I don't know what got into me today...but while shopping at Border's I got into a mental tug of war trying to decide whether I should buy the Barefoot Contessa cookbook or Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess. I wound up buying neither and going for a book that has a lot of great recipes but also a lot of instructional tips on cooking.

In the end, I think I will probably buy the B.C. book first and then Nigella's book because it's more dinner and hors d'hoeuvres and Nigella's book is geared toward comfort food. I'll always lean toward a Chicken Parmigiana over a great cake.

After that - I came home and decided to whip up some deviled eggs, but not just your boring normal deviled eggs. Instead of sticking with the usual recipe that has eggs, mayo, mustard, paprika and salt/pepper - I added some chopped green onion, celery and a bit of roasted red pepper. It's a simple addition to an easy recipe that makes it even yummier. One more thing, when cracking the eggs to take off the shell - don't crack too hard or else the egg white will have a distorted shape.

Here are my eggs. (Ha.) Complete with styrofoam china.
(One of the downsides of crunchy deviled eggs is you can't really get those gorgeously coiffed peaks you get with creamy deviled eggs but that's the price you pay for better taste. ;)

In other news, I still haven't had time to make my crab cakes yet.
I'm also dying to make something like a chicken draped in prosciutto (or bacon?) with a good cream sauce. I have no idea why. It sounds super rich and decadent and that's how I like to eat.

I have to say, it is a lot of fun being the little pixie in the cookbook aisle.

Ina Garten (What a great name! I love her. Her show is on the Food Network)

Nigella (Food Goddess. Gorgeous, smart and can cook...my aspirational model. ;)

Posted by Tatiana at 08:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've always had a passion for cooking but only recently started exploring it more regularly. This may sound odd but one of my favorite stress-relieving activities is simply walking through a beautiful market (and looking at all the different spices, eyeing fancy wines, daydreaming about exotic dishes, thumbing through cooking magazines). I really love walking by myself through a market with a basket full of exotic items. Bristol Farms is my haven.

So, I am now in my "cooking" phase. Mind you, it's not as fun as it used to be because I don't really have anyone to cook for i.e. my propensity to use mint sprigs as garnish seems unnecessary.

I've actually started soliciting friends to let me cook at their place. Seriously! I've said, "I'll make dinner you...er...eat it and give me alcohol." I'm actually "catering" a friend's birthday/dinner party that way later this month.

This week I plan on making crab cakes with red pepper mayonnaise. I'm also going to experiment with long-grain rice that has a few cranberries in it.

Earlier this week, I sat at a cafe with friends circling recipes I want to make from the new issue of Cooking Light. They laughed (little do they know my obsession with The Barefoot Contessa)and said I should open a restaurant. And to that I say NO...

But I will continue to daydream about a big stainless steel kitchen of my own and dinner parties with fabulously garnished plates (and maybe a red chandelier).

(I don't normally like such contemporary design, but this one is nice)

Posted by Tatiana at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I told my mom recently that I wish we were Indian instead of Brazilian so I could have been raised with nightly dishes of Chicken Makhani and Palak Paneer instead of rice and beans...

In the meantime, I hit up every Indian joint Southern California has to offer.

All Around Best Indian

I've been to high end fancy wanna be Indian restaurants from the former hit Electric Lotus on Los Feliz (which has since closed) to the more bougie Tantra in Silverlake to little mom and pop joints...and the best non-veggie Indian restaurant I've ever been to (and endorsed by a lot of Indians I know) is The India Restaurant in Little India (which is Pioneer Blvd. in Artesia, California...just a few exits up the 605 from Long Beach)

The India Restaurant

They have an $8.95 all-you-can-eat buffet (most Indian restaurants have all-you-can-eat lunch)
but their dinner combinations are what make this restaurant truly phenomenal. Before you're there,
ladies, feel to stop in upstairs at Ziba Beauty. The famed beauty spot that has catered to stars such
as Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Aniston, Liv Tyler, Naomi Campbell etc. I've been getting my brows threaded
there for four years.

Best Non-Veggie On a Budget Indian

Just down the street from the India Restaurant you can get a decent lunch from this walk up.

The Little India Grilll
18383 Pioneer Blvd California (CA)
Phone: (562) 924 7569

Best Vegetarian Indian Restaurant

Paru's Restaurant
on Sunset
Los Angeles

It's picturesque and the portions are HUGE.

Best Vegetarian On A Budget Indian

India Sweets and Spices
9409 Venice Blvd.
Culver City, 90230
(310)837-5286

This humble walk up boasts combo plates from $3.50 to $4.50.
Chai tea? Oh, only .50 cents.

Posted by Tatiana at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)