Trip to NYC (Winter 2012)...DAY 2: Quick Middle-Eastern Lunch

It was a very nice day in NYC. All day, the weather was sunny and warm for its winter.

During the day, Hattori-san and I were busy running around to shop for additional stuff needed for our exhibition booth at the trade show which will start tomorrow.

We took a short brunch break at Hummus Kitchen in Hell's Kitchen. It's a cute Middle-Eastern restaurant. Black mint tea was quite strong. maze of assorted dishes was nice.

Green shakshuka was a Mediterranean stew of tomato, bell peppers, onions, with 2 over-easy eggs and spinach. The dish was served in a hot skillet.

It was so filling!

Trip to NYC (Winter 2012)...DAY 1: Dinner at wd-50

My business trip to New York has started today.

Just as all my past trips to NYC in the past couple of years, I took the earliest flight from LAX to NYC. My pick up came 4.30am(!) and I slept more than half way through the flight. Then, I had the same breakfast (fruits plate) as the past times before arriving at JFK.

My hotel this time was a brand-new hotel (opened just last year) and it's just a couple of blocks from the venue of the trade show we will be attending. The hotel is so futuristic cool and fun! I liked the sunset view from my room.

I met Yasuhiro-san (president of Nagatani-en and he is also the 8th generation of this family-owned company) and Hattori-san (also from Nagatani-en) in the evening. They also arrived in NYC today, all the way from Iga. I was so happy to see them again! We took a cab to Lower East Side to go to wd-50 for dinner. Yes, Chef Wylie Dufresne's wd-50! I made a reservation weeks in advance for tonight. I was so excited to try his dishes.

I think we got the best table in the restaurant, because from our table, we could see the full front view of the kitchen an see all the actions of Chef Wylie and crew. I was so thrilled. My aperitif cocktail, Que Pasa Calabaza? (tequila, squash, yuzu, & black salt) was smooth and refreshing. We decided to do chef's Tasting Menu! The amazing dinner experience had begun.

Here are what we had...

Tai snapper, blood orange, black garlic, amaranth jam/ Everything bagel, smoked salmon threads, crispy cream cheese/ Foie-lafel (fried foie gras ball in crushed chick peas and fava beans crust, tahini sauce, mini pita bread, barley salad.)

Poached egg in the shell, pumpernickel, casar dressing, lily bulb...all three of us were totally shocked how interestingly detailed and how delicious this dish was! This was the best dish of the night to me. The egg shell was made of edible clay (but it looked so real) and very nicely flakey. Egg was perfectly runny and when its flavor was combined with the caesar sauce, it created a whole new sensation in the palate. Bravo.

Rock shrimp, miso noodles, chicory, yuzu/ Monkfish, smoked barley, beet-mustard, nori

Quail, chartreuse, yogurt, turnip, nutmeg/ Lamb loin, 'red bens & rice,' chayote squash

Mango, sake caramel, sheep's milk, cashew/ Menthol, ginger, pomelo, chamomile

Milk chocolate, black bean, plantain, soy, peanut/ Rice krispy treats

Among three of us, we had cocktail, beer, and also drank 3 bottles of wine...yes, we are all big drinkers. 2010 Maison Bleue, Petite Joie, 'Bouchey Vineyard', Marsanne (Yakima Valley, WA)/ 2007 Quinta da Muradella, 'Alanda' (DO Monterrei, Spain)...65% Mencia, 30% Bastardo, 5% Tinta Fina (Tempranillo)/ 2007 Vinyes Domenech, 'Furvus'(DO Montsant, Spain)...65% Garnacha, 20% Merlot, 8% CS, 7% Syrah.

Their wine list is so impressive and there were many rare (small production) gems, too.

Chef Wylie kindly invited us to his kitchen and we got to chat with him. He was so generous and sweet. We told him how much we enjoyed every dish he created. Each bite was magical.

We had a great "kick start" dinner.

(After dinner, we returned to the hotel and had more drinks!)

New Donabe & Japanese Cooking Class announcement..."Power of Koji"

February will be an eventful month! I will be hosting donabe cooking classes and also be participating in cool events, presented by Common Grains.

Brand-new Class - Sold Out (sorry...)

February 25 (Sat) Starts at 11.00 am

"Power of Koji" - Homemade Shio-koji and Amazake

Following our popular Miso-making class, this is our new “koji” theme class. Koji is a type of mold and it’s also a starter for Japan’s essential foods and drinks such as miso, soy sauce, sake, etc. Koji is known not only for its ability to bring out good “umami” flavors, but also for its health benefits because of its live enzymes. Today, the popularity of traditional koji products such as shio-koji and amazake is surging in Japan, and people are rediscovering how wonderful they are for their healthier and more wholesome lives. “Shio-koji” (salt-marinated koji) is an all-purpose seasoning and you can use it as marinade, sauce, or simply as a replacement for salt. “Amazake” (literally translates into “sweet sake”) is a non-alcoholic naturally fermented drink from koji and steamed rice, and it’s considered to be a super food (it’s often called “drinking I.V. drip”!) for its remarkable nutritious value.

In this workshop, you will make your own “shio-koji” to take home with you!

Naoko will also show you how to make amazake in donabe as well as dishes by using shio-koji, amazake, and other koji-related ingredients.

Please check out our website for sign-up info and more details.

February 18 (Sat) Starts at 10.00 am - Sold Out

Common Grains Presents: Gohan & Okazu with donabe rice cooker, KAMADO-san @Tortoise General Store

Sorry...this class is already sold out, too. Please check with Tortoise General Store for future donabe classes.

We are pleased to be part of Common Grains projects in LA and participate in the following events in February.

February 4 (Sat) No RSVP necessary

Rice exhibition and donabe rice cooking demonstration/ tasting @Cookbook

Come see the donabe rice cooking in action (1-3pm). Click for more details.

February 5 (Sun) RSVP is recommended

Charity panel discussion and luncheon @Atwater Crossing

We will make donabe rice dish with Anson Mills' special grains (11am-1.30pm). Click for more details.

February 11 (Sat) First come, first serve - limited to 15 people

Rice workshop at Healthy Living Day @Japan American National Museum

We will give an onigiri-making workshop for parents and children (11am-12.30pm). Click for more details.

Hope to see many people at these events...Happy Donabe life.

(photos by Sachiyo Itabashi)

From LA back to Tokyo and back again to LA

Busy days...

I was back in Japan with family last week. It was a short busy stay, but between errands were filled with good foods.

Miso-nikomi udon (miso stew style udon) in donabe was so nice. Yuzu ume-shu, winter buri sashimi salad, porridge, etc. Baby scallion sushi was very refreshing. Spanish lunch was also nice.

Local Korean (oyster jjigae and oyster bibimbop were fabulous!), elegant Japanese lunch with Japanese Koshu wine, and more good Japanese food in the plane.

And some nice wines...

Once I returned to LA, I hosted a Donabe cooking class at Tortoise General Store. (Here's the link to their blog.)It was a part of Common Grains projects, and the theme was donabe rice dishes and okazu (side) dishes. There will be more fun events coming up in the next weeks, so please check out Common Grains website. The same night, we had delicious hand-made soba dinner at Sonoko-san's pop-up!

I will be out of town again. Leaving for NYC this Friday for 8 days to attend New York International Gift Fair!

Happy donabe life.