Back in action

If anyone's still around....

Sorry for being MIA lately.  This house is taking up apparently way more of my time than I thought it would.  This has led to many nights not cooking and lack of remembering to take pictures of things I eat.  However, as of last night...the cooking is back on track!

A few nights ago, we had planned on perhaps having our first very small dinner party.  I went to Whole Foods and bought 2.5 lbs of salmon and 2 lbs of brussel sprouts.  Unfortunately, the dinner was cancelled and I was stuck with 2.5 lbs of salmon and 2 lbs of brussel sprouts.

I had just marinated the salmon in a random mix of things.  Some of the ingredients being:

Red miso
Chili sauce
Stoneground mustard

I'd give you more exact but it's been about 4-5 days since I made it.

So we had a Memorial Day BBQ and I, unfortunately, didn't take pics of the food but it was good.  Since we weren't going to making the salmon for a couple of days I threw it in the freezer.  I was a little worried about what would happen to it since it had been marinated, sat in the fridge overnight, frozen, defrosted, refrigerated and cooked.....but luckily it came out well! 

We recently made a Costco trip and in the trip decided to make a random purchase of Pineapple Habanero Sauce. I would highly recommend this to anyone who things that sounds good b/c it is pretty dang tasty.  

After throwing the salmon on the grill,  I thought: "Why not dump some of that onto the salmon?" So I did...

As for the brussel sprouts....for Valentines Day, Eric and I went to a super delicious restaurant called Root Down in the Highlands.  We had the most amazing brussel sprouts and needed to replicate them.  Luckily, I was able to find a very similar recipe online at my favorite website, Smitten Kitchen.  I made some tweaks to it since I didn't feel like buying all of the ingredients.  This was my second time making it and I think it turned out just as well.  Here is the original recipe:  Balsamic Braised Brussels with Pancetta.  Some things I eliminated:

bread crumbs
butter
parsley
thyme
shallots

I used shallots last time but we didn't have any on hand or onions so instead, I threw in mushrooms and the dish still turned out amazingly.  I highly recommend that if you are a fan of brussel sprouts, that you attempt making these at least once.  They are incredibly easy, a little time consuming, but delicious!

Final meal was great.  It's good to know that after a couple of weeks I'm still capable of cooking good food. It may not be the prettiest of presentations but it sure does taste good. I think that's one of the best things about cooking at home...it doesn't have to be pretty! :)

Mad crawfish stacking skills!

Busy  busy weekend!! Lots have been going on with the house so there hasn't been much time for anything else.  However, I did get to take pictures of some of the meals we ate.

Friday night we spent working on the house so we ordered pizza for everyone....and probably half of China.  It seemed like a good idea to get 3 extra large Cosmo's Pizzas and breadsticks...until they arrived and we realized this was way too much food.  Needless to say, we will be eating pizza for the next week..

Saturday was a little more eventful.  We went to a crawfish boil at NoNo's Cafe.  It was a delicious combination of fried pickles, Abita beer, crawfish, mushrooms, potatoes, sausage, corn, and seasonings.  I wish I had taken a picture of Eric's corn pile because I'm pretty sure he ate more corn than crawfish!

At the end of the boil, we were full and happy.  Needless to say, it was a great time with great friends :)

Rain delay...

I may be a little slower to post this next week.  I just bought a house so staying busy getting things done like painting, unpacking, furniture shopping, etc.  I plan on being in by next week so hopefully then I will be better about making posts.  I didn't make dinner last night but I did, however, take pictures of everything I ate for dinner! 

Last night, Eric had to work late and I had planned on getting sushi but I really wanted a martini so I figured I would go to Cherry Creek Grill.  For some reason, I decided to go somewhere different so I went to Hillstone, formerly known as Houstons...also owned by the same company as Cherry Creek Grill.  I know, I really ventured out there but it sounded good and I know they make good martinis! I wasn't aware but I realized once I got there that they also have a jazz trio that plays in the corner by the bar which was a nice touch.  Here's the journey of my restaurant bought meal...

Here's the menu.  It's not the best picture but you can also find it on their website: www.hillstone.com.  It's pretty generic in topics: starters salads, entrees, sides, dessert, and this place has sushi, which the Houston's in Memphis does not.  This is partially why I picked Hillstone instead of CCG last night.  

Nothing crazy, just an extra dirty martini with Ketel One vodka.  It was quite delicious though and definitely filled my martini craving. 

I obviously need to get better at taking pictures of things before I start to eat them.  This is the Thai Tuna Roll.  It's probably one of my favorite rolls ever.  It's a little pricey at $15 but it comes with 8 pieces and they're pretty good.  It's filled with ahi tuna, avocado, and peanuts.  They're wrapped in rice with sesame seeds and something that I haven't figured out yet but the dipping sauces are what make it great.  There are two that come on the plate and one is spicy and the other "cooling."  The process I have found that works best is to dip the roll in soy sauce and wasabi first, then dip into the other 2 sauces at the same time.  They're right next to each other so you can get a bit of each and then eat the whole roll at once.  I only ate 4 pieces since I had more food coming and saved the other 4 for Eric.  

After my martini, I had a glass of wine.  It was a Sauvignon Blanc.  I don't know the brand because I didn't see the menu.  I'm pretty sure they only have 2 on the menu by the glass and I ordered the one that was less fruity.  I like CCG and Hillstone too because they don't pour dinky 4 oz glasses of wine.  They actually give you a half glass which is nice since you are paying so much for it! The best thing about sitting at the bar is the ability to watch TV!  I was lucky enough that no one cared about changing the channel so I watched the Cubs game and eventually the Playoff game as well. In the process, I met a man and his wife who are from Chicago and we talked about Derrick Rose and the Bulls and Memphis...It's always interesting to find random connections with random people.  

I really need some of these sports to end!! I don't have enough TV's or eyes to keep up!!

For the entree, I ordered the Jumbo Lump Crabcakes.  It usually comes with coleslaw but since I only like German Coleslaw, I got a side salad instead.  The salad was refreshing.  It was topped with their house vinaigrette which was good.  The croutons weren't anything amazing though, so I did not eat them.  The salad consisted of the lettuce mix, carrots, corn, cherry tomatoes, croutons, and dressing.  

The crabcakes were fantastic! You can tell they make them in house because of how fall apart and flaky they are.  There is just the right amount of breadcrumb and it isn't over fried.  They sat on top of a dijon remoulade sauce, which was good but perhaps a little bland.  Either that, or I just didn't get enough of it.  The crabcakes were good enough that I don't feel like they even needed the remoulade though.  The only critique I'd give is to add a little heat.  I only ate one and brought the other one home for Eric.  

So...completely forgot about pictures by this point.  Not sure how that happened since I managed to take pictures of everything else but I decided it would be a great idea to gorge myself with dessert.  This WAS a walnut brownie served a la mode with a champagne custard and caramel.  I asked before ordering whether or not they made their desserts in house, which apparently they do.  I hate when I order dessert and it comes from Aramark or some other frozen box so I was pleasantly surprised to hear they made them there.  This was pretty amazing though.  The brownie was the perfect amount of gooey and warm.  The custard added a nice balance of unsweetness to the sweetness of the brownie and as always, being a la mode just makes every dessert better.  I think next time I'll try the key lime pie.  I hear it's wonderful.  

So, I promise I will try to keep posting as often as possible this next week...it just may not be everyday but I will do my best! 

Officially tackling the pig

Besides bacon and bbq, I have never been a pork fan.  I don't think I have ever eaten a pork loin/chop that I enjoyed because they are always so dry and taste like nothing.  Because of this, I also never tried making pork because I just assume it will be a waste of money and time.  After going to Rioja for Eric's bday, I realized that pork didn't have to be well done and dry.  I decided, last night, to take on pork tenderloin, paired with mashed potatoes.  I looked up some recipes but found Alton Brown's to be very simple and it sounded good so I went to Whole Foods and grabbed some ingredients.

The pork loin weighed 1.13 lbs and this is what it looked like after trimming

This is what went into the marinade

1/4 cup Honey

1/2 cup Lime Juice

1 Chipotle Chilis in Ancho 

1 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Kosher Salt

I adjusted the recipe a bit after tasting it, adding extra garlic powder, salt, an extra chili, and honey.  The original recipe is way too tart.  The lime was just over powering everything so the extra honey helped calm it down, this was done to taste.  I also didn't feel that one chili was really doing anything so I threw in another one for a little extra kick. The garlic powder was increased to 1 tbsp and the salt was a little over 1/2 tbsp. I put the ingredients in a small tupperware container and shook them up.  After trimming the pork, I placed it in a gallon bag and poured in half the marinade.  This sat in the fridge for about 7 hours.  

I cooked this on the grill and it's a little tedious but I think it was well worth it.  The grill was oiled and set to medium.  The loin cooked for 15 minutes, and I turned it every 2 minutes.  Once done, I placed the loin into a foil "bag" and poured the remaining half of marinade into it, closed the bag up and let it sit for 10 minutes.  While this was sitting, I made my mashed potatoes.  Pretty standard: just milk, butter, salt and pepper.  I use red potatoes because they're less starchy. 

Final product....

I must say, this was delicious.  It is one of the best pork tenderloins I have ever had...which I guess doesn't say much since I haven't had that many, but trust me, it was gooooood.  I was pretty proud of myself for how it turned out since I've never made it before.  The "boring" mashed potatoes went perfectly since the flavors in the pork were stronger and overpowering.  I was sure we'd have leftovers of both pork and potatoes but we ate it all!! 

"The journey of a thousand pounds begins with a single burger" Chris O'Brien

Sunday, I was really craving a burger.  Eric and I went bowling and for some reason, afterwards, we both decided we really wanted Italian instead so no burger Sunday.  This meant on Monday, I was REALLY craving a burger.  For a split second, I considered buying the pre-made burgers b/c they had some on sale at Whole Foods that sounded good, cheddar jalapeño, but I told myself not to be lazy and just got 95% ground beef instead.  My burger mix consisted of the following (sorry no picture):

ground beef

garlic powder

onion salt

cayenne pepper

worcestershire 

chili sauce

ground mustard

salt

pepper

I know it seems like a lot to go into a burger but they are pretty good.  I mixed it all up and then put them in the fridge so they could "firm" up before dinner.  Put them on the grill at about medium heat and then topped them with pepper jack cheese.  Prior to the burger, I roasted a jalapeño and put it in a ziplock bag and also grilled an onion. 

The toppings consisted of:

grilled onions

roasted jalapeños

tomato

ketchup

mustard

For sides, I picked up a traditional potato salad and mediterranean pasta salad from Whole Foods and for an appetizer, we had deviled eggs.

The eggs were pretty good.  I would have put some sweet relish in them and maybe a little more salt but they were definitely fitting for the general pallet.  

The weather this week is going to be amazing so hopefully there will be many outdoor meals coming up.  We may be off our salad kick for a bit :)

School's out FOREVER!

Congrats to Punkin for graduating this past Saturday!! Lack of posts this weekend are mainly due to not really cooking anything since family was in town and I was lazy and didn't take any pictures of food we ate =/  However, I did make him a cake.  It was a carrot cake and turned out ok.  Not as well as I would have liked but Eric seemed to like it so that's really all that matters since it was for him anyway.  For some reason, it felt like the cake never finished cooking.  It was a little dense and I felt, gooey.  I had problems with the frosting too.  When making it, I had the cream cheese and butter at room temperature so I think that was part of the problem.  It just didn't taste like cream cheese frosting but more like butter and cream cheese.  After putting it in the fridge though, it firmed up and tasted much better.  The taste of the cake was ok, just the texture was an issue.  I decided to put the cake in the fridge overnight to let it cool and just woke up at 5:30 the next morning and finished it.  

So Eric is a Cubs fan, against all my efforts to make him a Cardinals fan.  Since it's baseball season, I figured it would be fun to make him a Cubs themed cake for graduation.  This is the logo I based it off of.

This is how the cake turned out

The writing could've been better but it will do.  I think the piping tip that I chose was a little big too.  I picked a bigger size for the outlining of the C but at 5:30 in the morning, I really didn't feel like changing the tip/bag so I just went with it.  It's the first thing I've actually piped and first actual cake I've made since pastry school so I think it's ok.

Oil makes all the difference!

It was so nice out yesterday, I felt the only thing to do for dinner was grill! I had planned on making sliders or burgers but once again, salmon was on sale! What's been nice about this is that it's always different salmon! We got lucky yesterday with Alaskan filets.  I'm usually hesitant to grill salmon when there's no skin because it always sticks to the grill then falls apart but I overheard the guys at Whole Foods talking about how you HAVE to grill it because it's the best.  This time, I actually oiled the grill and it makes a HUGE difference! My salmon didn't stick at all! It was amazing! I decided grilled veggie kebobs would be a nice touch as a side. 

I didn't get the amazing grill marks on the fish but I also cooked it at a very low flame so it never actually touched the salmon.  This meal turned out pretty well though.  The salmon was delicious.  I marinated it in Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce, which really isn't a BBQ sauce at all.  It's a little tart, a little sweet, and a little spicy.  There is a nice citrus/ginger flavor to it that I figured would go well with salmon and I was right! I think Alaskan is definitely my favorite between the three that we've had.  

To continue birthday celebration, I picked up mini cheesecakes, one key lime cheesecake and one coffee brownie cheesecake.  The key lime was definitely better, much much better.  The coffee brownie was ok. It had a weird texture that I wasn't too crazy about.  These minis are the perfect amount of dessert though. 

Overall, I'd say this was a successful meal :)

alles Gute zum Geburtstag manfriend!

In celebration of Eric's bday, we went to dinner last night.  Lucky for you, I just barely remembered to take pics of all our food!! 

We decided to go to Rioja since I had a gift certificate and neither of us had been before.  We had reservations for 7:00 but on Monday, we would make them or not so we cancelled them.  We then figured since it was a Tuesday, there wouldn't be a wait or that many people so we didn't re-make a reservation but we were wrong.  We arrived at 6:00 and asked if they had a table.  All that was available was the Chef's Table, which is just a bar, and a small 2 person table by the bar.  We decided we'd sit at the actual bar and wait for their next open reservation which was 8:00.  For a while, we toyed with the idea of going somewhere else for a change in scenery but 2 hours, 4 pieces of bread, and 4 drinks later, there we sat....still at the bar.  

We were finally seated a little after 8:00, quickly ordered another round of drinks and perused the menu.  We decided to split an appetizer and salad along with our entrees.  Here is how our dinner panned out: 

 Appetizer: Fritto Misto-crispy calamari and baby artichokes, marinated castelvetrano olive-fava beans, piquillo peppers, Valbreso feta crema

 They had several breads but these were the two I munched on at the bar and at dinner:

Rosemary Sourdough
Onion Mustard

Eric tried the rosemary/goat cheese biscuit as well which is the house specialty.  I tasted it and it wasn't too bad since I generally dislike goat cheese.  The cheese flavor only really came out towards the end, before swallowing.




I thought their presentation of salt and pepper was interesting just because they were in mini bowls.  The salt was pink sea salt.  

 We split the Rioja House Salad next which was made up of:

baby arugula
Medjool dates (NOT figs)
gorgonzola
toasted almond vinaigrette.

Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of this dish because of the gorgonzola.  I was hoping it was in bigger pieces on top or to the side but they had tossed the whole salad together and for me personally, the gorgonzola was just too overpowering.  Luckily, Eric liked it so it was ok

This was my entree.  I don't remember what it was called but it was the special of the day.  It's made up of:

crab meat wrapped with cucumber and topped with radishes
crab meat raviolis
asparagus
mushrooms of some sort
fried crispy capers
lemon butter sauce

I think this dish needed a little more "heaviness" to it such as more cream, some white wine, or maybe some parmesan.  The lemon flavor was a little overpowering for me.  However, it did work very well when as a bread sauce :)  It was a little heavy on the asparagus which I don't usually eat but in the process of ordering food, it slipped my mine what was actually in this dish.  Overall, it was good though.  Eric seemed to be a fan.

Further away view but you can get the gist of it.  Eric ordered the  smoked pork tenderloin with spring risotto.  This consisted of:

carnaroli rice with English peas
pea mascarpone mousse
sugar snap pea-nasturtium salad
lemon yuzu vinaigrette

I can say that this was the most perfectly cooked pork tenderloin that I have ever had.  I usually dislike pork since it's always cooked well done and tastes incredibly bland.  This, on the other hand, was cooked medium and very tender.  It was incredibly smokey though, which I wasn't a huge fan of.  I have to wonder if it was due to my dish being so light and lemony though.  The risotto was a little crunchy for me but the flavor was good and Eric pointed out the peas were a nice touch and I agree.  This was definitely an entree that worked well together as a complete bite.

 We realized after the entrees that it was inching 10:15.  Valet closed at 11:00 and we had been at this one restaurant since 6:00.  However, in the greatness of birthdays, we had to have dessert!! What better way to do this than to get it to go :)

The dessert was chose was the Chocolate Caramel Napoleon.  This consisted of:

layers of chocolate caramel ganache

vanilla Bavarian creme

peanut butter flour less cake

chocolate corbet

peanut butter caramel

It was a great end to a delicious, fun-filled evening.  The sorbet was a perfect consistency, having not melted in the car ride home.  The peanut butter flourless cake was a perfect touch of peanut butter with dark chocolate.  I think a touch of sea salt would have made this dessert a little more delicious but I was definitely not complaining.  

The entire night was great.  The company was the best and the food paired it well.  I think we would both love to go back again and try different things.  

Hopefully, Eric enjoyed his birthday just as much as I did! :)

How do you say "shmorgisborg" in Italian?

First of all, Happy Birthday to Eric, my amazing manfriend who always eats what I put in front of him and never complains :) 

Back to salads last night...even though it really just looks like we ate a charcuterie plate, I promise there's lettuce down there.

I had planned on making a side salad with crab cakes and remoulade but my Whole Foods is apparently having issues finding a crab dealer since last week.  No crab dealer = no crab cakes :( Made me a little sad seeing as how I wanted them last week and had been looking forward to them all weekend but o well.  This meant figuring out something new for dinner and spending more time in Whole Foods, both things that I never mind doing.

Dinner last night was Charcuterie salads.  It was made up of the following mess of things:

Prosciutto De Parma (3: I only ate 2)
Cappicola (2)
Genoa Salami (2)
Pepperoncinis (5: but I love these things)
Pappdews (4)
Jalapeño stuff olives (3: I only ate 1)
Fresh Mozzarella balls (a handful: these balls were teeniny)
Roasted red peppers: (1 pepper)
Gerkins (3)
Spring Mix
Balsamic/OO mix
French Vinaigrette

I always love this salad because I get 2 cravings out of the way at once: Charcuterie and salad. The last time I made this, I went way overboard and included way more meat which was a little overkill.  I'd say this one worked out better as far as fullness.  This is why I included quantity in the list.

You Don't Always Need All The Junk

Last week, I posted about my love for Cherry Creek Grill's Macho Salad.  I had some time Friday between the gym and getting my nails done for the Kentucky Derby and it just so happens that CCG is right next to my nail place! On top of which, the offer I put on a house got accepted Friday so I figured it would be a good time to celebrate! I had been craving a burger for about a week and I had a pretty good gym day so why not?

I must say, even though Schramsberg may be cheaper and the grapes are grown in the US, it is still one of my favorite "cheaper" champagnes.  I think I may prefer it to Moet and Veuve at times.  It is also usually more reasonably priced when out to dinner and available by the glass, whereas Moet and Veuve are almost always by bottle.  

Here's a preview of my meal.  I went ahead and asked for a to-go box bc I knew there was no way I was going to be able to eat all of this food.  The salad was a side Caesar and they do such a good job.  There is just the perfect amount of dressing to lettuce combo and the dressing is not as creamy/rich as most Caesar's which is great.  It has a nice hint of lemon and anchovy without being overpowering.  They also include their great cornbread croutons, which I don't eat, but do love.

Close up of the burger from the side view.  I felt this was necessary because the best thing about this burger is that it is SO simple!! I ordered it medium and it was in between medium/medium rare which is perfect for me.  The only "fixin" on this burger is cheese!! Usually, I want the works: bacon, grilled onions, mushrooms, etc but this burger is quite perfect with just cheese.  It comes with cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomato, mustard, and mayo on a toasted egg bun.  I try to stay away from carbs so I took most of the bun off but the bite I had was rather tasty.

I must say, my belly much appreciated this burger Friday and again today when I ate the leftovers.

"She said that the biggest fish in the river gets that way by never being caught."

No salad last night!!

Once again, salmon was on sale and I really just can't resist a good sale on salmon.  This time it was Sockeye which I like every once in a while for its meatiness.  It has more of a steak-like texture as opposed to Norwegian, which tends to be flakier and fattier.

  I'm still getting the hang of remembering to take pictures so there will be times that I just forget.  Our dinner last night consisted of shrimp cocktail (not pictured), roasted brussel sprouts, and salmon.  I meant to take a picture of the sprouts in the bowl before I started roasting them but....I forgot =/ so instead, I took a picture of them in the oven.

Brussel Sprouts:  Removed the outer leaves and cut off the stubs.  Tossed them in olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Put them in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 min, shook the pan and flipped them, and put them back in the oven for another 20 min.  Once I took them out, I put them back in the bowl and tossed them in shredded cheese. I picked Farmer's English Chedder b/c I love the nuttiness of it.

For the salmon, I just drizzled some OO, salt and pepper on top.  I wasn't going to put a glaze on it until after but changed my mind last minute and threw a mustard and dill glaze on top (Whole Foods).  Threw it in the oven at 400 degrees and cooked it for 20 min.  I did this when the brussel sprouts also only had 20 min left so they could come out at the same time.

I had some candied walnuts leftover from our Macho Salads the night before so I chopped them up and after the salmon had cooked for 20 minutes, threw them on top and put baked for another 3 minutes, just to "glue" everything together.

Finished product: Put some more glaze on top of the salmon and cracked some pepper just for finishing touches.  We ended up dipping our sprouts in spicy ranch and ketchup.  Yum!!

Figs are kinda gross.....

Lucky for us, there were no figs in our dinner :) 

Every Wednesday, Whole Foods has a sale on their rotisserie chickens.  Therefore, every Wednesday I buy a whole chicken whether we really want it or not because I know they are delicious and we'll eat it eventually.  Once the chicken makes it home, I immediately debone it and put the meat in tupperware because it's easiest to take the meat off when it's still hot.  It's kind of great how easily meat falls off a bone when it's cooked well.  I have decided that the Chimichurri (sp?) flavor is my favorite. 

In the process today of looking for dinner ingredients, I happened to see these ball things in the seafood case which were also on sale for $0.99 each and sounded interesting....bacon, cheddar, and crab ball things.  I wish I remembered the correct name for them but I asked for them as balls and that's what I'll continue to call them.  Two balls please! 

I baked them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until the outside seemed baked and crispy.  Once you bite into them, they kind of taste like mashed potato balls with a crispy crust of breadcrumbs.  There is only the slightest hint of cheese or crab and I really didn't even get any bacon.  Mine, for some reason, had peas in it which was a surprise since Eric's had no peas and they were supposed to be the same thing.  Overall, they weren't the best things in the world but I guess that's what you'd expect for $0.99.  I think a bit of Cosmo's Spicy Ranch would have added to the experience, as it does add to most experiences. 

Tonight's main course is based off of a salad that was introduced to me by my best friend Liz! Four years ago, she introduced me to the fabulous place known as Cherry Creek Grill.  It's owned by the same company as Houstons and Hillstone and their menus are very similar.  However, you can only get this salad at Cherry Creek Grill.  It's the Macho Salad and we shared this the first time we went there after our "grueling" walk around Cherry Creek North trying to decide where to eat, either Houstons or CCG, not knowing they were basically the same place.  Fortunately, we ended up at CCG and it's become one of my favs ever since.

Anyway, let's get into the salad shall we?  It's ingredients are pretty simple but something about it is just delicious.  I changed some of the things since this salad has goat cheese and I despise goat cheese and I also took out the corn. This salad is made of the following:

Spring Mix

Madjool Dates (NOT figs): Roughly chopped and pitted

Avocado

Grape Tomatoes

Cornbread Croutons: I just bought cornbread at Whole Foods and put it in the oven until crunch

English Farmers Cheddar

Blush Wine Vinaigrette

Pepper

Wine: Parkers Estate Chardonnay.  It was ok...it's not a favorite pick and I don't know that I'll buy it again because it has a little too much grape flavor for me, resembling grape juice, but it's drinkable and went well with the chicken and dressing.  

It came out tasting great, like I knew it would because you can't really go wrong with those ingredients anyway.  They seem like pretty standard salad ingredients, but something about it just pushes it over the top. 

Rare but Well Done

And the salads are back! With the Derby coming up this weekend and Eric's birthday and graduation next, we can't really afford to be making too much deliciousness or else we won't fit into our outfits.  Maybe we'll switch it up a bit more in a couple of weeks but until then....salads, salads, and more salads!! However, if you haven't figured it out yet, my salads aren't exactly "ordinary" so still adding deliciousness to life while being healthy :) 

I had planned on making these last week but then salmon went on a huge sale so I had to jump on that opportunity.  So dinner last night consisted of:

Rare Ahi Tuna: marinated in red miso for about 2 hours, coated in sesame seeds, pan seared about 3 minutes each side ( I allowed it to sit for about 5 minutes after removing from pan before slicing), then drizzled with more red miso glaze.
Cherry Tomatoes
Mango
Blueberries
Avocado
Yellow Bell Pepper
Spring Mix
Ginger Miso Dressing
Wine: Chardonnay of some sort...they were sold out of my usual Hawkstone Chardonnay so I grabbed some random bottles.  Since I managed to drink an entire bottle last night, I threw the bottle away before seeing what it was.

* Side note about glazes:  I have found that the seafood marinades and glazes made by Whole Foods are pretty good.  I have gotten several from there, red miso included, and they all seem to taste really delicious and really easy to use since they're pre-made.  They run about $5 a bottle and make any fish taste better.  If you ever want fish and don't know what to do with it, I highly suggest picking up a bottle.