Spinach-Walnut-Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Posted on | March 22, 2011 | 17 Comments |

I know I have been ignoring this blog lately, it feels funny to start every post with an apology for the long absence. I think it is time to come out and admit it -I might have lost interest in food blogging! Yes, I said it! I’ve been spending a lot of time on my latest passion lately and you know how hard it is to keep up with two hobbies simultaneously. This blog was my first love though, so once in a while I get these strong pangs of guilt, especially when someone comments on an old recipe. It is the same feeling that one gets from staring at a giant to-do list. I can’t let this one die, [...]

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Mutton Curry in a Ground Chickpea and Coconut Gravy

Posted on | February 27, 2011 | 22 Comments |

This is one of those recipes that was conceived quite by accident. All I wanted was a quick mutton curry to go with a mutton biryani I made for dinner when Siv gets back from his trip tonight. We always make something nice for each other whenever one of us return from a trip as there is nothing like warm homemade comfort food that says welcome back home. The masala I made for the gravy turned out a bit spicier than I was going for, so I went searching in the pantry for something that can tone it down. That is when I came across a can of garbanzo beans. I remembered my sister mentioning something about adding ground chickpeas [...]

Pigging it out at Cochon 555

Posted on | February 20, 2011 | 14 Comments |

We attended Cochon 555′s Seattle edition today. Cochon 555 is the ultimate event for pork lovers. In the organizers own words "Cochon 555 is a one-of-a-kind traveling culinary competition and tasting event–five chefs, five pigs, five wine makers–to promote sustainable farming of heritage breed pigs. Each stop along the ten-city tour offers hard-working local farmers the opportunity to connect with like-minded agriculturalists, renowned chefs and the pork-loving public. Our goal is to help family farms sustain and expand their businesses and to encourage breed diversity." Now, you all know Siv and I are both suckers for anything pig and an event like this is something we can’t/won’t miss. So we bought tickets, $175 per person for VIP tix which gets [...]

Thomas Keller’s Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb With Honey Mustard Glaze

Posted on | February 20, 2011 | 6 Comments |

I’ve had the Thomas Keller cookbook “Ad Hoc at Home” for a few months now. I leafed through it quickly as soon as I got the book, but then it was lost amongst the 60 (last time I counted) other cookbooks on my bookshelf. It was Siv who finally dragged it out of there recently while looking for ideas for a special dinner. Obviously, he was still under the French Laundry hangover. It is a HUGE book, filled with tips and techniques and anecdotes from Chef Keller, that it really deserves a cover-to-cover reading. Of course Siv doesn’t have the patience for that, but he managed to read just enough to drop tidbits from the book, like “Did you know [...]

An Evening at the French Laundry

Posted on | February 6, 2011 | 18 Comments |

The French Laundry – one name that constantly comes up in every best restaurant list out there. A consistent Michelin 3-star winner, the restaurant that Anthony Bordain once described as “The best restaurant in the world, Period’. I don’t remember when it became part of my bucket list, but its been there for a while, way before I started this blog. Anyway, after years of dropping subtle and not so subtle hints about French Laundry, Siv finally managed to score reservations there this year. It wasn’t an easy task, he had to beg and plead and use all his charm on the phone and he finally got us a 5:45 PM slot for the day after my birthday. 5:45 PM [...]

Pan Seared Shrimp with Garam Masala Garlic Lemon Butter

Posted on | January 30, 2011 | 9 Comments |

Lately I’ve been making a lot of quick fix dinners which take less than 30 minutes to prepare, beginning to end. That is all I can muster up the energy for these days. This is another one of those, a twist on the classic lemon butter shrimp, by adding in minced garlic and a homemade garam masala to the lemon butter before tossing with the cooked shrimp. I learned the technique for making basic pan-seared shrimp from Cook’s Illustrated. It is my favorite cooking magazine, I love how they explain every failed attempt in the test kitchen and finally give us the winner recipe along with all the reasoning behind why they chose the ingredients, technique, temperature, time etc. Much [...]

Baked Pesto Chicken

Posted on | January 24, 2011 | 9 Comments |

I just got back from a weekend of total binge in Portland with four foodies, where we consumed enough calories to survive an entire week. So tonight I needed something light and green, and this baked pesto chicken with a simple arugula salad is exactly what the doctor prescribed. You can use any kind of pesto for this, even store-bought ones. I made a quick one with some walnuts, pine nuts, basil, garlic and lemon. I have a ton of pesto recipes on this blog, feel free to use any of those for this. Once you have the pesto, rest is very simple. Just sear the chicken breast on the stove top, coat liberally with the pesto on both sides [...]

Revel, Fremont : Seattle Restaurant Review

Posted on | January 11, 2011 | 6 Comments |

Revel is the latest Seattle establishment by the celebrity chef couple Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi who appeared on Iron Chef America early last year. I love their other restaurant Joule in Wallingford and used to be a fan of Cremant before that. Unlike Joule which is French-Korean fusion, Revel is just Korean, well Korean street style food with a twist as they call it, but nothing French about it. The one page menu is divided into six categories – salads, pancakes, dumplings, Rice, Noodles and Ice Cream Sandwiches, three dishes each in each category, including a vegetarian dish in each, except for the Noodles, there was no veg option there. Before I get into the food details, I’ve got [...]

Skirt Steak Salad with Blackberry-Mint Vinaigrette – Quick Fix Dinner

Posted on | January 10, 2011 | 11 Comments |

I can’t believe it is only the 10th of January, it feels like the Christmas holidays were ages ago! Life is starting to fall back into a routine, in a good way. We are doing pretty good on that eat out less, cook more resolution. Weekday dinners are challenging, neither of us normally have the energy to make an elaborate meal after a long day at work. That is when a quick fix salad like this comes in handy. Skirt steak takes so little time to cook, in fact you have to cook this cut of meat very quickly otherwise the meat gets tough. The total time it took for this meal including prep and cooking time was less than [...]

Spicy Prawn Roast

Posted on | January 4, 2011 | 25 Comments |

Howdy folks, anyone still around? I know, I have been a bad blogger, a very bad blogger! Its been almost three months since my last post, the longest delay between posts in my four year blogging career. YES, FOUR YEARS!!!! Oh damn! That means I missed my blog birthday too… Can you imagine? This January 1st was my beloved blog’s fourth birthday, and I missed it! I knew the honeymoon was over a while ago, but looks like the love is lost too! Sorry dear blog, you know I love you, just needed a little break, a little time away to figure things out. Now I am back, all reenergized and rejuvenated. We’ve been together for way too long to [...]

Book Bindery Restaurant

Posted on | October 10, 2010 | 5 Comments |

Book Bindery, yet another restaurant named after the prior occupant of its space (like French Laundry and Staple & Fancy Mercantile) opened just a week ago in Queen Anne. I’ve been looking forward to trying this place out mainly because of the impressive resume of the chef. Chef Shaun McCrain used to work at Per Se, New York and Michael Mina, San Francisco, two Michelin rated restaurants we have tried and loved. Also, I have been reading statements like “the most exciting restaurant opening of the year” in the press about this place. So this Friday night four of us headed over to Book Bindery to check out if the hype is justified. Book Bindery is located below the Freemont [...]

Green Chili Chicken

Posted on | October 3, 2010 | 25 Comments |

I have to thank Ms.Bong Mom for reminding me of this recipe. A few days ago she asked her readers the question “What is a forgotten food in your family that you would like to bring back". As soon as I read the question, my dad’s chili chicken was the first dish that came to my mind. I am pretty sure he made up the recipe on his own, as this is a pre-TV cooking shows, pre-internet age recipe. Just like the majority of the Indian families at the time, my mom was the primary cook of our household. Dad used to help out with cutting the meat, cracking the coconuts open and some other hard laborious tasks like most [...]

Goan Pork Vindalho (Pork Vindaloo)

Posted on | September 27, 2010 | 9 Comments |

I don’t know if there is a more misrepresented Indian dish than Vindaloo. There are so many variations of this dish out there that I’ve never tasted the “authentic” version. In fact I am not even sure what it is supposed to taste like! I for the longest time thought that Vindaloo is supposed to be made of meat and potatoes, as in Vind-aloo just like aloo-gobi. Its not just me, apparently it is a common misconception. Most of the versions of the dish I’ve tasted had plenty of potatoes. Anyway, sometime over the past few years I discovered- through some blog I am sure – that Vindaloo has nothing to do with aloo. The cookbook I adapted this recipe [...]

Roasted Zucchini Salad with a Dill-Garlic-Mayo Dressing

Posted on | September 24, 2010 | 3 Comments |

Zucchini is a vegetable that I don’t have strong feelings about, neither a fan, nor a hater. But since I have been forcing myself to eat more vegetables lately, I have been experimenting with a lot with veggies I don’t normally buy. This salad is the result of one such experiment and I really liked the flavors. The squash is oven roasted first before adding a quick dressing made out of fat-free-mayonnaise, garlic, dill and chilies. I know many people don’t like mayo, in fact you can avoid the dressing altogether and just add more dill and garlic while roasting the squash and squeeze some lemon juice over before serving. This is the last dish in the SBD friendly vegetable [...]

Spicy Eggplant Raita

Posted on | September 22, 2010 | 10 Comments |

Anybody who has had any kind of exposure to Indian cuisine must be familiar with the term Raita. Raita is the generic name for a yogurt based side usually served with biryani or Pulao. The cooling effect of the yogurt makes it a welcome addition to any spicy meal, so most Indian restaurants serve Raita with almost all their entrées. Raita is normally made with raw vegetables, but I don’t think there is a rule against using cooked vegetables. At least I am not aware of such a rule, so I am calling this dish Raita too. This is one of my go-to sides for SBD phase 1 meals, goes nicely with some spicy grilled chicken or spicy pan-fried fish. [...]