chicks please

How do you say it- is it ceci, garbanzo, chana or do say chickpea? No matter to me as long as they are packed with flavor.



I have had them baked till crispy and you could eat them like a salted nut. One time I had them fried and they were just as crunchy and delicious. You totally have to put oil or salt or chiles or seasonings on them because they are the taxicabs of flavor, you tell them where you want to go and they take you there, (hopefully its not like a real cab and you get there quickly).



These boys took a minute to simmer down but once they did they were all kinds of manageable. We had these fellers with probably the worst poori you had ever seen, in fact it was so bad it was not even a bad sopaipilla, yup no 'puff' factor at all -dead fried bread - it should be called.


good poori






bad poori


(there is no picture of bad poori, no one takes pictures of bad food - let alone poori)
no, wait - I will.
I will take pictures of bad food....
I just got an idea...I am going to do a post now and again called 'outakes' - original I know and when I think of the cooler word to describe all the food you dont see - oh I know - I'll call it 'The Cutting Room Floor' thats perfect. The cutting room floor presents ....



Here is an example of The Cutting Room Floor' this was made days ago but didnt make the cut. Chipotle chicken skewers with a 'crushed' potato and some curried artichoke hearts. Very nutritous but hardly the best 'layout' dont you think?

Thoughts?

black is the new white

Tinta de Calamar or squid ink, depending on where you are from, makes a great looking pasta. So I made some great looking pasta and then sauced it off with a little creamy carrot and salmon, how bad can that be?



Squid ink is so cool, a little bit can go a long way.



The pasta was perfect in texture and the color was even and the flavor mild.



Even though it started off as a road to nowhere.



Grab a fork, have a seat and indulge.

trattoria

You would think that I was running a pizzeria or a trattoria with all the Italian street food I have been making lately. These were a special request and I was pleased to oblige.



I dont know how many wild boar sausages you have tasted but if you ever get to taste some you will not soon forget it.

my zone?

No, calzone. What do you do when pizza just isnt working anymore? I'll tell you right now, you do a calzone. Yup, a folded pizza of delight. It is pretty much a pizza pocket. Dont get me going too much or I will talk myself out of it and think who did this, who is responsible is it you, or maybe its you.

obligations

Rarely do I ever feel obligated. Sure there are those obligatory situations but even if you play those right they seem to go with the flow thereby eliminating all of that 'need to' feeling. You notice I said 'they seem to go with the flow' thats right 'they do' not me. I come from a very large and extended family and if every time 'I had to do something' I felt it I was obliged I would never get anything done.


This was the first photo and I opted for this one, there were better ones, and some with flash.

This afternoon the Pup and I went to eat some Rachels yogurt, and drink some drinks at Tailor, the only person that would talk to me was a food snob. All in all it was fun and quick and informative. I learned a whole lot in one hour and there was nothing obligatory about it what-so- ever. How can free things be a problem?



They made some exotic drinks and they had some exotic yogurts and Pim from ChezPim was there to talk about her new book and all in all it was a great event that went from 4-6, and oh... Tailor makes some fantastic drinks and the pass arounds were so tasty, there was this grilled monkfish with a red pepper couli foam that I could have eaten a whole plate of - twice!


Oh wait I forgot they gave me a flash drive with pictures on it. This was some darn tasty stuff. and this was only one of the flavors. Thats all I can remember.

fat tuesday

Since I dont do themes I thought I would break out of that mold a little and attempt a Mardi Gras post. Whomever sends me photos, and you know what kind I mean, I will send you some beads. Sounds good? Sounds good! So crackout those cameras, pull up those shirts and get ready for a beadfest.



On a more realistic note I soaked the Ayocote Morados (purple beans) in a brine solution like I learned from Americas Test Kitchen. If you soak the beans in salt water they keep their shape and stay creamy inside.



This big hunkin' bean got even bigger and hunkin'er and some with freckles showed up and some darker ones too. These beans soaked overnight and then were rinsed and boiled in plain water for 30 minutes and they are so tender and plump you wouldn't believe me if I showed you.



Oh ok, I'll show you. Never did a more creamy bean exist. Ayocote Morados are supposed to be great with wild mushrooms and garlic so I made a wild mushroom and garlic salsa and that was all she wrote. I cant even begin to describe the flavor and dont get your hopes up - they lost their color.



They are a little nutty and little like cut grass and but all of that is mild then there is the wild mushroom garlic and olive oil that balances this high wire act to a T.



So whats a bean post without some eggs and salmon? Nothing I tell you - nothing.



Scramble them in the pan till they begin to set then in the oven for a quick minute and you have a late night dinner fit for a Mardi Gras -er. Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!

see it, want it

Last night, well it was actually this morning around 3:30, I read this and I could not get pizza out of my mind. I had everything I needed to make any kind I wanted and I did.




Black olive, garlic, clams and sauce.





Pepperoni for the kid.




More clams for me. Thanks Tavolini for the inspiration, oh and I forgot to mention that I put oregano in the dough for added italian flavor.

magical beans

Ayocote Morado beans are not beans you find everyday and I know because I look for unique things -everyday.



Back in the back of a little store on a side street in an obscure part of Queens I found a bin and in this bin were beans and those beans were these beans so I picked some up.



Ayocote Morado beans are supposed to be super tasty when cooked with a lot of garlic and wild mushrooms - does that not cry out for me?





I didnt know this little fact about garlic and mushrooms until I got them home and did a little research; I was struck by their size (like a big kidney bean) and their obviously purple (morado in spanish) color. I am showing them with a variety of background colors so that you can see that their purple color never fails. I am going to cook them up and let you know.

Cray ate or Crate

Sounds like food but it isnt. What has a dogg been up to you might be asking, and the answer would be - a little of this and a little of that. I am more than just a pretty face and a sharp knife I can tell you that much right now. Sure I have my faults and they are actually too numerous to mention so its much easier to talk about the things that are not my fault.




The bowls and flower are made out of magazines, well one bowl is half magazine and half subway map but its still the same idea.



I guess I could handle being snowbound because these things are tedious to make.




I have also been spending my time 'fixing' this hutch. It had no doors or drawers and it was pretty beaten up when I found it, yup found it. I dragged it home, and brought it back to life. I 'aged' the new exterior to match the old. We are happy with it, it replaces what was a dark corner with a hodge podge of shelving. I am no Micky T thats for sure.



As a result of all this 'other' crafting I have not been crafting any food, well thats not entirely true I still sling some hash around just to keep up my 'chops' (dang and I am the funny pun king too). Basic turkey meatloaf with zucchini mashed potatoes and a simple gravy.



Slab-o-ribs with a secret South Texas rub.




Shhh, dont read too loud or the meat will fall off the bone. (see the difference with flash and without?)




Ugly dessert. A nice vanilla panna cotta with too many sauces and blueberries, that was so tasty you wanted to eat a gallon. So there you have it - a week in review.



There is/was more and I am still trying to digest it all (there I go again being the punster in chief) Jets made an X in the sky the other day, I think it wasnt on purpose.