Game Day!!!
My day started at 8 AM. Mincing, chopping and frying, and squeezing oh so many limes. I think the count was 14, and I still had to send my wife to pick up one of those squeeze bottles of lime juice, sacrilege or not, I wasn't squeezing one more G.D. lime that night. The desserts were done and out of the way the week before as was the dipping sauces. So all that was left was the main, sides and appetizers(oh my). Ah the appetizers...for future reference; in this day and age, people aren't as into the public eating of fried foods as they use to be, let alone wheat, meat, and heat. So deep fried samosas and spring rolls didn't go over so well with the folks. Although my adventurous friend Michael gave them and the Galangal Emulsion the thumbs up. I didn't mind much since I had these wonderful treats to snack on throughout the week. The Chicken Samosa particularly made me happy.
Onto the sides, The ginger fried rice asked for day old rice which I was happy to accommodate for the day (or two) before. It was such a surprisingly simple dish to make and oh so flavourful that it is now my staple rice dish if I'm in a pinch. The power of slow cooking leeks is undeniable in this dish. The ginger, garlic and fried egg come in to round out the flavour. The lime noodles were tasty, I made the lime syrup the day before, thrown together with some rice noodles and vegetables. I'm sure the vegetarian were pleased with this one. And last was the mango, cherry tomato and long bean salad. I was doubling all the ingredients so that the usual “Serves 4” would accommodate the 8. And although I bought double the vegetables for this salad, I ended up just using the one servings worth, I've made salads before and there's just so much mango and long bean a person will eat. And I didn't need leftover salad taking up fridgespace. It was more than enough.
And as all this was going on my tofu and chicken breast were cooking and blackening away. This was the dish that sparked the event. I needed it to be everything it could be. Biggest lessons learn, double the sauce and lose the kumquats, anything so small with so many seeds should be banned from the kitchen. But all in all, the citrusy sweetness of the kumquat sauce was tasty and I wanted to make “the best chicken” my wife's ever tasted as authentic as a cookbook would let me. Nobody was dissappointed, not even the vegetarians who had my molecularly altered Tofu (frozen, thawed, squeezed, brined, squeezed again and dry rubbed) instead of chicken.
And after a few drinks and great conversation we had the dessert. And you can't go wrong with a chocolate coffee tart and coconut sorbet.
All in all a success, we had a wonderful meal, good wine, great conversation. and all it cost me was a lot of money, a lot of time, two very sore feet and a clean up that wasn't as bad as I was expecting.
Bottom line. 8+ dishes is a lot for one man in a small condo with no cupboard space. But with the grace of god and mainly the help of some very wonderful friends washing dishes, feeding me alcohol, giving me an extra hands in the kitchen, serving up dessert as my feet cooled. It all worked out. They were as much the reason the night was a success as was the food. And I thank you all.
So Jean Georges, I salute you for a wonderful excuse for a wonderful evening. I have learned a lot, forgotten much. Feel more confident in asian supermarkets. Have a new love for sriracha, kimchi and shrimp paste, a new resentment for kumquats and freshly squeezed lime juice. And forever fond memories of that afternoon in NYC where the Spice Market Experience was born.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Adventures in the Spice Market Pt. 4: The Prep
Making 2 appetizers with multiple dips, 1 main with a vegetarian option, 3 side dishes and 2 desserts for 8 people may seem impossible for one man. Well if not impossible, then highly inprobable. Shortly after posting the invite it began to dawn on me that my biggest challenge would not be to make these dishes, but to have them done and ready at the appropriate time for serving.
So, I began working on my chart...Yes, I made a chart. With most of my cooking challenges I get myself a nice new notepad to take down notes, recipes, shopping lists, and make prep charts. I began working backwards from the night of the event to prepping, to ingredients, marinades, sauces, to buying ingredients, until I had it down to the smallest detail. Long streetcar rides are great for making charts.
Starting two weeks before the event I began purchasing all the non-perishable ingredients. I also attempted to make pre-made meals as to keep the kitchen free of any unnecessary ingredients or cooking. That didn't work out so well, but I tried my best to stick to sandwhiches and indian boil in a bag meals. I think I also made and froze some potstickers which had me up til 4 in the morning, I watched Solomon Kane, it was a grand ole time.
Week of the event I started buying the longer lasting perishables, onions, lemongrass, galangal, etc. and made my red curry paste and I also started the dessert, Ice cream will keep for a week, as will a couple of pie crusts. And slowly throughout the week I bought groceries, made marinades and sauces, and did as much as I could before the night of, thinking I'd just throw everything together and heat it all up. Easy Peasy...So how did I end up standing in my kitchen for 12 hours straight, madly squeezing limes and slicing mangos?
So, I began working on my chart...Yes, I made a chart. With most of my cooking challenges I get myself a nice new notepad to take down notes, recipes, shopping lists, and make prep charts. I began working backwards from the night of the event to prepping, to ingredients, marinades, sauces, to buying ingredients, until I had it down to the smallest detail. Long streetcar rides are great for making charts.
Starting two weeks before the event I began purchasing all the non-perishable ingredients. I also attempted to make pre-made meals as to keep the kitchen free of any unnecessary ingredients or cooking. That didn't work out so well, but I tried my best to stick to sandwhiches and indian boil in a bag meals. I think I also made and froze some potstickers which had me up til 4 in the morning, I watched Solomon Kane, it was a grand ole time.
Week of the event I started buying the longer lasting perishables, onions, lemongrass, galangal, etc. and made my red curry paste and I also started the dessert, Ice cream will keep for a week, as will a couple of pie crusts. And slowly throughout the week I bought groceries, made marinades and sauces, and did as much as I could before the night of, thinking I'd just throw everything together and heat it all up. Easy Peasy...So how did I end up standing in my kitchen for 12 hours straight, madly squeezing limes and slicing mangos?
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Adventures in the Spice Market Pt. 3: The Recipes
In Thai cooking, afew dishes instantly jump out at you. In my world those are Pad Thai and Tom Yum Soup with a similar 4 1/2 S flavouring (salty, sweet, savoury and spicy, and maybe (s)citrusy for an extra s sounding ingredient) a wonderful combination, now if only they threw in smoky.
I am a stickler for working with root ingredients. I wanted to start off with a basic Thai Curry Paste I would use in many of these recipes. There is the red and green variety, separated mainly by the colour of the chilies used. I make this assumption since no two recipes for a curry paste I have seen are the same, green or red.
JG had a green curry recipe to go along with his Green Curry Lentil recipe. So I figured I'd learn how to make the curry as well as take my first baby step into the “Asian Flavors” cookbook. The curry had all the wonderful new ingredients in it; lemongrass, galangal, shrimp paste, nam pla. The only thing not in the curry was the lime leaves, but they were used in main recipe so I got to try all the new ingredients and see what each one brings to the dish. The results were wonderful, better cold the next day. And the left over green curry didn't last the week. I added it to other thai recipes, as well as eating it with almost everything else.
Next up was Tom Yum Soup. For this I used the Bhudda's Table recipe because it was a little simpler and I wanted to use up the ingredients I already had, plus I got to make Tamarind paste for the first time (this is the main source of the sour “S” for this recipe). The main thing I noticed was how much the lime leaves give this soup it's distinct flavour. The results were not as flavourful as I hoped. I think it was due to my omission of Chili Paste with Soybean Oil because I couldn't find a non MSG ladened version.This recipe was vegetarian and would have called for nam pla (fish sauce) if not. Usually I turn a blind eye to extracts and enhancers, but with a pregnant wife. I tried my best to keep it clean. I finally tracked one down with the addition of basil leaves. It would have to do. The broth was also lacking the subtle sweetness I have come to expect in this soup and just a weaker flavour than I have come to know and love.
My Pad Thai was a combination of two internet finds and it turned out well. Here I use shrimp paste. God all mighty that stuff stinks! But once all the flavours come together. The salty, savoury taste can't be beat. The results were very tasty. A slight sweetness, but as I despise Spring Rolls syrupy sweet Pad Thai Sauce, I was cautious of the sweetness.
I followed these up with a dish I'd be making for the evening. The Grilled Chicken with Kumquat-Lemongrass Dressing. Great dish but pitting those kumquats was annoying but I did learn that I needed to double the sauce recipe as there was barely enough for all the servings. If it weren't for the sliced kumquats I'd say it was meant to be a glaze. But still delicious. So with some familiarity of the ingredients I was ready for the challenge of making multiple dishes for 8 people. Piece of cake!?!?!!
I am a stickler for working with root ingredients. I wanted to start off with a basic Thai Curry Paste I would use in many of these recipes. There is the red and green variety, separated mainly by the colour of the chilies used. I make this assumption since no two recipes for a curry paste I have seen are the same, green or red.
JG had a green curry recipe to go along with his Green Curry Lentil recipe. So I figured I'd learn how to make the curry as well as take my first baby step into the “Asian Flavors” cookbook. The curry had all the wonderful new ingredients in it; lemongrass, galangal, shrimp paste, nam pla. The only thing not in the curry was the lime leaves, but they were used in main recipe so I got to try all the new ingredients and see what each one brings to the dish. The results were wonderful, better cold the next day. And the left over green curry didn't last the week. I added it to other thai recipes, as well as eating it with almost everything else.
Next up was Tom Yum Soup. For this I used the Bhudda's Table recipe because it was a little simpler and I wanted to use up the ingredients I already had, plus I got to make Tamarind paste for the first time (this is the main source of the sour “S” for this recipe). The main thing I noticed was how much the lime leaves give this soup it's distinct flavour. The results were not as flavourful as I hoped. I think it was due to my omission of Chili Paste with Soybean Oil because I couldn't find a non MSG ladened version.This recipe was vegetarian and would have called for nam pla (fish sauce) if not. Usually I turn a blind eye to extracts and enhancers, but with a pregnant wife. I tried my best to keep it clean. I finally tracked one down with the addition of basil leaves. It would have to do. The broth was also lacking the subtle sweetness I have come to expect in this soup and just a weaker flavour than I have come to know and love.
My Pad Thai was a combination of two internet finds and it turned out well. Here I use shrimp paste. God all mighty that stuff stinks! But once all the flavours come together. The salty, savoury taste can't be beat. The results were very tasty. A slight sweetness, but as I despise Spring Rolls syrupy sweet Pad Thai Sauce, I was cautious of the sweetness.
I followed these up with a dish I'd be making for the evening. The Grilled Chicken with Kumquat-Lemongrass Dressing. Great dish but pitting those kumquats was annoying but I did learn that I needed to double the sauce recipe as there was barely enough for all the servings. If it weren't for the sliced kumquats I'd say it was meant to be a glaze. But still delicious. So with some familiarity of the ingredients I was ready for the challenge of making multiple dishes for 8 people. Piece of cake!?!?!!
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