Surprise!

 I got a text from Maddy while I was at work yesterday, "We are making you a surprise."  When I got home the kitchen was clean, and there was no evidence of surprise making.  The tiny pinata hung from our chandelier while we ate dinner and did not raise suspicion as I had seen Maddy making it the night before.

After dinner I was blindfolded.  When I opened my eyes the rainbow angelfood cake was strategically placed beneath the pinata.  I was instructed to pull a ribbon; this released a shower of rainbow sprinkles over the cake. 

Sprinkle pinata.  Like Sparkle Pony, only sweeter.

Dream Catchers, Wild Boar & Curd

You don't realize what you've got til it's gone.  Our last dinner in Texas with all four of us.  Ian and Maddy head back East this week.  Ian will return for another class in June; Maddy won't be back to Texas at least to visit us here.  She got on a dreamcatcher-making kick this trip.  The frames for these are made from rosemary branches of which we have in abundance. 

We had one last hike up Enchanted Rock earlier this morning, and a lunch of salami and cheese in the car on the way home.  Everyone was ready for a "real" dinner.  We cobbled together a salad with some arugula supplemented with Maddy's leftover salad from Whole Foods.  Maddy turned me onto this salad dressing from Bijouxs--a beautifully photographed food blog.  This lemon miso dressing is a game changer.  I will be applying to everything this summer.

David Chang's recipe for brussel sprouts with fish sauce vinaigrette is another bit of lightning in a jar.  I will never cook brussel sprouts another way.  Slice in half, put in oiled oven-proof skillet cut side down and cook x 5 min or until beginning to brown, finish in a 400F oven for ~15 minutes.  Toss with dressing of your choice or salt/pepper/splash of oil. 

We had wild boar from the farmer's market.  Grilled with leftover ssam sauce as a marinade/glaze.  Probably will see fewer feral hogs in DC Metroplex so plan to make this again before we leave Texas.

The grand finale: Lime Curd Tart with Greek yogurt and blueberries.  It was my idea to put the lime curd we made in a graham crust (baked blind for 15 minutes and cooled overnight).  It was Maddy's to top with yogurt.  The blueberries made it summery.  We finished the entire tart.  Seems there are wild pigs of the human variety in Texas too.

Ramen

We are Momofuku groupies.  Maddy and I both own copies of the Milk Bar cookbook; I am a Lucky Peach subscriber; and Maddy recently acquired a copy of the Momofuku cookbook.  When we move East this summer I am envisioning a pilgrimage to NYC for a Chang-fest.

The Lee family is also a bunch of die-hard ramen aficionados.  Specifically the tonkotsu style broth--made by long slow cooking of pork bones.  It is fatty and rich, and one bowl makes a hearty meal.  It is the Holy Grail of ramen.  There is not a decent bowl to be found in San Antonio...that is, until this week.  If you have an ambitious college student armed with a Momofuku cookbook and a lot of time you too could come home to a steaming bowl of ramen.  You may also come home to a kitchen covered in a light film of pork fat, but it will be worth it.  David Chang's recipe is long and somewhat involved, but it makes 5 quarts of broth which freezes well and it was worth the price of the book for our family.

Made by a starving college student, but not your starving college student's ramen....

Sliders

Lamburger vs. Hamburger.  The eternal debate.  But why decide if you don't have to.  Make yourself some sliders.  Then you can have both without seeming like a total glutton, and there will be cute leftovers for lunch.

Maddy and I hit the grocery store on the way home from work the other day hoping for a quick and satisfying dinner.  Sophie hates all things burger so she had hot dogs--also adorable on slider buns.  Cutting edge gourmet food purveyor that it is, Central Market even had slider buns.

We did beef sliders with roasted poblanos (thank you butane torch for a rapid pepper charring experience) and candied bacon which involved laying out thick cut bacon on parchment-lined baking sheet, brushing with mango chutney and/or bbq sauce and baking for 15 min each side in a 350F oven.  Not an exact science, hence our slightly darker than desirable but still delicious bacon.  We seasoned the meat with some shallot salt from Penzey's.

The lamburgers were seasoned with Greek seasoning and folded around some crumbled feta.  Served with some pickles that Maddy made.  Involved sriracha, pickling spices, sugar and just a tiny bit of human blood extracted by the mandoline.

It doesn't take two hands to handle the slider.  Smaller portions but equally satisfying.  How apropos after a day spent in diabetic clinic.

Uchi Finale: for your viewing pleasure...

Our last visit en famile to Uchiko.  Thanks again to our server and all the wonderful chefs.  Our sushi bar has been raised forever.