Cobb Salad; California

The Cobb salad originated at the Brown Derby in Hollywood and has since become an American classic. This version, although slightly different than the original, uses some of California's wonderful greens available today.

Cobb Salad

1 head of baby romaine, cleaned and chopped
1 small bunch of baby spinach, cleaned and chopped if needed
1 bunch of mache, cleaned
1 small bunch of baby watercress, cleaned and chopped if needed
4 slices of cooked thick bacon, broken into small pieces
2 ripe Haas avocados, peeled and chopped
1 lb. of skinless, boneless chicken breast, roasted and diced
1 heirloom tomato, chopped
1 large egg, boiled and finely chopped
1/3 cup of local blue cheese
Fresh chives

Dressing:

1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Toss the cleaned and dried greens together and arrange on a plate. Scatter diced avocado, chicken, tomato and egg across greens. Crumble bacon and blue cheese on top. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, finely cut chives over salad.

For dressing: Mix together vinegar, mustard, sugar and salt and pepper. While whisking add olive oil in a slow stream. Continue whisking until emulsified. Drizzle over finished salad.

Misoyaki Butterfish; Hawaii

This is a great dish when you want something that represents the different influences of Hawaii culture and food. The miso and sake come from the Asian influence, the fish of course being from the ocean and the high amount of sugar comes from the sugar mill influence of the early 1900's. Misoyaki seems to be purely Hawaiian and though it has few ingredients and can be adapted easily, it is rarely seen outside of Hawaii.

This recipe calls for butterfish or black cod but any fatty white fish would do. Pair it with simple white rice and a salad of local greens like they do in Hawaii.

Misoyaki Butterfish

1/3 cup sake (Japanese rice wine)
1/3 cup mirin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup white miso (I have used red but it overpowers the fish a bit)
1 teaspoon grated ginger (optional)

Puree all of the ingredients together in a blender. Marinate the cleaned fish fillets in this mixture for about an hour. Some recipes call for the above ingredients to be cooked, thus burning off some of the alcohol and then marinating the fish overnight. I usually don't plan that much ahead so I do the quick hour marinade.

Heat a large heavy saute pan over medium heat. Add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Add fish and cook about 5-8 minutes each side, or until golden brown, turning only once. The fish will be done when it is opaque all the way through and flaky, about 15 minutes depending on the thickness of your fillets.