What We're Eating - A Food & Recipe Blog » asparagus

Prime Rib Sushi. You Heard Me Right.

Amanda — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:40:07 +0000

Sushi purists everywhere are shaking their heads at me.

Now the last time I did a nontraditional sushi roll I ended up getting reemed by the folks in Japan for calling it a sushi roll while the only component similar to sushi was the rice, but otherwise the outcome was overwhelmingly popular. That was back in 2006 and these days lots of people are making nontraditional sushi rolls. For this leftover prime rib recipe, we’re eating a roll made with blanched collards, blue cheese-parsnip-potato mash, strips of gently reheated prime rib, roasted asparagus and sauteed portobello mushroom. The sushi roll was plated with a drizzle of Cabernet Port Reduction. While nontraditional, both as a form of sushi and as a use of leftover prime rib, we think this sushi will rock your effing socks off! (give ‘em a taste, KG)

Recipes in this post:

Many Mini Comfort Foods

Us — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 03:30:35 +0000

Cheese Sliders aka Mini Cheeseburgers

Tonight was comfort food party night! The menu consisted of savory roasted asparagus soup garnished with crumbled feta and a roasted asparagus spear; sliders made with 2oz griddled burgers, melted cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, a slice of dill pickle, mustard, and ketchup on a toasted whole wheat Hawaiian roll; and finally southwestern macaroni and cheese made with a bechamel-based sharp cheddar and havarti cheese sauce, roasted red peppers, fresh jalapeÃ±o, chorizo, and cilantro – served up in dainty little parmigiano reggiano cups. The hors d’oeuvres were all washed down with a nice crown and coke(zero)…very light on the coke.

Macaroni and Cheese BitesA: mmm… there’s something fun about small-ified foods.
T: I agree. You can just grab one for a bite, or you can eat 50 of them for 50 bites.
A: too true. fifty bites might be a bit overboard though. i got full off of just a few of these bites!
T: I did too… I guess the burgers were really more than a bite, though. But much more smallified than a standard burger. Smallified. College worked for me. Not.
A: yeah. we did go to LSU. where we learned things like “smallified”.
T: yeah, things like how to find your keys when you wake up on a stranger’s patio with a black eye and no keys.
A: hehehe oh aaron. what a funny dude. okay! refocus. so, i’m definitely digging on those cute little sliders… le petit hamburger.

Shots of roasted asparagus soupT: they were really tastier than I expected them to be. They had a wonderful sweetness, and yet the sweetness did not overwhelm the savory flavors at all.
A: and the tartness of the pickles. I just have a deep love for burgers. in a perfect world cholesterol wouldn’t exist and i would eat burgers every day. or at least once a week!
T: What did you think about the other hors d’oeuvres?
A: i actually thought they were both really tasty. i pulled all the different dishes from the sidebar poll and made the top three savory comfort foods… in mini versions. it’s really a fantastic idea for an event that Brigitte at Dispensing Happiness made up.
T: it certainly is. So what do you rate these puppies?
A: well, i give the roasted asparagus soup a 4.2/5. It was tasty and i could see myself eating WAY more than a shot full of it (which is a good thing since we’ve a huge ass pot of it). The burgers: i give them a 4.6/5. they were mini, they were greasy, and doggonit i liked them! as far as the mac and cheese was concerned, hey! it’s mac and cheese. what’s not to like. i particularly like the cute little parmesan vessels they came in and the jalapeno accent on top. I give them a 4.44/5.

A happy drinkT: yeah those little parmesan vessels were incredibly cool. I absolutely loved the burgers and the mac n cheese. The soup was good, but not my favorite thing ever. I give the burgers a 4.6/5. They were super-duper. I give the mac n’ cheese a 4.7/5. I need to have many more bites of it since I’ve only had one thus far. I give the soup a 4.
A: i kind of figured that it wouldn’t be the ultimate soup for you…knowing that brothy chicken based soups are your key to comfort soup. I was particularly inspired to make a roasted veggie soup from nicole’s recent post about roasted cauliflower soup. mmm. Overall i’d have to say it was a pretty successful comfort food hors d’oeuvres party. more sliders anyone?!?
T: more mac n’ cheese, pleese.

Recipes in this post:

Food Pornalicious

Us — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:03:48 +0000

Pork chop, bulgur salad, and roasted asparagus getting it on

Pork loin chops marinated with blood orange juice, lime juice, rosemary, garlic, and chipotle puree grilled and served on a bed of smokey bulgur salad and topped with grilled asparagus. The bulgur salad is made with a medium grain bulgur, chunks of fresh charcoal-grilled sweet peppers, jalapeno peppers, tomatillos, pineapple, and fresh scallions all tossed together with a tangy lime vinaigrette.

A: mmm mmm mmm! it’s been ages since we’ve grilled! that’s a total shame, considering its always grilling weather here in san diego!
T: too bad it’s a pain in the butt to grill.
A: it’s not really a pain the butt to grill, it’s just a little more of a lengthy process since we only have a charcoal grill.
T: would you prefer to be using another type of grill?
A: not really. i prefer the smokey flavor that charcoal gives as opposed to a gas grill. so what’d you think about the bulgar salad?
T: that salad was OFF THE CHAIN. There was no chain involved with the salad. I can’t say enough about it. spicy pieces of grilled jalapeno, sweet grilled pineapple, and some extremely tasty bulgur. Mmmmm MMm.
A: sweet! i don’t know how we ever made it through our lives with out all the grain salads we eat these days! this one was particularly nice. it had everything: sweetness from the pineapple, tartness from the lime and tomatilla, spicy jalaps, crunchy green onions, and the whole thing was smokey to boot – given that all the ingredients other than the bulgur were grilled.
T: yeah. Mmm.. I could eat that stuff all day. Several days in a row. The pork chop was extremely tasty as well. I thought it went great with the salad, too.
A: yeah. i think it was just slightly overcooked though. i prefer my pork to be closer to medium than to well-done.
T: it was still nice and juicy though. What’s your rating tonight?
A: hmmm… i’m going to have to give this meal an overall rating of 4.34/5. it was totally yummy… and much healthier than some of the things we post! not that that really means too much to me
T: yeah right, you know you care. Well, i can’t understand how you didn’t give it a higher rating, considering how unreal that bulgar salad was.
A: yeah… if i were just rating the salad it probably would have gotten a 4.67/5 rather than a 4.34. the pork chop was good, but it wasn’t my best ever. i enjoyed the flavors of the chop’s marinade… i just left it on for a minute or two longer than i should have.
T: I agree that the marinade was super-awesome, but that the chop wasn’t the best that it could have been. I would give the chop a 4.4/5. I would give the marinade a 4.69/5. I would give the bulgur salad a 4.83/5.
A: wowsers, T! that sure is a mighty high rating! 4.83!
T: wowsers, A, that salad ROCKED.
A: well… do you have an overall meal rating? or are you going to make me average those three in my head to figure it out!
T: you’re going to have to figure it out in your head I suppose. I mean, we could use a calculator. Personally I don’t remember long division so those are really the only options as I see it.
A: oh, well, we could just guesstimate..i guesstimate you average is….some where around 4.6…3ish….
T: wrong. while you were guestimating I decided my overall rating was a 4.7/5.
A: damn it!

Recipes in this post:

Marinated Pork Tenderloin w/ garlic roasted asperagus and Thyme, Potato and Tomato Gratin

Us — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 01:36:04 +0000

Last night we ate pork tenderloin that was marinated in garlic, worchesteshire, sambal, and thyme for a couple of days. The pork was served with garlic roasted asperagus and a thyme gratin made with sweet potatoes, yukon golds, and tomatoes. The pork was accompanied by a reduction made from the marinade.

T: On the surface this meal looked like something any Suzie Homemaker would prepare… pork, asperagus, taters n’ cheese… don’t be fooled. This was no average meal.
A: Why thank you T… this is exactly the type of meal i would say any good housewife could make
T: Well, only the special housewives…
A: heheheh… you mean most housewives don’t have truffle oil… did we forget to mention the truffle oil i drizzled on the gratin before baking?
T: although, maybe our notions of a housewife are out of date… Whole Foods wasn’t around when we were forming our stereotypes.
T: nor was epicurious.com
A: this is true.. and i did buy the truffle oil at whole foods.. although the worker looked at me as if i were nuts, then had to go find the only bottle in the store from the deep dark scary storage areas.
T: wow that’s crazy… I mean, c’mon, it’s *truffle* oil. what gives?
A: I know! i stood in the oil aisle for like five minutes and finally had to ask somebody for help when i gave up the hunt. you know trader joes doesn’t have any either.. i guess only specialty stores do
T: weak… anyway, that was some absurdly good gratin last night. I mean, on the surface this looks like it could be an ordinary meal, but it was so damn tasty. And, each item went together sooo well. Especially the gratin and the pork.. I mean, that was a match made in heaven. Damn it, it’s the year 2005 .. uhh 2006 and we still don’t have smell-o-vision or smell-o-net or whatever. I wish we could share this stuff with our readers!
A: heheheh i know what you mean.. (even if we do sound like emeril, with the smell-o-vision thing) it would be great to be able to really allow people to get the full impact of a meal, not just a pic and words.
T: I didn’t realize that emeril talked about smell-o-vision… well, he’s so early 2000’s… it’s smell-o-net now baby. but seriously, yeah, the pictures help a lot, but they can’t do the meals justice.
A: tru dat my bwana… i do have to agree with you that each element of this meal was perfectly tied together, flavor wise. it really hit the spot for me.
T: ok, so whadaya give it?
A: I give this meal a 4.7/5. I really love pork tenderloin and this was one of the best i’ve eaten. it hit every aspect of my taste buds, it was salty, it was sweet, it was spicy, it was slightly tangy… it was just plain good. And everyone knows i’m a fool for cheese and truffles! (and potatoes and tomatoes)…
T: yeah, who isn’t. I give it a 4.85/5. Each element was superb, and it all went very well together. I don’t think it’s possible to do a whole lot better with pork, asperagus, and potatoes. It was incredibly impressive.
A: why thank you mista tyler! that means a lot… that’s quite a rating coming from you. Do you recall what L said last night? what her rating was (to be thorough)
T: ok, she said it was a total “wow”. also, she said she gave it a 4.9/5, but she would have given it a 5/5 but she didn’t want to be like paula abdul.
A: heheheh.. that just cracks me up, but i guess i do understand. We are secret idol watchers and it’s frustrating that paula gives everyone a really high rating all the time.
T: i like paula, I can’t say much bad about her… although she is clearly.. umm… medicated. If I had half the stuff she’s got pumping through her veins I would give everybody a 150/10 too.. but I’m not dissing her… I do like her.
A: Me too. and she has that dibilitating disease..poor paula.
T: yes. she does. gotta love paula. hope she’s back next season. hope she’s doin’ ok next year.
A: for sure. I just wanna give a quick shot out to the makers of Rogue Hazelnut Brown, it is one of the best beers out there and the people need to know about it.
T: yes, we will dedicate a post to it one of these days… it’s worth it.
A: no doubt.. but for now

Kwaherini mabibi na mabwana