Steaming and Cooking, Street-Food-A-Palooza!

   My birthday has turned into an 11 day celebration of fun and gluttony and it's going out with a bang tonight. We're having a bunch of friends to the house for an Indian street/snack food buffet, cake and all the trimmings. I started grinding, soaking and cooking yesterday. On the menu are samosas, cabbage vadai, rice idili, momo with both chicken and shrimp, seeni sambal, pineapple sambal, apple chutney, lemon pickle, choko chutney and whatever else I can whip out. So therefore, this is going to be a short post as I have to get back into the kitchen.
   The lovely object that is at the top of the page is a steamer from Clay Coyote a birthday gift from Paula Wolfert and her husband Bill Beyer.

 This can be used to steam cous cous and of course all sorts of other things.

   I have several of their absolutely beautiful clay pots  which are works of art in  themselves. In fact, rarely a day goes by that I don't use one of my Clay Coyote pans for something. They make great Tagines, cazuelas and all sorts of other things that look just as beautiful on the shelf as they do on your stove or table filled with food.
  So I'm off to the kitchen now, look for recipes for all this stuff I'm making. With the exception of the momo, everything on the menu is either vegetarian or gluten free.
  Have a great weekend and follow along on Twitter @kathygori  

My Lunch At Paula Wolferts' House

   My Twitter friend Celia Soudry who blogs about food for the LA Weekly was twittering yesterday about how some people earn money in these tough times. A lot of this involves "sleep studies" where she reports one can make 9k a month (if one qualifies) letting  themselves be experimented upon. I don't think I could take people randomly waking me and flipping lights off and on to see what effect it had, but there's one person I'd gladly let experiment on me any old time and that's Paula Wolfert.

   When Paula asked us to come to lunch yesterday so that she could test a recipe from her upcoming cookbook, we were totally stoked. I love going to any meal at Paulas' house and she can experiment on me any old time she likes. That morning she'd twittered me and asked what we wanted to drink. I don't drink,  and since at most Indian meals I serve beer, I know beyond next to nothing about wine. Even though we have quite a nice wine collection which Alan enjoys when we have friends to dinner, I was at a loss.  I didn't know what to pull. So I sent out a Twitter flare to Tuscan chef Aurelio Barratini and he tweeted back that a nice young, dry white would work well with shellfish couscous which was what Paula was making. I twittered back to Aurelio, asking what young and dry meant, but Aurelio was gone. I consulted The Google and a couple of good wine websites and pulled the appropriate bottle. Thank God for Twitter!

   We arrived at Paulas' place to find her busy in the kitchen cooking up a storm.

   The big copper cous-couserie was out and there was a mound of corn grit couscous in a large wooden bowl. She invited me to feel the texture. It was light and fluffy and ready for the final step of cooking. While Paula's husband Bill Bayer, and Alan and our friend Charles discussed Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm and how life imitates art...Paula was giving me a guided tour of our lunch.

   I sampled sauces, learned about a nifty way to do fish stock and then she whipped out a small bottle of what appeared to be olive oil.

   "Taste!" she said. I knew she was up to something.

   "What sort of oil is this?" I asked.

    "Just taste."

   "Kind of hazel-nutty. Interesting. Where's it from?"

   She took the bottle back. "Guess"

   Now when someone asks me to guess what they're feeding me, I know that something is up. It's either not what I think it is or it's been obtained in some fairly "interesting" way. My mind was racing through a catalogue of food stories, and rumors I'd read and heard.

   "Does this have something to do with.... poop?"

   Yes, it did as a matter of fact. I'd had my first taste of Argan oil.

   Yes, those are goats in that tree eating the Argan fruit. How they get up there, who the hell knows. What they can't "use" we do. Enough said.

   "Don't tell Alan" she said. I wouldn't think of it, though I wondered what Larry David would do with the information. The stuff is delicious by the way, and waaaay out of my typical grocery shopping price range. I watched as she finished off the shell fish quickly.

   The deep pan in the center is Flameware made by the people at Clay Coyote. It is an amazingly sturdy substance. A deep, wide clay pan that doesn't need to be pre-seasoned and can believe it or not, go right on a direct flame...ergo the name! I have one of their casseroles and it makes perfect risotto and polenta with no work at all. Paula gave me one of these pans yesterday and I can't wait to use it in some of my recipes that call for a kadhai.

   The corn grit couscous was finished off...

And brought to the table.

   This is a Berber dish and will be in her new cookbook. In the center are the corn grit couscous, surrounded by jumbo shrimp, squid, mussels, baby turnips cooked with their greens, and a sweet sultana raisin and onion sauce, very chutney-like in texture. Drizzled with sauce, it was light, fresh tasting and delicious. I also discovered that Alan loves mussels. At least he loves them when Paula cooks them, and who could blame him. It was a delightful afternoon with good friends, good conversation, good wine (thanks Aurelio) and even greater food.

   Paula's next project is going to be snails. It seems there is a Moroccan soup that is made of snail broth. Paula needs snails! She has sent out word via her good friend Sonoma Index Tribune Food Editor Kathleen Hill and through her, The Great Sonoma Snail Harvest is ON!

   Paula has very specific instructions as to how we Sonomans are to gather the snails from our vineyards, gardens and lawns. There is a drop off spot. Then the experiment begins. I have never ever in my life eaten snails. People who have, tell me they're delicious. So we shall see how far I am willing to go in the name of food experiments.

The Buona Pasqua Lunch and The Secret of No Stir Polenta!

Easter around our house is like the Tri-fecta of family holidays. Not only is there the big celebration of Easter, a huge deal in Italian households. But at Casa Gori, we also add in my parents anniversary and this year, my fathers' 91st birthday. Last year for his 90th, he got an iPod. Probably he was the oldest iPod owner out there at the time.
  My parents examine one of this years' anniversary presents, a deck of trivia cards based on events from the year they were married.

  My mother who is an insane practical joker brought over what she clams was my "first Easter  dress".

Seeing as it came on a tiny dolls' hanger, I have my doubts. My father however,  backs her up. But then again he always does. That's how they roll.

    Feeding my Italian family is no easy task. They are the pickiest of picky eaters and I have now taken on the mantle of "The One Who Feeds The Family At All Festivities". This is in part because we have the biggest dining room table and also it's my turn. Besides, my mother keeps telling everyone that she wishes she had a house without a kitchen. Just so we all know where she's coming from.
  Every holiday at our house we go back to my Tuscan roots and spread out all the family faves. This usually includes polenta, the delicious cornmeal concoction dear to the heart of every Northern Italian.
  There are two things I don't like about polenta. The standing and the stirring. The way I was taught to make it years ago involved standing and stirring for what seemed like forever with a big wooden spoon. This may have been great hanging around the kitchen back in Fiano but when there are a bunch of other dishes on the fire and no passel of sister-in-laws, cousins, et al to help, it can get old fast.
  I dreamed of the no stir polenta. Then I found it. All because of my Clay Coyote Pot.
Paula Wolfert turned me on to these clay pots and I have a large cazuela that makes perfect polenta every time. Only one quick stir is all that's needed. Pretty nifty.
  The other great thing about this recipe is that it cooks at the same temperature as the pork loin with herbs and whole grain mustard which was my main course. It can't get simpler than that.
The whole dish cooks up in about 1 hour, and will serve 6 to 8 people as a side dish.
     This is how it goes:
  Preheat the oven up to 350 degrees.
In a clay casserole of any oven proof baking dish mix:

1 quart of water
1 cup of finely ground polenta cornmeal
1 Tbs of salt
2 tbs of unsalted butter cut into little pieces
freshly ground pepper to taste
  Stir it all together and put it into the oven in the middle of  the top rack.

Then leave it to cook for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes take it out and stir it well, mix in anything you wish to put into the polenta, butter, cheese, you name it. My favorite is butter and a mix of grated parmesan and pecorino cheese.
  Mix in the fixings you choose, then pop it back in for another 10 minutes. After that, take it out to rest for about 10 minutes and serve.

This is my polenta in its Clay Coyote casserolle. My picky family loves this dish . I love this dish because it's so dang easy. I'm actually thinking of trying to make risotto in this same clay pot in the same way just to see what happens as I hate standing around stirring risotto.

My mother actually asked me for the recipe last year and now she makes it all the time. It's probably the first time in Gori family history that a recipe traveled in the opposite generational direction.

A Personal Best Dessert!

What can you say about a chef who says that he was trained in the kitchen by "innumerable thrashings"? That he is a perfectionist? That kitchen training can be tough? That his food is damn good? All of the above are true. It would have to be to survive and come out alive and cooking on the other side.

One of the best things about the book Prashad Cooking With Indian Masters are the stories of the chefs whos' recipes and words of advice  are contained inside.
 I've seen plenty of chefs' tales out of Western cuisine. Stories that would make Cinderella in her scullery look like she had it easy. This is the first book that I've run across where some of the great chefs of India tell how they got started. Some are the descendants of master chefs, others trained botanists (which somehow makes sense when it comes to cooking), some come from doing research into ancient cooking techniques, some are engineers and computer scientists who found themselves happier behind a stove. Others trained in France, and then there are the "kitchen rats", kids who were never happier than when they were hanging around a stove and willing to take their knocks to learn.
  I've got to say that this is my new favorite book, though I've had it for a while. I've only recently started actually using it to cook. Printed in India, it doesn't have the standard recipe index and to learn, one must work ones' way through and really study how the dishes are made. Anyway, it's easier than a thrashing.
  Since  I've been spending my time watching Olympic events on TV every night after finishing my writing,  I felt it was time to get my act together, step up my game and try a dessert from this book. After all, what's better and puts one in the Olympic spirit more than vegging out on the couch with a bowl of something deliciously sweet, watching all those athletes skidding across the ice on their rotundas.  It's almost as good as a workout!
  I was also eager to use my flameware casserole from Clay Coyote  for an actual Indian dish. I've  used this wonderful piece of flameware for oven baked polenta. It's always turned out superbly delicious with absolutely no stirring or standing or work! Pretty nifty I think. Why not use it for a classic South Indian Rice Dessert? It's a famous dish from Avadh, a  region in the modern state of Utter Pradesh and is usually served at festive occasions.  Our friend who'd just returned from Trivandrum said that his friends' wife  had made the dish for him. It's called Ananas Ka Muzaafar and is a dessert that dates back to the courts of the Mughal emperors. This version comes from Mohammed Naseem, Manjit S. Gill and Chandra B. Tewari.

   This dish involves very little up close and personal time at the stove, and once the rice is soaked (no effort on your part) and it's baking Dum Pukht style in the oven, it'll be ready just in time for the judges' scores. Here's how to do it.
  The Pineapple:
1.) Cut a fresh pineapple. You will only need two rings. Cut the rings into little wedges , set the rest aside. Save any juice left from cutting.

   Rice:
1.) Rinse and soak 1 and 1/2 cups of Basmati rice in water for 2 hours. Then drain it.
   The Syrup:
In a pan or pot add:
1.) 2 and 1/2 cups of sugar
2.) 2/3 cup of water
 Mix well on medium heat.
 When it's boiling add in:
3.) A pinch of ground nutmeg
4.) 4 tsp of fresh lemon juice
  Stir the mixture until the syrup thickens then add in
5.) 1/2 tsp ground saffron
6.) 1/2 tsp kewra water
7.) 1/2 tsp of fresh pineapple juice reserved from pineapple cutting.
   Set aside.
Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees.
  In a large pot  heat 5 cups of water
  Add in:
1.) The drained rice
2.) the ground seeds of 5 green cardamom
3.) 5 cloves
4.) 5 drops of yellow food color
Boil it until the rice is just barely cooked, about 8 minutes.
Drain it.
Heat the sugar syrup over low heat , add in the cooked rice. When the syrup and rice come to a boil, toss in the cut up pineapple. Mix it well.
Pour the rice and pineapple mixture into a clay casserole dish and cover the dish tightly with crimped foil and a lid. Make sure it's sealed tightly.

  Slip it into the oven and relax for an hour.
 Just before the dish is ready to come out of the oven warm about 1/3 cup of clarified butter.
 When you are ready to serve, peel off the foil lid and drizzle the rice with the clarified butter.

  Serve warm. This dish can also be made using mango. I'm really looking forward to trying it that way.
So, I've finally busted into the Dessert chapter of Prashad and am now ready for more sweet adventures. I'm glad it didn't cost me a thrashing to learn this dish, but if anything were worth it, this royal delight  would be it!