“Champagne for our real friends and real pains for our sham friends.”
- A toast from Harry’s Bar in Paris circa 1920

This Valentine’s Day, make sure your pre or post-romantic dinner drink is the classic champagne cocktail. The French 75 is the grand dame of champagne cocktails and has been the basis for dozens of delicious variations. Basically, it is a sour (spirit, lemon, simple syrup) plus Champagne, which was most likely inspired by a Collins or Fizz recipes.

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Japan is filled with weird desserts. A lot of influence comes from the west, but we somehow incorporate Japan-ness into western desserts. For example, castella came from Portugal and somehow the recipe changed a bit and one of the ingredients now is mirin (sweet sake). Or choux filled with red bean/whipped cream mix. Ichigo daifuku falls somewhere in between. Daifuku is a traditional Japanese dessert with anko (sweet red beans) stuffed inside mochi.

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Happy Valentines Day!

Photo collage by Erin Gleeson.

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We’ve started off 2011 in cheesy mood here at Umamimart HQ, and have launched the Love U Feb 14% Sale in time for Valentine’s Day. All items in the Shop are now 14% off!

Please take a look around. You’ll find that we’ve added the Yarai Mixing Glass + Barspoon Set, as well as the Usuhari Glass Pair, for a set of two glasses at a discounted price.

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This is my third White Day. One of my first blog posts on UM was about my first White Day.

Three times a charm and I finally realized that White Day is the one time to really milk it in the Japanese workplace. So this year, I made sure to give generously for Valentine’s Day to my male coworkers.

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Preface: Kitchen Follies: Chocolate Turd

As you know, I have a tendency to fight till I get it right. This only happens when I am cooking. I usually don’t have strong will power, as I’ve already given up all the good things I tried to start in the new year. Smoke less, drink less, bitch less, work out more, live positively… Whatever…

Since the last post was a complete failure, I knew you knew I would revisit this and fix this turd business.

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When I committed to making the Happy Hour column a regular Wednesday thing, I realized that either I’d have it pre-written and ready to be posted at the designated time (ideal scenario) or that I’d write it on the day of and post it immediately. What I didn’t take into account is that I’m sort of a perfectionist, and like to constantly tweak something either until I consider it perfect, or until I no longer have the option of doing so, such as when there is a due date attached.

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Valentines Day is coming up (BARF), and while I am usually cynical about this day, you can win me over with a box of yummy treats from Kyotofu. I’m so easy!

As Sonja reviewed in December, Kyotofu is a cutesy little restaurant specializing in nouveau t0fu in the unexpected neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan. They’ve recently expanded their menu to include savory items, but their “thing” is definitely the sweets.

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Ok, so I am not one to fine dine too often, but this past Wednesday I took my lover out for a mean steak in celebration of March 14th - Steak and Knobber Day. For those of you that are not familiar with this holiday, it is one month after Valentine’s Day, and the focus is on the man. It is his day to be spoiled and he gets what any man desires – a phatty steak and one heck of a knobber (am I allowed to say that word on a food blog?) .

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A month ago, if you asked me what I thought of the Japanese system regarding Valentine’s Day I would have given two enthusiastic thumbs DOWN. The first two weeks of February are madness. Pretty little Japanese girls swarm the streets and consequently, the department stores, in search of the perfect overpriced box of chocolates for their boo and other less overpriced boxes for their coworkers.

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