What the French Toast?!!!

No no...I wasn't trying to curse. I am talking food.

Behold.........  the almighty French Toast.

What? You don't think a dish that has been around since the early 5th century deserves a blog?

©Raj Rao

French toast can be traced back as far as early Roman cuisine. In the Roman cookbook called Apicius, which consists of early Roman recipes, they describe a dish where you break fine white bread, soak it in a mixture of milk and eggs, fry in oil and serve with honey. From there this dish was modified and assimilated in multiple cultures and took various different names from pain perdu, pain a la romaine, German toast, Spanish toast, nun toast (wth?) and finally in 1871 the term French toast started to make its appearance.

Eat That Food nation, your food guru is about to inspire you and share his favourite French toast recipe for you to try. I am positive you will LOVE it.

Here are the ingredients that you will need.

• Brioche Bread (Didn't make it up, it exists! (Check your local bakery) - 1 loaf
• Eggs - 2
• Half & Half - 1/4 cup
• Cinnamon Sugar - 2 Teaspoons
• Sugar - 2 Tablespoons
• Vanilla Extract (look for the one that does NOT have corn syrup) - 2 teaspoons
• Serrano Ham (again, didn't make it up. If you can't get it, try Prosciutto ham) - 4 slices
• Half stick of unsalted butter
• Pinch of salt
• Maple Syrup (the real deal) - 1 cup
• Orange zest - 1 teaspoon

French Toast:

©Raj Rao

Slice the Brioche to about 3/4 to an inch thickness. For this recipe I used 4 slices of bread. Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the half & half to it. Then add cinnamon sugar, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Whisk the mixture until all the ingredients have combined and it has a nice creamy texture which is called a custard. Pour it in a square bowl so you can dip the bread in it.

     Heat your favourite non stick skillet on medium and coat it with butter. Dip the bread in the custard mixture and let it soak on each side for 15 seconds. Trust me, your patience will be rewarded. Then move the bread to the skillet and, depending on your stove, the cook time for each side might vary. So don't leave the stove to catch the game or cartoons. I cooked each side of the bread for about 2 minutes. After cooking both sides move it to a plate and cover for serving later or you can be like me and eat it immediately.

Serrano Ham:Turn on your oven to the broil setting. Cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil (to minimize on clean up) and lay the Serrano ham slices about an inch apart. When the oven has reached its broiling temperature place the sheet pan on the middle shelf. DO NOT walk away. All it takes is 2 minutes and your ham will be perfect.  Serrano ham is very thinly sliced, hence the extremely short cooking time.
Remove the ham slices and place it on a serving plate.


Maple Syrup:
Heat your sauce pan on medium high and pour the maple syrup in it. Add the orange zest. Let it sit for a minute and start stirring. When you see small bubbles, turn off the heat and move the syrup to a bowl.

The best part:
Now its time to enjoy the fruits of your hard 20 minutes of labor. I would drizzle and not pour the syrup over the toast. You want to eat toast with syrup and not the other way around. At first bite you can tell the difference that the Brioche brings to the dish compared to regular sliced bread. The bread soaks up the custard very well and at the same time still holds its shape. Cinnamon and vanilla also compliment each other perfectly and the zest in the syrup adds freshness to the dish.

I would take a bite of the toast and alternate with the soft and almost crunchy piece of ham. I personally love this sweet and salty combination as no single element is overpowering my taste buds. But that's just me.

©Raj Rao

I hope I have inspired you to try this recipe. It's very simple to make and does not take any time at all. You could make it while watching an episode of Family Guy. The best thing about French toast is that, it's a canvas for billions of possibilities. You can tweak it in many different ways and enjoy it. You could make stuffed French toast, add a fruit spread on the toast instead of syrup, use Challah bread instead of brioche and many more. The limit is only your imagination.

So with that I shall bid you adieu.

Food guru out...

Peri-Peri Goodness

Washington D.C...

Modern day secret city that has a plethora of buildings reminiscent of Acropolis, with big pillars and intricate statues. The city was designed by a French-American mason who was not paid for his work and still haunts the capitol looking for his money. Ok, enough of my conspiracy theories, this could go on for days. That was your mini-history lesson. Now, let's talk food.

1/2  chicken with Portuguese rice and macho peas  ©Raj Rao

In Chinatown, right by 7th and H street is a festive little place called Nando's. Funny name but when it comes to grilled chicken, they are very serious. This chicken joint originated in South Africa in 1987 and currently has restaurants in over 33 countries. The secret to their success is their one-of-a-kind famous peri-peri chicken. Piri-piri (alternately pronounced peri-peri) is the Portuguese term used all around Africa to denote African birds eye chili. This is a very spicy chili that has a Scoville rating of 75000 units. Scoville rating is......well let's just say African birds eye chili is 40 times spicier than the jalapeno pepper. So you get the idea. 

Anyway, the chicken is marinated with peri-peri sauce for 24 hours (to make sure that flavour goes down to the bone itself) and then grilled to order. Before serving it,  they baste the chicken to keep it moist and control the spiciness. The flame-grilling gives the chicken a good char on the skin. At first bite,  I get a quick tangy flavour and the delicate spiciness hits my palate, seducing the senses. A taste so subtle, yet it feels bold and all i can say is it is the best grilled chicken I have ever had in my life. It makes  KGC (Kentucky Grilled Chicken) look like airplane food.

1/2 chicken and chips ©Raj Rao

The menu is pretty simple. You choose the portion, as in quarter, half or whole chicken (yes. A whole chicken. No Jenny Craig here lol). You pick the type of sauce which ranges from plain to extra hot with wild herb and lemon as alternatives for the spice-challenged. And finally you can pick your side. Their choices for sides are chips (fries), corn on the cob, garlic bread (excuse me while I wipe the drool off my chin), Portuguese rice, macho peas and red skin mashed potatoes. Purists will usually stick to chips but I always go for the rice. The vibrant colours and rich flavours in the sides makes them a bonus and not an after thought.

Aside from having peri-peri chicken platters, you can also get the same juicy chicken in a sandwich or pita bread. They also serve wings smothered with the same fantastic peri-peri sauce. Last but not least you can also purchase the peri-peri sauce in little bottles for you to use is as a condiment or a marinade at home. I tried my extra-hot peri peri sauce on a burrito, scrambled eggs, and even tortilla chips and it made these simple dishes seem like gourmet, exotic wonders.

  

So next time you are in D.C and doing some sightseeing or dashing off to meetings, secret or otherwise,  all that walking from the Capitol to the Lincoln memorial will get you hungry.  So hop on the metro, get off at the Chinatown station and walk 2 minutes to this grilled chicken heaven. I am pretty sure this is where delicious goes when it dies. You will not regret it. 

Have I ever failed you in the past when it comes to food?

Go Peri-Peri...

Food guru out.

Goat.....the other red meat.

Ok....calm down. Breathe. It's gonna be alright. Are you calm? Goat meat is nothing to be feared. Yes I did say goat. Please don't be alarmed. It tastes much better than lamb and is a lot healthier. Goat meat is low in fat and cholesterol compared to beef and lamb. Now that you have officially been introduced, let's get into it.

So. Stew.

©Raj Rao

A simple word that has almost a thousand possibilities. Almost every culture in the world has some sort of a stew. Be it vegetarian or otherwise.


So a few weeks ago, I decided to make lamb stew. A nice, easy all-in-one meal with some tender, juicy lamb.  After driving around to few grocery stores I could not find any decent lamb. I decided to call an audible and switch over to goat instead. This is pretty easy to do. Despite the minimal popularity of goat meat on this side of the hemisphere, it is relatively easy to find. Your local Indian or Middle Eastern markets are bound to have some goat meat.

So I picked up some goat, a package of baby bella mushrooms, some beef stock, red potatoes, carrots, fresh thyme (don't skimp and go for the bottled stuff, fresh is always better), an onion and a nice bottle of decently priced Pinot Noir. Now, you don't have to be a wine connoisseur to pick out a good wine, just read the label.

©Raj Rao

Almost 2 hours later I was enjoying a criminally delicious bowl of homemade goat stew. The Pinot definitely added more body to the stew. The goat meat was very tender and absorbed the wine like a sponge. That's a good thing. The carrots were still al dente and absorbed the flavour of the stew and the fork-tender potatoes added a mild sweetness to the dish. The baby bella mushrooms had the perfect meaty texture and the fresh parsley added an extra freshness to the dish. All in all, your guru made a kick-ass goat stew that was a last minute improvisation. Don't be concerned because, after all I am a food guru. But trust me, this is very doable, even for goat virgins. Minds out of the gutter please.

So please be daring and go to your local butcher and get some goat and make the stew. You will not regret it. Oh, don't  forget to get some hard bread to go with the stew. 

Ciao.....           

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds goat meat

1/4 cup of flour

1 onion

2 cups Pinot Noir

7 baby bella mushrooms

1 cup beef stock

1 tsp fresh thyme

3 carrots

4 to 5 medium red potatoes

Fresh parsley

Salt and pepper

©Raj Rao

Method:

First season the flour with some salt and pepper in a large zip up bag. Cut the goat meat into bite sized cubes and add into the bag. Shake it up until meat is fully coated. Take goat out and shake off excess flour and put the meat on a plate.


Heat up a Dutch oven, when it is hot add two tablespoons of oil. Add the meat and sear it for about four minutes. Add onions and sweat the onions. Then add the carrots and quartered potatoes and sauté it all together at medium heat. After another two to three minutes, add the beef stock and scrape the bottom of the pan. Then add the Pinot.


Increase heat to high and bring it to a quick boil. Reduce heat to medium and add mushrooms. Cover and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Open the pot and stir it up and make sure it it coats the back of a spoon to ensure the right thickness and make sure potatoes are fork-tender. Add some rough chopped thyme and stir. Remove from heat. 


Right before serving, chop up some fresh parsley and top it off. Serve with French baguette and enjoy!

Pollo Loco!

©Raj Rao

Let's talk fried chicken. Being born and brought up in Malaysia, my choices for where I could go for some fried chicken were pretty limited. It was either hitting up some mom and pop shop or rely on good ole KFC... Kentucky Fried Chicken that is. I am still amazed at how many people have no idea what KFC stands for. Now, even though the menu items are pretty similar, I think KFC in Malaysia tastes much better than the KFC here in the States. Sorry, the food guru has spoken. Oh and Malaysian KFC doesn't freak out when I order sky juice*. I'll give you a moment to work that one out, Ace.

©Raj Rao

Anyway, I digress. I recently discovered a fried chicken joint that has the colonel beat and it's called Pollo Campero. This Guatemala-based restaurant has been around since the 70's but did not venture into the US until 2002.


The fried chicken has a rich latin twist with well coated spices and seasonings. The skin has that perfect colour and crispness while the meat underneath remains moist. It's a taste that you will not forget. 

They serve corn tortillas with each order. You can be like me and make your own lil taco with the chicken and some of the home made salsa that they have at the store.  The best part about this place besides the chicken are the sides. They include yucca fries which are made from thick cut yucca root that has been fried to a rich golden brown. You can also get fried plantains which have the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness or you can opt for spanish rice or beans. True to their Mexican roots, they serve flan for dessert.

©Raj Rao

When it comes to beverages you can either get soda if you are boring and every-day, or you can be a Maverick and get your choice between Jamaica© which is an hibiscus-based drink that is mildly tart and sweet, or Tamarindo© which is a tamarind-based drink.

Take my word for it and look for a Pollo Campero around your area and go now. If you like fried chicken you will definitely love this place.

Food guru is never wrong.....

**Sky Juice is plain water.

Oh Crêpe!!

Personally I think one of the most underestimated foods is the crêpe. It's not easy to find a place out there that can make you a really good crêpe with all the 'fixins' so to speak. The best thing about a crêpe is that it can be combined with pretty much anything you want, be it savory or sweet.

Recently, I was strolling down 9th avenue in New York and I came across Chelsea Market. This huge building that spans over 2 blocks used to be the home of the National Biscuit Company, commonly known as Nabisco. Ah, THAT got your attention didn't it? Those creme filled chocolate cookies that we know as Oreos were conceived here in this building. But that is the subject of another blog post.

Lets get back to present time Chelsea Market. Apart from the very unique exterior, there are more than 30 retail stores in there that range from selling clothing, books, food and fresh produce and seafood. Tucked away on the first floor towards 15th street is a cosy little crêperie called Bar Suzette. The place does not have any flashy lights or fancy music. What they do have is 2 guys, 2 flat top griddles, few menus and good fresh ingredients and all they make is crêpes.

Their menu was split into savory and sweet. my friend and I were glancing at the selection and I considered ordering almost half of it. After a few minutes of mind numbing indecision, I chose to get the crêpe with Nutella™ and strawberries. My compadre ordered the crêpe with ham and Swiss. The chef carefully poured the crepe batter onto the hot griddle and used a fancy tool to spread it around the flat top. While the crêpe was cooking, he was slicing fresh, juicy strawberries. A few minutes later he flipped the crêpe and spread the Nutella™ and laid the fresh strawberries. He folded the crêpe into a triangle pocket and handed it over to me.

The scintillating combination of the crisp crêpe with the sweet chocolate hazel-nutty ooey gooeyness of the Nutella™ and the mildly tart strawberries was fantabulous. The ingredients tasted very fresh and made the crêpe that much better. There was nothing about the crêpe that I did not like.

I tried the ham and Swiss crêpe that my friend had and it was a perfect combination of melted Swiss cheese and very thinly sliced ham. I'm surprised she let me even have that, she seemed entranced in crêpe heaven.

These guys really do have something amazing going on at this store. Their menu features a host of fresh ingredients that range from figs, speck, Brazillian guava, hummus and more.

So next time you are in the big apple, do not forget to stop by Bar Suzette and enjoy a delicious crêpe. If you can't decide what to have then let your trustee food guru do you a favor and go ahead and have the one with Nutella™ and strawberries - only if you are not allergic to nuts.

Ciao.

For the love of donut...

Copyright 2010 Raj Rao

Hey blogosphere, the best food blog you'll run across has finally arrived. I know, I know, where have I been all your life right? Well I have been out there feasting on life and preparing to be your own personal food guru. Yes, you're welcome.

So why doughnuts for my first post? Well because this past weekend I visited the epitome of doughnut deliciousness. Now, I'm a guy who enjoys a good doughnut every now and again but listen to me when I tell you that you have not tasted a doughnut until you have bought one from Mark Israel's Doughnut Plant in Manhattan's Lower East Side. This is not your average-on-every-corner Dunkin' Donuts. Don't get me wrong, I love a good (donut) from Dunkin' Donuts but this transcends the generic. Doughnut Plant has taken doughnut making and innovation to new levels, introducing the Jelly-filled Square Donut™ in 2004. We are talking a huge square-shaped donut with an in-house jelly made from fresh seasonal fruit and a glaze made from the same fresh fruit and fresh roasted nuts. There are also Cream-filled Squares™, a delectable Creme Brulee doughnut and a Tres Leches doughnut that I missed out on because I didn't make it in time. Fail.

Now even though I completely wanted to gorge on as many of these doughnuts as I could stuff into my mouth, I had to limit myself. This was my virgin trip to New York, I had been daydreaming about this donut shop and as soon as me and my friend rounded the corner and saw that distinct logo I got excited. And the excitement was well worth it. The beauty of this place is that they make a fresh batch of each doughnut every morning and once it's gone, it's gone. We got there late afternoon so the selection was a little limited but they still had the Peanut Butter and Blackberry Jam Jelly-filled Square™.

At first glance I had a feeling that the doughnut was going to be very heavy. It has a good amount of peanut butter glaze on the outside. After my first bite I was surprised at how it tasted.  The solid taste of peanuts, a perfect doughnut and fresh, sweet jelly melted in your mouth in a flavor explosion. The jelly did not overpower the doughnut. Every bite had an equal amount of dough and jelly till the last bite. The blackberry jelly did not taste like the kind you get in a can either. You can immediately taste that its homemade.


Freakin' A that was good.  No wonder these doughnuts were featured on Food Network, they are definitely worth it. It's hard to imagine this doughnut making genius began in Israel's tiny apartment basement with a coat hanger frying pan but whatever he's doing, he needs to keep on doing it. Though a relatively small space with enough room to line up for these delicious circles of pure joy, the cute, very Manhattan chic atmosphere of the place is as original as the doughnuts themselves. Granted I didn't fly all the way across the country to get a doughnut, I would say even if everything else failed on my trip to New York, that doughnut would have been well worth the trouble.

So the next time you find yourself in Manhattan craving a sweet treat, I highly recommend a quick stop at Doughnut Plant. Trust me on this one, Ace. Your food guru never lies.