taking my own advice (you should too)

Even though I didn't sit down to dinner until a staggering 10:15pm last night, my chirashi bowl was well worth the wait. And although I don't suggest starting a two hour marinade process at 8pm, sometimes that's just the way it goes. So what better reward for a grueling day than a piping hot bowl of homemade food? A heaping spoonful of ginger-infused sticky rice was topped with some shredded carrot, creamy avocado, sliced Japanese-style broiled chicken, and drizzled with a sweet soy-sesame sauce flecked with chili flakes. The contrasting textures and temperatures and flavors were so deliciously thoughtful and satisfying, I can't think of a more appropriate and well-received dish on a chilly, tiresome, yet massively rewarding Monday night.

chirashi sushi

Much to my dismay, on Saturday night, my roasted butternut squash was not developing the color I'd hoped for. Instead of caramelizing and crisping along the edges, it was practically steaming, in a 400F oven set to ROAST. To reiterate, it wasn't roasting, it was steaming. Frustrated, I glanced to my right and noticed Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything, a Christmas gift I received last year but hadn't yet given it the full attention it deserved. I flipped through the index, looking for roasted butternut squash and found: nothin'. How To Cook Everything couldn't tell me how to properly cook roasted butternut squash. Slightly discouraged and muttering, "Seriously, Bitty?" under my breath, I flipped through a couple more pages and ended up on a chart of sorts explaining Sushi Bowls, also known as Chirashi Sushi. Bittman explains:

"Chirashi means 'scattered' and that's exactly what this is: various ingredients scattered over sushi rice."

I don't know about any of you, but I've been stuck in a lunch and dinner rut. I've exhausted all my go to options to the point where I'm developing a less than palatable reaction to them. But a sushi bowl (for a girl who craves sushi on the regular) was just the answer to my epicurean question of: what ELSE is for dinner?!

Here are a few of the combinations I found the most interesting. Each bowl of sticky rice gets a protein (meat, fish, or tofu), a vegetable, and a suggested sauce and/or topping:

Broiled or grilled chicken, Japanese style* with shredded vegetables (i.e. grated raw cucumber or carrots) topped with a soy dipping sauce and/or soy-based marinade

Pan-roasted tuna steaks with sliced avocado and mayo flavored with wasabi and topped with thinly sliced scallion

Grilled or broiled pork chops with Japanese pickles (found in Japanese market) or spicy Asian-style pickles, topped with toasted sesame seeds

Pan-cooked salmon with roasted scallions, Asian style**, and topped with ponzu sauce

Oven-fried sesame chicken with quick-cooked bok choy and pickled ginger

Broiled (or grilled) Chicken, Japanese Style*

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp. sake or dry white wine

2 tbsp. mirin (or 1 tbsp. honey mixed with 1 tbsp. water)

3 scallions, roughly chopped

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger

1 whole chicken (3 to 4 lbs.) trimmed of excess fat and cut into 8 pieces, or any combination of parts

neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, for brushing

lemon wedges for garnish

Mix everything together except the oil and lemon wedges in a large baking dish or heavy plastic bag. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and as long as overnight, turning occasionally. When you're ready to cook, heat the broiler to moderate heat and put the rack about 6 inches from the heat source.

Start with the skin side down and broil, making sure the bird does not burn, until it's nearly done, about 15 minutes, then turn and cook until done, 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with the lemon wedges.

Roasted scallions, Asian Style**

Heat oven to 400F. Drizzle 2 bunches of scallions with 1 tbsp. peanut oil, 1 tbsp. dark sesame oil, salt and pepper. Spread scallions out on baking sheet and roast, turning once or twice until lightly browned and tender, about 20 minutes. To finish, drizzle with 2 tbsp. rice vinegar, toss, and serve.

weekend dinner party DEBUT

Photo courtesy of Andrew Scrivani for the New York Times

There are two questions with which I get bombarded (willingly and happily) by on a daily basis: restaurant recommendations and "What should I make for ______?" No matter what the occasion and/or dinner guest(s), truth be told, menu planning is one of my favorite things to do. The hypothetical promise of a fabulous meal fills me up with enough inspiration and drive to knock out menu after menu in no time. I get an adrenaline rush. I suppose for someone that's infinitely devoted to fashion, putting together devastatingly perfect outfits (with an unlimited closet of sorts) would yield the same sort of euphoric result. Satisfaction and gratification. It's what makes us all tick.

That said, I thought it would be mutually beneficial (for you and me) if I started pumping out weekend dinner party ideas every Wednedsay, which will give you plenty of time to shop, plan, and prep by Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. And what's better than a night with friends, food and/or a date to look forward to come the weekend? A whole lotta nothing, that's what.

Take-In Night

Gyoza Dumplings with Dipping Sauce

Tsing Tao (or Sapporo or Kirin) Beer

Coconut Braised Beef over Rice with Cilantro

Dry Riesling (recommend: Pacific Rim Dry Riesling)

Mango Sorbet with Mint

As far as the dumplings are concerned, unless you're feeling adventurous and have time to kill and want to make your own, I'm voting frozen all the way. Trader Joe's has a great bag of frozen Thai Shrimp Gyoza Dumplings which I always have in the freezer but almost every grocery store now carries a brand. Asian speciality stores will have a particularly fabulous selection if you can manage to swing by one. You'll also find dumpling sauce there (and in the Asian aisle at the regular grocery store) which I like to supplement with a little bit of chopped fresh scallions. Throw the frozen dumplings into a hot pan with a little bit of a neutral oil and allow them to pick up some good, golden brown color on the bottom. After about 3 or 4 minutes, add in 2 Tbsp. of water, stand back, and throw a lid on top. Allow them to steam for another 2 to 3 minutes and serve while still hot. They're the perfect, easy appetetizer with a cold beer. You'll want to do this just before guests arrive.

The Coconut Braised Beef recipe is by my boy, Mark Bittman of the New York Times. I've had it printed and sitting here at my desk, staring at me, enticing me for far too long. It utilizes a ridiculously affordable cut of meat and turns it into a tender and slightly exotic masterpiece. There are minimal ingredients and it doesn't require much of your attention at all. Throw it together early afternoon and you're set. Done.

Put a pot of rice on 20 minutes before your guests are about to arrive, and then go and prep yourself. When you're taken care of, pop open a Tsing Tao, get working on the dumplings, and excitedly anticipate your friends walking in to the smell of simmering coconut milk, ginger, chilis, scallions, and cilantro; immediately spreading smiles across their faces.

You'll pull it all off effortlessly without a glimmer of doubt. And remember, dessert's waiting patiently in the freezer to be topped with a few fresh leaves of mint.

Cheers, my social butterflies.

winter warmth

Photo courtesy The New York Times

This week's Dining Section of the New York Times, features a Mark Bittman recipe for a citrus salad. A combination of seasonally delicious oranges and grapefruits dressed with shaved red onion, a light drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. I highly suggest adding some herbage to this mix; fresh mint or basil would be gorgeous. The perfect ying to the citrus's yang. Shaved fennel would also be a killer attribute. Regardless of which route you take, this bright, slightly sweet salad will indefinitely add some happiness and warmth to help sooth those winter doldrums. Serve it alongside your favorite piece of fish (or fish tacos, mmm) close your eyes, have a drink, and you'll think you've skipped off to some sort of tropical vacation as the sound of the honking horns and crazy man playing the recorder outside your window magically begin to disappear.

Until the garbage truck rolls by.

In which case, enjoy that second and third Corona with lime. You've earned it.