I WANT MORE FROSTIIIIIING!!!!!!

That is what Julia screamed at The Cupcake Station yesterday. Screamed. I had forgotten her preferred manner of eating cupcakes, which I'm embarassed to admit. Okay, at home, I just let her eat the frosting off the cupcake, and then I put more frosting on. The cupcake itself is just a vehicle for frosting. Which is not okay at The Cupcake Station, where the cupcakes are $2.25 each. I quieted her down by quickly promising her under my breath that we would never come to the cupcake store again if she screamed like that, and luckily, she did not call my bluff. Above is the Mocha Latte cupcake: "moist chocolate cake filled and frosted with rich espresso buttercream topped with coffee beans" mmmm


The girls both had Chocolate Petals --chocolate cake with (pink) buttercream Julia is doing her Sean Penn impression above. She was mad about the frosting situation and she did NOT want it captured on film

Cal enjoying her cupcake.

The Cupcake Station is on Liberty, by the way. I don't know how long a cupcake-only store will last in this economy, so you should probably check it out sooner rather than later.

Happy Lame-o Valentines Day!

Honestly, I have found Valentines Day to be completely underwhelming since I was about 10. BUT...it's a very exciting holiday for five- to ten-year-olds, because they get to have a party at school. Callie was really excited for about two weeks beforehand. So we made cupcakes to honor St. Valentine. I'm pretty sure that there is some kind of gory legend connected with St. Valentine himself, but I can't remember it. Anyone?

We made Devil's Food cupcakes, with Nutella frosting, and we filled them with raspberry jam, just to be extra fancy. And, since the girls like to rock out while baking, I put the word "love" into the search on my itunes library and played the following :

Love, Reign O’er Me –The Who

Cry For Love – Iggy Pop

Tainted Love –Soft Cell

Somebody To Love – Jefferson Airplane

Sunshine Of Your Love –Cream

Underwater Love –Faith No More

Love To Hate You –Erasure

May This Be Love –Jimi Hendrix

Whole Lotta Love –Led Zeppelin

Fell In Love With a Girl –White Stripes

Dub The Frequencies of Love –Gogol Bordello

Sea of Love – (two versions) Cat Power, Tom Waits

Could You Be Loved –Bob Marley

Devil's Food cupcakes:

Put paper cupcake liners in two cupcake/muffin pans for total of 24

Heat oven to 350

In one bowl, whisk together:

2 cups sifted cake flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

In another bowl, whisk together:

1 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk (or one cup milk, into which you have squeezed half a lemon)

1/2 cup nonalkalized cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

In yet another bowl, beat until creamy:

1 stick of softened butter

Gradually add and beat on high speed until fluffy:

1 cup sugar

Beat in one at a time:

2 large eggs

On low speed add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk mixture in 2 parts, beating until smooth.

Fill cupcake papers about halfway, and bake for about 18-22 min -- check with a toothpick, if it comes out clean, they're done

After these have cooled, fill them with raspberry jam

Just poke holes in them with a chopstick, then put jam in a plastic ziploc and squeeze jam into the cupcakes.

Then make the:

Nutella Frosting

I did not exactly measure while making this, so the most important thing is to add enough powdered sugar to make a consistency that will not slide off the cake, and yet will be easy to spread. First you take:

2 sticks of softened butter

Put them in a mixing bowl and add:

4-6 tablespoons of Nutella

Beat these together, then add:

6 oz of chocolate that has been melted, then cooled a little

Then add powdered sugar until you reach the right consistency. If you make the frosting too stiff, you can add milk to thin it back out.

Frost the cupcakes, and sprinkle with hearts.

You love it, you want it

Alright, admittedly I have not done much interesting cooking in the last 6 months or so. I was busy. And uninspired. But sometimes you get hit simultaneously with the right combination of emotional turmoil and free-time and this creates the perfect storm for cooking something really good. Kind of like the protaganist in "Like Water for Chocolate" who channels all her emotion into her cooking when she can't be with the man she loves. Except I'm hoping that in my case nobody bursts into flames. Anyway, initially I was going to make mole because it's a really long process, but I started too late collecting the ingredients and by the time I got home I was exhausted. So I made pork in adobo sauce instead, and apple and roasted poblano salad, and avocado sauce.

Here I am taking seeds out of a pepper with one hand while I take the picture with the other, which is why the picture looks so unnatural!

Here is the finished dinner, all beautifully plated. Ta da!




Oh yeah! I also made a Tres Leches cake. Ever had it? Well you should. When I was teaching in L.A., everytime it was someone's birthday or something, we'd have one of these cakes. They were readily available in all the grocery stores near the school. I always assumed it was hard to make, but it's really, really easy. Which just tells you this: even if you can't get some particular type of food where you live, you can always make it. What are you, lazy? Callie helped me make this cake, which was fine because she actually can help me now.

So there it is. It was all delicious, if I may say so.

Now --don't you wish you were here? Because if you were, I would make this for you.

Recipes:

Lomitos Adobados - Pork Tenderloin in Adobo Sauce

Adobo Sauce:

2 ancho chiles, seeded, deveined, and soaked in 1 cup cold water for 30 minutes.

1 large garlic clove

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2-inch piece cinnamon stick

3 whole cloves

6 whole black peppercorns

1/2 cup water

Drain the chiles, put them in the blender, then blend, baby, blend.

Pork:

Rub with adobo sauce. Marinate in ziploc bag at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350.

Heat 4 Tbs oil in cast-iron skillet and sear the tenderloins over high heat for five min or

so. Then put the pan in the oven and roast for 15 min for medium. Did you know pork

does not have to be cooked to well-done anymore? Well now you do. Don't fear the

trichonosis.

Apple-Poblano Salad

2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch strips (roast them by putting them under the broiler or over an open flame until blackened, then stick in paper bag for about 10 min. Then you can just rub the skin right off)

2 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into small cubes

1/4 cup hulled pumkin seeds, toasted in a dry pan

1 Tbs sugar

1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

Sea salt

Mix it all together, and let the flavors blend for about 30 minutes or so.

Avocado Sauce

1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks

1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

half a clove of garlic

1 cup of milk

1 cup of water

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup firmly packed cilantro leaves

Blend away.

Let the pork rest for 10 min, slice it, then plate all this up prettily.

Tres Leches Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

6 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

3 teaspoons Mexican vanilla extract

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 13-oz can evaporated milk

3 cups heavy cream

Spray bottom and sides of a 9-by-3 inch springform pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Combine eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high speed until doubled in volume, about 5 min. Reduce speed to low; add the water and 1 tsp of vanilla. Mix well. On very low speed or by hand with a long spatula, gently fold dry ingredients into the batter. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 min, or until cake is firm on top and has pullad away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven and place pan on rack to cool for 10-15 min. Turn cake out on a serving platter, put a plate over the cake, and turn it right side up. Let it cool.

While cake is colling, whisk together the sweetened condensed mile, evaporated milk, 1 cup of heavy and cream, and 2 teaspoons vanilla; set this aside. Using serrated knife, slice top of cake off. Poke the top of the cake all over with a toothpick. Pour the milk mixture over the cake in several batches so that it can completely soak. Refrigerate.

When ready to serve, whisk the remaining heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream on top of cake. Garnish with fruit, if you must.

I got all the recipes straight from a cookbook, and I really didn't change any of them because everything in this cookbook is so fabulous, you just don't want to mess with it, you know? The cookbook is from this restaurant in Austin, TX, called Fonda San Miguel, which is the best Mexican restaurant I've been to, I think. It's not tex-mex really, even though it's in Texas. It strives to be more traditional Mexican. And yes, I've been to some really good little dives that had great Mexican food, and were probably more authentic, but I don't know. It's really frickin good, what else can I say.

Mitchell's Fish Market

I recently went to Mitchell's Fish Market in Plymouth with my dear friend who was craving their mussels in white wine sauce. Here are some pictures of the mighty tasty dinner we had there: Above: BBQ bacon-wrapped shrimp and cheddar grits, beer battered shrimp, and garlic broiled shrimp.

Above: "Shang Hai" scallops, blackened tilapia, jambalaya, cedar-planked salmon

Above: The dish that started it all; mussels in white wine, butter, garlic, tomatoes, and parsley.

That was a hell of a lot of seafood my friend! And really good. But the best part of the evening was getting to see Tony Little, of the "Gazelle", right there in the restaurant! My life is complete! He was even wearing his baseball cap with long curly hair pulled through the back. If you don't know who I'm talking about, then clearly you need to watch more infomercials.

Meijers is a shining example of cultural sensitivity

Right in front of the Mexican food at Meijers. I took this picture just minutes before a checkout girl started loudly ranting about how she hates "working at this place because it gets worse everyday!"

Inaugural cupcakes? Yes We Did!

It's hard to get a good likeness in frosting

Arigato Christi!

These are but a few pictures of a fabulous meal made by my dear friend Christi. I will say no more and instead encourage you to check out her blog: www.pleasedevourme.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas!

Peking Duck at Gourmet Garden was an excellent idea! I only wish i'd had my real camera...

The pound cake of your dreams

This recipe comes from my granny, Ruth Cox. She got the recipe from a friend at a bridge party, long ago. How come no one plays bridge anymore? This cake is heavy, literally and figuratively.

Here's the recipe, in my granny's words:

Sponge Pound Cake

3 sticks butter (or 2 butter and 1 marg)

6 eggs

1 box powdered sugar

1 box (powdered sugar box full) of twice sifted flour (cake flour)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter, add sugan, then eggs, beating well after each. Add flour, then vanilla, using slow speed of mixer.

Bake in greased and floured large tube pan in 300 degree oven for 2 hours.

Invert on to rack leaving pan over cake till it drops onto rack then cools.

**Laura's notes: You should make sure everything is at room tempurature before mixing! Also, as you can see from the picture, you can also bake this in two loaf pans. Just shorten the time to about 50 minutes. You can also sprinkle powdered sugar on the cake if you want to gild the lily.

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup: It'll cure what ails you

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup:
I know it looks like a long recipe, but if you have everything out, it really isn't hard. It is yummy and fairly healthy, and it keeps and you can reheat it. It's better than boring regular chicken noodle soup. And in all fairness, I didn't invent this, this is pretty much a recipe from cooking light, but I made a couple (tiny) changes.

First take:
2-3 chicken breasts
Boil them until they are no longer raw. Then REMOVE THEM FROM THE WATER, BUT DON'T DUMP THE WATER OUT. Chop up the chicken. (Or you can skip this and just use 2-3 cups already cooked chicken, like those cute little rotisserie chickens from the grocery store. In which case, start the next step with 4 cups boiling water).

Then take:
3 cups baby spinach leaves
1/2 lb or so snow peas
and put these in the boiling water for about 30 seconds. The spinach will wilt and the snow peas will turn a slightly brighter green. Remove these and drain in a colander, then put them in a big bowl, but once again DO NOT DUMP OUT THE WATER!

Now take:
1 package of rice sticks/pad thai noodles (the wide ones, fettucine-width, NOT angel hair-
width)
Put these in the ever boiling water for about three minutes, then drain (now you can dump the water). Put them in the bowl with the vegetables. They will form a clump in a few minutes and you'll think you ruined them, but don't worry - they'll loosen back up in the soup.

Now heat over medium-high in a big pot (all the soup will end up in it):
1 Tbs vegetable oil

Add:
2-3 thinly sliced shallots, or frankly, 1/4 sliced regular onions
2-3 tsp red curry paste (comes in a little jar next to soy sauce etc. in most grocery stores)
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
Saute these for a minute or so, and stir, stir, stir

Now add:
6 cups chicken broth
Let it come to a boil, then add:
1 can coconut milk
Reduce the heat, simmer 5 minutes

Now dump the chicken in and add:
4-5 chopped green onions (green and white parts)
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs fish sauce (nam phoc, i think. Again, check with the various asian sauces, or go to an
asian grocery store and get some. It is cheap and it keeps, plus it's a key ingredient for pad
thai, so there you go. I use the brand with the picture of three crabs on the front, if anyone
cares)
Handful chopped cilantro OR several cubes of frozen chopped cilantro, which they sell at
trader joe's and are very handy, especially if you don't love cilantro (Tip: too much cilantro
tastes like soap!)

Cook for a couple minutes to let all the flavors blend. Now, taste it and add salt if it needs it, which it will unless you used really salty broth.

Last of all, dump in the clump of noodles and vegetables. Stir it around to loosen up the noodles. Squeeze in a lime and add some Sriracha sauce (has a picture of a rooster on it, if that helps) or other hot sauce i guess would work.

Garnish the bowl with dots of sriracha and lime wedges, if asthetics mean anything to you.

Ta-da!


Variations:
Ok, you could easily substitute tofu or shrimp for the chicken. You could also sub the broth for vegetable broth. You could toss in some chunks of peeled lemongrass, then take them out before serving. You could probably get away with adding a little rice vinegar in place of lime juice if you didn't have limes. And you could add a bunch more and/or different vegetables. Basically if you have the spices, the fish sauce, the curry paste, and some kind of broth, you could throw in whatever, and it would probably be pretty good. You could likely substitute the noodles without anything dire happening, too.

Good bye summer bounty -an homage to the farmers market

Here are some pics from the farmers market this summer. Isn't summer produce pretty? Makes me wish I lived somewhere with a longer growing season...naw, cause then we wouldn't have fall and all the things that go along with it, like cider and donuts and apple orchards. Anyway, check out the plate of stuff near the top of the plate --that's a plate of deliciousness from Pilar's Tamales. Sooo good.

BTW if anyone happens to read this, and has a good recipe, for anything, PLEASE send it to me. I loves collecting recipes.

No I don't have the munchies

Here's a new taste treat -- Doritos with avocado. It's really good. My mom invented it. I'm not sure if she really wanted the credit for that or not, but there it is! Actually, I've been sitting on the couch most of today, and this is the perfect thing to eat while you sit around, only we are all out of Doritos. I thoroughly enjoyed this low-brow hors d'eouvre the other evening while watching the train wreck that is The Two Coreys. I'm pretty sure there is a new episode on tonight so I may just have to hook up a tray of these bad boys while I watch those (former) bad boys. I love the Coreys.

Summery food!

Mmmmmm. I did not make this food. The credit goes to Jane, the girlfriend of one of my childhood friends, Topher, and she is really a great cook. The corn and korean bbq ribs were awesome, and she also made a great tiramisu. Topher's mom, Judy, also made a delicious angelfood cake with yummy cream cheese frosting. Everything was great --thanks you guys!
Here is the corn recipe:
Grill the corn. Scrape a thin layer of mayonnaise on it for "glue". Roll in grated cojita cheese, and sprinkle with chili powder and lime zest, and serve with lime wedges.

Bi bim bop

Hey everyone - I made this delicious bi bim bop with tofu the other night when my dear brother came over for dinner. The tofu is so good, even if you don't like tofu, you'll like this.

1. Cut up a block of extra firm tofu.

2. Make marinade:

2 1/2 T soy sauce

1 T sugar

1 T rice wine

1 T sesame oil

1 clove of finely minced garlic

1/2 tsp minced ginger

several green onions, sliced

1/4 tsp toasted sesame seeds

1/8 tsp pepper

water

(this is really bulgogi marinade, so try it with beef too. Really, I don't usually measure, I just dump some of each of the above in a ziploc bag and throw in whatever, you can't really screw it up)

3. Add tofu to marinade.

4. Cut up your vegetables into thin slices or julliene. I bought this nifty tool at the grocery store called a "julliene grater" (see photo), it is like a vegetable peeler, but serrated, so you just run it along the carrot or whatever, and it makes perfect little ribbons. So easy.

I used carrots and cucumber because they are cheap, and pretty. Like me!

5. Oh yes, you should be cooking some rice now. Preferably short grain rice with this. The brand I used is called Calrose, I think.

6. Ok, now just cook a few eggs into an omelet and slice it up, or just scramble them, which is what I did because I'm lazy.

7. Now, cook the tofu in a little oil. If you want it crispy, you should probably try to drain off the marinade first. It is really good in the marinade though, so you could throw it in a pan and heat it through. It is good cold in the marinade, also. That's the beauty of tofu -- no salmonella!

8. Now really you just assemble it. Rice, tofu, vegetable, top it with some hot sauce - I had some awesome Korean hot bean paste given to me by my dear friend. Thanks Christi!

9. You can also garnish it with more green onions.

10. I don't know if this is authentic bi bim bop, but I don't care.

Happy friggin fathers day

On what will have been our last holiday spent as a cohesive nuclear family, Ross made a brisket for fathers day. Actually it was really good, here is the recipe: Mix together chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and brown sugar and rub it onto a brisket. The next day grill the brisket over very low heat for most of the day. Let it rest for 30 minutes or so, carve it against the grain, and eat it.

Cuba Libre!

Ok, these are not the most appetizing pictures. I forgot my camera so I had to use a cell phone. HOWEVER... the food was DELICIOSO at Cafe Habana, where these lovely shots were taken. The top is a view of the ropa vieja (literally "old clothes" but don't let that put you off), which was a spicy stew-like wonder with beef, tomatoes, peppers, etc. and served with yellow rice and fried plantains...mmmm. The bottom picture shows a fish taco (on top of my ropa vieja) which was AWESOME, for lack of a more sophisticated word. Really good, and the first fish taco I've seen since on a menu since California. So, so good, and served with "lime crema" which was the perfect tangy companion. One more reason to go to Cafe Habana....perfect mojitos.

If this put you in the mood for Cuban food, here's a recipe for cuban-style black beans that I made the other day. Actually, I can't really vouch for their authenticity but they do the job.

1 bag dried black beans

2 onions

several cloves of garlic

1 can diced tomatoes, or several non-canned tomatos that you have diced

bell pepper, if you have one

olive oil

dried cumin

salt and pepper

(Start the day before you want to eat)

1. Rinse the beans and discard any with odd appearance. This is no time to be accepting of those who are different.

2. Boil a kettle of water. Put the beans in a big heavy pot, and pour the boiling water over to cover them by several inches. Leave overnight.

3. Drain and recover with water, or don't bother.

4. Quarter one of the onions, add to the pot, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for several hours until the beans are tender and NOT al dente.

5. Take out the big onion chunks. Dice the other onion, and the pepper if you have it, and saute these with the tomato in some olive oil, in a different pan. If you wanted, you could use bacon fat instead of olive oil, I bet it would be yummy. Add the garlic, minced, and saute until soft, but don't let it burn!

6. Add a scoop or two of beans to the onion/tomato mix and saute away for a minute or two. I think I may be abusing the word "saute", but you know what I mean. Cook it in a pan.

7. If you have people around you who object to visible chunks of tomatoes or onions, you should now put the contents of the pan (onion/tomato mixture) into a blender and blend until smooth. If noone objects to the chunks, you should just mash the mixture with the back of a spoon until the beans are nice and pasty.

8. Now add the onion/tomato mash or puree back into the big pot of beans and continue to cook for a spell, until nicely thickened.

9. Serve it with rice, baby

I'll mention here that this is a good thing to make on the weekend and then eat during the following week because a) while incredibly easy, it takes forever to make, and b) it gets better the next day and the next. Now that I think about it, you could probably make these in a Crock Pot if that is your bag

Best brownies evah

Look at these brownies we devoured...I'm pretty sure this picture was taken later in the day they were made. Brownies are sooo easy, you can mix them in one bowl, scrape it into a pan and call it a day. This recipe is from, yes, once again, the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to bake. Martha knows from baking, and she has never let me down. Oh, except I did have to bake these brownies for about an hour, versus the recommended 40 min. I love me some chewy brownies, but not liquid brownies. And here is a tip for brownie making: Trader Joes has giant bars of bittersweet chocolate for much less $$ than those other grocery stores. TJ - you my boy!

The anti-Atkins diet

I know I have a post about challah already, but this is different. This is challah from Great Harvest Bread Company, so it's a whole different phenomenon. I once ate half a loaf of it just on the way home. It smells great in there, and they will give you big, hearty, samples that you can slather with delicious soft butter. I got a loaf of challah (beware - they only make it on Friday) and a loaf of "extreme cinnamon" which was a whole-wheat-y, fabulously soft, filled-with-cinnamon-and-sugar, carbohydrate dream. We demolished these loaves over two days (plus the sugar cookie pictured at bottom, purchased for Cal as a reward for going into yet another store), along with a stick of butter.

Murgh Makhani, a.k.a Butter Chicken, a.k.a. Awesome

So, after going to two Indian restaurants in a week, I was absolutely craving Indian food. I decided to try to make Chicken Makhani, sometimes called Butter Chicken, because it is delish and because I had Chicken in the freezer and I am trying to use things I already have. However, upon beginning, I realized I didn't have all the spices. So I went to By the Pound, which is a great store on South Main in Ann Arbor. It has all manner of bulk food, but especially cool are the bulk spices. I bought about 15 different spices. Then, I made Garam Masala. For this, I had to spread all these spices on a cookie sheet, toast them, then grind them. Really, it was easy. Cumin, coriander, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, & nutmeg were in this Garam Masala, which I got from a nifty little book called Curries without Worries.

Cal and I made Parathas to go with the Chicken. I got the recipe from a cool blog (veggiecookbook.wordpress.com) with lots of good looking vegetarian Indian recipes. These parathas are flatbreads, stuffed with spiced potatoes, and fried. The picture shows Cal folding the dough around the filling, before rolling it out. She makes a great sous chef.
And here is a picture of our dinner: Murgh Makhani, basmati rice, stuffed parathas, yogurt, and cucumbers. It was DEEELICIOUS!
The recipe I used for the Chicken Makhani was from allrecipes.com. Since these are not copyrighted, I don't think I'll be breaking any laws by putting the recipe here. If I am wrong, please let me know! I am an upstanding citizen. Don't let the length of the recipe put you off. Just make it on the weekend. Or, marinate the chicken the night before you want to make it.

Makhani Chicken (Indian Butter Chicken)
Submitted by: RKOZELRated: 4 out of 5 by 80 members
Prep Time: 1 Hour Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 5 Hours 15 MinutesYields: 6 servings
"This fragrant, spicy Indian butter chicken recipe is from the owner of the India Cuisine restaurant in Seattle, Washington. Serve with hot Indian bread."
INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 pounds skinless,
boneless chicken breast halves
- cubed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chili powder
salt to taste

1 cup yogurt
salt to taste
2 tablespoons garlic paste
1/2 tablespoon garam masala
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons ginger paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped green
chile pepper
2 cups tomato puree
1 tablespoon chili powder
salt to taste
1 cup water
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek (I could not procure these, so I left them out - no harm done)
leaves
1 cup heavy cream
DIRECTIONS:
1.
To Marinate: Place chicken in a nonporous glass dish or bowl with lemon juice, 1 tablespoon chili powder and salt. Toss to coat; cover dish and refrigerate to marinate for 1 hour.
2.
Drain yogurt in a cloth for 15 to 20 minutes. Place in a medium bowl; mix in salt, garlic paste, garam masala, butter, chili powder, ginger paste, lemon juice and oil. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken, replace cover and refrigerate to marinate for another 3 to 4 hours.
3.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4.
Place chicken on skewers. Place skewers in a 9x13 inch baking dish and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until almost cooked through.
5.
To Make Sauce: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garam masala. When masala begins to crackle, mix in ginger paste, chopped garlic and green chile peppers. Saute until tender, then stir in tomato puree, chili powder, salt, garam masala and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring in honey and fenugreek.
6.
Place chicken in sauce mixture. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink inside. Stir in fresh cream.

Sha-na-na-na-naan

I have been to two Indian restaurant lunch buffets in the last week, and really, I could go every day.

The first one was at Temptations, on Washtenaw in Ypsi. The top picture is of Christi's artfully arranged plate at Temptations.

Here's what Temptations had at their buffet:

Onion Bhajii (spiced fried onion rings),

Vegetable pakoras,

Tandoori Chicken

Murg Makhani (butter chicken)

Vegetable Chettinadu

Channa Masala

lemon rice and plain basmati rice

and, naan

Also, a few assorted types of chutney, and rice pudding

All-you-can-eat, for about $8.50. Everything was good, although the Vegetable chettinadu was clearly made of frozen mixed vegetables. And the health inspector came in and stuck a thermometer in various dishes, which was mildly disconcerting, although everthing must have been ok, because we did not have any ill effects afterward. Except wanting to take a nap.

Then, I went to Raja Rani, on the corner of Division and William, in Ann Arbor. The second picture down is my plate, and the third down is Nick's. Also for about $8.50, and also all ya can eat, when I went they had:

Vegetable pakoras

Tandoori chicken

Chicken Tikka masala

Chicken Makhni

Palak paneer (spinach with cheese cubes)

Pakora curry (vegatable dumplings cooked in yogurt)

Mushroom mataar

Channa chatt (spicy, fresh, cold chickpea salad/relish)


carrot halwa, rice pudding


naan


best chai ever


MMMMmmmmm. Everything was absolutely delicious. I can't even pick a favorite, but the the
pakora curry and channa chatt were new to me and soo good. And I could drink that chai all day. The buffet is the way to go, because you can try so many things. I'm not sure if they have it on weekends, but I'll find out. I grabbed a menu, and regular entrees range from 8 bucks for all vegetarian entrees to 12.50 for Tandoori shrimp. The menu is not as extensive as Temptations, but judging the buffet choices only, Raja Rani gets the edge. I'll have to go back to Temptations before I can do a more thorough analysis.

When I got back from Temptations, I made naan (bottom pic). My dear friend Christi hipped me to this recipe. I am too lazy to type it, but you can find it at allrecipes.com. Just type in "naan". The recipe I used is the one submitted by "mic". It is good and easy, and makes about 30 (smallish) pieces of naan! This led to some unorthodox naan uses, including naan with jam, and naan-dogs. And Jules learned a new word.