Veal with Maitake Cream Sauce

 

Kihada Maguro Carpaccio

Pescatore al nero di seppia

Veal with Maitake Cream Sauce

La Piña (Basque Cheesecake)

My Wife's Birthday: A Tatekitchen Multi-Course Love Letter

January 31st. My wife's birthday. Time to show up.

This isn't just dinner. This is a full-course Tatekitchen experience. I'm talking appetizer through dessert. Proper courses. Timed perfectly. Plated like we're in a restaurant—except we're home, and my daughter Lumi is my sous chef tonight.

The Prep

First stop: Sakanaya in Newton. This is where the Japanese fish professionals work. When I need sushi-grade seafood, THIS is where I go. I walked out with a block of kihada maguro (yellowfin tuna) so beautiful I could literally sell it for $200 retail. Deep red. Perfect marbling. The kind of tuna that makes you respect the ocean.

Also grabbed: fresh mussels, jumbo shrimp, scallops, and uni. Everything pristine. Everything cold. Everything ready.

And veal. Beautiful veal chops—one for each of us. Mom gets the biggest. Obviously.

My little sous chef

Antipasti : Kihada Maguro Carpaccio

We start with my yellowfin tuna carpaccio. Paper-thin slices of that incredible maguro, arranged on a plate with fan-cut avocado, peppery arugula, thinly sliced radishes, capers, and a drizzle of citrus olive oil. Clean. Fresh. Elegant.

That first bite? Pure. The tuna melts. The avocado adds richness. The arugula gives it bite. This is how you START a meal.

Sushi grade seafood ready

just mix them to cook up

Primo: Pescatore al nero di seppia

Now we go Italian. Pescatore—seafood pasta. Linguine with mussels, shrimp, scallops, cherry tomatoes, garlic, white wine, and a touch of tomato sauce. The shellfish releases its brine into the sauce. The pasta soaks it all up.

Lumi helped me clean the mussels and devein the shrimp. She's learning. She's focused. My little sous chef is legit.

The smell when this hits the table? Garlic. Ocean. Tomato. Perfection.

Secondo: Veal with Maitake Cream Sauce

The main event. Pan-seared veal chops with a maitake mushroom cream sauce. The veal—tender, pink in the center, beautifully caramelized outside. The maitake (hen-of-the-woods mushrooms) are sautéed until golden, then finished in a rich cream sauce.

Served with sautéed broccolini. Everything on the plate has a job. Nothing is filler.

You cut into that veal and it's BUTTER. The umami from the maitake cream sauce? Insane.

Dolce: La Piña (Basque Cheesecake)

"Always start with dessert," I say during preparation while mixing the batter. And I mean it. Basque-style cheesecake—burnt top, creamy center, no crust. It's Spain meets Japan meets Boston.

I served it with fresh strawberries and a sprig of mint. Simple. Let the cheesecake do the work.

My wife smiled the whole night. Lumi was proud of her work. The table was beautiful. The food was ON.

This is what Tatekitchen is about. Not just cooking. Celebrating the people you love with food that MATTERS.

Happy birthday to my incredible wife. You deserve every bite.

Kion Coffee
 
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TatekitchenTateki MatsudaPescatore, sea urchin, Clam, Shrimp, Squid, Mussels, Tuna, Capriccio, Avocado, Black ink pasta, Veal, Maitake, Cheese cakeComment