Blinis with Caviar

Sushi Time

A great sushi find in ann arbor - Sushi Time is a little hole in the wall place next to a hardware store at 740 packard st. Run by a japanese couple, people can wait 30+ minutes to get some sushi. The reason being - good quality sushi at a good price. It may lack the creative rolls but the nigiri pieces are generous and fresh. For example, 1 piece of tuna was the size of three at another a2 sushi place that just opened, and only 1-2 places come close in quality.

shrimp tempura roll - comes in 11 or 6 piece.

spicy tuna which is a bargain at under 5 bucks and a california wrapped in salmon and avocado.

seriously...these are huge pieces!

Grits and Bits Waffle

A couple of weeks I blogged about our new waffle maker. This weekend we attempted to retcreate our favorite "Grits and Bits" Waffle from Zingerman's roadhouse. It came out surprisingly well. Bacon, butter and maple syrup. How could you go wrong?





Here's the recipe.

Waffles

Michael bought me this amazing waffle maker and waffle mix. The waffles were very easy to make and delicious! Our next project will be the Zingerman's grits and bits waffle.

The Girl and the Goat

we were lucky enough to find a table at girl & the goat, top chef chicago winner stephanie izard's restaurant in the west loop. an adventurous farm to table small plate restaurant with use of interesting ingredients (pig head anyone!)

fat bread with liver butter and little berries. they use braising liquid in the dough. overall very yummy. hard to believe the butter made the liver lighter but it did.

not pictured but also good - variation on hamachi with pork belly, pickles, microgreens, and aioli. the aioli was a bit too eggy for me but overall good.

heard a lot about the cauliflower. could of used a little more time under the roaster but mint added a nice clean taste. parmesan was great and peppers gave it a nice kick.

best dish of the night - roasted pig's head with a perfectly cooked egg!

very thick pasta with nice meat sauce with goat, veal, and pork

may be the best dessert ever - sweet corn ice cream with bacon, cornbread, and a bit of balsalmic

coma inducing donuts

overall a great restaurant with an interesting menu. most items were 10-15 dollars. you can get a great taste at a reasonable price.

Zed 451

Chicago, to us, is the brunch capital of the world. We have never had a bad brunch in Chicago but ZED 451 in River North is in a class of its own.

For $25, you get all you can eat of fruit, desserts, steel cut oatmeal, french toast, charcuterie, cheeses, bread, and salads...and thats just from the harvest tables.

they also bring around bacon, duck hash browns, chicken and waffle, crab cake benedict, corn beef hash, cinnamon buns, frittata, turkey, sirloin, salmon.

many of the mini-desserts

crab cake benedict with spicy hollandaise

quite possibly the best cinnamon buns we have ever had....

make sure to pace yourself

braised short ribs with root vegetables and shaved broccoli salad

nothing more comforting than braised short ribs - of course we had to add a bit of an asian twist.

braised short ribs:

4 pieces short rib (approximately 3 inch cut pieces on bone)

salt, pepper to taste

flour

ginger (3 inch piece)

3-4 scallions

1 median sized onion

1 parsnip

1 carrot

thyme

2 tablespoons hoisin

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

4 cloves garlic

1 star anise

1 roma tomato

soy sauce

2/3 cup beef stock

2/3 cup red wine

butter

shaved broccoli salad

broccoli stalk

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp red chili sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

steamed rice

these are guestimates for the measurements - hence why my wifey cooks the desserts

1.  season short ribs with salt, pepper then dust with flour

2.  sear short ribs in pan then remove

3.  saute garlic, onion (diced), carrots, parsnips.  add ginger, scallion, star anise, thyme.

4.  add hoisin sauce and rice vinegar

5.  add 1 roma tomato (crushed)

6.  add in red wine, beef stock, and short ribs

7.  season with soy sauce, salt, and pepper to taste

8.  bring to simmer then place in oven at 275 covered for 3 hours, removing cover for last hour

9.  once done, remove short rib and strain braising liquid.  Remove thyme stem, ginger, and star anise.

10.  defat braising fluid, and reduce by 2/3's.  add 1 tablespoon butter

For broccoli salad

1. shave broccoli stalk

2. blanch in boiling water seasoned with salt for 1-2 minutes then place in ice cold water

3. combine ingredients for dressing and toss with broccoli

Nice and rich with subtle nod to asian flavors

shrimp and grits

 
 

beef vegetable soup

Here is my mom's healthy beef vegetable soup. Its one of my brother's all time favorites.

Ingredients:

2 beef shanks(about 1lb/1/2" diced)

2 C. cabbage (diced)

1 C. carrot (diced)

1  C. Celery (diced)

2-3 C. tomato(diced)

2 C. potato (diced)

2  tomato can(small)

1/2 t. black  pepper

2 t. salt

6 C. water

2 T. all purpose flour

1 T. cooking oil

Directions:

1.  In a pot,put beef in boil water (water level same as beef).  Drain and put aside.

2.  Stir fry flour with cooking oil in medium heat for about 30 seconds than slowly add water till    soup turn creamy.

3.  Add beef continue to cook  for about 15 minutes in medium high heat.

4 Add all vegetables cook until potato are tender.

5  Add salt,black pepper and serve.

PS: Can also add cooked macaroni as a meal.

Makes 8-10 serving

Mango Pudding

Ray's all time favorite dessert is Mango Pudding. When we traveled to Hong Kong in 2008 he probably had Mango Pudding 10 times in 3 days. For his 28th birthday I tried making him some mango pudding from scratch and it didn't turn out so well.  In fact it came out as a giant orange blob. 

everything looks good so far....

not so pretty coming out of the mold

tastes good though....

After experimenting a little more and adding more gelatin it came out much better the second time. Tadaaaa...

 

Here's the improved recipe. 

Ingredients

• 4-5 mangos
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 2 packets gelatin
• 3/4 cup splenda
• 1 cup hot water

Directions
1. puree the mango in food processor. then strain the mango puree
2. dissolve the gelatin and splenda in 1 cup of hot water
3. Mix 1 cup evaporated milk in the strained mango puree
4. Add the dissolved gelatin and splenda into the mango puree
5. place in mold, chill for 5-6 hours before serving.  
6. serve with mango garnish and 2 tablespoons of evaporated milk
Makes 12 cupcake sized portions

Cauliflower and Chicken Mac and Cheese

A Healthy Twist on Mac and Cheese

prep time: 25 minutes

bake time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

14 ounces enriched elbow macaroni (may substitute multi-grain)

1 head cauliflower, chopped to the size of maccaroni

4 slices multigrain bread, toasted and torn

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

kosher salt and black pepper

half a large onion, finely chopped

1 3/4 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar

4 tablespoons velveeta cheese

1 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1/2 cup 2 percent milk

4 drops Sriracha sauce

4 drops truffle oil

1/3 shredded chicken meat (pre-cooked and seasoned with salt) - i bought a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and pulled it apart, then added salt to taste

Directions

Heat oven to 400° F. Cook the pasta al dente, add the chopped cauliflower during the last 3 minutes of cooking time; drain.

While the pasta is cooking, pulse the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Add the parsley, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and pulse to combine; set aside.

Add the onions, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook in a large pot over medium heat until onions are soft (5-7 min).

Mix in the pasta, cauliflower, cheese, sour cream and milk. Add the truffle oil and sriracha sauce.

Transfer half to a baking dish, add in the chicken, and then add the rest of the macaroni on top of the chicken.  Sprinkle with the bread crumbs, and bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Adapted from http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/macaroni-cheese-cauliflower-00000000008063/index.html

Lemon Glazed Butter Cookies

A refreshing snack for the hot summer months. Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

• 1.5 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup splenda
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Combine butter and Splenda. Add the egg yolks, vanilla, and salt. Then add flour.
2. Place dough into ziplog bag and roll into logs. Place in freezer until firm.
3. Heat oven to 350° F. Slice the logs into 1/2 inch thick pieces and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until lightly golden, 16 to 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and zest until it forms a thick but pourable glaze (add more lemon juice if necessary). Brush the top of each cookie with glaze and then keep in refrigerator.

Developed from Real Simple Recipe: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/glazed-lemon-cookies-00000000007540/index.html

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ray tells me that i make the best chocolate chip cookies ever. I really just made a few changes to the Nestle Tollhouse Cookie recipe. I must say they are quite tasty and I am very impressed with myself. Try it for yourself!

  

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) SALTED butter, softened
• 3/4 cup splenda
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Nestle Toll House Milk Chocolate Morsels (NOT semi-sweet)
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

STORE - store unused dough in freezer for up to 8 weeks. 

Gourmet Popsicles

Ever since my good friend Raveena shared a popsicle recipe with me I have been obsessed with Popsicles. OBSESSED! I dragged Ray to 4 different stores to find popsicles makers. Finally we settled on the ZOKU popsicle maker from Williams and Sonoma for instant gratification... AND I also bought the Norpro Aluminum lid so that we can make lots and lots of popsicles.  So far we have make 4-5 batches and have about 10 popsicles left in our freezer. Surprisingly this has been one of my most successful projects! 

Norpro Popsicle Maker

We have tried making lots of different flavors including mango coconut, sesame, strawberry, key lime pie, banana fosters and Taro. Here's the recipe below. Enjoy!


Base:
one 15-ounce can light coconut milk
1 1/4 cups skim milk (we used lactaid)

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Whisk the coconut milk and skim milk together. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and stir in. Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk, water, vanilla extract, and salt.

We then divided the base into 1 cup bowls and experimented with different flavors. Basically we just added everything in to taste.

Sesame - stir in 1 tablespoon of sesame paste (you can buy this in the stores)

Key Lime Pie - mix in the lime juice from 1-2 key limes. We also mixed in layers of crumbled graham crackers. (1/2 cup crushed graham crackers, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 3 tablespoons of splenda)

Mango - mix in diced mangos

Banana Fosters - 1 ripe banana + 2 tablespoons butter + banana rum + 2 tablespoons of brown sugar all pureed together

Butter Pecan - chopped pecans + 1 tablespoon butter + salt to taste (i think about 1/2 teaspoon)

 

 

And so it begins...

Everyone knows that Ray and I love to travel and eat. We've decided to start a blog so that we can share our great adventures in gastronomy with our dear friends. Enjoy!