As a person who has never liked to eat sushi I certainly never expected to find myself making it. And technically I still haven’t, although I did serve as sous chef for Ilise who made two kinds for a recent Foodie Group dinner – spicy tuna roll and salmon nigiri.

Thank goodness for the internet! There’s not much you can’t learn with a little screen time, and sushi-making tutorials abound. Ilise did her research, and we did a test run in advance of the dinner party. Having the right equipment and ingredients is key. We are lucky to live in an area with many ethnic markets nearby, and had no trouble finding what we needed. Your mileage may vary. 

• Bamboo rolling mats, covered in plastic wrap
• A hand fan
• Japanese sushi rice (we used Nishiki brand)
• Rice vinegar
• Nori seaweed sheets
• and Nanami Togarashi, a special Japanese 7-spice blend for the spicy mayo 

I use a rice cooker, but a covered pan on the stove will work just fine. 

For the practice run we used vegetables in the roll and upgraded to yellowfin tuna for the dinner party. Super-fresh, super high-quality fish is mandatory. Know your fish purveyor. In Chicago, we like Hooked on Fish and The Fish Guy. 

The basic steps are:

• Cook the rice
• Finish the rice - add vinegar mixture, fan and mix 
• Spread rice onto sheet of nori on bamboo mat
• Add filling – in this case, chopped tuna tossed with spicy mayo and avocado slices
• Roll it up tightly, using the mat to guide and shape 
• Carefully slice the roll into pieces
• Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger

​The salmon nigiri was even easier. We formed the rice into rectangles and placed a slice of beautiful sushi-grade salmon right on top. That’s it. Don’t need no more. Boom. 

Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

And if you want to see the final company-ready version of our sushi adventure, please read The Foodies Get Naked. Plenty of pictures!

Here are the recipes we used:

Sushi Rice – from No Recipes – There are great photos and step by step instructions at this site
Spicy Mayo – from Secrets of Sushi
Pickled Ginger – from Foodie with Family

Tell us about your own sushi making tips, tricks and favorites in the comments. 

The Foodies (formerly known as the Supper Club) are a group of friends who love to cook, eat, drink, and laugh together – plenty of each occur at our periodic themed dinner parties. Friends and family like to live vicariously around our feasts so we’ll share the stories, pictures and recipes here from time to time. Click here for previous Supper Club posts, and here for the group’s origin story.

Hmm, this might be the first time I’ve even considered including a Not Safe For Work (NSFW) tag on one of my posts. Overreacting? Maybe just a bit, but I’d feel terrible if someone gets in trouble with the boss for a bunch of nekkid Barbies up on the screen.

And naked Barbies a-plenty there will be, my friends.

Let’s take a step back. The most excellent theme for this dinner was Naked, selected by hosts Kathleen and Karen. This could go in so many different directions: naked meaning raw/pure/clean whole foods, or naked like fig leafs in the Garden of Eden, or naked as in penis-shaped cakes for a rowdy bachelorette party or … you fill in the blank. Luckily our group loves a good challenge. Game on.

The Menu:
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Drinks – Greg and Dan: Hop Skip and Go Naked cocktails; Sangría de Cava (with a theme-appropriate substitution of Naked Wine pinot grigio in place of the bubbly); a progression of Benziger Tribute Cabernet Sauvignon – we sampled the 2010, 2011 and 2012 vintages


Appetizers – Ilise and Ann: Sushi (Spicy Tuna Rolls and Salmon Nigiri) and Cucumber Canapes served nyotaimori style
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Main course – Karen and Kathleen: Gnudi in Parmesan Broth with Asparagus, Mushrooms and Peas; and an “Undressed” green salad


Dessert – Ellyn: Naked Cake (Lemon sponge cake with whipped cream and berries)

​Keep reading for more of the story, recipes, photos, a revealing Naked Playlist from Kathleen, and of course – more Barbies, Kens and their off-brand cousins, Blarbie and Len. 

Afternoon Dance Breaks - a chance to get up from the desk, crank up the tunes, and dance your fool head off for a few minutes before resuming the daily grind. 

Today’s dance break features a couple of right-now songs that sound a whole lot like disco hits from yesteryear. I’m flashing back to 1976 when my mom signed up for disco dance classes and forced me to be her at-home practice partner. I was a total rocker at the time, and would have been mortified if my friends knew I could “do the hustle.” After all, this was only a few years before the infamous Disco Demolition Night, when a crate of disco records was detonated in Comiskey Field.

But these days I’m really digging the nu-disco sounds and can’t stop from moving and grooving, bopping and bumpin’ all around the living room when these boss tunes come on. Please – hit the play arrow, turn it up, get up and get down.

Click to learn more about the artists – Moon Boots + Justin Timberlake

The Occasion: Drinks on the patio one fine weekend afternoon

The Circumstances: Unexpected uses for leftovers

Leftovers, wut? Yes, it’s like this. We recently hosted a dinner party for which our friends Karen and Kathleen (excellent cooks the both of them, members of our Foodie Group) brought dessert. It was a luscious passion fruit mousse served with passion fruit sauce. (molho de maracujá)

Now we all know there are pros and cons to hosting dinner parties. A big pro is that the tasty tasty leftovers often stay behind with you. (Con: doing the dishes.)

The leftover passion fruit sauce spoke to Ilise in a deep and meaningful way, beckoned to her in the form of a cocktail inspiration. And lo! The Rum Passion Cocktail was born.
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This baby is both refreshing and complex, knocking your socks off and sending a breeze blowing through your hair – all at the same time. It could be fun to experiment with some of the new aged rums on the market. Just be sure to bring the passion!

Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

Rum Passion Cocktail
Recipe source: Ilise Goldberg

Serves 1

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ounce Dark Rum
• ½ ounce Light Rum
• ¾ - 1 ounce Passion Fruit Syrup (to taste) – Recipe below
• ½ ounce Lime Juice
• Seltzer or Club Soda
• Maybe a dash or two of Bitters (to taste)

 
DIRECTIONS:

• Mix rum, passion fruit syrup and lime juice in a shaker with Ice. 
• Pour over a high ball glass with ice, add club soda and gently mix.

 
Passion Fruit Syrup:
The passion fruit syrup requires frozen passion fruit purée which is available at Hispanic markets. Or you can make fresh purée if you prefer.

• 3/4 cup passion fruit purée  
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar


• In a nonreactive saucepan, heat the water and sugar over medium heat.
• When the sugar dissolves, cook another 3 minutes, then add the passion fruit purée and stir until the sauce begins to thicken, about 8 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Chill covered.

Why yes, it’s another salad post. I’ve already confessed my lust for a good, crisp, veggie-laden, topping-adorned gathering of greens. A little dressing – just a bit, like a spritz of good perfume adds the finishing touch to an ensemble. Mmmm. And don’t you agree that salads taste even better on a hot summer’s day?
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Which brings me to the following: Southwestern Chopped Salad. Is this an innovative recipe? No, far from it. Is it the first time I’ve made it at home? Will it be the last? And was it amazingly delicious? Yes, heck no, and you betcha! 

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Keep reading for the recipe (such as it is – this is pretty flexible), some photos, a tune, and The Verdict. 

The Occasion: Picnic in the park and a concert under the stars with friends

As a city known for its hard winters, Chicago really throws itself into summer fun. There are festivals, parades, art fairs, and many great events all throughout the city including a wonderful series of free concerts presented at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, one of the city’s architectural gems designed by Frank Gehry. Diverse programming includes classical music, rock, jazz, blues, pop, world music, Broadway show tunes, and more, delighting the locals and tourists alike all summer long.

We always have good intentions to attend several concerts each year but often find – around mid-August or so – that we failed to get our butts in gear soon enough and end up missing everything. So this year’s strategy is to pick a few dates, put out the word to friends, spread the picnic blanket, open the wine, and see who shows up to join us for an evening of music, food and fun.
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The first one occurred a couple weeks ago featuring Ryley Walker and Blonde Redhead – both playing rock music but with very different styles. Please enjoy this playlist with a few of their tunes.
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Not all food is picnic-worthy, but this Greek Panzanella Salad sure is. It actually improves by sitting in the cooler for a while to marinate in the tangy vinaigrette before serving. Pair it with some cold fried chicken, grapes, and a lovely bottle of chilled Sauvignon Blanc (Kim Crawford for the win) and you’ve got a perfect al fresco meal. 

The Verdict: One of my new favorite salads. Make it yours too!

Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

Greek Panzanella Salad
Recipe source: Ina Garten via Food Network
 
INGREDIENTS:

• Good olive oil
• 1 small French bread or other crusty bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
• Kosher salt
• 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1 red bell pepper, large diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 red onion, sliced in half rounds
• 1/2 pound feta cheese, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted

For the vinaigrette:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup good olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan.
• Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Add more olive oil as needed.
• Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.
• For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion.
• Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives and bread cubes and mix together lightly.
• Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

The Fish for Dinner feature chronicles my education in the ways of fish-cookery. I grew up avoiding fish other than sticks and was well into adulthood before adding the real deal into my diet, usually at a restaurant. The impetus to cook more fish at home comes from joining a sustainable fish program through Hooked on Fish, like a CSA that delivers boxes of farm-fresh produce but with seafood instead. I’ll tell you what we made and how we liked it, plus a few tips and fishin’ tunes too.

The Occasion: Taco Tuesday! Or was it a Thursday? No matter, Taco Day reigns supreme all week long if you do it right.
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This time the fish portion from Hooked on Fish was mahi-mahi, a beautiful fish whose name means very strong, a reference not to its flavor, which is mild and somewhat sweet, but to its swimming stamina. HOF provides a recommended recipe for each fish, and this week’s mahi recipe (originally from The Chopping Block) caught my eye. Especially the salsa with grilled corn. Uh, yum. 

I don’t even like lobster – I know, I’ve been told I’m possibly not even human for failing to enjoy this luxury-linked delicacy – but felt compelled to share this post if for no other reason than to rock out to my favorite crustacean-themed song. And so you can feast your eyes on this adorable kitty in a lobster suit.

Okay, I’ll share some awesome-looking recipe links too. What’s your favorite treatment for lobster? Please share the details in the comments.

• Lobster Risotto - from Cooking Light
• Lobster Rolls - fromFood & Wine
• Lobster and Shells – from Ina Garten
• Lobster and Potato Salad – from Smitten Kitchen
• Lobster Bisque – from the New York Times

And of course, let’s not forget the basics:

• Steamed Lobster with Butter - from Chowhound

Afternoon Dance Breaks - a chance to get up from the desk, crank up the tunes, and dance your fool head off for a few minutes before resuming the daily grind. 
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What exactly is a rave anyway? Professor Wikipedia says: 

A rave is a large dance party featuring [snip] electronic dance music (EDM). The music is amplified [snip] to produce a deep bass sound. The music is accompanied by laser light shows, [and] visual effects and fog machines. 

A sense of participation in a group event is among the chief appeals of rave music and dancing to pulsating beats is its immediate outlet. Raving in itself is a syllabus-free dance, whereby the movements are not predefined and the dance is performed randomly, dancers take immediate inspiration from the music and their mood.

​That’s kind of poetic, isn’t it – a syllabus-free dance.

Anyway there you have it. Even better, here you have it – the Rave Playlist. Hit the Play arrow, turn it up loud, and get down with your dance break. (The first track is a slow build but so worth it!)

Click the names to learn more about the musicians – Jamie xx and Beck
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The Occasion: When you’re all of a sudden scrambling to make something for dinner because somebody (ahem) made a stupid mistake* with a whole different dish, ruining it forever. Sounds dramatic, I know, but the gist of it is entirely relatable. There are times when we’ve all got to improvise. 
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True, and I know that spontaneity is free to soar when there’s a solid foundation at the core. In this case, pantry staples. Over the years I’ve learned to always have a box of pasta and a jar of sauce in the cupboard. Also canned tuna, rice and beans, but that’s for another post.
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Inspiration came to this dish when I emptied out the contents of the vegetable crisper and started shuffling things around. Squash and mushrooms, basil and parsley, minced garlic in a jar, briny dark olives, and plenty of parmesan cheese to go with that pasta. Well, looky here, we had the makings of a fairly interesting meal after all.

Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

There is no recipe to share for this dish. Just encouragement from a friend to improvise and play with your food! In the same way that improvisation in music, theater or dance takes chances, makes left turns, and zigs while others zag, so too will this dish bend, curve and adapt as you need it to. These are my very loose guidelines for improv dinners:

• Jarred sauces and other store-bought foods are fine but usually improve by being doctored up. At least sauté some onions and garlic to add, maybe add a handful of herbs. Your sauce/whatever is already 100% better now.
• Don’t let any one thing overwhelm all the other things. Balance is key.
• Season with salt & pepper as you go.
• When in doubt, add more cheese!

The Verdict: Comfort food at its finest. With the added benefit of feeling virtuous for cleaning out your fridge and using up the leftovers!

* BTW this is the only acceptable way to thaw frozen meat, say for example, chicken thighs. 

The Fish for Dinner feature chronicles my education in the ways of fish-cookery. I grew up avoiding fish other than sticks and was well into adulthood before adding the real deal into my diet, usually at a restaurant. The impetus to cook more fish at home comes from joining a sustainable fish program through Hooked on Fish, like a CSA that delivers boxes of farm-fresh produce but with seafood instead. I’ll tell you what we made and how we liked it, plus a few tips and fishin’ tunes too.

The Occasion: Kickoff to the summer season of outdoor dinner parties - woo hoo!

Memorial Day weekend, party of 8, beautiful weather, and the bunnies managed not to eat every last one of our flowers so the yard and garden looked good. Our guests brought appetizers and dessert while we provided the main course and wine.

Aaahh! It was a delightful way to usher in Chicago’s favorite season, our reward for the long, hard winters.
This also represents a decent formula for your own summer parties. Make some/delegate some. Grill some/chill some. Keep the mood light and flexible – summertime is the perfect time to loosen up a little!

The Menu:

• Middle Eastern tapas, courtesy of Ellyn – Dolmeh, eggplant dip, hummus, tzatziki, carrots and pita chips
• Various cheeses, thanks to Shelley and Tara, paired with Ann’s Salted Olive Crisps
• Spicy Grilled Salmon with Tomatoes and Jalapeños
• Roasted Smashed Potatoes
• Green Bean Salad with Garlic-Basil Dressing
• Rustic bread from Hewn Bakery
• Passionfruit Mousse with Sauce, from Kathleen and Karen’s kitchen
• Fruit Salad, courtesy of Kirsten

​Listed here it looks like a ton of food, but spread out over several hours it was actually perfect. Everyone left satisfied but not stuffed. They also departed with leftovers – ‘no one goes home empty-handed’ is our dinner party credo.

Our wine credo says that a table full of good friends is always the best occasion to bring out the good stuff. Here’s what we poured:

• Rosé of Cabernet Franc –Turnbull 2015
• French Chardonnay – Louis Latour Montagny Les Grande Roche 2014

Both of these were included in our recent post about favorite summer wines. In the red category, we opened a couple bottles that had been maturing in the cellar for a few years. The time was right that evening, and this juicy yet complex wine was dark and lovely – just perfect.   

• Cabernet Sauvignon – Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley 2009​​

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Keep reading for recipes, photos, a playlist, and the rest of the story. 

Singer, dancer, actress, trail-blazing civil rights activist (she refused to perform for segregated audiences in the U.S.), and active in the French Resistance during World War II, Miss Josephine Baker has worn many hats and costumes – including the famous banana skirt.

Born on this day in 1906, she was known by many nicknames including the “Black Pearl,” “Bronze Venus,” “Jazz Cleopatra,” and the “Creole Goddess” prior to her death in 1975.

Learn more about this inspiring woman here and here.

And please take a moment now to enjoy this vintage video clip of La Baker (wearing an awesome headdress!) performing in Paris, 1955. 

Bon anniversaire, Josephine!

​h/t Jean-Marie Terrasse

A couple weeks ago an NYC business trip came up for Ilise, conveniently adjacent to a weekend, so I tagged along and we made it a party. We’ve learned over time that our best Big Apple strategy is to schedule just a few things, avoid overdoing it, and leave the rest up to chance. I must say, it worked like a charm this time!

• 4 days/3 nights  
• 1 Broadway show (Fun Home – dark but funny and excellent)
• 1 dynamite Jazz at Lincoln Center concert – a 14-piece band playing the Ray Charles Songbook with featured vocalists Diane Schuur and the Raelettes. You can watch a high quality webcast of the event here. Highly recommend!
• 2 restaurants I’d be happy to visit again: Colicchio & Sons Tap Room (Chelsea) and Gabriel’s (Columbus Circle) where the personable host is almost more delicious than the menu
• 1 new favorite cocktail spot: Bookmarks Lounge on the 14th floor of the Library Hotel on Madison Avenue. There’s a clubby library theme indoors and two small outdoor patios perfect for sipping lovely craft cocktails and admiring the nighttime skyline

We also enjoyed 2 uniquely NYC experiences, both even better than anticipated:

Chelsea Gallery Crawl: Went for the fabulous new Cindy Sherman exhibit at Metro Pictures. Stayed for:  

• David Hockney’s Yosemite Suite of iPad drawings at PACE
• Richard Serra’s large steel sculptures at the Gagosian Gallery
• Desire Obtain Cherish’s show titled Servant to Infinite Distraction at the Unix Gallery – Lovely floral still life designs which upon close viewing reveal  that they’re made of colored pill capsules 

Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

Also worth noting:

• Songs and the Sky: An Exhibition of Art + Music at the Bruce Silverstein Gallery
• Leda and the Swan – Hyperrealism courtesy of Carole Feuerman at the C24 Gallery
• And the list wouldn’t be complete without the taxidermy wolves posed in an action diorama in the entry to Jim Kempner Fine Art. The installation by Andy Rosen is titled UNPACK.

Still more art: The next day I amused myself at MoMA while Ilise worked, and was especially moved by a powerful installation titled the Mapping Journey Project by Bouchra Khalili which uses video clips of migrants telling their stories while outlining their journeys on a map. 

Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

The 2nd Annual Harlem Eat-Up! Festival held in Morningside Park featured an abundance of food and wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, artistic and cultural presentations, and more. The event’s chief organizer is Chef Marcus Samuelsson who was everywhere – introducing guest chefs on the demo stage, directing traffic for the booth vendors, and posing for selfies with his many adoring fans.

We saw a cooking demonstration with Chef Aarón Sanchez who brought helpers onstage including his mama and a child who had appeared on the TV show Chopped Jr. And another one which paired master mixologist Karl Franz Williams with TV personality and everyone’s favorite homegirl, Carla Hall. They were delightful! We even heard a Hootie Hoo!

Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

All in all, we had a wonderful time at the Harlem Eat-Up! Festival. If you’re in town mid-May next year, make it a point to attend, you won’t be sorry.

As for us, it was a most excellent weekend, capped off with people-watching on a lazy afternoon in beautiful Bryant Park before heading home. Thank you, NYC! We’ll be back again soon because we just can’t stay away. 
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