Buttered Croissants, broiled lamb & a taste of India

Hot, buttered croissants with coffee have to be a top morning indulgence for me. I used to enjoy them only rarely as I had to go out amidst traffic and morning chill to get them, or remember them the night before and then they were day old. Trader Joe’s is now my hero. They sell packages of eight frozen mini croissants. You take some out the night before and let them “proof” on a baking sheet over night. Then you bake them till golden brown. They are perfectly flakey, and deliciously croissanty, if I may coin a word. I discovered them by reading through the Trader Joe’s crazy little opus that they publish regularly. It’s a store that has little gems of food items up and down the aisles. Sometimes, now, I take the time to browse more in Trader Joe’s. That’s how I found what’s now a kitchen staple, their Mango Ginger Chutney. It’s a great accompaniment to my Indian dishes and Hank loves it as a cooking sauce. He used it brilliantly last night over lamb chops. No, you won’t overtly taste the ginger, it’s just a delicious sweet sauce with some complexity.

His dinner was a definite winner. Broiled lamb chops with mango ginger chutney sauce, broiled giant scallops which benefited from the sauce, as well, mashed potatoes with butter and fresh asparagus. I’ve been spoiled this week as the night before we had liver slathered in onions along with mashed potatoes (thanks to a friend who recently fixed it and inspired us). We both love liver and onions but often don’t think to fix it. Hank went to three stores trying to find veal liver but had to settle for basic beef liver. It was good, though. He told the tale of asking for veal liver at the Metropolitan Market and getting an angry stare. They might want to inquire as to the politics of their meat salespeople. Vegetarians or PETA folks should be allowed to opt out.

Wednesday afternoon I was a little down and needed an Indian food fix, both the fun of preparing it and the interesting tastes. What did I have on hand…red potatoes, a head of cauliflower that needed to be used… I went to Google and typed in potatoes + cauliflower + Indian + recipe and came up with the following dish. I put it all through the ricer topped it with a little butter for an amazing taste not at all overtly spicy!

Cauliflower and Potato Curry

From: Lisa Corsetti http://www.ivu.org/recipes/indian-veg/cauliflower-and-j.html I buy most of my Indian Spices, like Garam Masala, at a local food cooperative (Puget Sound Consumer Cooperative in Seattle) that sells spices in bulk.

Ingredients:
4 Cups potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
a pinch of asafetida (can be omitted)
3/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp salt
big pinch of sugar
2 tomatoes, chopped (I used a can of diced tomatoes)

1 1/4 cups water
1/2 tsp garam masala

Instructions:

Add all ingredients to a crockpot and cook on low for approximately six hours. Mash together.
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