One Saturday evening, Annie wanted to eat a large hunk of lamb. She had heard of a restaurant, Athena Grill that was supposed to have good Greek food but unfortunately they were not open on weekends. So we settled on John’s XLNT Food in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose.
When we got there, we had to wait a while until we could be seated. Annie ordered the braised lamb shank. Talk about a large hunk of lamb! It was good.
We found a package of konnyaku “skwid” at the Asian grocery store. Konnyaku is a yam that is ground into flour and made into a jelly. It is high in fiber but low in calories. It is usually sold in blocks or as shirataki noodles, but this is another application – a vegan alternative to squid.
Stir-fried the “skwid” over high heat until they were almost blistered. Then stir-fry some peas with garlic and tossed it all togther.
The “skwid” had a nice crunch; not tough or chewy at all.
Aloha, Nate
Season a cod fish steak with salt and white pepper. Place in a shallow dish and place the dish in a bamboo steamer over a wok. Steam until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
Fry up some chopped garlic until brown and crispy. Make a sauce from soy sauce and sesame oil. Mince up some cilantro and green onions. Remove the dish from the steamer, sprinkle with fried chopped garlic, drizzle on the sauce, then garnish with the cilantro and green onions.
Aloha, Nate
We went to Manresa Restaurant in Los Gatos to celebrate Annie’s birthday. We made reservations a month in advance, since this very popular restaurant garnered more attention when it was awarded 2 out of 3 stars in the prestigious Michelin Guide. When we arrived, we were seated right away. We told them that we were here for their Tasting Menu, which consists of the best plates the Chef had to offer that night.
All told, there were 4 amuse bouche, 8 entree, and 5 dessert courses. Here are some of my favorite dishes from the dinner:
Raw oyster and uni (sea urchin roe) on the half shell, with sea urchin-infused gelatin and nori (dried seaweed) flake. Wow. It went down so smoothly. *sigh*, I think I could eat a dozen more.
