No Recipes – Techniques, inspiration and cooking tips from my Japanese kitchen

Meyer Lemon Icebox Cake

Last week I posted a recipe for Lemon icebox cake ice cream. I gave it that name, not because it has anything in common with the original dessert, but because it tasted just like it. In the comments, michelle @ TNS left a note asking about the original “cake” from which it got its name, [...]

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Creamed Corn and Sharp Cheddar Souffle

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I’ve always avoided making souffles telling myself that they were too complicated. Somewhere in the back of my mind was a voice telling me how easily they can go wrong. I had a late lunch today and wanted something light for dinner. A picture of a light fluffy corn souffle entered into my head. Before [...]

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Pain perdu (real French toast)

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I first came across this dish at Landmarc in Tribeca. It’s somewhere between “French” toast and bread pudding and with a caramelized buttery exterior and a custardy interior it makes for a sinful Sunday morning brunch. I used some good sandwich bread this morning (pictured), but this really works best with a crusty baguette. If [...]

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Shiso Wrapped Bass Dumplings in Dashi

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While dumplings can be a little labor intensive, they don’t have to be hard. Using whole pieces of marinated bass make this very simple to prepare and the results are definitely worth the effort. Since the fish is well marinated I go light on the salt in the broth and it makes for a light [...]

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Make fresh ginger last

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Fresh ginger is great, but it’s something I don’t use all the time and it usually goes bad or dries out by the time I want to use it again. Since I almost always use it in cooked food, I’ve found a good way to preserve it. Just peel and cut up the ginger, put [...]

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Japanese marinade

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This is a universal marinade used in Japanese cooking. Used fresh it’s great for marinating meats or fish and when cooked down, it makes a fabulous teriyaki sauce for grilled things (yaki-mono). I use this all the time and yet until today I never actually measured anything out. I tried to keep the proportions equal [...]

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Lemon Icebox Cake Ice Cream

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Since the strawberry buttermilk ice cream turned out so well, I thought I’d try the concept with some different ingredients. I picked up a few pounds of Meyer lemons from Whole Foods the other day, so that got me wondering what Meyer lemon ice cream would taste like. Then I started thinking about lemon icebox [...]

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Warm Winter Wheat Berry Salad

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Continuing on the no-meat kick after the ridiculously-bad-for-you-but-oh-so-delicious braised bacon, I decided to start experimenting with grains. Stopping by the Union Square Whole Foods, I picked up some roasted buckwheat and quinoa. What I really wanted was some delightfully chewy wheat berries, but they were completely out so I decided on the subway that I’d [...]

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