I just heard that Chef Katie Lyche from NYC would be coming over to our house.
My reaction: Oh my God.
The thought left me scared. I love cooking, and I have met many professional chefs, but with cooking with one?
That was a far cry! I don't know, an unknown, baseless fear took over me. I started thinking about what to cook for her, what to do, it was all just chaotic in my mind. I thought that after all, she was American, so something I cooked had to be authentically 'Indian', you know, a taste of our culinary heritage. I didn't have the foggiest idea of what to make, so I just went through books, websites, consulted my parents, and went to extremes to get what I needed.
We even went to Galleries Lafayette in the Dubai Mall to get French coarse sea salt for a whopping 40 bucks! It was too much. But the day had to be had to be perfect. To be honest, I thought that Chef Lyche was very particular with her stuff and her cooking, like most chefs are. The day finally came. She came over with one of our friends, Krishan, and she was one of the finest people I have ever met. The good thing was that she was not opinionated about food as chefs (usually) are, and she knew her stuff really well, had a very broad perspective of food and a very open mind as well.
She was also extremely informative, and over all, a person who could instantly put you at ease. It was nice to know about new techniques in the kitchen, such as 'mise en place' - or kitchen prep and slow cooking - which I did know about, but terribly failed on trying it before. On the whole, it was a lovely, cordial meeting with her, and a learning experience for the both of us. We did cook up a good bit food, which included: A fragrant Moroccan Chicken stew, An Endive and Citrus Salad, and some appetizers, namely - Cottage Cheese Tikkas, Lamb Kebabs, Banana Flower Fritters, and Steamed Mustard Fish. It was absolutely amazing, the way everything, especially the Chicken stew was cooked. The whole kitchen was filled with fragrant aromas, including the lovely mélange of the aromas of saffron and orange.
My reaction: Oh my God.
The thought left me scared. I love cooking, and I have met many professional chefs, but with cooking with one?
That was a far cry! I don't know, an unknown, baseless fear took over me. I started thinking about what to cook for her, what to do, it was all just chaotic in my mind. I thought that after all, she was American, so something I cooked had to be authentically 'Indian', you know, a taste of our culinary heritage. I didn't have the foggiest idea of what to make, so I just went through books, websites, consulted my parents, and went to extremes to get what I needed.
We even went to Galleries Lafayette in the Dubai Mall to get French coarse sea salt for a whopping 40 bucks! It was too much. But the day had to be had to be perfect. To be honest, I thought that Chef Lyche was very particular with her stuff and her cooking, like most chefs are. The day finally came. She came over with one of our friends, Krishan, and she was one of the finest people I have ever met. The good thing was that she was not opinionated about food as chefs (usually) are, and she knew her stuff really well, had a very broad perspective of food and a very open mind as well.
 |
| Lamb Kebabs, Banana flower fritters, cumin scented rice and Cottage cheese Tikkas. |
She was also extremely informative, and over all, a person who could instantly put you at ease. It was nice to know about new techniques in the kitchen, such as 'mise en place' - or kitchen prep and slow cooking - which I did know about, but terribly failed on trying it before. On the whole, it was a lovely, cordial meeting with her, and a learning experience for the both of us. We did cook up a good bit food, which included: A fragrant Moroccan Chicken stew, An Endive and Citrus Salad, and some appetizers, namely - Cottage Cheese Tikkas, Lamb Kebabs, Banana Flower Fritters, and Steamed Mustard Fish. It was absolutely amazing, the way everything, especially the Chicken stew was cooked. The whole kitchen was filled with fragrant aromas, including the lovely mélange of the aromas of saffron and orange.
 |
| Saffron and Orange scented Moroccan Chicken stew |
My final reiteration - I LOVED IT. No cooking experience of mine was so informative and so nice till now. I just hope I get a chance to do it again. Do visit her website - www.tablegatherings.com.
Just for the record, here's Chef Lyche's recipe for her amazing Endive Salad:
Endive and Citrus Salad:
1 cup of dates - chopped
4 oranges
3 heads of endive
A little olive oil
A sprig of fresh mint
The juice of two lemons
Salt and Pepper to taste
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Method:
Pit and chop the dates into short strips and keep aside. Zest one of the oranges, and peel and segment the oranges, deseeding them as you go. Clean the endives and remove any yellow or wilted leaves. Core them, halve them lengthwise and chop the endives into fine strips. Add some of the lemon juice to keep them from oxidizing. Chiffonade the mint, and keep aside. Make sure you don't have a blunt knife, or you will bruise the leaves instead of cutting them. In a separate bowl, whisk the olive oil, the rest of the lemon juice, the salt and the pepper, and combine the rest of the ingredients. Serve immediately and enjoy!
(Katie Lyche - Courtesy to www.tablegatherings.com)
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