Tasty Treat - Things I Eat!

Mango, Black Bean and Tomato Salad

I went over to a friend's house tonight for a small group dinner and he was making chicken tacos.  I said I would bring a salad, so I had to think of something that would go with what he was making.. I had also just bought some jalapeños that morning at the SaMo farmer's market and had some limes in my fridge, so I was hoping to find a way to use some of those, too!  Anyway, after poking around on the 'net for a while I found this recipe on the food network site that satisfied all the requirements.  It was super easy to make, really fresh tasting, and uses my favorite fruit of all time.. MANGO.  <3

Make this recipe!

KBBQ at home

Last night my friend was like 'hey, come over for dinner, we're going to make Korean BBQ.'  Super yum. 

They got a plate for their grill so everything wouldn't fall through, and we grilled up short ribs and spicy pork, and my friend made side dishes of squash, spinach, and grilled mushrooms and garlic.  We had bean sprouts, kimchi, and of course rice to go with everything.

They also found this awesome 1600mL bottle of Hite which went down easy with the kbbq.  Who knew it came in huge bottles like that?  Also, we did a comparison between a $3 and $11 bottle of soju.. the $11 bottle was definitely better but I think we all thought the $3 bottle was fine.

I saved one of the bones from the shortribs and gave it to my dog after I got home.. the speed with which it disappeared was a little alarming!

Roasted Quail with Israeli Couscous, black mission figs, and bacon vinaigrette

So I get a regular email from the Domaine Chandon people asking me to buy their wine and also sending party tips, recipes, etc.  I stay subscribed to the winery's newsletter for a few reasons - they have a wonderful Michelin starred restaurant, Etoile, on their grounds which I have enjoyed eating at several times, and they also hosted the Cyclocross National Championships many years ago (I have semi-fond memories of a horrible downpour and winery mud up to my ankles during the run-up section of the course).  Recently a recipe in their entertaining section for roasted quail caught my eye and I decided to give it a try. 

It turned out to be relatively easy to make and pretty impressive looking.  Check out my awesome results!  Yes.. I can hardly believe I made this beautiful thing.

 

Ok, now the likes and dislikes. 

First - what the hell, who debones quail?  I failed miserably at this, and ended up just turning them a fair bit to get the nice crust on the outside.  I forgot to hack off the wings but I don't think it looks too ugly despite this fact.  I partially deboned one of them which did not get his picture taken for good reason.  I guess next time I might see if I can find pre-deboned quail?  I don't like the bones anyway.

Next, I thought the flavor of the couscous needed a little something more.  I think maybe more arugula would have been nice, and probably some kind of herb to kick it up a bit - it was on the bland (if bacony) side.

Last, this recipe looks almost nothing like the picture on their website - the picture on there has some dark sauce that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the recipe, and also uses fresh figs where the recipe clearly calls for dried.

Regardless, this one is a keeper.  I would definitely make it again - it's damn impressive, and the flavor was pretty good too.  If you make this, do NOT omit the orange zest, it really makes the dish!  hmm actually that makes me think.. I wonder if a little orange juice or lemon juice in the couscous would have perked it up a bit..