January - you're kidding!

I guess I've been busy for the last 6 months. In truth I have. Ella was born and I spent time in Nashville and the job was very demanding. Things are settling down so I hope I'll have more time to post. These recipes are not meant to be repeated but I had to post them! Denis and I decided to do some very complex dishes from the "Nobu" cookbook with very mixed results. We had fun but of course it would have been better if Denis had just used the same ingredients and decided what to do with them. It was educational trying new things and different techniques. I'm not going to post the Patty Pan Squash with Spicy Vegetables. AWFUL! Evidently red peppercorns are totally different than cubeb peppercorns or vermouth is a lousy substitute for sake OR BOTH!! There were several different sauces that had to be made from scratch for this dish and it was a total waste of time flavorwise (new word!). We've decided that stuffed squash doesn't really work with Asian flavors but we know we can use these techniques and stuff some squash that will be fantastic.

Sake-Steamed Abalone (We used clams) Chalaca

We loved the salsa and if we ever get abalone we'll try it just like this.

Makes 10 pieces
10 fresh baby abalone (we substitued clams & only steamed until shells opened)
1 cup sake
1 cup Dashi Stock
1 piece kombu, 2" square
10 tsp. Chalaca Style Salsa (recipe follows)
5 cilantro leaves, torn in half

1. Clean the abalone and their shells. Reserve the shells and set aside. Place the abalone, sake, dashi and kombu in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 30 to 40 minutes. Allow to cool in the liquid.

2. Serve each abalone in its shell with a teaspoonful of the Chalaca Style Salsa. Garnish with the cilantro leaves.

Chalaca Style Salsa

1/2 medium tomato, skin and seeds removed, cut into 1/8-inch dice
1/4 small red onion, cut into 1/8-inch dice
pinch chopped aji limo (we used a hot jalapeno)
pinch chopped garlic
3 tbsp. steamed Peruvian corn kernels
Juice of 2 limes
1 1/2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. yuzu juice (used lime & clementine juices)
1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
1/2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Mix all ingredients except salt, pepper and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cilantro should be added just before serving to retain color.

Baby Radishes with Tomatillo Salsa

Of course we didnt have baby radishes but used red radishes, daikon (that was a little past prime), and cucumber.

Serves 10

Tomatillo Salsa

4 medium tomatillos, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1/4 serrano chili pepper, finely chopped
1/4 clove garlic
1 tsp. chopped cilantro leaves
1 tbsp. chopped white onion
pinch ground cumin seeds
pinch salt
2 tsp. Tosazu (recipe below)
Juice of 1 lime
5 each of at least three different types of baby rtadish, such as Chinese, Watermelon or Greentop

1. Make the Tomatillo Salsa: Combine all incredients and set aside.

2. Peel the radishes and trim into even cylinders. Slice as thinly as possible into regular disks on a mandoline. (We couldn't get them paper thin on our mandoline so Denis used his sushi knife and they came out perfectly). Soak in ice water until crisp Drain well. (We added some thinly sliced cucumber for color.

3. Arrange the radish slices on a plate in concentric rings by color, starting from the edge of the plate. Make sure that each disk overlaps the previous one. Sprinkle with the Tomatillo Salsa and sea salt.

Tosazu

3 tbsp. soy sauce
4 tbsp. rice vinegar
3 tbsp. dried bonito blakes

Heat the soy sauce and rice vinegar in a small saucepan until the mixture begins to steam. Remove from heat and add the bonito flakes. Cool to room temperature and strain.