I have been making sushi since I was 20 years old. My father was stationed in Japan during the Korean War and returned with a love of all things Japanese. My father brought back the recipes, my mother learned to cook them, and I learned them from her. I grew up eating Japanese food long before it became a fashionable cuisine in the U.S.
Karl’s Tekkamaki
Filed under Fish, Main Dishes, Rice
Wife Jan wanted something to go with the soda bread I was making. She decided that I had not made clam chowder in quite a while. One reason for that was that daughter Eilene has become a bit lactose intolerant. The obvious solution was to make Manhattan clam chowder.
Karl’s Manhattan Clam Chowder
Filed under Main Dishes, Seafood, Soups
The kids are not coming over this weekend, so it is just the three of us for dinner. Sundays have been restricted lately because of Miriam’s diet, so I could make something with tomatoes, garlic and onions. When I suggested cioppino Jan was all for it.
Karl’s Simple Cioppino
Filed under California Fusion, Main Dishes, Seafood, Soups
Eilene is having friends over, so I needed something to feed hungry 20-somethings. I have made versions of both this dish and jambalaya before, but I wanted one that was simple enough for a weekday meal. The basic difference between a gumbo and jambalaya is whether you pour the sauce over the rice or cook the rice in the sauce.
Karl’s Creole Gumbo II
Filed under Main Dishes, Pork, Poultry, Shrimp
Wife Jan wanted something warm and noodle-y for a weekday meal. We have been on a search for the perfect bowl of ramen in San Jose—the best we have found so far, near us, is Masa Ramen. While I have made a complex version of this dish, I wanted something simpler and with fewer ingredients.
Karl’s Simple Shrimp Shoyu Ramen
Filed under Main Dishes, Shrimp, Soups
Yosenabe is a type of nabemono or one-pot dish. The traditional nabe pot is a fairly deep, round bottomed pot with a wooden lid that fits inside the edges of the pot. I had planned to make my usual yosenabe for Sunday’s dinner, but the kids decided not to come over—daughter Eilene also ended up going out—so it was just my wife and myself. I cut down the number of ingredients to be enough for just two.
Karl’s Simple Yosenabe
Filed under Main Dishes, Seafood, Soups
When I proposed my usual Greek lamb for this Easter’s dinner, I was faced with a bit of a revolt. We finally settled on both ham and salmon as the main dishes. For the salmon I eventually decided to use two spice rubs. To go with my salmon I also made a ham steak, arugula salad, latkes with pear sauce, and dinner rolls.
Karl’s Cedar Plank Salmon with Two Dry Rubs
Filed under Main Dishes, Sauces and Spices, Seafood
Adapted from Chef John’s recipe
Jan’s school friends—Barb from second grade, Pat from I think about seventh grade—are in town for Stitches. This means another meal to create—with no meat with a face or chunks of tomato. A few ago I made some Jamaican coconut fish parcels that had a very flavorful broth, I decided to look for a soup that was similar, but different.
Karl’s Brazilian Seafood Stew
Filed under Main Dishes, Rice, Seafood, Stews
February 13th was Fat Tuesday and wife Jan asked for Louisiana food for dinner. She sent me several URLs for “Louisiana salads.” Some had ingredients that were very un-Louisianan. Others were very starchy—since I had decided on red beans and rice as my main dish, I wanted something a bit lighter.
Karl’s Cajun Shrimp Salad
Whenever I make a Japanese feast I usually include miso soup. The soup broth itself is quick and easy to make, by itself it is simply dashi—a Japanese soup base—with some miso added for flavoring. After that, you may add pretty much anything you have available. Today, I decided on bay scallops, tofu, enoki mushrooms, green onion, and I happened to have some daikon sprouts, because I had also made hamachi shots for this meal.
Karl’s Shrimp Miso Soup
Filed under Seafood, Side Dishes, Soups
karllueck
Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 