Marga's Old Foodblog

Patak's Korma Sauce

We got Patak's Korma sauce along with its tika masala sauce a couple of months ago at Cost Plus ($3.50). We didn't like the tika masala, but the korma was much better. It wasn't as sweet or delicious as a restaurant korma, but it was creamy and tasty enough for a quick, weekday dinner. I browned and simmered some cubed beef on it for about an hour (with some extra water), and served it over cuscus. Next time I'm at Cost Plus, I'll probably pick up a couple of more jars.

Dinner at the Parkway

The Parkway theater in Oakland is the only place we know where you can catch a movie and have dinner at the same time. The theater shows second-run movies in two theaters. The big draw are the love seats (get early to get one) and the fact that on Monday evenings you can bring your baby with you. We were regulars at "Baby Brigade" when Michaela was a baby, and now that we have Camila we'll probably be regulars again.

The Parkway offers a couple of pastas, sandwiches and other fare at premium prices. We weren't big fans of the food when we used to frequent it two years ago, but it may have improved since. The menu has been shortened (gone is "The Soprano", a chicken sandwich we actually liked) and the pepperoni pizza, at least, is tastier than it used to be. At $3.75 a slice is one of the most affordable options.

The nachos ($9.50) are another of the safer options. The chips are commercial, but still OK, and the chicken is quite good. However, the cheese had solidified by the time we got them and it didn't reach the bottom chips.

They no longer seem to carry the delicious lemon bars, but the coconut bars ($3.50) were also great.

We will probably try other menu items in future visits and will report here.

Camila's Welcome Ceremony

Last Sunday it was Camila's Welcome ceremony. I was going to make empanadas, but the store where I usually buy he shells was out of shells for baking, they only had the frying kind. My mom thought I should try them nonetheless but I figured it was easier to change the menu.

I decided to go with a Maghrebi theme and cook a couple of past favorites. The piece the resistance was a Chicken Tagine with honey and apricots. This was one of the first dishes I learned to cook, soon after I got married, and for many years was one of my staples at dinner parties. I've been on the cooking by the alphabet kick for several years now, so I hadn't made it in a long time, and I knew it'd be a hit. It was, though I overcooked it a little and the chicken was a tad dry. But the sauce is to die for!
I doubled the recipe, but used only 1 1/2 times the butter it calls for.

I also made an Algerian soup, from which I ommitted the chicken so it'd be vegetarian. It was a much less popular choice.

I also served bread, pita bread & crackers with hummus, brie, pate and salame and for dessert we had ice cream cake from Baskin Robins.