Alton Brown- The Edible Inevitable Tour 2015

I finally got to see Alton Brown, the Culinary Guru, live on stage!! I have always been in awe of him from all those Food Network television shows I have been watching over the years, and all I'll say is that I am now even more in awe of him! 

I managed to get a couple tickets in the nick of time. That place was packed like crazy! Alton sure is one heck of a celebrity. And boy, are there thousands of fellow foodies out there! It was very exciting to see other excited foodies all waiting eagerly to see Alton.

The Tickets

From the crowded 9th Ave-Pine St

Before Alton arrived on stage 

The cool things:

1. Alton's entry: The hall went all dark, and as soon the lights came on again, he, no HE, was there on the stage!! It was almost like a hologram- so cool! We all just screamed out in excitement- and then there was this "I love you, Altoooooon," from somebody in the audience. And Alton spoke- "Why is it that whenever somebody says, "I love you," to me, it is a dude?!" (In my mind I was like, dang it, I should have been the one!) 

2. Alton's look: OK, that man was dressed so cool! A pair of light denim skinny jeans, white oxford with a cotton sweater on top, and a pair of regular sneakers (looked like sneakers to me from where I sat). And he looked pretty fit. Oh, and of course, with his stubble, he just looked very cool overall. 

3. Alton is so talented! Alton Brown plays the guitar and sings. And I'd say his singing is not bad at all. He sang a song that he said he wrote for his daughter way back when she was only 4, for a school presentation. The song was all about how easy cooking can be. He involved the audience too, and it was pretty enjoyable. His other song, "Airport Shrimp Cocktail," that he wrote after his bad experience with eating shrimp at LA airport was hilarious! He is funny, intelligent, an educator, and he is quite the scientist too! He and his crew ended the 2 hour show with his famous satirical punk-rock song, "I'm a TV Chef." 

4. Inventor of super-powerful cooking contraptions: He demonstrated his very own invention, The Mega Bake Oven- a huge 12 foot long, 54,000 Watt Easy Bake Oven, that heats upto 650 degrees (or was it 800 degrees?)! He baked 2 pizzas in 3 and a half minutes! His other contraption that he demoed was this super-fast ice cream maker that he calls the Jet Cream Maker- again, a huge machine, that makes ice cream in a ridiculously small amount of time (I forget the exact time, but it was super-fast!). 

Alton there somewhere in the center on stage

The not-so cool things:

1. The burping and farting sock puppets representing yeast, that kept playing on the screen during the interval as well as at the beginning of the show was a bit much. I mean, I am all for imbecilic jokes, but really, they went overboard with that.

2. People he picked to go on stage: Somehow I feel that the people he picked- or at least the area in the theater from where he picked his 2 volunteers, was pre-decided. Maybe because those people had better seats, and had paid more money for them (obviously)..... who knows! A bit unfair, I think.

3. Bad seats: I should have bought the tickets well in advance..... oh well, lesson learnt.

My one takeaway from the show that I completely agree with:

Cook with NaCl: Yesss! Use proper amount of salt in your food!! The bad unnecessary salt is the salt found in canned soups and packaged dinners. Salt in home-cooked food is perfectly fine for the body, and in fact, you need it! Unless your doctor has absolutely forbidden you from ingesting any salt, go ahead and add salt to your food. I'd like to add to that- use not only salt, but spices too. Bland food is so boring!!

Now that I've seen Alton live on stage, am I all satisfied? Um, next I'd actually like to meet him personally and chat with him, and get a selfie with him! Which means, I'll have to get those VIP tickets! Oh Alton, you are THE coolest!!

Tandoori style baked Salmon

The way to anybody's heart is through their stomach, whether you want to admit it or not! Here's a great Valentine's Day meal idea, especially if you are trying impress your sweetheart. You can make it for your lovely family and friends. And hey, you can most certainly make it for yourself too! 

Ingredients: 

1. Salmon- boneless skinless (I prefer wild)- available in ready-to-go trays in most grocery stores (especially Costco!) cut into bite sized pieces. Qty: You can use as much as you want, and freeze the rest to use another day.  

2. Spices (1 tsp each if you like it potent, a pinch each if you like it mild)  

a) Garam Masala powder

b) Black pepper powder

c) Garlic powder or fresh smashed up garlic- 3-4 cloves

d) Red Chili powder (optional)

e) Turmeric powder

f) Cumin powder

3. Lemon juice- 1 freshly squeezed or a couple slashes of readymade lemon juice

4. Salt per taste

5. Olive Oil or any cooking oil- a couple drizzles

6. Asparagus- 1 bunch

Preparation:

Take a ziplock bag, and put all the spices into it, including the lemon juice. Then throw in the salmon pieces into it. Also drizzle in the oil. Zip up the bag, and mix it all up, so as to coat all the salmon pieces with the spices. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Soaking in the spices

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 385 deg F. 

1. Take a baking sheet, and spray some Pam all over (aluminum foil works well). 

2. Place all the salmon on the sheet. 

On baking sheet

3. Place in oven for 10-11 minutes. If you like some pink, then 8 minutes would work just fine. After 10 minutes of baking, I like to broil on high for a minute or two, to get a nice color going. 

Baking in the oven

4. While the salmon is in the oven, quickly cook some asparagus by steaming or quickly sautéing with some crushed garlic, salt and pepper. That's it! 

Tandoori style Baked Salmon ready!

Serve simply like this: 

Quick, simple, and Delicious

Or make tacos with some habanero salsa on top: 

Tandoori Salmon Tacos

Or serve on rice, top with habanero salsa. Mm mm! 

Tandoori Salmon served over rice, topped with habanero salsa

Pair it with your favorite wine. And don't forget to end your meal with those chocolate covered strawberries!

Lamb Curry

My brother makes the best lamb curry, hands down! He always cooks it to perfection. He makes his own special marinade, with freshly ground spices, marinates the lamb overnight, and then cooks it next day, allowing it to simmer for what seems like an entire day! The result is this ultra-tender and outstandingly delicious lamb curry. Now regular people like me don't have the entire day to cook. Let me change that- people like me don't have the patience to cook for such long hours. I can spend about 3 hours tops, I'd say. The funny thing is that even though I am a fast cook, my food tastes pretty darn good! So there, go figure, brother! ;) 

Here's my comparatively quick and easy recipe for lamb curry. 

Total Cooking Time: Approximately 2 hours

Serves: 4 adults (if it is a case of gluttony, then maybe 2 adults!)

Ingredients: 

1. Lamb- bone in, or boneless lamb chops- ~2.5 lbs

2. 3 medium onions- sliced

3. Garlic, minced- the more, the better! 7-10 cloves

4. Ginger- 2 inch, grated

5. Tomatoes, chopped- 2-3 

6. Thai green chilies, sliced- 10 (adjust according to your level of heat)

7. Cooking oil- 2-3 tbs

8. Salt per taste

9. Water to be used in cooking

Spices: 

Just empty out your entire spice cabinet! ;) 

1. Asafoetida (hing)

2. Cumin seeds- 2 tsp

3. Fennel seeds- 2 tsp

4. Fenugreek seeds- 1/2-1 tsp

5. Cloves- 4-5

6. Green Cardamom- 3-4

7. Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp

8. Nutmeg powder- 1/2 tsp

9. Turmeric- 1/2-1 tsp

10. Garam Masala- 1-2 tsp

11. Red chili powder (optional)- per taste (If I use green chilies, I skip this)

Lamb chops

Asafoetida

Method:

1. Pour in 2-3 tbs of cooking oil in a pot, and get the heat going. Cast iron will work beautifully. 

2. Add a pinch of asafoetida powder (hing), followed by spluttering cumin, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, cloves, and cardamom, and then slowly drop the lamb chops one by one into this boiling oil. Do not stir for about 5 minutes. You want to get a good sear going. Meanwhile also add a pinch of turmeric powder, cinnamon powder, and nutmeg powder. 

3. Then flip the lamb chops, to sear the other side, for another 5 minutes. You know it is good when the meat is nice and browned. 

4. At this point, throw in the sliced onions, minced garlic, grated ginger, and the slit green chilies. And stir fry everything, including the meat, for about 10 minutes, until the onions basically melt. At this point, add the tomatoes. Add salt per taste and garam masala. Stir it all up. And then add water enough to cover the lamb pieces. Bring to boil, cover with lid, and simmer away.

Searing the lamb

Throw in the onions, garlic, ginger and chilies

Onions melted

Add tomatoes, salt, garam masala

Cooking has begun, now that water has been added

5. After 30 minutes, remove lid, and give it a stir. Also taste the gravy and adjust salt, etc, if need be. If you think that you need some more water, then go ahead and add another 1/2 cup of water. In the end, it'll all reduce anyways. Then cover again, and simmer away for another hour.  

Simmering to perfection

Finally, at the end of just under 2 hours, you'll have created the perfect lamb curry. The lamb will be oh-so-tender, and will literally melt in your mouth!

Falling-off-the-bone tender, delicious Lamb Curry! 

Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with roti/chapati or saffron rice. One bite, and there's bound to be a symphony in your mouth!

Garlic Scapes Chutney

Garlic scapes or spears are tender garlic shoots. They taste like garlic of course, but much more vibrant. When cooked, they are sweet and mellow. They definitely smell quite pungent, and so if storing in the refrigerator, I suggest you wrap them up well in plastic wrap or maybe just store them in a ziplock bag to prevent that smell from invading your fridge! 

Here's an easy recipe for Garlic Scapes Chutney:

Ingredients:

1. Garlic Scapes- 1 bunch 

2. Peanuts- 1 handful

3. Green Chilies (I prefer thai green chilies)- 4-5 (adjust according to your liking)

4. Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

5. Salt per taste

6. Cooking oil- 2-3 tsp

Method:

1. Wash the garlic scapes and pat dry. Chop roughly. 

2. Roast a handful of peanuts, and set aside to cool.

3. Meanwhile, put 2-3 teaspoons of cooking oil into a little pan, and get the heat going. Splutter 1 tsp of cumin seeds, and then throw in the chopped garlic scapes, with the thai green chilies, and stir fry for about 5 minutes. Add salt per taste. The pungent smell will have mellowed down into a delicious aroma. 

4. With the help of a food processor, grind the cooked scapes and the peanuts into a beautiful chutney.   You could add a tablespoon of water just to help with the grinding, if needed. That's it! It is now ready to be served. Squeeze some fresh lime to spruce it up. 

Garlic Scapes

Mellowing down

Peanuts

Garlic Scapes Chutney

Swap the peanuts with almonds or pine nuts, and voila! You can use it like pesto. Or this can be eaten like a dip with pita chips. You could even make sandwiches with this chutney. It of course goes well with Indian chapati. Garlic, green chilies, and peanuts, with a hint of cumin and lime- it is all good!

Butternut Squash- Sautéed

The first thing that comes to mind when I see butternut squash is soup- a lovely sweet and savory, thick and creamy soup, with a hint of nutmeg, topped off with toasted sunflower seeds- mm, mm, good, especially during those cold winter days! 

I also quite like our Indian style of simply sautéing this fruit (or vegetable, if you will) with some cumin, mustard and fennel seeds, and salt and slit green chilies. The more popular version is made with pumpkin (kaddu ki sabzi), that goes real well with puris/poories, or alongside some plain rice and dal. 

Without further adieu, here's the recipe for sautéed butternut squash:

Ingredients:

1. Butternut Squash- cubed, 2-3 cups (now available all chopped and clean and ready to use)

2. Cooking oil- 3-4 tablespoons (if you want it to taste good, gotta put that grease!)

3. Mustard seeds- 1/2-1 tsp

4. Cumin- 1/2-1 tsp

5. Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp

6. Asafoetida (hing)- a pinch (or more, if you like)

7. Fenugreek (methi) seeds- 1/2-1 tsp

8. Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

9. Green chilies- 3-4 (or more, or less) slit lengthwise

10. Salt per taste

11. Sugar (optional)- 1/2-1 tsp 

12. Red Chili powder (optional)- 1 tsp

Butternut Squash ready to use

Method:

1. Take a kadhai/wok or pan, add 3-4 tbs of cooking oil, and get the heat going.

2. Splutter asafoetida (hing), mustard seeds, cumin, fennel seeds, and fenugreek (methi) seeds, followed by 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder. 

The Spices (turmeric not yet added)

3. Next throw in the cut butternut squash and the slit green chilies, and start sautéing. While doing so, add salt per taste. I like to add a tsp of sugar to this, as well as red chili powder (coz I like everything with a kick!). Continue stirring, mixing, and sautéing until all the squash is evenly coated with the spices and oil. Sprinkle some water, so as to aid in softening of the squash, cover with lid, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Cooking has begun

4. After 15-20 minutes, uncover and stir carefully so you don't err, squish the squash! Give it a taste, and if you think it needs to be cooked further (it most likely shouldn't), then cover again and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. Adjust salt and sugar if needed. And it is now ready to be served!

Sautéed Butternut Squash 

It goes real well with any kind of bread, or alongside some plain rice and lentils, or with yogurt too. Of course, you can always eat as it is. I love the sweet element in this dish, that balances so well with the saltiness as well as the heat (green chilies and/red chili powder). And of course, the color is simply beautiful!

Sautéed Butternut Squash with Indian chapati 

Closer look at the deliciousness! 

Happy New Year 2015

Happy 2015, everybody! This time on New Year's Eve we just stayed at home, ate good dinner, had some quality family time, and slept off. Woke up nice and fresh to welcome the new year. We even went on a hike! Followed by some par excellent lunch at this new place called Chaat N Roll. 

Here are the pictures: 

Aloo ka Paratha

with real churned butter!! YUM! 

Chola Bhatura (Spicy Garbanzo with fried leavened bread)

Achaari Paneer Kathi Roll (similar to a burrito)

Mirchi Bajji Chaat (Stuffed Jalapeño poppers with a spicy mishmash) 

Everything was simply superb. The kathi roll could use some more flavor, though- didn't find it that great. There are a lot more items on their menu, for which a few more visits will have to made. Best was the paratha- never seen churned butter in any other Indian restaurant out here. Hopefully they maintain this standard!

Err, guess all the calories burned during the hike were made up for..... hey, no regrets though! ;)

Happy and Healthy 2015 to all!!

Highlights 2014

Three more days remaining in this year, with today being the last Sunday of 2014! As we say every single year- wow, this year went by SO FAST! I think I ought to wrap up this year with a recap of 2014. So here we go: 

1. My most creative dish: 

"Buried Alive-" Capsicum/Bell peppers stuffed with worms (spaghetti in marinara), with exposed brains (walnuts with some melted cheese)! I put in a lot of effort into creating this dish. The best part was how the "brains" turned out- they looked quite real, and I was thrilled! 

2. My least creative dish: 

Mashed Potato Sandwich- I mean, maybe it isn't that bad, but really, nothing extraordinarily creative about this dish! All I did was spread some leftover mashed potato between two slices of bread, and put it in the sandwich-maker. I realize that it doesn't even look very appealing! 

3. My longest post: 

Clearly my mini-travelogue that took me 4 posts to cover the story! But then it had to be documented-  our summer road trip was the biggest highlight of 2014. What a great trip it was! 

4. My shortest (and least interesting) post: 

Looking back, I actually wrote some very uninspired posts in the last year. I mean, Skin Food? Obsessing about age spots of all things! What a crappy post that was! My birthday post was quite pathetic too- I was so judgmental (more like mental!). Ugh! 

5. My happiest post that turned into the saddest (and that I later deleted): 

Not sure how many of you remember my post on our new puppy, Axl. He was the cutest bull dog puppy ever. We got him in May and were so excited. I was even thinking of starting a whole new blog on home cooked doggie food! Unfortunately, things went downhill, and after a month of trying really hard to take care of him, we realized that we were just not able to do it. The breeders advised us to return him back to them. I had got him as a gift for my sweetie, and the saddest thing is that we took him back to the breeder on Father's Day. That was the worst day of 2014 for us. Finally, after all these months, my heart doesn't hurt anymore--- at least, that's what I tell myself! 

6. My most favorite recipe of 2014: 

That very delicious Tomato bhath (rice) recipe that I learned from my sister in law. I must have cooked that at least 50 times in the last 4 months! Not exaggerating!

 

With that, I now wrap up this year. I hope to be more inspired in the coming new year, and whip up some new and interesting recipes. On the personal front, I'll be hitting a whole new decade in March 2015. I actually am looking forward to it- just coz I think I'll become a bit wiser! Long shot, you say?! ;)