TreeWalker Designs > freelance graphic design, photography, blog

Newsflash:

Here is a dish that a ‘real man’ can sink his teeth into! Nothing better than steak and potatoes. A nice hunk of bloody red meat and a mound of hot, fresh mashed potatoes. Well, I admit that this isn’t quite the standard fare that that image brings to mind, but it is mouthwatering nonetheless. The steak is inspired by some great ceviche dishes I’ve had, only ceviche is traditionally prepared with fish. For this reason I am calling it (quite loosely) steak tartare. The mashed potatoes are shaped, chilled, dipped in egg and coated with panko flakes, then pan fried to a crispy golden brown yumminess. The steak here is melt-in-your-mouth tender, with a rich slightly south-of-the-border taste profile. This is enhanced with the sweetness of the corn, red peppers and carrots and the crispiness of the potatoes completes the journey. Buon Appetito!
I realized as I was starting to write this entry that it has been a full week since my last culinary submission. It has been a busy week running around, starting a new job (trial basis for now) and lots of sitting in Atlanta traffic. Well, I ‘tossed’ this dish together out of whim and whimsy, with very pleasing results. I know I am, likely, opening myself up to some scolding from my culinary friends who have been formally trained by calling my tarragon mustard aioli an aioli. I know it is not a traditional aioli in the way or method of preparation or even by ingredients. I only call it an aioli because it loosely fits the criteria of an aioli. So I will maintain my position of calling it an aioli. As always, enjoy.
Many of you know that my culinary style often sways toward Asian inspired dishes. Well, this evening’s presentation is no exception. I have prepared a delightful shrimp tempura with a wasabi/mustard sauce and served it with pan-fried sesame crusted sushi rice, which I am calling “Sesame Fried Rice”. To finish off this dish, I took a departure from one of my favorite traditional Japanese dishes, what I am calling Kinpira Edamame. Kinpira is a cooking style that uses saute and simmering and typically uses soy sauce and mirin along with chilis. For this variation, I am using shelled edamame, carrots and scallions that are sauteed and then simmered in tamari, mirin, dashi, honey, nanami togarashi (Japanese 7 spice powder). It is, finally, pureed to make for a support base for the sesame fried rice. This dish brings together a variety of textures and complex flavors to excite the palate. Itadakimasu
After two trips to two separate, world class aquariums (Georgia and Tennessee), a couple of TreeWalks and watching a small snake trying to consume a, comparatively, large fish in one bite (not successfully) it was only natural that I would take the time to prepare a succulent fish dinner on Sunday. A mouth-watering, melt-in-your-mouth tender Ceviche of Mahi Mahi started things off. This was followed by grilled Mahi Mahi over whipped sweet potatoes. I also got my boat geek fix on Friday. One of the two aquariums I visited was the Tennessee Aquarium in beautiful downtown Chattanooga. While there I had to take a trip on the River Gorge Explorer. This high-speed, hydroplane assisted, catamaran is a watercraft lovers dream machine. Incredibly fast, powerful, efficient, and very well thought out. Of course that was followed by some good ole Ben and Jerry’s ice cream – another of my loves. All in all, a good week. Mangia.
This Sunday’s dinner proved to be a refreshing culmination of a rather good weekend. Plenty of TreeWalking, some exciting wildlife viewing (some distressing as well), plenty of hot, sunny weather to melt away some extra poundage and ended with a great movie (Angels and Demons). And as I promised, no pork in this recipe. This cool meal required no additional heating (with temps in the mid 90′s all weekend don’t need extra fire) and was a very flavorful and healthy treat. Featuring some of my favorite veggies, Belgian Endive, beets and English cucumbers with an orange vinaigrette and tender steak seared with a kitchen torch. Please let me know if you try this recipe and how you like it.

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New Site Look Coming!

Written by Damon
Friday, 18 June 2010 02:00

Well, finally, the newest update of WordPress has launched. Yesterday, the much awaited, largely touted version 3.0 of the most popular ‘blogging’ program in the world (20 million plus users) was released to the world.

I first learned of the new version a couple of weeks ago and I also just learned about Buddypress (I can be slow sometimes). Now that I am getting up to speed on these two programs and how they interact and what the new capabilities are, the wheels are a crankin’ to launch a newer, better, more powerful and richer home for the TreeWalker.

I will keep you informed as news breaks and development takes place. There is also some other news on the horizon that will really raise some interest. Stay alert. Good things are on the way.

Last Updated on Friday, 18 June 2010 02:00

I don’t like spam!

Written by Damon
Monday, 8 February 2010 06:09

If there is one thing that I really don’t like about the Internet, it would have to be spam. Spam email is annoying, but easily deleted and often just filtered right out from the get go. But…

Last Updated on Monday, 8 February 2010 06:10

Meat-n-Potatoes (and veggies)

Written by Damon
Friday, 17 July 2009 12:51

Okay, so this isn’t exactly your typical meat and potatotes dinner. It does have steak and it does have potato and it also has some veggies, just to round out the plate and to add some color. The flavors and textures of this dish are outstanding.

I must admit that I was hugely impressed by the outcome. Like much of my cooking, I started with a vague idea of what I wanted and it evolved from there.

Last Updated on Thursday, 31 December 2009 07:12

Tarragon Ginger Chicken

Written by Damon
Thursday, 16 July 2009 11:56

I realized that it has been a week since I last posted some food here – it has therefore been a week since I last took a culinary excursion. Today I bring you a baked chicken breast dinner with broccolini. The chicken marinade is based around the flavors of tarragon, mint, lemongrass, and ginger. The broccolini is steamed and topped with a tarragon, mustard aioli. The dish is finished with a salad of baby spring greens and pickled carrots, cucumber and ginger.

Last Updated on Thursday, 31 December 2009 07:18

Shrimp Tempura

Written by Damon
Tuesday, 7 July 2009 12:58

For tonight’s dinner, my mother was in the mood for some shrimp so I threw together this little treat. It consisted of Shrimp Tempura with a wasabi/mustard sauce, what I am going to call “Kinpira Edamame” and sesame fried rice. Now the Shrimp Tempura probably doesn’t need too much explanation, though there are a few little extras tossed into the recipe for fun.

Last Updated on Thursday, 31 December 2009 07:32

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