Udon with Home-Made Broth, Mushrooms and Spinach, Korean-Style Spicy Tofu

Udon with Home-Made Broth, Mushrooms and Spinach

Korean-Style Spicy Tofu

Mustard and Fennel Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Apples and Onions, Baby Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Hash, Hush Puppies

This begs the existential questions - is a hush puppy a hush puppy before it is cooked? Consensus says no and hence, these are future hush puppies.

OK, now it’s official - these are hush puppies.

The finished dinner, minus the hush puppies, which I completely forgot about and left sitting on the stove.

Sesame Steak Tacos with Shiitake Mushrooms, Cilantro and Asian Green Salad

Unfortunately, this was dinner alone with the lady out of town. The upside was that it took all of fifteen minutes to make.

Ricotta, Prosciutto and Spinach Tart, Braised Escarole with White Beans, Mushrooms, Tomato and Pecorino

A big winner for a mini-dinner party.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Cumin Salt, Green Beans with Lemon, Black-Eyed Peas, Biscuits, Greens

Batter and Cumin Salt

Buttermilk Biscuits fresh out of the oven.

Ready to fry after brining in buttermilk and dredging in flour and panko.

Putting the “fried” in “fried chicken”

Golden.

A nice, light, healthy dinner.

Sea Bass with Somen and Vegetables

Prepping.

Preparing broth from scratch with lemongrass, kombu, onion, ginger, jalapeno, mirin, sake and soy sauce.

Broth after being strained.

Shiitake mushrooms, snow peas, napa cabbage, bean sprouts, red onion and carrot after being quickly stir-fried in sesame oil and soy sauce.

Sea bass fillets in the pan

The delicious final product.

Sausage and Mushroom Ragu

Scallops with Sesame Bok Choy and Sweet Potato with Miso Scallion Butter

Stir-frying the baby bok choy in a bit of sesame oil.

Prepping the scallops and finishings.

Scallops with Sesame Bok Choy and Sweet Potato with Miso Scallion Butter

Roasted Monkfish with Miso-Sake Broth and Mashed Turnips; Sake Gelee

Roasted Monkfish with Miso-Sake Broth and Mashed Turnips; Sake Gelee. “A perfect 10″, according to my live-in food critic. The mushrooms atop the monkfish are the ever-elusive hon-shimeiji.

Cubism at its finest. Sake gelee awaiting the main dish…

Sous Vide Chicken Breast with Truffle Butter

Sous Vide Chicken Breast with Truffle Butter, Corn Pudding and Wilted Spinach.

The second experiment with the Sous Vide Supreme, and another masterpiece. The chicken was cooked with nothing but a bit salt, pepper and some amazing truffle butter. It didn’t really need anything else at all. Well, other than the shiitake mushroom-shallot sauce that I topped it with.

A photo opportunity.