Craig and Jamie Rule!

Yesterday my friends Craig and Jamie sent me an email telling me about how they tried the BBQ corn recipe. They even improvised a bit and... THEY SENT PICTURES!
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is precisely the kind of behavior that will get you widespread DIY Gourmet praise, exaltation, internet 2.o fame and general props and shoutouts. Faithful readers, feel free to learn from Craig and Jamie's example, get cookin', and send me pictures.
Peace.
~DJ Dread

Make your own DIY Sushi

The last couple of days I have had a powerful hankerin' for sushi, but I have also been rather financially limited. So tonight I made a rude gesture towards the surly teenage Asian waitresses and blind peasant woodsmen hacks at a certain Commercial Drive budget sushi establishment, I sharpened my knife, summoned my inner samurai, and I made my own delicious sushi.

I decided to make 3 kinds of vegetarian sushi because I also couldn't afford any deluxe fish. My trio of Japanese yumminess was comprised of miso roasted eggplant rolls, roasted yam with lettuce rolls, and good 'ol kappa maki (that's cucumber roll for all you Philistines out there). Hey ho, let's go!
Ingredients
4 cups of short grain sushi rice
enough water to cover using the Mount Fuji method

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

1 large yam peeled and sliced thinly lengthwise
1 Japanese eggplant sliced thinly lengthwise
1 cucumber, julienned
small lettuce leaves

2 tablespoons miso paste
2 tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic crushed
Directions
Prepare rice using sushi method described here. Mix vinegar sugar and salt in small saucepan. Heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle over rice, mix in, and fan to cool to room temperature.

Mix miso, mayo, oil, and garlic. Brush on yam and eggplant slices. Roast on cookie sheets in 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown and tender. Let cool and julienne.

Roll sushi using cucumber, yam, lettuce, and eggplant as fillings using method described here.

Itadakimasu!

BBQ Corn with Lime Spice Rub

This is a summer favourite of ours and I think it is definitely the best way to eat corn on the cob.
Ingredients
1-2 ears of unshucked! corn per person (ears closed tight)
1/2 lime per person

1 teaspoon onion flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons brown sugar

lime / spice technique

Directions
Preheat BBQ on high. Combine spices together and mix. Divide equal portions of spice mix into enough ramekins for each dinner guest. Cut limes in half. Put unshucked corn on BBQ and turn down to medium heat. Grill for 5 minutes then flip over and grill other side for 5 minutes. Remove from BBQ and shuck burnt corn ears using oven mitts. The corn inside will be perfectly cooked and tasty. Serve hot with spice rub and lime halves by dipping cut lime face in spice mixture and then rubbing and squeezing on corn.

Kilt Commercial Video Awards

My mates Leigh, Hillary, and myself made this video for a commercial contest run by Utilikilt and we got second place. We were pretty stoked. Here it is for your viewing pleasure...

Chicken Fried Bacon

I am so jealous that I didn't think of this first, and I got to get to Snook, Texas...fast.

Sezzie's Lemonade

We started Sarah's birthday celebrations with these yummy summer drinks. I call it Sezzie's Lemonade in honour of her special day.

Sezzie's Lemonade
1 shot tequila
1 squeeze of fresh lemon
high quality natural lemonade (like Santa Cruz Organic) or sparkling lemon soda like San Pelligrino Limonata
fresh mint for garnish
lemon slice for garnish
sugar
ice
Sugar the rim of a 12oz glass. Over ice combine tequila, squeeze of lemon, and lemonade to fill. Garnish with fresh mint and lemon slice.

It's Your Bithday! Bring on the Kotopita!

Yesterday was Sarah's birthday so we had her and Ang and Leigh over for a big yummy birthday bash. We started with big glasses of Sezzie's Lemonade, (see next post for recipe) and then moved directly to the main course of Kotopita (Greek Chicken Pie) served with Lemon Garlic Potatoes and Greek Salad. I found the Kotopita recipe online at this great site, but I tweaked it a bit to make it more interesting.

Kotopita (Greek Filo Chicken Pie)

INGREDIENTS	PREP	AMOUNT
Water		3 cups
Chicken thighs	boneless,	2 lbs
Butter		1/3 cup
Flour		1/3 cup
Onions	sliced	3
Garlic cloves	chopped	5
Spinach	chopped	1 bunch
Feta cheese	crumbled	1 1/2 cups
Dill, fresh	chopped	1 cup
Parsley	chopped	1 cup
Mint	chopped	2 Tbsp
Nutmeg		1 tsp
Salt & pepper		to taste
Oregano		2 tablespoons
Lemon juice and zest		1
Filo dough		12-14 sheets
Butter or olive oil		1/2 cup

METHOD

Basic Steps: Poach → Sauté → Thicken → Mix → Form bottom → Fill → Form top → Bake

1. Put the water and the chicken in a large saucepan. Add a little salt and pepper and simmer on med heat for about 30 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate and set the chicken and the broth aside to cool. Remove the chicken from the broth and shred.
2. In a large skillet or sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and stir in well. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook and stir another 5 minutes until the mixture is golden brown.
   
3. Pour the poaching broth all at once into the skillet and whisk together well to avoid lumps. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. It will thicken during this time.
   
4. In another pan add some oil and the onions and garlic and sauté quickly, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add spinach and saute until wilted.
   
5. Remove from heat and cool.
6. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the feta, dill, mint, parsley, nutmeg, oregano, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and the thickened broth and the onion spinach mixture. Stir together well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in the eggs.
7. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9"x9" baking dish or a deep-dish pie tin. Lay a layer of filo over the dish and brush with oil or butter. Add 5 or six more sheets of filo, each at a different angle to cover the dish well. Brush each with oil before adding the next. Press the filo well into all corners of the dish.
8. Add the chicken-cheese filling to the dish and spread out evenly.
9. Repeat process with the remaining filo to form a top to the dish. Trim the edges of filo that are hanging over the edge to about 1 1/2". Roll them together toward the center to form an edge.
10. Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake anywhere from 45-60 minutes, or until center is bubbly and crust is nicely browned.
11. Remove from the oven, let cool about 15 minutes and serve with a salad.