My house is a mess. Always. Every day. No matter how much I clean, it’s always a mess. I say this as way of explanation of why I haven’t, and don’t see myself hosting dinner parties in the near future. I just can’t manage to both clean the house and have people over all in the same day.
I have, on the other hand, been very much in a cooking mode lately – so I’ve gone back to my international food project -, only now I’m following it by cooking single dinner dishes for my family. It makes it a little difficult to come up with a full menu – appetizers, main dishes, sides and dessert – but some of the cuisines I’m cooking don’t really lend themselves to mutli-course dinners anyway. I am hoping that by making the project part of my everyday cooking, I will start advancing it on it more quickly than in the past. After all, it’s taken me 8 years just to do 2 letters.
This past week I’ve cooked Balti cuisine and Caucasian cuisine. The former is a style of food cooking and serving created by Indian cooks in England – as far as I can gather, it’s very similar to what we get at Indian restaurants in the US. Next on the menu are Cantonese dishes – my first foray ever into Chinese food. I’ll also be cooking a couple of Awadhi dishes and may indeed go back to some “A” cuisines for which I didn’t have enough recipes to make a full meal.
Balti Menu
Caucasian Menu
Author: marga (Page 57 of 112)
It’s blueberry season and the blueberries at the farmer’s market are wonderful – though expensive at about $9 for a pint? a quart? I just know it’s a big bucket. But this week Safeway also has them on sale for $6 for a 2.5lbs box. They are from Canada, but they are just as good as the locals. So I got one of those boxes too. Now I have blueberries coming out of my years! (thanks god they are so good!). Anyway, I thought I’d use some making blueberry pancakes and I found this recipe at epicurious.com. It’s *very* good. The pancakes came out light and fluffy, without that obnoxious metallic taste of pre-made mixes, and they had a great blueberry flavor. The best thing is that it calls for the type of ingredients you have at home anyway. I modified it a little bit, but it’s basically the same as the original:
Ingredients
Instructions
Whisk the f lour with the sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the milk and eggs together. Whisk in the milk mixture into the flour mixture, a little bit at the time. Whisk in the melted butter.
Heat a skillet to medium and rub with unsalted butter. Pour about 1/2 cup of the batter and sprinkle, by hand, blueberries on the pancake-to-be. Cook until the bottom browns, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn and cook until that side browns, about 1 more minute. Serve with maple syrup.
Marga’s Best Recipes
I was just in the Alameda Safeway doing some shopping, and decided to see if there were any wine bargains to be had. Last year I got a wine for over 50% off which ended up being pretty good – so I thought I’d try my luck again. I found a deal almost as good – the 2005 Hawk Crest Cabernet Sauvignon was on sale for $10, $15 off the regular price of $25. So I bought it.
I come home to find out that all retailers sell this wine for about $10 – so either Safeway sells all its wines at 2 1/2 times regular retail prices, or just ups the prices of those it wants to put in sale, to make them look like a better bargain. Yes, I feel foolish – but I learned my lesson. I will never buy wine from Safeway again. I hope the wine is at least good.
Last Friday, I made a cheesecake for the first time. I’ve been at home with the kids for a while, and I’ve been having this weird need/desire to bake. It’s weird, because I’ve never been much into baking, or into making desserts, for that matter. But lately, that’s what I’ve been wanting to cook.
So Friday I made this recipe for white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake. I omitted the strawberries, but the cheesecake by itself was REALLY GOOD. Alas, it didn’t taste at all like white chocolate, but it didn’t matter, as it really tasted like cheesecake and I love cheesecake.
So I learned a few things while making it. First of all, cheesecake is freaking expensive! I don’t want to think how much money I spent in buying all the ingredients. Just like with ice cream, it’s cheaper to buy the pre-made stuff. Second, cheesecake is pretty much fat and sugar. That’s why it tastes so good, but I could feel my arteries clogging while making it. I don’t think I’ll make it again, unless it’s for someone else to eat. Third, it’s not hard to make cheesecake, though it can be time consuming.
Anyway, the recipe I linked to is pretty good. If you make it, read the comments. The recipe makes enough batter for 1 1/2 cakes. I didn’t have 2 cake pans, so I put the remaining batter in ramekins and cooked them along the cake on a pan with water. I actually liked these “cheesecake puddings” more than the cake itself. I used chessmen chocolate cookies for the crust, which was good.
Allspice, ground
Allspice, berries
Arrowroot
Bay leaves
Cardamon, ground
Cardamon, pods
Cayene pepper
Celery salt
Chicken Masala (box)
Chili powder (box)
Cinnamon, ground
Cinnamon, sticks
Citric Acid
Coriander, powder (box – buy more)
Coriander, seeds
Cloves
Cloves, ground
Cumin, ground
Curry powder (need to buy more)
Curry powder – mild (box)
Fennel seed
Fenugreek seed
Garam Masala
Garlic powder
Ginger, ground
Herbs de Provence
Mace, ground
Mustard, ground
Nutmeg, berries
Oregano
Paprika
Parsley flakes
Peppercorns, black
Peppercorns, white
Poppy seed
Red pepper flakes
Rosemary
Sage, rubbed
Sesame seeds
Star anise
Sumak
Sweet basil
Tarragon
Thyme (need to buy more)
Turmeric
Cajun mix
BBQ mix
Need to buy
Cumin seed, curry powder, green cardamon, thyme
I tasted this wine at our friends Alistair & Suzanna’s last night – though I have a bottle of it at home which I bought at Trader Joe’s a few weeks back. I’m pretty sure that we bought a bottle of this same wine at the winery, many years ago, in our pre-kids days, so I thought it was a good bet to get it when I found it at TJ’s. It was.
The wine is not as full and sophisticated as the Fife Meritage we had enjoyed earlier in the evening – but it was similar in that it was unbelievably fruity. Indeed, there seemed to be fruit coming out of everywhere, and even though the wine wasn’t exactly sweet, it’s likely to be a good introductory red for people who see reds as being too dry. It had no tannins, little acidity and a medium body – it was well paired with the chicken apple sausages we had with it.
In all, I think I may get a couple of extra bottles. It seems like a good wine to take to friends’ houses, as it’s likely to be a crowd pleaser.
I don’t remember how much it was at TJ’s, but I think under $10.
I found this wine at Safeway last year for $15 off $32. I thought it was a very good deal, and though I didn’t know anything I about the wine, but I’m always willing to experiment. We finally opened it last night and I liked it a lot. It was extremely fruity, with low acids and only hints of tannins and oak. It was still full bodied, though, and just very tasty. I’d definitely buy it again, if I could find it. Alas, I imagine by now it’s all gone and it doesn’t like like Fife makes a meritage any more.
I just came back from a shopping expedition to Santos, a sort of Indian supermarket in San Leandro. Santos is a distributor of Indian spices and other foods, but its store is open to the public. Here you can find (almost) all kinds of spices, in particular those used in Indian cuisine. They have a large variety of lentils, flours and teas – and pretty much anything you’d need to cook Indian food. What they did not have is black cumin – which is strange as that’s a very common spice in Indian cuisine – and one I need for the recipes I plan to make this week. Well, perhaps I can find it at Mangal’s. But in all, I love Santos.
In this shopping expedition I got some Indian yogurt and pistachio ice cream – and bags of almonds, cardamon pods, fenugreek seeds and sumak, as well as a big box of Twinings Tea (50 bags for $4.50!) and a jar of ghee.
Santos Spice Products
1188 Montague St
San Leandro, CA 94577
(510) 357-0277
I’ve decided to make a list of the cookbooks I own, so I don’t have to search all over the place to see if I have one in particular. It’s a time consuming task, but c’est la vie.
General Cookbooks
Bay Wolf Restaurant Cookbook – by Michael Wild et all
Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook – 1953
Frugal Gourmet – by Jeff Smith
The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine – by Jeff Smith
Joy of Cooking – by Irma and Marion Rombauer Becker Rombaucher
Specialty Cookbooks
The Barbecue! Bible – by Steven Raichlen
All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking – by Molly Stevens
The Fabulous Fondue Cookbook – by Carmel B. Reingold
Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book
The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas by Jeff Smith
Children’s Cookbooks
Great Girl Food: Easy Eats & Tempting Treats for Girls to Make – by Jeanette Wall
Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook
Kids’ Party Cookbook!
Ethnic Cookbooks
The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors – by Jeff Smith
Bon Appetit Tastes of the World
Ethnic Cuisine: How to Create the Authentic Flavors of Over 30 International Cuisines
Unusual Acadian Recipes for the sweet tooth – by Mercedes Vidrine
The Africa News Cookbook: African Cooking for Western Kitchens – by Inc. Africa News Service
The Africa Cookbook – by Jessica B. Harris
The complete American Housewife – 1776 – by Julianne Belote
British Museum Cookbook – by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson
Las Recetas Económicas de Doña Petrona – by Petrona C. de Gandulfo
The Balkans Cookbook – by Jugoslovenska Knjiga
The Basque Table: Passionate Home Cooking from One of Europe’s Great Regional Cuisines – by Teresa Barrenechea
The Basque Kitchen: Tempting Food from the Pyrenees – by Gerald Hirigoyen
Cocina Vasca – by X. Costa Clavell
Traditional Bulgarian Cooking – by Atanas Slavov
Caribbean and African Cookery – by Rosamund Grant
The Complete Book of Caribbean Cooking – by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz
Sky Juice and Flying Fish: Traditional Caribbean Cooking – by Jessica B. Harris
Coastal Carolina Cooking – by Nancy Davis & Kathy Hart
The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China, Greece, and Rome – by Jeff Smith
Danish Cookery – by Susanne
Natural cooking the finish way – by Ulla Käkönen
A Taste of Florida – by Dorothy Chapman
The French Chef Cookbook – by Julia Child
Monet’s Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet – by Claire Joyes
Green Cookery – by Marin
Authentic Indian-Mexican Recipes – by William Hardwick
Prashad-Cooking with Indian Masters – by J. Kalra (Author)
Best Ever Indian Cookbook – by Mridula Baljekar et al.
Indonesian Regional Food and Cookery – by Sri Owen
The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian: Recipes from the New and Old Worlds, Simplified for the American Kitchen
The Korean Cookbook by Judy Hyun
Mediterranean Cooking – by Paula Wolfert
Great Book Of Couscous – Classic Cuisines Of Morocco, Algeria And Tunisia – by Copeland Marks
Book of Middle Eastern Food – by Claudia Roden
Savor the Flavor of Oregon – by Junior League of Eugene
Tradewinds And Coconuts: A Reminiscence And Recipes From The Pacific Islands – by Jennifer Brennan
Las Mejores Recetas de la Cocina Peruana – by Mirza Vasallo González
Philippine Fiesta Recipes – by Leonarda R. Belmonte and Perla B. Del Mundo
Polish Cookbook – by the Culinary Arts Institute
Traditional Quebec Cooking – by Micheline-Mongrain-Dontigny
The Romanian Way of Cooking – by The Geroy’s of St. Mary’s Romanian Orthodox Church in Ohio
Russian Cooking – no author
The Foods and Wines of Spain
Delicioso! The Regional Cooking of Spain – by Penelope Casas
Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain – by Penelope Casas, 1987
The Elegant Taste of Thailand: Cha Am Cuisine – by Sisamon Kongpan and Pinyo Srisawat
The Complete Book of Turkish Cooking – by Ghillie Basan
Time-Life Foods of the World collection
American Cooking: The Northwest
The cooking of the British Isles
The Cooking of the Caribbean Islands
The cooking of Provincial France
The cooking of Germany
The cooking of Italy
The Cooking of Japan
Latin American cooking
Middle Eastern Cooking
The cooking of Scandinavia
The cooking of Spain and Portugal
The cooking of Vienna’s Empire
Today I baked. Mika wanted me to make brownies from scratch, and as I’d never made them, I decided to give it a shot. I used this recipe from epicurious.com, which had gotten great reviews. The recipe was for a 9″-square baking pan – but who has a 9″ baking pan? The two standard ones pyrex ones I have are 8X8 and 9X13. So I decided to use the 8X8 one instead.
I should have used less batter. As it was, the brownies rose a lot and were undercooked – they were pretty crispy on the top but still wet in the middle. They were pretty good, I thought, though I still like Trader Joe’s brownies better. The girls didn’t like them. I’m actually happy about that, as I had no idea just how bad brownies are. They are pretty much sugar and fat. I don’t think I’ll make them again. I should say that these brownies are particularly rich, so you wouldn’t want to eat more than a little bit anyway.
A couple of days ago Mika said she wanted to make pizza – from scratch. I was resistant at first, but I figured, what the heck, I can try it – so I did today. Needless to say that Mika’s enthusiasm for the pizza was all gone, and she didn’t help at all. And as the only topping she likes is cheese, she wasn’t even excited about putting toppings on the pizza.
To make the dough I used this recipe, which had also gotten pretty good reviews. I’d never made pizza dough before – my only experience with pizza had been using the pizza dough you can buy at Trader Joe’s. But, making it from scratch gave me the opportunity to use the hook attachment on my mixer, which had been rather useless until now.
The dough itself wasn’t hard to make, just a matter of mixing the ingredients. I was amazed to see that it actually rose – my aunt used to make pizza when I was a kid, and she often complained that it didn’t rise. But we are in summer, and it’s pretty warm here, so I’m sure that helped.
The problem was working with the dough. It was so hard to get it to not stick to the working surface and my hand. Turning it was impossible, stretching it just as hard. *sigh* These, btw, were the same problems I’d had with TJ’s pizza dough, so my technique may just be terrible.
In any case, I finally sort of stretched it and made the pizza.
For the sauce I used this recipe, also from epicurious.com, which basically consisted of simmering a can of crushed tomatoes with a little olive oil for an hour, and then seasoning with salt. I was surprised at how good it actually was.
But the results – the dough, the sauce, the cheese (I made a mozzarella only pizza) weren’t great. I thought the dough tasted pretty good, but the problem was that the taste of both the dough and the sauce completely overwhelmed the cheese. You couldn’t taste it at all. Now, mozzarella is a very light-tasting cheese, so I understand that, but all pizza-places manage to make mozzarella pizzas that taste much better.
Oh well. I’ve learned my lesson, from now on, I’ll order in.
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