Tuna Salad Niçoise

This is a recipe that I made up, after being inspired by a tuna salad niçoise that I had ordered at a restaurant that had boiled potatoes in it. The tuna I ordered up was fresh tuna, done medium rare, but I used canned tuna... and it still tastes very fancy. Really, the traditional salad is served room temperature, but this modification is great ice cold out of the fridge for up to a week -- when all of the flavors have married together.



3/4 sack of Yukon Gold potatoes
1 large can albacore tuna, drained
large bunch fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
1/2 finely diced red onion
two handfuls rough chopped arugula
3 cloves minced garlic
handful minced fresh dill
1/2 bottle of champagne vinaigrette, or Newman's Light Honey Mustard dressing
juice of 1 lemon, plus plenty of grated lemon zest
plenty of salt, and pepper

Dice and boil the potatoes, steam the beans briefly and rinse all with cold water. Then just combine the rest to taste. I used some of that fancy champagne vinaigrette dressing the first time, but at 20 grams of fat per serving, I tried the Newman's light dressing (honey mustard) the second time, and I think I liked it even better. Also, if you don't want your salad to bite you back (although the flavors mellow a lot in the fridge) quite so much, you can use less garlic -- or substitute garlic powder. But I'm convinced that anything so potent has to have magical powers (and not just the power to make your date disappear,) so of course I'll stick with the raw garlic.

And I wouldn't skimp on the lemon or zest -- that's what makes this such a refreshingly crisp summer salad.

Cha Cha Cha!

On the way to the airport, we had our last culinary experience in L.A. over Christmas break. We went to Cha Cha Cha in Silverlake, or Que Cha Cha Cha, depending upon where you read their title. It is Caribbean cuisine in the coolest, most laid back setting. The atmosphere is similar to a couple of places Dave has taken us in L.A.: they seem as though there is little more than a tin roof over your head, and the line that distinguishes "inside" from "out" is definitely blurred. The parking lot outside is tiny, and despite the relaxed and sort of funky-junky atmosphere, the Jags and BMW's are crammed into the little lot. You may even spot a celebrity! I think the word is out about how good this place is.

We started with the empa?aditas and the jerk pork. Both were fantastic. The empa?aditas are stuffed with squash, tomatoes and other veggies, and goat and mozzarella cheeses. The pork was super sweet and syrupy, but just as spicy. We gobbled it all.



David and I followed with the swordfish caesar salads. The fish was chargrilled to perfection.



Chris hadn't had his fill of jerk yet, so he ordered the jerk chicken salad. He said it hit the spot.



I will most definitely request a return visit on our next stop in L.A. And maybe we'll be as lucky as David and his friend Heather were before us, and run into one of our favorite recording artists who may be nice enough to let us take his picture.



But even if we don't see anyone famous (we didn?t on the way to the airport), it'll be well worth it. Who cares about celebrities when you have jerk pork this good? I want to try everything on the menu at this place!

Sushi is Better Fried

Two more posts about Cali... Whoops, three. And then it's back to my own cooking! I'm having problems with the internet connection, but Lord willing and the waters don't rise, I'll post them all today.

We went out for sushi at a place near Dave called Miyako (you can even view the whole menu online at this site. Will revisit this page later...) It was really delicious. This post features more of Dave's camera phone photos. I gots ta git me one of those.

We started off with an appetizer of tempura-fried jalepe?os with cream cheese and tuna in them. They had a delicious, creamy and spicy sauce on top. I could have eaten an order by myself.



I'm not crazy about sashimi, but I do love the photos of it. I'm always tempted by the new craft stuff online in the shape of it -- jewelry and pillows and stuff -- although I don't really eat it.



The sushi rolls we got are lined up in the photo in the order I liked them best (just by coincidence -- even my OCD knows certain limits.)



The first was either the Aloha or the Caterpillar roll... It had mango around the outside, which may have been pickled or treated in some way, because it wasn't as juicy or as citrus-y as we would have liked. The middle was the Philadelphia roll, with smoked salmon and Philly cream cheese, and it was very good. The Tempura Shrimp rolls on the right were my fave, because how can you beat anything fried? The sauce on it was also delicious.

It was a great meal, and we all left feeling full for not too much money... But not bursting at the seams. Mmmm, sushi. Meat without the regret!