There's nothing not to love about having packages of thinly-sliced domestic Wagyu beef in the freezer, and this meal just further underscored that fact. All it took was some sweet potato and kale from the store to begin the long journey back from sugar-heavy holiday excesses in fine style. I steamed rounds of the spuds, and when soft, dressed them with a mixture of reduced carrot-orange juice (also from the store) and gorgeous near-locally made white miso which I strained to keep the lumps out of the final product. I made oshitashi with the kale, and the stems littering the cutting board got me thinking; I browned them in a little smoked duck fat, then deglazed and steamed them with sake until just al dente. I rolled little bundles of these up in the beef, pinned them with little skewers, and quickly sautéed them. In the same pan I whipped up a little sauce of the juices, ponzu, mirin, spicy pickled onion juice, and an egg yolk whisked in to give it some body, and I sprinkled a little togarashi over the finished plates. They worked very well, and offered a good way to showcase the considerable character of one of the humblest of kitchen scraps.
I dressed the kale with soy sauce, yuzu juice, and ume vinegar. It really is a delightful way to serve any dark greens.
There were a few beers left in the fridge by the people who stayed here while we were gone, so I drank a couple. There's a not-inconsiderable pleasure to cold beer on a cold night, provided the food is warm enough to make it all work out all right. Given that it's in the single digits out there right now, it looks like this will be a pleasure I can afford myself a great deal in the coming months.
9 comments:
Gorgeous, inventive! Did you make the miso, or is it a local product you bought?
Very beautiful. It always amazes me that you always seem to just have stuff like this lying around to create these masterworks.
Julia: Updated, with link. Mother Earth's has it, though with their customarily egregious markup.
SdOC: Well, apart from the beef in the freezer (about a third of a pound) this was just kale and sweet potatoes and some pantry staples.
You're very creative. Perhaps you should consider a career in the arts? Where do you get your Wagyu?
Beautiful and I agree with your take on cold beer + cold night + warm food = nice feelings.
Traveling with a small child in the teeth of a storm just makes it all the more fun, doesn't it? Auwe!
Those pretty little meat rolls. Clever, and so Japanese.
(BTW: There was no rib cap on the rib roast we bought this year. It had already been trimmed off!!!)
Happy new year, Peter.
Kristie: From a Japanese market in NJ.
Danisse: Yeah, there's something there. I like your plates, btw.
Zoomie: Not so much, though he handled it better than we did.
CC: Those bastards! Ours still had it on, though I left it there since there wasn't time to get all fancy.
Blanche: And to you and yours.
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