valentine's dinner

when you eat at some of the best restaurants in the country on a regular basis, the idea of scrounging up a reservation at a hot restaurant (if even possible), be seated next to other lubby dubby couples where you get absolutely no privacy and have to yell your sweet nothings at each other, and be relegated to its "special valentine's menu" instead of be able to order what you really want from the menu (read: what can we serve that's cheap and easy to make en masse and we can charge $50 per guest), is just absurd.

so this year, i decided to make my own five course valentine's dinner for my sweetheart at home. it's been a while since i've posted (sorry) and i really haven't been cooking much at all, but it was a joy to get back into the kitchen and whipping up some good grub. it was also exciting to work with some fun, luxurious ingredients. no prep pictures this time, as i was under deadline, so use your imagination. =) so without further ado...

the menu...

oysters ready for shucking! quick note: after getting your oysters home from the bar or farm, i recommend scrubbing them down with a brush in cold water to get rid of dirt and grime and make the shucking process a little cleaner. also, if you're not shucking immediately, place the oysters, deep cup side down in a bowl and cover with a wet kitchen towel in the fridge for up to 2 days max.

first course: beau soleil (atlantic northwest) and hog island sweetwater (pacific tomales bay) oysters on the half shell with champagne mignonette. i picked up both from the hog island oyster bar in the ferry building and shucked them right before serving. the beau soleils were bright, briny and meaty while the sweetwaters were sweeter and more delicate. what really brought it all together was the mignonette, a simple but tasty mixture of 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar, a minced shallot, 1/4 t salt, 1/4 pepper, and another 2 tablespoons of champagne poured right before serving. great way to start off the meal after popping the bubbly.

a 2 lb live lobster freshly steamed for about 14 minutes over boiling water. left to cool off, i then cracked the shells, and removed and coarsely chopped the delicate meat. the shells were then added to a small sauce pan with some water, bay leaf and black peppercorns to reduce down to 1 tablespoon of lobstery essence.

third course: warm lobster salad over butter lettuce with tarragon butter. the above lobster essence was whisked with 4 tablespoons of butter and seasoned with tarragon, lemon, salt and pepper to create the lobster dressing. after warming the lobster morsels in the dressing, i layered the meat over butter lettuce dressed with a little olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. the brightness and acidity of the lemon cut through the richness of the lobster and butter perfectly and the tarragon added a light liquorice note. quite rich on the palate. and how many times do you get to cook and devour a whole lobster!?

third course: salmon sushi and seaweed salad. continuing the seafood theme, i thought it'd be nice to include some fresh fish. both the sushi and seaweed salad came from nijiya market in j town. very fresh and a nice counterpoint to the richness of the last course.

fourth course: roasted miso marinated chilean sea bass with wasabi mashed purple potatoes and blue lake green beans. i originally wanted black cod for this, as i intended to make nobu's famed miso black cod, but nijiya market was out and the fish monger recommended the chilean sea bass as the next best substitute. boy, he was right. the filets, marinated in a sweet miso paste of red miso, sake, mirin and sugar for 2 days, was browned in a grill pan for a couple of minutes and then roasted in the oven for another 10 min until moist and flaky. so tasty, sweet and savory. the purple potatoes, mashed with shallots, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, provided a tasty and light starch and the green beans were simply blanched. yum, yum, yum.

fifth course: lemon curd panna cotta and lavender short bread cookies. if you're a regular of my blog, you probably know i don't bake or really make desserts. never really successful at it. so seeing as i had 4 other courses to prepare, i decided to take the easy route and pick up dessert at miette patisserie at the ferry building. light, lemony panna cotta paired well with the buttery, crumbly lavender cookies and was a nice way to wrap up a luxurious but light meal. too bad my sweetheart wasn't all that into lemony desserts. oh well, more for me!

the meal was paired with a wonderful bottle of 2006 domaine carneros brut rose from napa. crisp, clean but with enough heft to match the richness of the seafood menu but enough bubbles to cut through it as well.

my sweetheart had a fantastic time and i, apparently, got five stars. ;) next year, think about preparing your special someone a simple yet luxurious dinner for two at home. put on some slinky jazz, add a roaring fireplace (or in my instance, the youtube fireplace video on my flat screen tv), some candles and a whole lot of canoodling and you'll have a very fun, intimate and romantic valentine's that won't put you out 3 bills. ;) happy valentine's day!

grilled salmon with roasted tomatoes and wild rice pilaf

a trip to trader joe's always inspires. looking for something healthier and lighter to combat the heaviness and richness of eating out all last week, christien and i decided to go the fish route for sunday nite dinner. i picked up a couple of salmon fillets, a box of mixed small tomatoes, a package of wild rice pilaf, and some small artichokes.

i first prepped the artichokes by cutting off the top quarter and the stem and snipped off the spiky tips of the leaves with kitchen shears. this then went into a pot of water seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil, distilled vinegar and a few sprigs of oregeno. sorry, no pic here.

i then washed the tomatoes and tossed them with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. the roasting pan went into a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

the rice pilaf was made according to package directions and left to steam on the stovetop for an extra 20 minutes

in the meatime, i prepped the fish by rinsing in cold water and patting dry with paper towels.

salt, pepper, paprika and lemon juice made up the seasonings.

the salmon went into a hot grill pan, skin side down, for about 8 minutes. i then flipped it to grill another 4 or 5 minutes until just cooked through. you want to avoid overcooking salmon as it gets dried out and tough easily if you don't watch it.

meanwhile the tomatoes came out to rest on the stovetop while i checked the artichokes.

in this method, the artichokes are done when you can easily pull an inner leaf from the choke and the leaf is soft and tender.

and voila! sunday nite dinner is served. first up, artichokes drizzled with olive oil and served with a ramekin of mayonnaise and paprika.

then the salmon on a bed of wilted argula (the heat from the fish wilts it) served with rice pilaf and roasted tomatoes.

the salmon was well seasoned and moist, due to cooking with the skin on; it keeps the juices in. the peppery arugula provides a nice counterpoint to the greasier fish. the tomatoes were savory and sweet, providing a lot of great acidity against the fish as well. the pilaf, unfortunately, was underwhelming. it was too mushy in texture and i didn't season it with enough salt. i'm not used to making pilafs. asian cooking just requires rice and water. nevertheless, the meal came out great overall.

for dessert, i picked up some medjool dates, removed the seed, and then stuffed it with goat cheese. the result is a creamy, sticky sweet, and subtly tart couple of bites of goodness. i first had this at samovar tea lounge a couple months ago and jumped at the opportunity to make them when i saw the medjool dates at trader joe's.

all in all, a very healthy and light-tasting meal. unfortunately, we still subcumbed to food coma due to very big portions. ah well. yum.

sunday nite supper no. 1

on the menu
live mahogany clams in tomato basil broth
seared bacon-wrapped scallops with lemon-thyme potatoes and red chard
red bean mochi and coconut pineapple ice cream with a pomegranate thyme glaze

yes, wednesday nite dinners was tough to do on wednesday nites. just too much going on to serve a formal 3 course meal on a weeknite and still feel physically awake the rest of the week. so, i'm going to be doing more sunday nite suppers which give me more time to prepare and to relax and enjoy the meal with friends.

my dear friend holly was in town from la this past weekend and wanted me to cook a meal while she was here. so we took a trip to 99 ranch and safeway to pick up some things for dinner. danna joined us shortly thereafter. and you can bet there were no breaks in the conversation that nite with these 2 girls. =)

so i learned a few things about cooking scallops last time i prepared them.
1) they need to be completely dry before hitting the pan
2) searing on my pan takes longer than i think to get to medium-rare
3) don't use olive oil. it doesn't have a high enough smoking point (the temperature an oil can reach before it smokes and starts breaking down).
4) sear in a non-stick grill pan with little or no vegetable oil

i saw a recipe recently somewhere for pancetta-wrapped scallops with a lemon, bruised thyme and olive oil reduction. i think it might have been a different jamie oliver cookbook. i love scallops and i love bacon, so i wanted to try preparing the combination together. it's nothing new. there are bacon-wrapped scallop creations on many fine-dining menus. but this was a first for me to cook. anyway, i wanted to improve my scallop skills using the lessons learned above. so here we go.

holly, danna and i ate at zushi puzzle the nite before and spent mucho money on a fantastic nigiri meal at chef roger dodger's bar in the marina. it was $80 per person. so while we still wanted seafood for tonite's meal, we just couldn't afford to spend any more money of that proportion. so, in addition to "how to cook bacon-wrapped scallops," this will also be a lesson in "how you can eat gourmet for a fraction of the price at home." =)

a pot of cold salted water goes on the fire along with about 1.5 pounds of small red potatoes that have been scrubbed and sliced in half. bring to a boil and let it go 15 min or so until the potatoes are tender. drain well and toss back into the same pot to "dry out" the potatoes. i then added some high quality evoo (enough to moisten the potatoes well), juice of half a lemon, some chopped thyme, salt, pepper, and smashed it skins and all. no need to "mash" the taters til kfc consistency, this is supposed to be chunky.

while that was going, i sauteed 8 cloves of chopped garlic in a good amount of olive oil in a large stockpot. a half can of crushed red tomatoes went in with a cup of white wine and a cup of water, as well as salt, pepper and some chili flakes. i let that simmer for 15 min until thickened (adapted recipe from dave lieberman's young & hungry cookbook).

somehow during those two activities i found time to prep and saute a large bunch of red chard with chopped onion, garlic and olive oil. the unfortunate thing i dislike about red chard is that its gorgeous red color leaks out and stains everything else in the pan. watch the saute time on this. i overcooked it and stalks got too soggy with everything else i was doing.

in preparing the scallops i did want to get pancetta, but i had a package of bacon in the freezer feeling unwanted, so that was defrosted and i secured a half slice around each scallop with a toothpick.

when these were all prepped and the potatoes and greens were keeping warm in the pan, i threw the 2.5 pounds of live mahagony clams into the pot and clamped down the lid. this was when i invited holly and danna to sit because the clams would only take 5 min or so and you want to eat them asap. once the clams have opened up they're ready.

i tossed them with a big handful of chopped basil and scooped them into bowls with a toasted baguette.

hard shell mahagonies are larger than the popular soft shell manila clams at about 2" across in diameter.

their meat also seems less flavorful than manilas. but overall this dish turned out pretty good. the broth was both spicy and hearty and the bread soaked up all the juicy goodness. it was a little on the salty side though and i think next time i'd use diced tomatoes vs crushed. the broth was a bit overpowering for the delicate clams.

while we were enjoying that, i slipped over to the stove and laid down the scallops on a hot non-stick grill pan, no oil.

i let these run for 3-4 min each side. in a small frying pan, i heated some quality evoo with the juice of half a lemon, some bruised thyme, salt and pepper. this simple sauce glazed the scallops when plated.

now these were some meaty scallops. cutting into it was met with gentle, firm pressure and this time, it was cooked to medium rare, perfect. it tasted sweet against the salty smokiness of the bacon which i must admit was a little overpowering.

the bacon was also on the rubbery side, a result of either being previously frozen or not cooked long enough to crisp. i found out later that you can parcook the bacon until it's tender and the fat is starting to render and then wrap the scallops for the final grilling. this results in crisper bacon and probably a smokier result. i think using pancetta may also have the desired smoky flavor effect without the heaviness and fat of bacon. the olive oil glaze added good lemon flavor, as did the thyme, but i think it was overkill for the delicate scallop.

the lemon thyme smashed potates were amazing however. nicely creamy from quality evoo alone, it had great "green" notes along the with citrusy lemon and thyme. and so easy to make! i'm keeping this one on hand. my chard, however, was overcooked and too mushy. it was also on the well-seasoned side. not a good foil for all the other salty items on the plate. ah well. gotta remember to watch that next time.

so what did we drink to quench our salt-parched throats? a bottle of 2005 estancia pinot noir.

not a bad choice but nothing special either. it was a little off for the scallops; a white would fair better and cut the grease in the dish down.

dessert was an interesting concocction that i whipped up last second. holly had picked out some sweet red bean mochi patties and hagendaaz coconut-pineapple ice cream.

feeling adventurous and wanting to add a little pizazz as is my usual flair, i quickly whisked up some tj's pomegranate glaze with some quality evoo and fresh thyme leaves and drizzled this around the sweets.

ok, as holly and danna will tell you, this didn't work. the pomegranate glaze was simply too tart when combined with the sweet ice cream and mochi. we ultimately pushed aside the sauce and stuck to the sweets. i will say the thyme provides a very interesting counterpoint to the sweetness of the ice cream, having a sharp lemony kick with each tiny leaf. it's something i'll explore again in future desserts.

so how much did this lavish seafood feast cost? let's add it all up...

2.5 lbs live mahagony clams 8.10
can crushed tomatoes 1.79
1 bulb garlic 0.39
1 yellow onion 0.89
1 bunch basil 0.99
2 lemons 0.79
1 lb red potatoes 1.04
1 bunch thyme 2.39
1 bunch red chard 2.49
1 pound sea scallops 7.91
1 baguette 1.59
1 package red bean mochi 2.50
1 pint ice cream 3.00
1 bottle pinot noir 12.99

total cost: $33.25
divided by 3: $11.08 per person for a 3 course seafood meal plus wine. i could easily $45 per person for what we had. that means i could've just pulled a $100 profit. hrmmm....

pretty neat huh? holly and danna, hope you enjoyed this sunday nite supper and thanks for all the laughs and cries. =)