A Little Twist on an old Favorite

So last weekend we had a dinner party with the theme of 'Classic American Steakhouse'. As you would expect the menu included a nice Ribeye Steak and of course the classic wedge salad (Iceberge Lettuce with Blue Cheese Dressing). As the first course I decided to go with another Steakhouse favorite, Shrimp Cocktail. Who wouldn't love this? Chilled Jumbo Shrimp with a tangy cocktail sauce to dip them into. Being as who I am, I had to fiddle with this classic and put my own twist on it. When I looked at all the ingredients needed to make cocktail sauce it just clicked. There where almost the same as what you would need to make a Bloody Mary (One of my favorite morning cocktails). So after mulling it over for a bit I decided to make a Shrimp 'Bloody Mary' Cocktail. Something to both eaten and drunk.

The ingredients I used for the 'Cocktail' Sauce were as follows:

• Tomato Juice
• Lemon Juice
• Sea Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Horseradish (Fresh is always best if you can get it)
• Tabasco Sauce
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Absolute Citron Vodka

I would tell you the amounts but I really have no idea. This is one of those recipes that everyone will want to do differently depending on your palette. Besides, every cook has to keep a few secrets to themselves. You can make endless variations on this recipe, it's really up to you and what is available.

For the Shrimp, that's pretty simple:

1. Set a pot to a vigorous simmer with salted water
2. Place the shrimp/prawns in the water and cook till done
1. Should take just a minute or two depending on size
3. When done immediately place them into a bowl of ice water
4. When chilled, remove and set to dry

My garnish was a very thin (in Egypt right now that is just the size of the celery) celery stick with top leaves intact. Cut the bottom to a point and skewer a pickled cocktail onion and pimento stuffed olive. Now all you need is a small, fun looking class. Fill with Bloody Mary, place Shrimp on the rim and stick in the garnish.

Now go make your own and enjoy!!

Can you say NACHOS!?!

This picture speaks for itself. The more cheese it has, the better the Nachos. This is a little something I put together the other night. It has 2 different kinds of Tortilla Chips, Fresh Salsa (Pico de Gallo), Black Beans, Pickled Jalapeños and a whole lot of cheese (Cheddar and Jalapeño Jack). The secret in the construction of Nachos is to build layers of ingredients with plenty of cheese over everything. So whatever amount of cheese you had put on, add a little bit more. Also, add all your cold ingredients after you've had the Nachos in the oven, such as Salsa and Sour Cream.

Sushi In Maadi

So we have been living in Maadi, Egypt for just a month now and are starting to get the hang of our local neighborhood. So for me it's all about the food. What's available, where to buy it and just as importantly where to eat it. When moving to a new place there is always so much to do as everything is all so new. Finding good places to go out to eat can sometimes be a huge challenge especially when you are the foreigner in a new country. Research is usually the first step that I take when eating in a new place and usually that can be a huge help in determining the hot spots to eat and such. In the States and Europe that has always worked well for me, but I find myself in a place that isn't so much driven by technology and often times can be explored with ease virtually online. When searching for restaurants in Cairo, specifically Maadi a quick Google search isn't going to bombard you with suggestions. Most of the info out there is by people much like yourself, who have done the searching the old fashion way and word of mouth is your safest bet.

So I seem to have gone off on a tangent, even if it is fairly relative to what I'm really going to write about and that is our very first Sushi experience in Egypt. Yesterday on Armed Forces Day (a public holiday here) where were out looking for lunch and decided to try a place that we have passed by several times in our time here and visits before. That place would be Mori Sushi. Yes that's right, we do have sushi out here in the desert and I'll be completely honest in saying that there was a wee bit of apprehension in the thought of eating raw fish here. We had been warned by various sources about eating out in Egypt and have had a few experiences of the not so fun kind ourselves. But when it comes to food you just have to soldier on. So we went in to this fairly stylishly designed Sushi Bar & Grill without high expectations and empty stomachs. The menu is fairly impressive with all this sushi. They had Maki, Temaki (Handrolls), Nigiri, lettuce wrapped rolls, fish wrapped rolls, Nigiri and just about any variations you could think of. There is also an underlined them of Brazilian influence (between seeing San Paolo next to Cairo on the sign and some brief internet research I came to this conclusion). We kept it simple as our stomach were in the driving seat and we really didn't feel like any decisions. So we went for a one of the Sushi Platters, some Veggie Tempura and I had some Miso Soup. The soup was pretty good, but way to big. They had it in a bowl that was more suited for Ramen or Udon Soup then what you expect to get Miso in. It could have perhaps used a bit more Miso in it but it had a nice flavor. They might have added something else in it that you wouldn't expect, but I could't quite place it. Possible it was the use of Red Miso instead of the traditional Shiro (or White) Miso or maybe just something from the Brazilian influence).

Next came our platter totaling 32 pieces that ranged from Nigiri to both small and large Maki. Salmon and Tuna where the fishes of note with a appearance of cooked Shrimp, Smoked Salmon and a unidentified Whitefish. Presentation was nice and the quality of fish wasn't the best I've had but it also wasn't the worst that I have by a long shot, so no complaints. Their rice was cooked well and not over seasoned (a fatal flaw for many places) and the rolls has just the right amount of it. I didn't have high expectations so I wasn't disappointed, mission accomplished. The tempura did take pretty long to come out. I'm not sure if the fryer wasn't up to the temp (that was my guess for it's tartiness) or what and it seemed like they didn't use rice flour, but the pieces where crisp and light.

So all in all it was a pretty good experience and I would come back when I get a hankering for the raw stuff. If you want to check it out it, Mori Sushi is located at 76 Road 9 in Maadi, Cairo. The next time I talk about Sushi it will be after tasting it in none other then the Sushi-Mecca of Tokyo, Japan in just over a month. Let's just say that expectations will be on a whole new level for that one.

Man I think I just started drooling, thinking about it.

What's for Lunch?

Roast Salmon Sandwich w/ Pesto

Great idea for a tasty and pretty healthy lunch. If you happen to have any leftover salmon this is a perfect way to use you leftovers. Even if you don't it only takes about 10 minutes to cook up a fillet of Salmon. Just season them up with some S&P then Sear off in a hot pan with a splash of olive oil (do both sides), then toss in a 350℉ (175℃) oven for about 7 minutes, longer if the fillet is thick or less id thinner. Slice a baguette or roll in half, top with Cheese (I used Provolone) then Arugula, Sliced Tomato & Red Onion, place Salmon on top of that and lastly spread some Pesto on the top half of the bread. Press together, cut in half and tuck into some good grub!!

Ingredient of the Week: Pearl Barley

Pearl Barley what is it? It's name gives it away as it is Barley that has had it's first two outer layers. These layers are the hull and the bran. While this does remove a large portion of the nutrition from the grain it still retains a good amount of it healthiness. It is very low in fat and is a good source of Carbohydrates and Fiber along with a nice bit of Iron. Pearl Barley is the most popular form of Barley is the US, but can also be found as flakes, flour(meal) and grits. In Japan Barley is used in the production of miso.

My first encounter with Pearl Barley was over 10 years ago when my wife (girlfriend at the time) made us Beef and Barley Soup. It is quite a wholesome, stick to your ribs kind of soup, perfect for a brisk winter day. I very much enjoyed it and have found recently that there are quite a few uses for Pearl Barley. It has a nice nutty flavor and chewy almost al dente texture. Great in soups, it will help to thicken the broth and can make that vegetable soup a lot more filling. Another great use is in salads or side dishes. You can use it like you would pasta in a salad or add it to greens or veggies. I like to pair it with grilled zucchini or roasted beets and Feta. Here is a little something that I cooked up for lunch the other day.

Making this is pretty simple and amounts really don't matter. It's all about personal preference and you can really use anything you have on hand.

• Take about a cup of Pearl Barley and cook it in plenty of salted water or stock (amount doesn't matter since you are going to drain it, just treat it like you are cooking pasta), should take about 10 minutes at a good simmer
• Drain all the liquid when the Barley is done and let cool to room temp
• Quarter 2-3 Zucchini season and then grill or saute till done, then chop into bit size pieces and add to Barley
• Dice some garlic and onion and saute in Olive Oil over Med heat
• Chop some Fresh Spinach (maybe 1/2 bunch or small bag) and toss it in, season with S&P
• When this is cooked through add it to the Barley
• Also add about 1/2 a can of drained and rinsed Garbonzo Beans (Chickapeas), 1 Chopped Bell pepper, and 1/2 a pack of Feta Cheese (Crumbled)
• Finally season with S&P and splash with a bit of Olive Oil and the Vinegar of your choice (I used Red Wine) and toss well
• Serve it up in some bowls and Enjoy!!