Foodies Across Borders

Falafel Drive-In in San Jose

Gary — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:33:48 +0000

A couple of day’s before I was due to fly to San Jose, California for the launch of Nissan’s new Z-car we were watching Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. On this episode, he visited a place called the Falafel Drive-In, which has been pumping out the middle eastern chick pea treats since the Sixties. We noticed that it was in San Jose. A quick trip to google showed that it was a scant 1.1 miles from the hotel. Given that my plane would land just after 1 pm, this was a perfect opportunity to fill my tummy and stretch my legs after a long flight.
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I had a craving for Fish n Chips

Gary — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:23:27 +0000

I was napping on the couch the other day, half watching Chuck’s Day Off, as food tat guy was making some fish Po Boy sandwiches. I suddenly had a craving for Fish n Chips, so off we went to the Superstore in search of halibut. I nearly crapped myself when I saw the price of halibut, but as Mamma G reminded me, it would cost 50 bucks to buy fish and chips for 5 of us anyway.

Working with a home size deep fryer can be a bit of a challenge when trying to feed a small army, as one needs to plan things well. We cook the fries first and then keep them warm in the oven while the rest of the fries and the fish cook.

To begin with, set up your fryer to bring it up to temperature.

Fries

You can use any type of tater, depending on what you prefer. I grabbed what was left of the bag of white potatoes in the cupboard. I prefer to leave the skins on. Not only are they better for you, but the skin goes nice and crispy. If you have a mandolin, it makes quick work of making fries. Otherwise, use a large knife and start cutting.
I soaked the freshly cut fries in water for a while to remove some of the starch. You want to drain them well so the water doesn’t cause an overflow in the fryer.
With the oil at 375 degrees, our fries took about 5 minutes for each batch. This may vary depending on how thick your fries are.

Once done, put the fries on a baking sheet and stick them in a warm oven. Not too hot, as you don’t want them to cook further, just stay warm.

While all of this is going on, you can prep your beer batter.

Beer batter

Beer batter really is one of the most simple things to make. In a mixing bowl, combine about 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Add a bottle of beer to this and whisk together until smooth.

Fully coat each piece of fish in batter, working right beside the fryer. Quickly, but carefully lower your fish into the hot oil. Following the instructions in the fryer book, we found that just under 6 minutes was the right time for perfect fish.

Our fish was light and flaky on the inside, with a satisfying crispy shell on the outside. While it may have cost more than buying from a fish n chip shop, the batter was so much better!

Our appologies if your comment is missing

Gary — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:06:01 +0000

We’ve been sort of slacking off here in Foodies for the past few months. I’ve just discovered that the comment spam filter isn’t working. As a result, I’ve got over 3,800 comments to delete manually. Obviously I’m not reading them all. Check, press delete.

Mediterranean Potato Salad

One of Seven — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:43:22 +0000

I really love my mother’s potato salad. But, you know, it’s kind of the Kraft Kitchen potato salad of my youth (and hey, that’s no slam whatsoever against the Kitchens at Kraft – heck, it’s the food I was brought up on, after all!).

Anyhoo, one summer day a few years ago, I was planning a barbeque party and wanted to make potato salad, but really wanted to produce something interesting and original for my guests, and this is what I came up with. I think it rocks and my guests (and husband – no, he’s not just being kind) have always loved it! Try it for one of your long weekend barbeques this summer…!

2 lb bag baby red or white potatoes, halved or quartered, depending on size, skin on, blemishes removed
Couple of pinches of salt
shallots, finely chopped, about ¼ cup
1 large fennel (anise) bulb, coarsely chopped
1 cup sun-dried black olives, pitted, rinsed, and coarsely chopped
¼ - ½ cup mayonnaise (i.e., not Miracle Whip – sorry, Kraft!), depending on your taste
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp fennel fronds, finely chopped, for garnish (more…)

Slammin’ Salmon Curry

One of Seven — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:58:37 +0000

To me, fish curries are always a delightful surprise – they’re not often found on restaurant menus…. But this is just one example of a number of incredible Indian fish curries I’ve tried (and a great way to get your Omega 3s)!! The method for this recipe is a pretty radical departure from the one that inspired it, entitled “Bengali Fried Fish”, from The Food of India: A Journey for Food Lovers ( Priya Wickramasinghe & Carol Selva Rajah, Whitecap, ISBN 1-55285-678-X), but the ingredients are the same. This book is one of the most amazing cookbooks ever for those of us who were Indian in another life…. Serves 4.

600 g (1 lb 5 oz) rainbow trout or salmon filet
23 ml (1 ½ tablespoons) lemon juice
3 ml (½ teaspoon) ground turmeric
3 ml (½ teaspoon) salt
3 green chillies, chopped
3 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped
5 cm (2 inch) piece of ginger, chopped
60 ml (4 tablespoons) mustard oil or oil
10 ml (2 teaspoons) panch phoron
3 ml (½ teaspoon) garam masala

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Frying up some crispies at home!

Gary — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 01:58:25 +0000

I went out on a limb and got Mamma G a deep fryer for her B-day earlier this month. I know, kitchen appliances aren’t overly romantic, but I did the jewelery thing last year. Anyway, the T-Fal self filtering fryer from Costco looked like a pretty neat device so I succumbed to the lure of the home made fries. Tonight was use #2 and we made a big honkin batch of onion rings. In short, dead easy and super yummy.

Recipe:

1 cup of flour
1 cup (or a bit more) of beer
a dash of salt
a teaspoon or so of paprika for flavour

Mix it all up and coat your rings of oniony goodness.

Gently lay them into the hot fryer, being careful not to drop them in. You don’t want a splash. We cooked them for about 2 minutes per batch, which seemed just about right.

Home fryers are a little on the small side, so you might want to heat a baking sheet in the oven to keep things warm while you do the net batch (or batches).

We can’t wait to try other things. Tempura veggies are sure to be a big fave around our house.

Turkey and Blue Cheese Lasagne

One of Seven — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:48:42 +0000

This dish delivers mild, yet unexpected flavours. The sauce is inspired by the one for the Steak Gorgonzola Pizza (which is awesome!) from the LCBO’s Food and Drink Magazine (Winter 2008, recipe by Marilyn Bentz-Crowley). Although it looks like a lot of ingredients and preparation, the process is pretty quick – it’s mostly assembly!! Serves 6.

8 large red bell peppers
Cooking spray
3 Tbsp (45 ml) unsalted butter
1 lb (454 g) cremini mushrooms, sliced
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Tbsp (30 ml) grapeseed oil
1 lb (454 g) ground turkey
More salt & pepper to taste
6 Tbsp (90 ml) unsalted butter
6 garlic cloves, minced
6 Tbsp (90 ml) all purpose flour
3 cups (750ml) cold milk
½ cup (125 ml) crumbled Danish blue cheese, about 3 oz (90 g)
Yes, more salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 lb (450 g) Ricotta cheese
4/5 lb (375 g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and water squeezed out
Salt and white pepper to taste
Cooking spray or oil
8 fresh lasagne sheets
3 cups (750 ml) mozzarella cheese (about 10 ½ oz or 300g)
1 cup (250 ml) parmesan cheese (about 3 ½ oz or 100g)

There are three ways to prepare the red peppers: (more…)

Gordon Ramsey: Shrek in a Frock

Gary — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:59:15 +0000

Apparently an old episode of Kitchen Nightmares that we’ve never seen before. We saw this last night, Christmas Day after dinner of all times and I came across what might be the funniest thing I’ve EVER heard on TV. I laughed so hard that nobody else heard the rest of the argument!

“stop running around like shrek in a fucking frock!”

Orange-Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

One of Seven — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 14:56:08 +0000

Christmas is less than two weeks away?!? Well, go ahead and get a jump on things if you like, since this recipe is ideal for freezing! It was originally a combination of two recipes that I found one Christmas, but then the orange magically entered the picture and now I use it year-round, even on sandwiches! You could also just eat it with a spoon… would that be so wrong? Makes roughly 2 cups.

12-oz (340 g) bag cranberries, picked over
¼ (60 ml) cup honey
¼ (60 ml) cup brown sugar, packed
2 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken
6 whole cloves
Zest and juice of 1 large orange (about ½ cup / 125 ml)
¼ cup (60 ml) bourbon
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

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Barley Risotto

One of Seven — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:32:21 +0000

Modified only slightly from a recipe I found years ago in The Flavours of Canada: A Celebration of the Finest Regional Foods by Anita Stewart (one of my all-time favourites! ISBN 1-55192-182-0), this recipe is an amazing accompaniment to the rich braises of deep winter. It’s also a nice alternative to mashed potatoes on any occasion! Yields 4 x 125 ml (1/2 cup) servings.

250 ml barley
1 L water
500 ml chicken stock
30 ml butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
20 ml fresh parsley, finely chopped
20 ml fresh thyme, finely chopped
30 ml parmesan, freshly grated
30 ml 10 year-old cheddar, freshly grated
kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste

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