Friday, December 25, 2009
Red Lotus: Chopped fish with pine nuts
Tried the 'Chopped Fish with pine nuts' off the chinese menu at Red Lotus - good dish to try but I don't know that I'll get it again. It's tasty but wayyy too bland for my taste - it has to be bland so you can taste the pine nuts. So overall the dish is very well executed - it looks beautiful; white fish with finely diced few pieces of green & red pepper in a transparent sauce. The taste of the pine nuts is notiecable and the freshness of the fish can be appreciated but I need a kick of chilli and complexity of spicy flavors that this dish doesn't have.
Goa fish curry
I also in the past few months made the Goa Fish curry from Cameilla Punjabi's book pg 140 and it turned out to be awesome! It tasted just like any restaurant fish curry I had in India. I'll be cooking it again in the next 2 weeks while my parents are visiting. Shall post my modified version of the recipe. Last time I made it I put the fish in the curry per the recipe and I didn't care for this - as an end product you get an awesome curry but the fish is a boiled pieces of overcooked fish.. Instead this time I am thinking I'll take some small trimmings of fish and add it to the curry for flavor; but take fish filles and pan fry them separately. This way I can cook the fish perfectly and while serving I can have the rice with curry topped with a piece of pan fried/broiled fish ...yum.
Parsee Red Chicken Curry
This is a recipe I made using Cameilla Punjabi's book - pg 124. My main beef with the recipe is the cooking time for onion is wayyy off and since I can't get Kashmiri chili's my gravy instead of looking red looks like a grey/brown slurry. This gravy is very potent and has a pungent indian spice smell. Taste is good - but below that of the cashew gravy recipe. While this recipe might not be as tasty as the cashew gravy recipe it's quite a bit faster to cook so worth it on a weekend when u need to make a tasty chicken curry.
Indegredients:
1 1/2 lb chicken breast cubed into small pieces
2 tomatoes (small) finely chopped - I don't see why you can't use 1/2 a can of crushed tomatoes
5 dried Red chilis (recipe calls for 10 Kashmiri chilis - I just had standard dried red chilis which are hotter but don't have any color)
1 8oz can of coconut milk
Spice Mix:
1/2 teasp cumin seeds
1 teasp corriander seeds
1 teasp sesame seeds
4 cloves
8 peppercorns
1in cinamon stick
3 cardamon
1 in ginger - chopped into pieces
4 cloves garlic-
1 large onion - coarsely chopped
1 teasp red wine vinegar (recipe calls for apple vinegar)
1/2 teasp store bought garam masala
1) Roast spice mix in pan over low-medium heat for 5 min (heat up pan on low-medium and toss in spices - never have any oil or anything in pan. it should be a dry hot pan)
2) Soak the red chilis in bowl of luke warm water - 15 min
3) Put roasted spice mix, chilis, ginger, garlic, onion into a blender and make into paste - add water if necessary to make into paste.
4) Heat pan over medium heat - add oil to coat bottom of pan. Once oil is hot add blended paste from step 3. Let cook for 20 min - want onion to cook.
5) Add chicken tomato and cook for another 10 min
6) Add chicken and let cook for 10 min
7) Add coconut milk and let it cook for 10 min
8) Add the red wine vinegar and stir in the garam masala - cook 5 min
9) at this point recipe suggests if too spicy add in a bit of cubed boiled potato or add 1/4th cup of water - I didn't do either - and yes it was spicy!
My curry's color was not red it was a brown/grey slurry. So don't worry if 'Red Chicken Curry' is not red it still taste good.
Enjoy over rice or a chapati.
Indegredients:
1 1/2 lb chicken breast cubed into small pieces
2 tomatoes (small) finely chopped - I don't see why you can't use 1/2 a can of crushed tomatoes
5 dried Red chilis (recipe calls for 10 Kashmiri chilis - I just had standard dried red chilis which are hotter but don't have any color)
1 8oz can of coconut milk
Spice Mix:
1/2 teasp cumin seeds
1 teasp corriander seeds
1 teasp sesame seeds
4 cloves
8 peppercorns
1in cinamon stick
3 cardamon
1 in ginger - chopped into pieces
4 cloves garlic-
1 large onion - coarsely chopped
1 teasp red wine vinegar (recipe calls for apple vinegar)
1/2 teasp store bought garam masala
1) Roast spice mix in pan over low-medium heat for 5 min (heat up pan on low-medium and toss in spices - never have any oil or anything in pan. it should be a dry hot pan)
2) Soak the red chilis in bowl of luke warm water - 15 min
3) Put roasted spice mix, chilis, ginger, garlic, onion into a blender and make into paste - add water if necessary to make into paste.
4) Heat pan over medium heat - add oil to coat bottom of pan. Once oil is hot add blended paste from step 3. Let cook for 20 min - want onion to cook.
5) Add chicken tomato and cook for another 10 min
6) Add chicken and let cook for 10 min
7) Add coconut milk and let it cook for 10 min
8) Add the red wine vinegar and stir in the garam masala - cook 5 min
9) at this point recipe suggests if too spicy add in a bit of cubed boiled potato or add 1/4th cup of water - I didn't do either - and yes it was spicy!
My curry's color was not red it was a brown/grey slurry. So don't worry if 'Red Chicken Curry' is not red it still taste good.
Enjoy over rice or a chapati.
Cashew chicken with Kaala masala
Made this chicken by using a recipe from Camellia Punjabi's book (pg 112). Turned out to be pretty darn tasty but the color of my dish in no way matches the picture shown in the book. My curry looks like a grey slurry - something out of a gulag movie rathe rthan a burnt brown shown in the book... Well it taste great so I'll definitely be making it again. Below is the recipe with my modifications. I have found a pet recipe peeve - in all these recipes it says sautee onions for 10 min or 5 min! Heck no i'd be eating raw onions if I did this - i have to sautee them for almost 20-30 min to get any results. What gas/cooktop do these authors use?
Kaala masala translates into Black masala - this is a type of spice mixture used in Maharashtra.
Since I had 1/2 the chicken I halfed some of the indegredients (some :)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb boneless chicken breast - cubed into small pieces (ask the butcher to do this to save you time)
1/2 cup of dry grated coconut (you can use fresh if you have it) - make sure you don't use the sweetened dry
6 large garlic cloves
1in piece of ginger - minced
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 teasp cumin seeds
2 dried red chillies (so the book says use kashmiri chilies - I use whatever crap dried red chilies I got from indian store - I think this is my culprit for no color to my gravy)
4 cloves
2 in cinamon stick
4 oz cashews (I used 1/2 a cup) - use non roasted, non salted, shelled
1 large onion - finely diced
oil
1) Heat a large pan on low-medium heat (4) , once heated throw in dry coconut, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, red chilies, cloves, cinamon. After 5 min add 1/2 of the cashews.Let the coconut toast (becomes brown). After coconut is brown take pan off heat and let it cool for 10 min. Put this mixture in a blender / food processor and make into fine paste.
2) Add oil to pan and throw in the 1 onion finely diced - let it cook for 20 min till brown. Add the diced onion into same blender as step 1 and blend into step 1 paste.
The recipe calls for adding the onion in step 1 but i found my coconut would burn before the onion cooked so I separated it.
3) Separately using a coffee grinder or mortar/pestle grind the remaining cashews into a fine powder and mix with litte water to form a paste/slurry and set aside.
4) In large pan over medium heat - heat some oil (oil enough to coat the bottom of pan in a thin layer) - add mixture from steps 1&2. Let it simmer for 10-15 min.
5) Add in the cashew slurry from step 3 and let it cook 5 more min.
6) Add the chicken and mix into gravy - cover and let chicken cook - 10 min
7) Add 1 1/2 cup water and let the curry simmer - add salt to taste
8) pour into serving dish and throw some whole cashes on top (roasted or non roasted cashews)
As I said it doesn't look all that great as my chilis didn't give off any color so there are no pics.
Kaala masala translates into Black masala - this is a type of spice mixture used in Maharashtra.
Since I had 1/2 the chicken I halfed some of the indegredients (some :)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb boneless chicken breast - cubed into small pieces (ask the butcher to do this to save you time)
1/2 cup of dry grated coconut (you can use fresh if you have it) - make sure you don't use the sweetened dry
6 large garlic cloves
1in piece of ginger - minced
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 teasp cumin seeds
2 dried red chillies (so the book says use kashmiri chilies - I use whatever crap dried red chilies I got from indian store - I think this is my culprit for no color to my gravy)
4 cloves
2 in cinamon stick
4 oz cashews (I used 1/2 a cup) - use non roasted, non salted, shelled
1 large onion - finely diced
oil
1) Heat a large pan on low-medium heat (4) , once heated throw in dry coconut, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, red chilies, cloves, cinamon. After 5 min add 1/2 of the cashews.Let the coconut toast (becomes brown). After coconut is brown take pan off heat and let it cool for 10 min. Put this mixture in a blender / food processor and make into fine paste.
2) Add oil to pan and throw in the 1 onion finely diced - let it cook for 20 min till brown. Add the diced onion into same blender as step 1 and blend into step 1 paste.
The recipe calls for adding the onion in step 1 but i found my coconut would burn before the onion cooked so I separated it.
3) Separately using a coffee grinder or mortar/pestle grind the remaining cashews into a fine powder and mix with litte water to form a paste/slurry and set aside.
4) In large pan over medium heat - heat some oil (oil enough to coat the bottom of pan in a thin layer) - add mixture from steps 1&2. Let it simmer for 10-15 min.
5) Add in the cashew slurry from step 3 and let it cook 5 more min.
6) Add the chicken and mix into gravy - cover and let chicken cook - 10 min
7) Add 1 1/2 cup water and let the curry simmer - add salt to taste
8) pour into serving dish and throw some whole cashes on top (roasted or non roasted cashews)
As I said it doesn't look all that great as my chilis didn't give off any color so there are no pics.
Chicken Salil'Marsala (12/25 lunch)
My own version of chicken Marsala
Indegredients:
1 chicken cutlet (thinly pounded/cut chicken breast)
Capers (1/2-1 tbsp)
1/4 shallot very finely diced
2 cloves garlic - smashed
Lime zest - 2 -3 scrapes on zester (optional)
Coarse grain mustard
Anchovy paste
EVOO (3/4-1 tbsp)
Butter (1 1/2 teasp)
1) Marinate the chicken fillet: sprinkle with salt, put a drop of mustard and a drop of anchovy paste, drizzle with EVOO and some of the pickle water from the capers - rub the chicken fillet all over so mustard and anchovy paste are rubbed over the entire piece of chicken.
2) heat up a small heavy bottom pan (medium heat) drizzle to coat bottom with EVOO, toss in butter - let oil and butter heat up (you can smell it) and the butter gets bubbly
3) Toss in garlic - take off heat for a min, put back on heat after a min and toss in shallot. Let shallot brown up
4) Put in piece of chicken - let it cook on one side for 1.5 - 2 min (might differ depending on thickness, mine was very thin) put in capers and turn the piece of chicken over.
5) Pour in a dash (perhaps 2tbsp) of Marsala wine - wait for a min - the wine should cook off.
You're done! If you have a good home made pesto you can serve the chicken with a dollop of pesto. I had as my side wild mushroom ravioli tossed in home made pesto.
Indegredients:
1 chicken cutlet (thinly pounded/cut chicken breast)
Capers (1/2-1 tbsp)
1/4 shallot very finely diced
2 cloves garlic - smashed
Lime zest - 2 -3 scrapes on zester (optional)
Coarse grain mustard
Anchovy paste
EVOO (3/4-1 tbsp)
Butter (1 1/2 teasp)
1) Marinate the chicken fillet: sprinkle with salt, put a drop of mustard and a drop of anchovy paste, drizzle with EVOO and some of the pickle water from the capers - rub the chicken fillet all over so mustard and anchovy paste are rubbed over the entire piece of chicken.
2) heat up a small heavy bottom pan (medium heat) drizzle to coat bottom with EVOO, toss in butter - let oil and butter heat up (you can smell it) and the butter gets bubbly
3) Toss in garlic - take off heat for a min, put back on heat after a min and toss in shallot. Let shallot brown up
4) Put in piece of chicken - let it cook on one side for 1.5 - 2 min (might differ depending on thickness, mine was very thin) put in capers and turn the piece of chicken over.
5) Pour in a dash (perhaps 2tbsp) of Marsala wine - wait for a min - the wine should cook off.
You're done! If you have a good home made pesto you can serve the chicken with a dollop of pesto. I had as my side wild mushroom ravioli tossed in home made pesto.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Fatty Crab and China Town 2nd visit - Day 3 NYC
Fatty crab is over rated. Food was decent but not worth the cost - I'd rather go to a restaurant in China Town. I left very full but not overly satisfied.
The coconut water they served was canned - very disappointing especially for a chef driven fresh food restaurant! The waitress tells us that we can order appetizers and food all togehter and the chef can deliver it in any order they wish - per their thought of what goes well together. To me this says they are taking the easy way out.
We ordered the Short Ribs Rendang and Malay Fish Fry. The Maly fish fry extremely tasty - very little fish, The dish was small strips of fried fish over a curried rice (very flavourful spicy curry). Below is a pic of half eaten Maly fish fry. The Short Rib Rendang was a huge dish (should be for $25) but was off - it was very sweet instead of a spicy rendang I have had in the past so it threw me off and disappointed me. The pile of meat on top of rice with toasted coconut is the picture of the short ribs rendang.
We walked around Chinatown after this and I got hungry - it was 10:00pm and we headed into 'Singapore Cafe' after Singapore cafe. After Singapore Cafe we walked past a chinese bakery and I decided to pickup some rost pork buns and chicken curry puff for next day's breakfast - if you've not had a chicken curry puff , give it a try it's heaven in a littly pastry :)
At Singapore Cafe I had the standard Roti Canai and Avani had Mee something (noodles with shrimp and other stuff _) very tasty - all for under $10!!
The coconut water they served was canned - very disappointing especially for a chef driven fresh food restaurant! The waitress tells us that we can order appetizers and food all togehter and the chef can deliver it in any order they wish - per their thought of what goes well together. To me this says they are taking the easy way out.
We ordered the Short Ribs Rendang and Malay Fish Fry. The Maly fish fry extremely tasty - very little fish, The dish was small strips of fried fish over a curried rice (very flavourful spicy curry). Below is a pic of half eaten Maly fish fry. The Short Rib Rendang was a huge dish (should be for $25) but was off - it was very sweet instead of a spicy rendang I have had in the past so it threw me off and disappointed me. The pile of meat on top of rice with toasted coconut is the picture of the short ribs rendang.
We walked around Chinatown after this and I got hungry - it was 10:00pm and we headed into 'Singapore Cafe' after Singapore cafe. After Singapore Cafe we walked past a chinese bakery and I decided to pickup some rost pork buns and chicken curry puff for next day's breakfast - if you've not had a chicken curry puff , give it a try it's heaven in a littly pastry :)
At Singapore Cafe I had the standard Roti Canai and Avani had Mee something (noodles with shrimp and other stuff _) very tasty - all for under $10!!
China Town Day 2 NYC
On Thanks Giving day we went to eat supper in Chinatown.
We had couple of places in mind but started discovering that some places were closed. My selection was a Sichauan XO restaurant that turned out to be closed so we headed to Avani's pick from ChowHound called Shanghai Bakery - turned out to be a small vietnamese sandwich stand at the back of a jewelry store! But my god the sandwich was amongst the best i've had - sweet, sour, hot, spicy - a pure party in the mouth!! I'll definitely go here again and again if I could. GO HERE.
After this we decided to go to a dumpling shop from Avani's chow hound pick but it was closed :( so we looked on our list and a restaurant called 'New Green Bo' was close by - it's a pick by Guy Feiri from the Food Network. Dumplings great, but don't make our mistake of ordering chicken corn soup - it was good but a waste of appetite. We got two orders of different dumplings and salivated over the dishes we saw others ordering. Would I go to New Green Bo again? Probably not - it was good but not great. I'd give other restaurants a try before going back here.
After New Green Bo we simply walked around China Town - picked up some souvenier shot glasses and then headed back to the hotel .
Walking around China Town is an adventure you see all kinds of produce and people. You see fresh veges, fish, meat in varieties rarely seen anywhere else. For example in one place we saw them selling Alligator feet! What I wonder is what happened to the rest of the Alligator? does it taste like chicken?
We had couple of places in mind but started discovering that some places were closed. My selection was a Sichauan XO restaurant that turned out to be closed so we headed to Avani's pick from ChowHound called Shanghai Bakery - turned out to be a small vietnamese sandwich stand at the back of a jewelry store! But my god the sandwich was amongst the best i've had - sweet, sour, hot, spicy - a pure party in the mouth!! I'll definitely go here again and again if I could. GO HERE.
After New Green Bo we simply walked around China Town - picked up some souvenier shot glasses and then headed back to the hotel .
Saturday, December 12, 2009
NY Trip Post Day 3
Day 3 the 27th of Nov (Friday) consisted of heading out the Chelsea market in the hopes of seeing the studios of Food Network. The Chelsea market is an architectural gem - he building is interesting on the outside and very neat on the inside. At the Market we grabbed some lobster bisque at an amazing fish market - have never seen such variety of fish! Below is a pic of some lobster claws.... After the fish place we visited an Italian store with crazy varieties of cheese and cured meats! We got two types of cheese to eat and bring back. The one things we didn't get to do was go see the Food Network - turns out you have to go online and put your name in for a show ticket lottery, no ticket no see studio :(. 
After the Chelsea market we decided to hit the museums - the Natural history Museum and the Museum of Art - we wanted to see the MOMA but it was sheer madness at the MOMA we looked in and seeing the crowds decided we'd leave it for another trip. The Natural history museum was an accidental visit the A,C,E subway drops you off at the Natural History museum from where you take a bus through Cental park to get to the Museum of art. since we were there and you guessed it the tickets were covered by the NYCity Pass we decided why not - lets go see it. Well worth the trip specially for kids.
The planetirium at the natural history museum i sawesome looking - looks like a spaceship. After the natural history we headed over to the Art museum to see Monet's, Manet's, Van Gogh's, Rembrants, lots of royal palace rooms, greek and roman sculptures and amongst the best Armour and weapons collections!
After the museum we headed to central park to see the city from inside the park. It's a beautiful site and the park is gigantic!
After the park it was off to eat at 'Fatty Crab' - this deserves a whole new post. After 'Fatty Crab' we got hungry and headed back to China town :)
NY Trip Post Day 2
Ow our feet hurt from all day walking the previous day. Thursday the 26th was Thanksgiving day and a day to go see the Macy's Parade. We were told the previous night by the concierge that we should be up by 6:00am and be at 57th street by 7:00 to get a good position from where to see the parade. Offcourse we didn't get up till 7:30 and we headed out by 8:15 to see the parade.
We took the subway to 57th street (A, C, E) and got off and followed the crowds - well we should have gotten there earlier as we could hear the parade but there was no chance of seeing anything other than the balloons floating through the sky.
After some finagling we got through a bit of the crowd past the police car and about 6-7 rows from the street at this point we hung around say 5-6 balloons and decided this was not a great time - also before this horde of people headed out we wanted to get places. We saw the sky clearing and headed for the Empire State building. Again woohoo - there was absolutely no line at the Empire state everyone was at the parade and the sky wans't completely clear there was 5-6 miles visibility - not great but good enough.
One picture is that of the Chrysler building and another of downtown Manhattan. We also looked down on the parade from the Empire State building with our zoom lens.
FYI: a lot of people go to Top of the Rock to see sunrise and sunset - you can buy a dual ticket. We thought we would use City Pass twice but never made it at dawn. You can spend quite a bit of time up on top as there's an enclosed area and open area. There's also a cool room where you can move around and the room responds by doing different lights... After an hr on top we headed back down to grab some food - we were too tired and hungry to venture anyplace and do research so we grabbed some food in the mall below Rockfeller center and ate by the ice rink. Yes the famous ice rink by which the christmas tree is lit up ... it was a great site - sooo many movies have that particular scene. We visited the NBC store and found out that you can tour the studios - we decided we'd do this another day - it had been a long day and we were hungry again - where does one eat outside on Thanksgiving day and on Christmas day??? At a Chinese restaurant offcourse and where do you go for a Chinese restaurant in NYC? CHINA TOWN! This deserves its whole independent post. We visited China town twice day 2 and day 3. FYi: things in China Town close early on Thanksgiving day they start to close around 7:30pm.
We took the subway to 57th street (A, C, E) and got off and followed the crowds - well we should have gotten there earlier as we could hear the parade but there was no chance of seeing anything other than the balloons floating through the sky.
One picture is that of the Chrysler building and another of downtown Manhattan. We also looked down on the parade from the Empire State building with our zoom lens. 
After roaming around the observation deck it was 10:00am and we had a boat to catch at Pier 83. The weather was clearing and there was a 3hr boat tour around Manhattan by Circle Line Tours. The cruise was leaving at 12:30. We left Empire State and decided we would walk - hmm wrong decision many streets were closed off and we kept walking and got really really hungry. We now were stuck at Times Square and time was running out it was 11:40. We got into a restaurant and said lets atleast feed outselves - I don't recall the name - it was a store downstairs along with a counter serving sandwiches - the biggest chicken parmagiana sandwich I've ever had (we split it) and by the time we left the restaurant 12:05 the parade was over and we could cross the street - at this point we ran to pier 83.
Circle line cruise was worth it - again as it was paid for due to NYCity Pass. 
Circle line takes you close to the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and all around the island. the southern part is interesting the north part - no so much. Was surprised to see all the trees and the low level of development in the northern part of Manhattan. Also you get a mini history lesson on various parts of the island. While the 3 hr tour is slightly too long (as I said the Northern part gets boring) - the 2 hr 1/2 island tour might be the perfect length.
Circle line takes you close to the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and all around the island. the southern part is interesting the north part - no so much. Was surprised to see all the trees and the low level of development in the northern part of Manhattan. Also you get a mini history lesson on various parts of the island. While the 3 hr tour is slightly too long (as I said the Northern part gets boring) - the 2 hr 1/2 island tour might be the perfect length.After a few hrs of crusising and getting cold we got back and since we were in midtown we decided to go see the Rockefeller center - offcourse we wanted to go see 'Top Of the Rock' - since our NYCity pass gave us free admission. Top of the Rock is the observation deck on top of the Rockefeller center. The views from here are much better than the Empire state - why? cause you see the lit up empire state!
FYI: a lot of people go to Top of the Rock to see sunrise and sunset - you can buy a dual ticket. We thought we would use City Pass twice but never made it at dawn. You can spend quite a bit of time up on top as there's an enclosed area and open area. There's also a cool room where you can move around and the room responds by doing different lights... After an hr on top we headed back down to grab some food - we were too tired and hungry to venture anyplace and do research so we grabbed some food in the mall below Rockfeller center and ate by the ice rink. Yes the famous ice rink by which the christmas tree is lit up ... it was a great site - sooo many movies have that particular scene. We visited the NBC store and found out that you can tour the studios - we decided we'd do this another day - it had been a long day and we were hungry again - where does one eat outside on Thanksgiving day and on Christmas day??? At a Chinese restaurant offcourse and where do you go for a Chinese restaurant in NYC? CHINA TOWN! This deserves its whole independent post. We visited China town twice day 2 and day 3. FYi: things in China Town close early on Thanksgiving day they start to close around 7:30pm.
Mario Batali Otto Enoteca
We went on the first night in NYC to Otto Enoteca - a casual dining joint by Mario Batali. An easy walk from the Subway station - we'd used the A,C, E line and gotten out in miserable weather. We used the handy Google Directions to guide us and ended up walking in a circle to get to the Restaurant. This is a busy place that is buzzing with energy. Lots of people, rucus atmosphere and looks like a good time. We get seated at a table which is in a row of tables - two seaters that are right next to each other.
At this point the waiter brings us what he says are breadsticks -they are in a package (like store bought) upon opening the package (which is an italian brand) theres two thin (straw thin ness) sticks that are crispy.. hmmm I am thinking this isn't a great start. Then I look a the menu - there's three pages of wines and 1 page of food.
The food is divided up into Appetizers which are further divided into several sections some being salads, meats (cured meats), and some small plates. The entrees are divided into pastas and pizza. Otto Menu is quite interesting and words fool you into thinking these are simple plates - don't be fooled.
We ordered the appetizer of 'Shrimp, Ceci, Chilis'. I thought this is kind of odd - but the dish was faboulous - extremely tasty. The shrimp were perfectly cooked - we found out they were poached with ginger. A very simple but extremely flavourful dish consisting of ginger and chili flavours with offcourse fresh olive oil. We'll definitely have to try this at home.
For the Entrees we ordered Spaghetti Alla Carbonara and Pizza Romana. All dishes were flavourful. The Spaghetti was strongly flavoured with Pancetta and the Pizza Romana was a pizza with a putenesca flavour. This way we got two classic italian flavours in pizza and pasta. Both dishes hit the spot and I was willing to come to this place again the next night.
At this point the waiter brings us what he says are breadsticks -they are in a package (like store bought) upon opening the package (which is an italian brand) theres two thin (straw thin ness) sticks that are crispy.. hmmm I am thinking this isn't a great start. Then I look a the menu - there's three pages of wines and 1 page of food.
The food is divided up into Appetizers which are further divided into several sections some being salads, meats (cured meats), and some small plates. The entrees are divided into pastas and pizza. Otto Menu is quite interesting and words fool you into thinking these are simple plates - don't be fooled.
We ordered the appetizer of 'Shrimp, Ceci, Chilis'. I thought this is kind of odd - but the dish was faboulous - extremely tasty. The shrimp were perfectly cooked - we found out they were poached with ginger. A very simple but extremely flavourful dish consisting of ginger and chili flavours with offcourse fresh olive oil. We'll definitely have to try this at home.
For the Entrees we ordered Spaghetti Alla Carbonara and Pizza Romana. All dishes were flavourful. The Spaghetti was strongly flavoured with Pancetta and the Pizza Romana was a pizza with a putenesca flavour. This way we got two classic italian flavours in pizza and pasta. Both dishes hit the spot and I was willing to come to this place again the next night.
After having such an amazing appetizer and entrees I had to go for a desert and the menu again didn't disappoint. The desert was pricier when compared to the entree but heck how many times are we going to be in NYC on my birthday? For desert we had the Olive oil gelato with Lemon sorbetto, Lemon curd and Candied anise. It also had an almond flavoured wafer, a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds and tangerines - Good lord this was an amzaing party in the mouth. The olive oil gelato was creamy and smooth and the lemon curd and lemon sorbetto were a perfect pairing to cut through the sweet creamy texture of the gelato - this made the gelato great till the last spoonful and didn't overpower you with the creamy sweetness.
Two thumbs up for Otto Enoteca! A definite must go in NYC - value for money and AMAZZING FOOD.
Friday, December 11, 2009
NY Trip Post Day 1
This Thanksgiving weekend (2009) we visited NYCity. We stayed at the Mellenium Hilton in downtown. We booked on hotwire for a dirt cheap rate (well under $100/night).
Review of the Mellenium Hilton: Room was awesome, the view was overlooking the the unfortunate 9/11 WTC pit. The furniture, bathroom, TV all great! Location - walking distance from multiple subway lines we could get on the A,C,E lines or the 2,3 lines so getting to Midtown and the Museum district was a breeze!
First Day:
We flew into LaGuardia airport and took the M60 over to Manhattan. We got off at Columbia University and took the subway down to the Hilton. Dropped off the bags and headed out on the town - First stop was midtown Planet Hollywood in Times Square to pickup the NYC Pass. A 3 day pass that lets you into all the attractions without having to wait in ticket lines! Given the discount that was offered the pass was well worth it. One catch about the pass - their advertising states that you can go to an attraction multiple times - you can't - the folks at the attractions told us no sir can't do.
After a jaunt in Times Square we headed for lunch to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. On our Vegas trip we'd loved Mesa Grill and were craving to go back. Unfortunately NY didn't live upto Vegas Mesa Grill. Why? Well the service was sloppy, seating was very cramped and it didn't have a price fixe menu. The atmosphere of the restaurant and the service didn't seem worth the price. I'll post Mesa Grill food selections and pics in a later post.
After Mesa Grill we headed over to the Empire State Building and stopped at The Sex Museum on the way. The Sex Museum is a total ripoff. Since it was covered in the NY City pass we decided why not.
Since it was still Cloudy and raining we headed to the 'SkyRide' show at the Empire State Building (I won't say again but all attractions, museum's ;boat rides were all covered by City pass). The SkyRide show - not really worth the money. We got our tickets for the Empire State Observation deck but didn't go up due to the bad weather. But the great thing was due to the bad weather there was absolutely no line for the tickets. So we got the tickets and then would get to skip the ticket line the next day!
After the Skyride we wandered around 5th Ave towards Central Park - while walking to Central Park we stopped off and checked out the Apple Store and FAO Schwartz. Both are worth a visit.
After our feet started complaining that they didn't want to walk anymore we decided to go grab some more food and headed for Mario Batali's Otto Enoteca. This was one of the food highlights of the trip! Simply Awesome - price, service, food - all were great I'll post a separate entry with pics. After Otto we roamed around Greenwich village and then called it a night - boy were our feet sore!
Review of the Mellenium Hilton: Room was awesome, the view was overlooking the the unfortunate 9/11 WTC pit. The furniture, bathroom, TV all great! Location - walking distance from multiple subway lines we could get on the A,C,E lines or the 2,3 lines so getting to Midtown and the Museum district was a breeze!
First Day:
We flew into LaGuardia airport and took the M60 over to Manhattan. We got off at Columbia University and took the subway down to the Hilton. Dropped off the bags and headed out on the town - First stop was midtown Planet Hollywood in Times Square to pickup the NYC Pass. A 3 day pass that lets you into all the attractions without having to wait in ticket lines! Given the discount that was offered the pass was well worth it. One catch about the pass - their advertising states that you can go to an attraction multiple times - you can't - the folks at the attractions told us no sir can't do.
After a jaunt in Times Square we headed for lunch to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. On our Vegas trip we'd loved Mesa Grill and were craving to go back. Unfortunately NY didn't live upto Vegas Mesa Grill. Why? Well the service was sloppy, seating was very cramped and it didn't have a price fixe menu. The atmosphere of the restaurant and the service didn't seem worth the price. I'll post Mesa Grill food selections and pics in a later post.
After Mesa Grill we headed over to the Empire State Building and stopped at The Sex Museum on the way. The Sex Museum is a total ripoff. Since it was covered in the NY City pass we decided why not.
Since it was still Cloudy and raining we headed to the 'SkyRide' show at the Empire State Building (I won't say again but all attractions, museum's ;boat rides were all covered by City pass). The SkyRide show - not really worth the money. We got our tickets for the Empire State Observation deck but didn't go up due to the bad weather. But the great thing was due to the bad weather there was absolutely no line for the tickets. So we got the tickets and then would get to skip the ticket line the next day!
After the Skyride we wandered around 5th Ave towards Central Park - while walking to Central Park we stopped off and checked out the Apple Store and FAO Schwartz. Both are worth a visit.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Red Lotus (Chapel Hill) continues to amaze
Went to Red Lotus today and ordered off the 2nd secret Chinese Menu - had fish in hot sauce or (N8) - my god it was great.. was enough food for 4 people see the pic and at $18 it's a steal.
Fish fillet floating in a red chilli sauce - the spice mix was onions, bayleaves, fennel, chillis,...layer of potato noodles, holy yummy.
Fish fillet floating in a red chilli sauce - the spice mix was onions, bayleaves, fennel, chillis,...layer of potato noodles, holy yummy.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Recipes by Chef Larry Tollen
Couple of Recipes that Larry sent to us - have not tried these but am posting them here as an archive. Can't wait to try these - hopefully in the next week :)
4 -(4-5oz) Halibut Fillets skinned, boned and patted dry.
1TBL – Chinese style Chili & Garlic Paste
2TBL – Canola or Safflower Oil
1tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
1tsp – Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2tsp Sea Salt
1TBL finely minced fresh Cilantro
Mix all together well. Place in a non-reactive baking dish. Dip Halibut on both sides and leave in marinade for 15-60 minutes before grilling.
While fish is marinating is a good time to mix Salsa together, though Salsa may be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated.
Pineapple & Roasted Red Pepper Salsa:
1 –20oz can DOLE Pineapple Chunks in natural juice. Drain chunks in colander for a few minutes before coarsely chopping. Don’t over chop; leave larger pieces. Save pineapple juice for other use if desired.
1 –Large Roasted Red Pepper. To roast pepper: Place pepper on either a very hot grill or directly on top of a gas stove top burner set to high. Carefully char pepper, until 90% or better is completely blackened. This is a relatively short process, if you start with a hot enough fire. I like using tongs to rotate the pepper carefully. Once blackened, remove pepper from fire and under gently running cool water wipe away blackened skin by hand. Pat dry with paper towels cut in half, removing seeds and core. Rough chop and add to bowl. Note, a little blackened skin remaining on the pepper is fine, it adds taste. Don’t make yourself crazy, this is meant to be a fast and easy dish.
2 TBL –Brown sugar.
¼ tsp -Hot Red Pepper Flakes
1tsp -Sea Salt
1tsp – Toasted Sesame Oil
1TBL –Fresh Lime Juice
1/4C Fresh chopped Cilantro
2-3 Scallions, cleaned, and sliced thinly.
Toss all together gently in a non-reactive bowl. Taste to see if more salt is desired. Cover and let sit refrigerated until ready to use.
On a very hot preheated grill, place Halibut fillets. Fish should be 4-5 inches from fire/coals. Cook 2 minutes, and with large spatula, lift fish, turn 90 degrees, and place same side down. (Note: this will give you a nice grill marks). Cook another 3 minutes. Flip fish over and cook 3-5 minutes longer. Fish should just be opaque in center.
To Serve: Place fillet on plate hot from grill, spoon a couple of generous Tablespoons of salsa on top leaving half of the fish showing, Garnish with Cilantro sprig. Accompany with a nice rice pilaf (see suggestion below) and fresh steamed vegetables.
In a small pot heat till simmering
1C – Water mixed with
3/4C – Chicken Stock
Place 1C -Mahatma Jasmine Rice in 1Cup water. Let sit till stock above is simmering. Drain rice and add to Stock. Simmer 15 minutes covered and then add the following:
1 Scallion. Cleaned and finely sliced.
½ Carrot, peeled, and minced very fine.
½ Stalk Celery, cleaned and minced very fine
Sauté all in 6” non-stick pan, over high heat in 1tsp Toasted Sesame Oil. Cook 60 seconds, shaking regularly, add 1tsp Sea Salt to vegetable mix before adding to rice.
Once vegetables are added to rice, cover and simmer 10 minutes longer. Turn off heat and let rice sit for 20 minutes or more before serving. Gently reheat of necessary.
GRILLED HALIBUT w/PINEAPPLE & ROASTED RED PEPPER SALSA
Serves 44 -(4-5oz) Halibut Fillets skinned, boned and patted dry.
1TBL – Chinese style Chili & Garlic Paste
2TBL – Canola or Safflower Oil
1tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
1tsp – Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2tsp Sea Salt
1TBL finely minced fresh Cilantro
Mix all together well. Place in a non-reactive baking dish. Dip Halibut on both sides and leave in marinade for 15-60 minutes before grilling.
While fish is marinating is a good time to mix Salsa together, though Salsa may be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated.
Pineapple & Roasted Red Pepper Salsa:
1 –20oz can DOLE Pineapple Chunks in natural juice. Drain chunks in colander for a few minutes before coarsely chopping. Don’t over chop; leave larger pieces. Save pineapple juice for other use if desired.
1 –Large Roasted Red Pepper. To roast pepper: Place pepper on either a very hot grill or directly on top of a gas stove top burner set to high. Carefully char pepper, until 90% or better is completely blackened. This is a relatively short process, if you start with a hot enough fire. I like using tongs to rotate the pepper carefully. Once blackened, remove pepper from fire and under gently running cool water wipe away blackened skin by hand. Pat dry with paper towels cut in half, removing seeds and core. Rough chop and add to bowl. Note, a little blackened skin remaining on the pepper is fine, it adds taste. Don’t make yourself crazy, this is meant to be a fast and easy dish.
2 TBL –Brown sugar.
¼ tsp -Hot Red Pepper Flakes
1tsp -Sea Salt
1tsp – Toasted Sesame Oil
1TBL –Fresh Lime Juice
1/4C Fresh chopped Cilantro
2-3 Scallions, cleaned, and sliced thinly.
Toss all together gently in a non-reactive bowl. Taste to see if more salt is desired. Cover and let sit refrigerated until ready to use.
On a very hot preheated grill, place Halibut fillets. Fish should be 4-5 inches from fire/coals. Cook 2 minutes, and with large spatula, lift fish, turn 90 degrees, and place same side down. (Note: this will give you a nice grill marks). Cook another 3 minutes. Flip fish over and cook 3-5 minutes longer. Fish should just be opaque in center.
To Serve: Place fillet on plate hot from grill, spoon a couple of generous Tablespoons of salsa on top leaving half of the fish showing, Garnish with Cilantro sprig. Accompany with a nice rice pilaf (see suggestion below) and fresh steamed vegetables.
VEGETABEL RICE PILAF
Serves 4In a small pot heat till simmering
1C – Water mixed with
3/4C – Chicken Stock
Place 1C -Mahatma Jasmine Rice in 1Cup water. Let sit till stock above is simmering. Drain rice and add to Stock. Simmer 15 minutes covered and then add the following:
1 Scallion. Cleaned and finely sliced.
½ Carrot, peeled, and minced very fine.
½ Stalk Celery, cleaned and minced very fine
Sauté all in 6” non-stick pan, over high heat in 1tsp Toasted Sesame Oil. Cook 60 seconds, shaking regularly, add 1tsp Sea Salt to vegetable mix before adding to rice.
Once vegetables are added to rice, cover and simmer 10 minutes longer. Turn off heat and let rice sit for 20 minutes or more before serving. Gently reheat of necessary.
Cashew Nut Brittle with Bacon
How can you go wrong with nuts and bacon! Yummy.
First course served to us by Larry at his house for supper.
Recipe provided by Chef Larry Tollen:
First course served to us by Larry at his house for supper.
Recipe provided by Chef Larry Tollen:
- CASHEW & BACON BRITTLE
- 2/3 cup raw cashews (about 4 ounces)
- 8 ounces bacon
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle. While the oven is heating, place cashews on a baking sheet and toast in the oven, stirring occasionally, until deep brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly on a cutting board, then coarsely chop; set aside.
- When the oven is ready, place bacon on a baking sheet and roast until deep brown and well done, about 15 minutes. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate to cool; reserve 1 tablespoon of the rendered bacon fat. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, coat the paper with a thin layer of the reserved fat, and place the baking sheet on a cooling rack. Crumble bacon into bite-sized pieces; set aside.
- Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan over high heat and stir until sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally (do not stir), until mixture is deep amber and registers 350°F on a candy thermometer, about 10 to 15 minutes. Immediately remove the pan from heat.
- Carefully add cashews, bacon, and salt to the caramel and stir to combine. Immediately pour mixture onto the center of the prepared baking sheet. Let sit at room temperature until hardened, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely, then break into shards.
Two beet soup
AKA Psychedelic Soup served by Larry as Course 3.
Recipe provided by Chef Larry:
Golden Beet with Melted Fennel
1 Bulb Fennel w/ Stems
2TBL Canola or other light vegetable oil
1Bunch Gold (yellow) beets (approximately 1 lb)
Sea Salt
3 Cups chicken stock or water if preferred.
Clean Fennel, remove core, slice as thin as possible the entire bulb and about 6” worth of the stems.
Clean and peel beets, cut into roughly ½ - ¾” cubes.
Heat oil in bottom of small pot over medium low heat, add fennel and cook 12-15 minutes stirring occasionally until fennel is very wilted (melted) about 10 minutes in add ½ tsp sea salt which will help the wilting process.
When well wilted, add cut beats and chicken stock or water to barely cover. Cover with a lid; reduce heat to low and cook covered for 50-60 minutes until beets are fork tender. Cool for 15 minutes and then place ½ mix in blender and blend until very smooth. Then do remaining half. Run pureed beets through a very fine sieve. Taste and add sea salt and/or finely ground white pepper to taste. Serve either hot or cold and can be refrigerated easily for 3-4 days.
Red Beet soup with Leeks and Apple
1 cup thinly sliced Leek (white part only)
1 large sweet apple (I like Gala or Honeycrisp, but any really good sweet apple will do) 2 TBL Balsamic Vinegar
2TBL Canola or other light vegetable oil
1 bunch Red Beets (approximately 1Lb)
3 Cups Water
Sea Salt
Add oil to small pot, add sliced leeks and cook for 6-8 minutes over medium low heat until well wilted. While cooking, peel and cut apple into approximate ¾” cubes and add to pot with leeks. Add ½ tsp sea salt and Balsamic Vinegar. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Clean and peel beets, cut into roughly ½ - ¾” cubes add to mix, add water. Cover with a lid; reduce heat to low and cook covered for 50-60 minutes until beets are fork tender. Cool for 15 minutes and then place ½ mix in blender and blend until very smooth. Then do remaining half. Run pureed beets through a very fine sieve. Taste and add sea salt and/or finely ground black pepper to taste. Serve either hot or cold and can be refrigerated easily for 3-4 days.
Sixties Psychedelic Soup
Place one ladle of each of the two soups into a shallow bowl, Swirl gently together. Tune in, turn on, drop out and enjoy.
Recipe provided by Chef Larry:
Golden Beet with Melted Fennel
1 Bulb Fennel w/ Stems
2TBL Canola or other light vegetable oil
1Bunch Gold (yellow) beets (approximately 1 lb)
Sea Salt
3 Cups chicken stock or water if preferred.
Clean Fennel, remove core, slice as thin as possible the entire bulb and about 6” worth of the stems.
Clean and peel beets, cut into roughly ½ - ¾” cubes.
Heat oil in bottom of small pot over medium low heat, add fennel and cook 12-15 minutes stirring occasionally until fennel is very wilted (melted) about 10 minutes in add ½ tsp sea salt which will help the wilting process.
When well wilted, add cut beats and chicken stock or water to barely cover. Cover with a lid; reduce heat to low and cook covered for 50-60 minutes until beets are fork tender. Cool for 15 minutes and then place ½ mix in blender and blend until very smooth. Then do remaining half. Run pureed beets through a very fine sieve. Taste and add sea salt and/or finely ground white pepper to taste. Serve either hot or cold and can be refrigerated easily for 3-4 days.
Red Beet soup with Leeks and Apple
1 cup thinly sliced Leek (white part only)
1 large sweet apple (I like Gala or Honeycrisp, but any really good sweet apple will do) 2 TBL Balsamic Vinegar
2TBL Canola or other light vegetable oil
1 bunch Red Beets (approximately 1Lb)
3 Cups Water
Sea Salt
Add oil to small pot, add sliced leeks and cook for 6-8 minutes over medium low heat until well wilted. While cooking, peel and cut apple into approximate ¾” cubes and add to pot with leeks. Add ½ tsp sea salt and Balsamic Vinegar. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Clean and peel beets, cut into roughly ½ - ¾” cubes add to mix, add water. Cover with a lid; reduce heat to low and cook covered for 50-60 minutes until beets are fork tender. Cool for 15 minutes and then place ½ mix in blender and blend until very smooth. Then do remaining half. Run pureed beets through a very fine sieve. Taste and add sea salt and/or finely ground black pepper to taste. Serve either hot or cold and can be refrigerated easily for 3-4 days.
Sixties Psychedelic Soup
Place one ladle of each of the two soups into a shallow bowl, Swirl gently together. Tune in, turn on, drop out and enjoy.
Singapore Chili Crab
Course 4 at Larry's place: We made this as one of the courses in a meal we enjoyed at Larry's place:
Recipe taken from:
http://almostbourdain.blogspot.com/2009/05/singapore-chilli-crab-prawn.html
Use: spooned into a small dosa - our version of masala dosa (instead of the potato sabji we went with chili crab). We topped this with sea-weed salad from Kanki and a slice of avocado.
Modifications: I added oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar and some sambal to the sauce mix. Left out the sugar, the prawns and substituted the prawns with crab. Oh and in the rush of eating the dish I forgot to add the egg.
Review: Ok, but a bit too sweet - didn't have the depth I'd have liked. This can be attibuted to the lack of real spices and instead the use of Maggi sauce and ketchup. Need to find a recipe that uses real spices.
Instead of using a whole crab we made the sauce and mixed into it lump crab meat.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb jumbo lump crab meat
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp chopped ginger
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 chilli, seed removed and finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten - I forgot to add the egg..
4 tbsp Tomato sauce (I use Heinz Tomato Ketcup)
2 tbsp Maggi Sweet Chilli Sauce
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cornflour
teasp sambal
teasp rice wine vinegar
tbsp oyster sauce
2 red dried chillies
Method:
Recipe taken from:
http://almostbourdain.blogspot.com/2009/05/singapore-chilli-crab-prawn.html
Use: spooned into a small dosa - our version of masala dosa (instead of the potato sabji we went with chili crab). We topped this with sea-weed salad from Kanki and a slice of avocado.
Modifications: I added oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar and some sambal to the sauce mix. Left out the sugar, the prawns and substituted the prawns with crab. Oh and in the rush of eating the dish I forgot to add the egg.
Review: Ok, but a bit too sweet - didn't have the depth I'd have liked. This can be attibuted to the lack of real spices and instead the use of Maggi sauce and ketchup. Need to find a recipe that uses real spices.
Instead of using a whole crab we made the sauce and mixed into it lump crab meat.
1/2 lb jumbo lump crab meat
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp chopped ginger
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 chilli, seed removed and finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten - I forgot to add the egg..
4 tbsp Tomato sauce (I use Heinz Tomato Ketcup)
2 tbsp Maggi Sweet Chilli Sauce
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cornflour
teasp sambal
teasp rice wine vinegar
tbsp oyster sauce
2 red dried chillies
Method:
- Mix tomato sauce, sweet chili sauce, water, lime juice and corn flour, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, sambal in a bowl
- Add 1 tbsp oil in a wok or pan, fry garlic, ginger, chilli and onion until fragrant
- Add the sauce mixture and bring it to a boil.
- Quickly stir in lightly beaten egg and continue stirring until egg is well mixed and cooked, about 1 minute.
- Add lump crab meat
Congrats on a newly minted MBA
Went to a friends place to celebrate his recent Duke MBA graduation - a great achievement given that he stays in Cleveland. Doing an executive level day job that involves travel and doing a weekend MBA at Duke must have been quite a challenge - cheers to him on his success.
Being Bengali's the celebration involved a cornocopuia of Bengali veg and non-veg food. There was shrimp, goat, chicken, vege's... mmm all really yummy!
Being Bengali's the celebration involved a cornocopuia of Bengali veg and non-veg food. There was shrimp, goat, chicken, vege's... mmm all really yummy!
This is just some of the things I could hold on my plate - all really really yummy curries! Am a new fan of Bengali food.
A great food weekend
We had been looking forward to this weekend for quite a few days. Larry - AKA Agent Larry, Chef Larry had invited us over to a multi-course meal at his place. Saturday night, we had dinner with Larry and Angela. We met Larry Tollen as our real estate agent, but we quickly became friends. The fact that he found us our home really quickly and used to be a chef may have a lot to do with it!
In this post I'll go through the multiple courses and follow up in future posts with pictures and recipes. Larry was generous in sharing his recipes.
Below are the courses:
Course 1 by Larry
Cocktail with Cashew-Bacon brittle.
The brittle was perfect and in keeping with the current trend of using bacon in deserts, the chef started us off perfectly. The cocktail was a blended Canadian whiskey, Cinzano Vermouth, Pelligrino and a cherry.
Course 2 by Larry
Twin Sesame Tuna
Seared yellow-fin tuna, crusted in sesame (black and white), and seasoned with Hawaiian pink sea salt. Served with with wasabi lime sauce, and accompanied with fresh cucumber relish and pickled ginger. The wine paired with this course was a Marlborough New Zeland white wine with a strong Pear and Grapefruit hint – really good wine.
Course 3 by Larry
Psychedelic Soup
A golden beet & leek soup swirled into a red beet with melted fennel soup – delicious! Tasted individually they have completely different personalities - brought together is a crazy heavenly marriage :)
Course 4 by us
Singapore chilly crab on a Dosa (Rice pancake) served with seaweed salad and avocado. Accompanying drink was a Mint infused Mango & Lychee gin martini.
Course 5 by us
Wild mushroom ravioli served with a yin&yang sauces (a cilantro walnut pesto and a apricot-mustard sauce) – oh yes – homemade ravioli. Since we couldn’t make the ravioli dough thin enough Larry decided frying it might be better than steaming or boiling it. At home we ended up taking the left over ravioli dough and making fresh fettuccini with spinach butter – holy yum.
Course 6 by Larry
NC Shrimp served with Laksha curry and accompanied by Emperor’s rice (a seasoned rice). Larry interpreted a Laksha curry and used it as a sauce to be served on grilled jumbo shrimp – very tasty. The Emperor’s rice tasted just like mom’s masala bhat (masala rice) – prepared very differently but very similar taste. The wine pairing was a great Cab.
Course 7 by Larry
A mint and lemon balm (a herb) granite accompanied with a strawberry and watermelon salad. The mint popped out of the bowl and the lemon held it back - will definitely be trying this at home on a hot summer day.
Course 8 by Larry
Illicit Chocolate – a hot cocoa topped with Chantilly cream (how good is hand whipped cream with vanilla – very very good).
Larry planned and made a multi course meal - he made most of the food and we chipped in with a couple of courses. Since we ended up eating eight courses over a span of 4 hours, good food, good drink and good company = a happy weekend.
Below are the courses:
Course 1 by Larry
Cocktail with Cashew-Bacon brittle.
The brittle was perfect and in keeping with the current trend of using bacon in deserts, the chef started us off perfectly. The cocktail was a blended Canadian whiskey, Cinzano Vermouth, Pelligrino and a cherry.
Course 2 by Larry
Twin Sesame Tuna
Seared yellow-fin tuna, crusted in sesame (black and white), and seasoned with Hawaiian pink sea salt. Served with with wasabi lime sauce, and accompanied with fresh cucumber relish and pickled ginger. The wine paired with this course was a Marlborough New Zeland white wine with a strong Pear and Grapefruit hint – really good wine.
Course 3 by Larry
Psychedelic Soup
A golden beet & leek soup swirled into a red beet with melted fennel soup – delicious! Tasted individually they have completely different personalities - brought together is a crazy heavenly marriage :)
Course 4 by us
Singapore chilly crab on a Dosa (Rice pancake) served with seaweed salad and avocado. Accompanying drink was a Mint infused Mango & Lychee gin martini.
Course 5 by us
Wild mushroom ravioli served with a yin&yang sauces (a cilantro walnut pesto and a apricot-mustard sauce) – oh yes – homemade ravioli. Since we couldn’t make the ravioli dough thin enough Larry decided frying it might be better than steaming or boiling it. At home we ended up taking the left over ravioli dough and making fresh fettuccini with spinach butter – holy yum.
Course 6 by Larry
NC Shrimp served with Laksha curry and accompanied by Emperor’s rice (a seasoned rice). Larry interpreted a Laksha curry and used it as a sauce to be served on grilled jumbo shrimp – very tasty. The Emperor’s rice tasted just like mom’s masala bhat (masala rice) – prepared very differently but very similar taste. The wine pairing was a great Cab.
Course 7 by Larry
A mint and lemon balm (a herb) granite accompanied with a strawberry and watermelon salad. The mint popped out of the bowl and the lemon held it back - will definitely be trying this at home on a hot summer day.
Course 8 by Larry
Illicit Chocolate – a hot cocoa topped with Chantilly cream (how good is hand whipped cream with vanilla – very very good).
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Awesome dish at Lotus Leaf in Cary
We'd not been to Lotus leaf in over 2 yrs as it's in Cary and we'd heard tthat after a management change the new menu was pricy with miniscule quantities... Being stuck in Cary one night and not being familiar with any good restaurants we decided to go to something known and try Lotus Leaf again. Did we ever get lucky - I believe I've found one of my most favourite asian dishes NR61 in the Menu also called 'Khao Soi' - it was a ridiculously yummy noodles in a curry topped with crunchy noodles!
Lotus Leaf Cafe
Lotus Leaf Cafe
Steak at Mike & Sharon's
Visited Mike & Sharon in early October - had a great time hanging out in their yard and outdoor kitchen. Cooked some steak - I usually marinate the steak in soy, onion, ginger... an asian marinade. This time I decided to be adventerous and try Ann Buerelle's steak recipe from Food Network. The recipe called for a mix of brown sugar, paprika, salt and garlic. I believe I got the proportions wrong as the steak came out wayyy too pungent... next time I am deciding to make some food for friends I'll decide to hold off on the experiments and go with the tried and true.
Biriyani for Work
Decided to treat my team at work by making Biriyani - initially I was hoping to lookup a good recipe but didn't find anything that blew me away so ended up getting the Shan Masala prepackaged masala packet and followed it's recipe (on back of the package). One addition to it was adding some roasted potatoes.
A quandry I had was do I add lots of the chicken curry/masala to the rice and make a nice moist biriyani? this is not how I've seen it in restaurants it's usually nice dry separate grains with a layer of masala underneath.
I decided to stick to this notion and unfortunately it turned into a dry biriyani.... lesson learned fo next time.
Bombay Biriyani Masala
A quandry I had was do I add lots of the chicken curry/masala to the rice and make a nice moist biriyani? this is not how I've seen it in restaurants it's usually nice dry separate grains with a layer of masala underneath.
I decided to stick to this notion and unfortunately it turned into a dry biriyani.... lesson learned fo next time.
Bombay Biriyani Masala
Nana's of Durham
Nana's is an excellent restaurant in Durham. It's not considered to be upto a Magnolia Grill - my opinion differs; I thought it was just as good. And the price for a price fixe menu is much more reasonable - $50 for a 5 course meal and $25 for wine pairings that are exqusite!
One very memorable wine that was paired with the Kobe Beef Flank steak was the '2005 Free Mark Abby, Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley'
One very memorable wine that was paired with the Kobe Beef Flank steak was the '2005 Free Mark Abby, Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley'
Pictures (top me eating, next Fois Gras Terraine, next left: Avani's Halibut, next right: poached egg with wild mushrooms and veal bacon, next the kobe beef flank steak, and finally the Vanilla souffle with maple walnut butter)
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