New Year`s Eve meal

I already wrote about New Year Day and what I did but I have yet to tell what I made on New Year`s Eve. 

Most Japanese eat soba as I had mentioned in my previous blog. Thus, I made soba and also bought a nice bottle of sparkling white wine. 

Moreover, I wanted to make dessert for my friends. So, I decided to make a simple Mille-feuille with homemade whipped cream and custard. 


The custard was very easy to make 

All you need is

35 grams of sugar 
150 cc of milk 
One egg yellow 
15 grams of flour 
15 grams of cornstarch (optional)


You mix all the ingredients in a bowl excluding the cornstarch, then put the bowl in the microwave for about 1 minute and thirty seconds.

Take it out and mix 

Then put it back in the microwave again for another 30 seconds. 

If you don't like the constancy of the custard you can some cornstarch when you stick it in the microwave for the second time. 

If you do so please add about 15 grams of cornstarch. 


After making the custard I got some frozen pie sheets and baked them and then cut them into squares followed by whipping up some cream. 


I then layered them like a sandwich. When you layer them, please make sure that all the ingredients are cold otherwise they will fall apart during this process. 

pie sheet
custard
cream
strawberry
cinnamon 
pie sheet
custard 
cream
strawberry
cinnamon
pie sheet

Then, you have a very easy treat for your friends. 

Yakiniku Dinner on New Year Day

After doing a lot of shopping and praying at the shrine. My friend decided head back to Shinookubo to eat Korean food because that was the only thing open during New Year Day.


So, he headed all the way back to Okubo to find a nice restaurant. Once we got there we found a nice looking restaurant but... there was a line and there was only one waiter. Knowing this we decided to head back to Shinjuku and check out a yakiniku joint we had seen earlier in the day.



Let me tell you this,


This restaurant was expensive but it was the joint!!!!

The first thing we ordered was raw meat to fry and I ordered cheese binbinpa

Then we ordered an assortment of raw meat to grill on hot rocks. 

The meal was quite delicious for a last minute meal and I plan on visiting again in the future.

Check the restaurant out here at this address

焼き肉ホルモン 門

〒169-0072 Tokyo, Shinjuku, Okubo, 1 Chome1-2 泰正ビル １F

03-3200-3307

Yakiniku Restaurant

Tsutaya in Roppongi

Ever since changing jobs last year I have been able to spend more time in Azabu Juban. Although, I am no stranger to Azabu. I have decided to enjoy more of the restaurants in the area. One of the places I never visited as a student was Tsutaya near Roppongi Hills. I never really had time to enjoy Tsutaya because
1.I was busy studying.
2. I was too poor to buy books or drink Starbucks on a daily basis.

Thus, the other day during my lunch break I had decided to take sometime and good browsing through their book section. While there, I noticed that had a large assortment of architecture
and art books. I was never a huge fan of these two subjects so, I decided to take a look at their cooking section. The cooking section was also quite big with books ranging from everyday bento making to extremely difficult French recipes.


I decided to pick up two books while I was there. The first book was how to make sandwiches from scratch. (I do not eat many sandwiches but I think I should start)

The other was a cookbook on how to make bistro style dishes.

I hope I can try all of these recipes in the near future.

Divas can cook recipe review

I have decided to start a new type of entry into my blog and I want to call this section my Recipe Review Section.

Over the last couple of days I have been on a cooking frenzy. I have not cooked much over the last year. However, over this last new year holiday I decided to buy a new oven. I ended up buying a Sharp Healsio.

To  my surprise it was a great investment.


The oven works great and it bakes really well.


Thus, this last Sunday while browsing the web I decided to take a challenge and bake a whole chicken for the first time here in Japan.

The recipe that caught my eye was from a food blogger (Divas can cook)

You can view her site here at

www.divascancook.com

I decided to challenge and cook her Lemon Rosemary Garlic Chicken.

And let me tell you this... This recipe is the bomb!!!!


The chicken ended up real moist and the Rosemary, Garlic, and butter taste fabulous.







I also cooked some veggies simmered in butter and herbs to go with the dish. I think this chicken is a great way to end the week or start the new week. The recipe was easy to follow and all of the measurements were on point.

My friend who had come over for dinner that night was surprised by how fast I was able to cook the chicken and how little prep it took. ( In Japan is uncommon to buy a whole chicken and bake it)

If I have a potluck or a party in the near future this will be one of the dishes I would consider taking.


Here are a few pics from my dinner last night.