Italian Wine Dinner

Ahoy there mateys!

Last Wednesday me and my crew put on a four course prix fixe dinner at work, each course being paired with an Italian wine. We’ve been wanting to do one of these for a while as they used to be done successfully in the past, and we really never get the opportunity to work together at the same time like this. It was refreshing. The evening went really smooth and we were all very happy with it.

For those of you who don’t know, I actually work at a gourmet food bar located inside of a Whole Foods Market. It’s quite quirky and casual, but we can really throw down some high quality upscale cuisine. Since we aren’t a traditional restaurant setting, the prices are on the low end. This wine dinner was an amazing value! Only $30 a head for 4 courses each one paired with wine. Granted we undercharged on purpose to draw a big crowd and build hype for the next event. Most restaurants an evening like this would’ve set you back at least $100, so keep an eye out for our next event; perfect date night! (if you can sacrifice intimate ambiance)

My crew from left to right: John, Me, Lauren, and Frank.

John is the face of The Kitchen Counter and deals with most customer interactions. I share chef responsibilities with Lauren and Frank. It’s a lot of work for 3 people so we just come together and work as at team. We create seasonal menus and operate a scratch-made kitchen in a very open environment. Our bosses Josh and Cara were also floating around and helping out, and being supportive. Josh even ate whole plates of food, which is a very rare site, as he usually just tastes things.

For the first course, we served a salad with grilled haloomi cheese and peaches topped with candied walnuts. I made a white peach balsamic vinaigrette to go with it, which made everyone happy. People go crazy over the house vinaigrettes that I make, but they haven’t been seen for awhile since we stopped serving salads off the menu. We have a huge organic salad bar already in the store with myriad options, but people do still miss the salads that we crafted.

The second course was a pumpkin ravioli. Pretty standard fall fare, but delicious none the less. We tossed the ravioli in brown butter and sage, and Frank decided to top it with these crushed amaretto cookies. This was a delicious and surprising idea that I had never seen before, and I definitely enjoyed it as did our customers.

I love the flavors of fall and the smell of fresh sage.

The third course was an Italian classic prepared by Frank called Braciole which consists of seared flank steak braised and rolled up with fillings like a maki roll! The filling is usually breadcrumbs, herbs, garlic and parmesan, but we added braised swiss chard as well. We served ours with creamy polenta and house marinara. Braciole is like an Italian grandmotherly home-cooked classic, but I think the pinwheel effect evokes some wow factor! Now I’m inspired to re-create my own version at home because I love anything that gets rolled up like a maki roll 🙂

I was a little nervous for course four because I thought we would make it ahead of time, but Frank made this during service. It was a lot of pressure…for him anyway; I was really just there for plating design and taking pictures 🙂

Course four was a zabaglione, which is a sweet custard made from egg yolks, sugar, and usually a sweet wine (we used marsala) whipped over a double boiler. A LOT of eggs went into this! The zabaglione came out perfectly creamy and sweet with just the right amount of spirit. We served this with fresh berries and mint. In retrospect we should’ve served this in wine glasses to go with the wine theme, but oh well.

Everyone seemed to have a good time. I really want to do another one next month, but I think it’s not going to happen until sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I don’t have the wine pairings handy, since I don’t drink;  I didn’t pay much attention to the wine. I was told they were good. Haha sorry about it.

Cheers! (Landy, I see you, good job spotting me in the corner)

One of my customers suggested the other day that I create a prixe fixe menu of my own and only feature seafood. I would love that, but I wouldn’t want to alienate customers who don’t like seafood either. I would love to do something with some exotic flair though that’s less traditional than what we usually do.

Until next time,

May the fish be with you!

~Maki Zavelli

Somewhere over the rainbow trout

Ahoy there mateys!

 

I recently went to another concert (crazy because I am not a concert-goer at all). I got to check out the ‘Straight Outta Oz’ show by Todrick Hall in Columbus, and it did not disappoint. It was truly amazing, to be honest. Todrick and his team are incredibly talented. At the end of the show he helped a man get engaged to his boyfriend, which was the cutest thing ever!  I’ve never witnessed a live proposal, let alone a gay one; it definitely got me right in the feels, man.

I had an absolute blast in Columbus and actually ran into Todrick later at a bar, and surprisingly hung out with him and his people for a little while! I got a really bad selfie with him (my phone sucks, I should’ve had it taken on someone else’s phone) so you’d have to check my Instagram for that. I have certain photo standards here.

(lol)

I left feeling inspired by all the colors of the rainbow! Upon returning to Kansas Cleveland, I cooked this dish which I am dubbing the double rainbow. (insert internet memes here) <-Go on youtube and search double rainbow if you don’t get that.

 

It combines one of my favorite fishies, the rainbow trout, with one of my favorite summer/fall vegetables, rainbow chard. Originally I had some other components, but then decided to make it very simple and just feature the fish and the vegetable.

With chard, most people discard the stems and just cook with the leaves. I’ve always used the stems too, however. They’re perfectly edible, so that’s just wasteful. You have a few different options with using the stems. If you’re doing a high heat roast on the chard, the stems are actually delicious cooked this way, albeit a little bitter. I find red chard to be a little too bitter this way, but regular swiss chard and rainbow chard in particular tastes good roasted with high heat.

Another good use for the stems is to throw them in your juicer. They contain a great nutrient profile, especially rainbow chard, because more colors = more nutrient variety. So if you’re big into juices and smoothies, this a great way to re-purpose the stems. They’re bitter, but also a little sweet and earthy. The juice pairs well with apples, beets, and carrots; just make sure to balance out sweetness with enough green stuff!

What I did for my double rainbow dish, however, is something I don’t do very often…

Rainbow chard?

(>_<)

Yeah, I pickled them!

I’m not much of a pickle lover, but I like them more when they’re home made and haven’t been fermenting for ages; sorry that’s always creeped me out a little bit. These made beautiful pickles though!

I combined apple cider vinegar, coconut vinegar, coconut sugar, and various types of salt. I threw in some garlic and Thai chili peppers as well. If you don’t want a murky pickle brine, I’d suggest using probably white sugar and white vinegar or some better alternative. I don’t use those products so I just used what I had on hand. I used a ratio of about 2 (vinegar) to 1(sugar) to 1(salt). I’m no pickle expert though, so I’d recommend googling around if you want to experiment with DIY pickles. There are lots of pickle brine recipes out there.

I cut them into finer strips and they added a really nice touch to the dish! Such colors!

The green leaves of the rainbow chard were simply sauteed with olive oil, garlic, and salt. You don’t need to cook them long like you would collards, mustard, or kale. These greens are more similar to spinach, and they cook and wilt down quickly.

The rainbow trout in this dish was awesome, and actually resembled unagi, or broiled BBQ eel. If you’re a fan of this sushi staple, you should give this trout a try! Rainbow trout is more affordable, available, and sustainable. I’m gonna have to try this style of trout in a sushi preparation.

Since rainbow trout fillets are usually quite thin (unless we’re talking steelhead trout), they take well to pan-searing or grilling both sides without the need for an oven. Sear the flesh side a few minutes until it yields when you try to flip it. A good long sear over med-high heat will get the skin nice and crispy. Brush the glaze on the flesh side when the fish is just about done. You could throw it in the oven for a minute after applying the glaze, but it’s not necessary.

If you really want to replicate unagi here, you could glaze with an unagi sauce, or sweetened soy sauce. The glaze I made was a Korean BBQ sauce.

1 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar or coconut/palm sugar

1 Tbsp Gochuchang (Korean red pepper paste) – substitute Sriracha or something more available if you don’t know where to find this (Asian markets typically)

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp white pepper

minced garlic and ginger to taste

Bring ingredients to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook on low until a bit thick and shiny. Should take about 5 minutes. You can add a little corn starch or other thickener, but it’s not totally necessary. If using corn starch, shake it in a container with water to create a slurry as this prevents clumping. I use this natural, healthy thickener called Irish sea moss. I plan to cover that in a later post.

Serve with a side of rice for a more complete meal. The seared and glazed rainbow trout has an amazing depth of flavor and texture and pairs really well with the garlicky greens, and bright, crisp pickles.

You never know what you’ll find over the rainbows…

 

Until next time,

May the fish be with you!

~Maki Zavelli

 

 

Making Waves: Alley Cat

I had heard a lot of buzz from multiple sources about Alley Cat, and seeing as how they specialize in seafood, it was a no-brainer for this feature. This Zack Bruell’s 8th restaurant! They are all in the Cleveland area too. He is quite the restaurateur!

I recently had the opportunity to check out Alley Cat in the Flats before heading to the Melanie Martinez show at the House of Blues and hanging out with all the cute little crazy fan girls!

 

Don’t judge. We all have guilty pleasures. The show was awesome.

But I digress, what were we talking about? Oh yeah oysters or something…

So Alley Cat is mainly known for their oyster bar, but they offer a full menu of upscale coastal cuisine. It was beautiful out so we sat at the awesome patio.

This may surprise some of you, but I actually am not a fan of oysters. In fact, it’s really the only seafood I can think of that I don’t like (unless you count jellyfish which was pretty gnarly on both occasions I’ve tried it.)

Oysters are ok cooked, but they don’t sing any special tune when fried. I once had these huge fresh grilled oysters on an island in Japan that everyone around me absolutely loved, and I was kinda like “ehhhh”. It’s possible I was unlucky in that every one I tried was gritty, but I decided that day that it must just be me and I don’t like oysters. Whenever I’ve had them raw, I feel nauseous for about an hour since they make me gag on the way down… yeah not pleasant.

…

I must say. I FINALLY met an oyster that I enjoyed.

Admittedly, I didn’t get the name of which types of oysters we had…

…since I was off enjoying the amazing view when they arrived at the table.

This restaurant across the river is called Shooters on the Lake. I have never been here as an adult, and I think I was there once or twice as a child. I think it was my parents’ favorite anniversary spot. I definitely need to go check this place out in the near future.

Now, I might not be able to give too much credit to the oysters for winning me over since I kind of doused mine in leftover juice from our ceviche. Also I cut mine into smaller bites. Don’t judge. At least I don’t stab sushi with chopsticks and douse it in soy sauce.

Speaking of ceviche, it was on point.

I believe it consisted of salmon, tuna, and shrimp. Sorry this was nearly a month ago, my memory is getting hazy; it’s been a crazy summer!

Moving on to entrees.

We just had to order the grilled octopus since it’s one of our favorite proteins. I do this really awesome braised octopus that I’m going to have to feature on the blog soon. I haven’t met an octopus in a restaurant that tops it, and this one was no exception. To their credit, I’m not sure how they got such an amazing texture from grilling it. It didn’t appear to have been marinated, so I’m not sure what the secret was; I wish I would’ve asked. On the downside, however, there was a distinctively strong char taste that was a little off-putting; not a deal-breaker, but a note I could’ve done without. And although we enjoyed the bits of hominy in the dish, we also felt the dish was missing something.

We also ordered the salmon which was described as coming with a ratatouille. That was the main reason I wanted to try it, because I was literally one day away from rolling out our new menu and we had a ratatouille on it as a vegan entree. I’m always a sucker for comparing. Sorry about it.

The skin was nice and crispy and the fish was delicious, albeit a little small for my liking. This dish was also lacking something as well, like a rice or quinoa element of some sort. The ratatouille for me, was unimpressive. it was just a couple of stewed summer vegetables thrown in. I didn’t think it was appropriate to call it a ratatouille, especially when you compare it to our version, which our customers have been loving. I’m gonna do a ratatouille post coming up soon so I can share my version which I’ve been very happy with.

Alley Cat delivered about what I expected across the board. It was good, but not amazing for the price. As a chef myself, I’m spoiled, and always end up complaining that I could do better for far less cost; I have to remind myself though, that at least I’m not working! The only surprise to me here, was that I actually enjoyed oysters for once! I would definitely recommend you go check it out!

We didn’t have time for dessert since the show was about to start (at least according to the tickets…but even though we were late, we weren’t late at all…) We made up for dessert later though that’s for sure.

After the show, we stopped at Colossal Cupcakes with some of the fan girls! (one of which actually looked like a colossal cupcake). Darn, I should’ve got a picture. That was the best way possible to ruin my workout from earlier!

Until next time,

May the fish (and the fan girls) be with you!

~Maki Zavelli

 

Brazilian Flair: Batuqui

Ahoy there mateys!

I’m planning on starting a restaurant spotlight feature on the blog. This post is more impromptu and informal, but I’ll probably set some criteria moving forward like restaurants primarily known for seafood. These are going to be Cleveland-based restaurants. I’m thinking of calling the feature Making Waves, but I’ll save that for the first official one if I’m still feeling the name. I’ve got a solid list forming already, but I would also  love some suggestions.

So I was recently thinking about different ethnic foods, and couldn’t really think of anything that I haven’t tried before, and then I did think of one. (I’m sure there is plenty more though)

Brazilian.

Almost nothing came to mind when I thought of Brazilian food. Well, that’s not entirely true, I thought of something but it was Argentinian food I was thinking of. I’m not sure why I thought they were so similar, though interestingly enough, it turns out they are in fact quite similar. They both have a reputation for steak, known in both cultures as Churrasco. They also tend to use a lot of the same flavor profiles, ingredients, and staples.

So there’s a fairly new Brazilian place in my old neighborhood of Larchmere that I had heard about, and there’s also one opening up soon in Eton.  The one on Larchmere is called Batuqui (pronounced something like “Ba-too-key”) and it’s in the same building that used to be occupied by Bon Vivant, a French bistro styled place that I once had brunch at.

 

If you’ve never been to the Larchmere area, it’s pretty unique and quite charming. A lot of the restaurants and small businesses are inside of old houses. Batuqui is no exception. They had a pretty big patio which seated almost all of the diners this evening as it was beautiful out and not too crowded. It kind of feels like you’re at a really cool house party.

These features are meant to be more of a spotlight rather than a review. I always think people should go try things for themselves. If a spot sounds intriguing to you, go form your own opinion; not everyone has the same tastes. Also I don’t like to be thought of as a food snob just because I’m a chef and food blogger — I’m actually incredibly casual, and not incredibly picky.

That said. I do have a very good palette, high quality standards and an eye for detail. I try not to be overly critical, but when things can clearly use improvement, I have no problem voicing my opinion. Constructive criticism is a good thing, and you can always take it or leave it.

I meant to take a picture of the menu, but forgot. However, I just discovered that they have a very professional looking website with the menu listed here. I like the size and selection, it seemed perfectly well-rounded. They have a good selection of drinks, which my roommate enjoyed. (I almost never drink) They also had some good specials, and our server, Misty, did a great job explaining them. Honestly, she was one of the most knowledgeable servers I’ve come across in a while, and her Portuguese pronunciation was amazingly on-point especially for being American.

We started with Linguica with Mandioca Frita ($9.50). This is a simple appetizer of Brazilian sausage and fried yucca. I was really looking forward to this as I love me some fried yucca.

I must say, however, that this was the worst dish of the evening and it was disappointing. You can even tell from looking at the photo (if you’re familiar with yucca) that something is off with the yucca. Either it wasn’t very fresh, it’s been fried too hard, or the fryer oil was old; or several of those. What you can’t tell from the photo was that it also was completely unseasoned. It was bearable if you ate it together with the sausage, but the sausage was nothing to write home about either. Overall, this dish was honestly bad and made me nervous for the meal to come.

What followed was a mix of highs and lows.

We had a side of fried bananas as well, which were ok, but a little sweet for my liking; I would’ve preferred plantains.

Although I was most excited for our fish entree which was this fancy sounding ancient fish I had never heard of before, the stand-out of the evening was definitely the steak.

Churrasco de Picanha: The traditional Brazilian steak house cut — tri-tip sirloin.  Seasoned with sea salt and grilled to perfection.  Served with rice, pinto beans, farofa and tomato relish. ($28)

This steak single-handedly saved the experience because it was THAT good. I’d say it was easily the best steak I’ve had all year. Perfectly seasoned and cooked, with great presentation. I may suggest ordering it one temperature under what you want or taking it off the sizzler though because the residual heat continues to cook it.

The sides that came with the steak were all bland though, however. I’m not sure why they were so under-seasoned, but I would suggest that Batuqui not fear hitting their diners with some real flavor. This is the kind of “off the beaten path” kind of place that will mostly be frequented by more adventurous diners; They’re not afraid of flavor, so the chefs shouldn’t be either.

Farofa was something new to me, but it wasn’t very exciting. It’s toasted cassava/yuca flour; it just tasted like plain breadcrumbs and wasn’t very appealing on its own. That’s the one on the west side of the above dish.

As this was a special for the evening, I don’t have the description or price, but I did get the name of the fish right: Pirarucu. This was described as a pre-historic fish, and upon looking it up I see it is similar to the arapaima, which is a gargantuan Amazonian fish I’ve seen before. The name and description is where the excitement ended, as the dish itself was highly generic and lacking in flavor. It was completely covered up by a weak coconut curry sauce. The fish didn’t get a chance to sing. Looking at the plate, you can’t even tell what it is. The pirarucu could’ve been any other mild, white fish, so this dish was very blah, unfortunately.

Oh and when I said these are things are gargantuan, I’m not exaggerating. Here’s a photo of a pirarucu (not taken by me).

Yeah, holy cow fish.

We were very stuffed, but decided to try one of the lighter dessert options as it was something neither of us have tried much of before.

Mousse de Maracuja ($6) was a delicious passion fruit mousse. It was more of a pudding, but either way it was really delicious. I’ll have to try more passion fruit; I’ve never managed to find a fresh one at a market — they’re always past their prime.

It was funny because it was dark at this point, so I didn’t have much of a chance to get a shot of the dessert. I pulled out a few tricks though having my roomate hold a phone light and something as a reflector, so I ended up with one usable shot. We were fussing for awhile to get a picture, until eventually Misty told us to “Eat it, don’t tweet it!” which made me laugh. I think she thought she offended me, but I can appreciate some good sass.

I don’t know if I’ll be implementing any kind of rating system, but if I can think of something clever I just might. Like I said I’m more just showcasing the restaurant and giving my opinion. Unless a place is really bad, I will usually recommend you at least go check a place out once. I would definitely suggest giving Batuqui a try. It has a unique charm, unique cuisine, and amazing steak. I will definitely dine there again in the future and hope they can bring up the seasoning and some of the execution.

Until next time,

May the fish be with you!

~Maki Zavelli

Go Fish: Sockeye Salmon

Ahoy there mateys!

We had sockeye salmon on sale last week for $8.99/lb. and I think it’s continuing this week even. I had it for dinner 3 times last week, and I’m not mad about it. Although I am mad that I don’t have a grill. It has been way too hot in here in our lovely Cleveland Heights house with no A/C and no ventilation… yeah time to invest in a grill.

When I was buying my fish last week, I ended up talking to a customer about the best way to cook Sockeye Salmon, and he seemed genuinely enthused to have learned some new things; so I decided to post about it on the blog. It only recently occurred to me just how different this fish is from other types of salmon. Mainly in how it cooks, but also how it looks. These fish have a bright red body with a greenish head and tail. They have this hook-shaped mouth that almost resembles a beak.

I mean just look at these guys; they’re quite strange! They’re like birds of paradise in fish form! Interesting to note, their name has nothing to do with the appearance or structure of their eyes. The name is an anglicized version of an indigenous word (something like suk-kai) which simply meant “red fish”. They are indeed red, especially during their spawning cycle. Now they don’t always look like this, as they go through different life cycles; too bad by the time they reach the consumer, the skin isn’t red like this anymore.

Their flesh, however, is quite red. As they are almost always wild caught, you can be assured that this isn’t added color. Sockeye is also one of the most, if not most, sustainable species of salmon you can buy. Their primary harvest comes from Bristol Bay, Alaska which has a very well managed fishery. Alaskan Sockeye is generally going to be green-lit on seafood sustainability scales.

In regards to cooking, the important thing to note though is that they are not as fatty as their Atlantic cousins or Pacific brethren. Even though they have this amazingly rich color, the fish itself is not as rich as you may think. Sockeye do have a great pure salmon flavor though, the trick is just to not overcook it. They cook much faster and can easily dry out.

Love that color!

The best cooking method I have found is to pan-sear it on both sides and that’s it. You don’t need the oven to cook it all the way through, in fact that will dry it out. Alternatively you could grill it, but you would want to place it skin side down and never flip it.

Also for those of you who don’t know how to eat salmon properly. GET THE SKIN CRISPY AND EAT IT! High direct heat on the skin and make sure it’s salted. I have many customers that don’t eat the skin because they’re conditioned not to, but they haven’t actually TRIED properly cooked salmon skin. I try not to be pushy, but sometimes I tell them to make sure they try the skin, and I’ve managed to convert some people. Sorry, it’s one of my pet peeves…. that and when people really emphasize the A and the L when they say sal-mon…

Anyhoo.

Pat your fillets dry with a paper towel and let them come to room temperature. Season the fillets simply; salt, pepper, fresh squeeze of lemon or lime at the end. Get a pan really hot with some oil and place the fish in, then turn the heat down to medium. Traditional chef wisdom says to go skin-side down first, however there is a caveat to this. Your pan and oil have to be hot first, this is crucial because if not, it will stick. I hold my hand over the pan until it feels hot enough that I want to take my hand away, or you can wait for smoke and then turn the heat down to medium. If you want to be safe, just do the flesh side down first. Sear both sides about 5 minutes each, but this could vary depending on thickness.

Sockeye takes really good to a glaze at the end. You can get creative here combining different spicy, sweet, salty, and bright flavors. I used a Korean BBQ glaze, but you can try like a maple mustard glaze, miso honey, chipotle lime, or simply herb butter and lemon, just to give a few ideas.

For my multiple weeknight Sockeye Salmon dinners, I just kept it simple. Nothing fancy here, so there’s no recipe for this post.

Korean BBQ glazed Sockeye Salmon with snow peas and confetti orzo

I don’t recall specifically which type of orzo this is since it’s been in my pantry for some time, but I picked it up in the bulk section of Whole Foods.

If you’ve had a bad experience with sockeye because it was dry, please do give it another try! The main thing to remember is that it has a shorter cooking time than other fattier salmons. Sockeye are really delicious though when prepared properly, they’re highly nutritious; rich in protein and omega-3s, they’re sustainable, and they’re affordable.

Until next time,

May the fish be with you!

~Maki Zavelli

Thai Chili Shrimp N’ Grits

Ahoy there mateys!

Alright here we go! I knew this had to be one of the dishes I would submit to Food Network. For one thing we have a dish on our brunch menu at work called Adam’s Shrimp N’ Grits, and it has a lot of fans. I’ve had many people tell me its the best around; actually I got just got a comment card about it on Sunday morning, which I really appreciate!  However, you haven’t really had Adam’s Shrimp N’ Grits unless you’ve had this version.

I love infusing exotic flavors into classic American cuisine and I’m a huge fan of Southern American, Creole, or Cajun style food. This dish has grown from humble roots as a simple southern fishermen’s breakfast to gracing many different menus at restaurants all across America. Many chefs have their own take on it. For my version, I’m remixing this classic with the spicy flavors of Thailand.

So what are grits, exactly?

They are definitely one of the more confusing ingredients out there, and the answer to that can get a little complicated. I’ll try to give the Cliff’s Notes. Corn grits are a Southern comfort staple, with Native American roots. Grits are made by cooking ground, dried corn. You can find different varieties, which depend upon the fineness of the grind, and how it’s processed. I usually get mine in the bulk section at Whole Foods where they’re labeled as cornmeal grits. I would avoid anything overly processed such as the ones sold as instant grits. Though slightly different in texture, stone-ground grits, cornmeal grits, hominy grits and polenta are all pretty much interchangeable.

(side note: WordPress wants to correct “polenta” to read “tadpole” instead. )

(side-side note: “polenta” and “tadpole” are however, not interchangeable.)

Grits can be cooked so many different ways that there are actually entire books dedicated to them.(*ahem* gift idea) Grits can be savory or sweet; they can be silky smooth or toothsome; they can be cooled, sliced and then fried; they can even be healthy or indulgent. More often than not, they go the indulgent route — they are considered a comfort food after all. This usually includes milk, cream, butter, and/or cheese. I always prefer to lighten up a dish and try to make it more healthful while still making it delicious. The good news with grits is that you can have your polenta cake and eat it too!

What makes these grits uniquely healthy while simultaneously rich and creamy is that they are made with stock and coconut milk. I added additional flavor to the chicken stock by throwing in some lemongrass I had lying around. (no, not uncommon in my kitchen).

It’s amazing how creamy they are without any cream, butter, or cheese! They are also gluten-free and vegan assuming you use vegetable stock… but then you know, don’t add the shrimp, or whatever. Grits are so versatile, you can eat just about anything with them. I also love poached eggs with mine.

Since there are only 2 major components to this dish, they have to both be perfect. This means no skimpy shrimpies! You have to get the best shrimp available to you. Go for the largest, freshest ones you can find. You really don’t want the pre-cooked variety either. You will infuse more flavor into them if they go in the pan raw.

Time to turn up the heat a little bit.

With the shrimp, you can really afford to kick things into high gear on the Scoville scale. Somewhere between hot and nuclear should be just right. What I absolutely love about shrimp and grits together is that you can make the shrimp devilishly spicy, but the creamy grits will save your face! (but you know…don’t go eating any whole Thai chili peppers) If you don’t like spicy, I would at least go heavy on the garlic.

For this version, I made my own curry paste. By all means, go buy a curry paste at your Asian market or an overpriced one from the international aisle of your mainstream grocer. I prefer to make mine though because some of the ingredients in the store-bought variety are suspect to me. I mean have you ever actually SEEN shrimp paste, for example? Well I have, and uh… Maki Zavelli, over and out. Bai.

Generally for curry pastes, I process garlic, ginger, chili peppers, herbs and spices, and sometimes throw in random Asian sauces and pastes I have in the fridge. Korean Gochuchang and Japanese Miso are some of my favorites to go to.

Sorry I don’t have process photos. They look terrible in my kitchen with my current equipment and I didn’t have a helper available. I’ll outline my suggested process below, but keep in mind that there is a lot of room for personal interpretation. You can use different types of stocks, aromatics, fats, and spices. I always encourage people to learn cooking techniques, but to be adaptive to their tastes in regards to ingredients and flavors.

Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal grits

4 cups stock (chicken, fish, or vegetable)

1 can coconut milk

6-8 pieces of shrimp per serving, deveined

2 Tbsp (eyeball it) garlic, minced

1 Tbsp (eyeball it) ginger, minced

1 small onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

3 Thai chili peppers (omit if they scare you)

1 Tbsp curry paste, red, panang or home-made

lime

Grits:

Bring 4 cups of stock to a boil. Add additional aromatics if using.

(conveniently they typically come in 4 cup size)

Add 1 cup of grits. Gradually add them to the stock while whisking.

Reduce heat to LOW. Let them cook low and slow for about 15 minutes, whisking occasionally. If they seize up a bit or look a little tight, that’s ok because we are adding coconut milk as well.

Add about 1/2 to 3/4 a can of coconut milk to your preference. Some people like really creamy grits, and some like them with a little more texture. As long as they aren’t too runny or totally seized up, there really isn’t a right or wrong consistency — it’s preference. Reserve the rest of the coconut milk for later.

Shrimp:

Heat your skillet. Once hot, turn your heat down to medium. Butter is the classic fat to use here and is admittedly the best partner to shrimp, but you can also use olive, coconut, or some other good oil. You can also use a blend; I used a mix of coconut oil and butter. Add your freshly minced garlic, ginger, onion, peppers, and curry paste. Don’t forget to add some salt and any other seasonings  you might like. It’s pretty easy to make your own curry paste, but you can buy pre-made ones at the Asian market. I would suggest the Thai red or panang style curry pastes. The amount is up to preference.

Add your shrimp. Let everything brown in the pan a bit before adding the reserved coconut milk. Allow the shrimp to finish cooking in this broth and take off the heat as soon as they’re done or right before they’re done. Hit the shrimp with a little fresh lime juice. Shrimp are easy to over cook, but the big, fresh ones are more forgiving than the small or pre-cooked shrimp that turn to tiny bits of rubber if you overcook them.

1 cup of uncooked grits yields about 4-5 cups cooked. I’d figure about 1 cup per serving, but could be more or less based on preference. They are surprisingly filling though!

Next time you make grits, you should really try using stock instead of water and coconut milk instead of cream and butter. I promise you they are absolutely de-lish! So creamy you would think they were made with cream. If you’ve never tried shrimp and grits, go find a local restaurant that is known for them, and see what you’re missing!

I attempted to work on a post for 4th of July, but it didn’t really come together. Trying to make any food naturally blue usually doesn’t… but Happy Independence Day anyway! I’m gonna go back to enjoying my day off, and I hope you have a great holiday filled with great food, friends and weather!

Until next time,

May the fish be with you!

~Maki Zavelli

Blue Team, drop the Bouilla-base!

Ahoy there mateys!

Like I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been kind of back and forth between my career as an artist and my career as a chef. For the first time ever, in regards to cooking, my passion and skills are matching each other and are both at a high level. So basically I’ve decided I’m not going to hold back my culinary career any longer. The only thing that has been holding it back is myself. Whereas in comparison with my art career, there are other things holding me back, and there are hurdles that are going to take time to overcome. I’m not going to keep waiting for my art career to happen when I already currently have what I need to make a name for myself as a chef. If and when my art career can take off, that’s great, but I need to live in the now. For that reason, I’ve decided to step up to the plate, have some confidence, and let myself shine as a chef. With that said, this is what I’ve been up to.

I’ve applied to Chopped and am applying to Guy’s Grocery Games, and maybe some other shows. It doesn’t really matter which one, but I would really love to compete on the Food Network in some capacity. I’m very competitive and creative; I get to be creative every day now at my job. I’m cooking at a restaurant located inside of a Whole Foods Market. It’s a very unique opportunity to be able to directly interact with my customers, get to know them and their tastes, and be able to cook custom dishes for them. I love when customers bring me items from the seafood counter and ask me to prepare it for them. I’ve even had an octopus brought over for me to prepare!

I feel like this job has prepared me for an opportunity like this, especially GGG. For the chefs that usually compete on that show, it’s a once in a lifetime experience. For me, I already do that every day. I want to prove to myself that I can truly compete at this level. Also the money could do so much for me if I won, as well as one of my favorite charities.

The other thing I’ve been kicking around is the idea of bringing Maki Zavelli back to life. I’m not officially announcing the return yet, but I can say it definitely looks like it’s happening. I’m just taking it one day at a time right now. One thing you may notice if you’ve seen the old version is that I’ve re-designed the site. I am still kind of working on it, and making sure the bugs are fixed, but I’m happy with the new design so far.

I recently had my friend Rachel take some portraits of me at work in my element so I could use them on my Food Network applications. Everyone seemed to like this portrait the most so it’s the one I used for Chopped (below). It definitely tells the most about me. I personally like the ones with the red snapper though. (see previous post and about page) It was a lot of fun to be able to do this shoot at work and bust out my snazzy royal blue chef coat that I haven’t donned in ages!

Maki Zavelli doing his thing

The good news for the blog is that I have to submit photos of 3 different dishes for the GGG application so that means at the very least I’ll have 3 blog posts of dishes I’ve made in the next month. Also since this Lobster Tail Bouillabase was intended to be one of them, but I wasn’t happy with the look of it, (delicious though) it doesn’t end up counting as one of the 3. I really just HAD to have some big, juicy shrimp in this but we only had little ones that kinda shriveled up when cooked. Fortunately, the other day we had some beautiful, big shrimp for sale and I made a shrimp dish that I’m very happy with and I’ll be posting the photos from that probably this weekend. Maybe you can look forward to a Bouillabase post in the fall or winter.

For now though, I’m looking forward to a good (long) night’s sleep. I just finished working a whopping 9-day stretch. This means I have the weekend off even though I didn’t request it off.

Oh also the title of this post is a reference to the best video I’ve seen all year (and I’m a total YouTube nut so that’s saying a lot). I’ve been bothering all my co-workers to watch this, but they all always forget so maybe if they see it here, they’ll finally watch it >_>  (Julia Child definitely won) Bon Apetit!

Until next time,

May the fish be with you!

-Maki Zavelli

 

What’s that on the horizon there?

*blub*

…

*splash*

…

*gasp*

…

“What’s that coming out of the water…?”

*ahem*

I don’t even know what to say. But I guess I’ll just get it all out there…

I’ve been lost at sea for a while… um…hmm has it really been… uh 4 years?!

I’m sure you never thought I’d return. I’m sure I never thought I would either.

But alas, here I am, finally re-surfacing after all this time. Well maybe, or at least, temporarily.

I haven’t changed a bit have I? Actually, no I’ve changed so much, it’s kind of ridiculous.

You see, life has been kind of up and down for a while. Well not so much up and down, as it has been back and forth. I’ve spent my 20s really trying to figure myself out and just learn as many things as possible, and create! I love creating things. If there’s one thing I’ve learned overall is that it doesn’t really matter what it is, at the end of the day I just love to create.

Early in my 20s I wanted to be a chef. I started this blog. I loved it. It loved me. It was a beautiful thing. It was a lot of work.

It was a lot of work. I thought maybe the timing wasn’t right; it shouldn’t be this hard, should it?

It ended quite abruptly when I picked up and moved to a new area with no plan, friends, money,  or resources. Boy was that ever silly. I mean I learned so much and grew so much, but it sucked the momentum out of my sails in regards to the food blog.  I never even had food in my fridge, let alone have amazing food to experiment with and photograph. Maybe that’s why most food bloggers are bored housewives. I dared to be different, but couldn’t keep afloat and so I abandoned ship.

I made that move so I could work in good restaurants, and I worked in several. They were kind of chewing me up and spitting me out though. I was losing fire to start my food truck business (which was loosely based on this food blog). Ultimately, I was seeing my passion for food die. After working in the industry for awhile, I decided it wasn’t for me…

Through the tide of those turbulent waters, I was discovering new interests and passions and developing new unrelated skills as well. Since this blog, I have gone through 2 other entrepreneurial ventures. One was a pet photography business. I took what I learned from blogging and got a job in a portrait studio. Then I segued that into my own freelance venture. I was proud of what I did, but it wasn’t successful as a business and decided that it wasn’t for me either. (I would share the link to it, but I just found out that my site host made a change which essentially left my site in ruins, and I don’t have time to deal with it.)

I had also started creating art. I had a growing curiosity for sculpture. I started making derpy little figures and charms. With time and much patience, they got better and far more advanced. This is my latest venture. It’s what makes me the most happy. I decided I want to make a living as a sculptor/artist/designer. I’ve been focusing on that for the last few years, without giving cooking much of a second thought.  If you didn’t gather just from the way my blog was written, I’m a huge geek. Keeping that in mind, I’ll link my art here: http://s-tier-studios.deviantart.com/gallery/?catpath=%2F&offset=0 

After finding out that working at a portrait studio was actually hell on earth, I landed back in the restaurant industry after a few months of a private chef gig. All along, I wasn’t focusing on food, it was just holding me over until I could make my plunge as a professional artist.

Something else amazing happened though…

It started creeping back in. Like a slow trickle, barely making itself known, but it was there. As I fell into a position that required the utmost confidence, and the ability to create constantly, I soon found that my passion for food didn’t die — no, it just got buried underneath a sea of self-doubt. Now I’m a chef, and my job is crazy and interesting. More on that later.

I’m at a bit of a crossroads at the moment, but do I really have to be? Maybe just maybe it’s possible to walk down both paths… I don’t know what I will do. Stay tuned to find out? If anyone is out there…

I have no idea who is going to read this. I shipwrecked myself on a deserted island for ages while my readers all went on with their lives. I’m sorry I left, and I’m sorry this post is long. I actually have more important matters to discuss, but alas, I must leave this hanging on a cliff. 4 years is a long time. I never thought I would come back to this blog, but I’ve secretly always wanted to. It’s amazing to think of what could’ve been. Instead of looking back though, its important to keep moving forward.

Who knows what could be on the horizon…

Now if only I could remember my old send-off…over and out … you ol’ … rainbow trout?

…hmm that doesn’t feel quite right <_<;;

Roasted Garlic Lamb Chops with Israeli Couscous, Zucchini, Jerusalem Red Pepper Sauce, and Mint Gremolata

“The fondest memories are made in the kitchen.”

I’d like to apologize for neglecting my blog this past week, and for not posting anything sushi-related in a while. I promise there is reason for that.  Right now, as I am transitioning to a new place in life, everything is a little hectic and displaced. I had job interviews and meetings all week which all seemed promising.

As I get ready to move, I reflect back on the fond food memories I’ve had here for the last 4 years, and there is one in particular that sticks out.

Bowling Green is a college town. It is not exactly a foodie town, though there are a few gems known to the locals. While Myles Pizza is quite possibly the best pizza I have ever had,  South Side 6 is the most surprising food location (with amazing gyros) that I’ve ever seen, and Cookie Jar is just plain heaven, my fondest food memory actually stems from a dish that I made in our little dumpy kitchen over a year ago.

I don’t normally like to toot my own horn, but these lamb chops were the best that I ever ate, and probably will ever eat. It was actually the first time I have ever tried to cook lamb chops, and have since tried to re-create them several times, all without being as successful. My roommate and I experienced about 6 food-gasms that night. Out loud. And our mouths got fatigued from how good it tasted.

As I am getting ready to say bye-bye to BG, I wanted to re-create those lovely little chops with a little more finesse. When I originally made these, I made a creamy, rich sunchoke puree to go with them. Sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, are little tubers similar to potatoes, but with a bright nutty flavor. This time I used them in a puree that serves as a sauce, and chose Israeli pearl couscous as the starch instead, which pairs beautifully with lamb.

The first thing I do is roast 2 heads of garlic. I cut off the tops, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper, wrap in tin foil, and roast at 350 degrees for at least 15 minutes. I also roast the sunchokes at this time. You can peel them before or after. I like to peel them before because it’s less messy, but it’s also a little more work since they are small in size. Come to think of it, since the sauce was pureed, you could probably just leave the skins on and strain them out of the sauce.

After the garlic is cool enough to handle, I make a paste in a mortar and pestle with salt and butter. I use this to baste the lamb throughout the cooking process, but do not use all of it for this purpose. The cooking is best suited to a grill, but since I don’t have one, I just use a cast iron skillet and the oven. If you try these on the grill, it may be a good idea to cook the chops separately instead of the whole rack at once. I season the lamb with salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander, and then sear on a hot cast iron. After a nice crust has formed, I brush it with the garlic butter paste, and add it to a 400 degree oven. The lamb will take about 12 minutes, adding more of the butter and basting every 3 minutes. Make sure to let the rack of lamb rest for at least 10 minutes to retain its juices. It needs beauty rest.

To make the sauce, I combined roasted red peppers, roasted sunchokes, roasted garlic, salt, lemon juice, cumin, and coriander in a blender. This mixture should yield a smooth, velvety sauce (unless your blender is being uncooperative like mine). Make sure to taste, and adjust ratios accordingly. To make the gremolata that tops off the lamb, you just add chopped fresh mint to the reserved garlic paste, and add lemon zest.

To cook the pearl couscous, you could follow the box directions, but I found another way to cook these. Instead of letting them absorb all the cooking liquid like regular couscous, I cook these in a lot of salted water like pasta, and then drain off the water when they are cooked. Rinse them gently with cold water. They take about 10-12 minutes. The zucchini ring is cooked very simply. Shave a thin slice of zucchini using a cheese peeler or mandolin, and cook in a lightly greased pan. Alternatively, these might be great grilled, but I think you would need thicker slices.

This was the closest I have come to re-creating that wonderful food memory. Everything was really delicious and paired well together. Now that I am ready to say goodbye to the last four years of my life, I am ready to welcome new challenges, ventures, and lots and lots of sushi.

I promise the next series of posts will all be sushi-related 🙂

Until then,

May the fish be with you, young rainbow trout!

~Maki Zavelli, over and out <(^_^<)

Lychee Pudding with Mango Drizzle

“A fitting end to an exotic meal”

When I say “pudding”, I know what you are thinking, but no this is not a jell-o snak pak. This version of pudding is a more general term to refer to a gelatinous east Asian dessert usually made with coconut milk and exotic fruits.  In terms of its texture, it is more similar to a flan or panna cotta than a pudding as we typically think of it.

We had these amazing little puddings called sapin-sapin from one of the markets we went to at the Asian Festival, and they reminded me of a recipe I had in an Asian cookbook. The recipe showed lychees being used as a garnish, and as strange as it my seem, I had a can of lychees in my pantry that I needed to use.

This little dessert was originally going to be mango puddings served with lychee, but the mango version had a really odd taste, and the texture of the lychees was also quite odd. So I decided to try again and reverse the situation this time. The results were far better, especially with the mango sauce I created to drizzle on top.

Lychee Puddings with Mango Drizzle

Ingredients:

3 cups of coconut milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 tbsp gelatine

1 can of lychees, pureed, and pushed through a sieve

1 large ripe mango, pitted, pureed, and pushed through a sieve

Method:

Heat the coconut milk with the sugar until sugar has dissolved. Add the gelatine and stir until dissolved.

Beat the egg yolk with the lychee puree and add mixture to the coconut milk. Stir until smooth.

Spoon the mixture into lightly greased molds and leave to cool.

Place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours, until set

To make the drizzle, heat the mango puree with about 1/4 cup of sugar. If its too thick, add some water. If it gets too thin, add more sugar. It should have the consistency of syrup.

Take the puddings out of the molds, drizzle with the mango syrup, and serve with mango slices or chunks if desired.

These exotic delights are a refreshing end to meal. They are luscious, sweet, and best of all; dairy-free. It is a light dessert that is also satisfying.

Happy nomming!

Until next time,

May the fish be with you, young rainbow trout

~Maki Zavelli, over and out <(^_^<)