Last Friday, I was in Bloomington with Connie and we went to quaint little restaurant located in the ethnic block located on 4th Street. She had eaten at this restaurant before and highly recommended it, so I thought why not.
The restaurant that we went to is named Anatolia. Located at 405 East 4th Street in Bloomington, Anatolia’s menu offers selections of Turkish and Mediterranean Food. The atmosphere was not what I expected. They had plenty of table and chair seating, but what set it apart was they also offered traditional Turkish seating. For those of you who do not know what this is, it is you sit on the floor upon cushions over low cut wooden or copper tables. The lighting was excellent and the wait staff was happy and plentiful.
The menu offers a wide variety of choices. Everything from appetizers, entrees, Sea Food, even Vegetarian and Vegan choices. The menu lists meals by their traditional names but then gives the reader a description of the meal that they can understand. The prices were listed were priced moderately and the portion sizes were excellent.
I love eggplant so we started our meal with an appetizer of Babganus, which is char-broiled and mashed eggplant mixed with fresh herbs and tahini sauce served with their fresh baked bread. I spread some of the babganus on their bread and then tasted it. This was best babganus I have ever had. I couldn’t get enough and I am looking forward to having this dish again.
You also have a choice of soup with comes with your meal. I chose the white bean which is northern beans cooked in tomato based with fresh carrots, green and red peppers. Connie had the red lentil which is red lentils cooked in tomato base and spiced to perfection with mint, oregano, a touch of garlic and other spices then puréed. We tried each other’s soup and they were both delicious, but I preferred the white bean soup because I like the textures of the ingredients more than a pureed soup.
For my main course I ordered Stuffed Cabbage which is cabbage leaves stuffed with ground beef, rice, onions, and spices. It was served with rice and salad. Connie ordered Mucver, which are zucchini fritters with feta cheese and carrots served with rice and salad. Our meals came and I started with the salad. It was the traditional Greek style salad but there was a flavor I recognized but couldn’t place. It was so wonderful. Connie asked if I could guess it and I couldn’t. She told me it was sumac. She couldn’t guess it either on her first visit, so she asked the chef. My stuffed cabbages were filling and very pleasant. I tried her Mucver. It too was delicious but we both thought a bit heavy.
For dessert we ordered Baklava, which is a dessert made of layers of flaky rich pastry with walnuts baked until crunchy topped with syrup with a touch of cinnamon. Baklava is a very traditional dessert of the eastern Mediterranean and this was very tasty.
I highly recommend Anatolia to all and I can’t wait to go back. I already know what I am going to order, Kuzu Incik (lamb shanks topped with marinara sauce).
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Improving Your Cooking Knowledge
I was having trouble coming up with a topic to write about. I thought about a review of a place I had recently ate at, I thought about writing about a better type of non-stick coating, but nothing really overwhelmed me to write about.
Then after a conversation with Connie, it came to me. I know what to write about. This topic would help the novice cook as well as the accomplished cook. After watching the movie Julie and Julia, I was certain that I needed to write about this topic.
The topic that I am going to write about is cooking your way through a cookbook. I know it sounds daunting to cook your way through a cookbook. The key is to find a cookbook that contains the type of cooking you’re interested in. Also I would suggest that you start with a small cookbook first. I also suggest that you choose a cuisine type that all of your family will eat. An example of this is I would not cook my way through a vegetarian cookbook when my partner is a severe carnivore!
For the novice cook, cooking your way through a cookbook will teach you, usually, the different cooking techniques, like roasting, poaching, frying, simmering, and sautéing. It will stretch your knowledge and you will be surprised at what you can accomplish. Of course, there are going to be disasters and there will be dishes that you don’t like but if you stick with it you will find dishes that will make your friends and family think you are culinary god! You will find recipes and techniques that will make dinner preparation quick and easy. But best of all it will enlarge your knowledge of the different types of cuisines of the world.
For the knowledgeable cook, you will learn how to make substitutions to a recipe to give them your unique style. You will find new ingredients that you may have never thought could be used in this manner, you may find that not only do love the food your cooking but may wish to travel to that area and see how the locals make it. Then again, you may choose a cookbook of a famous chef and by cooking their dishes you will find a special connection to them.
So find a cookbook that stirs your imagination and cook your way through. The last time I did, I chose an Italian cookbook. Italian cooking is my favorite type and I wanted to honor my grandfather’s heritage, so I found a cookbook of recipes from Liguria. It is the region of Italy where Genoa is located, the city of my grandfather. When I finished a recipe, in pencil, I wrote the date I finished and any comments on the recipe in the margins, usually whether I liked the recipe or not. The recipes I thought were amazing I use over and over again and those I didn’t well at least I tried them. What cooking through this cookbook gave me was a better appreciation to what my heritage was and better understanding of grandfather, who died before I was born. It was for me, a way to know him and to understand what life was like for him.
Even now when I do this, I still learn something new and a technique which I can adapt into my own recipes and cooking methods. So go ahead, choose a cuisine and go for it. What have you go to lose?
Then after a conversation with Connie, it came to me. I know what to write about. This topic would help the novice cook as well as the accomplished cook. After watching the movie Julie and Julia, I was certain that I needed to write about this topic.
The topic that I am going to write about is cooking your way through a cookbook. I know it sounds daunting to cook your way through a cookbook. The key is to find a cookbook that contains the type of cooking you’re interested in. Also I would suggest that you start with a small cookbook first. I also suggest that you choose a cuisine type that all of your family will eat. An example of this is I would not cook my way through a vegetarian cookbook when my partner is a severe carnivore!
For the novice cook, cooking your way through a cookbook will teach you, usually, the different cooking techniques, like roasting, poaching, frying, simmering, and sautéing. It will stretch your knowledge and you will be surprised at what you can accomplish. Of course, there are going to be disasters and there will be dishes that you don’t like but if you stick with it you will find dishes that will make your friends and family think you are culinary god! You will find recipes and techniques that will make dinner preparation quick and easy. But best of all it will enlarge your knowledge of the different types of cuisines of the world.
For the knowledgeable cook, you will learn how to make substitutions to a recipe to give them your unique style. You will find new ingredients that you may have never thought could be used in this manner, you may find that not only do love the food your cooking but may wish to travel to that area and see how the locals make it. Then again, you may choose a cookbook of a famous chef and by cooking their dishes you will find a special connection to them.
So find a cookbook that stirs your imagination and cook your way through. The last time I did, I chose an Italian cookbook. Italian cooking is my favorite type and I wanted to honor my grandfather’s heritage, so I found a cookbook of recipes from Liguria. It is the region of Italy where Genoa is located, the city of my grandfather. When I finished a recipe, in pencil, I wrote the date I finished and any comments on the recipe in the margins, usually whether I liked the recipe or not. The recipes I thought were amazing I use over and over again and those I didn’t well at least I tried them. What cooking through this cookbook gave me was a better appreciation to what my heritage was and better understanding of grandfather, who died before I was born. It was for me, a way to know him and to understand what life was like for him.
Even now when I do this, I still learn something new and a technique which I can adapt into my own recipes and cooking methods. So go ahead, choose a cuisine and go for it. What have you go to lose?
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