Friday, 10 July 2015

Quick Recipe : Breakfast Burrito

(Note: Those who want to skip my rant can scroll down to the recipe directly)

The only thing that has the power to make me smile in the morning (even before my tea) is a hearty, delightful breakfast. I love my waffles, pancakes and parfaits but all of that comes after an “eggcelent”, “eggstravagant”, and “eggsolutely” “eggceptional” meal.
(Are you as impressed with my creativity as I am?)

Breakfast Burritos -  a favorite, yet personal and touchy dish. I get why the question “What is the perfect breakfast burrito” can stir up a lot of disagreements and conflicts. To some, it is complete with beans, sour cream and Spanish rice and to some, only the eggs can light fires!

In my opinion, a perfect breakfast burrito is the one you dream about and hope for the dream to never end. It is the one you drool for as soon as you wake up, oh, it is truly the one, which performs a synchronized ballet in your mouth with that moist, fluffy texture.

I’m lucky to be surrounded around those who care for my creepy feelings for a “breakfast burrito”. As I’ve mentioned before, I come from a line of foodies, professional chefs and home chefs – in spotlight here are my sister and brother-in-law.
These two are always on some kind of a cooking spree or a food mission. From healthy to outta control, this duo really knows their palates; in fact, my sister once had her own food recipe blog: “Never Stop Eating” – some of the recipes in here are quite amazing!

Anyhow, in order to cater to my emergency, eggly hunger pangs, my brother-in-law fixed up this super easy breakfast burrito in a span of only 11 minutes! As simple as it may look to you, this was one of the most delicious and melt-in-the-mouth egg whips I’ve ever had.
Surprise! Surprise! We have the recipe here too – woo hoo!




Watch the video (smile if you love the music):



Breakfast Burrito.

Yield: 1 portion

Ingredient
Amount (U.S)
Preparation
Eggs
2

Milk
2 Tsp (per egg)

Basil
6-8 large leaves
Cheddar Cheese
¼ Cup + 2 Tbsp
Shredded
Turkey Bacon (or any other type of bacon)
1
Pan-fried or Baked
Salsa
2 Tbsp

Butter
1 Tbsp

Flour Tortilla
1


Procedure:
  •   Melt butter on very low heat.
  • Beat the eggs lightly with milk and pour into the pan
  • Stir the eggs very (very) slowly till they begin to appear fluffy. Note: Don’t “scramble” the eggs – the keyword is ‘stir’
  • Add the ribboned basil leaves and mix in with the eggs.
  • Put the pan aside and add ¼ cup cheddar cheese. Stir a little and bring it back to the stove.
  • Once the eggs seem fluffy enough, keep them aside
  • Heat the tortilla on a pan
Assemble:
  1. Lay the tortilla flat on a plate
  2. Spoon the prepared eggs down the center of the tortilla
  3. Add the turkey bacon and salsa on the sides of the egg and sprinkle with approximately 2 tablespoons of the shredded cheese
  4. Fold the bottom of the tortilla first, followed by each side to make it a wrap
  5. Devour, moan, get emotional, smile, die – whatever the sentiment projects at the time and most importantly, thank God!

The best part about the recipe is that it can be completely modified to your preferences. The eggs can include tomatoes, more greens, seasoning or salt.
As a matter of fact, you can really play around with the filling – you can add refried beans, cilantro, more bacon, different cheeses, and sour cream!

Breakfast Burritos – FTW.

Wednesday, 8 July 2015

Chef's Secret Recipe : Spaghetti Bolognese

A very belated Ramadan Kareem (…or "Ramzan Mubarak", before I get stoned by the very emotional lot who find the ‘D’ very offensive – lol)! I’ve been missing in action again but am back with something you will definitely love me for.

Spaghetti Bolognese is a very tricky dish to be perfect. It can either be too saucy or too dry, the flavor can either be too “ketchup-ish” or very sour but it’s one of my favorite dishes of all times!

My awesome brother Chef Fahd Khan, who happens to work at Down House Houston, took out his precious time to make me the yummiest Spaghetti Bolognese I’ve ever had. The best part is, it has fine restaurant taste that could quickly and easily be made right in your own kitchen!
(I begged and pleaded him to let me share this because he’s usually very mysterious about all his recipes)

By the way, I tried this for Iftar + Dinner - absolutely filling and delicious!

Here it is – Chef Fahd’s secret recipe, in his own words, for his special Bolognese sauce:



Watch the video:  


Yield: 8 Portions

Ingredient
Amount (U.S)
Amount (Met)
Preparation
Vegetable oil
3 Tbsp
45 g

Onions
2 oz
60 g
Small Dice
Garlic
2 oz
60 g
Small Dice
Celery
2 oz
60 g
Small Dice
Tomato Paste
3 Tbsp
45 g

Canned Whole Tomatoes
2 Cans
800 g
Juice Strained and reserved, Tomatoes chopped
Dried Oregano
2 Tbsp
30 g

Red Wine Vinegar
½ Cup
120 g

Fresh Tomatoes
1 lb
500 g
Chopped
Minced Beef
1 ½ lb
500 g


Procedure:
  •   Heat pan on medium high heat and add oil, onions, garlic and celery. Cook till translucent.
  •  Reduce heat to medium, add Tomato Paste, stir and cook for 2 minutes
  • Add the dried Oregano and Vinegar and stir for 1 minute until slightly reduced.
  • Add the reserved juice of the canned tomatoes and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to low add the canned tomatoes, cover and let cook for 15 Minutes
  • Add the fresh tomatoes and minced beef stir till evenly coated liquid.
  • Cover and let cook for 5 Minutes or till meat is just cooked
  •  Season to taste
Plating:
  •  Serve over boiled Pasta

Enjoy this brilliant and super easy way to make fine-dine Spaghetti Bolognese and do share your experiences with us!

Instagram: @hangrywords

Tuesday, 16 June 2015

Je t'aime, mon Café Rolle

Sometimes you just want to be able to be in a completely different setting or place than the one you are in, for a short period. I know that I wake up many mornings and say, “I want to go to Timbuktu!” (Side note: If this city gained one penny for every time it was mentioned in a random reference, it would’ve been led by a Sheikh), or “I want to be in Madagascar”.

This particular day I woke up feeling a little classy and raised my eyebrow to “I need to go to Paris”. I’ve always had a dramatic vision of the city and loved the idea of it in my head, but unfortunately never had the chance to actually go visit; maybe on my honeymoon – eligible bachelor, wherever you are, are you listening? Hello?

Anyhow, the weather was so lovely that evening, and we decided to head out to Sacramento for a good meal. Through her research, my sister had found a small French café that was mentioned in Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S, located in East Sacramento.



We arrived at Café Rolle without any difficulties and noticed that it was, indeed, quite a small yet, cozy café.  As you walk in, there’s the sweetest chorus of “Bonjour!” and you are led to your table.
The café is decorated with bright walls that are covered with frames, pictures and paintings. I absolutely enjoyed the open kitchen with an open window, where the chef flashes an adorable smile every so often! 
Click here to get a feel of the restaurant.


Chef William Rolle sneaking me a smile! :D


This restaurant is owned by Chef William Rolle who is there to bring his family recipes that date back to his father in Lyon, France, right to our palates. You can feel the homeliness in the friendly, family-oriented atmosphere.
This restaurant actually featured in Diner’s, Dine-ins & Dives with Guy Fieri. Click here to see (05:36 onwards).
Some of Chef William Rolle’s recipes can be found at foodnetwork.com too.


Coming back, this ‘sandwicherie’ has a super to-the-point menu that consists of small plates, salads and sandwiches! A crazy sandwich galore indeed!

Our server came to brief us up with the bestsellers and honestly, between us, I think his voice was one of the hot sellers! He goes by the name of Nico Chandler, very assistive and friendly and oh God when he spoke, my sister had to ask him if he sang!! Turns out he was a singer, an opera singer if I’m not mistaken. Really appreciated his highly ambitious attitude towards life.

Anyway, for starters we ordered their Chilled Salmon served with fresh dill and crème fraiche, Chilled Foie Gras, and Chicken Breast Pate Plate.

As told to us by Nico, their salmon was voted best in Sacramento since 13 years! I’m not a salmon eater, at all, and I’ve declared myself as psychologically allergic to it but this fresh slab of fish did NOT get me gagging! Really flavorful and definitely the best-looking salmon I’ve ever seen. Also, it’s the chef’s special family recipe and we all know that everything world-class is always found in a home kitchen!
I like pates. They’re tricky to get right, and clearly Café Rolle figured the trick out. I loved it here.

Left: Chicken Breast Pate Right: Chilled Salmon with creme faiche
It was my first time having Foie Gras, and am certainly glad I spent the special moment here. If I were to not get into its technicalities, it was really just a God-sent piece from heaven that had the ability to melt in your mouth and tear your eyes up out of sheer gratitude for the man who created it. Basically.

Chilled Foie Gras
These were just starters, by the way, the “small plates”. Our main course consisted of Croque Lamb Monsieur, Hot Prawns Sandwich, and the Croque Chicken Monsieur.
After the arrival of my Hot Prawns Sandwich, Chef William Rolle himself brought the other two sandwiches and with his sweet, contagious smile prompted us to “bon appetit”.

Croque Lamb Monsieur takes meat sandwiches to a whole different level. It’s not your average “roast lamb” sort of sandwich. You can taste the high quality meat with its fresh, moist taste surrounded with a generous touch of fat – remarkable!
The dressing on their Spring Mixed Salad served on the side was fantastic, by the way! They seem to nail everything.



Croque Lamb Monsieur
The Croque Chicken Monsieur was investigated thoroughly by each of us because there was no way a chicken breast fillet could be that moist and tender. But what can we say? It was just that beautifully cooked! There’s a hint of pesto that tickles the taste buds and definitely makes you pray for the sandwich to not end. Ever. (Chicken sandwiches aren’t something I usually crave since they’re always available everywhere in clichéd forms but this – I, damn well, crave right now!)

Croque Chicken Monsieur
Saved this one for the last because HOLY COW IT RAISED MY SANDWICH STANDARD TO A COMPLETELY UNREACHABLE LEVEL!
The Hot Prawns Sandwich is like nothing I’ve ever had in my entire life. I’ve forgotten to mention that their breads are absolutely fantastic and the temperature that they serve their hot sandwiches at is solely perfection.
Every devoured bite experiences layers of flavors.
You chew into a hot quality bread, feel a piece of a perfectly cooked tiger prawn make its way through followed by oozing Gruyere cheese, and this entire episode of a bite is constantly splashed with flavors of pesto that does not overpower any other flavor. If that doesn’t sound good, what in the world does? Totally worth the long, descriptive sentence.
I could go on about this sandwich but I suggest you head to Café Rolle to discover the feeling.

Hot Prawns Sandwich

We concluded the meal with the best Toffee Crème Brulee, rather one of the best Crème Brulee’s I have ever had. This one you can judge for yourself below!

Toffee Creme Brulee
I hope this video loads for you. If not, CLICK HERE to get to my instagram account
(Psst, if you listen close enough you will hear Nico's voice saying "you're welcome" right at the end... sigh)

After a beautiful meal, I had no other option but to go compliment the chef through his adorable window and ask for his name to remember this experience forever.
To my pleasant surprise, this friendly chef not only gave me a virtual autograph on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4, but also allowed me to come into the kitchen and take a picture with the Café Rolle crew, AND I got to have a selfie with him too!!!!

Team Cafe Rolle 
Selfie with Chef William Rolle <3 <3
The day & age of virtual signatures!

Thank you Mr. William Rolle, for one of the best experiences I’ve ever had and for being one of the most humble chefs ever!