My Best Meal in 2010 [Special Eats]

I know the end of the year is a time for reflection on the passing year so I thought I’d do a post about the best meal I ate this year.  Well, it turned out to be harder than I thought it would be because I ate some delicious food this year! It was a tough choice but…..[::drumroll::]…the best meal I had this year was dinner at Suzuki’s Sushi Bar in Rockland, Maine!

Let me start by saying that I do not by any means consider myself a sushi expert, however, being a New Yorker I’ve had some amazing sushi in my life.  You name it Nobu, Yasuda, I’ve been there!  So when my ever loyal and fearless dining companion and I traveled up to Maine this Autumn, I expected to have some great seafood. What I didn’t expect was to have my mind blown by the amazing sushi. BAM!

We started our meal with some yummy steamed gyoza. I unfortunately did not get a picture of it, but it was delicious, on point, and basic.  I was satisfied but I was not overly impressed…..yet.  For the main meal, my loyal and fearless dining companion and I ordered the Special Omakase Assortment for two. It was described as the sushi chef’s selection of the best sushi and sashimi of the day.  We were satisfied with our choice and so we waited.  Then this came out …

I mean the picture doesn’t do it justice, but it was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful and mouth-watering.

Every time I look at this picture I just want to sing Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely. Isn’t she wonderful, Isn’t she precious….

The assortment came with some of the most simple, purely delicious sushi I’ve ever had! It included two Ama-gasu handrolls (pictured on the top left corner of the platter) – it was to die for: Ama ebi (Maine shrimp), asparagus, lemon wasabi mayo. So good, I want one right now.

There was also the beautiful Spanish Mackerel which we have a close up of above.  Tuna, Salmon, and Yellowtail, scallops, and other things I can’t remember the name of but it was oh so goooood. The meal was exactly how sushi should be. I didn’t really have a desire to use soy sauce or the wasabi because the freshness of the fish was perfect. The textures, the subtle flavoring of the sushi rice. Oy, I’m not exaggerating at all, the best sushi I’ve ever tasted in my entire life!  

To end our meal we had dessert which consisted of a homemade blackberry lemon sorbet topped with toasted pumpkin seeds. That too was so simple but divine.

So there you have it, my best meal of 2010. It’s so sad when I think about it.  Whenever I have sushi now, I enjoy it, I’m satisfied…but I’m really just thinking about Suzuki’s.

So what’s the best meal you’ve had this year?

Suzuki’s Sushi Bar, 419 Maine Street, Rockland, ME – (207) 596-7447

Smoked Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya [Recipes]

Did you stay at home today, drink cocoa, and watch the snowfall from the comfort of your own home?  Well, you are a smarter person than me!  I am blogging from my office (please, don’t tell my boss) after an absurd commute this morning.  Not that I’m complaining, I feel like a total badass that I somehow managed to trek from Astoria to downtown Manhattan.  I saw a snowplow truck stuck in the snow.  Think about that for a second, a mutherf%^*ing snowplow truck, stuck in the snow!

This type of weather always inspires me to cook.  Nothing like a home-cooked meal to warm up your home and fill your belly! This Jambalaya recipe is perfect for this kind of weather. It’s all in one pot, super easy to put together, spicy, and really filling!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound of smoked sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices (Hillshire Farm makes smoked sausage that consists of only beef or turkey)
• 2 large chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 can of corn, 14.5 ounces (more or less)
• 1 can of Diced Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning
• 1 and half cups of Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice (Don’t use regular rice otherwise your Jambalaya will turn to mush!)
• 1/4 cup of green onion, chopped

Go out and get these if you don't have any!

 

1. First start by heating up the sausage on medium heat in a non-stick pot. Do not bother with oil because the sausage will release it’s own.

2. Add chicken after your sausage has released enough oil.

3. When well browned, add veggies in the order listed above, and saute until tender.

4. Add the Rotel Tomatoes, salt and cajun seasonings, and corn.

5. Next, add uncooked rice, chopped green onions, andadd water to an inch.

6. Cover and simmer on medium-low until water is at rice level and slowly bubbling.

7. Turn burner to very low, cook twenty minutes or so.

8.  Serve with some buttermilk biscuits or cornbread. Then congratulate yourself on being amazing. (Don’t worry, I do it all the time!).
Hope everyone is warm and safe today!

Happy Holidays! [Special Eats]

Happy Holidays! I know I’m the worst blogger ever! I haven’t updated in over two months! But sometime around November my immune system got up and quit this bitch! I’m going to spare you the details of my various ailments but I’ve been trying to catch up with life the last month and have utterly failed as a blogger in the process.

But no worries! I promise to update the blog with two delicious new recipes before the new year! (::fingers-crossed::).

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season. I for one was very festive yesterday. As you can see, I made this chocolate-candy house! Yes, that entire house is edible! The roof is white chocolate with red food coloring. The outside paneling is dark chocolate. The house is decorated with vanilla frosting, M&Ms, Junior Mints, Twizzlers, and Spearmint Jelly Leaves.

Happy Holidays to you and yours! May the New Year be filled with family, good friends, and great FOOD!