Dinners: The BIG post

I've been doing some major cooking lately, probably due in part to the fact that I've been watching the Cooking Channel, Food Network and random Japanese food-commercials at regular intervals for several weeks. Yeah, that could have something to do with it.. Nevertheless while this has been a bad thing for our food-reserves, this has not been a bad thing for James whom has gotten a dinner I would consider worthy of at least four stars every night, that's to say simply that I've been putting a great deal of work into these meals. Naturally as I do, my blog being my blog, I'll post something asinine. No, there's really no reason or point in posting about my meals here but it'll make me feel good and on the off-chance someone comments, I'll feel very special ( Not in that way, I feel *~spechul~* all the time. )

First things first, a dinner I cooked quite a while ago was inspired by several McDonald's Japan commercials I've seen.

This is the Ebi to Mayo Baga ( Shrimp and Mayonnaise Burger ) and while I know the Japanese commercial makes it look much prettier than the actual thing is, at least the actual thing sold by McDonald's Japan it's still something I wanted to try my own hand at. I baked my own buns, created my own Japanese Mayonnaise, formed and chopped my own shrimp patty and then fried that mother. Came out pretty well too for a first try, I think I'll try it again some time and report back what I manage but for a first shot at something I've never done before, it wasn't bad. James seemed to enjoy it as well.

Next up was a Sake to Ebi Teriyaki ( Salmon and Shrimp Teriyaki ) - This came out really well, all except for the Teriyaki sauce which I'd not quite yet gotten the hang of. Unfortunately there's quite a bit more to making Teriyaki than mixing a few ingredients together and I wasn't used to it yet so the sauce came out less Teriyaki-glaze and more Teriyaki-juice.. JUICE!!!

Moving right along was a dish I'd never cooked before again, this is Niwatori Tatsuta-age ( Basically it's Japanese style fried chicken nuggets, higher quality than you'd get from a fast-food joint, though. Way higher. ) these were interesting to make and came out surprisingly well along with an Asparagus Udon ( The noodles ) - James ate this like it was a motherfucking speed run, I could not believe it. Not a single complaint on this dish and he told me he'd definitely want it in the future. One of the few times I think I've almost seen enthusiasm from him.

Finally we come to a more recent dish, this one I was extraordinarily proud of. This is like the gold rimming to my Christmas tree, the boo-ghost to my Halloween and the halo to my Angel, I truly was inspired when I cooked this and I cooked it perfectly. That's my opinion and James', this is the absolute closest I've ever gotten to seeing enthusiasm from him, I know I almost saw it, it was bubbling up but somehow was suppressed nevertheless. Disappointing but still. This dish is Tataki, the dish is meant to be mostly raw and it is in fact. I only seared the outside of the beef-steak while the insides remained red and raw, this is how this meat is cooked. Topping it is a creamy and savoury mushroom shrimp sauce and off to the side? A small pickled salad with a Japanese Ketcup dressing and a sprinkling of candied cranberries. Oh, yes.. This dish was a winner.. This dish is truly impressive, I gotta say.. Possibly the best dish I've made period.. I can only hope I'll ever be able to top this.

Second picture of it just for the sake of having another angle.