Christmas morning in my family always began with me sitting at the top of the stairs with my sister. We would wait patiently while my parents put the finishing touches on the gifts under the tree, set up the video camera, and made coffee. The suspense that built not-so-gradually until we were finally allowed to go down the stairs. A fire would be crackling in the fireplace, and we would sit down as a family opening presents. At some point in the morning, we would enjoy a big, beautiful breakfast together.

Now that we have our own little family, I’m thinking of ways to make Christmas morning just as special and memorable for Riley. These gingerbread pancakes are an excellent place to start. Holiday breakfasts that play with the flavors of the season help to make the meal unique without adding too much extra work. The smell of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and molasses fill the air as the pancakes cook. The warmth and joy of the season is undeniable as you bite into the surprisingly light, cakey pancakes. Sitting down to a stack of delicious gingerbread pancakes and a mug of fresh, hot coffee or cider is the simple enough to start any chilly winter morning and festive enough to serve on Christmas morning. Also, pancakes are great to make in large batches because you can easily freeze the leftovers, pop them in the toaster, and enjoy them any day of the week.

This year, we will be spending Christmas in Tokyo. We have a tiny Christmas tree, there won’t be any snow, and definitely no fire crackling in the fireplace. However, we are together with our beautiful baby boy, making new memories with our newly expanded family.

What are some of your favorite Christmas memories or traditions?

Gingerbread Pancakes

Recipe from William-Sonoma

When I visited to Argentina a few years ago, I flew from Minneapolis to Dallas to Miami to Buenos Aires. It added up to something like 24 total travel hours and by the time I reached my destination I was completely exhausted. I remember very little about that first day in Buenos Aires aside from my happy reunion with (then boyfriend) Brad at the airport. It took me a couple of days to recover and get some rest, but when I did, I began to fall in love with Argentina- both its people and its food (of course).

Shortly after my arrival, Brad and I traveled to Mar del Plata for a few days, where we enjoyed breakfasts on a sun-filled deck, quiet walks along the beach, and I discovered my love (and I mean love) for café con crema. After a few days, we returned to the faster-paced Buenos Aires for the remainder of my visit. Brad lived with a beautiful host-family who truly adopted him as their own son while he lived there. They were so warm and lovely that I felt as though I could have stayed in their cozy home, complete with a friendly dog and a grandmother who made handmade ravioli every Sunday for the whole family, forever.

I don’t have many photos of my trip because this was before I really got into taking photos. But I remember a lot about it. One thing that sticks out in my mind is of course the food we ate. A couple days ago, we took a little trip down memory lane and made a simple argentine meal of empanadas and choripan with chimichurri.

Empanadas are wonderful. I’ve posted them before on the site (here). It seems like you are throwing together a million things that don’t make any sense together- ground beef, hard boiled eggs, raisins, green olives- but somehow they come together to form a perfectly flavored pocket wrapped in crispy, flaky crust. This time around, since there were some olive and raisin haters, I omitted those and used dried cranberries instead. This was actually a perfect substitute and added a subtly sweet, tangy flavor to the filling. I bake my empanadas, but if you buy them on the streets of Buenos Aires they will most likely be fried. I find that baking them still creates a delicious crust and prevents the mess of deep frying.

Choripan are sandwiches made with chorizo and french style rolls. These can be eaten as is but are best with the addition of chimichurri sauce, which is similar to a pesto but is made with flat leaf parsley and a few other ingredients one wouldn’t usually find in a traditional pesto. The flavor is bright and fresh and can be used on anything from meat to fish.

For dessert, I made empanadas filled with dulce de leché. I didn’t manage to get many photos of the dessert, so… What’s that? You insist that I make them again and do another post? Well, alright…just for you though!

This meal was great for Brad and I to make together. He was in charge of the choripan and I was maker of empanadas. We served the meal with a nice Malbec (if you haven’t tried it, get to it! It’s the perfect wine for grilled meat and this summer would be a great time to break open a bottle!) and had a great time reminiscing about our trip and sharing the experience with others. And don’t worry- I didn’t have any of the wine.

And last but not least (and this has nothing to do with Argentina) we found out that our little baby is a boy! We had an ultrasound on Wednesday and everything looks beautiful! I’m already completely, head over heels in love.

*I recommend making this dinner with another person just because its so much fun! Make the dough for the empanadas first, since it has to chill for about an hour in the refrigerator. Then, while one person makes the chimichurri sauce, the other makes the filling for the empanadas. Work on filling the empanadas together, or have one person do the filling and the other work on grilling the sausage for the choripan. Just keep in mind that the empanadas take a while to bake, but can be put back in the oven at about 275 degrees F to reheat if you want to do them ahead of time.

Chimichurri Sauce (from Simply Recipes)

1 cup firmly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, trimmed of thick stems

3-4 garlic cloves

2 Tbsps fresh oregano leaves (can sub 2 teaspoons dried oregano)

1/2 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1. Finely chop the parsley, fresh oregano, and garlic (or process in a food processor several pulses). Place in a small bowl.

2. Stir in the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Adjust seasonings.

3. Serve immediately or refrigerate. If chilled, return to room temperature before serving. Can keep for a day or two.

Argentine Empanadas

Makes 1 dozen empanadas

Filling:

2 T olive oil

1 lb. ground beef

1 small yellow onion, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup pitted green olives, roughly chopped (optional if you have olive haters)

1/3 cup raisins (or dried cranberries)

2 boiled eggs, chopped

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons water

black pepper and salt to taste

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, green onion, garlic, raisins and olives. Cook until the onion and garlic are soft and fragrant. Add the ground beef and brown thoroughly. Stir in the soy sauce and water. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring the mixture to prevent burning. Season with salt and pepper, transfer the filling to a large bowl and allow to cool while you make the dough. When the filling is cool, stir in the boiled egg.

Dough (adapted from Asian Dumplings cookbook):

2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar or honey

4 tablespoons shortening

5 tablespoons butter, chilled and diced

1 egg yolk (save the white to brush the dough before baking) mixed w/6 tablespoons water

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar (if using honey, mix the honey together w/the egg yolk and water.)

Add the shortening and butter and use your fingers to break it into tiny crumbles (very important that this is done well! If you have a food processor, use that…I don’t, so I use what God gave me!)

Add the egg/water/honey mixture to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until the dough comes together in a mass. Ditch the fork and use your hands to gently kneed the dough into a smoothish ball. Don’t do this for too long, just long enough to create a nice ball of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator when thoroughly chilled. On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a thick, small rectangle and cut in half. Working with one half of dough at a time, continue to roll the dough into a larger rectangle until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Using a circular cookie cutter, cut out section of dough and set aside. Do the same with the other half of dough.

Assembly:

Take each cut out circle and roll it out so it is thin, but not so thin you can see through it. Put about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of the dough circle and seal the edges. Place the filled empanada on a lined baking sheet. Lightly whisk your reserved egg white. Before placing in the oven, brush the top of each empanada with the egg white.

Bake at 375 degrees F for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Choripan

Makes 6-8 sandwiches

4 chorizo links (about the size of a bratwurst)

1 loaf of French bread, cut into 6-8 sections and cut in half like sandwich bread

olive oil

Heat a grill to medium high and cook the chorizo. When it is done, cut the chorizo in half once in the middle, then once lengthwise. Place the chorizo back on the grill, cut side down and grill for another minute or two for nice grill marks.

Brush the cut sides of the bread with olive oil and place them on the grill for about a minute. Transfer the bread and chorizo to a platter. Each place two halves of chorizo on each sandwich and serve with chimichurri sauce.

Easter has always been a big deal in my family. Actually, all major holidays are a pretty big deal in my family. We enjoy the same exact dishes each year at the same house. For 20+ years, holidays have been predictable and wonderful. Of course, when we moved to Japan everything changed. Holidays like Thanksgiving and Easter were no longer spent around the same group of family members. Instead, we found ourselves surrounded by a new “family” that helped us to break out of tradition and try some new things. In many ways, the changes we experienced helped me to appreciate the consistency I’ve had throughout my life.

Experiencing holidays in both concrete and transient environments has lead me to strongly believe in the power of sharing traditions with others. By sharing I don’t mean forcing people to like the way you do things, just simply allowing those closest to you to see what makes you who you are. The traditions we develop and carry with us help to create the diverse groups of people that make up this beautiful world and we can always learn from those outside of our close-knit circles.

Since many of you will be participating in Easter celebrations this weekend, I’ve put together a menu featuring recipes from Tokyo Terrace that represent the traditional and not-so-traditional aspects of holiday gatherings. Some of the recipes are based on my own family traditions, while others are new developments that have come about over the past couple of years in Japan.

No matter where in the world you find yourself, I hope you are surrounded by good people and comforting food.

Enjoy!

Drinks

Pink Lemonade & Thyme Sparkler

Bloody Marys with a Japanese Twist

Appetizers/Side Dishes

Deviled Eggs

Sweet & Spicy Thai Pineapple

Edamame Crostini with Meyer Lemon & Shiso

Mini Pommes Anna

Main Dishes

Savory Vegetable Galette

Phyllo Squares with Egg, Spinach & Cheese

Desserts

Whole Wheat Cranberry Citrus Scones

Strawberries & Japanese Whiskey Sabayon

Blueberry Tart

Brown Sugar Shortbread with Fig Jam

It’s been exactly one month since the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11th. One month ago, no one would have guessed that at 2:46pm, approximately 2 minutes of violent shaking would change everything. For some, their entire lives have been swept away. For others, daily life continues with a sense of confidence. Although, with each aftershock, the quiet nervousness returns. I have such admiration for the people of Japan after seeing just how much inner strength they have. While I am nowhere near as strong, witnessing their ability to live each day with a little more grace has been encouraging.

Blogging has proven to be difficult for me over the past few weeks. There has been a lot going on, aside from the whole earthquake thing, that has kept me from doing much cooking or photographing. The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I became. Nothing seemed to inspire me and I just couldn’t get over the writer’s block that had been crowding my brain. With some great advice from fellow writers on Twitter, it seems I’ve mostly broken through the brick wall. I’ve learned through watching the Japanese people continue as best they can with their daily lives that this is part of the healing process.

This simple asparagus salad was a great place to start. The bright green and yellow colors are fresh and vibrant; perfect for a clean start to a new month. The beautiful, clean flavor of the asparagus (which is in season in parts of the U.S. right now) with the gentle citrus flavor of Meyer lemon are perfectly contrasted with crispy shallots.

I hope the simple beauty of this salad is a precursor of good things to come in April. What are some of your favorite feel-good meals for spring?

Asparagus Salad with Meyer Lemon & Crispy Shallots

Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side

* If you can’t find Meyer lemon, you can use regular lemon but it will be more tart. Add a touch of olive oil to the lemon juice to mellow the flavor. Meyer lemon is best to use because it is a milder flavor to eat on its own, but you can make regular lemons work too.

1 lb fresh asparagus

2 Meyer lemons (1 for the juice and the other to slice for garnish)

2-3 medium shallots (about 1/2 up sliced)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. When the water comes to a boil, add a generous tablespoon of salt to the water. While the water is heating, break off the woody ends of the asparagus. Next, cut the asparagus into 2-3 inch pieces. Prepare an ice bath and place it close to the stove top.

Add the asparagus to the boiling, salted water and allow to blanch for 1 minute or until the asparagus have become bright green. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the asparagus to the ice bath to cool. Strain the asparagus and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with the lemon juice and set aside.

In a medium heavy pan, melt the butter. Add the sliced shallots and cook over medium-high heat until they are golden and crispy, about 10-15 minutes, gently stirring occasionally. Keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn and turn bitter. Remove the shallots from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer them to paper towel lined plate.

Arrange the asparagus on a serving platter and garnish with the sliced Meyer lemon and top with the crispy shallots.

So far this year I have been all about simplicity. Getting back to basics. Unloading baggage. Whatever you want to call it, it’s been freeing. Last weekend, I emptied two garbage bags of clothes out of my closet (some that I’d had since, gasp!, high school) leaving me with a sense or organization that I’m pretty sure I’ve never felt. After that came this desire to, gasp!, keep the apartment as clean as possible! If you are my parents and you are reading this right now, I hope you are sitting down.

I’ve been a bit of late-bloomer when it comes to housekeeping. I’ve been known to leave piles of stuff- just clutter- sitting around for weeks. I’ll admit it. Cleaning was one of my least favorite activities. What I realized while cleaning out my closet was that there was one central problem: I just had too many things. I tend to get emotionally attached to most things that I own. However, with each move over the past few years, I’ve been able to cut the cord. Packing is much easier when you have fewer things. Lesson learned! Just let it go!

My cooking has been significantly altered this year as well. I still love the same foods and crave the creative release of putting together a beautiful meal, but I realized the beauty doesn’t have to come from a million ingredients or “fancy” food. The humblest ingredients, often those left in the refrigerator as an after-thought to an insanely involved recipe, can be the building blocks of rustic, flavorful, honest food. This galette, for example, is made of carrots, an onion, and an apple that have been roasted with a light drizzle of olive oil until the flavor has intensified. The crust, enhanced with red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese, comes together quickly while the vegetables slowly roast. And there is still time left to clean up the (small) pile of dishes from prep.

Perfect for a weeknight meal or an elegant dinner party. Simplicity. That’s what it’s all about.

*Check out RestaurantWare.com if you’d like catering supplies like these bamboo plates and flatware of your own!Enter coupon code “tokyoterrace” and receive 10% off! In this post, you see bamboo fork & knife and bamboo leaf plate.

Savory Vegetable Galette
Filling
2 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 onion, 1/2 inch dice
1 apple (I used Fuji, but you could use any variety) cut into 1/2 inch cubes
*cutting the vegetables into smaller cubes greatly reduces time for roasting
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with tin foil to make clean-up easier. Spread the vegetables in an even layer in the pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 30-45 minutes or until vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize. While the vegetables are cooking, make the crust:

1 cup of flour
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
5T unsalted butter, placed in the freezer for 30 minutes-1 hour
1/4 cup ice water
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, red pepper flakes, salt, and butter. If you froze the butter (which I highly recommend) use a medium-large sized cheese grater (not a microplane) to grate it into the mixing bowl. This will make it easier to work into the flour and keep the temperature cold. This is a trick of my mother’s that works beautifully! Using your fingers, combine the dry ingredients with the butter until the mixture resembles small crumbs. Using a teaspoon, slowly add the ice water 1 teaspoon at a time. Do this until the mixture holds together well and is not dry or crumbling. I usually have to use 2, maybe 3 teaspoons, but this can vary depending on climate, etc. Gently knead the dough until it comes together completely. Gather the dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for half an hour and up to 2 hours.
2. While the dough is chilling, remove the vegetables from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Set the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
3. When the dough has chilled long enough, turn it out on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough with a rolling pin or wine bottle in a large circle until it is about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Place the rolling pin in the center of the dough (like you are drawing a line in the center of the cirle). Gently fold the dough in half over the rolling pin, making a half circle with the pin in the center. Lift the rolling pin, supporting the dough with your other hand, and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Open the dough and set the pin aside.
4. Pile the vegetables in the center of the dough and spread evening, leaving about 2-3 inches of dough around the edges. Fold the dough around the vegetables and gently press folds together to seal (see photos to see what the folds should look like). Brush the dough with the egg white and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
5. Bake the galette for about 20 minutes or until the crust in a golden brown around the edges. Serve with a green salad and a glass of bright Chardonnay or a Pinot Noir.

There are some foods that, no matter what you do, are just not pretty. They are brown and mushy looking, lacking any vibrant colors or eye-catching patterns to reel you in like a fish on a hook. On the other hand, there are some foods that mystify with their beauty. Combine the two and you have “Beauty and the Beast”, as my husband put it.

I used my pickled lotus root from the other day as a garnish to some delicious, but not-so-pretty, short ribs. The short ribs were browned in a pan, placed in the bottom of my slow-cooker, covered with Japanese beer (Kirin), carrots, onions, 2 bay leaves and a sprinkle of herbs de provence. After nearly 10 hours of slow and low cooking, the ribs came out absolutely falling off the bone. There was nothing I could do to keep the meat fully intact as I removed it with my tongs. It just insisted on melting into beautiful shreds. And by “beautiful” I mean perfectly cooked…not visually beautiful. To make this dish appealing to the eye, I simply placed one slice of pickled lotus root on top with a few snow peas. The drastic contrast in color and texture helped make what is otherwise a pile of mush into something photo-worthy.

It’s wonderful when nature shows off a little with the creation of something as breathtaking, and imperfect, as the lotus root. Each lotus root is different- the holes are different shapes and sizes, form different patterns, and are never perfect. Before the lotus root is peeled, it looks a little rough around the edges. But as you dig deeper and find what is hidden inside, the oddities disappear. The imperfections and differences are what make them beautiful. If only we could look at everything…and everyone…with the same admiration and joy.

Japanese Beer Braised Short Ribs

Makes enough for 4-6 servings

3-4 pounds meaty short ribs

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

1 12 oz. can Kirin beer, or other rich-flavored lager beer

1 cup sliced carrots

1 large onion, sliced

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon herbs de provence

2 tablespoons flour

In a large, heavy pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, dry the short ribs with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Brown the short ribs on all sides in the pan, about 1 1/2-2 minutes per side.

Transfer the ribs to the slow cooker. Add the carrots, onions, bay leaves and Herbs de Provence. Pour in the beer and set the slow-cooker on low. Allow to cook for at least 8 hours and up to 10.

Gently scoop the ribs out of the slow-cooker with a slotted spoon or tongs and place on a platter. Don’t worry if they fall apart- that’s a good sign! In a heavy bottomed pan, add about 2 cups of the remaining cooking liquid. Bring to a simmer. Gradually sift in the flour and whisk until the mixture begins to thicken. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the ribs. Serve over brown rice and top with pickled lotus root and snow peas…or other naturally beautiful garnish.

This weekend has been great. The sun was shining during the day and the evenings were refreshingly cool. Brad and I had time to relax a bit in the mornings, which hasn’t happened in a long time, and even had a doggie play date for Callie. She was officially worn out and looked like this for the rest of the weekend…

Yes, it was a good weekend for all of us. Relaxed but still productive. When I have extra time like I did this weekend, I seem to get a burst of energy that helps me accomplish things that on most days are not possible. Today, I managed to make my own chicken stock using a chicken carcass I had hidden away in the freezer (appetizing, I know). One of these days I’ll share my stock recipe with you all. Every time I make it, I wonder why I don’t do it more often. The smell that wafts through every room is enough reason on its own, but the flavor that the stock brings to soups, stews, even pasta dishes, is beyond explanation. This afternoon, I decided to whip up some homemade tomato soup using the freshly made stock. To make things even better, the night before I had thrown together some homemade rosemary saltine crackers for a cheese plate. The leftovers were absolute perfection alongside the hearty tomato soup. Light, crispy, with the perfect amount of saltiness. The recipe for the crackers will be coming…don’t you worry!

I have loved tomato soup for quite a while. Usually accompanied by a grilled cheese sandwich or a big stack of saltine crackers from the cupboard. But the deliciousness I found in my soup bowl today is on a completely different level from the congealed, condensed soup of my childhood.

I remember wondering, while watching the condensed tomato soup slide out of the can, slowly jiggling and wriggling its way into the saucepan on the stove, how on earth one would make something like that. The answer is this: you don’t. You make something better.

Tomato soup is one of those comfort foods that, if homemade, is easy to feel good about. Controlling exactly what goes into the soup gives me peace of mind. All those long words on the canned version sort of freak me out. It’s like taking a bite out of a car tire or something. It’s just not meant to be ingested! There is no excuse for not making your own tomato soup. This took me…wait for it…15 minutes!!!! Not even joking. I know…you’re shocked.

The flavor said “slow-roasted tomatoes and pain-stakingly long hours simmering”, but it was ready in no time at all! A bowl of flavorful tomato soup was the perfect lunch on Sunday afternoon. And with such a short amount of time spent slaving away, this is a great soup to make in large batches. Just split the soup into freezer bags and keep on hand for those cold winter days when you need something to warm you from the inside out.

Here’s a little secret…when you cook the onions, add a tablespoon or two of honey for a little extra depth and sweetness. Trust me when I say it adds a beautiful dimension to what could end up tasting a bit like marinara sauce if you’re not careful.

Tomato Soup and Rosemary Saltines

Makes about 1 1/2-2 quarts of soup

2 cans whole tomatoes

4 cups homemade chicken stock, or good quality store-bought

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, sliced

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons dried thyme

salt

black pepper

red pepper flakes

Strain the canned tomatoes over a bowl. Set the liquid aside for later.

Heat the butter in a medium pan with 3 inch sides and a lid. When the butter has melted, add the onions. Allow them to soften slightly, then add the honey. Stir until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the strained tomatoes and use a wooden spatula to break them apart slightly. Cook over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, the thyme, a modest sprinkle of salt, and about 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Add the chicken stock and bring to a steady simmer. Add the remaining tomato liquid and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to smooth the soup (this is not required but it creates a silkier texture). If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a regular blender by adding the soup in small batches. Hot liquids tend to get a little out of control in the blender, so be careful!

Ladle into serving bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream if desired.

When I was young, my family went on a lot of road trips. We would drive from Minnesota to Tennessee every year to visit my mother’s family and I remember, more often than not, driving through Western Wisconsin talking about the grilled cheese and tomato soup we would have for dinner as soon as we arrived home. This was the meal of choice partly because there were no groceries to speak of after 2 weeks of being away, but also because its a meal we all enjoyed.

After spending the weekend in Thailand I’ve been craving something simple and comforting. Since grilled cheese and tomato soup is not exactly common around here, I tend to want onigiri or Japanese noodles instead. This meal of simple somen noodles with warm dashi was the perfect meal after my “road trip” to Southeast Asia. Often times somen noodles are eaten with cold dipping sauces, perfect for hot summer days in Japan. I’ve decided to give them an autumnal spin instead by using the hot dashi broth. Sometimes, if I’m feeling adventurous, I’ll add a dollop of miso butter to the broth to give it a bit more body and flavor.

With a couple umeboshi, this is the perfect light meal after traveling. Or just when you’re short on time and want a healthy, satisfying supper. Most of the time I’m too impatient to dip my somen noodles. Instead, I’ll just put the noodles right in the broth and skip the dipping.OK, I’m just a messy noodle-dipper-slurper. There, I admitted it.

Somen Noodles & Hot Dashi

Serves 2

For the dashi:

2 cups water

1 3-inch piece kombu

2 dried shiitake mushrooms

1/3 cup bonito flakes

1 T soy sauce OR 2-3 T miso butter

Put the water in a saucepan with the kombu and shiitakes. Allow the kombu and shiitake’s to soak in the water for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight (the longer you let the sit the more flavor you will get in the stock- I usually let everything soak for about an hour when I’m short on time).

Place the saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. After about 5 minutes remove the kombu and shiitakes. Remove the stock from the heat and gently add the bonito flakes. After about 3 minutes, strain the stock through a coffee strainer. Stir in 1 tablespoon miso paste (or miso butter) if desired or just the soy sauce. Reheat if needed before serving.

For the noodles:

2 bundles somen noodles (typically sold in small bundles at Asian grocery stores)

Cook according to package directions. Usually these delicate noodles take only 2-3 minutes. Strain and run under cold water. Serve alongside the dashi and garnish with chopped green onions or Chinese chives.

There are few flavors that excite me more than the combination of sweet and salty. These two drastically different tastes are magnificent and used in seemingly endless ways. Usually, I only find this flavor combo in unhealthy dishes. OK, I’ll be honest: that’s probably because the unhealthy dishes win most battles based on my own inability to say ‘no’.

That was the case until this salad came along.

Made with umeboshi, a Japanese plum that is dried then pickled, this salad is simple yet bursting with exotic flavors. The salty and tart flavor of the umeboshi can be strong on its own, but paired with creamy avocado and a walnut oil dressing, the flavor is a bit more mild. Mild, yes. Unnoticed, no. The flavor still pops, just like the pink color, in the midst of the crisp greens and smooth avocado. The addition of walnut oil vinaigrette, made with walnut oil and Japanese mirin, adds a slight earthiness that helps to counter the tang of the umeboshi. Because mirin is slightly sweet, the marriage of the vinaigrette with the umeboshi is perfect. Subtle and beautiful, this salad fulfills the need to quench my salty-sweet cravings in a healthy way. And how gorgeous are the black sesame seeds? The contrast in color is nearly as wonderful as the flavor itself.

I chose to use a bitter green for the salad, but any light, leafy green, such as bibb lettuce, frisée, or microgreens, will suffice.

If you are interested in giving umeboshi a try, check at your local Japanese or Asian grocery store.

Umeboshi & Avocado Salad

Serves 2 as a main dish and 4 as a side dish

1/2 cup umeboshi, pitted and roughly chopped

1 head leafy-greens, frisée…anything you prefer, washed and chopped

1 avocado, sliced

1/4 cup walnut vinaigrette (see recipe below)

2 teaspoons black sesame seeds

Pile the lettuce in a large bowl. Arrange the avocado slices on top followed by the umeboshi. Drizzle with the walnut vinaigrette and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve.

Walnut Vinaigrette

Makes a scant 1/3 cup

1/4 cup walnut oil

3-4 tablespoons mirin

Whisk the walnut oil and mirin together. Season with salt if desired. (If using on the Umeboshi & Avocado Salad, refrain from using salt as the pickled plums are very salty on their own.)

Inspiration comes in many forms. I find myself inspired by the lunches Japanese students bring to school that are so carefully prepared and planned by their mothers. Inspiration creeps in while riding my bike down the street and passing a noodle shop that smells like rich miso broth and sounds like grateful soup slurpers. Other times, inspiration finds its way into my mind by opening up a book. A cookbook, that is. It’s no secret that we all have different moments that give us that creative jolt to come up with the next great idea, whether it is in the kitchen, at the office, or elsewhere. That’s the beauty of creating. It happens differently for each of us and the result, though not always what we imagined, becomes just what we need to continue developing ideas.

For this recipe, my inspiration came from David Chang. Chang’s recipe for miso butter in his cookbook, Momofuku, is a simple combination of salty miso paste and creamy butter. But oh, the possibilities that come from these two simple ingredients are endless. I modified the miso butter recipe slightly for the wine dinner. Using equal parts miso paste and butter resulted in a perfectly creamy, flavorful base for crisp, green sugar snap peas, rich, perfectly cooked salmon, and a gorgeous fried egg with a bright orange yolk.

For the wine dinner I used a fried quail egg. Let me just say that was the worst idea ever. Oh, it turned out beautifully in the end, but it was madness trying to break open all those little eggs for 40 people! And then frying them?!? Long story short: What was I thinking? So, since quail eggs are difficult to find for some, I’ve substituted a regular, sunny-side-up egg in this post. Feel free to use whatever you like- they both make a gorgeous presentation! I have a pretty serious love affair going on with eggs, so anytime I can top a meal with one I jump at the chance.

When you shop for salmon, make sure to look for thick lines of white running through the flesh and try to smell it if you can. It should be odorless. Having adequate fat in the salmon ensures it won’t dry out when you cook it. For the wine dinner, we used Scottish salmon from Coastal Seafoods (if you live in the Twin Cities and aren’t already buying your seafood there, get on it!) that was just perfect. Here in Japan we are fortunate to find plenty of salmon year round (yay!). It looks like this:

As the main entree, this dish was perfectly paired with a 2007 Deux Amis Zinfandel. When Kurt told me he was going to pair the salmon with a Zinfandel, I was skeptical. But as I’ve said before, Kurt is a master when it comes to wine (he has several awards for Best Wine List from Wine Enthusiast to prove it!) so I went with it. It turns out that the Zinfandel stood up nicely to the miso butter, salmon, and egg without overpowering the dish. Perfection.

Here are the recipes and pairings we have covered so far:

Lotus Root Chips with Hou Hou Shu Sparkling Sake

Edamame Crostini with Meyer Lemon & Shiso, paired with Yuki No Bosha Junmai Ginjo

Scallop and Corn Gyoza with Sriracha Dipping Sauce, paired with HB Picpoul de Pinet 2009

Pork Belly & Leek Yakitori with Asian Slaw, paired with Ramon Bilbao Crianza Rioja 2005

Salmon with Miso Butter, Sugar Snap Peas, and Fried Quail Egg, paired with Deux Amis Zinfandel 2007

Only one more post to go! Are you ready for dessert?

Salmon with Miso Butter, Snap Peas, & a Fried Egg

Serves 4

4 center cut salmon steaks, skin on

2 cups sugar snap peas

1 cup shiro (white) miso paste, room temperature

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

4 eggs

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Lightly pat the salmon dry with a paper towel. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the miso paste and butter. Stir until smooth and fully incorporated. Use  a pastry brush to smear about 1/4 cup of miso paste in the center of each serving plate. Arrange the sugar snap peas on top of the miso butter in one layer. Set the plates aside while you cook the salmon and eggs.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. After about 1 or 2 minutes, add about 4 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. Wait for the oil to heat, about 1 minute, and add the salmon, skin side down. (The pan should be hot enough that it immediately sizzles when the fish is placed in the oil.) Allow the fish to cook on one side for about 3 minutes. Flip the fish and cook or another 2 minutes for medium-rare. Cook for 3-4 minutes if you’d like your fish more done.

Carefully remove the salmon from the pan and put on a plate. Set aside.

In the same pan you used for the salmon, fry the eggs in the olive oil until the whites are firm (but do not flip for sunny side up). If the whites are not done and it seems the bottom is getting too done, you can transfer the eggs to a lined baking sheet and put them under the broiler, watching VERY carefully, until the whites have set.

While the eggs fry in the pan, place the salmon steaks on top of the sugar snap peas. When the eggs are done, put them on top of the salmon. Sprinkle with black pepper and red pepper flakes and serve immediately.