Just say "Ho!"

Lunch today was spent at Dynamite Sushi in Hudson, NH. The owner and sushi chef, Ho, makes some really great sushi, but that's not the only reason we like Dynamite (or as we call it, "Ho's"). The owner is just so damn aware of what's going on in his restaurant. The husband and I were waiting for just a liiitle bit longer than usual for our lunch to arrive, so Ho had a waitress send over a complimentary bowl of edamame. He is the kind of guy that will often just throw you something he's trying out or a complimentary dessert, just because he appreciates you.

Today at Dynamite we had salmon, yellowtail, scallop, salmon roe (me), spicy tuna (the husband) and "Ho's maki #1", which is shrimp tempura, avocado and some other yummy things wrapped up in an inside out roll with broiled eel on top. It was, as always, completely delicious.

One time Ho, after having deemed us worthy no doubt, handed us two pieces of sushi at the end of our meal. He had a weird smile on his face and when we looked at our treat, we understood why. It was sweet sushi. The raw fish was there, the rice was there...but so was a sweet lemon sauce drizzled over the top of each piece. Without thinking too much about it, and with weird smiles on our faces, we each popped a piece in our mouths. Now, to this day I can't say for sure whether I liked it or not. But, what I did like was knowing that Ho was always thinking and trying new things. Its what makes Dynamite the best.

What's For Dinner?

The husband and I found ourselves in Boston for dinner last night and decided on a good Thai place, called The King and I, on Charles St. in Beacon Hill. It was laid back and affordable (which is somewhat rare on Charles St.).

For us, Pad Thai is a requirement to eating at a Thai restaurant. You can tell a lot about a place by how they do this classic dish. We also thought the menu item called "Dancing Squid" sounded nummy so we ordered that as well.

Before our meal arrived, we started with a cold mango salad. I had never had this before and was a little hesitant since when it arrived I realized the mango was green. I shouldn't have felt that way because it was delicious! The green mango gave this lovely tartness to the salad and I could have eaten that all night.

Pad Thai was fantastic, although I could have used a couple slices of lime to squeeze over the plate. The Dancing squid was perfectly cooked. Cooking squid can be tricky. If you cook it for literally just a minute it will be fine. Two minutes? Overcooked and rubbery. To get it perfectly tender again, you have to cook it for an hour. I remember telling the husband that I wanted to go back to the kitchen and give the cook a hug. It was probably the most perfectly cooked squid I have ever had. The squid was in a light green curry sauce with peppers, mushrooms and onions. Delicious.

Pad Thai Recipe:

(This one comes from the food network know-it-all Alton Brown)

**This often has chicken in it as well and for all the vegetarians out there, it can also be made with tofu - just make sure its firm**

Ingredients

* 1-ounce tamarind paste
* 3/4 cup boiling water
* 2 tablespoons fish sauce
* 2 tablespoons palm sugar
* 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
* 4 ounces rice stick noodles
* 1 to 2 tablespoons peanut oil
* 1 cup chopped scallions, divided
* 2 teaspoons minced garlic
* 2 whole eggs, beaten
* 2 teaspoons salted cabbage
* 1 tablespoon dried shrimp
* 3 ounces bean sprouts, divided
* 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped, divided
* Freshly ground dried red chile peppers, to taste
* 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

Place the tamarind paste in the boiling water and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.

Combine the fish sauce, palm sugar, and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.

Place the rice stick noodles in a mixing bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Once the other ingredients are measured out into separate bowls, drain the water from the noodles and set them aside. Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch wide strips, similar to French fries.

Press the tamarind paste through a fine mesh strainer and add to the sauce. Stir to combine.

Place a wok over high heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil. Heat until it shimmers, then add the tofu.

If necessary, add some more peanut oil to the pan and heat until shimmering. Add 2/3 of the scallions and then the garlic, cook for 10 to 15 seconds. Add the eggs to the pan; once the eggs begin to set up, about 15 to 20 seconds, stir to scramble. Add the remaining ingredients in the following order and toss after each addition: noodles, sauce, cabbage, shrimp, and 2/3 of the bean sprouts and peanuts. Toss everything until heated through, but no longer than 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with the remaining scallions, bean sprouts, and peanuts. Serve immediately with the ground chile peppers and lime wedges.

Roasted Marrow Bones

The husband attempted roasted marrow bones a while back and helpfully sent me the pictures he took of his experiment. I had tried marrow bones before him and it was an epic fail. His attempt, however, was quite successful. Behold:



The ingredients



The marrow bones.



Parsley salad and some bread. We didn't have any crusty bread, so some toasted whole wheat slices would have to do.



Roasted marrowy goodness.



Tada! All put together and ready for eating.

The husband found the recipe at the New York Times online. Here it is:

Adapted from Fergus Henderson

Time: 20 minutes

8 to 12 center-cut beef or veal marrow bones, 3 inches long, 3 to 4 pounds total

1 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley

2 shallots, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons capers

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Coarse sea salt to taste

At least 4 1/2-inch-thick slices of crusty bread, toasted.

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put bones, cut side up, on foil-lined baking sheet or in ovenproof skillet. Cook until marrow is soft and has begun to separate from the bone, about 15 minutes. (Stop before marrow begins to drizzle out.)

2. Meanwhile, combine parsley, shallots and capers in small bowl. Just before bones are ready, whisk together olive oil and lemon juice and drizzle dressing over parsley mixture until leaves are just coated. Put roasted bones, parsley salad, salt and toast on a large plate. To serve, scoop out marrow, spread on toast, sprinkle with salt and top with parsley salad.

Yield: 4 servings.

Friends help friends roast veggies

Rather than post about my adventures with dandelion greens, I’ll be talking about something a little more familiar. My friend Lynda told me she was disappointed that I had not posted any recipes that she could use. She then proceeded to ask me what to do with potatoes and veggies. Here’s what I came up with:

Depending on size, either halve or cube the potatoes, cut carrots and onion as well and dump them all into a large roasting pan. Toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper and some rosemary.

Set oven to 400 degrees and roast those suckers until brown and tender, which takes me about 45 minutes. If you want, toss them around a bit mid-way through to brown more than one side. If you want to add other veggies, like peppers, put them in about halfway through the roasting process since they will soften much faster than potatoes or carrots.

Next, I was asked what to do with the chicken breasts she had. She wanted to cut the chicken up into bite-size pieces. I recommended cutting the pieces and putting some olive oil in a pan. Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper and toss them in to cook. Towards the end of cooking, throw a little lemon juice on the chicken.

Simple and nummy, no?

Lynda, you’ll have to tell me how it turns out.

Getting Started

Well, I'm just beginning here with Nummy but have an idea for tomorrow's post. I picked up some dandelion greens at the local grocery store and have been dying to try them out. I'm becoming more and more interested in greens due to their health benefits. My plan for tomorrow (or possibly the day after tomorrow) is to blanch them briefly in salted water and then saute in olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. Now granted, olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes aren't terribly adventurous ingredients but I figure that dandelion greens are adventurous enough.

Stay tuned.