Today has been an absolute monochromatic day at work...one of those days when nothing on your screen seems relevant and your clients take a day off and you feel you are better off else where...in such days, the quench for a scrumptious meal is even more...you know there is an urge to make the day productive! I am not sure if its a gift or a disorder, but I just know exactlly what taste my pallet is craving for; I happen to be surfing Donna Hay's official website too, looking for some budget recipe for my bro's birthday brunch. I stumbled upon RIBS...and I knew that it is a craving for jack daniel's pork ribs from tgif.
They serve you with a good portion and a some divine tasting onion rings with an amrit patram (kinda like an abyss) of the JD sauce. Hmmm...so next time you get a chance, please do not forget to try out the right ribs ;)
I had a super chilled out lunch and rushed back for my brief business meeting. For some reason, enjoyed the ribs today even more, guess there is always a way food finds to make your day.
Coming up next is some tried and tasted good chinese dishes...but with a hint of our touch. Have fun!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Blueberry cheesecake
I had this tin of blueberry fruit filling. I wanted to use it for muffins. But when I saw the picture of a cheesecake topped with the fruit filling, I was tempted to try my hand on a cheesecake. The cheesecakes that I have eaten at various restaurants cafes, have a thick crust with a bite to it and the cheesecake was a spongy sometimes grainy textured so called 'cream cheese' filling. Was never a big fan of this kind. And so I thought it's about time I tried making what I wanted to taste (in my head, the cheesecake had to be smooth and creamy). So here is what I ended up with, and I must say I liked it. I can still improvise, but I did get pretty close.
Ingredients:
Crust:
5 nos. digestive biscuts
4 nos. marie biscuts
4 nos. glucose biscuts
2 tb sp butter (melted)
Filling:
2 cups hung curd (cream cheese)
1 cup thick fresh cream
3/4 cup sugar (powdered)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tb sp blueberry fruit filling
1 tsp gelatin
Method:
Run all the biscuts in the blender till it looks like sand. Tip in the butter and blitz some more. Now put this mix on your pie tin and press the bread crumbs to form a crust. Pop it into the freezer till you get your cream cheese filling. Whip the fresh cream till it forms soft peaks. Mix this into the cream cheese along with the rest of the ingredients.
Soak gelatin in 2 tsp cold water for 30 mins. Use a double boiler and melt the gelatin. Add this into the cream cheese mixture. Pour this mix into the pie tin lined with the biscut crust and let it chill for 5-6 hours or preferably overnight. Remove and top it with a generous amount of blueberry fruit filling. You could subsitute the blueberry filling with fresh mangoes or strawberries. This is a very refreshing dessert on a warm night.
Try to fight the urge of licking the bowl clean of the cream cheese filling ;-)
Ingredients:
Crust:
5 nos. digestive biscuts
4 nos. marie biscuts
4 nos. glucose biscuts
2 tb sp butter (melted)
Filling:
2 cups hung curd (cream cheese)
1 cup thick fresh cream
3/4 cup sugar (powdered)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tb sp blueberry fruit filling
1 tsp gelatin
Method:
Run all the biscuts in the blender till it looks like sand. Tip in the butter and blitz some more. Now put this mix on your pie tin and press the bread crumbs to form a crust. Pop it into the freezer till you get your cream cheese filling. Whip the fresh cream till it forms soft peaks. Mix this into the cream cheese along with the rest of the ingredients.
Soak gelatin in 2 tsp cold water for 30 mins. Use a double boiler and melt the gelatin. Add this into the cream cheese mixture. Pour this mix into the pie tin lined with the biscut crust and let it chill for 5-6 hours or preferably overnight. Remove and top it with a generous amount of blueberry fruit filling. You could subsitute the blueberry filling with fresh mangoes or strawberries. This is a very refreshing dessert on a warm night.
Try to fight the urge of licking the bowl clean of the cream cheese filling ;-)
Savoury Crepes
...with mushroom and spinach cream cheese filling
After my blueberry cheesecake episode I had about 2 or 3 cups full of cream cheese left. Looking at my record I haven't been doing many savoury eats, I thought I'd give crepes a try. Savoury ones of course, with a nice light yet creamy veggie filling. You could substitute the veggies for chicken if you feel like it.
After my blueberry cheesecake episode I had about 2 or 3 cups full of cream cheese left. Looking at my record I haven't been doing many savoury eats, I thought I'd give crepes a try. Savoury ones of course, with a nice light yet creamy veggie filling. You could substitute the veggies for chicken if you feel like it.
Ingredients for Crepes:
This makes about 4 average sized crepes
1/2 cup flour (I used 1/4 cup all purpose flour or maida and 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 tb sp oil
a pinch of salt
Method:
Mix all the ingredients in a and let it rest in the fridge while you make the filling.
Once the filling is ready get the batter out of the fridge and pour one ladel onto a hot nonstick pan. Immedietely swirl it around to let the batter spread. Do not be bothered about the shape :)
Once the top seems dry, in about 1 minute, flip it and let the other side cook till there are a few brown blisters.
Filling:
1 cup cream cheese (hung curd)
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tsp butter
salt and pepper for seasoning
Bring the cream cheese to room temperature. Saute the spinach in 1 tsp butter and keep aside. Saute the mushrooms in 1 tsp butter and keep aside. Now spread the cream cheese on half of a crepe and top it with the mushrooms and spinach. Fold the other half over the filling and pop it into the microwave for about 20 seconds. This is just because it tastes much better when served hot.
This can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's quite filling and I pretty much loved it. It definitely beats a bread and jam sandwich or cornflakes for that matter. ;-)
This makes about 4 average sized crepes
1/2 cup flour (I used 1/4 cup all purpose flour or maida and 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 tb sp oil
a pinch of salt
Method:
Mix all the ingredients in a and let it rest in the fridge while you make the filling.
Once the filling is ready get the batter out of the fridge and pour one ladel onto a hot nonstick pan. Immedietely swirl it around to let the batter spread. Do not be bothered about the shape :)
Once the top seems dry, in about 1 minute, flip it and let the other side cook till there are a few brown blisters.
Filling:
1 cup cream cheese (hung curd)
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tsp butter
salt and pepper for seasoning
Bring the cream cheese to room temperature. Saute the spinach in 1 tsp butter and keep aside. Saute the mushrooms in 1 tsp butter and keep aside. Now spread the cream cheese on half of a crepe and top it with the mushrooms and spinach. Fold the other half over the filling and pop it into the microwave for about 20 seconds. This is just because it tastes much better when served hot.
This can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's quite filling and I pretty much loved it. It definitely beats a bread and jam sandwich or cornflakes for that matter. ;-)
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Cheese at Noir
Cafe Noir, UB city rooftop, Bangalore. Must visit. We had a few American friends in town and they asked for us to take them to a nice French/Italian place for lunch. I didnt think twice before I recommended Cafe Noir. Us girls had been there once for some quiche and coffee kind of thing, Loved it. It's not the snooty fine dining French restaurant you'd expect it to be. Extremely friendly staff, quick and efficient service even on a weekend, great view and to top it all great food!
I'm actually just back from lunch, a pretty long one mind you, considering our friends who were blown away and declared it the best food they've had in Bangalore (well, second best, Citrus buffet brunch being the first).We ordered the cheese platter to begin with and this was the highlight of the lunch, no, make that the entire weekend. Now I may not be able to tell my cheeses apart, but I knew what I ate today was an experience in my mouth.
It was a beautiful platter of all kinds of cheese, some I dont remember, some I can't pronounce. The ones I can articulate were the ones that turned out to be my favourites. Brie, goat cheese, mozzarella, blue cheese. Ah! dairy-heaven. All we needed was a bottle of Chardonay. Spread some of that blue cheeseon a piece of baguette and enjoy. Even try the brie with a piece of strawberry, feels like sin. We couldn't stop moaning afer every bite. We tried not to over do it and get ourselves thrown out. But there's no other way to describe the feeling. I think we stopped speaking for a bit.
I think wine and cheese is not over-rated. It's fun with your friends and a great expreience on it's own. Do try it. You'll make a day of it. Any restaurant, any city, good friends :)
Watch this space for desserts at Noir. Coming soon! ;)
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Speedy Brunch Chicken
After a very long time the two of us got together to cook up a quick dinner. Chicken, mustard sauce, cream and honey. These were what we had at our disposal. This is just atrociously easy to cook. Great for brunch or dinner. We also had a side of cream cheese mashed potato and sauted veggies. Doesn't seem like a lot, but we felt like we ate a whale!
Ingredients:
500 gm chicken cut into medium/large peices, 1 tbsp honey for each piece of chicken, 2 tbsp oil. Salt and pepper for seasoning
1/2 cup mustard sauce
1/4 cup fresh cream
4 potatoes cooked and mashed
1/4 cup cream cheese
And salt and pepper for seasoning
After a very long time the two of us got together to cook up a quick dinner. Chicken, mustard sauce, cream and honey. These were what we had at our disposal. This is just atrociously easy to cook. Great for brunch or dinner. We also had a side of cream cheese mashed potato and sauted veggies. Doesn't seem like a lot, but we felt like we ate a whale!
Ingredients:
500 gm chicken cut into medium/large peices, 1 tbsp honey for each piece of chicken, 2 tbsp oil. Salt and pepper for seasoning
1/2 cup mustard sauce
1/4 cup fresh cream
4 potatoes cooked and mashed
1/4 cup cream cheese
And salt and pepper for seasoning
Process:
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and place the chicken pieces with the seasoning, and let it sear on the pan for about 4 minutes on each side, or till the chicken has cooked and has a nice brown color to it. Take it off the pan and glaze it with the honey.
For the sauce, bring the mustard sauce and the fresh cream to a boil and take it off the heat and serve it with the honey glazed chicken.
For the cream cheese mashed potato, mix the seasoning and the cream cheese to the mashed potatos and serve!
And as we say in the end...Aashte...thats all!...enjoy!
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and place the chicken pieces with the seasoning, and let it sear on the pan for about 4 minutes on each side, or till the chicken has cooked and has a nice brown color to it. Take it off the pan and glaze it with the honey.
For the sauce, bring the mustard sauce and the fresh cream to a boil and take it off the heat and serve it with the honey glazed chicken.
For the cream cheese mashed potato, mix the seasoning and the cream cheese to the mashed potatos and serve!
And as we say in the end...Aashte...thats all!...enjoy!
Inspired by some...Jerk Chicken :)
Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meats are dry-rubbed or wet marinated with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. Jerk seasoning is traditionally applied to pork and chicken. Modern recipes also apply jerk spice mixes to fish, shrimp, shellfish, beef, sausage, and tofu. Jerk seasoning principally relies upon two items: allspice (called "pimento" in Jamaica) and Scotch bonnet peppers (among the hottest peppers on the Scoville scale). Other ingredients include cloves, cinnamon, scallions, nutmeg, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_jerk_spice
Thanks to the Lonely Planet,I read about 'jerk chicken'; before I went through the recipe as usual, I wanted to make my own quick one with the very limited ingredients at my disposal. My palate signaled that this should have a perfect combination of sweet and red chilli spice taste.
Ingredients:
Clean chicken breast piece, 2 teaspoons of lemoneez, 2 tablespoons of honey, chilli flakes, 3 cloves of garlic, nutmeg, butter and salt and pepper per tatse.
potatoes, cheese, pepper and choice of vegetables.
Process:
I usually prefer marinating the defrosted chicken in some white fruit vineger and salt for about 30 mins. Keep aside.
My choice of veggies include carrots, cauliflower, some brocolli and green peas. Boil them sufficiently, strain and keep aside. If you wish, you could very lightly fry these little chuncks of veggies in a very small dollop of butter for that perfect crunchy yet boiled tatse.
Now in a non stick pan, add a generous dollop of butter and let it redden. Add the chopped garlic and let it fry till they turn golden (take in the aroma!). Add a spoonful scrapped bits of nutmeg to it. Place the ckicken breasts gently on the pan and lid it. Keep switchin sides and and cover it back. At this rate in about 15 mins the chicken should be pretty much cooked, now add the the lemoneez to the chicken and just in a while add the honey to it. Sprinkle the chilli flakes, pour a small cup of water and lid up the chicken for about 6-7 mins (keep switching sides of the chicken for a perfectly cooked piece; you could poke the chicken with a fork to test).
Mash the perfectly peeled and boiled potatoes with a spoon and a add cube of cheese to the portion. Sprinkle a little pepper and salt according to your taste. For a different flavour altogether, you could place a serving of mashed potato in the foil and grate cheese on it, and put it in the oven for about 8 mins. Unwrap and enjoy.
Garnishing:
Now when you are in a hurry to eat, there no much place for a lot of garnishing. Minimalism and easy arrangement serves the purpose. Place the crunchy veggies and mashed potatoes next to the chicken. If you wish, you could add a small amount of baked beans. I also placed two twigs of wheat grass on the chicken...just got inspired by some presentation I saw in the magazine.
Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meats are dry-rubbed or wet marinated with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. Jerk seasoning is traditionally applied to pork and chicken. Modern recipes also apply jerk spice mixes to fish, shrimp, shellfish, beef, sausage, and tofu. Jerk seasoning principally relies upon two items: allspice (called "pimento" in Jamaica) and Scotch bonnet peppers (among the hottest peppers on the Scoville scale). Other ingredients include cloves, cinnamon, scallions, nutmeg, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_jerk_spice
Thanks to the Lonely Planet,I read about 'jerk chicken'; before I went through the recipe as usual, I wanted to make my own quick one with the very limited ingredients at my disposal. My palate signaled that this should have a perfect combination of sweet and red chilli spice taste.
Ingredients:
Clean chicken breast piece, 2 teaspoons of lemoneez, 2 tablespoons of honey, chilli flakes, 3 cloves of garlic, nutmeg, butter and salt and pepper per tatse.
potatoes, cheese, pepper and choice of vegetables.
Process:
I usually prefer marinating the defrosted chicken in some white fruit vineger and salt for about 30 mins. Keep aside.
My choice of veggies include carrots, cauliflower, some brocolli and green peas. Boil them sufficiently, strain and keep aside. If you wish, you could very lightly fry these little chuncks of veggies in a very small dollop of butter for that perfect crunchy yet boiled tatse.
Now in a non stick pan, add a generous dollop of butter and let it redden. Add the chopped garlic and let it fry till they turn golden (take in the aroma!). Add a spoonful scrapped bits of nutmeg to it. Place the ckicken breasts gently on the pan and lid it. Keep switchin sides and and cover it back. At this rate in about 15 mins the chicken should be pretty much cooked, now add the the lemoneez to the chicken and just in a while add the honey to it. Sprinkle the chilli flakes, pour a small cup of water and lid up the chicken for about 6-7 mins (keep switching sides of the chicken for a perfectly cooked piece; you could poke the chicken with a fork to test).
Mash the perfectly peeled and boiled potatoes with a spoon and a add cube of cheese to the portion. Sprinkle a little pepper and salt according to your taste. For a different flavour altogether, you could place a serving of mashed potato in the foil and grate cheese on it, and put it in the oven for about 8 mins. Unwrap and enjoy.
Garnishing:
Now when you are in a hurry to eat, there no much place for a lot of garnishing. Minimalism and easy arrangement serves the purpose. Place the crunchy veggies and mashed potatoes next to the chicken. If you wish, you could add a small amount of baked beans. I also placed two twigs of wheat grass on the chicken...just got inspired by some presentation I saw in the magazine.
Bon Apetite!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Chicken Quiche
Chicken quiche:I can finally make quiche! My favourite person's favourite thing in the world, isnt it? Can't wait to make one for her soon :)This one's for you Upsie!
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
Crust:
150 gm flour
75 gm unsalted frozen butter cut into small peices
1 tb sp salt
3 tb sp ice cold water
3 tsp herbs (I used thyme)
Method:
Method:
Seive the flour. Add salt. Add the cold butter. Now using a couple of forks mash the butter into the flour till it breaks into smaller peices. Add the thyme. Now use your hands and quickly bring it together without using much pressure. Add the water to help form a dough which should not be too hard or too soft. Let it sit in the fridge for about half an hour. Bring it out and roll it to get 1/4 inch thickness. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut out a big round shape, basically bigger that the rim of you pie tin. Now place it in the greased and dusted pie tin and scrape off the extra dough from the rim. Place a sheet of butter paper in it and fill it with kidney beans or rice or any grains to weigh the butterpaper down. Now bake this in a pre-heated oven for 30 min at 180-190C. This is basically to bake the crust.
Filling:
Filling:
250 gm boneless chicken cut into small peices
1 med onion chopped
3 tb sp oil
Salt to taste
3 tb sp mixed herbs
1 tsp pepper
1 cup grated mozzerella cheese
2 eggs
1 cup milk
Heat oil. Add onions. Saute till it turns transparent. Add herbs. Add chicken, pepper and salt. Let this cook till chicken is done, that should be about 10 min. Let it cool. Bring out the baked crust in its tin. Remove the butterpaper with the grains. Arrange a layer of half the cheese at the bottom of the crust. Now add the chicken filling and again top it with the remaining cheese. Beat the 2 eggs into the milk and just before popping it into the oven pour it into the quiche filling. Bake for about 30 min in a pre-heated oven, at 200C, or till it forms a golden brown color on top. Let it cool before you tear it apart.
Heat oil. Add onions. Saute till it turns transparent. Add herbs. Add chicken, pepper and salt. Let this cook till chicken is done, that should be about 10 min. Let it cool. Bring out the baked crust in its tin. Remove the butterpaper with the grains. Arrange a layer of half the cheese at the bottom of the crust. Now add the chicken filling and again top it with the remaining cheese. Beat the 2 eggs into the milk and just before popping it into the oven pour it into the quiche filling. Bake for about 30 min in a pre-heated oven, at 200C, or till it forms a golden brown color on top. Let it cool before you tear it apart.
This makes for a great lunch with a side of steamed veggies and some iced tea maybe. So comforting :)
PS: Thank you so much Bhakti for these lovely pictures :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)