Day 119! Namibia - Fillet of Alligator Skewers with Peanut Satay and Couscous - Up Next, Nauru

Well...when a girl comes across a Namibian recipe that calls for alligator and ostrich, it's simply impossible to walk away.  And, as anyone who knows me can testify to, the challenge of locating hard to find ingredients simply ups the excitement factor exponentially.

So, after doing a little foodie sleuthing, I found ostrich, which although available, was waaaaayyyyy out of my price range...like $39.99 per pound too rich for my blood. Alligator, on the other hand, was right in the ballpark. To get the stuff, I headed over to Savanor's in Cambridge after work, where they totally hooked me up. Although I had to pass up the ostrich (hey, I needed gas!), I left with 2 pounds of alligator fillet that had just come in earlier that morning. Seriously, I had a bag of freakin' alligator in hand cruising down the street...and I'll bet I was the only ex-Cambridge townie who did - now that's boss.

Located in southern Africa, south of the equator, Namibia sits on the Atlantic Ocean and borders Angola, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa. The country gained independence from South Africa in 1990 following the Namibian War of Independence. Prior to South Africa's colonization, Namibia had been colonized by the Germans. The country's name comes from the Namib Desert, thought to be the oldest in the world.

Bushmeat, along with fish is an important part of the Namibian diet.

Food in Namibia is varied according to region, but overall, the cuisine is based on fresh seafood, chicken and bushmeats, crocodile and ostrich. Rice, beans, millet, corn, tomatoes and couscous along with a thick porridge are all commonly eaten. Fresh oranges, bananas, pineapples, kiwi, avocados and peanuts round out the diverse culinary choices. For the most part, food is cooked outside on a fire pit or using a three legged pot, so that's what I did, stoking up the fire pit I dug last year for the first time this spring.

Bushmeat Skewers with Peanut Satay (Adapted from Celtnet)

2 lbs alligator fillet
(or 1 pound of ostrich and 1pound of alligator)
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 red chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 Tbsp. crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup cashew nuts, roasted and crushed
juice of 1 lime
7/8 cup coconut milk
4 fresh chilis chopped
1/2 tsp. soy sauce
light brown sugar to taste
salt and freshly ground pepper

You will need 15 bamboo skewers soaked in water for 15 minutes, or metal skewers.
Meanwhile, cut the meat into strips and season liberally with salt and freshly-ground pepper. Mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, finely-chopped chili and soy sauce. our this over the meat marinate for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer.

While the meat is marinating, prepare the satay sauce by incorporating the remaining ingredients together in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer, add sugar to taste and cook gently for 5 minutes. Prepare the meat by threading two or three strips onto the skewers. Brush with any remaining marinade and place on grill (or under broiler).

Grill for a few minutes on each side until the meat is just done. Do not over cook as the meat does not have a lot of fat.

Serve on a bed of couscous accompanied by hot satay sauce.

Final Assessment: Awesomeness! Alligator tastes kind of like chicken (really), but with a much gamier, somewhat swampy flavor. The marinate tenderized it, and the grilling brought out the flavor and gave it such a wonderful crispy texture. I served with couscous and spinach, which we all loved. I'd love to experiment more with this wonderful meat.

Bees on Nob Hill & Honey at Macy's Union Square

What's the buzz on Nob Hill? It's probably honey bees! Restaurants and hotels with kitchen gardens are nothing new, but a hotel with beehives is something quite out of the ordinary, especially in the middle of a city like San Francisco. Executive Chef jW Foster at the San Francisco Fairmont arrived a year ago from Dallas, where he established a 3,000 square foot herb and vegetable garden. His desire to save the bee colonies and promote awareness about colony collapse and the importance of bees inspired him to collaborate with Marshall's Farm to bring bee hives to the rarefied air of Nob Hill, in particular the roof garden.

The rooftop beehives yield about 60 pounds of honey, harvested 2-3 times a year and is used in the hotel restaurant. He says the lavender honey has a particularly pungent flavor as does the eucalyptus batch. The health benefits are part of the appeal of using honey, and it fits in to the Fairmont's "Lifestyle cuisine. " Fairmont Lifestyle Cuisine is centered around health and wellness without sacrificing flavor, think of it as the next generation of spa cuisine. The hotel restaurant uses honey in ice creams, vinaigrettes, desserts, in the afternoon tea service, and in marinades.

Chef Foster also makes gravlax with pacific cod, using honey instead of sugar. He'll be demonstrating how to make this dish at Macy's during the Macy's Flower Show on April 9th at 1 pm (tickets to the cooking class with the chef and beekeeper Helene Marshall are $10). Gravlax is a raw, cured dish and the chef shared some tips with me about cooking with honey including not using too high heat which changes the flavor. He suggested "letting it shine" and using it as primary flavor, emphasizing it when cooking. Another tip? Use it as a finishing touch, the way you might use olive oil as a drizzle on fruit, ricotta or prosciutto. Supporting the bees is also a teaching tool at the hotel, where the chef offers tours of the roof garden and a view of the bees at work to culinary students and to guests. While Macy's may not invite bees into the store, flowers and honey are more than welcome.