In Search of Falafel

I am a big fan of something called a falafel. For those of you unfamiliar with this food, when I explain it, it will sound disgusting. It's ground chick-peas fried and served in a pita with toppings and a garlic/yogurt sauce.

Trust me, it's delicious. When I lived in Washington, DC, there was an amazing falafel place in our neighborhood called Amsterdam Falafel. The falafels were great and you could put tons of toppings on them. They were a little pricey. I would love to find a falafel stand where you could get one to go, wrapped in paper for like $3. Alas, I may be living on the wrong continent, I may have to settle for good $6-10 falafels at sit-down restaurants.

Go Make Yourself a Dang Quesadilla!

The cheese quesadilla was the first thing I learned how to cook and I think I made one for lunch everyday of summer vacation when I was in 4th grade (smart Mom, huh?).

We ate at a great Mexican restaurant near DC in Arlington, VA called El Paso Cafe. Probably the only good Mexican food in the DC Metro Area (prove me wrong people!). My lovely wife ordered quesadillas one time and they were amazing. Made with mushroom, fried onions and with avocados and fresh tomatoes on top.

We have made similar quesadillas. We use the tortillas from Costco that you cook yourself. We do two tortillas on top of each other with monterrey jack, pan-cooked chicken and fried onions inside. The key is to get the tortillas fairly crispy while you are cooking the quesadilla in the pan. Put fresh avocados and tomatoes on top. Voila! The best dang quesadilla you've ever eaten.

The Gold Standard of Cola

So, I'm always on the hunt for a good cola. I've found some great ones, Mexican Coke, Boylan's and Pig Iron Cola are some of my favorites. Virgil's Cola was a major disappointment (although they're root beer is one of my top two).

Recently I decided to try Fentiman's Curiosity Cola, which comes from England. The bottle is very cool and looks like an elixer Sherlock Holmes would drink at the apothecary's before going out to solve a caper.

This was the best cola I've ever had. It had a hint of spice, a slight bitterness and a very bold, clean taste. I would definitely recommend you pick one up from the apothecary or World Market.

For the Halibut

I don't know how all of you feel about halibut, but I am kind of lukewarm about it. I will eat it, but it doesn't really do that much for me. I'm talking about the kind of halibut steak that is usually baked and served with potatoes and parsley.

We had some halibut in the freezer and I really wanted to try some fish tacos. We found this recipe and it was really good.

The batter calls for beer. I don't drink alcohol, but I feel fine about cooking with it. I was out and about and stopped at a gas station to pick up a can of beer for the batter. I took my almost-two-year old son in with me and felt very awkward buying a 24 oz. slam can of Budweiser. I was sure someone from my church congregation would walk through the door and I would be left mumbling something about a fish taco recipe.

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
4-5 cups vegetable oil
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper
1 cup (gasp!) light colored beer
1 1/2 pounds skinless cod or halibut cut into 4 by 1-inch strips
2 tablespoons minced chipotle chilis in adobo
3/4 cup mayonaise
1/4 pound shredded green cabbage
1 tomato cut and diced

Pour oil into a dutch oven until it measures 1 inch deep and heat 375 degrees over medium-high heat. While oil heats, whisk flour, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in large bowl and set aside. When oil is almost ready, whisk beer into flour mixture until completely smooth.

Pat fish dry with paper towels, soak in batter and place into oil. Fry until golden brown and pat dry.

Mis mayonaise and chipotle together with salt and pepper and season to taste. Smear each warm tortilla with mayo mixture, add fish, cabbage and diced tomato.

Best Thing Since Crystal Pepsi

When I first heard about Pepsi Throwback, I was a bit skeptical. I thought it was a sorry attempt at jumping on the cane sugar bandwagon and that it was lame it wasn't made in bottles.

I decided to try a 12 pack. I have been surprisingly impressed. Good taste, sweeter than Coke and it definitely has the "clean" taste that we cane sugar nuts go for.

I also like the old logo on the can. It reminds me of my childhood. I think the new Pepsi logo looks like something from great lakes sailing club and is terrible.

No Beef With Stew, But Stew With Beef

This is one of my all-time favorite beef stew recipes. There is nothing better in the winter and there is something very wholesome about it as well. I always imagine myself wandering in a blizzard and happening upon a cottage where they serve me beef stew from a cauldron on the fire.

Anyways, back to reality . . .

Most beef stews sit very heavy, this one is lighter and has balsamic vinegar which gives it great flavor. This recipe is courtesy of Martha Stewart, who made this stew with horse meat for thousands of prisoners when she did time a few years back.

Egg-Kai-Shek

So, this weekend I tried something that has been a long time in the making. When I was in Taiwan, these were a breakfast staple. They were cut by scissors and served in plastic bags. I was wondering if the big noses (Taiwanese slang for white people) at my house would like them.

I got a package of frozen "thin onion pies" at my local Chinese market. These are easy to make, but flipping the egg and pie is tricky. I found that what worked was cooking the pie on one side of the griddle and the egg mixture on the other side. I just combined one egg, green onions, salt and pepper and water and beat them together.

When the egg mixture was mostly cooked, I slid it on top of the tortilla-like pie. You then roll it up, cut it in strips and drizzle sauce on top. I combined chili sauce (sriracha), oyster sauce, teriyaki and soy sauce.

It may sound weird for breakfast, but trust me, big nose, you will like these.