Sushi for Beginners

Today was my 28th birthday and a day that I thought, well, why not tackle a food fear. I don't have too many of them left, but there are a few. One of them is (drumroll) sushi. I'm not talking about california rolls you get at the grocery store. I'm talking about real sushi, made by fast guys with sharp knives. My amiga Melissa agreed to be my guide to the world of sushi and so we went to Jade here in South Charlotte. Let me tell you, it is not often I will give over control of my meal to anyone, no questions asked. But I trust her. I thought she might start me out easy, with some nigiri sushi, maybe a crab roll. Ha. Ha.
We started with the Philly roll as Melissa explains the ins and outs of sushi eating. All the pieces come on a big platter and you use the chopsticks to get your piece off that platter. You are supposed to eat all of one roll, then use the pickled ginger to cleanse your palate, and then move on to the next roll. We move on to the Red Snapper Sashimi. Which is more or less raw fish, sliced thin and put on your plate. I have heard people say that sashimi is sweet, fresh, clean tasting...I chewed thoughtfully for a moment, it tastes like...bait. Pass.
The Eel Roll was very good, mild and tasty, the Crunchy Salmon Roll was suffering from an overdose of cream cheese. I don't know why they need cream cheese in it, but it did nothing for me.
We ordered a few other things, just to round out the menu. Some chicken Gyoza (Japanese pot stickers), dim sum, and some duck, but that got sent back because it was awful. Tasted like Twizzlers. I hate Twizzlers.

Bottom line is this: I ate the sushi and nobody died. I'm not a fan of sashimi so far, but have a healthy respect for rolls. Avoid the cream cheese. Don't fear the sushi, several million Japanese folks can't be wrong.

Education: Redux

It is much easier to work overtime when you like your work and the people you work with.


Here endeth the lesson.

Isle of Capri

It's the home of capri pants, various shellfish, and this tasty salad called Caprese Salad. The red, white and green also represent the colors of the Italian flag. Fresh mozzarella is easy to find in your local megamart and tomatoes are in season, so head out to your farmer's market and pick out a nice one. Also, please use fresh basil and liberal salt and pepper.

Insalata Caprese

1 tomato, sliced

fresh mozzarella, 2 slices

fresh basil, 1 or 2 leaves

salt and pepper, to taste

extra-virgin olive oil, drizzle.

1. Layer tomatoes, cheese and basil, seasoning each layer.

2. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar if you like.

This is a great summer salad and very simple for when you don't feel like cooking. Resist the urge to use infused oils. The flavors here are subtle and using flavored oils is going to overwhelm it. I tried some truffle oil on mine. Bleah.

And There Was Much Rejoicing

Yes, folks, it is true. I have a job. A real, full-time job. I achieved employment as a cook at a local private school. It's a really nice kitchen, quite large. This is not your average cafeteria. Much nicer than any public school cafeteria I've ever been in, they don't even call it a cafeteria. They call it the Dining Hall. I'm very excited to get this position. I'm looking forward to a new adventure... with no espresso in it.

Swing Vote?

Ok, this is not a political blog, but I have to get this off my chest. I'm not a Democrat, I'm not a Republican. But excuse me if I feel like I've been swindled. The politics in this country is the biggest bait-and-switch con running today. I hate to vote for any of them. But they say the only vote that doesn't count is the one that isn't cast. They say alot.
My Daddy used to tell me that I could be anything I wanted, if I was willing to work hard for it. I think that used to be true. I could start off as a ditch-digger and become president of the construction firm. Now I can't even get that ditch-digging job. I could take a job as a secretary and work my way up to CEO, now my secretary job has been sent to New Delhi. Those of us who were waiting for our ship to come in have a long wait, ship's been diverted...to China.
I don't have much room to complain. I wasn't raised poor. I had a middle-class lifestyle. According to my tax-return, I still do. Bottom of the middle, which is now more like the top of the bottom. Maybe I'm doing ok, since I married a man who's a hard worker. If I wasn't married, well, let's just say I used to say, hey, I'm making more than minimum wage, and now minimum wage is $7 an hour. The divide has narrowed.
But what about the others? The folks out there who are trying, who work two and three jobs to make ends meet, and some weeks, they don't make it. Who give their lives to companies like Enron and World Com and wake up to find that their lives have been paying for party hats for amoral executives. I am not saying that companies have no right to make a profit, I'm saying they have a responsibility to those who made that profit for them.
Or the US military folks, who were willing to give their lives for us, and this country can't be bothered to even help their families, or get them some decent medical care.
My generation doesn't get any credit. They say we're all into our iPods and can't be bothered with voting or issues. I'll say this, we do care, we are listening, we are paying attention. But we know that we cannot win this fight right now. We don't have the power. We don't have the money. We know that right now, this isn't a fair fight. But we are watching. We are disgusted. We are ashamed.
I still believe the US is a great country. The fact that I have the freedom to write this is reason enough to want to live here. I just don't know if I can afford to.
I don't think we lost our country, I think we sold it.

Suffering from Experience

My culinary resume was once very short. Very, very short. And as culinary school progressed, I went to different jobs, added to my experience. Now my resume is very long, almost two pages. I guess it looks like I've hopscotched my way through the last two years. So now, rather than suffering from lack of experience, I now suffer from too much. Too many places, too little time at them. Some were my own fault, some not. I'm not saying I never made mistakes. But I've landed on my feet, most of the time.
My theory is this; it makes little or no sense to stay somewhere that you hate. It makes equally little sense to stay where you learn nothing. Some things are not meant to be long term. It doesn't make me less responsible, or less dedicated to my work. I work hard, I expect to be treated decently, if that doesn't happen, then don't expect to have me to kick around for very long.
Won't happen.

Fry Me a River

Fried fish can be many things. It can be dipped in beer batter, deep fried and served with chips. It can be coated with egg and cornmeal, buttermilk and crushed cereal, almost any combination is acceptable, if not always palatable. You can use almost any white fish you like; tilapia, cod, grouper if you feel really ambitious. This is my take on flounder, which I like for frying because of it's mild taste and thin fillets. It cooks fast, which is handy, because you don't want it to take forever or the crust will burn.

Firecracker Flounder

Ingredients

3 flounder filets

1 pint of whole milk

2-3 tbsp. tobasco sauce

2 c. flour

Old Bay seasoning

oil, canola or veggie, for frying

2 tbsp. butter, for same

1. Soak flounder in milk which has been liberally doctored with the tobasco sauce. You can use as much or as little as you would like. Also, put the flour in a shallow, flat pan and add as much Old Bay as you would like.

2. In a large skillet, melt the butter and add the oil. Allow this to heat until the butter foams and the oil shimmers.

3. Take the flounder out of the milk and pat them dry. Not completely dry, just so they aren't dripping.

4. Lay the flounder in the pan of flour and coat both sides liberally, shaking off the excess.

5. Put the fish in the pan, gently! Always lay it away from you, to avoid nasty splashes of hot oil.

6. Give the fish approx. 6-7 minutes on each side, depending on size, etc.

7. Remove to a paper-lined plate and sprinkle with a bit of fine salt.

Serve it up with some tomatoes and coleslaw, or corn on the cob and enjoy!

Cook's Notes: Make sure the oil is good and hot. You want the crust to seal, not soak up the fat. If your fish pieces seem to big or unwieldy, cut them into smaller pieces. Be not afraid!