Mixed Plate: How Wasabi Got Her Holiday Groove Back

I know what you're thinking. You're looking at the calendar, the dwindling hours left to do all your holiday baking/shopping/social calls are looming like Marley's Ghost, rattling his chains to remind you that the time draws nigh to get that Christmas Spirit in your heart... OR ELSE. Fine, so I realize that's not everyone, but I know it's a few of you out there. And it's the ones who are the real doers of the family and household, the ones who make sure all their loved ones' needs are taken care of, that no one in their life feels left out. These are the Holiday Heroes who literally break their backs for every holiday/birthday/special occasion; they never forget a special date or anniversary, they're always quick with a card or a special little gift, and they are an endless font of heartfelt generosity. Baby, sit back for a spell, this post's for you.

Give yourself the gift of a day, or at least an afternoon to stop and enjoy the holiday lights - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I think of my mother during the holidays. She went into Christmas Mode early in the year, months in advance, whipping out her sewing machine and picking out patterns for some crafty, adorable handmade holiday gift for close friends and relatives. I remember one year she made a dozen or so wreaths decorated with sewn teddy bears made out of holiday quilting fabric. Another year she made these incredible stockings full of little pockets and places to stuff goodies and sweets -- exactly the kind of stocking made for kids. Every photo had the potential to be made into that year's holiday card, which would be sent out by or before the first week of December, and she'd be the one writing notes in all of them. Wasabi Mom is happily enjoying the life of leisure, in retirement on Da Islands with Wasabi Dad in temperate climate, where the Spam Musubi roam freely. She still sends a few cards out, but no photos, since it's been many years since I've lived at home for the yearly family snapshot. She puts up a few things, but nowhere near as much decor as when I was younger. But that incredible holiday spirit stuck with me all these years, and she's remained a great inspiration to stick with that tradition of making sure cards and handmade gifts never go out of style.

Holiday Hectic Mode starting...NOW - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Fast forward a few years, and many consecutive Christmases of never forgetting to send out a holiday card or making some sort of homemade baked sweets, I find myself in that Hectic Holiday mode that my mother probably felt many years ago. I would never give up the opportunity to let my loved ones know how much I appreciate them, whether it's with cards, cookies or some other weird handmade craft monstrosity I thought was a good idea at the time. And I would never consider myself the aforementioned Holiday Hero, but I understand the desire to make sure no one feels left out during the festive season -- because everyone should be reminded that they are thought of and loved! There are many people out there who truly give it their all during this time of year, with volunteering and giving so much of their time to others. If anything, those are the people who need to be remembered and thanked for their efforts, so maybe bake them a batch of cookies or something, why dontcha?

The baked good whirlwind that capsized our kitchen - Photos by Wasabi Prime

The gesture of giving means something, even if it isn't expensive or some diamond studded big screen TV. Oy, what an ugly thing that would be, no? After many weekends baking, sugar-dusting and card-writing, I finally hit the holiday home stretch of having all the goodies packaged to mail or hand-deliver. I was a multitasking queen, prepping shortbread dough, wrapping little parcels of homemade pretzels, cookies and brownies, while catching up on the last few weeks of TV on our iPad and slowly realized, Holy Crap... what about me?

Holiday baking HQ, powered by ugly cookies and iPad with recorded TV shows - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Sounds terribly selfish, I know -- ME, ME, ME. But after all that running around, I had a moment to catch my breath and say, I think I deserve a little break. And I think that goes for anyone else out there who's in the same spot as me: feeling like it's less holiday and more checking off boxes on a list of to-do's. Holiday Fail. In the pursuit of holiday magic, the spirit disappeared. Spending too much time worrying how many misshapen "Homer" cookies had to be sacrificed to a hungry Mister, and not enough time just enjoying the fact that dammit, this really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Relax, like the hookah-smoking caterpillar! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

And so I did it -- I gave myself the best possible gift one could give onself: Time. Take an afternoon or a morning -- a whole day if you can swing it. I sought out the holiday spirit in downtown Seattle, doing some simple pleasures that I'd done before, but were in danger of being sacrificed due to a busy schedule. Perish the thought! I was prompted by some appointments that went sideways, but stuck with the original plan to head into Seattle for the morning. I wanted to see the annual gingerbread village at the downtown Sheraton Hotel, near the Seattle Convention Center, now in their 20th year. They annually task local sugar artists to make these incredible gingerbread and candied creations. I saw it last year and it was such a blood sugar sight to behold, I couldn't imagine skipping it this year. This year's theme was Disney movies, or as near as I could tell, based on each gingerbread castle's design.

Sea Monkey palace never looked this great - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Right in the lobby of the Sheraton, you can tour the underwater Neptune's kingdom from The Little Mermaid, the sultan's palace from Aladdin, the Red Queen's castle from Alice in Wonderland, The Beast's rose-decorated castle from Beauty and the Beast, and even the land of Narnia. Kind of a fairy tale/Disney mashup, it's an impressive sight to see, and the display is up right now through the holidays. It's free to view, but they are accepting donations to benefit the Northwest chapter of JDRF, which focuses on the fight against diabetes. I admit, there's a part of me that finds a little irony in a charity for diabetes being involved in a sugar-coated gingerbread village display, but hey -- it's the holidays, I have to keep my snark to a minimum, lest I be given nothing but coal this year.

Ooh... ahhh... dazzled yet? - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Let's just take a moment to admire the fact that a lot of people went through some crazy-painstaking work to put these sweet sculptures on display, shall we? Cheshire Cat agrees, kick back and enjoy.

Disney movies and sugar -- what's not to love? - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I had a nougat-filled soft spot for the Beauty and the Beast castle. I'd say of all the more recent classic hand-drawn animated films of Disney, that is by far my favorite. I'm inclined to watch it with a big plate of pasta and a bottle of wine, like so many viewings of 50 Dresses or Pretty in Pink. Another gift of Me Time I look forward to indulging in.

Market shopping done right - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Another gift to myself was taking a walk through Pike Place Market. It's in its holiday finery, with the fresh tree mini-lot at the entrance. You get a lovely whiff of fresh evergreen, then likely another whiff of delivery truck exhaust, as I went during the middle of the day. Well, it is a working market after all. But I always love coming here, rain or shine, as cheesy/touristy as that sounds -- especially during the week, since weekends can get extra busy. It's a gorgeous historic market with some of my favorite shops -- I did a quick run-through of DeLaurenti to pick up some food gifts, admired the fresh mushrooms and loved seeing the winter fruit like pomegranates stacked high. There's always something to admire and marvel at, and a walk through Pike Place Market was a reminder to do so, every day.

Holiday Sanity Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself - Photo by Wasabi Prime

So if you're feeling the pressure of the holiday season, take a moment to breathe. Better yet, take a whole afternoon, if you can. Appreciate someone else's exuberance for the holidays, as that will reinvigorate your own spirit. If you're not certain you've gone mad with harried holiday to-do's, take one look at the four-foot high pile of boxes set for delivery, and the extremely worried look on your dog's face, wondering why silly hoomins gotta be so weird. Thanks for the reality check, Indy.

This is also my holiday post for the week, as I'm taking some time to just relax, so I hope you all have a very Happy Holidays, a Merry Christmas, survived another wild Hannukah, and looking forward rocking out the family love and fellowship of Kwanzaa. Merry-merry, y'all.

Mixed Plate: You Can Be My Wingman on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is all about remembrance, family -- tradition. Which is exactly why we take this time honored holiday and take it completely off the rails with four gallons of peanut oil, thirty pounds of chicken wings, a whole ham, a turducken, multiple side dishes, and even a forgotten pumpkin cheesecake. The holiday of our Pilgrim forefathers may have come and gone, but leftover hot wings remains a constant.

Who needs a turkey when you've got a small child's weight in chicken wings? - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Refugee Thanksgiving is all about being nontraditional, since it's populated with all the people who Just Said No to facing family dysfunction and chaos, at least for a few more weeks until Christmas comes along. This was also an opportunity to carry out one of my hair-brained ideas, which was to have a Thanksgiving dinner of mostly chicken wings. Why? Because this is America, dammit, and we're all about enthusiasm and poorly conceived notions. Why thirty-freaking pounds of chicken wings? Because we were looking at a guest list of possibly a dozen, and I didn't realize good folks would bring a whole ham and turducken, along with the promised side dishes, and we basically wound up with an F-ton of food. Not that it's such a terrible thing, as Thanksgiving is a holiday that's all about food excess and chugging the Pepto after that third slice of pie.

It started out with traditional intentions... - Photos by Wasabi Prime

When hosting any big holiday meal, it's like disaster preparedness for the Zombie Apocalypse. Assume something will go wrong, so be prepared. For as much night-before Thanksgiving prepping people fret over, I say... the hell with all that. I made orange-cranberry sauce, pumpkin cheesecake, a sweet potato gratin and a cornbread stuffing days before Zero Dark Thirty Turkeyday. The goal should be to cook as little as possible the day-of, since you assume your oven will be occupied with a large bird, but in our case, our oven cooked some dishes earlier in the day and then became a big food warmer for all the batches of wings and side dishes waiting to be served. I knew the frying of many pounds of chicken wings would be an epic time consumer, as the Mister can fully attest to, as he was Frymaster Flash in the backyard with all the other dudes until the sun went down. And I was stuck in the kitchen draining the 10 freezer bags full of buttermilk-soaked chicken wings, then tossing them around in a paper bag full of seasoned flour in small batches. My arms got a chicken wing workout that day/evening, to be sure. I can see why people fry a single turkey for Thanksgiving because it's one large beast in a boiling pot of oil, not dozens of small batches of smaller bird parts. I won't say "never again" to a chicken wing feast, just not thirty pounds' worth.

There is no Dana, only Zuul. And Chicken Wings. - Photos by Wasabi Prime

It's a day meant for appreciation and I was thankful for a lot of things. I was thankful for friends who brought tasty side dishes, as well as alternative main courses, since the wings were coming out in small batches. And I was definitely thankful for Brock, as he was out there like a boss, frying up chicken parts until he could fry no more. It basically became Dudes In the Backyard and Girls in the Kitchen, which I think most parties wind up this way. Fellas with beer, circling a fire, or in this case, a vat of bubbling peanut oil; ladies in the kitchen, drinking wine and gossiping. All was right with the world.

Frymaster Flash, Mister Brock - Photos by Wasabi Prime

The chicken wings were properly dressed, as any holiday bird should be. There were plain wings, with the basic salt and pepper from the seasoned flour, and there were also buffalo wings and a sweet-chili Asian glaze. Buffalo wings are easy enough -- the handy dandy giant bottle of Frank's Hot Sauce simmered low with melted butter makes for an easy wing-saucing. The Asian chili glaze was a couple of cups of the sweet chili sauce you use on eggrolls, usually at the Asian grocery store in the Thai section of sauces. That, plus extra honey and melted butter equaled sweet-chili Asian chicken wings. Easy-peasy. And you don't need pounds of chicken to enjoy it.

Keep Calm and Have a Ham - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I think there should be a mandate, regardless of what you're making for a big holiday meal where it's buffet style and people may be coming and going at different times: Have a Ham. Thank heavens friends brought the divine swine. It's a meat that's as good warm as it is room temperature. No little bones to pick through and easy to slice. And it just tastes like the holidays. We only sawed through maybe a quarter of it, but it made for happy leftovers. And yes, you heard right, there was a turducken. Other friends generously brought this mystical chimera meat loaf of a duck, stuffed in a chicken, stuffed in a turkey. Typically it's one of those catalog order specialty items, and a lot of places express mail it pre-cooked for obvious health concerns. But Whole Foods was selling this beast-feast fresh and we had this whole pot of peanut oil saying, "Turducken, you complete me." The layers of meat are delicious together, that's without question. But frying a turducken proved tricky. It's like an event horizon made of meat. So dense, so compounded by the laws of science and duck fat, the outside gets crispety-crunchety, but the inside is like a tender core of r-a-w. Because food poisoning was not on the menu that night, we had to finish the turducken in the oven, wrapped in foil. Not a failed food experiment by any means, appetites were appeased and no one went to the hospital. Thanksgiving Win!

Thanksgiving is all about eating and NOT STOPPING. - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Sides, glorious sides. I think that's what I love best about Thanksgiving. We had a friend's famous stuffing made with wonderful Grand Central bread. Brussels sprouts were a champ, as we had two combinations with bacon, giving this once-despised vegetable more delicious street cred. Various snacks, cured meats and pickles were scattered around the tables, for those moments where you insist you can't have another bite... but maybe just one olive... and another slice of prosciutto...

Making the holidays merry with booze and inappropriate movies - Photos by Wasabi Prime

To make sure we didn't get too stuck on tradition, people gathered around the 21st Century fireplace, aka the television, and Brock put on a double feature of the holiday classics: Team America and Supertroopers. Because we are classy lads and lasses. Disturbing live-action raunchy puppets and the best cop farce since Police Academy -- this is how we roll. Although to be honest, I was hanging out in the kitchen getting my drank on with one of the many bottles of wine we had, and finally having a plate of food. I tend to eat last, because I can't bring myself to take a bite of anything until all the guests have been served and stuffed stupid with food. It's the only thing Martha Stewart would have approved of from this bacchanalian tradition abomination. It was too big of a gathering to all sit at the table, and I tend to prefer casual/lazy parties where people can sit where they like and there's multiple huddles of conversation all over the house.

No Dessert Left Behind (forgotten momentarily, perhaps) - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Another unheeded tradition was completely unintentional -- I didn't bring out the pumpkin cheesecake. Fail! Not that there wasn't dessert, as friends brought a wonderful eggnog bundt cake, which was the best way to have eggnog, like, ever. I'm not a big eggnog drinker, it's overwhelming, but flavoring a cake is brilliant. Eggnog is already a couple of cups' worth of flour away from being cake batter, so why not? Despite roasting pumpkins, making a gingersnap crust and blending the filling with a mixture of cream cheese and chevre, I don't think the meal suffered from one less landmass of calories, and the group was more of a meat-protein type of crowd. Not to say the cheesecake went to waste. There's something to be said for having such a lovely dessert as part of the Leftover Brigade.

Another Thanksgiving bites the dust... now, onwards and upwards, Christmas and New Years! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

We're still letting the dust settle from this Thanksgiving. While the poundage of chicken parts seem ridiculous, you'd be surprised how much a group can consume, plus plenty of leftovers to be taken home by guests. By this weekend, our own lion's share of leftovers will likely be gone, and I'll be back to cooking less epic meals. The light from the inside of our fridge will no longer be blotted out with food, things will return to normal and I'm sure I'll come up with another ridiculous idea for the next celebratory meal, because that's what the holidays are for.

Mixed Plate: Viva La Thanksgiving

And here we are yet again... another Thanksgiving ready to unfurl its tryptophan wings and cast us into a turkey-stuffing-pie food coma vortex. And for those readying to battle the Black Friday shopping crowds, I salute you with a less than enthusiastic wave of a half-eaten turkey leg. Instead of showing a typical Thanksgiving pastoral, I opted to share photos from a recent trip to The Ninth Island (aka, Las Vegas), when my family and I gathered for my cousin Deven's birthday. It wasn't Thanksgiving and there wasn't a roasted turkey to be seen, but it got me thinking about what makes any holiday worthwhile. It's the time we set aside to spend with family, the rare moments everyone's in the same place at the same time, and the chance to sit back and gaze at the family gene pool party. Dive in, y'all, it's the holidays.

See, Las Vegas isn't all seedy hookers and pimps - they keep the nice stuff under glass - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Does our family always get together like this for a birthday? No. But when someone says they want their birthday in Vegas, it's as if God spoke and the whole family jumps on a plane to heed this Almighty call. My cousin Deven turned 42, which is a significant year in Japanese culture -- yakudoshi, like a rite of passage, or a year of chaos, depending on what Google tells you -- so it all basically translates to: let's have a big-ass party. I think that's what every culture is based on, be it feast or famine, we relish the opportunity to celebrate something. It's a good thing, as Saint Martha would say. And that's kind of what Thanksgiving is like, because we're not really celebrating the fact that the Pilgrims came from afar to bring a persecuted religion and smallpox to a trustworthy, indigenous people, we just want an excuse to go on a carb-binge with the cornbread stuffing, eat three pieces of pumpkin pie (with whipped cream), and pass out on the couch by three in the afternoon. Ahh... tradition.

As luck would have it (har-har), my Wasabi Family Vegas Extravaganza took place over Halloween week, so that explains the spooktacular past-due holiday photos. Unlike typical family jaunts to Las Vegas, we made sure to plan some quality family time, like seeing a show and then a nice family dinner on Deven's birthday. There was also a trip to the Hoover Dam, but I missed that, as I was already en route back to rainy Washington, but from what I heard, Hoover Dam was dam good. I will say this -- when you live in the Pacific Northwest and it's already in the middle of nonstop rain and zero-dark-thirty by four in the afternoon, taking a short trip to the sunnier skies of Nevada is like a shot of adrenaline. The temperature is no longer three times the surface of the sun, it remained in the pleasant upper seventies to low eighties, and there was barely a cloud in the sky. My lackluster Vitamin D levels jump at the thought of it.

From rain to shine - a vacation from the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Halloween week in Las Vegas is about what you'd guess -- people dressed in costume, running around Downtown and The Strip, with you playing that mental game in your head: Halloween costume or actual stripper/pimp? October is also the pesky month where a lot of performers go on vacation and the shows take breaks, since it's typically a low-season time, but my cousin found a show he wanted to see -- Criss Angel's Believe at the Luxor -- and seeing a rock n' roll illusion show was actually pretty fitting for Halloween night. I'm always amazed at Las Vegas performers with regular shows, many doing two performances a night, weekdays through weekends. Most people's offices are a little cubicle, but a performer's office is a stage full of pyrotechnics, scary-looking props and a live crowd, which I think can be the scariest thing of all. Regardless of what performer you see in Las Vegas, you can never deny them the art of showmanship and the ability to keep a crowd's attention, which I think is magic all its own.

Vegas Halloween, and the cage where the gambling cheats go - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I was simply told, "Bring a wig," from my other cousin and aunt helping to plan this Halloween Night outing. As good a suggestion as any, really. So a few of us wigged-out, wore funny glasses and we spent a night on The Strip, catching a magic show and seeing all sorts of crazy stuff in and out of the casinos on All Hallow's Eve. I'd have brought my cat's ears headband, but Indy was still using it.

Just like any other night in Las Vegas - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Despite all the family time, I did steal away for a few hours to wander the Strip one afternoon. I mostly wanted to visit the Bellagio and see their seasonal garden display. I'm not a gambler, so seeing pretty garden stuff is my granny-old lady highlight. As always, they aim to impress and the gorgeous autumn harvest-themed display in the atrium area is a must-see, whether you're planning on gambling your kid's college fund away or not.

Talking trees, giant pumpkins and oh yes... WINE! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I managed to snap a few photos of the delightful pastries in one of the Bellagio's specialty bakeries, Jean Phillipe. This bakery is hard to miss -- it's in the retail area and you'll be drawn to the ceiling-high fountain of melted chocolate cascading down a sculpture of blown glass. You're amazed, then you kind of shake your head, thinking: only in Las Vegas. I had to take a moment and admire the beautiful Halloween themed desserts. I know we're not thinking of ghosts and goblins anymore, but you can't help but adore these sweets. I couldn't bear to eat something so cute, so I picked up some buttery, flaky croissant -- chocolate and almond -- and some of their pretty chocolate-dipped biscotti. Maybe not as precious as a pastry ghost, but just as delicious.

Spooky sweets at Jean Phillipe Bakery in the Bellagio - Photos by Wasabi Prime

The Bellagio is pretty close to Caesar's Palace, so I ran in there just to visit their Vosges Chocolate boutique. Their chocolates are exquisite, as is their packaging. Purple boxes and ribbons -- Prince would feel very at-home. I can usually find their bacon-chocolate bar at Whole Foods, but their real gems are of course their truffles, which you either have to order by mail or visit one of their shops. A stupid amount of money later, I had a shopping bag full of holiday gifts, more sweets for my cousin's birthday celebration, and even something sweet to bring home to the Mister. It felt like a total Vegas Moment, shopping for luxury chocolates, surrounded by fake Greek statues and wondering just how the hell they built that spiraling escalator in The Forum Shops.

Hail Caesar and your bitchin' shopping mall - Photos by Wasabi Prime

As a travel note -- if you find yourself buying stuff and wondering if everything will fit into your suitcase, there is a UPS Store right in the Flamingo Hotel, which is right across from Caesar's Palace. Why more hotels don't have UPS Stores is beyond me, but I'm glad for that convenience. It might be an expensive way to get things home, but the way airlines charge for bags, you're spending over twenty five bucks either way, so may as well not have to carry it yourself.

Family dinner time, Election Day-style! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

On the night of my cousin Deven's birthday, his sister Dawn and my Aunt Sharon made sure everyone was decked out in election-themed gear they made ahead of time. Buttons, pamphlets, the whole deal. Not that my cousin is running for office, but at the time, election felt like a fitting theme, plus I have an uncle who's a state senator and his own campaign brochures made for good inspiration material. The whole family gathered at the Second Street Grill in the Fremont Hotel -- because Downtown Vegas is how Hawaii folks roll -- and we wore our fake-candidate buttons proudly for Deven's birthday dinner. Like some crazy Hunger Games thing, we made a "tribute" to Deven and his love of chocolate, piling gifts of sweets from all over the world on the center of the table. I know it wasn't Thanksgiving, but it felt like a long-overdue holiday gathering made even more special since people had to travel a ways to meet up. My cousin Dawn wins the Mileage Award, having traveled all the way from Sweden to attend her brother's birthday. All this and us cousins didn't have to sit at the kiddie table -- who says Vegas isn't a town for winners?

Food, family and funny photos while on The Ninth Island - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Much like Thanksgiving itself, the trip was full of big meals, but it was less about the food and more about the time it gave us to spend together. It was a reminder that no matter what the occasion, however funky the location, time with family is a rare gift. Costume wigs optional. I don't live close to my family, the closest immediate relative is a state away and my parents are nearly an ocean away, so this trip was like Thanksgiving and Christmas, all rolled up into one. I honestly can't think of the last time so many of us got together like this and I can't think of when we'll be able to do this again. So as you gather to feast upon the turkey, raise your head from your plate for a moment to see who's sitting with you. Be thankful for the occasion that brings you and your crazy clan of family members together for a night. Viva La Thanksgiving, y'all.

UnRecipe: Cocktail Party Quickies

Are you sick of holiday foods/tips/tricks/ideas yet? Despite the post-holiday time, they're still getting listed on cooking/lifestyle magazines and websites, begging for you to use them and throw a cocktail/post-new years/football party of some sort every weekend. So why not -- let's make you insane with a few more ideas?! How about some bite-sized party foods that take on an Asian theme? Like you've never heard that one before, I'm sure. But hey, they're tasty and fully road-tested, as these are snapshots from an ad hoc cocktail party I threw one weekend during the busy holiday season.

No-bake eggrolls and BBQ pork bites - cocktail hour at Wasabi's Place - Photo by Wasabi Prime

"Cocktail party? Ooh, fancy-schmancy, Wasabi!" It wasn't really all that fancy. Or schmancy, for that matter. It was a Saturday night and we had some friends over who hadn't already left for holiday visits or weren't off at an office holiday party. I had it in my head to do some Asian-themed snacks, due in part to some appetizers and other tasty eats I'd had recently that were combining cuisines. I'd had some Asian-style "tacos" at Korean restaurant Oma Bap and a Philly Cheesesteak made into an eggroll at Sullivan's. I know the mixing and matching isn't anything new, but it's all done out of the same desire to get away from the same-old pigs in a blanket appetizers that become so boring at parties. Chips and salsa just doesn't cut it anymore, not that it ever did, and for informal gatherings where people are just sitting around and snacking, you don't want a fussy giant cut of meat sitting out like a centerpiece and you don't want something as meager as a bowl of popcorn. Hearty bites with a mix of flavor and textures, and meaty enough to soak up the booze, because you know the cocktails, wine and beer are flowing heartily!

Restaurant inspirations and at-home creations - Photos by Wasabi Prime

If I'm throwing together something last-minute, I'll try to do two or three different things. One item will be a little more time intensive, but the rest are more quick to prepare and will likely rely on some pre-made shortcuts. I had a couple of large pork chops which I thinly sliced and marinated in a mix of soy sauce, kochujang (Korean spicy red bean paste), sugar and vinegar, then cooked. I layered the meat with kimchi between little buns to make pork kimchi sliders. It's a good, hearty appetizer that easily eats like a meal after one or two. I bought a package of pre-cooked Chinese style BBQ pork, which is pretty easily found at most grocery stores these days. I sliced it thin and placed the pieces on sesame crackers layered with alfalfa sprouts tossed lightly with sesame oil. Kind of like the typical meat/crackers appetizer, but a little more interesting and just as quick to throw together. These are also things that can sit on a platter and be eaten at room temperature, which is another thing about making appetizers. You hate to make something that needs to stay hot or runs the risk of spoiling if it sits out for too long.

A festive night of hearty snacks and treats - Photos by Wasabi Prime

The more time-consuming appetizer I made was a no-bake eggroll. I love the crisp of a fried eggroll but hate frying. There's no way around it, the house just smells oily and like a giant French Fry afterwards, so unless you can fry outside, it's just not worth doing. I had done some experimenting with baked chimichangas before using phyllo dough, and thought it would work just as well with eggroll-style filling. I had a bunch of zucchini and some carrots, so I ran them through the food processor's shredder. I cooked everything down, mixing it with some soy sauce, ginger, some sugar and more of the Korean bean paste. I took defrosted phyllo dough, brushing it with canola oil and layering it two sheets' thick, then cutting that into smaller squares, about the size of eggroll wrappers you would buy at the store. The vegetable filling was added and the dough was wrapped the way you would make an eggroll. Instead of dropping the rolls into oil, they were laid out on a sheet of parchment paper -- don't forget that step; oiled aluminum foil won't cut it, it'll still stick like crazy -- and the rolls were baked in the oven. It's good to lightly brush each one with some oil, just to get an even browning around it. There's no way of making this process go quickly, you have to roll each one, so in this case, I wouldn't call this a quickie cocktail snack, but one worth doing if you crave eggrolls but not the frying oil. You could fill them with anything you like, little bites of leftovers, and just wrap them in the cut down phyllo sheets.

Sweet chocolate and peppermint finish - Photo by Wasabi Prime

We had everything all set, down to the dessert, but funny enough, the dessert never got served. Everyone was full and guests brought some sweets of their own, so these peppermint ice cream and chocolate cookie sandwiches never came out. They were a mix of homemade and shortcut -- the peppermint ice cream was something I made, but the cookies were store-bought. I will say that bought cookies are good for ice cream sandwiches because of their uniform shape. For an easy dessert, ice cream sandwiches are perfect, since you can use different ice cream flavors or cookies, make a variety of options and they're pre-portioned out, based on the size of the cookie. I like smaller cookies, as it lets you feel a little less guilty about having more than one. As long as you don't forget to bring them out at the end of the night, they're a great sweet finish to a night of tasty snacks!

UnRecipe: Holiday Wishes and Last Minute Gift Shuffle

I know I said this before, if you weren't holiday gift-ready by the first couple of weeks of December, it's Game Over by now. Hey, the Prime doesn't pull punches when it comes to the holidays! Procrastinators, abandon all hope, ye who enter these waning days before December 25th. But I've got one final bit of last-minute holiday gift inspiration!

Homemade vanilla extract, easy-peasy 1-2-threesie gift idea - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I talked before about making vanilla extract -- it's pretty basic: take a bottle of vodka and shove some vanilla beans in the bottle, let it sit. In a few weeks, you'll have at least the basic beginnings of liquid vanilla gold. If you had a vodka bottle-sized batch of vanilla extract in your pantry, siphon some of that tasty goodness off into some smaller bottles and label them up as a little gift for someone. Sharing is caring, and it always sounds impressive that you made it yourself. To gussy-up the bottles, I  got some decorative oven mitts, shoved in a decorative tea towel, some silicone spatulas and a bar of baking chocolate to go with each bottle of vanilla extract. For a friend who loves to bake or just loves chocolate chip cookies, it's a sweet, easy gift where a lot of those items can be picked up at a grocery store. For someone who prefers cocktails over cookies, give it as a flavoring agent to add to a cocktail, along with a pair of highball glasses. If you've been steeping vanilla beans in bourbon, all the better to give to your cocktail nerd friends for a vanilla-flavored spirit.

Share some flavor and sweetness - Photos by Wasabi Prime

But, Wasabi, I don't have a giant bottle of vodka sitting in my pantry, shoved full of vanilla beans. What then? Well, if the vanilla beans aren't fully steeped, consider adding a label of "Do Not Open till (Almost) Next Xmas" to the flask of soon-to-be vanilla extract and throw in a batch of fresh-baked cookies. Chances are the recipient is wrapped up in their own holiday whirlwind and will be pleased to just let the science experiment of homemade vanilla extract take its course. I didn't say this would be the perfect gift, just one that could be fashioned as a last-minute holiday gift bail-out!

From December 2011

Meanwhile, as for the Prime, I'm in the home stretch of finishing off our own supply of holiday sweets for ourself and getting ready to settle in for a bit of a winter's nap. I love the holidays, it's a mad dash of crazy-busy energy getting things wrapped and out the door, and the reward is just feeling like I made the most of the season trying to let others know how much they mean to both the Mister and myself. Yes, I totally took shortcuts this year, doing a mix of homemade sweets mixed with store bought treats for some care packages -- Trader Joe's always saves my bacon when sending gifts to family in TJ-less Hawaii. I don't feel bad about it because there's only so many hours in a day and a big gift for myself this year was trying to give myself a spare moment's breath wherever possible. Time is the greatest luxury of all, and it's one of those gifts we can only give ourselves, if we can afford it.

A very Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all, and to all a good night, from the Prime.

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet, Give Me Something Good to Eat...

Happy Halloween, Boos and Ghouls! I hope you're ready for the one night out of the year where it's socially acceptible to run around from house to house, banging on the door for free snacks! You're probably already sugar-coma-ed out from all the pre-holiday candy you've enjoyed; you know what I'm talking about, the bag of Reese's peanut butter cups you bought on sale weeks before Halloween, but then started to slowly eat them one by one before the 31st...  So instead of sweet, I went with savory for Halloween. Along with a peek at our spookily pimped out Halloween house, I bring to you a Ghoulishly Green Tomato Chili! *Insert Vincent Price cackle at end of Thriller song *

The Prime and "V" wishes you a Happy Halloween! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

This post is very Halloween-like, in that it's just a big UnRecipe post wearing a scary holiday costume. I wasn't planning on making "green" chili, it was more like our tomato plants were starting to die off from the cold, there were too many green tomatoes still on the vine, and there's no way I was going to just sacrifice them to the Compost Gods without a valiant effort. So our garden boxes are cleaned out for the season, resting in the chill and rain for another year, and I found myself with several pounds' worth of green tomatoes of all sorts, from a collection of heirloom plants and other varieties. I let them sit in brown paper sacks for a few days, but when it's this green, there's no magical ripening powers that are going to make them bright, juicy red. But that doesn't mean you can't use green tomatoes. Aside from the usual suspects like fried green tomatoes, I wanted to see how they would do in a chili. Green tomatoes are known for being really tart, the sugars haven't really developed yet, and they're quite firm, almost like a tomatillo. Which, by the way, I had a few of those from a CSA delivery. Those are kind of Halloween-y as what's up with the weird sticky film that's on the surface of tomatillos when you remove the paper-like husk? And the fact they kind of taste like apples? Ingredients with costumes and their own sticky ooze -- It's the Great Tomatillo, Charlie Brown!

The Green Tomato Caper, as captured on iPhone camera - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I didn't want to just stew the green tomatoes and tomatillos in a pot, I roasted them first, to cook off some of their liquid and intensify their flavor. There were a lot of pans and casserole dishes full of green tomatoes roasting away in the oven for a few days, as I had several batches. Not everything went into the chili, but the bigger Early Girl and heirlooms were what eventually made it into the slow cooker for the final stew. For the chili, I had a large pork loin that I cut into large chunks, browned in a pot, then softened onions and garlic in the drippings before throwing in several pounds' worth of the roasted green tomatoes. As for the chili seasoning, I went heavier on the cumin than the typical chili powder. I like the smoky flavor of cumin and thought it would go well with the tartness of the green tomatoes. The thing I was most surprised about in the cooking of green tomatoes is even after the oven and slow cook time, the tart citrusy flavor never really went away. Which is a good thing, as it ends up brightening the dish quite a bit. I didn't have fresh cilantro on-hand, just coriander seed, but fresh sprigs of that would have been nice as well. The green of the tomatoes eventually cooks down to a brown color in the slow cooker, especially after adding the spice mixture of cumin, coriander and a personal dry mix I make that has chili powder, finely ground coffee, mustard powder and pepper.

Can't you tell how much I LOVE this time of year??? - Photos by Wasabi Prime

So how was the Ghoulishly Green Tomato Chili? Not ghoulish at all, pretty tasty, in fact. For something that came together out of necessity, as most of our dinners end up being, it was nice to work with the underripe tomatoes and see how they work with other ingredients. It makes me less hesitant to plant tomatoes during iffy seasons, knowing even the green ones have their own unique uses. And having the oven and slow cooker doing most of the work gives me extra time to deck our halls with Halloween decor! I'm a total nut for fall and autumn colors, and L-O-V-E Halloween. I have to stop myself from buying more decorations because I can never provide an acceptible answer to the voice in my head that says: "Sure, it's cute now, but where are you going to store it for the rest of the year?" Pesky voice of reason. I will kill you with more beer, just you wait.

Getting skully with it (no Mulder, har-har) - Photos by Wasabi Prime

And given the fact that it's Halloween, I'm indulging myself in sharing some non-food photos. I was obsessed with skulls in the last few weeks. Seriously, they were everywhere, and not just for Halloween. I was browsing one of my favorite shops, Common Folk, over in Bellevue, and they had glitter skulls and spooky wreaths -- wanted to buy everything, but you know, that pesky Inner Voice of Reason crashed the party in my brain. So I took photos instead of taking my wallet out. Same goes for the Alexander McQueen scarf I reeeeeeeeally liked, but couldn't justify the $200+ price tag for, yes, a single scarf. Maybe I'll treat myself to a little gold skull ring if it's still around and on sale after the holiday... Happy Halloween, y'all. Stuff your face with candy and get your drawstring pants ready -- it's November tomorrow, and you know what's coming up next: Thanksgiving! *Vincent Price cackle*

FoodTrek: Have a Very Merry LUPEC and a Happy NovoFogo Year

Is it wrong that I ring in the holidays with booze? Naaaaah... I didn't think so either. It is wrong, however, that I had been such a stranger to Seattle's LUPEC Ladies and their monthly meetings of celebratory cocktails. But I braved deadlines and work-related obstacles to attend the final LUPEC meeting of 2010. It was held at one of my favorites, Chantanee's bar, Naga and hosted by the talented folks of Novo Fogo, who distill the heavenly sugar cane spirits of cachaça. Ready to jingle all the way with a cocktail in hand? Jingle bell rock, my friendos.

Say it with me now: ka-SHAH-sa. Now drink. - Photo by Wasabi Prime

So what the heck is cachaça and more importantly, how do I pronounce it, because that little squiggly thing below the "c" is freaking me out. Firstly, it's a spirit made directly from the extracted juice from sugarcane, unlike rums which are made from molasses, a by-product of sugar. Because of that, cachaça has a little more of a crisp, clean flavor, but can also take on flavor notes of the barrels it ages in, much like other spirits or wines. And it's pronounced ka-SHAH-sa, and the little squiggle is called a cedilla, in case that Double Jeopardy question comes up anytime soon. Take that, Trebek!

Dragos Axinte of Novo Fogo, most definitely having the most awesome name in the world, presented both their silver and aged cachaça, both organic and both delicious. We were able to sample them on their own to appreciate their unique flavors before they were mixed in cocktails. The Silver was refreshing and crisp, smelling of floral and banana notes, with a really clean finish. Very summery and made me wish I was on a beach. The Aged is a golden hue, a sign of its two year nap in bourbon casks. Mellow, rich, a bit smoky -- absolutely sippable on a cold winter's night. Both the Silver and Aged are perfect for the signature drink of Brazil, the Caipirinha, but the talents of Chantanee's Evan Martin had other plans for the cocktail menu.

Eat, drink, be merry. Repeat. - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I have much love for Chantanee's food. Their Thai food makes me crave it fortnightly, wanting to do the insane Scottish accent from Mike Myers' dad in So I Married an Axe Murderer, when he rants about craving KFC at unseemly hours. So it was double, triple, quadruple happiness to have beautiful food paired with beautiful cocktails. And you'd think the strong flavors would have to battle it out, but it all went marvelously together. Evan composed a drink menu that included a Negroni Doce (Novo Fogo Silver, Aperol, Rose Vermouth, grapefruit bitters), Brasilian Grog (Novo Fogo aged, Pimento Dram, honey, Cointreau, orange, lime, coffee tincture), and the Quentao (Novo Fogo Aged, ginger syrup, hot mulled cider, cinnamon). The Negroni Doce was picture-perfect, fragrant and tart, going well with the fresh salad rolls and pumpkin samosas. The tropical citrus of the Brasilian Grog paired nicely with the kick of garlic chicken, pad ki mao and spicy tofu. Dessert was the Quentao itself, which was a warm, holiday-perfect drink. Maybe it's the time of year, but the Quentao was my favorite of the night, only because it totally fit the Christmas frame of mind I was in. I would have never thought to use cachaça beyond more tropical cocktails, and so -- as always -- the LUPEC meetings are both educational and inspiring for my liver.

I kept the spirit of the holidays in my heart and admired some of the Christmas decorations around downtown Bellevue. I wandered to the nearby Bravern to admire their lights and giant Christmas tree. It was a good reminder to slow down, take a moment to take in the twinkle of a sparkly light, and don't get too wrapped up in the madness of the holidays. Which I know I'll completely forget five minutes later as I throw myself into a hissy fit over my holiday to-do list. But at least I took one night to just be a person taking in the sights on a cold winter's night.

Be merry and bright  this Xmas - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Big Wasabi Thanks to LUPEC Seattle for organizing a great end of year gathering, and to Novo Fogo and Chantanee for making it such an incredible evening.

UnRecipe/FoodTrek: Good Fridays and Sunday Casino Royale with Cheese

Many people sought family time and quiet spiritual reflection over this Passover/Easter weekend. I went to the Tulalip Casino on Sunday to eat-it-like-I-stole-it for $19 ($21 and change after tax, plus tip), and had shellfish and bacon on Good Friday. For these edible transgressions I will most likely be cast into the charnel pits of Hell, but at least I'll go knowing I had a full stomach.

Digging on Swine and Making Good Friday Grrrrrrrreat! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I'm a good person. I pay my taxes, return my library books on time and try not to swear like a sailor in front of impressionable toddlers. But let's say I'm more spiritual than religious, so yes, I went forth on Sunday and burdened several plates with the unholy buffet combinations of cashew chicken stir fry, mass-produced Eggs Benedict, pepperoni pizza, barbecue beef brisket, and sorbet. I won't frighten those who are faint of heart with photos, but suffice it to say, if there is a hell, I'm pretty sure my lower intestines are there now. To be honest, there are, in fact, no photos of this event, and I would have totally taken snaps of this Insane Clown Posse Breakfast Buffet of Earthly Delights, but casino security totally put the NO CAMERA shutdown in my face the second I walked in. So, that was my Easter, in a three-plates-piled-high sort of nutshell, with only my heartburn as a witness.

On Good Friday, when everyone was having their loaves and fishes, I put together a dinner of seared scallops over asparagus with an orange cognac sauce and crispy bits of bacon. The swine definitely tipped the scales towards Totally Not Good Friday, I know, but having a non-four-legged, swimmy meal wasn't the original intent behind the meal. The genesis (har-har) was strangely enough, a bottle of chive oil. I noticed the chives in the strawberry pot of mixed herbs were getting long and they just grow better with regular haircuts, so I snipped them all down. Way too many chives to use before they wilted, I buzzed them in the blender with oil, strained out the solid bits, and now have a nice bottle of bright green goodness to flavor my way through the next month of meals.

Turning chives into chive oil - not quite a miracle, but mighty tasty - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I've made no bones about my love of frozen stuff from Costco and made no attempt to hide the sins of my impulse buying. Giant bag of frozen strawberries? Yes, please, and make it three. I had a few frozen scallops leftover from an ill-conceived bulk purchase of aforementioned frozen critters, and so I thought a flavor-heavy sauce using orange and cognac, and a finishing drizzle of the chive oil would be a good way to finish 'em off. Plus, oh snap, asparagus is on sale and they do go well with all those ingredients and flavors. This is how meals come to be at Wasabi Kitchen Stadium, pure happenstance. Plus the orange I had in the fruit bowl was getting questionably soft, so when there is threat of janky produce, make sauce, because booze and heat will kill everything.

Using the salt of the earth. Literally. - Photo by Wasabi Prime

A more foodie-fancy ingredient that's been inspiring meals of pure happenstance has been specialty salts. I got a few small containers of them over the holidays from my foodie pal, Ms. Radish. Their strong flavors can overpower things, so they're used sparingly, but they add such a nice, richness to food. A dash of smoked salt on the scallops made for a pleasant little hit of flavor, plus it's great to sprinkle on roasting vegetables to give them some interest. And oh my holy Easter Sunday, it's great mixed with regular salt to season the rim of a Bloody Mary.

So maybe the selections of meals and buffets weren't totally Easter or Passover-friendly but I'm all about celebrating the seasons in my own special, socially-inappropriate Wasabi Way. Even if that means frozen shellfish, crispy swine, questionable produce, and a buffet concoction that would make Escoffier turn in his grave.

Salt, in Still Life - Photos by Wasabi Prime

OMG a Recipe: Holly Jolly Holiday Beverage

Holiday cheers to one and all! *clinking of virtual glasses* It's getting down to the wire for Christmas of 2009. No matter how you celebrate this time of year, I think it's fair to say, everyone's tired and in need of a long winter's nap. So give yourself the greatest gift: a spare moment of quiet and perhaps a warm, spicy drink to pass the time with a bit of reflection on the year that almost was.

Mulled cranberry spice drink? That's hot. - Photo by  Wasabi Prime

I was trading emails with one of my bestie BFFs with the funny nickname, Ms. Angry Peanut, and she brought up a really good point. We have this picture in our mind of the holidays -- a cozy chair in front of the fireplace, holiday decor festooned about the room, a good book, and a warm cup of something tasty in hand to enjoy for the evening. But the picture is more like standing in long lines at the Post Office, white-knuckled rage while inching through a gridlocked mall parking lot, or just the general agonizing over gifts, cards, and all the extra stuff that ends up clogging up what this time of year should really be about: family, friends, and hopefully a satisfying food coma.

The Prime can't promise a Masterpiece Theatre-worthy setting to enjoy this toasty drink, but I hope you have the chance to take a moment of quiet and find a little peace for yourself this winter.

Wasabi Prime's Mulled Cranberry Spice Drink
(approx. 6 servings, unless you're real thirsty)

You will need: 1 medium-sized pot, cheesecloth and string, or a tea infuser ball
6 cups of cranberry-apple juice (can use plain cranberry and add sugar to sweeten)
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 orange, plus the peel
2 star anise
2 whole cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg and/or allspice
* Optional: 2 cups of red wine of your choice, with a splash of grand marnier or other orange liqueur

Wrap whole spices in cheesecloth and tie a string around the top to make a little bag, or place spices in tea infuser ball. Place all ingredients in a medium sized pot and simmer on medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Do not allow to bring to a boil. Remove spices and orange peel, and pour into glasses to serve. Drink in front of a roaring fireplace or at least a television playing the DVD of a roaring fireplace.

Holiday wishes of good cheer, peace on earth, and safe travels to everyone!

Spicy holiday magic - Photos by Wasabi Prime