use real butter

The first time I tried to arrange to meet with Manisha and Kitt for lunch, I asked for suggestions or preferences. Manisha immediately ruled out most of the Indian restaurants in Boulder. I chuckled to myself over that because I would have done the same regarding any of the Chinese restaurants in Boulder. I never doubted for a second that the woman knows her Indian food and today was proof of exactly that.

when i walked in, shalan was heating up malaysian parathas

Manisha graciously invited me and several others over to her house for a lunch of phenomenal food today. While I love to eat Indian food, I know almost nothing about it. I heard so many unfamiliar words (all foods!) that I begged Manisha to please email me the menu - which she did this evening. What a sweetheart.

butter chicken (chicken makhani or murg makhani)

gosht (lamb) banjara

Her friends were a lively and fascinating bunch. I didn’t feel so bad pigging out on the amazing spread of food because everyone else did too - it was SO GOOD. Bummer that Kitt had to babysit a tree cutting or else she would have joined us.

sitting down to our first helpings

completely decadent coconut burfi

I tried my best to sample some of everything, but I really think I missed out on the pickled green mangoes! Dang… Would you like to know what all was on the menu?

butter chicken (chicken makhani or murg makhani)
gosht (lamb) banjara
beet raita
mushrooms and peas
pulao (spiced rice with veggies)
Malaysian parathas
roti or chapati
pickled limes
tomato and chili chutney (from shalan)
coconut burfi
pumpkin cake and ice cream

Oh man, that was a lot of food. That was a lot of fantastic Indian food! But I had to be off to run errands and make more medical appointments. In the evening, Jeremy and I met up on Pearl Street because we got a call from two dear friends who were in town from Seattle. We took them to one of our favorite places in Boulder for dinner.

jax seafood

It also happens to be First Bite Boulder this week. It is an event to highlight the great dining establishments around town. Several restaurants participate and offer a prix fixe menu: 3 courses for $26. Great deal. It’s getting late, so I’ll just show you the rundown of some of the dishes…

clam chowder

jeremy ordered the seared tombo

my blackened catfish which i barely put a dent in (manisha’s fault!)

key lime pie surrounded by bonny doon framboise, port, and muscat

Hoo boy! I have been busy… in the good way. You know, getting things done. I still have plenty more on my plate, but I imagine that keeps me off the streets more or less. I got a request from Antarctica the other day. Apparently the dwindling NSF (National Science Foundation) budget translates into crappier than usual fare at McMurdo Station this season. I spent a little time today scampering about Boulder with BethBeth, gathering precious food stuffs for our bud(s) way down south. Who knew it was so damn hard to find whole fat powdered milk?! And I had to take care what to include in the package because trash is a big issue in Antarctica. While I don’t think trash is as trivial an issue in “civilization” as most people do (chuck it out, don’t think about it anymore), it really does factor into what to send to Antarctica because, well - it’s Antarctica!

we miss you: M, J, J (get well soon, sweetie), and P

I think food blogging keeps me from repeating meals as often as I would otherwise. I used to flip through my quadrille notebook (that’s where I write down the keeper recipes) and come up with a weekly menu lickity split. But these days I incorporate at least two to three new recipes a week for the purpose of trying something new and blogging it. Because of this pattern, I’ve neglected some old favorites. After I made spring rolls I had that pot of oil sitting there… What else to fry?

that is some sexy red snapper

I first had fish tacos in Southern California. One of my co-workers turned me on to the awesome fish tacos from Señor Fish. Even our sushi chef gave it high praise! I know it’s healthier to do the grilled fish tacos, but come on - the fried version is like fish and chips without the chips, in corn tortillas with lime and cabbage!

slice into 1-inch thick strips

The key is the fish. You need to get a hold of good tender, but firm, white flesh fish. Snapper is nice. Grouper is better. Nothing too dense, but nothing too delicate. I happened upon some red snapper fillets at our local Whole Foods for this round of tacos, and for once, it didn’t cost me a mortgage at the check out line. Beer batter is my favorite way to fry it up. I’ve tried the batter with milk (when I was out of beer) and the flavor is decidedly “meh” in comparison. Look, I don’t even drink beer, but I love the beer batter.

adding pale ale to the mix

dipping the fish

One of the reasons I used to fear deep frying was that I could never tell how hot the oil was. I just figured anything hot enough to burn me was hot. It wasn’t until I began to play with caramelized sugar that understood the varying degrees of hot. It is, after all, physics. That said, a good candy thermometer will take the mystery out of hot sugar and hot oil. When frying up the fishies, just remember that overcrowding the pot will bring that temperature down too low and your frying will be compromised. So slap a candy thermometer onto that pot of oil and keep one eye on the mercury.

fried to flaky, golden perfection

When you remove the fish from the oil (I use tongs or chopsticks), set the pieces on a cooling rack rather than on a bed of paper towels. I learned this trick from Amy who in turn learned this trick at her amazing CIA (Culinary Institute of America) boot camp. It keeps fried things crispy - and I am ALL ABOUT THE CRISPY.

fish tacos aren’t fish tacos without lime

If I’m feeling particularly naughty, I’ll pan fry a few corn tortillas. If not, then warm corn tortillas will work to wrap around a piece of fish with cabbage, a generous squeeze of lime, cilantro, and salsa.

i’m hearing surf guitar

Fish Tacos

1 lb. red snapper fillet (or grouper or other delicious firm white fish)
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup beer (or milk)
oil for deep frying
corn tortillas
2 cups cabbage, shredded
2 limes, cut into wedges
salsa
cilantro

Slice the fish into 1-inch thick strips. Heat oil in a medium saucepan to 350°F. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Pour in the beer (or milk) and mix until smooth. Dip one piece of fish into the batter and coat. Transfer to hot oil. Repeat with 3 or 4 more pieces and fry until golden (4 minutes or so). Don’t crowd the pot too much or the temperature of the oil will drop too much. Remove the fish from the oil and set on a cooling rack. Serve with warm corn tortillas (or pan fry the tortillas if you’re feeling decadent), cabbage, salsa, and lime.

Can you believe that I’ve been prattling on for four years on Use Real Butter? Yup, it’s URB’s fourth blogiversary today. My perspective on food has changed so much in that time and I have to credit the food blogosphere for a lot of inspiration and education. URB didn’t start as a food blog, but eventually the food side of the blog kept the name and moved into the public arena… and here we are! So thanks to all of the readers and fellow bloggers who keep the whole enchilada lively and fun, but especially to those of you who stuck with me through my craptastic year of cancer treatment - thank you.

i cried a river of tears over those onions

The inaugural recipe for my new All Clad stock pot arrived in my post office box just last week in the form of a shiny January 2009 issue of Fine Cooking. It is officially soup weather here in my little mountain town. High winds, snow, and temperatures plummeting below freezing put me in the mood to make a big pot of hearty soup. It was also a great way to clear out my crisper drawer in the refrigerator as I always seem to have a few carrots and celery stalks lounging about. Kaweah loves when I make soups chock full of vegetables because she enjoys munching on the occasional carrot or cabbage leaf.

browning the italian sausage

There were a handful of beautiful soups to choose from, but I immediately settled on pasta e fagioli because I had been searching for a recipe lately. How timely. The Fine Cooking version called for bacon, and frying the onions in the bacon grease… sounded great, but I opted for some Italian sausage instead. After browning the sausage, I drained off the grease and sautéed the onions in vegetable oil.

garlic, rosemary, and cinnamon

adding spices to the sautéed onions

I found the cinnamon stick to be a curious addition to the soup. While I love soups and stews, I’m not so well versed in the myriad of spices and herbs that determine the personality of a dish. Perhaps that is something to work on this winter.

canned great northern beans and diced tomatoes

In addition to subbing sausage for the bacon, I also omitted the chick peas (garbanzo beans) in favor of cannelli beans. But while I was at the store, cannelli beans were nowhere to be found. I wheeled up and down the bean aisle and then the bulk foods aisle and back again, caught in an infinite loop unable to find my beans. Not wanting to waste any more of my life searching for something I was pretty sure they didn’t have, I settled on great northern beans as a substitute for my substitute.

adding the broth, beans, and vegetables

Macaroni would have been an easy pasta to use, but I really like the short tubular pastas. Why I get these specific shapes, textures, or flavors in my head for certain recipes, I don’t know… Call me particular. Whole Foods had crap for a selection. That miffed me. I suppose I (unreasonably) expect Whole Foods to carry every specialty item I seek because they charge me so damn much for *everything*. That may not make sense. I never claimed to make sense. I did find some Ditalini at Safeway, which was exactly what I wanted in my soup.

toss in the cooked sausage and pasta

After all of the prep, the assembly of the soup was quick. Thirty minutes on simmer and it was done. So the verdict on that cinnamon stick? I love it. It’s different from what I am used to and I think the spice brings out a warm and lively dimension to the pasta e fagioli that might otherwise taste ordinary, bland. This is a keeper recipe.

lovin’ spoonful

Pasta e Fagioli
modified from Fine Cooking no. 96 (January 2009)

1 lb. Italian sausage, bulk
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 red onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 quarts chicken broth
2 cans (15 oz ea) great northern or cannelli beans, drained
2 cans (15 oz ea) diced tomatoes, with juice
4 medium carrots, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
1 cup ditalini pasta, cooked and drained
2 tsp red wine vinegar
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for garnish

In a large stock pot, brown the Italian sausage until cooked. Remove from pot and drain. Heat the vegetable oil in the stock pot and sauté the onions until softened. Add the garlic and rosemary, cooking until fragrant. Add the broth, beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery, salt, pepper, cinnamon stick, and water. Bring to boil over high heat then reduce and let simmer for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Discard the cinnamon stick, then stir in the sausage, cooked pasta, and vinegar. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more vinegar. Serve hot with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for garnish.