Recipe: Miso-Glazed Stuffed London Broil

I visited Mitsuwa the other day and came home with a couple of Japanese ingredients including Enoki Mushrooms, Rice Vinegar, Nira and Miso Paste. I decided to incorporate this with the dish I wanted to make tonight. You can stuffed the meat the night before which I did with this recipe. Or you can make this 2 hours ahead of your cooking time.

Miso-Glazed Stuffed London Broil

1/2 cup garlic, minced
1/2 cup Nira
1/2 cup parsley
2 tbsp paprika powder
1 tbsp lemon pepper powder
1 tbsp Japanese rice vinger
10 bell mushrooms, quartered
1 pkg Enoki mushrooms, cleaned.
3 tbsp miso paste
1 1/2 lb London Broil


Mix the first three ingredients.
Cut a pocket into the London broil and sprinkle paprika and lemon pepper. Stuff with the mixed herbs and close with toothpicks. Rub the outside of the London broil with pepper. Refrigerate overnight.
Place the London broil on a broiler pan or aluminum pan. Broil each side of your steak for 10-12 minutes for well-done. 7 - 10 for medium.
While the steak is broiling, add mushrooms, rice vinegar and miso paste into a heated pan. Covered for five minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and miso paste has melted. Turn to low heat until you the steak is ready.
Place steak on a plate - whole or sliced, glazed the top with the miso sauce top with the mushrooms.

Served on top of arugula salad. Or you can sliced it up

Congers Lake Memorial Park

Congers Lake Memorial Park, a set on Flickr.

A pretty nice park surrounding Congers Lake with various kind of animals.

Recipe: Spinach Beef Rolls

This is easy to make and could be an appetizer or main dish.  This can serve 2-3 people.

Ingredients:
10 pieces flank steak, trimmed
1/2 lb spinach, loosely cut
bunch of parsley, loosely cut
2 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoon pepper
Oil for cooking
Toothpicks

Preparation:
1. Place steak on a cutting board or work surface, pound until they are 1/2 inch thin.
2. Sprinkle paprika and pepper, arrange a bunch of spinach and parsley on the end of the steak slice.
3. Roll up the steak tightly. Use toothpick to hold the roll.  Repeat the process.
4. Heat oil in pan. Add the beef rolls and cook for 3 minutes or until the steak is cooked. Make sure to roll the steak so that you can cook all the sides.

You can serve it with some couscous or just by itself with some steak sauce.

Recipe: Steamed Mussels

This is really easy to make.

Ingredients:
Juice of 1 lime
2 cooked corns, half
bunch of parsley, loosely chopped
2 lbs wild mussels
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon butter
pinch red pepper flakes
1 cup olives
1 cup Red Wine Vinegar

Rinse the mussels under cold running water while scrubbing with a vegetable brush. Discard any with broken shells.
Heat oil in a stockpot. Saute garlic. Add the mussels and give them a good toss.
Add red wine vinegar, lime juice and pepper flakes. Cover the pot and steam over medium-high 5 minutes until the mussels open.
Toss in parsley, corn and butter and steam for another minute.

Remember, the juice is good for dipping hot garlic bread.

Serves 2

Album Review: Armin van Buuren - Intense

Get ready for an Intense journey

One of the most highly anticipated album of the year has finally been released! “Intense” is Armin van Buuren’s fifth artist album. The 16 track album was three years in a making mixing electronic beats with classical sound.

The album begins with title track that combines Armin’s melodic beats with Miri Ben-Ari’s violin riffs to produce an amazing start to the album. This is followed by the first single of the album “This Is What It Feels Like” featuring Trevor Guthrie. This track got that “feel good” vibe with amazing melody and the lovely strong voice of Guthrie. This is followed by two more vocal tracks, a techy-house “Beautiful Life” featuring Cindy Alma and the lovely melody and beats of “Waiting For The Night” with Fiora.

In comes “Pulsar” with it’s pulsating beats and uplifting melodies. Then comes four straight vocal tracks with each having there own sound. “Sound Of The Drums” which features the voice of Laura Jansen kicks off with mellow piano keys before bursting into melodramatic beats and rhythms. “Alone” is another “feel good” track which features the strong voice of Lauren Evans wrapped around melodic chords and uplifting bassline. “Turn This Love Around” is a collaboration between NERVO and Armin which features the electrifying voice of Laura V. The track got that housey-trance crossover with some classical violins chords. Then comes the high energy track “Won’t Let You Go” that features the sultry voice of Aruna.

Armin continues with two non-vocal tracks. The short melodramatic piano-filled “In 10 Years From Now” which serves as an intro to “Last Stop Before Heaven.” The track is bursting with melodic beats and high-octane rhythms. This is followed by another early released track in “Forever Is Ours” featuring high-energy synths and massive breaks with the amazing sultry voice of Emma Hewitt that would surely melt your hearts. He continues with this phase with “Love Never Came” that features the deep voice of Richard Bedford. These two tracks would surely be a fan-favorite.

Armin goes hard with “Who’s Afraid of 138?!” increasing the tempo with faster beats per minute leading to transcending sounds but keeping the melodies intact. This track would surely be liked by the higher bpm fans. Intense ends with “Reprise,” a Bagga Bownz collaborated track that has it all - drums, violins, electric guitar, synths - all mashed into one beautiful uplifting track signaling the end of an Intense journey.

Purist may not like the current sounds of trance but Armin van Buuren shows why he is on top of the EDM scene transcending the boundaries of the genre while keeping true to his roots. Three years in the making.. it was worth the wait.

10/10

Tracklist
01 Intense (feat. Miri Ben-Ari)
02 This Is What It Feels Like (feat. Trevor Guthrie)
03 Beautiful Life (feat. Cindy Alma)
04 Waiting For The Night (feat. Fiora)
05 Pulsar
06 Sound Of The Drums (feat. Laura Jansen)
07 Alone (feat. Lauren Evans)
08 Turn This Love Around (vs. NERVO feat. Laura V.)
09 Won’t Let You Go (feat. Aruna)
10 In 10 Years From Now
11 Last Stop Before Heaven
12 Forever Is Ours (feat. Emma Hewitt)
13 Love Never Came (feat. Richard Bedford)
14 Who’s Afraid of 138?!
15 Reprise
16 Humming The Lights (iTunes Bonus Track)

Released Date: May 3, 2013
Armada Music

Where To Buy:
iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/intense-bonus-track-version/id626898249
iTunes Canada - https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/intense-bonus-track-version/id630744518
ITunes UK - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/intense/id627436733
Beatport - http://www.beatport.com/release/intense-extended-versions/1078202
Armada Shop - https://www.armadamusicshop.com/intense

Stream on Spotify - http://www.arminradio.com/

Armin van Buuren - website | Armin Radio | Facebook | Flowd | G+ | iTunes | Ping | SoundCloud | YouTube | A State of Trance | @ArminvanBuuren

NOTE: This review is also published at TranceHub.com - http://trancehub.com/music/product/get-ready-for-an-intense-journey-armin-van-buurens-intense-reviewed/