Help I've become a Food Network junkie...
Aug. 16th, 2010 10:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daveonI'm not sure how it happened - they're on our HD package and I've ignored it for ages, but over the last few months it's become a regular Sunday bit of TV. And now I've started writing down the recipes...
Usually I start with a dose of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives - which is frankly bonkers but nice to indulge in a little bad food porn. I'm also starting to think that Guy Fieri, the host, is something of a genius. He's a good raconteur and actually manages to also get across some basic cooking techniques and terms.
The interesting thing here is that Guy won the Food Network's Reality Show to find a new host, this was a couple of years ago, and he's probably already, with Bobby Flay, one of their most active and visible representatives (and there appear to be a lot of them). Anyway, they've just finished the 3rd Season of "Next Food Network Star" and it was an interesting competition.
It was interesting as the selection process was purely by a team consisting of 2 senior marketing people for the network and Bobby Flay - which put a degree of harsh business analysis onto the process that you don't normally see. It was also interesting that while I wasn't sure who'd they go for at the end, my early favourite and, in my mind, the front runner from day 1, did actually win.
So the next food network star is Aarti Sequeira, an Indian from Dubai, with more than a hint of an English education and who is going to do a show on simplifying Indian Cooking - something I will be putting on my DVR :)
And on that note, from another show on the Cooking Channel, I made Vindallo for dinner on Sunday. Interestingly, in most restaurants Vindallo is (a) mind buggeringly hot and (b) has potato and tomato. Interestingly, they made the point on the show that actually the allo probably refers not to potato but to garlic. This is actually a Goan dish which has a heavy Portuguese influence and the name likely comes from Vinegar and Garlic.
Anyway - it rocked.
Basically:
- Get a half kilo of meat (Pork or Chicken work)
- 4-5 chillis - I used 4 sweet and 1 habanero and 2 serano - it was what was in the fridge
- 7-8 cloves of garlic
- 1 TSP cumin, corridandor, chilli powder
- salt and pepper
- a 1inch cube of fresh ginger
- small Onion
- 3 tbls White Wine Vinegar
Blend the chillis, garlic and spices in a blender with the Vinegar. Pour over the meat and leave in the fridge for an hour.
Heat some oil in a large pan with a lid. Soften the onions. Add the meat and paste. Cook for a few minutes on moderate heat until you get some liquid coming out of the spices and meat. I added about a cup of water at this point. Then cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
Just before serving you put some oil in a pan, get it nice and hot. Add a heaped teaspoon of mustard seeds, wait until they are crackling and spitting. Add some nuts - peanuts or cashews. Toast the nuts.
Add to Vindallo and eat.
It was amazing.
Anyway. Work to do, but I felt like sharing.
Usually I start with a dose of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives - which is frankly bonkers but nice to indulge in a little bad food porn. I'm also starting to think that Guy Fieri, the host, is something of a genius. He's a good raconteur and actually manages to also get across some basic cooking techniques and terms.
The interesting thing here is that Guy won the Food Network's Reality Show to find a new host, this was a couple of years ago, and he's probably already, with Bobby Flay, one of their most active and visible representatives (and there appear to be a lot of them). Anyway, they've just finished the 3rd Season of "Next Food Network Star" and it was an interesting competition.
It was interesting as the selection process was purely by a team consisting of 2 senior marketing people for the network and Bobby Flay - which put a degree of harsh business analysis onto the process that you don't normally see. It was also interesting that while I wasn't sure who'd they go for at the end, my early favourite and, in my mind, the front runner from day 1, did actually win.
So the next food network star is Aarti Sequeira, an Indian from Dubai, with more than a hint of an English education and who is going to do a show on simplifying Indian Cooking - something I will be putting on my DVR :)
And on that note, from another show on the Cooking Channel, I made Vindallo for dinner on Sunday. Interestingly, in most restaurants Vindallo is (a) mind buggeringly hot and (b) has potato and tomato. Interestingly, they made the point on the show that actually the allo probably refers not to potato but to garlic. This is actually a Goan dish which has a heavy Portuguese influence and the name likely comes from Vinegar and Garlic.
Anyway - it rocked.
Basically:
- Get a half kilo of meat (Pork or Chicken work)
- 4-5 chillis - I used 4 sweet and 1 habanero and 2 serano - it was what was in the fridge
- 7-8 cloves of garlic
- 1 TSP cumin, corridandor, chilli powder
- salt and pepper
- a 1inch cube of fresh ginger
- small Onion
- 3 tbls White Wine Vinegar
Blend the chillis, garlic and spices in a blender with the Vinegar. Pour over the meat and leave in the fridge for an hour.
Heat some oil in a large pan with a lid. Soften the onions. Add the meat and paste. Cook for a few minutes on moderate heat until you get some liquid coming out of the spices and meat. I added about a cup of water at this point. Then cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
Just before serving you put some oil in a pan, get it nice and hot. Add a heaped teaspoon of mustard seeds, wait until they are crackling and spitting. Add some nuts - peanuts or cashews. Toast the nuts.
Add to Vindallo and eat.
It was amazing.
Anyway. Work to do, but I felt like sharing.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 05:49 pm (UTC)So far I've had vindaloo in two restaurants -- one in Edinburgh and one in Dublin -- that meets the criteria. Mostly, though, it has become code for "the hottest thing in the house". Which is sad.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 06:05 pm (UTC)I reserve the stupid hot curry's for night's when I'm entertaining Koreans who've spent the evening making snarky comments about how bland British food is and how British people can't take a little heat. I'm running 4-0 for Phaal eating - which is cheating I know.
I've also won a chili eating contest with a bunch of drunk Samsung guys in Seoul, but I did pay a heavy price for it for the next two days, and the flight down to Hong Kong the next day will rate highly on my "don't do that" scale.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 07:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 07:34 pm (UTC)Oh, and here's the master list of the places Guy has visited. If you do a Find in your browser for "WA 9" you'll get the 8 results for Washington state. I've been to two of them (Bizzarro and Southern Kitchen, but well before their TV appearances) and they're both great.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 08:01 pm (UTC)The bit that really impresses me is that he's able to get actual, you know, cooking stuff into what would otherwise be content free television. I've actually learned a huge amount about making a decent roux from him.
M wants to hit Pam's Kitchen in the U District because their blend of Trinidadian cooking is very similar to Mauritian stuff.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 08:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-16 08:22 pm (UTC)Other than that, going to Pam's sounds good.