Tuna Tartare inspired by Asia de Cuba

Asia de Cuba is one of my all time favorite restaurants. In fact I can still remember my first meal there when I was 18 years old. My mom took me to NY city for my birthday and we ate our way through some of the cities best and trendiest restaurants. Till this day my mom is one of the most serious foodies I know, I guess we now know where I get it from. Anyways Asia de Cuba is fabulous restaurant with locations in NY,  London, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami. The food is tapas style with influences from Cuban & Asian cuisine.
 
This tuna tartare is my take on their famous dish "Tunapica". To make to make the dish a little more heart healthy I serve it in cucumber cups instead of deep fried wantons. Either way the tartare is to die for! If you don't have time to make cucumber cups or fry your own wantons you can serve it up on potato or tarot chips as well.  What's great about serving an appetizer like this is you can prep everything in advance then quickly toss it together right before serving. If you like spice you can add a drizzle of sambal or sriracha to the dressing.

STEPS:
1 - for the dressing add finely chopped chives to the lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, grape seed oil, minced garlic & ginger, and a pinch of s & p
2 - finely chop the tuna and refrigerate until you are ready to use it
3 - toast slivered almonds in a pan over medium heat until golden
4 - combine coconut, currants and almonds once they have cooled down 
5 - remove cucumber skin (using a carrot peeler) and divide into 1" pieces, then punch out using a cookie cutter, then wrap in damp paper towel and refrigerate until ready to serve
6 - toss tuna, dressing, & dry mixture together and spoon into cucumber bites. 
7 - garnish with a sliver of green onion or panko bread crumbs 

So grateful for the #twitterlove from the operators at Asia de Cuba, many thanks. Now when can a girl get a calamari salad in Toronto?

The dual of crostini - tapenade vs. artichoke bruschetta

As per yesterdays post I will absolutely be provide the "recipe" for my mixed olive tapenade. These are two wonderful ways to top a crostini for a fabulous cocktail party. They also make delicious additions to celery ribs, sandwiches and are especially amazing when added to an omelet for a huge flavor punch! I  served these at an event a while back and people were just flipping for the bruschetta. A break from the traditional will always impress a crowd. 

If you're like me you respect recipes; love to read them, sometimes follow them, will even share them with your friends, but rarely do you NEED them to prepare something in your comfort zone.  When i'm grooving and cooking - not baking, just straight up throwing together a dish I can't be stifled by following directions, measuring, processing what happens next. If you're a seasoned enough cook you know there's a rhythm that just happens when you are making something with ingredients you love. These two dishes are the prefect examples. Your taste might be a little more of this and a little less of that. You really can't screw these up too bad. Unless your taste buds are shit and you have never tasted these flavors before. I have full confidence in my fabulous readers and your ability to make these dishes and make them delicious!

For the Olive Tempanade - use olives you like & do not add salt to this!

INGREDIENTS:

bitter crushed green olives - pitted (small amount)

black sun dried Moroccan olives - pitted (mall amount)

straight up large marinated briny green olives - any variety (majority)

black kalamata olives - pitted (medium amount)

garlic - crushed (few cloves)

red pepper flakes - optional (pinch)

lemon - juice and zest 

anchovy paste (2tbs)  or two - three filets 

capers - optional  (small amount if any)

small bunch parsley

black pepper - pinch

drizzle of olive oil - for good measure 

PREP: In a food processor pulse everything until desired texture - mine was super fine chopped (almost smooth). If you like more garlic add more... this goes for all ingredients. Let your favorite olive variety be the most prominent or the one you have the most of. Other herbs can be substituted such as rosemary or thyme. Just make sure all the olives are pitted or your going to have some issues.

For the Artichoke bruschetta

INGREDIENTS: 

Marinated or canned artichokes - the ones in a jar from Costco are actually amazing

roasted red peppers - you can find them pre roasted at antipasto bars, canned or jarred

roasted garlic (a few cloves) - if you have the time if not raw will do - just use less!

lemon - juice & zest

parsley - large handful

thyme - optional dry or fresh

pinch of s & p

drizzle of evoo

COOK: To roast garlic, slice the tips of the tops off (that's right!) drizzle with evoo s & p, wrap in tin foil and roast at 350 until golden and tender (about 40-50 mins).  If you are roasting your own peppers and have a gas stove awesome - char those babies right on the gas until blackened, then place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap until cool. Peel off the skins and then marinate with s & p, evoo, thyme, lemon juice, red pepper flakes a splash of vinegar, pin of oregano etc... make them taste good, damn it! If you are using pre marinated peppers, re purpose them by placing them on a baking tray and roast them further for another 20 mins or so (at 350). 

PREP: Thinly slice the roasted red pepper. Then in a food processor pulse the remaining ingredients - this should remain quite chunky.

Enjoy!

Who doesn't love Pierogi? Peeling back my Polish roots with this delicious dumpling

Potato pierogis  (perogies) are definitely one of those ubiquitous bites. They appear on menus from fine dining establishments with uber chic presentation and posh ingredients like white truffles, all the way down to the humble menu at Swiss Chalet. For me perogies are just a part of my cultural makeup. My grandmother is from Poland - yes she's the same grandmother who refuses to throw anything out  from the post "Taste this ______ I think it's gone bad". Ever since I was a little girl I can remember perogies being present at Friday night dinners at my grandparents house. My grandmother would always serve them along side rice and peas. Not a traditional Polish paring but my grandfather is Jamaican so we always had an interesting combination of dishes at our dinner table. For years my grandmother has had us all fooled. We thought every Thursday night she would make her perogies from scratch but she really just popped by Regina's a Jewish food emporium specializing in Eastern European delights. In all fairness those perogies are pretty damn flawless - and I'm positive Regina or who ever  else works in that kitchen isn't cutting any corners. For my perogies I used dumpling wrappers to save some time, but it"s easy to make your own dough. You must, must, must serve these with sour cream with chives, and caramelized onions. 
INGREDIENTS: 
Yukon gold potatoes - peeled and boiled 
butter 
garlic (optional) - boil with the potatoes (1 clove for every 2 potatoes)
s & p 
milk - splash 
water - for assembly
onions - to be caramelized
chive - for garnish
sour cream - for serving
lemon zest - (optional) for sour cream 
dumpling or wanton wrappers - I used the round ones


For mash potato: 

COOK: In a pot with cold water, add potatoes and garlic. Bring to the boil and let simmer until potatoes are fork tender. Using a ricer or a hand masher mash your potatoes with a few spoonfuls of butter, splash of milk and s & p to taste. Let cool before assembling your dumplings. You can make this a day in advance.   


FILL: Set up an assembly line with water, mashed potato and wrappers. Use a demitasse spoon (small spoon)  for measuring how much filling. Place the filling on the wrapper - then seal them closed with water. Refrigerate, or freeze on a flat tray if you will be making the perogies later


COOK: You can boil the perogies in salted water until they float, then pan fry in butter, or you can double whammy them. This means keep a lid and a water squirt bottle close by. Start off by frying the perogie in a little oil/ butter then squirt a little water in the pan, and place a tight fitting lid on so its fry/ steams them at the same time. Cook until crisped on the edges, about a minute or two. 

Just a few great ingredients - Basil Frico (parmesan crisp)

Many culinarians have said it before - just a few good quality ingredients will make something delicious. These basil frico's are the perfect example. There are only two ingredients in these, well three if you add cracked black pepper and they really couldn't be easier to make.  Frico is Italian for "little trifles", and come  from the Friuli region.  They're made from simply fine grating parmesan, then spooning on to a non stick surface and baking until bubbly and golden. Different cheeses can be use including pecorino romano, asiago, or chedder.  Frico's are lovely as a garnish for soups and salads or perfect for a super quick hors d'œuvre. This version adds delicious aromatic basil that has been thinly sliced (chiffonade) and presents as a beautiful green ribbon through out the lacy cheese crisp. Try serving these at your next cocktail party and prepare to wow your gusts. 

Petite beef crostini with Béarnaise aoli

Over the next few days I'm going to post some photos from the events I've worked on over the last month. Unfortunately I only have a few photos since my phone likes to die just as I'm pressing the camera option. Either that or I never charge my phone fully enough, then I make the mistake of calling my aunt on my way to work - she just loooves to talk.  Anyhoo this petite bite is quite simple and has wonderful flavor. You can make most of the components in advance and serve at room temperature, which makes this a great hors d'oeuvre for a cocktail party. By sing a béarnaise aoli (mayonnaise) instead of more traditional sauce this dish is become super simple, and accessible to any level cook. Your guests will absolutely love this delicious dish. 
PREP & ASSEMBLE: 
- Grill your choice of beef with s&p (fillet or flank works well) until medium rare. Let the meat rest and thinly slice. If cooking ahead of time pack up the meat with the released juices. Do not serve straight from the refrigerator! The meat has to come to room temp or slightly warm so the fat isn't hard and waxy.  
- You can make your own mayo or use store bought (about 1 cup). Whisk in 4tbs warm (not hot) melted butter (sweat 2 shallots in the butter first) and a splash of tarragon vinegar then add finely chopped shallots, julienned tarragon, chopped chervil (optional) season with a pinch of s&p. 
- thinly slice baguette drizzle with evoo s&p and lightly toast. 
SERVE: You can serve this app at room temp or slightly warmed. Spread a generous amount of aoli on the toast, then gently drape the meat on top. I would garnish with a tarragon or chervil leaf for a lovely presentation. 

Homemade potato chips with smoked salmon and creme fraiche

There are classic flavor pairings and classic canapés. This chic party pleaser satisfies both of these ideas. Canapés usually refer to  hors d'œuvres - delicious and decorative morsels otherwise know as finger food. Traditionally a canapé will be served on a dry pathetic round of stale bread, but not these puppies!  My classic combination of smoked salmon, potato and creme fraiche is refreshing and light - a far cry from brittle bread and fish scraps.  The key is to find great quality smoked salmon, and you can usually do so at your local fish monger. If you're in Toronto City Fish has excellent smoked salmon.  You get to decide exactly how much you'd like to buy and they'll even vaccuum seal it for ya. 

INGREDIENTS: 

Smoked salmon

yukon golds - super thinly sliced (use mandoline if you have) 

creme fraiche - dollop 

cucumber - remove skin and brunoise

chive - 1 inch chop

dill - 1 leaf per 

s&p

olive oil 

parchment paper

PREP FOR POTATO CHIPS: 

Slice up your potatoes toss in olive oil, s&p then place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Pre heat oven at 300. Serve the chip warm or at room temp - but the rest of the ingredients chilled. 

COOK: Bake until golden about 10 mins. (keep your eyes on them - they can burn easily) 

* you can use either the chive or dill - I like both
* creme fraiche can easily be swapped for sour creme