Thursday, March 27, 2008

Yumi Castrillo

The lady behind the yummy piece of cake, Yumi Castrillo along with her husband Carlo dined at The Artist Chef table. I met Yumi because I ordered cupcakes from her for my special Christmas dinner last December. She provided me 6 boxes of cupcakes for the 6 couples I had for that special month. Because she wanted to dine, she asked me not to pay the 6 boxes of cupcakes which cost P900. She asked me to deduct it instead from the cost of the intimate dinner. So we settled everything and Yumi came to my place with a bottle of wine which they consumed during the dinner. Her husband Carlo works as an IT at UNILAB and Yumi on the other hand is a lawyer with a huge passion for baking. Just like me; Aside from our day jobs, we both have an outlet for our talent and creativity.




I was wearing my apron from Australia because I cooked grilled pork chops and wine bernaise gravy.







Rice Pudding (Riz b-Haleeb) - ارز بالحليب


Serves 4-6 (depending on the size of the dessert bowl)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup white rice
3 1/2 cups of milk
1 1/2 cups of water
4 tablespoons of condensed sweetened milk (optional)
5 tablespoons of sugar
4 tablespoons of corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon rosewater
A pinch of salt
Apricot marmelade for the topping

In a pan, add water, pinch of salt, then add the rice and cook for 30 minutes on low. Drain any water left if not all absorbed. In another pan, add milk, sugar, corn starch, condensed milk, vanilla, rosewater. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium. Add the cooked rice and stir. You need to keep an eye on that and keep stirring until it thickens. Also you need to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When it thickens, pour into the serving bowls and let it completely cool. After that, spread the marmelade on top then refrigerate until time to serve.

Commerce

March 26

Last night, walking from Commerce restaurant down Seventh Avenue South to the 2 train, I was approached by a scruffy, probably somewhat drugged-out gentleman who struck up a conversation with me — I learned that he lives with his mother and is not a McCain fan.
As we walked he made sidelong glances at parked cars and bikes that we passed, in case there were something in or on them to steal.
He asked if I had ever smoked cocaine and if I’d like a hit.
I said “No,” and “No, thank you,” and then we parted ways.
I wanted to tell him that this was the West Village in 2008, not in 1978, and that conversations with potentially dangerous drugged out ne'er-do-wells just wasn’t done, but he seemed harmless enough as long as I didn't give him an entrée.
Today I checked with my baby-boomer colleagues — who, being from the era that they’re from, are drug experts, one and all — to see if smoking cocaine was by definition smoking crack, or if un-crackified coke could be smoked. They didn’t know, but one did a web search and told me that yes, cocaine can be smoked in its powdered form.
So I guess that’s good to know. You never know when a fact might come in handy.
But are scruffy druggies in the West Village a sign of bad economic times, or was this just one of those anachronisms that big, complex cities like New York inevitably produce?
At any rate, dinner at Commerce was fun. I ate with one of the restaurant’s publicists, Katherine Bryant, who, apart from being a publicist, also is in a sketch comedy troupe called Fearsome. Her fiancé, David Flaherty, is a sometimes-actor and budding wine expert originally from Fort Colins, Colo. I occasionally think of him as “the smart barista” from a role he played for, oh, probably less than a minute, on an episode of Law & Order Criminal Intent. He totally helped solved the case, though.
So Katherine knows various comedy actors, including Kristen Schaal, who plays Flight of the Conchords’ only fan and recently had her debut on The Daily Show, one would assume to the delight of her friends and fans. I know I was pleased. So was Katherine.
It was a theater-oriented evening in my mind anyway, as the last time I’d been in the space currently occupied by Commerce it was Grange Hall, where I’d eaten before seeing the play Fully Committed.
I’d been meaning to eat the food of Harold Moore, Commerce’s chef, for years and years.
And this is what we had (paired with wines by sommelier Justin Coleman):

Beef tataki with ginger, soy and shiso
Marinated fluke sashimi with chile lime and petit radish salad
a Torrontes from Mendoza in Argentina

Porcini and fontina ravioli with caramelized salsify and Parmesan emulsion
Green and white asparagus fricassée with mushrooms, truffle and a poached egg
Pelisero 2006 Dolcetto d’Alba (Piedmont, Italy)

Whole roasted chicken for two, with potato purée and foie gras bread stuffing
2003 Domaine du Gour de Chaulé Gigondas (Rhône, France)

Tropical fruit pavlova with Greek yogurt and lychee sorbet
Chocolate peanut butter marquise with celery salad and salty peanuts
Chocolate soufflé with coffee crème Anglaise
Tiramisu

GLOSSARY ( vegetables )

This section provides a translation of some common Indian vegetable names to their English equivalent.
A:
Adrak ........................ ginger
Aloo ........................... potato
Arvi / arbi ............... colocasia
B:
Baigan ....................... brinjal / aubergine / eggplant
Band gobhi ............... cabbage
D:
Dhaniya ................... coriander /cilantro /coentro
Dudhi ....................... bottle gourd
G:
Gajar .......................... carrot
Gobhi ......................... cauliflower
H:
Hara pyaz .................. spring onion
I:
Imli ............................. tamarind
K:
Kaddu .......................... pumpkin
Kamal kakri ................ lotus root
Karela ......................... bitter gourd
Khumbi....................... mushroom
L:
Lauki ........................... bottle gourd
Lahsun ........................ garlic
M:
Matar ........................... green peas
Makki .......................... corn
Mirch ........................... chillies
Mooli ........................... radish
N:
Nariyal ......................... coconut
Neembu ........................ lime
P:
Palak ............................ spinach
Patra /arvi patta ........ colocasia leaf
Petha ........................... ash gourd
Pudina ........................ mint leaves
Pyaz .......................... onion
S:
Sarson ...................... mustard
Shakar kand ........... sweet potato
Shalgam ................. turnip
Shimla mirch ..........capsicum
T:
Tamatar ................... tomato
Tori / turai .............. ridge gourd

GLOSSARY (spices & lentils)

This section provides a translation of some common Indian spices and lentils to their English equivalent.
A:
Anardana ..................... pomegranate seeds
Ajwain ........................ carom seeds
Amchoor powder ....... dry mango powder
Arhar dal / toor dal..... Yellow split lentils
B:
Besan ............................. gram flour
Badam............................ almonds
Badi elaichi .................... Black cardamom
C:
Chakri phool .................. cinnamon
Chuara............................. dry dates
Chana dal ....................... gram flour
D:
Dalchini ..........................cinnamon
Dhaniya ......................... coriander seeds
E:
Elaichi ........................... green cardamom
Garam masala ............ mixed spice
H:
Haldi ............................ turmeric
Hing ............................ asafoetida
I:
Imli .............................tamarind
J:
Jaifal ............................. nutmeg
Javitri .......................... mace
Jeera ............................. cimin seeds
K:
Kabuli chana .................. chick peas
Kaju ................................ cashewnuts
Kalaunji ......................... nigella /onion seeds
Kala namak .................. rock salt
Kali mirch .................... black pepper
Kasoori methi ............. dry fenugreek leaves
Kesar .......................... saffron
Khajur ........................ dates
Khus khus ................... poppy seeds
Kishmish .....................raisins
L:
Lahsun ......................... garlic
Laung .......................... cloves
M:
Maida .......................... white flour
Mirch ........................... chilli
Methi dana ................. fenugreek seeds
Moongphali ................ groundnuts
Moong dal ................. split, skinless green dal
N:
Namak ...................... salt
P:
Pista .......................... pistachio nuts
Poha .......................... flattened rice flakes
R:
Rai ............................. mustard seeds
Rava ......................... semolina
Rajma .......................red kidney beans
S:
Sabudana ................. tapioca
Saunf ....................... fennel / aniseed
Shah jeera ............... caraway seeds
Sonth ....................... dry ginger powder
Sooji ........................ semolina
T:
Tej patta ................ bay leaf
Toor dal ................. yellow split lentils
U:
Urad dal ................. black gram