Brithdays and best friends!

http://www.thegalleygourmet.net/2011/04/strawberry-and-white-chocolate-mousse.html

I’m sorry I have been irregular over the past few weeks guys. For the few “loyal” readers I have, my apologies…for the rest, you better start making reading my blog a habit from now! Today is one of my best friend’s haaaapy birthday!

Aditi and I have been friends for almost a decade now and she is genuinely one of those people I count on, no matter what the issue or the occasion. While we mostly bond on most things nonsensical (“OMG, her dress was so tacky,” “Did you know the new Mysore Sandal Soap cost Rs 630?”) and the few things sensible, we mostly bond hugely on our common love for all things wine and dine.

That being said, you look at her and you won’t know how someone so diminutive and petite can pack in as much food as she does. Her love for chocolate is, like Barney Stinson says “L-E-G-E-N-D-A-R-Y,” so much so that she will lock herself up in a room and devour a 1 kg chocolate pie all by herself! Yes, I know I almost gagged too! But inspite and despite her unhealthy, almost weird behaviour (;)) she is and will continue to be by 4.00 am friend…someone I adore beyond belief!

So, in honour of her birthday and since I gave her, her precious birthday gift in advance, I have decided to make her something chocolate this weekend. Here is what I have in mind:

Strawberry and White Chocolate Mousse Tart

For the Tart Dough

·         1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1/2 cup powdered sugar

·         9 Tablespoons (4 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         1 large egg

For the White Chocolate Mousse

·         6 ounces good quality white chocolate chips

·         1 1/4 cups chilled whipping cream, divided

·         3/4 teaspoon powdered gelatin

·         1 Tablespoon water

·         1/2 teaspoon vanilla

·         2 extra large egg whites

·         1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

·         1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam

·         1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

·         16 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced lengthwise

For the Tart Dough: In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, sugar, and salt.  Pulse until combined.  Scatter the butter pieces over the flour.   Process in short bursts until the butter is the size of peas.  Add the egg and process in long pulses, about 5-7 seconds until the dough has started to clump.  Place a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and dump the dough onto the surface.  Using the plastic wrap and the back of your hands, gently press the dough into a disk.  Wrap tightly with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375º F.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator.  If refrigerated overnight, let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle, flouring the dough and surface as necessary to keep the dough from sticking.  Roll up the dough around the rolling pin and gently unroll it over an 9 1/2-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.  Fit the dough into the edge of the pan.  Roll the rolling pin over the top of the pan to remove the excess dough. Place the tart onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or place in the freezer for 15 minutes.   

Line the tart pan with aluminum foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove the weights and foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Place on a rack to cool completely. 

For the White Chocolate Mousse: Combine the white chocolate and 1/4 cup whipping cream in a large heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water) and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is completely smooth.  Remove the bowl and allow the mixture to cool until lukewarm, about 15 minutes.  In small bowl, combine the gelatin and water.  Allow the mixture to bloom for 5 minutes.  Place the gelatin mixture in the microwave and cook until melted, about 5 seconds.  In a large bowl, beat the remaining cream and vanilla until soft peaks form.  Add the gelatin mixture and beat until combined.  Using clean dry beaters or a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff (but not dry) peaks form.  Gently fold the whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the whipped cream.  Transfer the mixture into the cooled crust and smooth the top with a offset spatula.  Chill overnight.

In a small saucepan, combine the jam and lemon juice over medium heat; stirring until the jam melts.  Remove from the heat.  Arrange the sliced strawberries in concentric circles on top of the set mousse.  Gently brush the berries with the melted jam mixture.  Serve immediately or chill the tart for up to 2 hours.  Enjoy!

PS: Pic and recipe courtesy http://www.thegalleygourmet.net/2011/04/strawberry-and-white-chocolate-mousse.html

Chocoholics Anonymous

The weekend went by in a hurry…and now, it has left me cold, falling prey to the flu and blessed me with an acrid, dry throat, much to my dismay. After spending the Saturday doing nothing much, save a bit of running around in the morning, I decided to go ahead and do some baking. My weapon of choice to ambush even the most worthy opponent (read idiots who are on some diet or the other – you know who you are!) was a delish and decadent chocolate cake, replete with chocolate ganache, chocolate chips, sprinkles, caramelized walnuts and nonpareils. 

So, was it a hit? You betcha…even Yuvarj’s 5 wicket haul and half century seemed to pale in comparison. Heck, I even had guys parked to the suide of the road after the night at Zara, waiting in queue (much akin Tirupati) for their share of ‘PRASADAM’. Yes, I know I’m being vain a shell, but who cares? My cake was a hit and here’s how I did it!

Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting

Cake Ingredients:

·         Non-stick vegetable oil spray

·         2 cups sifted cake flour (sifted, then measured)

·         1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)

·         1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

·         3/4 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 teaspoon baking powder

·         1 1/2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar

·         1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

·         3 large eggs

·         1 tablespoon vanilla extract

·         1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

·         1/2 cup lukewarm water

·         1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting ingredients:

·         24 ounces imported milk chocolate (such as Lindt), finely chopped

·         3 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

·         1 1/2 cups sugar

·         1/2 cup water

·         2 1/4 cups whipping cream

·         Nonpariels to decorate

Directions:

Cake Preparation: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper. Whisk flour and next 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat brown sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Beat in 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter among prepared pans (about 2 1/3 cups for each). Smooth tops. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Cool completely in pans on racks. Invert cakes onto 9-inch-diameter cardboard rounds or tart pan bottoms (cakes are delicate). Peel off parchment.

Frosting Preparation: Combine milk chocolate and bittersweet chocolate in large bowl. Stir sugar and 1/2 cup water in medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 10 minutes. Carefully and slowly add whipping cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir over low heat until any hard caramel bits dissolve and mixture is smooth. Pour caramel over chocolate; let stand 1 minute to allow chocolate to soften, then whisk until chocolate is melted and smooth. Chill chocolate-caramel frosting until completely cool, about 2 hours. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature before continuing. Using electric mixer, beat frosting just until color resembles milk chocolate and frosting is easily spreadable, about 1 minute (do not overbeat or frosting will become stiff and grainy). If necessary to correct graininess, set bowl with frosting over saucepan of simmering water for 10-second intervals, whisking just until frosting is smooth and spreadable.

How to Assemble: Place 1 cake layer on platter, flat side up. Spread 1 cup frosting evenly over top. Top with second cake layer, flat side up, pressing slightly to adhere. Spread 1 cup frosting over top. Top with third cake layer, rounded side up, pressing slightly. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake, swirling decoratively. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.)

 

Snack that!

I have to tell you right at the outset that until the World Cup gets over, most of my posts are going to revolve around cricket and Team India. So with the India Vs West Indies match right around the corner, and since these matches most often fall on a Sunday, us cricket enthusiasts have decided to get together and watch the match. And since it is my turn to host this round, it is but natural that I will have to take care of the F&B department as well.

I’ve always preferred beer and biryani for these kind of dos, but this time around, have decided to jazz up the proceedings quite a bit. I will be serving three different types of finger foods and a dip, which I intend to make from scratch (no store bought gunk for me), apart for the ubiquitous chips and crackers. And after all that effort, if our boys in blue fail to cinch the game, they definitely have another thing coming. So after much deliberation, here’s what’s on the menu:

Sausage Cheese Balls

·         3 cups breadcrumbs

·         1 pound pork sausage

·         4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

·         1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

·         1/2 cup milk

·         1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed

·         1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley or 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes

·         Barbecue sauce or chili sauce, if desired

METHOD: Heat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease bottom and sides of jelly roll pan or use parchment paper. Stir together all ingredients, using hands or spoon. If your mixture is too dry add a little more milk. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Place in pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brown. Immediately remove from pan. Serve warm with sauce for dipping.

Goat Cheese and Pancetta Stuffed Mushrooms

·         8 oz. stuffing mushrooms (about 12 mushrooms)

·         2 tsp. olive oil plus additional for drizzling

·         2 oz. pancetta, finely diced

·         3 cloves garlic, minced

·         4 oz. goat cheese, softened

·         2 oz. cream cheese, softened

·         3 Tbsp. parsley, chopped

·         salt and freshly ground pepper

·         ~1 Tbsp. breadcrumbs

METHOD: Preheat the oven to 400. Remove the stems from the mushrooms.  Dice and reserve about 1/3 of the stems and discard the rest (or save to make some stock!). Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and once hot, add the pancetta.  Cook until crisp and then remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl.  Turn the heat to medium and add the garlic and reserved mushroom stems, cooking until tender.  Add to the bowl with the pancetta and allow to cool for a few minutes. Stir the goat cheese, cream cheese, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste into the pancetta mixture.  Fill each mushroom cap with the mixture, and top with about 1/2 tsp. breadcrumbs per mushroom cap.  Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender.

Olive & Scallion Dip:

·         1 8 oz. brick of Cream Cheese, soft

·         3/4 cup of Mayo, or more to taste

·         3 Scallions, sliced and coarsely chopped

·         3 oz. Spanish Green Olives with Pimentos, roughly chopped

·         A little less than one {6oz dry wt.} can of Black Olives, roughly chopped

·         6 oz. Monterey Jack Cheese, freshly grated

·         Pepper to taste

      METHOD: Add cream cheese, mayo and salt, pepper into a medium bowl and mix until blended. Add in the green onions, olives and cheese and fold in until all are incorporated. Serve with whatever, whenever!


Fried Spiced Chicken
· 1 whole chicken

·         1 cup buttermilk

·         1 large egg

·         1/2 cup peanut butter

·         1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

·         1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

·         salt and freshly ground pepper

·         Vegetable oil for frying

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         Honey for serving, optional

METHOD:  Cut chicken breasts in half, making 10 chicken pieces. In a shallow dish, whisk together buttermilk, egg, peanut butter, cinnamon, allspice and cayenne; season generously with salt and pepper. Toss chicken in marinade; cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours, tossing twice. Add oil to a heavy-bottomed pot to reach 2 inches; heat oil over medium to reach 350°F. Remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess to drip off; dredge chicken in flour. Carefully add chicken to hot oil; fry until golden brown and chicken is cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to paper towels to drain; season with salt.  Serve with honey, if desired.

Take in the Tapas

When you enter a bar/pub/nightclub, you seldom look for anything to wolf down when the munchies strike late...and that’s probably because most pubs, in most cities hardly have what you would call a bar menu. And especially in Chennai, when the ‘snack items’ solely consist of peanut masala, and potato chips, one longs for something that fills the stomach and doesn’t burn a hole in the pocket!

I’ll agree and tell you straight off that I’m a big fan of Zara, the tapas bar in Chennai, but honestly, I have always gone here more for the alcohol and ambience…with the food usually taking a backseat.

So, after a particularly long night of drinking, and being hung over so bad that I swore never to drink for the next six months, I found myself cluelessly sitting with a bunch of friends at Zara on a Saturday night. Unfortunately, while they are wining (read wine-ing), I’m reduced to whining and cribbing about the demerits of alcohol (these phases come once in a blue moon, otherwise I’m out protesting every TASMAC strike).

With nothing better to do, I decide to do a quick dekko of their fancy bar menu and settle down comfortably after ordering a couple of tapas; I’m going to get high on food you see! What hits me as I order is how everything seems strangely ‘foreign’, which must mean they are authentic right. The manager quickly explains to me the concept of Spanish finger food and even throws in some unpronounceable names for my benefit.

Mighty embarrassed, I decide to start off with something they call pinchos. Simply put, pincho is the blood relative of a bruschetta (flat pieces of crisp toast with a host of toppings). Trying to figure out what the actually difference between the two was, I approached Sebastian (their bartender who is a native of Espaniol) and he sat me down on what seemed like an education lesson; of course the fact that he gave me food to stuff my face as we spoke only made it better.

Pinchos (spelled pintxos in Basque) in Navarre, the Basque Country, gets its particular name because many of the tapas in this region are held together with a pincho or toothpick through them. The toothpick is used to keep whatever the snack is made of from falling off the slice of bread it is attached to and to keep track of the number of tapas the customer has eaten. While I much preferred the regular tomato and basil one, my friend couldn’t stop raving about the crab and prawn meat version.

Now armed with a mission to try all things that sounded alien to me, we ordered a host of other tapas like prawns and pasta salad, chorizo and chick peas, lamb meat balls and mushrooms in red wine. Now that I have been educated, I must tell you that 95% of the dishes on this menu are extremely true to its Spanish original. And that’s why the food stands out. Because you will find no chicken tikka masala, chilli chicken type nonsense on this menu.

While I’m not a big fan of beans, the way it was combined with the tart chorizo really made me beg for more. The mushrooms though, were by far my most favourite dish – succulently cooked in a red wine reduction and laced with garlic and pimentos, I was so taken by this dish I threatened the management for the recipe. There are certain things on this menu that are absolute fan favourites – like the amazing Manchego cheese platter, which is served with toast and olives; or the prawns with chilli flakes and olive oil – quite a crowd pleaser because it comes in the same pot it was cooked in!

Like I said before, I’m a huge Zara fan…that being said, I also know that there are things on the menu I won’t probably try again, but it was worth a shot the first time around. Suitably stuffed and extremely satisfied I turn to my drinkers friends and sigh!  How I would kill for that perfect glass of sangria now! Aperitif anyone?