Takoyaki

Warren got a new toy. A takoyaki pan.



What's that, you ask? For making octopus balls! Japanese street food made of minced octopus, pickled ginger, and green onion in a savory batter--fried in a special pan with little cups built into it and topped with seaweed, mayo, and sauce.

Veggie sushi

On Saturday, we attended Sushi Night at a friend's house. I had sent Warren a link from Pinterest and it inspired him to make some veggie sushi. Behold roasted red pepper nigiri. It's so good! The texture is very much like tuna, but it tastes totally different.

He also made mushroom nigiri that looked very eel like, but I didn't take a freaking picture.

Mochi and Sweet Adzuki Beans

First meal of 2011: homemade red beans and rice Japanese style--Mochi and sweet red adzuki beans--good eating for good luck!

Sushi

Warren has been in a sushi zone and I love it.

He's been fiddling with the somen noodle rolls. He added carrots, cucumber, and sesame seeds on top.



And a first--seared beef sashimi.



Another first--a dessert roll with black rice and mango.

Shojin Platter

Warren prepared the first course for our bi-monthly supper club meeting. His first component-a crunchy daikon roll-took almost a week to make! He had to dehydrate the daikon for several days before rolling orange peel inside of it. Then he had to dehydrate it some more before marinating it in rice vinegar. It was definitely worth the wait! He also make marinated lotus root and somen noodle nori rolls with a balsamic soy reduction. YUM!

Brown Rice Sushi

We journeyed out to the Winchester Farmer's Market last weekend and Warren spotted some Japanese brown rice. After experimenting with it in a few dishes he was inspired to make some sushi. He also busted out some soy wrappers his mom sent us a while back. He made California rolls and a few vegetarian combinations. My favorite was cucumber, avocado, and arugula.

Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki was the perfect dish for last Saturday after an afternoon sledding in the park. We usually eat it at the dining room table, but it seemed extra good in the living room. The best part of the dish is watching it cook at the table. I love the meat and cabbage. The kids love the noodles and the tofu.

Sushi

I love sushi nights! Eel, cucumber, crabstick, crawfish, avocado, and mango in various combinations.

Sukiyaki v2

It's been over a year since Warren's made Sukiyaki! It's basically a Japanese hot pot and it is yummy!

Pork Tonkatsu

Warren took his own pictures this time! This is basically Japanese chicken fried steak...except with pork and ponko!

Tempura

It really is a shame that we don't have a live-in photographer...Warren made tempura last week and it rocked! He hasn't made tempura in a very long time so it was a real treat. We had shrimp, broccoli, carrots, and onions. He also did something to those cubes of tofu to make them extra yummy!

Octopus Nigiri

Warren made this octopus nigiri when I wasn't home and didn't say anything until I found the pictures! Sneaky!

Teriyaki Pork Ribs

Warren cooked these when we got home from our road trip because we were in desperate need of home cooking and vegetables.

At the Ocean

Beach cooking '08 far surpassed '07.



First up, California Rolls with real crab meat...



Chicken and shrimp on the barby:



Chicken and sausage gumbo:



More chicken (for the kids):

Even More Sushi...and a Surprise

Warren caught wind of Sekisui's contest to create a new roll and started practicing. (Sorry, I can't reveal the ingredients!)




He also made crab stuffed jalapenos from a recipe in Sunset Magazine. Yum!

Practice Makes Perfect (Sushi)

Since we were hosting the weekly Monkey Wrangler Cocktail Hour, Warren decided to practice what he learned in Jimmy Ishii's Advanced Sushi Workshop at Viking.

Preparations started the night before with several hours of shopping and then cooking the shrimp and octopus. At the party he spent about three hours making House Cucumber Rolls; Spicy Tuna Rolls (which got eaten before they could be photographed!); California Rolls (ditto); and Eel, Shrimp, Octopus, and Tuna nigiri. He planned to also do salmon nigiri, but everyone was stuffed!

Too bad I am not a better photographer. (There was one in attendance, but he was understandably wrapped up with Mr. Baby.)


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Yaki Udon

Warren, the only one not afflicted with the stomach flu, whipped this up for lunch, making us all wish we were a little hungrier.

Udon noodles, bean sprouts, carrots, egg, fried tofu & eel sauce.

Gyoza

Clearly Warren has been punishing me for failing to properly document the gyoza he made (in conjunction with a giant sushi feast) for New Year's Eve 2006, because he hasn't made it since then!

Not until last night, that is.

Gyoza, a pork-filled Japanese dumpling, is my absolute favorite thing that Warren makes. He made them when I was in labor with Jiro and the whole time I was trying to give birth, I worried the midwives would eat them all before I had a minute to "relax."

He made 54 on Friday and my response was, "50 for me, 4 for everyone else."

I like them hot, cold, big, small, in a house, with a mouse.

The filling is ground pork and turkey meat with some garlic, shallots, and soy sauce.


Warren expertly folds the filling into the store bought gyoza wrapers.


Don't they look pretty?


Once they are all assembled, they get pan fried and then steamed a bit in a big pot. This makes them super yummy and way better than anyone else's gyoza in the whole world!

Lemongrass Tofu and Short Ribs

After our yummy dinner at Saigon Le last week, Warren was inspired to make some Lemongrass Fried Tofu. He left out the spicy sauce, so it was a big hit with Satchel. (I'm hoping he'll make a spicy sauce for the leftover tofu!)


He made some yummy short ribs dressed in sake, sugar, and soy sauce. MMMMMMMMMMM!!!

New Year's Eve Grub

We hosted a small New Year's Eve party at our house and Warren went all out. He spent about a week choosing recipes, four days visiting forty grocery stores, and about two days prepping and cooking!

First up was one of our favorites, Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup from the Surreal Gourmet Entertains.

Once everything (red bell peppers, leeks, poblanos, etc.) is cooked...


You blend it all up! Yum!


He actually had to keep this in my car overnight since we ran out of room in the fridge (It was below 30 degrees outside) and my whole car smelled awesome!

Next up, Cha Gio, Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls from the December 2004 Gourmet. He rolled them up the night before on his new coffee table. (Notice the ruler!!)



And then fried them up as people arrived.


I think I ate twenty!

When I wasn't eating eggrolls, I was eating Spice Crusted Tuna with Wasabi Aioli from the Tsunami cookbook that Warren got for Christmas.


Aren't they pretty? (Special props to Poopie for scoring those awesome Staley platters.)

Finally there was Bloody Mary Shrimp from the December 2007 Gourmet. Kind of reminded me of the shrimp cocktails popular at Mexican restaurants specializing in seafood. A tomato-y version of ceviche.


What a delicious New Year's it was!