Sushi-Palooza

It's now March and for most people that means St. Patrick's Day and milder temperatures, but the first thing we think about on March 1st is sushi-palooza. Well at least that's what Brian thinks about! Even though it is a part of Brian's birthday celebration, it has kind of become its own holiday in itself. Brian's favorite holiday in fact, if his belting out "It's the most wonderful time of the year," every day in the weeks leading up to it is any indication. I think he gets more excited for sushi-palooza than for Christmas.

Last Saturday, we held the 7th annual sushi-palooza. This year, we celebrated it a few days early so that we could have family join us. Brian's parents were able to spend the weekend with us and participate in the fun. This was the first year we were able to have family join us and it made it that much more awesome. 

This year we went back on forth on whether we were going to make our own sushi or get take out. Take out won because life has just been especially busy these last few weeks. I let Brian spearhead the research/decision making, because I'm not that familiar with or in-love with sushi. He decided upon a sushi restaurant called Watami. It had good reviews and seemed reasonably priced. 

A week before the big event, I stopped by and picked up a couple menus. Then the real planning began. Brian poured over the menu, narrowing down the selection until he came up with his master list. And boy was it long. I didn't make him shorten it at all though, because he was going to have to share it with two and a half (me--I don't eat very much at all) other people. 

As you can see from the two pictures below, it was a feast indeed, and didn't break the bank too badly. Along with these two trays full of all sorts of fish, we had some pot stickers, seaweed salad, and egg rolls. It all looked so pretty, I just wish I like the taste of it better.

Along with some simpler items such as California rolls, and basic salmon, tuna, eel, octopus, red snapper, and yellowtail nigiri, he chose some fun specialty rolls. These included the Rainbow Roll--a mix of salmon, tuna, and whitefish with avocado, the Red Devil Roll--salmon, tuna, crab, and yellowtail with thinly sliced jalapenos and sriracha sauce, the Hot and Sexy Roll--spicy salmon and spicy crab with avocado and cucumber, and the Mango Roll--spicy crab and shrimp tempura topped with thin slices of mango. We also ordered a variety of maki rolls, including oshinko which is a pickled radish, and flying fish roe (the green roe in the picture above).

It was an adventure for sure and one that everyone enjoyed. We pulled out our small fish dishes that we bought on our honeymoon, so that everyone could have their own dish for mixing wasabi and soy sauce. Once the spread was set out, and the food blessed, everyone just jumped in. I held back, as sushi isn't my most favorite thing in the world. It was so fun to watch everyone's faces, especially Brian's, as they tried the different pieces.

I was more adventurous this year than I have ever been before. I tried a lot of different things, most of them for the first time. Some weren't bad, and a couple I even really liked, while others I didn't care for at all. I'm trying a very tiny bite of a salmon nigiri (clump of rice with raw salmon on top) in the picture below. It was very tiny, probably the size of a thumbnail, but it was still intimidating to me. I actually liked that one, but that may be because it was so small. Haha! I also liked the pickled radish roll, and the seaweed salad. The rainbow roll was just okay, but I loved the mango roll which was kind of a desert roll with the shrimp and mango. That one was super tasty. I didn't really care for the yellowtail, it had too much of a fishy flavor for me. I even tried a small pinch of roe, which was really weird. I didn't really like the flavor of that, but the way it pops in your mouth as you chew it was kind of fun.

It was a feast for sure, even for me who didn't have as much as the others. I supplemented my sushi tasting with some leftover homemade sweet and sour chicken, so I wasn't just starving after dinner was over. Brian especially loved it, which made me happy. I haven't had very much sushi in my life, so can't speak for the quality of it, but the others, who I would call sushi aficionados, said that it was really great sushi--surprisingly great for coming from a land-locked town such as North Ogden.

After we packed away the leftovers, which were very few, we sat down to watch the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" on Netflix. It's actually a really interesting show about this guy who has dedicated most of his 80+ years to making the perfect sushi. It was a fitting end for sushi-palooza.

The next day, Sunday, we went to church and then came back to our apartment and just hung out there all day. It was so fun getting to spend time with Layne and Kris. They are so great, and we love that we get to see them so often now. 

That afternoon we made our own version of the Mango Tango, our favorite dessert from our favorite Thai restaurant (I Am Thai) in Sunnyside, Queens, New York. It is so yummy. Basically it is a parfait consisting of layers of sweet coconut sticky rice, mango ice cream, and chunks of fresh mango. It is amazing. In fact we had a couple the night before we left NYC for good. Our homemade version is pretty close. We can never wait for the rice to cool all the way before serving (plus ice cream melting over warm rice is amazing) so our version is a little more melty. And we haven't been able to find just plain mango ice cream here in Utah, but we did find a coconut mango swirl ice cream that works just as well. I forgot to snap a picture of the freshly layered dessert, so Kris snapped this picture of hers for me after it had been sitting long enough for the ice cream to melt. It may not look the prettiest, but it tastes amazing.

All too soon, the weekend was over, and Layne and Kris had to leave. A few days later, it was Brian's actual birthday. I made him salmon, wild rice, and asparagus for dinner, one of his favorite meals. After dinner, we enjoyed a piece of angel food cake with fresh pureed strawberry sauce. It was yummy. Here is the birthday boy wearing his new batman t-shirt and enjoying a piece of his birthday cake.

I think he had a really good birthday, and I hope he felt loved and spoiled. I sure love this guy of mine. He is amazing--thoughtful, kind, hard-working, funny, loving, etc. I could go on and on. He is such a wonderful husband, and I'm grateful everyday that he was born. Happy Birthday Brian!