FOUND!

Well, hello there blog-fans.


I've been gone, I know. I'm sorry. SEE, what had HAPPENED was....


I got crazy busy. 


So here's what you (I? We?) missed:


1)  A to Z blogging challenge.  Sadly, as you can probably see, I didn't make it past "O" - for a couple of reasons, and not for failing to have anything to say about P-Z.  I think this challenge would have worked better if I'd taken March to write the posts, take pictures, and do them the way I wanted to. I didn't, and I'm not as organized as the awesome people who do manage to post every day. The result? Throwing together a half-way attempt that really... 


well... wasn't fun. 


And if it's not fun, what's the point?


I do, however, still have notes for P-Z.  They'll show up.  Probably when you LEAST suspect it.


2)  Food versus Food.  Tune in Friday. This should be a good one.


3)  2012 or Bust.  School's gotten busy.  I'm hoping to defend my thesis in the winter. I'll see what my committee says about that in a few weeks.  Hopefully not laughter.  Stay tuned. I predict that this will probably turn me into a hot mess over the next 9 months, but don't worry. If you happen to notice a twitch, try not to stare. Just buy me a cold one and remind me it will all be over soon.


4)  BLOGS - I missed you!  I now have some blog-reading time set aside and I'm slowly catching up (well... trying...)


5)  Philadelphia - I'm going. In 2.5 weeks. Staying on Broad Street. What should I do?  (I might,... have already scoped out restaurants... #priorities)


6)  Rock fish season has opened.  Matt went out fishing with our friend Bill and they snagged two gorgeous fish. The result? Pan-roasted rockfish.


That's right.


YUM.




Pan Roasted Maryland Rock Fish


Method (hocofood@@@): 


Turn oven to 400dF. 


Clean fish, cut filets (we went about 6-8oz pieces), pat dry. Remove pin bones. Season with salt and pepper. 


Heat a few glugs of vegetable oil in a skillet that can go into the oven (medium to medium high heat). When the oil starts to shimmer, lay the filets in (splatter screens are good here). Take this opportunity to check if you seasoned both sides of the fish. No? Make it so.


Now, here's the important part. DO. NOT. TOUCH.  Let the fish cook for 4-6 minutes. Don't be afraid of the heat. Don't scoot the fish around.

Sorry, it was so good I didn't take the photo
until after I'd already dug in. SO tasty.

Flip. Your fish has achieved golden crunchy awesomeness. Put the whole pan into the oven.


Roast at 400 degrees until done (this will depend on the thickness of your filets and your degree of desired doneness). 


I served our fish (caught a mere 12 hours before) with basmati rice, green beans with salt, pepper, and butter, and a puree made from leftover sweet potatoes (seasoned with nutmeg, salt, smoked paprika, then blended with hot water, sour cream, and a little butter).


Ta-DAH!

Change.

That's what seems to be in the air - restlessness. Maybe it means we're all ready for spring. Maybe it's a rut. I'm not sure what else to say about that.


So I'll talk about food for a bit. Even though it's not Friday.


There have been some great food posts lately - ok, there are always great food posts. But they've got me thinking more about lifestyle changes, which are a good thing.


After reading an awesome endorsement of Mark Bittman's new cookbook over on HowChow, I ordered it. I have Bittman's How To Cook Everything, and I've found it to be an essential resource. Unlike many books in my collection, HTCE is rather battle-worn. The hazard of being in the kitchen while I'm at work, flinging ingredients across the cutting board and occasionally setting things on fire (you would think having a Fire Marshal around would help with this, but not really).

(You're welcome.)


We cracked open Food Matters the other night, and it's gotten some wear already, although I'm trying to keep it nice. Oh well.

Over the weekend we made a stop at Harris Teeter, which had wild caught Alaskan salmon for 6.99/lb. It looked really good, so I picked some up, and after flipping through the book for a recipe we made a quick meal with spinach, soba, fish, and sesame seeds.

What I liked:

• The recipe was simple - I had every ingredient on hand already.
• About half a pound of fish was stretched to four servings - although I could see this serving two if we were really hungry, or not serving the meal with other items
• A simple sear of the fish with salt and pepper made for fish that, as Matt noted, tasted like salmon, not a thick sauce or heavy seasoning.
• Also, this recipe gave me a chance to really sear something. I used to be more timid, until I read a criticism in Heat that home cooks can be just that. Scared. So I jacked up the heat, seasoned the fish, and tossed it in with NO FEAR. The result was a win - no stickage, just a beautiful color and crust.
• The flavors were clean ("delicate"?) But...

What I didn't like:

• I did think this was missing something - I'm not sure if it's scallion, ginger, a little chile, etc, but the flavor was almost too mild. Maybe I feel this way because I tend to make spicy food.
• The fish broke up into smaller flakes and separated from the skin, which in turn got a bit soggy when I added the cooking water. I think I would add the salmon last, to the top, or add the crispy skin separately next time.
• A "My Own Fault" item... I didn't really have myself totally set up when I started cooking. Fail. Definitely prep every item beforehand to avoid a scramble.

This recipe was really nice, though, and can be done with tofu as well - something I'm likely to try, given my recent habit of tossing several cartons of extra firm in the cart every time I'm at H-mart or the local TJ's.. 

What appeals most to me about this book is that it seems to tout a different way of eating - meat as a flavoring or smaller portion of the meal. I've been wanting to limit consumption of meat to local sources for a while, but honestly... this isn't a trivial thing on a student's budget. So maybe recipes in this book will help me make compromises to accomplish local/seasonal eating more effectively than I have in the past.

Either way, I think this type of change will be pretty tasty.

Date Night

"There are three possible parts to a date, of which at least two must be offered: entertainment, food, and affection. It is customary to begin a series of dates with a great deal of entertainment, a moderate amount of food, and the merest suggestion of affection. As the amount of affection increases, the entertainment can be reduced proportionately. When the affection IS the entertainment, we no longer call it dating. Under no circumstances can the food be omitted." --Judith Martin, "Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, Freshly Updated"

This year, for Valentine's day, we decided to forgo the usual plans - things we'd done in years past, which typically involved going to a new restaurant, dinner with another couple, etc. I'm not sure who suggested that we just do dinner at home, but it was a good idea. We made our favorite foods.


It was nice to have an evening in.




90 minute Ceviche - based on Mark Bittman's Mock Ceviche

I made something like this for Christmas Eve and it was great. Just the other night we'd watched Anthony Bourdain scarf down ceviche in Ecuador and I got the craving again... so when I saw Frank's had scallops and shrimp, I decided to go for it - I wanted the fresh taste of seafood and the sharp tang of citrus.

This really could serve 4-6 people. Yeah... we ate it all. >.>

• 1/2 pound shrimp
• 1/2 pound scallops
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 roma tomato, seeded, finely chopped
• 3 limes, juiced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1-2 pinches red pepper flakes
• 1-2 pinches salt
• handful flat leaf parsley, chopped roughly
• 2-3 spring onions (green only) finely sliced

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and lightly salt. Ready a bowl of ice water beside it. Plunge the shrimp in the boiling water for 2 minutes, then transfer to ice water. Repeat with scallops, ~90 seconds. Adjust time based on size - seafood should be undercooked*, will cook in the citrus. 
2. Peel and devein shrimp (slice in half if more than 30 ct.). Slice scallops into uniform pieces. If you remember, toss with a splash of EVOO. I forgot. No harm.
3. In a non-reactive bowl, combine lime and lemon juice, shallot, tomato, pepper flakes, and salt. Add seafood and mix. Refrigerate, stirring every 15 minutes or so, for 60 minutes.
4. Add parsley, spring onion. Marinate another 30 minutes. 
5. Taste, adjust seasoning.
6. Divide among chilled glasses, drizzle with a little marinade, and serve.

Ceviche with incredibly fresh seafood from Frank's.

Soy-Ginger Mussels


This is sort of an amalgam of recipes - I wandered google for a while and didn't find one I really liked. But it is most closely based on this one.


I think of mussels as our special dinner - they're fresh, inexpensive, and very easy to make. This was a departure from the normal way I make them, but it was with flavors we use a lot - and it worked really well. This would still be good with bread. I also liked spooning the sauce into the half-shell and slurping it with the mussel. It would be awesome spooned over a bed of rice. This was... really, really good.


If you need help on how to clean mussels, watch the video here**.

I liked this wine way more
than I thought I would.

• 2 lbs mussels, sorted, scrubbed and de-bearded
• a few squirts of canola oil
• a splash of toasted sesame oil
• a bunch of spring onions, most chopped in 2" pieces - thinly slice 1-2 onions, green part only
• 1-2 T grated ginger
• 1-2 T mashed garlic (finely mince/grind with a few pinches of salt)
• 1/4 c soy sauce, reduced sodium
• 1 c wine
• 1 splash fish sauce
• ~1 c water
• 2-3 T butter (unsalted)

1. heat the oils in a vessel large enough to cook the mussels; when hot, add the spring onion and cook 3-4 minutes, until soft and browning slightly
2. add ginger and garlic and cook for ~60 seconds (adjust amount, time to taste)
3. add white wine (I used sauvignon blanc), soy sauce, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil, boil for ~5 minutes.
4. don't forget to pour yourself a glass of wine!
5. add 1 cup of water, return to a boil, then add the mussels. Stir and then clap the lid on the pot for four minutes.
6. Remove the lid and pull out opened mussels to a large bowl; discard any mussels that don't open within another minute or two.
7. Boil the remaining liquid for another 2-3 minutes (reducing by about a third). Add the butter, and stir/swirl it in as the liquid boils. This is really important - adding the fat to the boiling liquid changes it, almost makes it look shiny.
8. Pour the broth over the mussels, garnish with thinly sliced spring onion and parsley. 

Before butter.

After butter. Can you SEE it?!?! 

(Final swirl of the pan)

This was a freakin' awesome bag of mussels. 

As if that wasn't enough food.... we still had:




Taco Rice


Believe it or not, this is a real thing.


I used to tease Matt about this, but I don't anymore (much). It reminds him of Okinawa. And... it's pretty tasty. I could eat sushi rice by the pound, and the addition of taco meat and cheese? It's good. Trust me.


You need...

• Ground meat of choice (beef or turkey - but don't go for the lean turkey here, you don't want it to be dry)
• Taco seasoning packet
• Water (per seasoning packet instructions)
• Shredded Cheese
• Sushi Rice
• Secret Fixins***

1. Make the sushi rice. 
2. Cook the meat according to the instructions on the packet. Jab at it while it simmers to break it into a really fine ground.
3. Spread the sushi rice into the vessel of your choice (ours is a small oblong pyrex glass dish)
4. Top with taco meat, then cheese. Let the cheese melt.
5. Serve with tabasco.

"Purist" taco rice.

"Abomination" taco rice.

In the end, it's more than just food (a lot of food). It's about showing people that you care through food, about bringing them in to an experience with you. This is what I love about food, and cooking, no matter who it's for. 

*   Yes, I know ceviche should start with raw fish. If you have +90 minutes, go nuts. I like to marinate mine 6+ hours (no more than 24), but I decided to make it sorta last minute.

**  Broken mussels go with the territory, don't be afraid to toss them. I dump the bag into a bowl, and then scrub/debeard, placing the cleaned ones in a colander. When I'm done, I give them a final rinse, and then keep them in the colander beneath ice until ready to use. If there are some that are open, tap them, set them aside, and check them when you've gone through the others. If they're not closed by then, toss. Usually you see them tighten/close up, which is pretty cool. Don't forget to thank them for being a delicious dinner.

*** Secret fixins include salsa, chopped tomato, cucumber, and lettuce. Shh, don't tell.

What do you cook for the people you care about - or at least, mostly sorta like? :)  Tell me in the comments below!