Summer beef

July 4th has been a quite a tradition for us to invoice our friends and make nice grills. But last couple years, especially with the little addition to our family, it's been hard to host a big party. So this year, we treated ourselves with MCH signature chili rubbed beef tenderloin—which we once made but the guests devoured it all before we had any slice...

MCH Chipotle Chili Rubbed Beef Tenderloin
Inspired by the recipe on NY TIMES

Beef Tenderloin
Salt, Pepper

*Chili Paste
Chipotle chili (dried)
Cayenne or chili pepper
Dijon mustard
Cumin
Black pepper
Garlic
Oil oil

In food processor, mix all the paste ingredients. We normally grind the dried chili and spices in coffee bean grinder and mix with other wet ingredients. No need for food processor. You can use food processor and make lots of paste and store for future use.

Tie the tenderloin with string. NICELY salt the meat. Sear the surface of meat on the pan, to nice and brown. Put in 450 F oven for 12 minutes. Cool the loin to room temp. Rub the chipotle paste all over. Back in the oven for 5 min. Cover with aluminum foil and chill in room temp or refrige. You can prepare a day in advance and let it rest in refrige over night.

Indoor Hanami

It's the second time we are doing this indoor Hanami (cherry blossom viewing luncheon). Our friend Akiko cooked all the delish Japanese food. As Spring visited NY earlier than usual, we didn't have any cherry blossom to view, but the pickled plum rice added nice subtle pink of cherry blossom to the table. My favorite was ginger vinaigrette cucumber and miso flavored eggplant.

While the Baby is Sleeping...

Leaving the new born T to his grandma, we treated ourselves to a sushi dinner at Azabu. MCH hasn't had decent sushi for 2 years. I abstained from raw fish for the whole 9 months. It was time to indulge... We got Omakase course menu.
Oyster form Washington. Big and full of flavor. Can't be happier.

I could have had a huge plate of sashimi. Lean tuna (akami), kobu-cured flounder (hirame), fresh Spanish mackerel (saba), abalone (awabi), sweet shrimp (amaebi), and sea urchin (uni). Usually, Spanish mackerel is lightly cured in vinegar (like cevice), so it's rare to find Spanish mackerel fresh enough to be served simply raw.

Grilled dish (yaki-mono) was miso marinated red snapper.

Firefly squid (hotaru-ika) with miso vinaigrette. Some may hate the idea of biting a whole squid even if it's so tiny. If that doesn't bother you, you get to enjoy the indescribable flavor similar to crab butter.

For got what this fish was. I think some kind of sea bream . The skin doesn't bother you at all.

Finally sea urchin sushi. For a lady, they make 1 piece into 2 mini bites like this. We had many more pieces of sushi along this and finished with miso soup (We have soup on the side of or after the meal) and dessert. If you sit at the counter, you are offered 1 free piece of sushi—whatever you like!

Baby Shower

In response to my friends' request, I finally did my baby shower, 2 weeks before my due date. Thankfully, the baby was still inside of me. Our good friend offered their beautiful apartment in downtown NY. The theme, if name any, is a high tea party. We made tea sandwich (cream cheese & cucumber / curry flavored egg sandwich). I selected six kinds of loose tea for the guests to make their own cup of tea. Our generous friends also contributed a fine selection of wine.

I got 2 handsome sidekicks Rubin and August (the host family's sons) for the gift opening.

There was no games like a traditional shower. Instead, we asked the guests to do drawings on the onesies. I can't wait to have my baby wear each one of them : )

Dressler Dinner

Our dear friends The Emmings treated us to the dinner. One of our favorite restaurants in the hood, Dressler, is a charming establishment when you care for a nice dinning for a special occasion. Their menu is well balanced with veggie, meat and seafood in season. They now offer a 5-course tasting dinner—absolutely a great option to enjoy small (yet definitely filling) portion of appetizer, main dish, and dessert.

Artichoke heart salad with arugula was so good that I finished before taking a photo! My appetizer: Fresh squash ravioli with wild mushroom in parmesan sauce. This probably was my favorite of the night. Two large ravioli in light white wine sauce with just right saltiness of cheese compliments the sweetness of squash.

Seared salmon was a nice portion of lightly seasoned salmon on the bed of veggie puree. I like their simple, delicate style of cooking seafood.

Pork belly was phenomenon. It melts in your mouth. At this point, my oven with a bun was getting really full. I somehow managed to finish the whole course thanks to their perfect timing of brining each dish.

You probably make no mistake choosing a dish here. I personally like seafood since meat could be a bit heavy., and their appetizers are awesome. You can enjoy the dishes at the bar counter. Having a few appetizer dishes with nice glasses of wine or special cocktails is highly recommended.

Baby Tora

1-yr-old baby Tora, a son of my great friend, visited our W'burg apartment. Our shiny magazine rack got his attention. He seemed to want to get inside. I'd be happy if my baby loves to stay in magazine rack for hours...