A grill, a molcajete & a Cookbook: Holy Guacamole!

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Jon Bonnell, chef and owner of the Zagat recognized Bonnell's Fine Cuisine in Fort Worth, Texas, because...get ready for this...he will be coming to my hometown for a Cookbook gala later this month. Yeehaw!

As part of the assignment, I had to peruse both his cookbooks (yes, I love my job). While both had merits, my spatulas-down favorite has to be Texas Favorites.

"Texas flavors tend to be big and bold, not a thing timid about it."-- Jon Bonnell.

Well this cookbook is Texas bold.

He brings together ingredients and processes that are surprising at first, yet combine to deliver maximum flavor.

Flipping through this cookbook has been multi-sensory, synapses firing experience. The photographs are mouthwatering. It's food porn, but classy food porn. The kind you want to wine & dine...& heat up the kitchen with.

The recipes and the photographs together had be salivating and itching to cook.

I started with a simple and classic Texas favorite: Guacamole.

Bonnell has three guacamole recipes in the cookbook -- smooth & creamy guacamole, chunky traditional guacamole, and --BAM!--Molcajete Guacamole with Hatch Chiles. Yeah, the chef's got game.

Of course, I chose to work with the last because it involves some good basic culinary tools -- the grill & the molcajete (a rustic type of mortar & pestle)-- and the flavors plain intrigued me.

Molcajete Guacamole (adapted from Texas Favorites by Jon Bonnell)

1 small sweet onion, peeled and thickly sliced
2 Hot Hatch chiles
1 large fresh jalapeno
1 dried chocolate chile (I happened to grow these this summer & had them on hand)
1 large vine-ripened tomato, cut in half
1 ear of corn, peeled and cleaned
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 limes, juiced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of cumin
pinch of coriander
pinch of Mexican oregano
pinch of ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Grill the onions, peppers/chiles, tomato (skin side down) and corn until nicely charred on all sides, but not overdone. The charring adds a nice smoky flavor and depth to the finished dish.

2. Take the chiles of the grill and place inside a sealed plastic bag or paper bag. Let them sweat there for 10-15 minutes. (Next time I will increase the amount of peppers too)
3. Scrape the skins of the peppers and remove the seeds with the back of a knife, then rough chop. (The original recipe has you add the peppers into the molcajete, but I wanted them to remain chunky).
4. Using a sharp knife, cut the corn of the cob. Set aside.

5.Rough chop the onions and tomato and add to the molcajete with the salt. I added the toasted chocolate chile too. Pound until in small pieces. (Warning, the tomato makes it a bit messy so wear an apron. Also, if my molcajete had been large enough, I'd have added in at this point too).

6. In a large dish, mash the avocados into rustic, chunky pieces (I used 6 small avocados), mix in the tomato-onion mixture, spices, lime juice, cilantro, chiles and corn. Mix gently. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Serve with your favorite corn chip.

Targeted to the home cook, Texas Favorites features everyday, no fuss recipes that could help make a wholesome family meal, as well recipes with a special twist fit for tailgaiting and/or other gatherings.

 For more information about Bonnell or more of his recipes, check out my article in The Standard-Times.

Curried Roasted Veggies For An All American #SundaySupper

My husband and I have a Cowboy & Indian (the sub-continental kind) marriage. I often joke that I traveled halfway across the world to marry my Texan. While that's very adventurous and romantic, it does get a bit dicey making sure our mixed-heritage family learns and appreciates both our cultures. Our kids need to appreciate mixing together curry spices and making sausage, their heritage of cotton farming and adventurous immigration. Our two worlds come together most often at the family table.

Summer in Texas mean firing up the grill every chance we get. My darling husband in the grill master, and I'm happy to put him to work. Here's a picture of a recent #SundaySupper grill out:

To balance the meal out, I added in Curried Roasted Veggies. Right now we have a wonderful abundance of produce at our local Farmers' Market and there's nothing easier than throwing together a variety of vegetables with some oil and spices and roasting them. I could have threaded the marinated veggies on skewers and grilled them to make smoky vegetable kababs, but since I didn't want to compete for grill space, I opted for the oven.

Also, slow roasting brings out the depth and sweetness of the vegetables. Here's what the finished dish looked like:

Once everything was served my husband took one look at the table and declared it an All-American Meal.

Thanks for joining my family at our table and sharing a typical mix-n-match meal with us. This is my first #SundaySupper post, an initiative started by Isabel at Family Foodie. Her mission is to bring back Sunday Supper around the family table in every home. Every Sunday on a twitter a group of bloggers share Sunday Supper recipes, tips and stories.

Renee from Magnolia Days is hosting the theme for this week, which is Celebrating Family Heritage.

Curried Roasted Veggies

1 large red onion, cut into eighths

3 large red potatoes, cut into large cubes,

2 red bell peppers & 2 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch thick strips

16-oz package of baby carrots

4 large yellow squash cut into chunks

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes

2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup olive oil or ghee (clarified butter)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

3 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon sugar

a handful of dried cranberries

Garnish:

A handful of cilantro, chopped

A small bunch of mint, slivered

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, toss together all the ingredients.

3. Lay the vegetables out in a large roasting pan, preferably in a single layer.

4. Roast for 30 minutes, stir and then roast for another 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

5. Once done, let cool for 10 minutes. Top with mixed herbs and toss together.

Serves 12

Tea with Spiced Chickpea and Sweet Potato Tidbits & Thoughts on Marriage

The moment that set me on my journey to become an American occurred over tea, a cup of warm, sweet cha.

In our typical Bengali household in Bangladesh, once under British rule and forever haunted by colonial traditions, tea time was a precise ritual. At 4 p.m. in the afternoon I’d show up at my parents’ bedroom carrying a tray with a fat pot of tea, sugar, milk and a snack. My homework would be done, my mother would have had her afternoon nap, and my father would still be at work. Rain or shine, this was our together time.

I remember how grown-up I felt when I was eventually allowed to have a cup of tea instead of having my glass of milk. It was around my 13th birthday, sort of a nod from my mother that I wasn’t a child anymore. It was my duty to fix our cups of tea, arrange the plates and snacks in pretty presentation, because a young woman, a prospective bride, had to be a good hostess. Offering and serving tea was an essential skill on the road to a marriage.

The tea couldn’t be steeped too long, or it would be bitter. Too little, and it’d be flavorless. You had to add just the right amount of milk so that it would resemble a rich, bright dulce de leche. Not too dark, not too pale.

Once I poured too much milk and my mother sniffed at it. “I wanted tea, not milk with a touch of tea,” she said. “Fix me another cup.” So I did and took the cup she’d rejected. One sip and I realized she was right. The taste was insipid, a disappointment.

With this tea we would have a snack. The word “snack” suggests something quick or of little consequence. That would be misleading. The snack would depend on many factors, the weather, my mother’s whim and the cook’s whim.

On hot days, when the cook didn’t feel like cooking, it would be a fruit salad or platter of pretty store-bought cookies. On rainy days, it would be something hot from the stove and savory: freshly fried onion pakoras/fritters, or piping hot samosas. On cool winter afternoons we’d have some variety of traditional pithas –sweets- flavored with coconut, ja-ggery (dried sugarcane sugar), or date palm syrup.

I looked forward to being surprised at tea-time and relished whatever morsel that happened to accompany the tea. Not so my mother.

My mother usually had a late breakfast, and over her morning cup of tea, would talk with the cook about the day’s menu. On good days, when their ideas meshed, she’d receive nods of agreement. On other days, the cook would annouce what she thought would be better. At tea-time, the cook’s preference turned up.

At first, my mother would send the dish back and specify what she wanted. I got to be the messenger. She got her request. However, if the item had to be fried, it was almost burned to a crisp. Or it looked perfect, but somehow the cook forgot the salt. My mother learned to consult the cook on each day’s menu rather than give her a list.

I didn’t realize it then, but the cook taught me a lot, not only about food but also about how to deal with my mother. :)

To this day, I decide what to cook depending on the weather and my moods, the season and the taste. However, I also pay attention to presentation.

But I have my own ideas about what's needed for a marriage. :)

Spiced Chickpea & Sweet Potato Tidbits

2 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (optional)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 a small onion, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes or chilli powder (or to taste)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed into 1/2" pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons finely julienned ginger (divided)
6 garlic cloves, peeled and mashed into paste
1 15.5oz-can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 jalapeno, minced
2 tablespoons of tomato paste diluted in 1/2 cup of water (keep more water on hand, to prevent sticking)

Garnish: reserved julienned ginger, chopped fresh cilantro, finely chopped red onion,a squeeze of lemon juice, slivers of Romaine lettuce.

Serve with: cocktail breads, pita wedges or crostini.

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the whole spices (all the seeds)cook for 1 or 2 minutes, they should start sputtering.
3. Add other spices, cook for about 1 or 2 minutes and add onions, cook until softening.
4. Now add the chili, sweet potatoes, half the ginger, and garlic. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes
5. When the sweet potatoes are half-cooked, add chickpeas and jalapeno. And the tomato water. Lower heat and cook 10 to 15 minutes.
6. When done, the sweet potatoes should be just done and the dish should be saucy...but not like a curry. Take off heat.
7. Top with garnishes (except for the lettuce).
8. Serve with bread, allow guests to build their own tidbits --bread + a bed of lettuce (for crunch)+ spiced chickpea & sweetpotato mix. Enjoy!

This post has been brought to you as part of October's #Letslunch twitterparty. Check out all the other yummy posts:

Hapamama's High tea with Taiwanese Sandwiches

Patrick's Welsh Rarebit

Cheryl‘s Cheese and Onion Sarnie at A Tiger In The Kitchen

Emma‘s Brown Sugar Shortbreads With Hawaiian Jam at Dreaming of Pots and Pans

Linda‘s Singapore-Style Ginger Tea & Kaya (Coconut Jam) Toast at Spicebox Travels

Lisa‘s Little Lemon Meringue Tarts at Monday Morning Cooking Club

Rebecca‘s Millionaire’s Shortbread at Grongar Blog

Steff‘s Lemon-Lime Shortbread Cookies at The Kitchen Trials

No-labor grilled veggie recipes for Labor Weekend

So we're in the middle of a 3-day Labor Day weekend and many of us are gathering around a grill. It's sort of like a last big "Hurrah!" School has started, the temperatures have started to drop (Yay!)and we are saying good bye to summer.

When grilling is mentioned, many people immediately think of some sort of meat -- large cuts of steak, stings of sausages or skewers of kababs. Not me. I offer you veggies.

My favorites are sturdy vegetables that don't fall apart on the grill, like squash, onions, bell peppers, asparagus and okra. A mix adds a rainbow of color and flavors to your meal. Grilling adds a smoky depth to the veggies, and brings out a natural sweetness. All with only a minimum of fuss.

Step 1. Marinate the veggies.

Step 2. If using bamboo skewers, remember to presoak them. Also, using two skewers makes the veggies easier to handle, esp. in case of long veggies.

Step 3. Grill time! Remember cooking time will depend on various factors: the type of vegetable, the thickness of it, and personal preference regarding doneness.

Step 4. Serve!

Recipe for mixed veggies

2 medium zuchhini, cut into 2" pieces then halved lengthwise
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 2" pieces
8 to 10 pearl onions, sliced in half from top to bottom
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS lemon juice
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt & pepper to season
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high. Brush grate with oil.

2. Toss the cut veggies with the marinade ingredients.

3. Get a bowl ready for cooked veggies.

4. My indoor grill didn't have a lot of space, so I had to grill in batches. The Zucchini and onion will take longer to cook than the peppers. About 5 to 6 minutes.

5. Finish off the veggies by sprinkling the goat cheese on top and serve with pasta, couscous or pita bread.

Grilled Okra Recipe

15 medium-sized young okra
2 tablespoons of oil (vegetable, canola or olive)
Juice of half a large lemon
1 rounded teaspoon of Cajun seasoning or curry powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper (optional)

6 bamboo skewers, presoaked

Directions:
1. Preheat grill.
2. In a medium bowl, toss the okra, oil, lemon juice and spices together until all the okra is well coated.
3. Thread about five okra pods onto two parallel skewers (sort of creating an okra billboard).
4. Grill each set of okra about 15 minutes (turning once half way through).
5. Serve with ranch sauce (optional)

Hot Giveaway: A culinary romance with recipes

If you like food and happy endings, checkout this giveaway:

Hot Giveaway at Romance Magicians

What's the prize?

Too Hot to Touch by Louisa Edwards

Delish, right?

To read my interview with Edwards and get a sampling of the recipes from Too Hot To Touch, check out my article.

Review & Give-away: STIR IT UP! A Multi-cultural Foodie MG Read

Raising a multi-cultural blended family that is as familiar with its Asian heritage as its German-Polish roots in the heart of West Texas isn't easy.

The farm life, the mainstream Anglo-culture is a constant presence, but the desi relatives and cultural celebrations are often part of visiting my parents in Houston. While my children treat Indian clothes as special, reserved for celebrations, they are more likely to identify with cowboys than the Indians. As a woman of color, I'm just not comfortable with that...I want them to embrace both and more. Yes, I want them to have the world.

So I'm always trying to involve the family in experiences that introduces them to diverse cultures and people, teaches them to appreciate what is unique and different, and also recognize all we have in common. We learned Renaissance dancing and helped put together India Day at our local museum, we've cooked up special dinners to celebrate Eid and the Chinese New Year. But --as a family of readers -- we often explore through books.

One of my latest finds is food writer Ramin Ganeshram's Stir It Up! A wonderful middle-grade novel featuring a spunky, creative 13-year-old heroine Anjalie Krishnan.

I love the determined way Anjalie goes after her dream of becoming a chef and grabs onto the opportunity to compete for a shot at being a Super Chef Kid and get her own television show on the Food Network. Her ambitions clash with the expectations of her immigrant family. Anjalie's father runs a Trinidadian roti shop and throughout the story you see him, Anjalie and her grandmother working in the kitchen and the shop. Cooking is their world, yet he wants more for his children -- a universal want that will resonate with all parents.

Kudos to Ganeshram for skillfully resolving the conflict, making the family recognize that cooking for Anjalie isn't just work but a passion. One of my favorite things about the book is the close relationship between the heroine and her grandmother, Deema. Being a foodie, I also appreciated all the wonderful recipes --both traditional and innovative --sprinkled throughout the story.

Stir It Up!was a fun, fast-paced read that magically transported this reader to Little Trinidad --Richmond Hills in Queens -- in New York City. I could almost smell the spices flying about the kitchens...and it left me hungry for curry...so I made Deema's Easy Curry Chicken.

AND, here's a bit of good news: Scholastic Press, the publisher, kindly offered to giveaway a copy of Stir It Up! So leave a comment with your email or twitter handle for contact. The randomly chosen winner will be announced Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

Deema's Easy Curry Chicken from Stir It Up!

4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh shado beni or cilatro
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 Tablespoons Trinidad curry powder
2 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 medium yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut milk

Directions:

1. Marinate the chicken by mixing the onions, garlic, shado beni/cilantro, cumin and 2 teaspoons of the curry powder. Set aside in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes or overnight.

2. Heat oil in a deep saucepan and add the chicken mixture. Add the remaining curry and mix well. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Add chicken stock, potatoes and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes and continue to cook until the sauce thickens, for about 5 minutes more.

4. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 3 minutes more. (Note: I had some peppers from the garden, so a sliced them up and added them at the end for color) Taste to adjust seasonings. Serve with rice or rotis.

Makes 4 servings.

Review of Mollie Katzen's Get Cooking with a Recipe

When I first started cooking Western foods, I relied heavily on cookbooks since I hadn't grown up with these dishes. Mollie Katzen's Moosewood cookbooks appealed to me because of their simplicity and flavor. I could try a recipe and know it'd taste good and satisfy. She was my kitchen companion without even knowing it.

So I was totally jazzed when I met her in Austin for the IACP conference earlier this year and received her Get Cooking cookbook. What impressed me most was how gracious and down-to-earth Ms. Katzen was and how much she just enjoyed her time in the kitchen playing with recipes.

Once home, I pored through Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen with the intention of reviewing it for my column. As part of the review process, I tried out a few of her recipes. My favorite turned out to be the Mostly Classic Cole Slaw. The basic recipe was good. I loved all the colors from the purple and green cabbage and carrots, I loved that she included yogurt.

Now I like to experiment in the kitchen and come up with my own twists. Well, everything I thought to add-- from sour cream to cranberries-- she'd thought to include plus some in her additional Get Creative section. She's definitely my kind of a cook.

I made the recipe for my family of 4, and then later for my father-in-law's 86th birthday party. The cole slaw was a hit both times. My 6-year-old actually saved the cole slaw until the end of her meal. "I like it so much," she said. "It's my dessert."

Here's the review that was published in the San Angelo Standard-Times.

Mostly Classic Cole Slaw

2 pounds cabbage (purple and/or green), shredded
1 large carrot, coarsely grated
1/2 cup very finely minced red onion (I didn't have any, so used Sweet Texas 1015s)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup plain yogurt
(for a richer dressing, substitute some of the mayo or yogurt with sour cream)
1 to 2 tablespoons sweetner (white or brown sugar, pure maple syrup or a light-colored honey)

1. Combine cabbage, carrot, and onion in a very large bowl. Sprinkle with salt, toss, and set aside.

2. In a second, smaller bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, mayo, yogurt and 1 tablespoon of sweetner and whisk until smooth. Pour this onto the cabbage mixture and toss well. Taste, add more sweetner if you wish. Transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid, cover and refrigerate. Serve cold. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Some Get Creative ideas from Ms. Katzen:

*Top the slaw with up to 1 cup chopped roasted peanuts or toasted walnuts

*Add up to 2 cups chopped pineapples -- either fresh or canned (packed in water or juice and drained)

*Add up to 1/2 cup of dried cranberries or 1/4 cup minced fresh cranberries

Let's Celebrate: Samosa-Shingara Pies & (faux) Champagne!

Cheers! Hooray! Let's here it for #Letslunch on its second anniversary!

What's #Letslunch? Why it's one of the most fun groups you'll find in all of twitterverse.Spearheaded by Cheryl Tan (author of the wonderful foodie memoir, A Tiger in the Kitchen), food enthusiasts from all over the world, who come together to share recipes, stories, friendship and virtual lunch in cyberspace. Want to join us? Just send a tweet with the hashtag #LetsLunch!

Anyhoo, we are celebrating this month with Champagne and bubbly-friendly bites. Something special. Of course, that brought up mouth-watering memories of hot shingaras and samosas enjoyed as a treat on wet and chilly Monsoon evenings in my childhood. Ahhh, I miss those treats.

So what are Samosas and Shingaras?

Bangla(my mother tongue) is a very precise language. For example, in English your father's sister is your aunt and your mom's sister is your aunt as well. But Bengalis(the people) would call the first Fooppee and the latter Khala, denoting relationship and respect all at the same time.

So Samosas, in Bangladesh (the country), would be a triangular meat-filled deep fried snack with a crispy-crackly shell.

(The image is from ifood.tv, which has some really good desi recipes)

Shingaras are vegetarian pot-bellied deep-fried faintly triangular snacks with a softer, melt-in-your-mouth crust. The filling is spiced up potatoes and peas and sometimes cauliflower.

(This image is from Pakistani Food Recipes, which has a variety of samosa & shingara recipes from all different places).

I prefer the Shingaras, but I have noticed that online as well as in restaurants, "Samosa" is the go-to word for both the veg and non-veg snacks.Call it by whatever name, every bite is just as yummy!

The reason I don't make them at home is I detest deep frying. Yes, I know I live in TX where they deep fry everything -- from pickles to oreos. And I'll eat these deep-fried delicacies once in a blue moon, but I'm not deep frying. So, I decided to bake. Healthier and easier.

But then, y'all know how I like to play around with tradition and add my own twists. So from my desi-Texas kitchen, you have: bite-sized Samosa-Shingara Pies!

1. Boil some potatoes (I thought the sweetness of a sweet potato would go great in the samosa recipe so in it went). Peel, mash and set aside.

2. Measure out the other ingredients:

1/2 cup minced red onion
1/2-inch ginger, peeled and minced
2 green chillies, minced (I had to skip this for the kidlets)
A small handful of cilatro leaves, finely chopped

Whole Spices/seeds: 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon caraway, 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Ground Spices: 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon amchur (dried mango powder), 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, 1/4 teaspoon seasoned pepper, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt.

3. Heat 2 teaspoons of canola oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the whole spices and cook for about 1 minute. (The aroma should have you swooning)
4.Add the onion and chillies (if using), cook until they soften. Add 1 cup frozen green peas, ginger, and ground spices.

5. Cook it all together and sprinkle some water to keep from sticking. About 5 minutes. Add mashed potatoes and gently mix well. It should look like this:

6.Fill in prepared pie shells. I used a refrigerated pie crust, a wine glass to cut the circles out and a 12-count mini-muffin pan.

7. Bake in a 350 oven until the crust is golden. Next time, I might pre-bake the shells and then scoop in the filling. Let rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro (if you really like cilantro, you can also add this to the potato mixture.

8. Serve with your favorite condiment (we went with ketchup for the kids and Green Chili Sauce found in Indian grocery stores for the grownups) and bubbly. Um, yes, our bubbly wasn't exactly Champagne...but the kids really wanted to be part of the celebration. The end result was still fun & yum!

Happy Birthday #Letslunch! And may there be many more :)

Here's other bubbly & bites posts to enjoy:

Cheryl & Mike's Cheddar Pecan Crisps

Steff's Southern Style Finger Foods

Free Range Cookies Cheese Straw Crackers

Zestbakery's Bacon, Apple, Swiss Quiche

Emma's Cold, Cured Salmon

Ellise's Sundried Tomato Pesto Palmiers

Caitlin's Gruyere Lace Cookies

Chef Dave Cruz of Ad Hoc on Vacations

Recently I had the good fortune to chat with Chef Dave Cruz, the Chef de Cuisine of Ad-Hoc, considered one of the “Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants” by the San Francisco Chronicle and part of the Thomas Keller group of restaurants. He happened to be visiting family in West Texas.

Naturally, our conversation turned to vacations.

Now my idea of a perfect vacation would include eating my way through exotic lands like Greece, Italy, France, Singapore and…the list goes on. Sometimes, it's running off to a deserted island all by myself with a good book.

For Chef Cruz there are two types of vacations:

1. Checking out restaurants and eating.
“So much of what you do as a chef relies on our food memories,” he said. “You taste something, and you know it.”

2. Coming home to his family. For more on that, check out my article.

I don’t know about you all, but it’s not that often I get to lunch with a famous chef. So for once I zipped up and let a man order for me. Every time he tried to ask for my opinion, I just shook my head and said, “Order the way you would if I wasn’t here.”

“When I go to a restaurant, I order a lot of food so I can taste across the menu,” he said.

My response: “Go for it!”

We ended up sharing a ceviche, a salad of crab cakes and field greens, and Mahi-Mahi tacos with a mango salsa. But the best part, for me, was about three hours of conversation about food: cooking, ingredients, philosophies.

Of course, I came home totally inspired. So after I worked on my article for a bit I tried out a recipe from Ad Hoc At Home, a cookbook featuring family style recipes and a project Chef Cruz collaborated on with Chef Thomas Keller.

Sautéed Lamb Loin Chops

12 1 ¼-inch-thick lamb chops (about 4 ounces each)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil
4 thyme sprigs
4 garlic cloves, slightly crushed, skin left on

Directions:

1. Remove the lamb chops from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Set a cooling wire rack over a baking sheet.
3. Season the lamb chop generously with salt and pepper.
4. Heat some canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
5. Add 6 of the lamb chops to the pan and cook until well-browned on one side, about 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Turn the chops and add half the thyme and garlic, and cook, basting the meat with its own fat, until browned on the second side.
7. Transfer to the cooling rack, along with the thyme and garlic. Repeat with the remaining chops, thyme and garlic.
8. Transfer the chops to the oven and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meat is 128 degrees to 130 degrees. Remove from the oven and let the meat rest in a warm spot for 15 minutes for medium-rare.

Excerpted from AD HOC AT HOME COOKBOOK by Thomas Keller (Artisan Books).
Copyright 2OO9. Deborah Jones photographer.

The recipe wonderfully showcases the flavor of lamb, with the garlic adding a nice flair. Frying the garlic creates bits of golden crust on the outside, but the later roasting makes the inside sweet and buttery soft. I loved the garlic so much, next time I’m going add more cloves.

My Adventures at the CIA

I recently got up close & personal with the CIA. No, not the hush-hush agency, but something even cooler: the Culinary Institute of America. I've been wanting to go visit CIA, take a class, for sometime now...but both the New York and California campuses were too far away. However, now that they've a San Antonio, Texas campus...a mere three and half hours drive away...yes, I finaggled the Cowboy to take me to San Antonio for our 10th anniversary. He really is a keeper because he put up with two-day's worth of CIA on our weekend.Of course, he ate well and that did help.

One of the first places I checked out was the new CIA Bakery Cafe. Oh the desserts were works of art. Don't take my word for it, check out the pics.

They also had rustic loaves of bread, coffee and teas from around the world, and an uber cool light fixture made of wooden spoons...

But the desserts wowed me and the Cowboy & I splurged...

The chocolate dome thing was called "Chocolate XS" and it was...but my favorite ended up being the light and luscious Mango Mousse Cake. Yum. A sweet first day of vacation.

The CIA Bakery Cafe hours are: Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m.–5 p.m. and 8 a.m.–5 p.m. on Sunday. The Café will be closed on Monday.

The next day, I participated in the Spain and the World Table cooking class that CIA was kind enough to let me cover. You can read about that adventure and find some Spanish recipes at this link. Enjoy!

Holiday Side: Festive Green Beans with a taste of Bengal, a touch of curry

Panch Phoron, is a spice blend, close to my heart.

The sizzle and sputter of the spices in hot oil, the savory-sweet scent released into the air, transports me back to my childhood home in Bangladesh. The name translates to “five spices” in the Bengali language and consists of equal measures of fenugreek (methi), nigella seed (kalo jeera), cumin (jeera), black mustard (shorsha), and fennel (mouri). It is almost exclusively found in the kitchen of cooks with roots in the Bengali culture, usually from Bangladesh, Assam, West Bengal and Orissa. The seeds are left whole so the flavors change from bite to bite, yet all five work together like fingers on a hand.

So for my first Let’s Lunch post, I decided to reach for this old favorite and create a holiday side bursting with color and taste.

My mother uses panch phoron to transform simple dishes of vegetable, lentils or fish to swoon-worthy delicacies. Just a whiff of the earthy fragrance makes my mouth water. So I paired this with green beans, butternut squash and red bell peppers.

The first step is to cook the spice blend in hot oil for a minute or two. The heat should make the spices pop and liberate their essential oils and aroma. This is a process known as “phoron” or “baghar” in Bengali.

The first veggie added in the squash, because it would take the longest to cook. I also tossed in a bit of turmeric, cayenne, and ground cumin – ingredients traditionally found in curries of the Indian-subcontinent. My mother would shake her head here, but hey, I’m a girl who likes to add her own twist.

Part way through the cooking, I add the tomatoes.  I also keep some water at hand and add splashes here and there to prevent sticking.  All these kitchen tips and tricks were learned at my mom’s side. Thanks mom!

When the squash is half-cooked, add in green beans and garlic. Save the bell peppers for the last five minutes. The vegetables should be just done, still bright with color.

Not your traditional green bean casserole, but an exotic alternative. My DH, the Cowboy, has already declared it a winner and requested it for our Christmas Eve dinner.  Maybe it’ll become a new tradition, perfect for our East-West household.

This post has been brought to you thanks to the Lets Lunch bunch, a group of food enthusiasts from all over, who come together to share recipes, stories, friendship and virtual lunch in cyberspace. To give full credit, actually this entire blog came into existence because I wanted to join in the fun and this group was the kick-in-the-rear I needed (I know, waaay late to the party…but here). So thanks #Letslunch pals, this one’s for you.

Check out some of the other Lets Lunch holiday sides:

The Kitchen Trials' Parker House Rolls

Free Range Cookies' Green Bean Casserole 

Cooking in the Fruit Bowl's Kimchi Risotto Bake

The Cowgirl Chef's Mushroom-Leek Quinoa Salad

If you'd like to join Let's Lunch, go to Twitter and post a message with the hashtag #Letslunch

Recipe: Festive Green Beans with a taste of Bengal, a touch of curry

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons panch phoron (you can buy the mix in Indian grocery stores, online, or make your own)

½ a medium onion, sliced lengthwise

1 teaspoon ginger, peeled and slivered

2 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced (I kept them on the small side to cook faster)

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon cayenne powder (or more if you like heat)

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

¾ teaspoon salt

2 to 3 Roma tomatoes, diced (juice and all)

12-ounces green beans, washed and trimmed

3 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced (I actually pound mine into an almost-paste)

1 red bell pepper, cleaned and diced into 1-inch pieces

Directions

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat

Add the panch phoron and cook for a minute or two. When it becomes fragrant, add in onion and ginger, cook until onion is soft and translucent.

Add in the butternut squash and the curry spices (turmeric to salt), stir and cook for about a minute or two (this cuts the raw flavor of the spices), add the tomatoes and cook some more. If your spices start sticking to the bottom of the pan, add splashes of water as needed (just enough to keep cooking and prevent burning).

When the butternut is half-done, add the green beans and garlic. Stir gently and cook for three minutes.

Add the bell pepper and cook another five minutes, or until the veggies are just done.

Enjoy!