Sirloin Steak with Artichoke Butter

Here in the Bay Area, the weather has been gorgeous. I lit up my grill for the first time this season and made my favorite meal: top sirloin steak that I garnished with a dollop of artichoke butter, marinated artichokes capellini pasta and grilled artichokes.  

I cooked the steak a la plancha by placing a cast iron griddle over the charcoal grill. The hot plancha created a nice crust around the steaks, which I had marinated in soy sauce to tenderize. Simple, juicy and delicious!

Taj Kebab Recipe

When I was first offered the Haute Potato project a year ago, I was asked to come up with 75 gourmet potato dishes. On that very same day, I probably already had hundreds of recipes lined up in my head. I tried featuring potato dishes from around the world, but as you can imagine, a lot were left out of the final product. So today here's a potato dish that would have been in the "Spicy" chapter.

I learned this dish from Mina, my husband's cousin. It's called "Taj kebab" and if you like meat and potato as much as I do, you will love this one. This potato dish consists of layers of spiced ground beef, sliced potatoes, and thick fresh tomato slices.  The recipe was developed in Agra, just where the Taj Mahal is, and it will transport you to one of the seven wonders of the world!

Red Wine Braised Duck Leg Recipe

Whenever I prepare duck meat, I try to add a lot of spices to attenuate the strong gamey flavor. The spice mixture I used in this recipe is a combination of dried red chilies, fresh oregano, cumin seeds, a cinnamon stick, star anise and fried onion paste. A little red wine vinegar brings these flavors together and also helps to tenderize the meat.

I seared the duck legs and then braised them in a red wine reduction and chicken stock liquid. The duck cooked slowly for a couple of hours until it almost fell off the bone. Don't be intimated by the amount of chiles in the recipe because once cooked, the meat is going to be extra flavorful and not overly spicy. 

Stay tuned tomorrow to see what I did with the leftover duck meat and the spicy gravy. 

Aloo Korma Recipe (Beef and Potato Curry)

I've prepared this Indian curry called korma countless times since I got married. I learned this dish from my husband Lulu's aunt (I call her Phoopi). It's a very flexible dish that allows for many combinations of meat and vegetable. Chicken, beef, goat, potato, taro and  various vegetables (peas, carrot, broccoli) are commonly used. The spicy gravy is what's constant.

The gravy is made of fried onion paste and yogurt and is flavored with ginger-garlic paste as well as several Indian spices. This version contains beef but you can easily omit the meat if you're preparing a vegetarian version.

I had initially planned to include aloo korma ("aloo" is Urdu for "potato") in my first cookbook, Haute Potato: From Pommes Rissolees to Timbale with Roquefort, 75 Gourmet Potato Recipes, but finally went for other Indian dishes such as kheema cutlets (Indian-style meat-filled pancakes), panipuri (bite-sized, crispy South Indian masala potato-filled appetizers) and aloo bonda (spicy potato fritter) to name a few.

Cherry Chicken Tart Recipe

The filling of this tart is as delicious as it sounds. Cherry roasted chicken breasts are shredded into fairly large pieces and mixed into a creamy sauce.

The tart is sealed with a thin layer of Monterey Jack cheese. I made the flaky crust with fresh herbs: chives, creeping red thyme and Italian parsley. You could prepare the crust in advance and store it in the freezer until you're ready to bake. I served the savory tart with a large arugula salad to complete the flavorful meal. 

Reminder: I'll be giving a cooking demonstration (complete with samples!) of one of my potato creations at the Los Altos library. On Saturday, May 25th, starting at 2 pm, I will be talking about my first cookbook, Haute Potato, and cooking, and we'll have the opportunity to chat afterwards. This event is free and open to the public and my cookbook will also be available for purchase and signing. So as to be able to serve enough food for everyone, I would greatly appreciate an RSVP so you may be added to the guest list: send an email to events{at}PhamFatale{dot}com with "Haute Potato Reservation" as the subject, indicating the number of people you'll be coming with. Please spread the word; the more the merrier. I'm so excited, can't wait to meet you!

Event Type: Adult Program
Age Group(s): Adult, Teen
Date: 5/25/2013
Start Time: 2:00 PM
Santa Clara County Library District
Los Altos Library |  www.sccl.org
13 S. San Antonio Rd. | Los Altos, CA 94024