(T.V.) Dinner for One

So, I just had a whirlwind trip to Vegas with five of my closest girlfriends (you know, one of those where you arrive midday Saturday, party all night, get no sleep, and hop back on a plane at 6 in the morning to return home). Suffice it to say, Sunday (today) has consisted of me detoxing, drinking tons of water, and catching up on sleep. By 6 p.m. I was ready for dinner, but not in the mood to drive anywhere, so rummaging through my cupboard and refrigerator, I threw together the following t.v. dinner (I ate it very satisfyingly in front of my television).

Asian-Italian Fusion Noodles

2 rolls bean thread noodles

1 green onion, chopped

1 T. sweet white onion, chopped

1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced

1 T. sun-dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil, coarsely chopped

1/2 T. fresh basil, chopped

1 sardine, chopped (about 1/3 can of sardines in olive oil)

1 T. Grapeseed oil

1/2 T. unsalted butter

1 T. soy sauce

Soak the noodles in very hot water while preparing the rest of the dish. Saute half of the green onion with the white onion, and garlic for about 5 minutes in the grapeseed oil and butter on medium heat (the white onion will start to turn translucent). Add the sun-dried tomatoes and sardine. Drain the noodles and roughly cut them with kitchen shears. Remove the saute from heat and toss the noodles in. Using tongs, toss in the basil and soy sauce. Top with the remaining green onion and serve. The beauty of this dish is that you don't really need to season, not even with salt (the soy sauce and sardines have plenty of salt).

Cheese Plate for Dessert

Jarlsberg

Irish Cheddar

Gruyere

1 T. pepper jelly

Not sure that these cheeses completed complimented each other, but they are what I had in the fridge, so I enjoyed about a tablespoon-sized portion with each for dessert. I used the individual pieces of cheese as the carrier for the pepper jelly.

Jack n' Jill's in Santa Monica

We have been here several times before, since it's walking distance from Mylo's place, but this morning was the first visit in a while. It's a little breakfast and lunch place in Santa Monica that originated in Beverly Hills (it has these two locations). The Santa Monica location (on Santa Monica Blvd. about 5 blocks east of the water) used to be called Blueberry. Not sure of the logistics behind the name change since people who have been to its other such-named place have said that the food is similar. I never went to the earlier location, but I like Jack n' Jill's. It's small, cozy, has its own organic charm.

Because there is usually a wait outside on weekends, they have complimentary freshly brewed iced green tea outside for anyone. Once inside, you order your food at the counter, and they hand you a number to put on your table so that when your food is ready, they will know where to bring your order. They have seating upstairs and on the ground floor where they proudly display a small assortment of pastries and cupcakes. They also have iced water with citrus slices in it on both levels for patrons to refill their cups at their leisure. Their coffee is brewed quite nicely, too.

On this trip, I ordered a breakfast wrap that included eggs, avocado, tomatoes, cheese and bacon (I did without these two) and chives wrapped in lavash and served with my choice of breakfast potatoes, cheese grits, or cottage cheese. Mylo order lox, onions, and eggs, topped with sour cream and capers. His entree came with a plate of their mini blueberry muffins.

I've ordered the eggs benedict in past visits (since I have to try eggs benedict wherever I go that it's offered) and I was not disappointed. Although the hollandaise was a little thick, it was delicious. Maybe because it's so thick I didn't get too much of it, so I had to ask for a little extra on the side. They promptly provided, no questions asked. Their service has actually always been good. Your coffee cup will never go empty and your table will always be cleaned.

Their menu has many healthy and interesting options for a place as small as theirs. A few of my favorites: the Beverly Frittata (egg whites, spicy ground turkey, grilled onions, tomato, garlic and mozzarella cheese served pancake style), the Breakfast Panini (three over hard eggs and turkey bacon, cheddar cheese, tomatoes and avocado all grilled in a crispy Panini), and any of their pancake stacks.

All in all, Jack n' Jill's in Santa Monica is a solid weekend breakfast experience. I would recommend to most anyone.

Jack n' Jill's
510 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 656-1501
http://www.eatatjacknjills.com/

Quick Shrimp Salad Dinner

It's Friday night, and I'm stuck in traffic on the freeway on my way home. Mylo might beat me to my place, so I need to think of something quick, easy, and light for dinner. Hmmm... Aha! What about a shrimp salad? I could buy frozen, uncooked, peeled, and deveined shrimp. I've always got mixed greens in my fridge. And tomatoes and garlic in my window sill. I would just grab some crumbled goat cheese and already sliced mushrooms to add...and a bottle of white. My wine fridge is overtaken with my favorite reds. I'd need a milder white with shrimp, like a hearty Chardonnay, something that would stand up to the garlic and shrimp.

Trader Joe's is on my way home, so it wasn't difficult to stop in and quickly grab the shrimp, sliced mushrooms, some crumbled goat cheese, a bunch of basil (always good to have on hand) and a Rodney Shaw Chardonnay. I was on my way home and ready to start dinner.

Quick Shrimp Salad

1 bag of frozen, uncooked, peeled and deveined, shrimp

4 oz. sliced mushrooms, white or cremini

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 bag of mixed greens

2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup of basil, julienned

1/4 cup of crumpled goat cheese

1-2 T. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Soak the bag of shrimp in room temperature water for 30 minutes or so (depending on how frozen the shrimp are). When they are thawed, heat a large pan and add the EVOO. Drop the shrimp in and salt and pepper. When the shrimp start to turn color, add the mushrooms and 4 T. of garlic, and season with more salt and pepper (season along the way). When the mushrooms start to release some moisture and the shrimp are opaque, remove from heat. Put the mixed greens in a bowl and toss in the basil and tomatoes. Salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and shrimp, juices and all, and the other 4 T. of garlic to the salad and toss gently. Sprinkle the goat cheese over top. Serve immediately.

Valentine's Dinner

All opinions of Valentine's Day aside, it still provides a good excuse to cook a slightly nicer dinner. Mylo had his choice of menus for the evening. Beef, fish, or lamb. He chose fish, so I prepared a salmon stuffed with three kinds of mushrooms, wrapped and sauteed in rice paper, and served atop a bed of mixed greens that covered a small bunch of asparagus and a flattened mound of garlic fingerling mashed potatoes. I do not typically follow recipes (like my mother or her mother or her mother's mother, etc.), but I prefer to go by taste, usually my taste.

The stuffed fish is a variation on a dish that I learned at Hip Cooks (a fun, simple, and tasty cooking class offered near downtown Los Angeles by a fun, wacky, and affable teacher, Chef Monika; it focuses on fundamentals and easier recipes that are beginner-cook-friendly; I highly recommend Hip Cooks as a social outing among a group of girlfriends; http://www.hipcooks.com/). The periphery (micro greens, asparagus, and mashed potatoes) I added myself.

Stuff Salmon with Three Kinds of Mushroom
4 individual serving salmon filets, skinned and boned
6 ozs. each of button, cremini, and oyster mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, yellow or white, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 T. unsalted butter
4 T. olive oil, preferably extra virgin (EVOO)
4 large rice paper (spring roll) wrappers
chives
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

In a large sauce pan, saute the mushrooms, garlic, and onion with 2 T. each of the butter and oil, adding salt and pepper to taste. Cut the salmon filets length-wise, horizontally, to the middle. Soak the rice paper in hot water, one at a time, until soft. When the mushrooms are softened, spoon a large portion into the salmon filet. Put 2-3 chives on top of the stuffed salmon filet lengthwise (this is more decorative than for taste). Carefully wrap the stuffed filet with the softened rice paper, especially the stuffed portion of the filet. Saute all sides evenly in the remaining 2 T. of butter and oil (add more if you need to) until the salmon is no longer translucent, but a healthy thick pink.

From here, I laid the salmon on top of a bed of mixed (or micro) greens drizzled with EVOO and flavored with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Underneath the mixed greens, I placed a flattened portion of multi-colored fingerling mashed potatoes and sauteed asparagus. Approximates below.

Sauteed Asparagus
1 bunch of asparagus
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T. unsalted butter
2 T. EVOO
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Either shave the asparagus stalks (using a vegetable peeler, remove the outer layer of the asparagus skin from the middle of the stalk to the bottom) or cut them (bend one of the stalks until it breaks; where it breaks, line up the rest of the bunch to this stalk, and cut the bunch to the same length). This ensures that you are using the tenderest part of the asparagus stalks. Heat a sauce pan with the butter and EVOO. Add the garlic and asparagus and saute until carmelization starts (e.g., it browns).

Fingerling Mashed Potatoes
(I used a mixed array of colored potatoes, but the mashed potatoes looked too much like Play-Do, so stick with one color of potatoes)
1 bag of fingerling potatoes (they usually come in small bags)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 T. EVOO
4 T. unsalted butter
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Wash the potatoes and put them in a pot of cold water (make sure they are all covered in the water). Bring the water to a boil with the potatoes in the pot. When they are fork-tender, remove them from the water, and mash them (skins and all) with the garlic, EVOO, and unsalted butter. Add oil, butter, salt and/or pepper as needed (remember to taste along the way).

Plating the Dish
Place a healthy portion of the mashed potatoes in the center of a plate (preferably a white plate) and flatten. Place 4 of the asparagus stalks on top of the potatoes. Put a bunch of mixed greens on top and drizzle with EVOO, adding salt and pepper to taste. Place the salmon (chives side up) on top of the mixed greens. Serve immediately and enjoy!