Lazy Ox Canteen

It's time again for DineLA! Sadly, it's over tomorrow and I didn't get to nearly as many restaurants as I generally do. Just haven't been going out to eat as much anymore ... no idea why. Even cooking at home has been a general repeat of the same dishes that I've previously blogged about before. It's like I've hit a fooding slump and need to get my mojo back.

On Sunday, Boyfriend was working (he works in a hospital so someone always has to be there ... damn sick people) so before I went to Disneyland to meet up with a few friends, I decided to go out to a leisurely lunch by myself. I just sat at the bar, reading my Dresden Files book and ate at my own pace. It was amazingly relaxing.

roast yams, sea salt, apple maple gastrique

ox tail ragu, house-made tagliatelle, soft poached egg, parmigiano reggiano

rice pudding, caramel, pinenut crumb

Can we take a moment to talk about the rice pudding? I don't even like rice pudding. Or tapioca pudding. But this rice pudding is uh-mazing. Almost a relgious experience. If you are even a tiny fan of the rice pudding, you must try this one. If you don't like it, you will eat this one and never eat another one ever again without it being inferior.

Pardon the inconsistency in quality of the pictures, as I took them with my phone's camera. Also, even though I've gloated over the rice pudding, don't discount the other items. The pasta was really really good, though the yams came minus the sea salt and I had to ask them for some on the side to cut through the richness of the apple maple gastrique.

Tomorrow is the last day of DineLA! Where will you be having lunch/dinner?

Lazy Ox Canteen
241 S San Pedro St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Substitute for Heavy Cream

I don't know about you but I don't just keep adorable glass containers of heavy cream in my refrigerator. Actually, my cream comes in those boring pint containers made of paper so if you know where to buy cream in glass jars or in those small gallon bottles like they always show on FoodTV, please let me know cause they are cutes.

But when recipes call for heavy cream, you can make your own in a pinch! Just melt 1/3 cup butter in the microwave. When it has melted, let it cool for a couple minutes and then pour it into 1 cup of whole milk. Stir together (it will be lumpy, as the butter will congeal in the cold milk) and then pour it into whatever dish calls for it. If you don't have whole milk (as I do not), also add 1 teaspoon of flour to the milk before stirring in the butter.

Voila! You now have a creamy tasting dish. Make sure you don't try to use this concoction for whipped cream, as it will not whip! Happy cooking.

The Walking Dead S3E8 - Miso Black Cod

Hello there, all. It's been a long long time since the last update. I know, I'm ashamed of myself. But in my defense, I've WANTED to update for the last week or so but there seems to be a problem with Internet Explorer. Don't laugh, I HAVE to use IE because I have a work laptop. I got rid of my desktop a few years ago after I got one for work and realized that having a portable computer was so much more useful and space-efficient. Plus, not my money and I always have the latest upgrades. I'm not gaming much anymore and only used the computer to surf the net; now I could surf the net and watch TV on the couch at the same time! But I digress ...

IE seems to have an issue to where it's not letting me upload pictures through Blogger, which is a major hassle when this site is based on pictures. I mean, you just want to look at pictures of food right? Oh and sometimes recipes. They can be helpful too. So now I'm resorting to using Boyfriend's computer while he showers to update the blog.

The Walking Dead ended weeks ago ... the midseason finale anyway. The second half of the season is coming back in a couple of weeks. Eep! To provide full disclosure, I did not watch or make dinner for episode 8 because my birthday was the day before and I had Book Club the day of. So I'm giving this recipe from Ms food, je'taime. I made the udon with whatever leftover ingredients were in the refrigerator from having shabu-shabu-slash-hot-pot during the week. But the cod was the best part.

You can buy the cod filets fresh from any Japanese market or you can buy them frozen from Trader Joe's for something like $8.99/lb, which is ridiculously low. I defrosted the filet and cut it in half before marinading it ... delish. I actually text Ms food, je'taime to tell her I was eating and loving it because I was so excited.

Miso Black Cod
from food, je t'aime

1/2 cup of miso paste

3 tablespoon mirin

1 teaspoon light-colored honey

2 fillets black cod (about 1 inch thick)

vegetable oil

 

Whisk together miso , mirin, and honey to create the marinade. You can adjust the marinade to your liking (saltier/sweeter) but it turned out perfect in the above ratio.

Pat the cod filets dry with a paper towel. Transfer the marinade to a ziploc bag and throw in the filets with it; gently mush around a bit to coat the filets with the miso. Don't actually squash the fish! Marinate for about 24 hours.

 

Before cooking, remove the fish from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for about 10 minutes. Preheat a nonstick skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Gently wipe off any excess marinade with your fingers. Oil pan and cook the fillet until golden brown on both sides, roughly 3-4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish. Serve preferably with white rice.