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