Moroccan Tajine in Latham

We love Tara Kitchen in Schenectady, but the limited seating can be a bit of a bummer as we really only go at odd times when we think we can get a table.  So when we saw that another Moroccan place was opening in Galleria 7 Market in Latham we were pretty excited.  Their menu looks really ambitious for a stall in the market, so that was a little odd, but we wanted to give them a try.  The first time we went was the first or second day they were open and they only had a few items, which was disappointing, and honestly I don’t even know what we got, but it was so-so.  Our second visit was more representative.

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Pizza with the new baking steel

So I gave in and bought myself a shiny new baking steel.  I’ve been using the pizza stone we got as an engagement gift for, well, since we got engaged.  Sort of off and on, but I’ve tried to stick to a schedule of making pizza every two weeks lately so it’s gotten more use.  Seeing all the raves about baking steel vs. stone I went ahead and treated myself to one from http://www.bakingsteel.com/.  Soon enough a nice shiny slab of heavy metal was at my door (sorry, delivery guy).

Last Sunday was its test run…in it went.

Post-Christmas 2017 HomeGoods goodies

I love going to HomeGoods a couple of weeks after Christmas.  They always have strange, imported goodies still kicking around and start putting them on clearance.  I ended up with an armload this year (although mostly not clearanced, yet, still cheap).  But I’ll kick off with something I certainly did NOT buy – a 2,000-count dark chocolate selection!

McDonald’s Buffalo Bacon sandwich

See McDonald’s put coupons in newspaper to get free fries and a drink (any size!) with purchase of fancy new sandwich.

See me fall for it.

See me try it.

See me remember why I never eat at McDonald’s.

Food at Disney World and Epcot Food and Wine Festival

As I indicated earlier, we had a long-planned trip to Disney World in Orlando this fall that has now come and passed.  We spent a Saturday at the Magic Kingdom and Sunday at Epcot, then a stop at Disney Springs on Monday.  So it wasn’t a long visit, and I certainly didn’t get to eat everything AJ recommends, but I did the best I could.

Easy hummus

Want to make simple hummus at home?  It’s not that hard.  I’ve adapted this recipe a bit from Marisa at Food In Jars to match a can of chickpeas.  See her directions for the basic procedure.

• 1 can chickpeas
• 1 medium garlic clove
• 4 TB lemon juice
• 1-1/3 TB tahini
• 2/3 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 olive oil
• 1/4 cup water

I like roasted red pepper hummus, so then you add about 3 good sized pieces of jarred roasted reds, patted dry.

If you like your hummus nice and smooth and don’t mind just a little extra work, dump the can into a metal colander to wash them.  Then just use your hand to rub them all around the colander, not so hard that you smoosh them, but such that you start to see the skins peeling off.  Pick those all out (this is the time consuming part, but well worth it) and discard.  Then follow Marisa’s directions, plus the roasted reds or other flavor adders if you like them.  I have had nothing but trouble with my blender, much better luck with the food processor, so I recommend that.  And paying close attention to the liquids.

Just sample as you start to finish up to get the moisture and salt where you want it.

Review of Food Cuisine Asian Bistro in Schenectady

You see a lot of oddly named Chinese-American restaurants, but Food Cuisine, an Asian Bistro on State in Schenectady near Mohawk Commons, might be one of the odder ones.  I think it at least takes the cake locally.