One potato, two potato

Helping someone move is the ultimate demonstration of a true friend.  I'm probably a lousy friend because I haven't helped that many people move.  It sounds so easy.  "Sure, I'll stop by to help on Sunday."  I'm just never prepared for the GIGANTIC job that it really is.

The few times that I have actually helped, it ALWAYS turned into an overwhelming, exhausting, seemingly never ending job.  Besides the usual household items.  I've helped move an airplane (in pieces - that we had to make sure didn't get mixed up), a home-built tractor with grading blade, an antique car (also in pieces - with the same instructions), an antique (read HEAVY) piano (upstairs), and other assorted 'not your usual item'.

One of the most unusual moves found me standing on the kitchen counters (so I could reach the top cabinets), packing the contents of a kitchen into boxes, loading everything (including the rest of the household belongings) onto a large trailer, hauling the trailer to an airplane hanger (where it all waited for three days till Escrow was completed), and then unloading into the new house when it was finally available.

Oh!  It should be noted that all of the above mentioned unusual items and circumstances were from different moves. I have very interesting friends.

A couple of weeks ago, we were asked to help a very good friend move.  Of course, we said yes.  And, as has been my past experience, it's not what it appears to be on the surface.  Let's just say that it was a LONG day...even though we didn't spend all day at it.

Lest you worry, I do have a point.  And here it comes:  My dear friend who moved, has invited us over for a 'thank you' dinner tonight.  Of course, my automatic response to an invitation is, "What can I bring?"  She immediately pops back with, "Um, how about a potato dish?"

So, today's recipe is a potato dish.  Of course, I've never tried it before.  Just experimenting on my friends (again).  I looked over several dozen recipes for inspiration and kind of concocted one that seems like it might be tasty.  I'm not sure what to call it.  I suppose it most resembles Pommes Anna.

There really isn't a recipe, since I just kind of combined a lot of good ideas from the ones I read.  But, here's what I did:

Using all the Yukon Gold potatoes that were in my refrig, I sliced them VERY thin and tossed them with olive oil, salt, and black pepper.  Then, instead of frying them (like Pommes Anna) I carefully arranged them in a rectangular tart pan (complete with removable bottom) that I had generously buttered.  After the first layer, I sprinkled in a bit of very finely shredded Gruyere cheese and just smidgen of Parmesan.  Next, another carefully arranged layer of potatoes and so on until all was used.  Into the oven for a nice hot bake.  I pulled them out of the oven just seconds before the drive over to my friend's new place.  They were still plenty warm and aromatic when we sat down to dinner.  Happily, they still tasted pretty good the next day (at room temperature).

Was it the best potato dish I ever ate?  No, but it sits snugly in the 'not too bad' (say it slowly while nodding your head and give it a rise at the end) category.

It followed me home

My husband called it ‘the year of the pomegranate’. I’m not sure how it happened - again. But, it’s been happening for several years in a row. Around Thanksgiving time I get in this food mood. I get focused on some kind of food theme and everything I’m planning to make is swirling around it. One year it was mandarin oranges. Another year it was mushrooms. This last Thanksgiving it was pomegranates.

Well, maybe I do know how it happened (this year). I was at COSTCO and they had pre-packaged, already picked out of the peel & pulp, plump, beautiful arils (pomegranate seeds). I couldn’t resist them! So, they came home with me and I set off on a journey of discovery (via the internet) to find recipes that used arils.

Along the way, I found some wonderful websites and blogs. (One of the most beautiful blogs I found was called ‘My Persian Kitchen’. I’d highly recommend that you check it out…not just for pomegranates…if you like Mediterranean food at all.) Using ideas and inspiration from the various sites & blogs, I created my own set of pomegranate recipes for our Thanksgiving menu.

My family still lives. So, the recipes must not have been too bad! And, my husband, who started the labeling (complaining?) ate right along with the rest of them. I ended up buying pomegranate vinegar, pomegranate juice, & pomegranate infused oil to go along with those arils. And, I’ve been able to use most of them up with repeat requests to bring along ‘that pomegranate thing you made’.

I suppose the question is, “Should I try to avoid themed holiday food?” Or, should I start planning now for next Thanksgiving? If you’ve read one of my other posts, you’ll know that I’ll probably be bringing along a ‘weird salad’ if we get an invite to my cousin’s place again this year. Just thinking ahead…you know, just in case.

So, here’s one of the recipes I came up with: Pomegranate Salad with Pomegranate dressing. Enjoy!

Pomegranate Salad

INGREDIENTS

Vinaigrette:

¼	cup pomegranate juice
2	T pomegranate vinegar
1	T honey
½	t kosher salt
½	t freshly ground black pepper
½	cup pomegranate infused olive oil *

Salad:

1	head butter lettuce
½	cup pomegranate arils
½	cup shelled pistachios
½	cup feta cheese

Directions

1.     For the vinaigrette, combine pomegranate juice, pomegranate vinegar, honey, salt, & pepper in a bowl.  Gradually drizzle in olive oil while whisking vigorously.  Set aside.  *Extra virgin olive oil will do just as well, if you can’t find the flavored oil.

2.     For the salad, wash butter lettuce leaves and spin dry.  Tear into bite-sized pieces and place in large salad bowl.  Sprinkle lettuce with pomegranate arils and pistachios. Crumble feta cheese over top.

3.     Dress salad with pomegranate vinaigrette.

Champagne anyone? (not that kind)

Paul's gift of a few 'champagne' mangoes has inspired a salad that I plan to take along for a picnic tomorrow at my family reunion.  More about that in a moment.  But first, a mango refresher course...

Ataulfo mangoes (aka 'champagne' or 'Philippine' mangoes) are very different from their fat cousins the Haden mangoes.  A 'Champagne' mango (on the left in the photo below) is superior is so many ways!  Besides being slimmer, having a thinner smaller pit, and being 'hairless', they just taste better.

Because I grew up in The Philippines, I've always favored the 'champagne' style mangoes.  During my teen years, when we lived in Singapore, we could get both types of mangoes.  We called the fat ones 'Indian' mangoes and the slimmer golden ones 'Philippine' mangoes.  In truth, the 'Philippine' ones we bought in the Singapore market were from Thailand.  But, the names kind of stuck.  And, I've always thought the 'Indian' variety tasted a bit like kerosene compared to a 'real' mango.

Now back to the family reunion.  My family isn't very fancy.  We don't have elaborate family reunions with identical T-Shirts and resort living for two weeks.  We just gather together somewhere in the middle of where we all live and group camp (or for the slightly more afluent or physically challenged among us, motel room it) at an inexpensive centrally located state park for a weekend in July.  In fact, we've been going to the same two or three spots for many years.

On Saturday, at noon, we have a family picnic.  It's usually hot and cloudless. There aren't many trees which turns the shady spots into prime real estate.  My aunts gather everyone's picnic tables together under the shadiest group of trees and bring out the well used (loved) tableclothes or repurposed sheets to create an extended table that they promptly overload with food.  It's not fancy fare.  Just plain 'ole home cookin'.  The rest of us add to the food madness with whatever we have.

My contribution this year is going to be a fruit salad.  Usually, I bring an entree or some kind of a one-dish wonder.  But, this year I decided to take it easy and bring my two favorites together in a cool fruit salad.  Simply raspberries and mangoes.  My secret twist is going to be the dressing.  I've tried several honey dressings before and know the taste I'm after.  I just need to find that one recipe that's right.

My search so far has gotten me about 12 dozen recipes that are basically the same.  And a couple three others that look interesting.  Tonight's project is to make the four recipes I've chosen and have my husband taste test with some of the fruit.  I may choose to take along more than one...you know...just in case I change my mind at the last minute.  I'll update this post after the reunion to let you know which one I took and what reaction it got.

The first dressing is made with equal parts water and honey, some lemon juice, cinnamon, & ginger.  You bring the water almost to a boil, add the honey and let it become syrupy.  Then add the lemon juice and spices.  The great taste tester liked it a lot.  I thought it tasted like mulled cider - not what I was after.

The second one is called Honey Orange Sauce.  It sounded interesting but turned out awful!  Orange juice, lemon juice, honey, ginger, & nutmeg.  It was bitter.  A complete waste of honey.

We didn't get to try the third one.  I may give it a go another time.  I think it would be good.  The reason we didn't try it was that my local market didn't have mint today.  Can you believe it?  Of all things to be out of when I'm experimenting!  It called for honey, lime juice, brown sugar, & mint.  Sigh.  Another time.

Here's the winner.  Got many compliments and lots of questions about it!

Honey Dressing

INGREDIENTS

⅔	cup sugar
1	t dry mustard
1	t paprika
¼	t salt
1	t celery seed
⅓	cup honey
5	T white vinegar
1	T lemon juice
1	cup vegetable oil

Directions

Blend all ingredients in blender, adding oil in a thin steady stream - whirling continually.

Smoke gets in your eyes

If you're humming the old ‘Platters’ tune, then you’re just as old as I am. Or, you like the oldies station on your car radio. But that’s not what I was thinking of when I titled this post. We just got back from our week-long camping trip to the lake. And, it strikes me that ‘camping food’ is very different from ‘regular food’.

Not us...but, smarter than us (note the swim goggles)!

At home, if smoke gets in your eyes, you know you’re in trouble and something’s going to be tasting really bad. But, on the other hand, if you’re camping and smoke gets in your eyes, you know you’re in for a treat! It’s funny, too, how there are some things that we ONLY make when we’re out camping – wouldn’t dream of making it at home. It’s like we know that there are too many calories or too much fat or some other offending ingredient/property so we don’t make it at home on a regular basis. But, since we’re camping…well, obviously camping calories and camping fat and camping ‘whatever else’ don’t count as the real deal. As my buddy Akeem says, “What happens at the lake…stays at the lake.” Kind of like a guilty pleasure.

One of my favorite guilty pleasures is something we call ‘Mexican Breakfast’. Now, I realize that there’s probably not a Mexican in the whole wide world that has had this for breakfast. But, that is the only name I know for it. Diana had this at a restaurant about 25 years ago. (No idea what the name was on the menu.) She dissected it and came up with the list of ingredients. Since then, we’ve morphed it into a very yummy breakfast item that we ONLY eat when we are camping. Partially, because when we’ve made it at home it didn’t taste right. It was missing the key camping ingredients: fresh air, pine needles, a waft of campfire smoke, and that relaxed camping aura.

I’ll give you the rough recipe for one. You can adjust it to feed as many as you want.

Mexican Breakfast

INGREDIENTS

Eggs, scrambled

Flour tortilla

Cream cheese

Butter

Cheddar cheese

Tomato, chopped

Green chilies, the kind from a can, diced

Salsa

Sour Cream

Scramble some eggs and set them aside. Heat a cast iron skillet on your camp stove. Take a flour tortilla and spread cream cheese over the whole thing (edge to edge). When it’s ready, drop a generous amount of butter into the skillet. Carefully drape the tortilla in the cast iron skillet (yes, it has to be cast iron or it doesn’t taste right!) so that half of it is in the bottom being bathed in the butter and the other half is propped up on the edge of the skillet and resting on the handle. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese (or Pepper Jack, if you like it spicy). Add the scrambled eggs, diced green chilies, and chopped tomato. Drizzle with salsa and top with sour cream. Take the top half and fold it over the pile of ‘innards’. About that time, the bottom half of your tortilla should be golden brown and crispy. Flip the folded tortilla over and (this is the hard part) wait for the other side to brown and crisp. That’s it. Unless you’re my husband…he thinks you need to top the final product with more salsa and sour cream. I don’t agree…I think that softens up the tortilla and ruins the crispiness.

As you can see, you can only make one at a time – unless you have help and another skillet. When we make this (usually on our last day at the lake), we just keep going (slowly) until everyone has been fed. It drags out our last morning and postpones our departure time very nicely.

In case you’ve forgotten the words to the song, here they are:

Smoke gets in your eyes

They asked me how I knew,
My true love was true,
Oh, I of course replied,
Something here inside,
Cannot be denied.

They said someday you'll find,
All who love are blind,
Oh, when your heart's on fire,
You must realize,
Smoke gets in your eyes.

So I chaffed them, and I gaily laughed,
To think they could doubt our love,
Yet today, my love has flown away,
I am without my love.

Now laughing friends deride,
Tears I cannot hide,
So I smile and say,
When a lovely flame dies,
Smoke gets in your eyes.

Didn't know I needed one

“It should be able to do more than one thing.” Miz Margaret claims that any kitchen gadget worth buying should be multi-functional.  And, I agree.

I love my kitchen gadgets.  In fact, my kitchen gadget drawer is loaded to overflowing (which just sends my husband over the edge when he’s putting things away after their trip through the dishwasher – we have a deal, I load and he unloads). I like gadgets that are really useful. You know, ‘necessary’. I’ll admit there may be a thing or two way at the back of the drawer that doesn’t see much action. But, for the most part, I use them all. And, I like to make sure my friends have all the gadgets they need, as well.

I have discovered, however, that there are some gadgets that are not up to Miz Margaret's standards. Here’s a perfect example: Is it really necessary to purchase a ‘banana keeper’? I mean, what else could you use it for? It’s yellow. It’s the size of half a banana. It’s curved like a banana. What else would fit in there? And, really, wouldn’t a piece of plastic wrap or a zip top baggie do the trick?

Another example: Will my life be complete if I don’t buy an avocado scooper/slicer? Let’s think this one through. You’re holding an avocado in your hand. You have a small knife in your other hand. You cut stem-to-stern around the avocado. You swivel the two halves apart. You whack the knife into the seed and twist to remove it. Now you have a choice. Should you put down the knife (which already has avocado on it) and dig around in your overflowing utensil drawer to find the ‘Super-duper thing-a-ma-bob scoop-n-slice-all-at-once’ gadget? Or, I don’t know…just use the knife that’s already in your hand to slice the avocado and then give an ever so gentle squeeze to the release the pieces? Hm…

Or, how about this one: Can I live without lobster-shaped butter melters? You’re going to love this… I was shopping at a well known kitchen gadget/supply store and ran across these red lobster-shaped ‘dish’ that sits atop a blue stand that holds a tealight. The idea being that you load up the lobster with butter. You light the tealight, which warms the lobster dish, which melts the butter. And now you can dredge your lobster bits through the liquid butter in your lobster-shaped butter melter. Oh! Did I mention that these were sold in sets? Each person at your table should have their very own lobster-shaped butter melter! I got to giggling a little too loud and the very nice clerk in the store thought something was wrong with me. This prompted a phone call to Miz Margaret. After I explained the set up and she hopped online to see them for herself, we were nearly in tears laughing. I haven’t been back to that store since then. I’m afraid they still remember me.

So, with that background information, you’ll be surprised to learn that I gave Miz Margaret a cherry pitter for her birthday. (I know…her birthday’s in February but I didn’t give this to her until July…what can I say?...I was horribly LATE!) The reason I gave her a cherry pitter was so that we could make this salad. We like cooking together and trying new recipes. And, this calls for fresh pitted cherries. Well! What an opportunity! Of course, any new recipe requires a trip to the store for produce. But, a recipe that requires a trip to the kitchen gadget store? Well, that’s one hum-dinger of a recipe! The only problem was this gadget pretty much only has one use. I was able to rationalize it by figuring that if she ever needed to pit olives, it might work for that as well.

When I gave her the cherry pitter I got this look.  You know...the stare with the raised eyebrow.  I quickly started extolling it's virtues and explaining how useful it would be.  In truth, I wasn't too sure that it would ever get used beyond the one recipe we were planning to make that day.  But, I need not have worried!

We got started working on the recipe.  I made the dressing and washed up the Butter lettuce while Miz Margaret went to work on the cherries.  Oh!  You should have seen it.  She put that first cherry into the pitter and gave a might squeeze.  Out popped the seed and a spray of cherry juice splattered into the sink.  Her eyes flew open and she starting giggling in delight.  By the time she was done (two cups of cherries), there was cherry juice everywhere in that sink.  It looked like she had butchered a small animal  and she was laughing and waving that cherry pitter around as though she had conquered the world.  If there had been anymore cherries in the house, she would have pitted them, too.

The recipe turned out to be a new favorite.  And I've made it several times for a take-along dish.  Each time, I'd borrow the cherry pitter from Miz Margaret.  But then, she up and moved!  I had to go out a buy myself a cherry pitter.  I didn't even know I needed one until she moved away!

Well, whether you know it or not, you need a cherry pitter, too.  Especially if you plan to try this wonderful salad.  I've made it with and without the chicken depending on where I was taking it.  The dressing is mild and creamy and the cherries really are the stars of this recipe.

By the way...the cherry pitter works great on Kalamata Olives, as well.  So, there you have it.  A gadget that does more than one thing!

 

Cherry-Chicken Salad

INGREDIENTS

Salad:

2	T vegetable oil
1	lb chicken breasts
1	head Butter lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
½	lb (2 cups) Bing cherries, pitted & halved
¼	cup walnut pieces

Dressing:

½	cup sour cream
½	cup crumbled fresh goat cheese (2 oz)
2	T snipped fresh chives
2	t white-wine vinegar
	Salt
	Freshly ground pepper

Directions

1.     In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, goat cheese, chives, vinegar, and two tablespoons water; season with salt and pepper.  Set dressing aside.

2.      In a large skillet, heat oil at medium-high.  Season chicken breast with salt and pepper.  Cook until opaque clear through (about 2-3 minutes per side).  Slice chicken very thinly crosswise.

3.     Divide the letter onto four plates; top with chicken, cherries, & walnuts.  Serve with dressing on the side.

Jalabi, Kheer, or Gulab Jamun?

For my birthday this year, my husband and my dad took me to dinner at a fairly new Indian (India, not Native American) restaurant in our area Abhiruchi. I had read a review of it in the local paper and thought it would be fun to try. As we walked in the door, it seemed like I had stepped back in time to one of my favorite places in the entire world – Singapore’s Little India. I felt as though I had crossed my arms, closed my eyes, wiggled my nose, nodded my head, and magically been transported & rematerialized (yes, I know I’m mixing my metaphors) on the bustling streets I loved as a teenager.

It was when I was living in Singapore that I learned to eat and enjoy Indian food. We frequented a restaurant that we affectionately called The Banana Leaf. It must have had a proper name, something Indian no doubt, but I have no recollection of what that name might have been.

My very first trip to Little India was NOT love at first sight. In fact, I distinctly remember being terrified when we stepped off the bus on Serangoon Road and were enveloped by it. There was so much happening at once that I was completely overwhelmed. I dared not lose hold of my companions for fear of be swept away in the crowd!

Little India was loud. Shopkeepers shouted invitations to step into their hole-in-the-wall and check out their many wares. Clangy, bangy, pointy music blared and clashed from each shop. Cars, buses, taxis, bicycles, and trucks fought for space on the street often veering dangerously close to the sidewalks; all the while, tooting their horns in warning. There were people everywhere! Hurrying, pushing, dodging each other and darting across the street. Smells, pungent smells, some enticing and wonderful, others burned the hairs in your nose on the way past; all surrounded us – many I had never encountered before. Flashy brilliant colors, glinting brass, swirling silk saris, and the blazing sun assaulted our eyes. We struggled through the crowds and humid heat up the street experiencing sensory overload.

 

Relief came as we slipped into an alcove that lead us to a set of very steep stairs. It was quiet and calming. Cool air floated down on us from the air-conditioned room above. That stairwell was a little haven from the streets. I remember grabbing the hand rail for assistance as we rose into the unknown/unfamiliar and being disgusted and horrified to find that it was greasy. Once we reached the top of those stairs, we were back into the fray of Little India again.

It was noisy and crowded. But, we were quickly seated at a long table. A banana leaf was unceremoniously flopped down in front of each person. Rice, dal, sambar, raita, tamrind chutney, mango pickle, a variety of vegetable curries, and rasam were plopped out onto the banana leaf by men (clad in flowing white tunics and baggy pants) that carried buckets of the stuff from person to person, table to table. Only one little spoonful of each. Next came the man with baskets of nann, papadam, and poori. Again, only one small piece of each. I was beginning to think we would be going away hungry. I need not have worried! Next came the huge crispy, but soft on the inside, masala dosa with it’s filling of thick curry. And, more and more.

We had been very carefully instructed before arriving to only use the right hand when eating a meal at The Banana Leaf. (Think about it for a minute, it will come to you.) Even though I was wide-eyed and speechless, I couldn’t help giggling to myself as I imagined my left-handed friend, Darlene, trying to shovel fingertip loads of rice and curry into her mouth with her right hand. I was not disappointed! But, it wasn’t Darlene who entertained me. (I had forgotten that her earliest years were spent in Pakistan…she was a Pro.) No, the entertainment came from the endless parade of other patrons (and I’m sure gawkers from the street below who had heard we were there) that wandered past our table to watch all of us expatriates trying to eat without any utensils. We must have been hysterical to watch. A group of pasty-white teenagers in a room full of locals, scooping up little balls of curry decorated rice into our fingers and trying to transport it to our mouths without dropping half of it on the way up. Our first tries were clumsy and uncoordinated, but it didn’t take long.

The flavors were amazing; so complex and deep…as though they had been brewing for days. I knew Indian food was hot (spicy). But I was not prepared for the intensity that heat! It took my breath away and set my mouth on fire. As the first shock wave past, I realized that the potency of that heat was not going to diminish any time soon. It was like a love/hate thing. I loved the flavors. But, I had to pay for it – in painful heat units on the Scoville Scale. I don’t know that they actually used the bhut jolokia chili (which has over a million heat units) or not. But it sure felt like it! The yoghurt sauce became my best friend. It was the best (and worst) meal I ever ate. Kind of like watching a train wreck…you don’t want to see, but you can’t stop looking.

What an experience! Those bucket bearing servers just kept coming back over and over again. By the time we were ready to leave we could just barely stager toward the stairs – stuffed to the gills. As I grabbed for the handrail to steady myself on the way down, it suddenly dawned on me why that handrail was so greasy!

We ate at The Banana Leaf many many times after that. And it became a favorite. All those sights, sounds, smells, and crush of people became welcomed sensations. But that first experience was unforgettable.

My birthday dinner took me back to that place, to that experience, with all the happy bits and none of the scary bits. I was glad to be reminded of my initiation to Indian food. We ate a very satisfying meal of Bhindi Masala, Vegetable Masala, and Mutter Paneer. Our last decision of the evening was to choose between Jalabi, Kheer or Gulab Juman for dessert.

All of which reminded me of a wonderful recipe that was passed along to me by Darlene.  It’s Indian name might be Aloo Gobi or Aloo Mutter.  I’m not sure.  The recipe card I have, which I copied from Darlene, just says Potato Curry.

Potato Curry

INGREDIENTS

2	med onions, minced
⅓	cup vegetable oil
3	cloves garlic, minced
1	Bay leaf
¾	t saffron
3	t curry powder
1	t cumin
1	t coriander seed
1½	t kosher salt
½	t ginger
1	red chili
3	cups water
⅓	cup diced cauliflower
7	potatoes, peeled & diced
2	cups peas
¼	t cloves
¼	t cinnamon
1	t garlic powder
1	T coriander leaf (crushed)

Directions

1.     Sauté onion and garlic in oil.

2.     Add bay leaf, saffron, curry powder, cumin, coriander seed, salt, ginger, and chili.  Continue cooking until spices begin to bloom (release their aroma).  Add water, cauliflower, and potatoes.  Cook until potatoes are almost done.

3.     Add peas.  Cook until potatoes are done.

4.     Just before serving, add cloves, cinnamon, garlic powder, and coriander leaf.