Pasta with Ready-Made Pesto

Since Damien is still away, I'm gonna keep it simple tonight and just make some pasta and toss it in a ready-made pesto sauce that we always keep in the refrigerator for just such nights.

I like to use the Contadina Buitoni brand pesto that you find in the refrigerator section of the supermarket rather than the ones you can find in jars in the pasta section. It just tastes better.

But, I also should say that making your own pesto is really easy and delicious. You just need to have a bunch of fresh basil. Unfortunately, our beautiful basil did not survive our trip to New York. A few scorching Miami days and it was fried. And I'm feeling too damn lazy to run out and buy some at the supermarket.

So there.

Home Game

Yesterday I sat down and read a book! I know, it's crazy. But, Baz decided to take a really long nap, like 2 hours, and so I read. And I want to recommend the book.

Michael Lewis' Home Game was just what the doctor ordered. Damien bought it awhile back (since he is addicted to ordering books from Amazon) and then my friend, Annie was talking about seeing Michael Lewis on some television talk show and how interesting the book looked. (I think at the time we were also talking about how her 2 year old daughter, Rosie, was on a strictly french fry and gummy vitamin diet.)

The book was funny and honest and inspiring. We're all idiots when it comes to parenting, yet most of us will raise pretty good kids. It's nice to be reminded of that every once in a while especially when it's in a well-written and entertaining form by a guy who is definitely a lot smarter than I am. Not to mention it's also short enough to read in a sitting or two.

So, check it out if you get a chance.

Leftover - Hearts of Palm

As I mentioned earlier, we had the fabulous Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass last night. I would have let it sit another day, but Damien is going on a reporting trip to St. Louis today, so I wanted to make sure he got to enjoy one of our favorite meals.

Since he's gone today, Baz and I are suffering from withdrawal and uninspired to cook. So I think I am going to make use of some of our leftovers. We have some chicken left and I think I'll remove the fried skin part, shred the chicken and make a chicken salad out of it by adding some mayonnaise, onion, mustard and maybe some cut up grapes or raisins. Then I'll cut up some lettuce and other salad fixings like avocado and top it with the chicken salad.

One salad ingredient that I love and is not as common up north as it is here in Florida is Hearts of Palm. Yummy. They come in a can packed in water. (Baz is holding a can in the picture above.) I prefer to buy them uncut and slice them before adding to my salads. They really make a salad special.

Publix Fried Chicken and Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

I know, I know, I didn't write a post yesterday which goes against everything I wanted this to be.

I'll just quickly fill you in on what we did for dinner. See I was waiting for my miso glaze to really soak in to my Chilean sea bass fillets. So, on Monday night I did something a little bad, but so good. I went and picked up an 8 piece fried chicken box from our local Publix.

This is a really delicious quick dinner fix. Damien and I do it every so often, usually on days that I hit the supermarket anyway. They have both rotisserie and fried chicken, but since the fried was on sale I went with that one. The rotisserie is wonderful though and I imagine a wee bit healthier.

Then I pick up a side of cole slaw, macaroni and cheese and I'll steam a vegetable. This time I made broccoli. And that's it. Dinner in a few minutes.

Then last night I was ready to make my favorite meal. The miso glaze was soking in to the fish for two days. It was time!

I also was able to make the wasabi mashed potatoes because of my Japanese market find.

Wasabi Mashed Potatoes
8-10 small red creamer potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons sour cream
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon wasabi paster or 1 tablespoon wasabi powder

Boil the little red creamer potatoes (I peel them half way so there is not too much skin when I mash them) for about 15 minutes. After pouring them into the colander, use the same pot to saute some garlic in a little bit of olive oil. When the garlic is just browning, return the potatoes to the pot and add some milk, butter and a tablespoon or two of sour cream. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until smooth. Sprinkle some salt and a little bit of pepper on the potatoes. Then squeezed about a teaspoon of wasabi into the potatoes and mix.


They were delicious and the perfect compliment to the Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass along with some steamed aspargus. I think next time I'll try a little bit more wasabi, but it definitely had the flavor I was looking for. And Damien loved it!

Japanese Market

I got a bunch of work done this morning so when the babysitter came today at 3pm, I took the opportunity to run out to this Japanese Market that I had heard about. I needed some more miso paste (since I forgot to take a photo of it before I threw out the package) and knew they would have it. Besides, I've been wanting to see what this place was all about.

For those of us who live in Miami, WHAT A FIND!!! I loved this place. It is literally just a Japanese market that seems to stock anything you could possibly need for Japanese cooking. But, it is located in this weird little mall next door to a beauty and massage school. Only in Miami. I never would have found it without Google Maps.

They also have a wonderful little sushi bar there that I have to go back and try out. I've heard good things about it, and I am sure it is the most authentic you can find here.

Anyway, just wanted to share. I bought some wasabi too so now I can make wasabi mashed potatoes....

Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass

Once upon a time, Damien and I were the type of people who would show up at a restaurant like Nobu on a random Wednesday or Thursday night to splurge on a fabulous meal. During one such visit, I discovered Miso Glaze. Wanting to try something besides the wonderful sushi there, we asked the waiter for a suggestion. He highly recommended the Miso Glazed Black Cod. Not being the biggest cod fan, I wasn't so sure about it, but he REALLY loved it. So, we ordered it.

Well, it was just about the best thing I've ever eaten. And it turns out black cod is actually sablefish which is not really a part of the cod family at all -- although I have come to appreciate cod as well. But, that's beside the point.

Now life has changed and I don't get to make last minute decisions like that night not very long ago. Instead I make it myself for a romantic dinner at home or to impress friends. Turns out that if I plan a little ahead and can find the ingredients, it's freakin' easy to make.

Here's how I do it:

Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass

1/3 cup saki - or maybe a little more : )

1/3 cup mirin

1 cup miso paste

2/3 cup sugar

1 pound Chilean Sea Bass

The hardest part about this recipe is finding the ingredients. Mirin is a sweet Japanese cooking wine that I have been able to find at regular grocery stores. And sake can be found at most liquor stores. The miso paste can be a little more challenging if you live outside of large metropolitan areas. I buy it at Whole Foods, but when I lived in New York, they carried it at my local bodega and at Fresh Direct. It is often kept in the refrigerator section with other soy products, like tofu.

Once you've found all of your ingredients, it's quite simple. In a medium saucepan, bring the saki and mirin to a boil. Let it boil for 20 seconds to let the alcohol evaporate. Remove from heat and add the miso paste stirring it so that it will dissolve in the liquid. Put it over low heat if the mixture cools too much and the miso stops dissolving. Once it is smooth, put the pot back on the high heat and return it to a boil, stirring it constantly so it won't burn. Slowly add the sugar, stirring well and letting the sugar dissolve. The mixture will start to look a bit shiny, like a glaze. Remove from heat and let the glaze cool to room temperature.

This recipe makes enough miso glaze for about 1 pound of fish.

You can use this with all sorts of different fish but the black cod works particularly well as does regular cod. But, I found some frozen Chilean sea bass at Costco the other day, so I am going to make it with that. It has as similar texture and subtle flavor that's quite good for the glaze.

Pat the fish dry with some paper towels. Place the pieces in a one gallon size, ziplock freezer bag or some other non-reactive container that will fit in your fridge. When the miso glaze has cooled to room temperature, pour the the glaze over the fish in the bag. Make sure the pieces are fully coated. Zip up the bag and put it in the refrigerator to marinate. The longer the better. I'm talking two or three days. But, if you can only do one, well, that's okay. It'll still taste good.

When you are ready to cook it, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and heat up an oven proof pan on your stove top. I use the All-Clad pan I got for our wedding. Heat the pan over high heat until it is very hot. Remove the fish from the bag a let the excessive glaze drip off of it. Place the fish in the pan and sear it for a few minutes on one side only.

Once the fish is seared on one side, put the whole pan in the pre-heated oven. Cook the fish for 10 or 12 minutes.

I like to serve the fish over mashed potatoes with a side of steamed asparagus. Even better, make the mashed potatoes with a little bit of wasabi in them. Yummy.

This is definitely one of my favorite meals. It's totally worth the trip to Whole Foods for the miso paste. Just try not to get suckered into all the other delicious-looking but overpriced items there.

**NOTE: Miso Paste lasts, like, forever. Okay, so really about a year. But, since it is a pain to find this is good because you can buy a big container of it and keep in your fridge for those days when you are craving a little miso.

Sunday Update

It's Sunday and I'm sad that the weekend is coming to a close. It's been a really good weekend mostly because it felt totally normal. Okay, so in the past, pre-baby, we probably would have slept a lot later than 7am. But, getting up early is unexpectedly nice. We've been going to the beach first thing, which is just lovely in the morning. Today we even met up with Laura and her son, Joaquin, for a little while. Of course, Damien had to leave us to go get a facial at the Delano's spa, Aqua. Fancy, right? I had given him a gift certificate for his birthday a couple of months ago so it's about time he took advantage of it. It's something he enjoyed when we were on a break from Iraq. We'd always hit the Dead Sea after a tour and pamper ourselves. So, this facial at the Delano was a way to remember what we were like before the baby.

We braved the unpredictable baby mood swings with an outing to Coconut Grove to meet up with some friends at Scotty's Landing. It's a wonderful dockside spot behind the Grove Harbor Marina. We shared some peel-n-eat shrimp and Damien had a burger. They have Newcastle on tap there, so I like it! And since it is outdoors and casual, it's a great spot for kids.

So, while it is sometime really difficult to get everyone out the door, both outing were well worth the effort. It's great to connect with friends, especially those going through similar things - like dealing with sometimes cranky, unpredictable babies.

I'd also like to update on the Chicken with Mango and Peach Salsa. You know, it was pretty good!! Really tasty. I marinated it for about an hour. When you sear it, or anything for that matter, make sure you get the pan really, really hot. I test it by sprinkling a bit of water on it. If the water immediately sizzles and evaporates, you are good to go. Also, before I put the chicken in the oven, I put a little bit more, spoonfuls of the chunky salsa on it for the texture. I also covered the baking dish with some aluminum foil until the last 5 minutes so that it would stay moist. It worked. The only thing I think I would change next time is to make it with beans and rice rather than the regular chicken flavored that I made. And again, I wonder if it would have been even better with a bone-in piece of chicken.

On Sunday's we have a tradition of ordering pizza. We usually order a half Hawaiian, half peperoni and mushroom large pie (ordered well done because, according to Damien, the pineapple on the Hawaiian half causes the whole pizza to undercook) and a Greek salad from Pizzafiore (on 71st Street in Miami Beach). Since we are from New York, we don't really think the pizza in Miami can compare, but Pizzafiore is not bad.

Tomorrow morning, look for a recipe prep for another dinner this week - Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass. Ooooh-la-la!