Chana Masala = Spice Paradise

When we were still living in Salt Lake, we would go out for Indian food about once a week to the Star of India.  My husband's favorite meal there was the Chana Masala, extra spicy.  Now that we're out here in San Diego, we don't have an Indian place to go to anymore (although I am sure there are plenty of great spots that we just haven't found yet).  So as a surprise for my husband, I decided to try my hands at making Indian food for the first time.  (I'm not sure why, but I have never made Indian food before.  I think all of the spices that are involved have always seemed intimidating to me.)  Here's my first attempt at chana masala - to my surprise, it was quick, easy, and I was able to make it entirely with spices I already had in my pantry.  And while my recipe may not have been traditional (I didn't have some of the traditional ingredients including garam masala and amchoor powder and I am fairly certain that jalapenos are not normally in Indian food), it sure was tasty:

Chana Masala (as written, this recipe will serve 2-3 people)

3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1 jalapeno (cored and seeded with the white part removed), minced
1/2 Tbsp coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1/3 cup water
freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste
chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeno and saute until browned (for approximately 5 minutes):

Reduce heat to medium-low and add all spices:

Stir to mix and saute for about 2 minutes until onion mixture is well coated:

Add tomatoes and stir to mix:

Add garbanzo beans and water:

Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes to reduce.  In the meantime, heat oven to 200 F. Wrap naan in foil and heat in oven for 5 minutes to warm. (I used Trader Joe's Tandoori Garlic Naan, pictured below):

After the chana masala has simmered for 10 minutes, season with salt and pepper, and add freshly squeezed lime juice and cilantro to taste:

Serve with naan and cilantro lime rice (see below for recipe) and enjoy!

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup jasmine rice
2 cups water
freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lime
chopped fresh cilantro (approximately 1 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp butter

Add rice, water, lime juice, cilantro and butter to a rice cooker (or medium sauce pan):

Cook until liquid is absorbed (approximately 20 minutes).  Fluff with fork and serve.

Dinner a Deux

This year marked our first Valentine's Day as a married couple where we lived in the same city (imagine that).  Last year, Paul flew out to Salt Lake and we had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, The Paris Bistro.  While usually this restaurant can do no wrong in my book, their Valentine's menu was a complete let down for me.  It was a prix-fixe menu (so the options were very limited) and the items they did have on offer were surprisingly underwhelming and no where near as good as their usual offerings.  To top it all off, at $65 per person, it was no bargain.

After looking around at my favorite restaurants here in San Diego and seeing that all of them were offering prix-fixe menus for Valentine's Day, we decided to spend this year making a feast for ourselves at home (in an effort to avoid repeating the disappointment of last year's experience).

I put Paul in charge of the first course, and he did not disappoint when he decided to assemble a cheese board with the following cheeses:

For Christmas, my sister Renee got us these awesome cheese knives from Sur La Table:

And the cheese board gave us an excuse to finally use them - thanks Renee!

It was hard to pick a favorite between them since they were all delicious. The gouda was so interesting with the bits of black truffle infused throughout (as you can see here):

And the taleggio tasted truly amazing served atop a baguette with smoked salmon:

And it tasted even better paired with champagne, of course:

For the main course, I made my ravioli with brown butter walnut sauce that I have featured on the site before:

 

I used store bought pasta instead of making my own from scratch since it was a week night and it tasted great:

We accompanied dinner with one of my favorite wines, which we first tried in Portugal on our backpacking trip through Europe:

And for dessert, I tried my hand at making a souffle for the first time.  I have always been terrified of trying to make a souffle since you always hear horror stories about how if you so much as sneeze, let alone slam a door, a souffle will collapse in the oven and be destroyed.  Since I was scared and didn't have high hopes of it working out, I just made a simple chocolate souffle.  But I am happy to say, it is one of the easiest desserts that I have ever made (and delicious too), so stay tuned for more complicated flavor combos soon!

To start with, you will need a souffle pan (I got mine at Crate and Barrel for $10):

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Rub the inside of the souffle pan with butter, then coat with sugar, like so:

Take half a bag of bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli):

 And melt them in a double boiler (I don't have a double boiler, so I made my own version of one by placing a glass mixing bowl over gently boiling water and it worked just fine):

Stir the chocolate as it melts so that it doesn't burn:

And heat until it is completely melted:

Then add 3 egg yolks and stir to mix (it will look grainy and similar to brownie mix batter, as pictured below):

Next, add a pinch of salt to 6 egg whites (I'm not sure exactly how much a pinch of salt is - lucky, I have a measuring spoon just in case):

Whisk salt and egg whites together at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks, like so:

Add 1/3 cup of sugar and beat at medium speed to mix.  Increase speed to high and beat until the whites just hold stiff peaks, like so:

Add 1/2 of egg white mixture to chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly to combine:

Add chocolate and egg white mixture to the remaining egg whites and fold carefully (so as not to deflate egg whites) to mix:

Then pour the batter into the souffle dish:

And bake for 25 minutes (whatever you do, DO NOT open the oven to check on the souffle or it will collapse).  When it is finished it, should have risen to the top of the pan (it will start to sink almost immediately after you remove it from the oven, so don't worry if it doesn't stay tall and fluffy for long):

Since it was Valentine's Day, I decorated my souffle with rose pedals, powdered sugar, and a heart:

I served it with Rosa Regale sparkling red wine (which I have posted about before):

Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day! 

Breakfast of Champions

We received a lot of fantastic, thoughtful wedding gifts.  As you might imagine after reading this blog, some of my favorites are the kitchen related items.  And while I probably would never be able to choose one favorite item above all others, I do have to say that the panini press has gotten a lot of love from me.  I often say that I think I was Italian in a past life due to my love of all things pasta, wine, and parmesan related.  And I have to say that when it comes to sandwiches, you'd be hard pressed to come up with a more delicious way to combine ingredients than by simultaneously toasting, melting, and compressing them all together into one tightly sealed little package.

Although I haven't yet met a panini I didn't like, one of my all time favorites is a breakfast panini with bacon, egg, and cheddar.  When I was living in Salt Lake, there was this local bakery that sold the perfect ciabatta rolls for paninis at my neighborhood market.  Since moving to San Diego, I was at a loss as to where to find these types of rolls.

That is, until the other day when I discovered Con Pane Rustic Breads and Cafe (for some reason they don't seem to have their own webpage, so I linked to another blog that reviewed them).  This shop is in Liberty Station in Point Loma, which used to be a Naval Training Center but has now been repurposed by the city as a multi-use shopping and residential area.

But I digress.  Con Pane is fabulous.  Fantastic sandwiches, coffees, and other baked goods, including freshly baked bread (and more specifically for my panini making quests, ciabatta rolls).  So long as you have access to a panini press and a delicious bread supply, these sandwiches are quick and easy to make, not to mention delicious.

Mmmm, delicious ciabatta.  Thanks Con Pane!

First, cut open the ciabatta roll:

Top with scrambled eggs:

Bacon (I used veggie bacon but you could of course use regular bacon too):

And sliced sharp cheddar cheese:

Replace top of roll:

And place in heated panini press:

Press down on handle of panini press to apply pressure to sandwich as demonstrated below (isn't Paul an awesome sous chef?):

Once the panini is finished it will be golden brown and have these beautiful grill marks on it:

Cut the panini in half on the diagonal like so:

It will make enough to share (or not depending on your mood).

Mmmm, melty, eggy, cheesy goodness.  Enjoy!