Sri Lankan Beetroot Curry and an Awesome Cookbook Giveaway

Remember a few weeks ago I promised you a giveaway of my favorite new cookbook, Skiz Fernando's Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking? Well, here it is! I knew this book was something special the second I cracked it open, and as it turns I'm not the only one: In the time since I set up this little giveaway, the book has been named by the New York Times as a notable cookbook of 2011.  

The author has kindly given me permission to share a recipe with you to give you a little taste of what you'll find in the book. If you've never had Sri Lankan food, you'll notice that while it does share certain ingredients and flavor profiles with Indian and South Asian cuisines, it's definitely its own thing. Plus, many of the dishes in the book are unique to Fernando's family and you won't find them done exactly the same way anywhere else.

Duck, Duck, No Goose: An (Almost) Wordless Wednesday Feast (and the Pitaya Giveaway Winner)

Okay, kids - this is about as wordless as I can get for Wordless Wednesday. Presenting: What Poppa Trix and I had for Thanksgiving. Ta-da!

I admit,  putting up a post about Thanksgiving food is ....   arriving rather late to the party at this point, but I'm hoping that perhaps these dishes will provide some inspiration for a fabulous holiday meal, or an anytime mini-feast. It all came together in just a few hours and caused minimal chaos.

Olive Cherry Focaccia Pizza ("Fopizza") for the Better Homes & Gardens Recipe Insiders Group

When the latest batch of Better Homes and Gardens Recipe Insiders recipes appeared in my inbox for review, I was immediately attracted to the flavors in this one. Salty, sweet, tart, spicy ... yep, that about covers it. Its original incarnation is as a bruschetta, and while I think that would be fab, you know I just had to Trixify this a little bit.  Rather than go with my favorite focaccia recipe, I made a Sicilian pizza dough I've worked with before  that I think yields something in between pizza and focaccia ... a topping delivery method I have dubbed the fopizza.

South Asian Style Braised Lamb Curry for a Trixie-fied French Fridays with Dorie

At first I was excited when I saw that this week's French Fridays with Dorie dish was a lamb curry. And then ... I read over the ingredients list. Figs. Apples. Honey. Golden Raisins. That's a lot of sweet components in a dish, even for one with supposedly Moroccan overtones.  And to balance all this sweet fruitiness? Trace amounts of cardamom and a couple of tablespoons of Madras curry powder ... a mild curry seasoning if ever there was one. Plus - I'm sorry, Madras curry powder is fine, but I simply don't believe you can get a rich, deep flavor from a curry powder that comes in a tin.

Needless to say, I had other ideas.

Herby Turkey Leg Confit with Dragon Fruit, Pomegranate & Chili Gastrique and a Giveaway That You Really Need!

Look, I am not self-delusional. (Usually.) I realize that a big hunk of meat on a bone accompanied by a brownish sauce is not the world's loveliest food. I tried to plate it in an appealing way, I really did: That jaunty angle! The clever dots of gastrique! That cute green plate!

But I realize this is not my finest food styling hour. I hope though - I really, really, really hope - that just this once you won't eat with your eyes first. Because this is seriously the very best turkey dish I have ever had, and Poppa Trix felt the same way. And we do not use superlatives lightly.

Mediterranean Chickpea Chili for the Better Homes & Gardens Recipe Insiders Group

Recently, I received a surprise invitation from Better Homes and Gardens to be a part of their new BHG Recipe Insider program. Sweet! The deal is this: Twice a month they send me links to new recipes,  as well as old favorites, and I review anything that catches my eye. There's no obligation to give a positive review, and I have the option to put my own spin on any of the dishes - and regular readers will know that I love nothing more than fiddling with a recipe! Needless to say, I accepted the invitation.

Among the first batch of recipes I received, I was most drawn to this Mediterranean chickpea chili. At this time of year, there are so many (not necessarily unwelcome, mind you) opportunities to eat heavy, cheesy, creamy, calorie-loaded foods that I'm more than happy to take a break from all that and make something hearty and satisfying that still somehow manages to feel light.

Bison Cottage Pie

There aren't many foods I can think of that are more comforting than this bison cottage pie. After all, it's got meat, gravy, and mashed potatoes, and in my book that's about all you need when you've got a case of the chills, the nasties, or the blues. Well, that and a big glass of red wine.

The semantical among you may wonder why I am calling this a cottage pie, rather than a shepherd's pie. Well, according to many definitions, cottage pies use minced beef, while shepherd's pies go with minced lamb ... I am using neither in favor of ground bison, and so I decided I would call it whatever I pleased.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: On Gluttony, Part 2: In Which I Leave Nothing in Vienna Uneaten, Particularly Tiny Sandwiches

Good Morning! I am STILL hungry

For this installment of almost Wordless Wednesday, I complete my two-part tale of gluttony and feasting across the glorious city of Vienna. On our second (and last) full day here - and our last full day of vacation - we were determined to leave nothing uneaten.

Particularly tiny sandwiches.

Savory Stuffed Pumpkin for French Fridays with Dorie

 

Those of you who were worried that I had been body snatched when I followed last week's French Fridays with Dorie pissaladiere recipe to the letter can relax. I did as I pleased with this, what she calls "pumpkin stuffed with everything good." But then, that's rather the point of this dish: Fill a 3-4 pound pumpkin with an assortment of savories - starch, protein, cheese - bake, and wait for the whole to emerge as greater than the sum of its parts. And does it ever!

Gougères Filled with Whipped Butternut Squash, Dill, & Gruyère Cream for the Five Star Makeover Tailgate Party

Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.

--Juvenal, Satire X

I don't want to be a party pooper, but the fact is, I do not like football, American or otherwise. I don't care for any team sport, really, and Poppa Trix and I don't follow any. For one thing, something about the randomness of madly cheering for a bunch of men just because they happen to be wearing a particular color jersey does not appeal to me. For another, I am a functional introvert,  and as such I am not a big fan of crowd activities. Besides, my contrary streak is a mile wide, and if a bunch of people are going mad over something, I grow suspicious. I am likely to at best ignore it; at worst, despise it. 

So you can imagine the blankness of my mind when this month's 5 Star Makeover challenge - hosted as ever by the lovely and talented Natasha of Five Star Foodie and the always creative Lazaro of Lazaro Cooks! - was announced: Create a gourmet version of your favorite tailgate party food. And I have never even been to a tailgate party.

But then I rallied. This is supposed to be a challenge after all, right? My mind turned towards the ancient Romans and the Circus Maximus, and the phrase "bread and circuses," or "panem et circenses," first coined by Juvenal in Satire X. The phrase refers to the political philosophy of the late Roman Empire: Give the citizenry plenty of cheap food and entertainment, and they would happily abandon their political involvement and relinquish their rights, living only for fleeting distractions, thinking only of  their own pleasure and comfort.