Seviche

All the Supper Club girls got together recently, and this month's choice was Seviche.  I was thrilled to be heading there because I've always wanted to go, but there is not one thing on the menu that I think hubby would eat.  :-(

BUT!  I went, I savored, and I SO want to go back!  As soon as we sat down, they brought out slices of Blue Dog Bakery Bread and fresh butter.  In Louisville, you can never go wrong with Blue Dog bread!  I started with the Spinach and Roasted Pear salad.  It's described as having seasonal berries, Capriole goat cheese, black walnut, and balsamic mustard dressing ($9).  It was delicious!  The goat cheese was velvety and the dressing had just the right amount of kick and bite to balance the sweet of the strawberries and pears.  I have to say I didn't really notice the walnuts, they were crushed, but that was nice because at least they stick with the salad rather than having to scoop them up separately.  One of the girls next to me had the soup special, a chipotle potato soup and gave me a taste.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I am not a fan of chipotle, but this wasn't over the top smoky.  Just enough to give some dimension to the potato, and there was a nice, slow burn of heat at the back of the throat that warmed you up nicely.

For my entree, I decided to try the 3 seviche tasting ($25) so as to get an opportunity to sample the menu.  I ordered the Oyster "Bloody Mary" Shooters (Miyagi Oysters, Tomato, Horseradish, Absolut Peppar Vodka), the Tuna Taquitos (Wasabi Lime Mustard, Yuzu, Local Microgreens, Avocado, Bluegrass Soy Sesame Powder), and the Line Caught Ahi Tuna (Sesame, Scallion, Coconut, Ginger).  Oh...my...Lord...I am in heaven!  The oysters had to be the best I've had.  Smooth, buttery, and melt in your mouth.  They were served in shot glasses and the liquid surrounding them was essentially a fresh gazpacho.  I sipped rather than shot, until the end to get the oyster out of the glass.  The taquitos were really mini tacos, but absolutely huge in taste.  They were served on a bed of seaweed which was deliciously briny and very mild.  The taquitos were the least spicy on the plate, but packed plenty of flavor.  The Ahi Tuna was very spicy, but delicate and fresh.  I only wished for a spoon to scoop up all the juice I couldn't get out of the saucer. As you can see, the presentation was wonderful and worth every penny.  I can't wait to go back!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ever find that one thing at a restaurant that you absolutely LOVE, but don't want to go broke eating there all the time?  Yeah, I'm like that at nearly every restaurant.  But usually, it's just not the same making it at home.  Once in awhile though, you get lucky.

That's how it is for me and my homemade lettuce wraps.  I fell in love with the flavor of the wraps from Yang Kee Noodle at Oxmoor Mall here in Louisville, so I decided to give it a shot at home.  I haven't done a side-by-side taste test, but regardless, these are pretty darn good!

Louisville Food Geek Lettuce Wraps

1 lb. ground turkey/chicken
2 t chopped ginger
1 med. onion, chopped
1 can sliced water chestnuts, chopped
2 T lime juice
2 T stir fry sauce
1 t garlic powder
4 T Ken's lite Asian Sesame dressing, divided
1/2 t ground ginger
Iceberg lettuce

Sauté onion and chopped ginger in cooking spray until almost translucent.  Add lime juice and 2 T dressing.  Stir.  Add water chestnuts and meat and stir until cooked through.  Add stir fry sauce and remaining dressing.  Season to taste with garlic and ground ginger.  Serve with lettuce leaves.

If you can't find the dressing in the store, you can make do with 1 T Hoisin sauce, 1 t fish sauce, 1 T soy sauce, and 1 T oyster sauce and increase the chopped ginger a bit (just taste it, you can't really go wrong).  I mix up 1 T lime juice and 1 T soy sauce in a small ramekin as a dipping sauce.  This will make a large meal for 2 people, a normal meal for 4, or a perfect appetizer for 6-8.

What hell feels like...

Here in the midwest, there have been multiple illnesses going around.  Everyone has gotten either the flu, a cold, a 24-hour stomach bug, or strep throat.  It's unavoidable.  If you live within range...you WILL get sick.  Some lucky people I know, including my brother-in-law, pulled a double-header with flu AND strep.  That's gotta be fun!

For me, it was the cold.  As far as things go, you think, "hey, that's okay, it's a cold.  No big deal."

Yeah.  Right.

This was the MOTHER of all colds.  Feel like you've been run over, can't breathe, can't think, hacking your head off then wondering if you even still HAVE a head, cold.

I can deal with all that.  I got to watch a lot of TV and have valid reason for laying in bed all day.  Cool.

But, you remember where I said "can't breathe"?

You also remember your elementary school science class where they discussed the majority of taste is in smell?

No smell = no taste = Food Geek HELL!

After a week I was feeling okay.  At least starting to feel human.  Not completely cleared up, but hungry and wanting something yummy and flavorful that would cut through the tastebud lockdown.  Quick backstory:  A couple weeks ago I had a spice cabinet avalanche, and the cap to my curry powder broke, filling my kitchen with the scent of curry, so I have been craving curry for weeks, but was out of coconut milk.  Fast forward to feeling human again, and I decided to stop on the way home from work for a can of coconut milk to make aforesaid curry.

Oh this is going to be wonderful!  Slowly saute the chicken, onions, and red peppers.  Add a little red curry paste, add the coconut milk, add a healthy dose of curry powder, steam some rice to the perfect consistency.  Serve, and prepare to enjoy the strength of curry power cutting through anything a cold can throw at you.

Uh huh.  I may as well have just eaten the rice plain.  Absolutely could not taste a THING!  Meanwhile, hubby is going on and on about how wonderful it is.  Yeah, rub it in.

Finally, a few days later, I could truly smell again and thoroughly enjoyed the leftovers, but I think another round of curry is close in my future.