Thursday Dinner, done right.

I had been wanting to cook a big three course dinner for quite some time, and I finally found an opportunity to do do, my last night in SF before moving to Tahoe for the winter. The menu was ambitions. Roommates and friends were very excited, and I was anxious to try all new recipes. The menu was as followed:

1st Course -
Tuna tar tar served in avocado bowls
Sesame crusted seared ahi salad with sliced mango & avocado, served with a watercress & arugula salad with mango-citrus vinaigrette

2nd Course -
Dungeness crab bisque

3rd Course -
Roast beef with chimichurri sauce


The tuna tar tar came out fabulous. Lightly marinated in a bit of soy sauce, sirracha, sesame oil, and the key ingredient - Lime zest. The lime zest truly helped bring a great brightness to the tuna.


The seared tuna loin came out to perfection and paired very well with the mango vinaigrette.


I was most nervous about the bisque, having never made it before. I actually followed a recipe a read in the New York Times a while back which helped simplify the bisque. It turned out incredible. Fresh tarragon, dry sherry and of course the deliciously sweet dungeness crab truly shined in this delicate soup. Everyone at the table agreed this was the best dish of the night, including me. I couldn't get enough of it.

The roast beef came out delicious, however, it could have used a few more minutes in the oven to make it a beautiful medium rare. Having taken my first shot at making chimichurri sauce, I don't think I would change much. The medley of fresh herbs were fantastic with the salty steak. I highly recommend making this sauce for any piece of red meat you may cook. And, it keeps!

Recipes below:

Chimichurri Sauce:

• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup mint leaves
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 3/4 to 1 cup olive oil
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crab Bisque:

1 carrot, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs fresh tarragon

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup medium sherry

2 cups fish stock or clam broth

1/2 cup long-grain white rice

1 cup heavy cream

Cayenne pepper, to taste.

Salad Dressing:

mango

cilantro

chives

olive oil

lime juice

salt/pepper

brown sugar

Tuna Tar Tar:

soy sauce

ginger

lime zest

sesame oil

sirracha

Crab Season Part II - Cioppino

Its cold. Rainy. And Cold. What a better winter dish then a big pot of San Francisco Cioppino. San Francisco style because of the dungeness crab, and how it makes the stew very tasty. Having never made this dish before I called upon a few references. My good friend Travis is from Sicilian heritage and having had his cioppino last winter, I called on him for advice. His was of few words, keep it simple. Tomato sauce, white wine, garlic, maybe an onion, and fresh seafood. He added a few other suggestions on what he likes, and one I found really intriguing was to put some fish in at the beginning of the boil. What this does is add a thickener to the sauce, as well as give a really nice foundation of flavor into the tomato based stew. I took his advice and bought some tilapia, mussels and two very large dungeness crabs.

First starting with almost a handful of garlic, olive oil and half an onion. Then adding the tomato sauce, tomatoes, white wine, stock, and seasonings. I let this cook for about 45 min before adding the first portion of white fish. I added half of the tilapia, and then let it cook for about 20-30 min. Then added the crab and mussels letting them stew for about 15 min.

My friends arrived with an abundance of fresh Italian style bread and nice red wine. And then we feasted. No one spoke for about 5 min after getting their first helping of the hearty stew. We went through a full roll of paper towels and the bread was torn into like the vikings would during a feast. It was outstanding. Not much else could be said, other than this one is a keeper.

2 cans tomato sauce
1 can diced tomato
3/4 bottle of white wine
3 cups crab stock (made from shells)
1/2 an onion
bay leaf
oregano
salt
pepper
red chili flakes

talapia
crab
mussels

Mac & Cheese

I've had the itch to make mac 'n cheese for a while now. Coming up to Tahoe for an extended weekend gave me the perfect opportunity to make this body warming dish while outside it snowed two feet.


Through a couple tries I finally have a trio of cheese that I really like to use. Fontina for a great silky texture, white cheddar for that sharp taste, and Grueyer because, well its grueyer. This time, I happen to have some smoked grueyer from a previous sandwich making endeavor. It worked nicely adding a very rich flavor to the pasta.

Because everything is better with bacon, that's where I started. Some bacon diced up and fried until crispy. Then I added some minced shallots. A splash of white wine and let that reduce for a bit. I added about 1/2 up of whipping cream, some pepper (would have preferred white pepper, but none in the Tahoe pantry...) and then I added my cheeses. A dash of paprika and stirring until smooth.

I added my cheese mixture to the half cooked pasta elbows, topped with panko bread crumbs and popped it in the oven at 375* until golden brown.

Upon first dig, I realized my final product wasn't quite what I was looking for. Not all cheesy and gooey, but rather some very delicious and lightly flavored pasta. Note for next go, add more cheese.

All in all, the mac & cheese was delicous, and will be even better as a lunch!

Crab Rolls

It's crab season. One of the greatest things about living in San Francisco is its plentiful supply of fresh seafood. Crab season is the granddaddy of them all in my opinion, and not as celebrated as it should be. I was walking through whole foods yesterday and too my delight I saw a big display in the seafood section. "Fresh Crab, cooked at pier 45 - $5.99/lb" I pumped my fist. I made some calls, and figured what better way to watch a great monday night football game than with some crab rolls.

So, I bought a crab, painfully cracked & fished all the meat out and set it aside. When I was a little kid, my japanese grandpa had this incredible dipping sauce for fresh crab. It was the only way they could get me to eat the tasty crustacean. But, simply the right portions of soy sauce, lemon juice, and brown sugar makes this crab sing. I took this sauce and lightly marinated the crab in it. Not too much, just enough to coat the meat. Being in this wonderful state, there is no better addition to a sandwich than fresh sliced avocado. The bread was Acme cibatta, toasted with olive oil & butter. This sandwich on its own is incredible. San Franciscans, and those that live somewhere near fresh crab, do this! Added to the center point was a no-mayo coleslaw comprised of carrots, cabbage, radishes, cilantro, and jalepenos. Dressed with redwine viniger, dijon mustard, and a touch of honey. Great contrast to the rich crab. To make it complete with the football theme, a baked potato.

What a great start to the week. Go eat some crab!