Sunday dim sum at T&T

As you all may know, I love Asian food (Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, doesn't matter). Most of my posts are about Asian food and this one is no different.

A week ago we went out on Saturday night to celebrate a friend's birthday. Definitely had a great time and needed a solid brunch the next morning to recover from the earlier night's festivities. Instead of going to our brunch favorite Epulo, I remembered that T&T, our favorite north end Chinese restaurant, just started to serve dim sum!

I usually order the same thing for dim sum every time. Shu mai, ha gao, garlic spare ribs, hum baos, chinese broccoli, various other shrimp related dishes, and end with some sweet delicious egg tarts.

Unfortunately T&T's dim sum didn't really live up to our expectations. We still wanted to write a post about T&T because to date we haven't found another place that serves dim sum up north. Also I still love eating dinner here, which we did later in the week. The roast duck was crispy and juicy. The dim sum was decent, but a little bland. I felt like I had a cold or my taste buds weren't working at 100% because the flavor just wasn't there.

The highlight of the meal for Emi was the Chinese broccoli and the baked hum baos. They glazed the buns with honey which added a little bit of sweetness to the salty pork stuffing.

The egg tarts weren't all that great. Not very flaky or sweet which is what I'm looking for in my egg tarts.

Overall the experience was decent, but not great. I'm happy to have a dim sum option ten minutes from home, the food came out quick and hot, and it was nice to change things up from our normal Sunday brunch. Also they just started serving dim sum, so hopefully they are still working out some of the kinks in their service.

Next time I'll be sure to broaden beyond my regular dishes to see if I was missing out on anything. Also let us know if you have any other good dim sum options up north.

- Kyle

Recipe of the Week: Truffle and Chantrelle Pizza

As I write this blog post, it is snowing outside and I am sitting in front of a warm, blazing fire. Nothing like a delicious and warm meal to heat you up on a cold, winter day!

Chantrelles are on sale right now at Central Market, so I picked up a pound with no solid plans for it. A couple days later, I realized I had to use it and incidentally also had a flashback to my amazing experience at Serious Pie last winter and that awe-inspiring truffle pizza that still brings tears to my eyes...

This is my attempt to recreate it, and I must say it turned out better than I expected given the fact that I am an amateur and lack a wood burning oven. Plus, Tom Douglas is a culinary God, and has access to the best ingredients in town. I have some good ingredients, but chose to be a slacker and used store bought pizza dough. I made Kyle make a side trip on the way home from work to get the dough from Trader Joe's.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chantrelle mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic
• Olive Oil
• Sea salt and pepper
• 1 TBS butter
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup truffle cheese (you can also find this at Trader Joe's for pretty cheap)
• A pinch of truffle salt
• A couple of drops of truffle oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees--I like a really hot oven, and find that the temp that the pizza dough packages suggest is often too low (usually 450 or so, which doesn't cook the dough very well)
• Heat large pan with oil
• Smash garlic cloves and put in pan to infuse oil with garlic
• Add butter
• Add chopped chantrelles and saute until mushrooms are tender, remove garlic
• Roll out dough and place on pizza stone. My friend and fellow blogger, Carol, suggested that I put parchment paper under the dough and slide it out midway through cooking--this is a great tip and always helps to make the pizza crisp up better!
• Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the dough
• Add the chantrelles and garlic infused oil to the top
• Sprinkle the cheeses over the mushrooms as well as a couple of pinches of truffle salt
• Sprinkle sea salt over the edges of the dough for a salty crunch
• Pop it in the oven for about 15 minutes or until dough browns up and is to your liking
• Once done, take out of oven and add a couple drops of truffle oil over the top
• ENJOY!

This pizza was really good as leftovers, just put in a 350 degree oven for about 5-7 minutes.

Happy Eating,
Emi

Sushi Sake Fest

One of my favorite events of the year is the Annual Sushi and Sake Fest that benefits Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project. The first time I attended this all you can eat, all you can drink event, I was 20 and serving as a volunteer at the event. My mouth watered as I watched hundreds of guests gorge themselves on Seattle's best sushi and sake. The next year, I was 21, and Kyle and I came back as guests and feasted until we almost burst; we decided not to eat sushi until the next year's festival.

The idea is genius: take the best sushi restaurants in town, and offer a sampling of their best sushi (all you can eat). Add in sake and Japanese beer distributors (all you can drink) and you have my slice of heaven. And, it all goes to a great cause.

In the past, there were over 10 different sushi restaurants represented. This year they had a different format that included a sit down meal in addition to four different sushi restaurants sampling their delicious sushi. Featured above is Nishino's, which is located in Madison Park and is one of the best spots in town for sushi.

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned the fabulous Hiroshi's, as one of my favorite sushi restaurants, located in Eastlake. He has been a part of many special events in my life. I held my UW graduation party at his restaurant and he catered a dinner for Kyle and I during our wedding week with a full sushi bar. He also is a great supporter of our Seattle Japanese American community and volunteers his labor and yummy sushi every year at the Sushi Sake Fest. Thank you for another great sushi feast, Hiroshi!

One of our favorites at every Sushi Sake Fest is Sushi Zen, which is located in Mill Creek. They featured an awesome roll that was topped with a seaweed salad. The crunchy effect it left behind in my mouth was superb! I think my mom and Kyle went back over 5 times because they loved it so much.

This gentleman came all the way from Japan to sample his amazing sake. There were six different sake stations that had a variety of different sakes. One of our favorites was a sparkling sake that was lighter and sweeter than the typical sake.

The plated meal included a rib eye steak, miso black cod, bok choy and a really delicate and delicious tofu dish. However, I would have preferred to spend the remaining part of the room in my stomach on more sushi!

We ended the night with a chocolate cake, green tea ice cream and strawberry mochi. YUM!

 

Next year come and join us for a great night supporting an even greater charity!

 

Happy Eating,

Emi

Rachel Ray You've Done It Again - Balsamic Pork Tenderloins

Since Emi was out of town enjoying a girl's weekend, I took it upon myself to go grocery shopping and to cook the week's meals. The first cookbook I turned to for inspiration was my first cookbook ever, Rachel Ray's Top 30 - 30 minute meals - Guy Food. It's such a simple cookbook, yet I have about 5 regular meals from this cookbook, plus I keep discovering new ones which brings us to the Balsamic Pork Tenderloins.




This was an amazing meal, one of my new all-time favorites. I smiled after taking the first bite of the tender, flavorful, and juicy pork tenderloin.

What you'll need:

• 2 pork tenderloins (2 and 1/4 pounds total)


• Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling (3 T)


• EVOO, for drizzling


• 4 cloves garlic, cracked


• 2 T sea salt and freshly ground black pepper


• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme, leaves stripped and finely chopped

What to do:

• preheat oven to 500 degrees


• Place tenderloins on a nonstick cookie sheet with a rim


• Coat tenderloins in balsamic vinegar (I used cheap balsamic and it still tasted amazing), rubbing vinegar into the meat. Don't worry about getting dirty, you will.


• Drizzle tenderloins with evoo, just enough to coat.


• Cut small slits into meat and disperse chunks of cracked garlic into the meat (tasty nuggets of deliciousness)


• Combine sea salt and pepper with rosemary and thyme and rub meat with blend (you really can't overdo the salt, pepper, and fresh herbs).


• Roast in hot oven 20-25 minutes, let meat rest, transfer to carving board, slice and serve.

What an explosion of flavors. Everything stands out from the sea salt and roasted garlic to the fresh rosemary and thyme, with a spicy kick from black pepper, all with a sweet essence from the balsamic vinegar.

Sometimes the most simple meals are also the most delicious. This was a good example of that. From prep to finished and in my belly, this meal took less than 45 minutes to make.

- Kyle

French Wine Tasting - Chardonnay

We've been having so much fun tasting French wine that I couldn't wait to go pick up something different and this time went with a white wine. We prefer reds and rarely drink white wine, but if we do drink white, it's usually a Chardonnay.


Also the meal I made for Emi asked for a little bit of white wine, so I figured the wine would pair well with the food.

• Name - Macon-Villages - Louis Jadot - Chardonnay - 2009
• Cost - $15 - Central Market
• Our Take - Emi described this Chardonnay as less buttery than most Chardonnays she has tried in the past. It wasn't as overpowering for me where some Chardonnay's are sort of sour and not very pleasant with their aftertaste. Similar to the French Pinot Noir we tried earlier in the week, this wasn't as strong as we expected. It was light, sweet, and paired well with the meal.

I paired the wine with Rachel Ray's real deal caesar salad and Mark Antony's scampi topping. I think it was the first time I've ever made a caesar salad from scratch. It turned out really well, but took a lot of steps which I don't really feel like listing here. However if you are interested, pick up Rachel Ray's Top 30 - 30 minute meals - Guy Food cookbook or just look it up online.

The best part of the salad was the scampi topping. I will list that recipe.



What you'll need:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• a pinch crushed red pepper flakes


• 2 T EVOO
  
• 10 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (Central Market has a great deal going on right now)
  
• a shot of white wine

Heat the garlic and crushed red pepper in oil over med-high heat until the garlic speaks. Add shrimp and cook for a minute on each side, keeping pan moving with vigorous shakes to avoid burning the garlic. Douse with a little white wine and serve on top of the caesar.

This scampi topping goes with anything, over pasta, any type of salad, even by itself. Also it's really easy, I highly recommend it and make sure to pair it with a nice glass of Chardonnay.

- Kyle

Wonton Noodle House

Again another reason why we love living up north; the newly opened Wonton Noodle House. This place was recommended by my aunt and uncle who have also been to one of our favorite noodle places, Mike's Noodle House in Chinatown.

Now instead of having to drive down south, we only have to drive five minutes north to get a warming delicious bowl of soup.

The Wonton Noodle House is located north of Ranch 99. It's in a separate strip mall. You can't miss it if you drive north on 99 past Ranch 99. It's on the right hand side.

We ordered a side of gai lan (Chinese broccoli) and I got the beef brisket and siu kau soup. The noodles were egg noodles just like at Mike's. I think Mike's was a little more flavorful and saltier (which was a good thing in this case). However the closer location, no lines, I can pay with a credit card, and the diversity of their menu makes this a better choice than Mike's. We'll have to go back soon.

- Kyle

French Wine Tasting - Bourgogne - Pinot Noir

Last Friday, instead of going to the gym, we decided to make an excursion to Central Market to pick up a new bottle of French wine and some more food to supplement Emi's planned dinner.



One of the reasons we love Central Market is because they have an awesome wine selection and a helpful and informative staff. Since we know almost nothing about French wine, we asked the wine expert at Central Market to give us a quick French wine 101. He shared some great tips that I noted in Monday's blog post.







Since we told him we really enjoy Willamette Valley Pinot Noir's we thought we would try out a French version. He recommended a Pinot Noir from the Bourgogne region. Understanding our need for an economical wine, he thought this might be a good choice. Also this wine was supposedly an exception to the rule that a bottle that highlights a single variety like Pinot Noir in this case is usually cheap and not very good. We had to try the wine to find out.



Bottle #3 - Bourgogne Pinot Noir:

• Name - 2007 - Joseph Drouhin - Laforet Bourgogne Pinot Noir


• Price - $15 - Central Market


• Winery Notes - Burgundian style, fruity, easy to drink and elegant.


• Our Take - we noticed right away before even opening the bottle that the color of the wine was lighter than the dark red Pinot Noir's we have tried in the past. This did translate to the taste as well. It was much lighter and less bold than what we were expecting. Not sure if all French Pinot Noirs are like this, but something to note for next time. It was smooth and a decent wine, but not really our preference.

We paired the wine with Emi's butternut squash soup and some delicious, flavorful, and tender lamb chops. We haven't had lamb chops in awhile, mainly because they cost $15 a pound. However Central Market had them a little cheaper so we bought some to pair with this wine.



My favorite way to cook lamb chops is to first season generously with sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and a little bit of MSG. Then I broil them on high for about 6-8 minutes per side. You don't want to overcook them because you want them to be tender.



Next up will be some white wines from France.



- Kyle