We were hoping to grill this weekend but plans were thwarted by unseasonably cold and rainy weather. Luckily hot dogs taste just as good on the griddle, and the cool temps made a pot of chili and brownies for dessert feel like a seasonable pairing!
Burger and orzo salad. I was going to grill but alas I was out of propane so did a quick sear in a hot cast iron skillet. Toasted telera roll, caramelized onions, tomato & bacon jam on the bottom and avocado Stilton mash on the top. Kind of an odd combo but it tasted good.
Busy weekend for me - with my own friends after a year!
No, no, I’m not back home - yet.
But I made a crazy suggestion to college friends in LA asking if they wanted to drive down for dinner - and they thought it was a great idea!
So last night, I had dinner with them (and their kids) at a new Mexican place nearby with a large outdoor patio.
Dinner was tasty. I had scallops over creamed corn - the corn was amazing, the scallops were crusted in some chilli blend. I also had yucca fries that were my whole reason to go there Others had a birria taco, steak taco, crispy zucchini taco, and spicy Caesar salad.
Today I met one of my college roommates (who lives here) for the first time, even though we’ve both been here all along. A lovely afternoon spent with her family, and a delicious lunch to boot - oven baked salmon with herb butter, salad, and crusty bread.
Dinner tonight was with friends of my sibling - the wife is Thai, and cooked a delicious meal for us - beef Penang curry, shrimp summer rolls, vegetarian red curry, stir fried tofu and vegetables, dumplings, and spring rolls.
This is oyakodon, chicken and egg over rice. You can make one in ten minutes or you can do some extra steps to add umami to the chicken and enrich the umami in the sauce:
I make my own (strong) dashi with 30 grams kombu, 30 grams (freshly shaven) bonito, and one liter of water. I salt the chicken for twenty minutes, rinse it in the sink, sear it on both sides and then put that partly cooked chicken in the room temperature dashi to absorb the umami as chicken cools and draws the dashi into itself then put it in the fridge overnight. I use that ‘sauce’ in the dish and proceed as normal and it makes all the difference. My Japanese friends said it was the best oyakodon they’d ever had.
Saturday and Sunday were cold and rainy, not my favorite way to start the summer. Instead of a traditional summer meal, I went with something a bit more warm and comforting. Chicken with rice - somewhere between paella and arroz con pollo.
There are no words to describe these two luscious fruit desserts.
The various red toned dessert: ***Michelin Quique Da Costa - Dénia, Alicante.
The multi colored dessert: ***Michelin Chef Atxa - Restaurant Azurmendi, Bilbao. Had done a marvelous presentation on his new book and was awarded a Green Star …
Thank you for visiting and have a wonderful evening.
Memorial Day seemed like a good day to pull out the Weber and get my grillin’ feet wet. Korean BBQ also seemed like the simplest way to do it. Living next to Koreatown doesn’t hurt.