Food and Crafts for All Occasions

Yellowtail, Scallop and Octopus Ceviche in Jalapeno Leche de Tigre

Another warm week in Seattle and again I’m planning to battle the heat with my favorite weapon - food and drinks. My today’s arsenal consist of yellowtail, scallops, limes and hot peppers and I’m turning all these beauties into ceviche, which is, basically, fish or seafood marinated in tart citrus juice.

Japanese Style Salad with Bitter Greens, Tuna and Edamame Beans

As it often happens in life, happy periods of binging on pasta, potatoes and chocolate are followed by sad periods of remorse with one major question to answer - whether to buy a pant button extender kit or switch to healthier and leaner foods for a while?

Smoked Salmon Pâté

Remember our homemade smoked salmon I posted about here? Here’s how you can turn it into quite delectable pâté, so fast and easy to make it took more time for me to type this recipe than to actually make it.

Our Dinner the Other Night

Please, meet whole grilled Golden Pompano:

Green Egg Smoked Salmon

Several years ago Ilya and I had a gas grill and an electric smoker and thought we enjoyed grilling and smoking very much.  However, after we bought us a Green Egg, we finally understood what real grilling and smoking is all about. Even pizza in it cooks within 2 minutes and tastes like the one from a real wood oven.

Poached Salmon with Pernod, Fennel, Fresh Garbanzo Beans and Cream

To my taste, poaching is one of the best ways to cook salmon. When served together with poaching liquid, this salmon is referred to salmon a la nage. Despite its French name and seeming haute cuisine-ness, my dish is so simple and fast to make that you can easily cook it for a weekday dinner.

Traditionally, poaching is quite a long process. First, a poaching liquid, called court bouillon, is cooked. Then an item to be poached is fully submerged in it and left there on a low heat until done. Before or during poaching, some portion of the poaching liquid is taken out and turned into a sauce by mixing it with other ingredients and reducing to a proper consistency. Looks like a whole project, isn't it? That's why so many people either never bother themselves with poaching or do it only for special occasions.