Last Night's Outing: Sushi Bar Zipang

We love sushi. Good sushi. I don't mean everybody's favorite California roll because that's pretty much the lamest type of sushi. Heard that Sushi Bar Zipang was the best sushi in town, so I thought it'd be a nice Friday night date :) I love doing on dates and trying new things. This outing, we tried: sea bream, steamed sea eel, soft shell crab and plum wine.

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Last Night's Dinner: Eggs Sunny Side Up

A type of "breakfast for dinner" things I guess. Last night Nick and I were meeting up with some friends to go bowling so our dinner had to be quick. We did have some leftover chicken left, but it wasn't enough. So Nick suggested Original Joe's. Then we decided on eggs with veggies.



Eggs Sunny Side Up with Red Pepper, Onion and Tomato

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The Best Garlic Thyme Prime Rib Roast Ever

This one is my absolute go-to recipe for a delicious juicy piece of meat (that is, since I don't have a BBQ and can't make myself rib eyes every night :( probably for the best...). Sometimes I just make this on the weekends, just because. This time, it was for New Year's dinner with my family. My mom saw a picture of the roast I made for last year's NYE which I spend with Nick, and thought it looked delish, which of course it was.

Beef is pretty intimidating because unless I have a rare to medium-rare cooked cut of expensive fatty beef, it turns out too dry. Or tough. Or both. Luckily, this recipes calls for exactly that expensive fatty beef. I usually use a prime rib roast as the recipe calls for, but this time I couldn't find that cut, so I used a 6 lb rib eye for 4 people. There were lots of left overs since my family, unlike myself, don't pig out on inch-thick pieces of beef. Don't judge me, okay?

These pictures are from this NYE dinner:

The meat wasn't actually fuschia but a nice natural pink. Phone camera, sorry guys. You can see that the crust on top burnt a little bit and I'm gonna blame the unfamiliar oven. Well, myself also, because I should have checked what it looked like on the other side at some point in the beginning. Anyways, it wasn't a big deal.

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Last Night's Dinner: Nickie's Favorite Mexican Layered Dip

The idea came from one of the guests at Nick's family gathering. The guest brought a similar dip, and we tried to recreate it at home. Ever since, Nick craves this once every couple weeks and especially on game nights. This recipe has evolved since we first made it in the summer. And yes, I mean we for reals! Nick grates the cheese. Possibly more... The point is, this recipe is very easy and doesn't take very much time.

I also picked up a couple beers - a Russian (Baltika) and a Polish (Tyskie). They were both pretty mild in taste. Here's what it all looked like:


Nickie's Favorite Mexican Layered Dip
I use a 9x9 baking dish to make this in, it turns out pretty thick

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Walnut Stuffed Prunes in Sour Cream Sauce

My mom and I used to make this in Russia for special occasions. Prunes for dessert might sound kind of weird, but I love it! It's the kind of recipe that you can get the kid who always wants to help to do since it doesn't have to be perfect. My little sister helped me out! So here's the recipe:



Walnut Stuffed Prunes in Sour Cream Sauce
It's easy to increase or decrease the number of prunes you make

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Cardamom Citrus Squares

My mom and I decided to whip these up for a morning play date (my sister is 8 :)). It took me about an hour or so to make them - they're really quick and easy. My step-dad's favorite.

Finished Result:


Cardamom Citrus Squares

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Long Break

If anyone is even following this (cross my fingers), you may or may not be disappointed in the lack of new posts so early on in my blog. The reason is a break for the holidays to go see my family. With that said, a lot of cooking was done meanwhile, so expect more posts this week! I'll try to do one a day.

Take care,
Ksenia