We had originally planned on having a get together with our dear friends Mark and Ksenija (who is an extremely talented photographer. You can check out her work here!) around Thanksgiving (hence the name “Friendsgiving”), but our schedules didn’t line up until now. It worked out because it gave me ample time to plan the epic menu. After we enjoyed an incredible vegetarian meal together at a vegetarian restaurant called Inn Season in Royal Oak, I was inspired to do a complete vegetarian spread. I thought it would be a great contrast to your typical heavy holiday dinners and a great way to start the new year. Continue reading “FRIENDSGIVING 2014”
The Legendary Hot Brown
The last time we visited our friends in Lousiville, they took us to the English Grill for brunch to have a Hot Brown. Now when they first mentioned it, I was a little worried. The last thing I think of when I hear the term ‘hot brown’ is food. But luckily this dish gets it’s name from the hotel it originated at (The Brown Hotel), not because of something that happens to you after you eat it.
After reminiscing about our trip to Kentucky, I decided to make hot browns for dinner. I knew this was rich and heavy, but man, after seeing the ingredients it’s no surprise why. Tons of butter, tons of heavy whipping cream, and tons melted cheese topping a half pound of sliced turkey breast finished with crispy bacon. Woah… Not something I want to eat everyday, but so delicious!
The recipe I used is from The Brown Hotel website. The story of how the Hot Brown originated is shared their too.
RECIPES:
Aloo Baingan (Potato and Eggplant)
I’ve really been enjoying cooking the recipes from Manjula’s Kitchen. After buying a lot of the spices, it seems I always have ingredients on hand to make one of these recipes. They are all vegetarian recipes with just a few ingredients so prep goes pretty quick. After making a few of these, I think I finally got the hang of it.
I always make two dishes and double the recipes of each. That way there is plenty of leftovers. My second dish this time was butter paneer masala, which I’ve made before.
RECIPES:
Aloo Baingan (Potato and Eggplant)
Yakitori 焼き鳥 (Grilled Skewered Chicken)
Yakitori is grilled skewered chicken. It can be any part of the chicken. I’ve had liver (not my favorite), gizzards (not my favorite), cartilage (definitely not my favorite), and the regular parts like thighs, legs, breasts, and skin (not my favorite either, but Aya loves it!). It’s one of my favorites and I always make sure we get some when we visit Aya’s folks in Japan.
One of my first solo dining experiences in Japan was with yakitori. Aya’s parents suggested a place where I could just look at pictures on a menu and order by number. That way it would be easier for me since my Japanese vocabulary is very limited. But hey, I can count to ten!
When looking at the menu I immediately recognized yakitori and decided that is what I would order. The only way I’ve had yakitori is with sauce. And that’s the only way I thought people eat it. So when the server asked me questions after I proudly ordered “hachi”(number eight), I began to panic. Why is she asking questions? I told her eight! That’s all she needed to know! Oh, and I only know how to say numbers, “yes,” and “no thank you” in Japanese.
“Do you want salt or sauce?” she asked in Japanese(and I only found this out later when I was telling the story to Aya and her parents).
But all I heard was a bunch of unfamiliar syllables that sounded like a question. After a long awkward pause, I looked blankly at her and said, “hai (yes).”
She looked puzzled and asked again in Japanese, “do you want salt or sauce?”
I straightened up and looked at her more confidently and said again, “hai (yes).” Only this time I added a ‘yes’ head nod so she would for sure know my answer.
“Salt?” she asked in Japanese.
“Hai (yes),” I nodded again with a proud smirk.
Little did I know I was agreeing to “salt” instead of “sauce” on my chicken and was thoroughly confused when the skewered chicken arrived with no sauce. Why is it do dry? I thought. It wasn’t until Aya and her family explained this to me while they roared with laughter at my story that I understood what was being asked. Now I know. And I also know that I like it better with sauce.
So with that in mind, I used two small chicken breasts and cubed them instead of slicing them thin. I also cooked mine under the broiler in the oven. If you use this method, I think soaking the skewers in water for at least a few hours beforehand might be a good idea. Mine caught on fire (oops).
I served this with miso soup, seaweed salad, steamed broccoli with sesame dressing, enoki mushrooms sauteed in butter and soy sauce, and rice. Not a bad meal.
Oh yeah, and I made the sauce to go with it too.
RECIPES:
Roasted Shoulder of Lamb w/ Smashed Vegetables and Greens
I’ve used ground lamb a few times here and there, but never have I done a lamb roast before. But they were on sale at the store so I figured I’d give it a try. My quick search came up with this recipe and all the commentators were raving about it. I can see why too! Holy moly, this Jamie Oliver guy knows what he’s talking about. And it was a lot easier than I thought.
The recipe calls for a 2.2lb roast to be cooked for 4 hours. Mine was just over 1lb, and I decided to cook it for 2 hours. It worked perfectly. And the sauce, woah! I was worried with the amount of fresh mint in it that I might not like it, but it was marvelous. I kind of wung it (winged it?) with the smashed vegetables though. They turned out fine. In addition to the potatoes and greens, I added a salad with fresh pomegranates and pears. Delicious!
I definitely want to make this again. Preferably for guests to show this bad boy off.
RECIPES:
Roasted Should of Lamb with Smashed Vegetables and Greens
