Hibachi Grill and Buffet

This past Thursday I went to the Hibachi Grill and Buffet on Westflorisant Ave. This was a big deal for me because I haven't been to a buffet in over ten years. My last time going to one I got extremely sick afterwards. So immediately upon entering, I check the overall condition of the buffet. It was very clean and well stocked except for the sushi which I believe they probably don't restock after a certain time. So to start off, I had a salad, chilled mussels and some stuffed mushrooms. 

The salad and mussels were very good. The mushrooms were stuffed with something that I couldn't quite figure out what it was so I didn't eat them. Next I got a piece of salmon with a semi-sweet glaze and a penne pasta with shrimp and a white sauce. 

I didn't like the salmon it was kind of bland and dry. The pasta was flavorful with nice texture of the shrimp and penne.   My next time around I got a baked white fish (because another guest claimed "This is the best fish in here"), garlic bread and some head on coconut shrimp. 

Well turns out I didn't feel the same way as that guest. The fish tasted like it has been sitting in water and the shrimp were more trouble than they were worth. The bread was flavorful and crisp but not dry. It was quite tasty. At this point I started getting a little full but still returned a couple of more times to get my money's worth. I realized they had a miso soup which is one of my favorites. 

This particular miso soup was rather salty. Miso is already salty by itself you really don't have to add more salt to it. By this point I was really done but my buddy that I was with kept going on so much about these little cakes that they offered, I had to try some. 

They were really good. They were moist and not to sweet but sweet enough. For my first time eating at a buffet in several years, I thought the experience was pretty good. The server made sure my water stayed full and that dirty dishes were cleared fast. On a scale of 1-10, I would give them a 7. I would go back again only earlier like right as they open for dinner so I can try the sushi. I also noticed after I was full that they had a hibachi station where you could pick out ingredients and they would cook them up for you. I'll have to try that next time as well. If your ever in that part of town and need something to eat, give the Hibacihi Grill a try. There were several things I didn't try because I don't eat beef, pork or chicken so for someone that does, those items may appeal to you. As always I stress eat, drink, and be happy!!!

Pie from leftover dough.

At the end of my baking phase, there was a lot of pie dough left. Since no one was taking any I loaded up all of the dough and froze it for future use. To keep honing my skills, I started baking pies on the weekend with my daughter. Since the doughs are a little older they tend to be a little dry but still good. My first reproduction was the mile high apple pie. A side from the crack in the top, this pie was very good. 

I knew that it wouldn't be perfect when I was having trouble rolling the dough out an it didn't want to stay together. The next pie I made was the pecan pie. This one didn't present as much problems since I only needed a bottom crust. Again other than being a little dry this pie was just about as good as my grandma used to make. 

This dough didn't want to hold together but I made it work. I believe I have maybe two more to use before I lose them. Until next time be happy eat, drink, and be happy!  

Legumes and grains.

When ever people hear that I don't eat chicken, beef or pork the next question I get is "Where do you get your protein from?" My answer is usually nuts, beans and seafood. For a good ten to fifteen years my primary source of protein was beans. I always pair my beans with brown or basmati rice. Within most of the Caribbean cuisines beans and rice are a part of all meals except breakfast as far as I've seen. There are several varieties of beans and rice which would keep the average person from getting bored with the same offerings day after day. Early on in my bean and rice eating I would try different combination of the two each week until I was tired of eating beans. For a healthy, simple fulfilling meal, give beans and rice a try. Pair them with your favorite greens and some corn bread and you can't go wrong. 

Coffee or Tea ?

For all of my adult life, I've been a serious tea drinker. It started out being an exclusive breakfast event with a tea that's called Morning Thunder. It soon became an anytime of the day event upon me discovering all the different herb teas that taste good warm or cold. Tea such as mint is a perfect example of a tea that's good hot or cold. I mix this tea with apple juice in the summer to make a refreshing thirst quencher. 

     About ten years ago, I was running late for a real estate event and didn't get a chance to eat a thing. They were serving coffee and donuts at the event. By me not having anything in my system, I gave the coffee a try. That was the start of my coffee drinking. When I can afford it, I like Jamaican and Ethiopian coffee which are two of the best in the world. I tend to drink more coffee in the colder months and tea all year long. I've got love for coffee but tea will always be the best in my book. 

A Blast From The Recent Past

Towards the end of my last phase, I did an ice sculpture for the first time in life. I chose to do a tuna for my project. When all was said and done, my fish resembled more of a shark but turned out better than I expected. To start the whole process you have to draw up a template unless you are a artist and can imagine what you want to see on the ice. Once you have your template you need to trace it on to the ice. Then you start by making some of your bigger cuts with the chain saw. Next you move to hand chisels and other hand held rotary tools to detail the carving. The day of the carving was still a little cold out and the fact that we were working with ice made it colder of course. Just like with any other job, the tool makes the job. Check out the pics of my first ice sculpture. Let me know if anyone needs one. 

The finish product!!! In the future I'll work at cutting out more of the fish and defining it more.  

Fish and my eating preferences

Being from St. Louis, my first experiences with fish would be jack salmon, cat fish, buffalo and it was for the most part fried. I'm not frowning on any of those varieties of fish however like the saying says, "there are plenty fish in the sea".  The variety of eatable fish is enormous. It's a little costly for seafood by us being in the middle of the country but you can get a quality product at Bob's.  Now as far as I'm concern, I prefer eating the fish whole.  The one exception would be a big fish like the salmon we had for fish fabrication. Other than that,  I believe just like with anything else, when you leave the bone in you get more flavor. It's easier to gage freshness of the whole fish.  

Full size salmon. We ended up doing salmon five ways. Poached, grilled, salmon bacon, baked and ceviche. 

All of these preparation were quit tasty, I would recommend them to people maybe trying to break into eating something other than the local river fish. Tilapia is good as well maybe even better because some people feel that salmon is to fishy for them. It's all about what you like. All I ask is that you be open to give all fish a try before you count it out. Happy Eating Until Next Time!!!

My absolute favorite Miso soup!

Your meals don't have to be extra complex to taste good. Miso soup is one of the simplest soups to make and one of the best tasting around. It's excellent for a first course or an extra light main course. 

Wakeme seaweed, tofu, vegetable stock, miso, sesame oil, soy sauce, green onions and garlic. 

Only half the block of tofu is used for this recipe. The other half can be stored in a zip loc bag for a couple of days. 

Reconstitute  three tablespoons of seaweed. This is what it looks like after a couple of minutes submerged in water. Before adding it to the soup  I rinse the seaweed for a couple of minutes to rid it of the fishy smell if there's any.

     Start off by sautéing the garlic and green onion in a little vegetable oil for five minutes then add all other ingredients making sure not to let the miso boil because you kill a lot of the good properties if you let it boil. 

We ate the entire pot of soup in one setting. I plan to double this recipe from this point on. It's good to have some leftovers by me having school at night any advantage is welcomed. Until next time eat, drink and be merry!!

Clams with radish and Chinese broccoli

This past Thursday, I cooked up the last of my seafood that I bought from Bob's Seafood.  I had a pound or so of big beautiful farm raised clams. Before cooking them I like to run water over them to remove any sand or dirt that might still be on them.  I did these the same as I did the mussels. A white wine butter sauce. My vegetable choices were what I had in the refrigerator.  

I grated the radishes and added about three or so tablespoons if rice vinegar and a tablespoon or so of honey. Clear wrap the bowl and refrigerate. 

I used half this bunch of Chinese broccoli   sautéed it in a little vegetable stock with green onions, garlic, and soy sauce. 

I start the clams off by sautéing  butter, green onion, and garlic for about a thirty seconds then I added a little vegetable stock and wine. Clams take a little longer to cook than mussels so I added the stock. All but one opened up. I think that's pretty good.  

I enjoyed the tart and sweet flavor of the radish. The Chinese broccoli has a flavor of our broccoli with the tenderness of a spinach. The clams were exceptionally tasty in the white wine garlic butter sauce and there natural juices. I usually would have a starch of some sort with the meal but this is what I came up with when looking at what I needed to use or lose. Happy Eating until next time!!!

Sunday Dinner

For Sunday dinner I decided to have a light dinner. I'm a pescatarian which means that I eat seafood, eggs, dairy, fruits and vegetables. No beef, chicken or pork. So for my meal I decided on mussels in a lemon white wine butter sauce with some whole wheat French bread. 

Very simple to produce. I started by sautéing a little green onions, garlic, and juice of a lemon in a table spoon or so of butter. At that point I added the wine and  mussels covered them and let them steam for about four to five minutes or until all the mussels pop open. If the mussels don't open, that means that they're not good so you should throw them out. To finish this meal off, I heated up the bread and poured a glass of wine. Light but still filling. It's truly a joy to produce this good tasting food!!!

Baked Oysters

I treated myself this weekend to some fresh oysters. Usually I just take them raw on the half shell but this time I decided to do something different. A couple of years ago my brother and I went to Broadway Oyster Bar and he ordered these baked oysters. They were extremely good so I had to try and reproduce them to the best of my ability. 

I used oysters of course, butter, oregano, and Parmesan cheese. 

For starters it's good to have an oyster knife to open the shell fish as well as a towel so you don't stab yourself in the hand if the knife happens to slide off the oyster. 

Once all the oysters were open, I placed them on a sheet pan. 

At that point I put a small cube of butter on each one, a pinch or so of oregano, and a generous amount of Parmesan cheese and put them under the broiler for three minutes. 

I must say that I like them broiled even better than raw. By broiling them they get to cook up in their juices and the butter, oregano and Parmesan take it to another level. If you're an oyster lover like myself you must try this if you haven't already. Bon Appetit!!!

Testing Drinks For The Future Restaurant

This past weekend I decided to try out a potential drink for my future restaurant. The drink is called Pain Killer.

The ingredients are orange juice, pineapple juice, coconut milk, rum I used pineapple coconut infused, a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg right before you serve it.  This is a very tasty drink.  It reminded me of a Pina Colada.  Depending on how much pain you have, you may use from 2-4 oz. of rum. The rest of the recipe include 4oz. pineapple juice, 1oz of oranges juice, 1 oz. coconut milk, a pinch of cinnamon, and shaved nutmeg at service. If you're ever in a mood for a tropical type drink, give the Pain Killer a try.