Wasabi Sushi, Vista CA

I don't do restaurant reviews very often, but for Wasabi Sushi, I feel I must.

The owner and sushi chef is Andy, a very likable and friendly guy. His wife Sarah waits tables. There are about 8 tables, the sushi bar seats about 8-10, and they've got a big screen TV tuned to the hottest sporting event.

But, on to the food.

First, the 911 Roll. I think you can see why.

Next up, the Ceviche Tostada.

Here we have an eel hand roll. Best I've ever had. Andy also makes a mean salmon skin roll.

Toro. Like butta.

Sawagani, little river crabs, quickly fried and served with a ponzu-soy sauce. Crunchy little bugs. Better than popcorn.

My husband had a live octopus one time. I've seen the video, and would post it, but you don't need to hear the drunken audio that accompanies it. So until I find a way to post video while killing the audio, you'll just have to imagine pieces of just-chopped octopus crawling around on a plate.

Aside from all the awesome sushi (OMG, try the white tuna!), they also have the typical teriyaki plate offerings, as well as an awesome clam miso soup, and an udon soup that looks delicious but that I have yet to try.

Wasabi Sushi
1688 Melrose Drive, Ste. 212
Vista, CA 92081
(760) 727-8090

Random Quotes from the WIP Household, Part VIII

Youngest: Dad, you're a Mexican, right?

Dad: Yeah.

Youngest: Well, the dishwasher went home drunk, so you need to go in the back and wash dishes.

And he did.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stop signing your name as Wang Chung, or my teachers are going to figure it out.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That would have been really awkward if I had a penis.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"He's hot. And there's nothing wrong with window shopping."

"It's a beautiful window. I want to lick the window."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Get away from my soup, Diddy. Get your own damn soup."

"You need to calm down."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I love my penis."

Note that this is only funny because it was spoken by a 15-year-old girl.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cast Iron Skillet Chicken

I will never roast a chicken any other way.

With help from Thomas Keller and my friend Suzanne (if you're in Chicago and need to get in shape, look her up!), I made the best chicken ever.

Preheat your oven to 425ish, with a cast iron skillet inside. While that's happening, get to work on the chicken.

You start by removing the wishbone. Why? I have no idea. And thank God I started at the right end of the chicken, or that would've taken a very long time. Wishbone removed, pat your chicken dry. Really dry. When you think it's dry enough, dry it some more. Salt and pepper the inside of the cavity, then do the same to the outside. Use one whole tablespoon of salt for the outside. You'll understand why when you taste it.

Get some string for tying the legs together. Shove the wing tips back between the leg and thigh, then tie the ends of the legs together. Sounds easy, huh? Yeah, if you have 4 hands.

Open the now-heated oven, deposit the chicken in the skillet, and close the door. At this point you may want to open the windows and turn your vent fan on. I had a lot of smoke. So much so that I lowered the oven temperature by 10 degrees. That probably didn't make any difference, but it made me feel better.

Your chicken is done when a thermometer reads 160-165 in a meaty part of the thigh.

The wing tips won't be crispy and worth gnawing on, since they've been tucked between the nether regions, so toss them. Better yet, save them for stock along with the rest of the bones. I recommend eating the wings first. Just because. Be careful when trying to remove the legs, this chicken turns out so tender that I was left with the leg bone in my hand and all the meat still attached to the chicken. So use a knife and work your way around the joint. And don't forget the crispy, salty, perfect skin.

Oh, and do you like the wine cork mat? I loosely followed the instructions at Craftynest. But there was no way I was going to cut 75 wine corks with a pocket knife. I used a band saw.

Avocado Toast with Sardines

I recently discovered avocado toast. Easiest thing ever - toast, mashed avocado, salt. The other day I was thinking about the can of sardines in my pantry, and thought, why not?

And it was good.

Porterhouse Steak

Steak:

Seasoning, cast iron skillet:

That is all.

Things I've Cooked Lately, Part II

So this is a clean-out-the-camera post. Some of these I made quite a while ago, some pretty recent. And now, for your viewing pleasure:

Corned Beef Hash. Egg is not optional.

Adobo made with country-style pork ribs.

Indian spiced pickled kumquats.

Tomato & blue cheese soup repurposed as a pasta sauce.

OK, Sami, I finally posted something. Are you happy now?

Crispy Fried Trotters

First off, let me apologize for this photo. It's underlit. The composition sucks. Hey, at least it's in focus.

What is it? A fried pig's foot. I basically gave it the same treatment as the pig's tails I did before, but omitted the first deep-frying step. So - boil, dry, dust with flour, fry, salt.

Success? Depends. I thought this would be as glorious as the tails, but sadly, it wasn't. Feet just don't have as much meat on them. The crispy skin was wonderful, but there was too much gooey stuff inside that got a little weird from the frying. I guess Michael at A Dash of Stash was right when he said "I prefer them soft".