Happy New Year 2015 新年おめでとう ２０１５

Happy New Year 2015. Fourteen hours behind Japan, we welcomed the year 2015 the traditional way here in the U.S. by watching the drop of the ball in Times Square. (This happened well past my bedtime and I had nodded off. My wife, however, was much more alert and woke me with a New Year’s kiss). Does this delegate me to official “senior” status? We all grew older in 2014 as we witnessed those in the generation before us blaze the trail we will inevitably tread ourselves one day. But despite some surgery and other issues it was nonetheless a good year and for that we are thankful. The very first day of 2015 is cold but very sunny for a change in the Washington DC area. As usual, I displayed a “Plastic” Kagami-mochi 鏡餅 decoration containing packaged round mochi inside in our tokonoma 床の間.

2015 is a year of “ram” or “sheep” 羊. So, we took out our “ram” and “sheep” zodiac figures.

Since we are having a cold but sunny day, instead of staying in our “tea room” to imbibe and indulge like we have done most years, we decided to stay under the sun in our sunroom (we prefer to call it conservatory) for our new year’s ozouni お雑煮 soup. We postponed hitting our Sushi Taro supplied “osech” box 寿司太郎のお節重箱 until evening when sun has set. So, I served only items I made with our new year’s soup.

Again, the soup is the same as before. This year, I cut the carrot into plum flower shape, the daikon into pine and bamboo leaf-shape to make “Shou-chiku-bai” 松竹梅 or “pine-bamboo-plum blossom”, an ultimate combination of good luck and fortune in Japan.

As usual, I encased the rice cake “mochi” 餅 in a deep fried tofu pouch 油揚げ tied with gourd peel or Kampyou 干瓢  to accommodate my wife’s request.  I think it is a great way to eat mochi in oden or soup.

On the left, behind the perrila leaf 青紫蘇 is daikon namasu 大根なます garnished with salmon “ikura” イクラ roe. In front is thinly sliced boiled and vinegared octopus ( I got a whole 2 lb boiled and frozen octopus from Fish-For-Sushi). On the right, in the back are kelp-salmon rolls 鮭の昆布巻き, In the middle is simmered “Kabocha” カボチャの煮付 and in the front is “Datemaki” 伊達巻 or sweet egg roll which came out a bit pale this year.

We postpone our indulgence until evening to enjoy a bright day and sunshine.

Three Otoushi appetizers お通し３種類

These are three appetizers or "Otoshi" お通し I served one evening. It is always nice to start a meal with multiple small appetizer dishes but sometimes coming up with them can be a lot of work. Of course I could make things up ahead of time but somehow things don’t seem to work out that way.



The left most is shira-ae 白和え of green asparagus tips and "Fuyu" persimmon 富有柿.



The middle is "mozuki onsen tamago" もずく温泉卵 that is "mozuku" sea weed in sweet vinegar (store bought frozen) and "Onsen" egg on the top garnished with chopped scallion.



I also served deep fried tofu pouch, grilled. I tried to make it cheese filled or "Kitsune" Raclette but I did not have Raclette cheese and used a combination of cheddar and gruyere cheese which melted and ran out during the cooking process. So this became faintly cheese flavored grilled abura-age.

None of these dishes are new but it is really enjoyable to sip sake and taste these different flavors.

Samosa Croquette サモサコロッケ

We had leftover stuffing when we made samosa using egg roll skin. We decided to make a croquette samosa or "サモサコロッケ”. This one also had non-traditional chopped (roasted) pork meat as well.



Instead of the traditional Japanese oval and flat shape ("kobann-gata" 小判型 which is made that way to represent the shape of old Japanese gold currency in the Edo 江戸 period), I made it in the "Tawara" 俵* shape with cheddar cheese in the middle (see below).

*Tawara is cylindrical container woven from dried straw which was often used to store and transport rice in old Japan.



Since "curry" flavor is common in Japanese potato croquette or "potato korokke", we thought samosa seasoning would go well. Indeed this was very good.



We added "tonkatsu" sauce and enjoyed it with a sip of Cabernet.

Asparagus green and white グリーンとホワイト アスパラガス

This is a “nothing” dish but we enjoyed it as a drinking snack. The seasonality of asparagus has been somewhat lost since Peruvian asparagus is readily available in the United States in winter*. Coming from Hokkaido where fresh asparagus indicates the beginning of late spring moving into summer, I miss the anticipation and excitement inherent in the seasonality of the dish. But the fact we can enjoy fresh asparagus all year long provides some compensation. Although green asparagus are very popular, white asparagus is not as widely appreciated. When I was a kid white asparagus only came canned which is rather awful compared to fresh. I have posted about white asparagus before but I made a slightly different dressing for it this time.

*factoid: Believe it or not asparagus have been an “integral” part of the U.S. war on drugs. Under various free trade agreements with Andean countries particularly Peru, asparagus were imported to the United States duty free or with reduced tariff. It was thought this would provide incentives to produce asparagus rather than drugs. (I privately suspect they produce both now). Prior to these Agreements, as was the case in Hokkaido, asparagus were  only available in the United States in late spring early summer. Peruvian asparagus are also produced in Peru in the spring. Since the production occurs south of the equator, however, Peruvian spring/summer is our fall/winter. As a result asparagus are available in the U.S. all year round: from the United States in spring and summer and Peru south of the equator in fall and winter.



I quickly blanched the green asparagus tips (for a few minutes) and then cooled them (by spreading them on a paper towel in a cool place) and served with sesame dressing (Thicker bottom stalks were made into asparagus soup).  The sesame dressing is a mixture of white sesame paste, 1 tbs, sugar 1/2 tsp, soy sauce 1-2 tbs and rice vinegar 1/2 tsp).

The while asparagus can be a bit tricky to cook. First, I removed the bottom of the stalk by snapping it off by bending (where ever it snaps, that is the right spot). I then used a vegetable peeler (Europeans have a special white asparagus peeler) and removed the outer fibrous layer, preserving all the peels. The white asparagus tends to be very brittle and often breaks when it is peeled. The best way to prevent this is to use a sharp peeler and also place the asparagus on a flat surface such as a cutting board and rolling it as you peel. I placed all the peels and root ends as well as peeled white asparagus in a large frying pan with enough water to cover everything (I used filtered water from our home reverse osmosis device). I did not add salt (since I would be reducing the liquid). I cooked it on low flame for 1 hour (could be less depending on how well you peel and how fibrous the outer skin of the asparagus). After taking out the asparagus, I kept simmering the scraps and peels until the liquid was 1/3 of the original amount (the resulting liquid is full of white asparagus flavor). After staining through a fine meshed sieve, I kept this reduced broth in a sealable container for later use.

The first night, I served the asparagus warm.  I heated the cooked spears in a small amount of the asparagus broth. After they were heated through I removed them from the pan and set them aside. I then finished the sauce by adding butter, cream, and seasoning it with salt and white pepper. I then poured the sauce over the asparagus. This is very good for warm white asparagus.

The second time I served the asparagus (picture above), I used the broth to loosen mayonnaise to make a sauce for cold white asparagus. Adding, the concentrated white asparagus both really makes a difference. Although this was not early summer, we still enjoyed the asparagus.

Persimmon in tofu dressing 柿とほうれん草の白和え

I did a post on persimmon previously. In the US, we can usually get either "Fuyu 富有 or Jiro 次郎" and "Hachiya 蜂屋".  This time we found Fuyu persimmons at the store and I let them ripen to the point where the meat of the fruit was soft and gelatinous but very sweet (I didn’t let them ripen to that point on purpose, I just forgot about them). Before they passed the point of no return, I quickly made this persimmon salad with traditional tofu dressing called "Shira-ae 白和え. "Shun-giku" 春菊 or edible chrysanthemum would be the traditional pairing but since I did not have it, I substituted blanched baby spinach.



I served this on two occasions.  Since I had a small persimmon shaped bowl, I served in this container but it was a bit too small (below).



Ingredients (for two servings as seen in the first picture)
Persimmon, Fuyu Jiro variety, one, skinned and cut into 1/4 inch slices.
Spinach, hand-full, quickly blanched in salted boiling water, quickly washed/cooled in cold running water and moisture squeezed out then cut into half inch long pieces.

Tofu dressing: I used a half container of sukui tofu. The seasonings can be variable but I added Japanese white sesame paste "Neri-goma" 練りゴマ (2 tsp), sugar (1 tsp) and salt (1/2 tsp). You could add light colored soy sauce or miso instead of salt. I mixed them up in a small Japanese pestle and mortar (suribachi with surikogi) as seen below. Using silken or sukui tofu makes the dressing very smooth and creamy.

I simply dressed the persimmon and spinach with the tofu dressing. It is nice small salad. Although there is no oil added, the tofu makes the dressing very smooth, rich and creamy. The persimmons we used was a bit over ripe but still this was a nice small starter dish.

Lobster bisque ロブスタービスク

Every time we have lobster, I make lobster bisque from the carcasses and shells. According to my wife, lobster bisque is actually better than the lobster itself (which is mighty fine in its own right) because of the concentrated lobster taste. It is also much easier to eat.



I do not follow a particular recipe but I am sure all lobster bisque recipes must be similar. I use only a small amount of flour to thicken the soup as I do not want a very thick starchy bisque. Some may like to use all heavy cream to make the bisque thicken but, for me, that is a bit too much.

Ingredients
Lobster Carcasses: from 2 lobsters, cut into manageable size.
Vegetables: onion (2, finely diced), celery (3 stalks finely sliced),  carrots (3, cut into small chunks).
Tomato paste: about 2 tbs
White wine: 1 cup
Water to just cover the vegetables and lobster carcasses.
Thyme: 1/4 tsp, dried
Bay leaves: 2-3
Olive oil and butter.
Cream
Flour: 2-3 tabs (to thicken the bisque)

In a deep stock pot, I added butter and olive oil (1 tbs each). When hot, I added the onion and celery and sautéed until soft (3-4 minutes) and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I moved the vegetables aside and added the tomato paste to the bottom of the pan and moved it around to caramelize it as indicated when the color turned dark. This took about 1-2 minutes. Then I added the white wine (left over from dinner the previous night) and simmered for few minutes. I then added the carrots and the lobster carcasses. Using a wooden spatula, I pushed down on the carcasses and then poured in the water (we always use filtered water from our reverse osmosis system) to just cover. I added the thyme and bay leaves. I put the lid on and let it simmer for one hour or more. I occasionally mixed/pressed down on the carcasses using a wooden spatula during the cooking to make sure everything was submerged.

Using a large fine meshed sieve, I strained and removed all solids. This yielded about 4 cups of broth. I let it cool down to the room temperature, covered, and placed in the refrigerator (of course, you can do the reduction part without a pause).

Next day, I melted butter (about 3 tbs) in a stock pot. When melted, I added the flour (3 tbs) and mixed until no raw flour was visible but not colored (about 5 minutes). I added about a cup of cold broth and whisked quickly. When the flour/butter mixture was completely incorporated, I added the rest of the broth to the pot. At this point, the broth was very slightly thickened. I let it simmer without the lid on for about one hour to reduce it to half (about 2 cups). At the end of the reduction, I tasted it. Because of the saltiness from the lobster carcasses and the reduction, no salt was needed. The broth was nicely seasoned and all the essence of lobster was there. Again, I let it cool down to room temperature and place the reduced broth into a sealable container and placed it in the refrigerator.

To serve, I poured the amount for two servings into a sauce pan and gently heated it up. When warm, I added cream (about 4 tbs, the amount is up to you) and gently stirred. I do not like very thick starchy bisque but I also do not like too much heavy cream in my bisque.  I poured it into soup bowls with the cooked lobster meat in the center. I did not add any other garnish. I even omitted the slug of sherry usually included in this kid of bisque by my wife's request. She said she did not want to risk having the sherry overpower the lobster flavor.

As my wife said, this is a very essence of the lobster. It is velvety smooth with all the flavor of lobster. The lobster meat got warmed up which was very sweet.

Crab meat stuffed baked lobster 蟹肉入りロブスターのオーブン焼き

In preparation for an upcoming celebration I asked my wife if she would like to go out to a fancy restaurant. She said she preferred either a lobster or dry aged good beef cooked at home.  So I ordered two live lobsters that were each slightly over 2 lbs. They arrived the next day loose in a Styrofoam box. They were quite lively, moving around and according to my wife, focused on getting out of the box. Since I was not at home at the time, my wife was at a bit of loss as to what to do with them. She taped the box shut to prevent a “great escape” and put the box in the refrigerator. After some thought I decided to "bake" the lobsters stuffed with crab meat and topped with bread crumbs.


In the past we have tried boiling lobsters but that tends to get messy. First you need a pot that is big enough, secondly the process is somewhat gruesome, and thirdly the lobsters end up cooked but waterlogged.  We have also asked to have them steamed at the store where we bought them. Steaming is better than boiling at home, but we get the impression some of the lobsters have been residing in the tanks for quite some time because they have algae growing on their shells which is not very appealing. (The mail-order lobsters were not cloaked in any algae).  I decided to dispatch these fellows in the quickest most humane way possible. I had read somewhere that putting them in the freezer for a short period would anesthetize them but we did not have enough space in the freezer so I covered them in ice cubes. Maybe it would have been more effective to put them in the freezer because even with the ice cube bath this guy was feisty enough to challenge the heavy and sharp chef's knife in front of him.  I used the tip of the knife to pierce the junction between the head and abdominal segments cutting through the entire head section in one fell-swoop. This is the least pleasant aspect of a lobster dinner but I like to think this was much quicker than death by hot boiling water.  


I then cut the tail into half by extending the cut I made in the head section. I cleaned the head section leaving only the edible portions; the "coral" (it looks green when raw  but will turn orange or coral color when cooked) and liver or "tamalley". I then removed the intestine along the upper portion of the tail meat. I put the lobsters on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil (see below).



I removed the rubber bands around the claws and baked them at 410F for 10 minutes. I then stuff the head cavity with crab meat (Jumbo lump) in Bechamel sauce* and also spread the crab over the tail meat (below).

* This is my usual bechamel sauce. I sautéed finely chopped onion (one medium) in butter (2 tbs) until semi-transparent and soft. I added flour (3 tbs) and kept sautéing until no "raw" flour remained and the onion pieces were all coated with the butter/flour mixture. I added 1 cup of cold milk at once and kept stirring until thickened. I seasoned with salt and white pepper. I did not use any other seasoning to preserve the delicate flavor of the crab and lobster meat. I then mixed in jombo lump crab meat (about 8oz).



I then, spread bread crumbs (Panko) mixed with chopped parsley, olive oil and grated parmesan cheese (below) and place it back to the oven.



After 15 more minutes, the lobsters were done and bread crumbs got nicely brown and crispy (below).



For libation, we started with Cuvee Mumm Napa DVX 2001 which we had kept for over 10 years in our refrigerator for a special occasion like this. It was very nice with fine small bubbles and very slight toasted bread aroma with green apple and citrus. Although we usually do not drink white wine, we made an exception and opened Robert Young Chardonnay Red Winery Road 2007. This is one of the rare "old" California style oaked chardonnay with nice buttery oaky flavors.



The lobsters were sweet and great. Getting to the claw meat was as always a bit of work but at the end it was well worth it.