Julie and Julia

i liked the movie. meryl streep is the star in there. she resonated the character so well. images from the movie continue to flash in me; of course all cooking scenes, ingredients; from the juicy red beef slices to the rich chocolate oozing out of the ladle to the fish cooked in butter (this image makes me heady). i checked out beef bourguignon recipe but it's not an easy one. so i'll keep it for later. never ever now...i may come off on my hugely swollen feet with just the third or fourth step done.

yes, it's a famously deranged project that julie powell gets on with. but it gives her the sense of purpose that eluded her at an insecure age when she felt trapped in a boring job. but i was thinking: julia doesn't have kids; julie doesn't have any. i would like to watch a mom embarking on a project like this. i'm sure it can happen only in a movie. streep echoes the agony of a baby-less woman closely and accurately. i'd rather have kids and not become so famous. this is not a self-comforting statement.

my girl had a fall last night from the cot and hit her head. it was not bad but the hind part of the head is dicey. i took her to the doc today and nothing to worry. but when she fell and cried i experienced what i've only churned out in words; my knees went weak. i could forget everything; my career, the frustrations, my course, my ambitions, my kitchen and cutlery and herb bouquet, my baking and lemon zest and the red cherries in the can i'm waiting to transform into celedura, my blog. i could sacrifice anything for the safety of my child.....so emo a passage? ah well, you got to be a mother...then you know there's nothing more real than what i wrote above.

Brown Mud Cake

I followed the exact recipe below. the only variation being the addition of coarsely chopped dark chocolate to the white chocolate. some of my friends preferred this one to the plain white chocolate cake but i liked the white mud cake.

White Mud Cake

This is one of my favourite cakes because it tastes lovely and is simple to make. as we were shifting to another city i went on a cooking spree last week, mainly to finish off the frozen stuff. i decided to call over Eunice, a Goan, who takes cake orders, ones with the icing. i'd been wanting to call her over as she was willing to come and demonstrate basic cake icing. the white chocolate cake would be a perfect base cake for it. so for this we take

1 cup butter, cut up
2 cups granulated sugar (needn't powder it)
5 oz (125 gm) white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
11/2 cups white chocolate ganache (absolutely OPTIONAL)

((For the Ganache

1/2 cup heavy cream
13 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Heat the cream almost to a boil in a small saucepan over low heat. place the chocolate in a large bowl. pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. refrigerate until thickened and spreadable, about 30 mins, stirring occasionally. this makes about 11/2 cups.))

For the cake stir the butter, sugar, chocolate and milk in a large saucepan over low heat until smooth. do not boil. set aside to cool. sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. gradually stir the dry ingredients, eggs and vanilla into the saucepan. spoon the batter into the baking dish. bake for 50-60 mins or till done. cool the cake completely and if you've made the ganache spread it thoroughly.

NB: I've never made the ganache because i found the cake yummy without this prop. however, if you're going for it make sure you add only 11/2 cups granulated sugar to the cake. as it is the cake is quite sweet.
Courtesy: Reader's Digest Cakes

Cream of Chicken Soup

Aby, my daughter, is an agreeably fussy eater and like me she gets bored with stuff fast. though i don't overdo it, i try and get hold of something that's interesting and nutritious for her...which is quite difficult. i'm personally quite fond of my beef soup made in a crude way. she was fond of sweet corn chicken soup but she's taking a break now. she said she would like a soup with no pieces in it. ah, well, thankfully i had the recipe of the soup mentioned up there and it goes thus.

Chicken pieces-1/4 kg
Biriyani leaf (i'm sorry i got to find its proper name)-1
Water-41/2 cups
Butter-1 tbsp
All-purpose flour- 11/2 tbsp
Milk-11/4 cups
salt to taste
Pepper powder-1/4 tsp
Finely chopped celery-1 tbsp
Cream-2 tbsp

Boil the chicken pieces along with the biriyani leaf and 41/2 cups water. when it is well-cooked debone and gather the meat.
Strain the stock.
Add the chicken slices to the stock and grind. sieve the mixture.
Heat the butter in a pan and stir the maida in. then add the milk and stir till it thickens without forming lumps.
Add the ground chicken mixture to the milk and after a boil add salt, pepper and celery.
Pour a loop of cream on top.

I didn't bother to sieve the stock or the mixture. i'm not so fond of cream of chicken soup as it is but my daughter liked it. it's an OK soup, i would say.

Grand Finale

...but the glitch is i forgot to take a photo of my blessed Christmas spread! can it be worse than this? thomas managed only a snap of the guests which is an absolutely inadequate substitute for a photograph of my spread but give me the credit for not being out-of-context. so i'm putting up my guest snap. besides the items mentioned below i had this veg sandwich quickly done up with chopped fresh veggies seeped in mayonnaise.

Pineapple Perfect

It's an ideal breakfast dessert and serves 6-8. this was my dessert on the Christmas menu and it did flatter many of the guests. in fact i had two desserts. the other being named by me thai custard and it was a salvaged version of a water chestnut recipe that i tried endearingly. i used rice flour instead of tapioca flour in the original water chestnut recipe (i don't know how goofy that sounds to those who know the difference!) and the final product was nothing short of a disaster. well, i'm pretty good at salvaging and my guests were impressed by the variety.


canned pineapple-1 tin (425 gm, eight pineapple rings)
amul fresh cream-200 ml
condense milk-100–150 ml (depending on how sweet you want it)
cinnamon powder


Cut the pineapple rings into medium slices. Do not use the juice. Whip the cream well in a bowl. Add the condense milk and sweeten it as per requirement. Whip again for a while. Put 2–3 pineapple slices in each dessert bowl and pour the whipped cream–condense milk mixture to it. Top it with cinnamon powder. Serve chilled.

i won a contest in the newspaper by this!! so trust me; this is good. the photograph is lousy though :(

Spring Rolls

It's time to soak the fruits for the next Christmas cake and i'm yet to finish my catalogue of Christmas 2009. spring rolls (veg and chicken) were the knock out item in the spicy section on my Christmas menu. they make their presence felt so easily. they tend to be spotted immediately on the spread. i've not tried various recipes (i guess there are different types of them) because i was quite happy with the the recipe i tried and tested. i made around eighty rolls in sets of three (don't ask me why in sets of three and not one). the recipe below gives a max of thirty rolls.


filling



oil-3-4 tbsp (too much oil makes the mix gooey)
shredded carrot and cabbage-250 gm each
capsicum-3-4 nos
onions-4-5 medium sized (too many onions make the mix sticky too)
celery-as per your taste requirements
salt and an ample quantity of pepper powder to give that zing
boiled and shredded chicken-1/2 kg

cut all the veggies into thin strips. you don't have to be too careful abt the chopping. you can actually do it your way but too small is not advisable as the mix turns out to be a mushy ball.

fry the onions till glossy (don't brown) and add the veggies and stir-fry (don't go beyond stir-frying). add chicken and celery and stir-fry and then add salt and pepper and adjust the taste.

it's fine if the mix is a little too salty. the pancakes should be salted too coz as you bite through the rolls you should feel the salt is adequate for both the mix and pancakes. not everyone likes it with the sauce.


pancakes


maida-3 cups
eggs-2 (by standard recipe it is 1 egg for 1 cup maida)
milk-11/2 cups
salt to taste
cornflour-2-3 tbsp
water-1 cup (more if reqd)

mix everything together adding the lightly beaten egg. make a thin batter like you make for dosa.

get some egg whites ready (i've always used the whole egg and it doesn't taste too eggy) and bread crumbs for the final stage. it's easier if you fry one pancake and roll it out and then go to the next one. you have to work in a frenzy but finally that's better.

now make a medium sized and not-too-thick pancake. fry it mildly only on one side on the tawa and leave the other side raw. place a little mix (maybe 2-21/2 tbsp) on the raw side on one edge of the pancake and roll the pancake over it. gather the sides of the pancake as you continue so that the pancake rolls over its sides. roll it out the whole way and the other edge sticks by the heat of the pancake. that's why it is important not to let the pancake cool. take any extraneous side of the pancake that juts out and tuck it in. it's fine if it's not perfectly tucked in coz it's not going to break when fried. (i guess the pic gives you a fairly clear idea.) i repeat it's important to make the pancakes thin otherwise the fat edges can't be manipulated easily. quickly spread the egg white (or the white plus yolk) and dab it in the crumbs. it's ready to be fried and used.

make sure the oil is fantabulously hot and contrary to most frying i don't let the rolls swim in the oil. i don't like re using the oil. so take an adequate amount and to avoid any risk of its cracking put two or three into the hot oil on medium flame and keep pouring the oil over it. i heard that if you're not able to finish off the remaining oil after frying for your other cooking keep the used oil in fridge and use it the next day. i guess the cool temp reduces the carcinogens production.

i've tried the mix the indian way too and i used beef. i put ginger (no garlic). beans is an accepted addition and coriander leaves and some pudina (mint) leaves and no celery. i minced the beef that i had boiled prior in coriander, chilli and pepper powders and salt. it was MAST. you can be creative in making the mix and suit your style.

i like the advantage this tea time snack gives you in its making...that is you can make the mix one day and then roll out pancakes later and three four days or even a week in advance you can freeze them for later use.

and don't think of the oil that goes into the frying. enjoy your tea time snack...for a change :)