Dallas Farmers’ Market
May 12, 2008 9 comments
Almost five days without a little dish update? For shame! But it isn’t for lack of care, I promise. This week has just been busy with lots of things and unfortunately, most of them didn’t have very much to do with good food :/
However, one really exciting thing did happen! We decided to pay a visit to the Dallas Farmers’ Market. I had never been before, and I feel kinda bad about that. In my defense, I think it’s a little like the Sixth Floor Museum or the zoo: you think about going there, but often don’t until some out-of-towner has you drumming up random things to do. I digress.
I can’t stress how nice it was to go to the Farmers’ Market. All of the produce looked really tasty and was arranged so artistically. I liked the leisurely pace of walking around the fresh vegetables and fruits, tasting samples, taking in the sights and sounds. I was pleasantly surprised by the prices. I bought a gigantic bag of oranges for only $4 and two baskets of berries for $5 (much, much less than what I would have paid for the same amount at a grocery store). And were they delicious? Oh yes, very.
From the center food stand in front of Stage 2, I bought a cup of a Mexican drink called Horchata. Brian is originally from Cali and had told me that they sell it in a lot of places there. I have never seen it on a menu, so when I saw it on the sign, I jumped on it. It’s essentially an aqua fresca made with rice, vanilla, and cinnamon. It’s sweet, refreshing, and my new favorite thing. I’m already researching other places I’ll be able to get my fix…
While there, we also tried roasted corn. They were roasting and selling it in a little cart on the street. Available “on the corn or in the cup” (as the man on the corner repeated in a “step-right-up” fashion), it’s served with a variety of possible toppings (butter, mayonnaise, parmesan, spices, etc.) We tasted it plain with just a little parmesan cheese and it was wonderful. It was so sweet, fresh, and a very simple pleasure.
It might have taken me a long time living in this city to visit, but it will definitely be a very short time before I return. In fact, maybe next weekend? I’m out of oranges…
Oh and if you want see more pictures of the market that didn’t make the cut for the post, check them over at the Little Dish Flickr.
Price: For FREE!
1010 S. Pearl Expy. | Dallas, TX 75201
214.939.2808
Food Challenge: Steven Seagal Energy Drink
May 6, 2008 5 comments
I hope you realize how awesome this is. First of all, if you aren’t familiar with the Hollywood heavy weight, Steven Segal, all you need to know is that he used to make killer karate movies with titles like Above the Law and Marked for Death. These were classics of the 90’s and from there he launched a lucrative acting career. And now it’s 2008 and it seems that his career has hit a new high. God bless whoever had the idea of putting this man’s face on the side of an energy drink. It makes my month.
I came across these little delights in the store one day, and instantly purchased them. Who wouldn’t. Later when I got home I immediately drank one, and amazingly….they were horrible. Weird aftertaste, disgusting beginning taste. An all around displeasure, but come on it’s Steven Seagal. One thing is for certain, if I ever get back on the energy drink train, the Lightning Bolt will be the one for me. Not because they taste great, (because they taste bad) but because his face and quote are on the side of every can. And if that doesn’t make you cool and envied, nothing will.
Cheddar Fries @ Snuffers
May 4, 2008 9 comments
These are some kick ass fries. Most of the time when I dare to order the cheese fries at an establishment they try and pass off some orange-colored rubber substance as cheese. Snuffers on the other hand knows what cheese is supposed to taste like and they give you plenty of it. These fries are covered in all kinds of delicious delights: jalapenos, chives, bacon and aged cheddar. All in mass amounts and piled high atop a perfect amount of tasty fresh cut fries. So next time you are in the area and off your diet, hit these guys up. Highly recommended.
Price: $3.95 (small, pictured above) or $5.95 (large) | Chives, Bacon and Jalapenos $.95 extra (a must)
3526 Greenville Ave. | Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 826-6850
Other locations at Addison, Park Cities, Plano, Rockwall, McKinney, Southlake & Highland Village
Golden Curry @ Blu Ginger Thai Cafe
May 3, 2008 4 comments
I work in Las Colinas, so usually that means my lunch is pretty standard fare. There aren’t a lot of especially wonderful places to eat around the office, so we routinely run to Jason’s Deli, Corner Bakery, and the like.
To my great pleasure, a food-savvy coworker of mine told me to check out Blu Ginger off MacArthur. On a first perusal of their menu, I was immediately pleased to see the several varieties of curry they offer. I forwent my go-to thai dish in order to try their Golden Yellow Curry. In a word, it’s delicious. It’s made like the curry my grandmother used to make: a very familiar stew-like blend of meat, potatoes, carrots, and onions, cooked in a spicy curry sauce and served with rice. I went with medium heat and was a little taken aback by the spiciness, but I will admit that my palate is a little tame when it comes to heat. So, taking a couple extra sips of water than usual, I thoroughly enjoyed this dish. Yes, the golden yellow curry is spicy, but the addition of coconut cream sauce sweetens the dish and gives it such a well-rounded flavor. We don’t usually give “grades” out on the little dish, but if we did, this would be an A.
Price: $7.95 at lunch (served with complimentary veggie crispy rolls and rice soup)/$10.95 at dinner
6550 N. MacArthur Blvd., #150 | Las Colinas, TX 75039
972.373.9799
.31 Cent Ice Cream Cones!
April 29, 2008 2 comments
I know it sounds too good to be true, especially because everyone seems so bummed about the economy, housing market, gas prices, and the problem of “big corn.” However, tomorrow rejoice! Stop by your local Baskin-Robbins between 5pm and 10pm and you can get a single-scoop cone for only .31¢ Awesome!
The ice cream event is to honor America’s firefighters. How that corresponds with cheap ice cream, I’m not entirely sure. But I’m not asking any questions.
You can read more about it (and verify it’s true) here.
Dear Readers: Browser Issues
April 27, 2008 4 comments
Hi there. So let’s get a show of hands. Who is browsing the internet right now using Internet Explorer 6? Anyone? Well if you aren’t sure, I’ve devised a little test. This website is supposed to look like the picture above. I know crazy. It looks good right? If The Little Dish doesn’t look this way in your browser it means that you are using Internet Explorer 6. If the picture matches what you are seeing on your monitor then you can disregard the rest of this. IE6 is evil and from a web designer’s standpoint, it’s the bane of their existence. I don’t really want to get into the why, but basically it is a broken and an outdated program. It makes beautiful websites that are supposed to look like the picture above, look like what you are seeing now. Basically it’s the only browser out there that fails to render websites correctly and Microsoft actually has a newer version for you anyway.
So, I’m offering you some solutions so you can read The Little Dish in the manner that we intended. If you want to stick with IE then go and get IE7. Follow that link and choose your operating system and install. Everything will be the same. It’s just like IE6 but prettier and better suited for the internet. Some other alternatives are Firefox or Safari. Both are beautiful programs and superior browsers so your internet experience will be greatly improved. So please, heed my advice and update to IE7 or move to Safari or Firefox. I thank you ahead of time and will check back next week to see who’s been listening. Now go get Frisky.
Leave me a comment if you have any questions, I’d be happy to help. We just want your experience here to be enjoyable.
Internet Explorer 7 (download)
Sugar High Friday Roundup
April 25, 2008 one comment
So I’ve been waiting with anticipation for this day since we decided to participate in April’s Sugar High Friday hosted by Le Petite Boulangette. On Monday, we posted our contribution to the “Asian Sweet Invasion” themed event: Japanese Matcha Green Tea Crème Brulée. Today, in the Sugar High Friday Roundup, we got take a look at the rest of the entries.
I am so impressed with the creativity and talent displayed in the other blogs’ recipes! One of my favorites is Not Quite Nigella’s adorable Panda Sesame, Vanilla & Green Tea Cupcakes. So cute. I also really liked the killer looking tapioca milkshakes from Addicted Sweet Tooth. I am a big fan of boba tea and the thought of making a tapioca drink myself never occurred to me. It’s ridiculous to choose favorites though because there were so many fun ideas. I enjoyed the process of pondering which dish to create and then seeing what other people came up with. Matcha ended up being really popular ingredient and appears in a lot of the other recipes. There was even another crème brulée contribution from Asparagus Thin! Guess we were thinking along the same lines. Their entry though, with kabocha winter squash and Chinese five spice, was definitely a walk on the more adventurous side.
Was a fun little project; bravo to everyone who participated. We’ll definitely be back in May! 
So two weeks ago, the little dish “staff” attended a cooking class at the Central Market off Lovers Lane in Dallas. It was the first cooking class that either of us had been to and the experience turned out to be an awesome one. Basically, now we want to go every weekend.
If you are unfamiliar with their classes, they usually range from $50-$70 dollars per person and are all themed to a specific culinary adventure. Our evening was a celebration of fresh herbs. We cooked a herb-encrusted beef tenderloin, herb and parmesan risotto, a vegetable casserole (ratatouille!!), a spring salad with a delicious vinaigrette, and for desert a rosemary bundt cake. Everything was delicious, but by far our favorite was the ratatouille. It was simple to make, and never has the combination of tomatoes, zucchini and fennel ever tasted so good. Overall it was a fabulous time and I couldn’t recommend it more. We met some super nice people and our instructor for the evening was a delight as well.
So, as a service to our readers we would like to inform you of an upcoming cooking class that you shouldn’t miss. Lidia Bastianich and Joe Bastianich, mother and son super Italian cooking combo, will be offering a class at Central Market, along with a book signing on May 2 at the Dallas location. I’ve watched Lidia’s various cooking shows on PBS (the original ‘Food Network’) for some time now and she always makes the most authentic and delicious Italian dishes around. Don’t miss this event, it should be a treat and you might even catch the little dish in attendance.
Free Rice!
April 23, 2008 3 comments
My cute friend Anna showed me this site today which I immediately fell in love with because it a.) helps feed the poor and b.) increases your vocabulary skills.
The idea behind Free Rice is so simple. All you have to do is play the site’s vocabulary game. For every word you get right, they will donate 20 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program. It’s a little rice, but it all adds up. According to their site, Free Rice has already donated enough food to feed over 20,000 Myanmar refugees.
So how long would you have to play to earn one cup of rice? Well, according to the all-knowing WikiAnswers, there’s about 7,200 grains of rice in one cup. My average of questions answered per minute (at a rushed pace) was about 15. So at that rate, in about 24 minutes of killing time at work, you’ve donated one cup 
SHF: Matcha Green Tea Creme Brulee
April 21, 2008 6 comments
This month we’re really proud to participate in Sugar High Friday for the first time! If you’re unfamiliar with the idea, here’s a summary in the words of its founder, Domestic Goddess:
It’s your best excuse to make something sweet and different, at least once a month. And to do it with tons of other people from around the world. It occurs during the last week of every month, entries due on the Monday and the round-up posted on the Friday (the Sugar High Friday that is!). The rules and regulations - really, anything goes! Just make your favourite dessert that revolves around or highlights the specified ingredient, which is always something different every month.
This month’s Sugar High Friday theme was selected by La Petite Boulangette. Her delicious category of choice? Asian Sweet Invasion! Feeling a little bit like I was on Iron Chef, I decided to do a very classic dessert with an asian inspiration. My start? A simple, creamy crème brulée. To that, I added Japanese matcha green tea powder. You can find it easily in asian markets and I believe I’ve even seen it in the grocery store. I made this recipe twice to get the amount of green tea flavor just right. The finished dessert had a very mild, yet still detectable green tea flavor, and luckily the same creamy consistency as the classic dessert.
It’s a sophisticated-sounding dessert that’s very easy to make. The best plan of action is to make it the day before. That way, the custard has ample time to chill all the way through and your caramelized top will be crisp. Also, in this recipe the crunchy sugar topping is caramelized in the broiler. If you have a mini-torch, that’ll work better. However, mine was having some problems (I think it was low on gas), so I used the broiler and it worked fine.
Japanese Matcha Green Tea Crème Brulée
(as adapted from the Bon Appétit June 2002 recipe)
Yield: Serves 8
6 large egg yolks
7 tbs. sugar
2 tbs. matcha green tea powder
2 1/4 cups whipping cream
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 tbs. sugar for topping
Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk yolks and 7 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until thick and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add green tea powder and whisk until incorporated. Bring cream to simmer in heavy small saucepan. Gradually whisk hot cream into yolk mixture. Whisk in vanilla; divide custard among eight 3/4-cup custard cups. Arrange cups in 13×9x2-inch metal pan. Pour enough hot water into pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Bake custards until gently set in center, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cups from water and refrigerate uncovered until cold, at least 3 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.)
Preheat broiler. Place custards on baking sheet. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar onto each. Broil until sugar starts to bubble and color, turning sheet often to prevent burning, about 2 minutes. Chill until topping is hard and brittle, at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours.
