Update #1: Risotto with Prosciutto and Peas
I said that I wanted to make risotto with/for another person. I fulfilled that desire when Albert and I recreated risotto with prosciutto and peas. He was very useful for stirring it. . . I really didn't do any of that. A risotto stirring slave. . . or assistant is a good thing. He's the risotto stirring pro modelling the finished product:
This risotto improved on my original by actually using the lemon zest and dry white wine. The "stock" I used was not so nice though since it was from bullion (naughty me). The prosciutto Albert obtained was sliced thicker than the stuff I got before. This might have actually been better in the risotto for the chunkiness, which might be better with slightly cooked prosciutto. In addition, the cheese I added for this risotto was indeed Parmesan.We ate it with a simple salad of fresh organic greens straight out of the garden. It was ready for its close up:
Update #2: Sushi
Albert hadn't had sushi in quite some time. So, on his last night in Edmonton we went for sushi at Kyoto Japanese Cuisine on 109th. I've talked about it before and once again it was good, although we were not served water to drink although it was a hot day. The server was way too busy, so I guess it's excusable.
I had a spicy seaweed salad that was really spicy. I didn't quite expect that from Japanese food. It was a refreshing contrast to the sushi though in its texture and flavour. The texture is hard to describe. It was somewhat firm and not exactly crisp. I also had a raw oyster on the half shell, which I think was my first raw oyster. It tasted all right. I drizzled it with lemon juice but passed on the Tabasco sauce provided. I figured it would mask subtle flavours. Albert started with tofu, which he ate so I guess it was good.
For the main meal we had sushi. The salmon was fresh, rich, and good. Albert ordered a beef sushi that was just slightly seared and definitely blue-rare. It was kind of chewy and could not be bitten in half (the meat anyways). I thought it was a decent Alberta sushi. I also had surf clam sushi, which was really tougher than I would have thought. It was more like octopus than scallop. Mmmm, I love scallops but I didn't have any that night. I also had salmon roe, which I'd had before at other places. This salmon roe however was a bit of a revelation. I loved how each orange ball burst to reveal an intense taste of the sea, quite salty. Albert also had unagi, which I didn't try any of. The final sushi Albert ordered was a salmon skin roll. It seemed to contain fried tofu and salmon skin with a bit of a sweet and salty seasoning. It seemed richest of all the sushi and was quite tasty. We also received some small spicy rolls complementary that we didn't order. I honestly don't know what was in them, but they may have triggered a touch (and just a touch) of Albert's shellfish allergy.
Conclusion: Kyoto is still my preferred Edmonton sushi restaurant, not that I've tried many. But, one thing I do wonder about is why so many sushi pieces are so large but nearly impossible to eat in multiple bites.
