::: In Exile :::

Back in april i had a chance to visit Anthony Bourdain’s old restaurant Brasserie Les Halles. The food was excellent and moderately priced for Manhattan, needless to say i’ve paid more for poorly executed food in Nashville. The frites and steak were great but I’m writing today about the pre-meal bread basket. More specifically the butter. Honestly I can’t recall eating a more buttery butter, which made me realize i’ve been short changing myself on a basic ingredient in cooking. The typical butters i’ve had in my fridge frankly don’t deserve to be called butter.

Hence the quest for real tasty butter. which led me to Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter

So i sought it out at the store, bought a baguette and while I was at it procured some drunken goat cheese and vintage Van Gogh Gouda. This made for my Thursday dinner and I suppose it was very European of me but very satisfying. The butter was spectacular, i suggest you try it but more importantly seek out better ingredients just for the experience.

Now to find some nice olives to accompany my bread cheese and butter diet.

It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.
- Arnold Toynbee

“Sometimes you have to use your failures as stepping-stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair. In the end, it’s all a question of balance.” - A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

Indeed!

Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, “Where have I gone wrong?”/ Then a voice says to me, “This is going to take more than one night.”
- Charles M. Schulz

hard to read the screen here.. but compare these two sites and guess which doctor i went to see.

http://www.arrowsmitheye.com/

or

http://www.selkinlasercenter.com/

both have some issues but still.. i think this should be obvious.

35

The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.
- GK Chesterton

Years ago I was out with friends in Manhattan. We usually ended our nights in the city with a stop at Mamoun’s for falafel’s or a shwarma. But as it was early in the night we decided on just getting an appetizer from somewhere, a friend suggested we get an appetizer from Baluchi’s. My life has never been the same after I had the Chicken Malai Kebab. I’ve tried to reproduce although I haven’t really gotten close to the original everything i’ve made has been delicious.

I’ve altered this recipe to my own preferences feel free to play with it, like i’ve said i haven’t perfected yet either.

I generally don’t measure much, just eyeball things.. adjust to taste is my advice.

Chicken Malai Kebab - serves 4ish

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled grated
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic 3-4 cloves
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (lowfat is good.. greek yogurt if you can find it )
2 tsp paprika for color
2 tsp garam masala (ask my mom for some, go to your local indian grocers, or see the recipe here)
2 teaspoon salt (you may need more salt at the end )
Pinch saffron, soaked in 2 tablespoons lukewarm water (never used it .. give it a go)
Lime zest from 1 average sized lime
Freshly squeezed lime juice, from above lime
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces (unform sized pieces help with even cooking)
1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream(optional)
Fresh lemon slices, for garnish
Fresh coriander, for garnish
Metal or wooden skewers

1. Create garlic paste with minced garlic and kosher salt (mortar & pestle) flat objects with a lot pressure help grind it up too. Get creative and have fun.

2. Combine incgredients except for garnish and chicken. Mix well so all ingredients are integrated. Add chicken. Leave covered in fridge for at least 2 hours.

3. Kebab it up. If using wooden skewers be sure to soak the skewers in water for an hour. Believe it or now i’ve made this without skewering. No real difference in flavor..

4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place skewers on baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes or until large pieces are cooked through.

5. Unskewer serve on plate with garnish. Taste test and add salt if necessary.

I serve this with jasmine rice and a quick onion pickle (recipe below).

Onion Pickle

1/2 large red onion

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

handful fresh coriander leaves chopped

1 seeded serrano pepper minced.

Mix well and enjoy.

In an odd bit of coincidence here’s my post from last year.

To commemorate The Angry Gnome’s start to another semester. I just wanted to give him a glimpse of what his future maybe like: (click the picture to see it in all it’s glory)