. Leave it to Danno to get an friggin' apple fritter. Don't get me wrong it was delicious, apple-y sweet, and fluffy.

I remember when I was in high school...I would sometimes stop at the donut shop on Charter Way to get a doughnut on the way to school. I think it was a Yum Yum Donut. I would get one of three: chocolate bar, maple bar, or glazed twist. But with doughnuts like: Grape Ape (raised doughnut with vanilla frosting and grape powder), Dirty Snowball (chocolate cake doughnut covered with pink marshmallow glaze and surprise filling), and The Memphis Mafia (chocolate chips, banana, peanut butter and glaze)...I kinda wanted to try something not-so-traditional here.

The fried goodness of Voodoo cannot easily be described. The variety and creativity of the menu is enough to get you to stop by and look into that rotating case. You'll be mesmerized and ingest a full day's worth of calories in one sitting. But it's really worth it. The traditional doughnuts are outstanding and all their specialty doughnuts will knock your socks off, no matter what kind of sweet you desire.

There's something for everyone--even our vegan friends!


Voodoo Doughnuts
22 SW 3rd Ave.
Portland, OR 97204
Tel: 503-241-4704
Open 24 Hours!

&

Voodoo Doughnuts Too
1501 NE Davis
Portland, OR 97232
Tel: 503-235-2666
Open only 21 hours: 6:01am - 2:59am

Taco Cart Taco

When I was working at Lucques in West Hollywood, Douglas, then a pantry cook (he moved up to the line while I was there) ate either a chicken taco or burrito from a food cart (on Vermont near USC) and got so sick that he had to be hospitalized with an I.V. He swears never to eat from a roach coach again. Me, I may just stay away from chicken on wheels.

In my search for good Latin food (specifically Mexican, El Salvadorian, and Cuban) in Portland, I've so far only found one place that is somewhat good. I think I've been spoiled because I lived in California all my life. When I lived in Los Angeles, I couldn't turn my head without bumping my nose on a burrito joint or taco cart. In Stockton (back in the day), I had a longtime boyfriend whose mom owned and cooked at an Oaxacan restaurant. Whenever I came by, she would make me dishes off the menu because she knew what I liked. You really can't beat that.

So, unfortunately, Portland will never have Chinese or Mexican food as good as I had in Stockton. Kiko's Taqueria Uruapan comes close though. Of course I choose the pork options: pastor (marinaded in spices and cooked upright on a spit) and carnitas (slow-roasted or braised pork).

Located in Sellwood on Antique Row, it shares it's space with a couple other carts. But these bite-sized tacos are always my first choice. There is something about the three-bite taco that I find so satisfying. Maybe because I can get a few of them in a variety of flavor combinations in one sitting.

Kiko's tacos were hot and pack a mouthful of flavor and at a dollar each, it's quite a bargain. Danno, as always, got a burrito...the potato and green chile one this time. I believe there was pork involved. I wasn't as taken with the burrito as with the tacos but it was tasty and VERY filling.

Kiko’s Taqueria Uruapan
SE 13th Ave & Lexington St.
Portland, OR 97202
M-F: 11:00 am - 4:30 pm

March Madness -- What BUNK!

Wow. How did we get here? It's almost April!

So, I don't know if you know this or not but here in Portland, it rains a lot. Now that Spring is "here," things are beginning to bloom. But I've realized that I really miss the sun. Oh, glorious sun, I can't wait to spend a continuous number of days with you.

What Portland seems to have in abundance is pork. Yum. I have a fave sausage place called Otto's Sausage Kitchen...but that story will have to come later since, for some reason, I have no pix of yet. It might be because once an Otto's sausage gets in my hands, it quickly finds its way to my belly.

Which is a wonderful segue to my pork belly reuben. Yes, you heard me pork BELLY. If you like bacon, this is sooo much better. Bunk Sandwiches serves some of the best sandwiches I've ever tasted.

This sandwich is not for the faint-hearted or for those watching their cholesterol. It's marinaded, slow-roasted pork belly with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese on grilled rye bread. It was fantastic.

As a child, my mother would, after grilling or broiling a steak, trim the excess fat off the side; and before she knew what happened, that shimmering piece of goodness would find it's way to my belly, much like an Otto's sausages of today. Really, she would barely turn away. Innocently, I would gaze up at her, my only evidence of guilt being oily marks on my face.

So how could I resist the call of the pig belly? I'm glad that I am not that strong.

It was lunchtime and the line was long...and for good reason. Everything we had was delicious. Gillian had a chicken salad sandwich that looked like a Dagwood! Danno had the roast beef sandwich that melted in your mouth, followed by a mild tingle from the horseradish. We indulged in half sour pickles from Picklopolis (fresh made Portland pickles) as well.

For those of you who like sandwiches, check out Bunk, where the art of layering flavors is not lost on your tastebuds.

Bunk Sandwiches
621 SE Morrison
Portland, OR 97214
Open: M-SAT: 8-3
Tel: 503.477.9515

For the Love of Sushi

When I was a kid, I hated sushi. What was to like? Raw fish did not taste or sound like a good idea...even to one who routinely ate chicken feet, calf brain soup, and thousand-year eggs. The rice was sour, too.

Aaaaah, but with age comes wisdom and maybe a more "distinguished" palate.

Now, the uncooked flesh of a freshly filleted fish is a delicacy. Granted, that first photo is of a caterpillar roll which raw contents consists only of its fruits (cucumber inside and the avocado splayed on top like a newly opened deck of cards at the blackjack table) and BBQ fresh-water eel. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

When I was at the Kushi Institute's Macrobiotic conference last summer, my friend, Leslie, had the good fortune of working with one of the sushi chefs. I will never forget (nor will she, I suppose) the 7 cups rice to 1 cup awase su (seasoned vinegar for sushi) for the sushi rice. So remember that folks, 7:1. Mix when rice is still hot and fan it during to make the rice tacky but not sticky and also gloriously shiny.

If you've got the rice, you're all set. You can make nigiri (the hand-formed bite-sized pieces) without nori (or seaweed). The nori is necessary for rolls (traditional ones anyway...there is also the soy wrappers or if you're really adept with a knife you can make a sheet of cucumber).

My friend, Heather, a novice at sushi making was actually very good at spreading the rice on the seaweed. It must be the massage therapist hands of hers. Karl was excellent with the spicy tuna. He was 50/50 with the mayo and Sriracha sauce. That was really spicy to me but with a little soy sauce, it was delicious.

Whether you're doing it at home or eating it out, it's never really "cheap." Besides, how cheap do you want to be with raw fish? But it should always be tasty and most definitely fun.

We made all that with 3 cups of uncooked rice and about 3 1/2 fl. oz. of seasoned rice vinegar. Purchase from a reliable fish monger.

My sushi hints:
1) Use a sharp knife otherwise you're just tearing everything.
2) Use fresh ingredients...it's raw, people.
3) Use half a sheet of nori for the skinny rolls, a whole sheet for the fat rolls.
4) Wrap your sushi mat in plastic wrap. Makes for easier clean up and if you're doing inside-out rolls (rice on outside), it's essential.
5) Place ball of rice in center of nori and spread outward.
6) When you roll, think of it making a rounded square instead of a perfect cylinder.
7) Do it with friends because it's a lot of work and you can have more of a variety. Yum!

No Mayo Chicken Salad?

I am one big fan of mayonnaise. I love it on sandwiches. I love to mix it with soy sauce and dip veggies in it. I love to use it to make creamy dressings.

And yet somehow, I forgot to refresh my supply when I was at the grocery store yesterday. I know, I could have made some from scratch. I do believe it was the first emulsion I made in culinary school and I have all the ingredients. But I was too hungry and tired to whisk it...and I'm not sure if our eggs are fresh enough. I suppose that will be my indulgence--fresh mayo--if I really do get those urban chickens later this year. Anyway...

Sometimes when you get creative with food, something tasty comes out of it. We had leftover roasted chicken breast in the fridge so I decided to make some chicken salad for dinner:

1 chicken breast, chopped or shredded
3 TBL low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 scallion, thinly sliced
salt and pepper, to taste

For this sandwich, I used a toasted ciabatta roll from a local Portland bakery, Grand Central Bakery, and piled on the salad. I like the different textures that come with this mix of ingredients: softness of chicken, crunch of almond, chewy of cranberry, crisp of scallion. Not to mention the flavor combination of savory, nutty, tart, and tang.

It was surprisingly tasty with the vanilla yogurt (lowfat organic from Trader Joe's) and quite a bit healthier. I was afraid that the yogurt would be too runny for this application but it seemed to add enough moisture and stickiness to hold everything together.

This salad would be good on a mild bed of greens as well, like butter lettuce. Bon appetit.

Superbowl-ish Wings

I don't know if you guys watched the Superbowl but if you didn't, you missed a good game. I'm not really a football fan but I like a good competition.

Usually I watch the Big Game for the communal experience and the over-indulgence of snack foods. My favorite is always a good 5-, 7-, or 9-layer dip, preferably homemade and chicken wings--the messier, the better.

There's a place in Portland called Fire on the Mountain. They have a choice of 16 sauces in which to toss their perfectly fried wings. Oh, and btw, they have a vegetarian "wing" option too. I haven't tried it yet. Maybe next time. I wonder if it is less fat grams per wing? Eh, I don't really care.

We got 24 wings. For every six wings you can choose a sauce. We chose Sweet BBQ, Thai Peanut, Tequila Chipotle, and Hot. The Hot was surprisingly good. But I think my favorite is the Thai Peanut. It's got a small kick to it and I love peanuts. They have a spicy range of no spice to El Jefe hot.

They have two locations. The Burnside place is unassuming, somewhat industrial and open. I haven't visited the one on Interstate.

If you like wings or just dipping little sticks of celery into sauce, this is the place to go. I know Red Bull can give you virtual wings, but these guys will give you the real deal.

4225 North Interstate Ave.
Portland, OR 97227
503-280-WING

or

1706 E. Burnside St.
Portland, OR 97214
503-230-WING

Open for lunch and dinner

Dim Sum Airport

Hey, wouldn't that be a great idea? To have a dim sum place in the airport. Just grab a variety of bite-sized morsels for the plane that won't be serving you any food...unfortunately PDX doesn't have that either but I bet it would go over swimmingly. Instead, we took Steph to Wong's King for dim sum before dropping her at the airport. Apparently we were bringing her on a tour of all our faves (so far), I guess.

This was our first dim sum experience in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I recommend, as with all dim sum places, getting there before 11am. When we arrived at 10:45am, we were seated right away. We didn't even pause at the doorway. The hostess asked us "How many?" as I was walking toward her. By the time we left, there were at least 30 people waiting to be seated and more flowing in from the over-crowded parking lot. But don't get there too early either or the selection will be much more limited.

So, Wong's King, it's a hot spot for dim sum in Portland. Unfortunately for WK, the dim sum in Los Angeles is outstanding. WK gets raves from the locals for its food. I agree that its lunch and dinner menus are outstanding but the dim sum left me wanting. It's unfortunate because I think they are the high bar in town.

Don't get me wrong, it was still good. I really liked the shu mai and the cheung fun stuffed with shrimp. And, look, we still had fun...y'know, I'm not really sure why they still let me take pix of them since I always get them with their mouths open.

What saddened me was the bland sauce in the cha siu bao and flat flavor of the har gow. Steamed pork bun and shrimp dumpling are two of the three pillars of dim sum cuisine (at least here in the States), pork dumpling (delicious shu mai mentioned above) being the third.

We'll definitely be coming back. It is Wong's King afterall. But not before checking out some of the other places in town.

Tea Time-r?

Getting to know the edible Portland is fun. I suppose I love getting to know all places through its food.

When I backpacked through Holland, Belgium, France, and Spain for a month, that's exactly what I did--I ate my way through Europe. Hmm, perhaps I'll dig up some food photos and reminisce with y'all.

Actually, I hit a lot of cultural spots, too. I remember getting to Madrid (the last stop) where I stayed with my friend, Benji (Oh, Benji, I miss you. You are a terrific travel companion and life-saving American-speaker!). He suggested going to the Royal Palace or the Prado Museum that first afternoon and I practically rolled my eyes at him and said something like, "I've seen sooo many palaces and museums." Can you imagine? I'm a little embarrassed by that but I was just so over-saturated by the centuries of history and culture. Anyway...

So here we were at Tea Zone and Camellia Lounge for, uh, tea. They take their steeping so seriously that they gave us each a timer! Once the timer was done, we removed the strainer basket full of leaves from the pot and pour. Look at that fancy one with the metal frame and cool orange sand (above). I'm so used to the cheesy, plastic ones that come with Boggle or Taboo.

I believe that Steph got an oolong (there were several) while Dan and I shared a green tea (also several).

It was new year's day and they were closing early. The staff was quite friendly to us even though we showed up 25 minutes before closing. I remember back in the retail days in high school when customers would come right before closing. I was never rude to them but boy did I wish they would get done quickly.

Tea Zone is in the Pearl District which is in the northwest part of the city. There's lots to do in that area so after you get your shopping done at Powell's Books or seeing a Portland Center Stage play, wander over to Tea Zone to relax with a hot tea, good service, and a cool timer. Their tea selection rivaled the beer selection at Lucky Baldwin's Pub in Pasadena, California.


Tea Zone and Camellia Lounge
510 NW 11th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
Tel: (503) 221-2130

Worth the Wait?

I've written about Saburo's sushi already. It is consistent in its quality and quantity as well as its wait time...although it does seem to feel longer each time. Maybe I'm beginning to show my age.

But as Steph can attest to, it is certainly delicious and filling. I had mistakenly thought that since Steph had lived in Japan for so many years, Portland sushi would not really appeal to her. I was forgetting that she now lives in Bloomington, Ind. where you can't get good, if any, anago or salt-water eel. Can you see the delight in her face?

Anago is different from the "unagi" which is fresh-water eel. Fresh-water eel is what is most commonly served in sushi restaurants (at least on the west coast) when one orders "eel."

I am with Steph on this one and also prefer anago because it has a saltier flavor than its fresh water cousin and usually comes with little or no sauce.

This is me being impatient with Dan as he gets acquainted with our new camera. Alas, my frustration was growing with the limited macro ability of my Elph-y. It has gone to a good new home (I think) with my talented young (7 y.o.) friend who also happened to be the artist of our wedding favor picture. But then, I remembered how long my attention span was at that age.

Ah, but back to the sake. Yes, I said sake.

It's quite a sexy bottle, dontcha think? I tend to be a lighter drinker nowadays so when guests will drink with Dan we'll usually get a bottle of something. This time it was a bottle of local SakeOne. Brewed and bottled in Forest Grove (just 30 mins west of Portland), SakeOne makes Momokawa, Moonstone, and G sakes. We partook of the G Joy. It is a cold sake that was smooth and paired well with our raw fish feast. Look for it in stores or buy it directly from them online.

Anyway, Steph said it was definitely worth the wait.

Gung Hay Faat Choy

Sometimes you get more than you expect. Like this for instance, a double yolk egg.

Here's wishing all of you a metaphoric double yolk egg or two during the Year of the Earth Ox.

Closing Out the Year...

with food, of course.

As many of my Los Angeles friends know, I love Chinese New Year's Eve.

I used to gather folks for a sit down dinner at my old apartment and feast on the foods of my childhood.

Unfortunately, last year I was very preoccupied with wedding stuff. This year, I haven't figured out where to go for all my lovely ingredients yet.

So Danno and I closed out the year with a "small" feast. The only thing I made this year was the stir-fried Chinese cabbage. I opted out of making the Oyster Delight that requires an intriguing amount of prep time, the soup with sea veggies, and the mysterious bulbous root vegetable who name in English I have never known but always sparks a debate at the table.

But we did have the steamed chicken with ginger/scallion sauce, roast duck, and roast pork--and Jasmine tea. It was nice.

So the house is clean..well, as clean as one can get it with three furry creatures who shed running around.

Good bye, Year of the Earth Rat. Hello, Year of the Earth Ox.

The Year of Drinking Chocolately

Oh, my dear readers, forgive my lack of posting. Maybe it will be my Chinese New Year's resolution to post more frequently. It will be the Year of the Ox (they're hard workers, right?) as of tomorrow...but let me catch you up on some of the food happenings of yesterdays.

On December 31st, my good friend and bridesmaid, Steph, came to town. Our entertainment was, of course, eating, drinking (hot bevies), and laughing. We didn't hit Voodoo Doughnuts where there are such concoctions as the NyQuil (yeah, y'know, as in "sniffling, sneezing, coughing...") doughnut and the Triple Chocolate Penetration (choco doughnut, choco glaze, with cocoa puffs). But we didn't miss it.

Check it out. There is actually a place that serves drinking chocolate...not to be confused with hot chocolate (or cocoa). Cacao has two location in SW Portland. We went to the one just south of Burnside on 13th Ave.

Cacao refers to both the cocoa tree and the seed from which cocoa, cocoa butter, and chocolate is made. So it seems aptly name. The difference between hot chocolate and drinking chocolate, is freakin' deliciousness...and richness. Hot chocolate is combined with higher percentage of regular milk while the drinking chocolate is with cream, and sometimes infused with spices. I will never go back now.

Steph and I shared the cinnamon infused drinking chocolate and the special spicy dark drinking chocolate. I love dark chocolate and that spicy kick at the end just sent me over the top. Let me tell you, you really don't need much. It's rich. Each serving was about 2 oz. and we were sufficiently satisfied.

Cacao also sells fine chocolates from around the world and from artisans in Portland, too. At the time, I was more interested in drinking it than eating it. I think I'm still a little spoiled from my trip to Europe where I tasted those delicious morsels straight from the charming chocolatiers in Belgium and Frances. Oh man.

But if you can't get yourself to France or Belgium, have a sat at the chocolate bar here in Portland. If you like such things, it will blow you away or send you to bliss town.

Cacao DrinkChocolate
414 SW 13th Ave.
or at the
Heathman Hotel
712 SW Salmon St.
Portland, OR