Author Archives: Anne

明けましておめでとうございます, or, Happy New Year!!

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Anne| 3 Comments

Happy New Year everyone!  It’s a rainy day here in Los Angeles on the 2nd day of 2011, so I thought I’d take the time to post some pics from our annual Japanese New Year meal that my parents have at their house and J looks forward to for about 12 months.  We all do, because it’s tradition, and happily for a family of food lovers, it’s awesome to sit and eat many different kinds of Japanese goodies that make up the  osechi meal.  Although my mom’s version isn’t 100% osechi, the meal contains many of the dishes that make up the spread of traditional Japanese New Years foods.

Are you ready for a photo fiesta of Japanese delights?!


Renkon mousse with shrimp and unagi: This dish is new our our family New Year table; my mother’s friend had prepared it for her and mom was blown away so she looked up the recipe.  Renkon is lotus root, and she grated it, folded it with egg whites and steamed it, then served it atop some poached shrimp and grilled unagi (eel) and garnished it with gingko nuts.  It was mellow and savory and the perfect way to start off the meal.

Chicken and enoki mushrooms with mitsuba: Another appetizer to open up our stomachs before the big feast.  Mitsuba is a type of wild, Japanese parsley that has a distinct flavor, but I’ve never found it to be too strong at all.  
Colorful kamaboko: Fish cakes made of fish paste, they are very, very mild tasting and actually don’t taste much like fish to me.  The color and shape represent the rising sun.  I thought these were especially pretty:
Nimono: An array of vegetables, including gobo (burdock root), renkon (lotus root), carrots, mountain potato and snow peas simmered in broth, soy sauce and a touch of sugar.  The little balls you see are konnyaku, which is made of the starches from a type of yam, and has virtually no flavor or calories, so it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it in.  I’m sure it’s strange to a lot of people, but it’s really good for you, and because it’s filling but doesn’t have many calories, it’s known as the broom of the stomach.  Funny eh?
Tazukuri and Kinpira Gobo: Tazukuri and little sardines cooked in sweet soy sauce, and my mother got this year’s batch as gift from a friend; they were the best I’ve ever had, with the little fish being quite meaty.  On the right is a bowl of kinpira gobo, which is gobo (burdock root) and carrots tossed in a spicy seasoning made from soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and dried red chiles.  It’s easy to make, and certain not exclusive to New Year’s.  
Shime saba: This marinated saba (mackerel) is the dish that J literally waits ALL year for my mom to make.  Sure, you can have saba anytime at most sushi places, but no one makes it better than my mom…it’s true!  The fish is folded in softened kombu (seaweed) and both are marinated in rice wine vinegar, sugar and white onions.  
Oh, let’s take a little break from our food programming to tell you what we washed all of this gorgeous food down with: sake, of course!  Our favorite sushi chef, Toshi at Z Sushi, gave this bottle to us a couple of weeks ago and we’d been saving it for our special meal.  The piece of art on the wall behind it is something my father made out of leftover wood- cool right?!
Sashimi assortment:  Oh man….just looking at this picture makes me want to have it again, right now!  We had fatty hamachi (yellowtail), tender ika (squid) and beautifully buttery chu-toro (medium fatty tuna).  Mom always makes a bed of thinly sliced daikon and garnishes it with daikon sprouts- all of it is delicious dipped in soy sauce with a touch of wasabi.
Kuro-mame and kuri: This isn’t dessert, exactly, but a little something sweet you can take bites of in between all of the savory elements of the meal.  Kuro-mame are black soybeans sweetened in a light syrup, and kuri is a chestnut, also macerated in sweet syrup. 
We ate until we couldn’t fit any more food into our tummies, and then sat down to watch some Japanese travel shows that feature ryokan (traditional Japanese hotels), onsen (hot springs) and lots of gorgeous fall scenery and traditional food.  It was the best way to spend the first day of the year- I hope the rest of 2011 lives up to that perfect day!  
Here’s a wreath studded with origami cranes my mother made to usher in the new year:
Happy 2011 everyone!

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Posted in gobo, Japanese food, kinpira, New Year's, osechi ryori, renkon, sashimi

Goodbye 2010!

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Anne| 5 Comments

Wow- it’s the end of another year already, and I find myself shaking my head, wondering where the last 12 months have gone.  It seems like just yesterday I was going bonkers in the kitchen, cooking for 40 people for the New Years party we threw last year.  I’ll go ahead and say it with you- time flies when you’re getting old!

I know there are lots of “Best Of” lists out there, so I figure why not bore you with yet another one?!  Hey, like I said, I’m getting old so I like to sit back and reminisce about the year gone by while I cry in my whiskey about how quickly time is slipping away from me….well, maybe that’s not exactly how it goes (I don’t drink whiskey) but here’s a look back at my favorite dishes and restaurants of 2010.

Favorite Restaurants:  

It’s funny: not too long ago, there was an 18 month period in my life where I was ALL about fine dining, tasting menus, sauces squiggled on a plate and tufts of uni mousse sitting prettily in a seafood demi-glace, but I’ve come to realize that I just want good, rustic, home-style cooking when I go to restaurants.  Particularly in this economy, I don’t really need bells and whistles (although a nice ambiance, fancy or not, is always nice) but I need my food to taste GOOD and be REAL.  Simple enough, right?  So my list of favorite places of 2010 reflect that- good honest food made by people who clearly like to eat!  Unfortunately, I didn’t take photos at most of my outings this year, so I’ve linked up to some fellow bloggers who did document their own trips to these awesome restaurants.

Colori Kitchen: Handmade pastas, simple preparations and a casual, relaxing atmosphere make this one of my favorite places to get a plate of spinach & ricotta ravioli.  BYOB keeps the price down too!


Bacaro Wine Bar: I am so glad I finally got around to trying this tiny, hole-in-the-wall place this year.  The kitchen turns out some of the tastiest small plates I’ve had, and the mostly-Italian wine list is reasonably priced.  I eat out (ok, I just plain EAT) a lot, and it’s tough to remember the last time I was really surprised by a dish, until I tried the roasted garlic bruschetta at Bacaro.  My sister and I had ordered it, and when it came we just both stared at the MOUNTAIN of brown, caramelized whole garlic cloves piled high on a slice of bread.  To be honest, it scared us.  There was probably a good cup of whole garlic cloves on there, drizzled with just a touch of pesto, and we weren’t sure how to attack it.  After one bite, I knew I had to have it again and again as the oil-poached garlic was sweet and soft like a good baked potato.  I’ve ordered it every time I’ve been back, and even made a batch at home which didn’t last long.  The eggplant stuffed with ground lamb and the saucy burger and pretty much everything else just loaded with flavors that make me happy.   They’ll make you happy too.

Drago Centro Bar: I know I know, I’m practically a walking advertisement for this downtown Italian restaurant since J and I go nearly once a week some months.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- it’s the BEST DEAL IN TOWN.  The same chefs that are making the fine dining dishes for the restaurant are making the juicy Kobe sliders ($7), pizza margherita ($4) and il gnocco frito farcito ($5) we nosh on while sipping one of four Italian wines ($6 and under) by the glass at the bar.  Feel like you need a little girl talk on a random Tuesday night but don’t want to overspend on a school night?  Did I mention there is no official “happy hour” and this bar menu is available at the very same prices, seven days a week, all night long?  Oh, parking is free with validation.  The bartenders, waitstaff and managers are insanely delightful and knowledgeable.  Guess we know where you’re having your next night out with friends.

Allston Yacht Club: Weird name, cool place.  Another small plates restaurant, I just went for the first time a couple of days ago, and I’m glad I did.  A nice selection of hot and cold items, a good wine list and friendly staff make it a place I’d definitely return.  My favorite dishes were the Broiled Shrimp and Feta Gratin (I don’t even LIKE feta that much but this was soooo good) and the celery root/apple salad with a Dijon dressing.

Ca Cao Mexicatessen: I’m lucky that this place is just a five-minute drive from my house, because they make the BEST red salsa I’ve ever had.  They also have incredible versions of familiar Mexican favorites like cochinita pibil and also offer traditional dishes you may have never had before, like their famous Carnitas de Pato (duck confit) and Huitlacoche (corn fungus) which you can get in a taco, sope or burrito.

Mori Sushi: Friends visiting from NYC took us here earlier this year, and we were completely blown away at the quality, authenticity and deliciousness of the sushi and other dishes here.  Unlike the other restaurants on this list, Mori Sushi isn’t cheap, but it is worth every penny.  We had two kinds of uni, side by side, fatty toro, broiled anago and unagi and practically everything else on the menu…it was all so special I think we felt we just HAD to try everything.  Next time, we’ll make sure to pace ourselves.

Terroni’s: If you read this blog regularly, you know how much I love Italian food.  Terroni’s makes me feel like I’m in Italy- the no nonsense service, al dente pastas and thin-crust pizzas that do not come sliced.  They don’t take reservations, but it’s a pretty big place so I’ve never had to wait too long.  I am crazy about their grilled calamari salad, tuna and red onion pizza and Swiss chard ravioli with a bright red sauce I could eat all day.  Oh- they also have the richest, darkest chocolate gelato this side of Italy.

Lazy Ox Canteen: This place is cranking out some of the most creative small plates in Los Angeles, IMHO.  Don’t go by the online menu: most of the day’s highlights are written on a chalk board above the bar, and there are no fewer than twenty everyday.  Some of our favorites this year included lamb cheek ravioli, roasted cauliflower and hand torn pasta with a runny egg.  The rice pudding is legendary…light and airy and unlike any rice pudding you’ve ever had.

Cham Korean Bistro: Sizzling Hot Bibimbap are three words that make me very happy, and Cham makes a great version in a cast iron skillet so you get more hot surface area to char their nutty brown rice (you can get white, but the brown is better!) in all the right places.  I also love their Garden Platters- get your choice of BBQ meat on a sizzling platter, then eat it in whatever combo you want with the lettuce leaves, shiso, pickled daikon and sesame soba noodles that come with it.  The Korean tapas they serve at night are not really worth it – stick to the bibimbaps or the Kimchee Rice Gratin.  Healthy and happy for the tummy!

Village Bakery and Cafe: J and I go to this Atwater bakery to grab a cup of homemade soup or a grilled portabello sandwich on seven-grain bread, and don’t even get me started on their baked goodies.  On some days they make these little polenta cookies sandwiched with raspberry jam that are crunchy and sweet and utterly addictive.

1810 Argentinean Restaurant: Finally, a newish Pasadena restaurant that hasn’t gone out of business because guess what?  It’s really good, and really reasonably priced!  The menu is pretty straightforward: grilled meats, a couple of pastas and some appetizers, including fantastic fried balls of risotto called arancini.  My favorite dish is the grilled steak and vegetable salad.

Favorite dishes from my own kitchen:

Sliders, made for Father’s Day:

Garganelli with duck ragu: after 90 minutes, I’ll admit I was a bit weary of hand rolling each garganelli but it was worth it in the end.

Mongolian Lamb Chops:

Thomas Keller’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken:

Well, that’s it for MY personal year in food….what were some of your fondest food memories of 2010?  I hope you all have a very Happy New Year and thanks for reading!

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Posted in Best of 2010, favorite dishes, favorite restaurants

Rabbit Terrine

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Anne| 2 Comments

Ok, how many of you read the title and thought of Bugs Bunny?  Perhaps you had memories of a cute, fuzzy childhood pet…possibly named Hoppy or Money Da Bunny (ok, maybe you didn’t but it’d be a cool name, ok?) to whom you’d feed carrots and cuddle with after school.  Maybe the word “rabbit” instantly takes you to the scene in Fatal Attraction when the little girl is running to her bunny cage to greet her beloved pet just as her mother walks into the kitchen to a mysterious pot of boiling something and they scream in unison as one discovers the rabbit missing and well, you know where it ended up.  Don’t worry, this post isn’t about any of those things, so if you hate Bugs Bunny or that scene in the movie, you’re safe.  If you feel weird about eating rabbit, well…don’t say I didn’t warn ya!

My father has been making terrine a part of our annual family Christmas meal for the past few years.  He’s also in charge of the roasted pork loin from which we make many delicious sandwiches, the house cured gravlax with homemade Dijon sauce as well as a big pot of lobster bisque, which is REQUIRED at our party, as he learned the hard way.  One year he decided to skip the bisque in favor of a lighter, more health-conscious butternut squash soup and our guests were literally crestfallen when they saw the swap-out.  After all, there is no way squash anything could be a substitute for chunks of lobster stewed with stock made from its own shells, a dash of cognac and copious amounts of milk and cream, right?  Anyway, since Papa has to make so many items for our big party I figured I’d volunteer to make the terrine, and he obliged.  I mean, does it matter that I’d never made a terrine in my life and this was for a special occasion?  I ignored everything I’ve ever read about never experimenting for a big party and stubbornly forged ahead.

I knew I had my secret weapon in Nathan McCall, butcher and chef extraordinaire.  After a lot of research I’d decided on a mousseline style rabbit terrine I’d spied on a blog called The Chubby Cook.  Unlike the blogger, I wasn’t going to break down an entire rabbit myself (I’m not queasy, I just didn’t think I’d have the time!) so I enlisted Nathan as I ordered one rabbit, with all of the meat removed, 2 loins intact + the reserved bones.  When I picked it up, all nicely wrapped in brown paper, Nathan and his wife Karen smiled, wished me a very happy holiday and I was on my way home to start the terrine!

When I opened the package, I was, once again, reminded of how lucky I am to know such skilled artisans as Nathan and Karen.  Those bones were cleaned perfectly and the two loins were beautifully intact.  I actually kind of felt guilty since it must have taken quite some time, and I know how busy they must have been during the holidays!  Anyway, I put the meat in the marinade I’d made and stuck the bones in the oven to brown, so I could make stock for a sauce.

The terrine was actually pretty east to put together- the marinated meat and a few other ingredients went into a food processor until smooth, then half of that mixture was poured into a pancetta-lined terrine mold.  I placed the two seared loins down the middle and covered them up with the rest of the mixture, folded over the overlapping pancetta and baked it in a bain-marie.  After it came out of the oven I weighted it down for a few hours before putting it in the fridge to cool.

The sauce also came together easily- and although the rabbit stock takes time to make, let me tell you, IT IS WORTH IT.  The roughly eight cups of water cooked down to two cups of rich, rabbit stock which I then reduced down to 1/2 cup.  That demi-glace, some chopped mushrooms, roux and salt/pepper made the most flavorful gravy/sauce I think I’ve ever tasted.  So even though it may seem crazy to brown the bones, then simmer those bones + onion, carrot, bay leaves, peppercorns and celery in a pot for hours to get the 1/2 cup of reduced stock (demi-glace) to make the sauce, you will not be sorry.  All of those flavors come together to make an incredibly rich, delicious sauce that you could pretty much just eat out of the pot with a spoon.  YUM.

The terrine turned out so well, I think I may make it again next year…or maybe before that!  I love finding the two loins in the middle of each slice- it looks beautiful and adds a nice, meaty texture.  Special thanks to The Chubby Cook for the recipe, as well as answering a couple of emails when I had questions while I was actually making it- how’s that for dedication?!  Also to the McCall’s who make it so easy to get top quality meat and fish which is really the basis for any good dish.  Oh- and I have to give it up to the amazing folks at the Eagle Rock Italian Bakery who, in addition to supplying amazing Italian food and staples to the neighborhood, expertly sliced the pancetta for this terrine…it doesn’t get any prettier!  Check out this meat doily made of the pancetta:

See the two rabbit loins in the center?

How was your holiday?  Eat anything spectacular?

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Posted in festive appetizers, holiday appetizers, mccall's Meat and Fish, rabbit, terrine

Holiday Baking and a Confession

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Anne| 6 Comments

Christmas is right around the corner, and although I don’t go bananas over every holiday tradition, I do love holiday baking.  One of the my favorite things about cooking is being able to feed the ones you care about, so distributing Christmas cookies is a great way to cover a LOT of people at once.

I made my first batch of goodies the other day, and although none were traditional Christmas cookies, I figure if you put them in a holiday container, they’re automatically transformed into Christmas cookies!  Magic!  I knew I wanted to bake three different varieties but didn’t want to end up cursing the pastry gods hours later with flour in my hair and butter under my fingernails (hm, not a great visual!) so I decided to do something I’d never done before.  Ok, here it goes: I bought pre-made pie dough (insert loud dramatic organ chord here)!!!!!!!  I have nothing against pre-made anything but have always tried  making everything from scratch.  Maybe Sandra Lee scared me off with some of her crazy “Semi-Homeade” ideas (Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom can’t be the basis of 60% of your recipes, ok?), but I felt a small tinge of guilt as I purchased two packages of Pillsbury pie crust.  I’ve crossed over to the dark side.  The Sandra Lee side.

Ok, ok…I know I am being dramatic- I did it because I really wanted to make apple hand pies which would involve making, chilling, rolling out and cutting the dough before filling, pinching, crimping, egg-washing and sugar-sprinking ALL before they went into the oven (heck- I’m tired just typing that all out!).  Toss in the preparation of two additional kinds of cookies and I figured I’d probably end up on the ledge of my kitchen window, ready to jump.  Take it from someone who has bitten off way more than she can chew- buying that pie dough not only saved my sanity but it also made the entire experience of baking that day really fun and relaxing.  So thanks, Pillsbury Doughboy.  We will be meeting again soon.

I started off with shortbread and jam bars- I used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and substituted the blueberries for an entire jar of my favorite Trader Joe’s Cherry Preserves (oh shoot- another store bought element, I AM Sandra Lee!  Argghghggh!).  These come together so quickly but require a long baking time, so once I got those in the oven I started working on the apple hand pies.

My dad recently made the best apple pie ever, so I got the recipe from him and used the filling for these hand pies.  It’s really a simple mixture of peeled, chopped apples; sugar, flour and a touch of cinnamon. The secret (well, now it isn’t!) is to use Pippin apples, not the Granny Smith that is most common in apple pie recipes.  The Pippin apples melt down to a sweet, soft filling and isn’t as tart as their  counterparts, and I love the fresh, apple flavor.  I rolled out the pie dough, cut out 3 inch circles and filled each with about 2 teaspoons of the apples.  I have to say…this pie dough was SO easy to work with!  I guess when you’re making something that involves as many steps as these hand pies, getting a little extra help is 100% OK!

While those were baking I made a batch of white-whole-wheat-chocolate-chip-dough, tossed in some pecans I had in the pantry and spread the dough into a 13 x 9 pan.  Bar cookies are great for large groups since the whole thing bakes at once, then you slice them into a million pieces so you have enough for eveyrone.  Ok, maybe not a million but you get the idea. Dropping teaspoons of dough onto a baking sheet over and over and over gets pretty tiring if you’re trying to bake enough cookies to feed 30 + people.  Another lesson learned from taking on too much in the past.

Everything came out really well, and I have to admit- those apple hand pies were so delicious and the crust was perfect!  I’m looking forward to making different varieties of hand pies using the same dough.

What’s on your holiday baking list this year?

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Posted in apple pie, bar cookies, Christmas cookies, hand pies, holiday baking, Pillbsury pie crust

Post-Thanksgiving: Turkey Sandwich

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Anne| 2 Comments

Has everyone woken up from them turkey/food coma yet?  I definitely have, and was happy to realize that today is the day after Thanksgiving which can only mean one thing: TURKEY SANDWICHES!  As much as we all enjoy the bird, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, salad, corn and pie, I think you’ll agree that one of the best, if not THE best thing about Thanksgiving is the leftovers.  

I love eating the cold turkey right out of the tupperware my parents sent me home with, but my absolute favorite thing in the world to make with leftover Thanksgiving turkey is sandwiches.  There are different variations of the turkey sandwich but I normally chop up the turkey and make it into a turkey salad, with diced onions, celery, pickle relish, kewpie mayo, dijon mustard and lots of black pepper.  Another tradition is to pile some stuffing and turkey between two slices of bread and douse it with gravy, although I guess that’s quite a decadent sandwich!  I’ll be making both of those very soon, but today I made a sandwich I’d never made before, based on a sandwich I’d had at a restaurant recently that blew my socks off.

Before I get to the sandwich- here’s the lovely spread my parents had waiting for us when we arrived:

Here’s my plate- YUM:

And here is a pic of the most incredible apple pie that my dad made- the crust was so flaky and the apples were tender and warm and just slightly gooey and we all went berserk for it (so much so that this is the only photo we took of it!):

So on to the sandwich.  Here’s what I used:

  • Whole grain, multigrain or seeded bread (the heartier, the better)
  • Leftover white and/or dark meat turkey (I like white, J likes dark)
  • Sharp white cheddar cheese (I used a 50% light version from Trader Joe’s that is still really delicious!)
  • Dijon mustard
  • Jalapeno jelly (I used Hell Fire Pepper Jelly from Jenkins Jellies)
  • Very thin slices of Fuji or Granny Smith apples
  • Arugula or other spicy greens (I used microgreens because TJ’s was sold out of arugula- blerg!)
  • Caramelized onions

First I made the caramelized onions by slowly sauteing some sweet, yellow onions over low heat- it takes about 20-30 minutes for them to get nice and brown and melted.  Then just lightly toast the bread, and stack the ingredients in whatever manner you like:

This sandwich brings so many flavors and textures together- the sweet/spicy jelly, mellower sweetness of the onions, the fresh green taste of the microgreens, the sharp richness of the cheddar and the crisp tartness of the apples.  Of course the super tender turkey is the star here, and everything combines to create one, amazing sandwich.

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

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Posted in gourmet sandwiches, Thanksgiving, Turkey sandwich

Recipe: Healthy Lasagna (made with tofu!)

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Anne| 2 Comments

In my last post, I wrote about tweaking recipes in order to make them lighter and/or healthier. In the comments section, fellow Los Angeles food blogger Diana mentioned she often does the same thing, and was recently thinking about trying out tofu as a substitution for ricotta cheese in lasagna (adding that it might be a “crazy” idea!). Not so crazy, Diana (and PS, great minds think alike).  I’ve used tofu as a substitute for ricotta for about two years now, and I’m not sure what prompted me to try it, but I find it works pretty well in place of cheese and other creamy elements in a dish. I happened to make lasagna last night, so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to finally post about it.

Now, I’m sure there are a few Italian grandmothers rolling over in their graves….although, come to think of it, real, authentic lasagna doesn’t even contain ricotta but instead is layered with béchamel, cheese and sauce, so maybe it’s safe to post the tofu idea here.  I never did like the thick, brick-like layers of heavy ricotta in lasagna too much but feel it definitely needs a creamy element, so tofu is a lighter yet still substantial way to achieve that. Don’t get me wrong- I don’t always want a lighter version of lasagna, but if I’m making it at home on a weeknight, I figure it’s a good way to watch the calories. And honestly- it’s really, truly delicious and you won’t miss the ricotta! I do use real, high-quality parmigiano-reggiano in this because a little goes a long way, and to me it’s essential in the flavor of a good lasagna. That said, when combined with whole wheat lasagna sheets and fresh marinara sauce, this lasagna is almost as healthy as a turkey sandwich so you won’t have to feel like you’re overindulging. It’s true!

There are a couple of important things to remember when using tofu instead of cheese. 1) It requires a bit of planning ahead since you have to strain the tofu, preferably overnight and 2) Season, season, season! Tofu doesn’t have much flavor on its own (ok, it’s basically flavorless) so be generous with your salt and other seasonings.

Here’s the list of ingredients, followed by a step-by-step recipe with photos.

1 14 oz package of SILKEN tofu (don’t buy firm, extra firm…make sure you get the silken tofu!)
1 bag baby spinach
¾ cups grated parmigiano-reggiano, divided
1 ½ tsp Kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
5-6 leaves fresh basil
1 egg
3 links Italian-style turkey sausage (I used Jennie-O spicy Italian turkey sausage)
5 to 6 cups of your favorite marinara sauce (I used homemade- Mario Batali’s recipe is my go-to sauce- I just make a big batch and freeze it in several containers and pull them out as I need them)
1 package no-boil lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)

The night before: Scoop the tofu into a fine meshed sieve lined with cheesecloth or a sturdy paper towel (like Viva). Cover it with the overhanging cheesecloth or paper towel; set another smaller bowl on top to weigh it down slightly and leave in the refrigerator to strain overnight.

The next morning, you’ll probably have almost a cup of liquid- all drained from the tofu!  I’m not sure if you can see all of the liquid in the photo above, but it’s a good amount.  If you don’t strain it, all of that liquid will make for a soggy lasagna, and who wants that? 

Preheat the oven to 425.

Bring water to a boil in a pot; add the spinach for just 30 seconds, then put the spinach in an ice-cold water bath. Once the spinach has cooled, squeeze out all of the water.

Put the strained tofu in the food processor along with the spinach, half the parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, basil and egg. Whiz until smooth. Set aside.

Heat up a medium sauté pan. Take the turkey sausage out of the casing.  The easiest way is to just slice the casing open with a sharp knife, then ‘unwrap’ the meat inside directly into the pan. Break up the sausage until it crumbles and is fully cooked; set aside.

Side note: You can use regular no-boil lasagna noodles, but if you want to kick up the fiber, use whole wheat.  I’d never seen whole wheat, no-boil lasagna noodles before (a year ago it was hard to find regular whole wheat lasagna sheets, much less no-boil ones!) but I saw these at Figueroa Produce and snatched them up!  They’re organic AND whole wheat, taste fantastic and have no grainy texture at all.

Set up your work station: Line up your 13 x 9 (I used a slightly smaller one) baking dish, the tofu mixture, the crumbled sausage, marinara and remaining parmesan cheese.

Spray the baking dish and start by putting about ½ cup of marinara at the bottom of the dish. Top with 3-4 no-boil noodles, making sure not to overlap, then top that with about ¾ to 1 cup of the tofu mixture, 1/3 of the crumbled sausage, a light sprinkling of parmesan and repeat until you have three layers.

Of course you can make as many layers as you wish; just make sure to finish off the top layer of lasagna noodles with marinara sauce and a nice handful of grated parmesan. I like to leave the corner edges exposed without sauce- even with no-boil noodles, you get nice, crispy edges so I highly recommend you try it that way!

Cover the baking dish with foil (or use a bigger baking dish, like I did, since my lasagna was layered right to the very top of the dish!) and bake for 40 minutes.

Uncover the lasagna and bake for another 15 minutes until the edges are crisp and the top is golden brown.

Let the lasagna sit for about 15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

If you wanted to leave the spinach out and add in more basil to make a more herbaceous tofu mixture, you could do that as well.  It’s really up to you- if you wanted it to be garlicky toss in a few cloves before processing, or even squeeze in some roasted garlic for a rounder, milder flavor.  You can also make it vegetarian by leaving out the turkey sausage, or use pork sausage instead of you have a love affair with The Pig.  The only rules you need to stick to are to strain the tofu, squeeze out any excess liquid from whatever vegetables you add and make sure to use the egg (it firms up the tofu layers nicely). 

If you try this, let me know what you think!  Personally, I love this version, and I hope you enjoy it too.

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Posted in favorites, healthy cooking, healthy dining, home cooking, lasagna recipe

Recipe: Healthy Chicken Parmigiana

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Anne| 5 Comments

 I’m always looking for ways to tweak recipes of my favorite dishes so they’re a little bit healthier by reducing the fat or upping the fiber. Don’t get the wrong idea- I’m not going to present some dried-out hockey puck and try and sell you on the merits of how healthy it is. Healthy food has to taste good in order for one to want to eat it, and I do believe that it has to at least resemble the original dish.  I mean, I might like kale chips topped with some chopped tomatoes and garlic but don’t even try and tell me they’re called ‘nachos,’ ok?


Chicken Parmigiana is something my dad would make for me when I was a kid, and the combination of crispy fried chicken cutlets, tangy marinara and oozing cheese makes it a favorite comfort food. I hardly ever deep fry (or even shallow fry, actually) at home, mostly because it’s too much trouble on a weeknight and also because I do have a fear of doing it incorrectly and ending up with loads of oil soaked into my food. I’ve found a way to get a nice, crisp breaded chicken without deep frying, so I thought I’d share my recipe with you. PS: This breaded chicken on its own, sans sauce and cheese, makes a great main dish too- just serve it atop a mixed green salad!

Healthy Chicken Parmigiana
Serves 3

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt/pepper

2 to 3 slices of whole grain bread, lightly toasted and cooled

¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (buy and use the real stuff – it isn’t cheap but a little goes a long way and it makes a huge difference!)

Small handful of flat Italian parsley

2 eggs, beaten

1 ½ cups marinara sauce

¾ cups grated skim milk mozzarella cheese

Few leaves of fresh basil

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400.

Put each chicken breast in a large Ziploc bag; pound each breast until they are about ½ inch thick. Liberally season each side with salt and pepper, set aside.

Make the coating with whole grain bread: I use whatever I have in the freezer- the ends of various loaves of whole grain or wheat bread. Just toast them lightly, then whiz them in your food processor along with salt and pepper and the parsley. Once it’s processed, add the parmesan cheese just to mix, then pour bread crumb mixture into a dish.

Whisk the eggs in a baking dish and set up your dredging station: Chicken, egg, breadcrumb, baking rack.

Take each breast, coat it well in the egg, then dredge in the bread crumbs, pressing down on each side so it gets a nice, even coating. Set on the baking rack repeat with the two remaining chicken breasts.

Heat up a large sauté pan with cooking spray; cook chicken breast about 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and put the chicken breasts on it; top each chicken breast with ½ cup of marinara sauce and ¼ cup mozzarella and put into the oven for about 3-4 minutes until the cheese is melted.

 
Serve with pasta (save a little sauce for that) or sauteed broccoli, a green salad and some red wine, like I did!
 
 

Leftovers make great sandwiches too.  Enjoy!

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Posted in baked crispy chicken, chicken parmigiana, healthy cooking

5 Year Blog Anniversary!

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Anne| 6 Comments

Today marks five years since I first started Tuna Toast.  Wow.  Where did the time go?!  Back in 2005, I stumbled upon a NY-based food blog called The Amateur Gourmet, written by a then new-to-the-kitchen guy named Adam who is now quite big in the food media world and is no longer an amateur but quite an accomplished cook!  His honest and often hilarious stories of his foray into cooking really inspired me to start my own food blog, so on November 11, 2005, Tuna Toast (named after a dish made from a thick slice of bread topped with tuna salad and cheese, then broiled until toasty that is a staple at many cafés throughout Japan) was born.

I thought to commemorate this exciting (ok, maybe not so exciting!) day, I’d share with you a list of some of my favorite posts and defining moments of this humble blog, which is really just an outlet for my love of food and everything related to food.  My blogging experience has led me to many wonderful people- fellow bloggers, food writers, restaurateurs- and inspired me to challenge myself in the kitchen.  

Here’s a little Tuna Toast history:

First post:

For some crazy reason I decided that I should make French macarons by hand AND enter the new world of food blogging in the same post.  Luckily, the confections came out fairly ok.

Meeting fellow Los Angeles food bloggers in 2007:

Back then, there weren’t many of us, so Dylan of eat, drink & be merry and Jeni of Oishii Eats decided to get a few of us together to go eat dim sum.  Out of the group, quite a few of us are still blogging- including Daily Gluttony, who is now known as Rants & Craves, Eddie of Deep End Dining, Jonah of la.foodblogging, and of course Dylan and Jeni, who met shortly before this dim sum outing, fell in love, got married and became the toast of the L.A. food blogging community and very good friends of mine!  Many of us got together later that month for a potluck, and it was nice being part of the small community of food bloggers at the time.

Keeping track of things that came out of my kitchen:

Places that I’ve been fortunate enough to visit:

Great meals eaten in restaurants

Thanks for reading in spite of frequent breaks in blogging, and I hope to see you in another five years!

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Posted in blog anniversary, Tuna Toast anniversary

Pig’s Head Bolognese

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Anne| 4 Comments

 



I’ve written about my addiction to cookbooks before, and I’m not lying- if I spy a beautiful, hard-covered cookbook filled with glossy photos of beautiful food, it’s virtually impossible to turn away without buying it.  Ditto if I see one online, especially if it’s won a James Beard Award or is highly recommended by a chef or food personality I admire.  So you can imagine how quickly I grabbed Il Viaggio Di Vetri: A Culinary Journey as it sat alone on the top shelf of the cookbooks section at Borders.  After all, it was written by Marc Vetri of Philadelphia’s Vetri Ristorante, which Mario Batali called, “possibly one of the best Italian restaurants on the East Coast.”  Suzanne Goin once said “I do pretty much whatever Marc [Vetri] tells me to do.”  Yup, count me in.


I’ve never been fortunate enough to dine at one of Marc Vetri’s restaurants, but had heard he makes some of the best pasta in the United States.  After inviting my parents over for a family dinner, I started flipping through the pages, looking to see which fresh pasta I would try and recreate from Vetri’s many recipes.  However, one recipe in particular caught J’s eye, Pig’s Head Bolognese, and although it was one of the few pasta dishes in the book that called for dry, semolina pasta, I couldn’t deny the power of the pig and chose it being my journey into cooking a la Vetri.


So, who do you call when you need a pound of ground pork jowls?  Say it with me now, “McCalls Meat & Fish Company.”  I got on the horn with Nathan, asked him to order me a pound of pig’s jowl and to please have it ready for me to pick up in a couple of days.  No problem, he said, then even suggested I take an extra one, not ground, to perhaps cure some of my own, homemade guanciale.  Although I appreciated the vote of confidence, I wasn’t sure if I could find a place to hang the cured meat at a steady 55 degrees for over three weeks, so I declined.  But maybe one day I’ll get into the art of charcuterie.

I arrived to get my ground up pig’s jowl and will admit to you that, at first glance, was a bit….scared.  I knew jowls were fatty, but holy pig, the thing looked like a bag of ground…well, fat.  Even Nathan sort of looked at me like “yup…..well…” and I asked him whether or not he felt it would cook down to virtually nothing, if I should supplement it with some regular ground pork, etc.  After some thought, he advised me to follow the recipe to the letter since he, too, felt if it was a Marc Vetri recipe, it would probably work out great.  So with that, I grabbed my bag of fat and headed home.

I’m going to post the rest of this post in photos, just to show you how it cooked down, melted the aromatics and came together to make a gorgeous bolognese:
Here’s the meat, as it looked when I got it from McCall’s:

Into the pot it went:

Starting to render down:
10 minutes in:

 
20 minutes in:

Adding the aromatics and herb sachet, which I made from a coffee filter:

 

Vegetables in the pot:

 

Contiuning to break down:


At this point, add the remaining ingredients- white wine, 1/2 cup tomatoes and a couple of old parmesan cheese rinds, which I always save for soups:

After a couple of hours in the oven on low temp, here’s what came out:

All of the onions, carrots and celery had basically melted into the sauce, and although you can see a layer of grease, it wasn’t too oily/fatty when tossed with the hot pasta:
How was it?  It was soooo delicious- the collagen and fat in the jowl meat made the sauce so unctuous, deeply flavorful and rich, but not too rich.  The flavor from all of the ingredients really came together, and I think the addition of the parmesan rinds is key to this recipe.  We all loved it, and J and I sat on the sofa two days later and wolfed down the leftovers cold right out of the tupperware. 
For sides, I kept it simple and served Mario Batali’s marinated zucchini, which I think calls for waaaaay too much seasoning (a tablespoon each of pepper and salt!) so, even though I cut it down, it was a bit overpowering:
And a simply sauteed brocolli rabe with garlic and a dash of red pepper:
There’s something about Italian food that always makes me feel at home, and I’m glad I’ve been introduced to the world of Marc Vetri’s cooking.  I can’t wait to try out his other recipes!

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Posted in family dinner, home cooking, Italian cooking, Marc Vetri, pig's head bolognese

SugarFISH, Downtown Los Angeles

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Anne| 9 Comments

As readers of this blog probably know by now, I love sushi. Being half-Japanese, it’s something I grew up eating, whether it was of the roll your own variety that my parents served for dinner when I was a kid, boxed sushi in an eikben (a boxed bento sold at train stations in Japan) or at one of the two or three regular sushi joints J and I frequent around Los Angeles. J is particularly fond of it and 90% of the time I ask him where he wants to go out to eat, he says, “sushi.”

So when I was invited to try the newly opened SugarFISH by Sushi Nozawa, we were both excited.  In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll let you know we were guests of the restaurant and therefore did not pay for our meal. Also in the interest of once again proving I’m a crappy photographer, I had to get images from the restaurant because the ones I took were all too dark to use. Like, Black As Night dark. Anyway, that’s why these photos are so beautiful- I figure if you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you knew the minute you saw them that they were not mine….*sigh.*

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of Chef Nozawa and his namesake sushi restaurant in Studio City, and you may have heard that he’s often been dubbed “Sushi Nazi” for his insistence that diners eat what he recommends, prepared in a manner he sees best brings out the quality of the fresh fish. I’d certainly heard of him, but for some reason never got out to Studio City to try his sushi. Also, I’d had a particularly bad experience with another sushi place that has its own “Sushi Nazi,” and although I won’t mention the name of the place here, I’ll say that I barely had one foot in the door before the hostess practically barked at me, “We don’t have spicy. We don’t have mayonnaise. We don’t do spider roll. We don’t have Dynamite.” Actually I sort of wish she had some dynamite because I would have tossed in it her direction (too harsh?). I mean, do I have a sign on my head that says I’m Ignorant??? I almost walked out had I not been so hungry, and although the sushi at that anonymous-Culver-City sushi spot was good, it hardly erased the attack we faced when we walked in. We crossed that place off the list and never went back.

Anyway, moving on to Chef Nozawa and SugarFISH- I’ll be honest in saying I really didn’t know what to expect, but I was wary that I’d face another dressing-down like I’d gotten by that Culver-City place (that is not related in ANY way to Chef Nozawa or any of his restaurants, just to clarify!). When J and I walked in, it was quite the opposite- we were warmly greeted by the hostess and the manager, who showed us to a table- there is a bar where you can eat sushi but no “sushi bar” at SugarFISH. All of the sushi is created in the semi-open kitchen. Since J and I always sit at the sushi bar of any sushi restaurant, it was something new, and the dimly lit restaurant was cozy and inviting.

SugarFISH founder Emanuele Massimini sat down with us and started telling us about the concept behind what has already become a small chain (in addition to downtown, they have locations in Brentwood and Marina del Rey). He spoke very passionately about how his personal love of Chef Nozawa’s food drove him to get into business with him- how he and his friend dined weekly for years at Sushi Nozawa and kept the restaurant at #1 on their list of worldwide favorite places to eat. Eventually this passion for and belief in Chef Nozawa’s food lead to Massimini spearheading the SugarFISH idea. Basically, the team wanted to bring the quality Chef Nozawa is known for to people who may not want to spend $100 per person, or for people who assume lower-priced sushi must not be very good. Sure, there are existing sushi chain restaurants out there, but SugarFISH differs from, say, Wokano because they are focusing on traditional, authentic sushi; keeping the menu relatively small and showcasing top quality fish. This goes in line with Chef Nozawa’s famous “trust me” mantra.

SugarFISH offers three ‘omakase’ (chef’s choice) menus, and we were encouraged to try The Nozawa, the largest of the bunch:

THE Nozawa
Organic Edamame
Tuna Sashimi (Big Eye)
Albacore Sushi (2-pc)
Salmon Sushi (2-pc)
Snapper Sushi (2-pc)
Yellowtail Sushi (2-pc)
Halibut Sushi (2-pc)
Toro Hand Roll
Crab Hand Roll
“Daily Special” (2-pc)

Needless to say they didn’t need to twist our arms, and we were immediately served the edamame, which I’m going to go out on a limb and say were some of the best I’d ever had. They were perfectly room temperature and well-seasoned, but there was no appearance of salt on the outside of the pods. Edamame is free in most sushi places but it’s really hit and miss. These were definitely a hit!

The Big Eye tuna sashimi was served thinly sliced and stacked in house made ponzu sauce. Incredibly fresh and light, we both enjoyed this dish immensely, and I have to say it really got me excited for the rest of the meal.

After that the parade of nigiri started- the salmon nigiri had a sprinkling of beautifully toasted sesame seeds which were the perfect foil to the fatty salmon. WOWZA. I’d love to describe each single piece of nigiri we had but honestly I was more focused on just eating and enjoying it than taking mental notes. Here’s your mental note: it was all awesome. It was. Every piece was the perfect size- one bite, with the rice being slightly warm and lightly compressed so you’re not filling up on rice but instead tasting the freshness of the fish. Some of the fish comes dribbled with ponzu (a house made chili ponzu was my favorite) while others require a light dip in house made soy sauce.

When the toro hand roll arrived, we were encouraged to eat it quickly so the nori (seaweed) would stay nice and crisp. We did the same with the blue crab hand roll- the flavor of the crab was so pronounced and the nori crackled nicely. I also appreciated that they didn’t fill the nori from end to end- each time I took a bite, it pushed the filling slightly back into the extra space so there wasn’t any loss of the good stuff.

The ‘daily special’ was lobster, so we had another beautifully crafted hand roll, and capped off the meal with an order of creamy uni (sea urchin).

Not only was everything exceptionally well-prepared, but the prices are really keeping in line with SugarFISH’s mission to bring excellent sushi to people at a much lower price. The Nozawa course is priced at $35-$38- with the higher price being charged if the day’s special is something that costs more. SO you’re getting sashimi, and 12 pieces of nigiri + 2 hand rolls and their delicious edamame for under $40. Pretty incredible.

I know I’m practically gushing and I’ll take a risk by pointing out something else that is pretty awesome about SugarFISH- they include the nutritional information on the back of the menu. Now before you say “I don’t wanna know that stuff” I’ll assure you, there’s nothing to fear. The Nozawa dinner course (which we had- the uni was extra) clocks in at 850 calories- not bad at all when you consider that’s probably the amount you’d get in half of an appetizer at many restaurants these days (scary!). The slightly smaller “Trust Me” course has 695 calories while the “Trust Me Lite” has a mere 390!

We really enjoyed our experience at SugarFISH, and will definitely be going back whenever we get a hankering for sushi but don’t want to make a big night out of it. I still love to sit leisurely at a sushi bar, chat with the chef while drinking sake, but that’s usually a weekend kind of outing. I think having an option like SugarFISH is great for those who demand top quality sushi but don’t want to spend a Saturday night’s worth of money on a Tuesday night. Make sense?!

SugarFISH Downtown
600 W 7th St
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: 213 627-3000

SugarFISH Brentwood
11640 W. San Vicente Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Phone: 310 820-4477

SugarFISH Marina del Rey
4722 1/4 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
Phone: 310 306-6300

SugarFISH Santa Monica (January 2011)
1345 2nd Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401

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Posted in Downtown Los Angeles restaurants, SugarFISH, Sushi Nozawa, Sushi restaurants