Yeah, I know–this post is getting put up on a Sunday…but hey, better later than never, right?

Here in Madison, we’re rounding up a pretty rough March (mostly in the 20s and 30s) with some relatively nice weather. The two-inch thick ice at our backdoor is finally melting away and I can even see the concrete below! Yesterday, it was 55 degrees and made for a perfect day for my first bike ride of spring. 6.5 short miles later and covered in salt, I was questioning my decision. Verdict? Worth it.

I usually get very excited this time of year–in mid-April, the farmers’ market moves back outdoors and is held around the capitol. Ale Asylum debut’s its seasonal spring/summer beer, the always outstanding Bedlam. And, around Easter time, the butchers in Madison have some fantastic specials.

Specials like that steak you see pictured above (it was only $5!). It’s a good picture, isn’t it? Well, that’s because I convinced my roommate to take the picture by trading him some brownies for his photography expertise. This dish–bacon-wrapped filet mignon and roasted asparagus–is incredibly easy to make and is sure to impress anyone who tries it.

As a sidenote: That beer is Bedlam, right off the production line from Ale Asylum (it was bottled on March 26th). It’s got a big, hoppy nose from all the citra hops and a wonderful sweetness from the Belgian yeast. A stellar example of a Belgian IPA.

So anyways, how do you make this dish? Guess you’ll have to click the link for the recipe!

Bacon-Wrapped Filet Mignon with Roasted Asparagus

• 1 6oz medallion of filet mignon
• 1 strip of smoked bacon (any kind is fine, really)
• Toothpicks
• 1/2 lb asparagus, woody ends chopped off
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive

Filet Mignon

• Take the meat out of the fridge and let it warm up to room temperature. While you’re doing that, stick a cast iron pan in the oven and preheat it to 450.
• Wrap the strip of bacon around the filet and secure it with a couple of toothpicks.
• Sprinkle both sides of the steak with salt and pepper. Brush with olive oil.
• Once the oven is at 450, take out the pan and place it on a burner on high. Sear the steak for 2 minutes or so on each side, and then stick the pan (with steak on it) back in the oven.
• Cooking times will vary–for me, putting it in the oven for about 8 minutes resulted in a medium rare filet (I prefer rare–so this was a bit much for me).
• Once it’s done to your liking, remove and let the steak rest for 5 minutes or so before cutting.

Asparagus

• The oven should be heated at 450 already, so nothing to do in that department.
• Once you’ve cut off the ends, place the asparagus on a baking sheet and spray with olive oil (I used a Misto) or brush it on.
• Sprinkle asparagus with salt and pepper.
• Roast at 450 for 10-12 minutes, until done.

Serve both together with a good beer, side salad and piece of crusty bread. Simple and easy? Yeah…and totally delicious!

Well, it’s that time of the year again–NPR is off and running with their annual winter campaign for funding. After listening to the prompts all week, I finally broke down and bought a “sustaining membership” for $12.50/month. It goes to a good cause and I get a sweet mug so I can walk around Madison and act like the pretentious East Coast ass I know I am. It’ll be great!

Anyways, last week on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show, renowned food critic Corby Kummer talked extensively about the tasting menus offered by chefs throughout the country at high end dining venues. In the segment, Kummer spoke about how he felt that chefs were becoming increasingly tyrannical with their cooking by offering their way (the tasting menu) or no way at all. What happened, he argued, to trying to please the customer?

You can listen to the segment right here (don’t forget to donate!).

On a personal level, I love tasting menus. If I’m ever feeling particularly spend-happy, I’ll get the tasting menu rather than a specific entree. It gives the chef an opportunity to really showcase their skills, and the consumer gets to experience some pretty spectacular flavors and dishes they otherwise wouldn’t be able to have.

How does this relate to venison and my blog title? Well, I used to think that wild game was food reserved for uncultured yokels who hunted in their backyard and then roasted the animal over a makeshift fire with a stick. However, higher end restaurants are increasingly turning out spectacular dishes made with wild game–whether it’s an incredible rabbit terrine or braised venison shank, wild game is becoming more and more a part of the fine dining scene in the US.

So, last semester I went with my roommate to Madison’s excellent Forequarter,  a rather pretentious new hipster restaurant that serves unbelievable food. They’ve also been nominated for a James Beard award–and I hope they win! When I went there, I had a delicious veal meatball with escarole. My thinking with this recipe was that, with a pound of venison to kill, I could make something similar. Needless to say, it was a success. Recipe after the break!

Spinach and Venison Meatball Soup (adapted from The Midnight Baker)

• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1lb ground venison
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan (I prefer the sharper romano or locatelli cheeses)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tblsp breadcrumbs (get some day-old bread from your local bakery)
• tablespoon parsley
• 1tsp crushed red pepper
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• Pinch of oregano
• Fresh spinach (5-7oz or so)

Before you do anything, beat together the eggs and the cheese. Set aside.

Mix together the meatballs–add the venison, parsley, garlic, crushed red pepper, oregano, breadcrumbs and a couple of tablespoons of the egg mixture. Roll the meatballs into jawbreaker-sized balls…it should make quite a few meatballs! See the picture below for an example

Now, let’s start on the soup! In a large pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil and add the spinach. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook it for 5-7 minutes or until fully wilted.

Add the meatballs and simmer for another 10-15 minutes–mine took the full 15 minutes to cook all the way through, but you can feel free to check them ahead of time to see how they’re doing. Once that’s complete, add in the remainder of the egg and cheese mixture and bring the soup to a full boil. Cook for a couple more minutes and season with salt and pepper.

Serve with crusty bread and a salad. Enjoy!

We’re pretty fanatical about our tacos here in Madison. As a city with a fairly large Mexican population (% wise), finding authentic tacos is pretty easy. Finding authentic ingredients for authentic tacos is also, not surprisingly, fairly easy. So naturally, when I decided to set out to make authentic (running theme, in case you couldn’t tell) tacos al pastor, I knew I had to do it right.

Al pastor tacos are relatively simple and comprised of only a few ingredients–pork, a couple kinds of chilies, onion, various spices, and the hallmark of any legit pastor–pineapple. The fruit adds a wonderful sweetness to the slight heat from the chilies, giving the meat an incredible one-two punch in the flavor department. For step-by-step instructions on making your own pastor, click to read more!

Let’s start out with a list of ingredients:

• 2 ancho chilies
• 2 guajillo chilies
• 1 cup pineapple (I used canned, but fresh is always better)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce (it’s in the international aisle, usually)
• 1 tbsp adobo sauce (take it from the same can as the chipotle chile)
• 5 cloves garlic
• Oregano (dried or fresh is fine)
• 4lb pork shoulder (I used bone-in) or boneless butt roast
• 1 red onion

Once again, Dylan proves he cannot take halfway-decent photographs.

First, you’ll want to take your dried chilies–the guajillos and anchos–and place them in a pot. Bring the pot to a boil, then turn off the gas/heat and let the peppers steep for half an hour (30 minutes) or so. They should start to inflate and re-hydrate. If you were fortunate enough to get fresh peppers, skip this step.

Once the peppers are done steeping, cut off the tops, rinse out the seeds, and toss into a food processor. Keep reading.

Once you’re done with the peppers, toss in the rest of the ingredients, except for the onion. If you’re using fresh oregano, a couple of sprigs will do. If dried, shake the container a couple of times to get the flavor in there. And, if you’re using canned pineapple, make sure you drain the juice out of the cup. Once you’ve got everything in the food processor, process the ingredients until they’ve formed a fairly thick, red paste-like substance–it should look something like the above picture.

Oh, and when it’s done, taste it to make sure it’s to your liking. I left some of the seeds from the peppers in to get an extra kick of heat. It totally worked.

Now, the fun part. Take out the pork and let it sit for 20 minutes or so on a cutting board. If you’re okay with your hands touching ice cold meat (it’s a little painful), then no need to wait. Slice the pork in 3/4-inch slices or so, and go down about 3/4 of the way–do not cut through to the bottom.

Once you’ve sliced up the pork, take the paste and start spreading it between the slices. Work the paste into the meat using your hands (attn. perverts: this is not some kind of sexual euphemism), making sure it covers the entire piece of pork. I actually took this picture before all the paste was used up, so the final meat product will have a lot more coverage than this picture.

After you’re done slathering the pork with paste, cut up the onion and place the slices between each cut of meat. Wrap the pork tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight so it can marinate.

Finally, time to cook the meat! There are a few schools of thought here, so I’ll run through each one. The recipe I was following suggested cooking the meat on a rack inside a roasting pan. Sure, that’s a fine way to do it, but I was much more eager to use my brand new enamel cast iron dutch oven that I received for Chanukah (as a Jew, I can assure you that the irony is not lost on me). The instructions are the same either way, so here we go:

Preheat the oven to 475° F. Using a roasting pan/rack or dutch oven, place the pork into the oven. If using a dutch oven, leave the top on. Roast at 475 for roughly 30 minutes.

After half an hour has elapsed, remove the top from the dutch oven (if using) and lower the heat to 300° F. Roast for another 3 hours or until tender. Once the three hours is up, remove the pork from the oven and let it rest for twenty minutes. It should be very, very tender (my giant shoulder piece broke in half when I took it out).

Cut the pork up into chunks (or shred it with forks). Serve on corn tortillas (homemade if you’re really feeling ambitious) and top with fresh cilantro and onion. Serve with garnish of lime wedges and avocado. Enjoy!

Future notes for improvement (for me): You may find it beneficial to save some of the paste and pineapple and mix it in with the pastor afterwords. It’ll give it an added kick of flavor. Otherwise, absolutely delicious!

Every year, my parents ask me where I’d like to go for my birthday, and every year, I usually suggest someplace I know will be rejected–previous denials have included Maze and Nobu (3 years in a row before it happened!). After reading reviews from the Times, NY Mag, and absolute raves from Bon Appetit, I asked for Battersby, in Carroll Gardens–to my surprise…they agreed!

Battersby is a tiny restaurant that only holds 18 people. We arrived promptly at 5:30…to a line. After being informed that the wait would be roughly 2 hours, we put in our name and went to a nearby bar (Battersby texts you when your table is good to go). After getting the text–and feeling like I had won the lottery–we were seated around 8pm.

Let’s start this review!

Ambiance: A+. Dim lighting with a laidback, sweet hipster vibe and nice music choices. The kitchen is right in the restaurant, so yo ucan see the chefs going through their paces. Close seating but not too crowded and the noise level is just right. Pretty awesome.

Of course, it’s really about the food, isn’t it?

Dinner started with an amuse-bouche–a rutabaga and apple bisque–and an incredible rosemary flatbread with homemade ricotta (pictured). The ricotta had a wildly creamy, whipped texture and was simply delicious. Well, everything was delicious, really.

For our first course we split the crisp kale salad and duck pate–both were superb. The kale has an almost chip-like quality to it, which I’m guessing is from flash-frying it. Reviews informed me that the loud crackling noises heard throughout dinner were, in fact, the kale being “crisped.” Flavors were spectacular–I got a mixture of fennel, apple and peppercorn, with a light vinaigrette. It’ll be in my head for a while.

We ordered the short rib ragu for our second course–sadly, I forgot to put the flash on so no pictures for this one. The short ribs were braised, served over a pasta whose name I can’t pronounce, and the dish was a perfect combination of tomato, cracked pepper, and parmesan. Even my father, a self-proclaimed parmesan hater, had no problem eating the dish. I think the most apt word here is probably “foodgasm.” Honestly, that really describes the entire meal.

There were four dishes offered under the main course section of the menu, and as there were four of us–we each ordered one. What’s pictured above is the poached lobster, ordered by my brother. Served with leeks, a couple vegetables I can’t pronounce, and served in a coconut-milk (maybe?) sauce, the flavors were superb. When food gets as complex as it does at Battersby, it becomes somewhat difficult to pick out specific flavors–I was definitely having trouble. I had no trouble eating, though. Un-fucking-believable food.

My mom ordered the striped bass, served in a cream sauce over a bed of spinach. Again, an unbelievable dish. Mine is the one pictured at the beginning of this post–an incredibly well-cooked duck breast, served with various vegetables (rutabaga, radish, turnips and potato, I think). The duck had a reduced pan sauce that was to die for. And hell, check out the plating! The chefs at Battersby take a lot of pride in their food, and it showed on each plate.

My father got the Berkshire pork, pictured above. Again, perfectly cooked with more vegetables, incredible flavor combinations, etc. Yes, this review is getting redundant, but I think I need to keep reiterating how incredible this meal was. What isn’t pictured–and probably should be, as it may have been the best part of the meal–was dessert. We all split (dinner was riiiiiiiiiiiiich) dessert, a grapefruit tart with a dollop of crème fraîche and shaved tarragon ice. The flavors? Spectacular. Essentially a foodgasm in my mouth. Make your jokes. I can take it.

It’s also worth noting–this is the best service I’ve ever had in a restaurant, bar-none. Friendly, unobtrusive and wonderfully attentive. Our waitress just intuitively knew when we needed a refill or were done eating. No constant questions, few words. She was wonderful. Battersby was wonderful.

Battersby is easily the best meal I had in 2012…maybe the best in my entire life. This is fine dining with an overly-casual atmosphere and little-to-no snobbery (well, from the staff…perhaps not the patrons!). It is a prime example of the farm-to-table movement taken to the extreme–amazing food, amazing ingredients, and of course–an incredible culinary experience. If there is one place in NY that you want to go to eat, and you’re willing to spend the money–make the trip across the Brooklyn Bridge and dine at Battersby. It’s more than worth the trip.

Admittedly, I tend to give Wisconsin a lot of  shit. People here are slow, they can’t drive, there’s no diversity, and I can’t get halfway-decent sushi anywhere in this state. But really, that’s simply not fair–people are also painfully friendly, booze and food are dirt cheap, and they have one of the best–and somewhat unknown–cocktails in the country.

My curiosity surrounding the old fashioned (cocktail) was originally piqued after watching an episode of AMC’s outstanding series, Mad Men. You should all watch it if you haven’t had the opportunity. Now. Anyways–Don Draper was drinking an old fashioned. He seemed to be enjoying it. When I moved to Madison, the first bar here that caught my eye was, not surprisingly, The Old Fashioned. It’s located right on the capitol square, and has one of the best tap lists and food in all of Madison. But that’s not really what this is about, is it?

Wisconsin is famous for the “Brandy Old Fashioned.” It’s sweet instead of sour, and made with brandy (duh) instead of whiskey. The first time I tasted one, I was hooked. The cocktail was fantastic, and the flavors simply blended so well together. I’ve had many a brandy old fashioned since that first week in Madison, but it wasn’t until yesterday that I first attempted to make one. My roommate really wanted to make cocktails, and we thought this would be the best place to start. So, without any delay, here’s the recipe–

Brandy Old Fashioned

• 3oz Korbel brandy (2 shots-worth)
• 1 spoonful raw/turbinado sugar
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2 orange wedges
• 2 cherries
• ice
• Sprite

Directions–

1. In the bottom of the glass (before you put the ice in), muddle together the sugar, 1 orange wedge, and 1 cherry.
2. Pour ice in the glass.
3. Add the bitters, brandy, and Sprite, until the glass is full.
4. Mix it all up
5. Garnish with an orange wedge and cherry

It’s simple, really, and I’ll be honest–you can’t help but feel classy while you’re drinking this thing. I bought too many cherries, so I foresee numerous Old Fashioneds in my future. Onward!

Four months is a long time, isn’t it? Honestly, I have no excuses–I really need to start posting more. A lot more. And I will! So, in that four-month span, here are some new toys I got for my kitchen (they’ve all been utilized quite a bit, I might add):

• Clever Coffee Dripper (superior to the french press and easier than a pourover!)
• Pressure cooker – amazing. Absolutely amazing.
• Pizza cutter (I need to find it)
• Cast iron pan
• Various utensils

Alright, now that that’s over…I spent this summer in DC, where my aunt and uncle were very generous and allowed me to live with them for the better part of three months. Over that span, I did what most people would do when living in a new city for the first time–explored. And, by explored, I mean ate, drank, and spent too much money (hooray for sublettors!). As the summer was winding down, I had an opportunity to go eat at Mourayo, a Greek restaurant near Dupont Circle. I had the scallops, which were pan-seared and served over a thin slice of garlic with a dab of pistachio pesto on top, and then a side of unbelievable eggplant/cauliflower puree. The scallops were, to say the least, spectacular. I’d even venture out enough to call them orgasmic. Yes, really.

This experience–which I think about at least once a week–really turned me on to scallops. So, naturally, I had to make them myself! Not the exact dish, of course. I felt I should start pretty simple, so I turned to Mark Bittman’s superb How to Cook Everything for some guidance. Of course, I ended up putting my own twist on the dish, but I certainly can’t argue with the end result! Recipe after the break–

Pan-Seared Scallops in Garlic with a Butter-Tarragon Glaze

• 5 large sea scallops (you definitely want them to be fresh)
• 1 tbsp butter + 1 tsp butter
• 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Heat a small pan on medium/medium-high heat for about two minutes
2. Drop in the garlic with a tablespoon of butter and saute for roughly thirty seconds
3. After thirty seconds have elapsed, put the scallops in the pan.
4. Cook for roughly two minutes on each side or until the scallops are opaque, seasoning with salt and pepper as the scallops cook–you want them to be slightly undercooked
5. Once the scallops are done, remove them (briefly) to a plate. Add the lemon juice, tarragon, and butter to the pan and saute it for 20-30 seconds or so.
6. Add in the scallops and move them around to coat with the glaze (it should only take a few seconds).
7. Remove from the pan and pour the remainder of the pan on top. Voila! Serve with a side salad and roasted veggies. Enjoy!

Wow…it’s been a while, hasn’t it? To be fair to me (and this isn’t much of an excuse), a lot has been going on. I’m currently dealing with the whole “moving halfway across the country” thing (for the next 3 months), so I’d say that’s a decent enough excuse, right? Sure. Regardless, I’m thrilled to be back on my home coast and out of the painfully slow Midwest. The alcohol prices, though, are sorely missed.

ANYWAYS, that’s beside the point. I’ve been putting off writing the final part of my Ethiopian food extravaganza, mainly because I knew this last post would be pretty massive. We have four recipes for this one and, despite the fact that the finished product looks like a cross between vomit and baby food, I can assure you that it all came out delicious. So, having said that–click below for the entire post!

Ethiopian may be one of the most difficult cuisines to cook–the sheer amount of spices that go into every dish rival, and in many ways overtake, Indian food. Most Ethiopian dishes use a kind of clarified butter called “Niter kibbeh.” It’s kind of like Indian ghee, but it’s loaded with various spices. There really are very, very few substitutes for niter kibbeh, so I did my best to recreate it. It was delicious, even if it was a bit of a pain to make.

Niter Kibbeh

• 3 T. butter
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ¼ tsp. ground cardamom
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• ¼ tsp. garlic powder
• ¼ tsp. onion powder
• ¼ tsp. curry powder
• ¼ tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. ground allspice
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon

–>So…the butter itself is actually pretty easy to make. I’d suggest having the spices pre-measured before starting. In a small bowl, melt the butter. Once it’s melted, stir in the spices and throw it in the fridge for a few hours (I did it overnight) until it’s completely solidified. Super easy, and absolute delicious!

 Another essential part of Ethiopian cuisine is berbere, a blend of various spices prevalent in most Ethiopian dishes. This picture above, despite looking wonderful, is actually nothing like real berbere. Although DC has a bunch of Ethiopian markets, Madison has none, and I had to take to the internet to find a recipe. Real berbere is mostly red, but honestly? This spice blend was great, and so was the finished product!

Faux Berbere

• 1 T. paprika
• 1 T. onion powder
• ¾ tsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. ground cardamom
• ¼ – ½ tsp. cayenne pepper, to taste
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• ¼ tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/8 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp. ground clove (or additional allspice)
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg

–> Mix everything up! Seriously, that’s it. Let’s move on to something a little more complicated.

So, a cursory glance at the menu of any Ethiopian restaurant will reveal a few things. Mainly, though, it’s that this culture is HUGE on lentils and peas. Well, split peas, to be more precise. Here are recipes for the two main dishes I made to go with the niter kibbeh, berbere, and injera–kik alicha, made from yellow split peas, and mesir wot, the classic Ethiopian lentil dish.

Mesir Wot

• 1 c. dried red lentils
• 2 c. water, plus more as needed
• 1 T. tomato paste
• 1-2 tsp. brown sugar
• 1 c. filtered water
• 1 T niter kibbeh

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, add water to peas and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 30-45 minutes, or until the peas are tender but still hold their shape.
2. While the peas are cooking, heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until softened/slightly browned. Add the garlic and turmeric and cook for another minute. Remove to a bowl until ready to use.
3. After the peas have been cooking for 20 minutes or so, stir in the onion/garlic mixture.
4. Add the salt and continue to simmer the peas until they are very mushy and the liquid has evaporated (about 30 minutes). Stir in the niter kibbeh and adjust the seasonings as needed.

Serve both dishes warm, over injera! Oh, and remember, no utensils! Ethiopians eat with their hands and use injera to pick everything up–it’s a wonderful experience!

Well, as usual, I’ve been behind on keeping this blog up-to-date. Personally, I blame finals and the three ungodly papers I have due. One left to go! Anyways, I’m here to talk about one thing:

Tacos.

Back in New Jersey, there isn’t too much authentic Mexican food. Sure, there are pockets here and there, but in comparison with what we can get in Madison? Well, it’s not even close. My friend and I have been traveling around Madison in search of the cheapest, most delicious, and the most authentic tacos. We’ve had a lot. Some places have been visited more than once. The quest, of course, still continues. However, we’ve found one place that really seems to stand above the rest (more on that later). So, without further ado, here are my Madison Tacos Rankings:

5. Francisco’s Cantina: oh, how the mighty have fallen. I had awarded Francisco’s an “A” a few months ago, but that was before I had a chance to check out the other places in this city. The last time I was there, I got a few different tacos–chicken, asada (steak), and a couple of pastor (pork). The first thing I noticed? Well, for one, a lack of meat. What they gave us was pretty tasty, if a little dry. The tortillas didn’t appear to be homemade, and they tasted…well, off. While the price per taco seemed pretty reasonable ($1.69), these were simply okay. Nothing more, nothing less. After further consideration, I have no choice but to downgrade Francisco’s Cantina to a B.

4. Tacqueria Authentica (Bloomfield, NJ): Alright, so admittedly, I’m cheating. Over winter break, I went to Tacqueria Authentica before a concert. It’s in NJ, not Wisconsin. However, the food is worth mentioning. The restaurant spawned from a food cart which rolls around Newark, shelling out what can only be described as “Gourmexican” food. The tacos? Quite good. I had the chicken, steak and chorizo. Most notable was the chorizo–they make it themselves and, I have to admit–it’s pretty damn good. The highlight of the meal, though, was the Mexican pudding. Made by the owners wife, it was infused with almond paste, giving it an almost marzipan-like taste. Absolutely fantastic. Tacqueria Authentica gets a B+.

3. Los Gemelos: Located right off of State St., this favorite late-night establishment of drunken undergrads serves up some solid tacos. So, what’s in the picture? Well, pastor and campechano, which is a mix of steak and chorizo. It was solid. The tortillas were fresh. Decent amount of meat. The flavor was good, although I found the steak a bit dry. Would I go back? Of course! And, most likely, at 2am. Good job with the drunks, Gemelos. You get a B+.

2. Mercado Marimar - Alright, now we’re getting serious. Mercado is a tiny Mexican grocery store located on South Park St., right before you get on the highway. However, inside this place is an even smaller cantina! The place appears unassuming from the outside, and there were a few people milling around in the market, mostly on their lunch break. We went up to order and were immediately greeted by a very nice woman, presumably the owner, who offered us a taste of the daily stew. It was fantastic, but that’s not what we were there for. We were going to have our tacos, dammit!

A really cool feature of this place is that they have an old, creaky tortilla machine that’s constantly grinding out fresh corn tortillas. I had a good feeling as they brought the food out (complete with free rice and beans!). These tacos were loaded to the brim with meat–I got the asada, pastor and campechano…again. They were all excellent. The asada was fantastic, perfectly marinated, and perfectly complimented by the cilantro and onions. The same can be said for the campechano. The pastor was very good, but I felt it was ever-so-slightly off. Overall, though? Excellent. A- for Mercado.

1. La Guanajuatence: Ah, our winner (so far). Where do I even start? We were tipped off to this place by the outstanding Taco Smog. Once we saw the review of this place, we decided that we simply had to go. Well, to put it succinctly: it exceeded our expectations in every way.

When we arrived, our waitress came up to take our order. We ordered a couple of Negra Modelos–a nice complementary beer for Mexican food, and well-priced at only $3 a bottle! The waitress brought out chips and gestured to the salsa bar, which was lined up with eight different salsas. Naturally, we got one of each, because we simply had to taste them all. These were probably the best tortilla chips I had ever eaten–warm, fresh, adequately greasy, insanely crunch, and absolutely delicious. I preferred the salsa fresca, but kept gravitating towards the giant vat of cilantro and onions sitting behind the salsa bar. It was just so. damn. good.

We each ordered a few tacos and a tamale, too. I got the pastor, suadero, and asada. Our waitress had trouble understanding our English…which I actually took as a very, very good sign. I ended up getting chicken instead of the asada, which I was fine with. Tacos are tacos are tacos, unless they aren’t. Yeah, deal with it.

One bite into these things and I knew I was in heaven. The tortillas were very fresh and clearly made right at the restaurant. The chicken was excellent–succulent, juicy, well-marinated. It was complemented perfectly by the poblano (not sure of the pepper) salsa, which was slightly spicy but had a wonderful, smoky flavor. The suadero (brisket) was tender and just fell apart as you ate it. But then…then…the pastor. The only word I can use to describe this taco is “orgasmic.” Yeah, Jews and pork, I know–but…my GOD. The pork was seasoned perfectly and mixed in with chunks of pineapple. It had a slight char on the skin that gave it a bit of a crunch. The only thing I needed to put on it was some fresh-squeezed lime. Other than that, this was simply the best taco I have ever eaten.

We have a lot of options in Madison, but when it comes to tacos, La Guanajuatence is the indisputable king. A+.

Ethnic foods. I love cooking them, but Ethiopian always seemed to be the one that managed to escape me. Going to an Ethiopian restaurant is a blast–the food is fantastic, they use a bevvy of spices, and most importantly–you get to eat with your hands! One of the hallmarks of Ethiopian food is injera, a spongy, sourdough flatbread that you use to pick up the food with. Personally, I find it delicious, and it absorbs the flavors of the various dishes.

So, anyways–injera. Injera is made mostly out of teff, a grass-like grain that is highly nutritious. This bag? Well, it was only $8 at Whole Foods! I know, madness. After doing a massive amount of research, one thing became clear–this would not be an easy undertaking. The “quick” version of injera takes five days to make. Normally, it takes at least a week. Those of you who know me know that I have the patience of a five year old…so the decision to go for five-day injera was an easy one.

Recipe after the break!

Injera

• Teff flour
• Water
• Yeast
• Self-rising flour

Instructions for Starter

Day 1

• Ingredients
• 3/4C water (room temperature)
• 1/2C teff
• pinch of active yeast
• Directions
• Mix ingredients together in a tupperware container. Cover loosely with a lid.
• Leave mixture alone for two days. You should see it start to rise/bubble a few hours after mixing. DO NOT TOUCH IT (no matter how tempting)!

Day 3

• Add in another 1/3C flour and 1/2C water. Cover loosely with a lid and let it rise/ferment for 4 hours.

Dough

• 2C teff starter (should be everything you made)
• 2C self-rising flour
•  Directions
• Run the starter through a food processor or blender, without interruption, for 2-3 minutes. The grittiness of the mixture should be gone.
• Stir in the flour and add water until it has the consistency of pancake or crepe batter. You want something that is very thin–it should look like the picture below, bubbles and all:

• Let the batter sit for another 4-6 hours, somewhere draft-free.

Cooking the Injera!

• So, for this step, you’ll want a giant pan, a couple of plates, and some wax paper.
• One plate is for cooling and another is for placing the cooled injera on. The wax paper goes between each one.
• Heat the pan up for a few minutes until it’s super hot. Ladle out a good amount of the batter and spread it around the pan, almost like you were making an omelet. It should be pretty thin.
• Let is cook. You’ll start seeing bubbles form on the batter. Don’t remove it until they’ve all burst and it’s cooked through.

• Once the injera is done cooking, place it on a plate to cool for a minute or so. Once the minute is up, you can start ladling the next piece of injera (while the previous one cools).
• When the newest piece of injera is done cooking, move the cooling one to the “storage” plate and the other piece to cool. Repeat the process until everything is cooked.

•  That’s it! Once it fully cools, you should be able to easily roll it up, which is exactly how they serve it in restaurants! Enjoy!!

Last week, I posted about an awesome no-knead bread recipe that was incredibly easy and produced amazing results. Like I usually do, I posted it to one of my favorite websites on the internet–reddit. Specifically, I posted it to “r/cooking“, a portion of the site dedicated, not surprisingly, to cooking. Well, to say the least, my post did well. Very well. It received a ton of “upvotes” from reddit users, and then caught fire on some website called Pinterest. My website had barely been breaking double-digits in hits…until this post. Actually, I’ll just let the statistics do the talking:

On the day of my bread post, I received 3,008 hits. Now, for someone with a tiny blog that barely updates it, that’s an incredible number of visitors. As a sidenote, I hope everyone enjoyed making the bread!

Anyways, I digress–to show my gratitude to reddit for all of the hits, I decided that I’d make something. No, let me rephrase that: I decide that they could tell me what I should make. So, naturally, I posted again. The result? Well, the top comment suggested something from an underrepresented country. I asked, “What about Ethiopian food?” The response was positive.

So, where am I going with this? Next Wednesday, I’ll embark on Part 2 of this bizarre mini-series–my quest to make Ethiopian food, as requested by reddit. I’ll start by making the sourdough starter for injera, the excellent Ethiopian flatbread that accompanies most dishes. Then, for part 3, I’ll make the main course. Hell, maybe I’ll make two main courses. The only way to find out will be to check out the site!