Japanese Dinner

Last weekend, went to a wonderful Japanese dinner with our dinner party group. (A group of 8 or so of us meet for dinner every couple of months. Hostess picks the theme and assigns recipes. The rest of us cook. It’s great for me because it forces me to make dishes I’d usually never try.)

This month was Japanese. Menu was:

Sushi (from Wasabi)
Miso soup
Gingered Asian Yams (from Eric Gower’s The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen, Kodansha, 2003)
Tarragon Califlower (from the same)
Citrus Greens (from the same)
Japanese Coleslaw (not sure but I can check)
Pan Broiled Salmon with lemon miso sauce (from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Asian Cooking Alpha, 2002)

Everything worked out very well. I love Gower’s cookbook which specializes in traditional Japanese dishes with a more modern Western twist. And the Complete Idiot’s Guide is also terrific with a great mix of Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese recipes. Author is the venerable Annie Wong of Liberty Noodle in Dallas and Houston.

We had good sake and a great plum wine – but I was disappointed there was no Dreamy Clouds to be found anywhere. Kahn’s usually carries it. If there’s any question of why I keep shopping at Kahn’s it’s because when I called 21st Amendment, and asked for it, the guy hung up on me. Guy at a different 21st Amendment location finally confessed he had no idea what I was talking about when I asked if they had any other unfiltered sakes. Don’t even get me started on rotten liquor and wine store service. Dreamy Clouds, by the way, is the marketing name for Rihaku Shuzo Nigori sake.