I HAVE MOVED....

I WAS FORCED TO MOVED FROM MY BABY,VANILLA STRAWBERRY SPRINFIELDS TO http://brightmorningstarsfoodie.blogspot.com/ COZ MY FEEDS HERE ARENT WORKING.....FOR ALL POSTS AFTER THIS HOP BY AND WALK THE WALK WITH ME......
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Friday, January 29, 2010

VALENTINE COOKIES AT A COOKIE CARNIVAL



Cookie carnival....does that sound familiar.................


or does it ring a bell in ur ears......


or does it make u leap for joy.....





For me its all 3 coz i awhile ago i named a batch of cookies as ,CARNIVAL COOKIES ,as i dressed em up and yeah so do ring a bell or 2 and sound familiar too and leap for joy coz its a cookie and with some more dressing up experiments and yeah my first heart shaped bake of the season and plus got to use some of my new goodies.....



It all begun when THE CLEAN PLATE CLUB happenned one brite day this (or last)december and i was a wee bit late for their last months bake....

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

MUTTON RIBS/CUTLETS/CHOPS @ IHCC @ NIGELLA LAWSON



I have as many a take on happy hour as maybe i'd have for decorating cookies. . . Ok ok. . .not very sucessfull comparism there.. .



The first picture that swims across my eyes is the 7pm happy hour. . The delicious 7pm happy hour which most cake and dessert pastelaria's at most resorts here keep to, yeah 50% off on all their goodies till closing time. . .




My cookie baking and decorating hour too is happy hour to me. . .


All my blogging hours too are very happy hours even as i pop in to say hello to everyone of you happy pals, slow internet or no. . . .




And all that goes into keeping that dinner table going too and yeah tweaking recipes, which we all do yeah, also makes my happy hour and on that note i have combined 2 of nigella's recipes for a single one. . . . Double the deliciousness in one happy plate. . .so much like 2 for the price of 1 . . .A 50% discount. . .


sounds fun? It sure is not to mention really really good . . ..........


Had the previlage of watching Nigella cook up 2 gorgeous recipes in her own very kitchens. . . . Aint it a delight to watch her at work?


Sure is. . .


The 2 recipes combined are chicken nuggets which i already actually baked awhile ago and .........

SO the marinade in the butter milk comes from the ritzy chicken nuggets baked and the dipping in egg and panko crumBs with parmesan form the pork chops/cutlets/fillets...

So this is what i played with for our HAPPY HOURS this week ,at I HEART COOKING CLUBS.....



SImple and easy and quick,if u jus keep the muttom marination overnight....

1)PLACE A FEW MUTTON RIBS(ofcourse u can use pork or beef too)IN A PLASTIC BAG AND POUND EM WELL.



2)SEASON WITH LIME,SALT AND PEPPER(i sometimes use a stock powder here w a pinch of sugar-love the different resulting flavs) AND PLACE IN A GOOD BOWL OF BUTTERMILK SO THATS IT FULLY COVERED.refrigerate overnight.




3)WHEN UR READY TO FRY KEEP
A)A PLATE OF FLOUR
B)A BOWL WITH EGGS BEATEN WITH PEPPER,MUSTARD AND WEE BIT OF SALT.
C)PANKO CRUMBS MIXED WITH DRY PARMESAN CHEESE...(the green n yellow kraft bottles work good)

4)NOW DIP THE MARINATE RIBS IN FLOUR,THEN EGG ,THEN COAT WITH THE CHEESY PANKO ,PRESS LIGHTLY TO ADHERE AND WELL FRY 'EM IN A PAN OF HOT OIL.
SO ITS EASY AS A)....B)....C)........




5)SERVE WITH A SALAD OF UR CHOICE..... 
                                   

Sunday, January 24, 2010

A LENTIL CURRY /SIDE WITH LOADS OF GREEN-SPINACH&feNUGREEK



Taste and create....does that fire ur imagination?????



Well it certainly fired mine and ofcourse it revolved around food....


Yeah the whole show,a beautiful food show right up in all our kitchen every month is run by the lovely NICOLe of LOVE OF FOOD and hosted at TASTE & CREATE.


I am and would love to be a part of this wonderful monthly fun where all who register(by 8th folks) are paired up and u cook something delicious from ur partners blog as so does ur partner from urs....


How cool is that......


And cooler still were the yummiest veggie fare at my partner blog this month ie THE FANTASTIC SINGING CHEF AT WORK....THE VERY LOVELY RAAGA...




Friday, January 22, 2010

NIGELLA LAWSON'S STIR FRIED MUSHROOMS W PASTA @I HEART COOKING CLUBS


Its Potluck time again at I HEART COOKING CLUBS again this time guys and though usually am all excited to get my post up as soon as possible,am lagging this time around...well my pics are done
(i usually cook up the week before)and the recipe to but havent written in a bit and thats what....ok theres absolutely no pressure here...and i so love to indulge in the delciousness of all the rest of the gang bring in so head in I HEART COOKING CLUBSto catch 'em all....


But can go on rambling some gibberish about how busy it was with college and attending classes and working on assingements,doing as muc as house work as can (my mom to me is my princess,a princess i adore and love and with our househelp not around i do it all for mom-we actually fight over doing the dishes but not the way u think...we fight to do ;em :-))) )))

And then the dinners and lunches and breakfasts and in betweens that we share...

Monday, January 18, 2010

VERY STRAWBERRY DREAMZ WITH A VANILLA BEAN for Feasting on Art Recipe Contest.’

Pink candy floss......baby dresses w teddys.....red roses...pinky promises.....oh la la la tra la la la...the strawberry season is...not round the corner but right here....



Love is in the air and its raining pink all around(red for me its still christmas till i officially enter the lovey dovey season of valentines...)and it wouldn be fair not to dedicate a post ....or 2 or.....whatever to all the strawberries and the strawberry lovers all around the globe.........



And for the sake of the cute strawberry,aint going to delete but have all the pics here...doesnt our dear sweety strawberry deserve all this from us and i do hope u guys find her cute...i've done the best i can....coz i love the STRAWBERRIES TOO....DO U????



AND NOW INSPIRED ON THIS BEAUTIFUL PAINTING ,A WORK OF ART , ARE THESE STRAWBERRY DELIGHT WHICH AM ALSO SENDING TO A FANTASTIC SUPER BLOG ,FEASTING ON ART...FOR THE SUPER CONTEST ...HOP BY HERE TO KNOW MORE....... 

MEGAN ,IS THE SUPER GAL BEHIND FEASTING ON ART AND SHE REACHES OUT THE GLOBE OVER , RIGHT THERE FROM SYDNEY........


AINT THAT A VERY BEAUTIFUL INSPIRING PICTURE......

And its thanx a tons loads to a dear BLOGGING BUDDY JOANNE, that am here at this amazing contest today....art inspired ...aint it simply wonderful...... 




There's a basketfull...no truckload full...no no.....globalfull(ok thats jus made up-dont look up the dictionary :-))) )of ideas u can have with strawberries besides dipping 'em in ur fav chocolate or a chocolate butter gooey melt down and i sure am going to make the best of 'em...



Friday, January 15, 2010

BABY RUGELACH-HAVE THE CAKE BAKES A BUTTERY TENDER MELT IN UR MOUTH COOKIE THIS MONTH



A BUTTERY TENDER MELT IN YOUR MOUTH COOKIE

Am very thrilled with this months choice of RUGELACH by MICHELE at HAVE THE CAKE though when i first read about it i was so lost with something i had never had nor heard about and there was i shooting questions evrywhere and yeah googling way.....




Thanx a ton Michelle for introducing this to my little far away world and i so love ur stori of a little girl(u)festing on these gorgeous melt in ur mouths as ur grandmom baked with all her love.... 


And there were 2 kinds of rugelach,as u see here,some the pinwheeled ones and some with rolling a round and cutting pie kinda wedges and rolling 'em around but all the dough crusts were almost the same give or take the addition of sugar.


The recipe at have the cake suggests a pie crust and i did wonder if i should go in for my all butter pie crust but all the pics  i saw had a different story and yeah i stuck to this cream cheese dough ......





Most of the site i checked have similiar recipes ,infact of the lovely cookie or pastry crust is a ever so flakky and light (as in texture) butter & cream cheese dough

These are the site's i went thru were at INA GRATENS RECIPE HERE , DEB AT SMITTEN KITCHEN WITH HER PERFECT PINWHEELS HERE (every one of my were different ) and KAF HERE


And finally but not the least but one of the first sites PETE'S BAKES, i hopped by which really hellped me in getting a clearer pic of rugelach thats neither seen or eaten in my part of the world and Joanne(of eats well with others)too suggested the same site and gave a me a few inputs coz though most sites said it as a cookie the original recipe ,on Have d cake said pie crust which for me would be my all butter pie crust whereas most here have a cream cheese butter flour crust or cookie dough,i chose to make it the sweeter way by adding a bit of powdered sugar and there i was...



Now lets begin working with the lovely cookie dough first
8oz cream cheese
2 sticks (250 grams butter)
1/4 cup icing sugar(optional but i think i would increase this quantity the next time)
2 cups sifted flour
1tsp(or2)vanilla extract(i know it aint authentic but would love to try this some lemon zest too)

1. Set the cream cheese and butter in a bowl so that its really soft ant then cream well with extract if using till fluffy.


2.Add icing sugar and beat in well.


3.Now beat in flour to 3 to 4 batches and work to a lovely dough.


4.Roll into 2discs,wrap in butter paper and then cling wrap and refrigerate for an hour(well i did for almost a week)


Now to begin with the actual cookie making...
I just divided the dough into 2 (i halved the above recipe)- 
tried pinwheels with a mix of blueberry and strawberry preserve/jelly /jam where u roll the dough into a rectangle say 1/8 th inch-i jus rolled it comfortable enough not to break and had to refrigerate it later-maybe coz its been a real warm day here today...


THESE WERE MY PINWHEELS -Oh yeah they could have been bigger but i heard someone exclaim aloud that good things come in small packages... :-)))and i overdid the jammy part but we love it this way...


The second disc i rolled into a not very perfect circle and kept it in the refrigeration awhile...cut 'em into very uneqaul wedges-like u would for a pie (yes gurls this is absolutely easy even for my kinda not too perfect baking) and a few were stuffed with CHOCOLATE /JAM/JELLY CINNAMON SUGAR...then the wedges rolled ,begining with the larger side and rolled the cookies too in CINNAMON SUGAR for a little traditional touch.(for the chocolate i used ,milk chocolate callets)


And i baked them to a GOLDEN BROWN as KAF says....took my oven around almost 45 mins(yeah it takes time to fire up-dont know why...)

 


The options are really endless with this one,i mean u can do so so muc..maybe a jam and ur fav nut taosted and chooped filling...an apricot preserve for a traditonal touch...and loads of chocolate chippys with sugar...and maybe lemon curd too...have to try it out all the options and wont be suprised if i bake these again before the month ends......




These are so so so so good and buttery and flaky-loved them...have had or seen them first time in my life and would love to introduce these around someday




Why did i call 'em baby rugelach...coz they are so so cute(even before going into the oven) and so tiny and delicate and come with a stamp handle with care-the pinwheels ie..specially since i overloaded the jam...


And every single one was a different shape-all very cute...even my dear non cookie lovers around loved these melt in the mouths.







The next time i surely plan to picture these step by step.





Tuesday, January 12, 2010

PESTO'N AN 'UN-PESTO'D' @ NIGELLA @ I HEART COOKING CLUBS...


Exotic destinations :) greece. . .israel. . .scotland. . Spain. . .big apple(hi joanne), hawai(ola deb). .brazil(ola vinni), portugal.(isabel bejinhos). . prague......bahamas(Joanne pops in a hi w tiffany frm her cruiseliner). . . . N italy(NW NW Joanne pops again as an 8yr old doll). . .



So lets stop at italy and begin about some gorgeous italian food shall we. . .pastas and linguine. .
 Olives n oilve oils . . . .garlic n herbs. . . .luscious sauces n tomato based ones. . .sun dried tomatoes e jalpenos. . .and and and. . . . .the bestest of 'em al. .pinenuts e basil w a sprinkling of sea salt n garlic. . . .n olive oil..mama mia A PESTO. .


So for this week @ I HEART COOKING CLUBS for the theme EXOTIC DESTINATIONS...I couldn look further than italian exoticness cuisine unfolded..begining with a pesto....



All that said i think something really special is equal to exotic for me would be being closer to the north pole for the winters and during holidays and yeah wouldn santa land be the best of em all. . . Where i can actually sing. . . Snow is falling. . And binge on hot chocolate with vanilla and marshmellows...

stuffed one whole fish with pesto..opened it after grilling n grilled with the filled side opened again...i love the pairing of the pomo seeds-brings about a welcome sweetness and with a squeeze of lime...perfeto...

And more often than not ,im happier where i am and for me the best holidays are loaded with being around my family ,a cold terrain(as in the weather ie)and loving every moment be it exploring the place,shopping for momemtos alike(well thats a rather long list here...),exploring the exotic cuisine....or sleeping(ofcourse there are loads of things we do on hols but more on that later...)....

(the calm seas above-and the trees swaying in delite at the warm sea breeze)
I love and enjoy where we live now though it does get warm at times but then what are the air conditioners for....and its beautiful here....(ok i cant even find a few wilton or any decent sprinkles and silicone cup cake moulds(heart shaped)and cookie cutters and those fancy icing tolls here(not even the basic disposable bags yet...but have got a lead and maybe richer with my goody bags jus in time for valentines baking...)


a flower i jus shot on sun along the highway...
And from the first time in dec i cooked up this nigella delight have had requests sice..and our sunday dinner saw us with loads of grilled fish and mussels with mushrooms...all pesto'd -pairs fantastically with a tossed salad and pasta...


and last night again for dinner we had chicken pesto'd with pasta.
The pics with the main recipe are my first hand at it and i begin with seafood &  and will have the chicken inbetween with the mushrooms and below.....exotica itself-pesto'd mussels....

Only Nigella Lawson can 'unpesto' a pesto sauce-oh she's adorable with all that conjures up in her kitchen......

But here i am about to 'pesto' her 'un-pesto' ,linguinne pasta...

I love a lingine pasta-our current hot fav(the last hot were the large 'shelly' pasta as i loved to call 'em)

And combine that with a pesto and some fresh chicken and u have some yummy dinner going....

Its been awhile i wanna whip up a pesto and since we are cooking NIGELLA(oh am so gald am a part),i tend to look out more than i ever did for Nigella's dinner ideas.

And thanx to IHCC ,me will get down to replicating all of the fun that happens in nigella's kitchen...



And yeah before u begin dont forget to move ur 'music' ,as in only carols now with a tango thrown in my playlist,to the kitchen.....(WHIPPED this one up in dec)

I love to jiggle and hop around to a tune while cutting up a salad or stir frying a veggie for dinner or lunch or breakfast or a snack(d other way round...).....



Ok ok ,we are far from the high way again arent we....trust me to steer away,thank GoD aint driving at the moment...so steering back to the pesto(have absolutely fresh basil at hand),browsed around for Nigella's pesto,wanted a chicken with linguine...


and yeah found this 'UNPESTO'DD PESTO' so i turned it around and pestoed it-perfect....

and added some chicken for a complete hearty begining that ended with hot choco-cafe & brownies.....


My not very wide spectrum of knowledge of pesto is that ,though pine nuts are the main nuts traditionally used(i have some yummy mix of pinenuts soaked in a little jar in olive oil,vinegar,whole and crushed garlic,pepper,sugar & i dont know what...i fixed this mix many a weeks back and its delightfull-must sit with the jar,pic it and write an article but in next year that'll be,oh yeah new years jus a few days ago)

this is a portion of chicken,which i fried in olive oil ,instead of grilling...honestly could do w/o the extra oil...no difference both are great if (the grilled version above )not better...
ADAPTED FROM THE KITCHENS OF THE GORGEOUS NIGELLA LAWSON

FOR THE PESTO SAUCE.
2 bunches Basil leaves only
1/2 cup cashewnuts/walnuts/pinenuts or a mix
14 cloves of garlic(almst or rather a whole bulb)
1 c extra virgin olive oil.
1)bLItz the nuts,garlic and basil,in a blender,and in a stream add olive oil,like u would fo myo kinda.
Add parmesan cheese(1/4 cup)
MARINATE SOME SEASONED WITH SALT AND CRUSHED PEPPER CHICKEN WITH SOME OF THE PESTO SAUCE...



AND EITHER BAKE OR grill as i did and put all the marinade with a little in a pan and bring to a boil and simmer for awhile for a thick gravy.

the cut mushrooma marinated in the pesto,a few hours before i grilled 'em...

marinated mushrooms grilled just right.......

and few grilled crisp for the crispy lovers like me.....

2)FOR THE PASTA
---LINGUINIE COOKED AS PER DIRECTIONS
---1/4 CUP OLIVE OIL
---7 CLOVES GARLIC
---1/4 CUP PINE NUTS LIGHTLY TAOSTED
---A FEW BASIL LEAVES TORN
---LOADS OF GRATED PARMESAN


***HEat oil ,add the garlic& FRESH RED CHILLIES and toss around till the aromas fill the air and dont take too long a break to enjoy the heady aroma-----coz u need to toss in the pasta now and coat evry slippery strand w the
aromatic garlic oil....



(HERE I HAD A TWEAK COZ STIR FRIED ZUCHINNI,MUSHROOMS,PEPPERS,BABY CORN & CARROTS IN THIS OIL AND TOSSED ALL THE LINGUINE INTO THIS YUMMY FRAGRANT MEELLEE)
***tansfer to a warm bowl,sprinkle with basil,pinenuts & parmesan,leaving some for garnish..toss well



***Keep warm with a silver foil or to serve make a bed of the pasta tossed in flavoured oil w veggies(if using) and scoop in some pesto  gravy IN THE MIDDLE &chicken around the middle.



garnish with the rest of the basil,pine nuts and parmesan...


and here the marinated mussels pesto'd and grilled to perfection....


.......fingerlicking good........perfect with any pasta or mashed potato or as they are....


a very lovely post with perfect pictures awaits u at I HEART COOKING CLUBS,by Natashya(i so love what u did...amazing and yeah inspiring too!!!) and if ur looking foward as muc as i am to what the rest of the gang will cook up (more drooling...more recipes)this week head over to EXOTIC DESTINATIONS ...right HERE in the comfort of ur home...and that said my home always is where my heart is and my heart is with family and i make every destination home= love,peace,joy bubbling and skipping along with a gay heart and bursting laughter on my lips.....come fall in love......
 

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