Yearly Archives: 2010

Indian-style Sloppy Joes

“Butter” ground meat over rice – AKA Indian sloppy joes

Here’s an odd recipe I concocted one afternoon when I had ground beef and pork on hand and not a whole lot else.

I thought about sloppy joes. My Mom, who’s German, would not often make something so “American,” but she would surprise us now and then with sloppy joes, made from scratch, which I took too.

I wanted something less tomatoey and more spicy, though.

My kitchen is generally well-stocked with spices and spice mixes, so I looked around to see what could be had for the ground beast. Enter butter chicken masala spice mix from MDH. I like their products. They’re imported from India and much more reasonably priced than versions produced in the US for American cooks. Buy them in Indian markets, such as Vik’s in Berkeley. They’re perfect when you don’t have time to mix your own blends and can’t deal with a grinder, though you’ll want to check the ingredient list to see if any doctoring is called for. In the case of this mix, you must add a little fenugreek. I haven’t a clue why MDH does not include fenugreek in its butter chicken spices, since it’s integral to the dish, but there you go.

Note that butter chicken and chicken tikka masala are not the same, though my guess is that the chicken tikka masala spices would be fine in this dish, too. Take a look at whatever you have on hand and make sure it’s balanced. For example, don’t use something really heavy on the star anise, unless you want it that way. You want a little heat, too, so if the mix has no dried red chili powder, add a bit. Cayenne works fine. Sniff the spice mix for balance.

The best ground meat for this is lamb, but you can use a combo of beef and pork, which works very well. Ground chicken and turkey are too lean and will result in a dry dish.

You can serve this over rice or on buns with a dollop of really good, plain yogurt.

If you can make this a day in advance, that would be excellent, because it’ll taste better and you can easily remove remaining fat that will have solidified in the fridge.

Make enough for two meals.

Indian-style Sloppy Joes
Serves 8, or two meals for 4

3 pounds ground meat (lamb is great, pork and beef (90% lean) mix is good, poultry – no)
1 large onion, chopped so finely that it’s almost pureed (in food processor)
1/4 cup cashews, ground into a fine paste with 1/4 cup water (food processor)
2 – 3 tablespoons butter chicken spice mix (if spice mix is missing fenugreek add a pinch; ditto ground red chili pepper)
1 extra large tomato, coarsely pureed
1/2 – 1 cup chicken stock or water
Rice or buns
Really good, plain yogurt

1). In heavy-gauge Dutch oven or other vessel, fry meat until it’s a bit browned. Usually will not need oil for this because your ground meat should have sufficient fat.
2). Remove meat with a slotted spoon to a bowl; cover with foil and set aside.
3). Remove all but a couple tablespoons of the rendered fat from the cooking pot and place pot over low flame.
4). Add the onion and brown slowly, stirring often. This will take a good 15 minutes. Keep the flame low. You want to caramelize the onion a bit, but first the liquids have to cook off. Be patient and don’t burn the onion!!!
5). Add the cashew paste and fry the whole mass for a moment or two, turning the flame up to medium.
6). Add the spices and fry this mass for a moment or two.
7). Add the tomatoes and fry the mixture for a couple of minutes.
8). Add the ground meat and combine well.
9). Add stock or water so that there is barely a quarter-inch of liquid above the meat.
10). Stir and bring to a simmer.
11). Cover and simmer over very low flame for about 20 minutes, adding a bit of stock or water now and then, but only if needed.
12). Remove cover, stir, and allow to simmer for another few minutes until most of the liquids have cooked off.
13). Skim visible fat (it’ll no doubt be bright red from the spices…)
14). Serve over rice or on a bun with a little yogurt on top.

Project Food Blog – voting now open!

First PFB post – Akitachow and I

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My family - the ones I love to cook for!

My family – the people I love to cook for

It’s terrible to start a FoodBuzz competition post telling people you feel like a sell-out for being a FoodBuzz Featured Publisher in the first place. I know that. I cringe every time that “above the fold” advertisement on my site stares me in the face and accuses me of shamelessness.

Now I find myself whoring in a FoodBuzz food blogger contest.

Like Anthony Bourdain feeling de-legitimized by moving from “serious working chef” to “TV personality,” so it is for a blogger to move from “pure blogger” to one who allows processed, prepackaged food to be plugged on her site. Oh, God.

It’s hypocrisy, I know.

I need to “get over it,” as my 23-year-old son tells me as he laughs his ass off at my “non-problem.” “Who cares? All the food bloggers are doing it and you won’t get as much exposure if you don’t,” he says.

Well, I’m older than the average blogger. Although I’m reasonably hip, I went numb when Dylan started shilling for Victoria’s Secret. I’m just now getting over James Taylor and Hallmark. If Neil Young ever appeared in an ad, you’d have to revive me.

I’m having trouble believing that an artist who shills is still respected as an artist.

I’m coming to terms with how all of that works in the food world, having only recently hopped on the FoodBuzz and Foodie Blogroll trains after years of blogging.

All that said, I do believe my blog and and I should be recognized. The inherent transiency of something like a “Next Food Blog Star”aside, there are some important points to be made about what my blog and I are about and from whence we came:

1). Not a flash in the pan. I started blogging in February of 2006 to serve as a resource to cooks of all levels. I had finished cooking school and wanted to create a site that would offer tips, recipes, restaurant reviews and irreverent writing. I started blogging when it wasn’t as cool or prevalent as it is now.

2). Almost all my recipes are original, with only a small handful being adapted or from someone else. I put lots of work into what I cook and lots of thought into the blog.

3). I have a dog theme, and that takes some nerve. I have an akita-chow mix, and it allows me a play on words in the blog title.

4). Chops. Let’s go back, way back. As an early grade-schooler, I fantasized about the appetizing counter in Waldbaum’s while I should have been listening to something about Sandra in Nebraska harvesting wheat on her parents’ farm. Instead, I thought deeply about how the radish roses atop the chopped liver might have been formed, and how the cross-hatching on the lox spread came about. Things only got worse. Let’s just say I was a kid who knew a disturbing amount about fondue pots and assorted hors d’oeuvres. Perhaps all that time with my Mother and Grandmother at the Horn & Hardart restaurant in Flushing, Queens, in the 1960’s was to blame. They worked there, and I happily hung out in the kitchen trying to get to the bottom of the cup custard recipe.

Even Berry, the akita-chow, looks amazed by our Christmas Eve spread. Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year, and I track down traditional German goodies to serve

5). I was a good girl, went to college and developed a business career. Flash-forward to 2003. I’m 41 years old with a 16-year-old son and a husband of 18 years – working food activities in on evenings and weekends and taking days off to cook – and feeling pretty miserable about my career choice because I wanted to go to cooking school and become a food writer. My long-suffering family told me to quit my job, go to cooking school and write about food. I did. I graduated in 2005 with a culinary degree and time spent as a food writing intern at the San Francisco Chronicle. Since then I’ve been blogging and writing about food.

6). I’ll continue to develop my site so it promotes cooking both by “feel” and “method.” The former takes practice and requires lots of experimentation, but it’s far better in the long run to cook from a place inside yourself rather than always from a printed recipe. The latter would allow a person to translate skills (methods) learned for one recipe to others. I try to get these things across now, but I want to do more.

7). I love reading about food in various formats, and do so to keep myself current with trends at all levels, to improve my knowledge base, and to connect with my fellow food bloggers/writers. In terms of bloggers, I’m interested in perspective as much as information. I also like being amused by bloggers who are not afraid to let their freak flags fly. I also read historical works, like old cookbooks, as I am particularly interested in food in historical context.

8). Cooking is about comfort, hospitality, pleasing others, teaching technique, providing ideas, and so on. It’s not about one-upsmanship. No serious food blogger cares about outdoing other food bloggers. I’ve been blogging for a very long time without being “The Next Big Thing” and I’ll be here when the hype is a distant memory, like all that quiche and all those sun dried tomatoes. So will the rest of the serious food bloggers.

While many can simply say they’re passionate, nothing says “passion” like having your income drop 75% while working harder than you ever have – and feeling 400% more pleased about your life.

Locanda da Eva in Berkeley

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Locanda da Eva in Berkeley, CA

Locanda da Eva
2826 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley
(510) 665-9601
Details: Mostly Italian; emphasis on sustainability and local ingredients; dinner only; full bar and great wine menu; street parking and pay lot nearby

Locanda da Eva opened in Berkeley in July, taking over a supposedly “cursed” space that housed Mazzini Trattoria, Zax Tavern and Maritime East in recent years. Prior to that, Casa de Eva, a Mexican place and inspiration for the current name, was there for 37 years, so maybe the space just needs to find its legs again.

The other night I tagged along to a PR dinner with GraceAnn Walden of The Yummy Report, allowing me to give you a first-look review here in my modest venue.

The locale was pleasing to me, being a number of blocks from where Telegraph meets the Cal campus and away from serious parking mayhem. There were few other diners that Wednesday evening, but it’s a bit far-flung to catch campus-related foot traffic. Two of the few were Joanne Weir and her husband, so there was certainly quality if not quantity.

Locanda da Eva is what my father would have called “CALM-fter-bul,” which is “comfortable” for people of a certain age who grew up in New York City.

There’s plenty of medium-toned wood and the lighting is subtle. I’m always grateful when I don’t see fixtures hanging at eye level over tables, being photosensitive. It means someone is actually thinking about function. The warmth blends with an airy feel due to the generous spacing of tables and chairs, and the kitchen is open to view.

Nude paintings a la Eve and olive branches hang throughout.

We spent a little time at the bar. GraceAnn investigated cocktails and chatted up the bartender, while I indulged in a sweet and rich glass of Navarro Gewürztraminer grape juice.

I’m not qualified to talk about mixed drinks and bar culture, but I can tell you the seats are comfy and that I’d probably visit often to have a glass of wine if I lived in the immediate ‘hood. It’s very civilized, and I love the wine menu, being a fan of Italian reds. While it’s not a menu that caters to the masses, the masses would have a hard time going wrong here. Wines have been carefully selected to complement the menu, and there are a number of reasonably-priced options.

An interesting thing about Locanda da Eva is that its owner, Robert Lauriston, is a food writer. He’s blogged and written reviews for SF Weekly, and contributed to other Bay Area publications, like East Bay Express. I know him mainly from Chowhound, though.

Some years ago I had a short but intense fling with Chowhound, which I threw over for a long-term relationship with Facebook. As I recall, there was nary a Bay Area thread without Robert Lauriston commentary. His well-stated contributions showed significant macro and micro-level knowledge of the Bay Area food scene and food in general, and were comprehensive in their attack of the subject at hand. Knowing this made certain things about my dining experience at Locanda da Eva make sense.

Case in point: words. The wine menu is eight pages long, has an introduction, there’s a paragraph about each wine, it’s dated on the lower left-hand corner, paginated on the right, and perfectly formatted. The daily dinner menu provides all you need to know, from practices related to values to the price of Locanda da Eva T-shirts.

I loved seeing “…complimentary Acme bread by request…,” thinking that perhaps one should not take bread service for granted.

Bread with fancy olive oil at Locanda da Eva in Berkeley

The dinner menu had good variety in terms of apps and entrees, and there were several pizzas and pastas. Provenance is king here, so adjectives, many of them formal, were peppered throughout. It wasn’t just “kale,” but “wilted Dirty Girl kale,” on the second pizza down.

We had a nice young man as our server. Efficient and friendly – he kept an eye on goings-on at our table and orchestrated the arrival of selections so that we were neither rushed nor waiting.

Locanda da Eva does not provide butter for bread. Instead, they offer olive oil for dipping – for a $2 fee! The oil was fruity, peppery and fine, but not worthy of a surcharge.

If you want to avoid dry bread, you have to pay. Not in keeping with the generosity of spirit that should be at the heart of every eating establishment, is it? Come on – provide butter and olive oil under that old “cost of doing business” saw. Geez.

UPDATE – 9/15/10: Robert Lauriston contacted me to let me know that olive oil would now be complimentary upon request. Nice!

We selected several appetizers, a pasta and two entrees, and were able to choose a gussied up vegetable side with each entree – a nice touch, given that they listed at $5 to $6 each a la carte.

Execution was very good – and this with a meal involving several cooking styles and ingredients requiring a knowing hand, like albacore tuna.

Flavors were bright and distinct, and most things were well-seasoned. You need to ask for salt and pepper here, by the way.

Pork trotters at Locanda da Eva in Berkeley

The fried pork trotters with roasted corn and Poblano peppers ($9) was wonderful. You’ve never had them, you say? Trotters, as the name suggests, are pork feet with part of the shank attached. They’re cooked until the meat falls off the bone. The meat is then used in a preparation that takes advantage of its gelatinous texture – a by-product of cooking down the tendon. At Locanda, the trotter meat/jelly is formed into little blocks, coated and fried crisp.

The coating on my square o’trotter encased its deeply flavored, silky contents perfectly, and provided a textural contrast. The corn bed added a sweet crunch. If you order only one appetizer here, make it this one.

Bresaola at Locanda da Eva in Berkeley

The house-made bresaola ($9), served with crostini and pickled veggies, was a little bland and too dry – even for an air-dried beef product. You may want to have lemon wedges and olive oil handy.

Calamari at Locanda da Eva in Berkeley

The local calamari with avocado, garbanzo beans, lemon-herb vinaigrette and senise powder ($11) was tasty, but chick pea-heavy. The fresh calamari – though cut incomprehensibly small – were nevertheless cooked perfectly. The vinaigrette was nice and light, and everything in this salad – which is basically what it was – married well. A bright, well-seasoned dish that lacked in its main ingredient. By the by, I had no idea what “senise powder” was. When I plugged it into Google, my first hit was Locanda da Eva! A little more research showed it to be Peperoni di Senise – peppers from Senise, in Southern Italy, dried and ground into powder.

Strozzapreti at Locanda da Eva in Berkeley

It’s an Italian place, so we had to try a pasta dish, which they split for us.

The strozzapreti with roasted eggplant, chiles, tomatoes, lamb sausage, herbs and ricotta salata ($16) was a beautifully executed dish. The “priest choker” pasta – like long cavatelli that twist and curl a bit when cooked – arrived perfectly al dente. The sauce was a rich, thick ragu peppered with bits of mildly spicy sausage and eggplant. There was lots going on here and it all melded perfectly – like a good Bolognese. And, like a good Bolognese, it was not overly saucy or tomatoey. GraceAnn commented on the moistness of the ricotta salata shreds, which seemed more like fresh mozzarella.

The glass of wine I chose to accompany my meal – Ricci Bonarda El Matt 2008 – worked spectacularly with this dish, by the way.

Albacore tuna at Locanda da Eva in Berkeley

I have to hand it to the kitchen: they put out a well-seasoned and expertly cooked piece of albacore tuna. If you’ve ever prepared this at home, you know there’s a narrow margin between sashimi and Starkist – even when working with a fresh, beautiful piece of tuna.

The griddled local albacore with roasted Italian sweet peppers, basil, and grilled summer squash ($19) was GraceAnn’s entree, but I wished I’d ordered it – which is a first. I never, ever, select salmon or tuna as my entree because I figure I can overcook them myself for less than half the price.

This was nice and rare, and the whole peppers were charred outside and tender and sweet inside. I didn’t bother with the squash.

Fried corn at Locanda da Eva in Berkeley

The Brentwood (what the hell, when you got it, flaunt it, I guess) fried corn on the cob with salsa verde maionese ($6 a la carte, but you can choose this as a side with an entree) tasted like grilled corn. I would not have guessed it was fried – not greasy at all. I thought it needed a little salt, and the sauce was a little sweet for my taste, but I was happy with this rustic, straighforward side dish.

Chicken & ricotta meatballs at Locanda da Eva in Berkeley

I chose the braised chicken and ricotta meatballs with kale, onions, sumac, cumin and Grana Padana ($18), which was übersavory. There were five cloud-like meatballs in a broth that was concentrated and salty and needed some kind of neutral, absorbent foil – like bread, potatoes or pasta. While I liked the flavor and even the soft texture of the meatballs, I found the dish to be overworked, with the integrity of individual ingredients lost in a heightened state of umami. I would order this again only as a “table” entree.

Fried potatoes at Locanda da Eva in Berkeley

I had hoped to use the side of fried potatoes with pickled cabbage and Calabrian chiles ($5, same bit about the entree) as a textural contrast to my meatball entree – envisioning a batch of crispy potatoes straight out of a sizzling frying pan.

The fried potatoes turned out to be more like tired roast potatoes that had been warmed over. Bland, too, and a real letdown.

On impulse, I had a latte and the peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter gelato, bitter chocolate ganache and sea salt ($8) for dessert. The ganache almost froze on the gelato, which I liked, and the cookies were buttery and light. There was not too much salt here, which I appreciated, given the volume of fine-dining desserts these days with sea salt.

Peanut butter & choco chip cookie dessert at Locanda da Eva in Berkeley

Our server noticed that I wasn’t drinking my latte, and apologized if it wasn’t up to snuff. “No, it’s fine – just taking my time.” said I. I like that he asked, though. I liked it a lot.

Robert Lauriston is invested here in every way possible – you can’t help but see that – and Executive Chef Huw Thornton clearly runs a strong kitchen.

An interesting menu, forward-thinking food values, a well-thought out wine menu and a great space should add up to a win for Locanda da Eva – as long as there’s willingness to adapt to what their location may ultimately dictate.

I’d like to go back and try a few other things – if they stop charging for olive oil. That olive oil thing sticks in my craw.

UPDATE – 9/15/10: Robert Lauriston contacted me to let me know that olive oil would now be complimentary upon request, so my craw is officially clear.