March 31, 2017 Lunch – Japanese Kitchen, Dinner – Grilled Halibut, Sautéed Turnips and Chard, and Green Rice

March 31, 2017 Lunch – Japanese Kitchen,   Dinner – Grilled Halibut, Sautéed Turnips and Chard, and Green Rice

This morning instead of working I had to go to my doctor’s office to have an emergency removal of a hemorrhoid that has burst and was bleeding.  I finished the procedure at 11:15 and drove to Costco to pick up the medicine the doctor prescribed.  While I was waiting for the prescription to be filled I went to see what was offered in the weekly Seafood Fiesta.  There was fresh halibut and frozen Dungeness crabs.  I bought two halibut filets and a crab.  I also found a new item, finely ground almond flour from California.

Then Robert Mueller called and suggested that we go to lunch.  We decided to meet at his favorite sushi restaurant, Japanese Kitchen.

When I arrived he met me at the door and guided us to the sushi bar where we took seats in front of his favorite sushi chef, who Robert knows personall4.00.  Robert also ordered sake and
March 31, 2017 Lunch – Japanese Kitchen,   Dinner – Grilled Halibut, Sautéed Turnips and Chard, and Green Rice

This morning instead of working I had to go to my doctor’s office to have an emergency removal of a hemorrhoid that has burst and was bleeding.  I finished the procedure at 11:15 and drove to Costco to pick up the medicine the doctor prescribed.  While I was waiting for the prescription to be filled I went to see what was offered in the weekly Seafood Fiesta.  There was fresh halibut and frozen Dungeness crabs.  I bought two halibut filets and a crab.  I also found a new item, finely ground almond flour from California.

Then Robert Mueller called and suggested that we go to lunch.  We decided to meet at his favorite sushi restaurant, Japanese Kitchen.

When I arrived he met me at the door and guided us to the sushi bar where we took seats in front of his favorite sushi chef, who Robert knows personall4.00.  Robert also ordered sake and I ordered green tea.

Robert asked about the chef’s boys while he made our order.  Chirashi B involves two round bowls.  One is filled with an assortment of sliced fish and seafood, including, mackerel, red snapper, wedges of egg omelet, yellowtail, tuna, a surf clam, a scallop, salmon, squid and octopus.  In the other bowl is the bed of sushi rice garnished with a slice of unagi smeared with BBQ sauce, plus sweet pickles and a slice of pickled daikon.   It is a good assortment of items and a special treat.

When I returned home I fetched a bottle of Concannon 2008 Sauvignon Blanc.

Suzette arrived at around 5:45 and we discussed dinner.  We both agreed that we needed to cook the halibut but we were not agreed on what vegetable to eat with it.  I wanted to sauté Fresh chard from the garden, but we both knew there were cooked artichokes that needed to be eaten.

We finally decided to grill the artichokes tomorrow with a steak, if they were still good.

So we went to the garden and picked a basket of chard.  Suzette then picked a handful of small turnips from their raised bed.  Suzette destemmed the chard leaves while I thinly sliced the five or six turnips and ½ of a medium red onion.  We decided to sauté all three ingredients with sliced almonds and green raisins.  We heated butter and olive oil and then added the turnips and red onion.  After five minutes I added salt, white pepper and about 1 tsp. of dried marjoram.  Then we added the chard and covered the skillet with the wok cover to sweat the ingredients.  Suzette then heated the PPI Green Rice in the microwave.  After another five to ten minutes, When the halibut was cooked, we were ready to eat.

The best halibut we ever ate was bought at Nantucket Shoals several years ago and grilled with lemon slices and butter.  Fresh and simple is the best for fresh fish because it allows you to taste the freshness of the fish. This halibut was equal in freshness and flavor to that halibut.  If I recall correctly the Nantucket Shoals halibut was $20.00/lb.  Costco charged $11.95 for this fresh halibut. So in the last five years the freshest halibut has gone down 40%.  God bless Costco.

I poured glasses of the Concannon Sauvignon Blanc.  It was clearly past its prime.  It had lost the citrusy fruity flavor and was a little oxidized bot still drinkable.  I pit ice cubes into the wine to lighten its flavor profile a little bit.

The Green Rice was basmati rice that Suzette stirred fresh sorrel pesto into that she made with sorrel from our garden.

I was amazed by the freshness of all the dishes.  Everything was wonderfully fresh except for the Green Rice, which should have been heated with a little water to re-steam it and rehydrate it because it had a little tough texture.

All in all the meal was fabulous, although not perfect, due to the fresh fish and sautéed vegetable medley.  Next time I will suggest we not use sliced almonds, because they counter the fresh ingredients by absorbing the fresh vegetable juices and gumming up their fresh texture.

Bon Appetit