Crazy Rock'N Sushi

This place

YUM

Wow, I just tried a wonderful little easy to miss gem that has been down the street from me for ages and I never took a second glance at until this week. Tucked away in the West Hollywood Gateway shopping center Crazy Rock'N Sushi is what seems to be your typical sushi joint. It is, except instead of skipping breakfast and lunch so that you can afford decent sushi for dinner you don't have to save for this place, you can even treat your friends!

Crazy Rock'N Sushi's happy hour lasts all day and includes 50% off their sushi (nigiri) and house rolls. While my favorite of theirs, the West Hollywood Roll, is not included in this discount, plenty of other delicious treats, such as your standard rolls, spicy rolls, and the super yummy Big Roll are. With prices at $2.99-$4.95 a house roll you can afford you try new things and still get a specialty item at full price that you know you love.

The place stays pretty packed, there was a line out the door on the weeknight I stopped by. I gave the young lady at the front my checklist and asked when it would be ready (It was takeout night so I was simply picking up something convenient to my other errands) and was told to return in 20-30 minutes. That wait time might deter some people, but let me tell you, it's worth it. Given the fact that they are located next to a Target, a Best Buy and a Starbucks anyone can find something to keep themselves busy while they wait. When I got home with the food and we all sat around filling our plates with our favorites we quickly realized we had WAY too much for us to finish. With such low prices we might have gotten a little too excited and slightly over-ordered. Thankfully I had a teenage niece and her friend who were coming by that night and were thrilled to have a meal waiting for them. I have to say, on top of the convenience and price, the rolls were delicious.

I've bought sushi before that I knew wasn't the freshest just upon looking at it. You know the kind if you've been served it. You immediately wonder if eating this might kill you, then quickly decide that maybe you really aren't that hungry after all. I've also had sushi that tasted like cold, wet nothing. The kind were you can't tell the tuna from the salmon. Everything just kind of tastes like nothing more than rice, and the soy sauce and wasabi you add yourself. Thankfully those experiences were not repeated. The fish here was fresh, flavorful and beautiful. I could taste everything in perfect balance, from the sweet tamago in the Big Roll to the delicate avocado in the Mexican Roll.

I cannot sing their praises enough, Crazy Rock'N Sushi really does rock. Check it out, you won't be disappointed. And hey, if you totally disagree with me and hate it, they've also got a pretty impressive saki lineup to drown out your obvious bad taste and make the anger go away.

California Fish & Chips

Okay so I lied about the another post to come thing yesterday. But I am back today and with a whole meal full of recipes! Yay!

One of my favorite things to do when cooking is to put my own spin on something that's already known. Recently I did just that to the classic Fish and Chips, to give it a healthier, lighter (more California) feel.

Fish is supposed to be healthy. It's low in fat, packed with protein, and offers a generous amount of omega 3 fatty acids. All of that goes out the window when you batter and deep fry it though. And what about potatoes? The poor tubers have been given such a bad rap by french fries and hash browns, not to mention butter laden mashes. So what's a girl to do when she's craving Fish and Chips? Why not redefine it and create something totally new that still satisfies that desire for both.

I started with Yellowfin tuna (aka ahi) and red potatoes. I added a salad to round out the meal. I prefer to tie all of the elements on the plate together with a similar flavor profile so I went with a variety of chilis/peppers. It was delicious.

GREEN CHILI & CILANTRO YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH CHIPOTLE POTATOES

AND SALAD DRESSED IN A PEPERONCINI VINAGERETTE

Spicy, light, healthy and delicious. Even The Mr., who hates fish, cleaned his plate. Perfect for a summer dinner. Since the temps are ridiculous right about now I figured it would be the perfect time to share this recipe.

Green Chili & Cilantro Yellowfin Tuna:

3-4 4oz servings of yellowfin tuna steaks (approximate weight, fish is interchangeable)

1 4oz can fire roasted green chilis

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3-4 medium garlic cloves, pressed or finely chopped

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a container and add cool water to cover for marinating for at least one hour. After marinating season both sides of fish liberally and grill (on a SCREAMING HOT GRILL) for about 4 minutes per side. If you are using sushi grade tuna and prefer yours more rare then adjust to 2 1/2 minutes per side. Grilling times are approximate, fish make be cut thick and need more time, you may be using a smaller or larger portion then suggested, etc. Be smart and grill to YOUR taste.

Chipotle Potatoes:

5-6 medium red potatoes

1 tbsp of each of the following:

chipotle chili powder

smoked paprika

garlic powder

onion powder

salt

extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and slice potatoes into eighths lengthwise. Combine all seasonings together and toss with potatoes and olive oil on baking sheet until evenly coated. Bake, tossing/turning halfway through, for 20-30 minutes or until they have reached your desired level of doneness.

*This same seasoning mix, with the addition of some fresh cracked black pepper, goes GREAT on pork as well. Try it rubbed on a roast that you've brinned a day ahead of time with some garlic and chipotle in adobo.

Trust me folks you won't be disappointed with this meal. If you try let me know how you liked it.

Little clouds of heaven.

Today's real, legitimate, with a recipe and a lot more words post will be coming shortly, but I absolutely had to post about these right this instant. While perusing the aisles at Fresh and Easy this afternoon I came across these cute little boxes of "gourmet" (read: handmade) marshmallows.

They offered the four varieties above (Vanilla Bean, Chocolate Chipetta, Caramel Swirl and Luscious Lemon Meringue) and since they looked so delicious and were only $4 a pop I bought one of each. They reminded me of tofu when I first took a good look at them quite honestly. Allow me to assure you they are NOT. They are delicious and you can eat FIVE of them for only 70 calories. That's amazing, seeing that they are so sweet and fluffy and creamy and indulgent that one or two will likely satisfy a sweet tooth or craving (Chocolate Chipetta could knock out my chocolate craving in an instant, it's like eating a super indulgent cup of hot cocoa.).

Upon falling in love I, of course, immediately looked them up and found that they make even more amazing flavors such as S'mores, Peppermint, Coconut and Cinnamon. According to the website the company is a "one woman show" run by a mother and former health educator at USC. She must have known these were good enough to quit her day job over, kudos to mommy courage. They are relatively local as well, which is always a good thing. It looks like they were recently featured on the Food Network (Sugar Rush) and are currently offering Orange Honey, Strawberry Hibiscus, and, yum, MAPLE BACON special edition flavors that were featured.

I am not going to admit how much I am about to buy from their website now. Off to go float on eat some more little clouds of heaven.

Go blend and be merry!

A blender is not what usually comes to mind when one considers things to get excited about. This is true, unless one was surprised by her Mr. with a brand spanking new, shiny Kitchenaid Architect blender and one is a food nerd. I have to say, for a blender to be awesome enough to inspire a blog post it must be a pretty damn good blender. And it is, oh it is.

Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful? Okay, all joking aside, this really is a piece of quality kitchen machinery. Ice, crushed. Pina Colada, blended. Aioli, emulsified. Aside from major appliances and my super rad set knife set, this is probably the most expensive thing in my kitchen, and I never would have bought it for myself. I was always a believer in the $40 blender, just strong enough to make a margarita without ice chunks, but not worth a whole month's electric bill. The Mr. insisted on getting me a nicer one after the last one broke though. He's a big believer that quality comes at a price, but in the long run it will be well worth it. He was right on this one. Yes, the blender cost almost $200 msrp (who doesn't shop sales nowadays though, pffft!) BUT it will be a blender your kids will inherit or be forced to sell at a yard sale with all of your other crap one day when you finally kick it. It's that good, it will last for that long. It's Kitchenaid, 'nough said.

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