Central Park Picnic

There's nothing better than a picnic on a shaddy day with your friends and family. Especially my friends, who all love to cook and eat. We always end up being the envy of the picnic scene... :)


Here's what we had:

- fried chicken wings
- buffalo wings
- vietnamese sandwiches (mine!)
- mortadella and liverwurst sandwiches
- fruit salad
- brownies
- chips and pretzels...

Another dinner party...

Grilled shrimp salad with blood orange vinaigrette

Skirt salad with chimichurri sauce

Five Spice Braised Goose

Does anything smell better than braising a goose? ok, maybe roasting a duck... or searing a steak... ok, fine. meat + heat = heaven!!

This is a very Shanghainese dish, my mom learned it from my grandmother and I learned it from her. The recipe is shockingly simple, perhaps because the goose is naturally so flavorful or that everything tastes good braised.

I will come back and post the recipe soon, but in the meantime, here are the sides I served with it. Yes, we eat a lot for two people.

Shiitake mushrooms with bok choy and shrimp tofu stew

Seafood paella....

Venetian Seafood Salad

I loved, loved this dish from Osteria Morini. So I finally had a chance to recreate this amazing dish my memory and a little googling!

Here's the recipe copied word for word from Food Network, of course I edited some parts and added a few others the way Morini had it.

Ingredients

For the seafood and poaching liquid:

• 1 celery stalk
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 small onion, halved
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 quarts water
• 1 pound cleaned calamari, cut into 1-inch-thick rings
• 1/2 pound sea or bay scallops, foot removed
• 1 pound medium to large shrimp
• 1 pound octopus

For the salad:

• 1 cup julienned tender celery
• 1 cup julienned carrots
• 1/2 cup seeded and julienned red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup seeded and julienned yellow bell pepper
• 1 scallion (white part only), julienned
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons) or lime juice (about 3 limes)
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 to 8 cups baby lettuce

Directions

To poach the seafood, you will need a large saucepan fitted with a colander insert. In the bottom of the pan, combine the celery, carrot, onion, bay leaf, lemon juice, salt, and water. Bring to a boil.

Place the calamari in the colander and cook in the simmering water for 2 minutes. Remove from the water, transfer to a large bowl, and set aside. Place the scallops in the colander and cook until opaque, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the water and transfer to the bowl with the calamari (large sea scallops may be cut in half horizontally after cooking; bay scallops may be left whole). Place the shrimpin the colander and cook until pink, about 3 minutes. Remove from the water. Peel, devein, and cut in half horizontally, adding them to the bowl with the calamari and scallops.

Remove the colander from the pan and place the octopus directly in the saucepan, adding more water if necessary to completely cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and gently simmer until tender, about 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer the octopus to a bowl and rinse under cold running water until octopus is completely cooled, about 5 minutes. Use your fingers and a small paring knife to remove the outer skin. Discard the hard mouth and head sac. Cut the tentacles and octopus on the bias into 1-inch pieces and add to the bowl with the other seafood.

To prepare the salad, toss the julienned celery, carrots, bell peppers, scallion, parsley, basil, and garlictogether in a serving bowl. Add the seafood and toss. Add the lemon juice, vinegar, and olive oil and toss well. Season with the salt and generous grindings of pepper. Arrange 1 cup of lettuce on each serving plate. Top with equal portions of the seafood and vegetable mixture, and serve immediately.

Variations: 6 to 8 steamed mussels may be added to the basic recipe and tossed with the other seafood. To extend the recipe and add a new texture dimension, 1/2 cup cubed, peeled, cooked Idahopotatoes and/or 1/2 cup cooked or canned (drained and rinsed) cannelini beans may be added to the basic recipe. Although it isn't traditional, I like this salad with a hint of chopped cilantro, about 2 teaspoons.

Sake Steamed Wild Pheasant

Isn't that beautiful? There is no doubt that wild game is always more delicious than commercially raised game... everyone knows that. But what's the best way to get the most flavor from that tasty bird? The Chinese believe it is with a gentle steam in the universal four (qual-fecta) umami producing ingredients: ginger, scallion, smoked ham and shiitake mushrooms. Doesn't that already sound great? :)

Being me, I also added a little sake and a tea spoon of sugar to bring together all the flavors! Yum!

Ingredients:

1 pheasant (approx. 1 pound)

1-2 tbsp of sake

1 ounce of salted, smoked ham

1 ounce of ginger

1 ounce of scallion

3-4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

pinch of salt and pepper (don't overdo it, the ham is salty!)

1 tasp of sugar

stuff the ham, scallions, ginger and mushrooms inside the bird and scatter the remaining on top. pour the sake, sugar and s&p all over the bird. steam in low heat for 90-120 minutes.... perfect as the most luxurious midnight snack.