Of Fall and Chili

Growing up in an Asian household chili was something I was never introduced to until I was in my teens......And that same would go to pumpkin as well.  The older I've become the more appreciative I have become of both, as the people that I have grown with throughout the years will not go without pumpkin, apples, chili or mac and cheese that comes with the slight chill in the air and the brisk wisp of the falling leaf.

I made chili fairly recently, in fact it was my first.  However I did not bother with doing the whole blogging thing with it.  I also made mac and cheese too.....Also with no post.

I got this recipe from Seriouseats with a few revisions.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion (I used 1/2 1 large onion)
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 (4 ounce can) can chopped green chiles (I used a very small handful of Serrano peppers...chopped, cleaned of seeds)
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey (I used 1 lb chicken instead)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can red kidney beans (I skipped the beans...As I am not a fan)
2 cups (1 14.5 ounce can) pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 tablespoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
cayenne pepper to taste (at least 3 good shakes)
sugar (to taste)

Directions
1.  Heat oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat
2.  Saute the onion, both bell peppers, chiles, and garlic til tender.

3.  Make room in the center of the skillet for chicken and brown.
4.  Stir in tomatoes, and pumpkin
5.  Add the seasonings
6.  Reduce heat and simmer at least 20 minutes.
7.  Eat!

Passion, Sensuality, and Food

"It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love,
are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think
of one without the others. So it happens that when I write of hunger, I
am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the
love of it and the hunger for it… and then the warmth and richness
and fine reality of hunger satisfied… and it is all one."
~ M.F.K. Fisher, from The Art of Eating 

"To be sensual, I think it to respect and rejoice in the force of life, of life itself, and to be present in all that one does, from the effort of loving to the making of the bread."~ James Arthur Baldwin 


There are many types of people in this world who see food as simply fuel.  Something to not taste and nor savor.  Just to eat because they have to, or just have it because it's around, affordable (not that, affordability is entirely bad...But that's for another day, another topic), and quick.  


Then there are people that either know how to cook the food, want to enjoy the food and sensualize the taste of food.  What I mean by sensualize is to see, taste, smell, feel (with their fingers and/or their tongue), as well as on their palate.  


Do I think that food replaces sex?  Or sexual?  No.  
I think of it rather as a play of the senses.   While I am making this food, in a way, I am also making this for others.  The very act of making food is done with passion, sensuality and love.  I know that when I am truly focused on a dish nothing else really matters as long as the dish comes out the way I would like it to turn out...With the best expectations.  If not...Try and try again....Why?  Because I care.  


Sometimes the best dishes are those that take the most tender loving care....Even quick dishes take time from their preparation to the table.  Not everybody gets that.  One has to have the proper ingredients, measurements etc for the dish to come out the way that the cook and/or chef is pleased as well as the people consuming the food.  


Then again, not everybody gets that their meat or vegetable may come from a farm or a processing plant.  If one doesn't care about where there food comes from, how it gets there, why it starts from point A to point B then you can't necessarily care about your food.


Food is apart of security as a need...And love...As an expression.  Sensuality is part of the process of making the food...As well as eating it.  


Post inspired by Avflox


- Food posts to come soon!....I've been a bit behind due to the fact my life has a been a bit hectic at the moment - 

Don't Be A Retart

I've never been good at pastries, or tarts.  In fact, I just started getting into baking; on a whim.
I've always considered myself more of a baker.  Needless to say I've come to do a little baking here and mostly cooking here and there.

Even when it came to my friends...Most of them preferred baking...I preferred cooking.  It wasn't really a competition just an 'ok you this' and an 'ok you do that'.  However it's always a good thing to grow and expand my branches of experience.  It doesn't quite help that I'm a sucker for freshly baked pastries as it is.

It's just a whole different ballpark to cooking as with baking you have to use exact measurements, weights, amounts, etc.   This is no different with making Asian Egg Tarts.

I played around with a recipe before conferring to my mom with her recipe.

The first batch I made made for a crusty crumbly crust.  Far too fragile and not at all the firmness that I was looking for.  The flavors were still there.  It just wasn't the same.

So I then went to my mom....As we all consider our mom's to be the best of the best in the kitchen in some form with at least one dish (in my case, I think my mom is great overall with her baking and cooking...But that's just me).  Love you mom!

It came to no surprise that her recipe came out superb.

My Mom's Taiwanese Egg Custard Recipe

Crust
3 oz cream cheese
1 stick margarine *I used a stick of butter instead*
1 cup flour

Filling
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar

For the crust mix in everything together and I used my hand to mix it into a fine slick dough.  I then took eyed out a piece of the crust and used my finger to pat out the shell.  Continue to do that with each individual piece until you are out of dough.

For the filling, mix the eggs and sugar.  Mix until sugar has dissolved and then add the milk.  Mix until all the ingredients have combined.  Fill in the shells with the filling until it's just below the crust.

I had extra filling, and by the time that I had run out of dough, I had run out of flour.  So I filled a small ceramic ramekin with the rest of the custard.  All done!

Since I had forgotten to ask my mom about the bake time and the temperature wasn't listed on the recipe.  I just assumed it would be 350 degrees F.   It took approximately half an hour for it to come out just right.


I will say that the key difference between the last recipe and my mom's was the cream cheese.  It made all the difference.

Now, while my mom's recipe doesn't have a lot of sugar in it...You are more than welcome to add more sugar to your taste.

Scurry Curry

Indian Food is not, in my opinion, without curry.

Personally I've always loved the smell of the Indian spices...Including curry.
I would be one of those food crazed people that would wander around Penzey's spices sniffing all that I could...And the Indian spices were what got to me the most.

Why?

Studies have shown that when you smell something, it reaches your taste buds and goes to your brain...And yes, I am talking in a 'gist' kind of form.

The smell of curry warmed my tongue.  Warmed my senses.
Not so much in the way that it was hot, but more so in the sense that it was a very warm embrace.

I have adapted the recipe from Elise at Simply Recipes

Lamb Curry Recipe

Cook time: 3 hours

INGREDIENTS

2 lamb shanks AND 2 lamb shoulder steaks (yielding about 2 lbs of meat without the bone)

**I had used 2 lamb shanks and used a 1 lb of goat leg meat**

1 large onions, chopped, about 3 1/2 cups

3-5 cloves of garlic, crushed

2-3 Tbsp ghee (clarified butter) or 1 Tbsp olive oil with butter

2-3 Tbsp curry powder

2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp black pepper

1 Tbsp ground coriander

1 Tbsp cumin

1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped**

1 tsp thyme, dried**

**I had since I did not have any rosemary or thyme I had subbed it with Herbes De Provence**

1/2 Meyer lemon sliced (with rind)  **Did not include the lemon however I used some lemon juice**

2 peeled and chopped apples (tart green granny smith if possible), about 2 cups

1/4 cup of raisins (my addition to Maria's recipe)  **Did not use raisins**

1 1/2 cups chicken broth*  **Subbed the chicken broth for some homemade duck broth that I had**

8-12 small potatoes, quartered, about 1 1/2 pounds

Chutney, yogurt, rice

*If cooking gluten-free, use homemade chicken stock or gluten-free packaged broth.

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 300° F. On stovetop, add the ghee or the butter-and-oil mixture to a large covered pot or Dutch oven and turn the burner to medium-high. Brown the meat well and remove it from pan.

2 Add curry powder to the ghee or oil, turn the heat down to medium and cook gently for a minute or two. Add onions and garlic and cook 5 minutes. Return lamb to pan.

3 Add coriander, black pepper, cumin, rosemary, thyme, sliced lemon, apples, raisins, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Cover the pot and put it in the oven. Cook for 2 hours. Check at 2 hours to see if the meat is falling off the bone. It should be starting to do so. Add the potatoes and cook for another 45 minutes.  **I had cooked this for approx.  6 hours…That was when it was fall off the bone tender**

4 To serve, you can pull the meat off the bones or leave it on. Taste for salt and add some more curry powder or cayenne if you want things spicier. Serve over rice with chutney and yogurt.

Yield: Serves 6

**I also added extra Madras Curry**

A Pie For Mikey

While I do not know Jenny Perillo personally, I do remember reading her twitter, when the sudden loss of her husband occurred.  He had left behind his wife and his two little girls.  She had requested in her blog to share it with those we love.

I will do so as love and life are delicate matters that should be celebrated, remembered, and appreciated.

I know, for me, I've always had a hard time verbalizing my emotions into words....Unless they be written.  So, I normally do the next best thing.  I do.  

So this, is my tribute to Mikey, to my audience, and to those whom I hold near and dear.  

You may find her recipe on her website.

Other related links:

www.whiteonricecouple.com/

Bloggers Without Borders

For the love of Samosas

I've always had a certain love for Indian food.  

In fact one of the most romantic dates I've had involved Indian food.  While I know that most people have a love/hate relationship with it...I have a certain affair with it.  

I love the warmth of the spices that fill my senses and the versatility of the spices.

So one day I just decided to make Samosas.

1 tbs ghee, 1 clove finely chopped garlic, 1 tsp finely chopped ginger, 2 medium finely chopped onions, 1 tsp curry powder, 1 tbs, lemon juice (or vinegar), 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tbs coriander.....

The recipe called for 2 tbs chopped fresh mint which I didn't bother with and I had decided to add

1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp cardemom.

The recipe also requested 250 grams of minced beef or lamb...I used about a pound of beef.

To make the filling, heat the ghee in a sauce pan and fry garlic, ginger and half the onion until onion is soft.  Add Curry powder, salt, vinegar/lemon, mix well.  Add minced beef/lamb and fry over high heat.  Stirring constantly until meat changes colour.  Turn heat down and add hot water.  Cover pan and cook until meat is tender and all the liquid is absorbed.

Towards the end of cooking, stir frequently to prevent meat from sticking to the base of the pan.  Sprinkle with garam masala and chopped mint/coriander, remove from heat and allow to cool.  Mix in reserved onion.  

For the dough, use 225 grams plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 3 tbs oil, 1 approx 100 ml hot water, 1 oil for frying.

To make the dough, sieve together the flour and the salt.  Rub in the oil.  Add enough water to form a stiff dough.  Knead for 10 minutes until smooth.

Divide into 12 balls.  Roll each ball into a round 15 cm/6" across.  Cut in half.

Pick up one half, flatten slightly, and form a cone, sealing the overlapping edge with a little water.  Fill the cone  with 1.5 tsp of the filling and seal the top with a little water.

Make all the samosas the same way.

Heat the oil in a Karahi (Wok) over medium heat.   Put as many samosas as you can into the hot oil and fry until crisp and golden.  Drain.  Serve with a chutney or your favourite chilli or tomato sauce.

Now, this is my first time working with samosa dough and I don't have the most delicate of fingers.  Needless to say this is how my first batch came out.....

So I went with a second bout with my second batch and went in an easier direction.  With won ton wrappers.  And this is how THESE came out.

Either way both came out good although very different from each other.

Would I make it again?  Sure.  I'm a huge fan of the filling.

I had adapted my recipe from here

My next adventure is supposed to be with curry.....I'll get to that eventually.

Mago

I had first come across Mago at a random moment in the Bolingbrook Promenade.
The restaurant was very festive and the staff exceptional.
As most 'critics' would do, they would go three times which is exactly what I chose to do.

The outside of Mago is very colorful and festive in bright oranges, yellows and rich reds.  They had two sides of outdoor seating and an open floor.  More often then once I have seen the Chef walk around the front of the house to inspect that all his customers were happy and all was going smooth in the front of the house.

The staple that they do when one arrives to the table is some chips and three different types of salsa.  One is a particular type guacamole and lime, another that is a bright orange and also another that is a dark red.  All three salsas play with your tongue....Although the third time I had arrived at the restaurant the salsas seemed more spicy then the last two.

The first time I had gone I had the 3 samplings of ceviches.  

Camaron – Citrus marinated shrimp, plum tomato, green olives, jalapenos, cilantro, avocado and spicy tomato sauce

Mojarra – lime marinated tilapia roasted bell peppers jicama cilantro lime vinaigrette

Atun – Citrus marinated ahi tuna, plum tomato, red onions, mangos, habaneros, cilantro and passion fruit juice

Out of the three I most enjoyed the Mojarra and the Atun.  

The Mojarra had a comforting tone of the bell peppers, jicama and lime.  The Atun also married quite well with all the spices although the cuts seemed quite a bit large and had to be broken down a bit to be 'picked up' by the chips.

Overall, it was delicious.

The second time I had gone, I and another friend had ordered the Empanada Sampling which consisted of the beef picadillo, chicken tinga, and the tequila shrimp.  Again, all were very good (crisp skin and and all) tho' the favored ones were the chicken tinga and the tequila shrimp.  Simply due to the fact that the tinga and the tequila shrimp had a wonderfully tender and creamy flavor to them.  

This of course, was followed by the Pechuga Azteca, which is a Proscuitto stuffed chicken breast, squash blossom, Asedero cheese, roasted poblano cream sauce and cilantro rice.

The entree itself was a good size.  I was slowly getting full from the empanada samplings but knew I had enough room for more.  The chicken was oh so tender and the sauce.  Oh my gosh, the cream sauce.  It was so rich, and utterly, addictingly delectable.  The sauce itself was beyond amazing.  Unfortunately I couldn't finish it all and brought it home....And it was still just as good the next day.  

The third time I had gone, I had decided to just have the Pastor taco.  It was perfect in the simplification of the dish.  It was topped with simply cilantro and onion....As it should be in my opinion.   The meat simply fell off when bitten into.  The flavors were savory and again, went well with all things combined.  

I should note that what comes w/ the entrees is tortilla soup.  It has bits of beef, chicken and all things that go into the tortilla soup.  I wish I could describe it more....Not to say it wasn't memorable.  But again, it was equally good.

I ended the meal with Capirotada as suggested by the waitress.  It was a huge slice.  The picture I have does not do the bread pudding justice.  The bananas were crisp from the caramelization while the bread pudding itself was rich and cake like.  Since the slice was so huge, I ended up taking the rest of that home as well and intend on savoring the rest of it tomorrow.  

With all three meals I had, had the Guava Caipirinia, which consists Cachaca Brazillian rum, lime juice, sugar...Although the Guava Caipirinia one would obviously have guava juice in it.  I did have the original however the Guava Caipirinia bowled me over.  I mean, all it did was basically taste like guava and it went down like water.   Every time that it was made, it came out perfectly.  It's since become my favorite drink at this location.  

While I realize that this place is and can be pricey.   I find it well worth it overall.  Yes, the tacos are pricey at 3 for 10 when one can get just as good tacos in the city for cheap....I will be good and not name the other 'fast food' taco place in the city....The service is great, the quality is outstanding, and the restaurant itself is fantastic.

The staff has been nothing but informative and helpful.  In fact, one of the waitresses...Who serviced me the first time had recognized me each and every time I've gone.  

Personally, I love this restaurant, and I love the food.  

I have had nothing but happy foodgasms since eating and drinking from there.  

Mago Grill & Cantina

630-783-2222

641 E Bolingbrook Rd., Suite 152

Bolingbrook, IL 60440