Char Sui Pork

Yum!

Tom and Shumon joined us for dinner. We made Char Sui Pork. Of course we got the Pork Chops from McCall's Meat and Fish. This is a go to dish for us. It is easy, but takes planning because the pork chops need to marinate for a couple of days. You can find this great recipe on our blog of: August 22, 2006. Click the date to get the recipe.

Shumon prepared a Bengali appetizer we had never had before. It is called: Chana Choor. It is really good, I hope he teaches us how to make it! We started with a Salad made with Nectarines, Burrata Cheese and Almonds. With the Char Sui Pork we had Rice that we made in the Rice Cooker. Our neighbor Kazue had brought us several packs of Rice Seasoning from Japan. The seasoning is not dry but wet and is simply added to rice and water in the cooker and makes for flavored rice that was perfect with Char Sui Pork.

Sautéed Scallops

Guillermo was in town and joined us for dinner. We started with a Greek Salad that had all my favorite ingredients: Feta, Red Pepper, Olives, Red Onion, etc. It was perfect on a hot summer night.

We then had Sautéed Scallops. We purchased the Scallops at McCall’s Meat and Fish. We used a new recipe for us: Sea Scallops With Brown Butter, Capers and Lemon. It was delicious. We recommend this recipe. There are a few groceries that sell Okinawa Purple Yams topped with Miso, Scallops and Butter. They are exceedingly sweet. We baked them and served them with the Scallops. 

Sea Scallops With Brown Butter, Capers and Lemon

New York Times

This bright yet rich treatment for scallops came to The Times in a 2009 article about Kevin Zraly, the wine director of Windows on the World from 1976 to 2001. Mr. Zraly turned the restaurant into an international wine mecca: at the time it was destroyed, when the World Trade Center fell, its cellar held close to 100,000 bottles of 1,500 labels. Mr. Zraly and Michael Lomonaco, the chef at the restaurant (both of whom were not at work on Sept. 11 when the planes hit), worked together on hundreds of wine and food pairings throughout the years. This was Mr. Zraly's favorite of Mr. Lomonaco's creations. With it, he recommends a Puligny Montrachet, Olivier Leflaive.

Ingredients

12     fresh sea scallops

Sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

¼      cup olive oil

3       tablespoons unsalted butter

1       tablespoon finely chopped shallot

2       tablespoons salt-packed capers, rinsed of excess salt

Juice of half a lemon

⅓      cup (packed) flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

1.   Pat scallops dry with paper towels, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Heat a large sauté pan or nonreactive skillet over medium-high heat, and add oil. After 30 seconds, add scallops; do not crowd pan, work in batches if necessary. Sauté until well browned, about 2 minutes, then turn and cook other side. When second side is dark golden, transfer scallops to a platter; cover and keep warm.

2.   Return sauté pan to heat, add butter, and cook until it begins to foam and turn golden. Add shallot and capers, sauté for 1 minute, then add lemon juice (being careful to avoid sputtering butter) and chopped parsley.

3.   To serve, place 3 scallops on each of 4 warmed plates. Spoon butter, shallots and capers over scallops, and serve.

Goan Shrimp

Goan Shrimp is one of our favorite Indian Shrimp dishes. It is spicy (or not) depending upon how you season it. It also makes great leftovers. You can find the recipe on our blog of: August 9, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

Oven Steamed Salmon

We had some left over Tuna and we started with a Tuna Salad. We then made Wild Copper River Salmon Fillets. We steamed the Salmon in the oven. It is a wonderful way to make the delicate fish. You can find the recipe on our blog of: May 3, 2017. Click the date to get the recipe. With the Salmon we served Okinawa Sweet Potatoes.

Atun con oloroso (Tuna With Oloroso)

Shumon joined us for dinner. We had some beautiful Tuna Steaks that we had purchased at McCall's Meat and Fish. We have a favorite recipe for Atun con oloroso (Tuna With Oloroso) from Moro The Cookbook by Clark & Clark. If you are ever in London be sure to eat at their restaurant Moro. It is a wonderful restaurant. You can get the recipe from our blog of: April 17, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

With the Tuna we served Okinawa Sweet Potatoes.

Roasted Japanese Sweet Potatoes with Scallion Butter

Epicurious

If you've never had pale-fleshed Japanese sweet potatoes before, you'll be surprised by their subtler, drier flesh, which tastes unmistakably of chestnut. A bit of miso mixed into the scallion butter stealthily rounds out the interplay of sweet and umami that will have you eating all the way through to the last flaky remnants of skin.

Yield

Makes 8 servings

ACTIVE TIME

10 min

TOTAL TIME

1 1/4 hr

Ingredients

8       small slender Japanese or Garnet sweet potatoes (4 to 5 pounds total)

1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, well softened

1-1/2 tablespoons miso paste (preferably white)

3       tablespoons finely chopped scallion

Preparation

1.   Preheat Oven To 450°F With Rack In Upper Third.

2.   Prick Potatoes All Over With A Fork And Put On A Foil-Lined Large Baking Sheet. Bake Until Very Soft When Squeezed, 45 Minutes To 1 Hour.

3.   While Potatoes Bake, Stir Together Butter, Miso, And Scallion Until Combined.

4.   Slit Hot Potatoes Lengthwise And, Using Oven Mitts, Push In Sides To Puff Up Potato. Serve With Some Scallion Butter In Center Of Each And With Additional Scallion Butter On The Side.

Cooks' Notes:

Scallion butter can be made 4 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to warm room temperature and stir before using.

Sweet potatoes can be roasted (but not cut) 4 hours ahead and kept at room temperature, covered with foil. reheat potatoes on a baking sheet on middle rack of a 350°f oven until heated through, about 20 minutes.