say it with Thai food

Whenever I go out for Thai food, I order Pad Thai, or Drunken Noodle, or Tom Kha soup and sticky rice. It arrives in front of me, steaming and saucy, and I slurp it down happily, though I have not a clue what's in it. What makes that beguiling orangey-brown sauce on the noodles? What's that firm yet yielding crunch I get every once in a while in a bite of Pad Thai? And really, how do they make that rice so sticky? While I might briefly ponder these questions, the truth is that I don't really care. Those mystery tastes are good ones, and that's enough for me. When the craving for Thai hits, it hits hard, but we're usually not too far from an acceptable vehicle to deliver the delicious goods. I don't have to go about actually thinking about how to create a Thai dish myself.

Which is how I knew Adriana was pretty much the greatest friend on the Earth when, in high school, she made me Pad Thai, from scratch, in her very own kitchen, for my birthday. She got together the rice noodles, the peanuts, the bean sprouts, even procured the tamarind and prepared it all in a wok. She served the luscious noodles in her living room, and I got to savor each delicate cube of tofu, each springy crunch of scallion, within the comfort of a home. I found myself touched that my fearless friend had gone so far out of her way, explored this uncharted culinary territory, simply to provide this birthday girl with her favorite dish. Thinking about it now, I'm growing a little teary, a bit wistful for those days of birthday sleepovers surrounded by teen magazines and nail polish.
...

A couple of weeks ago, when a couple of our Brooklyn friends invited Mary and me over for a home cooked meal at their apartment, I knew I really needed to step up to the plate. They were cooking us dinner, and all I needed to bring was dessert. When somebody's offering you home cooked nourishment at their house, you just kind of want to give back in a big way. Because I knew they loved the coconut mango sticky rice from a nearby Thai restaurant, I decided to dive right in and see what I could finagle in my own kitchen, using honey instead of sugar as a sweetener.

I'll admit that I was pleased with my efforts. The rice steamed effortlessly into perfect stickiness over a pot of boiling water. The honey sweetened the coconut milk into a luscious syrup, and the mangoes added firm freshness to the sticky dessert. It was a hit all around, and while it wasn't as involved as birthday Pad Thai, I think it showed I cared.



Coconut Milk Sticky Rice with Mangoes
Adapted from Epicurious


3 cups sticky rice, soaked overnight in water and drained
2 cups canned or fresh coconut milk
1/2 cup honey
Pinch of salt
4 ripe mangoes

Fill a large pot with about three inches of water. Place drained rice in a fine metal strainer over the pot of rice, making sure the rice doesn't touch the water. Place a paper towel on top of the strainer full of rice, and cover loosely with the pot's lid. Bring the water to a boil and steam rice for 25 minutes, until it is shiny and tender. Add more water during steaming if necessary so the pot doesn't run dry, as that will ruin your pot (just trust me on this one). Alternately, it's fine to cook the rice using a normal rice cooker if you don't have a metal strainer.


Meanwhile, place the coconut milk in a heavy pot and heat over medium heat until hot. Do not boil, as that will curdle the coconut milk. Add the honey and salt and stir to dissolve completely. When the sticky rice is tender, turn it out into a bowl and pour 1 cup of the hot coconut milk over; reserve the rest. Stir to mix the liquid into the rice, then let stand for 20 minutes to an hour to allow the flavors to blend.

Peel the mangoes, and slice the flesh from each side off the pit by running your knife lengthwise about a half inch to the side of the center of the mango. Lay each mango side flat and slice thinly across to make strips.

To serve individually, place an oval mound of sticky rice on each plate, and arrange half a mango beside it. Stir the remaining coconut sauce thoroughly and pass it separately, with a spoon, so guests can add more as they wish.

-Kylie

Another Day, Another Dinner

There's no telling what I'll be eating for dinner tonight.

Don't even try and take a guess.

For someone who thinks, and dreams, and wonders about food all day long, I have a surprising knack for not knowing what will end up on my dinner plate until about 5:48 PM Central Time. Here's the usual routine. 5:45 PM: exit subway. 5:46 PM: call boyfriend and ask what he's doing for dinner. Now, at 5:48 PM, one of two scenarios will take place: Scenario A. My boyfriend tells me he's making dinner tonight and that I should come partake in it's deliciousness, or Scenario B. My boyfriend tells me he's re-heating pasta tonight in order to cram in 20 more minutes of med-school studying. Scenario B, of course, means that I'm on my own to experiment with whatever ingredients I please in the pursuit of the evening meal.

This is a tale of two dinners.

Scenario A:
Hamburger Pie, Hamburger Pie,
If I don't get some I think I'm gonna die!
My boyfriend makes a mean Hamburger Pie. When he informed me yesterday that I should sit back and relax, because he had dinner under control, I knew another brilliant Illinois-grown concoction was on its way. Apparently Hamburger Pie is a family recipe, something he's eagerly anticipated and wolfed down at lightening speed since he was just a wee little thing. I was careful to photo document the event so that you too could bake up this culinary celebration of all things american. After all, what could possibly be more patriotic that Pie + Hamburger + the Pillsbury Doughboy (don't worry, I'll get there).

Ingredients:
1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1 package ground beef
1 small can tomato paste
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Several dashes of Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese


Step One: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pop open Crescent Rolls and lay out over a 9-inch pie pan in order to make a crust.


Step Two: Over medium heat, brown ground beef. When the beef has cooked, add in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion, and cook for one minute longer. Remove from heat, and add the bell pepper.


Step Three: Dump ingredients into prepared "pie shell". Even out with spoon. Top entire pie generously with shredded cheddar cheese, and pop into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.


Scenario B:
Red Quinoa Salad with Mango and Curried Yogurt


Sometimes I just take one look at a recipe's ingredients list and decide two things: 1) there's absolutely no way all those flavors will go together, and 2) there's absolutely no way I'm going one more minute without trying it for myself. Thus, when the med student couldn't pry his eyes away from the text book for some dinner, I chose to give this one a whirl. I made several revisions to the original recipe, and, after 20 minutes of easy effort, I found myself sitting down to a bowl of this absolutely delectable, complicated, and surprisingly delicious grain salad. If you're in the mood for something light on the tummy but challenging to the palate, this may very well be the dinner for you.


Ingredients:
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice + 1/4 teaspoon zest
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil
1 1/3 cups uncooked quinoa - I used red, but any color would do just fine
1 pound firm-ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (2 cups)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 fresh jalapeño chile, seeded (if desired for less heat) and minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup salted roasted peanuts (2 1/2 ounces), chopped

Step One: Prepare your quinoa according to the instructions on the package. For me, that mean rinsing the quinoa with water before putting it in a saucepan with 3 cups water. Then I brought the water to a boil, covered the pan, reduced the heat and let it simmer until the water had evaporated (about 15 minutes). The done quinoa should have loose little tales, and be chewy with a tiny bit of crunch. You don't want soggy grains here.

Step Two: Make the sauce. Whisk together the yogurt, lime, zest, curry, ginger, salt, pepper, and oil until thoroughly blended.


Step Three: Mix it all up. Add the prepared bell pepper, jalapeno, mint and peanuts to the quinoa and pour the yogurt mixture on top, before stirring to coat evenly. Garnish with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts and a mint leaf. Enjoy!

-Adriana