Skip to main content

Indian Cooking

Over the years I have acquired a taste for anything "Vindaloo"... seriously, my toes could be on fire from the wicked combination of heat and flavor and, well then, goal achieved and I'll keep eating.  Some complain that "hot/spicy" food has no taste, just heat that renders your taste buds unusable for days after the experience.  I beg to differ.  This past Friday evening we had the great luck of enjoying some wonderful Indian fare created by my very good pal, Anj.  Honestly, anyone who can do the kitchen dance with me and not lose an appendage in the process is a rock star in my book AND if their culinary creation is a wonderful, delicious treat both to the eyes and pallet, well then!  Perfection!  



 The food was outstanding and was on parr with the company and conversation.  :o)





That said, Anj has a love of "festivals"... one of her favorites (that I have YET to accompany her too) is "Tomatomania"...  http://tomatomania.com.  She always brings me back new and interesting varieties to grow in my tomato garden and patio pots.  Sometimes they grow super well...



And well, gosh some... not so well.


The latest crop that I plucked from my heat exhausted tomato plants over the weekend were excellent specimens of the fruit.  Yah, you all know that a tomato IS a fruit, right? The best explanation I can come up with is that like the grape, the tomato grows on a vine, and is considered a berry, and berries are fruits.  



So, armed with garden tomatoes I stroll into my fabulous kitchen, thinking that a martini would go very well at 5PM on a glorious Shadow Hills summer afternoon when I hear it... "hey babe, are you hungry?"  In fact, my stomach had been growling since the egg bake I had made for breakfast so I immediately start flipping through the recipe database stored in my head... hmmmmm, tomatoes... FRESH tomatoes at that... what's in the fridge (which was a challenge since the day prior at 3AM some jack-a-moe missed the turn a block from our house and took out several power poles, a traffic light pole and various "Cars for Sale" at the Feed Store on the corner leaving Shadow Hills without power for 9 hours...yes, awesome).  To the freezer I went and found almost thawed ground turkey!  Done!  Turkey Bolognese! 

  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 pounds ground turkey
  • 2 onions, minced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 cup grated carrots
  • 1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped yellow pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno peppers
  • 1 heavy whipping cream
  • 1 1/2 cups white wine
  • 3/4 cup Sweet Vermouth
  • 6 medium tomatoes, quartered 
  • 4 tablespoons tomato paste
  • salt and pepper to taste

  • In large saucepan heat oil and butter and cook turkey, onion, garlic, carrot, basil, salt, pepper and jalapeno until turkey is brown. Pour in cream, reduce heat to low, and simmer until reduced by one-third. Stir in wine and vermouth and reduce again. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer for an hour more.  Stirring occasionally.


Server over pasta or heck, warm up some crunchy french bread or rosemary foccacia that you have handy (because who doesn't...?) and enjoy with a rich Merlot!   mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...














      

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Summer comes 'round again.

As the evenings get warmer and the crickets song helps even the busiest of brains lull off to dreamland, I realize that it's summer, again. We barely had a winter here on the mountain and spring was about two full weeks, maybe.  Gardens are taking hold and my zuch plants are soon to overtake everything else in a matter of days. Summer to me means grilling pretty much everything, every day to keep the heat out of the kitchen. Working in the shop kitchen for hours on end this time of year is not just exhausting but dehydrating! What are some of your favorite things to grill?  Do you prefer marinates or dry rubs?  Do you wrap your baked potatoes in foil on the grill or just plop them directly on the grill (well olive oiled of course)? Then there are the summer desserts... fresh berries, stone fruit, homemade ice cream.  One of my go to sweet treats is this peach and citrus sour cream cake.  (recipe at the end of this entry). Of course the star of easy summertime fo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Summer 2017... It's A Wrap!

Although it's topping 114ºF here in Shadow Hills, CA over this long, last-kick-at-Summer holiday weekend, I can't help wishing for that first sign of Fall.  Snuggly sweaters, big fuzzy socks, heavily spiked Hot Cocoa... mmmm, I can just taste it! When we were kids, the end of Summer was always marked by the Jerry Lewis Telethon (was it possible to stay up all night?), shopping for the last bits of things needed to start the new school year and one final Cook Out before Dad would cover up the grill and wheel it back into the garage until next Summer. There were always people visiting at one time or another over Labor Day weekend.  Friends coming back from Holiday up in Cottage Country would stop in, knowing full well the grill would be fired up, ice cold beer in the cooler and that final cannon ball into the pool before they head back to their respective homes in the City.    Man, I think back and smile. Remembering. SNAP OUT OF IT J...
Post a Comment
Read more

You Should Be Grilling Everything!

I was listening to a very wise man at work today, telling me his trials and tribulations of smoking ribs over the weekend.   He loves to cook and appreciates everything that I bring in for work-folks to enjoy.  After our conversation I realized I should have asked him for his beans and BBQ Sauce recipe... (putting that on the list for tomorrow).  I adore men who cook...and not just grill but  really cook.    They get into the science of it.  I, first and foremost, am a baker and that in it's simplest form is chemistry.  From day one really.   I remember my first summer job, a bake shop in Wasaga Beach (long gone now)... no A/C, Central Ontario Canada summer's with humidity that would choke a goat.  My job was to make Rum Balls.  From 7:15am to 5pm, make...rum...balls.   To this day, I can't look at a rum ball.  The added bonus to this "summer job" (where I was paid $2.1...
Post a Comment
Read more