Hey Everyone, I’m teaching a Moroccan cooking class at Chefshop.com on April 2 and 3, 2014.6:30-8:30 pm.
I’ll be demonstrating exotic yet simple dishes you can make at home including olives with harissa, chicken tagine with preserved lemons and olives, quinoa “couscous”, harissa & chickpea soup, Moroccan coconut “cake”. Only a maybe on the cake, we’ll see.
Should be fun and of course I’ll be spreading the gospel of great ingredients, fine techniques, and recipes that are sure fire!
graffiti covered utility boxes outside Gastropub
Holy Cow do I love food, I think about it night and day. Not in that addicted way but in that, There is so much to try, taste, recreate with our own personal twist. Like the other night I went to Gastropub here in Seattle, over on 1st St by the Spokane overpass. We had tried to go there the week before but we had forgotten the name. I was SURE that is was the place across the street- Aston Manor, a Speakeasy wannabe. Odd concept that Speakeasy thing. Besides the fact that they didn’t really give us the time of day, it was happy hour and it cost us 55$ for 2 apps and 2 drinks, not so happy. ANYWAY! We did a little bit more investigation and finally got to the right restaurant, as mentioned before, Gastropub. Small independent place. 3 portable burners and a burner, a tiny air filter, a convection oven, a small refer table, dish area and beer taps in a 10×10 space. it was inspirational. We set at the bar that wrapped the “kitchen” cuz we love to watch the action! As a chef what other choice do I/we have? Ordered an interesting sounding dish of roasted spring onions, although they were more like ramps, with a poached egg and a drizzle of olive oil. It came with the roasted onions roots still intacke, in a nest shape and the perfectly poach egg, poached in beer at that, in the center. The onions were tough, impossible to eat, in fact I gave up. Even a steak knife wouldn’t get through them! We asked the cook what the deal was and he did not seam to know. Maybe it’s still a dish that’s evolving? Another customer affirmed that we were not crazy (at least on the particular question), that is was indeed very hard to eat but tasty. If I made that dish again I would slice up the onions at a long angle, toss with sea salt and pepper, rice bran oil, roast for 5-6 minutes at 425f, then form them into a nest on the plates, poached egg in the middle, drizzle EVOO in top and a red wine vinegar reduction. Simple and delish! I could on and on about the meals, but really it wasn’t that great. I was a classic should have been better but wasn’t. I think we’ll try it again just to be sure.
What’s the best remake of dish that you’ve ever done?