Stonefish Sushi and More is certainly more than expected.

Stonefish Sushi and More
16 West Main Street
Cortez, CO, 81321

(970) 565-9244

Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stonefish-Sushi-More/129798563719697

Walking into Stonefish Sushi, you're immediately greeted by an open atmosphere of feeling good; the decor is a perfect fusion of East meets West. It's the type of place you want to sit in for awhile, talking, eating, and just having a good time. The wait staff is very attentive, don't mind answering any questions, and make sure you are pleased.

Happy hour(4:30 - 5:30)was in full swing when we walked in, and the place was 3/4 full. The tables are arranged along the walls, with cushions and pillows covering the bench that is against the wall, and chairs are in the main walking area. There is only a couple of feet between tables, so if you're looking for privacy, you won't accomplish that here.

We ordered sake, Calamari dinner entree, Volcano and Vegas rolls. While we waited for our meal, we spied on the neighboring diners to see what they were eating, and how were they enjoying themselves. We also had the bar (duel duty of sushi bar and alcohol bar), and watched the two preparers work. The two guys preparing the sushi were working fast and hard to get the orders out; from what we saw of the plates coming out, the menu items looked fantastic. We heard comments of "oh, this looks so good"; "this tastes great!"; I swear, I believe one guy would have picked up his plate and licked it clean, if he could.

First our Calamari arrived with a semi-spicy Thai sauce that was delectable; the Calamari, however, was a little disappointing; very thinly sliced and fried to such a crisp that it fell apart like potato chips. The pieces were difficult to pick up with chopsticks, dip and eat; most of the flavor came from the sauce. Ok, it was classified as a dinner item, but was more an appetizer.

Next came the Volcano roll (avocado, cucumber, krab), and it was quite pretty to behold; and tasted wonderful. The pieces were uniform and fit perfectly in the mouth for that one bite sushi should be; the spicy lobster topping with roe was awesomely good.

Then came the Vegas roll(salmon, avocado, cream cheese)lightly fried tempura style with spicy mayo and unagi sauce. OH MY!!! It melted in the mouth and was purely succulent; almost like an obscene dessert.

Which brings me to dessert, and we tried the Green Tea ice cream. If you haven't tried this item before, beware, it is not your typical ice cream; not overly sweet, more of a savory nature, but you just can't put the spoon down and stop eating it.

Overall...we can't wait to go back again, and try out some of the other menu items.

Mary Cokenour

Copycat recipe for Stuffed Salmon

When I lived on the East Coast, there were two warehouse chain stores in the area, BJ's Warehouse and Costco.  The closest place now is Sam's Club, and that's about three hours to Grand Junction, CO, so I don't go there very often.  One item we really enjoyed eating was the stuffed salmon filets; of course it was stuffed with imitation crab meat, but we didn't care because it tasted so yummy.

Yesterday I wanted to make a romantic dinner for Roy and myself; and I just happened to have thick salmon filets and imitation crab meat on hand.  Time to get the brain cells going, remember how the stuffed salmon tasted and come up with a copycat recipe.  Well folks, it came out well, and very, very close to the actual product I used to purchase.

So, anyone looking for a copycat recipe for Costco or BJ's Warehouse stuffed salmon with crabmeat, try out my recipe, and I believe you'll be pretty impressed.

Stuffed Salmon

This is a copycat recipe I came up with for the stuffed salmon that is sold in warehouse chains such as Costco and BJ’s Warehouse.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp olive oil, divided in half

4 (1/2 lb each) salmon filets, at least 1 ½” thick; deboned and skin removed

1 cup flaked style imitation crab meat, pulled apart

1 cup hot, cooked long grain rice

1 Tbsp melted butter

1 Tbsp softened cream cheese

½ tsp minced garlic

¼ tsp each crushed, dried celery seed, basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary and thyme

 1 tsp each salt and dill

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F.  Brush 2 Tbsp olive oil on bottom and sides of a 1.5 qt baking dish.

Make a cut lengthwise on each filet, leave ½” uncut space on each side, and on the bottom; create a pocket by gently running tip of sharp knife under each flap and leave ½” space each side.

In a medium bowl, combine crab meat, rice, butter, cream cheese, garlic and herbs (except salt and dill) well.  Spoon filling into each filet pocket; creating a small mound at the top.  Brush remaining olive oil onto salmon; sprinkle salt and dill over the salmon and place into baking dish.  Bake for 20 minutes; check for doneness (thickest part of filet will flake) about 2 minutes before allotted cooking time.

Makes 4 servings.

Mary Cokenour

May 24, 2011

Adventures in Cheesecake.

Now while some folks consider baking a chore; I look at it more as a minor hobby. It's not something that I can say I like alot, but I can't say I dislike it, so keep trying it out. There wasn't much cooking I wanted to do over the weekend, so decided to play with cheesecake recipes. Usually I like to mix cream cheese with mascarpone cheese which I posted about on Feb 8, 2011, but not this time. Each recipe I created has two pounds of cream cheese in it, making the cakes denser, but still moist and luscious.

Now this first recipe is Lemon Curd Cheesecake, so it tastes very like eating a lemon meringue pie, but with cheesecake instead of lots of puffy meringue. When I like a little snack, I'll spoon lemon curd onto squares of shortbread, and it's a delightful treat. However, I wanted a little more snap, so used crushed ginger snap cookies for the crust.

Lemon Curd Cheesecake

Spray a 10” spring form pan with nonstick baking spray; cut out a circle of parchment paper to line bottom of pan; spray the parchment paper also.

Crust

1 (16 oz) package gingersnap cookies

6 Tbsp melted butter

Place cookies in plastic bag and crush into a semi-fine crumble.  Mix butter with crumble; press onto bottom of pan and up sides about ½ inch.  Refrigerate for half hour.

Filling

4 (8 oz) boxes cream cheese, softened

¼ cup lemon juice

2 tsp pure lemon extract

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

Beat cream cheese, lemon juice, extract and sugar together till smooth; add eggs; beat until well incorporated.  Pour into spring form pan.  Bake for one hour at 350F; turn off heat, partially open oven door and let cake rest for half hour.   

Topping

While cake is baking, make the lemon curd topping.

 1 cup lemon juice

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

In a large bowl, mix lemon juice, sugar and eggs together till sugar is dissolved.  Pour mixture into a large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until temperature reaches 175F, and mixture has thickened.  Remove from heat; add butter and stir until all the butter has melted.  Pour mixture through a fine strainer into a clean bowl.  After cake has rested, and curd is still slightly warm; pour curd over filling and spread evenly.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Makes 10-12 servings.

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This second cheesecake is based on the fact that I had some coffee left over in the pot, but not enough for a full cup; throwing it out seemed such a waste.

Mocha Latte Cheesecake

Spray a 10” spring form pan with nonstick baking spray; cut out a circle of parchment paper to line bottom of pan; spray the parchment paper also.

Crust

1 (16 oz) package shortbread cookies

2 Tbsp melted butter

2 Tbsp chocolate syrup

Place cookies in plastic bag and crush into a semi-fine crumble.  Mix butter and syrup with crumble; press onto bottom of pan and up sides about ½ inch.  Refrigerate for half hour.

Filling

4 (8 oz) boxes cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup melted semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup strong brewed coffee

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

Beat cream cheese, melted chocolate, coffee and sugar together till smooth; add eggs and cocoa; beat until well incorporated.  Pour into spring form pan.

Bake for one hour at 350F; turn off heat, partially open oven door and let cake rest for half hour.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Topping

1 Tbsp softened cream cheese

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tsp vanilla powder

1 cup whipped cream

coffee syrup

Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and powder together till smooth; fold in whipped cream.  Spread over chilled filling; refrigerate for one hour.  Drizzle coffee syrup over top before cutting and serving.

Makes 10-12 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Burgers and Slickrock; now that's a combo meal.

Milt's Stop and Eat

356 Millcreek Drive
Moab, UT, 84535

(435) 259-7424

Website: http://www.miltsstopandeat.com/

Established in 1954, Milt's is the place to go for great fast food. Now when I say fast I'm not talking about what is served at the typical fast food places like McDonald's, Burger King or Wendy's. I'm talking about really good food that is made to order, so yeah, you might have to wait a good 15-20 minutes for your order. It's worth it though, unless you enjoy reheated burgers from a microwave, or that's been sitting under a heat lamp. If that's your type of meal, then Milt's is not the place for you.

Milt's is not a big place; there are a few seats available inside, but most orders are placed at the window near the back of the place. Once your order is placed and paid for, you wait; there are some tables and benches underneath the trees, but they'll be packed with diners. Most folks take their food and go elsewhere; like the park or one of the many trails.

We indulged in "Milt's Melt", two beef patties with onions, mushrooms, Swiss cheese all grilled together between two slices of rye bread. A side of fries with fry sauce (a must to have when visiting Utah), and vanilla milk shakes. Delicious awesomeness!!!

Milt's can satisfy anyone's indulgence; and if visiting Moab, you have to make this place a must visit.

Which comes to the Slickrock part of this post's title; Sand Flats (435) 259-2444; this recreational area is beautiful, and a must see. There are biking and ATV trails, camp sites, and many places for hiking and climbing. From Milt's, just go down to Center Street, hook a right and just keep going till you arrive at the entry booth. A pass for the day is only $5.00; and it's a great place to have a picnic lunch with your food from Milt's.

Bambi does it Italian style.

Thought this was going to be a porn video, didn't you?  Shame on you, but since I now have your attention, lets talk about deer meat, or, as it's also called, venison.  In our area we have a type of deer called Mule deer, simply because their ears have a shape similiar to those on a mule.  They are a larger sized deer where the bucks can get up to 300 lbs, and the does to 175 lbs.

Anyway, a little while ago, the hunter I know, Charlie, gave me some deer meat, and it can basically be cooked in the same manner as the elk I had made before.  Now I had only cooked deer meat once before, and it was a total disaster....very gamey and so tough, even the dogs wouldn't eat it.  So, of course, I was a bit concerned about messing this up again; but I didn't want to be boring either and cook it the same as the elk.  Remember, this blog is about food adventures; not doing the same old, same old.

Since the main cuisine I make is Italian based, I allowed myself some room for playing.  This time I was going to make sure I tenderized the deer meat.  I used balsamic vinegar to give the meat a more robust flavor, so the gaminess was gone, and it tasted as if wine had been infused into the meat; and alcohol wasn't even used.

...and here's the complete recipe, so try it, and enjoy!

Venison Ragu’

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs deer steak, cut into ¼” slices, no more than 2” long

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 medium onion, slivered

1 (28 oz) can tomato puree

1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

2 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning mix

5 cups uncooked rigatoni

shredded Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, combine the deer with oil, vinegar and garlic; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Remove meat from marinade.  In a large skillet, medium-high heat, brown the meat 5 minutes on first side, turn over and spread the onion over top; cook for 5 minutes.  Reduce heat to low and mix in puree, diced tomatoes, paste and seasoning; cover and cook for two hours, stirring occasionally.

After two hours, prepare rigatoni according to package directions, drain and add to skillet; mix and let cook for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled over top.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Mary Cokenour

A little change brings big benefits.

Yesterday was the two year anniversary of moving to Monticello, Utah; an uneventful day except it did rain, just as it did that day in 2009. Since moving here we have seen in the local paper, The San Juan Record, that the town's coffers are in dire straits; and no one seems to know what to do. Personally, I think the town is in between a rock and a hard place (no pun intended due to the geographic area); the old timers don't want any changes in the town; they're happy staying in the 1800's when the town was first founded. However, younger folks don't want the town to die and become another Thompson Springs or Cisco; and by the number of empty store fronts along Main and Center streets, it's not inconceivable.

So, how about a compromise? First off, develop the area to bring back tourism and get the town's tourism rating back with the state; the golf course just doesn't cut the mustard. Let people (that's right, let those outsiders in)develop new stores here and shop in them...boycotting is simply plain immaturity. Most active stores are owned, and it looks like someone bought a giant canister of paint and poured it over the town...the same drab color everywhere. Put some color in the town besides the pots of flowers out during the summertime.

Come on folks, we live in the Southwest...use that fact to the town's benefit, and give tourists a desire to come to Monticello.  We have talented people living here, and a wild west show is what many a tourist is looking for.  Nope, don't want the town to become another Moab; it overgrew too fast, but bring Monticello into the 21st century. That fact is not going away just because you play the three monkey game (see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil) because the winner in that game is the fourth monkey...have no fun!

Well that's my venting for today, and I sure do feel great getting it off my chest. Now to the topic of food; by making a minor change in a recipe, it has the possibility of becoming something even tastier than before. Take, for example, my recipe for Creamy Macaroni and Cheese which I posted on March 20, 2011.  Instead of using the Monterey Jack and mild cheddar, I substituted a cup of shredded Swiss cheese; it came out creamier than before and was an excellent catalyst between the bite of the sharp Cheddar and the tanginess of the Goat cheese.  So, a little change reaped a huge benefit.

Mary Cokenour

Put on the soup pot, it's raining again.

Today's game plan was to finally get out the rototiller and prep the area, in the backyard, that I wanted the vegetable garden in.  Once done with that, we were going to fit in railroad ties and build a raised bed.  Hot and sweet peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash are the priorities; and herbs of course, can't forget those.  That was the game plan, but it's cold and rainy once again, so working outside has to be shelved.

New plan: cleaning out old cooking magazines that I don't read or refer to anymore.  Flipping through them all, I wonder why I even kept them.  So far I've gone through two years of Gourmet and Fine Cooking, and copied maybe a dozen recipes that I want to try.  Now while doing this, soup has been cooking on the stove top...a nice, hearty Tuscan inspired soup called simply "Tuscan Soup".  So, break time will involve a bowl or two of this soup, and then back to the grind of going through magazines again.  Who knows, maybe I'll find a few more inspiring recipes to try.

Tuscan Soup

Ingredients:

1 small red and white onion, chopped

½ cup olive oil

1 cup diced carrot

1 cup diced celery

¼ of a white cabbage, shredded

1 cup shredded swiss chard

1 cup diced zucchini

1 cup diced tomatoes

2 (15 ½ oz) cans cannellini or great northern beans

¼ cup julienned basil leaves

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

cold water

Preparation:

In a large stockpot, heat oil on high heat; sauté onions till translucent.  Reduce heat to medium, add all vegetables, cover and let cook together for 30 minutes; or until cabbage softens.

Reduce heat to low.  Add beans, basil, salt, pepper and enough water to cover all ingredients in stockpot; cover and let cook for 1 ½ hours.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour