Murg Massalam (Indian Garlic Chicken) and Mines Bouilli (Chinese Vegetarian Noodles)

Africa is a continent which possesses many layers of diversity - it's culinary outlets are no less diverse than its population.  Being so large and so full of the tales of conquest and adventure, one can unwrap the surface, with all it believes about the land, only to find one hundred more layers of interest further hidden below.  Indeed, Africa has many secrets, but perhaps one of its greatest culinary treasures lay within the shores of the small island nation of Mauritius.

Having been completely unpopulated prior to colonialization, Mauritius has been ruled and inhabitied by many transplanted foreigners including the Portugese, Dutch, French, and British.  Because those groups required slave labor, the addition of African, Chinese and Indians further added to the blended mixture of the island's population.  Thus, the country achieved the sense of a true melting-pot society.  And, the blending couldn't have been better planned!  A meal in Mauritius is one of fusion.  Generally, people eat Chinese appetizers with Indian entrees and French desserts - all the while, they do it without a sense of novelty.  To the "natives," it is just another meal.

From a personal standpoint, Chinese, Indian, Creole and French foods are typically at the top of the list when it comes to the foods I crave.  If I were to handpick the items that I would take on a deserted island (such as Mauritius used to be), there are no other cuisines which I would think to include.  Thanks to the now-extinct dodo and the lives of many brave sailors and slaves, Mauritius may just be my new culinary utopia.

Murg Massalam Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cardamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric

Instructions:

1. With a sharp knife, make a few shallow slashes in the chicken flesh and place in a non-metallic dish.
2. To make the marinade, mis all of the ingredients into a small bowl and pour over the chicken.  Toss until well coated.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or for as long as a day before you intend to cook it.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a deep roasting pan with foil and arranged the chicken in the pan.  Pour about 2/3 cup of water into the pan to form a shallow layer.  Spoon any remaining marinade over the chicken.  Bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken is golden and crisp, showing no signs of pink when pierced. 

(The original recipe came from "The Illustrated Kitchen Bible" by Victoria Blashford-Snell)

Mines Bouilli Ingredients:

• 15 ounces of Chinese egg noodles
• 2 Tbsp. chopped green onions
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. chili sauce
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. sesame paste
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar
• black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl, except for the noodles, garlic and green onions. 
2. Boil the noodles for about 10 to 15 minutes then drain.  Add noodles and garlic to the bowl with the remaining ingredients.  Toss to coat.
3. Garnish with green onions and serve warm.

(The original recipe came from this site: http://ile-maurice.tripod.com/minetouni.htm)

Flank Steak with Red Wine Sauce

More times than not, my husband requests that I make a dinner of "meat and potatoes."  And, more often than not, I feel rather blasé about the whole thing.  After all, I have a whole kitchen's worth of interesting gadgets and shelves full of cookbooks - why should I settle for eating the standard fare?!  Easily explained: there is one variation of the old standard that is worth settling for. 

Last year, after having bought my first cookbook by Italy's favorite young food maven, Giada De Laurentiis, I ventured into the new practice of making sauces.  Not the typical Chef Boyardee kind.  Rather, sauces that had wine in them.  And special kinds of vinegar.  And exciting herbs I had never before tasted.  They were wonderful new concoctions, similar to experiments in chemistry and potion-making.  I felt so envigorated and inspired.  Her book was a wonderful expansion to my newly-opened culinary world.

With that said, one of the favorite recipes that we discovered from Giada's book was, incidentally, a "meat and potatoes" kind of meal.  Not just any meat, though - flank steak.  Added with an onion-infused red wine sauce on top.  Then a side of rosemary-seasoned polenta.  And, wow!  I must say, not many meals have made me as speechless!

I have served this to my parents.  My husband.  My three year old.  And everyone - EVERYONE - asks for seconds.  It is simply that good!  So, now we (in our family) know that there is more to Italian food than canned Spaghetti O's.  And there is more to "meat and potatoes" than just a hunk of beef and a starchy side for dinner.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/8 cup tomato paste
• 1 1/4 cups red wine
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. flank steak or tri-tip steak

Instructions:

1. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt.
2. Add the garlic and oregano and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Whisk in the wine. Simmer until the sauce reduces by half, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
4. Remove the skillet from the heat. Strain the sauce into a small bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids in the strainer and return the sauce to the saucepan and bring back to a slow simmer.
5. Cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into small 1/2-inch chunks and whisk in the sauce a little at a time. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.
6. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the steak with salt and pepper and drizzle with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook the steak to desired doneness, about 8 minutes per side for medium-rare (the steak shrinks as it cooks).
7. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the steak rest in the skillet for 10 minutes.
8. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board.  Thinly slice the steaks across the grain. Divide the steak slices among 6 plates. Drizzle the sauce over the steak, drizzle a little more extra-virgin olive oil and serve.

(This original recipe came from "Everyday Italian" by Giada De Laurentiis)