John Currence's Quinoa with [Spiced Seared Scallops] and Pistou

This recipe has a huge list of ingredients, but its method is as easy as it gets. The original recipe calls for tossing the shrimp in an awesome mix of spices and oil, but for some reason, I was in the mood for a scallop. So instead of marinading and baking shrimp, I decided to use this marinade as a dressing on top of a seared scallop.

The recipe also calls for mixing together a pesto with some quinoa, which I thought was just brilliant. This kind of opened up my world with quinoa. I love whipping up some pesto, and I love seeing quinoa transform into a fluffy cloud. I don't know why this preparation isn't used more often, and I wish I had thought of this earlier. Really simple, really delicious, and it gives the quinoa a beautiful green color.

The end result was great. I had never seared a scallop before, but with the help of my friend, Hana, and Alton Brown's method, the abnormally humungous scallop became beautifully browned. The taste of the pesto was subtle, and could have probably used a tad bit more salt, but it complemented the light nuttiness of quinoa really well. The smell of pesto also filled my nose with each bite. The lack of salt in the pesto balanced out the relatively intense dressing. I think I was a little bit over-enthusiastic with the dressing. Next time I'll make do with a smaller dab. A well-proportioned bite of this, though, hit the spot.

Nishino

I rarely find myself in Seattle's Madison Park. I don't really know why. It's nearby, it's accessible, and it's got lots of character. But I'll be honest. The only reason I ended up at Nishino was because it has the highest rating on Yelp for sushi in Seattle.

Nishino is one of those places that's as casual or as formal as you want to make it. Service will make you feel like you're at an exclusive, fine dining establishment, while the welcoming, warm lighting will make you feel like you're over at your friend's house. Table seating is smartly elevated, is not too crowded, and overlooks the expected open sushi bar. Overall, the restaurant felt casual, comfortable, and inviting, three adjectives I would probably use to describe Tatsu Nishino's omakase.

The meal started off with a five-item plate. The first was a Spot Prawn and Tomato with Wasabi Sauce. The spot prawn was super fresh and the wasabi sauce brought a light heat to the fresh tomato. It was a really bright way to start the meal and wake up the palate.

The Sockeye Salmon with Kelp balanced out the lightness of the previous bite with more fat and a generously seasoned sheet of kelp. The lemon added a needed acidity to make the transition from the spot prawn more gradual.

The third bite brought things back to a strictly lighter tone. The Shigoku Half Shell with Ginger Salsa was unbelievably fresh and the restrained amount of ginger salsa brought a light kick to the nose. The contrast of the ginger against the oyster really helped to bring out the more subtle tones in the oyster. This was my second favorite of the five bites.

The fourth bite was Yellowtail with a Cucumber Wrap and Miso Sauce. Yellowtail is my favorite type of sashimi, and this did not disappoint. The miso sauce moved the bite away from being very light, while the cucumber helped to make sure things didn't get too heavy. This was my favorite of the five.

The last bite of the first course was a Sesame-Crusted Albacore on a Cucumber Slice. Like the previous bite, this one had a nice mixture of light and heavy, but leaned more towards heavy. The albacore was topped with a delicious and restrained mix of ponzu, radish, red pepper, and green onion. This last bite made sure that you felt like the first course was satisfying and not too scant.

The second course was what Nishino calls a New Style Sashimi. Basically, it's arugula wrapped in whitefish seared with extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, and ginger soy sauce, topped with some lemon juice and scallions. While this was probably my least favorite course of the night, I appreciated the flavors that came through in this dish. I just wish the flavor of the fish and the arugula came through more. The dish seemed a bit over-seasoned with the various oils and sauces. I still ate every last bite though.

Next up was the Foie Gras and Seared Tuna with Shiitake Mushroom and Red Wine Soy Reduction. This dish was incredible. I'm not the hugest fan of foie mainly because I feel like a lot of places slap on too huge a portion of foie as if to say, "Look! We have foie gras!" The play on a surf and turf here was clever and perfectly restrained. While I could have used a little bit less of the red wine soy reduction, the lightly seared tuna brought a needed lightness to the small piece of filling foie. The shiitake mushroom brought a great level of umami to round out the dish. Really amazing. Of the few preparations of foie gras I've had, this just might be my favorite. This one is on their permanent menu, so grab this if you get the chance.

The fourth course was the Albacore Tuna Sashimi Salad on Mixed Greens with House Dressing. This course was a great way to lighten up the meal after the previous course. Though there was nothing mind-blowing about this course, I really appreciated the simplicity and predictability of this course. This dish brought things back to the comforting and recognizable standbys of Japanese-American sushi restaurants. The salad did come with some awesome lotus root chips, however, that brought some texture to the plain mixed greens and generous cut of albacore sashimi.

The next course was a Mushroom Dashi Soup with Mizuna, Enoki, Black Cod, and Tofu. Every part of this soup was beautiful. The broth itself was extremely aromatic and filled my nose with comfort and a light smell of mushrooms every time I went in for another spoonful. The enoki mushrooms were slightly crisp, the mizuna added a hint of bitterness and pepper, and the perfectly-cooked black cod and tofu both melted in my mouth. This course was a perfect way to bring some warmth to the meal after the salad.

The sixth course was String Bean and King Crab Tempura with a Spicy Lemon Garlic Sauce. The string bean tempura were pretty standard, but the king crab tempura was out of this world. The crab was perfectly cooked, with the crunchy exterior giving way to the juicy and flavorful crab. The spicy lemon garlic was also a great way to bring some more complementary flavors to the dish in lieu of your standard tempura sauce. I also loved the lightness of the tempura batter. The course was filling, but still very light for a plate of tempura.

It was that good.

Course number seven featured another well-known Nishino standard, Curried Seared Halibut Cheek with Sautéed Mushroom and Swiss Chard and a Cilantro Aioli. The halibut itself wasn't my favorite piece of cooked fish, and while the curry seasoning was interesting at first, the flavor got a little stale with certain dried out pieces of the fish. The mushrooms and chard, however, were great, and they went really well with the two mounds of addictive cilantro aioli. I'm 100% confident that I was just unlucky and got one of very few overcooked fish that gets to the customers.

The last savory course was an obligatory Chef's Selection of sushi. While the Unagi Nigiri were typical and sweet, the rest of the selection was worthwhile.

The House Special Roll with Tuna, Yellowtail, Salmon, Whitefish and Asparagus was what I'd consider an inverted rainbow roll with asparagus instead of avocado. While I still think I prefer avocado over asparagus in anything related to sushi, the freshness and irresistibility of the fish made this roll easy to sink. The fish in this roll got me really excited to try the last two nigiri.

The Chuu Toro is exactly what I wanted it to be: super fatty and super fresh. I actually ate this as a sashimi without the rice, and the second the tuna laid itself down on my tongue, the corners of my mouth moved up my face. I don't think I've ever had a piece of chuu toro that I've hated.

Last, but not least, was a huge piece of my favorite sashimi: Hamachi. Hamachi has always struck a chord with my taste buds. Something about its deep, rich, somewhat oily yet refreshing flavor, along with its effortless ability to melt on your tongue, makes this variety of sashimi irresistible. This generous slab did not disappoint, and like all the other fish in this omakase, the hamachi tasted absurdly fresh. I had this one without the sushi rice, too.

The omakase rounded itself out with a Green Tea Tiramisu. Something about this dessert made me smile. While the rest of the omakase was so delicately and minimally presented, the dessert looked like something I would get at my aunt's house: a plate with a delicious cake surrounded by mountains upon mountains of fruit. This dessert was in some was a testament to the warm, familial, inviting nature of Nishino. While the light, moist cake was delicious and full of matcha, the freshness of the fruits shone more. I love it when restaurants end your meal with fresh fruit because it always makes you feel better about yourself.

Nishino's omakase reminds the diner that an omakase is not about flashiness or absolute uniqueness. It's about the diner placing his trust in what the chef wants to share, and in Tatsu Nishino's case, he shares his love for keeping things casual, comfortable, and inviting. While his appreciation for basics, simplicity, and restraint shines through with nearly every course, Nishino will occasionally invite you to participate in small twists, contemporary preparations, and new flavors.

Nishino

3130 E Madison Street

Suite 106

Seattle, WA 98112

(206) 322-5800

http://www.nishinorestaurant.com/

GET: Omakase; Foie Gras and Seared Tuna with Shiitake Mushroom and Red Wine Soy Reduction; Sashimi.

Marcella Hazan's Roast Chicken with Lemons (6/24)

Roasting a chicken is probably one of the easier things you can do in a kitchen. But Marcella Hazan's recipe takes that simplicity to a whole new level. Thomas Keller's was simple as well, but his recipe requires some serious cleanup and smoke screening. This roast chicken is a testament to simple, easy, and healthy cooking.

As usual, give the chicken a wash and a pat-down. Marcella Hazan uniquely suggests placing the chicken on an incline to drain out any remaining water. If you can, leave some extra time to do this step to ensure a nice, crispy skin. As the chicken warms up to room temperature, the time you leave the chicken out will balance out with any extra cooking time in the oven.

As the chicken is draining, take some time to roll out two lemons. Be careful when you do this. I got a little too overexcited and broke the rind while rolling one of the lemons. But don't be scared to get into it. The more juicing you trap in the lemon, the better.

Next, give the lemon some pokes with a toothpick. If you don't have a toothpick, finding a substitute is relatively easy if you get creative. I used the end of my cooking thermometer to make some holes. Of all the steps in this recipe, poking 20 holes into two lemons took the most time and concentration. Basically, this recipe's easy. Don't worry if the lemon starts crying. Just close your eyes, plug your ears, and keep going.

When a recipe says to season a chicken generously with salt and pepper, really go for it. In my experience with roast chickens so far, it's really hard to over-season a whole chicken. So get in there and get intimate with the chicken. If you're worried about raw chicken juices getting all over your salt or pepper mill/container, as you should, crack or pour a generous amount of salt and pepper into a small bowl before you start seasoning the chicken.

The next step was admittedly the hardest, mainly because sewing is pretty foreign to me. I also didn't have a trussing needle appropriate for kitchen twine. After placing the two lemons into the chicken, I stared at the chicken, wondering what to do. Thankfully, Marcella Hazan says that the sewing shouldn't be very airtight. So I took my trusty thermometer again and poked some holes and passed the kitchen twine through them. As suggested, I loosely tied the legs together to keep the chicken's shape.

30 minutes breast-side down at 350 degrees [pictured here], 30 minutes breast-side up at 350 degrees, and 30 minutes at 400 degrees later, out came a beautiful chicken [see the first picture of the post] with clear running juices and a delicious jus. When I put a chicken in the oven, I love listening to the the whistling noises it makes as the skin puffs up and releases air. The sound always reminds me of how cooking is often an experience that utilizes all of your senses.

As I was working through this recipe, I loved how Marcella Hazan gives the reader some reassurances throughout:

"Do not add cooking fat of any kind. This bird is self-basting, so you need not fear it will stick to the pan."

"Do not worry too much about it, however, because even if it fails to swell, the flavor will not be affected."

"There is no need to turn the chicken again."

"The lemons will have shriveled up, but they still contain some juice; do not squeeze them, they may squirt."

Simple comments like these make the recipe-following process a lot more enjoyable.

The end product was mind-blowing. Every single part of the chicken was amazingly tender and juicy. Most recipes that require lemons in the cavity only accomplish a hint of lemon in the meat closest to the cavity. With Marcella Hazan's recipe, you can taste, and smell, the lemons with each and every bite, regardless of where your meat is from. I loved how the aroma of lemons filled the entire dining table area. The skin was perfectly crispy, all without the guilt of having bathed the chicken in oil or butter. The chicken got demolished in record time, and at the end of the meal, I found myself picking at each and every nook and cranny. The chicken oysters are typically the best part of the chicken, and they're the hardest to share. These oysters were the best oysters I've had to date. Do what you have to do. Don't miss out on them.

If you don't have any ideas for dinner tonight, make a quick trip to the market and pick up the simple ingredients for this beautiful recipe: a chicken, salt, pepper, and two lemons. You won't regret it. With such simple preparation and such amazing results, this is definitely my favorite roast chicken to date. Marcella Hazan has situated herself on a clear benchmark. The rest of the year's got some serious competition.