The Thai Temple in Berkeley, CA

Just before my recent visit to Berkeley, I was informed that Sunday brunch at the Thai Temple is unmissable. Not wanting to miss the unmissable, Esther and I headed out the door at a ripe 10 AM on Sunday. And thank goodness we got up on time! Apparently, they begin to run out of food as the day goes on, and that was no surprise to me when I saw the line that had formed by the time we had finished eating our brunch.

The thai temple is... literally... a thai temple. Wat Mongkolratanaram is the name (thank you yelp!) and from what I've gathered, the monks at the temple cook a weekly Sunday brunch. 


They're not allowed to collect money for the food, so you immediately go over to a side tent where you can trade in your money for tokens, which you "donate" for food. You may then join a line for vegetarian cuisine or the separate carnivore cue.


The pineapple and chicken curry brought out the predator in me and I joined the line of meat eaters. Esther mozied to a side line, where she donated her coins for a big bowl of soup.


For five tokens, you receive a big pile of rice and a choice of one dish. For six tokens, you can have two main dish choices, and seven tokens gets you three. I was mostly interested in the pineapple curry, but felt the need to try a beef dish as well. 


As I've left a bit of time between my actual visit to the temple and this blog, I can't remember which beef dish I had, but I recall it being delightfully spicy and tender. The sweet and spicy of the pineapple and chicken curry was well balanced. Esther took a sticky rice dessert to go, which I regret not trying before my journey back to the ATX. She absolutely raves about this treat. 

The seating at the thai temple is long picnic tables, and Esther and I were fortunate to find two adjacent seats at 10:30 AM. Certainly worth getting up on Sunday for, but make sure you do indeed rise early! The thai temple was a charming, unique experience, and will be on the agenda for the next and all subsequent California trips. 

Chilean Sea Bass

First of all, I'd like to let everyone know that the original name for Chilean Sea Bass is Chilean Toothfish. The powers that be decided that name was not appetizing enough for the american palate, so now we eat sea bass, despite the fact that this fish is completely unrelated to the bass fish that you may be familiar with from fishing trips on the river, or whatever.

But what's important is that this fish is freakin' amazing, especially if you give it a nice marinade and a quick sear. So put any ideas of what a "toothfish" might look like out of your head and get ready for some tasty eating.
YOU WILL NEED
1 cup of soy sauce or tamari
1 cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice
4 thick sea bass steaks

In terms of ingredients, I gotta recommend that you start buying better soy sauce. I really dig the unpasteurized soy sauce that is actually full of living bacteria and yeast that is left over from the fermentation process.
Also, don't skimp on your fish. We're going to give this only a really light sear, so quality is essential.

Lay the steaks in a dish and cover with the soy sauce and orange juice. Marinate the fish, covered, on the counter-top for at least an hour, making sure that the mixture has reached room temperature, assuring even cooking. Make sure to flip halfway through if you don't quite cover the fish.

Heat up an oiled cast iron skillet or a stainless steel pan until it's really, really, really hot. It should literally be smoking, regardless of the kind of oil you use. Olive oil smokes at lower temps, so use something a little more stable. A lot of folks swear by animal fats like lard, which have very high smoking points, but I generally just use veggie oil. Peanut and grapeseed oil works very nicely, I'm told.

Remove your fish from the marinade and pat it dry with a paper towel.

Throw the sea bass onto the skillet, searing each side for 2-3 minutes for people who like sushi and 4-5 minutes for people who like canned tuna. But this can vary, based on thickness, so just use your judgement, and DON'T OVERCOOK IT.

Your sea bass should look like mine does up top, namely, freakin' delicious. I did a simple penne pasta and veggie saute and a salad with this.

This fish does best with a nice, dry white wine with some acidity and focused fruit. I recommend an unoaked chardonnay, or a nice viognier or gruner-veltliner.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese – New Additions to an Old Classic

I hope that with the approaching summer, these blogs will become more frequent again. Lord knows, we haven't been eating less... :D

Mueller's Macaroni and Cheese

This has been a favorite for me since my days as a wee Kapes. Growing up, baked macaroni and cheese was my absolute favorite. I remember calling my mother for the recipe during my first year away, and was shocked that such an amazing family recipe was taken from a box of elbow macaroni! A quick visit to Google, and I was on a decadent trip down memory lane... The recipe from the box can be found here, and I won't reproduce it fully, but I do want to write about some of the modifications my mother and I have introduced over the years that have made this dish feel new to me all over again...

Bacon Bits
Immediately after stirring the pasta into the milk mixture I add chopped bacon to the mix. I precook it in the microwave (as I have one of those microwavable bacon dishes that makes the bacon come out crispy every time). MikeDub really likes this addition, as it reminds him of carbonara (effectively taking him on his own memory trip to his poppa's kitchen).

Tomato Slices
I think the bacon bits are optional, but I will never make this dish without the tomatoes again. Just before pouring the mac and cheese mixture into the greased pan, I stir in diced tomatoes. Pour into the pan, and then add some tomato slices to the top. Don't forget to remove the liquid and seeds from the tomato before adding it in.

Crumb Topping
This addition comes straight from Kapes' Momma's Kitchen, and I feel it's just not Mac and Cheese without it! Melt 1 tbsp. of butter or margarine. Add breadcrumbs slowly, so that they soak up the butter evenly. Once the crumb mixture starts to look more free flowing and less clumpy, it is ready. Top the casserole and do the final bake. As a child I called this part the "crunchies" and made every effort to skim off just the top of the mac and cheese for my portion. Delicious!

Miracle Berry Tasting Tomorrow!

There will be a miracle berry tasting tomorrow night at Cork and Co. wine bar (3rd and Congress) at 7 PM. It's $20, which includes the berries, sour foods, and drink.

Woooaaaah.... Flavor Trippin'

Miracle fruit is an evergreen plant. It produces berries that effect one's taste receptors... making sour foods taste sweet! The active protein in the plant is called miraculin (obviously named by an adorable biologist) and it is believed to interact with the taste receptors causing this change in flavor perception.

Meet David Nguyen; he will host your unique culinary experience for this evening. Naturalist and miracle berry purveyor, David organizes these flavor tripping tastings and promotes a natural soap—a fruit that IS soap... I think. David will explain to you how the berry works, and then issues a warning: although the food tastes different, it will effect you the same. I mean, if you suck a whole lemon and drink a shot of tabasco...

To get the maximum effect, swish the skin and juice of the berry around your mouth for about two minutes. Be sure not to bite the pit, as it is bitter and disgusting. Spit the pit out, and for the next 30–60 minutes, you will experience sour foods like never before. 

The best part of my experience was the lemons—sucking lemon and lime slices tasted like candy! Guinness was a close second; although I read it tasted like a chocolate shake on the Interwebs prior to the tasting, I didn't quite get that sensation. It was exceedingly delicious, but difficult for me to put into words. Salt and vinegar chips—one of my favorite snacks—was horrid. A sweet and salty potato chip was not quite my cup of tea.

The tab was $20, which included the miracle berry, some wine and Guinness, and an assortment of sour treats. It was a great experience, and friends and I really enjoyed doing a little something out of the ordinary. A highly recommended unique experience!

Lamb Chops with Red Wine Reduction and Red Kale

Kapes and I recently had the treat of shopping at Newflower Market, a new, independent organic-ish grocer in Austin.

We walked away with lamb chops and kale, two things we had never cooked before, but I was determined to make them amazing. I really think we succeeded.

Lamb Chops with Red Wine Reduction

1 large glass of red wine

2 large shallots

3 large rosemary sprigs, chopped finely.

2 midsize (6-8oz.) lamb chops

2 tablespoons of butter

salt and pepper

Marinate the lamb chops in the red wine with some salt and pepper for a few hours in the fridge. When you remove the chops, save the wine.

Preheat your over to 300.

Heat the butter in a saucepan. Chop the shallots finely and add them to the pan, cooking them until they are translucent. Add the red wine and bring to a simmer. Reduce the red wine slowly.

Rub the lamb chops with the rosemary, salt and pepper. Heat a pan to a very high temperature, preferably a cast-iron skillet. Sear the chops for 2 minutes on both sides, creating a slight char on the surface. Transfer the chops to a oven dish and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the chops are pink and tender throughout.

By now your sauce should be thick and dark. Pour over the chops and serve immediately.

Serves 2

Red Kale

Cut the long, stemmy ends off of the kale. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and drop in the kale. Boil for ten minutes, or longer. You pretty much can't overdo this.

Drain the kale, and pat it as dry as possible. Heat some oil in a pan and add a touch of garlic, frying it until it is aromatic. Drop in the kale, and saute for a few minutes. Serve immediately.

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I also made green beans with almond slivers. I just cooked them both in butter until the almonds toasted up. They were unbelievably delicious.

I've found that pan searing and baking is a good option for making steaks and chops at home, as it tends to produce a more tender final product that is pink throughout. It is my understanding that many top steakhouses cook their steaks this way, as well. So far, I have had nothing but success with this technique, and it's great for people who live in apartments or can't grill outside for whatever reason.

Bon appetit!

Bleu Cheese Encrusted Baked Chicken

Tonight, MikeDub said to me "I love parmesan crusted chicken. I wish we could do the same with bleu cheese," at which point a culinary experiment began... The result was a fantastic, yet simple baked chicken dish. Enjoy!

Bleu Cheese Encrusted Baked Chicken

The Crust

1 c. flour
Bleu cheese crumbles (just less than 1/4 cup)
Chopped almond slivers
Salt and Pepper

Encrusting
• Remove most of the skin from about eight chicken drumsticks using a kitchen knife. Although the skin is "nature's oven bag" for keeping the moisture in baked chicken, this dish doesn't need it at all.
• Beat two eggs
• Dip the chicken in the egg, and then quickly into the Crust mixture
• Coat with egg and Crust again, if desired.
• Bake on a lightly greased pan at 375 ºF for 30 minutes
• Flip the chicken. You may need to free the drumsticks from the bottom of the pan using a spatula, so that the Crust doesn't peel clean off!
• Bake about 20–30 minutes more (cooked chicken internal temperature=165 ºF)
• Serve and enjoy!

Easy Citrus Fish

With the state of the ocean today, it is difficult to find fresh fish. I used to go to the fish counter with an idea in my head of what I would purchase, but these days the upbringing of the fish constantly comes in to question.

Well, the ONLY fish this week at the HEB fish counter that was not farm raised was the orange roughy (which isn't orange at all, rather a delightful white fish). Keeping with the name of the fish, I decided to citrus it up! Here you are, pescatarians...

Double Orange Citrus Roughy

Line a shallow casserole dish with thick orange slices
Place Roughy filets (rinsed and patted dry) atop the bed of orange slices
Top with salt, pepper, lemon and lime slices, and a few cilantro sprigs
Bake on 400 ºF for 20–25 minutes, until fish is flaky in the middle

Side Suggestion: Coconut-Cilantro Jasmine Rice

Make 1 cup Jasmine Rice according to package
During the last two minutes of cooking, add chopped cilantro (to taste)
After rice is done, mix in 2 tsp. of the thick cream from a can of coconut cream

Wink Restaurant, Austin TX

This post is long overdue. For MikeDub's birthday, all he wanted was to go dutch on a fancy pants dinner at Wink restaurant. I lament that I do not have pictures of our gorgeous dinner to share; however, that night was about us enjoying a birthday dinner and not getting that picture perfect photo of the food.

http://winkrestaurant.com/

Wink is pretty awesome. They've got the self-professed slow food thing going on, and it makes for a great special night out. All of the carnivore's delights come in the form of  happy meat from farmers markets, and they boasted having their sea scallops overnighted FedEx.

The dining room is tiny, and there is an unattached wine bar across the way in this tiny strip mall, located at 12th and Lamar just behind Whole Earth Provision Co. The bar has a separate bar menu (although you can get anything from the dinner menu out there as well), and the extra tall mini burgers they carried out from the kitchen for the bar looked absolutely delightful. We did not go into the wine bar; we decided to save the experience for another evening.

Perhaps this could be a quest for Kapes and her wine blogging cohort, although happy hour will be required to make that a reasonably priced experience.

Well, let's get to it: our meal and the prices.

MikeDub and I split a tasty bleu cheese laden salad, and then moved on to my personal favorite food: sea scallops. They were the jumbo sea scallops, which I'm pretty particular about. I can't say that they were the best I've ever had, but I am from New England where they don't even have to be FedEx-ed in... Oh, but they were served atop a bed of these long mushrooms with tiny tops (forgive me, I waited too long to blog this and can't remember the name) and truffle. I had never eaten truffle before, but knew what it was immediately upon tasting it. Fabulous combo, although I wasn't quite on board with the "doneness" of the jumbo scallop.

For dinner, I had the lamb shank. It was the texture of brisket and was falling apart—almost difficult to keep on the fork! It was some of the best lamb I ever tasted. MikeDub had the antelope, which they prepared so well I could hardly detect any gaminess at all.

It was MikeDub's birthday, so we did desert. If you can even call it that. The Chocolate Soup was a meal in itself. Creamy chocolate soupiness with soft spongy "cookies," if you will, laid in the liquid. It was a little too sweet and I am not that much of a dessert person, but MikeDub really seemed to enjoy the decadence...

With four glasses of wine and a nice service discount they gave to MikeDub, dinner rolled in at a smooth $120, and was nearly paid for by a bill left by Mom and Dad :) Not for everyday dining on my budget, but prime for a special night.

Thanksgiving Recipes

I have not a single picture of the feast we created to share! However, I would still like to give a few tips and recipes that I found delightful. A food blog that I fancy called Serious Eats posed to its readers whether Thanksgiving was about the turkey or the sides. I love my sides, but this year for me it was the ham.

Starters

Stuffed Mushrooms


Soften: 2 tbsp soy-based "Better Than Cream Cheese"
            1 tbsp butter

Mix in: about 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
             salt and pepper
             1 tbsp parmesan cheese

Sprinkle with parmesan and bake on 350 ºF for 30 minutes.

Deviled Eggs

1. Cover with an inch of water and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from heat immediately, cover and let stand for about 18 minutes.

2. Run cold water into pot of eggs until eggs are cool. (Eggs can be stored in fridge at this point)

3. Once eggs are peeled and washed, cut them in half the long way and place whites on a dish (or a disposable aluminum pan--it is Thanksgiving after all; someone will need it for leftovers!)

4. Mash the yolks in a bowl with a fork, and then mash in the following ingredients (amounts are approximate for a dozen eggs):

• Mayo - 4 tbsp
• Vinegar - 1-2 tbsp, to taste
• 3 tsp sweet relish
• salt and pepper

5. Using a cake bag or a plastic bag with a corner cut off, add the filling into the whites.

6. Sprinkle LIGHTLY with cayenne pepper

Meats

Turkey

We have a meat injection syringe and needle. We made the injection out of chicken broth made from bullion, crushed lavender leaves, and a few other italian spices. We shot that bird up till it was fat and cooked it in an oven bag. Moist and delicious!


Ham

Ham comes fully cooked, so I stole a little slab for our ham, tomato, and cheddar breakfast quiche early in the day. The rest was glazed, and then baked for an hour or so.

Kapes' amazin' glaze

On medium heat, stirring constantly, cook:

          1/3 cup brown sugar
          2 tbsp honey

Once dark and thick, add in horseradish and spicy mustard to taste (I use over 1 tbsp of each). Dump all over ham. Bake.

Sides

Scalloped Potatoes

I use this recipe. I do scald the milk, although I researched it and I'm not sure if it does anything. I wasn't about to find out the hard way on Turkey Day, though...

Stuffing

Giblet stuffing. Mom's recipe. I'm sure she'd give it to you if you asked...

Spicy-Sweet Potatoes

Outstanding! I baked the sweet potatoes in foil in the oven with the turkey--super easy!

Mash the insides with just a sprinkle of BROWN SUGAR, a few tablespoons of BUTTER, a generous amount of CHILE POWDER, a little bit of CAYENNE PEPPER, and a pinch of SALT. Taste frequently while mashing to get them to the desired spiciness. Bake on 350 ºF for 30 min, and then sprinkle lightly with brown sugar.

Green Beans

Steamed in the veggie steamer and seasoned.

East Side Indian

For the longest time, I thought strip malls were good for nothing. But Austin has changed my tune, and I now realize that strip malls are good for one thing: Indian food. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a single Indian joint that isn't part of a strip mall! There are a great deal of good Indian buffets in Austin, and I like each for different reasons.

India Kitchen is the subject of this blog. Nestled away in the strip mall near the intersection of Riverside and Pleasant Valley, this restaurant is excellent and, as a bonus it is close to me! One of the really nice things about this particular buffet is that the naan is not put out (at least at dinner). It's so nice to have hot, fresh naan brought right to the table. Also, their naan is a bit different from what I'm used to. It's a bit thicker and chewier; it really has its own thing going on.

I have been to India Kitchen many times now due to the proximity, price, quality, and instant gratification (of the buffet, of course). One of my favorite dishes is the spicy eggplant. I'm a huge fan of the lamb meat balls, although with the outstanding vegetarian choices, I often opt for a meatless dinner when I am here. Last trip I had a bowl of the lentil soup, which was absolutely outstanding. India Kitchen is a hidden gem on the East side. Highly recommended.

Primafeta Pasta

A vegetarian delight! This pasta dish features crisp vegetables, pine nuts, and feta cheese.

Ingredients:
6–8 oz. medium shells, cooked al dente
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 cloves minced garlic
1 small onion, diced
1–2 carrots, sliced thin
asparagus (1/2 bunch)
fresh spinach
cherry or grape tomatoes
feta cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Saute onion, garlic, carrot, pine nuts, and asparagus in olive on medium–medium high heat. Once the asparagus begins to soften, add in the pasta (I sometimes add a bit more olive oil so that the pasta fries up a bit.) Cook 5 minutes. Add in feta crumbles and spinach and cook until the spinach begins to wilt. Add the tomatoes in for the last 2–3 minutes of cooking.

South Congress Cafe

Right before Halloween, during a trip to Lucy in Disguise, we happened upon the South Congress Cafe for brunch. The place was packed, and full of loud, South Austin atmosphere. The staff was amazingly friendly, and we had a great time.

The Bloody Marys were excellent. MikeDub and I split everything up, and that was fortunate. The food was a little heavy, and a big bowl of andouille sausage-enhanced gumbo and a breakfast bite left us stuffed. The gumbo was delicious; spiced perfectly, and featured a thick, dark base.

The highlight of my brunch was the egg-topped crab cake. Smothered in a delightful sauce and reminiscent of eggs benedict on speed, this prosciutto bacon topped wonder was amazing. The tab wasn't bad, but this spot was definitely an occasional treat.

Cuban Pork Roast

This is a delicious, flavorful, zero effort dish that can cook all day. Cook at a super low temperature for 12 hours to give it a pulled-pork texture, or at just a bit warmer and faster to create a super-tender roast.

3 lb. Pork shoulder or butt, bone in

One Pineapple, cored and sliced into strips

One and a half large red onions, in quarters

One jalepeno pepper, sliced

a few tablespoons of olive oil

juice of 2 limes

Rub

----------

plenty of

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

Oregano

just a little

White Pepper

Cayenne

Rub the roast with plenty of the spice mixture. Add more until the meat is well covered.

Arrange the pineapple and onion in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Lay the roast on the onion/pineapple layer, top with the jalapenos, lime juice and olive oil.

Slow cook on medium low until an internal temperature of 160-165 is reached. It should take about 6 hours. You can finish it off in the oven at 250 if it is taking too long. Check temperature frequently. If you leave the house, turn it all the way down. These things are easy to overcook.

The Autumnal Equinox

At 1 AM this evening, Kapes and I sat down to lament the horrid shape of our liquor cabinet. Like many in disrepair, the only bottles we had left contained the kind of things that sit on the shelf for years at a time. Orange liqueur, vermouth, amaretto, cognac, a tiny splash of shitty vodka and a variety of bitters. Tragic.

Many a joke were passed back and forth as to just how sorry our current lot was, and what a miserable cocktail machine it had become.

I happened to bring home a great bottle of port that Kapes and I were enjoying, when it dawned on me that port probably makes a decent cocktail ingredient. I immediately googled "port cocktails" and the very first recipe that popped up called for port, orange liqueur, and amaretto. Christ. Even more called for port, vermouth and lemon, in some combination. It seems that our desolate bar is prime for port cocktails.

So we whipped together some "Autumnal Equinoxes". This drink looks, smells, and tastes like purple juice box kindergarten fun times. Not exactly what I go looking for, but fun, nonetheless. And it finally gave me a way to use up the stupid liquor that sits undrunken for years at a time.

Autumnal Equinox

2 oz port

1 oz orange liqueur

1/2 oz amaretto

pour over ice in a rocks glass, stir, drink.