Dinner Party Tonight: Success!!

On the Menu:
Appetizers: Whole Wheat Pita Chips and Nugget Market's Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Entrees:
Broiled Miso Salmon
Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms
Asparagus with garlic

Dessert: Ikeda's Cherry Cobbler topped with Cool whip;o)

I'd like to thank my three lovely guests (please... no pictures!) -slash- taste testers who joined me tonight for dinner. I'll admit it's been a while since I made Miso salmon--in case you're wondering how that works: it's miso paste mixed in to the marinade, I used the light kind. The way I remember doing it was on the BBQ.
This time I used Ming Tsai's recipe for Broiled Miso-Citrus Salmon. Mine came out much milder than I remember(versus the BBQ miso salmon my mommy makes). I think I may have made the marinade too liquid-y... like maybe I should have made it close to a spread-like consistency. The risotto was tricky because maybe if I spent more time on it I would have been able to serve it hot and it wouldn't have gotten so coagulated. Otherwise, I'm happy with the combination of the meal--the risotto could have easily been replaced with steamed rice, but that seemed too boring. The salmon was cooked well, pink and soft/tender enough to be eaten with a fork and you didn't really need a knife. I made about 1 1/2 of the 3 lbs (hope you don't mind salmon next week too, K!) and it was jus enough for the four of us.

Ikeda Market's Cherry Cobbler (from Davis--thanks Kris!) was delicious! And the cool whip was a nice touch! (thanks JK!)

Tasty Travels with Jackie

I apologize to all my new blog visitors--thanks for stopping by and checking up but I can-not believe it's been weeks since I last wrote something--almost a month. Luckily, I am able to stop in before the month's end to recap on the happenings...

Exactly 12 days ago, I was at a dinner for my dad--celebrating his 25 (+1) years working at the same company (it's a good thing... really!). We went to Leftbank Restaurant (San Jose on Santana Row). And if you've never heard of it... it's an *awesome*French restaurant that holds a special place in my heart--for two reasons now. [Aside from the first reason being that the one in Larkspur was where I had dinner with my family when I turned 21... awwwww---shuddit! :oP] Now the second is... (drum roll please) ...because it was the first time I ate Escargots!! yeah... i ate snails!!! and they were quite delicioso--not that I'd eat them every day or even every time I go to LB. But I figured it's time I tried new things... Ooh! Aah! (taking it straight off the menu) They were prepared with "artichoke, garlic, parsley butter, (and a) splash of Pernod." Before I tried it, everyone was telling me the usual--"tastes like chicken" and "sometimes kind of chewy like squid"?!? But the one that I had was pretty good--I think it must have been prepared well because it was not chewy or squid-like at all. It almost melted in my mouth as I chewed and swallowed it. Really, I was mostly revelling in the buttery goodness of it. So... next time you're at a French restaurant--try something new: it's usually on the app's section of the menu;o)

P.S. For those of you still wondering if this is a restaurant worth going, I would give it 4.25 Piggies (out of 5) on the Piggy scale. Don't worry, they have other things on the menu. This joint has good atmosphere and it's a good location... it's Santana Row, baby! (It was my first time !). The weekend that we went they were doing a tribute/imitating Cannes Film Festival... as an ode to France in the movies, they projected on the walls were movies like Paris J'Taime and Casablanca. I loved it!!

Radiatori with Sausage, Artichokes, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I LOVE HOT SAUSAGE!!!
heehee.. it's not what you think. I just really like cooking and eating spicy sausage! I don't remember eating a lot of that when I was young. My mom would only cook sausage to the extent of Chinese sausage (lop-churng... haha is that phonetic?), Chicken Apple Sausage, and mmm... for my dad, Kielbasa.

So I'm in the meat section at Nugget Market (for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it's comparable to (my other favorite) Whole Foods Market and I guess Trader Joe's?)... anyways, I peek in to those big meat bins and I see mild or HOT sausage... I go... gotta go hot! and this time I did it right... I borrowed a recipe from foodnetwork.com:

Giada De Laurentis' Fusilli with Sausage, Artichokes, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_30506,00.html

ok... I dunno if I can get in to allll the edits and changes I made to this recipe... but I will do my best. Wow... truth is I really didn't change much--I was trying really hard to stick close to the recipe, but I used marinated artichokes that I drained and quickly rinsed (instead of frozen... bleh!). Also... I used fresh mozzarella but it wasn't packed in water--that worked out ok. NOTE: I say... the more cheese the better, especially with pasta! cuz... mmm doncha love it when you dig your fork in your pasta and pull out a clump of pasta, a bit of sausage all wrapped in a cheesy mess. It's yummy! Trust me! Lastly, instead of putting the veggies on the side (like I usually do), I decided at the last minute to add some thinly sliced zucchini--it almost need it for a lil color. Oh yes! and somewhere in the midst of throwing it all together--add some red pepper flakes for a lil more punch!

That was a fairly easy dinner--I can't quite remember the cooktime but dinner was ready when the mister came home for a quick bite;o)

TV Dinner: Rosemary Chicken with Cilanto Rice

I hadn't done Rosemary Chicken (with Lime) since that dinner party back... well, you remember? Cilanto Rice is my favorite compliment to the Grilled Chicken Rosemary!


(doesn't have to be grilled... I pan-fried it and finished it off in the oven)

"Grilled" Chicken Rosemary
1/3 cup veggie oil
3 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp chopped green onions (green)
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)--I used boneless... but you can use a whole cut up chicken or whatever pleases you.
4 rosemary sprigs

In a shallow baking dish, combine the oil, lime juice, green onion, parsley, chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Add the chicken, turning them all sides are well-coated with marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 to 5 hrs, turning the chicken once or twice.

Put the rosemary sprigs in water to soak for 30 minutes. Heat up a frying pan on medium-high heat. When the pan is hot (or the coals under the grill are ready), place the rosemary sprigs at the bottom of the pan. Place the chicken bone side down or skin side up. Cook them for about 12 minutes and you can brush excess marinade on the chicken while it's cooking. Turn the chicken and grill about 12 minutes more. If grilling, continue turning and basting the chicken until its well browned and the juices no longer run pink, about 20 more minutes. If pan-frying, brown the chicken and depending on how thick the chicken breasts are, you may finish off in the oven at 300 degrees for about 10 or 15 minutes--turning once.

That should do it. And you can have the chicken with anything... at that dinner party I mentioned earlier, we had it with a side of London broil... MMM MMM GOOD!!!
P.S. This time when I made this rosemary chicken I made the mistake of substituting lemon juice for lime juice. Yeah... that was mistake. I never realized the tastes are different--but indeed they are.

Cilantro Rice is sooooo easy. I just cook some jasmine rice (cook according to directions). Get a lil lime juice, chopped cilanto, and salt and pepper to taste and maybe a lil oil or chicken broth. That's it! Mix ingredients right before serving, or Warning: The cilantro will wilt and may turn that ugly olive green:)

Enjoy!