The cover story

Posted by Kathryn @ 8:23 AM

Restaurants in Pittsburgh are hard to read. The exterior does not always give you a good read on how good the food is. I moved here thinking that this would be a great place to check out some dives and get cheap eats. I have found several good dives and several expensive and decent restaurants. For every good dive though, there are many many that are no good at all.

So the other night I was in Bloomfield at the Crazy Mocha picking up a 6 pack of tickets for the 3 Rivers Film Festival. I was in the mood to not cook even though I had a set of meatballs ready and waiting in the fridge. My husband suggested we eat out and I remember there was a local joint that I really wanted to check out, Thai Cuisine.

What a name. No pretty descriptions it just cuts straight to the point. With a name like that you don't know if you are going to get the best or the worst food of your entire life. It is going to be an adventure. So we walk in to the unassuming but clean restaurant and order some appetizers. The place is BYOB but we didn't bring anything along that night, so we stuck to water which was frequently refilled.

I started with Tom Kha Gai and my husband picked out golden pockets which were similar to wontons but with a curried potato filling. My soup was excellent although light on the meat.

I then ordered Panang vegetables with tofu (the watiress asked how hot I wanted it on a scale of 1-10) and Ian ordered Cashew Nut Chicken. At 6 the Panang was spicy but not blistering. The tofu was very soft, not my top choice, but the vegetables were overflowing and I had plenty of curry for two meals. I was afraid the Cashew Nut chicken would be like bad chinese take out, but fresh crisp vegetables dominated the dish and the chicken was nice cuts without grizzle. All in all it was a lovely meal. Not super cheap, but very reasonable and good flavors. I will be back!

Getting to the Root of It

Posted by Kathryn @ 8:10 AM

Recently I haven't committed to writing and cooking as much as I would like. It is amazing how easy it is to get wrapped up in home improvement projects and work. In addition, I frequently feel constrained by what I receive in my CSA basket each week. If I don't cook with that food this week, then it will go bad and I will feel guilty for wasting such good produce. So after a few weeks of prodigious quantities of lettuce, carrots and beets hogging my refrigerator space and menu time, I decided to try something new.

After a bit of research I learned that beets, which I love, are generally relegated to salads or roasted dishes. I felt the need to break out of that rut and found the ideal recipe in Beet Latkes!

I love latkes, croquettes, fritters, pakoras, if the food is fried, I will probably give it a chance. Before you know it, I dragged out my food processor, peeled some beets and blitzed them. This recipe goes pretty quickly, but makes way too much food for 2 people. The flavor is excellent, but getting a nice crunch requires quite a bit of time in the pan.

Cumin-Scented Beet Latkes courtesy of Bon Appétit

Yield: Makes about 15
ingredients
6 cups coarsely shredded peeled beets (about 6 medium)
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 large eggs, beaten to blend

oil (for frying)

Place beets in large bowl; press with paper towels to absorb any moisture. In another large bowl, whisk flour and next 5 ingredients. Mix in beets, then eggs.

Pour enough oil into large skillet to cover bottom; heat over medium heat. Working in batches, drop beet mixture by 1/4 cupfuls into skillet; spread to 3 1/2-inch rounds. Fry until golden, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer latkes to baking sheet.

I served with sour cream spiked with a bit of chopped cilantro. It was nice but I think the apple jalepeno salsa recipe recommended would bring really good kick to the dish. I am certainly planning on using this recipe as a platform. I think I am going to try mixing in some carrot or potato next time. Potato for crunch and Carrot because I think the color combo screams fall. So much fun!