Friday, July 22, 2011

Another Tonkatsu Dinner...

Tonkatsu Dinner w/Tonjiru (Pork Miso Soup) & Tontoro (Pork Cheeks)

I'm a little late on my new post and checking out everybody else's because we took a mini vacation to the Florida Panhandle and then drove to New Orleans for a fabulous eating fest!  I'll write a review of the places that we went to in my next post :o)

In the meantime, this post is another one about Japanese Tonkatsu (pork cutlet).  I used different cuts of pork than the last time.  This time I used all Kurobuta Pork (Berkshire or Black Pork) that is fattier and more flavorful  than normal pork. It's originally an English breed and the Japanese took it to Kagoshima Prefecture to breed them there.  It can be found at many Japanese markets and restaurants.

My previous Tonkatsu post...
http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/search/label/Tonkatsu

Sliced Pork Belly in Package

I used Pork Belly this time for the Tonjiru Soup (Pork & Potato Miso Soup).  The slices look just like bacon, but it's not cured.

Chopped Pork Belly for Tonjiru

I sliced it up before cooking it.

Potatoes, Cabbage & Turnip for Soup...

The soup had miso, pork belly, potatoes, cabbage, Japanese turnip & pork stock in it.  Turnip isn't usually used in it, but I had a lot, so decided to throw it in;o)

Ton Toro (Pork Cheek)

I love this cut of pork and get it whenever I can find it.  It's usually used for Yakiniku (Japanese Style Korean BBQ), but I thought I'd try making it into tonkatsu and loved it!  It's a very fatty piece of pork, so I'm sure some people would think it's overkill frying it...lol  I also sometimes use this for the Tonjiru Soup.

Kurobuta Pork Loin

Last time I had the butcher cut and pound pork butt for me.  This time I used the Kurobuta Pork Loin.  I like this cut better when it's Kurobuta because it's fattier and has a richer flavor to it.  My friend, Nami, recently posted her Tonkatsu recipe.  I'd already made mine, so didn't get a chance to use her tips.  It's amazing how many different ways there are to make the same foods!  I just make Tonkatsu the easiest way there is...just season the flour, egg wash & Panko (breadcrumbs) then dredge the pork in it.  Nami adds oil to her egg, scores the fat of the pork, pounds it  & double frys the pork!!  I double fry French Fries, but never thought of doing that for Tonkatsu.  I'm going to use her tips next time I make any type of cutlet :o)

Nami @Just One Cookbook's Tonkatsu Post...
http://justonecookbook.com/blog/recipes/tonkatsu/

Breaded Loin & Pork Cheek

Tonkatsu Ready to Fry...

Ton Toro Ready to Fry...

Ton Toro!

I made a dipping sauce of Kewpie Mayo, Japanese Mustard, Tonkatsu & Worchestershire Sauce for the Tontoro.  They are like Chicken McNuggets made w/pork, but so much better...very addictive!


Tonkatsu

I really need to get better at slicing the cabbage thinner;o)

Tonjiru!

I really liked the Tonjiru better with the Pork Belly instead of Pork Butt.  Pork Butt dries out too quickly...

Friday, July 15, 2011

My Version of Iron Chef Morimoto's Toro Tartare...

My Version...


We spent the 4th of July weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area and had the best time!  It was mostly an eating fest which is quite normal for our vacations...lol  One of the highlights was being able to go to Iron Chef Morimoto's restaurant in the Napa Valley.  My favorite dish was the Toro Tartare and after having it there, I decided I wanted to try to make it at home.  I succeeded :o)

My post about Morimoto Napa & other restaurants...

Morimoto Napa's Version...


Served with Nori Tsukudani, Wasabi, Sour Cream, Chives, Guacamole & Mini Rice Crackers...

Toro Scraps & Maguro...


Toro (fatty tuna) is quite expensive, but sometimes at the Japanese market they sell toro scraps that's much cheaper :o)  For the toro tartare,  I used a combo of toro & regular maguro (tuna).

Toro 

Chopping Toro & Maguro...


I hand chopped it super fine...


Served w/Nori Tsukudani, Mini Rice Crackers, Wasabi, Yuzu Kosho & Dashi Shoyu & Uni 


I was too lazy to make all the condiments;o)  I didn't think it needed the sour cream, chives or guacamole.  Next time I may add chopped green onions.  There is a popular sushi dish called Negi Toro which is cubed toro with green onion. I was lucky enough to have the mini rice crackers leftover from a previous trip to Japan because I wasn't able to find it in a Japanese market here.  This type of rice cracker is usually used for Ochazuke (Rice w/hot Tea).  Traditional Yuzu Kosho is Yuzu Peel (a type of citrus) mixed w/green pepper & salt then fermented.

At Morimoto the dipping sauce wasn't just regular soy sauce, it was soy sauce mixed w/Dashi Stock (Bonito/Kombu). I made dashi instead of using just the powdered stuff and then mixed it with regular soy sauce & Shiro Shoyu (White Soy Sauce) which is slightly different than light soy sauce, it has a less salty flavor to it.  


Nori Tsukudani


Tsukudani is seafood, meat or seaweed cooked down in Mirin (Sweet Cooking Sake) & Soy Sauce.  Nori is the seaweed version.  I haven't tried to make it since it's so easy to buy it at the store :o)  It's a popular Japanese condiment eaten with rice.

English Label...


Toro Tartare

Hamachi, Chu-Toro & Ikura

I also served other sashimi (raw fish) to make hand rolls and to eat just as sashimi :o)  Yellow Tail, Middle Grade Fatty Tuna & Salmon Eggs...

My previous post about how we eat Sushi/Sashimi at home...

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Watching the Sunset on the Beach w/Smoked Salmon Pizza Part 2

Wolfgang Puck Style Smoked Salmon Pizza

This is Part II of our time on the beach during sunset.  I posted about making Retro Clam Dip in Part I :o)

I love getting this pizza when we go to Spago or some of Wolfgang Puck's other restaurants.  I knew that it wasn't that hard to make, so decided to finally make it.  It is pretty easy and oh so tasty!  It's a perfect pizza for the beach because you don't have to worry about it getting cold.  I would definitely make this and the clam dip again. 

Link to Wolf's recipe...

I changed the recipe a bit...I didn't use Chili Garlic Oil, I used Dill instead of Chives, I didn't add caviar and I used less Salmon :o)

Red Onion's on Pizza Dough

When I made pizza in the past, my dough kept getting huge air pockets and I'd have to poke them after taking it out of the oven. (I linked my past pizza post.) I researched how to get rid of those and it turns out it's very easy!  Just poke the dough all over with a fork before baking!  I usually par-bake the dough before putting toppings on it, but with this one you don't bake most of the ingredients.


Out of the oven...

It seemed like I baked the dough too crispy, but after putting the Sour Cream/Cream Cheese spread on it the crunchiness was perfect!

Sour Cream, Cream Cheese, Shallots, Dill, Lemon & White Pepper

I linked the recipe of the Dill Cream Sauce, but I added some Cream Cheese to it.  It just seems like Smoked Salmon needs Cream Cheese ;o)


Spread on the Pizza...

The spread goes on top of the baked red onion. You just have to be careful that the onions don't bunch up or move around too much...

Smoked Salmon, Dill & Capers...

The rest of the munchies...

Retro Clam Dip, Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut Salt & Pepper Chips, & Cherries :o)

Love Sunset Time :o)

Caipirinha Cocktails!

Yum!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Restaurant Reviews from Our 4th of July Weekend in San Francisco, CA

Hubby and I decided to spend the 4th of July weekend in San Francisco.  We love going there because it's a pretty easy drive and is just so different from Los Angeles.  This trip was mostly about eating and enjoying time with friends. One of the highlights of the trip was meeting my blogger friend, Nami, for the first time!  She has a wonderful blog called Just One Cookbook that mostly concentrates on Japanese food.  We clicked immediately when I first met her in the blogosphere.  It turns out she is a Dragon like me, but a whole cycle behind me;o)  Please check out her blog...


We met Nami and her husband Shen for a fabulous Chinese Feast at Koi Palace in Daly City on our way into San Francisco.  We were so busy eating and chatting that I didn't take any photos, but we had Soup Dumplings (XLB), Peking Duck - 3 Ways...Skin, Soup & Lettuce Cups, Ong Choy (Chinese Spinach or Hollow Veggie), Suckling Pig, Geoduck & Salmon Sashimi.  The food was delicious and we chatted it up for almost 3 hours! Towards the end of our meal there was a commotion at a table near us.  We looked over and there was a huge platter of something.  It turned out to be a huge pile of shark fin!  A $1,000 worth!!  Unfortunately, they didn't offer us a taste;o)


The next day we met for brunch at nopa with another set of friends.  Again, no pictures, but the food was wonderful! We shared most of it...Goat Cheese Bread Pudding...I usually don't like Goat Cheese, but I loved it!  Maybe cooking it makes a difference;o)  Smoked Trout w/housemade bagel, Salad w/Pluots, Garlic & Sage Sausage, Chili Braised Pork, Hamburger, &  Custard French Toast.  Loved the fact that they have loose leaf teas and some unusual cocktails.  I had the Negroni Frizzante, a Negroni w/Cava added ;o)


Dinner was at Prospect, it was good, but not great...  The menu sounded really good, but a lot of it was over salted.


**Please excuse the poor quality of my photos for this post, but they were all taken w/my iPhone w/out the flash.**

Toro Tartare @ Morimoto Napa
Nori Tsukudani, Wasabi, Sour Cream, Chives, Guacamole & Rice Crackers

When we were at brunch with our friends we were discussing other places that we'd be going to eat.  We talked about driving out to Napa for the day for lunch and they reminded me that Iron Chef Morimoto had opened his restaurant out there.  I was excited to try it out, but unfortunately, couldn't get a reservation :o(  You need to make it on Open Table and there was no availability.  When I called in, I couldn't get a real person to pick-up they just said that reservations are made online.  Next best place to go was Tyler Florence's new place Rotisserie & Wine, they just recently started to serve lunch, so was probably the reason we were able to get in.  When we got into Napa and to the restaurant it turned out that Morimoto was right next door, so we walked in to see if we could get in...Score!  Yes, they had availability :o) So, Tyler out, Morimoto in!! We had gone to Tyler's Wayfare Tavern in the past and I wasn't overly impressed, so I much preferred going to Morimoto.

Loved this place!  I wish that he'd open one in LA.  We learned that his restaurant in Philadelphia & NY has investors and the one in Napa is his first one solely owned by Chef Morimoto and it's his baby :o)  They said that he comes in at least once a month.  He also recently opened one in Waikiki and working on another one in Mexico City.

The first time I saw the Toro Tartare dish was in a photo that my brother had taken a few years ago. I had no idea what it was, but it looked intriguing!  Then it was featured on Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate and I had an Aha moment...lol After seeing that episode, I so wanted to try that dish!  So, first thing I asked when we sat down in the Napa location is if they had it...yes, so happy and it was worth the wait!

It's chopped up Toro (Fatty Tuna) & Akami (Reg Tuna) and served with Nori Tsukudani, Wasabi, Sour Cream, Chives, Guacamole & teeny tiny Rice Crackers.  Nori Tsukudani is seaweed that is cooked down to a paste, it's a common condiment in Japan.  The dipping sauce wasn't your usual soy sauce, it also had dashi (bonito broth) added to it.  Then they give you these little shovels to use instead of chopsticks and you mix and match whatever condiment you like.  I want to make this at home next, it shouldn't be too hard as long as you have the ingredients...

http://www.morimotonapa.com/

Duck Meatball Soup

The whole menu looked really good.  Hubby had a box set which included Veggie Tempura, Miso Soup, Sushi & he picked Braised Black Cod all for $25.  I had the Duck Meatball Soup which was light and refreshing, they put grated Mountain Yam in the meatballs which makes them super fluffy and the broth had a little bit of a kick to it too!  I wished that I could have it with udon, but they wouldn't allow it...they said that all the noodles were portioned out, so no substitutions...boo!  They make all there udon & soba on sight!

I also had some sushi & sashimi.  What's nice is that even sashimi is served by the piece.  I had Otoro, Kinmedai (Big Eye Snapper) & Wagyu Beef as Sashimi (w/out rice). I also had the Uni &  Kanimiso (King Crab Tomalley) as sushi (w/rice).  I had to try the Kanimiso because it sounded so interesting, I've never seen it as a sushi item.  I didn't really like it, it really was JUST the tomalley, I would have liked it if it had a small piece of crab with it.  When we were in Paris, there was a Japanese restaurant called Aida that grilled lobster and then used it's Tomalley to make a sauce...decadent!  I wrote about it in a previous post....

http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/2011/04/our-tour-de-francemay-2010-part-1.html

Roast Chicken

Our last night we went to Alexander's Steakhouse. We really enjoyed this place.  When I first looked it up on the internet, I thought I found the wrong place because there was so much Asian stuff on the menu such as sashimi.   It turns out that the Chef is half Japanese.  Unfortunately, since we went on a Sunday night he wasn't there, but the food was all still very good.  Hubby had the roasted chicken that was smoked for 3 hrs over Bincho coals.  Those are the same coals that Yakitori places use.  It was incredible how smokey the chicken was.  There was also braised daikon served with it, but it was braised too long in too concentrated soy sauce sauce, so it was a bit salty.

http://www.alexanderssteakhouse.com/san_francisco.html

Prime Dry Aged Rib Eye w/KimChi Butter

This was my dish and I loved it!  Who would have thought to serve a full on steak w/KimChi!  Well, at Korean bbq's you get sliced meat w/KimChi ;o)  The KimChi is usually served with the Filet, but they let me change it out and have it with the Rib Eye. It also had a side dipping sauce of Spicy Sesame Oil.  They also have Wagyu Beef and do their own dry aging.  The service was very friendly and professional.  We loved the bartender, Steve, (his father grew up in Burbank;o) with his innovative drinks.  He made us some New Orleans type cocktails like the Vieux Carre & Sazerac and even gave us our last round on the House! What I really like about San Francisco was that they are a gin town! Every bar that we went to had at least 10 different types of gin and only a few Vodka. Alexander's even had Citadelle Gin which is a French gin and is very hard to find, it's one of my favs!   LA is starting to get more gin, but doesn't compare to SF.

Complimentary Cotton Candy

It was a nice touch that they serve cotton candy at the end of the meal.  This one was a blueberry/cherry flavor :o)

My Sculpture...

You can only eat so much cotton candy, I had more fun playing with it than eating it...lol

View from Alioto's @Fisherman's Wharf

I know that Fisherman's Wharf is considered a tourist trap area, but I really like going to Alioto's!  We often stop here for lunch before our drive home to LA (or we love going to Swan Oyster Depot).  It's so civilized w/their view and white table cloths.  They even provide a traditional Finger Bowl after you finish eating your cracked crab;o)  The rest of the food is ok, not great...

http://www.aliotos.com/eat.htm

Cracked Crab

I know that Dungeness Crab isn't in season in San Francisco now, but I love getting it still.  It's really hard to find plain old, hot cracked crab w/drawn butter nowadays.  It just seems like such a SF dish to me.  This version at Alioto's is called "For the Adventurous"...lol  It's called this because it's not all completely cleaned up for you and you need to use a crab cracker & bib to eat it.  I wouldn't have it any other way!  I love this version because it is served with the crab soup/fat in the top shell.  When I was drinking the "soup" the waitress said that the only people that appreciate this part are Asians & Italians...lol  She also suggested that I put the fat on bread...yum...wish I had thought of that before!

With the lid on...

Dabney Coleman Steak

Our last dinner for 4th of July weekend was our old haunt Dan Tana's right by our house.  I just can't resist their NY Strip Steak...the best in town :o)  Is it bad having two fatty steaks, two nights in a row??  I wrote a little about Dan Tana's in a past post...

http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/2011/04/dinner-tonight-ny-steak-made-into.html

http://www.dantanasrestaurant.com/home.php

My loot from Dean & Deluca :o)

I love going to Dean & Deluca when we are in the Napa area.  We stopped by here after our lunch at Morimoto.  The store is located in St. Helena.  I know most all the stuff you can buy at other stores and probably for a lot less, but I just love going there!  I got...Giant Posole (hominy), Small Posole, Black Rice, Dried Fava Beans (this is the 1st time I've seen dried), Cheese Scraper, Coffee Measuring Spoon, Glass Container and Mariage Frere Tea (not pictured).  

http://www.deandeluca.com/