Quin to the oa

I have spent a lot of time within the past year making many many variations on quinoa.
It's the HOT whole grain at the moment. I thought that I should share something on this wonder
grain. I have two preparations that I feel tasted the absolute best.

For A Quick Dinner, cook the grain in coconut milk, coconut oil, curry, and currents, Saute some spicy sausage and combine the two. What you get in turn is a balance of sweet, savory and spicy.

For Breakfast, I like to cook the quinoa in apple cider and then toss it with fresh fruit. To make this more of a warm pooridge style breakfast, steam some milk and pour over before you eat it.

Now that I got you started, go out get some quinoa and eat heartily.

MMMM HMMMM

Supper Club 02.16.08
Sea Urchin Butter
Beef Heart with white wine/orange juice reduction
Beet Salad with herb goat cheese crema
Baby Maine Shrimp with lemon butter
Short Rib Stuffed Squid with braised lentils and red pepper coulis
Molasses Spice Cake with candied kumquats caramel sauce and creme

Till the Death of Captain Beefheart Part Deux

SUCCESS!

Till the death of Captain Beefheart Part One

In an attempt to try something different and slightly original, well for the American diet at least, I have been in search for a beef heart. My challenge is to find a beef heart in the city that is supposed to provide anything and everything that our regular human hearts desire, unless of course that thing is revered as dog food. After trying to resource this item through every major butcher in the city, I have soon realized that I will be reduced to either one of two things begging or bribery. My fingers are crossed for begging. The internet has become my biggest enemy in this mystery or more specifically google, since everytime I try to refine this search using the world wide web I get page after page of Captain Beefheart. Another reason to hate monopoly. I have five days to find what I'm looking for...stay tuned.

Egyptian Love

On Saturday night we ventured out of our bubble of Brooklyn and into the larger food mecca of Queens. It's a treat everytime I go, finding yet another spot that tops what I had previously understood to be good cheap food. Sometimes troubling to get to, it is always well worth the trip. Egyptian was our choice of the evening which came highly recommended. Ali the charasmatic charmer of a chef, host, and dining guest is probably the most lovely aspect of the restaurant. Dramatically poised in the middle of the quaint restaurant he announces his specials and is quick to point at each table and ask them what they feel like eating. With a plethera of items to choose from, meats are definetly his speciality choosing from brains and spleen, to rabbit and pheasant. I was convinced to get the lamb shank when he initially did his "introduction to tonight's dishes", and when he did it for another table found out about three alternative dishes that I would have rather ordered, but its the charm. He probably just forgot, he told us it was a luring tactic to get us back the next time. Oh Ali. There is a certain "je ne sais quoi" about the whole place even though it may be tackily decorated and uses Western Beef as a main resource, but what it really does is leave the warm bubbly sensation of a great meal even if it wasn't the best of your life.

Holy Mole....Negro

Mole...when did the obsession begin. Ah yes, dining out for a mexican fare breakfast with mole, cheese enchiladas, and eggs. Mole is relatively complicated, and then again not that difficult at all. It is similar in my mind to Indian cusine. There's a lot of toasting, grinding, and blending of ingredients. That's the most complex part about it. I really had never thought about making mole until I did. Word of mouth about this expedition spread like wild-fire and it became understood that everyone is kinda crazy for mole. It earns respect where as if I said I was making pesto might not. To be honest I was a little afraid after reading the ingredient list, it had things like raisins, plaintains, cloves, basically things I really didn't expect to be a part of mole. Upon further thought I realized that this hodge-podge was what made it so complex. It turned out well, better than expected really. I was lacking a fine-mesh strainer in the kitchen where this production occured so it has a grainy texture, which some like. Point is, Thumbs Up.

I love my baby and my baby loves quiche

There is nothing more satisfying than an egg pie. It's like a blank canvas that you can throw a plethora of ingredients into and it always seems to come out tasty and delicious. Originally of german decent, damn french taking all the credit, only became popular in America in the 1950's. At which time was known more as a feminine dish and trademarked as "unmanly". Ahh poor quiche. Regardless of its past, I always find that if I'm not in the mood for food somehow I'm in the mood for an egg pie. Me like the eggs.
Here's a couple key ingredients to get your creative wheels turning.

goats cheese whipped with some goats milk and fresh herbs (thyme is the key)
eggs
a nice pastry tart crust
sauteed red and yellow peppers
sun-gold tomatoes
carmelized onions (basically good in everything)