Friday, December 27, 2013
Ive Been Hacked! Please Help Me Find and Kill Those Responsible
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| "Hacker" by Luiso |
As much as Id like to help you get a great deal on Viagra and/or mail-order brides from Thailand, I had nothing to do with these emails, and have taken measures to insure this doesn’t happen again.
Speaking of which, besides changing my mail account password(s), should I be doing anything else? Sorry, and thanks!
Lemon Rice
Another variety Rice item which can be prepared with ease.Lemon which itself acts as a preservative in many food items will preserve this rice also from spoiling for a day or two.It is best suited for packed lunch for small children since it will be easy for them to have by themselves.
Ingredients
Rice-1 1/2 cups
Lemon-2
To season
Mustard seed-1 teaspoon
channa dhal-1 table spoon
green chillies-5
ginger-finely chopped-1/2 teaspoon
Red chillies-2
Asafoteda(hing)-1 teaspoon
Cashew nuts or peanuts broken-2 table spoons
curry leaf-little
Procedure
Cook the rice with little less water than usual in such a way that they do not stick to each other
Transfer the rice into a flat bottom bowl.Add 1 spoon oil and allow it to cool
Take the juice of the lemon in a cup .
Remove the seeds.Add a pinch of Turmeric powder and the salt required(1 to 1 1/2 table spoons) and keep aside.
Keep the kadai in the stove.pour 2 to 3 table spoons of gingely oil.Season with all the items given inTo season.
When the nuts and dhal are roasted switch off the stove and then add the lemon juice into the kadai.
If the juice is added before it will give a bitter taste.
Now add this mixture into the bowl of rice slowly checking for the taste in between.
This Rice will taste good with just chips or pickle.
A Buffalo Wing Sauce Stained Spoiler Giants to Win Super Bowl XLVI
As promised, here’s my official Super Bowl XLVI prediction, using Buffalo chicken wing bones! The game will feature the heroic New York Giants vs. the despised New England Patriots, and while I’m sure you would have enjoyed the game anyway, just think how much more fun you’re going to have winning all this easy money too.
The best thing about using bones to predict the winner is not having to waste time gathering information, analyzing game plans, and considering any actual facts.
No, all the talking haircuts on TV can do that, I’m sticking with this time-tested, definitely-not-an-obvious-joke method. By the way, the fact that the "N" is backwards makes this even more of a sure thing. Why? Dont worry about it.
On a personal note, Michele and I were at Candlestick Park yesterday for the NFC Championship Game! The weather was dreadful, but the old ball yard was rocking, and the game turned into an epic defensive struggle that I’m glad we got to see in person. Go Giants! Enjoy!
Pickled potatoes
Pickled potatoes
Ingredients
- Potatoes 250 gm boiled and sliced
- Any mango pickle 1 tbsp heaped
- Oil ¼ cup
Ingredients for baghar
- Curry leaves 15
- Cumin seeds ½ tsp
- Salt ½ tsp
- Crushed chili powder ½ tsp
- Turmeric pinch
- Heat oil add curry leaves and cumin seeds, add pickle with potatoes and the rest ingredients, simmer on slow fire with lid on for 5 minutes.
The Tao of Reruns
Whenever I travel, whether its somewhere I want to go, or somewhere I have to go, I always get a bunch of irate emails regarding my "slacking off." When I have a trip coming up, Ill film a few videos ahead to post from the road (as I did this time with the beef neck sauce and grilled shrimp recipes), but invariably I have to fill in the gaps with either reruns or other types of filler.This trip Ive been accused of "short-changing" the fans, of being too "distracted by shows and travel," and of "not caring about the blog as much as you used to." Even though Im sure their hearts are in the right place, I cant tell you how upsetting I find these emails. The only thing more annoying are the accusations that my mustache is not real.
I wont spend too much time explaining myself since I believe 95% of the visitors here "get it," but I did want to cover a few points. I cant make a living (yet) just providing few video recipes on this blog. So, as many of you know, Im also a freelance employee of the New York Times Co., writing the American Food site on About.com.It is in that capacity that Im occasionally blessed with press passes to things like the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen I covered last month (and where the photo above, from one of the after parties was captured). When these trips come up, I jump at the chance to go, not only to collect content for About.com, but also to help raise my profile as a food writer and "influential blogger."
Other trips, like this one, are personal, and Ill never apologize for taking time away from the blog to visit my family (having said that, I believe I still always apologize when I post reruns and filler). I sleep well knowing no one posts more original video recipe content than I do; not even close. By the way, as the regularity of these side trips, projects (like the cookbook), and "distractions" have increased, so too has the blogs traffic and popularity – almost tripling in the last year.
So, in summation, please continue to enjoy what you see here, no matter the frequency (or quality), and save the emails lecturing me on my commitment to the blog. Also, reading the unbelievably inspiring comments under the Next Food Network Star post is pure, ego-swelling joy, but many of you voiced concerns Id stop doing this blog. That will never happen. I wouldnt take any job that meant the end of Food Wishes.All right, now that I got that off my chest, here are a couple reruns originally posted way back in 2007. In addition to seeing my mom and sisters family, one of the great treats of returning home is getting to cook and eat with my aunts and uncles. They were very popular when first aired, so I thought Id give them another run for the newer viewers. Enjoy!
(if you click on the recipes title you will be taken back to the original post)
Uncle Billys Chicken D’Arduini
Uncle Billys Homemade Pasta
Aunt Joyces Giambotta (Vegetable Stew)
Thursday, December 26, 2013
APPLE AND STRAWBERRY LAYERED CREAM
APPLE AND STRAWBERRY LAYERED CREAM
Ingredients:
- Strawberry 1 packet
- Apples 3
- Corn flour 1 tbsp
- Water 1 cup
- Sugar powder ½ cup
- Fresh cream 2 packets
- Walnuts 1 cup
- Condensed milk as required
Method:
- Mix 1 cup water, 1 tbsp cornflour and ½ cup sugar powder, cook it for some time and cool it. Add in 1 packet fresh cream. Pour the prepared syrup in the cowl and add in pieces od apples. Add in 1 packet starwberries. Add in chopped walnuts and spread condensed milk. Repeat the process. Add in strawberry, walnuts, condensed milk and refrigerate it.
SANDRAS ADDICTING MUSHROOM and JALAPENO POPPERS with BACON
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A perfectly addicting 2-for-1 side dish/appetizer youre able to serve hot out of the oven or at room temperature. Dont wait for game day to enjoy all such deliciousness... |
Prep: 20 Mins.
Bake: 30 Mins.
Yields: (14 Mushrooms-7 Halved Jalapeno Poppers, with 1 jalapeno half being chopped to add to filling)
INGREDIENTS
14 medium fresh button mushrooms, stems removed; reserve stems
4 large (4" long) fresh jalapenos, stems removed, including half of the ribs and seeds after cutting in 1/2 lengthwise
--(Remove more or less ribs/seeds to your desired level of spiciness)
2 strips center-cut bacon, sliced into 1/2" pieces
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 (8 oz. tub) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup medium shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 green onions (both green and white parts), finely sliced
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon dry Italian seasoned bread crumbs
METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a rack over a foil-lined baking sheet, spray rack, and set aside.
Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully remove stems from mushrooms; set caps aside. Finely chop stems.
Finely chop 1 half of a jalapeno, and set aside. [Remember to wash hands using hot water and soap!]
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| Hot out of the oven... |
Tips: The beauty of this side dish/appetizer is that you can prepare the poppers well ahead of time, simply place in refrigerator until ready to bake.
Feel free to alternatively grill these poppers, just place the same baking rack (shown above) on top of barbecue grilling rack over indirect heat (using charcoal), covered, for the same amount of cooking time.
Heading Home!
Michele and I are heading back to San Francisco after a fantastic 2012 Passport to Dry Creek Valley! I forgot to bring that wire that lets me download the photos I took, but hopefully tomorrow I can show you what we served.
Pictured here is a iPhone shot of our "Tonno del Dry Creek," which was some incredible pork confit from Dehesa (youll be hearing a lot more about them soon), topped with picked onions, and "hearts on fire" greens.
Pictured here is a iPhone shot of our "Tonno del Dry Creek," which was some incredible pork confit from Dehesa (youll be hearing a lot more about them soon), topped with picked onions, and "hearts on fire" greens.
Bison Kafta Kebabs with Tzatziki Sauce
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| Tzatziki Sauce |
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 7-10 minutes
Ingredients:
Kebabs
- 1 lb. ground bison
- 2 shallots, minced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 2 tsp. coriander
- 2 tsp. Hungarian paprika (or regular)
- 2 tsp. mint
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher/sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Tzatziki Sauce
- 3 tbs. olive oil
- 1 tbs. white wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced finely
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher/sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. white pepper
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (Yoplait or similar)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced- 1 tbs. fresh dill, chopped (or 1/2 tbs. dried)
- skewers or Popsicle sticks (soaked in water for 20 minutes)
- olive oil, for brushing
Doesnt it look just lovely? Beautiful light red color.
1. Place 1 lb. of ground bison in a medium-sized bowl. Add minced shallots, garlic, chopped parsley and mint.
Then add the spices: 2 tsp. cumin, 2 tsp. coriander, 2 tsp. paprika, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste).
We always opt to use Hungarian paprika in every recipe that calls for paprika. Its like regular paprika, but way more flavorful. Its up to you.
Prepare grill.
Combine diced cucumber in a medium-sized bowl with 3 tbs. olive oil, 1 tbs. white wine vinegar, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. white pepper.
In another bowl, whisk together 1 cup of Greek yogurt and 1 cup of sour cream.
Add the yogurt/sour cream mixture to the cucumber.
Finally, add 1 tbs. of freshly chopped dill. Fold ingredients together. Add more salt, if necessary. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
3. Back to the meat. Squeeze bison mixture onto Popsicle sticks or skewers. Be careful not to pack on too much because the meat may fall off when you pick up the sticks.
4. Brush kebabs with olive oil. Then grill over direct heat for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
Serve with Tzatziki Sauce. Couscous, Greek salad and pita bread are perfect for these kebabs. You can even make shawarma!
**To print this recipe, please see "Print" button below.**
MURI GHANTO fish head curry speciality
Now what to cook with the fish head, there are mainly 3 recipes in Bong kitchen, Dal with fish head ( you all know the dal without fish head in my blog), the other option is with Cabbage and finally the Muri Ghanto with rice. ( There is an Oriya option " ChhinchDa", but Somoo has to publish that before I try). The Muri Ghanto with rice is a delicacy.
So to find out the recipe I had to rely on my blog circle of Bongs. ( I know few recipes but did not want to tax my brain and needed a fast route.) In our blog circle , we have 5-6 authentic source of Bengali recipes , and I finally found a great recipe at Bong Mom.
All bengali fish recipies ( barring few) are based on sweet water fish. So I think I should say few lines on this dish cooked with the head of sea fish. ( Most of my foodie friends here eat sea fish)
Few years back, when I was in Korea ( a dream land for me) SOMEONE was nice enough to join me for few weeks leaving few would be mothers with other docs. We had gone to a restaurant, on the black pebble beach, with other Korean friends. The Restaurant specializes on raw fish dishes. ( cooked dishes are also there) .
One has to go to the big aquarium of the place, chose live fish. They will take out the fish, slice into small fillet and serve with wasabi and other sauce. ( I dont mind eating it, as it is tasteless, smell less.). The fish head is not served and destroyed. I told the girl to pack the head for me. The girl was very curious to know what I was going to do with the head. So I quickly explained to her in english what I was going to do with it. She did not understand a single word of English. So I had to explain her in sign language ( and a Korean friend was explaining ) that " I am an Indian Magician and I am going to grow rest of the fish again by using the head and eat again. She was so amused that she jumped on to my back and started showering lot of appreciation into my right ear...and then I heard in my left ear "SOMEONE " whispered "Enjoying?"
" I wish I could, but my knees are buckling".
So that was the 1st and last time, I had used a sea fish head in this dish. But I had to improvise the spicing system as Koreans cant eat Indian spice. Instead of Cumin and garam masala , I had to use quite a bit of Cinnamon only. Koreans are familiar with Cinnamon as it is used in special drinks and sweets.
THE RECIPE
Although rice is added to this dish it is not a Pulao rather it is treated as a curry and eaten with normal rice. The main flavor comes from garam masala, onion and ginger with cumin note.
You can use a fresh sea fish head, if you eat it otherwise.
DEVIATION
There is no deviation from Bong Moms recipe, except an error. I did not notice that Bong Mom had used half the fish head and I put the whole. As a result the dish in the photo looks more : Fish heady" than " Rice-ee" . The taste is superb, at least SOMEONE is very happy. ( May be I will take the risk of loitering tomorrow)
For the detailed recipe, ingredients, method etc please visit Bong Moms MURI GHANTO
I am giving some photos of the dish I cooked.
This is how it looked after cleaning
how it looked after frying
Final Look
And finally the flower for you all
GINGER N SPICE juicy Pork Chops
GINGER N SPICE Pork Chops
Love pork chops? The next time your taste buds craves for PORK Chops, create a little twist to surprise and delight your family and guests. Delicious, tender, moist and juicy pork chops for tonights dinner!
INGREDIENTS:
4 - 1 inch thick PORK chops
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder
1 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
2 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoon of sugar
1/3 cup of water
2 Tablespoons of granulated chicken stock (low sodium) or 2 teaspoon MSG
1 large Ziploc Freezer bag or Medium bowl
DIRECTIONS:
In a freezer or bowl, mix or whisk in all the ingredients listed, except the pork. Rinse the PORK chops and place it in the bowl or freezer bag. Massage the pork chops until its well mixed. Marinate for at least 10 min. If its for tonights dinner, marinate, cover at room temperature for 10 minutes or else place it in the refrigerator. This can be frozen for later use.
COOKING:
On a medium to large skillet add about 2 teaspoons of olive oil, cook on medium heat. Align PORK chops, thicker end of the pork chops toward the center of the skillet for even cooking. Once the bottom of the pork chops turns golden brown, turn over the PORK chops and let it cook for about 2 min. Place a lid and COVER for another 1 to 1/2 minutes. Remove the skillet off the heat and allow to rest for 1 minute before serving. Remove pork chops and throw in your veggies and stir fry it for the sides or serve it with Jasmine rice is as perfect side dish!
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Great cooks blog roll
Now I am a proud member of Great cooks blog roll,a place where we can find wonderful recipes given in a simple way.Great cooks have not stopped with giving food recipes .They do the great work of linking all the food lovers who also write about it in a single place by introducing a blog roll called Great cooks.If you are a food lover and is in the habit of writing food related blogs then this is an ideal place for you to get yourself involved.Join this blog roll and get introduced to the food lovers of the world who search ofor good recipes on the net.
Gujranwala Akhroti Halwa
Gujranwala Akhroti Halwa
Ingredients:
- Sugar ½ kg
- Milk 3 kg
- Tartary 25 grams
- Angoori powder 75 grams
- Flour 150 grams
- Cardamom powder 1 pinch
- Walnuts 300 grams
- Water ½ kg
- Liquid glucose 200 grams
- Clarified butter 4 tbsp
Method:
- Mix together 150 grams of angoori powder and 300 grams of flour.Add ½ water until a thin paste is formed.In a sauce pan add 3 kgs of milk and pour the prepared mixture. Heat and continue stirring.When the mixture begins to boil turn the flame off.
- Allow the mixture to reach t room temperature and add 25 grams of Tartary and gently mix.When the milk curdles turn the flame on and stir the milk until it becomes granular
- When the water dries add ½ kg sugar and a pinch cardamom powder, walnuts along with 3 tbsp clarified butter and sauté wellWhen the water dries t add the liquid glucose and take the hot halwa on a greased tray and cover the pan.
- Keep in a warm place so that it cools down on room temperature.Garnish with 50 grams of walnuts and serve.
COOKIE BOWLS
Looking for a fun and inexpensive way to jazz up your next family gathering? Try these cookie bowls. Not only are they easy to do, but you can fill them with anything from pudding, to ice cream, to cheesecake. You can make the cookie bowls ahead of time and freeze them (unfilled); there are tons of possibilities.
The instructions for these cookie bowls called for forming them over an inverted cupcake pan, however, I wanted bigger (and thicker) ones because they were for a specific purpose and had to be strong enough to travel well, so I formed them over an inverted Texas size muffin pan.
DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO MAKE THESE COOKIE BOWLS USING ALL BUTTER. IT WILL NOT WORK. THE DOUGH WILL SPREAD AND NOT FORM A BOWL !!!!!
1/4 cup butter flavored shortening (no substitutions)
1/4 cup butter (room temperature)(no substitutions)
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1½ cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Beat together shortening, butter and sugars in a large bowl; add the egg and vanilla; beat until well mixed. IMPORTANT NOTE: Do NOT replace butter for the shortening in this recipe; if you do, the dough will spread too much while baking.
Mix the flour and baking powder and gradually stir them into the batter; stir in the chocolate chips.
Put batter into a large plastic bag and flatten into a disk; chill for at least an hour. Preheat your oven to 375. Turn your cupcake (or muffin) pan upside down and cover every other one with foil.
NOTE: standard size cupcake pan requires a 4" circle of foil and the Texas size muffin pan requires a 6" circle of foil. Spray the foil with vegetable spray.
NOTE: I used the new no stick foil and didnt have to spray it at all.
Roll the chilled cookie dough (between two pieces of waxed paper) out to about 1/8th inch or about the same as pie dough. Cut circles and drape over foil, smoothing cracks together and trimming to fit.
UPDATE: One friendly commenter for this recipe said that she used inverted cupcake papers instead of the foil and it worked well. Thats brilliant, thank you!!
Bake 10-12 minutes or until light brown. Remove from oven and let them cool on the pan for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, gently lift them off of the pan (use the tip of a butter knife to lift one corner first) but dont remove the foil until the cookie bowl is completely cool. Fill just before serving.
Read More..
DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO MAKE THESE COOKIE BOWLS USING ALL BUTTER. IT WILL NOT WORK. THE DOUGH WILL SPREAD AND NOT FORM A BOWL !!!!!
1/4 cup butter flavored shortening (no substitutions)
1/4 cup butter (room temperature)(no substitutions)
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1½ cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Beat together shortening, butter and sugars in a large bowl; add the egg and vanilla; beat until well mixed. IMPORTANT NOTE: Do NOT replace butter for the shortening in this recipe; if you do, the dough will spread too much while baking.
Mix the flour and baking powder and gradually stir them into the batter; stir in the chocolate chips.
Put batter into a large plastic bag and flatten into a disk; chill for at least an hour. Preheat your oven to 375. Turn your cupcake (or muffin) pan upside down and cover every other one with foil.
NOTE: standard size cupcake pan requires a 4" circle of foil and the Texas size muffin pan requires a 6" circle of foil. Spray the foil with vegetable spray.
NOTE: I used the new no stick foil and didnt have to spray it at all.
UPDATE: One friendly commenter for this recipe said that she used inverted cupcake papers instead of the foil and it worked well. Thats brilliant, thank you!!
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