Ethiopian Restaurant in Anaheim, CA

As we spent a few days in Southern California during Spring Break, we had found a nice Ethiopian restaurant that we paid a visit to.  I believe it was called Abyssinia Restaurant.  First thing that hit us when we walked in was the variety of smells.  It was like opening fresh spices as you walked in.  We walked in during a time where it was rather quiet and slow so that we can enjoy ourselves after a long drive through inclement weather. Since this was our first time eating Ethiopian food, we went with what our server had recommended that was popular.  We ordered there traditional combo for two which included doro wot and a beef dish.  I was trying to hunt for the to-go menu that I had grabbed but it may have gotten lost somewhere during the vacation. Doro wot if i remember correctly was a braised chicken stew that was full of flavor and really spicy.  I'm not a big fan of spicy foods but this one was really good that I stomached my way through it.

Ethiopian dishes and drinks

Ethiopian Food Primer: 10 Essential Dishes And Drinks

For this weeks food experience, I am actually taking a break on the cooking.  However, I vow to find the best Ethiopian cuisine in our local area.  After reviewing the above article regarding their essential dishes, I would definitely like to find an establishment locally that serves injara and tibs.  As I was reading further into the article, I can't help to think of my culture being similar to Ethiopians in regard to hospitality and eating with your hands.  As I make my travels around the area, I will definitely post updates and reviews of the local Ethiopian eateries and include a review of each one.  My food travels will start this Friday and go for several days in hopes that I can hit each type of meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and also satisfy my sweet tooth in the process.  Will post reviews and updates within this blog through next week.

Jollof Rice with Chicken and Fried Plaintains

Had my first cooking mishap. I laughed so hard because how does one mess up on rice?!?  This is the recipe I had used.

Nigerian Jollof rice and chicken

Everything was going as planned until I overcooked the rice.

Therefore, I am up for the challenge and will be remaking this over the weekend for another photo opportunity.

However, the recipe called for frozen vegetables.  Totally big mistake listening to the recipe.  Even though the rice was overcooked and really mushy unlike rice consistency, it tasted really good but the taste of the frozen vegetables just did not fly with me in my opinion.

Note to self: Parboiling rice is difficult and takes practice to catch the correct time of pre-cooking the rice.

So take 2 will be once I can get to the market for more chicken drumsticks and spices. 

For the dessert week: Nigerian Chin Chin

Since I fell behind on the cooking of the main dish, I'm going to try and get the Chin Chin done simultaneously. 

At least the dessert doesn't seem too difficult.

Nigerian Jollof Rice with Fried Plaintains and Chicken

By popular request, I will be moving to the country of Nigeria in my food journey.  I found a very tasteful recipe for jollof rice and will be diving into a new technique of parboiling my rice prior to cooking.  Will be cooking this for dinner this coming Sunday or Monday..... Dessert week will be announced soon :)

Moroccan Meskouta Orange Cake

Hello classmates!  From experiences I've learned in the past, DO NOT COOK OR SERVE WHEN YOU'RE SICK AND HAVE PINK EYE! It's just common sense and unsanitary.  So sorry for the delay but the pink eye is keeping me confined at home in hopes that the redness goes away by tomorrow.  But I will hopefully bring this cake in for everyone next week.  This is the recipe that I am using and will be doing a homemade glaze on top of the bundt.

Moroccan Meskouta Orange Cake

When I read about this cake, they normally serve it with tea and breakfast and/or snack and is normal to see around their time of fasting (Ramadan).  Hope to see everyone Thursday.  I will make the cake when my vision clears later tonight just so that I can take some pictures.


UPDATE:

Like promised, it just came out of the oven and is in the process of cooling down.  Who's ready to snack tomorrow? See you then.

Please bring your own tea/coffee/milk...... simply put, bring your favorite drink :)

Sneak Peek of My Moroccan Dessert

Have no fear I will bring enough..... but think of oranges *wink*

Tagine Chicken with Couscous

We all know what day of the week this is and it's time for my weekly dose of cooking.  After going over recipes and looking at ingredients, I decided to do a bit of saving on the pockets today and use what I already have at home.  I'm planning on making my version of tagine chicken with couscous.  Recipes are linked below.  Tagine chicken is a street food in Morocco and is normally cooked in a clay pot with a cone lid and served with bread.  I will be using a casserole and serving over couscous instead.  The couscous recipe seems a bit bland so I was going to try dashing it up on my own.  I saw a lot of protein recipes which call for apricots.  Thinking of mixing a little bit within the couscous and garnishing with fresh mint and parsley and maybe some baked almonds.  Pictures to come shortly.  Now for a bit of shopping.  Just have to pick up the main things.

Easy Tagine Chicken

and

Perfect Couscous

UPDATE #1

Ok, ok.  Going to World Market in Pleasanton may have been a mistake after all.  What should have been a trip for preserved lemons (on sale for $5.49) became a baby in a candy store sort of deal.  I saw this lonely tagine pot on the shelf and helped myself to it.  This resulted back to an actual tagine recipe rather than a heavy skillet.

The chicken thighs are officially marinating for the next 3 to 4 hours.  I added the pulp of the preserved lemons to the marinate but could not find the saffron.  Therefore, saffron does not exist in my dish tonight. *sad face*

Since you needed a subscription to essentially view the recipe, I took a very bad picture of it and posted here.  This calls to cook it stove top on low heat but I don't want to jeopardize my tangine pot on the first day (it's not stove top safe according the fine print on the bottom).  So I will be oven cooking it at 375 degrees fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes.

Like usual, finished pic of dish will be later on tonight.

UPDATE #2

Getting ready to go into the oven.

Changed the temparature to 425 degrees fahrenheit at 60 minutes since I chose not to cook on stove top first.

Sitting pretty

Final product served over Couscous

Comments and Thoughts:

We definitely thought it tasted really good.  The flavor of the broth, black olives and preserved lemon blended really well.  We all agreed that the marinating process should be longer than 4 hours.  I should not forget to put honey and do a quick fry of the chicken in a skillet.  My friend and I both agreed that the Couscous may have not been the best choice for it.  However, my husband enjoyed it.  He said it's definitely different and to him different is good.  Next round, I shall use pita bread and see how that pairs.