pastameshugana

Day off today, so a riff on a dish from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem. It's a riff because we live in a tiny town with serious ingredient lacks. Couldn't get: fennel bulbs, arak, or even cous cous for the side... Loosely inspired by "Roasted Chicken with Clementines and arak" I used cara cara oranges (again no clementines available) and, on a whim used vanilla from the make your own vanilla extract experiment in place of the arak, since it had a high alcohol content. This was very yummy. Side was orzo with onion, chili and tomato paste.

Definitely the quote of the day... beautiful tacos BTW.

Maybe my google mojo is wearing thin these days - but is there a supplier anywhere that carries the full line of boars head products online? I've found a few random products, but alas, nothing complete. And not what I want (corned beef, pastrami, small hard pepperoni). I know there's better products, but I've got a bit of an emotional connection to the BH product and there's nothing within hundreds of miles of me... Any ideas?

Well, I just returned from a two-week trip to Bangalore with my three oldest 'mini-meshuganas'. We lived there for a couple of years, so this was a blast to get back and see old friends, and re-connect with the food! One night a friend took us to a fantastic kaati roll joint. I'm sure there's few experiences in all the world like eating street food at night anywhere in Asia. Everyone's out, most people are happy, the food is fantastic and fresh, and everybody speaks the same language over food! Produce stand where we parked: Skewering the chicken: Grilling the chicken: Making the parothas (note the Kinley water bottles as sauce containers): At the juice shop two doors down getting drinks - we chose butterfruit shakes. If you're unfamiliar, the butterfruit is like a large, mild avocado. When sweetened into a shake, it's a remarkably delicious drink! And the finished roll, with sliced onion, egg and 'sauce' that we couldn't get a definition of: These were the best I've had - but it might have been at least partially because I've been out of the country for three years and had a serious craving on.

Thanks for the foodcurated link! Don't know why I've never seen that - love it already! Totally dig the clip on custom srirachas on Brooklyn...

Beautiful - breakfast, lunch and dinner on one plate...

Lordie lordie. I'm just about to leave the house for a night out with my wife, and while I know the company will be unparalleled, I know I won't eat anything at a restaurant in my town that even comes close to measuring up...

I was experimenting for brekkie today: I got this for christmas - silicone molds for making ice shot glasses.... but I had other things in mind: Plain egg whites into the molds, and baked at 300 - took way too long, wish there was a better method. Ideas? Egg yolk cooked with MUCH sriracha and stuffed inside: The 'cups' had too many bubbles in them, which made them wobbly. I think I should have 'forked up' the whites before dumping them in the molds. Also, it was very difficult to keep the yolk runny.... I just need to experiment some more...

Well, I spoke too soon. Late gifts arrived from DW: A set of spoons with concentric measurements in them...very interesting. One spoon has ridges for 1/4tsp, 1tsp, 2tsp, the other with tbsp. Also, very excited about a set of silicone molds intended for freezing ice into shot-glass shapes. I plan on doing much more creative things with them!

A new immersion blender. There was one package that was large & heavy enough to definitely be a set of large, expensive books. It was from a person thoughtful enough I thought it may be MC at home, but discovered (to my great delight) it was actually the entire 'Calvin and Hobbes' collection. Yay me! My absolute favorite comic in the history of man, and certain to cause me many many less profanity-inciting moments of frustration than I'm sure MC would have... I've got to go, some serious reading to do...

I generally prefer puree. Although, it would be neat to try a 1/2 n 1/2 variation that has a broth/chunk soup with an extra thick puree 'dolloped' on as garnish to stir in... or maybe I'm overthinking it...

I always bring chocolate for my date (Mrs. Meshugana)... oh wait...

That sounds amazing!

Wait, you mean Olive Garden isn't REAL Italian food?! The horror!! ...I kid, I kid... Just heard the OG was moving into our (small) town and everyone is delirious with joy that we're going to get 'a real Italian joint' as they say. Ugh. I'm glad because it means more people at the restaurants I'm at...

That sounds both decadent AND delicious. Call next time you're making it!

I 2nd (6th?) the pasta dishes. Carbonara happens in a flash. Although, when under mega pressure (I do month long projects that are literally 16-20hrs/day), I'll take one day off in the middle and cook something ridiculously complicated and long that I've never cooked before. For some reason that kind of resets me...

I think this might be the hang up that's confusing you. The issue with much (not all or even most) food is not in 'solving problems' but in creating art. I'm an artist in a lot of ways (I love playing guitar, for example), and when I work out a new, incredibly complex riff, it's not because I'm solving a problem. I'm not curing what ails modern music, I'm making my art. In food, I'm not a professional chef, but I play with it as art I can eat. I'll try different techniques because, often, they're 'cool'! I love looking at a dish and thinking, wow, I did that! I remember my first compound butter. I was so impressed with myself! I could've made the dish another way, but I (naively) thought I was one of the greatest cooks around because I could make compound butter. Granted, if you don't want food art, then a Grant Achatz restaurant isn't the place for you to go. Or maybe the art you're looking for is more 'still life' than Pablo Picasso. Point being: I'm not saying you're wrong in your irritation, just trying to shed some light. Chefs aren't 'fixing' any 'non problems' with a lot of these techniques, they're refining their art. $.02

That is a thing of beauty...

We had Thanksgiving with friends who were already cooking, so we just brought a few things: Sweet Potato Soup (definitely will be doing this again - with Maple, nutmeg, cinnamon, garlic & leek): Turkey Breast with Maple and Chili (Sriracha): I made a compound butter with pure maple syrup, sriracha and butter, then put it between the skin & meat. This was the best tasting turkey to EVER pass my lips - positively amazing... (I do humbly insist) Turkey Breast with Portobella & Pancetta Compound Butter - also amazing: I hope you all had a wonderful day! ETA: A note on the blackened skin - I baked the breasts at a little below 350 until internal temp hit 155 - coasted to 165-ish. After removing, dealing with other things, I basted them in the drippings and put them under a 500f broiler for about 3 minutes. The skin ended up really crispy and wonderful.

Here's an update from Alex Edwards at ICA Kitchen, who responded to my query: Fingers crossed...

It's gone missing (unavailable) on amazon. What a heartbreak. I finally got around to making the decision (in time for TG!) and now I can't get my hands on one...

THAT is amazingly beautiful... a stunning picture of a stunning dish... bravo!

Wow... sounds like someone is in for a hangover.... My wife and I joke about 'hitting the vanilla' when the kids (5!) get crazy. Although, vanilla beans cooked as a veggie definitely sound like an experiment..... maybe even an experiment worth trying!

Hayley - not only does that sound amazing (sweet as) - because dal makhni is a family favorite - but I can feel your pain. Had a dentist make an 'oops' two days ago on a filling and am still swollen and hurting...

When living in India we had essentially the same considerations - a brilliant indicator of safety when choosing a dosa joint.