Japanese Baby Back Ribs, Soy Onigiri and Broccolini

The second two recipes from Harris Salat's new cookbook (see my last post).  The ribs were really good. They were perfectly cooked.   The stock in which the ribs were pre-cooked was reduced and used to glaze the ribs on the grill.  The stock flavored the ribs really well,  but the reduced sauce wasn't quite right. I would have liked a thicker glaze.  I used Haiga rice for the onigiri.  Haiga rice is halfway between a brown rice and a white rice.  Not as sticky as white, so wet hands are important when working with it.  These soy onigiri were much better that the sesame seaweed version from the previous night.

Veal Cutlets with Ponzu Butter and Sesame/Seaweed Onigiri

These are the first of 8 recipes I am testing for Harris Salat's new cookbook The Japanese Grill.  He posted a request for recipe testers on his website The Japanese Food Report and I was chosen.

After receiving my recipes, I made a trek to Tokyo Fish Market in Berkeley for supplies.  I've driven by this market many times but never stopped.  It is a really cool place...lots of Asian groceries and the fish counter is unbelievable.

My first dishes were Veal Cutlets with Ponzu Butter and Onigiri, grilled rice cakes with seaweed powder and roasted sesame seeds.  I can't remember the last time I ate veal and I don't think I've ever cooked it.  But it was really good.  The Ponzu Butter was a huge hit.  The leftover butter will go well with chicken and fish.  The onigiri were less successful.  They were under-salted and I couldn't get the crunchy exterior I was hoping for.  Still a good meal though.

Char Siu Pork

Tess said she wanted Guinea Pig for dinner.  But I wasn't in the mood.   So I faked her out.  I made Barbara Tropp's Unconventional Roast Pork from her The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking: Techniques and Recipes.  The only difficult part of this recipe is figuring out how to hang the pork strips (guinea pigs) in the oven.  Find some kind of wire that you can bend into an "S". The picture to the right is self-explannatory.

When it was cooked, we thinly sliced the meat and put it on a baguette with cucumber, pickled carrots, cilantro, and soy.  

Achiote Pork Tacos with Pickled Onions, Guacamole and Three Salsas

We eat these tacos standing at the kitchen island.  We grab one of the little 4"corn tortillas that have been steaming in the oven and circle the island piling on the fillings.  Pausing long enough to devour these tasty morsels, we do it all over again.

The recipes for the fillings are from Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday .  The Achiote Pork couldn't be simpler to make.  Line a slow cooker with banana leaves if you have them; add some pork shoulder; add a sliced white onion; drizzle over the top 1/2 package achiote paste mashed in 1/2 cup lime juice and 2 teaspoons salt; add 1/2 cup water; fold over the banana leaves, cover and cook on high for 6 hours.  The result is fork tender pork intensely flavored by the achiote and lime.

The other fillings included pickled onions, guacamole and three salsas: Roasted Fresh Chile, Roasted Tomatillo and Toasty Guajillo.  My favorite salsa is whichever I had on my last taco...

Crispy Flattened Chicken Breasts with Polenta and Brussels Sprouts

It's going to take awhile to get to last night's dinner... Thick-cut pork loin chops were on sale at the local market, so on Monday, I bought some to brine (I leave them in the brine for 3 days) and grill. But I was out of the Rich Pork Stock that I like to serve with the chops. The base for the Rich Pork Stock is Chicken Stock, so on Tuesday, I bought a whole chicken, pig's feet and some bone-in pork shoulder. I removed the chicken breasts from the chicken before cooking the stock and stuffed some sage leaves and sliced garlic under the breast skin before salting and refrigerating them. So yesterday, while cooking the Rich Pork Stock, I was thinking about what I would serve with the chicken breasts. I figured I would kill two birds (so to speak) with one stone and make some polenta, the leftovers with which I could chill, slice, roast and serve with the pork chops tonight. The idea for the Flattened Chicken Breasts came from Mark Peel's New Classic Family Dinners.  Nothing too complicated here...

Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat, add some olive oil.  Heat until almost smoking.  Add the breasts skin side down.  Turn the heat to medium-low.  Place a smaller cast iron skillet on top of the breasts.  Cook 12-15 minutes until the skin is very crispy.  Remove the smaller cast iron skillet and turn the breasts over.  Cook another 5 minutes or so uncovered.  Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

I made a simple pan sauce by pouring of the fat from the skillet and deglazing the pan with some of my Chicken Stock from above.

The chicken was perfect.  Moist and nicely flavored with the sage and garlic.

Alaskan Cod with Leeks, Potatoes and Thyme

Another recipe from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. The recipe called for sea bass, black bass or turbot, but I only had Costco Alaskan Cod in the freezer. The dish was really good. It was essentially oven roasted fish fillets in a very dry potato leek soup.

Pizza with Artichokes, Pancetta, Stewed Garlic and Parmesan

We had Chez Panisse style Crostatas the night before last, so we had leftover pizza dough.  Last night I trimmed a couple of artichokes down to their hearts and sliced them.  I then blanched them for about a minute then shocked them in cold water and dried them on paper towels.  I stewed up a heads worth of cloves of garlic in olive oil and peeled them.  I diced up a couple of ounces of Pancetta and grated some parmesan.  The pizzas were topped with a few slices of artichoke, a few cloves of garlic and dotted with the diced pancetta.  The parmesan was added when the pizzas were half done.  Tasty stuff.