Friday, December 28, 2012

Josh's steamed fish

We picked up 2 very nice little sea breams at the Japanese fish store with the idea of making an Asian style steamed fish. Josh took it up a notch. Not all the ingredients have amounts because that's the way he cooks, but I think I could recreate it since I participated as sous-chef.

Ingredients
2 sea breams, about a pound and a half total weight
sea salt
vegetable oil
2 shallots (not green onions)
garlic
ginger
soy sauce
mirin
cooking wine (we used sake)
2 T sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 orange
orange zest

thinly slice the shallots and deep fry in oil until crisp and golden. Be careful not to overcook.

meanwhile, score the fish and rub with salt

remove the shallots and add the garlic and ginger to the oil
add wine, deglaze and reduce
add soy, mirin and lemon and orange. simmer
add sugar and reduce until sauce thickens

put fish in a steamer with half the sauce and cook until just done
serve with rice, drizzle sauce over fish and sprinkle shallots on top

We also made spicy tofu from Seduction of Rice and broccoli. It was heavenly!



Thursday, December 6, 2012

Yule Feasting

(This is a cross-post from the Magical Blend Blog of Shadows)

There are only a few historical accounts of the ancient Germanic and Norse practices during Yule but it does seem very certain that feasting was a big part of it. Some people also link the tradition of having a Christmas Ham with the ancient tradition of sacrificing and eating a Yule Boar in honor of the Norse god Freyr during the Yule feast. Boars aren't very easy to get these days but hams are available at any grocery store. And though the practice of serving up a whole boar on a golden platter with an apple in his mouth is also out of fashion, cooking ham with apples certainly isn't. So for a modern spin on an ancient tradition, try this recipe for your Yuletide feast:

Slow-Cooker Apple Spiced Ham. 

This tasty ham is usually made in a slow-cooker but if you don't have one you can use a roasting pan or a Dutch Oven on low heat for an hour or so. This is also a recipe that I invented, so none of the measurements are exact. Have fun and adjust it to your tastes!

You will need:
- 1 cup old fashioned apple juice.
- 3-4 apples (I prefer Macintosh apples).
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- a pinch of cloves
- (Nutmeg to taste)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (you can cheat and add a little maple to some table syrup if you are low)
- 2 tbsp of brown sugar (the darker the better)
- Half a smoked ham (black forest or maple smoked work the best).

Unwrap your ham and grab a handful of cloves. Stick the cloves into the ham at regular intervals to infuse the ham with the spice. Traditionally this is done like so:
but I find that is waaaay too many cloves, especially if it is going to be in the slow cooker all day.
Place your cloved ham into the slow cooker and pour the apple juice in with it. Peel and slice the apples into thick rounds and place these in the the slow cooker, overlapping the ham as much as possible. Sprinkle the ham and apples with the cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg (if you choose to use it). Rub the skin of the ham with the brown sugar and then pour the syrup over it and the apples as evenly as possible. Turn your slow cooker on low and let it cook for 5-7 hours. This is a great recipe to put up before work so you can come back to a delicious meal!
To serve, slice the ham into thick slices, remove as many of the cloves as you can and spoon the apple mush juice over the slice. Give thanks to Freyr for the feast and ask him to bless your new year. Enjoy!
The Norse God Freyr