Sweet Potato Casserole

I was in a mood for something sweet but not too much like a dessert. So here is what I decided to do to deal with that craving. Turns out, it was good as part of a meal and all by itself like a dessert. Yum!

Crunchy top and fluffy potatoes

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 medium sized sweet potatoes
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup bourbon
Handful of coconut chips

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup pecan, crushed by hand

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Microwave sweet potatoes under the baked potato setting and remove the skin. In a medium bowl, combine everything except for the topping, and beat well with a whisk. In a separate bowl, combine the topping ingredients, and mix well. Transfer the sweet potato mixture with the pecan topping and bake for 45 minutes.

There are good by themselves.

Dark rum would work, too.

Good as a side, even better as a small snack.

We want some, too...

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New Year's Mochi

We had special bowls of mochi for the new year as good luck. It's the year of sheep and it's my year that only comes around every 12 years, so I wanted to make a point to eat the mochi.

Mochi with sweet azuki beans.

We displayed this mochi for about a week as an offering to god, and ate it for good luck. So I guess we ate god's leftover...

Conveniently packaged for the occasion. This year is the year of sheep!

Cut it in half and broil them for several minutes.

Bubbled up nicely. Soft and gooey now.

Sweet azuki beans. 

Mochi starts to melt in the warm azuki soup.

Yum!

I can use every little thing to get me going with the new year instead of being dragged by the usual dread, and this helped! I don't mind eating this again! 

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Sausage, Kale and Parmesan Pasta

I had a few requests for the pasta recipe I tweeted today, so here I am. 

Sausage, Kale and Parmesan Pasta

4 sausage patties (or 2 mild Italian sausage links)
Sprinkles of red chili pepper flakes
1/2 cube chicken bullion
1/2 cup pasta water
2 cups cooked pasta
2 handfuls of kale
1 clove of garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Lots of grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkles of nutmeg, optional

Cook pasta. Reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water. In a skillet, cook sausage patties, garlic, chili pepper flakes. Add kale and cook some more. Add balsamic vinegar and place a lid on top. When the kale is welted, add pasta, cooking water, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Drizzle olive oil. 

I had leftover breakfast sausages. If you have Italian sausages, even better!

For more flavor.

Balsamic vinegar.
Just a little splash gives a tang and sharpness to the dish.

Nutmeg goes great with dark greens like kale.

I put lots and lots of Parmesan.

Done!

日本語でも書いておきました。Read on...

Secret Sushi Place...

Well, it's not so secret anymore. A lot of people have found out about this place already. Sushi House Hayakawa is our best kept secret in Atlanta. It's sort of become our tradition to have this sushi as one year ends and another year is about to begin. 

Yellow tail and Botan Ebi shrimp. 

Taisho, the owner and the chief sushi chef, Mr. Hayakawa.

California sea urchin on the left.
Japanese sea urchin, all the way from Tsukiji, is on the right.

What a clever presentation! We got to try both sea urchin to compare and compliment each other. The California sea urchin is creamy and sweet, the Japanese sea urchin is more briny but delicate. Both delicious.

Ikura, salmon roe. The flavor of my hometown.

"Hey, Taisho!" 

Sake "Dassai."
It's difficult to get hands on this bottle of sake even in Japan now.

This place is a special place where I feel like I'm in my hometown. Mr. Hayakawa happens to be from my hometown, so he can almost "read" what my faves are and what I'm looking for in good sushi.

Many celebrities like Harrison Ford and Paul Walkder (RIP) came here when they were filming in Atlanta. Try this place out the next time you're in town! (Make sure you sit in front of Mr. Hayakawa at the bar, so he makes the sushi for you.)



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Hot Spring Eggs Made from Frozen Eggs

I've been hearing about how tasty frozen eggs are. No, you don't eat them frozen: some people simply thaw them and eat just the yolk. Some people fry them. But I wanted to make hot springs eggs from them. This is my new way of cooking hot springs eggs now because it's so easy to do. 

The yolk is firmer and not runny. Freezing makes the yolk richer in taste.

Hot Spring Eggs Made from Frozen Eggs
(For two people)
2 eggs 
1 Tbsp noodle dipping sauce
Wasabi, optional

In a Ziploc bag, place eggs and freeze them for at least one full day. The shells may get cracked, but that's ok. In a medium sauce pan, bring water to boil, and gently drop the eggs. Cook them in the boiling water for 1 to 1.5 minutes, and take them off the heat. Leave them for 5 minutes in the hot water with a lid on. Move them in cold water for a few minutes. Crack them in a small bowl and serve with noodle dipping sauce and wasabi on top.

Frozen eggs. They are cracked. Make sure to use a Ziploc bag.

Enough water to immerse the eggs completely.

Wait for 5 minutes off the heat.

Cool it in water

Hot spring egg!

The egg yolk was firm and rich in flavor. The white came out a bit runny for my taste, but I can boil it just a little longer the next time. I like this method of making the hot spring eggs. It takes out the painstaking process of measuring the precise time and the temperatures during cooking. 

Read more on making of hot spring eggs...

• Let the Great Experiment Begin! Part I
• Let the Great Experiment Begin! Part II
• Let the Great Experiment Begin! Part III
• Hot Spring Egg in Microwave?

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Tomato and Okra Salad in Ponzu

This dish has been my go to tomato salad lately. You have tomatoes that are sitting around, try this dish and you'll discover new love for tomatoes!

Shiso adds a great accent to the dish.

Tomato and Okra Salad in Ponzu

1 large tomato, cut in bite sizes
3-4 okra, sliced thin
Handful of shiso leaves, julienned
Sprinkles of bonito flake furikake, optional
1 Tbsp ponzu 
Drizzle of sesame chili oil

On a salad plate, layer cut tomato, okra and shiso leaves. Sprinkle furikake, ponzu and sesame chili oil. Stir and enjoy!

Shiso leaves from our garden

We can still pick some vegetables from our garden.

These tomatoes are from the store. 

Keep layering! I like to put lots of okra and shiso. 

Furikake...a secret ingredient

Tada!

Enjoy!

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Food in Hawaii

Oh boy, did we stuff ourselves in Hawaii! How can this not affect your diet? 

Always start your day with fresh papaya!

Taro, tapioka coconut soup and acai bowl

Natto, ahi don at Kahala

Chirashi don at Kahala

Breakfast buffet at Kahala
Thin pancakes with coconut syrup were divine!

Seafood buffet at Kahala
Oysters were large and sweet.

Croissant with coconut syrup and butter?

Rum pop, black sesame mousse, chocolate mousse

Braised beef at Roy's

Refreshment at Kahala
You gotta hydrate yourselves.

Best Mai Tai in the world!

Deep fried whole red snapper at Roy's

Different angle

Mango mousse at Veranda, compliment of Kahala

ごちそうさまでした！

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