I made this simple and refreshing salad a couple of months ago when I was craving something summer-like. Now that warmer weather is finally here, it's a good time to try it again, preferrably for a picnic or patio meal. This was my first time cooking with currants, and I loved the tart kick they provided to the mix:
I also made fried potatoes with mussels in coconut broth:
Here's the recipe for the salad:
2 cups lentils, cooked
5 cups baby spinach
1/4 dried currants
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
salt and pepper
1. Whisk red onion, olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl.
2. In a large bowl, combine lentils, spinach and currants. Add dressing to salad and toss to coat.
Mariam posted at 9:06 AM | 0 comments
Once in a while you find a restaurant so perfect, so unassuming and so satisfying, that even after one visit it becomes an instant favorite. I first tasted Chris Cosentino's cooking at the Anthony Bourdain book release event last November, so when Dominic's birthday rolled around, I knew I had to take him to Cosentino's restaurant, Incanto.
Neslted in San Francisco's Noe Valley, the place is an offal-lover's paradise. You want beef heart? Check. Mortadella? Check. Tripe? Check.
To start, we ordered the grilled beef heart with roasted golden beets:
Internet, do you have any idea how much I love beef heart? And beets? The two together was like a marriage made in heaven. The true sign of a well-cooked beef heart (or kidney) is that it still tastes good even after it's cooled down, and this easily stood up to the test.
For my entree, I got the Bucatini, Sardinian cured tuna heart, egg yolk and parsley:
I sometimes mix a raw egg into my rice when eating chelo kabab, or with a number of Korean stews. But I've never had it with an Italian pasta, and oh my, it is delicious. The tuna heart added a perfect note of saltiness.
Dom got the truffled mortadella agnolotti, which was also very good:
For dessert, I had the three-cheese plate, which was my least favorite part of the meal. It could have been because I was already full, but I'm not really a dessert person to begin with:
Incanto may not receive as much hype as some other Italian restaurants in the city (especially ones that *cough* start with a letter and end in a number *cough*), but the service was attentive yet not stuffy, the food was what offal dreams are made of, and well, it's my favorite Italian restaurant.
Mariam posted at 8:50 AM | 0 comments
There are pick-up-and-go sandwiches, and then there are knife-and-fork sandwiches. This one is of the latter. The key to this dish's success is making sure the bread toasts well so that it doesn't turn soggy after you assemble the sandwiches:
I also made a simple but satisfying chopped apple and phyllo pastry:
Here's the recipe for the sandwich:
1/2 stick butter, cut into small cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon minced rosemary
1 teaspoon minced thyme
salt and black pepper
2 cups beef stock
1 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in tablespoon water
1/2 loaf good crusty bread, sliced and toasted
1 lb filet mignon
2 teaspoons olive oil
1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Add garlic and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add rosemary, thyme and season to taste with pepper. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until shiitakes begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add stock, wine and soy sauce. Bring to boil. Simmer gently until reduced to 1 cup, about 25 minutes. Stir cornstarch mixture and whisk into liquid. Cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Season with salt; keep warm.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over high heat. Season fillet with salt & pepper and add to skillet and brown until medium-rare, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet and let rest for five minutes, then thinly slice. Dip meat in mushroom sauce and arrange on bread. Spoon mushroom sauce on top, close sandwiches and serve.
Mariam posted at 9:01 PM | 2 comments
My guiltiest food pleasure is ramen. Through the years, my tastebuds have moved up the ranks from Maruchan's Oriental flavored instant ramen to Nong Shim's seafood ramyun. I usually add toppings to the soup, like konnyaku or okra. And a raw egg at the end, of course.
You would think that ramen-yas (or ramen houses) would be one of my favorite types of restaurants then, but no. I seem to enjoy pre-packaged, preservative-laden instant ramen better than the real, handmade thing. That being said, one of the few Japanese restaurants that serves up a bowl of ramen good enough for me to return to is Sapporo-ya in San Francisco's Japantown.
I got the kimchi ramen, which was a good fix for a chilly afternoon, though I could have done without the big slabs of pork. (Seriously, what is that about? Why does almost all ramen include pork or at the very least, pork broth?) The noodles were a firm, chewy texture, and the wakame provided a colorful contrast.
I still count on my good friend Nong Shim as my ramen standby, but Sapporo-ya is there for when the mood strikes. Oh, and don't go there and order the yakisoba, it's too greasy. They do have okonomiyaki though, so I know I'll be back.
Mariam posted at 7:52 AM | 0 comments
According to the original recipe I picked up in Food & Wine, these shrimp were supposed to be grilled. I improvised and broiled them instead, and the result was still pretty good. I mean, c'mon. There's crispy prosciutto involved. Need I say more?
I also made a more refined version of beef stroganoff using a fillet and fusilli pasta instead of egg noodles because the grocer was out of egg noodles. It was good, but I'll stick to my egg noodles next time, thanks.
Here's the recipe for the shrimp:
1 1/2 cups dry Marsala
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
About 10 prosciutto slices, cut length in half
15 large uncooked shrimp, peeled
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1. Boil first 2 ingredients in saucepan until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Cool glaze 15 minutes.
2. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Place one prosciutto strip on work surface. Dip 1 shrimp into glaze, place at one end of strip. Sprinkle with thyme and wrap prosciutto around shrmp. Dip into glaze and place on platter. Repeat with remaining prosciutto, shrimp, and thyme and glaze as needed. Broil shrimp in oven for 2 minutes, turn shrimp over, and brush with glaze again. Broil about 3 minutes longer.
Mariam posted at 8:48 PM | 1 comments
Hi, my name is Mariam.
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