Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I forgot the last time we were in town for Thanksgiving and Black Friday. For those outside United States, Black Friday is the day after thanksgiving, the official start of the Christmas shopping season. Most stores open very early in the morning, some even open at Midnight, and has amazing sales. People line up before the stores open to get to the limited doorbuster deals. I have never been to a Black Friday sale, I always thought people must be crazy to go shopping at odd hours in the cold, and I was never in town to even consider it. But since we are not leaving for Spain till Saturday, we are actually thinking of hitting the Seattle Premium outlet mall at midnight. Thanksgiving day was just another day for us, I actually spent the whole day in bed, watching TV, getting some much needed R&R before the vacation.

Before we leave, I wanted to post this cocktail I mentioned in my last post. How do you like the clever name - Ginger Tamarind Martini - Gitatini. It has a nice Indian ring to it, right? Yeah, I came up with the name all on my own ;). The recipe is all Siv’s, it is based on a traditional Tamil drink called Paanakam.

 

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Is anyone else out there in the holiday mood already? My mind is already on vacation. Most people at work have taken the whole week off. I still have a bunch of stuff to finish before we leave for vacation, which I am forcing myself to get to, but this blog is really starting to suffer from my laziness.

We haven’t been cooking much lately except last Saturday night when we threw a dinner party. Siv whipped up this amazing cocktail with tamarind juice, dried ginger powder,  jaggery, lemon juice and vodka. It was so good, I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture! I actually forgot about the blog, which never happens! These days whenever I see any kind of food, even in other’s homes, I get the unbelievable urge to pull my camera out and click. But I have no idea what happened this time! Anyway, he has promised to make it again soon, just for the blog.

And needless to say, I have been ignoring all the blog events going around as well. But one event I really wanted to participate in this month is called Grindless Gravies, hosted by Ms.Sra of the very entertaining blog When my soup came alive. I actually made a gravy just for her, and was all ready to post, when I saw a tiny note in her latest post that yogurt-based kadhis  won’t be accepted, since that will make things too easy!! Well Sra, You don’t know what you are missing, this is one of the most delicious grindless gravies out there… :)

It is not the traditional mambazha pulissery , a very famous dish in Kerala, main difference being the absence of coconut in my version. But it is still super delicious, and have always been a big hit with my guests. But more importantly, check the recipe to see how ridiculously easy it is. This would’ve made a perfect entry for grindless gravies event… oh well :)

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Let me come out and say it, I am the worst packer in the world! Packing light is not a concept I am familiar with. Normally for each day of the vacation, I pack 2-3 outfits - An outfit for the day time activities, a dress for the fancy dinner, and a backup just in case I don’t feel like wearing outfit #1. Then I throw in a few extra ones at the end, in case my size goes up or down during the trip. :) And shoes - a pair of black boots, a pair of brown boots, two pairs of evening shoes, sometimes a walking shoe. Things are so much easier in summer, most pieces are pretty tiny, and no need for boots. But imagine packing like this for a winter trip, when a few jackets and coats need to be thrown in to the mix!

Why am I thinking of packing now? We are off to Spain next weekend for a 12 day vacation. With euro being so strong right now, we are planning on ditching cabs and taking advantage of the public transport system a lot once we are there. So lugging four heavy suitcases is out of question. I somehow need to optimize and pack light, but the whole process is so dreadful. I am totally stressing out here… Any packing tips, (other than telling me to pack 2 jeans, three T-shirts and do laundry there… ) will be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, the mental agony of packing is not the reason I haven’t posted a recipe in a while. I have been horribly sick, the kind of illness that makes you lose your appetite, and chains you to the bed. Siv has been taking care of me, but no heavy cooking in this house this week. 

If I am home and don’t post anything at least once in three days, I start getting withdrawal symptoms. So, today I went into my archives for a worthy picture, and came across the stuffed quail. This one didn’t make it, because I thought the quail looked like a dead person in the pics. That is not a very appetizing thing to say in a food blog now, is it? But I figured that the statement/picture is not going to convert a quail lover into a quail hater, neither is this recipe going to make someone who doesn’t like quail suddenly crave for one. So, for those who already love quail, here is one recipe perfect for dinner parties. 


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As I mentioned in my previous SF post, the highlight of our San Francisco trip was the dinner at Gary Danko, a Michelin rated restaurant, which just happened to be a block away from our hotel. Our reservation was at a different place, Michael Mina, which was a small drive away. When I called up Gary Danko for reservation (they were completely booked on both nights we were there), they had told me about the walk-in bar, so we decided to just give it a try, before driving to Michael Mina. Lucky that we are, a couple was getting ready to move to their table from the bar. The bar had only about 10 seating, and the whole restaurant was packed! We were really lucky to find a seat. For a Sunday night, that too at 9 in the night, I couldn’t believe the crowd! Most Seattle restaurants are pretty dead by that time on Sundays, if they are even open.

The Gary Danko Bar
 

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Thanks everyone for playing the What would you pick… game. It was comforting to know that most everyone would go for comfort food, if they had to stick with eating the same meal for the rest of their life.  There were a couple of smart alecs who wanted to take a hot guy along for dessert, I have to let them, after all it is a deserted island… ;)

Talking about my comfort food I realized that I haven’t blogged about one of my favorite dishes of all times! A simple pavakka (bitter gourd) mezhukkupuratti. For the non-Kerallites out there, let me explain what a mezhukkupuratti is. In Kerala, vegetable dry side dishes are prepared basically in two ways - with ground coconut or without. The first preparation is called a Thoran and the second one is called a Mezhukkupuratti (which roughly translates to “brushed with oil”.) Anyway, that doesn’t mean that Mezhukkupuratti does not contain coconut , Kerallites will find a way to add coconut to any preparation. Some types of mezhukkupuratti’s are made with thinly sliced coconut pieces.

In this particular bitter gourd version, coconut slices are a must, since the coconut offsets the bitterness of the vegetable. If you are a bitter gourd lover like me, I guarantee that you will love this dish!

  

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Foodie vs Gourmet and A Question for You

Thursday, November 8th, 2007

Filed Under Random Musings | 40 Comments

I came across a foodie group in a social networking site today, where they talked about how the group is for Foodies and not for Gourmets.

I had always thought of foodie as a person and gourmet as the type of food. Isn’t Gourmand the word for people who love gourmet food? But apparently I was wrong, gourmet is also a person!

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Our Micro San Francisco Vacation

Tuesday, November 6th, 2007

Filed Under San Francisco, Travel | 38 Comments

This was my first ever trip to San Francisco, but it definitely won’t be the last. You know how after a vacation you feel like taking another vacation to get over the exhaustion? Well, this one was not like that at all, if I can call a barely three day trip a vacation! This trip was totally relaxing for the mind! I felt so refreshed after the trip, totally rejuvenating - retail therapy really works.

We literally spent almost all the time at Union Square, a shopper’s paradise!  Zara is my favorite shop, and found some great deals at H&M too. Unfortunately we have neither in Seattle, so obviously I had to pile up. But my best find were these amazing Juicy sunglasses from the huge Juicy Couture store. We didn’t do any sort of sightseeing, may be next time. I have no pictures of the city, but here is some of the loot I acquired on the trip. :)

 

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I am one of those people who love the bone better than the meat. I actually eat the entire bone, especially soft bones like chicken.  With tougher bones like lamb/goat, I can chew on a piece of bone for hours on end, and have been compared to a dog on many occasions. Siv loves bones too, but he knows how much I love those, so he always leaves his bones for me to work on, isn’t that romantic?  When we eat at fancy restaurants, this is my biggest dilemma. I love biting on those lamb chops, but there is no way I can pull that off all dressed up. Guess I will have to start asking for a doggy bag for the bones!

Anyway, because of this obsession, chicken wings are the ideal cut of chicken for me. Very less meat, and a whole lotta bones, that too very chewable bones. Here is a spicy wings recipe, which is guaranteed to please.

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