Lobster Roll with Lemon Dressing

How do you like your lobster roll? I prefer mine with creamy mayo, but this new lemon dressing I am introducing became one of my favorites.

Lobster roll with lemon dressing is perfect for the hot weather and even tastes great cold. I recommend for those who are hesitant to use mayo or prefer the lighter taste.

Lobster roll with lemon dressing

2-3 cooked lobsters
1 celery, chopped and cubed
1 scallion, chopped
 optional: Italian parsley
 ½ to 1 lemon juice
 4 to 5 tablespoons of olive oil
 a pinch of salt
a pinch of pepper
 4 hoagie rolls
 some butter

1. Remove the meat from the lobster shells.

2.      Cut the lobster meat into bite size pieces and mix well with celery, scallion, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add Italian parsley if desired.

3.     Spread butter on the hoagie rolls and grill well.

4.     Fill 2) inside each rolls and serve!

*feel free to adjust the amount of lemon juice, salt and pepper according to your taste.

Japanese cooking lessons at Haven's Kitchen

I have some good news for my NYC area washoku lovers. I will be teaching delicious Japanese family style cuisine at Haven’s kitchen in the Chelsea district of NYC. I am excited to introduce my favorite Japanese menu lessons this summer and meet lots of Japanese food lovers.



The July lessons will be on Tuesday, July 19th and Wednesday 20th. This class will teach you how to make maki using seasoned rice and proper rolling techniques to create a visually appealing treat. It will also include Kakiage, a popular form of tempura using sliced vegetables. It will finish with Matcha green tea and white chocolate pudding for a sweet ending that eloquently blends the bitter taste of matcha green tea with the sweetness of white chocolate.



Please see more information at http://havenskitchen.com/
 Day 1:  http://havenskitchen.com/japanese-home-cooking-rolls-tempura-tue-jul-19-at-6-30pm.html
 Day 2:  http://havenskitchen.com/japanese-home-cooking-fish-vegetables-wed-jul-20-at-11am.html

I will post information about my August lessons in the near future. 

I hope to see you at Haven’s Kitchen!

Hash browns for potato lovers

When I think about Traditional American breakfast, I imagine fluffy crisp hash browns served in a large skillet and children fighting over who gets the bigger portion of this delicious potato dish. Because we all love potatoes, this is our family-favorite breakfast to jump start the day!

The key to success in this recipe is to properly remove the excess liquid from potatoes after grating into fine pieces. By doing so, they cook up perfectly crispy on the outside but light and fluffy on the inside. If you are cooking bacon or sausages, use the same pan to cook the potatoes. This will make your potatoes extra tasty.

Hash browns recipe

(serve 4)

2 to 3 whole potatoes

a pinch of salt

a pinch of black pepper
oil for cooking

1.    Peal and grate the potatoes into fine pieces using cheese grater or slicer.

2.    Wrap the grated potatoes using a cheesecloth, and twist to remove excess liquid.

3.    Heat generous amount of oil on a skillet over low to medium heat. Fill the surface of the pan with potatoes to create a thick and large pancake-like shape. Season with salt and pepper and cook for few minutes.

4.    Once the bottom side turns golden brown, flip the pancake and continue to cook until potatoes are browned all over. Adjust the heat to low or medium accordingly. The hash browns are ready once the potatoes are fully cooked and both sides look crispy.

5.    Serve with ketchup on a plate with bacon, eggs, sausages, or toast on the side!

Meyer Lemon curd

  

Today I will show you how to make a delicious homemade lemon curd. I use my favorite kind of lemon called Meyer lemon, which is frequently used in my other recipes. Meyer lemon is a cross between a lemon and an orange. It has a fruity fragrance with less acidic compared to regular lemon. It can also be substitute for a Japanese citrus fruit called Yuzu. Meyer lemons are easy to find these days and are available all season long!

Lemon curd is a lemon-flavored custard that was served in England back in the days. It goes well with scone, toast, or even as a pie filling. My family is in love with lemon curd; especially my youngest son gets really excited when he sees the jar on the table!

Meyer Lemon Curd Recipe

5 Meyer lemon (around 550g)

1 cup granulated sugar (around 220g)

3 whole eggs

8 tablespoons of butter

1.  Zest Meyer lemons using a peeler or a grater.

2.    Squeeze out the lemon juice into a bowl together with the lemon zest.

 

3.  Add sugar, eggs, and butter into the bowl and sit it over a bain-marie to melt the butter.

4.    Stir the mixture for about 10 to 15 minutes until it starts to thicken and turns custardy. Make sure the water bath doesn't boil, and don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. This will cause the eggs to harden. If you want to smoothen your custard, you can strain the custard at this point (I find it unnecessary to strain).

5.    Keep the lemon curd in a sanitized jar. Once the mixture cools down, you can cover the top with wax paper.

6.    Put a lid on and refrigerate once the mixture completely cools down. It can be stored for about a week.

Amazing Eggs Benedict

Eggs benedict is notorious for being a time-consuming and somewhat difficult breakfast dish to prepare on a busy morning.  It is, however, definitely a dish that makes everyone happy to eat breakfast so it is worth a little extra effort.

The process of making eggs benedict can be divided into three parts: poaching the egg, making the hollandaise sauce, and preparing the English muffin with ham.

Amazing Eggs Benedict 

 (serves 4)

• 4 whole eggs
• 2 English muffins
• 4 slices of ham
• 3 to 4 tablespoons of vinegar

- For hollandaise sauce

• 3 egg yolks
• 8 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
• lemon juice from half a lemon
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons of salt
• a pinch of black pepper
• optional: cayenne pepper

Poached eggs

1) Heat water in a large pot. When the water begins to boil, add vinegar.

2) Stir the water quickly in one direction with a spoon or spatula to create a circular movement.

3) Gently crack the eggs into a container then gently slide them into the water. When the water begins to boil again, adjust the heat to low and cook for 3 to 4 minutes depending on your preference. Occasionally stir the water to avoid eggs sticking to the bottom of the pan.

4) When the eggs are ready, move them to a bowl full of cold water, and then lay them onto a tray lined with kitchen paper towels. Pat them down to remove the excess water.

Hollandaise sauce

1) Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. 

2) Using a blender, combine egg yolks, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.

3) When the loquids are combined, adjust the blender's power to low, and gently pour the melted butter into the blender. If you like a little heat in the sauce, add cayenne pepper here as well.

*If you are using eggs that cannot be consume raw, you need to combine the mixture over boiling water in a pot to cook them through.

 

English muffin and ham

1) Split the English muffins in half and prepare your favorite ham slice and cook as you want.

2) Positon the muffin halves and sliced ham on an oven sheet and toast for 2 to 3 minutes under the broiler. You could also do this process on a heated skillet.

 

Assembling

1) Finally it's time for assembling! On a plate, place a half of an English muffin and slice of ham, poached eggs and generous amount of hollandaise sauce on top. Lightly season with cayenne pepper or red pepper, if you like.

2) Dive in with a knife and fork!