Spinach and cheese pie

Ingredients

1 1/2 bags of spinach (170 gms per bag)
1 cup grated cottage cheese (you can also use ricotta cheese)
1 1/2 cups grated feta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 red onion
1/2 tomato
3 large shrimps (optional)
3 garlic pods
1/2 teaspoon chilli, coriander, turmeric powders (optional)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
A few stalks of cilantro (coriander leaves)
6 sheets of phyllo dough (I bought the ready-made phyllo dough from Trader Joes).

Step 1: Saute diced onion, tomato, minced garlic and finely cut shrimp in olive oil with the spices until cooked.

Step 2: Add the finely chopped spinach and let it cook. Once its cooked, add the cilantro keep it aside. Add salt and pepper to suit your taste.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, with the cottage cheese and feta cheese.

 Step 4: Mix the two mixtures.

Step 5: In a baking pan,  brush each of three phyllo sheet with olive oil and set them on top of each other. Add the mixture, and add another three phyllo sheets on top and bake it at 350F for 40 minutes.

Step 6: Serve hot.

American Italian fare in Atlantic city

Cheese Ravioli

Atlantic City, best known as a destination for gambling aficionados, also boasts of a rich Italian heritage.

Although American Italian food is not at all a rare find in today's America, our visits to two of these Italian restaurants will remain fond memories.

Spinach, olives and chicken pizza

One was the old-school, non-pretentious deli Tony's Baltimore Grill. We tried their made-to-order pizza.  This dish is memorable for its combination of high quality and reasonable price (10" pizza for around 10 dollars).

Shrimp pasta

On the drive out of town we stopped by Angelos fairmount tavern, a family-run cosy restaurant in the heart of the city. We tried their steamed mussels in a house-made diavlo, some very freshly baked sesame bread (that was apparently supplied by the next door bakery), goat cheese ravioli, and a fried shrimp pasta with lots of (house-made?) marinara sauce. It had nice ambiance and is apparently a local favorite.

Another restaurant that we had heard great  things about was Chef Volas but could not get a reservation on short notice. If you plan to visit it, remember to reserve a table in advance.

All in all, great food! I would definitely visit Atlantic City again if I were in the mood for Italian American.

Dining at the harbor

Egg  Benedict

This summer, we had the opportunity to dine at a couple of restaurants serving American Southern cuisine. Two features these restaurants share are the fresh seafood and high cost, the latter reflecting the price of decent ambiance.

The first was a visit to Edward Lee's Succotash at the DC's National Harbor. Here, we tried their house specialties including the fried oyster rich po-boy (with trout caviar) for an appetizer, dirty fried chicken, and crispy catfish for entrees along with the recommended Succotash curry.

Fried oyster rich po-boy

The food was edible if bland. I would probably not go again, especially given the small portions.

The other restaurant was Home maid, located on the Baltimore Harbor. We sampled the breakfast/brunch menu, specifically the waffles with chicken and the eggs benedict. Both dishes were served with a side of sweet potatoes with a dash of maple syrup - a bit too sweet for my taste. The food was good. The crab meat in particular was delicious. I still did not think it was worth the wait or the price. However, the ambiance was nice.

Rural Society

Fugazza

Rural Society,
1177, 15th Street, NW Washington DC 20005
Argentinian cuisine.

We went to the Rural Society in DC to try Argentinian cuisine. We mainly picked this place because we wanted to try a non-traditional (i.e. not Italian or American-style) pizza. We ordered  the fugazza, their traditional pizza. It was cheesy with lots of onion. The portion was small, appropriate as an appetizer. I enjoyed it and would not have minded if it was larger in size.

For starters, we also tried their empanada de espinaca. The empanadas were filled with cheese, spinach and was freshly made. We lucked out and were served with an additional complementary helping of empanadas (why?).

For the main course, we tried their steak and organic roast chicken.  The steak was good, while the chicken was pretty mediocre, especially for the price.

This was my first time at an Argentinian restaurant. Pricey and not worth it given the level of quality. Nice ambience overlooking an open kitchen. Although I do not have a benchmark to compare this place against, I would not recommend it.

A visit to Annapolis

Traditional lamb stew

Annapolis is both Maryland's capital and a great place to visit if you are a fan of simple but well executed American comfort food. By the virtue of its location on the Chesapeake Bay, lovers of seafood have a variety of options.

Annapolis is famous for its crab cakes, so they they were a priority when deciding among the many traditional southern dishes on the menu of Chick and Ruths Deli. The presentation was quite mediocre but the crab meat was worth trying for its freshness. Their pies were also popular, although we didn't try one ourselves.
We also visited two local Irish pubs. While I was personally not a fan of the chicken cottage pie and a traditional lamb stew at the Galway Bay Irish pub, it was certainly edible and seemed very authentic.

On a more positive note, the steamed mussels and mini-crab cakes served at Castlebay Irish pub on the main street was one of the best I have had in the United States.

Uyghur and Sushi fare in Northern Virginia

Spicy chicken

Queen Amannisa, 320, 23rd Street, South, Arlington, VA. 22202.

My first exposure to Uyghur cuisine. We tried their lamb stew, a big plate of spicy chicken with homemade noodles, and their traditional bread. Portions were large and easily shared by two. The bread was especially good. Both the dishes were well executed. Tolerable levels of spice - similar to Indian or Chinese cuisine. Reasonably priced for the location.

Takumi, 310-B South Washington Street, Falls Church, VA 22046. 

This is a sushi restaurant recently opened in Falls Church. Without claiming to be much of an expert on Japanese cuisine, I can say that the sashimi was fresh and best I have ever had. We tried their  tuna and scallop sushi rolls along with sake salmon rolls with mango puree. They were delicious. If I were to be critical, it would be of the small portions. However, I have found this to be true of sushi in general. Recommended for fans of sushi.

The spicy Marathi fare

Misal Pao

If you are traveling along the Konkan coast and in mood for some spicy cuisine, do yourself a favor and visit the city of Kolhapur.

Kolhapuri Mutton Curry

There you will find some of the spiciest dishes along the west coast of India. A reasonably priced restaurant of Hotel Opal will give you an authentic and non-pretentious Kolhapuri dining experience. I tried several  specialty dishes including mutton (goat) curry, mutton pickle, chicken and mutton fry, chicken malvani and pandra rassa (white curry). There were all outstanding.

If you want to test your tolerance for high levels of spice, I would recommend trying Misal Pao, another common dish found in the city's quick service establishments. This dish is prepared with a local bhel mixture, sprouts and a spicy red curry and is usually had with pao (bread). I tried this on several occasions, but my most fond memories are those served in dhabas (road side food-stalls).

The Mediterranean flavors

Seafood Paella

Panache restaurant, Washington DC
This restaurant specializes in French and Spanish tapas. The tapas menu is extensive, and includes both hot and cold tapas. My experience was opposite to the reviews I had read - I found the food disappointing relative to similar establishments in the DC region.

We tried several items - garlic shrimp and Manchego cheese, lamb rack and seafood risotto. I would not try any of it again. The lamb was probably the best of the lot - hard to go wrong if cooked well. The main courses had no flavor, just bulky portions that fill your plate.

Moving on to desserts, the creme brulee was good but tiramisu was sugar-laden and, similar to the entrees, bulky. Not recommended.

Ser, Arlington, VA

Garlic Shrimp at Ser

In contrast, Ser, an upscale Spanish restaurant, was fabulous. The food struck me as authentic to similar dishes that I had tried in Spain. The menu was not very large, but everything we tried was good.

With respect to appetizers, I tried their shrimp covered in olive oil along with manchego cheese and loved them. For the main course, we ordered the seafood paella. The quantity was such that it was easily shared by two people. This dish was delicious, and I could tell that it was cooked in a high quality olive oil. A little pricey but worth it. Definitely recommended.

Shrimp Sandorini

Shrimp Sandorini is one of my favorite Greek dishes that I tried making at home. A fairly easy dish to prepare.

Ingredients
1/2 pound wild caught shrimp
2 teaspoons diced garlic
1/2 finely diced onion
3 small diced tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup feta cheese
Fresh olives
Olive oil
Chopped cilantro (coriander)
2 tablespoons of lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
Bay leaves (optional)
Green peas (optional)
Basil leaves (optional)
1 small cinnamon stick (optional)

Step 1: Saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add the tomatoes, olives and let them cook for 5-10 minutes in the white wine. If you would like to add some spice, throw in some bay leaves and a cinnamon stick.

Step 2: Add the shrimp, feta, lime juice and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to suit your taste.

Step 3: Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.

Step 4: Serve hot with rice or bread.

The rich flavors of South India

Chicken kebabs

Indian cuisine is as diverse as its population, a point which was driven home during a recent visit to Bangalore and Secunderabad, two metro cities of Southern India. During this trip, we partook in traditional breakfast fare such as masala dosa, idli, vada sambhar with a wide spread of different chutneys (coriander, peanut,tomato, and mint). 

At the Amanyana Spa resort in Coorg- a coffee-growing region of Southern India, a few hours from Bangalore, we dined on traditional Coorgi fare, including dark pandhi (pork) curry, coconut-based koli (chicken) curry, accompanied with akki roti (bread made of rice flour). The experience did not meet expectations. It was edible but not outstanding. However, to be fair, we really did not have a point of reference to compare this to any other Coorgi cuisine.  On a more positive note, we got to try steamed chicken momos (dumplings) at a food stall outside the Tibetan monastery in Kushalanagar. This is a pretty rare find in the South, so if you are in Coorg and curious to try momos, this might be worth your while.

Coorgi pork and chicken curry

Another Southern city we visited was Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad. Here, I tried the region's most famous Hyderabadi Biryani and kebabs - traditional dishes that incorporate Mughal, Persian, and Andhra flavors. Our culinary tour of the city included stops  at Royal Reve Hotel, where we enjoyed local takes on chicken kababs, and chicken dum biryani. These dishes were very well done and also reasonably priced, as compared to food in other metros. If you are here on leisure or work, you owe it to yourself to pay this establishment a visit.