Peli Peli – A South African Delight

Peli Peli – A South African Delight

I recently went to a very unique restaurant that made me reminisce about my trip to South Africa four years ago. It’s an upscale casual restaurant located at the Vintage Park shopping center in North Houston (Hwy 249 & Louetta). And, I had a delightful South African experience there.

When you walk into the restaurant, you see a large wood Acacia Tree made of walnut wood and lighted with changing colors. Guests are invited to dine under Peli Peli’s 30-foot tall, one-of-a-kind Acacia Tree with an illuminated sky while enjoying live jazz, avant-garde architecture in the spacious dining area. It really provided a great ambiance.

The significance of the Acacia Tree is that lions rest and dine under these trees in South Africa and since you are “king” so should you. There are also TVs located in the dining area that features Chef Paul Friedman, the Master Chef of Peli Peli preparing some of his signature dishes. It was all very entertaining.

So what is Peli Peli?

Peli Peli (also known as Piri Piri or Peri Peri), which means Bird’s-Eye Chili, is a spice found by the Portuguese in the 15th Century on the plains of Southern Africa. The spice rapidly became popular when used to prepare sauces and marinades for Portuguese and African foods.

The Bird’s-Eye Chili is the cornerstone spice for the cuisine and concept. Peli Peli presents a fresh new dining experience by combining our signature Flame Pepper chicken recipe, as well as traditional family recipes and dishes collected from around the world.

Peli Peli’s menu featured its signature Flame Pepper Chicken that is marinated in guava, grilled over Applewood smoke and served with a variety of dipping sauces ranging from sweet to spicy. This was dish that I had, and it was scrumptious. The chicken was fall-off-the bone tender and spiced to perfection with Peli Peli. It was served with a hot dipping sauce for the chicken, and a wonderful mango coleslaw and couscous.

The Peli Peli menu items are infused with their unique line of dipping sauces that include sweet specials such as Passion Fruit and Mint Mojito, original favorites like Citrus Lemon Butter and Roasted Garlic, and of course the signature hot sauce Spicy Peli Peli and the Spicy Ginger.

Peli Peli’s dipping sauces are available for any entrée and help bring out the bold flavors of the cuisine, as well as make each dining experience interesting and memorable.

For dessert, my friends and I shared the Sticky Toffee Pudding. It’s a rich pudding cake smothered with homemade sticky toffee. It’s a European favorite that was brought to South Africa during the English occupation.

In addition to this amazing blend of innovative cuisine, guests entering Peli Peli will embark on a journey that will capture their heart, soul and belly and discover an extraordinary atmosphere of live music, extravagant design and attentive staff.

About the Chef

Paul Friedman is the Master Chef of Peli Peli. Chef Paul has had over 35 years of experience in the restaurant industry, having owned and operated successful restaurant concepts in South Africa and Germany, as well as being the creator of Paul’s Pizza Shop, a nationally-recognized pizza concept in North Houston.

Check out their website and enjoy a unique South African meal – http://www.pelipeli.com/

Here are some photos of South Africa that I took when I went on safari and a visit to Cape Town.

Wines from Israel – Jesus didn’t drink the good stuff!

Wines from Israel – Jesus didn’t drink the good stuff!

I recently went to a wine tasting that featured boutique wines of Israel. It was held at a trendy mid-town Houston wine bar called 13 Celsius.

This event interested me for a couple of reasons: 1) I wanted to expand my wine palate to taste wines I would otherwise probably never taste. 2) I like to see what wines are offered from the different parts of the world. For $13, you got a generous pour of these wines to taste.

We walked in and the bar was packed with people. It was almost hard to get in the door. I grabbed my friend and push our way through the crowd to the marble bar. We planted ourselves there near the wine that was being poured. That’s when I met Richard Shaffer.

Shaffer, of Israeli Wine Direct, is a world-renowned importer and advocate of the boutique wines of Israel, and was only in Houston for a short time to pour the wines that he represents. Richard, who is originally from Israel, started a wine import company to feature the emerging wines from Israel, and introduce America to these small vineyards.

He’s a very interesting fellow, and as packed as the wine bar was, he took some time with me to explain the history behind the wines he was pouring. I told him I wrote a blog and asked if I could record him as he described the history of the wines. He said enthusiastically said yes. So out comes my iPhone! It was so noisy in the bar, but he leaned in and spoke loudly.

Richard calls the wines of this area the original vines of wine-making because they are 1000s of years old, dating back to the days of Noah and the Ark. He said 20 years ago there were only about 20 vineyards in Israel and today there are over 250.

So here are the wines I tasted:

Pelter Chardonnay – no oak, stainless steal fermentation, grape is from the Golan Heights, which are the remains of an ancient volcano. This gives the wine ash, basalt, and minerals tones. The Golan plateau and the Hauran plain to the east constitute a Holocene volcanic field that also extends northeast, almost to Damascus. Much of the area is scattered with dormant volcanoes, as well as cinder cones, such as Majdal Shams. The plateau also contains a crater lake, called Birkat Ram (“Ram Pool”), which is fed by both surface runoff and underground springs. These volcanic areas are characterized by basalt bedrock and dark soils derived from its weathering. The basalt flows overlie with older, distinctly lighter-colored limestones and marls, and is exposed along the Yarmouk River in the south.

Trio “Spirit” – This was a wine that was made in a basement, and only a few bottles were produced…less than 5,000 bottles. It was produced by three brothers who own one of the best high-end wine retail shops in the area. Richard said the brothers know where the best grapes are in the region and they buy the grapes from the vineyard to make this fun little wine. The wine has a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, and Petite Verdot.

Flam “Classico” – This wine was made by a young guy who trained at vineyards located in Italy. He came back to Israel in 1999 and opened this winery with his brother, sister, mom and dad. The Flam Classico has a blend of Syrah and Cabernet.

Flam Syrah – Richard explained that Syrah is a name of the winery or name of a place. It’s a junction that is known to the people in the area. Richard said if you go there now, it’s a four-way stop with flashing lights. Syrah is mentioned in the Bible’s Book of Judges as a place for trade, and was known to be a place where you would go for premium wines.

Tazora Cabernet Blend – This wine is a 50/50 blend of Cabernet and Merlot. The vines are located near the valley where David killed Goliath. All of the reds that were presented were from the hills around the Jerusalem area. There are about two dozen wineries in the area. The reds in these areas have an earthiness to them with a little sage taste.

Here’s my take on the wines….Jesus didn’t drink the good stuff! These wines were interesting to taste. But they had a very acidy and tannic taste to them. None of the wines that I tasted would be wines that I would sit down to sip. But they might pair very well with food. It was fun to do, and I really enjoyed learning the history behind the vines.

Learning about wines – How to taste wine

Because I love wine, I wanted to do a few blogs  focused on wines and wine tasting. I thought I would start with the basics of tasting wines. Plus it’s a good refresher for me as well.

By focusing on several important aspects in each wine tasting, you help to refine your palate, pick out subtle details, and really understand the wine. This helps take the experience of wine tasting from a simple consumption of a beverage to new heights of appreciation!

Wine appreciation, just like appreciating any art, requires experience to develop. The first time you taste a wine, you don’t notice all the details. Some of these subtleties get lost on the novice. Only after tasting many wines and analyzing them in depth can you start to see these subtleties, both the good and the bad, and to distinguish a good wine from a poor one and to distinguish a good wine from a truly great one. Therefore, knowing how to taste wine as you get started is critical to avoid missing anything.

But whether you like a wine or not, will come down to your own personal taste and preferences. Drink what you like and appreciate. Here are some steps in wine tasting that I found from Wine Tasting Guide that helps me get started and I refer to the steps before I go to some wine tastings. Take a look.

The Steps of Tasting Wine

Opening and Pouring Wine - Obviously, this is the first step. Whether using a waiter’s corkscrew, screwpull or other fancy cork puller, opening the bottle should be pretty basic. However, one mistake beginners make in pouring wine is pouring too much! Be sure to only pour about 1/4th of a glassful. You will need room to swirl and sniff the wine. If it is filled up to the top you won’t have room for either of these!

Wine Color and Appearance - The next step in assessing a wine is simply looking at the wine. While many people gloss over this step pretty quickly, it can be useful. Note the overall color, the depth or opacity of color, the clarity, and viscosity.

Wine Aroma or “the Nose” – After your initial impressions of the wine’s appearance, turn your attention to the aroma of the wine, what wine geeks call the wine’s “nose”. Swirling the wine will help to volatilize the wine so you can smell it better. Don’t be afraid to get your nose right in there. Take your time and try to come up with descriptors, ways of describing what you are smelling. Start by naming the fruit aromas you smell and move on to other aromas, earth, wood, smoke, etc. There are no right and wrong answers so take a shot at it. This is a subjective thing. Overall, do you like the aroma? Is it complex, meaning it has many nuances of, or is it simple, with only one primary aroma. Does it entice you to take a sip or does it turn you off? Are there strange “off” aromas like melted rubber, mold, wet dog or others?

Wine Flavor or “the Mouth” – Finally, after studying the appearance and nose, move on to take a small sip. Swirl the wine around in your mouth and suck in some air (this is important to do) to volatilize the wine and get more out of it. Pay attention to whether the wine has any sweetness or is it dry? Is it light bodied or a big, full bodied wine? Is it flat feeling or lively, tart or bitter? Are there noticeable tannins (the drying, astringent feeling you get in your mouth with bigger red wines or chewing on the skin of a grape or apple)? Is it bland or does it have intensity to the flavors? Is it simple or complex with layers of flavors? What is the feel of the wine in your mouth, clumsy and chunky or is it velvety and silky? Pay attention to the finish after you swallow or spit the wine, does it linger attractively on your palate or does the flavor die away quickly? Does it entice you to take another sip or does it leave a bad taste in your mouth? Finally, do you like it? Is the overall impression positive or negative?

That’s it! I hope this helps you get started tasting wine. Most of all have fun with it because that’s what drinking wine is all about!

35 Pounds and going-tasty healthy chicken recipe

It may seem as though my focus is only on the more decadent food dishes, but that’s not quite right. For several months now, I’ve been working on losing weight and improving my health. And so far, I have been successful at shedding 35 pounds. I’m headed for a goal of 50 pounds.

If you have read my other blogs, you’ll notice many describe exquisite chef tastings or recipes that challenge my cooking skills. The thing is I am going to continue having my foodie excursions too. I guess it’s part of my reward system.

But the fact is you can really eat some delicious dishes that don’t have to be packed with calories and fat. The method that has helped me with my weight loss has been a low-carb diet. It’s  eating a lot of chicken, fish and vegetables for me. But it doesn’t have to taste like rubber chicken breasts over and over. There are a lot of ways to prepared chicken breasts that keeps it moist and flavorful. Vegetables too.

I recently read an article in the New York Times by Melissa Clark “A Fallen Star of French Cuisine, Restored to Its Silver Platter.” It’s about how chicken breasts were the fallen star of French cuisine. It’s true. Most of the dishes use dark meat because it has more flavor because of the fat in the darker meat. The article offered some really great recipes and I tried one that was absolutely delicious. My neighbor Cathy was my test subject for the recipe and we both agreed that it was wonderful dish.

This is the recipe that I cooked and I served it with sauteed French beans. I did substitute the oyster mushrooms for cremini mushrooms since that is what I had in the refrigerator.

Chicken Paillard With Curried Oyster Mushrooms

Time: 25 minutes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more for greasing pan and for drizzling

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (8 ounces each)

1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon curry powder, more to taste

7 ounces oyster mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced.

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil.  Transfer chicken to baking sheet and season well with a large pinch each of salt, pepper and curry powder. Drizzle chicken with a little oil.

2. In a bowl, toss mushrooms with curry powder, salt, basil, garlic, scallions and 2 tablespoons oil.

3. Spoon an equal amount of mushroom mix on each piece of chicken. Bake until mushrooms are golden and chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Yield: 2 servings.