How bazaar

Party on a plate

My dad visited this week to see his new grandson (my handsome nephew!) and be with us on Father’s Day. He brought me gifts from his recent trip to Turkey and several other countries. One of those gifts was a small bag with a tiny jar inside. I immediately knew what it was: saffron! It’s no secret among my family that I've wanted to experiment with this spice. My mom gave me some saffron for my birthday, but I hadn't used it yet. Cut to me making an Indian inspired meal for Father’s Day using the saffron that just a week before was in the bustling Istanbul Grand Bazaar.

I started the meal with an endive appetizer because they looked so good at the store. I filled the endive leaves with lobster and crab salad and garnished each one with a pinch of paprika. To counteract my hot apartment, I served freshly brewed iced Chai tea. My dad had a gin and tonic, which I thought was fitting since I developed my love for Indian cuisine while living abroad in England.

Lobster and crab stuffed endive

The next course was chicken satay with peanut sauce. I now want to invest in a cast iron grill for my stove since I had to partially overcook the chicken in order to cook them all the way through (the bamboo skewers don’t fit well in a pan!)

The main entrée was tikka masala. I seasoned the diced chicken with curry, garam masala, salt and pepper. The vegetables included purple and regular sweet potatoes fresh from NC (thanks, dad!), carrots, onions, red bell peppers (If my mother wasn't sensitive to hot food, I would have used chilies), broccoli, fresh ginger and tomatoes. Once everything was mostly cooked, I simmered everything together in the tikka sauce with half a cup of coconut milk. Cucumber from NC (notched using a lemon zester) was used as a garnish.

Chicken Satay

I followed this recipe to use my saffron. I was very pleased with the results. The only thing I changed was putting the rice in a bowl to keep warm and firm instead of fluffing it with a fork (I’m partial to neither). The saffron created wonderful aromatics and went well with the jasmine and onion flavors.

To cool hot mouths during the meal, I made a cabbage and radish salad. The organic radishes were also fresh from NC and looked beautiful. There’s an Indian recipe for this salad that uses a citrus dressing. The dressing consisted simply of fresh squeezed orange and lemon juice, mustard (I used my grandmother’s homemade mustard), honey and a pinch of salt. I microwaved the dressed a few seconds to help emulsify the ingredients. 

Other things that helped put out the fire included toasted naan bread and mango lassi, which I made using Greek yogurt with honey, fresh mangoes, and almond milk. 

For dessert I served donuts and ice cream. The donuts were apple cider donuts from the Wooster Sq. farmer's market and the ice cream was Talenti's coffee flavor, my new favorite gelato.

Tikka Masala

Saffron rice

Half-hearted Whole Food

My sister: slicing the pizza

 I have a love/hate relationship with Whole Foods. It’s overpriced and pretentious, but gosh darn it if they don’t have the prettiest food. Time was short when preparing for my grandmother’s birthday. So my and sister and I headed to Whole Foods (3 short blocks from Grandma’s house!) and had some fun.

I first put in our pizza order because they use a real food fired oven, so it takes a while to make it fresh. I got their whole wheat dough pizza topped with mozzarella, lemon, garlic, and artichokes. It was FANTASTIC.

Their desserts are hit and miss. The cakes are surprisingly cheap and beautiful, but one little measly macaroon is $2.00. I ended up getting a tiramisu cake and declined their offer to write “Happy Birthday” on it since there was already a design on it. This was also a big hit at the birthday dinner. My grandmother kept saying “Now, this- This is something special!”

I got a side of lemon garlic cooked broccoli rabe, but it left much to be desired. So we used some mustard greens I picked up to make a spicy salad.

Tiramisu (NC honey in the background)

LOVE

These are the things I think are worth the splurge at Whole Foods: making fresh almond or peanut butter with that nut butter pooping machine; any of their produce; a couple of individual bottles of local beer; their pizza (sorry, New Haven); the hot bar for a healthy, yummy lunch; Brown Cow cream top yogurt (just trust me.)

Folks waiting for meat

HATE

Things I avoid at Whole Foods (and you should, too): Seafood (I’ve always been disappointed); anything from the middle aisles unless it’s for a gift and it’s too late to shop on Amazon; deli and cheese (there are great local places that I’d rather support for the same products); handmade soaps (these are displayed everywhere, but are so overpriced. Buy them at your local farmer’s market.)

Holi Moli, Ravioli!

A few years ago I bought my mom a Kitchen Aid mixer with a pasta attachment. I thought it was so cool and we’d be eating pasta all the time. Not so! Cut to Christmas 2012 when my mom re-gifts the attachment to me (which I happily accept!) I recently had my own Kitchen Aid mixer upgraded to INDUSTRIAL SIZE! I’m thinkin’ big breads, tall cakes, and tons of homemade whipped cream. The attachment fits on both.

So this is my first attempt at making ravioli. I had the help of Tom and his friend to feed the attachment. I made and kneaded the dough, cooked the filling, and made a creamy sauce. It tasted great, but we learned we MUST make the dough thinner next time. I was so afraid the filling would spill out in the boiling water that I got paranoid and make the edges too thick. Live and learn! I served the ravioli with a big salad of arugula, crumbled goat cheese, my homemade candied pecans, and sliced gala apple.

Wine butter sauce

Filling:

1 Tps butter

Finely chopped bella mushrooms

Finley chopped yellow onion

Ricotta cheese

Truffled salt

Pasta dough:

4 eggs

1Tbs water

3 ½ c. sifted flour

½ tsp salt (I use course Kosher salt)

Sauce:

Veal stock

4 Tbs butter

½ c. heavy cream

½ c. white wine
¼ c. finely grated parmesan

Finely chopped chives (about 10 stems)

Using a glass to cut out the round ravioli shapes

My sou chef hard at work

 

Tuna Tune-up

Open face tuna melt. Juicy...

I really wish I used tuna more when I cook. It’s tasty, healthy, and versatile. I was in the mood for something simple and light. I’d had a light and fluffy tuna salad on the Caseus Cheese Truck before (as an add-on to a grilled cheese, of course) and I thought it was genius. I made my own version with the following ingredients:

Two cans of white tuna in water (drained)

Diced carrots

Thinly sliced celery

Thinly sliced baby leeks

Halved cherry tomatoes

Two table spoons of light sour cream

Garlic

Lemon juice

White wine vinegar

Olive oil

Paprika

Seasoned salt

Freshly ground pepper

Two tablespoons of mayonnaise (for schmearing on the bread)

I didn’t put measurements because I typically don’t measure when I cook. And I encourage others to be creative when cooking to make things to taste. After spreading a bit of mayo on whole wheat bread, I piled on the tuna mixture and covered it with a slice of Swiss cheese. Then I toasted it, open faced, and served it with a spicy greens salad fresh from the farmers market. We had to use a knife and fork to eat it because it was so loaded with yummy goodness.

Aspen you so hard you dizzy

Fried Green Tomatoes with Crab

Warm Goat Cheese Salad

Vacations mean eating out! Tom and I are never as relaxed and satisfied as we are when we are on vacation together. Our splurge night on our South Carolina trip was to Aspen Grille. We read some reviews on Yelp of surrounding restaurants and I knew right away this place would be perfect for us. Their menu is fancied up version of classic southern cooking.

Veal Aspen with Asparagus, Carrot, and Potatoes

We started with their fried green tomatoes with lump crab add-on for just $4 extra dollars. Then I got their warm goat cheese salad with beets and truffle vinaigrette. I’m a sucker for anything with warm goat cheese! Then Tom and I shared the special, fried soft-shell crab. Tom liked it a little more than I did, but the sauce was nice. We also shared one of their signature dishes, Veal Aspen. This was a good value ($29) because, along with veal, we got to see how the chef plays with shrimp and scallops. It was a rich dish, but the portions of vegetables with the meat balanced it out nicely.  We paired our meal with Sean Minor Pinot Noir from Carneros.

I finished off the meal with some Chambord and coffee (they didn’t have espresso, but then again, this is southern food!). Tom had a coffee with Sambuca.

Fried Soft-Shell Crab over Salad

Overall, the meal was very good and the service was good.  I wish they’d used more southern ingredients or methods in their menu to make it more consistent, but we would definably come back.

Two for One

My grandparents' first tomato of the season. They're so late this year!

(That's a tomato/apple/onion salad in the background with Italian dressing)

Check out this tomato! It's like mitosis!

How much is that pepper in the window?

Not much needs to be said here, just admire the lovely (neglected) vegetables of West Haven Farmer's Market. I hope they find a lovely home!

Hard Knocks Detox

This is another recipe from the Detox cookbook (by Maggie Pannell) that I'm really very fond of because it's pretty hardy. The dressing (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, mustard, sugar, pepper) gives the salad a nice tang. It's served over a bed of spinach leaves and has spring vegetables, hence it's name, "New Spring Vegetable Salad." I made a couple of substitutions (edamame instead of navy beans, no onions)

1.5 lbs small new potatoes, scrubbed (our first from New Haven Farmer's Market!)

14 oz can haricot (navy) beans, drained

4 oz cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup walnut halves

8 oz young asparagus spears, trimmed

6 spring onions (scallions), trimmed

Baby spinach leaves

Boil Potatoes for 15 min.

Mix beans, walnuts, and tomatoes in a large bowl

Add asparagus to pot of potatoes and cook for 3 min.

Drain, cool, and slice potatoes and onion

Add asparagus, potatoes, and onions to the bean mixture

Pour dressing (see above) over salad and toss well

Serve on a bed of baby Spinach leaves

*I used walnut oil in the dressing instead of olive and I

undercook the asparagus because I'm a crunch addict.

I'll have what she's having

Just writing this makes me want to eat it again! Sautéed mushrooms and onions over a burger, side of steamed green beans with a sour cream and bacon sauce. And a lovely salad to boot! (note, salad does not contain boots.)

I was a little skeptical about the bacon dressing on the green beans, but it turned out to be a harmonious victory!