Poke Tuna

Posted on September 3, 2015 by melsmosaic

I love tuna, I love sashimi, but then was told about Poke Tuna — new one to me. Hmmm…time to check this stuff out. Of course had to google this term and millions of things came up. How to narrow this down? Was tough to pick one, but it did have to happen.

Ingredients

1 pound Ahi tuna loin cut into 1/2 inch dice — used the frozen stuff from TJ’s after some recommendations because it’s flash frozen
1/4 cup minced maui onion
1 teaspoon grated ginger
3 tablespoons scallions thinly sliced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Juice of half lime

Whisk together all ingredients except for tuna. When ready to serve combine dressing with tuna and squeeze a half lime over top.

So good, so easy…and tough not to keep eating and eating! Great for summer (though, yes, I know it’s about over), since it’s a no-cook meal. Have some this weekend as we head into Labor Day and the hot temps are still around.

Sashimi-me

Posted on August 2, 2015 by melsmosaic

Hot days mean cool dinners. When Bon Appetit arrives at my door it means reading the index of recipes first to see what needs to be made! The recent issue has so much good stuff it was/is hard to pick. But with the recent temps of 90+, little cooking is ideal. So the recipe of Snapper Sashimi with Seaweed and Fennel could not be turned down (the hardest part, honestly, was going to the grocery store after sitting at the pool for awhile).

Ingredients (oh the fun…)

-2 teaspoons dried cut wakame seaweed (I went to Whole Foods. You can either buy a bag of these things for about $8. Or, after talking to one of the guys who works there, we decided that I could try using one of the little seaweed snack pieces, that look like green stained glass, that cost $1.99 cost the entire box…hmmm…
-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1 teaspoon finely grated peeled horseradish (I can’t eat the stuff so can’t tell you what it tastes like with this, but I am sure it add tons of great taste)
-1 teaspoon soy sauce
-1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
-Small pinch of sugar
-Kosher salt
-¼ small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced on a mandoline (just random, there were no regular size fennel bulbs, just these tiny guys, maybe the size of 2 or 3 grape tomatoes, pretty cute, then they have tons or fronds. I saved those, heck yeah!)
-2 small radishes, trimmed, very thinly sliced on a mandoline
-½ pound skinless, boneless red snapper fillet, sliced ¼ inch thick (Let’s talk about Whole Foods and fish. The recipe also says “The type of fish you use is less important than its quality. Black bass, striped bass, and fluke all translate well.” They didn’t have any of those on a Friday evening. It’s ‘rush hour’ — I didn’t know what to do, not did the guy working. He deduced that I could try Cobia. I just still just a bit taken aback that Whole Foods didn’t have any of the prime seafood it called for)
-½ cup chervil leaves (Another problem, Whole Foods had no chevril leaves, ok, I live walking distance from it and did not want to drive to get anything. The produce guy said the best substitute would be flat leaf parsley)
-1 teaspoon fennel pollen (optional)
-Flaky sea salt

Getting all this together was pretty easily, definitely fun.

Directions:

-Soak wakame in 1 Tbsp. cold water in a small bowl to rehydrate, 5–8 minutes; drain. Ok, it was sort of slimy afterwards — very cool.

(Don’t forget to take those radishes and that fennel to the mandoline).

Combine lime juice, oil, horseradish, soy sauce, sesame seeds, and sugar in a medium bowl; season with kosher salt. Add fennel, radishes, and seaweed to dressing; toss to combine.

Arrange snapper (or fish at hand) on a platter. Spoon dressing and vegetables over and top with chervil and fennel pollen, if using; season with sea salt. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.

WOW! The Asian-flair of flavors all came together to hit the palate and gave an amazing taste. I also happened to serve this on a platter I bought in Japan so of course it made it taste even better! So good. Will definitely try it with bass, too.

Stella Barra, North Bethesda

Posted on July 13, 2015 by melsmosaic

North Bethesda/Rockville (whatever the Postal Service decides to truly name it) is growing. In Pike & Rose there are several new restaurants and I checked out Stella Barra last week. It’s a pizzeria with several other options on the menu.

My friend and I decided to split a pizza, but after being told it takes at least 20 minutes for pizza to be ready, we opted for an appetizer, as well.

For the first course, we decided on the Cauliflower Hummus.

It was delicious, and loved that it came with both pita and veggies. But, I will say, $14…for hummus…really? I would rather make it at home or go to the store and buy something similar. They know people will try a place and order whatever in this area and just want to be out (and I am guilty of it this time). Will be interesting to see how long it lasts.

For the pizza, we opted for their special of the night, with beets and goat cheese as the prime toppings, with the Grana nixed. Interesting how they can make a whole pizza for $3 more than hummus. I sweet talked the waiter to into giving us arugula since I can’t do the ‘regular’ cheese. We got it.

It was delicious! Perfectly cooked and amazing flavors all around. All the food was paired with beer and red wine, too.

Totally worth checking this place out, despite the price, because all the restaurants in the area are about the same.

Ahhh, Nicoise

Posted on June 17, 2015 by melsmosaic

One of my favorite salads is a Salade Nicoise. And oddly, it was not that easy to find in France. Come on, that’s where it’s from! But on my last night in Bordeaux, I checked out the menu at a place that had caught my eye because of the cool decor around it — all sorts of neat animals — Michel’s. They don’t have a website so the best you can do google them at Michel’s, Bordeaux to get additional info. You can find lots of stuff.

I obviously checked it out/decided to eat there since I am writing this post, because they had a great Nicoise on the menu. Absolutely perfect! Could not have asked for better.

Some steak tartare was also enjoyed at the table, which also wasn’t seen all that much.

Wine was consumed as well, but there was various glasses so I could not easily snap of shot of the label. They were packed and short staffed so could not easily ask to see the label proper.

Great way to wrap that part of the trip.

Sugo

Posted on May 11, 2015 by melsmosaic

Revisited a restaurant recently that I hadn’t been to for a few years — Sugo in Potomac, MD (a suburb of DC), an Italian Osteria and Pizzeria.

The best thing this place has to offer is their Sangria, and they also have other phenomenal dishes.

After browsing the menu for awhile decided on the Brussels sprouts to start with, served with crispy pancetta & caper aioli sherry vinaigrette. The Brussels sprouts were so perfectly crisp. And, I don’t like aioli, but let me tell you, there wasn’t quite enough in the bowl. I don’t know what they put in there besides what the menu states…

Next I ordered the squid. Or properly said, charred octopus with potato, ‏ capers and pickled radish. Let me tell you, there was so much seafood on that plate, it was awesome! And, so perfectly cooked, just moist when you bite into it with amazing flavor.

Great place to check out if you need something new.

Riverside Hotpot

Posted on April 15, 2015 by melsmosaic

Checked out a new and new type of restaurant recently. It was Riverside Hotpot.

Some history of hot pot —

“The Chinese hot pot has a history of more than 1,000 years. Hot pot seems to have originated in Mongolia where the main ingredient was meat, usually beef, mutton or horse. It then spread to southern China during the Tang Dynasty and was further established during the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. In time, regional variations developed with different ingredients such as seafood. By the Qing Dynasty (AD 1644 to 1912), the hot pot became popular throughout most of China. Today in many modern homes, particularly in the big cities, the traditional coal-heated steamboat or hot pot has been replaced by electric, propane, butane gas, or induction cooker versions.
Because hot pot styles change so much from region to region, many different ingredients are used.”

In short, you get tons of food, especially since it’s all you can eat! First you pick the base broth you want:

Then choose all the veggies and meats to throw in there. OMG! Way too much to pick from!

They bring the broth out first so it can heat up. Then they start bringing the other stuff out and you throw it in there when you’re ready and at what pace you like.

You go and go until you are maxed out. It’s just amazing. They also have a spice bar, with sauces and topping, that you can choose things from, including soy sauce, sesame seeds, green onions, etc. So much fun. What’s also great is you can make it full of veggies, full of seafood, full of meat — it totally caters to what YOU want. I can’t wait to go back!

Gringos & Mariachis

Posted on March 29, 2015 by melsmosaic

Caught up with a friend the other night and we were in the mood for some good margaritas. There are always the cookie cutter places. Why we must we always go there? Then I remember checking out a place in Woodmont Triangle (in downtown Bethesda) last year that I wanted to go to again.

It is so ‘hidden’ that it’s easy to miss. We eventually tracked down Gringos and Mariachis on Cordell Ave. I say hidden because there is no sign for it. The exterior of the building is gray and their name is painted in black above the windows. If you don’t know exactly where it is, amongst other popular restaurants, you walk right by it, as we did. I only worked and lived near it for years and missed it.

Anyway, we walked in and it was packed on a Friday evening. We snagged a (1) stool at the bar and (fast forwarding) were eventually able to get another. They had a good variety of margaritas and I opted for the smoked one to begin.

The bartender said it’s the combo of the type of tequila and mezcal, and of course the special salt blend they use that makes it good. Very unique and darn tasty!

We also got some staple food, from chips and guac to salsa. Some of their salsa is super spicy! They have tacos al pastor, which are very hard to find in the US. I remember having them in Mexico. It’s a pork taco and very good. We also had their delicious seafood taco with Mahi Mahi.

Another great restaurant to check out, especially if you’re into margaritas. And, it’s close to the Bethesda Metro and near many of the parking garages.

Mole de Pistache (Pistachio Mole)

Posted on February 26, 2015 by melsmosaic

Wanted to make a new (to me) recipe the other day and did some Mexican food research in a great cookbook — Mexico The Beautiful Cookbook. Wanted something fairly unique versus the normal tacos, etc. Found a recipe that sounded great — Pistachio Mole. Had to give it a try. I had to alter it a bit because of some of the dairy factors.

The quick mention:

Martha Chapa puts together the unusual and delicate combination of pistachios and avocado leaves in this new version of mole.

Ingredients:

8 chicken legs with thighs (I used chicken breasts)
3 cups white wine
3 cups water
2 onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic
4 avocado leaves, fresh or dried**these are pretty much non-existent in the States — the best substitute I found based on research is a combination of bay leaves and cracked anise seed
salt
6 tablespoons butter (I used olive oil)
2 tablespoons oil (sort of brought this and the above together)
1 chile poblano, roasted, peeled and membranes removed
10 oz shelled pistachios, skins removed
freshly ground pepper

Garnish

1/2 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
fresh avocado leaves (optional)

Directions

First, the fun part was roasting the chile — I no longer have a gas stove so tested the ability of doing this on an electric (coil) one. Quite interesting. I turned on all fans and opened all windows.

-In a large covered saucepan over medium heat, simmer the chicken in the wine and water along with 1 onion and the garlic, avocado leaves and salt until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the chicken, reserving the stock, and return to the saucepan.

-While the chicken is cooking, heat the butter and oil in a skillet. Add the chile, remaining onion and the pistachios and saute until lightly browned.

In a blender or food processor, grind this mixture with a little of the reserved stock, then simmer in a covered saucepan over very low heat for 30 minutes. Pour over the chicken and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Before serving, add pepper and more salt if needed.

-In a small skillet, saute the onion in the butter for 5 minutes or until translucent. Garnish with the onions and, if you like, fresh avocado leaves.

The end results was quite unique. I love pistachios so you can never go wrong. It could have used a touch more salt and I would say maybe a hint of lemon. I would definitely recommend trying this.

Pasta Sauce on a Whim

Posted on February 26, 2015 by melsmosaic

Last Saturday was just cold, snowy and blah here in DC and all I wanted was some great pasta sauce. Why buy the stuff? Decided to grab a bunch of stuff and see what I could put together based on the rough research I did on cooking the stuff. Came up with the following ingredients (don’t have exact measurements on any of these):

-canned tomatoes
-onions
-olives
-garlic
-spices
-bay leaves
-fennel seed (almost forgot that one)
-red wine
-S&P
-olive oil

Threw them all in a pot and brought them to a boil then simmered them over medium heat for about 30+ minutes.

Final result was a delicious, chunky sauce with tons of flavor.

Served it over spaghetti squash with some seared shrimp.

Bidwell

Posted on February 18, 2015 by melsmosaic

Recently found out about a newish (one year old) restaurant in DC at Union Market. It’s a growing area and Union Market alone has tons of great little (food) shops. The restaurant is Bidwell, and there is also a restaurant by the same chef in NYC. They have a garden on the rooftop and in the summer grow their own herbs and veggies — nice!

Our ‘table’ was great — right in front of the kitchen so we got to watch all the action take place. It was a busy night, they didn’t expect it, so stuff was a bit under par, but that just meant we got to watch more of the fun take place.

It took awhile to get our cocktails because they had one bartender but I eventually received my City Sage.

Quite unique. I’m not a huge bourbon drinker but that sage intrigued me. Was totally worth trying it!

For an appetizer, we tried some of the highly-kitchen-rated Brussel sprouts. So nice and crisp and crunchy — give me more!

We then had to try the kale salad, just super fresh, with pine nuts and a nice vinaigrette (that had anchovies in it to give it a perfect saltiness).

To cap it off, went with the salmon served over cauliflower. Again, very good — after I received it 3 times over. They initially told me there was no dairy, but that white stuff at the very bottom is mostly dairy. The second time I got it, the cauliflower should be outside right now (freezing), the third time, delicious!

Overall, I will totally check this place out again. The manager apologized for the slow service but the food was delicious. If you’re in DC and can make it to Union Market, check this place out.