When I posted The Five Hidden Truths of Life as a Food Blogger earlier this month, I forgot to mention one thing. Living life as a food blogger generally means one is reading a whole host of other food blogs and the like throughout the day - and such perusing often leads to lust. While I try my best to offer you my own food here, or recipes which I've adapted and made-over, the fact remains that there is a veritable cornucopia of inviting dishes, created by others, that I'm just dying to try.I've been lusting after two specific dishes for the better part of a week now. The first is the curried cauliflower flatbread featured in Mark Bittman's column (The Minimalist) last Wednesday. This bread has my name written all over it and despite the unseasonably warm weather I baked the bread on Monday. In a word, its spectacular!
The batter is a simple mix of whole wheat flour and light coconut milk, to which one adds a healthy dose of curry-dusted roast cauliflower. Do I have your attention yet? I should. This is a quick, easy, healthy and delicious recipe that is destined to become part of many a Diva meal. Similar to nan in texture, I'm already envisioning a host of other options. I can see replacing the cauliflower with some roasted potatoes and onion, creating something akin to Kulcha (another traditional Indian bread). Or adding any number of other veggies and spices depending on my mood and the contents of my fridge. I've already decided to include a bit of chickpea flour in my next batch, which should pair well with the curried cauliflower. Yum.
Save for flipping the bread over during the last 15 minutes of baking, which I do recommend, I changed the recipe not at all. You can find it here and it is well worth the click. This bread was so good, so aromatic - crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside - that it was absolutely worth the insanity of a 400 degree oven on an 85 degree day. Its downright addictive - I had to leave the kitchen and shut the door behind me, lest I finish the whole thing myself. I hope you'll try it!Last night I paired the remains of the bread with another recipe that's been haunting my dreams. Cheryl, from 5 second rule, featured a simple yet seductive recipe for oven-roasted chicken last week and I've been lusting after it ever since. Prior to roasting, the chicken marinated in a luscious combination of fruity vinegar (I used a raspberry vinegar), Worcestershire sauce and olive oil. The results? Stunning!
As Cheryl points out in her post, the fruity vinegar really helps the chicken caramelize and the results are insanely good. The chicken was moist, tender and remarkably flavorful - so much so the husband nearly devoured half the bird himself. The only change I made was to double the marinade and cook an entire chicken which had been sectioned by my wonderful butcher, Tommy. You can find Cheryl's recipe here and if her picture doesn't send you straight to your oven, I don't know what will. Simple, satisfying and altogether delicious, I urge you to try it. Thanks, Cheryl!
So, there you have a snapshot of my culinary wanderings this week. Be sure to stop by for Thirsty Thursday tomorrow ... I'll have a special, springtime cocktail on the menu ... courtesy of the husband.
Bon appetit!
I must culinarily wander to tapei and back if I even spelled culinarily and tapei right....
ReplyDeletedoggy - wherever the journey takes you, I know it will be interesting and delicious! Speaking of wandering, I'd like to wander through Chinatown with you ... I'm still thinking about that lovely grilled permit you made. I don't spend enough time in the C-town markets.
ReplyDeleteAs for the spelling ... I'll never know ... its *not* my strong suit! LOL
Thanks for the link, Diva :) I'm so glad your husband is being well-fed and am happy to contribute to marital harmony via poultry. A
ReplyDeletes for that cauliflower Bittman bread, I've had it in my head for two weeks, too. The recipe is sitting on my counter as we speak, and now that I know it was a success in your kitchen, I'll be sure to make it, too!
Reading a million food blogs a day is definitely cause for food lust. Everything looks good, and you want to stick a fork in it immediately. As much as we feel that way, we hardly ever actually act on recreating anything. :) Must be the lazy chef in us. It's ALWAYS nice to read when someone else has given the recipe a try and second the declaration of its tastiness!
ReplyDeleteThat bread looks like a big peanut butter cookie...I am sure that is not what it tastes like but its making me hungry anyway!
ReplyDeleteWait till the Diva Mom finds out about chicken cooked in Vinegar!She is gonna flip! I will have to alo try this!
I may have to quit my job, so I can read all the blogs I need to read and cook all the things I need to cook...who needs a paycheck anyway!
Cheryl - you're most welcome and thanks for the added marital harmony! You can never go wrong with Bittman ... or Sterman Rule ... as I have now learned. I think you'll love the bread. :)
ReplyDeleteDuo - I kind of wish I could clone myself so I'd have enough time to make all of the yummy dishes I read and still come up with my own stuff. There aren't enough hours in the day!
Wino - I agree about needing to quit work ... see above cloning. LOL
As for the chicken, its unbelievable good. And, you're right about the bread's cookie-like appearance. Not sure what's up with that, but who cares, its delicious!
Looks delicious... like a cookie :D
ReplyDeleteJust the thing to feed your vegetarian Uncle M. from California who arrives tomorrow. I'm making lentil soup for him so this should be a delicious and interesting side. Don't know if I can find coconut milk here in the provinces but I'll try. Thanks again, Diva dear. Talk to you soon.
ReplyDeleteSo true! This looks divine!
ReplyDeleteHH - thanks!
ReplyDeletePixelgal - Uncle M is a vegetarian? Who knew? I thought it was only Uncle E. Anyway, be sure to buy the light coconut milk. You should be able to find it, canned, in the ethnic section of your supermarket ... probably near the Asian stuff. A word of caution, since you're dangerous like me, be VERY careful with the hot pan when baking this. Somehow I was able to do it without my customary burn ... still not sure how I managed to come away unscathed! ;)
Blonde Duck - thank you too!
I can't tell you how many recipes I've saved on Foodbuzz and on my hard drive (quite a few are yours!) Now I'll have to add these as well. I like the original Bittman recipe but your idea of potatoes and onions is beyond tempting - pls let us know if/when you make it! And the roast chicken . . . ooooh!
ReplyDeleteLove your version of this flatbread! Delicious!
ReplyDeletewandering blogs is the thing that inspired me to start mine! I keep finding more and more though... it takes some serious time reading through them all every day :)
ReplyDeleteI made the chicken for dinner last night and it was indeed delicious. I'll go to the original website and tell the inventor of such a quick, easy and delicious meal. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts which were large and tried the roast feature on my convection oven. Papa Diva loved it! Uncle M.is a vegetarian when he's home but eats anything when visiting. Thanks for telling me where to look in the market for the coconut milk.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear I'm not the only one wandering and obsessively saving 100s of other recipes to try!
ReplyDeleteWill certainly report back when I try the flatbread with other ingredients ... please do likewise if any of you make it. I'd love to hear about your versions
Pixelgal - so glad you tried the chicken! Its wonderful, isn't it? Cheryl will be very happy to hear it. Yay! :)
Do you have my attention? Do you ever with that flatbread. I have some cauli in the fridge so I'll have to try it - and I could certainly see some chickpea flour going there, not to mention spuds and onions. Such possibilities!
ReplyDelete