Old Eats Meets New - Chef Laura in Israel Part 1

I've been in Tel Avia 3 days already, and the city is starting to stick to my bones. There's much to do, and plenty to eat, so I've been beginning my mornings with the requisite 5 miles, and then cooling off with a swim in the Mediterranean. How could one not get used to this life? Waking up at 6 just became a whole lot easier!


Catching the Tel Aviv Sunset when I arrived, a good way to start my trip


A view of chinky beach

Israeli cuisine is complex - as one noted, Israel is a nation of immigrants, so flavors from all over the world can be found here. However, the chefs here take pride in using seasonal and local ingredients as well, adding a touch of uniqueness and antiquity sometimes to the food.

On Saturday, I visited Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee, which are locations dear to the Christian faith, and so have particular importance to me. For lunch, we ate at a restaurant by Magdala Beach, which is where Mary Magdalene was from. It was my first local meal, and to start, a selection of vegetarian appetizers, also known as Mezze anywhere in the region.



I opted for the grilled Peter's Fish, which is Tilapia, and is from the Galilee. This would have been the fish that Peter and Andrew would have made their living on. Produce like dates, olives, tahini have been around forever (literally), and to think that I might be eating the same food as Jesus and his disciples! Giving thanks for the food, now has a whole new meaning.




Fresh Dates - First time I had them



Dipping my feet in the Sea of Galilee after lunch

I finished off the day with dinner at Hebert Samuel, a sizzling new restaurant by Chef Jonathan Roshfeld. The concierge described it as "fabulous", and it did not disappoint. The menu is kept pretty simple, with a few items in each category. In addition to the regular menu, the special's menu was one of the most extensive I've ever seen! Most dishes could either be ordered as an appetizer or a main course, and I opted for the smaller portions for all the courses.



Everything was absolutely delicious. Ordinarily, I would not have ordered sashimi at a non-Japanese restaurant, but I was assured that the Yellow tail was local, and this was a dish for raw fish rookies. Yellow tail is usually heavy and fatty, but this was lighter, and served with a tangy yogurt sauce, which cut into the flavor very well.


Yellow tail Sashimi with Ladi of Lemon grass & Honey

The chicken liver pate (special) was the the best I ever had, unfortunately the brioche that it was served with was not hot when it arrived. The crispy sea bream was sprinkled with corn meal to made the skin extra crispy - a trick that I will be using next time! The vegetables were grilled, then sauteed, and it was served with a delicious red tapenade, which I can guess was made by first roasting peppers, then cooking it down with olives and tomatoes, etc etc. This was my favorite dish (seafood, can you imagine?), with all the love that went into it.


Chicken Liver Pate with Cassis


Sea bream with zucchini and tasso olives

Finally I finished with the lobster macaroni, a good way to end the meal, rich flavor, some fresh peas and shoots, and the pasta was of course cooked to al dente perfection. I even made space for dessert afterwards, and while I don't particularly love cherry dessert, this was pretty much made up for the rest of them all. Black cherry creme brulee, ice cream, and dark chocolate mousse cake (yes, I sneezed a lot).


Lobster Macaroni with chestnuts and lemon

Black Cherry Dessert

It was a great dinner, and some where between the first and second course, I forgot that I was dining alone. Unfortunately for me, since there was only one stomach, I wasn't able to taste the entire menu in one dinner. All's well that ends well, and as a reward for finishing 4 courses and one dessert, the bartender poured me two glasses of a late harvest riesling from Sharon.


After an awesome meal - you can tell I'm happy

Stay tuned for my updates!

The Cosmopolitan Seoul - Chef Laura in Korea (Final Installment)

There is a lot of Japanese influence in Korean culture (good or bad, that's debatable and depends on who you ask), so it's not surprise that good Japanese food is easy to find. Not to mention that Korea is a peninsula, so fresh local fish is very accessible. We dined at the Westin's Japanese restaurant, ordering a mix of two omakase bentos and some a la carte dishes.

The night before we left, Sung took as to one of the best Japanese meals that I ever had. The chef at Sushi Cho, is.... Chef Cho. He apprenticed under the best Japanese chef in Korea before moving out to start his own thing. Sung mentioned that Koreans tend to prefer white fish over red fish, and truly, I had some of the best white fish sushi. Of course, there was toro ( triple helpings for me), and abalone (triple helpings for Daryl). Fusing the Korean Hanjeongsik tradition of endless courses into the Japanese menu, we had:

Several vegetable appetizers


A huge Sashimi Platter (Actually two, check out the Toro portions)


Grilled White Fish


Cooked Abalone


Steamed Egg Custard


Ankimo - Monkfish Liver


Anago and Seared Toro Sushi


Yum.

Although less traveled than it's neighboring cities of Tokyo and Shanghai, Seoul is equally cosmopolitan. Of course, my standard metric is cuisine variety, and as they say, the proof is in the pudding, or maybe in this case, the Payard. We had tea and lunch at Payard Seoul, and the quality of the pastries and food was so much better than the NYC Flagship. Pastries were more delicate and meticulously designed and displayed, and although the food took a little while to get to our table, it was cooked to perfection. I had the squid ink risotto, and everyone knows that a perfect risotto is mark of a very high quality control - a true luxury, high end patisserie.


I made a fuss about how everyone kept trying to steal my eclair. Get your own!


We tried that dark chocolate tart


We also tried the opera cake on the left


THE French cookie - that I absolutely detest


It's better than it looks

In fact, it was not just at Payard that our western cuisine was done well. We had lunch at Vecchia e Nuovo, the Chosun's cafe, and the pasta was also cooked to al-dente, (with the perfect amount of sauce), and the fries (not mine), were crispy and fluffy (water blanched of course). I am overwhelmed with the amount of pride that Koreans put into making sure that everything that they produce is top quality.


Yes, I do have this thing for squid ink

It wasn't just the high end food that was cosmopolitan. Even the street style food was a melting pot of cultures - In Itaewon, Whole chicken on the rotisserie, Turkish Kebabs, Barbecued squid and octopus, and then Insadong with traditional Korean sweets that resembled dragon's beard, ding ding tang and muah chee (or mochi).







The last stop on our Korean Culinary adventure was the basement of Shinsegae department store, where we loaded up on office gifts of traditional Korean pastries filled with sweet filling of mung bean, read bean, dates, pine nuts, etc. Among the other traditional Korean sweets were French cakes and pastries like cream puffs, all sorts of filled breads, and imported Japanese treats like manju, which cost $5 a pop (yes, i bought them).




I had never imagined that visiting Korea would be so palate opening! The food truly reflects the cosmopolitan nature of the country, with dining traditions rooted deep in the country's history. Any preconceived notions about what I thought Korean Food was like completely disappeared the minute I stepped into Seoul, and I can honestly say that I'm so impressed with the quality, variety, and most of all culture behind the culinary scene here. They say you really have to live in a place to understand it properly, but I think eating through it might come up a close second!

Thanks for reading through Korea - Next stop, Israel!

A Carbonara Indulgence

I had a ton of Mentaiko Mayo leftover from the July 3rd BBQ, and since you can't keep mentaiko or fresh mayo, I decided to whip up maybe one of the most delicious/unique Carbonara dishes I've ever had - Mentaiko Carbonara with Lobster, Spinach and Fermented Uni!



Traditionally, mayonnaise is made by slowly whisking in a drizzle of oil into egg yolks until an emulsion forms. Starting slowly and with a good emulsion will ensure that your mayonnaise doesn't break even when more oil is added later. Homemade Mayonnaise is just the biggest luxury - it also a pain to make, but once you get the hang of it, I guarantee you'll never go back to commercial Mayo if you can help it! The secret to Mayo success is to be very patient, forearm strength, and have a great helper! The higher the oil to egg yolk ratio, the more lux the Mayo will be.

With this version, the kick comes from Mentaiko, which is spicy cured pollack roe from Japan. Mentaiko filled riceballs (Onigiri) are very popular as a filling, and the best Mentaiko Yaki Onigiri I've had is at Tanto, hands down! Try it, keep it, freeze it, or make Mentaiko Carbonara, but whatever it is, to make a good Mentaiko mayo, you've got to start with a good Mayo! It also worked deliciously well with our grilled lobsters at the seafood fest!

Mentaiko Mayo

Makes 2 cups

2 ea Egg Yolks
1 cup Oil, Light Olive, Canola or Grapeseed
4-6 ea Mentaiko sacs, about 1 box
1 ea Lemon, Juiced
2 ea Garlic cloves, crush smooth
2 Tbsp Hot water

Salt & Pepper

1. Whisk the egg yolks in a metal bowl until really thick
2. Very slowly, get another person to drizzle a teensy bit of oil down the side of the bowl
3. Keep whisking to incorporate the oil into your egg yolks
4. Once you start getting a thickened consistency,slowly drizzle the rest of the oil in, while whisking
5. After 20 minutes of whisking and a painful forearm, you should end up with some really nice Mayo
6. Add the garlic cloves, lemon juice and hot water to the Mayo, this should lighten up the color
7. Remove the skin from the Mentaiko sacs, and then whisk in the eggs into the Mayo
8. Season with salt and pepper

If you're lazy and want to use Shelf Mayo, skip steps 1 - 5.

For Mentaiko Carbonara:

2 portions Spaghetti
4 ea Thick sliced bacon
2 cups Baby Spinach
2/3 cups Mentaiko Mayo

Optional ingredients: Picked Lobster or Crab Meat, and Fermented Uni

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta
While pasta is cooking, dice and fry up bacon until bits are crispy
Remove bacon bits from pan, and reserve
In the hot pan, wilt the spinach in the bacon drippings
Drain pasta, and while pasta is still very very hot, toss Mentaiko Mayo, Bacon, and Spinach together
If using optional shellfish meat, toss it in as well
Top with Uni

Serve immediately

A Pinch of Lobster

We haven't had a tradition to be in the area over the July 4th weekend, but this year, we had a good friend, David come and visit, so we stayed put. And what better way to celebrate the 4th than with a good bbq?

By popular request, I opted for a seafood theme with the king of crustaceans as the star! Again, my sauce philosophy reigned over the menu - very simple preparation with three sauces to choose from; Chile Verde, Mentaiko Mayonnaise, and Carrot Orange. The lobsters were around 3.5 lbs from Maine and very very sweet. I reserved the lobster bodies and have frozen them for a lobster bisque kind of day (time to reserve your seats in advance).




Me showing everyone how it's done - my hat says "Chef Laura"

We started out with the best - Lobster tails and claws, (1/2 lobster per person), and then rolled out the rest of the food:

Idiot Fish, Barbecued Oysters, and Baby Squid



Steamed Clams and Mussels



Grilled Razor Clams



Corn Salad (Party Favorite), Quinoa Salad, and Veggie Salad



We finished almost everything, except about 20 oysters, and I had a surprise request for Oyster Omelette, which, even at the last minute, turned out super delish!



To finish, we can roasted Bailey Bananas and a Peaches and Cream cake (apparently, I can now bake!)



My favorite thing on the menu was Chile Verde sauce, that I twittered it's "awesome-nest" a week before. It's slightly spicy, with a nice tang, and the roasted peppers add a whole 'nother layer of depth to it. For this bbq, I only used it as a sauce for the seafood, but it would go extremely well with other white meats as well. I'm using the leftovers to braise some pork this week and I'm sure it will rock the boat or knock you off. Another way to use it would be to mix it in with cream cheese and serve it up as a guac alternative at parties.

Here's the recipe:

Chile Verde
Makes about 3 cups

6 ea Anaheim Chilies
2 ea Poblano Chilies
2 ea Jalapeno, Chilies
1 ea Green Pepper
2 ea Limes
1/2 ea Yellow Onions
2 ea Garlic Cloves
1/4 cup Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to Taste

Roast the chilies and green pepper on a grill or over an open flame until the skin is charred
Place roasted veggies in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap
Leave to cook for about 20 minutes
Peel skin and remove seeds from chilies and peppers, reserve any liquid
Zest and juice limes, combine with chilies, peppers, onions and garlic
Blend till smooth, then slowly drizzle in olive oil while blades are running
Season with s & p

Seoul Eats Seoul Food - Chef Laura in Korea Part 4

The last leg of our South Korea trip took us back to Seoul. The Westin Chosun is right in the heart of the city, bordering Myeong Dong and Namdaemun. (My inner shopaholic defines those two locations by Lotte and Shinsegae departmental stores). This made it very convenient for us to visit Seoul's gems, from their old Palaces to the bustling street markets - although we cabbed anyway!

We asked for recommendations from the concierge, and she sent us to Han-Miri, a traditional hanjeongsik place in Samsung-dong (Yes, Samsung). Hanjeongsik is also known as "Royal Cuisine" as it was served in the royal palaces to Kings. Hanjeongsik puts any 9-course tasting menu to shame, with multiple course, and a plethora of side dishes. It seemed like every time we thought it was the end of the meal, a new course came out of the kitchen on a trolley. Similar to Omakase, the menu is seasonal and the meals you get are vastly different according to the time of year or region.





The food was absolutely delicious, and very finely prepared. Not only did the flavor appease my palate, but the colors and presentation were so delicate that we feasted with our eyes also.






I can't believe how ignorant I was about the cuisine, especially since I've had Korean food on numerous occasions here in the US. I guess that's just like saying I tried McDonald's in Singapore and so that what I think American food tastes like. I can't say that I truly experienced Korean cuisine until that meal, and I will never again say that Korean food is about soy, sugar and kimchee.




You can't think Korean food without barbeque of course, and I had already satisfied my craving for in when we first arrived. However on this occasion, we visited Woori Garden, a Korean barbeque restaurant in the middle of Itaewon. We asked the owner to recommend the best beef he had, and it turned out to be the Korean beef, Hanu. Hanu is a breed of cattle native to Korea and is as equally prized to the Koreans as Kobe is to the Japanese. Frankly, it was delicious, and half the price of Kobe. So, if I could choose, I would buy Hanu - except that it's so rare, there's not enough for export. The owner personally helped us to grill the Hanu slices, and when he stepped away for just a moment, he made sure that his assistant was close by to make sure that the prized beef was cooked to perfection, and not left to our own amateur grilling devices :D




So far my quest for Seoul food was going very well, but stay tuned for more on the Korea trip. Pictures coming soon!

The Thrill of Grill

We had an awesome BBQ dinner last week in honor of a visiting friend. In an unusual twist, the menu was Mediterranean inspired!

Eggplant Sesame Dip with Crackers
Sun dried Tomato & Feta Patties

Herb Scented Lamb Cutlets

Gourmet Sausages from Safeway
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Dinosaur Eggs
Roasted Watermelon & Pineapple

Chai Creme Caramel


Thanks to Kevin & Stephen who did all the grilling for me :D


I helped! - I brushed the meat with oil...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - the sauce really makes the meal. We had four sauces at the dinner, and while we only had three meats, mixing up the flavors with the different sauces took the protein to a whole different dimension.

The four sauces were:
Smokey Red Pepper - New! Get the recipe here
Apple-Mint Jelly - I'm now officially out
Green Goddess - Get the recipe here
Tzatziki - Cucumber, Greek Yogurt & Garlic

The last one of the right is actually eggplant sesame dip

Quinoa is my new favorite grain, and the quinoa salad was a great way to introduce it to other diners. I first tried quinoa about 3 years ago and loved it, but it's become so much more accessible, it's now a pantry staple. Quinoa is considered a super grain, as it is a complete protein with all the essential amino acids needed for a balanced diet. The best way to cook quinoa is on the stove top, but I hear you can do it in a rice cooker as well. Add equal volume of water or chicken stock to the quinoa. Cover pot, and bring mixture to a rapid boil, then simmer on very low heat for another 10-15 minutes. Fluff with fork.

The salad is best when the quinoa is made fresh, but if you can't find the time, you can always make the quinoa ahead of time and then throw it together at the last minute.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Serves 6 as sides

2 Cups Quinoa, cooked
1 ea Zucchini, roasted & diced
1/4 ea Red Onion, minced
1 ea Tomato, diced
2 tbs Basil leaves, Chiffonade
2 tbs Mint Leaves, Chiffonade
1/4 cup Olive Oil

Salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together, and season to taste
Let sit about 1 hour before serving

Sass & Jazz

From Merriam-Webster

Main Entry: sassy
Pronunciation:
\ˈsa-sē\
Function:
adjective
Inflected Form(s):
sass·i·er; sass·i·est
Etymology:
alteration of saucy
Date:
1833

I'm off on my sauce tangent again, so I'm going to commit to populating the "Sauces" label, and this is definitely one of them easy ones. I love making sauces in batches then freezing or giving them away as gifts. Best of all, you always have something to jazz up a dinner with when you're in a pinch.

Try this for sass.

Red Pepper with Feta & Gouda Sauce

Makes 2 Cups

2 ea Red Pepper
1/2 cup Smoked Gouda, Shredded
1/2 cup Feta, Crumbled
1/4 cup Olive Oil

Salt & Black pepper to taste

Roast peppers on a hot grill until skin is black and charred
If you don't have a grill, do it with tongs over your stove burner
Place peppers in bowl and cover with plastic wrap
Let steam for about 20-30 minutes
Peel skin off peppers, and remove seeds, carefully reserving any roasted pepper juice
Blend roasted peppers and cheese until smooth
With blender running, slowly drizzle in olive oil to incorporate
Season with salt & pepper

Keeps about a week in the fridge