running with tweezers

open-faced

I'm taking a blog break from waxing poetic and wistfully recalling our trip to Scandinavia in order to...share a Swedish recipe with you. I can't help it, people. The food there was *amazing* - beautiful colors, fabulous combinations of textures, liberal use of fresh herbs. Let's not even get started about the potatoes - I've never had so many perfectly cooked potatoes. Heck, the food there was so compelling that it got me to eat fresh dill, one of my most loathed flavors. 

My first run-in with räksmörgas was at Barista in Stockholm - a coffee shop that houses an indie movie theater. Their display cases were chock full of some of the most interesting and abundant sandwiches I've ever seen. I also have to say...I had the best latté of my life there. The open-faced shrimp sandwich spoke to me that day...and the 175,254 other times I saw some version of it on my trip. It's everywhere - in one form or another.

Two weeks after returning from our trip, my cravings for one of these bad boys just hadn't gone away. Since getting one of these in the States at somewhere other than IKEA was unlikely, I had to take matters into my own hands. What you put on your räksmörgas is really up to you. Traditionally, the essentials are hard-boiled egg, toasted bread, mayonnaise (Kewpie mayo worked really well here) and shrimp. Other than that, you can gussy it up however you'd like. For my version, I threw on some thinly sliced tomatoes and cucumber, as well as some lemon to squeeze on for acid. Some sandwiches I saw in Sweden had green leaf lettuce on it. I thought that might get a little unwieldy with everything going on the bread. Instead, a simple dill garnish added to the top for a little color and freshness - I think some fennel fronds might be lovely, too.

Räksmörgas - makes 2 fluffy, filling open-faced sandwiches

• 2 slices good quality, hearty bread - whole wheat or rye would be great here. I used a onion Pumpernickel bread I got at a local farmers market
• 2 hard boiled eggs, cut into thin slices
• 4 tablespoons good quality mayonnaise - I think thinner mayo works best here - use Kewpie or homemade
• 1/2 pound small shrimp (51-60 or 61-70), cooked/de-shelled/de-veined/chilled - I used fresh Gulf shrimp here
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced or cut into wedges
• fresh dill or fennel fronds, for garnish

- In a dry skillet or toaster, lightly toast your bread slices. Apply 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise on one side of each piece and plate face up. Put down a layer of hard-boiled egg slices - roughly one egg per person. Divide your shrimp in half and place one portion on each piece of bread - it's supposed to be a big mound of seafood on it. Top with the thinly sliced tomato & cucumbers. If you've sliced the lemon thinly into rounds, drape or twist on top. If you're gonna wedge it, just garnish the plate on the side with it. Top with dill. While I would serve this immediately, you can cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Just allow it to come up to close to room temp before eating.

heaven in a bowl

So a long time ago...in what seems like a part of Atlanta far, far away....my dear friend Susy invited me to have lunch with her at a sushi place near her office. The building she works in...it feels like it might as well be in Tennessee, folks. It's a true testament to our friendship that I drove out to meet Susy that first time - I felt like I needed to pack a lunch. I digress.

We end up at this inauspicious shopping center restaurant called Wasabi House. I first ate "spicy tuna chirashi" there and, well, I've never eaten anything else there. Ever. It's the most amazing combination of tastes and textures: the toothsome rice with a splash of vinegar, fresh tuna, creamy avocado and Japanese mayo...all tied together with the hot streak of Sriracha sauce. You take your chopsticks and sort of...smoosh it all together and eat it. At first bite, lots of eye-rolls and audible "mmmm"s start.

Her lunchtime trips are jealousy-inducing. These days, I don't have time to get back to Wasabi House as much as I would like...so I've made a go at making this dish at home. The key is the freshest sushi grade tuna and ripe avocado. You can riff the rest of the dish as long as those two things are solid. Add more mayo and less heat. Amp up the Sriracha and minimize the mayo. Adding some crunch - I added radish sprouts but things like wasabi peas - might be fun and add a little dimension. The joy of this dish is that it comes together in the time it takes to cook rice - do your cutting and dicing while the rice is cooling and then assemble. 

Spicy Tuna & Avocado Chirashi - makes 2 entree sized rice bowls 

• 6 ounces very fresh sushi grade tuna, cut into small dice
• 1 large ripe avocado, diced
• 1/2 cup short grain sushi rice (truthfully, you can use whatever white rice you have on hand)
• 1 tsp. sushi vinegar - here is a recipe for an easy substitute
• 4 tablespoons Japanese or good quality basic mayonnaise (I use Kewpie mayo)
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce 
• small handful crisp radish sprouts - to garnish

- For the rice: Cook the rice according to the appropriate directions for the type of rice you're using. As usual, Alton Brown has a great standard procedure for cooking sushi rice, including the addition of the sushi vinegar or substitute. Allow your rice to cool to room temperature before proceeding with the assembly of the chirashi bowls.

-While your rice is cooling, dice your sushi tuna and avocado. You need not worry about each size being perfectly cut - it's all getting mixed up anyway. Place half of your cooked, room temperature rice into two serving bowls. Top each bowl with half of your diced tuna and avocado. Drizzle each bowl with the Japanese mayo and a dose of Sriracha sauce. Sprinkle with radish sprouts or whichever extra garnish you choose. Serve immediately.

sea food

Hi to everyone from St. George Island. It's been another crazy couple of weeks - a week long photo shoot, moving, and now our long-since-planned vacation that rounded out a very hectic month. Due to circumstances beyond our control - both in life and meteorology - it's been just us two braving the up and down weather of the Gulf of Mexico. I'm taking this morning full of SHEETS OF HOLY COW RAIN AND WIND MUST BE A SUPER-TYPHOON to blog about a new version of something dear to my heart - shrimp cocktail.

It's been a favorite of mine for years and years - and don't even get me started about cocktail sauce (i cannot confirm nor deny that i eat cocktail sauce on saltine crackers...without the seafood). While I'd like to say there is no shame in the chilled shrimp ring from Costco or something, making your own is infinitely better. I one-upped the usual seasoned boil method by trying Ina's recipe for roasting them in the oven and then chilling them down. Using local just-caught-that-day shrimp, I added my own touch to her recipe: some chopped garlic and some thyme. Let me tell you - shrimp cooked this way have so much more flavor and sweetness. I chilled them down for an hour and served them with a locally made cocktail sauce. However, Ina's recipe for her cocktail sauce sounds great and is included in the link below.

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail - makes 6 to 8 servings - original recipe found here

• 2 pounds (12 to 15-count) shrimp
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and de-vein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place them on a sheet pan with the olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and spread them in 1 layer. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through. Set aside to cool.

love cakes

After a week of soup, I thought that this blog needed a little bit of love - in the form of solid food!

For our Valentine's Day dinner, our group of friends decided to forgo the usual dinner reservations in lieu of a home-cooked gourmet meal. I'm ruined - V-day and New Years are "holidays" I only want to spend in the cozy company of friends from here on out. We all picked a direction and a course...and mine turned up to be "West" and the appetizer course. I looked for something with West Indian spices and came across this recipe on the Food Network's site. I ended up tweaking it as I went along and, while I'm not sure that what I ended up with was West Indian, it was absolutely delicious.

In addition to the crab cakes themselves, I made a quick garam masala and grapefruit aioli which I smeared on the plate. To cut some of the richness and give some zing, I garnished the plates with a quick salad of frisee and blood orange segments. The brightness and the texture of the frisee was great to contrast the sweet richness of the rest of the dish.

Curried Crab Cakes - makes 10 2" diameter cakes - recipe originally found here

    *  1 egg
    * 1/2 cup mayonnaise
    * 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
    * 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    * 1 tbsp. mild Madras curry
    * 1 tbsp. hot Madras curry
    * 2 scallions, chopped
    * 1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
    * 1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, diced
    * 1/4 cup orange bell pepper, diced
    * 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
    * 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
    * 1 cup panko bread crumbs
    * 1 1/2 pound crab meat, jumbo lump
    * Salt and freshly ground black pepper

- Combine everything in a mixing bowl except the crab meat and panko. Taste the mixture for seasoning. Gently fold in crabmeat, careful not to break up crab meat too much. Fold in panko, adding enough so that the mixture is not too tight.

- Cook 1 crab cake and taste. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Form into 2 1/2-ounce cakes. Saute on both sides until golden brown. I garnished my plates with a smattering of chives and the before-mentioned aioli and blood orange salad.

in the raw

I'm not sure about in other places but here in Atlanta, the burger craze is in full effect. They have reached cult status here in our town with the opening of Flip, the burger "boutique" concept of Richard Blais - yes, of Top Chef fame.

The wide variety of burgers there at Flip - from the lamb burger to the Vietnamese "bun mi" burger - really inspired me. My favorite that I've had there was the steak tartare - a really delicious twist on a classic. It got my mind working on a version that incorporated one of my favorite things on earth: tuna tartare. With a slab of really fresh tuna, some wasabi and a couple other simple (and high quality ingredients) - this came together brilliantly. The play of the toasted bun with the tooth of the raw tuna and the crunch of the frisee was pretty sublime. It was also a lot of fun to let your mind wander and come up with your own answer to the question - what defines a burger?

The full story is available here at Atlanta Cuisine in page 16 of the January issue.

Tuna Tartare Burger - serves 2 large burgers or 4 smaller "slider" sized burgers

• 1 pound fresh ahi tuna
• 1 small handful chives - minced
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 large high quality hamburger buns - brioche would be a nice touch here!
• 3 tbsp. creme fraiche
• 1 tsp. prepared wasabi
• 1 large handful of frisee or other greens

For the wasabi creme fraiche: Bring creme fraiche up to slightly below room temp. Mix with wasabi paste and set aside.

For the tuna tartare: Using a very sharp knife, dice tuna in small 1/4 - 1/2 inch dice. Place tuna in a bowl set inside an iced bowl to keep the tuna cold during assembly. To the tuna, add the liquid ingredients and stir carefully not to break up the fish. Throw in minced chives and gently stir again. Salt and pepper the tartare to taste. If not serving immediately, keep the tartare on the iced bowl to keep it cold.

Assembly: Lightly toast hamburger buns or cut-out rounds of brioche. Spread a scant smear of wasabi creme fraiche on the bottom of the bun. Top with the tartare in whatever ratio you want and will accommodate the number of burgers you're making. Top with a small handful of frisee or other greens. I like serving the burger open face with the bun on the side and let your diners decide their best plan of attack.

on the waterfront

I'm just tickled to finally be able to post about this recipe...and the great stories that go along with it. I have started writing a regular column for Atlanta Cuisine, a sort of online foodie gathering place here in Atlanta, called Deep Dish. Every month, it's going to be a mix of dining adventures and cooking at home. A study in what inspires what. Which came first: the restaurant or the recipe?

For the first piece, I was blown away by a dish I had during a spectacular meal on vacation in St. George Island. A tasting menu at Avenue Sea in Apalachicola that rivaled any meal I've had here in town. One dish stood out in particular: clams with chorizo, lemon, and paprika oil. I came home and immediately tried to replicate it - with my own little twists.

You can read the entire story about how this dish came to be here at AtlantaCuisine.com. The recipe is posted at the bottom of the article in its entirety. Please feel free to leave feedback there or here on the blog - whether you're a resident of A-town or not!

keeping it raw

More raw(ish) meat on my blog! I promise this won't become a running theme, either literally or figuratively. I just had to post this recipe - I made this for a shoot a few months ago and now I've been coming back to it in my head for days now. I'm sure it's the combination of still being in beach mode and having Cinco de Mayo coming up today.

While I was on vacation in St. George Island, we were inundated with fresh seafood.  Fresh shrimp purchased from the side of the road and made into a shrimp cocktail lunch. Huge, plump raw oysters and steamed crab legs at the dive-y raw bar around the corner. It was just incredible...and it's a way I would like to eat all the time. While I do live in a major city and have access to all varieties of foods, the freshness of local seafood is something you just can't replicate - even when you pay $17.99 a pound for it at Whole Foods.

A really easy way to have that brightness of flavor and the ease of a warm-weather dish is ceviche. When I made this batch for the shoot several months back, it was the first time I had made it myself. I love ceviches of all sorts but always had trepidation about balancing the acid and the heat and all of the flavors in between. Those fears were truly unfounded - it couldn't have been easier.

I love calamari/squid in my ceviche, so I added that to the cod fillets I used. While this recipe makes a LOT of ceviche, you can easily cut it down and eyeball the amount of lime juice or acid you use to "cook" the seafood. You can also easily adjust the heat by amping up or minimizing the peppers. Add a glass of crisp white wine and some Saltines to this and you've got a divine (not to mention low fat and - without the crackers - low carb) summer meal.

Ceviche - recipe originally found here at Cooks.com

• 3 pounds of catfish fillets (any whitefish, fresh or saltwater will do, or some shrimp may be added.)
• 3-4 medium tomatoes
• 5-6 Serrano peppers
• 1 onion
• 24 limes
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 cup cilantro (finely chopped)

- Dice fish into small pieces approximately an inch in size. Place in large plastic or glass bowl - it doesn't need to be shallow.

- Using a lime juicer, add the juice of all 24 limes. Marinate for 1 to 1-1/2 hours in the refrigerator. Dice onion, tomatoes, and Serrano and add to the fish mixture. Stir in salt and cilantro. Cover and place back in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to mix.

We use this for parties and family gatherings. Recipe may be made smaller by reducing ingredients to half or one third of original quantities.

Remember to use 7-8 limes per pound of fish. The bottled lime juice may be used, but it will not yield the same result. It adds a concentrate sweet/bitter flavor to the dish and is not as good as fresh squeezed.

P. S. The "juice" of ceviche is called "Tiger's Milk" and is thought to increase virility and cure hangovers.

Thanks to Tony Clark for sharing in this amazing meal we made that day and for taking such beautiful photos of it, as usual!!!