Last night I had my monthly dinner with my friends Katrina & Parker (the rest couldn't come), and we went to Ghazal Indian Cuisine in Oakland, California. As usual when I'm with the girls, we had great restaurant karma - not only did we find free parking very close to the restaurant, but we all enjoyed our meal.

Ghazal is a relatively new restaurant in the Jack London area. It's front room is sort of generic, but its dining room is pretty nice - not in the least tacky. There is a wall with square recess shelves, decorated with nice ceramics. The room itself is too square and brightly lit for my taste - the light is too white. With a little more care it could have a very nice ambiance.

We were there on a Wednesday evening, and unfortunately (for them) the restaurant was almost empty - there was only one other party. I think the major reason is that the Jack London. Sq. area is a major dud, a complete failure of a project. It's a nice place, but for some reason nobody seems to go there. If that was true during good economic times, it'll be even truer with our current recession-depression.

In any case, Ghazal is a relatively nice place to go for dinner. It features a pretty much standard North Indian menu, thought there are more choices than at most similar restaurants. It's also pricier than most Indian restaurants. That said, I still ordered what I always order: chicken pakora ($7), lamb korma ($12), kabuli naan (here it's called kashmiri naan - $3) and two sweet lassis ($2.50 each).

The chicken pakora was quite nice, the chicken was quite moist, though the breading wasn't very crispy. The portion was a good size. I also liked the lamb korma - the lamb was amazingly tender - but I thought the korma was lacking something. Perhaps some salt? The white rice that I ordered with it was yellow, but otherwise fine. Both dishes were pretty spicy, even though I'd ordered the lamb "mild". The naan had a good amount of filling, and it was yummy and soft. The lassis, meanwhile, were delicious - perhaps a tad too sweet, but very refreshing and just nice.

Katrina and Parker shared several vegetarian dishes - I didn't try them, but they said they were very good. In all, we were all happy to have dined there. As I said, we have good restaurant karma.

Ghazal Indian Cuisine
131 Broadway
Oakland, CA
510-268-9950

A couple of years ago I asked for metal measuring cups & spoons for Christmas. Mike, my mom and a friend all heeded my call - I ended up with three sets. I decided to keep the one my mother gave me - because it had 3/4 and 2/3 cups in addition to the regular ones - and the one my friend Regina gave me - because it had more measuring spoons - and to return the one Mike got me. That was the most expensive one and he'd gotten it at Sur la Table.

Well, two years have passed and I haven't returned them, so I thought I might as well start using them as well - not that I need 3 sets of measuring cups. It's a good thing I didn't put them to use before because they suck! The handles on the cups are so thin, that they easily bend! And I know that Mike spent a lot of $ on them (I think about $30).

I don't see them in Sur la Table's website now, so perhaps they stopped selling them. They are marked with the Sur la Table name, so if you see them in a store, avoid buying them.

Yesterday I made some cupcakes from this recipe (who the hell is Amy Sedaris, anyway?). Camila helped me. Perhaps for that reason the cupcakes just didn't come out - they barely rose. Taste wise they were OK, not very sweet or special, just OK. I wouldn't make them again. I really need a recipe for cupcakes that is fool-proof - where the measurements don't need to be too exact for it to work, because God knows, I no longer get to measure anything.

Now, for the frosting I modified this recipe. I chose it specifically because it didn't require as much powdered cream as the other one. I reduced it by 2/3 because I didn't have that many cupcakes to frost, and still, there was too much frosting. My modified frosting was very good, in particular the second day. Here is the "recipe"

Buttercream frosting

• 6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  
• 5 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
  
• 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar.
  

Mix the cream cheese and butter together in an electric mixer until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, a little bit at a time, and mix until creamy.

I hate, hate, hate, the Safeway on Bancroft Ave. in San Leandro. Everyday I walk by it when I go pick up my daughter in daycare - so it's very convenient to stop there and buy the ingredients for dinner. But they NEVER have everything I need - and sometimes *anything* I need.

Today, for example, I was shopping for a leek tart I'm making tonight - but they had no chives. I was also shopping for a chicken dish I'm making on Wednesday - but they had no cut-up chicken (they had whole chickens, but the cut-up chickens were supposedly on sale). I don't get it - why do they advertise products at a sale price, if they don't carry them? And it's not just that - try getting boneless chicken thighs, or lemongrass or even a cognac at an affordable price (all things I recently needed for cooking).

Part of me wishes the store would go out of business so I'd be forced to go to the other one, rather than be permanently frustrated by their lack of products.

I have just posted three new menus from my International Cooking project. They are:

-Auvergnat
Amazing food from this region in France. I didn't cook it earlier because I hadn't been able to find recipes.

-Colonial
Surprisingly modern food from colonial America

-Curaçao
A journey from Asia to Africa that is very Caribbean

In the next few weeks I'll be working on Champenois, Comorian and Corsican recipes.

If you are wondering what to make for dinner or dessert on any given day, let this list of national food days inspire you:

http://www.tfdutch.com/foodh.htm

Today, for example, is Oatmeal-Nut Waffles Day.

Is this list real? Who knows? Who cares? (though being how idiotic our Congress is, it may very well be real). The point is that it gives you a reason to celebrate something yummy almost every day :-)

I've been trying to be a little more thrifty on what I make for dinner, and part of that is using things I have at home - mostly leftover from other meals. Yesterday it was the turn of cream and bacon (both perishable). I also had leftover Parmessan cheese (from Christmas, it's great that cheese lasts so long), so the logical thing to make was a Carbonara - even though I'd made one a couple of weeks ago.

This time I followed this recipe by Nigella Lawson (which I guess is a Food Network star - I don't have cable so I don't really know her). The recipe was quite good and Mika & Mika enjoyed it (though apparently Mika no longer likes bacon). I liked it too, but I didn't think it was worth the calories. Still, I think it's the carbonara recipe I've liked most so far.

I think the one I made before is this one. It was also quite good. But I think, perhaps, that no carbonara I could make would be worth its calories. Which is not to say I wouldn't make it again, just not too often.

I've just posted a couple of international menus that I've cooked in the last couple of weeks:

My Comorian Menu features a typical fish stew, a roasted chicken with western and south Asian influences and some very basic but very good banana fritters.

My Champagnoise Menu includes an amazing leek tart and a Champagne version of coq au vin.

Last night I made a simple rice pilaf for dinner - using leftover lamb and a Russian spice mix that I really like. I also added grilled shrimp & turkey kielbasa for some variety.

Mika saw what I was cooking and said something like "but we already had that!". Why yes, we have had that a couple of times in the past, but it's been several months since I last made it. I was pretty surprised that she could remember a specific dish that I made so long ago and I was quite amused that she's gotten to expect something new every night. I do have dishes that I repeat like spaghetti & meat sauce and chicken and dumplings (not to say boxed mac & cheese), but pilaf is not one that I repeat often. And most other dishes I make are either part of my international cooking project, or recipes I find on epicurious or another such site to use up a leftover ingredient or to satisfy a particular craving - I seldom repeat these dishes.

Anyway, both Mika and Camila liked the food - or at least Mika ate the shrimp and Camila ate something.

Tonight I'm going to serve leftover lamb (I still have quite a bit) with Trader Joe's Yellow Curry sauce. I expect the sauce will be too spicy for the kids, and they weren't too keen on the lamb to begin with, so I'll have to figure out something to give to them (and let's not have it be mac & cheese!).

This is a picture of my 10th birthday cake. The photograph is pretty bad, but the cake was beautiful, and very original. I don't remember how I ended up requesting a cake in the shape of Swiss cheese (though I loved Gruyere as a kid), but I know I enjoyed it.

Both my kids have said they'd like a cake like this - I imagine it'd be too expensive to have it made and I'm not an artist.

I had plan on making Irish stew for St. Patrick's day, but it was Tuesday, and Tuesday I get home late from the kids' swimming lessons, and I just ran out of time. So I made it last night instead. The recipe I used comes from The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors: Recipes You Should Have Gotten from Your Grandmother, which is one of my favorite cookbooks and one you should definitely get if you like ethnic cuisine. Indeed, I think it was probably part of the inspiration for my international cooking project. This stew was not part of the project, though, I just wanted something Irish for St. Paddy's Day.

The results were quite good, the herbs gave an amazing smell while being cooked, but were more subtle on the final product. My only problem was that the sauce was too liquid. If I make it again, I will uncover the pot during the last half an hour or so of cooking. I also did not put the carrots in the stew. I bought them, I swear, but I couldn't find them anywhere! Now, it's true that my kitchen is a mess, but I did look everywhere I could think of! I have to conclude that the two little bunnies who live in this house consumed them and won't own up to it.

Irish Beef Stew

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 lbs beef chuck, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 2-3 Tbsp. flour
• 3/4 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup Guinness stout
• 1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
• 2 carrots, sliced
• salt & pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 275F

Put a large pot on the stove, over high heat, and add the oil and the bay leaves. Cook for a moment, and add the meat. Brown on all sides. Add the sliced onion and cook until transparent, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, thyme, rosemary and flour. Stir until smooth. Add the broth and stout and simmer until the stew thickens a bit, stirring frequently. Add the parsley and carrots and stir. Season with salt and pepper, and stir. Cover the pot and place in the oven for about 2 hours.

A couple of nights ago I made this Tomato Cream Sauce to serve over frozen ravioli. It was good but not great - definitely not worth the effort or the expense (i.e. jarred sauce is just as good and cheaper). It also produced about twice as much sauce as we actually needed. Won't make it again.

My Caprese menu consisted only of Torta Caprese, I couldn't find any other recipes that I could tell were uniquely caprese and that both Mike and I would like. The cake, however, was outstanding. You can find the recipe at:

http://www.marga.org/food/int/capri/torta.html

Last night I made milanesas. I hadn't realized how long it'd been since I last made them, but neither my 7 nor my 4 yo remembered them. For the uninitiated, milanesas are simply thin cutlets of meat that are pounded, passed through an egg bath and then breaded with bread crumbs (I use Italian style for extra flavor, and add salt & parsley flakes to the egg). You fry them in a little bit of oil (I use olive) and then eat them. They are particularly good with lemon juice squeezed on them.

As usually, the kids first refused to eat them - pronouncing them "yucky". Also as usual, Mika, who was unusually hungry, agreed to try a bite - and she loved it! Camila followed and she liked them as well, though didn't eat that much of it. Mika had seconds and requested that I make milanesas twice a week now. Well, that's unlikely to happen but I will cook them more often.

The main reason why I made them was that now the girls have swimming until late twice a week - so on those days I need dishes that I can make very quickly. Milanesas are very quick to make (and you can even make them in advance), and you can cook them in the oven if you want to avoid using oil.

My friend Penelope and I went to Makiyaki for lunch a few days ago. This time I had a bento box with ton-katsu and chicken teriyaki. It was fine. The teriyaki seemed tastier than the time before, while the ton katsu was sort of bland and had the texture of chicken instead of pork, but at least was tender. I thought the dish was a bit expensive for what it was, but I don't have any major complaints. I'd probably go there again, but really, this is a place to go for sushi, not teriyaki.

Makiyaki
134 Pelton Center
San Leandro, Ca
510-895-0488

San Leandro Restaurant Reviews