Not The Prettiest One At The Party But...

This morning at the market started like most; an early dazed stroll about the booths with a lot of head scratching.  I've had a lot of enjoyment with chili pastes lately (eg using harissa to make a compound butter for roast chicken), so figured this would be a fine time to try making my own condiment.  At the very least this would secure me from having any bland meal in the future.  

The farmers didn't label any of their peppers, but promised they all shared a spicy genus.  I didn't see this as a problem since there are so many different chili pastes.  There are over 300 different varieties just in Indonesia; so no one can give me much grief about authenticity.  This will just be another variety to add to the chili paste census.

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Despite it's irreputable green family member, cauliflower is growing in popularity.  TV stars are hammering cauliflower couscous hard--because putting a vegetable in a blender is so creative and original--and restaurants are embracing oven roasting the delicate white florets to a near burnt color.  At least we've grown past covering the vegetable in junk.  The dark age of only seeing cauliflower with a ranch accompaniment in a crudites--or it hiding from the ignorant palates of our youth, trying to blend in with broccoli under a velvety blanket of cheese sauce--is over.

One of my favorite cauliflower preparations is a dish called aloo gobi--an Indian dish of cauliflower and potatoes, heavily seasoned with tumeric, giving the dish a distinct yellow coloring, along with garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, and the occasional handful of peas.  The plan tonight is to give the dish a Mexican makeover so I have a sensible side with my enchiladas.

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Hundredthish

Updated on Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 9:59PM by Stash

Not too long ago, I put up my 100th Dash of Stash post without realizing it.  My obliviousness made the event quite anticlimactic, so I apologize, and am going to do what I should have done several posts ago, and recreate the very first dish I posted, baingan bharta, a popular Indian eggplant dish.

In the last hundredish posts, my cooking skills, my sense of taste, feelings for Padma, and knack for the English language have all matured.  Some areas are still shakier than others, but at least I've identified those weaknesses, and either have a plan to strengthen them, or completely avoid them.  For my baingan bharta revision, I'm not going to be by-the-book authentic, but it will be good, or at least tastier and more sensical than its predecessor.  

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Bachelor Chilaquiles Verdes

Salsa Verde Ratio:

• 6 Tomatillos, husked
• 2-4 Serranos (2 to please, 3 for the bold, 4 for people you don't like)
• 2 Shallots, peeled
• 2 Garlic cloves, peeled
• Handful of Cilantro

Chilaquiles Ratio:

• 3 parts Salsa Verde
• 1 part Stock of choice
• above two per 6oz Corn Tortillas **Do NOT substitute flour**

Various Toppings/Fillings:

• Crema Rancherito (in video)
• Pickled Red Onions / Escabeche de Cebolla (in video)
• Queso Fresco (in video)
• Braised Animal
• Eggs
• Hot sauce

Working on my Veg Cred

Friday morning is the worst morning of the week.  Waking up at 3:30 or 4:30 Monday is rough, but at least I'm not hungry.  I'm always painfully starving on Fridays because I never eat dinner on Thursday.  When you go home straight from the airport, and don't get to the front door until 10pm, what are you supposed to do?

Now that I'm hungry and have kitchen access again, I need to figure out what to make.  Something big and awesome.  Whatever it is, pork will make it better, but I should really start working on my veg cred again.  I've become too reliant on certain animals and cuisines.  Haven't had a sweet potato hash in awhile, so I go to the store with that in mind, and will figure out the rest there.

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