Sea Pearl Restaurant, Mosaic Center
The new Mosaic Shopping Center in Merrifield, VA is super cool. There's a Target, an indie movie theater, a gym, boutiques, and cafes. Sea Pearl is one of the larger, less casual restaurants in the center. The website describes it as "Asian inspired modern American cuisine." The main focus is seafood - they have both cooked dishes and sushi - but they also have some meat dishes and a pretty good brunch (on Saturday, too, which I love). It's quite large and the decor is really lovely. It's a little on the feminine side, which would make it perfect for ladies' brunch or girls' night out (the drinks are good, but with DC prices). I've never seen it packed, so large groups could be seated easily.
Let's start with Brunch, because that is what I go for most often.
Cinnamon churros with warm chocolate dipping sauce: these are super awesome - hot, fresh, crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. Love it.
Ricotta fritters with honey and seasonal fruit (this time it was apple): these are good too, fluffy and rich. If you had to choose only one pastry though, I'd go with the churros.
Halibut en Papillote – 2 Ways
Now that Hurricane Sandy has passed us without incident, I can catch up on posting! Thanks to everyone for praying and thinking about us out here on the East Coast.
I have been trying to expand my repertoire of fish dishes beyond just salmon and discovered a really easy way to cook halibut. Wrapping it in parchment paper with with various other ingredients and baking it leaves it moist, flaky, and flavorful. Plus the presentation is really cool!
One combination that I really liked was lemon, cherry tomatoes, artichokes, olive oil, and basil. I made this right at the end of summer with super sweet cherry tomatoes - look at those colors!
Summer Seafood
I don't normally cook a lot of seafood other than my usual seared salmon, but in the summer I do get cravings for it. The reason is unknown - maybe because it is light and refreshing, maybe because I wish I was at the beach. Either way, I have a couple of light and healthy Summer seafood recipes to share with you.
These shrimp tacos are filled out with a slaw of cabbage, corn, fresh squeezed orange and lime juice, and a dab of sour cream. A great balance between warm tortillas, hot shrimp fresh out of the pan, and cool, crunchy slaw - they are healthy, filling, and super tasty.
This next recipe combines two superfoods into one awesome meal for Salmon Burgers with Tangy Avocado Sauce.
Creamy Shrimp Rolls
It has gotten hot, hot, hot out here - plants and people alike are wilting in the heat. On days like these where you can't bear to be outside for more than 5 minutes, slaving over a stove is out of the question. These shrimp rolls are the perfect thing for oppressively hot days: fast, easy, cool, and refreshing.
All you have to do is mix together cold, cooked shrimp with celery, scallions, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. Put a piece of butter lettuce on a bun, top with the shrimp mixture, done! Dinner in less than 10 minutes.
Creamy Shrimp Rolls
adapted from Real Simple
Makes 4 rolls
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
kosher salt and pepper
1 1/2 lbs cooked medium shrimp, cut in half crosswise
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 cup sliced scallion greens
4 soft buns
1 small head butter lettuce, torn into pieces
In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Fold in the shrimp, celery, and scallions. Line the buns with the lettuce and fill with the shrimp mixture.
Cannon Beach, OR
So sorry for the break - we have been on vacation in the gorgeous coastal town of Cannon Beach, Oregon where my husband grew up.
While we were there, we stayed at the Stephanie Inn and I highly recommend it to anyone planning a visit. The rooms are fantastic (especially if you get one with a giant jacuzzi tub and a beach view), the staff are some of the nicest people I've ever met, and the amenities are stellar.
Red Hook Lobster Pound Food Truck
I have been dying to try out the lobster rolls from this famous DC food truck from the moment I first heard about them. Red Hook serves two different styles of lobster rolls: the Connecticut (shown on top) is poached in butter and served warm; the Maine (shown on bottom) is served cold in a light lemon mayonnaise sauce (so light that you can barely even see/taste the mayo). They are both really, really good. The Maine allows the more subtle flavors of lobster to show through but the bread becomes extraneous, whereas on the Connecticut the butter soaked bread is incredibly delicious. I recommend getting one of each, but if you can only get one - I would go with the Connecticut.
The rolls cost $15 each - which may seem like a lot, but the thing is all lobster. I mean - just look at that chunk of claw meat there! This is definitely a food truck worth stalking.
Other stars on the menu include Maine Root Sodas and locally made whoopie pies. They also offer mail-order kits to make your own lobster rolls and you can hire the truck to cater parties!
Japanese Braised Salmon
More salmon! I am always questing for tasty salmon recipes so that we will eat more of this super healthy fish (note that it is only super healthy when it is wild caught Pacific/Alaskan; farm raised Atlantic salmon is full of toxins). This recipe makes super tender, super moist salmon that is packed with sweet and salty flavors.