Salmon Buttermilk Chowder

This came out awesome! This is a hot yet refreshing and light soup. At the same time, it's hearty enough for a main meal. Hard to believe it is all of these things but it's true. Plus, it is super healthy. You're getting the benefit of omega 3's from all the salmon, the onions are a great detoxer and naturally stimulate the body to create healthy antioxidents, the turnips are a great source of vitamins, and you're getting low-fat dairy which is good for the bones. I adapted this recipe from one in the South Beach Cook Book.

Salmon Buttermilk Chowder

• 2 turnips, peeled and cut into small cubes


• 1 onion, chopped


• 1 rib celery, chopped


• 1 teaspoon dill weed


• 1 bay leaf


• 2 cups vegetable broth


• 1 6 oz can pink salmon


• Approx 5 oz cooked salmon fillet, skin removed and flaked into 1 inch pieces


• 1 cup buttermilk


• 8 oz fat free plain yogurt


• 1 Tablespoon butter


• 2 teaspoons hot sauce


• salt and pepper to taste


• fresh lime juice to taste


• fresh lime slices for garnish (optional)

1. In a large sauce pan, combine the turnips, onion, celery, dill, bay leaf, and broth. Bring to a boil over high heat.


2. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 12 minutes or until the veggies are tender.


3. In the mean time, mix together in a bowl the buttermilk, yogurt, and hot sauce.


4. Reserve 1/4 cup of the freshly flaked salmon for garnish. Reduce the heat to low, stir in both the canned and the rest of the fresh salmon, the buttermilk mixture, and the butter. Cook on low-medium or until heated through.


5. Taste and season with salt, pepper, and lime juice to taste.


6. Serve garnished with the extra salmon slices and fresh lime slices.

I'm Still Alive People! Plus, Christmas Eve Wrap-Up and Tiramisu Recipe

Apologies for the MIA status. I was working on a super-hectic work project in December, then I took a couple of weeks off for the holidays and now I am just being lazy.

I went to Boston for two weeks over the holidays. My mother, my nephew and I cooked the Italian seafood Christmas eve dishes we usually make, as part of La Vigilia, the feast of the seven fishes. I counted them up and it came to six fishes this year as opposed to seven. This is because no one made the delicious salted-cod antipasto, Baccala, that I love so much. Thanks a lot! This recipe at the Boston Globe comes close to it. I just realized I have an eerily similar post from last year where I did post the Baccala and Stuffed Squid recipes. So, check it out.

The fishes we made were:

• Scallops wrapped in bacon (bacon deviates from the tradition because it's meat)


• Stuffed clams


• Fried smelts (I really perfected the frying method this year - yes!)


• Salmon with farfalle (bow-tie shaped pasta)


• Grandma Phyllis' shrimp casserole


• Stuffed calamari with spaghetti

Most of the dishes we make are some combination of the fish/seafood, tomato sauce, garlic, and Progresso bread crumbs. I swear we use like three containers of those breadcrumbs every Christmas.

We don't really do much of a meal Christmas day; we usually just eat leftovers. We do however have plenty of Panettone in the house for breakfast Christmas week. I looooove Panettone.. the best way to describe it is a light Italian fruitcake but it tastes nothing like regular American fruitcake. It is very difficult to make, so even most chefs don't recommend trying to make it at home.

My mom also usually makes her homemade cannoli but I talked her into letting me make tiramisu which came out awesome! I'll even post the recipe below. It is kind of a fake/poor man's tiramisu because it doesn't use marscapone cheese but it is awesome nonetheless. I got it from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine a few years ago. It's actually one of the reasons why a roommate and I parted ways.. but that's a story for another day.

Poor Man's Tiramisu

• About 2 packages of lady fingers (cookies)


• 2 cups of heavy cream, freshly whipped. This will make the 3 cups of whipped cream which will be used for the filling and frosting.


• Grated chocolate or sifted cocoa for topping/garnish

Filling:

• 2 8oz packages of Philly cream cheese, softened


• 1 cup sifted powder sugar


• 3 Tablespoons Kahlua


• 2 cups of the whipped cream

Frosting:

• 1 cup of the whipped cream


• 1/2 cup sour cream


• 2 Tablespoons Kahlua

For soaking the lady fingers:

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup strong, fresh coffee


• 1/4 cup Kahlua
  

1. Now, you can make this in 2 or 3 layers depending on the size of your dish, but you'll need one that's a few inches deep. You can use a longer dish with less height, or a smaller one with more height. The more cookies you use, the more coffee you'll need to soak them. So, go choose your dish and decide how many layers you'll be doing before you get started.


2. First you should make your coffee and whip your cream.


3. Prepare the filling: mix together the cream cheese, sugar and Kahlua. Then, fold in the whipped cream. Set aside.


4. Prepare the frosting: mix together the sour cream and Kahlua. Then, fold in the whipped cream. Set aside.


5. Combine the coffee and the 1/4 cup of Kahlua.


6. Now, you're ready to start layering. With the exception of the frosting, if you are doing two layers, use the cookies, coffee mixture, and filling 1/2 at a time. With three layers, use 1/3 at a time.


7. Arrange your first layer of cookies at the bottom of the pan evenly. If you need to chop off some ends of some cookies, do so. Pour the first part of the coffee mixture evenly over the cookies so that they are all covered.


8. Spread your first layer of filling over this.


9. Repeat with the remaining layers. With each layer, arrange the cookies in the opposite manner so as to build strength into the Tiramisu.


10. After the last filling layer, spread the frosting on top.


11. Chill until ready to serve. Sprinkle shaved chocolate or sift cocoa over the whole thing right before serving.

Garlic Shrimp with Spinach and Shiitake

Although someone recently told me that I am too young to be reading Prevention magazine, it is nonetheless one of my favorite magazines. One of the great things about it is the recipes. I tried this one last week and it was a winner:

Garlic Shrimp with Spinach and Shiitake

Makes 4 servings, 200 calories each

• 2 T reduced sodium soy sauce


• 2 T sherry or 1 T rice wine vinegar (I used Shaoxing Cooking Wine)


• 1 t packed brown sugar


• 2 1/2 t toasted sesame oil


• 1/2 lb fresh shiitake mushroom caps, sliced 1/4 inch thick


• 1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined


• 4 cloves garlic, minced (I crushed mine with a garlic press)


• 1 T finely shopped fresh ginger


• 9 oz baby spinach leaves

1. Whisk together the soy sauce, sherry, and sugar in a small bowl.


2. Heat oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over high medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add shrimp, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry 1 minute. Add spinach and soy mixture and continue stir-frying until spinach has just wilted (shrimp will be cooked), about 1 minute.
3. Serving recommendation: serve with brown Basmati or Jasmine rice and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Seared Ahi Tuna Salad

This came out sooo great. Just delicious. The perfect light, healthy dinner on a hot Spring day. I didn't measure things, but here's how it goes:

Seared Ahi Tuna Salad
(serves 2)

• 1 7 oz (or so) thick Ahi tuna steak
• Equal amounts of baby spinach and arugula
• 6 basil leaves
• lightly cooked, shelled edamame
• a little feta cheese (I use light, it tastes just as good), crumbled
• 2 scallions, sliced
• Toasted, slivered almonds
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Five-spice powder (plenty)
• Salt and pepper
• Red wine vinaigrette salad dressing

1. Place spinach, arugula, feta, almonds, and edamame on two plates. Cut up three basil leaves onto each plate, and sprinkle one scallion chopped onto each plate.
2. Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray and put the heat on High. Let it heat up.
3. In the mean time, place the sesame seeds, five spice powder, salt and pepper on a plate. Coat all sides of the tuna steak with this mixture.
4. Sear the tuna on all sides (you may have to hold it on its side with tongues).
5. When seared to your liking, slice the tuna on a cutting board and place slices onto each plate. Drizzle with salad dressing.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Rachael Ray's Five Spice Sesame Sliced Tuna and Avocado

This recipe has all of my favorite flavors so I had to try it. It's pretty quick and easy to prepare.. it's one of Rachael's fifteen minute meals from her latest book. I also added an asian cabbage salad and some rice to the complete the meal, which added some extra time, but not too much.

Chinese five-spice powder is wonderfully aromatic and sort of like Indian curry: once all the spices come together it really creates a new flavor and you don't really taste the individual spices. It contains cinnamon, star anise, fennel, ginger, and cloves (plus mine has white pepper and licorice.. that makes seven but go figure).



Five-Spice Sesame Sliced Tuna and Avocado
Serves 2-3

• 1/3 cup Balsamic vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons honey
• 1/4 tamari (aged soy sauce)
• 1 avocado
• (optional) little bit of lime juice
• 2 Tablespoons veggie oil
• 2-3, 4-6 oz tuna steaks (ahi or albacore)
• 2 teaspoons Chinese 5-spice powder
• Salt and black pepper
• 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 chopped chives
• Lettuce or cabbage to serve with if you are not making the cabbage salad below.

1. Combine the vinegar, honey, and tamari in a small saucepan. Bring to a bubble over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 6-7 minutes, until syrupy. Remove from heat.
   
2. Halve and peel the avocado, then slice or cube them, whichever you prefer. If you have lime juice, squeeze a little bit over them to prevent browning.
   
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. Season the tuna with the 5-spice powder, salt, and pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side for rare, 5-6 minites for well-done. Combine the sesame seeds and chives in a shallow bowl. Slice the tuna thick and turn each slice in the sesame seeds and chives to coat.
   
4. Serve with lettuce, cabbage, salad and or rice. Drizzle with the balsamic-soy dressing.

Asian Cabbage Salad
Serves 4

• 1/2 small-medium green cabbage
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 Table spoons toasted sesame seeds

1. Chop the cabbage (don't forget to peel and toss the top layer as well as toss the core).
2. Toss everything together except for the sesame seeds.
3. Sprinkle the seeds on when serving.

Rachael Ray's Italian Fish and Chips with Organic Tomatoe Salad

I guess we're still on a fried fish kick here because we just made some for dinner. We used a recipe from one of Rachael Ray's newest cookbooks: Just in Time (more 15, 30, and 60-minute meals). Now, this isn't my mom's recipe for fish and chips (she just uses eggs and Italian breadcrumbs), but it came out really well. I changed the recipe just a little, and substituted cod for red snapper. Cod is the amazing fish which I think is best for "fish and chips" because it just has those huge flakes. I also cut the recipe almost in half and turned the topping she made into a salad. I hope you like it, we did : )

(At the bottom of the post is a picture I took today of one of the flowers in our courtyard. I don't know what the plant is, but it has red leaves almost year-round and in early Spring these amazing light pink flowers just pop out and their petals start falling from the tree like snow. Today the clock "sprang forward" and it seems all the plants knew. At the beach, there were amazing bright yellow flowers and lots of other kinds.)

Italian Fish and Chips with Tomatoe Salad
Serves 2-3

• 3 medium, red potatoes
• 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4 cup, plus 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• 1 Tablespoon fresh, chopped rosemary
• 1 lb cod
• 1/4 cup corn meal
• 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 garden or organic tomatoes
• Handful of fresh, flat-leaf parsley
• 1 Tablespoon finely diced onion
• 1/2 cup croutons (preferably homemade and not made with much fat or seasoning)

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Cut up your potatoes into wedges and place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle 1.5 T EVOO on the potatoes. Sprinkle the chopped rosemary, crushed garlic, and salt and pepper over the potatoes and toss. While you're waiting for the oven to heat up, you can make the salad:
2. Wash and dry the parsley, then chop. Chop the tomatoes, place in a bowl with the parsley. Squeeze in the lemon juice, 1.5 T EVOO, salt and pepper. Add the croutons now if you like hem soft, like a bread salad (I do.)
3. Put the potatoes in the oven and cook for 14 minutes. During the first 12 minutes, get the coating and fish ready:
4. On a plate, mix together the cornmeal, flour, cheese, and lemon zest.
5. Cut the fish into 3 pieces. Sprinkle a little bit of salt and a lot of pepper onto each side of the fish. Coat the fish evenly with the cornmeal mixture.
6. Once the potatoes have cooked for about 12 minutes, heat up the remaining 1/4 cup of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the fish.
7. Cook the fish about 4 minutes on each side until deep golden brown.
8. When the fish and potatoes are done, you can place them on a brown bag to soak up the excess oil.
9. Serve with homemade tartar sauce (mayo mixed with relish) and lemon wedges.

Squid with Ginger and Scallions

I just whipped up an awesome rice bowl for lunch so I thought I would throw it up here for you folks. It was inspired by a dish I used to get all the time in Boston's Chinatown eatery, a less-then fancy food court with cheap but amazing food that I believe has now closed. Anywho... the main idea with this dish is that the scallions and ginger are not just flavorings, they are almost like the veggies in the meal. That is, instead of chopping everything up into tiny little pieces, there are generous, large slices of both the ginger and scallion. Of course, if you're not super akin to either of these things I suppose you could chop things up small, or just don't make it at all. : )

Squid with Ginger and Scallions
Serves 1

• 1 cup cleaned squid pieces (rings and tentacles, frozen is fine)
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 t white miso paste
• 1 t corn starch
• 1/2 t tamari (thick soy sauce, or use 1 t of regular)
• 1 t mirin
  
• 2 scallions
• 1 inch of fresh ginger
• 1 serving of cooked rice
• toasted sesame seeds (optional)

1. Heat up a pan on medium heat with a little bit of veggie oil or spray.
2. If using frozen squid, throw it in now and let it cook for about 5 minutes. If using fresh squid, hold off.
3. Mix the water, miso paste, corn starch, tamari and mirin in a small bowl until smooth.
4. Slice the ginger and scallions.
5. Throw the ginger and scallions in the pan and now the fresh squid if that's what you used.
6. Cook everything almost through on medium to high heat.
7. Give the sauce a final stir and then throw it in, stir fry until the sauce comes to a boil, then turn it down to low for a minute.
8. You're ready to eat! Serve it over hot Japanese rice sprinkled with the sesame seeds.

Fried mahi mahi, cold soba noodles, and Japanese mushrooms

This Japanse-inspired meal was so tasty, I forgot I was giving up meat on a Friday during lent. I've made separate posts for the individual recipes:

• Mahi mahi fried in panko breadcrumbs
• Cold soba noodles
• Steamed Japanese mushrooms

Make one.. or all of them. : )

Mahi Mahi fried in Panko breadcrumbs

I made such a delicious meal on Friday that what I'm going to do is create three separate postings for the three simple dishes I made. First off! I was craving my mom's fried fish so I decided to make some with a Japanese spin. The Japanese part of the dish are the breadcrumbs. These are big flaky crumbs the Japanese use to coat lots of different cutlets, croquettes and other tasty fried goodies. The good thing about this dish is that you can get everything you need at Trader Joe's, no need to hit up the Japanese market, and you don't need to go shopping that day because the fish is frozen. I got both the frozen mahi mahi and the breadcrumbs at TJ's.


Mahi Mahi fried in Panko Breadcrumbs
3-4 servings

• 1 1lb mahi mahi filets
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil like canola (not olive)
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Put the panko breadcrumbs on a dinner plate. Grate the zest from the lemon into the pile and then add generous amounts of salt and pepper. Mix it all up.
2. On another plate, place the beaten egg.
3. Heat up the oil over medium heat in a frying pan.
4. Dip the fish into the egg, then coat with the breadcrumbs. Don't be shy, it's OK to press some in if it's not sticking.
5. Fry up the fish about 5 minutes or so on each side, depending on how think the fillets are.
6. When the fillets are cooked, scoop them out onto a brown paper bag to sop up a little oil, if you wish.
7. You're done! Serve with lemon wedges.

The Long-Awaited Japanese Restaurant Pick: Miyako Ocean Park

Yes, kids, that's right. I haven't posted about Japanese restaurants on here, have I? Why? mainly laziness. But also because I actually don't go to very many.. but I do go to the same one practically every week: Miyako on Ocean Park Blvd in Santa Monica (full address below).

Where do I begin? They have a good variety of not just sushi, but other Japanese fare as well. My boyfriend James always gets the same thing: A Beef Bento box and a Rainbow roll. I can't blame him. The bento boxes are HUGE, tasty, and come with:

- Beef or chicken in a tasty sauce
- Rice
- Salad
- Cooked been sprouts in a delicious tasty sesame dressing
- Edamame
- Sushi or Tempura (the veggie tempura is killer here!)

This isn't a fancy place.. but the quality is good except the beef or chicken in the Bento can sometimes be a little fatty for my taste. But overall, the good quality and good price makes for a winner. What do I get, you might ask? Sometimes I get the bento, but I often get a California salad. It's basically everything in a California roll in generous portions served on a bed of lettuce. Light but satisfying. I also get many of the different sushi rolls including eel, and some of their specials like the Sexy Roll. The Sexy Roll has no rice.. it's fish wrapped in cucumber with a delicious dressing (all of thir dressings are great here). Oh, and vegetable tempura is AWWWSOME.

There you have it.. delicious food that is almost downright cheap. Most of the items I've had are so good that I haven't made it on to others that look just as tasty. The staff are so friendly and remind me of being right back in Japan. So, you simply must go.

GozEyemas!

Miyako
2829 Ocean Park Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 396-5588

Salmon Burgers with Mango Salsa

Trader Joe is my friend. I found these amazing salmon burgers there. They are low in calories because they are really just big chunks of salmon pressed together, not all ground up like some burgers. But, you could use any salmon burger you can find for these.

For this recipe, the "salsa" is really like a salad, which is why there is a lot of it. Although you can serve these with or without bread, we had them open-faced on a slice of toasted whole wheat.

Another amazing product you must try is this fabulous salad dressing: Follow Your Heart Spicy Southwestern Ranch. It is so delicious, healthy, creamy and tasty.. yet so low in calories that I honestly have no idea how they do it. You can get it in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods. It is wonderful drizzled on top of this dish.

Now, you can adjust the amounts of these ingredients if you like, but this is basically what I did:

• 4-5 salmon burgers
• 1 fresh, ripe mango
• 1 can black beans
• 3/4 box of frozen corn
• 1 cup diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 Tablespoon lime or lemon juice
• Hot sauce to taste
• optional: fresh herbs like cilantro and/or mint (I didn't have any in the house and this still came out tasting amazing)
• optional: mixed greens for accompaniment
• optional: a tasty, Mexican inspired salad dressing like Follow Your Heart Southwestern Ranch (mentioned above)
• optional: whole grain or other bread

1. Dice your mango. If you don't know by now how to do this, watch this video. (Unfortunately, the dicing doesn't start until about 1:45 into this video) or just check out this web page.
2. Mix the mango with everything except the dressing, bread, and salmon, in a bowl.
3. That's pretty much it for the salsa. It tastes better the next day because all the flavors get a chance to mingle.
4. Now, fry up your salmon burgers with some olive or canola oil.
5. If desired, toast your bread.
6. To serve, place the toasted bread on a plate, followed by your mixed greens, the salmon, a generous heap of salsa and then drizzle with the ranch dressing.

There you have it, a very healthy, delicious meal with plenty of leftovers!

Our Christmas Traditions

Since there isn't any point now in posting the vegan pumpkin chocolate chip mummy cupcakes or the Thanksgiving leftover stromboli since they are so yesterday, I thought I'd get a jump on the whole Christmas thing before it is too late.

First, I'm Italian, so our Christmas tradition is the "seven fishes" feast on Christmas eve. So, we've never had turkey or ham or any of those things. On Christmas day, we have Panettone for breakfast and then leftovers the rest of the day. Panettone is a very light and tasty cake with small amounts of dried fruit. It is NOT like an American fruitcake. It usually has golden raisins and citrus peels. I found a cranberry version at Trader Joe's this year. My mother likes her piece toasted with butter. I just eat mine plain. We've never tried making these, we just buy them. Do NOT pay $34 at Williams Sonoma for these. You can get them for $7 to $15 at Italian bakeries or grocery stores with ethnic foods.

My absolute favorite dish for Christmas, and possibly my favorite dish EVER, is my mom's stuffed squid. She basically buys cleaned squid, cuts up the tentacles and makes a stuffing out of it, and then shoves it into the bodies. You bake it all up with tomato sauce. Here is the recipe:

Stuffed Squid

• 2 lbs cleaned squid bodies (get BIG ones) plus 1/2 lb tentacles.
• 2 cloves garlic sliced fine
• 1.5 cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (like Progresso)
• 1/2 c grated parmesan or romano cheese
• 1/4 c olive oil
• a few cups thick, homemade tomato sauce
• 3 T chopped parsley
• 1 large egg beaten
• 1/2 c dry red wine
• 1 medium onion, minced

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Wash all the squid and chop the tentacles.
3. Mix the tentacles with all the other ingredients EXCEPT the tomato sauce
4. Stuff the squid bodies with the stuffing. Secure each body with a toothpick.
5. Spread 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan, place the stuffed bodies on the sauce.
6. Cover with the remaining sauce.
7. Cover pan with foil
8. Cook for about an hour, remove toothpicks before serving.

For some reason, we got into the habit of stuffing everything and we ended up with stuffed squid, stuffed clams and a stuffed shrimp casserole. I could post those recipes if you want.. so post a comment if you want me to. There is usually a pasta dish, it could be linguine with clam sauce, but recently my mother started making a really good salmon with bow ties and peas, probably because my nephew and brother are picky about things. Again, just leave a comment if you want these recipes.

I will post my other favorite, and that is Baccala, which is an Italian version of dried, salted cod. Sounds delicious, huh? Well, it is! My grandmother (rest her soul) always made this as the first course and served it cold with big chunks of tomatoes, artichokes, peppers, and olives, like an antipasto. My sister is usually the one to re-create it. You need to do this ahead of time, because the fish needs to soak in water for about 12 hours to get most of the salt out. Unfortunately, like many family recipes, I don't have measurements here. But I feel you can prepare it to your own tastes.

Baccala

• Dried, salted cod
• Vinegar peppers (these come in the jarred section).
• Black Olives
• Roasted red peppers and/or big tomato chunks
• Artichoke hearts
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Pepperoncini (if you like them, these are hot)

1. Soak the cod in water for 12 hours, then poach.
2. Break the cod up into 3 inch chunks
3. Add veggies with some vinegar from the peppers.
4. Add olive oil and lemon juice.

OK, finally, there are the cannolis. We make the shells from scratch, no boxed, yucky shells. I'll get to those in the next post.

Well, I hope you enjoy some of these recipes. Why not try a traditional Italian christmas this year? : )

Boston Food Hit List

Update to my Boston Food Hit List: Although you must scroll down to see my posting on our trip to Japan, I suddenly realized that I did not post about the BEST DOUGHNUTS IN THE UNIVERSE available at Betty Ann's Food Shop in East Boston (where I'm from, holla!). So, I added Betty Ann's to my list below.

So, I am going back to Boston for 2 weeks over Christmas. I haven't been back in a whole year so I am pretty excited about it. I thought I would give you my hit list for places I simply MUST go when I am back. Check it!!

• Betty Ann's Food Shop
  I'm having a hard time finding a link to this place, but I did find it mentioned in a Boston Globe Article and The Boston Pheonix. Click there to get a photo and the shop's hours.
  This tiny little heavenly smelling shop has practically no sign and is only open on weekend mornings, so I don't think anyone from outside the neighborhood would even notice it. But trust me, it's there. It's on a corner of Bennington street right across from Carlo's (who has the BEST Italian subs) and near Saint Mary's church. I only go there for one thing; piping hot jelly doughnuts. They also have plain, lemon, crullers, and some other baked goods, but the jellies are really the draw. I actually can't stand jelly doughnuts anywhere else, but here they are soft, coated with sugar and explode in your mouth, so do NOT eat them while driving even if you are worried about them getting cold. I've tried this and it is sure to results in globs of jelly jumping out onto your nice clean shirt, not to mention sugar-coated fingers that make it difficult to drive. I mean, you do have to enjoy them hot, so you'll need to maybe drive down to the nearby beach, park, and then enjoy with your dunkies coffee. Oh, I'm reading that they also make the best Boston Baked Beans, and I don't know why we've never gotten them, but I'll make that a point to ask about when I go home.
  
• Ernesto's Pizza
  This is my absolute favorite pizza place in Boston. Their pizza has a nice chewy crust and they have a lot of creative toppings. My favorite, and a favorite of pretty much everyone I know who goes there, is Chicken Rancho. Don't ask what's on it, just eat it! I must tell you that my parents prefer the more traditional,crispy, saucy pizza found at Pizzaria Regina and Santarpios, two long-time Boston favorites. Ernesto's doesn't usually hit the top-ten lists for some reason.
  
• Kelly's Roast Beef
  OK, without even getting into the whole roast beef thing, this place makes the best fish and chips in the world!! Picture big pieces of flaky fish with the lightest, thinnest, not greasy at all breading. Large, thin onion rings with the same light breading, and soft steak fries. Get extra tartar sauce 'cause you'll want to dip everything in it.
  Now, Kelly's is also one of the many fine places in the area who make roast beef sandwiches the way I grew up with them: smothered in BBQ sauce. They're great, but I just can't stop getting the fish..
  
• Dimino's Sub Sandwiches
  I can't even find a website for this place. Basically, the only place I feel makes the true melty steak and cheese subs I grew up is well... where I grew up. I get a steak bomb with no peppers. Why is it so hard to get it like this elsewhere? Most places treat this sandwich like any any other, throw some steak on a roll, then a slice of cold cheese, if you're lucky they melt it. They way it's supposed to be done is all chopped up with tons of melted cheese completely distributed throughout on a nice toasty, buttery sub roll. YUM!
  
• China Pearl
  This is where I usually get my dim sum.. the nice traditional way. Families sit at large round tables eating things you wish you knew how to order. Nice ladies walk around with steaming carts of dumpling delights! My favorite: the TRIPE!! It is delicately braised in garlic ginger broth. I also love the eggplant, shumai, the rice-noodle cannoli things, and for dessert: mango pudding.
  
• Legal Sea Foods
  Legal's fish tastes so fresh, you can almost feel it flapping in your mouth: just a fresh flavor explosion. I love the wood-grilled dishes , particularly the scallops. But what I am really planning to do is plop myself down at the bar and get a bowl of clam chowder, their taster of white wines, and a pound of steamers. I am talking about the big fat clams you rip out the shell by the neck, dip in broth and butter, and let their squishy stomachs pop in your mouth. They don't even sell them out here and I miss them so!

As you can imagine, there are many many more great places in Boston to chow down, including Red Barn Coffee Roasters for an iced chocolate chai and muffin top; Emack and Bolio's for a seasonal ice cream flavor like pumpkin; Maria's Pastry for Lobster Tails, Neopolitans and Amaretti; and tons more fancy places you can find online. Oh, I also want to try the new cupcake place, Kickass Cupcakes!

Back from Japan!!

A couple of weeks ago my boyfriend and I returned from a 10-day trip to Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka in Japan. As for food.. where do I start?? I guess I'll start by saying that eating out isn't nearly as expensive as they say. There is a very wide range of restaurants to suit any budget. Sushi can be downright cheap. Easily available are sushi, noodles, and a variety of Tonkatsi (pork, beef or croquet cutlets coated in crunchy breadcrumbs). I loved the cold Soba buckwheat noodles and the dipping sauce that comes with them. I'm going to try to make them at home. These are the most popular and most affordable items but there are also plenty of shabu-shabu, curry, and Italian, French, etc restaurants. The real traditional and fancy restaurants are Kaiseki. These places serve 8-12 very small courses and is the most formal and traditional Japanese dining. We did eat at one of these places. The presentation of food was just beautiful (photo above).

We flew Singapore airlines and it was awesome! For each flight, we got two delicious, gourmet meals. I am talking delicately cooked flounder, seafood rice, eggs with hollandaise, and delicious Japanese vegetables. The flight attendants were beautiful and the safety record is one of the best in the industry, so I would definitely recommend flying with them. (Not to mention the fabulous personal entertainment system. You can play video games with anyone else on the plane! Our 2-player tetris certainly helped the eleven-hour flight go a little faster)

We visited the famous Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. I didn't realize how HUGE tuna can be (check out the photo to the left). There is an auction at 5:30 in the morning for the best tuna. The rest of the market has so many kinds of fresh fish, they seem to go on forever.

There were a ton of restaurants and food shops everywhere. I was surprised at how many sweet shops and bakeries there were. I tried some of their traditional sweets, many of which are thin glutinous cakes with various fillings like red bean or green tea pastes. The locals snatch them up like hot cakes! Picture beautiful people dressed impeccably and strolling into stylish shops and purchasing beautifully packaged sweets all day long. That's what it's like. There are also many bakeries with more Western cakes and breads.

Oh, and the Bento boxes!! Ever since I received a book from my dad about the Bento boxes sold at train stations in Japan, I've wanted to experience them for myself. And I finally did! Each box is created using ingredients from the local area. Sometimes it's beef or eel or whatever the speciality might be.

We also splurged on a semi-private traditional tea ceremony at a very old town house in Kyoto. The very nice young lady who hosted us was dressed in a traditional kimono. She walked us through the ancient and very meaningful steps of the tea ceremony. I had no idea that virtually every part of it, from the height of the ceiling and doorway to the way you hold the cup is based on the four principles of harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility. It was a wonderful experience.

When we returned from the trip, I immediately took out all my cook books and started to plan my next trip to the Japanese market. I'd love to be able to recreate some of the items we tried. I'll let you know what comes out of it!