Colcannon recipe

[kimberlite8]

I threw a dinner party last night to usher in the holiday season. I love to eat, cook, entertain, all those good things. I throw dinner parties about once every two weeks and even hosted and catered my best friend's wedding.

On Sunday, I made the following, somewhat Christmasy themed meal:
 

• A beautifully lacquered tangerine glazed ham
• Mac and

Comments

[kimberlite8]

you would be surprised at the pleasure a good cafe sandwich brings after years of boring ones - when I took my husband to Australia he was constantly exclaiming THIS IS THE BEST SANDWICH EVER

What an insightful point. Its the everyday stuff we miss. I was in Japan recently (OMG, the food there is fantastic - and the best baked goods ever, I don't think even the French can outdo Japanese French baked goods). But they don't have a salad eating culture. I don't love salads, but its the start of most American meals. I really desperately craved one towards the end: dark, lefty arugula (do Aussies' call that rocket, idk), with a balsamic vinaigrette. In Japan its just tiny plates of pickles or should you go seeking for it, a plate of bland iceburg.

I would love to read your posts about cooking in India!

My Indian coworkers do love to go on (and on!) about the excellent mangoes they have there. As a mango lover, it leaves me wistfully yearning for the ideal mango that only exists on distant foreign shores. I stiffed a candle once that billed itself as "sweaty mango." I think my lip trembled from the intensity of my unfulfilled desire :P

[onborrowedwings]

Oooo yes the mangos! The mangos over here are utterly awesome and really the only redeeming feature of sweltering hot summers. People go mad for them, buy entire crates to take home. We have mango trees in our yard so there's generally little boys throwing stones at them from the road to try and make them fall so they can grab them. Ah, there's nothing so delicious as a mango and we have many, many types here, Alphonso being the most famous!

One day soon I'll write that blog about cooking :)

And yes, we do call it rocket, though fancier people refer to it as arugula ;)

[kimberlite8]

Arghh! You have my mouth watering. I've never had an Alphonso mango, but do love the Champagne and Manila varieties which have a similar golden skin and soft, sweet/tart flesh. No wonder those neighborhood boys throw rocks hoping for a fallen mango, its worth some petty crime.

And yes, we do call it rocket, though fancier people refer to it as arugula ;)

What is it about arugula/rocket and its association with fancy pants people? Obama got into a food gaffe called "arugula-gate" when he complained about the price of arugula as a sign of soaring food prices. Arugula's not any more expensive than spinach in my supermarket, but it does have the whiff of elitism.

Btw, I had this for lunch on Wednesday at my local Indian vegetarian cafeteria - pretty sure its gobi manchurian rather than pakoras (and next to it... chowmein)