Mr. Tess brought me a book about Japanese vegetable carving from Tokyo Fish Market when he visited San Francisco last February; I’d not tried my knife skills on any vegetables.
These little cucumber cups, called King’s Crowns in the book, didn’t look too difficult for a first attempt at decorative vegetable carving.
My daughter is visiting again, and she loves tuna, so of course I had to make this unique seared tuna for her.
Recipes for seared tuna are very plentiful online: page after page, but this recipe is unique! The black sesame seeds for the coating are toasted and lightly crushed to release maximum flavor. They are added to the marinade to absorb even more flavor. The fish is coated with both the sesame seeds and a little flour, then deep-fried—a technique that ensures maximum crispness on the outside, and tender nearly uncooked tuna inside. Very luscious. You’ll note that my pictures to illustrate the recipe did not turn out well at all, and the good news is that I’ll have to make this dish again to show off how amazingly wonderful it is.
These past few weeks have been wonderful with having us all together: Mr. Tess suggested that this occasion was suitable to open the bottle of apple brandy we got in Normandy, in 1999.
In the autumn of 1998, we got a phone call from a man asking to speak to “Jack” (Mr. Tess’s father), who had died in 1972. The stranger was a paratrooper in Normandy on D-Day, as was “Jack.” The fellow had a picture from “Newsweek” magazine with a picture of “Jack” carrying an injured French boy—and he knew that boy, now grown up, who wanted to meet and thank “Jack.”
South East Michigan got 6″-7″ of snow the other day, and now the night-time temperatures are 0*F (or insignificantly better), with high winds. Miserable climate! One of my cats is desperate to go outside, moaning and clawing the carpet to get my attention. This weather is also making me claustrophobic. What better time, then, to have some nabemono? This Japanese hot pot meal is easy to make, delicious, and hearty.
Tess's Japanese Kitchen 