Off the Menu Curry Dinner

Last night I got to attend an Asia Society Off the Menu dinner, and what fun it was. This series explores favorite dishes that chefs have not been able to keep on their restaurant menus. A ticket to one of these events means you get to taste some very special dishes, no matter what the theme. My fellow Bay Area Bites blogger Thy Tran moderated a fascinating conversation between the chefs.

Each participating chef talked about curries from their home countries--India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand and dispelled some common misconceptions.

From India, Ruta Kahate made a beef curry, and shared that beef is eaten by some Indians and that not all curries have lots of ingredients, this one used only three spices.

From Indonesia chef Daniel Sudar made a spicy goat curry called Gulai Kambing that is usually only served once a year but that he plans on putting on the menu at his soon-to-be-opened Red Lantern restaurant.

Alex Ong from Betelnut restaurant made a Nonya style Korma curry with chicken that is normally made with lamb. It was served dry, but was full of flavor. Because the word curry is derived from the Tamil word for sauce, it is commonly believed that all curries are served with sauce, but that is not necessarily true.

One special chef was in fact not a restaurant chef but my friend, food blogger extraordinaire, Pim. She made a curry and didn't use a curry paste. Kanom Jeen Nam-prik is a rice noodle dish with a curry sauce served with shrimp. Pim's Thai restaurant pet peeve is the way curries are served mix-and-match where customers choose the color--red, green or yellow and the meat, usually chicken, beef or pork. In Thailand much care goes into the pairing of the curry and the meat.

Each dish was strikingly different in texture and flavor showing just a sampling of the wide range of curries in a few parts of Asia. I will try to give you a head's up when the next dinner is announced as they frequently sell out.

FOOD

Made popular on Digg now we go pro

Well folks i launched iFoods 6 weeks ago to the day and the response has been amazing! People have really taken to it and there is a massive appetite for videos out there. The thing that pleases me the most is that people are actually using the videos and cooking real food! I get so happy when people write to me saying "they have never cooked before and just made their girlfriend the nicest steak ever"! I film this with a hand held picture camera with myself filming and some dubious editing also on my behalf! Luckily i'll only be doing the cooking from now on and will be leaving all the other issues to the professionals

Basically i am returning to wet cold Ireland from my current paradise locations and we start filming 100 tutorial videos on the 15th May. The site will launch in the middle of June. After it launches we are back to filming and will film a further 400. Basically if you want to cook any type of food there will be "how to" video here on iFoods. We'll be upgrading to a professional site and have a whole range of series from healthy eating to baby foods to smoothies. It really will be the place to come for a culinary reference and will save you having to wade through those books or online recipe sites!

Im the meantime for the next month there will be recipes here as usual. I'd love you to help us compile the list of recipes for the pro site, send in your suggestions and any special recipes you might have!We'd love to hear from you and maybe just maybe we'll be making your special family recipes on the brand new www.ifoods.tv !!!

We're very excited and hope that you all are too, it should be fun!

Bargain Bank: Shop

My name is Amy and I am a bargain hunter. I recognize it is a disease and I have no power over it. If I see a bargain, I don't just buy one, I buy two, three, four or more. And now I sometimes get on the phone to call others, do they want some? So I guess this makes me something of a bargain pimp.

We have a little joke in our household. I say "I'm going to the bank" and Lee says "Going to the Bargain Bank?" Well, he's right. The Bargain Bank is right across the street from the actual bank, so how can I not go? Every single day there is new stuff that I want to check out. I don't actually buy stuff everyday. As all bargain hunters know, vigilance is key because you never know when or where you will find your next treasure.

The Bargain Bank often has a good selection of gourmet products. Sometimes products are frighteningly near an expiration date, but not always. Some of my most impressive finds have been white truffle honey, Scharffenberger Nibby Chocolate bars, and as of yesterday, Yellingbo Gold Extra Virgin olive oil. I tried this complex and creamy Australian olive oil at the Fancy Food Show a couple of years ago and really liked it. It got rave reviews at Saveur magazine not long after. A 500 ml bottle sells around $20, but at the Bargain Bank? $3.99! Of course, it will probably be gone today. My other prize finds yesterday were some tins of Harney & Sons iced tea bags. They are lovely and would make a nice gift but now that I have spilled the beans it will be hard to give them away. Consider this shopping tip my gift instead.

Bargain Bank
1541 Polk Street @ California
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 345-1623

599 Clement Street @ 7th Ave
San Francisco, CA
(415) 221-4852

Mon-Fri 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Sat-Sun 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

READ MORE When is a bargain not really a bargain? Over at Bay Area Bites is my take on Restaurants Struggling with Sustainablity Check it out and weigh in on the debate.

FOOD

Spring Roast Lamb Video Tutorial

Well a lot of people are talking about cooking with the seasons at the moment and i thought what better way to usher in Spring than cook a lovely whole leg of roasted lamb. I've show you how to make incisions into the meat and stuff it with a lovely pine nut, garlic and herb stuffing! As i write this i can still taste it in my mouth and i think lamb is my new favourite meat, it was just so juicy and tender!!

Now to cook it simply place it in the oven at 200/380
For medium rare(bloody in the centre pink on the edges) 45 minutes in the oven
For Medium(Pink all the way through) 55 minutes in the oven
Well Done (cooked all the way through) 70 mintues in the oven

I find the best bet is to leave it in for 55 minutes and there will be a nice well done piece on the outside and a rare piece in the middle, something for everyone. Now before you all start screaming at me that legs of lamb are different sizes and that this is not a correct techique let me explain myself. iFoods is about teaching people and giving them the confidence to try new things. This is the method i use and it never fails for me, i may be a chef and know a bit more than the regular joe but stick with this and you'll be on to a winner i promise!!

I have only shown you the meat here on purpose as i want you to have the confidence to cook meat properly. The side dishes are up to you but here are some options

Slice the meat into some beautiful sandwiches
Make a roast dinner with roast potatoes, veg and gravy
Cous cous and grilled veg
Sliced with some greek salad

The possibilites are endless

Ingredients
1 average leg of lamb
6 garlic cloves
3 sprigs thyme
3 sprigs rosemary
100ml/1 cup olive oil
1 cup Pine nuts
salt and pepper

Chili, garlic and herb oil (video of the perfect gift)

People love food and people love gifts, but people struggle with original gifts, so why not make this as a thoughtful, home made gift. I think it's perfect if you dress it up in a pretty bottle. The thing about this is that you can make 10 bottles at a time, literally store them forever and use as you need. What about arriving over for a dinner party with your own home made oil instead of the traditinal bottle of wine! Or even put little labels on the the bottles and sell your own brand! The options are limitless and change flavours as much as you want, instead of chili and garlic what about lemon and lime or pine nut and sundried tomato, the choices are endless. The one thing that i will say is a bottle of this on the table always goes down well!!

Enjoy

Ingredients

5/6 bottle of oil
3 sprigs thyme
3 sprigs rosemary
20 cloves garlic
1/3 cup red chili flakes

Weird Fish: Restaurant Review

The latest Eat Local Challenge has been announced, and this time around the organizers are taking cost into account. It's being called the Penny Wise Eat Local Challenge. I Iook forward to seeing how everyone does in regard to their respective budgets (or guidelines) as outlined by the Department of Labor. For anyone participating here in the Bay Area, I have a suggestion. When you want to eat out, head over to Weird Fish.

Weird Fish is a fun and funky little restaurant on what I suppose you could call an up-and-coming stretch of Mission Street at 18th. I've eaten there twice and each time a line formed out the door. The restaurant serves fish but not much. On some days the fish selection is limited to maybe just tilapia and catfish. Why? They only serve sustainable, farmed fish so as to not deplete the oceans. While firmly committed to serving local produce, they also care about cost and balance sustainability with expenses. The prices are low to moderate for a seafood restaurant. Unlike many other seafood restaurants, this is a perfect place for vegetarians. All the salads and most of the vegetable dishes are tremendously satisfying and packed with flavor.

Both times I ate there I had the Fish and Chips ($11 for 3 pieces). The fish is tender and is fried in a beer batter. The chips are a combination of potato and sweet potato, not my preferred British style chips and not completely crisp like the fish, but delicious all the same. I would also order the two-bite Pete's Famous Tacos ($4) again. A special of fish cooked in banana leaves with lime slices was delicate and came with great vegetable side dishes of mashed spuds and green beans. Some other favorite dishes of mine are the Edamame Noodle Salad ($4), and the decidedly weird, but strangely addictive fried dill pickles called yoyo's. I think they used to be slices but are now long juicy and crisp, crunchy spears.


On the veggie side, I liked the hearty Little B Stack ($6), with layers of grilled sweet potato, spinach, goat cheese and marinated tofu but the red beans and plantain were a little bland for my taste. Also the desserts were hit and miss but there are plenty of other good options for dessert nearby. While there is a "suspicious fish " dish on the menu every night, there really isn't anything that weird about Weird Fish (aside from the pickles!). Because it's a very small and popular restaurant, get there early, and don't go with more than a few close friends.

Weird Fish
2193 Mission St @ 18th St
San Francisco, CA
415.863.4744

Sun-Thu: 9am-10pm
Fri-Sat: 9am-12am

FOOD

South Beach Sheppard's Pie

A lot of people these days are becoming more interest in diets and there are no bigger diets that the "South Beach Diet". It basically cuts out Carbs totally which means no rice, pasta, bread, potatoes etc and anybody who has tried it will tell you just how hard that is to achieve! Over the next few weeks i will be giving you all a few South Beach recipes that are a bit more exciting that the normal stuff you read in books! If you're not on a diet at all but want to make this, well go ahead as it really is very easy and delicious even without the potatoes!The beauty of this recipe is that you can whip up a delightful home cooked meal in less than half an hour! Do it!!!And let me know how you got on!

Ingredients
Makes enough for 4 generous portions

1 Pound Minced beef
1 white onion
3 large carrots
2 cloves garlic
3 sprigs thyme
2 table spoons tomato puree
2 table spoons of bisto or similar gravy mix
8oz chopped butternut squash or sweet potato
Dash of cream
salt and pepper
6oz frozen peas
table spoons worstechire suace

Cooking School Daze

Have you ever daydreamed about going to culinary school? I have. While I seriously doubt I'll ever attend, I do enjoy getting a glimpse of the professional kitchen. Here are some great ways to sneak a peek for less than even a day's tuition.

Whether you want to see videos of students, techniques or great chefs, the Culinary Institute of America at Epicurious.com has it all. The webcasts or "epi-sodes" are really addictive. I watched one, then another, then another. The chef videos are particularly good. Some highlights are a tour of the Per Se kitchen with Thomas Keller, an interview with Jacques Torres and a clay pot cooking lesson with Charles Phan. Tip: Start at the student episodes and then you can get to Channel Navigation where the technique and chef videos are.

Another great source of cooking school lessons comes from the Culinary Institute of America's ProChef program. There are a free "e-learning" classes you can take online, sponsored by different companies. They even include quizzes at the end of each unit. The Worlds of Flavor section is also terrific, my favorite? Savoring Asia.

Yesterday I got a copy of Baking Boot Camp: Five Days of Basic Training at The Culinary Institute of America and I practically devoured it in one sitting. It's written by Darra Goldstein primarily in a diary format. At the end of the book there are recipes and techniques, and tips are sprinkled throughout, but the day-by-day account of classes are surprisingly exciting in a voyeuristic kind of way. I hope there are more in this series--it's a real winner.

FOOD

Cool Quesadilla Combos:Recipe

Somewhere along the line I seem to have forgotten about quesadillas. But recently a couple of factors lead to me rediscovering them and their potential. One is the Organic Whole Wheat & Corn Flour Tortillas available at Trader Joe's. Each tortilla has only one gram of fat, five grams of fiber and is high in iron. They fit into my "try to eat more whole grain foods" resolution. A little experimenting lead me to discover that the nutty flavor of whole wheat tortillas is really good with non-traditional, not-necessarily Mexican fillings.

The other bit of inspiration came from a recipe I read in Sara Foster's Casual Cooking for Grilled Shrimp and Goat Cheese Toastadas. That jumping off point lead me to create a shrimp, avocado, radicchio and goat cheese quesadilla with a drizzle of chimichurri sauce. It was truly outstanding. I know quesadillas were all the rage about five years ago, but if you haven't played around with them in a while, they are definitely worth revisiting.

Below is a list of some of my favorite filling ingredients and my tips to get you started.

VEGETABLES spinach olives avocado onions potatoes asparagus lentils beans bitter greens mushrooms red peppers

MEAT/FISH shrimp chicken turkey bacon roast pork sausage caviar ham duck

CHEESES fontina feta cheddar blue goat brie cream-cheese camembert

FRUIT tomatoes fig apple mango pear raisins apricots plums strawberries

FLAVORINGS salsa chutney bbq sauce chimichurri pesto truffle oil garam masala balsamic black pepper

1. Pair up classic combinations, some suggestions:
cheddar and chutney
chicken, mango and bbq sauce
shrimp, feta and green onions
brie and pear

2. Restraint is key. Don't overstuff! For one regular sized flour tortilla, try not to add more than 1/2 cup of fillings.

3. Not every combination has to have cheese, I find leftover Indian food tastes great in a whole wheat tortilla without any cheese at all. Pesto, with or without parmesan cheese is wonderful with potatoes.

4. Use a lightly oiled non-stick pan for cooking your quesadillas and when cooking them open face, use a lid to help melt the cheese and heat up the fillings quickly. When the cheese melts, fold the quesadilla over and remove it from the pan.

5. You can also make them open-faced or tostada style. So technically they are not always "quesadillas" but, who cares?

If you'd care to share, let me know your favorite combo, the more nontraditional the better. The one in the photo? Roast pork, asparagus and Stilton.

FOOD

The perfect sandwich

Well after the last post i'm not sure if you guys are going to take this one seriousily! after such a poor effort last time i though i better show you something a little bit special and i think this sandwich is just that! I'd love it if you could make the bread yourself and the video recipe for it is here but if you don't have time buy a good quality bread from the bakery. Chances are the bread will be just as good from a good shop but the satisfaction that comes from making your own bread is incredible! Don't be scared either all that is involved is flour/water/yeast, believe me you can make it even if you've never even chopped an onion before! Let me know all your thoughts on what would be in your perfect sandwich and where I might have gone wrong! enjoy

Ingredients
Serves 8

Foccacia bread(made yourself or bought)
4 tomatoes
2 packets bacon
1 cup mayo
2 cloves garlic
bunch of fresh basil
1 lemon
cups mild cheddar cheese
4 chicken breasts
1 head of kos salad

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Contest Winners

Congratulations to my chicken-smart readers. The first three to answer correctly, Sarah, Debbie and Ed have won a copy of 150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken (And 50 Ways to Roast It) courtesy of Taunton Press.

1. A four pound chicken is typically raised in six weeks with
A. 20 pounds of feed
B. 15 pounds of feed
C. 10 pounds of feed
D. 8 pounds of feed

2. In 1950 what percentage of US chickens were "free range"?
A. 50%
B. 80%
C. 90%
D. 40%

3. You shouldn't eat a chicken liver if it is which color?
A. Green
B. Red
C. Brown
D. Grey

4. Which part of a chicken has the most calories?
A. Gizzard
B. Wing
C. Breast
D. Drumstick

5. In Ancient Rome someone who said "you were raised by a hen" was
A. Insulting you
B Complimenting you
C.Teasing you
D. Annoying you

6. Swiss law requires that all chickens raised in country
A. Have access to the outdoors
B. Have milk with their cereal
C. Are fed organic feed
D. Get chocolate if they lay eggs

READ MORE Over at Bay Area Bites is my post on the Steele Wine Dinner @ Luella

FOOD

150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken: Cookbook & Contest

Back when I was working more than full-time at a design firm, Sunday was my cooking day. I always spent at least a few hours preparing for the week ahead. What did I cook? Things I could quickly freeze and reheat for dinner such as chili, spaghetti sauce, meatloaf and lasagna or I made roast chicken with vegetables.

The thing about roast chicken is, not only is it wonderful when you make it, any leftovers become the base of literally hundreds of other meals. My mainstays were chicken enchiladas, chicken stuffed crepes, chicken salad and chicken pot pie.

Over the past few years I have experimented with endless methods of roasting. I've used a vertical rack, I've split the bird and flattened it, cooked it under a brick, you name it. Lately I've been rather partial to Nigella Lawson's formula for cooking it which is 15 minutes per pound at 400 degrees plus 10 minutes or until the internal temperature hits 180 degrees. I start with the breast facing down then flip it over when it's halfway cooked. I look for the largest organic roaster I can find so I have plenty of leftovers.

Tony Rosenfeld, contributing editor at Fine Cooking magazine has just written a book called 150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken (And 50 Ways to Roast It) Rosenfeld suggests cooking two chickens at once to double the leftovers. What a great idea! This book is perfect for people who have limited time for cooking and need more ideas of what to do with leftovers. It also has plenty of techniques for you to find your own favorite way to roast a bird. Once you do, you'll never run out of ways to turn one chicken into several different meals, no matter what size your household.

I have three copies of this book to giveaway, courtesy of Taunton Press. Only one entry per person, so choose carefully! Remember, you MUST include your email to win and your mailing address must be in the United States or Canada (unless you want to pay for shipping). Just choose your answers and post them in the comments section. The first four people to correctly answer all the questions will win a copy of the book. Good luck!

1. A four pound chicken is typically raised in six weeks with
A. 20 pounds of feed
B. 15 pounds of feed
C. 10 pounds of feed
D. 8 pounds of feed

2. In 1950 what percentage of US chickens were "free range"?
A. 50%
B. 80%
C. 90%
D. 40%

3. You shouldn't eat a chicken liver if it is which color?
A. Green
B. Red
C. Brown
D. Grey

4. Which part of a chicken has the most calories?
A. Gizzard
B. Wing
C. Breast
D. Drumstick

5. In Ancient Rome someone who said "you were raised by a hen" was
A. Insulting you
B Complimenting you
C.Teasing you
D. Annoying you

6. Swiss law requires that all chickens raised in country
A. Have access to the outdoors
B. Have milk with their cereal
C. Are fed organic feed
D. Get chocolate if they lay eggs

CONTEST NOW CLOSED--THANKS!
FOOD

Princess Cake

Lee's favorite cake is a Swedish Princess cake. I get him one every year on his birthday. It's layers of fluffy genoise, smooth custard and raspberry jam all topped with whipped cream and then completely covered with a thin layer of marzipan. This cake really delights marzipan lovers, and it's the perfect Spring cake for birthdays, weddings or showers. It's colored pale green, it's creamy and light with just a little fruit flavor to it.

In San Francisco several bakeries make good Princess cake. Though it's a Swedish cake, you can get it from an Italian bakery, Victoria Pastry, a German bakery, Schubert's Bakery or a French bakery, Patisserie Delanghe. They are all delicious. I can't say I really have a favorite. Oh yeah. How could I forget? Lee's my favorite. Happy Birthday Lee!

FOOD

Video Demo for TV

Well a break from the norm today guys in that this really isn't a recipe that i would expect any of you to ever make. Since i started this site I've had a couple of requests to send sample videos to TV execs for commisioning a TV series. They gave me the brief that i could cook anything i wanted so instead of doing something very fancy i thought i'd be a real smart ass and make a cheese sandwich. The logic being that if I could make that sound interesting then i could make anything sound interesting! On the other hand they could see the video and think that I'm a nutcase who needs locking up, you decide for yourself!!

Ingredients
You must be joking right?

Video recipe(Perfect steak)

For a lot of people the thought of cooking a restaurant quality steak at home can be very scary. I really can't see the point of going out and spending 30/40 dollars on something that you can very easily replicate at home. The key here is spending the money in a good supermarket or butchers for a well aged 1 inch thick ribeye steak. Add the side dishes of your choice but with the steak cooked like this you are more than halfway to a fantasic meal already!

Ingredients
1 Large 1 inch thick ribeye steak
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Splash of good balsamic

Video recipe(Roast potatoes with lime, garlic, parsley)

This is a tasty little side dish than you can quickly make and serve with a whole host of things. I'd suugest serving it with some roast chicken or even though they are roasted potatoes the flavours are subtle enough to balance with fish. The lime adds a nice light undertone and if you make them correctly they are lovely and crispy.

Ingredients

8 Large potatoes
2 Limes
5 cloves garlic
Olive oil
salt and pepper
Bunch parsley chopped

A blog recipe

Well a break from the norm today, instead of cooking one of my recipes i am going to highlight a fantastic blog that i read and indeed this will become a regualr feature highlighting some of the fantastic food blogs that are out there on the web. Today's recipe is from simply recipes which happens to be one of my favourites. The beauty of blogs is that they are all composed by foodies and generally the recipes are sound. Hope you enjoy this recipe and pop over to see Elise at simply recipes

Ingredients

6 muffin halves (want to make your own English muffins? here's how)
1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese, packed
1 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, sliced thin
3/4 cup diced ham
A pinch of chopped fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon stoneground mustard
Optional: A few slices of fresh tomato

Easy Flat breads

Ok it's time for people to get over the big fear about breads and actually give it a crack. I have purposely chosen the easiest type of bread to make and you really shouldn't have any problem with this at all. These are perfect with dips, as a little side to a salad or for mopping up sauces. see how theraputic it is to make bread and let me know how you get on!

Ingredients

1Kg Regular flour
2 pinches salt
450ml water
50ml Olive oil
100g Yoghurt
20g dried yeast


Preheat oven to 180/350

Chicken Tenders(or goujons)

Not so much a recipe today folks but more a cooking technique. eating breaded chicken in either a tender form or as a whole chicken in a chicken Kiev is sadly something that is only ever done in a restaurant or from prepackaged meals. It really is a huge shame as it's a wonderful way to enjoy chicken especially for kids. I think people are scared that it might be hard to do or just go for the more elaborate recipes, but i guarentee you if you make these tenders for friends or kids in a realxed atmosphere they'll forever be begging you for more!

Ingredients

6 chicken breasts
500g breadcrumbs
300g flour
6 eggs
100ml milk
Cajun seasoning
Paprika
Dried basil leaves

Fusseli with cherry tomatoes, pine nuts and watercress

Well sometimes even the best made plans fall to bits! Today i had some lovely fish arriving from the market but the guests had a change of mind about their late lunch and suddenly wanted lunch in 15 minutes. So starting from scratch i had to make a decent healthy quick snack for 4. This might take yu slightly longer as i was using all my skills and moving at about 100 miles an hour but it's simple, quick and tasty, exactly what a lunch should be!

Ingredients
500g pasta(i used fusseli but use whatever you have)
300g cherry tomatoes
3 cloves garlic chopped
2 small white onions
2 sprigs thyme
Handfull pine nuts
200g fresh grated parmesan
1 bunch fresh basil
30g Butter
200g fresh watercress(substitute with Rocket if need be)

Sour Sop

Well folks in our day and age it is really very rare to find a fruit or vegetable that you haven't seen before. When you add the fact that i have been a chef for 10 years then the chances are diminished significantly further! Well all i have to say is go and work on a superyacht that travels to far flung parts of the world! That's why i have deceided to start this new section on the site that will introduce you to a new type of ingredient every week! You will find that most suppliers in big cities will be able to hunt these up for you!

I start today with the soursop. I guess the name gives away a bit! It's a large fruit that is found in the Caribbean and South America! I discovered it when shopping in a market in grenada today and loving the excitment of trying something new i bought a couple! after some reasearch i made some nice juice and although a lot of work it really was worth it for the unique and refreshing flavour. Check out the video to learn more!