Pork Vindaloo Over Riced Cauliflower

Vindaloos are the Goan curries that have been influenced by the Portuguese in their use of wine or vinegar. And the pork, of course, is another thing that the region inherited from the Portuguese. These stews are tart and sweet, and loaded with chili. Often in Indian restaurants vindaloos will have potatoes, but this is an error of interpretation, I am told (‘aloo’ does mean potato, but the original name of the dish is ‘Carne de Vinha d’Alhos’ – meat with wine and garlic), and the original recipe doesn’t include potatoes. I did add them though, because my vindaloo paste came out too spicy.

In any event – the substitution of rice with riced cauliflower loaded with garlic and green onion work out successfully! If you are tired of rice (which is a rare happening for me), cauliflower is a good alternative.

Followed this approximately: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/pork-vindaloo-1203141

Pecan pie cookies

These “cookies” are basically mini pecan pies. You use pie dough as the basis, and it becomes actually surprisingly crispy. This is a good “shortcut” potluck food for folks who like pecan pie, but a whole piece after buffet-style overeating is way too much.

Followed this recipe, but added just one egg because two seemed a bit disproportionate. Also next time – I will chop the pecans more finely –>

http://www.spendwithpennies.com/pecan-pie-cookies/

Pan Seared Tikka Wings

No grill? No problem. The key to flavor here is the marinade and a nice cast iron pan coated with coconut oil. Indian-style wings are totally satisfying.

The recipe is here: http://twistedfood.co.uk/easy-chicken-tikka-wings

Kimchi Ramen Au Gratin

A local Asian comfort food joint (Temple Street Eatery) had this as a special for a limited time, and it was a big hit! Ramen noodles baked with cheese, covered with kimchi, chives and bacon bits.

It is just a matter of assembly: one the ramen packages I used was made from black rice flour, hence the color. Added lots of cheddar, chopped kimchi and green onions, and bacon. Not sure this is a fateful reconstruction (the original has way more cheese and less extra toppings-> https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14492621_1251896228196268_5791978792259254168_n.jpg?oh=362f9e1a1a77ec613e06ba26b18fd5b2&oe=58A34E64), but it was good.

Grits Halwa with Almond Gelato & Date Syrup

Back in kindergarten in Bulgaria (in the commie days), they use to give kids grits halwa as a dessert and we all hated it. It was bland and had the kind of texture children despised. Of course the canteen version does no justice to the real version – rich with nuts, dried fruit, thick syrup and Middle Eastern aromas. Now, grits halwa is coming back – even to higher end restaurants, with new fancy implementations. Like this warm grits halwa with a scoop of a ice cream I had in a restaurant called Oriental Garden in Sofia. This is my reconstruction of it:

Boil the syrup ->

500 ml water

A cup of sugar

A couple of cardamom pods

A stick of cinammon

Several cloves

4-5 tablespoons of raisins

Boil for 7-10 minutes (make sure it doesn’t boil over)

Strain

Keep the raisins

Make the halwa ->

Melt 3-4 tablespoons of butter in a pan

Add a cup or more of wheat grits (instant work too), or as much grits as will absorb the butter

Fry until golden

Add finely chopped nuts of your choosing (pistachios, cashew, almonds, etc.)

Add the reserved raisins from the syrup

Stir 2-3 more minutes

Add a cup of the syrup (careful with the splashing!)

Stir until the liquid is absorbed (add more as needed)

The whole mixture will start to come together in a ball and separate from the walls of the pan.

Put it in a shallow small pan, or in multiple dishes if you want to have individual sized desserts. Let it rest and solidify. If you want to serve it warm, you can later microwave or warm in the oven and add the ice cream scoop on top. I poured date syrup on top, just for extra oomph.

Sorry this isn’t more precise. I didn’t have a recipe to go by myself 🙂

If you don’t want to risk it with my approximate directions, here is something more specific: http://www.giverecipe.com/semolina-halvah/

Lentil Dip with Carrot Chips

A welcome alternative to the hummuses and bean dips out there.

You boil lentils, blend them with some mascarpone or cream cheese, caramelized onions, garlic, sea salt and fresh rosemary. Don’t have exact quantities, everything is approximate and trial-and-error style 🙂

The carrot chips are baked at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. They are thin carrot slices sprinkled with oil, salt and pepper.

Roasted Butternut Squash & Beet Greens Salad

It was ages ago when the Food Network had their first Food Network Star competition, and one of the contestants (a yoga instructor, I believe) made this salad in the first round. The judges were ooh-ing and ah-ing, saying how surprised they were at the many flavors that emerge from a salad that doesn’t even have a dressing! It is true, the variety of the tastes in here is a pleasant surprise. ANd they are all very complementary.

Recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/roasted-butternut-squash-with-beet-greens-goat-cheese-toasted-walnuts-and-mint-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Shortbread Lime Cookies Laced with Floral Earl Grey Tea

The objective of this experiment is to see if tea mixed with shortbread dough will result in a pronounced taste of some sort. Result: no. If you add loose leaf tea to your cookie dough, you will not taste a difference. Especially if you added lime juice and lime zest to it. However, if you dip your cookies in melted white chocolate and then sprinkle ground tea on top, you might feel the special “accent” along with a fun crunch.

For the cookies I used this recipe posted by The Flavor Bender, but I didn’t make the cookies spicy (the cayenne was ommitted):

http://www.giraffescanbake.com/chocolate-chili-lime-shortbread-cookies

Cheesy Quinoa Enchilada Bake

I love finding good recipes through G+! In fact I can say with certainty, that lately better recipes are posted here than on any other social network. And this is one of them. It’s the second time I make it, so it has become a part of my standard rotation.

http://www.jocooks.com/healthy-eating/chicken-enchilada-quinoa-bake/

Jalapeno Macaroni and Cheese

This is a recipe that does not include the roux-like starter you usually use for macaroni and cheese. While it does make it creamy, it doesn’t make the dish gooey, which I realized – is better where macaroni and cheese are concerned. I also regret not adding more pickled jalapenos. But adding deep fried, breaded jalapenos as a topping was pretty neat.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/creamy-jalapeno-popper-macaroni-and-cheese.html