making cornbread in doha

When I decided to make our favorite Mexican soup earlier this week, I thought it would be easy to make a side of cornbread. However, this was before I realized that there is no such thing as cornmeal in Doha. Not yellow cornmeal, not white cornmeal, not stone-ground cornmeal... As I stood in the Mega Mart baking aisle, looking dolefully at a shelf packed with boxes and bags yet bereft of cornmeal, an employee advised me to buy the polenta. Now many of you may immediately say, "Yes, of course! The polenta!" But please remember that I am a Yankee. Born and raised in New England, I didn't have okra and collard greens until last year , and I certainly have never attempted to make anything with polenta. But the employee assured me it was "in between cornmeal and grits" and that I could use it for cornbread. And what do you know -- he was right! Various online discussions and recipes confirm that polenta can be, more or less, interchanged with cornmeal (see here, here, here, and here). It's just a bit coarser than cornmeal, and, some would say, gives a more traditional taste.

I successfully made some polenta-based cornbread for our soup, with enough left over to compliment our shiitake mushroom quesadillas... yum!


Buttermilk Polenta Cornbread

Ingredients:
1 c polenta
1/3 c all-purpose flour
1/4 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 egg, beaten
1 c buttermilk
3 T butter
1 T sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat the butter, then add the sugar, then the egg, and last the buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well. Pour into greased, heated 8-inch iron skillet (or baking pan). Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned.


Recipe modified from Diana Rattray, "Buttermilk Cornbread," About.com.

the moevenpick buffet

Somehow I have managed to omit an entry about our new favorite restaurant -- the Seasons Restaurant buffet at the "old" Moevenpick (since Doha has two of them, of course). The two men, featured above, are the ones responsible for introducing Nick and I to the wonders of the all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink buffets, with a different theme every night of the week. We went originally to what I now consider the best night -- the 170-riyal steak-and-wine smorgasbord on Friday nights -- and since then have also checked out the fish-and-seafood-and-wine (240 riyals) on Thursday nights and the Asian buffet (120, no wine!) on Wednesday nights.

My idea of a perfect night out now involves taking a cab to the Moevenpick on Friday night at around 7 pm, and staying until they kick us out at 11 pm, with Leo pleading for "just one more round of wine!"

So it was only appropriate that we girls checked out the Asian buffet for our girls' night out. The buffet was featured as all the tastes of Asia -- from Chinese to Japanese to Mongolian to Indian, and everything in between. I really liked the grated carrots with peanut-sesame sauce, the eggplant salad, the veggie spring rolls, the Peking duck, the cashew chicken, and the green lamb curry (although this was a bit spicy!). For dessert, the crepes were very good, as were the fried banana fritters (in a fried crepe), along with fresh watermelon slices...

We ladies were also lucky enough to get the recipe for Inna's famous cold Russian soup. Let me try to paraphrase her description:

"So first you have some beef, and then some other vegetables, you know, like green beans, and carrots, and potatoes, and so you have this salad, and then you pour a soft drink over it. No, not a soda, a soft drink, like what you order in bottles at the store, but not bubbles, it's more like a fermented tea made of bread."

Well, I think you had to be there. But nevertheless, it turns out that Inna wasn't pulling our leg -- check out the Wikipedia entries for okroshka (and its "so-called bread drink," kvass). Now figuring out how to make this is another story... :)

a huge day of cooking

A huge day of cooking and baking today!

For dinner, I made the thai salmon and roasted sesame asparagus, which was just as good as remembered, with a new side dish: gingered shiitake mushrooms (courtesy of our recent pilgrimage to the W's Market). Shiitakes are our new favorite thing (up there with fennel) and seem to give everything an amazing flavor. This side was easy to make and provided another nice blast of flavor to the overall dish.

I also made the Mark Bittman Mexican chocolate tofu pudding recipe -- and before you knock it, please remember that Mexican desserts often have surprising combinations but delicious results! In the future, I would reduce the amount of water by a bit to make the pudding a little thicker; and I would wait to melt the chocolate until it's time to add it to the blender, as I think I made the pudding a bit grainy by melting and then waiting to use the chocolate. Yet although Nick (surprisingly) did not love this pudding, I really liked it, and so did Jen -- whose health-conscious cooking I had immediately thought of when making this. I loved the Mexican spices, largely the cinnamon and the chili powder -- it gives a real kick at the end! I also thought of my kosher friends, who would probably love this dairy-free dessert option for after a meat meal. And the fact that there's tofu in there makes it easier to pretend it's good for you!

And finally, I made Bree's mom's famous banana bread recipe. While savoring our banana cakes at the W, both Whalin and Bree had mentioned that they had fabulous recipes for banana bread. As Bree had emailed me hers first, I decided it would get the first trial run -- and according to several taste-testers, myself included, it was a wonderfully delicious rendition. :)


Gingered Shiitake Mushrooms

Note: This recipe is for a beef fillet topped with a ginger-shiitake "brown butter" (seasoned with mirin and sake). If I'm ever cooking beef, it could be nice to try making the whole sauce, and not just the part I included here...

Ingredients:
50 g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely minced root ginger
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
75g thinly sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and ginger, cook gently until fragrant and translucent, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Add the shiitake mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

Recipe modified from Ryan Nomura, "Beef Fillet with Ginger-Shiitake Brown Butter," Allrecipes.com.


Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding

Ingredients:
3/4 c sugar
1 lb soft silken tofu
8 oz high-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted (I used the microwave method)
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t chili powder, or more to taste
chocolate shavings (optional)

In a small pot, combine sugar with 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.

Put all ingredients except for chocolate shavings in a blender and purée until completely smooth, stopping machine to scrape down its sides if necessary. Divide among 4 to 6 ramekins and chill for at least 30 minutes. If you like, garnish with chocolate shavings before serving.


Recipe from Mark Bittman, "Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding," Minimalist, NYTimes.com.


Bree's Mom's Heathful Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 c whole wheat flour or all purpose flour

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/3 c salad oil (canola or vegetable)

2/3 c brown sugar (light or dark)

2 eggs

2 bananas (ripe or over-ripe)

3 T sour cream or buttermilk (I used sour cream)

optional: nuts or chocolate chips (I added 1/2 c milk chocolate chips, mmmm)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Measure flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl. Place salad oil, brown sugar, eggs, bananas, and cream or buttermilk in another bowl and blend well (you can use a hand mixer or a blender). Pour blended ingredients over dry ingredients and mix well with mixer.

Pour batter into 2 small or 1 large well greased loaf pan (can use Pam spray). Bake until done, from 30 to 45 minutes, depending on pan size.

baby shower pasta salad

Today was Paige's baby shower, with a baby books theme! What a great theme. Paige got so many awesome books for their new baby library (and surprisingly, not many repeats at all), and it was such a nice, wholesome feeling for a shower -- baby books are not expensive (most are under $10) and each gift is symbolic of another opportunity for mommy/daddy and baby to spend time together, reading and learning lessons about life, family, and friendship, plus having some fun as well (I was especially pleased with my choice of Dr. Seuss's "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?").

Besides the fun of celebrating together, there was also the fun of eating together. The shower was a potluck, with everyone bringing something to share. I thought about what I might want to eat at a late-morning/early-afternoon weekend affair, and hit upon the perfect dish: pasta salad! I really like how this recipe turned out, and the biggest compliment was that Paige took home all the leftover pasta salad at the end of the brunch. :)


Bow-Tie Pasta Salad with Fennel, Bresaola, and Parmesan

Note: Food & Wine says, "A tangy lemon dressing makes this main-course salad especially refreshing, and the only thing you have to cook is the pasta. If you find a fennel bulb with the dark-green feathery tops still on, chop some of them and toss into the pasta. Have some fun with this dish and try a bottle of the sparkling Italian wine Prosecco. It should go nicely with the fennel."

Ingredients:
1 lb bow-tie pasta
1/2 lb - 1 lb fennel bulbs, sliced as thin as possible (I sliced up 1 large fennel bulb, weighing 1/2 lb, getting 2 c sliced fennel)
1/2 c olive oil
4 T lemon juice
1/2 t salt
1 t fresh-ground black pepper
1/2 lb thin-sliced bresaola, cut into strips (this recipe calls for proscuitto, but when in Doha...)
1/2-lb chunk Parmesan cheese, giving about 2 c Parmesan peels (from veggie peeler)
extra olive oil and lemon juice to make the salad moist, as needed

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the bow ties until just done, about 15 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain thoroughly.

Meanwhile, prepare the fennel. The easiest way to slice fennel is to cut off the stalks, cut the bulb in half from the top through the root end, lay each half flat-side down, and slice. For that matter, this is a good technique for almost any round fruit or vegetable.

In a large bowl, toss together the bow ties, fennel, oil, lemon juice, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper. Add the bresaola and toss again.

Check for moistness and add more olive oil and lemon juice, as needed, until the pasta salad is the desired consistency.

To serve, mound the salad on plates. Top with strips of Parmesan shaved from the chunk of cheese with a vegetable peeler. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper over the cheese.


Recipe modified from Food & Wine, "Bow-Tie Salad with Fennel, Proscuitto, and Parmesan," January 1996.

sweet potato and pumpkin... and chocolate?!?

Tonight we went to Paloma to celebrate one of Nick's co-workers' birthdays -- let me just note that Patricia didn't act like a girl turning thirty, as she got up on stage with the dancing singers and led the whole band in a Spanish song!

Besides the joy of sitting directly next to the band once again (at least it gave us front-row seats for Patricia's star turn), I made a discovery that has completely changed my opinion of Paloma. This discovery is an amazing Mexican dessert called -- I think -- "choco bruni." (I did try to google this to confirm my memory, but the search results were inconclusive.) Basically, this bowl of heaven consists of fried sticks of sweet potato and chunks of buttery baked pumpkin, sitting on a thick layer of warm dark chocolate cake (so dense it's almost brownie-like), and topped with chocolate ice cream and generous shavings of chocolate. Uh, yes please! It was the perfect compromise between dinner and dessert... and surprisingly to all at the table, it tasted amazing (even Nick, the ever-skeptical, admitted it was excellent).

The presence of this dessert on the menu has made me actually look forward to the next time I go to Paloma -- even if I am once again sitting next to the band. :)

girls' night at the w

Ah... another lovely girls' night dinner! This time we hit up the new W (Whatever/Whenever) Hotel and its Market, one of Chef Jean-Georges Vongericthen's concept restaurants (and his first foray into the Middle East!).

As we got there a little early, we got to do a tour of the rooms. Depending on the level, they are called "fabulous," "spectacular," or "wow" -- and that pretty much sums it up. I loved all the circular designs to the furniture and decor, as well as the neat little touches like an old-fashioned typewriter to mess around on. The entire hotel is lavishly decorated, including the restaurants, which made dining there even more fun!

Overall, dinner was great. Some highlights:
- The seared tuna roll appetizer wasn't anything special, but the cilantro paste accompanying it was really unique and delicious; Mia guessed it was made of cilantro, avocado, olive oil, and salt...
- The arugula salad with fennel and parmesan was great (of course! fennel's my new favorite vegetable!)
- The scallops appetizer was pretty good, as were the calamari (with an interesting dipping sauce)
- For the main course, Whalin and I split the sirloin with gingered shiitakes (YUM!) and white asparagus (WHY?), along with the shrimp avocado salad, which was very nice -- scrumptious and filling -- and much better than comparable dishes I've had at the Intercon (at the pool or at Paloma)
- As for drinks, my glass of chenin blanc was fine, but the real highlight of the evening was Bree's vodka drink with a "lemon thyme syrup" -- we guessed it included some form of concentrated lemonade with a generous sprig of thyme sitting in the glass. It was amazing.
- For dessert, although there were several delectable choices on the menu, we ended up ordering three of the same thing to share between us -- the banana cake with crunchy praline ice cream -- and they were devoured within a minute once delivered to our table. Wow -- like the best banana bread you've ever had!

The best thing about the Market, in my mind, was the service. Unlike some other places (Intercon, Ramada), where you feel like the service is haphazard and flaky, like Forrest Gump's box o' chocolates, here at the W's Market, you really felt like you were getting your money's worth in five-star service. Because of how soothing the service was, I would definitely come back here for a special occasion or a romantic dinner, as it helps to provide the perfect atmosphere for enjoyment and relaxation.

Just one word of advice: Check your receipt before you leave -- one lucky girl's credit card was charged 1,600 riyals instead of 250! Yes, they fixed this right away once she noticed the next morning... but a strange ending to an otherwise fabulous dinner! ;-)


Photo credit:
Group shot, Mia Buchignani

awa celebration dinner at mykonos

To commemorate the end of the year (most expats -- including us!-- flee Doha for the summer months, and most organizations shut down accordingly), the American Women's Association had a celebration dinner at the Intercontinental Hotel, where we got to try out the soon-to-be unveiled Greek restaurant, Mykonos.

My impressions:
- There were some great appetizers: I particularly liked the different types of olive paste for the bread, and the eggplant salad was divine, as was the foul salad
- For a main dish, I really liked the eggplant (thinly sliced), rolled in cheese and topped with tomato sauce and more cheese... mmmm
- I was not too impressed with either the lamb and artichokes in a creamy sauce with wild greens (the lamb was a bit fatty, and the artichokes were not the tenderest parts of the heart), or the beef stew with orzo (the beef was dry and overcooked); of course, this was buffet-style...
- As for the desserts, there was a strange green cake with apple slices on the top that was quite delish, but the cheesecake was a sad experience -- it was the same fake gelatinous mess that we've had at the Intercon previously (why make cheesecake if you aren't going to make it real?)

All in all, I wasn't hugely impressed... but perhaps by the fall they'll be more successful with their execution!


Photo credit:
Intercontinental Doha, Agoda.com