Steaming

I found these big, hunky clams at the farmers market this weekend, each at least 2 inches across. But how to prepare them? My wife Momo found a bunch of recipes online, but we decided to go as simple as possible -- steam them with sake.

Here's a simple method my pal and coauthor Chef Tadashi Ono of Matsuri mentioned to me last week: Steaming a whole chicken with sake. It couldn't be easier.

A friend in Japan just sent me this recipe for chestnut rice (kuri gohan) and I cooked it tonight. Wow! So simple, but with such a play of delicate flavors. You have to try it.

My new favorite cookbook is a Japanese-English paperback called (at least in English) "Traditional Japanese Recipe Book with English Translation." Not the most evocative title, for sure, but the book's packed with great recipes, techniques and useful information.

Friday night, October 12th, at the Matsuri Restaurant kitchen, where volunteer twice a week... The kitchen "swimming" in sea of orders tonight, as Chef Ono put...