I hope you all are enjoying the long weekend, well if you are so lucky to get Monday off...I took today off in exchange for working this coming Saturday, so in the long run, it does end up being six of one, half a dozen of the other..buut at least I get to enjoy a nice lowkey Monday off!
First off, we need a brief recap of the Valentine's dinner my boyfriend and I had at Tanuki Tavern because a few of the menu items were quite unique. I know you are probably thinking, this is a blog about cheese, why is she bringing this up...but have faith my friends, there is a reason, not to worry! We ordered a variety of yummy things -- a miso marinated cod over a small individualized hibachi grill (melt in your mouth!); baked maine lobster dynamite with masago and tobiko over sushi rice; my boyfriend ordered a pork belly with baby bok choy and mushrooms in a soy mirin broth and then we ordered three sushi rolls -
1. Sesame Crusted Tuna Tataki Roll avocado, spicy tuna mousse, cucumber & scallion topped with tataki, eel sauce drizzle.
2. Kinoko Roll japanese mushrooms wrapped in white soy topped with crispy enokis & truffle oil.
3. Yakuza Roll Bbq eel, avocado & boursin cheese topped with spicy masago, eel sauce drizzle.
Needless to say, now you understand why I brought up what we had, the Yakuza roll was outstanding, although the waitress said the boursin cheese was going to being over powering, it most certainly was not at all, it created a delish creaminess, a really unique dimension to an eel avocado roll, a definite must go back for! Now, I know there are a few rolls that utilize cream cheese in them and they are good too, but there are really not that many rolls that encorporate cheese itself, which was such a nice surprise. Are you wondering why you don't see more cheese in sushi and Asian cuisine? Well to be honest, it simply is not a cultural custom...
Moving right along, this morning, I got up and did a twenty mile training run...was a great run except for the last few miles, my hip pain set in and made it hard to go at a very brisk speed unfortunately! After stretching, I thought, hmm what do I want to eat after that?!?! Typically, I go for a homemade veggie tuna salad on a bagel, but I knew I had neither of the above in my house, so I decided to take a different approach...
I knew I need protein, carbs, and some veggies so I thought why not an open faced tofu sandwich! Most people find tofu that has been "doctored" to be quite unexciting, I disagree, I like the consistency of firm tofu, has a little bit of that melt in your mouth feel but still holds up so it doesn't taste too soupy and will hold up in a sandwich context. I started with two pieces of toasted Eli's whole grain bread, then topped them with a sundried tomato tapenade, a few fresh cherry tomatoes, a few slices of the afore mentioned tofu, some arugula, and then some of Cato Corner Farm's Brigid's Abbey Cheese. Brigid's Abbey is their best selling cheese -- it is a trappist style monastery cheese with a smooth mouth feel but still maintaining a semi firm quality, it is a winner melted as well or baked. Definitely dresses up any meal! Cato Corner Farm is a mother son operation based in Colchester, CT but you can find their outstanding cheeses at the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturdays, definitely go check them out!
Back to our sandwich, lather each piece of bread with the sundried tomato tapenade, then stack tofu, cheese, sliced cherry tomatoes, and finally arugula and then I like to top it with a little red and black pepper. Sit back and enjoy!
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