Ivan's Oysters

Ingredients
24 oysters, refrigerated
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons mirin
2 tablespoons minced leek, pale green portion only

DIRECTIONS
Reserve the oysters refrigerated until ready to open. Make the sauce by stirring together the vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, and leek. Open the oysters and arrange on a platter. Spoon about half a teaspoon of the sauce onto each oyster, and serve immediately.

Green Tea Ice Cream

Ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
2 egg yolks
5 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp maccha green tea powder
3 tbsps hot water
Preparation:
Mix hot water and green tea powder together in a bowl and set aside. Lightly whisk egg yolks in a pan. Add sugar in the pan and mix well. Gradually add milk in the pan and mix well. Put the pan on low heat and heat the mixture, stirring constantly. When the mixture is thickened, remove the pan from the heat. Soak the bottom of the pan in ice water and cool the mixture. Add green tea in the egg mixture and mix well, cooling in ice water. Add whipped heavy cream in the mixture and stir gently. Pour the mixture in an ice cream maker and freeze, following instructions of the ice cream maker. Or, pour the mixture in a container and freeze, stirring the ice cream a few times. *Makes 4-6 servings

Homemade Mustard

1/2 cup yellow mustard seeds
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. thyme, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/2 tsp. italian herbs, black pepper

Soak the mustard seeds in the vinegar and water, making sure the seeds are covered by the liquid. Leave soaking for 1 or 2 days.
Add the sugar and spices to the seeds mixture. Aso I suggest using allspices and turmeric, but many others are good as well. Begin with about 1 tsp. of each spice. Blend mixture until it reaches desired consistency, adding water if needed.
The mustard will at first seem extremely spicy, but will mellow out after a day or two in the fridge. To make honey mustard, mix the completed yellow mustard with local honey at a 1:1 ratio.

Cranberry-Lemongrass Sauce

1/4 cup minced shallots
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced lemongrass, white part only
4 cups fresh cranberries, cut in half
2 1/2 cups red wine
4 cups chicken stock
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons butter, unsalted
Grapeseed or canola oil for cooking
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
In a medium saucepan coated lightly with oil over medium-high heat, saute shallots, garlic and lemongrass until soft, about 2 minutes. Add cranberries and saute another 2 minutes. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Deglaze with wine, reduce by 75%. Add chicken stock and reduce by 50%. Stir in lemon juice and sugar and whisk in the butter. Check for flavor and season, if necessary.