Discovering Indian Cuisine

Spicy Fish Filets

My first taste of Indian food occurred in New York, when my Indian neighbor took me to a nearby restaurant.  I was totally ignorant about Indian cuisine, so he ordered what he normally ordered.  All I remember is that it was spicy--extremely spicy--so spicy that I needed to drink half a glass of water after each bite.

I never again went to dinner with that neighbor.  But I did come to like Indian food, and for that I can thank Sunset Magazine.

Lemon Squeezer: What Is It and How Do I Use It?

When I was growing up, my family used a glass lemon squeezer to make fresh lemon juice.  I don’t know where this gadget came from.  It was just hanging out in a kitchen drawer with a lot of other strange objects. 

The family’s lemon squeezer stayed home when I went off to college. 

A New Way to Serve Shrimp

When I first learned that I didn’t have to dine out in order to eat a shrimp cocktail, my instinct was to make a shrimp cocktail at home.  When that worked, I became more adventurous, sampling and liking such exotic (to me) dishes as shrimp stir-fry, spicy grilled shrimp and shrimp tacos. 

One Cup of...Chocolate Chips

Normally when I read a recipe, I take a quick look to see if I have the ingredients.  If I do, I may start preparing it right away.  If I don’t, I either add what’s missing to my shopping list or decide not to make that dish after all.

But what if I start with an ingredient I have and then search for a recipe that calls for it?  One of my favorite ingredients when I’m baking is chocolate chips.  What could I make with one cup of them?  Here’s what I found:

In Love with Chicken Again

Within a day of my complaining about how I’ve been eating too much chicken, my sister-in-law Sue sent me her latest recipe—Chicken Rice Soup.  Of course I tried it immediately, and it was delicious.  It also offers flexibility.  A small bowl can be an appetizer, while a large bowl can be a main course.

Appreciating the Corn Tortilla

If you want to get my attention at the grocery store, you have three options:

1) Put up a big sign that says SALE.

2) Place the item prominently near the check-out.

3) Put it next to something I am likely to buy.

Oh No! Not Chicken Again!

Cookbooks often tell you that one 3½ pound chicken will feed four people. Somehow when I roast a chicken this size, we end up with a week of leftovers. 

Question for Mom

I bought some frozen cooked shrimp, and when I defrosted them, there was this dark line along the back of some of the shrimp.  What is it and should I get rid of it? –Alex B.

This line, which can be black or dark green, is the shrimp’s digestive tract.  Yes, you want to get rid of it.  Scrape it out, either before or after cooking, using a small knife or the tip of a potato peeler.  The bigger the shrimp, the easier this black line is to remove.  Do the cutting/scraping under running water, and the gritty substance will wash away.

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