Mowing Down on the Sunday Chow

From the title you might think that the Sunday chow is some slow-cooked home style feast like pot roast or Sunday gravy. But really it's just some tasty stuff I had today that I want to share with you, my readers. (Do I have readers?)

Anyways, first up is a simple, easy and tasty sandwich that I made myself for lunch.

It's a super-tasty grilled cheese with Havarti, tomato, and basil. I made it by grilling a sandwich of cheese, tomato, and basil and mustard in a pan with a little olive oil. I adore the crunchy bread, gooey cheese and moist tomatoes. It was excellent from start to finish. There are few things as easy and tasty as a good grilled cheese.

I got my dinner at the Cariwest Caribbean Arts Festival in Churchill Square after an appetite-building afternoon of shopping. The festival had lots of Caribbean flavour in the entertainment. I heard steel drums, saw dancers, and heard other festive music as well. But, the main thing on my mind was getting some food 'cause I was hungry. There was a bit of a mish-mash of food on offer from Italian sausage to ginger beef to enchiladas. But, I only had eyes for the Caribbean food because isn't that what the festival is all about.

I lined up at the tent set up by the Sit and Chat Caribbean Restaurant. I wanted to get the oxtail but it was not available (at least for me). So, I went with the choice of the Caribbean guy in front of me in line and went with the colossal curried goat roti for $10. Here it is in its entirety:

I was also a bit thirsty and curious what an authentic Jamaican ginger beer would taste like, so I got one for $3:

First, what's in a roti? What is a roti? I'd say it's like a Caribbean burrito with a flaky wrapper and a filling of curried potato, chickpea, and goat. Here are the insides because you know you wanted to see them:This was a rib sticking tasty concoction. The potatoes and chickpeas offered up their tender starchy goodness and the goat was flavourful and on the bone. I ate it mainly with a fork. I don't see how you could really pick it up without it falling apart. Especially since you have to gnaw meat off the bone, an activity that I increasingly enjoy. The curry flavour was tasty but not overly spicy. Overall, I enjoyed eating my roti while soaking up the sights and sounds of the festival.

The ginger beer was much sweeter than I would have thought with over 40 grams of sugar in 300mL. But I drank it all because of the intriguing strength of the ginger flavour that was sort of in the background. So, those are the highlights of my tasty Sunday chow.

And More Eating. . . Same Weekend

On Saturday night we had dinner at Wild Tangerine Cucina Domestica, which is kind of an Asian fusion restaurant that I wanted to try for a while. We couldn't make a reservation because they wanted to keep tables for walk-ins. So, we decided to try our luck and walk in. We found that it was no problem to be seated around 6:30. They weren't very busy. I think there were only a couple of tables occupied although it is quite a small restaurant.

I was immediately impressed with the modern, slightly funky, slightly Asian decor. But don't ask me to recall details. One thing that was immediately nice on such a hot day was that they leave coloured glass bottles of water on the table. It's very convenient for thirsty people, like me.

Before going, I had of course examined the on-line menu. I must note that it's not current as to prices. Anyways, I was intrigued by the "Grilled Five-Spice Octopus Salad with Spicy Tangerine Vinaigrette." So, that is what I had to start. My mother also ordered it. It was really good. The octopus was very tender unlike any other I'd ever eaten. It was more like pulled pork than say tako from a Japanese restaurant. The flavour of the octopus just said "Chinese food," which I guess is what you get from five spice. It reminded me a bit of the Chinese barbecue I had in Calgary. Besides the pieces of octopus, the salad also had some crispy pieces or fried. . . root vegetable. . . I think for a tantalizing contrast in texture. The salad component was julienned bell pepper, celery, apple, and other vegetables in a sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy dressing. My mother also enjoyed the salad. My dad started with the Caesar Salad with Ginger and Oven-dried Tomato. I think he thought it was good, but I also think that the octopus outshone it. He might have wished he'd been more adventurous, it looked pretty ordinary for a Caesar salad. I didn't taste it though so it could have been really good.

For a main course I had the red curry mussels with linguine. It came in a big bowl with plenty of mussels on top, although I think four were closed and of course not eaten. There was a fair but not excessive amount of linguine underneath. The red curry sauce was delicious. It created a mild burn at the back of the palate and was sweet with onions, bell pepper, and tomato. Unlike some curries that have a lot of coconut milk or cream, the sauce was very light and pleasing on the hot day. I ate the entire dish and enjoyed it immensely. I was tempted to eat the remaining sauce with a spoon. It was that good.

My dad had the Thai green curry with prawns and tortiglioni. It contained large prawns, a light curry sauce, an assortment of vegetables, and large tubular pasta. He said it was good. My mom had the "Lemon Chicken" breast stuffed with red dates, ricotta, and spinach. It was served with so much seasonal green vegetable mixture that she didn't finish her veggies. The chicken breast was very lightly breaded and then stuffed. I think she enjoyed it and found the preparation refreshingly light.

All in all, it was an excellent meal at Wild Tangerine. On our way out we met the owner who was very friendly and chatty. He had once taken chemistry at the U of A and had also lived in Medicine Hat, where I'm from. That was pretty cool. I'd love to go back, although the downtown location isn't really close to the LRT and so isn't super convenient.

My final meal with my parents was lunch on Sunday. We decided to go to our favorite standby Murrieta's, which I think is a good restaurant. When we walked in I immediately saw Beth, a girl I lived in residence with who serves there. She immediately volunteered to serve my family and said we were VIP. She provided excellent service.

I was going to rely on the on-line menu for verbatim descriptions of what we ordered but they aren't current. Anyways, I have a good memory for food. My dad and I both went for the bison short ribs with bacon cassoulet. My mom had a prawn tempura sandwich. Before the mains, we were served warm and delicious multigrain bread and butter. My mom's sandwich arrived on a huge platter with lots of fries and salad. The sandwich itself was large, too. Some of it wasn't eaten, there was so much. I can only comment on the fries since I tried one and it was good and crisp on the outside.

The bison short ribs dish consisted of four pieces of bison on the bone and four thin pieces of lightly cooked asparagus atop a generous serving of the cassoulet. Both of us finished the serving. I'd say the sandwiches are for the really, really hungry. The short rib meal was excellent. The bison was tender and meaty tasting with a bit of subtle barbecue sauce. The cassoulet was a feast for bean lovers as it was mainly beans, some veggies like carrot, and a bit of bacon. The smokey taste of bacon infused all the beans. It was a joy to eat and felt like really good cowboy food. If you like to eat meat off the bone and beans go for it. Just don't expect too much greenery.

Once again Murrieta's did not disappoint.

Incidentally, there is also a bison short rib dish on the menu at Wild Tangerine that intrigues me. But, it seemed to heavy for that hot day. It was still hot on Sunday, but somehow bison seemed appropriate. Go figure.

Highlights (not) For Children

Last week I was in the mood for a burger. Serendipitously, my friend Ryan brought over a patty for a turkey cacciatore burger a la Rachel Ray. I think it must be this recipe, although I don't know what substitutions were made and it was served on a bun--a whole wheat kaiser as shown below. I'm not going to get into the merits or sins against food of Rachel Ray. All I'm going to say is that with mustard, sauteed mushrooms, spinach and tomato this was a tasty burger. I absolutely love mushrooms with burgers. It's freaking awesome and if you don't agree you're crazy. It may also have stopped me noticing the chopped veggies in the burger and the fact that it was made of turkey. As for the bun, I think a whole wheat kaiser is really good for a burger. There's not too much bread and I like the texture. Thanks for the burger Ryan!Now I want to mention one of my comfort foods. Fried eggs on toast:
I used to eat a variation on this for breakfast on weekends pretty often as a kid. I used to require Cheese Whiz, an egg, and ketchup or salsa on a toasted slice of bread. On my own, I come up with some variations that might be a little more grown up. This one has ham under the egg, black pepper on it, and some shaved Romano cheese on top. The key to all of this is a runny yolk, you can't beat it. I eat this with a knife and fork by the way. If it were French I suppose it would be a tartine.

For a weekend meal, I cooked a rainbow trout--complete with head. It was okay, but really needed the lime juice I squeezed on it. I think I overcooked it slightly. I did eat the meat from it's cheeks though and it was particularly succulent. . . as I think fish cheeks are supposed to be. My side dish of roasted new nugget potatoes was awesome though. I made them based on Heidi Swanson's recipe for Black Pepper and Lime Oven Fries. They look pretty nice below:I didn't really measure anything and I forgot the cheese on the ones above--but they were still delicious. A sprinkling of Romano was a nice touch though once I remembered. Anyways, the chili and black pepper flavouring was good. To be honest, I think the nugget potatoes were so good that they would have made great oven fries no matter what I seasoned them with. There was just so much potato goodness.

To finish up this post, I want to talk about some damn good poultry. You might have thought I only like pork, but I also adore dark meat chicken. That's right: DARK meat. Not white, not what's in Chicken McNuggets (the gold standard for nutrition). My dad will not buy chicken thighs. But when he eats them, he seems to like it. Anyways, I've been using chicken thigh meat that I cook myself for my sandwiches with blue cheese and mustard. Pretty much any cheese would be good on the sandwich though. I used to love turkey, cheddar and mustard sandwiches. Anyways, to make the chicken I brown skinned thighs well. This step looks delish below:

When the chicken is well browned I add some chicken broth made with bullion 'cause I'm a cheater until the chicken is partially covered. Then I simmer the chicken until it's tender, about half an hour. I think this may count as braising. Finally, I take the meat off the bone and shred it. I froze some of the meat for future sandwiches and it seems to keep well. Sandwiches with this chicken are awesome because there's so much real chicken flavour and texture. The liquid left over seems intensely chickeny and I saves some for a possible future risotto in the freezer.

Another great use for chicken thighs is chicken curry. It starts with browned skinned (but bone in) chicken thighs but lots of veggies an seasoning go in as well. This one has carrot, onion, ginger, curry powder, chicken broth, and spinach. I kind of make it up as I go along. I think it's important not to be afraid to experiment in the kitchen. Chicken curry is a warming, filling, and satisfying meal with some rice.