Spicy


 by

Stalking Padma in the Kitchen: Salad Course

cilantro-salad.jpg

Regular ESers know that I’ve been on a crusade to prove that pretty face Padma Lakshmi actually can cook. I’ve made my way through her appetizer and soup recipes, so now it’s on to course three: salad.

Cilantro is one of the most divisive foods on earth. Many people claim there’s a genetic aspect to it: If you’ve got the cilantro gene, you can’t get enough of it; if you’re born without it, the very thought of cilantro makes you turn into an angry, hulk-esque opponent.

Grace be to god, I fall on the cilantro-loving side of this supposed genetic divide. I really think it puts all other herbs to shame. But here’s the problem for us cilantro-fiends: you only need a little bit of it to season any food, yet it inexplicably is sold exclusively in gigantic bunches, which of course go bad before even the most devoted cilantrite can finish them. For years I’ve avoided buying the stuff because I’m always afraid I won’t be able to finish it. That’s where the genius of Padma Lakshmi comes into play yet again…

Read More›
in Recipe / Veggie 3 comments
 by

Pop Quiz, Hot Shot

I know we’re all mourning the end of summer and groggy from all of our Labor Day weekend (eating!) adventures (mine involved Thursday to Sunday wedding festivities) but, too bad, it’s time for a Back-to-Simmer Pop Quiz!

My friend Gypsy (formerly, Unbearable) recently trekked through Spain and fit in a quick visit to Tunisia before starting law school in the fall. This lovely girl brought me back a truly edible gift from her travels: spices!

Below is a picture of the spices. Endless Simmer challenges our very knowledgeable readers to guess which spices are which. You’ll have until Thursday, September 4th at 6pm to send answers to contests@endlesssimmer.com. We’ll post the correct spice names and the winner on Friday morning.

The ES Spice Master will receive a variety of cheating spice blend packets from Amazing Taste.

Good luck, my students. And as we know this is a fairly daunting challenge, the entry with the most correct picks wins, no need for 100% accuracy.

12-spices-002-325-x-600numbers.JPG

in Contests / Food Travel 8 comments
 by

Snacks CAN make you a Doctor!

snacks.JPG

Thank you to everyone for your fabulous snack ideas for Matt’s PhD proposal exam, which he PASSED!!! He is now officially on his way to being Dr. Matt! He he he!

So after I wrote the last post, I got word that the snacks needed to be more lunch-oriented, but thanks to ES this was no problem! I decided to make Gansie’s Power Snacks, which includes Roasted Poblano Pepper Dip, Rosemary and Garlic Olives, and Mustard and Horseradish Egg Salad Toasts. I also made Gansie’s Chickpea and Artichoke, and Roasted Red Pepper Crostini. Then I cut up cucumbers and made pita chips by baking mini whole wheat pitas. Now remember, I’m the microwave expert here, so these were very challenging choices for me!

Read More›
in Veggie 5 comments
 by

Johnny-Corn-Lately

poblano-corncake-1-600-x-416.jpg

I know what you’re thinking:

Wow, Gansie put a fried egg on something. How fucking original. I love seeing the same thing over and over on ES.

Actually, this post is about something I baked. But 80 liked this picture best, so I had to put it on top. The picture directly below actually shows what the post is about, see top. Yes, I baked. Yes, I cheated.

poblano-corncake-2-600-x-391.jpg

I’ll explain.

Read More›
in Breakfast / Cheese / Eggs / Recipe / Veggie 12 comments
 by

Stalking Padma in the Kitchen: Soup Course

padma-soup.jpg

I actually made this soup in tandem with Padma Lakshmi’s first course: the mushroom and goat cheese flautas. But, as you’ll soon understand, this one took a lot more inventiveness. (Editor’s Note: This was all before we heard about Vi’s potato-and-cream fueled cucumber soup, which, for the record, makes Ms. Lakshmi’s recipe look like a little girl’s soup). So Padma’s soup is pretty simple: English cucumber, yogurt, mint and sea salt, all blended together and chilled. I’m not sure why I was so taken with it. I guess she just drew me in with lines like “It tastes of the cool, grassy notes of summer.” Who knew she was a poet too?

So I whipped this all up, chilled it a little bit, and…I mean, it was fine. It did kind of taste like the cool, grassy notes of summer, but it was also kind of bland and unexciting, like the second week of June, and you’re still in school. But of course I took some liberties and managed to spice it up a bit….

Read More›
in Recipe / Veggie 2 comments
 by

Oh Yes, It’s Ladies Night

Editor’s Note: As gansie and I were both M.I.A. for a couple of days there, we’ve of course been bugging our friends for some recipe posts. Loyal ESer Maidelitala came through and then some. Here’s her latest fully-veggie meal plan.

full-plate.jpg

byline: Maidelitala

Recently I had a dinner at my new digs JUST for LADIES: A much needed, and barely-belated fête to welcome two new additions from dear old Macalester to town. Unfortunately the date I picked for the ladies’ dinner conflicted with the premier of this season’s Project Runway, excluding a troop of women friends, and reducing our numbers to a mere gaggle of eight (and not the veritable multitude who I might have otherwise mustered…what? I’m not bragging, I just know a lot of AMAZING women in the District). WELL, apologies to the PR premier crowd, because our dinner was frackin’ fabuloso.

Despite a heart-wrenching snafu with mole-roasted cauliflower (I couldn’t force down more than a bite, so I tossed it before the invitees arrived and were forced to endure my shame), and with spirited contributions from the guests–including a mouth-watering and apropos mango salsa–I executed a tasty, stuff-yourself-into-a-food-coma spread for the ladies.

I served a summery dish of red cabbage and roasted cashew salad, homemade spicy hummus, and a flavorful fresh tofu and vegetable curry over steamed brown rice (the curry was a last minute stand-in for the mess of a mole-roasted cauliflower). As ya’ll will no doubt note, the meal was wholly vegetarian and lactose-free, and by all accounts delicious. Devoted Project Runway fan Gansie even missed the PR premier to sample the goodies. Anyway, the contents of our conversations over copious amounts of wine (provided by some of the guests) is not for public consumption, but the recipes (and amazing photos courtesy of the harrowing efforts of my girl Elenora) are available below for your perusal.

Read More›
in Recipe / Veggie 2 comments
« Previous
Next »