Sunday Brunch, Afternoon Snack, Dinner

It’s a quiet weekend, so I decided to be ambitious. It’s technically three meals (brunch, afternoon snack, dinner), but it could be a 7-course meal (I didn’t make the roast potatoes).

Appetizers

Bloody Mary

Steak Tartare

Stuffed Mushrooms with Lamb

Soup & Salad

French Onion Soup

Lobster and Crabmeat Salad

Main Course

Vinho Verde

Pan-seared Ribeye

Creamed Spinach

Roast Potatoes

Steak Tartare

I felt like steak tartare today, and since I actually have a butcher shop half a block away, I decided to get their “steak tar tar,” which is basically freshly chopped sirloin. Yeah, I actually had to wait for them to chop it.

• 1/2 lb sirloin, chopped (get directly from butcher, not supermarket)
• 2 cornichons, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Tabasco sauce
• salt and pepper
• 1 quail egg yolk
• toasted corners or crackers

1. Mix chopped shallot, chopped cornichon, olive oil, Worchestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce together. Stir in the chopped sirloin and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill until ready to serve. 
2. Put the sirloin mixture in a small ramekin and invert over a plate. Slightly indent the mound and put in the raw quail egg yolk.
3. Serve with toasted corners or crackers.

It turned out well, but I think I need to turn up the heat more next time.

Beer Can Chicken

I felt like making beer can chicken, because it’s easy, and because I can improvise the flavors.

• Kosher salt
• 1 whole chicken, 3-4 lbs
• 1/8 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon turmeric 
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1  very large can of beer, half emptied

1. Rub kosher salt inside and all over the skin of the chicken. Let sit for 15 minutes.
2. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the vegetable oil and dry ingredients into a paste.
3. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Insert the half-empty beer can into the chicken and position the chicken upright over a foil-lined baking sheet. Rub the spice mix all over the skin of the chicken.
4. Roast for 13 to 15 minutes a pound, until the breast reaches 165°F and the thigh reaches 170°F. Turn the oven up to 450°F and roast for another 15 minutes. 
5. Cut into serving pieces.

Steak and Sweet Potato Noodles

This was another improvisation. It was the last piece of steak that had been seasoned and “aged” in the fridge, and I had purchased a pack of sweet potato noodles, which I’d never used before. I still had half an onion left, and there was PLENTY of Fresco peppers, so might as well.

• 6 oz thin charcoal steak, liberally seasoned with garlic powder and seasoned salt and left in the fridge overnight
• 2 tblsp vegetable oil
• half onion, thinly sliced
• 1 Fresno pepper, thinly sliced
• 3.5 oz pack of sweet potato or glass noodles
• 1 tblsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil

1. Cooked sweet potato noodles according to package instructions and rinse in cold water and drain. Thinly slice charcoal steak across the grain into thin strips.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet until very hot. Sauté onion until caramelized. Add Fresco pepper and sauté quickly until fragrant. Add steak and sauté quickly. Add drained sweet potato noodles and stir fry for a couple of minutes until hot. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil.

Curry Fishballs

I felt like curry fishballs, so I decided to recreate them based on what I remember they’re supposed to taste like.

• 1 lb. frozen fishballs (about 30 total), thawed
• 2 tblsp turmeric
• 1 tblsp kosher salt
• 1 tblsp coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper

1. In a small saucepan, combine all the dry ingredients with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Put in the fishballs and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for at least 15 minutes.
2. Take the fishballs out and thread 5 fishballs to a skewer. Arrange on a serving platter and pour some of the curry sauce over the fishballs to prevent them from drying.

They were quite comparable to the ones I get from a restaurant I really like for their curry fishballs :-)

Currywurst

This was so easy it was ridiculous.

• 4 Cooked Bratwursts, diagonally sliced
• 4 teaspoons turmeric 
• 2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 tablespoon ketchup

1. Mix all the dry spices together. 
2. Roast in a dry frying pan until smoking. 
3. Add the bratwurst and stir to make sure each piece is coated and hot. 
4. Add the ketchup and stir for five minutes to coat thoroughly and heat through.

Charcoal Steak, Spaghetti, Garoupa

I was inspired by my LNYE dinner to create an Italian version. What do you think?

1. Charcoal steak with garlic butter
2. Spaghetti with portabella mushrooms and baby spinach
3. Garoupa (grouper) fillet with Fra Diavolo Sauce

There was no recipe, just what I thought would go well together. I did my grocery shopping via Instacart. I had charcoal steak in my cart, but I was expecting an actual steak. She got me thin cut charcoal steak instead, so I had to make sure I didn’t overcook it. It was liberally seasoned with garlic powder and seasoned salt and left in the fridge overnight. It was quickly seared on both sides. It turned out very well.

All ingredients except for ground spices were fresh. I didn’t even use canned tomatoes or tomato sauce or paste, so the Fra Diavolo sauce was not very red, but it tasted good, and poaching the fish in it after it’s been cooked down worked well for the garoupa.

Flank Steak, Chinese Noodles, Garoupa

I have absolutely no idea what to call this dish. I totally improvised without consulting any recipe. I did keep in mind what’s supposed to go with what. So:

1. Spiced Flank Steak with curried butter
2. Chinese noodles with shiitake mushrooms and choy sum
3. Garoupa (grouper) fillet en papillote with sambal olek

So, reader, I am asking for your stories. How did you celebrate Lunar New Year’s Eve?

As always, please keep it civil and relevant. If you have a recipie specific for Lunar Nrew are at I promise I will refrain from commenting on your experience, but I might be curious enough to ask questions to better understand your story.