Miso Cod

Miso Cod with Buttered Garlic Mushrooms

Having a relative light workload for the day, I began to ponder by early afternoon what I should be putting in my trough for dinner tonight.  Chinese take-out?  Quick burger?  Instant noodles?  None of the choices seem too appetizing at the moment.  I decided to whip up something at home and went to Whole Foods after work for inspiration.  Wandering aimlessly through the aisles, I finally came up to the Seafood counter and found the object of search.  Having remembered that I had some leftover miso paste in the fridge, I originally wanted to cook some Chilean Sea Bass with a miso glaze.  But seeing that the fish was $19.99/lb., I opted for the cheaper regular Cod fillet at $7.99/lb. (hey times are tough!), even though I wasn't sure how Cod would hold up the miso flavor.  With my entree in hand, next was to find a suitable accompanying side dish.  A nice arugula salad came to mind, but that was forgotten when I saw a fresh mixed collection of mushrooms.  The menu was set.

I raced home and began to prep for the miso marinade for the fish.  Usually I would use a Chilean Sea Bass recipe that I found on the Food Network website, but given that this was Cod and I didn't have a lot of the ingredients (like mirin or rice vinegar), I decided to wing it and just make my own marinade concoction.  I mixed a spoonful of miso paste with some soy sauce, sugar, rice wine, corn oil, and white pepper and soak the cod with the mixture.  After about 30 minutes in the fridge, I plopped the fish on a baking pan and baked the fish for about 12 minutes, flipping it once midway through.  While that was cooking, I heated up a pan with unsalted butter and some minced garlic.  Threw my mushroom mix in the pan and about 3 or 4 minutes later, my sauteed mushroom were ready. 

As you can see from the pic above, the plate was not the most aesthetically pleasing, but the taste was overall ok.  I would probably cut back a bit of the soy sauce next time given that the fish was a tad too salty.  Other than that, the fish was sweet and the miso was not overpowering.  The mushrooms were buttery goodness.  It's not too bad for a quick weekday dinner for one from a novice cook.

Stinky Tofu?

For those who love food from that rebel island they call 'Taiwan', check out the links below...

http://www.the-feedbag.com/you-heard-it-here-first/taiwanese-gastropub-comes-to-flushing

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2009/09/organ_recital_p.php

Saturday Soju

Stumbling around the St. Marks area on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, I did not have any particular destination in mind, but all I knew was that my belly was running on empty.  I was craving a little yakitori at Yakitori Taisho, but they were sadly not opened yet.  I suppose 4:00 pm is sort of an awkward time to be dining - way pass lunch time and not quite dinner yet.  Anyways, walking and pouting around a bit, I entered Song 7.2, a kind of out-of-place Korean joint on the corner of 2nd Ave. and 7th St. (Hence the 7.2... get it?)  Given that it was mid-afternoon, the place was predictably empty.  Wood tables fill the empty space with a few TV's on the wall showing Korean movies.  There are also tables outside for people to chill with their preferred beverages and munchies.  But who cares, save the ambiance, I need food.

 

Yogurt Soju

Posted on the wall was a listing of specials for soju.  Each day had a different flavored soju and it's half price for the day.  For Saturday, it was Yogurt Soju.  I don't know exactly what it is half price of, but I ordered a carafe nonetheless.  Now Yogurt is not exactly a food that I am crazy about.  I am very anti-Red Mango, Pinkberry, Blue Banana, or whatever the heck they have now.  But having said that, the Yogurt soju was not as bad as I thought it might be.  It has a flavor that I am not too familiar with, but altogether pleasant.  Needless to say, the carafe didn't stand a chance.  

Hae-Mool Pajun

This is a mixed seafood and scallion pancake.  I have had this (or a variety of) at many other places before, but this was probably one of the better ones.  The consistency inside the dough was not too mushy (which I think can be gross) and the pancake was fried nicely with not too much charring.  The accompanying sauce was a nice standard sweetened soy base.

I don't recall the name of this dish.  Essentially, it was squid with a red pepper sauce with a side of udon noodles.  The sauce was a bit watered-down, perhaps from the water rolling off of the udon noodles.  The squid was a little on the tough side and lacked any real flavor.  I only managed to wolf down half of it.

Jae Yuk Tofu Kimchi

Korean bacon marinated in red pepper paste with tofu and sauteed kimchi.  Small pieces of pork bacon stir fried with ample doses of kimchi and scallions.  If you like dishes with kimchi stir fried as base, you will like this dish.  It is a pretty ordinary plate, with a familiar Korean flavor spectrum.  The accompanying raw silken tofu however was something I've never seen before and they went nicely with the dish.  I just wished that there were more bacon.  Who doesn't want more bacon?

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Song 7.2 is an ok place if you're REALLY craving Korean food and you're stuck in the St. Marks area.  But for my dollar, I would much rather make the treak to K-town.

Soup in Ten

Most folks love a serious dose of grease after a good night of drinking, but sometimes I prefer a good bowl of soup.  Here's a little quick recipe for Chinese Corn Soup...

- Chicken (or Ground Pork)

- Chicken Stock or Broth (1 Can if fresh not available)

- 1 Can of Cream Corn

- 1 Egg

- White Pepper

- 1 Tbsp Corn Starch

- Scallion (minced)

Stir fry the meat with a bit of oil and garlic until fully cooked.  Pour in chicken broth and cream corn and stir.  Bring to boil.  Crack and whip up egg.  Pour in egg into the soup.  Add pepper to taste.  Mix corn starch with 2 parts water.  Pour mix into the soup.  Stir until you get a creamy consistency.  If soup is too thin, you can add more corn starch mix.  Remove from heat and add scallion for color.  Serve!

Tapas anyone?

This was from a year ago on my visit to Degustation in NYC.  The restaurant consisted of one long bar with limited seats where patrons sat and can observe the intricate preparation of their food from the resident chefs.  The vibe was very chilled and fun at the same time.  The food was playful and delicous, and the waiters as well as the chefs were very good in describing exactly what you were about to eat.  I wish I remember what the dishes were, but here are some pics from my journey throught the 10-course tasting menu. 

Ahoy mateys!

On a dreary Saturday, I decided to head to the supermarket and prepare myself for bunkering in for the weekend.  Strolling through the aisles aimlessly when lo and behold, I saw an oasis in the desert - a seafood sale!  I picked up 2 lobsters, a dozen blue crabs, a dozen giant clams, and 1/2 lb. of shrimp.  I quickly rushed to the cashier and paid the $26 due, and sped straight home. 

Most folks are probably familiar with a lobster bake or a clam bake.  But since I do not have the necessary equipment, I decided to steam everything.  After about 30 minutes of total cook and prep time, I had my feast in front of me.  An hour and a full belly later, I was snoozing with a smile...

Like Butter...

Feels like I haven't really dined out in quite awhile, but I guess I made up for it with last night's meal. On a beautiful Thursday night in NYC, I made reservations for Butter, a stylish Noho restaurant serving American cuisine. Despite being 30 minutes late for my 7:30 pm reservation (due to no fault of my own), the restaurant was more than accomodating to seat us promptly. The space itself was pretty nice - a good size dining room with an arched roof and a lower level with additional tables. We started off with a nice bottle of Pinot Noir and then off to the food...

Amuse Bouche

• Fried Risotto Ball
  Not the best start. Crispy crust filled a mushy risotto on the inside. Didn't have much flavor.

Appetizers

• Glazed Pork Belly
  Not bad, but not exceptional. I love pork belly, and this one was about average. Was a little too salty.
• Cherry Tomato, Yellow Cucumber and Galia Melon Salad (brined goat cheese)
  A terrific salad. The goat cheese (which we thought initially as cream cheese) really held the salad together. Anyone looking at my size can tell that I am not a big fan of the salad, but this was great.
• Raw Hamachi with Yuzu
  A forgettable take on hamachi sashimi. The yuzu sauce drowned out the taste of the fish.
• CherryTomato Pizza w/ Balsamic
  Wasn't expecting "pizza" to be served, but nonetheless, this was very tasty. The thin bread was smothered with a cheese I can't recall the name of, and topped with cherry tomatoes and a balsamic reduction.
• Homemade Nettle and Saffron Ravioli (mascarpone cheese, poached farm egg, crispy shallots)
  An ok dish. The saffron taste was a bit on the strong side. The raviolis were very filling.
• Cavatappi Pasta w/ Spicy Lamb Sausage (yellow tomato sauce)
  Tasty pasta with a unique yellow tomato sauce. Lamb flavor was not overpowering, but a good complement.
• Soft Shell Crab (scotch bonnet chili and pickled kirby salsa)
  This had mixed reactions at the table. I thought the crab was decent though a tad bit spicy. My guest thought it was gross and didn't finish it.
• Florida Shrimp "a la Plancha" (grilled asparagus and roasted parsnips w/ a walnut grappa salsa)
  Well seasoned shrimp topped with asparagus. Simple presentation, but tasty.
• Pan Seared Skate
  Perfectly cooked and seasoned. Fish was fresh and flaky. I would order this as an entree.

Entrees

• Duck Confit (grilled local frisee, fried keisae onions and fresh gooseberry jam)
  I have not had too many "confits" before, but this was just delicious. When it first came out like a lump of meat, I wasn't so sure. But after a few bites, I was hooked. The natural duck flavors were terrific.
• Strip Steak (sauteed lamb's quarter and watercress, sage potatoes and sauce gribiche)
  Ugh... this was the biggest disappointment of the night. One of the worse steaks I've ever had. It felt like half of it was fat and whatever meat was left was overcooked. I barely could stomach half of it.
• Pork Tenderloin
  Decent clean prepartion of tenderloin cuts. Super tender and subtle in flavor.

Desserts

• Raspberry Beignets (vanilla dipping sauce)
  Sugar coated, raspberry jam filled, donuts without the hole were all the rave at my table. The vanilla dipping sauce really sets off this sweet concoction. The waiter also said that this is their most popular dessert.
• Warm Chocolate Cake (sour cream ice cream)
  Decent standard chocolate cake at my restaurants. Not a big fan of th accompanying ice cream though.
• Caramelized Peach Upside Down Cake (homemade ricotta, toasted coriander, and lemon verbena)
  I'm not a fan of any kinds of fruit in my dessert, so this was definitely the least favorite of them all.
• Chocolate Truffles
  The capper for the evening. Delicious truffles from their in-house master chocolateer.

Overall, the meal was very good. This epic meal lasted 3 hours plus. Some of the more exceptional dishes were the Duck Confit, Cherry Tomato Salad, Pan Seared Skate, and apparently the Raspberry Beignets. I have never heard so many Mmm's and OMG's before... not at a meal anyways...

NOTE: Apologies for not having more photos of the meal. It was difficult to snap photos given the company I was with. I promise more photos in my next outing.