Mmmm Memories

When a trip is long over and you have settled back into the daily grind of work and home the details of your trip seem distant. It felt particularly rush to me because once we returned home there was a mad rush to make our new home livable. We lived our of our suitcases for several weeks until we found and opened the boxes of our clothes. This mad rush lead us right to Christmas when were finally had our housewarming party. And the holiday craziness lead almost to now. I try to reflect on our travels whenever I get a moment. This time I am reflecting on our anniversary meal in Venice. Our wedding anniversary was actually on Aug. 28th, two days before leaving for our trip and one of our worst days of 2009. We had mutually decided not to get any gifts for each other. The trip and the house were our presents enough. Somewhere in the mess of the days before we left and the excitement of the beginning of our trip we made unofficial plans to celebrate our anniversary with an expensive and fancy dinner near a canal in Venice. After our first miserable day in the city of water, canals and flooding the anniversary dinner plan did not look promising. Luckily our second of two and a half days was beautiful and inviting. We had seen two cute restaurants right next to a little canal near our hostel the night before but looked around the entire the next day for other options. Other than the really big expensive restaurants along the grand canal which did not excite us we could not find anything we liked. So we went back to the two places near our temporary home base. We could not have been more satisfied. It was beautiful and delicious. We ordered the fish. we got a kick out of them presenting us the whole, raw fish before and after cooking. Then they proceeded to delicately dish equal portions of the fish on each of our plates. Yum! and what a beautiful place!

Philly Food Part II

A couple of days into the convention I spotted a window of time I could escape. Armed with a map, my cell phone and notebook of information in case anything was urgently needed (which it was, of course but fixed in minutes with a couple of calls) I scampered off towards the Liberty Bell to do some sight seeing.

I was lucky enough to catch the Liberty Bell with very few people around. While I was slowly making my way through the museum a big group of school kids entered the hall. I ran down to the Bell and got a few photos with it before the big group came. (strangers are not the best photographer. The bad thing about sight seeing alone) I lingered to hear the park ranger give his speech about the bell to the school group.

After seeing the bell I set off in the direction of the river. I can now say I've seen New Jersey but I've never been there. Walking down the historic looking Chestnut street a brewery caught my eye. I had some extra time and I figured I could use a quick rest. I sat myself at the bar of the Triumph Brewery and ordered a pint of seasonal ale brewed on site. A bizarrely named beer intruiged me. The bartender gave me a taste of their crazy concoction. It was particularly strong but very good, I would have rather drank a pint of that, oh well.

Philadelphia provided me with many good meals some of which where fancy gourmet entrees but it were the inexpensive unexpected meal that were the best. The first night that several other people arrived for the leadership meeting I grabbed some dinner with a couple of them. We wandered away from the hotel with a specific cantina in mind. When the wait turned out to be over an hour the pizza place we passed on the way sounded great! I ordered two enormous slices, the second only because it sounded crazy and I had to try it; potato and egg pizza. It tasted like breakfast. The food was good. The restaurant even offered several pasta dishes which, according to my dinner mate, were pretty good. And it always helps that everything was very inexpensive with no tip required.

My last full day in Philadelphia was spent in an all day leadership meeting at our Courtyard Mariott Hotel. We got a quick break for lunch. Unfortunately it wasn't long enough to go anywher other than the hotel restaurant. I ordered a crabcake sandwich with high hopes. I was disappointed with a soggy pile of crab mush. I picked at it and then excused myself from the group exercise that I wasn't really apart of. The outdoors were calling me and I had to get some fresh air.

The next morning I woke up early to squeeze in anymore sightseeing I could do before we left for the airport at 11:30am. I arrived at Independence Mall just before everything opened and asked a park ranger where I could grab a bite for breakfast. She suggested a buffet place inside the Bourse Building. I expected something expensive with tons of food. Tons of food yes but you only paid (by weight) for what you put on your plate. Some eggs, a few pieces of french toast and syrup cost me $3 and change. I gobbled the affordable food and ran off to see the US Mint, Ben Franklin's grave and the US Treasury.

Yummy trip to Philly!

Catching up

How sad is it that I haven't written in five months? Hows sad is it that I have also never posted a meal consumed in our new(7 months ago) apartment.
This is what happens when I change jobs and and homes and am much more sane and happy.
So what have I been eating? What has Ed been making?
Bleu cheese topped grilled pork chops served with sweet potato fries and their own bleu cheese dip.
40 Clove Chicken. Guess what? It is crazy garlicey! The garlic becomes so tender we spread it on crackers!
The good ol' Jambalya! nice and spicy, made from scratch and provides awesome leftovers for days.

Hawaiian Grilling (an Ed Post)

I seem to have forgotten that I am supposed to contribute to this blog. I apologize. Jodie has been doing such a wonderful job, I wasn't sure what I should write about. Writing about my own cooking just seemed like bragging, and Jodie is covering all the food we eat away from home very well.

However, I realized I could share how I made some of the dishes Jodie keeps bragging about.

Most recently, Jodie described my grilling in Hawaii, so I will start with that. First, let me just say that I love getting a chance to cook abroad. It is actually one of my favorite parts of travelling. If at all possible, I always try to schedule some time for me to cook during a vacation. This is because the types of food available to cook with from one country to the next, one state to the next, or even one city to the next, vary considerably. It is great to be able to prepare kangaroo in Australia, game hens in wine country, or ahi in Hawaii.

Not to say that fresh Ahi is only available in Hawaii. Here in California I've had a good deal of success finding sashimi grade fresh ahi. Especially in San Francisco, but also at my current residence in Los Angeles, with only a little more scarcity. The Ahi in Hawaii is, however, considerably cheaper and easy to find at any grocery store. The quality of the ahi I pepared in Hawaii was particularly good as my parents sprung for the nicest cut available.

Making an avacado-mango salsa is not nearly as complicated as it may sound. Simply, chop an onion, mango, avacado and some cilantro if you have it (I did not that night.) Then carefully mix these ingredients in a bowl with lime juice, salt, and pepper. Cut the avacado in large chinks and be careful mixing, so as not get mango guacamole.

Searing Ahi is also uncomplicated. Just salt and pepper the raw fish. Heat the grill until it is very hot. Try to coat the area you are using with a little vegetable or olive oil to keep the fish from sticking to the grill. Then simply sear the fish on each side no longer than 2 minutes. The fish should be nice and rare on the inside. My Dad's steak was prepared similarly, except that I rubbed the salt and pepper onto the steak with olive oil 10 minutes before cooking. I also cooked it closer to 5-7 minutes per side. rotating it once 45 degress to get the angled grill marks.

Serve the fish with the salsa spread over the top. I served the steak the same way. On the side serve some grilled veggies (in this case corn.) I added some grilled pineapple into the mix, because, as I said, its Hawaii and grilled pineapple is just too good to pass up. Normally, Ahi goes well with a Sangiovese red wine, but because of the mango salsa we opted for a Chardonnay. The more citric a Chardonnay the better. This would be a good time for some of the crisp summery Australian Chardonnays such as Madfish or Grant Burge. Hawaii's wine is expensive, so we opted for a cheaper, but still tasy Barefoot Chardonnay. We paired my Dad's steak with a Penfold's Shiraz-Cabernet blend.

Hawaii...Mmm Delicious part 2

Every two years my father's family holds a family reunion where most of them live; Honolulu, HI. The first event that kicks off the weekend celebration of family is always a luau at my dad's Auntie Mary's house. Back in the day Auntie Mary used to do all of the cooking. Over the years the younger generation has stepped in to lend a big hand and some of the food is now catered. No matter who is doing the cooking, the best advise is to not eat breakfast or lunch that day.
This year it was a mix of catering and home cooking. I am sad that Auntie Mary isn't doing as much cooking because I truly miss her curry shrimp, but there were plenty of other delights to choose from. I chose a mixed plate of (clockwise from top left) Lomi Salmon, Squid somthingornother, Tuna Poke, Chicken long rice, Kalua Pork and a slice of taro root; all things scrumptous! I could live off of the Lomi Salmon, Poke, Pork and long rice, I love going to Hawaii for the food.
After the family reunions on Oahu, Ed, me and Ed's parents went to Maui for the remainder of our trip. We stayed at Napili Point, a condo resort on the edge of the water overlooking a small cove filled with sea turtles. I LOVE this place! My parents booked it several years ago and I have been back three times since. The condo has a full kitchen, living room, big balcony, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Despite the full kitchen, we decieded to use one of the 3 gas grills on the property to grill up a Hawaiian style feast for dinner. Ed made seared Ahi for the two of us and his mom and a steak for his father. He also grilled up corn and pineapple and made a mango, avocado salsa to top the main entrees. Oh yeah! It was truly awesome! His father licked the bone.
The next morning we went to the gazebo cafe around the point. To get there the best way to go is on the path along the cove (where sea turtules are regularly spotted), down to the expansive tide pools and around to the whale shaped pool. There is always a line that requires about a 20 minute wait, but at the end of that wait there are white chocolate, macadamia nut pancakes! Not to mention a table with a great view. During the winter months (February-April) whales are regularly spotted from the pool and gazebo area. There is a bell mounted on a nearby palm tree with a sign that says "one ring for a whale spout, two rings for breaching".
The last time I was on Maui with my parents we ate at a French Restaurant. I could not remember the name of it but I knew it was in an itty bitty strip mall on the way to Lahina just around the bend. All I remember was that the food was indiscribably amazing! And when we went, it lived up to my memory, some of the best food I've ever had. Of course this time I remember that the prices are up there too. The restaurant, Chez Paul does not have a magnificent view what-so-ever. It is a closed, dark, classic French restaurant, and it is fantastic!
Hawaii was a fun and delicious trip! I am always happy to return. But for now it is back to the wonderful home cooked meals of my husband.

Hawaii...Mmm Delicious part 1

Before I thrill you with my wonderous culinary delights of Hawaii I want to wrap up Ed's infomercial workout.
Only about half of the class was asked to participate in the actual infomercial with before and after pictures and all. Ed was asked to join the top group! He lost a total of 22 lbs. and had to go buy new pants! My hubby is looking great and has kept up the routine after classes ended. Look out for the Shadow Boxer infomercial as a product of Body by Jake. Maybe some late night you'll see Ed's before and after shots and hear how he wanted to get in shape to sell himself better as an actor.

To Hawaii...
This was a special trip to Hawaii. Although I and my family have been many times for my father's family reunions this was different. Not only did we go to see my dad's family but our entire family tagged along. My mom, dad, sister, sister's boyfriend, grandma, husband, mother-in-law, father-in-law and me. We all went out to a fancy dinner on one of our first nights to celebrate both my parents' and Ed's parents' 40th wedding anniversary and my grandmother's 80th birthday. The restaurant was called the Hau (pronounced "how") Tree Lanai and had a beautiful view of the sunset. (of course it did, it's Waikiki).


The meal was a fun gathering of families. We all enjoyed wine, food, conversation and catching up with each other. The salad I split with Ed's dad was less than amazing and not worthy of a blog photo, I could have made something better at home. But for my entree I ordered this yummy Mahi-Mahi topped with avocado.


The next morning I was awake early beacuse our room was irritatingly noisy. I left Ed to sleep in the room and went out to find a quick bite for breakfast. I walked up Kuhio Blvd. where I knew there was a small grocery store. I picked up some water and POG (best juice ever; pineapple, orange, guava) and then stumbbled upon the section of Aloha Shoyu, the best soy sauce around. We occasionally found it in Grocery Outlet here in California but it quickly disappeared. I took this picture to show Ed and to remind ourselves to get some when we came across a better, less expensive store. But, I forgot and this is all I have of the Aloha Shoyu.


More to come...

Moving on

There are a lot of things that get neglected when life gets busy. Both blogs and dinners have fallen into that category; more the blogs than the dinners.

Among the many busy things that have crowded the last 6 weeks, transitioning to a new job and a new apartment were on the list. On my last day of my job at Warner Bros. we found out we had been accepted to an apartment we liked a lot and had just looked at two days before. Ed's Aunt and Uncle were also in town visiting during this time. All of this launched our lives into crazy chaos.

Dinner was consumed among a forest of boxes for a couple of weeks. Nevertheless, Ed came through with some tasty dishes.
The always great, baked honey & walnut encrusted salmon is featured here with maple glazed carrots, colorful pasta and a room full of boxes. Dinner (with wine, good ol' two-buck-chuck) was a great relaxing break from packing, working, training, learning, getting trained, cleaning and packing. Our living room eventually became more full when we moved our matress next to our kitchen table. The celling in out closet leaked and then smelled horrible making it impossible to sleep in the bedroom.

Thank goodness, shortly after this picture was taken we moved. Now we are happier in quiet Burbank.

However, two days after moving all of our stuff to the new place we left for Hawaii for over a week...

Sizzlin' Shrimp

All of Ed's meals are great but there are some that standout more than others. Previously I have noted his rack of lamb and chicken pesto risotto just to name a few of his fantastic signature dishes. He recently made a batch of his mom's spaghetti sauce, a fairly standard red meat sauce that he makes from scratch. And when I say a "batch" I mean he makes enough to feed a cafeteria of teenagers. It is one of those things like his chili that just gets better with time. We pack medium size portions into tupperware and freeze them for future quick and easy meals of pasta (whole wheat of course) and red sauce.
Recently Ed made a recipe from his Cook's Illustrated magazine that he had been wanting to try for a while, some sizzling shrimp thing. All I can say is WOW! Dude! this was so amazing! I don't care how unhealthy or super healthy it was or even if it had snail's brains in it. It was super good! I sat down and sneaked a quick bite of it and quickly had no intentions of getting up to get my camera to document this meal, I just wanted to scarf it down.
So, if you want some amazing food check out recipes in Cook's Illustrated in association with the PBS show America's Test Kitchen. Then get yourself a man who can cook GOOD!

Fishy Continued

I am very lucky that I love fish. As I have stated before fish is primary diet food and we have been eating tons of it happily. It is also a good thing that you can find fish somewhat affordable. The frozen Mahi fillets have been great and Costco prices them fairly well; Trader Joe's supplies affordable frozen Salmon fillets and Ralphs occasionally has good deals on their fresh or previously frozen fish like the Swordfish we had the other night.
Swordfish is a thick, meaty and tasty fish. Ed does a nice Swordfish Piccata which sounded odd to me the first time he made it a while back but turned out to be very good.
On the diet and exercise front Ed (and I) are proud to report on the beginning of his fourth week he has lost eight pounds. Good on ya Ed!

Fishy Diet

So, about this diet. It all started at the end of February when I saw a posting on Craigslist for free fitness training. A company was looking for people to participate in a workout program that would show weightloss and muscule building results. I forwarded the posting to Ed who figured it wouldn’t hurt him or his career to, at the very least, go to the audition. The quick story is; he went, they liked him, they cast him and he started it March 29^th, two weeks ago today.

As I explained before, the product the company is selling is a piece of equipment that is intended to be used in kickboxing classes. Kickboxing is a great workout for the body but seemed to be lacking a workout for the arms and abs. The “Shadowboxer” solves that problem. To demonstrate the Shadowboxer’s effectiveness Ed and about 20 others are participating in a 12 week exercise and diet program. So if Ed is counting calories and watching his fat, carb and sugar in take, what is he making for dinner?

Health conscious but delicious meals take some creative thinking. I have been pretty impressed with what Ed and I have come up with. We have had several tasty and healthy meals in the last two weeks. The only reason I haven’t yet blogged about them is because I forget to take pictures of them. I am so hungry when I come home from work that I just scarf down the food. Friday night I remembered to pause long enough to digitally capture our meal. I didn’t much care how the images turned out I just wanted to snap a couple and eat!

Ed made blackened Mahi-Mahi fish tacos. They consisted of frozen Mahi fillets (Costco, 2lb. bag), spice rub for the “blackened” flavor, whole wheat tortilla, fat free sour cream, lettuce, avocado (from my boss, Greg’s tree) and hot sauce. Apparently hot sauce is good for diets; spicy foods force you to burn more calories to digest them, or something.

Fish is a wonderful food. Perfect for diets because it is low in fat and has lots of…um…good qualities and is healthy, yeah. Therefore, sushi is prime diet food! Right?
That was our reasoning behind checking out the new sushi restaurant by our place this weekend.

Portion control is a big part of dieting and our portions at Crazy Rockin’ Sushi were completely out of OUR control. First of all the sushi was absurdly delicious, and we have had our fair share of really good sushi. Crazy Rockin’ Sushi has only been open 10 days, they haven’t even gotten their liquor license yet (so they haven’t done any advertising yet) but they are doing what ever they can to impress their few customers. They started by giving us a complimentary appetizer short, special sushi roll, then our combo dinners were made right in front of us (we sat at the bar) with a couple additional pieces of sashimi, then the sushi chef (say that 5 times fast) whipped up a “sushi pizza” for us to share (this was truly unique and amazing) and finally a special complimentary dessert of sliced oranges, whipped cream and chocolate even after we had moaned our delights with full bellies to the friendly chef. In short, we highly recommend Crazy Rockin’ Sushi at the West Hollywood Gateway (where Target is across from our building).