December 30, 2007

WRAP ON 2007…the year that whooshed by!

“We have so much time and so little to do. Strike that, reverse it.”
Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

View from my window in 2007…

That time of the year again; am racing as usual…still so much to do, and so little done. Even the year has almost come to an end! Huff Puff!! Will make an attempt to get onboard Nupur’s blogevent ‘Best of 2007′ to mark the end of 2007…a chance to do a SWOT on ourselves!

I’m not sure I’m good at this, but will give it a shot since I committed. Am still pretty new around here, and have been hooked onto blogland only since August this year. The experience has been truly exhilarating! The only blog I used to visit often was Jugalbandi because I found it quite intriguing. In August ’07, I began blogging on unsteady feet…just to pass time & maybe document some stuff that I did. Didn’t know a soul; didn’t know how to begin; where to blog from; what a blog was. Now am a true blogaddict!! Find myself sneaking in to type madly, set targets to get nonsensical posts up & running, & read up ‘Blogger for dummies’ articles like I have nothing better to do!

So Nupur of One Hot Stove had a brilliant idea…a chance to look back at the year that whooshed by! Her stove is gonna be one hot one for sure, with all our stories boiling over. So here goes…

Top recipes of the year

Best dish from each month

December ’07 Citrus Dessert Cake…I created this one on the go. Its a cake that thinks it’s a cheesecake, but isn’t!
November ’07 Espresso Cake…I’m partial to coffee!
October ’07 Achari Chicken Curry…finger-licking good!
September ’07 Pineapple Fresh Cream Cake…wonderful & light!
August ’07 Almond-Orange Sponge with Chocolate Ganache Icing…Great combo Chocolate-almond-orange!!

Top list of recipes made from others recipes

Biscotti…from a post in Group Recipes.
Coffee Streusel Cake…adapted from a recipe off ‘Joy of Baking’
Nalli Gosht…adapted from a Sanjeev Kapoor recipe
Korova Cookies…adapted from a Parisian recipe for sinfully chocolate cookies (eggless) from a ‘Spoonful of Sugar’
Cold broccoli salad (yet to be posted)
Achari Chicken Curry…a recipe my sister put together to cut out store bought spices

Best meal(s) of 2007

Penne in a cream mushroom sauce with grilled chicken; Stir-fried veggies in Italian seasonings ..served with a salad
Nalli Gosht ( lamb curry on the bone) with smoked vegetables & a Dal.

Favorite new discoveries in 2007

BLOGGING & new friends
Best gadget…the’Microplaner‘… can’t think of a better & more useful ‘gizmo‘!
Best discovery…’Grindless gravies’. Thanks to Sra who made me eat my words & realise that grindless & gravy is altogether possible…& many times over!
Best blog event…‘CLICK’ at Jai & Bee’s. Began looking at the camera with new eyes! Have now even worn out the rechargeable battery…help!
Favourite savoury ingredient…’Garlic’…where would I be without it?
Favourite otherwise ingredient…’Coffee’…Nirvana!

Favourite food photographs of the year

THINK PINK CHOCOLATE CAKE FOR DH’s BIRTHDAY

This is my pick for 2007 because it was for my very first blog event – ‘PINKTOBER‘ for breast cancer awareness. I enjoyed making this one immensely & was very pleased at how it came out. Most of all, it helped spread the message far & wide!

That’s my son & the Streusel Coffee Cake…He’s loving it!!

“Cooking resolutions” for 2008

Must admit I hate resolutions, & am a true Scorpion, secretive to the core! Good or bad, that’s how I am. As they say resolutions are made to be broken…rather not make any. However, I would like to find more time to browse more blogs, try different recipes, venture into cuisines I’ve never tried, click less & cook more, talk less & eat more (just kidding!), get to a blogevent before it gets to me…there I go again! Alright, I’m kinda swotted out now!

Guess I’ll wind up by saying kudos to Nupur for making me spend 2 hours which I thought were never there; reading up my own blog, which I thought I would never do; making me realise how things can change in a span of a few months…& very nearly talking me into making a resolution which I’ve never done!! Muchas gracias Nupur!!

Have a great 2008!

December 30, 2007

MARZIPAN DECORATIONS…made from scratch!

“The preparation of good food is merely another expression of art, one of the joys of civilized living.”

Dione Lucas

MARZIPAN FROM SCRATCH…stuff to go on top of the cake!

It’s time again for our daughter’s birthday, and she turns 12 in January. Every year begins on a note of complete frenzy where there is so much to be done for her birthday party. For the cake this year, DH suggested we make marzipan decorations like we had done for her 9th birthday.

The 9th Birthday Cake…

That cake was one of our favourites…so we’ve begun the preparations. Thankfully marzipan decorations can be made in advance, so a little of the work is done. This is how the toppings are looking now…the cake will follow after the 2nd of January!

I’ve figured out my own way of making marzipan because we don’t get it ready made here. This one is fresh, it’s pure…& it tastes GREAT!! We had a tough time resisting the temptation of having ‘just another bit’! These can be used for decorating cupcakes too…I think that would look really pretty!

Ingredients:

Almonds – 100gms
Powdered sugar – 1/2 cup
Almond essence – 1 tsp
Water – 1/4 cup approximately
Golden Syrup – 1 tbsp

Method:

Bring a pan of water to a boil. Drop the almonds in; boil for 1-2 minutes. Drain.
Peel the skins off the almonds. They should easily slip off.
Spread the skinned almonds onto a baking tray and allow to dry under a medium-hot grill (180 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes.
Cool, and then grind in a coffee grinder into almond meal. Do the grinding in short spells, & stir each time to avoid it becoming pasty.
Turn the meal into a bowl; stir in the sugar, followed with the almond extract.
Add the syrup, mix in well. Now add cold water, 1 tbsp at a time, to get a play dough like consistency. Knead till smooth.
Keep covered in cling wrap until you use it. Break off bit by bit, kneading colours into the dough to colour it, and shape as required.
I rolled out the dough for the flowers & leaves, using mini cookie-cutters to cut out shapes. Flowers for the flowers & heart shapes for the leaves.
The kids made the bugs etc just like using play dough…& had a great time. Do remember that this dough is quite sticky at times, and tends to dry a little if kept open for too long.
Note : Try & use it only bit by bit. It’s really delicious too, so do remember to have a bite!!!

“The art of dining well is no slight art, the pleasure no slight pleasure.”

Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, French essayist

December 28, 2007

CHOCOLATE SPONGE CAKE with a GANACHE ICING

“Chocolate is ground from the beans of happiness. “

Alexis F. Hope

Chocolate Sponge Cake with a Ganache Icing

And now finally, the recipe, as I had promised, for the Chocolate Cake I made for my household helps’ son . Sorry this is late, but life is busy, busy, busy!! The kids are home for the holidays; they are ALWAYS hungry; the daughter’s birthday is around the corner… & everything is happening all at once!!

Chocolate is special, it’s addictive & it’s a universal favourite.

Am posting this for JFI – January, a blog event which I committed to, & very nearly missed. It’s hosted this time by Deepz at Letz Cook, who has picked every body’s favourite ingredient…CHOCOLATE!! Great choice Deepz…

Ingredients:

Sponge
Eggs – 3 (150gms)
Powdered Sugar – 75 gms
Flour – 50gms

Cornflour – 1 tbs (makes the cake texture lighter)

Cocoa – 2 tbsps
Baking powder – 1tsp
Salt – 1 pinch
Vanilla Essence/Extract – 1 tsp

Topping:

Cream – 400ml (whipping/35% fat)

Dark chocolate – 100gms (for the ganache)

Icing Sugar – 3-4 Tbsp

Cocoa – 1 tbsp

Chocolate flakes etc for decoration

Method:

For the sponge

Preheat oven to 180deg C.Grease and line a 6″ring tin
Sift the flour + baking powder + salt + cornflour + cocoa 3 times.
Beat the eggs and sugar well with beater till very thick ribbon falls and holds in place for at least 5 seconds (beat for approx 10mins)
Add vanilla essence and beat for 1 min.
Gently fold in the sifted flour; mix lightly so that air doesn’t escape.
If the batter is too thick, add 1-2 tbsp of milk.
Turn gently into tin and bake for 30-35mins till done.
Once done, remove from tin after 5 mins and leave on rack to cool completely.
Cut horizontally into 3 layers.
Filling:
Whip 200ml whipping cream with 3 tbs powdered sugar until thick and holds peaks.
Whip in the cocoa powder .
Place the bottom most layer of the sponge on your serving platter, spread 1/2 of the whipped cream over it.
Place the middle layer over this, and repeat with the rest of the cream.
Topping:
While the cake is baking, put 200ml cream with the dark chocolate on simmer & continue to stir till the chocolate has melted. Take off heat & allow to cool completely. This will thicken as it cools.
Spread the ganache over the top and sides of the cake.
Decorate the edges with chocolate flakes. Sprinkle 100’2 & 1000′s over the top. Drizzle with melted chocolate.
Chill well before serving.
Note: If the ganache is too thin, add a little more chocolate and heat on low till melted; and then cool. And, if the ganache is too thick, add a little more cream & repeat procedure.

Sprinkle the chocolate flakes just after putting the ganache on i.e. before it sets, otherwise it won’t hold the flakes. The same for any other decorations.

“All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt!”

Charles Schulz