I have a taste for 2 things... if they were european, i could whip something together, but they are not and i don't want to experiment and be disappointed with everything going on in life right now. i don't know enough about cookbooks and websites to know which would be reliable and to my tastes. so, can any of you help me out?

first... I picked up some unsweetened coconut milk. i want something that is: refreshing, not particularly sweet, and possibly a little spicy (i'm not sure if that works with coconut?), and i'm thinking shrimp with some kind of green veggies (although chicken or vegetarian is fine too). I think i saw something like this in a thai restraunt, but it doesn't have to be thai. Suggestions?

second... Palak Paneer... I have lots of indian restaurants around here, and i've tried it at all of them, and only at ONE do i like it. I've also tried all the brands stocked in local stores of prepared versions and the one that comes closest (although not quite as spicy and of course lacking that just-made-fresh flavour) is a brand called Ashoka. The packaging varies, and even is packaged under the trader-Joe's label but made by the same company (i posted a few package examples under the cut as it probably varies in different places).

I've tried several times to make this dish at home from recipes found off the internet, even making sure that the ingredients list is extremely close if not the same, but the flavour always turns out wildly different! I've tried increasing and decreasing ingredients with no luck.

Have any of you had the Ashoka / Trader-Joe's boxed Palak Paneer AND have a recipe that comes close to it? It can be mild, as long as the overall flavour is pretty accurate, i can always add some chillies in to taste :)

( package examples for reference )

eta- i'll be out for most of today and tomorrow- so let me say thank you in advance. if i have questions on anything, i'll ask when i get back, and if i remember to snap a photo before devouring anything made, i'll be sure to post it :)

This post has been delayed for 5 months. sheesh!
I made the cake and took the photos in mid-August. So, here's a little slice of summertime on a January day!

We started with these:



( Step-by-step photos of their glorious fate, in here! )

What's in the bag?

My husband got me Paula Wolfert's Couscous and Other Good Food From Morocco for my birthday a couple of years ago because I was always experimenting with making Moroccan food as I remembered it from my travels (couscous, bisteeya, tagines, etc.). I keep hearing people make reference to how great Paula Wolfert is, but I'm starting to suspect that we have very different palates and ate from very different kitchens in Morocco. Or maybe I'm choosing all the wrong recipes to make. The last thing I made was Lamb Tagine with Fried Eggplant which I wrote a big fat "fail" beside. No, Paula, I don't like the eggplant stem "nuggets" you made me peel and toss in with my lamb that taste like overcooked asparagus. Maybe the problem is that she asks me to put too much lemon in everything. I like lemon, but there's definitely an overpowering limit. Maybe her lemons were smaller and her "juice of 2 lemons" is more than my "juice of 2 lemons".  Maybe her pinch of saffron is smaller than my pinch. Maybe it's because I don't like how grated onions and chopped parsley turn to nauseas goo after simmering for 2 hours.  I just don't know. Anyhow, that said, I just know there must be some gems among her recipes. So those of you who swear by Paula Wolfert, which are your favorite recipes of hers from this book?

Also, I've been asked to make a cake for a wedding. Apparently, the bride has heard that one of the latest trends is to ask your friends to bake various cakes for the wedding instead of getting one big white wedding cake. I decided to make a black forest cake with real kirchwasser (if I can find it). Since I don't bake often or make desserts and don't want this to be a disaster, I'm using a boxed cake mix but want to make my own frosting. However, several of the recipes I'm finding online for the frosting that have comments with them complain about the frosting being too runny. They mostly seem to include whipping cream, gelatin, powdered sugar, vanilla flavoring, and cherry liquor of some sort. Does anyone have a tried and true non-runny whipped frosting + liquor recipe that would work for a black forest cake? I don't want to have a disaster on my hand for someone else's wedding. Thanks.

I made this drink based on one I tasted on a hot summer's night at a tiny little cafe a year ago...maybe it was the alcohol, the rose-tinted glasses of my memory or my skill but I can't seem to get it *quite* as perfect as I remember, but it still makes a darn fine drink to cool you down on those hot summer days :)

I had some pancetta waiting to be used, and it was 10 am. Time for brunch! I wanted to use it with eggs somehow, so my search was automatically limited. Pancetta is mostly used in pasta, so it made it pretty easy for me to ignore the dishes I didn't want. I ended up finding Eggs Carbonara from Bob Blumer, Surreal Gourmet on the Food Network web site.



These eggs were insanely savory, helped enormous by the milk, parmesan cheese, and the richness of the pancetta. I would recommend this to anyone in a heartbeat. It looks a little sloppy, but once it's in your mouth, the taste overrides any other criticisms.

This was made with 3 eggs instead of 8.

So today I decided that I have a really bad addiction. I think I might need treatment for it. 

I, ladies and gentlemen, am addicted to hummus. 

I have been wanting to make my own for quite some time now. I recently went to the Nile Lounge, which is a hookah bar in Allston, MA, and they make their own hummus. This hummus is unlike any other kind I have had before. It has a certain je ne sais quoi to it (which could be paprika). I asked the owners for the recipe, but they wouldn't give it to me, so I decided to come here. 

What is your absolute favourite hummus recipe? What sets it apart from other ho-hum hummus? I'll try anything once. 


Thanks in advance! 

My roommate loves Borscht so I decided to give it a shot. Now, I am not a beet fan but I do like the way this tastes when I first had it at the Crossroads Deli in Hopkins, MN last Autumn. So pulling out a couple of my recipe books, I put together this:



We were amazed at just how bloody the soup looked..... oh the carnage! 
So we called it 'Blood Stew'  Would be good for a Halloween party!

Sometimes zoning out in front of a chopping board cutting things into tiny pieces calms the mind and soothes the soul.




( More............ )

Call them what you want, Pierogi (also perogi, perogy, pirohi, piroghi, pirogi, pirogen, piroshke or pyrohy) these are not  the "boiled thing". My wife made these and she calls them " pyrizhky". Would not have been possible if she had not made sauerkraut during our Christmas break. Thats whats in them and it's not your tart sauerkraut you buy at the store, she adds carrots and fresh cabbage to sweeten them. So dang good!

Fresh Seasonal Fruit Plate with Tarragon Pear Scone and Lemon Brown Sugar Creme Fraiche at Diva at the Met.  More details here.

ok...well I think so.
I'm a huge asian food fan, and the spicier the better...so I thought I would share my favourite *it's late and I've had a few drinks* snack..
glass noodles
chili/garlic sauce
red pepper flakes
hot pot soup base
3 cups water

Boil all together and when noodles are softened to your like, drain SOME not all and into the broth add House of Tsang Classic Stir Fry sauce, wasabi and some Srichan (sp?) sauce into a bowl.
Noodly goodness, and spice and salt. The only thing it lacks is some cheese :)