Doesn't TaZte Like Chicken

Location: My tiny kitchen

I have a weakness over girlie things – I like them and I find excuses to collect them. Luckily, I also happen to be a woman, as being one is my righteous excuse to watch chick flicks, listen to Sarah McLachlan, wear stilettos and just like about anything that comes in pink or in a heart shape. When we bought the KitchenAid stand mixer (he’s my ultimate baking toy!) I was disappointed that pink wasn’t an available colour for the model. To keep myself happy, I bought it in red because it’s the next colour closest to pink. Some of my friends must notice this weakness in me because from time to time, I would be lucky enough to receive some heart-shaped gifts. Last Christmas, my friend S and his family gave me a few heart-shaped baking trays. All of them are so cute that they have quickly become my favourite baking tools:

A sweet heart shape bundt pan. Not only it looks cute, it is a Nordicware and therefore it very sturdy. I like this bundt pan so much that when I first got it, I used it to bake 2 cakes within a few days.

A double-heart silicone brownie mold. This mold was new and interesting to me because it’s my first and only silicone mold. I made brownie using it once and I swear I will never bake anything in it again. The height of the mold’s centre is twice as tall as the edge. With the height difference, any cake baked in this mold either has a raw centre or an over-baked edge. Nevertheless, this mold makes the cutest looking pudding. The panna cotta in this recipe was made using this mold.

A set of 3 red heart-shape mixing bowls. They are still in plastic wrap because I like them too much to use them.

A couple Le Creuset ramekins, which J gave to me as souvenirs from her Seattle trip. I was thrilled when I saw them. It was love at first sight. I have been using them to make all kinds of pudding: panna cotta, almond jello, Japanese style black sesame jello etc.

And of course, a heart-shape brownie pan, which is the first member of my heart-shape collection.

This easy and simple panna cotta recipe belongs to the Italian cooking diva Giada De Laurentiis. Because ET and I don’t want to have panna cotta as dessert for a week, I cut her recipe by half and the panna cotta still turned out okay. The following is the full recipe and it makes 6 servings.

- 1 cup of whole milk
- 3 cups of whipping cream
- 6 sheets of gelatin
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- 1/3 cup of honey
- pinch of salt

1. Soak gelatin sheets in cold water until they soften, about 5 minutes. Drain the sheets and gently squeeze out the excessive water.
2. Put milk, cream, honey and sugar into a quart pan.
3. Heat the pan and stir often. When the liquid is just about to boil, turn off the heat.
4. Put the gelatin sheets into the hot liquid and stir until they are completely dissolve. Remember, never boil gelatin.
5. Pour the liquid into molds or cups. Once the liquid has cooled to room temperature, put the molds/cups in the fridge and let them set for at least 6 hours.

Because the silicone mold is so flexible, the panna cotta came out of it easily. The heart shape remained perfect and intact. I served it with blueberries and strawberries slices that were soaked in aged balsamic vinegar. Next time, I want to put in one or two vanilla beans when I warm up the milk and cream. Because there is no flavouring agent in this recipe, the vanilla flavour from the beans will really stand out in the panna cotta.

Okay, I guess I was understating my obsession over girlie things by calling it just a weakness . But so far, my collection on heart-shaped items has been limited to kitchen gadgets. To keep ET’s sanity in line, I have refrained myself from getting the heart shaped bed, chaise lounge or toilet seat. Although recently, I saw a pink Dyson vacuum that looks both cute and functional. The problem is, ET is the one who vacuums the house. I wonder if he would mind using a pink vacuum?

Location: Salam Bombay   
217 – 755 Burrard Street,
Vancouver BC
Website

Author: My Husband

Every now and then, Christina and I would have a hankering for some down home Indian cooking. While “down home” isn’t entirely apropos for describing East Indian food, it does convey the spirit of the type of Indian cookery that my wife and I like best. We like our Indian food to be simple and traditional, free of pretensions and unencumbered by the trappings of fusion flavours du jour.

So when we meet people who share our taste in Indian food, we always ask for the names of their favourite Indian restaurants; through such word-of-mouth recommendations, we have discovered quite a few good Indian eateries. And so it was when I asked one of my engineers, who was visiting from India, for the name of the restaurant that impressed him the most during his visit. “Salam Bombay”, was his immediate reply.

Salam Bombay is located directly above the Hermes store on the corner of Burrard and Alberni. Walking into the restaurant, we discovered a bright, spacious, and nicely decorated space with a large bank of windows that offered expansive views of the streetscape below.

As it was our first time there, we decided to order some “standard” dishes to get a sense of Salam Bombay’s cooking style. Here’s what we had:

Papadams. These were deliciously crispy, and none too greasy.

Chicken Masala Pakora. These were flavourful and moist, but I suppose the exterior could be a little crunchier.

Onion bhaji. Crispy and masterfully seasoned, these were great. In fact, you could make a meal of a couple of plates of these and a beer or three.

Lamb curry. This was a thin curry, cooked without yogurt or coconut milk. We like richer curries and didn’t know what to think of this initially. But over the course of the meal, the nicely balanced flavours won us over. Christina thought this would go really well with some wheat noodles!

Butter chicken. The creamy consistency, along with the rich flavours of this dish made it really enjoyable. I’ve noticed that most butter chicken dishes are made with chunks of breast meat, but I suspect this already tasty dish could be even better if bone-in meat pieces were used instead.

Garlic naan. It was crispy and flaky, and wonderfully satisfying without being overly doughy. We liked the first one so much that we ordered another.

And since we had curry, the unwritten rules of Indian dining stipulated that we also had to order some rice.

Overall, it was a very good meal. The dishes were masterfully seasoned and were very tasty. None of the dishes were overly greasy. In fact, it was probably the least oily Indian meal we’ve ever had.

During our meal, Jose Madappilly, one of the owners, came over and chatted with us. When we asked about the philosophy behind his food, Jose said his intent is to have the restaurant prepare food the same way he cooks at home: healthful AND flavourful. And because Jose is originally from the southern Indian state of Kerala, he has also included quite a few south-Indian dishes in the menu. Since south-Indian cooking tends to emphasize bigger, bolder, and spicier flavours compared to north-Indian cooking, this should be welcome news for Vancouver Indian food fans.

After we finished our meal, Jose offered to show us around the restaurant. It didn’t take too much convincing on his part to get us to accept! Jose mentioned that he had looked at over 50 locations before he finally found a suitable space; and when he and his partner took it over, they subjected the place to a pretty comprehensive renovation program. Christina and I were taken on a tour of the private function rooms, as well as the bright, spacious, and spotless kitchen. Jose also showed us the spice room, which houses the spice mixes – all of which are imported from India and blended in the restaurant – used in his dishes.

We traditionally finish off our Indian meals with some masala chai, and we stayed true to tradition at Salam Bombay. After eating a spicy meal, nothing settles the stomach like a comforting cup of warm, milky tea!

If you share our taste for “down home” Indian cooking, be sure to put Salam Bombay on your “to try” LIST!

Location: My tiny kitchen

I don’t know when I stopped watching the food network channel but it certainly has been awhile since I tuned into that channel. Considering it was the the only channel I watched through university, this change surprised even myself. Have you ever loved someone or something a lot, and overtime you gradually lost your interest in them without realizing it until one day? When you finally realize it, you always have a strange feeling. That’s how I feel about the food channel. Js at the Eating Club Vancouver is right: nowadays every show on the food channel is either a food challenge, a reality show on how fast a team can cook the most impossible meal or a special “unwrapping” of how some ordinary food like candy cane is made. Who cares about how candy cane is made, how many people are going to make a dozen of that at home? How many cook-offs do people want to see before they get tired of them? Do people like watching Bobby Flay in food challenges so much that he needs two shows to do the same thing? After I watched him in a hotdog throw down, do I want to watch him again in the kitchen stadium? Is the secret ingredient going to be hotdogs? What’s with that Gordon Ramsey who just simply cannot finish a sentence without using the F word or threatening to kick someone’s behind? Does he believe that all it takes to turn someone into a great chef is by continuously swearing at and talking down to them?

Oh, I really miss the good old days when the food channel, like Js puts it, have more substantial shows on food. Emeril Lagasse might be a guy who tried too hard to be funny with his recurring Bam’s, but his cooking shows really spoke to me. After all, I learned cooking by watching all these great chefs such as Lagasse, Batali or Feenie seared a steak to perfection or used butter to make a good bearnaise sauce from scratch. I got interested in baking when I saw Anna Olson made a successful souffle by beating egg whites to stiff peaks. The bottom line is, these shows convinced people like me, who didn’t go through any formal chef training, can cook something delicious. I also believe that celebrity chefs are better created when they showed people how to cook instead of how to curse. Many chefs have earned my respect over the years: all of the those mentioned above plus those on screen in the earlier days, such as Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. These chefs taught me the techniques and tricks on how to cook good basic dishes. One of the dishes I learned really well from their shows is roast chicken. It’s not difficult to make a perfect roast chicken and when it’s perfect, it really is the only thing you need to make a great dinner.

I created this roast chicken recipe by taking a bit from different chefs’ recipes. The green onion sauce comes from Jacques Pepin’s recipe. He is my favourite chef on French cooking.

You need the following:
- 1 chicken
- 3 tbsp of coarse or Kocher salt
- 1 tbsp of thyme
- 1 tbsp of rosemary
- 1 tbsp of paprika
- lots of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Boston lettuce
- 4 green onion
- 1 shallot

1. Rinse the chicken and pat dry.

2. Rub 1 tbsp of salt and a good amount of black pepper inside the chicken. Rub the remaining salt and pepper on the outside. Make sure you take the time to rub the salt and pepper into the chicken because the rubbing gives the chicken a good taste.
3. In sequence rub the paprika, thyme and rosemary on the outside of the chicken. Again, take your time to get the spice into the meat.
4. Let the chicken marinate for 24 hours.
5. Every chef ties the chicken before roasting. I never learn how to tie a chicken properly so I always skip this step. Turn on the oven to 400F.
6. Put a wire rack in the baking pan. Place the bird breast side up on the rack. Roast the chicken for one hour.
7. Turn the oven down to 350F and roast for another 30 minutes. The chicken should be perfectly cooked by now. To be sure, check with a thermometer.
8. Let the chicken rest for 1/2 hour before carving.
9. While waiting for the chicken to cool, rinse the lettuce leaves and let them dry.
10. Minced the shallot and green onion.
11. There will be a lot of fat dripping in the baking pan. Take 2 or 3 tbsp of the fat to saute the shallot and green onion until they are soft.
12. To serve, place a few lettuce leaves on a plate. Placed a few pieces of chicken on the leaves and spoon some green onion and shallot all over the chicken and lettuce.

My friend R told me once that life is always a matter of comparison. I guess he is right after all: when you’ve heard enough of Ramsay’s cursing, all of the sudden Emeril’s bam’s start to sound sweet. You can call me old school but before the food channel starts showing something sensible, I’m going to spend my TV watching quota on Lost.