anniversary

Last Thursday was our 9th anniversary. We didn't do anything special. In fact, Satoshi had to work late.

I didn't really feel much like cooking either. So, I made some pasta with zucchini, roasted garlic, pancetta and pesto. Really quick and easy. (I think the hardest part was putting the garlic into the oven to roast)

I bought a stinky cheese plate. It came with (a slice of Fourme d'Ambert (a blue cheese from the Auvergne area, lots of blue-grey mold), some Boursin Pepper cheese spread & Welcome cheese (a creamy processed cheese from France)) which I ate with toasted bread. I actually wanted crackers, but could only find Ritz and didn't think it would match.

I had thought that I may be allergic to blue cheese when I was in Hawaii, because I am allergic to penicillin and the mold in blue cheese is from penicillin (my mom told me about the mold in blue cheese), but since I didn't have a reaction to eating this blue cheese, maybe I just had too much blue cheese when I was in Hawaii??

I bought a Fair Trade wine from South Africa called Moonlight Organics. The 2006 Shiraz was kind of on the dry side, but delicious.

For dessert, I dipped some dried mango and strawberries in 70% chocolate.

It was a nice dinner even though we couldn't enjoy it together.

Today is my first day for the next round of French lessons, only 5 classes, but I think the topics for this round are more on food! Hope I can keep up in class.

e komo mai

"E Komo Mai" means "welcome" in Hawaiian. In Hawaii, we don't usually use this phrase in everyday conversations, but you will often see it around at entrances to restaurants or subdivisions. On my trip home in January, I bought this welcome mat at the Swap Meet (a flea market)--I was bummed that it was made in the Philippines and not made in Hawaii. Still, it brightens up our entryway.

If you remember, while I was in Hawaii, Satoshi came to re-new his drivers license and we met up with friends. (Before we moved to Japan in 2001, the Dois were in Hawaii too. Mr Doi works for a hotel. After moving to Japan, we've gotten together with them several times for dinner.)

We've talked about having them over for dinner or heavy pupus (Hawaiian for appetizers), but with everyone working (except me), it was hard to get everyone's schedule free...until today.

The menu I planned was not too fancy and usually things you can find at pot-luck parties in offices or homes in Hawaii.

Layered Taco Dip with tortilla chips
Chinese Chicken Salad
Spicy Poke
Kim Chee Dip with crackers
Deconstructed chocolate haupia pie

Layered Taco Dip is Satoshi's favorite. I've mentioned this before but this is what Satoshi asks for when we are throwing a party in our home. It also has become sort of a tradition at our Christmas parties. One of Satoshi's friends actually said that it isn't Christmas unless he eat this dip...kind of like needing turkey for Thanksgiving I guess...

Chinese Chicken Salad is my favorite. Actually, I like the dressing because of its sweet/sour flavor.

Spicy Poke was a new recipe for me to try. Sam Choy (you may have seen him cooking with Emril on the Food Network) is the "master of poke" in Hawaii and also has a contest every year on the Big Island to find the best poke. I found a recipe in the Honolulu Star Bulletin while home in January. (Nate, since I can't send some over to you, this photo is for you!!)

Spicy Poke by Sam Choy taken from the Honolulu Star Bulletin 1/31/07
1 lb. ahi (tuna) cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium tomato cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 cup ogo (limu kohu seaweed) chopped
1/2 cup onion cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 cup cucumber cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1/2 cup diced green onion
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed minced chili pepper (seeded)
1 teaspoon kim chee base
salt, pepper to taste

Serves 16--1/4 cup servings

NOTES: this recipe makes a LOT of poke. I used 473 grams of maguro (tuna) (about a pound according to the conversion calculator that I used). Also, I used the poke packet that I bring home from Hawaii. Inside the packet is dried ogo--all I did was reconstitute it in water and chopped it up. Since Mrs Doi either cannot eat cucumber or doesn't like it, I didn't add it in. Make this a little prior to serving so that all the flavors can meld and can be served cold.

Kim Chee Dip was a last minute addition. I knew there was a super easy recipe but I didn't have it in any of my cookbooks. Thank goodness for the internet, it hooked me up with the recipe.

From HECO (Hawaiian Electric Company)

1/2 cup chopped kim chee
8 oz. cream cheese cut into quarters
1 tablespoon kim chee juice

Whiz in a blender add more kim chee juice if needed. Chill and serve with crackers or chips.

NOTE: I only had half of the cream cheese amount, so that was what I used. I stuck everything into the food processor, unchopped, and just whizzed everything just a bit to have some texture from the chunks of kim chee. It is really fast and easy!

Dessert was a deconstructed chocolate haupia pie of sorts.

I made the haupia (coconut pudding/gelatin) using the NOH mix. I really wanted to make everything from scratch but couldn't find all the ingredients in time.

The chocolate pudding was from a mix too, Jell-o. I toasted the macadamia nuts the night before and put everything together this morning.

NOTES: I'm gonna try making this from scratch, the haupia mix is not too coconutty and the chocolate Jell-o is too sweet and overpowers everything.

We also had wine called Birillo made by Tenuta Marsiliana. A couple of months ago, I had this wine with dinner and really liked it, so I hunted for it around our area but came up empty handed. Then one day while surfing the internet, I found it online in Japan and quickly ordered 2 bottles. This "mini Super Tuscan" wine is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and Shiraz.

The Dois also brought Santero's Sparkling Pinot Chardonnay--it was good, dry and reminded me of champagne.

We sure had a lot of food, I hope the Dois had a nice time.

Have a great week.

odds & ends

Last year, I posted about these dried tart fuji apples. Well, I think I may have found a similar product in Japan. These dried apples are imported by Kanebo foods. But at 168yen (about $1.70) per bag it is a bit expensive, especially since there are only 4 pieces! Oh well, it was nice to find them here.

Before coming back from Hawaii, I found these dark chocolate covered mac nuts dusted in cocoa powder made by Mauna Loa. BFF told me not to put them into the refrig as the cocoa gets kind of funky when it comes out of the refrig....with the weather warming up I guess I'll have to eat them up soon!

A flower that is in bloom here are there is the fuji (wisteria). There are purple fuji, which we found at a local park.

And white fuji, which we found at Otokunidera. I'm not sure if they have a fragrance, but they look really dainty.

This morning Satoshi had to go to work, so I made him a chili moco (well, almost). A local eatery in Hawaii, Zippy's, came up with the idea. Rice with their famous chili, a hamburger patty, their mac salad sauce on top of the patty and then an egg (ordered to your liking). I didn't realize their chili moco was this intense until I googled it. Mine was sans the patty and the sauce. I'll have to try making this again sometime....

Lastly, I wanted to share with you a new wine that I found. Since Australia is nearby, I've noticed that there are a lot of Aussie wines in the stores these days. Made by a company called Barokes, they have 3 types (Rose, Chardonnay Semillon, Cabernet Shiraz Merlot) and 2 versions (with or without bubbles). They are about a cup and a half and perfect for picnics.

Well, it is a rainy Sunday and Satoshi is at work. I'm debating what to do today...hope you are staying dry and enjoying the weekend where you are.

day after christmas

It is the day after Christmas, are you at the malls? It is just another day here in Japan, in fact, a lot of people are trying to get ready to welcome the New Year--I'll post about that as we get closer to the day.

A while back, I bought a chocolate cookbook, which I posted about here. Remember I also received some dried figs? Well, since I had a bottle of red wine open, I was finally able to try this recipe.

Ganache Figue makes about 16 pieces
5 dried figs
3/4 cup red wine
1/2 cinnamon stick
3 whole black peppers
1 whole clove
125g sweet chocolate
100ml cream
cocoa powder

1. In a pot, put the wine, cinnamon, pepper & clove and bring to a boil. When it comes to a boil, turn down to simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Add the dried figs and let come to a light boil. Turn off heat and put lid on, leave contents in pot overnight.
3. The next day, take the figs out and cut into 1 cm pieces. Save the mulled wine.
4. Cut the chocolate into small pieces and put into a bowl.
5. In a pot, heat the cream on medium heat, before it comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Add the cream to the chocolate and mix with a whisk.
6. When the chocolate and cream is combined, add the figs and 3 tablespoons of the mulled wine. Let cool.
7. After cool, spoon out into 16 balls and place onto a parchment sheet.
8. Cool in refrig for 20 to 30 minutes. Using your hands re-mold it to look like a fig and cover in cocoa powder. From the mulled wine, take the cinnamon stick and cut slivers to be used as the stem of the fig.

NOTES: I ended up with about 20 pieces--I cut the figs into 4 pieces. I didn't add the 3 tablespoons of the wine, I only added 1 because I don't care too much for liquor chocolates. I also didn't read the recipe well and I cooled the chocolate in the refrig and ended up with quite a hard mess. I also didn't use the cinnamon stick slivers at the end. The figs were well soaked and it didn't taste too winey. And because I used dark chocolate, instead of sweet chocolate, it matched well with the wine taste.

The other day, I also received daikon (long white turnip) from a friend, so I tried a recipe for Japanese pickles called takuan. I got the recipe from my mom's church's cookbook. This was really easy to make.

Here's the recipe from "Wisteria Delights"
Takuwan
3 T. salt
3/4 c. Japanese vinegar (rice vinegar)
1-1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp yellow food coloring
3 or 4 medium white turnips

Boil the salt, vinegar and sugar until sugar is melted.
Turn off heat, then add food coloring.
Set aside until cool.
Slice turnips, place in a bowl and pour sauce over them.
Leave in bowl, turning often with a wooden spoon.
Next day, put into jars with sauce then refrigerate.
If you like it a little hot, you may add chili peppers to your taste.

NOTES: I didn't add the food coloring.

Hope you are having a great week!

ho ho ho....bah humbug...sigh

It is Christmas Eve. Satoshi had to work. He also has to work tomorrow, Christmas Day.... Christmas, what is that? I grew up celebrating Christmas with my family, having dinner with family and friends, but in Japan it is different.

Christmas is for couples. Restaurants have expensive romantic dinners for two. Last year, we went out for a nice French dinner. The price of cake also goes up. Can you imagine paying $40 for an 8-inch round cake? I can't, so I usually make some kind of dessert instead of buying.

Here is a picture of our tree.

In Japan, they don't sell freshly cut ones, so for our first Christmas I bought one in a pot. That one died after 3 years, so this is the one we've had for the past 2 Christmases.

Anyway, because of a flight delay or something, Satoshi called to say he would be late, so dinner was my usual "table for one"--I guess I should be thankful that he called early enough for me to eat at a decent time.

I started off with some olives and cheese...one of the cheeses was interesting with bits of almonds. It really went well with the Yalumba 2004 Shiraz Viognier--a dry red with hints of cinnamon and spices.

A filet and baby leaf lettuce with bistro-style vinaigrette, a recipe I saw on Bean and Plum Discover the World (this blog no longer exists) and mashed turnips with olive oil, salt and pepper.

And for dessert a little cup of chocolate pudding infused with Republic of Tea's Green Earl Greyer (a green tea with bergamot oil) tea--I actually intended to make truffles, but the ganache was too soft, so now it is a pudding... strawberries and a slice of cheese cake by Marutoya, from my host-sister, Tomoko, she is a foodie too and loves to order food items from different places around Japan. The cheese cake reminded me of New York style cheese cake with a nice cookie crust.

I guess while I'm feeling sorry for myself, I'll have another glass of wine while I wait for Satoshi to come home.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

in search of viognier

Do you know what Viognier is? I didn't at first. But after coming across it in the Australia Gourmet Traveller, then checking on the internet, I found out it was a type of grape. In the same magazine there was also a little ad for Yalumba wines. They are a South Australian wine maker which makes a Viognier wine and it had a very nice sounding review. I made a note of it in my foodie journal and pretty much forgot about it.

Then as I was surfing the net the other day, I checked the gourmet supermarket's site that I sometimes go to. They had the Yalumba wines on sale! and also had the Viognier advertised.

The next day, I rushed to the store that I sometimes go to nearby....no luck. The day after that, I went to another one in the same chain, a couple of stations away...again, no luck. Then yesterday, I went to a larger store in the same chain, yet farther away and they had it! (yeah!) I found out that these are in the Yalumba "Y" Series, which according to their site means that these are the ones they export.

I bought the 2005 Viognier and the 2004 Shiraz Viognier (a blend of Shiraz and Viognier). I hope these were worth the hunt!

Oh, and have you ever wanted something to remember the name of the wine you drank? Yalumba has a great thing on the back of their bottles. Not only does it tell the year and name of wine, but there is also the website address. Just peel this guy off and glue it into your foodie journal or schedule and your all set!

Enjoy the weekend!

noix de coco

For Christmas, we went to a French restaurant called Noix de Coco, which I wrote about (here). Today, Satoshi's friend, Gen, wanted to eat french food, so we went to the same restaurant.

First course was "genetically engineered" (or so I thought because it boasted all these minerals and stuff to make you beautiful) soft boiled egg called "asuran" with red bell pepper mousse and tomato sauce.

Cantaloupe melon with shrimp salad.

Escargot.

Wagyu (Japanese beef) tartare (raw) with kamo eggplant.

Potage of the day = pumpkin

Fish of the day = suzuki (Japanese sea bass in a cream sauce with pink peppercorns

Filet with veggies and roast beef

A platter of assorted cheeses: clocwise, gueyere, camembert, garlic, epoisses and blue cheese

And for dessert a cheesecake encased inside of a vanilla mousse with lime essence.

We also had a bottle of Jackson Estate Riesling and a Shiraz (which I can't find on the internet, so I can't tell you the name of)

Everything was delicious, but I think Gen will stick to eating in the izakaya (Japanese bars), because he can smoke whenever he feels like it and the portions are a bit bigger.

Oh, and because we were the first 10 to make reservations for dinner we (I) got these cool herbs: clockwise: italian parsley, thyme and watercress (cresson)

Have a great week!