David Ross

Although not always a set, weekly cooking series, cooking on live, local television can be a horrific experience for the cook and a devilish pleasure to the viewer. I like to think that my many hours of preparation resulted in quality cooking segments when I cooked on live TV. As least I think it did. Unfortunately, this poor sap fell into the trap that snares so many folks when cooking on live, local television. This clip has to be in the category, "Worst Cooking Show Ever."

The current season of Food Network Star. Horrific......................

When I launched this cook-off I wondered about the same question. Rather than go to a supermarket, I've bought a number of instant ramen at the Asian stores in town. They are brands we'd never see in a Safeway or Albertson's supermarket up here. I've tried brands from Japan and Korea and had really great results with the dried instant noodles. In fact, I'd say there are better than the fresh noodles labeled as "ramen."

The best part--frying fresh corn tortillas to make the taco shells!

Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos-

6 hours but I think next time I might go nearly 7 just for even more tenderness

After watching Aaron Franklin slow-smoke beef ribs on his show, BBQ with Franklin, I just had to try some beef ribs for Memorial Day. I got these massives bones from Tim's Custom Cut Meats over in Couer d'Alene, Idaho, about 30 minutes from my home in Spokane. You have to buy ribs cut from the plate as short ribs won't work, and they have to be meaty. The only seasoning was a rub of olive oil and a smattering of Kosher salt, then a heavy dose of black pepper. No marinade, no rub, no injection. I used alderwood, although I know most of the professionals use oak or mesquite. Alderwood is more characteristic of what we use in the Pacific Northwest for Salmon, but I like the milder flavor and it doesn't destroy meat. Smoked for hours at 280 and then rested for 46 minutes. I was very worried as I've never done beef ribs and the boys weren't cheap. And then I cut into it, and was quite pleased at how juicy and moist the meat was.............and oh so tender and delicious.

My friend, John Curtas, aka Eating Las Vegas website and the author of Eating Las Vegas 2016, tells me that Kabuto is his top choice for sushi, followed by Sushi Hiroyshi Japanese Cuisine, Goyemon Sushi House and Sushi Mon. On the Strip I would avoid Nobu. Yes it would be very good but given the prices, I think as good if not better sushi can be had elsewhere. On the Strip John tells me he prefers Shibuya at the MGM and Yellowtail at Bellagio. Bardot Brasserie is getting good reviews, but I'd go to DB Brasserie at The Venetian. Yes, it's a classic French brasserie but is getting good reviews and Chef Vincent Poussel came over from many years at Aureole in Mandalay Bay. I've never been to Robuchon, held back by the price, but I've dined at L'Atelier next door. Still expensive but a wonderful opportunity to savor Robuchon's food at a manageable price point, for Las Vegas.

Yes a good dose of spiced rum.

I've been meaning to try out this idea for a while, and while the sugar and butter content really isn't what I should be eating, heck it was for Sunday breakfast. Banana sticky buns. I used my recipe for caramel rolls yet with bananas. Started by sauteeing sliced banana in brown sugar, butter, a bit of corn syrup and cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Then a good glog of rum. I use a sweet dough that is rolled out and then brushed with butter, more spices and a scattering of currants. I forgot to add in some toasted pecans to the caramel and banana sauce. Then the rolled and cut buns are placed on the warm banana caramel sauce and left to rise. Then in a 375 oven for about 25 minutes.

Our bountiful morel season continues, picked by a man I call the old hippy guy. A good size bag for $10. And the first of the season strawberries from East of the Cascades, berries from Hermiston, Oregon.

Bacon and Swiss quiche-

Port wine braised duck with figs and roasted potatoes. Terribly guilty on the potatoes-roasted in beef tallow.

From our Ramen Cook-Off, Crispy Fried Prawns with Ramen Noodles in Miso Broth.

Thanks. They were both good but I prefer the mix of seaweed flavored rice snacks and dried wasabi peas. Crunchy, not too sweet and a hint of heat. The rice seasoning mix was sweeter and I think the heat of the frying oil might have burned the tiny flakes of egg and bonito in the mix. Until I did the dish I had always wondered how you can prevent a prawn from curling up during frying. The video from "Dining with The Chef" answered that problem. Just a few slits on the underside of the prawn and then pressing down to craft a flat prawn. And it allows more surface on the prawn for the coating to stick to.

Ever since we launched this Ramen Cook-Off I've been working on combining ramen noodles in a dish with some type of fried prawns. It took a lot of experimenting--to find a unique way to flavor the prawns and experiment with the cooking techniques. I settled on using dried instant ramen noodles in a simple broth of dashi and yellow miso paste with bok choy. The garnishes for the dish were a quick-pickle julienne of carrot, fresh radishes and green onions. Using an idea I saw on "Dining With the Chef" on YouTube, (a Japanese cooking program on the NHK network), I used two types of deep-fried prawns. One was a coating of crushed dried wasabi peas and seaweed rice crackers, the second a coating of wasabi fumi furikake rice seasoning. This particular rice seasoning is a mixture of sesame seeds, horseradish, shaved bonito, Japanese mustard, sugar seaweed, soy sauce, salt and rice wine. I also added some Sansyo Japanese pepper. The coatings were sweet yet savory and added a delicious crispy texture to the prawns. Next time I'll add some salt to the coating mixtures, but all in all this was a good take on a ramen dish.

til I'm at that condiment overload point. The small shelves in the door of the fridge are chock full and some condiments are taking up valuable space on the main refrigerator shelves. So I'm wondering what condiments actually need to be refrigerated, both for safety and flavor quality reasons. Up until a year or so ago, I never refrigerated soy sauce. I didn't have a reference point, so I never thought the flavor suffered by not being refrigerated. Right now I've got 5 bottles of the stuff in the fridge from light, dark, mushroom, tamari and ponzu soy sauces. And what about Kitchen Bouquet and Maggi Seasoning? I've got them in a cupboard. I've got the basics in the fridge like mayonnaise, mustard, steak sauces and salad dressings, but do they all have to be refrigerated? What about more of my Asian stock like oyster and black bean sauce, Korean chile pastes and preserved vegetables. While I assume most have to be in the fridge, and I'm looking at a sacrificial exercise, what are your thoughts about storing condiments?

I was talking to a friend yesterday who had seen my dish. She works for air cargo at Spokane Airport and their warehouse has been chocked to the roof with boxes of morels each day the past week. They are going out on flights throughout each day. She estimated that in the past few days they shipped more than 5,000 boxes and they are pretty big boxes. A gold mine of morels.

I have no idea how I got such good focus, I think the asparagus and morels must have shocked me to hold the camera tighter or something. I actually got giddy in the market. The lady who stocks the produce was in front of the box of morels so I couldn't see them. When I asked her where they were, she moved to the side and there they were. It's like seeing a basket of fresh white alba truffles. She told me a story of a new forager that contacted the store. Apparently the family bought an old barn and when they took over the property, opened the doors to find the floor of the barn filled with growing morels. It would have been worth thousands. They harvested them then put them in a salt brine, By the time they took them down to be looked over, they had turned to mush. Better read up on how to harvest morels next time.

I am a very lucky man. Although we suffered through a devastating forest fire season in Washington last year, through the ashes have arisen a crop of wild Spring morels I haven't seen the likes of in years. Freshly picked by a group of folks who forage just a few miles from Spokane, a bounty this year of large, tasty morel mushrooms. And our Central Washington asparagus crop is better than ever, thin, medium, fat and fatter stalks all for the table. Last night a dish of morels and asparagus tossed with pappardelle with a parmesan cream sauce-

Char Siu Lamb. While the meat looks medium, it was actually a nice, juicy, medium-rare. The charred bits were especially good.

Boy would I like the recipe for the pretzel squares.

Based on a recipe from my new favorite cooking show, "Dining with the Chef" from the NHK network of Japan. The show runs once a week on our local PBS channel. I watch the videos on You Tube then use Chromecast to cast them onto my big screen TV. I am in heaven with this show right now.............. Japanese Kara Age Fried Chicken with Sweet and Sour Sauce, Pickled Daikon and Seaweed Salad with Crispy Seasoned Anchovy-

I think you are right. I'm thinking in addition ramen noodles I might have to put it into some clam chowder this weekend.

Until this cook-off, I never used toasted seaweed much, never thought of it as a seasoning element or garnish in a dish. But in the ramen noodle dish above the toasted seaweed added just a hint of flavor, yet enough to give the noodles more of a Japanese type of flavor. In fact, I'm headed to the market today to buy more toasted seaweed.