April 20, 2008 - April 26, 2008

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Don't be afraid, it's just Thai green curry

Filed under: Recipes , Recipes

I know, homemade curry sounds really complicated, but I promise you, if you can throw ingredients in a food processor/blender then transfer those ingredients to a pot on the stove, then you can make this dish.

What’ you’ll need: Lots and lots of green stuff. No, really.

Curry:
2 serrano chilies
2 jalapeño peppers
2 teaspoons of coriander
1 teaspoon of cumin
teaspoon of pepper (white pepper if you have it)
1 tablespoon of lemongrass (I used dried, but fresh works too)
1 tablespoon of ginger (I used the stuff from the jar, but again, fresh is classy)
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup of cilantro (I often use more so I don’t waste the bundle)
2 teaspoons of lime zest
1 cup of chopped shallots (a restaurant vegetable you should try at home)

More stuff:

Fried tofu or mock duck
Red bell pepper
Red onion
squash
A can of coconut milk
Maple syrup (to taste, but probably a tablespoon or two)
Lime juice
½ cup of basil

Really though, you can use any vegetable you want, and if you don’t like tofu you could probably swap chicken or beef strips or whatever instead. Though it is pictured, you will not need a bottle of tequila.

Chop up the chilies and jalapeños. Seed them if you’re a wuss and are afraid of spiciness. Add them to a half cup of boiling water. Cover and let them sit for fifteen minutes.

With a food processor (or a blender, if you feel lucky) add the spices, the shallots, garlic, zest, and ginger. Give it a twirl. It’s ok if it’s still pretty chunky.

Add the cilantro, pepper mix (with the water) and spin until it’s completely paste.

Meanwhile, at the stove, add your chopped veggies and protein to a pan and cook until just slightly tender. You can also completely skip this step if you’re willing to let the raw veggies stew longer. Sometimes I do this when I plan eating the curry the next day rather than that evening. Your call.

Dump the paste mixture into a pan on low-medium heat. Cook for a couple minutes, stirring constantly. No matter how good things might smell right now, don’t stick your head over the pot and inhale. Your eyes will burn with the wrath of the chili pepper.

Add your can of coconut milk and turn up the heat. Stir to incorporate the paste with the milk, and bring to a low boil.

Add lime juice and maple syrup to your sea of green. Sometimes I use a tablespoon of maple syrup, sometimes more. Two squirts tends to be the right amount overall.

Add the veggies and stir everything together, for about five minutes (longer if you went the raw route). Remove from heat and add the basil, and let everything sit for another 5 or so minutes.

Aaaand serve. I often just eat it straight, but naan or rice also make tasty additions. Not too stressful, right? Unless you add chicken to the mix, this dish is vegan, and it tastes even better on the second and third day.

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at April 26, 2008 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

 

Food Writing 101

Filed under: Events

A La Carte columnist James Norton is giving a seminar on food writing a week from Saturday at the Mill City Writers' Workshop, an organization founded by author/editor (and, yep, daughter of Don) Ashley Shelby.

Norton will be talking about reviewing restaurants, food blogging, and the process of writing a food book--from creating a proposal to promoting the finished product. Norton is not only an excellent instructor, but is as engaging in person as he is on the page, so you can expect an afternoon packed with information, a cheese tasting (!), and lively discussion.

The seminar takes place Saturday, May 3rd, from 12-2 p.m. at 6 Sixth Avenue North, Suite 3, in Hopkins and costs $40. For more info, click here.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 25, 2008 2:36 PM | Comments (0)

 

Drink of the Week: Bett's You'll Like It

Filed under: Drink of the Week

When hanging out at Lucia's Wine Bar in Uptown, you're probably not scoping out the cocktail list. The place has "wine bar" in the name, after all.

But don't let that deter you; the cocktail list may be smaller and less diverse than the wine list, but that doesn't mean they don't pour a killer concoction. My favorite has always been the Bett's You'll Like It.

The drink itself is no where near as frou-frou as the name suggests; its ingredients feature Crown Royal, iced tea, and a splash of ginger ale over ice. This is a no-nonsense beverage. Unlike many drinks working the Twin Cities bar scene, Bett's isn't overwhelmed by its non-alcoholic components. Rather, it harkens back to cocktails of the 50s and 60s, which sought to enhance the alcohol in a beverage rather than mask it or make you think it's not there. This is a drink with an old-fashioned glamor that will never be matched by a chocolatini.

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at April 25, 2008 5:41 AM | Comments (0)

 

Lunch at TropicWorld

Filed under: Food

Standing at the intersection of Lake Street and 31st Ave. earlier this week, I was struck by the fact that I was hungry. Available options: McDonald's, Subway, and TropicWorld Jamaican / West African foods.

TropicWorld it was. Home was close at hand, so I picked up a box of two Caribbean Food Delights Chicken Patties ($3.50).

The patties consist of an empanada-style crust (buttery, a little crunchy, not subtle but tasty, regardless) filled with a paste of ground chicken and spices. Heated in a 400-degree oven, the effect is not unlike a Jamaican chicken pot pie, with a warm, nourishing core surrounded by pastry.

The chicken has a pronounced spicy bite that attacks halfway through each mouthful and lingers, assertively but tactfully, until well after you're through chewing. If you're in want of something with which to wash down the pattie, grab a D&G Genuine Jamaican ginger beer ($1.50); it's got enough fight to battle down the lingering chicken spice while bringing its own gingery brand of tomfoolery to the party. The two flavors are natural dancing partners. Swallow some soda, and you'll want some more pattie. Eat some pattie, and you'll want some more soda. Pretty soon you're done with both, full, and quite contented.

Posted by James Norton at April 24, 2008 1:12 AM | Comments (0)

 

Must-Haves for Spring

Filed under: Food

Bell’s Oberon: The summer seasonal from this Kalamazoo, MI brewery is a light wheat ale that’s a perfect sweet-and-spicy warm weather brew. Leinenkugels’ makes a Summer Shandy, but I’m partial to the homemade version, of equal parts light beer and lemonade (steeping fresh ginger in the water used for the lemonade makes it even better).

Sea Salt: The casual Minnehaha Falls Park eatery is open for the season and it’s the best place for seafood in town. The new crawfish po-boy is a real sandwich eater’s sandwich--I was so distracted by its deliciousness that I nearly ate the whole thing before remembering to take a picture.

Morels: Some like to forage for these musky mushrooms, but they also recently arrived on the shelves at the Wedge, if you’re inclined to cook them yourself (they’re great in soups, on steaks, or just sauteed in butter), and they’ll be on the Bayport Cookery’ s morel menu in May, if you’d rather have someone else cook them for you. Or hit up the annual Morel Mushroom Festival, May 16-17, in Muscoda, Wisconsin.

A CSA Share: If you love local food, buying a community supported agriculture share is like getting a birthday present once a week. Local farms deliver boxes full of whatever’s ripe--corn, carrots, peas, garlic, potatoes, onions, melons, salad greens, etc. CSAs vary in price, delivery locations, farming practices, and offerings (some include meat, coffee, cheese, etc.)--and a few have a work requirement. For more information, the Land Stewardship Project has a fairly comprehensive directory. *Note that joining a CSA is a commitment: When the box arrives, you’ve got to prep the produce (cook it, can it, etc.)--before it rots away in the bottom of the fridge--and you need to embrace veggies like kale and kohlrabi. If you’re a small household of busy people who will be out of town a lot, think about splitting a share or just shopping at the farmers market.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 23, 2008 10:00 AM | Comments (3)

 

There's No Place Like Third Place

Filed under: Food

The Washington Post Style section published an engaging opinion piece about the idea of the "third place" in our lives; home is the first place, work the second, and that special bar/restaurant/coffee shop the third. It's a place where you're emotionally rooted, even though you're out in public, among a mix of friends and strangers.

Writer Bruce Johansen moved to the D.C. area in 1994, but he uses his Post soapbox to recall some of his favorite Minneapolis eateries, starting with memories from a recent trip back to a Dunn Bros. Coffee shop, and moving on from there:

Opening the door to Matt's Bar in Minneapolis, I'm comforted by the dark exterior that never changes, and the knowledge that a "jucy lucy" — a burger with piping hot cheese in its center — is in store. It's a place where I've joined friends and co-workers for more than 25 years, so being there stirs memories. At the Bryant-Lake Bowl I know I'll be served a tall, cold Summit Ale — my favorite local brew — while listening to the crash of pins in the adjoining lanes. Stopping at the Band Box Diner, I'll be greeted by owner Brad, who will stop to chat in between flipping pancakes and refilling coffee cups. These idiosyncratic places are Minneapolis to me.

Speaking personally, that "third place" was/is Barbette, but now that I've moved to Longfellow, the search is on for a new home base... it's almost as though I need to move a second time.

Much as I loathe artificially "stimulating" questions at the end of blog posts, I would be curious if any TC Eater readers had places you consider to be your home away from home.

Posted by James Norton at April 22, 2008 1:03 AM | Comments (6)

 

Naked sushi can't save Temple

Filed under: Restaurants

With or without naked sushi, I’m surprised Temple lasted as long as it did, actually. When I reviewed the restaurant a year and a half ago, I thought the space was stunning but the food was wildly inconsistent. In the following months, as soon as Temple’s novelty wore off, it struggled to attract guests, despite a series of Hennepin Avenue billboards.

The aforementioned naked sushi event, which City Pages reviewed and photographed, was a big success. But it couldn't stop this from happening.

While WCCO’s recent report blamed Temple’s demise on rising food costs, I think Temple’s location may have doomed it from the start, even if the cusine had been better. Though 1201 Harmon Place is right off Hennepin Avenue and just blocks from Loring Park, the address always seemed like blind spot in a car mirror--right there, yet right out of sight. The fact that the space’s previous occupant, the Caribbean themed Tiberon, was equally short lived, will perhaps give future leasees pause.

But the prize for most cursed restaurant address in Minneapolis has to go to 2819 Hennepin Avenue--former home of the poorly named but tasty Mysore Café, which just closed a few days ago.

In the past five or so years, 2819 has housed nearly as many restaurants: Antoine’s Creole Maison, Taj of India, the nomadic Uptown Diner, and the Sri Lanka Curry House. The space has always seemed a little dark and awkard to me, in dire need of a decent decorator, and, renting 3,200 square feet of space (at about $25-$35 square feet, according to the realtor who’s selling the building) is not exactly cheap. Are underfunded, poorly qualified restaurateurs biting off more than they can chew, or is there something more to it…

Posted by Rachel Hutton at April 21, 2008 12:50 PM | Comments (2)

 

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