A little Japanese inspired

Tonight, with memories of some fine meals in Nihon (Japan) I tried some variations.

Started with "save stalks" idea : soup
Cream Of Broccoli Soup Recipe at Epicurious.com

In general, stuck to the recipe, but, I always improvise, or just plain "drift" from the specifics.
In the future, I'd do touch of truffle oil, maybe a bit of balsamic on presentation
Good basic soup, open to experiments.

Biggest change was decision to go "cold"
When done, I loaded up a couple of modest ramekins, then set them in pots with ice to chill while I proceeded with the rest :
Steamed broccoli tops, some basic sauteed 'shrooms (generic "baby bella") with splash of Cabernet (Markham)

Went with an even smaller NY Strip than usual:


Packaged, it was only 4.95 lbs, just under 8oz ... Shirley and I split so we each had about 4oz

Cooked only 2 min a side, just (sea) salt & pepper with small slice of unsalted butter on a hot skillet.
Each slice is only about 1.5 inches long
Spreading out the slices, covers the plate but not overpowering quantity.

After resting only a few min, sliced fine (I would like to keep going finer, keep the taste, texture, but also keep portion small)
Note that a good blade (currently using Wusthof Classic Hollow Edge Santoku) helps a bunch for getting the thin slices...

Demitasse spoon to put a spot of creamed horseradish and dot of wasabi creme on each piece.



Soup in the middle, 3 small garlic croutons, some broccoli tops for expression
Side of little slices of Leelanau Cheese Raclette (votes best cheese in America a couple of year ago) ... a delicious following to a piece of the steak with toppings.
Savor slow.

Served up with Markham '05 Napa Cab ...

A more "Japanese" presentation would have been multiple small plates/bowls

Andy's flicker on cheese here:
Leelanau Cheese ... best in North America on Flickr - Photo Sharing!