I am 3 months into my first "real" winter and have learned some valuable lessons. Layering has a completely new meaning. Hats and scarfs are no longer accessories, they are necessities. Dressing for warmth surpassed style as soon as the weather dropped to the low teens. However, you don't need to abandon your inner fashionista just because your winter coat looks like a sleeping bag and the only exposed part of your body is your face.
My most recent acquisition is the Catherine Malandrino sequin beret. Not only does it keep my head and ears warm, but it also SPARKLES! Black cannot be boring if it is covered in sequins. This is a fact. At first I was not sure if I felt more like a fly girl or Madonna. But I have embraced the beret as my own and have been able to pair it with a variety of outfits (pictures soon to come.)
Making your own sushi at home isn't as difficult as it may seem! There are a few things you will need in order to make a spicy tuna cut roll, tuna sashimi and hot sake :)
#1 Fresh sushi grade tuna (I went to a Japanese market to get this- there are a strip of them at Sawtelle just above Olympic if you live in LA) #2 SHORT grain rice #3 Rice vinegar #4 A Sushi rolling mat #5 A SHARP knife #6 A few sheets of nori (the seaweed) #7 Sriracha sauce (the Japanese red hot sauce) #8 Sake (made for hot NOT cold) and the sake holder with glasses
Firstly Sushi means cooked rice, not raw fish as many people think. Therefore the emphasis is on the sticky rice and the preparation it goes through in order to be used in sushi. Here is the recipe for the rice: Ingredients:
2 cups sushi or short grain rice (yields 4 cups of rice)
2 cups water, plus extra for rinsing rice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Place the rice into a mixing bowl and cover with cool water. Swirl the rice in the water, pour off and repeat 2 to 3 times or until the water is clear.
Place the rice and 2 cups of water into a medium saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, uncovered. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer the rice into a large wooden or glass mixing bowl and add the vinegar mixture. Fold thoroughly to combine and coat each grain of rice with the mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature before using to make sushi or sashimi.
Now you've finished with the rice next comes the Spicy tuna.
You are going to want to slice the skin off the side so you have a nice piece of tuna steak like the above picture. Now separate your slices of sashimi from the rest of the steak. Keep those in the refrigerator for later. The rest of the tuna will be used for the spicy tuna mixture.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of sriracha hot chili sauce
2 teaspoons of hot chili oil
1/2 to 1 lbs of tuna (the less tuna the more spicy the tuna will be)
2-3 green onion stocks (the white and light green part only)
Directions:
Dice the tuna in tiny pieces (this will take a while)
Chop the green onions
Combine the onions and tuna and keep chopping until they are in tiny pieces
Put the tuna in a bowl and combine the chili oil, mayonnaise and sriracha sauce, mix thoroughly until combined. The more you mash together the less chunky the tuna will be in the sushi.
The tuna should be a nice pink color- feel free to taste it and add more sriracha or more mayonnaise according to your tastes.
Next it is time to roll your sushi rolls! Here is a great tutorial video showing you what to do. Adding avocado slices to the sides of you tuna is a yummy addition!
:Nigiri sushi are pieces of sashimi with a drop wasabi underneath them and over rice balls.
Next take your slices of Sashimi and roll small rice balls (should be a bit smaller than your tuna pieces) Put a drop of wasabi on the bottom side of your sashimi and spread them out over the rice balls.
My rice balls (pictured above) were a little to large for my sashimi. But it didn't make them taste any worse!
The last part is your hot sake.
Firstly you will need a Sake carafe and saki glasses. There are 2 different types of saki, saki meant to be drank warm or sake meant to be drank cold. Cold sake is more expensive and finer quality, therefore you do not want to drink it warm because it would be a waste. Hot sake can be as cheap as 4 dollars a bottle because it is usually unfiltered, but the warming process brings out the flavor and the alcohol.
So if you choose to have hot sake first you need to boil a pot of water. Once its boiled pour the sake into the carafe. Then rest the carafe in the boiling hot water. Next you are going to have to watch the sake and make sure it doesn't boil (otherwise you lose the alcoholic properties). This shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Once you think it is ready take the sake carafe out of the water and it is ready to serve!
どうぞめしあがれ (pronounced douzo meshiagare) meaning: Enjoy your meal!
The Getty is a great place to go to have a picnic, see the exhibits, walk around the rose garden and enjoy the architecture. It is free thanks to the Getty family (though parking is $8). The Getty museum is at 1200 Getty Center Drive. Los Angeles, CA 90049-1687. Phone: +1 (310) 440-7330
Two great exhibits there right now:
Carlo Cignani Italian, about 1670–1680 Oil on canvas 39 x 39 in. (99.1 x 99.1 cm) EX.2008.7.9 Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
"This exhibition tells the extraordinary story of a small group of artists who changed the course of art history. In the decades after the deaths of the great Renaissance masters, such as Raphael and Michelangelo, the art of painting was thought to have gone into steep decline. But then, in the late 16th century, the Carracci family of painters from Bologna burst onto the scene with tremendous energy and vitality, raising art to new heights."
My favorite section is where they show three different artists painting the same subject: Joseph and Potifar's wife. It's very interesting to see how three different artists portray a subject very differently.
The Limbourg brothers create incredible illuminated manuscripts that are just amazing to see. There is so much detail on such a small page- they even have magnifying glasses at the exhibit.
Limbourg brothers French, Paris, 1405–8/9 Ink, tempera, and gold leaf on vellum 9 3/8 x 6 11/16 in. (23.8 x 17 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Collection, 1954 (54.1.1, fol. 63)
Country Style: This trend works with rustic looking items mixed with fancier items, plaid, boots, lace, brown leather, old fashion looking jewelry.
Architectural Silhouette:This bold trend is seen from clothing silhouettes to shoes and handbags. Wear a draped skirt with a simple tank top and chunky platforms or a architectural dress with sky high stilettos.
If you decide to go to a movie, be sure to hit up your local drug store for the snacks. Drinks, popcorn, and candy are almost three times the price at movie theatre concession stands. Forget about class, and bring your Rite Aid or Duane Reade goodie bag into your flick!
Located in the heart of "Curry Hill," five block section of Murray Hill with several Indian restaurants and specialty stores. I have been on the prowl for good Indian food since moving to New York and I finally found my ticket. After reading an awesome review from NYMag, we decided to try the Chennai Garden, a South Indian vegetarian restaurant. South Indian cuisine is quite different from North Indian which is what the majority of Indian restaurants in the United States are. It is much lighter and far less cream based with its curries. We started with the Mushroom and Garlic Uttapam, their version of a fried pancake. It came with coconut chutney and a tangy lentil broth. The other notable dish we ordered which is the raved about specialty at the Chennai Garden was the Kala Chana, black chickpeas and onions in a thick flavorful gravy. Our goal was to try the most obscure items that we would never ordinarily order and it was a hit! Aside from them trying to hurry us out of there, the service was decent. For a trendy and delectable restaurant this meal was surprisingly reasonably priced. For three people to eat and feel satisfied and spend less than $15 each is on the verge of being a "cheap find."
Cheers and I hope you check it out!
LA friends- If you want to find South Indian restaurants, there is a stretch of Venice Blvd and one notable place is the Annapurna.
