The tricky part to this recipe was the Paneer cheese. Thanks to Google I now know it is an Indian Style Farmers Cheese that does not melt when grilled. Well raise your hand if you are shocked that the local Safeway does not carry this product! We decided to hit the Superstore thanks to their fantastic selection of ethnic food. 4 grown adults searching for 20 minutes could not find this cheese! Why the hell does Superstore have 5 separate cheese sections! Just as we were about to bail and pick a new recipe (yes I was carrying my cook book around the grocery store just in case) Bryon the super brother found the elusive cheese!
I was quite excited to have a cooking buddy. I thought if one person could make it in 30 minutes could 2 people manage it in 15!!! We were off! Jody the super sister had overtook half the kitchen making her little recycled newspaper pots for planting seeds, but we were confident we would manage. It was like a magical symphony in the kitchen. Well maybe I am exaggerating my metaphor but it was still a seamless team effort of cutting, chopping and grilling. We were literally standing idle at one point just waiting for the food. At the 20 minute mark we were smiling like Cheshire cats as we only had the very simple mango dessert left to cut up. **$#%%##$@!!!! The mangoes were completely green inside!!! I bought three perfect red mangoes thinking red meant ripe. Apparently not! Does anyone out there in cyber world know how to tell if a mango is ripe? Super team Trish and Bryon jumped into plan B action! I had a very ripe pineapple on the counter which made a perfect stunt double for our lame mangoes! At 32 minutes our supper was ready!
I have to say Bryon chose this meal thinking we were getting a mediocre supper out of the way but can I just say that this meal was OUT OF THIS WORLD GOOD!!!!!! That's right I used shouty capitals! Logan, Brylee, Bryon, Cory, Simon and Myself all gave it a resounding 5! Jody and Max stuck with a conservative 4. But get ready for this...Mary gave the meal a 5 and had seconds!!!!!!! The table went completely silent as she made her proclamation, as we sat in silent awe we could start to hear the choir of angels singing in the background! Cory has dubbed this the best meal so far and said that if he didn't respect the rating system so much he would have given it a six! His only suggestion was that it should be served with beer! The pineapple ended up being a perfect compliment to the curry and I would make that sweet mistake again anytime!
I love how our mediocre meal ended up being the best with our long lost cheese and substitute pineapple. I laughed today until my stomach hurt a couple of times. In the middle of dinner we had to make more Naan for the hungry family. Bryon can cook in my kitchen anytime! Thanks big brother for all the fun. Next week is Jody's pick which should be just as much of an adventure! Looking forward to it.
Trish
Hallelujah! The little food Nazi have the meal a 5 and asked for seconds!
Master chef Bryon preparing the meat to be grilled.
Aloha India! Our meal was ready in 32 minutes!
Best meal in the book so far! We might just make it again tomorrow!
%$##^&* Unripe mangoes!
Enjoying every bite!
It was a winter day in February when Trish announced that she was going to begin this cooking project/blog. Upon sitting down to the first meal in February we (all 9 of us) agreed upon a system as to which we would rate each of the 50 meals. After we heartily devoured the first of the meals (the Roast Beef, Baby Popovers, Little Carrots, Crispy Potatoes and Super Quick Gravy on page 194) we all pushed our chairs back and sat in front of empty plates and half full wine glasses and debated how we would evaluate these meals. We talked about the merits of a five point system vs. a four point system, the descriptors we would assign to each level on the rating system, how we would record our evaluations, and should each person be able to register their own score or would we take the average of the nine scores. It was a deep and meaningful discussion that lasted a whole five to six minutes. The rating system was passed as 'dining law' and it was recorded (in blue pen) in the front of Trish's copy of the cookbook!
ReplyDeleteSince this inaugural day I have held true to the rating system and the spirit in which it was created. This regimented dedication to our dining rubric has not always made me the most popular at the table (we all remember last week's three and the 'strip mall Asian food comment'). Though I am not always the guy putting up fives every week, I am true to myself even when it makes me the leper of the dinner table, however tonight my adherence to the system paid out! Tonight I laid out a well-deserved five, and my past six weeks of undying faithfulness to the five point scale made that five hit home like a freight train!
My gorgeous wife out did herself this week! This is the kind of meal that will go down in history. We will sit around years from now on a rocking chair on the front porch and reminisce of the day my beautiful wife worked her magic in the kitchen and crafted Steak Indian Style, Spinach & Paneer Salad, Naan Breads and Mango Dessert from page 216!
So in summary:
1) It was a five! – and we all know what that means coming from a such a stickler to the rating system!
2) My wife is a gorgeous magician in the kitchen!
What the hell Jamie Oliver we got it !you really like cilantro!
Deletebut seriously could we maybe go one recipe without it! okay now that that's off my chest and sorry Jamie my sister loves you, you complete her kitchen :) i am so not a huge curry fan :( I was a little intimidated going into the meal with a little bit of judgement before my first bite hit my mouth but in all fairness I was traumatized when I was 9mos pregnant with brylee, living in a ghetto apartment in the summer 38 degrees in the building that smelled of curry and wet dog. I am forever scarred, it's even a little hard to speak about...I just need a moment..............okay....yup I'm ok..but I am a true supporter of carbs and therefore nann, so i would be able to conquer this curry business. well I have to say I sparsely dipped my steak nann wrap into the curry sauce, yogurt mixture I concocted, and it was pretty good and I would eat it again. P.s I flicked my cilantro to the side of the plate, and didn't have any pineapple, okay so me and Mary are the pickiest poops in the group Whatcha goona do bout it! I can't wait until my week!