I think it was my sweet friend Maya who suggested this one and I took it to mean that it couldn't be something basic, like Italian or French, but more out of my cooking comfort zone. I went to the Sur La Table web site and found an Indian cooking class. SCORE! My Indian cooking thus far has consisted of throwing spices like curry, turmeric, coriander and cumin into regular recipes...so I was excited to get to learn how to make something really Indian because I LOVE INDIA and all things Indian. On the menu for the evening was wok-cooked chicken with onions, peppers and tomatoes, Bengali-style spicy fish curry, and herbed yellow rice with vegetables.
I invited the most unlikely person that I could picture at an Indian cooking class, my friend Mosie, who ended up being the perfect partner. Mosie is the quintessential all-American girl and a fellow screenwriter at the AFI. She's from Texas and (but) really smart and fun to be with. One of the cool things thing about her is that she's already figured out what she wants to do in life, at the ripe young age of...well she was probably about 22 when she applied to the AFI, and now she's 24. I envy her youth, she appreciates my wisdom...an all around good friendship.
We jumped in and started making the herbed yellow rice guided by chef Candice Kumai who Mosie quickly recognized as a contestant on Top Chef's first season, and who has a cook book coming out soon. She was wild and fun and infused our night with both interesting spices and fun conversation.
The boss
We learned our first lesson quickly. You know, the one about reading the whole recipe before starting. We had put some things in the pot already and all of a sudden it was time to add the potatoes. Of course, they sat dirty and un-peeled on the counter. I quickly peeled and cubed them and that's when Mosie seized the recipe and started telling me what to do.
The sous chef
In other words, I became her (bitch) sous chef; chopping and peeling and dicing while she added the fun, colorful spices and stirred the pot. As we were cooking, Hot Indian Dates were passed around; sweet, chilled Indian rum drinks, not cute boys. Not only were they delicious but they added a certain giggly layer to the cooking. While things were simmering, we took a break and browsed through the store and let me tell you, if you're drunk, Sur la Table is a GREAT place to hang out. Everything is so colorful and, well, absolutely necessary.
Marika: Oh my god, look! Don’t you think -
Mosie: No. You don’t need a percolator. You don’t even drink coffee.
Marika: Well, what about a high capacity aquatic scale?
Mosie: Wait. What? NO.
Marika: Ceramic blade knife? C'mon.
Mosie: Fine. But only because I want one too.
Who-hoo...ceramic knives all around! And then we got to eat all the food we had made. It was beyond yummy and tasted especially delicious because it was made with love and giggles, under the influence of alcohol.
Thanks to Candice and the Mosenator for another great Forty By Forty night!
Comments