Nom Nom Nom

Chicken Soup for the Soul

2010-11-30T20:30:00.000-08:00

So I've been terribly ill for the past few days-nothing life threatening, just your average soul sucking cold that comes along with the return of autumn. While I've been sick I've managed to consume large quanities of chicken soup and OJ in hopes of being cured but by symptoms still persist.

In the meantime I thought I'd give you all a run down of some of the soups I've tried over the last couple of days. Here's the top five that made the list!

5. Progresso Chicken Noodle - Nothing fancy here, this soup is bland and boring and just doesn't have that homemade feeling that's necesary when you're sick. I won't ever go canned again!

4. El Pollo Loco Chicken Tortilla Soup - My friend recommended this after I told her I was craving chicken tortilla soup and while it is tastier than plain old Progresso, I would not recommend this soup if you're looking for some good chicken tortilla. The broth was too thin and didn't have enough flavor but I did like the fact that they serve it piping hot. So hot that I burned my tongue on it!

3. Trader Joe's Chicken Noodle Soup - It comes in a box container and the broth is very tasty. Has lots of chicken, carrots and noodles but the noodles are waaaaaay past al dente and are mostly mushy. Pretty good for boxed soup though.

2. Islands Chicken Tortilla Soup - Although it's a sit down restuarant, you can order take out from here and this is pretty damn good. Has lots of fresh toppings (avacado, jack cheese) and plenty of tortilla bits and chicken. Great flavor and consistency. They serve this in two sizes, small and endless. I'm not even kidding.

1. Subway Chicken Noodle Soup - I swear by this stuff. I've searched high and low for quick and easy chicken noodle soup but this one hits the spot every time. They always serve it hot and it is a perfect serving size too.

Do you guys have other favorites you like to eat while sick?

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-25T21:56:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone is overstuffed and ready for some shopping! I am doing everything possible to fight off sleep and finish this post. So my first attempt at cooking a turkey was a success-with some much needed help from my mother, of course.

Where would I be without her?! I had no idea I needed an actual RACK for the recipe. I read the recipe several times, making sure I had all the ingredients needed but I didn't know the rack is something in addition to the roasting pan that is needed to cook the big bird. I figured the rack referred to in the recipe was the oven rack, but thank God I had my mom read it while I was smothering the bird with butter and herbs and she explained to me what I was missing. So off to the store I went to buy this:

Nice Rack!

I grabbed the last set! Another glitch at the store, no tarragon. So I compensated with more sage, thyme and rosemary. I managed to rip the skin on the breast of the turkey so aesthetically it didn't look as good as the turkey pic I put up yesterday, but it came out pretty darn good! Well, maybe a bit dry. I said a BIT! All sides were picked up from Lucille's BBQ and they were all delicious, will definately have to order there again next year.

Time to grub:

Plenty to be thankful for :)

Turkey Time (Almost!)

2010-11-25T00:03:00.000-08:00

Are you ready to get stuffed? I can't wait to get my hands on that bird tomorrow! It'll be my first time ever cooking a turkey so wish me luck. It shouldn't be too bad right, I mean I've roasted a whole chicken before and it came out...edible.

Today I hit up the poultry store with the 'rents to pick out the fresh turkey! I don't know why but my dad swears that he can taste a huge difference between the frozen and fresh poultry, I guess he has a much more refined palate than I do. Here's a glimpse of what we had to choose from!

Pick me! Pick me!

So we came back with a 16-pounder for 4 people total...that is a lot of leftover turkey sandwiches. The recipe I'm using tomorrow is super simple and seems impossible to mess up. And now I'm going to share it with you! I came across it on Epicurious.com and it's from one of my favorite baldys - Tom Colicchio.

Tom Colicchio's Herb-Butter Turkey

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature, divided
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme plus 15 fresh thyme sprigs
2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon plus 5 large fresh tarragon sprigs
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary plus 5 fresh rosemary sprigs
2 teaspoons minced fresh sage plus 5 fresh sage sprigs
1 14- to 16-pound turkey
4 cups low-salt chicken broth, divided
1/4 cup all purpose flour

Mix 1/2 cup butter and all minced herbs in small bowl; season herb butter with salt and pepper. Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 425°F. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry. Starting at neck end, slide hand between skin and breast meat to loosen skin. Rub 4 tablespoons herb butter over breast meat under skin. Place turkey on rack set in large roasting pan. Sprinkle main cavity generously with salt and pepper. Place 4 tablespoons plain butter and all fresh herb sprigs in main cavity. Tuck wing tips under. Tie legs together loosely. Rub remaining herb butter over outside of turkey. Sprinkle turkey generously with salt and pepper.

Place turkey in oven and roast 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Roast turkey 30 minutes; pour 1 cup broth over and add 1 tablespoon plain butter to roasting pan. Roast turkey 30 minutes; baste with pan juices, then pour 1 cup broth over and add 1 tablespoon butter to pan. Cover turkey loosely with foil. Roast turkey until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 175°F, basting with pan juices and adding 1 cup broth and 1 tablespoon butter to pan every 45 minutes, about 1 hour 45 minutes longer. Transfer turkey to platter; let stand 30 minutes (internal temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees).

And voila! Your efforts should result in a bird that looks like this:

Happy Thanksgiving!

BRB, JK?

2010-11-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

It’s been awhile hasn’t it…have you missed me? Because I’ve certainly missed you. All creepyness aside, I have been slacking off big time on updating this but that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about it. Every time I tried some new and amazing restaurant or found an awesome deal online or failed miserably at a new recipe I’ve thought about blogging about it, but alas I am a master procrastinator and those posts just weren’t going to write themselves. But it’s the thought that counts, right?

Anyway, I’m back with a new goal - a new post everyday! Yes, that’s right, everyday from today till 2011 I will force myself to write something new and will hopefully have some help from friends along the way. The restaurant idea is officially dead, both my mom and I are too scurred to take the risk into such a venture so its on hold – indefinitely.

But in the meantime I will continue to share my adventures in foodland with you all. It seems like lately I’ve been frequenting Gyenari, a Korean BBQ spot in Culver City more and more. How can I not? It has awesome marketing in place and has offers to lure people in. Gone are the days of menus attached to doorknobs and bulk coupons from neighboring restuarants stuffed into mailboxes. Nowadays its all about gaining exposure through yelp reviews, facebook pages, twitter alerts and other online sites catered towards brining the foodies to the food.

Two of my favorites are Opentable and Foursqure. Opentable lets you reserve tables at a variety of restaurants near you or at a particular place of your choosing. Each time you reserve and dine, you earn points which can be redeemed for gift certificates towards meals at any of the restaurants. It’s a win win situation for people that love to eat out and it’s so simple:

Step 1. Reserve a table

Step 2. Eat and collect points

Step 3. Redeem points for gift certificates at resturants

Step 4. Lather, rinse and repeat as often as desired

It’s a delicious and vicious cycle, I know.

The Foursquare App lets you check into places from your current location, anything from grocery stores, coffee stores to restaurants. The more places you check into, the more badges you discover. If you frequent places more than others, you become the mayor of said place and can receive special offers like ‘free cocktail’ or ‘half off appetizers’ reserved for the mayor only! There are also special offers just for checking in sometimes.

I had a wide array of places to choose from for dinner in downtown Culver but opted for Gyenari because it was offering 1,000 points table reservation (the usual is 100 points per reservation) and since it was my 3rd check in on Foursquare I earned myself a free cocktail. Woot.

Have you guys used any of these before? Are there others I should know about?

In Case You're In Need of Another Site to Waste Your Time On

2010-04-13T22:11:00.000-07:00

Warning: Do not visit this link if you are not within close proximity to food. May cause unintentional drooling/hunger pangs.

http://foodporndaily.com/

Yup, it's food porn! Urban dictionary defines it as "Close-up images of juicy, delicious food in advertisements." So don't worry, you can browse at work--if you're comfortable enough with your colleagues gathering around your cubicle to sneak a peek at the money shots. I strongly urge you not to visit at 11:30 am, unless your asking for some major cravings come lunch time.

Double Down

2010-04-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

Do you know what day it is?? It’s the much anticipated debut of KFC’s Double Down Sandwich! For just $6.99 you can have yourself a heart clogging meal consisting of two deep fried slices of chicken embracing bacon, cheese and a mayo sauce. If you have yet to hear about this culinary delight, here’s a brief introduction (around the 1:15 mark):

Even though the sandwich has been an easy target for ridicule and mockery, I was none the less intrigued and decided to grab this monstrosity for lunch today. I did a quick calorie check beforehand to brace myself and it wasn’t as bad as I had feared. It comes in at 540 calories, the fat and sodium however are soaring—32 g and 1380 mg, respectively. But when I peeked into my little box, I felt like a victim of false advertising because what I saw looked nothing like the ad pictures.

Here’s KFC’s airbrushed version:

And this is what I got:

Do you see the discrepancy?

At first bite the Double Down is intensely salty and while the chicken is juicy and flavorful, it still is not enough to make up for the gross overuse of salt in the breading of the chicken. My sandwich was also pretty burnt (note the extra dark coloring) so that didn’t help the taste much either. The two slabs of chicken overshadow everything and there isn’t really much else that hits the taste buds. It may look small but halfway through I had had enough and was already full. The $6.99 price point for the combo meal is a bit steep, even with a side and a coke. I wouldn’t order this again but I’m glad I tried it on its grand debut Monday. Are you going to be giving it a try? How was your Double Down experience?

Recipe: Chicken Rejala

2010-04-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of paying a visit the folks is the free and delicious food that is readily available for my consumption. Mom usually calls ahead to ask when I’m planning on showing up and to take requests for the dinner menu! Yes, I know I’m slightly spoiled in this way, but I swear she does it out of her own volition because it gives her great pleasure to cook and have her efforts appreciated. So I asked for Chicken Rejala this past weekend, a simple and quick chicken curry with potatoes. Since I’ve been meaning to learn recipes from my mom for awhile now, I embraced this opportunity to get a hands-on lesson in the kitchen with my camera charged and ready to go.

Chicken Rejala (Serves 4-6)
Ingredients:

One large chicken, butchered and pieced
3 Tbsp cooking oil (vegetable, canola)
3-4 dry whole bay leaves
1 Tbsp cinnamon sticks, broken up into 1 inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion, sliced thinly
4 cardamom pods
1 tsp cloves, crushed
2 Tbsp turmeric
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp garlic paste
2 Tbsp ginger paste
1 cup water
3 cups medium red or white potatoes
1 medium tomato
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp cumin powder

In large pot combine oil, cinnamon and bay leaves over medium heat. Add opened cardamom pods, crushed cloves, sliced onion, turmeric and chili powder, garlic and ginger paste.

Stir and sauté until onions are opaque. Add water and salt to taste, bring to a low boil.

Add chicken, set aside liver for later, if using. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, cut up potatoes into halves, slice tomato into eighths.

Add potatoes and tomato, cover and cook for additional 10 mins.

Add liver, if desired along with cumin powder, stir and cook for 5 mins, uncovered. And voila, Chicken Rejala!

A few notes…

The chicken used was pretty large, about 6-7 lbs freshly butchered from a local halal market. You would have to adjust the measurements if using smaller or larger poultry. My mom likes to use all parts of the chicken but you can use only legs or thighs or a combination of your favorite chicken parts. Chicken Rejala will definitely be on the menu in our restaurant but it will have to be modified so that the chicken pieces used are boneless.

Some of the ingredients used may sound exotic, but if you take a walk down your supermarket’s spice aisle you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what is readily available. If all else fails, take a trip down to Little India in Artesia and go nuts on the fresh produce and spices. My mom likes to crush the cloves in her mortar and pestle set, but you can throw in whole pieces in you prefer. The cardamom pods can either be crushed in a mortar or be split open between your teeth. You can find ground or whole cumin seeds in stores, for best results grind whole cumin seeds in a coffee grinder and add to recipes for fresher, more potent flavor.

Here’s a pic of opened and unopened cardamom seeds.

A few cloves

A close up of cumin seeds

Garlic and ginger paste can be found on store selves or you can prepare and store your own by blending chopped garlic or ginger along with a little bit of water to get it to a paste-like consistency. My mom makes batches of this ahead of time and freezes it so that it’s ready at a moment’s notice. You can also vary viscosity of the curry itself my turning up the heat for a thicker consistency or simmering over lower heat for a more soupy effect.

Many different vegetables can be used in this recipe including green papaya, cauliflower, tomatoes only or even turnip, basically any type of vegetable that is somewhat starchy and can hold its own in this dish can be used. Avoid leafy greens, they will just wilt and disappear.

And there you have it! This dish is served hot over warmed white or brown rice, you may squeeze a fresh lime over it for added zing. I have yet to attempt this dish on my own but I’m pretty sure I would be able to handle it. One of these days, I’ll have to invite a few friends over and serve them up some Chicken Rejala to see how well my version goes over with them.

Hiatus No More!

2010-03-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

Blogging is much harder to keep up with than I thought it would be, especially given that I am a notoriously lazy bum/procrastinator. But now that I'm back from my sabbatical, I vow to blog as much as possible to catch up on the 3+ weeks of food related events that I neglected to blog about. Highlights from future posts include my first cooking class (!), restuarant location hunting, food reveiws for new resturants, the Samosa Model, and much more so stayed tuned for that.

Last week I finally went on a vacation after graduating and being out in the real world for nearly a year and a half without taking a break. Cancun was a lifesaver and it was my first trip to Mexico! It was absolutely amazing and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is in need of some R&R. It was very laid back, not at all crazy with spring breakers--which I was dreading. The food we had along the way varied from "no wonder this is gratis" to "holy crap, there's a party in my mouth" but before I get into all of that, here's a little something to set the mood:

A view of the lagoon from our balcony with stolen coconuts from the golf course which we smuggled in the night before. We thought it was the good idea at the time but had no way of opening them so we used them as paper weights/models instead.

We stayed at the gorgeous Gran Melia with an all inclusive package so we didn't have to worry about where to grub when we got hungry. We accomplished our goal of ordering everything from the room service menu and while the pizzas on the menu were hardly edible, the tortilla soup, apple tart and nachos more than made up for it.

And of course we never went thirsty, there were plenty of drinks to go around.

Por favor, un trago de tequila...

Did I mention this was all part of the inclusive package deal?!

On our way to see the Cenotes of Chichén Itzá, we passed by a field of agave, the heart of all our drinks:

We tried to visit as many of the restuarants as we could in our hotel, but unfortunately we weren't able to make it to all of them. The food was nothing great at the few we did make it to and the service was awful. But here's a picture that will make you forget all of that and get your mouth watering:

Although there were no major food mishaps on our journey (food poisoning, diarrhea) we did have a few party fouls including spilled drinks, dropped burgers and food being cleared out of our rooms before we could even get to it.

All in all, our stay at the Gran Melia was lovely, I mean how can you not enjoy a place with a lobby like this:

The best find on our trip definately has to be this gem of a place located outside of the Guadalajra Airport. We ventured out during our layover in the city to the nearby "Fruty Lonch" and had some grub while we waited for our connection flight.

I know what you're thinking, but havn't you ever heard that you shouldn't judge a restuarant by the trash bins parked outside of it?? Inside you'll find delicious food, great service and cheap prices to boot!

Next time you happen to find yourself in Guadalajara, make sure you check it out.

Unwinding

2010-03-04T23:02:00.000-08:00

The last couple of weeks have been pretty hairy, what with That Work Incident, the car wreck and my beloved iPod being stolen in such succession, I can't help but feel that I've been on a streak of bad luck lately. I really just needed a night to relax and rehash things with good friends and good food and that is exactly what I got to do last night over dinner.

We hit up the Tropicalia Brazilian Grill in Los Feliz for some plantains, farofa and sangria along with plenty of meat. I was so looking forward to capturing the deliciousness of our meals through my camera but was distracted by our engrossing conversation and didn't even remember about taking pics until after we had ravaged our plates. Not to mention the fact that I was famished by the time we finally got there. Yes, FAMISHED. I blame that good for nothing GPS and not the driver who was clearly just following the icy cold British instructions from the Garmin. But here are some generic Brazilian food pics for you to feast your eyes on:

Fried Plantains

Farofa

SANGRIA!

They honestly make the best sangria; strong and chock full of fruits. The meal left us satisfied but some of us had a craving for something sweet and I wanted to chillax outside among twinkling lights so we headed to the Alcove Cafe & Bakery, which is just down the street. My favorite part about this place is the outdoor seating and the lights that they have hanging on the trees out front. It feels so magical, enough to almost make you forget about the dry cupcakes and the way too rich cake slices they serve. Unfortunately, the outdoor seating was a no go as there was a surprise downpour that took place while we made our way to the cafe. This time I actually remembered to pull out my camera when we sat down inside, only to be told that they don't allow indoor photography. UGH.

Oh! I almost forgot, as we were coming out of Tropicalia I spotted Dominic Monaghan! I seriously had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't just my sangria goggles, but yes it was really was the hobbit himself.

Of course, he looked more like this:

It was a scrumptious night indeed.

Weekend Update

2010-03-01T22:33:00.000-08:00

Well my plans of scouting out possible locations for the restaurant this past weekend were dashed. I was hoping to go driving around neighboorhoods, taking pics and jotting down realtor phone numbers to call but unfortunately it was pouring on Saturday. I'm not one to let a little rain stop me but it seems like the everyone just runs and hides at the first sign of a drizzle here in SoCal. I don't even own an umbrella so I guess I've grown accustomed to sunny blue skies and the lack of seasons. There was also the little incident of a five car pile-up on the freeway that I was involved in (I was car # 3!) which left me bruised and achy and definately not in the mood to drive around in my poor baby whose ass kind of fell out...

Since I was back home I figured I would treat the fam to my newly acquired pizza making skills. I made my very first pizza last week with the herb dough from Trader Joe's, with sausage and mushroom toppings. This time I used the plain white dough and even though I attempted to shape and flip it in the air, the dough was having none of that. I think the hardest part of the pizza making is the 20 minute resting period for the dough.

I couldn't stop poking at it! While the dough was doing its thang, I dug out my never before used pizza pan from college and got down with some major flour dusting.

The pan came in the dorm kitchen starter pack from Target, oh nostalgia. Next came the toppings; spinach, grilled chicken, and a bit of black pepper.

Off into the oven it went for a mere 10 minutes...

...and voilà! Homemade pizza right out of the oven.

This pic is a little deceiving, I didnt put enough cheese on it the first time around so I added some more and popped it back in for about 2 more minutes to get it all ooey-gooey. This is before the ooey-gooey. Now that I've got the taste part down I need to work on the aesthetics of the pizza, practice makes perfect!

As if I really needed another reason to visit Chipotle...

2010-02-25T16:11:00.000-08:00

After two weeks of dodging the terrible cold/flu bug that's been going around the office and at home, it has finally conquered me. I had to take a sick day today and have been at home catching up on the latest season of the Real Housewives of the Orange County (why are all the ladies so bitchy to Vicki??? She's the most normal in my opinion) and prowling the web for the best volumizing shampoo/conditioner. Then I stumbled upon this article.

How awesome is that?! Guess I have to make the most of my casual Friday tomorrow and get myself a burrtio bowl!

Let's Do It!

2010-02-23T19:21:00.000-08:00

For as long as I can remember my mom has wanted to start a restaurant. Not just any type of restaurant but a full on Bengali/South Asian style eatery that would be not only a great place to grub but a place to come by and relax as well. All these years, one obstacle or another has got in the way but we are finally going to make it happen now and I'm going to be a business partner! So far we've only talked about the frivolous aspects like menu fonts or where to ship baby elephant statues from for the decor, but hopefully blogging our progress will keep us on track and accountable. Mostly we've been daydreaming about what it would be like to actually have our business up and running, having our efforts transform into reality and having it become part of the community.

Now, I am no chef by any means but I have recently started dabbling. My mom on the other hand makes AMAZING food that any of my friends can attest to. So along with updates on how the restaurant is coming along, I'll be posting updates on my own cooking skills, restaurant reviews, recipes and other interesting tidbits...stay tuned!