I would love to have some recommendations from you for Tokyo & Osaka - going for our first time (sister & I) in October! we’re not looking for fancy at all. If you’re amenable, I’ll hit you up in a few months. We are getting very excited already!
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A Greek-inspired, one-pan, chicken-and-rice dish from Recipe Tin Eats. Delicious, with an asterik. Deets on the COTM thread here.
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Pizza night. Stonefire crust, alfredo garlic pesto sauce, mozz and smoked provolone, roasted chicken thighs, onion and garlic, grilled artichoke and piquillo peppers. Parm on the side. Little gem, grape tomato, red onion, cuke salad, oo&v dressing. Gibson rocks and sangria.
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A very good night out with friends at Dali. On Monday afternoon, I didn’t want to go there because I was cranky. By Friday afternoon, I NEEDED to go there because I was even crankier. Glad I did!
With 3 of us, we had more tapas. But we started with sangria, then baked blue cheese with tomato sauce and and basil. (It was supposed to be goat cheese, but while they definitely messed up, it was good!)
Next up were garlic shrimp and beef tenderloin on toast with roasted peppers and a shit-ton of garlic. Like, a LOT of garlic! The cats won’t come near me. 
Then we got baby lamb chops with apricot sauce (the pic was of a lone chop from one of my friend’s plates, as I grabbed one and ate it before I remembered to take a pic!), roast duck leg with berry sauce, and scallops in saffron cream sauce.
Dessert was several pours of Cuarenta y Tres and churros with chocolate and dulche de leche sauces.
And a good time had by the 3 of us. We’re aiming to do this on a monthly or bimonthly basis this year. Let’s see how we do.
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I haven’t lived in Tokyo since 1996 and haven’t visited since 2021, so other people’s HO reviews of Tokyo restaurants would likely be better than mine, but if I’m still around in here when you begin your trip planning in earnest, I’ll try my best to help you with Osaka since I’m much more familiar with it and was just there in early December. I do recommend that you take a train ride to nearby Kobe as it’s about 40 minutes by commuter train and has a lot more international flavor than Osaka does…especially Chinese and Indian (curry) restaurants.
Osaka is most well-known for what’s called in Japanese “konamono bunka”. “Konamono” means “things made with flour” (“kona” actually means “powder”, “mono” means “things” and “bunka” means “culture”) and it refers to various types of noodles, okonomiyaki and takoyaki (octopus dumplings). Okonomiyaki is my favorite Japanese food. There are 2 types of okonomiyaki in Japan…Osaka/Kansai style and Hiroshima style. Arguments about which is better can get quite heated. I like both types, but as I lived in Osaka from 1984 to 1987 (it was the first place I lived in Japan), I’ll ALWAYS prefer Osaka/Kansai style! (don’t @ me, please!)
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Dinner on my first night back in Japan (Tokushima) was at one of the multiple locations of a local Tokushima udon chain “Yama”. Their udon was the food I missed most when I lived in Shizuoka for 2 years.
I had my standard order of a small bowl “hiya-atsu” kake udon. “Hiya-atsu” is a special local style where the noodles are room temperature and the soup is hot. That’s how I prefer it because if I wait for the noodles to cool off enough for me (I have a sensitive tongue) to eat, they get stretched out. But of course, the standard is hot noodles and hot soup.
I topped the udon with grated ginger, grated daikon, green onions and tempura crumbs. The udon cost ¥260/$USD 1.80. I also had a piece of chicken tempura…my favorite tempura there which costs ¥180/USD $1.25. BTW, you can put all the toppings you want on the udon…they’re free of charge, too!
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Tacos al pastor every week!
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I am reintroducing the use of cookbooks, having barely used them at all since the mid-1960s. I got Plenty for Christmas and love it. I started with the cover photo eggplant with buttermilk sauce, and last night was the Very Full Tart. I think the paella is next. I followed the recipes closely, figuring I could use what I had learned to make tweaks in the future. No tweaks to the eggplants, but I might add artichoke bottoms and/or marinated celeriac to the tart. The tart is delicious, but it is so rich a bit more acidity might improve it.
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Sounds and looks like a lovely evening!
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What made you decide to go back to cookbooks? Just curious. Thanks!
Because I’m The Hostess of The Mostest 
, I actually asked our buddy if he had a preference for either salmon dish, and he voted for the soup (my PIC was a lil disappointed, I think – 
!).
So, another rendition of lohikeitto, this time with ¾ of a finely sliced fennel bulb that was unfortunately almost entirely devoid of flavor, but at least added a different texture. Other than that it was absolutely delicious.
I also tried my hand at The Phamous Philly Salad, and I have to say it didn’t come out badly for a first. I seemed to remember that the celery was shaved thinly, so I spent a goodly amount of time with my chef’s knife slicing the stalks into very thin, vertical slices. I was a little skimpy on the dates, too, accounting for my dislike of sweet shit in my savories, but it came together quite lovely. I toasted the Oregon hazelnuts for extra nutty aroma, and used a walnut vinaigrette for the celery before layering it all in the bowls, then showering with ricotta.
A major PITA, but worth it. Poker tonight with the gang; our hosts are ordering sushi.
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Small gathering last night for my mom’s birthday, which is today. I made Kir Royales and Espresso Martinis. There was also hummus, olives, Middle Eastern-style fried eggplant, naan, vegetable gyoza. I also missed getting pictures of the Spanakopita, and my friend’s cucumber tea sandwiches and mini peppers stuffed with feta cheese. It ended up being an entirely vegetarian evening and I don’t know how that happened!
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I was in a bookstore, noticed Plenty, and started leafing through it. Fear not, Ottolenghi’s approach in this book is quite simple. I’ll be back to riffing off of picture concepts and ingredient lists. My parents were both amazing cooks. Their recipes just listed ingredients. I like that, but it drives others crazy.
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As the mom of a Spring Onion, my heart is full. You, J, and mom appear to have an enviable household, full of (food) love.
I wonder if my SO will show me the same kind of food love one day?!
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Rain subsided enough for a late morning trip to Penzeys and then Wegmans for the few things I needed, since it was on my way home.
Pork, Sweet Potato and Apple Cider Stew served on egg noodles, with roasted Brussels sprouts tossed with olive oil, s/p, and Penzeys Mural of Flavor.
Wine. That was a gooood dinner. 
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Wish we had one locally. They closed the one in the Midwest we’d visit sometimes, too.
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We had friends over who keep gluten free (daughter is celiac), so I made a tapas and snack spread. Tortilla de patata with pimentón aïoli, cheese plate w/ summer sausage and Speck, assorted pickles and olives, GF crackers, baby tomatoes and dip, honey-roasted peanuts, cashews, and some gf brownies.
Say hello to S’more!
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Other than a pretty dismal experience using the German IH cooktop at the condominium I stayed at for 9 days in Bangkok (VERY temperamental and even difficult to use/understand for the building engineer!) and making cookies for Santa with a friend’s kids, I didn’t have the chance to do much of any cooking while in Thailand or Malaysia (my morning sandwiches don’t count as “cooking” in my book!) So between that issue and not eating anywhere near the amount of vegetables I should have been eating while away, I was itching to cook anything…especially something full of vegetables!
So I made a hearty soup using Maggi additive-free vegetable bullion, 2 beaten eggs, deep red “kintoki” carrots, from neighboring Kagawa Preferred, daikon including the stems), local sweet potatoes, a bagged mushroom, cabbage and bean sprout mix, kabocha squash, glass noodles made from sweet potatoes (rather than the usual mung beans), soy sauce and a little doubanjiang. I made a rather large pot of it and my friend whom I’m staying with enjoyed it as much as I did…which is saying something as she’s a fairly fussy eater! Surprisingly we were able to finish the whole pot!
I made a similar dish the next night sans the kabocha and bagged mushroom, cabbage and bean sprout mix, but using Maggi additive-free chicken bullion instead of their vegetable one. Unfortunately, the missing ingredients in the 2nd pot I made were obvious as the 1st night’s pot of soup was much better.
In any case, I’m happy to be able to cook again and be able to eat lots of vegetables…and a hearty soup warmed my body up here in cold (6℃/43°F) Tokushima!
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