Anticipation Blog

Here is a quick note about this coming Thursday and the rest of the week for that matter. I have been invited to a food blogger's dinner at Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore by Liz and Nathan Stambaugh who write "What's to Eat Baltimore?". I am very excited about this not only because I have not eaten at Woodberry, (where I plan on ordering; Baked Stuffed Clams Roasted green chile, bacon, bread crumbs, then Brick Oven Roasted Chicken Bread salad, peaches, almonds, tuscan kale, and if there is room Buttermilk Panna Cotta Cinnamon thin, rhubarb gumdrop, blackberries,) but I am excited that my blog is helping me to make new friends. I love food people, they are fun, interesting, opinionated, and there is usually something good to eat around them.

I also have Cook Book Club on Friday. We will be using The Herbal Kitchen by by Jerry Traunfeld and John Granen. My assignment is apps, and I have chosen the warm figs stuffed with bacon and goat cheese (mouth watering yet?). My week is looking good and it might end with a tomato canning day on Sunday. I will take as many pictures as possible and report back soon. Oh, and I need a name for my Cook Book Club which has been meeting for over a year now so any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

This recipe was original published in Bon Appetit Aug 2007. For my birthday this year I received a bag of unusually spices from my brother Donnie who lives in New York City and is lucky enough to have access to all kinds of products that I can't get in Baltimore. I pulled out one of the more common items the Madras Curry and looked up this recipe. Madras Curry usually contains more chilies than a other Curry's but the combination of the spice and the cucumber raita was wonderful. Give this recipe a try it was simple and really good. I served it with Jasmine rice and Indian Poppadoms which are the chips you get when eating at Indian restaurants. I found them at Whole Foods, they added an authenticity to the meal. Sorry for not having any pictures...it was so good that we ate it before I could get the camera out.

Raita is India's signature yogurt and vegetable condiment. This one would also be good on pita or naan.

Curried Trout with Chutney and Cucumber-Melon Raita

Bon Appétit | August 2007

The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen

1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/3 cup diced unpeeled English hothouse cucumber
1/3 cup diced peeled cantaloupe
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, divided
2 large (8- to 9-ounce) trout fillets with skin
4 tablespoons mango-ginger chutney
2 teaspoons Madras curry powder
1/3 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

Preparation

Mix first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons mint; season generously with salt and pepper. Chill raita while preparing trout.

Place trout fillets, flesh side up, on platter or baking sheet. Brush each with 2 tablespoons chutney, covering top completely. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle each fillet with 1 teaspoon curry powder. Sprinkle almonds evenly over fish; press very firmly to adhere.

Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add fish, almond side down, and cook until browned on bottom, about 4 minutes. Carefully turn fish over and sauté until cooked through, replacing any dislodged almonds, about 4 minutes. Transfer fish to plates; sprinkle remaining mint over. Spoon raita alongside.

Breakfast Johnnycakes

So I woke up this morning looked in the fridge and discovered about a cup of uncooked corn kernels left over from a recipe last week. Since it was breakfast that I was looking for I decided to incorporate them into this basic johnnycakes recipe. They are fast, simple, and a great change from pancakes and waffles made with regular flour. You could either pour syrup over them (maple please, none of that corn syrup crap) or just eat them with butter and jam. The one I ate was right out of the pan, plain, it was great. They should warm up nicely in the toaster, but my husband Robby will be the tester of that theory tomorrow before work.
Fresh Corn Johnnycakes

2 1/2 cups fine ground corn meal
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup fresh corn kernels cup off the cob
2 1/4 boiling water

Mix the corn meal, salt, sugar, and corn together in a bowl. Then add the boiling water and mix well. Heat about 2 tbls of butter in a skillet until light brown and then turn the skillet to meadium low. Add 1/4 cup of the batter to the skillet for each cake pressing the top down a little to flatten the them. Cook for 6-8 mins on the first side or until brown. Turn them over and cook another 2-3 mins.