Nobu's Scrambled Eggs Donburi

We had leftover Smoked Salmon and Cathy found a recipe for Nobu's Scrambled Eggs Donburi. We always have liked Donburi and Nobu’s restaurant Matsuhisa, is one of our favorites. We decided to beef up the recipe with Salmon Caviar for that extra special touch. Since we had so much Salmon eggs we also dressed the Asparagus with them. This is a recipe that I really liked and will repeatedly make – it is a great use for leftovers!

Nobu's Scrambled Eggs Donburi

Nobu drew from elements of a traditional Japanese breakfast for this donburi (rice bowl). Partially cooked salmon (Nobu is known for the technique) is flaked and seasoned with soy sauce, and eggs are scrambled soft with minced white onion, tomato juice, and sake. To serve, line the bowl with rice; then layer with the salmon, toasted nori, eggs, and then a garnish of toasted sesame seeds. (Nobu suggests a dollop of caviar or salmon roe.)

Martha Stewart Living, March 2013

Prep Time
20 minutes

Total Time
20 minutes

Serves
4

Ingredients

8 ounces skinless salmon fillet, cut into 3/4-inch slices

Coarse salt

2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce

4 large eggs

4 tablespoons finely diced onion (about 1/2 onion)

1/4 cup tomato juice

1 1/2 tablespoons cooking sake

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup Nobu's Perfect Japanese Rice

1 sheet toasted nori

2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

Place salmon in a small pot with 1 inch of salted cold water. Bring to a simmer until 70 percent cooked (it should be opaque on the outside yet slightly rare inside), 3 to 4 minutes. Lift out salmon and transfer to a bowl. Add soy sauce, and flake into bite-size pieces.

Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, onion, tomato juice, and sake in a bowl. Swirl oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add egg mixture and cook, stirring, until just set but still soft, about 2 minutes.

Divide rice among 4 bowls. Divide and layer fish on top. Crumble nori over fish, then top with scrambled eggs. Garnish with sesame seeds.

Smoked Salmon

John was in town, we invited Robert and Darryl to join us for dinner. We decided to make Smoked Salmon. We purchased the fish from McCall’s Meat and Fish. The fish was truly exceptions. We started with a new salad for us: Mimosa Salad with Cooked and Raw Asparagus from Nature by Alain Ducasse. This is a very good salad. I would definitely do it again. Yea another new Asparagus recipe!

We started with our favorite Salmon recipe for the Egg: Honey-Cured, Smoked Salmon from Cooking with Fire and Smoke by Phillip Stephen Schulz. This creates a very moist smoky flavored fish. We love it! You can get the recipe from our blog of: Jan. 15, 2009. We served it with Black Rice from a recipe in the Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin. Click the date to get the recipe.

For dessert we had an Apple Pie from McCalls and a Lemon Cake from Robert and Darryl. It was a delicious meal!

Mimosa Salad with Cooked and Raw Asparagus
=====================================

Nature

Alain Ducasse

Serves 4

Prepare the asparagus and eggs

Peel and wash 2 bundles of green asparagus. Cut the tips into 4-inch lengths. Remove the hard white base and keep the rest.

Set 4 of the tips aside. Plunge all the others in salted boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes (depending on the size). In the meantime, fill a large bowl with water and icbes

Lift out the asparagus spears with a slotted spoon and cool them in the ice water. Then drain on a dish covered with a dish towel.

Hard boil 2 eggs (10 minutes) in the boiling water used for the asparagus. Cool and shell them.

Cut the 4 reserved asparagus tips into fine shavings with a mandoline and place on a small plate.

Make the sauce

Wash and cut up the leaves of 1 sprig of tarragon, 2 sprigs of parsley, and 2 sprigs chervil.

Cut the reserved asparagus stalks into small cubes. Place in a bowl and add, mixing well each time, 4 tablespoons of sherry vinegar, 1/2 cup Greek-style yogurt, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and the chopped herbs.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

To finish your dish

Lay the cooked asparagus tips in a serving dish and coat with the sauce.

Grate the hard-boiled eggs on top with a cheese grater. Top with the shaved raw asparagus and serve.

Black Rice
========
Sunday Suppers at Lucques
Suzanne Goin

2         tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1         cup diced onion

2         teaspoons thyme leaves

1         bay leaf

1         chile de arbol

2         cups black rice

½         cup white wine

2         tablespoons unsalted butter

6         ounces mizuna or baby spinach

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat for i minute. Swirl in the olive oil and add the onion, thyme, bay leaf, chile, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, 3 to 4 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the rice, stirring to coat it in the oil and toast it slightly. Add the white wine, and reduce by half. Add 10 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, and simmer about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender but slightly al dente. When the rice is almost done, stir continuously until all the liq­uid has evaporated. Discard the chile and bay leaf. Season with a few grindings of black pepper. Stir in the butter and taste for seasoning. Quickly stir in the mizuna, until just wilted.

Better at ChiSpacca

One of my favorite dishes at ChiSpacca is called Testa. It is a spicy shrimp omelet like dish that is then topped with Head Cheese and briefly put in the wooden oven. We saw the recipe for Spanish Asparagus Revuelto in The New York Times and decided to modify it to make a Testa like dish. We eliminated the Chorizo and added shrimp instead. Although it tasted ok, it didn’t look anything like the picture in the New York Times or what we have eaten at ChiSpacca. I doubt we will try it again. Chock it up to some dishes are best made at a restaurant.

Spanish Asparagus Revuelto

By DAVID TANIS

New York Times

SUMMARY

In Spain, wild asparagus is very popular, and it’s a sure sign of spring. Because the variety of wild asparagus there can be a slightly bitter, cooks blanch it in boiling water before sautéing in olive oil. (In North America, both wild and cultivated asparagus are sweet, so this step is unnecessary here.) This dish features typical Spanish ingredients — garlic, chorizo and bread crumbs — incorporated into soft scrambled eggs, for a hearty breakfast, or a simple lunch or first course.

TOTAL TIME

30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

                  Olive oil

                  2 peeled garlic cloves, plus 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

                  2 cups bread cubes, made with day-old bread, cut in 1/2-inch cubes

                  Salt and pepper

                  2 ounces diced Spanish chorizo

                  1 bunch thin asparagus, about 1 1/2 pounds, cut in 1- to 2-inch lengths

                  1 bunch green onions, chopped

                  8 large eggs, beaten

                  1/2 teaspoon pimentón

                  2 tablespoons roughly chopped Italian parsley

PREPARATION

1.

Put 3 tablespoons olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add peeled garlic cloves and let them sizzle until lightly browned, then remove. Add bread cubes, season with salt and pepper, lower heat to medium and gently fry until lightly browned and crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove bread and set aside to cool.

2.

Add chorizo and fry lightly. Add asparagus, season with salt and pepper, and stir-fry until cooked through but firm, 3 to 4 minutes. Add green onions and minced garlic and cook 1 minute more.

3.

Season eggs with salt, pepper and pimentón. Pour into pan and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, just until soft and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add parsley and serve immediately, topped with the fried bread cubes.

YIELD

4 to 6 servings

                 

Pork and Lots of Wine!

All of the good cracking skin!

Pig meets the cake!

The hangover was worth it!

Once more we decided to make a Porchetta from McCall’s Meatand Fish. Nate does all of the work, he seasons, rolls and ages the pork to make this fabulous meat. Pork is my favorite meat, much more than steak. To me it absorbs more flavors and lends itself to interesting preparations. You can get the recipe for the Porchetta from our blog of: Feb. 24, 2014. Click the date to get the recipe. This is a crazy good recipe.

We started with drinks on the patio and served Pureed Beets with Yogurt & Za’atar from Jerusalem by Ottolenghi & Tamimi. This is a great recipe and can be found in our blog of: Nov. 23, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.

Judi brought Deviled Eggs, who knew they could taste so good! Bea and Timmy provided some great wines.

Jaimie and Robert made not one but two salads. First a Burrata, Roasted Tomato and Pesto Salad and then a great version of Nancy’s Chopped Salad from The Mozza Cookbook.

Darryl and Robert baked an Upside-down Pineapple Cake and a Carrot Cake. It was yummy. Sorry I didn’t keep some of it! We also had ice cream that Michael brought. Everyone especially liked the Pear Ice Cream.

The wine selection for the dinner was exceptional. Everyone truly enjoyed the food, wine and company!

A Fishy Dinner

We purchased Smoked Salmon at the Hollywood Farmer's Market, we made a Salad and then had a made with Asparagus Pasta to which we added left over Lobster from Newport Seafood.

Salad Time

A simple salad with Dates, Walnuts, Parmasean and dressing.

Rotisserie Chicken

We love Rotisserie Chicken. Not only is the chicken smokey with crispy skin, but by making two of them at the same time we are guaranteed leftovers.

We cooked the chickens over a pan of potatoes and shallots and let the chicken drippings flavor the potatoes. Cathy stuffed the two chickens using the recipe for Roast Chicken for Two and from The Balthhazar Cookbook by Keith McNally, Riad Nasr & Lee Hansen. This is a great recipe that keeps the chicken very moist. You can find the recipe on our blog of: June 23, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.

For dessert we had Brownies and Ice Cream.

Grilled Shrimp with Pancetta and Radicchio

We continue to eat Asparagus while it is in the height of its season. We prepared this with Brown Butter, Burrata and Hazelnuts.

For the main course we made Grilled Shrimp with Pancetta and Radicchio

from The Young Man and the Sea by David Pasternack. This is an excellent simple recipe. But not for Bea!

Grilled Shrimp with Pancetta and Radicchio

The Young Man and the Sea

David Pasternack

I love the combination of grilled radicchio—which is simultaneously smoky and bitter—with meaty shrimp and smoky, porky pancetta (cured Italian bacon). But what really makes this dish is the aceto balsamico, which lends the whole affair a sweet, tangy finishing touch.

Serves 4

1-1/2         pounds medium shrimp, shells on, split down the back, vein removed

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼         cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus high-quality extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

½         pound pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch lardoons

1         clove garlic, thinly sliced

1         medium head radicchio, cut into 4 wedges

2         tablespoons aceto balsamico (aged balsamic vinegar)

Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, straight-sided saute pan until hot but not smoking. Add the shrimp, in two batches if necessary, and cook for about 3 minutes per side. (Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan between batches if necessary.) The shells should be pink and the flesh opaque. Transfer the cooked shrimp to a plate and set aside.

Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel and add the diced pancetta. Cook over a medium flame until the fat begins to render, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, stir to combine, and continue to cook until the lardons are browned and the garlic has softened, about 3 more minutes. Add the radicchio and the balsamic vinegar and continue to cook until the radicchio is tender and the vinegar has reduced slightly, 4 to 5 minutes.

To serve, spoon the wilted radicchio equally onto four serving plates. Top with the sautéed shrimp and drizzle with high-quality extra-virgin olive oil.

Monkfish Cheeks

Nate at McCall’s Meat and Fish convinced us that we should make Monkfish Cheeks. Apparently they are the most tender part of the ugly fish. They are simply fried in butter. We added some hazelnuts.

With the monkfish we served a Cauliflower Gratinate. The recipe is from The Mozza Cookbook by Nancy Silverton and Matt Molina. This is a wonderful preparation of Cauliflower. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Oct. 1, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

Rici-e-Bici Cakes

The Rice that thought it was a Potato Pancake

We love making new dishes from leftovers. We had left over Rici-e-Bici and decided to fry them creating Rici-e-Bici Cakes. We added egg and and dredged in flour. They fried up beautifully if you don't consider the spatter on the stove, flour, and counter tops! Fried food should be a food group all by itself!

Retro Chicken

We saw this recipe for Chicken With Shallots in the New York Times. It looked so retro, sort of what my grandmother or mother would have made. We decided to make it. It was excellent. It was a step back, I especially love any sauce made with mustard.

Rishia Zimmern’s Chicken With Shallots

Adapted from Andrew and Rishia Zimmern by way of Martha Stewart.

By SAM SIFTON New York Times

TOTAL TIME

90 minutes

INGREDIENTS

         8 chicken thighs

         2 tablespoons flour

         1 tablespoon kosher salt

         1 tablespoon ground black pepper

         2 tablespoons unsalted butter

         12 to 15 whole medium shallots, peeled

         2 cups white wine

         2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

         2 sprigs tarragon

         2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half.

PREPARATION

1.

Rinse chicken thighs in water, and pat them very dry with paper towels. Sprinkle over them the flour, salt and pepper.

2.

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet set over medium-high heat. When the butter foams, cook the chicken, in batches if necessary, until well browned and crisp on all sides. Set aside.

3.

Add the whole shallots to the pot and sauté them in the butter and chicken fat until they begin to soften and caramelize, approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Add the wine to deglaze the pot, stir with a large spoon, then add the mustard and tarragon, then the chicken thighs. Cover the pot, turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

4.

Remove the lid, and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken, 15 to 20 minutes.

5.

Add the cherry tomatoes to the pot, stir lightly to combine and serve immediately.

YIELD

4 to 6 servings.