Spotlight Post: Butter!

I Can't Believe it's not Butter

So remember a long time ago when I had that great idea to do posts about key ingredients and what not? Huh, do ya? Well this is one of those! I was thinking the other day, ya know, I try to use the best ingredients I can, yet I just use the cheap-o butter, and I thought there's got to be something better out there. Introduce Lurpak butter. European butters have a higher butter fat content which make them creamier and more deliciouser that regular butter, you can tell a huge difference. Go see for yourself, buy yourself some Lurpak and some nice bread, spread a little butter on there and if you're not convinced right there, then you've got issues. Price is actually about the same as regular butter, but I have seen it priced really high at places too, I paid $3.99. Anybody else out there using good butter?

Ahi Poke

We made sushi tonight and made some delicious rolls. However, our favorite dish of the night was some ahi poke (po-key) that we recreated from our trip to Hawaii, so thats the recipe thats going up. I also included some pictures of the sushi rolls. We used brown rice for the first time and it worked well but takes about an hour to make. We also made masago for the first time which was okay, but probably wont make it again. Here are all the rolls we made:

Urban Roll: Tuna, Avacado, Cream Cheese, Carrots, Siraccha, Sesame Oil

Spicy Tuna: Tuna, Cucumber, Avacado

Beth's Philly Roll: Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, Cucumbers, Carrots


Ahi Poke

Ingredients:

8oz. Ahi Tuna
2 green onions sliced thin
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro*
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon Sesame oil
1 teaspoon Crushed red pepper
salt or soy sauce to taste
sesame seeds for garnish

Method:
Dice ahi into small 1/8 inch cubes. Combine oil, crushed red pepper, ginger, cilantro, and green onions in a bowl. Add tuna and toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Add salt or soy sauce before serving.

Note: Poke can be served by itself, in a lettuce cup, or on a cracker (or in a sweet ass star shaped mold as pictured) It should also be served with an ice cold Asahi.

*if you happen to have fresh Hawaiian seaweed (Ogo) use that, or let me know where you find it in Ohio.

Spotlight: Corn Tortillas

I propose that we start, what I like to refer to as, a Spotlight post. These so called "Spotlight Posts" should be an opportunity to highlight certain items that you're diggin on. Without further ado, I give you- Corn Tortillas.

Corn Tortillas

So if you haven't used fresh corn tortillas for anything you are missing out. They have great flavor and add a little something extra to your tacos, enchiladas, and what have you. Biggs by me carries them, make sure to get the fresh ones, re-hydrating the dry ones is a waste of money. I've made simple chicken tacos with just grilled chicken, quac, and pico di gallo. I've also made steak tacos with carmelized onions, goat cheese, and habanero salsa. If you use them for tacos just stick them in a saute pan over medium-high heat for about 20-30 secs on each side and keep them warm in foil. Last night I made some chicken enchiladas. I used this Tyler Florence recipe for the enchiladas, except I used roasted pablanos instead of the canned chilis http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-enchiladas-recipe/index.html. I used this Emeril recipe for the sauce using Ancho and New Mexican chili powders http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/easy-enchilada-sauce-recipe/index.html. So get out there and get yourself some Corn Tortillas!