Honey-Tamari Glazed Salmon with Bok Choy

One of our many amazing evenings in Paris we went to a restaurant that I had made reservations at called Le Timbre.  I had read amazing things about this place and decided it was a must do while in Paris.  It was a fixed menu with options on how many courses you wanted and we went all out with the five courses.  It was a very small and intimate restaurant with only the server and the chef running the entire show.  Everything was super delicious but my favorite three dishes are pictured below: cauliflower and smoked eel, white fish with cannellini beans, and rare filet mignon.  We also purchased an unforgettable bottle of wine to pair with our meal.  It was the most romantic meal we had in Paris.  After that we stopped at a store and bought a bottle of wine and headed towards the Eiffel Tower.  The Eiffel Tower was so beautiful with all of its lights shining in the night, we sat down on some grass near the base of it and popped our bottle of wine.  This romantic evening was so amazing I hope to experience it again in my lifetime.  Ok now let's talk salmon, my awesome dad caught this salmon and gave me a big ol' slab so I had to do it justice and make a tasty meal.  I adapted this recipe and it was heavenly to say the least.

Serves 4

The Ingredients
1 cup tamari
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 inch peeled fresh ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 1/2 pounds salmon (about 4 fillets)
1 head bok choy, chopped up


The Process
1.  Whisk tamari, honey, lemon juice, ginger, and garlic together until honey dissolves. Reserve 1/4 cup of marinade in separate bowl, then place salmon, skin-side up, in marinade. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes (I did an hour).

2.  Meanwhile, preheat broiler (or grill) to high. Heat 1/4 cup of water in medium skillet over high heat and bring to a boil. Add bok choy and cover. Allow to steam until almost tender, about 4 minutes, then add reserved marinade. Toss to combine, cook for an additional 2 minutes to reduce excess liquid. Remove from heat.

3.  Put the salmon under the broiler skin-side down and broil without turning until exterior is well-caramelized and the fish is just cooked through, 7-10 minutes, depending on thickness and the distance from broiler. (I did 8 minutes and it was perfect).

4.  Arrange bok choy on plates and top with the salmon fillets.

Japanese Cucumber Salad

This last extended weekend was full of fun, we floated the Clackamas river for 4 hours on Saturday and then Sunday - Tuesday we were camping up at Timothy Lake on Mt. Hood.  We went canoeing, crawdad-ing, and swimming (the water was so warm it was heavenly).  This weekend we are headed to Eugene again for our last wedding of the summer which I'm sure will be a blast because food and dancing always are.  Now lets talk food, I made this salad with the Chinese Egg Drop Soup last week during a warm Portland summer day and they both hit the spot perfectly.  One of my lovely coworker's garden is producing a ton of Persian cucumbers that she brings in to share and boy are they tasty.  I slightly adapted this recipe.  Enjoy!

Serves 2

The Ingredients

1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced (I used a mandoline)

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons tamari

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon sugar (or sugar substitute)


The Process
1.  Combine cucumber, onions, rice wine vinegar, tamari, sesame oil, and sugar in a bowl and toss until evenly coated and serve.

Scallion Steak Rolls (Beef Negimaki)

I found this recipe in my normal daily search for fun new things and if you haven't already notice I tend to prefer many different Asian inspired foods.  This recipe at first kind of seemed odd to me, I wasn't sure if it would be too salty or hard to eat, but it was delightful.  I personally made it as an appetizer but the following recipe is enough for 2 people.  Might I also add that I had a wonderful weekend, it was my boyfriend's birthday so we went to The Grand Lodge to celebrate.  We watched a free screening of Princess Bride, relaxed in the soaking pool, played pool, and ran around the grounds of the eerie and lovely old building.  The main building use to be a masonry lodge and then was turned into a mental institution and then The Grand Lodge.  I will say we definitely had some odd things happen and they had a whole book of documented ghost activity that we browsed.  If you love getting away and want a somewhat spooky and relaxing adventure I would suggest checking this place out. On to the recipe.

Serves 2

The Ingredients
1 pound thinly sliced beef
2 bunches of scallions
1 tablespoon canola oil

For Marinade:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons brown sugar


The Process
1.  In medium bowl combine the marinade ingredients and set aside.

2.  Trim all but a couple scallions to 6 inch pieces.  Then take all of them, rinse them and wrap in a paper towel and put them in the microwave for 30 seconds.

3.  Next take your beef and you can cut it according to your preferred size, my strips were about 3 x 6 inches.  Take beef and steamed 6 inch pieces of scallions and put a little at the end of each meat piece so that when you roll it up the scallions are in the center.

4.  When all beef rolls are ready then tie each with the one of the several long scallions that you kept aside, make sure they are tied tight.

5.  Next place rolls in the marinade and put in fridge for about an hour to let soak.  Make sure to turn the rolls if needed.

6.  When done marinating heat up a medium skillet over medium-high heat and add oil.  When hot add the steak rolls and cook about 4 minutes on each side for rare, cook longer if you prefer.

7.  While these rolls are cooking add the left over marinade to a saucepan and bring it to a boil and then simmer it for about 5 minutes.

8.  Serve steak rolls with sauce drizzled over them.

Ramen with Ginger Roasted Squash and Crispy Pork Belly

I found this recipe in one of the newest Sunset magazines, and knew just from looking at the ingredients that I had to make it.  The amount of food and time and effort that go into this ramen may be more than it is worth, but it is fun attacking big cooking projects like this sometimes.  This was part of a lovely dinner with my parents and boyfriend and they absolutely loved it, so if you have time and want to impress some people I definitely recommend making this yummy soup.  Also Infocamp PDX was a couple weekends ago and it was a great hit!  All the attendees seemed to have very positive things to say and enjoyed themselves, so all in all after much planning I think Infocamp PDX was a huge success!  Here is the link to this recipe because it is just too complicated to rewrite, enjoy the pictures below.

Sesame Tonkatsu

This recipe came about as part of my engaged determination to really master pork.  It is just so easy to over cook pork especially without a grill.  This is an adapted recipe from The Culinary Chronicles cooking blog.  I made this for a lovely girls dinner with my two best friends Katie and Elisa, it had been way too long since we all got to hangout together so what better way to make the night more awesome than to cook them a feast!  Might I add that the next day we all went floating down the Clackamas River and it was amazing...felt like the first real day of summer on July 24th...ugh Portland needs to get some real (hot) weather!

Serves 3

The Ingredients
For Pork:
4 pieces pork loin, 1/2 inch thick
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
3 tablespoons sesame seeds (black are great if you have them)
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper

For Sauce:
2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

The Process
1.   First in a small bowl (for the sauce) mix together the BBQ sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, and pepper.  Set aside and let flavors combine.

2.  In a medium bowl whisk together the milk and eggs and set aside.  In another bowl pour the flour in.  And in another bowl mix together the panko bread crumbs and the sesame seeds.

3.  Take pork loins and tenderize with a meat mallet (about 5 hits per chunk), then salt and pepper each side of the meat.

4.  In a semi-deep large skillet heat up canola oil over medium-high heat.  While oil is heating prepare the pork.

5.  Preparing the pork: first coat the pork in flour (wipe off excess), then dip the pork in the egg/milk mixture.  Next roll the pork in the panko/sesame seed mixture and make sure to coat the entire piece of meat.  Repeat this process with the other three pieces of meat.

6.  When oil is hot add the coated pork pieces to the pan, takes about 2-3 minutes per side to cook (should be golden-brown).  When done cooking dab off excess oil with paper towels.

7.  Serve with the sauce drizzled over the top.  And EAT!

I also made roasted broccoli to go with the sesame tonkatsu and it was delicious!

Marinated Eggplant

I love eggplant and one of the rad things about eggplant is it acts like a potato and meat.  Its like a potato because it doesn't have tons of flavor to begin with but loves to absorb flavor that seasons it.  Its like meat because its chewy and hardy, the way I like things to be.  It is not often that I buy eggplant because its not the cheapest and it doesn't have amazing amounts of nutrition like the green leafy vegetables I usually eat.....But I have been trying to branch out in my grocery shopping.  It is SO easy to just get in a routine and habitually buy the same food all the time.  Don't get me wrong I always buy cheese and bread...and coffee..and....and exactly my point, so with this need for change and creativity in cooking I bought an eggplant (I totally feel pathetic narrating my inner "lame" thoughts but hey whats a blog? exactly that).  Anyways while my friend so honestly said "wow that looks like poop" it does, eggplant marinating in brown liquids....not so attractive but it tastes sooo good, not like poop.

Adapted from Amateur Gastronomer
Serves 3 (as a side salad or appetizer)

The Ingredients
1 medium to large eggplant, chopped into large bite size chunks
5 tablespoons soy sauce
3 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons mirin
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, chopped coarsely
black sesame seeds (as garnish, optional)

The Process
1. After chopping eggplant, steam for 6 minutes, or until slightly soft

2.  In medium bowl mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, sesame oil, and ginger.

3.  Add eggplant to mixture and stir.  Cover and marinate in fridge for at least 24 hours. (the longer it marinates the better it tastes.

4.  Serve with garnish of black sesame seeds.

Panko Parmesan Chicken

I love making food like this because while it is super easy to make it is also super tasty.  I invited my friend Erin over for dinner and decided I wanted to make something that seemed slightly fancy.  I hadn't seen this friend in quite a while and we had a ton to catch up on so of course while cooking we popped open a bottle of lovely red wine and went to town, she was a great prep cook too:)  I also steamed an artichoke to go with this meal and I made a yellow split pea side dish which I will post next.  This recipe is also by yours truly.

Serves 3

The Ingredients
8 chicken tenders
1 cup panko crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 egg

The Process
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease cookie sheet.

2.  In mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients and mix well, then pour out onto plate to put chicken in.

3.  Beat egg in a bowl for dipping the chicken.

4.  Take chicken tenders dip them in the egg and then roll in panko mixture and place on cookie sheet.

5.  Bake for about 12-15 minutes, turning once.

Benihana Salad Dressing

You heard me right! If any of you have ever been to Benihana's (the restaurant), all of their meals come with a side salad that has this absolutely amazing dressing!  I searched the internet far and wide and this ingredient combination seem to come up the most.  I did make the dressing and while it is really really good, I am not convinced that it is the same as the restaurant's.  It is hard to tell because I have not been to Benihana's in years, so I guess that means I need to go again soon.....anyone want to join???  Oh and as far as healthy goes for this recipe....I would say not very healthy because of the 1/2 cup peanut oil, but at the same time moderation is the key word to staying healthy....so take it or leave it.

Makes 1 3/4 cups dressing
From somewhere in the crazy web

The Ingredients
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup peanut oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons minced celery
2 tablespoons ketchup
4 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

The Process
1.  Combine all ingredients in a blender, make sure all ginger is well pureed.

Picture from: http://thefoodaddicts.com/asian-salad-dressing-is-super-simple/

Pork and Vegetable Pot Stickers and Spicy Dipping Sauce

Let me preface this post with we went to Uwajimaya.  And of course I wanted to buy everything!  We did get a little can of supposed pineapple juice with coconut pulp....tasted more like corn syrup and gelatin blarg!  Anyways I decided I wanted to make pot stickers upon seeing the gyoza wrappers.  So from there I thought about what I wanted to stuff the pot stickers with and I decided on the rest of the ingredients.  Might I add, I made these while house sitting for my parents and they have all the best pans and cooking supplies so I was in heaven!
This is my own recipe:)

Serves 4 (makes 40 pot stickers)

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground pork
1/2 of one radicchio, finely chopped
4 green onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 large carrots, grated
1 1/2 tablespoons ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon sriracha sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 package of gyoza wrappers (the circle shaped kind)
2 tablespoon olive oil

For dipping sauce:
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 teaspoons garlic chili paste
1 tablespoon ginger, grated

The Process
1. In big bowl add ground pork, radicchio, green onions, carrots, ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sriracha sauce, black pepper and mix very well.

2.  Lay out 40 gyoza wrappers on a clean/dry counter top, and add a half a tablespoon of meat mixture in the middle of each wrapper.

3. Wet the edge of the gyoza wrapper with water and fold over meat to create a half circle.  Gently press down on edge to make sure the wrapper is sealed around meat.  Do this with all 40 wrappers.

4.  Put large skillet on stove add the olive oil and heat over medium heat.  When hot put each pot sticker in pan standing upright.  This means the edge that you sealed will be sticking up in the air.

5.  When each pot sticker is golden on the bottom, then put in 1/2 cup water and cover pan immediately in order to steam the pot stickers.

6.  When all water has evaporated then pot stickers are done.  About 5-6 minutes.

7.  Make the sauce.  In a small bowl combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic chili paste and ginger.  Mix well and eat tons!

Note that I call it spicy dipping sauce...that means it is spicy...pretty damn spicy so use less garlic chili paste if you can't handle it:)  Also the pot stickers did tend to stick to the pan so be ready for that and expect to soak the pan afterwords...and yes there might be a couple of pot stickers that rip because they are so stuck, but don't worry it's not the end of the world.  Once again I also had trouble deciding what color these pot stickers are because they are fried and steamed.  So while in truth they are more of a beige color, I am going to put them in the golden section because honestly what sounds more appetizing beige or golden pot stickers?....my point exactly.  And while these are fried it is for a brief second and the pork is lean, so this is once again a healthy meal!

Picture from: http://www.tasteto.com/2008/01/16/snack-time-feature-the-search-for-fresh-east-asian-treats-part-1-of-2/

Salmon Cakes with Asian Sauce

So I have been super sick with strep throat, hence the zero recipes that have been posted since.  Wednesday evening my throat started hurting and by Thursday morning I couldn't even swallow.  I'm still trying to get over this horrible sickness but now I'm worried it might be turning into meningitis.  Apparently splitting headaches that feel like death are a symptom and strep can turn into that. So once again back to the doctor tomorrow.  Anyways after being in bed for 96 hours (4 days) I decided though I don't feel great I need to get the hell out of bed, so I did and made some food with friends.  I assured them I was no longer contagious and began making my own version of salmon cakes the same recipe works with crab too.

Serves 4 (2 cakes each)

Ingredients
2 large eggs
3 5-ounce cans of pink salmon (boneless and skinless), drained
10 whole wheat Ritz crackers
2 teaspoons Colman's dry mustard
1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons Nature's Seasoning (by Morton, Optional)
1/4 cup mayonnaise (Smart Balance is fine)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seed oil
2 teaspoons wasabi
Pepper
Olive oil

The Process
1.  Put little oil in skillet over medium high heat, when hot add the yellow onion.  Saute until soft and semi-translucent about 4 minutes.

2.  In large mixing bowl add salmon, onions, eggs, crackers, cilantro, garlic salt, dry mustard, nature's seasoning, and pepper to taste.  Mix well.

3.  Take a small handful of salmon mix and make a cake about 2 inches thick and 4 inches diameter (does not need to be precise).  Like the size of a small cookie but thicker.  Do this with all the mix and set aside.

4.  Add a generous amount of oil to large skillet, set over medium heat.

5.  Add as many cakes that fit comfortably to skillet when hot.  Cover skillet and cook each side about 6 minutes or until golden brown.  You can turn up the heat to quicken the process if need be.

6.  For sauce mix mayonnaise, sesame oil and wasabi.


These cakes are my Asian style of salmon cakes.  Often times I just put flat leaf parsley in place of the cilantro and I don't make a sauce.  The cakes are good enough to not even have a sauce, a drizzle of lemon and pepper tastes great on top too.  As an end note today I went to a new breakfast place on N Lombard called "The little red bicycle cafe."  It is amazing!  I got the Oregon tuna melt which was made with fresh albacore, a special homemade relish, lemon mayo and many other great things.  My boyfriend got the biscuits and rosemary mushroom gravy which was also extremely tasty.  I highly recommend this place but be ready for lots of people.  Next we decided to go to the Portland Nursery, one of my personal favorites.  Though it is a little early to start gardening I bought some herb starters, other wise I grow most everything else from seeds.  Pretty much I can't wait to start my garden again yeah!

Picture from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/danwashburn/3007727152/