Day 149: Smells Better Than it Looks (and Tastes)

Turkey has been coming out of our pores these last few days (Thanksgiving + leftovers = turkey overload!) but yet we decided to have chicken for dinner tonight.

I  perused some of my favorite recipe books and decided on Malaysian Chicken Curry from the stellar Gourmet Cookbook (this despite having curried turkey and mango salad for lunch!).  The recipe sounded exotic and different and I used the opportunity to toss in some roasted sweet potatoes left over from Thanksgiving.

The scent wafting through the house while this dish was cooking was amazing.  Total cooking time was about 45 minutes and with every passing moment our hunger and excitement to eat grew.  Imagine our disappointment when we discovered that the aroma was far better than the taste of this dish.

That's not to say that we didn't enjoy this meal -- but let's just say I'm not in a big rush to make it again.  There are far too many other more delicious dishes to cook and to eat.  I guess my greatest memory of Malaysia will have to continue to be that its president was at the center of a murder plot in Zoolander.  Oh, Malaysia.

Day 148: If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix it!

I'll never understand why restaurants tinker with perfectly good or even amazing menu items.  Unfortunately, such was the case tonight at Isa, our favorite neighborhood restaurant which has many a great meal to this blog (entry #78, entry #119).

One of our favorite dishes at Isa was soft, flaky butterfish with a mix of earthy mushrooms baked in parchment paper.  Perfection.  Isa's new version replaces the mushrooms with leeks and artichoke hearts and something has changed with the cooking style.  It's still bundled together in parchment, but the fish is less flaky and more mushy.  We even sent the first one back - something I hardly ever do - but it wasn't even recognizable as fish.  The second one was better but still overcooked.  Sadly, this dish has now moved from our "must have" list to the "should be avoided" list.

Fortunately, everything else at Isa continues to be stellar, including the scallops pictured above.  Served with mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, and bacon, they are absolutely divine.  The baked goat cheese with tomatoes, basil, and pine nuts is simple, warm and cozy, high end comfort food.

So, we'll forgive Isa this one mistake and look forward to many more excellent dinners there.

Day 147: No More Cooking, Please!!

After two straight days of cooking in preparation for our Thanksgiving meal, I needed a night off.

There's an unassuming but lovely little sushi restaurant called Asa Sushi just a few blocks from our house.  They have quite a vast menu of rolls but we have yet to find one that we like more than the Red Dragon, pictured above (with a couple of pieces of eel sushi on the side).  Tempura shrimp down the center, eel draped over the top, diced spicy tuna above that, and tobiko scattered all over.  Yum yum, you can never have just one.  We, in fact, had two.  I'm lucky I got any - you may have noticed my husband's eager and slightly impatient hand in the background.  

Day 146: Happy Thanksgiving!!

Holy hell.  I'm full!!  

My parents came to us for Thanksgiving this year and my husband and I took care of all of the cooking.  As you can see from our very full table, we went all out.  Our menu consisted of the following, starting from the upper right hand corner of the table.

Main Course #1:  Turkey!!

Rather than cooking a whole bird, we purchased two breasts at Whole Foods and grilled them.  That freed up the oven for the sides and gave my husband something to do (man + fire = happiness).  We prepared each breast differently the night before to give them a chance to suck up lots of good flavor.

One breast got an herb and garlic rub:  1/4 cup each of chopped fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary, a 1/2 cup of parsley, and 10 cloves of garlic.  All of that was ground up in the food processor and then I tucked a thick layer of it underneath the skin of the turkey.

The other breast was marinated in a mix of the juice of 5 oranges, zest from 2 of those oranges, juice and zest from 2 lemons, 1 large sliced shallot, 6 smashed cloves of garlic, a couple of tablespoons of sugar, about 1/4 cup of olive oil, and S&P.

The breasts took about 2.5 hours on the grill on indirect heat.

Side Dish #1:  Cauliflower with Mustard Lemon Butter

Side Dish #2:  Orange Rosemary Cranberry Sauce

Side Dish #3:  Butternut Squash & Creamed Spinach Gratin

Side Dish #4:  Corn Bread (for recipe, see side of Marie Callender package - this was the only thing I did not make from scratch)

Side Dish #5:  Wild Rice with Wild Mushrooms

Mushroom Gravy

Side Dish #6:  Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes

All of this was quite delicious and satisfying, but what's a Thanksgiving dinner without dessert?  After a short break, we were ready to dive in.

We had three desserts:

1.  Chocolate Pumpkin Tart

2.  Apple Crisp (made my our friend and dinner guest Julie)

3.  Coconut Macaroons (recipe available on the back of the blue Baker's Shredded Coconut bag)

Everything was enjoyed by all.  We are slipping into a food coma as I type this.  In fact, typing this is becoming increasing difficult.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Day 145: Training for Tomorrow

One might think that the night before Thanksgiving, the best dinner is a light one.  After all, who would want to have huge meals two nights in a row?  Me, I guess!

My parents arrived in SF today and we decided to take them to Izzy's for big steaks.  Of course, as always, I started with the prawn cocktail, pictured above.  Izzy's cocktail sauce is homemade and the best - full of horseradish, spicy, and so good.  Normally, I'd have gobbled up all five prawns myself, but hey - the people who gave me life were at the table and it only seems fair to share.

After that, I had prime rib and steamed broccoli - my other usual order at Izzy's.  And as always, I ate every bite.  So for those of you who are counting - I had two huge prawns, two giants bunches of steamed broccoli, and a steak the side of my head.  Chalk it up to being in training for tomorrow's big meal - which I am cooking and which I plan to enjoy thoroughly.  Bring it on!!