Showing posts with label to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label to. Show all posts
Monday, May 5, 2014
How to make a chicken curry recipe video
NEW: How to make a chicken curry video
We have added a new food recipe video below to view, simply click on the player.
To see this chicken curry recipe in step-by-step pictures see chicken curry recipe in pictures.
To view Chef Jeenas video recipe index click here thank you for watching. Please feel free to leave a comment.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Seared Wild Scallops with Pancetta and Leeks It Only Tastes Hard to Make
The best recipes, especially ones youre making for those holiday dinner parties, are the dishes that only have a few ingredients, are simple and fast to put together, and taste like you spent all day on them. This Seared Scallops with Pancetta and Leeks video recipe I just did for About.com is one of those. It would make a great first course, or you could double the portion for a main course. The three main ingredients go together so perfectly that all youll have to do is avoid the temptation to add a bunch of other stuff. Your restraint will be rewarded.Many of the grocery stores are now selling frozen "wild" scallops. I got these at Trader Joes, and they are far superior to the "fresh" sea scallops in the fish case. Those fresh sea scallops are all soaked in a preservative brine to keep them white and prolong the self-life. Thats why they have that faint chemical aftertaste, and shrink so much when you cook them. Frozen wild scallops are not soaked in any solutions, and have a much better flavor. They are definitely worth finding and serving. Enjoy!
Click here for the transcript and ingredients.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
I Now Pronounce You Reader and Soup! – How to Make Italian Wedding Soup
I knew todays video recipe was called Italian Wedding Soup because its traditionally served at weddings, but I wanted to find out why this soup, with these ingredients in particular, was chosen.I had a few theories. I figured the greens probably represented money, and symbolized hopes that the bride and groom would enjoy a prosperous union. The soups signature mini-meatballs were a tougher nut to crack.
How could taking large, virile, normal-size meatballs and shrinking them down to dainty little shriveled dumplings serve as a metaphor for marriage? I just dont see a connection. Well, come to find out (according to two reliable sources; Wikipedia, and my friend and fellow About.com Guide, Kyle) the name has nothing to do with people getting married.
Apparently, what we Italian-Americans from the northeast call Italian Wedding Soup is actually a misinterpretation of an Italian soup called, "minestra maritata," which basically means "married soup." The "married" refers to the delicious pairing of the greens and meat, and not the ritual of marriage.So, the soup ended up being a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. What better choice for a first course at your Italian-American wedding reception than something called Italian Wedding Soup?
That should give you enough soup-related cocktail party conversation material for a while. Whether you fondly remember this from weddings past, or youve never had it or heard about it before, I really hope you give it a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 quart beef broth
1 quart chicken broth
Note: A little more or little less broth will not affect the recipe
1/3 cup pastina or other tiny pasta
1 bunch kale
salt and pepper to taste
For the meatballs:
1 1/4 pound beef
1 egg
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cream
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
Saturday, March 29, 2014
A Visit to Erbcroft Farms
Our next stop was Erbcroft Farms, home of sheep, chickens, ducks, horses and pygmy goats. There was some mention of a llama Im pretty sure, but we didnt see one. The sheep are fairly mixed breeding; Suffolk cross and North Country Cheviot predominating.
Erbcroft Farms has been in the family for 4 generations, but until Tim & Luann took it over it was a cash crop farm. They still grow those, but the animals have become a very important part of the farm.
Chickens roam the yard, supplementing their diet with bugs and seeds.
Two 9-day old lambs whos mother is unable to nurse them are thriving on milk from a local dairy sheep farm. The milk is in a tub outfitted with "nipples" so that the lambs can nurse when they like; a simple thing but it makes taking care of lambs that need to be hand-raised so much easier because like other babies, they need to nurse often and with no regard to anyone elses convenience.
Two kinds of ducks, Rouen and Muscovy, hang out at the creek.
When called, the sheep came thundering up to the fence. The Erbs have about 120 ewes now; eventually they would like to double the number.
Lamb can be ordered as a freezer order from the farm, or purchased at the Mitchell Farmers Market as lamb sausage. We had some samples of the sausage, with it flavoured with Luann Erbs own blend of herbs - very delicate and tasty!
Its a sad fact that there is little point in shearing the sheep if it can be avoided. The last time they sheared their sheep they paid $500 and received $189 for the wool; thats .02 cents per pound. There just isnt much of a market for wool any more.
One of the Erb children collects eggs from the chicken pen as one of the farm tourers watches.
The poultry are all trained to return to the barn at night for safety.
There are also some very charming pygmy goats on the farm.
Finally we went into the barn where the pregnant ewes are being watched. Our timing was amazing; we arrived just in time to see 2 newly born lambs still being licked clean and thinking about standing up. Unfortunately I dont have a picture as my camera chose THAT MOMENT to run out of batteries. It was definitely one of the highlights of the tour though!
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Guacamole recipe How to make Mexican Guacamole at home
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| Guacamole Picado |
Guacamole Picado is a famous Mexican dip or a side served with tortilla chips or with any main course. Guacamole Picado is made with Avocados( called as butter fruit in India), onions, tomato and garlic etc. Picado means chopped in Spanish, here the ingredients are chopped finely, mixed and served. Here goes the simple and home made recipe of Guacamole
Ingredients
Onion small finely chopped- 1 no
Green chilies finely chopped- 3 nos( you can use 2 Serrano peppers and 1 Jalapeno)
Tomato medium remove seed and finely chopped- 1 no
Garlic clove minced- 1 no
Fresh coriander leaves chopped- 1 tbsp
Avocado ripe- 3 nos
Salt- 1/2 tsp
lime juice from 1/2 fruit
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| Home-made Guacamole |
Method
Remove the seed and scoop out the flesh from the avocados, chop coarsely and place it in a bowl. Add chopped onion, chopped tomatoes, chopped green chilies, minced garlic, chopped coriander leaves, lime juice and salt to the avocados. Mix well everything in the bowl with a fork until avocados are mashed and well blended with other ingredients. Serve with warm tortillas or with tortilla chips.
( Note: for Desi touch I spread Guacamole on dosa, bread slice and chapati which tasted very good).
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| Guacamole |
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Red Curry Butternut Squash – When it Comes to Side Dishes the Food Gods Hate a Coward
As you decide on what to include in your fabulous array of vegetable side dishes for the upcoming holiday feasts, keep one thing in mind. No guts, no glory. For some reason, normally adventurous cooks when faced with a house full of hungry relatives, play scared.Its probably driven by the desire to want everyone to enjoy everything (you know thats impossible, right?). Serving something too exotic just doesnt seem prudent. I take a different approach. Since these holiday meals are one of the rare times we get to serve multiple side dishes, I think its the perfect occasion for springing a surprise or two.
This lovely red curry butternut squash certainly fits the bill. Sweet, spicy, and mysterious – this turkey-friendly side dish wont be everyones cup of tea, but for those at the table that let it work its magic, it promises to be one of their favorite parts of the meal.
Like I said, there are plenty of other side dishes on hand, so even if the worse case scenario happens and everyone from little Billy to Grandma Jean agrees this is the worst squash dish ever, so what? There are seven more sides to pick up the slack. Besides, after the third bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau whos really going to care?If youve never worked with red curry before, be careful. Its really spicy, and you can always add more as it cooks. To be safe, you can even cut my measurements in half for the spices and then adjust. I hope you give this interesting butternut squash side dish a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3-4 pounds butternut squash, peeled cut in 1-inch cubes
1 bunch green onions
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp red curry powder (I used McCormick)
1 tsp red curry paste (I used Taste of Thai)
2 tbsps tomato paste
1 can coconut milk
1 rounded tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce (or sub to-taste with soy sauce or salt)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
*adjust for salt and heat before serving
Thursday, March 6, 2014
“Roasted” Tomato and Balsamic Vinaigrette – We really need to concentrate on this one!
I worked with a Chef, way back when, who made this amazingly delicious roasted tomato vinaigrette. He would slice a whole pan of Roma tomatoes lengthwise and slowly roast them in a very low oven until the sugars and acids in the fruit would condense and caramelize and concentrate into a delicious mass. This took about 5-6 hours. Then, these roasted tomatoes were cooled, pureed, and with the addition of some oil and vinegar, turned into a wonderfully complex vinaigrette. It was so good next to any grilled fish, meat, veggies, etc. The only thing I didn’t like was the extended cooking time.Now, the whole reason for the long, slow roasting was to concentrate the flavors. So, I thought I could duplicate it by using a really good, double-concentrate tomato paste and nicely aged balsamic vinegar. It worked. Is it as good? Who knows? Yet another “subjective mater of taste” argument. Do I always use the shortcut method? No, I do (when I have time) love a nice pan of slow roasted, caramelized Roma tomatoes. They are great served whole on burgers, and as a side dish with many main dishes. In fact, now I have to demo the original method! Anyway, here is a 5 minute version that will pair wonderfully with so many things, and you’re only a few minutes away. I used this on my Pan Seared Perch with Fried Capers recipe, so if you haven’t seen that one, check it out. By the way, this is also very nice with I touch of fresh garlic, which I didn’t use this time…hey, I can’t use garlic in every recipe! Enjoy.
Ingredients:
1 tbl tomato paste (double-concentrate)
1 tbl aged Balsamic vinegar
1 tbl rice vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
6 tbl olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Sunday, February 16, 2014
MUTTON PASANDA CURRY AND TRAIN TO SANTINIKETAN
Dear Friends . HAPPY NEW YEAR ( I have already wished you all , still it is for 2011, as it is too early to wish Happy New year for 2012)
I am back after a 10 day trip to Calcutta, Sundarban and Santiniketan. The Sundarban trip was very memorable as few of my college mates met after many decades. My classmate came all the way from Houston with her husband. It was a 3 days 2 nights trip on boat to the dreadfully beautiful Sundarban. We did not see any tiger, ( normally no one can see them) and hopefully the tigers did not see me too, (or decided not to chew old bones), else I would have been writing from Hell. ( not Heaven ).
For 10days, it was marathon eating every where particularly at my in laws place in Santiniketan. Every where it was fish and more fish and it was 4 to 5 fish dishes for lunch and dinner. Oh God , I never imagined, I would ever get tired of eating fish!!!
So I thought I should cook a simple Mutton dish for a change and few vege dishes for SOMEONE who is a Vegetable freak.
THE RECIPE.
Here is a simple and fast dish for you ( Non-vege only). It can be cooked with mutton ( with or without bone), chicken, beef etc. The basic idea is to spend minimum time. Here I have used Mutton Pasanda. I made pasanda to make a pasanda biriyani, but was feeling lazy so made this curry after spending lot of time to cut pasanda from a chunk of meat. It was a criminal wastage of time, indeed. You need not use Pasanda for this fake dish.
This dish will be cooked with all the spices , onion garlic etc added together with a seasoning.
PASANDA. Many of you must be knowing what is pasanda . This is just to refresh. It is cut in long strips from a chunk of thigh meat and about 1/4th inch or less thick. The technique needs lot of skill. It is like peeling an orange continuously with out breaking. The flat pieces are then hit lightly with the sharp edge of the knife to make grooves and then further smashed to flatten. . Indian Butchers are expert in cutting Pasanda. It is a base material for many dishes, from Kebab, Biriani, to cutlets, stir fries, crispy lamb fry with honey and sesame etc etc. The size of the pieces will depend what pasanda dish you are making. Pasanda, being very thin and smashed, picks of the marinade very nicely.
PASANDA
CLOSE UP VIEW, PASANDA
INGREDIENTS
Mutton Pasanda 500 gms, cut to 1 X 2 inch pieces. ( or 750 gm mutton with bones or 500 gms without bones, 3/4th inch chunks)
for the marinade
Fresh curd 3 heap tbsp ( about 50 gms)
2 onion chopped fine ( 11/2 inch size)
2 level tbsp chopped garlic ( you can use more)
2 level tbsp chopped ginger ( you can use more)
1 heap tsp Coriander powder.
1 level tsp roasted and powdered cumin. ( if you dont have roasted one , use raw powder)
1 tbsp mustard oil1 heap tsp turmeric powder.
2 cardamom, 1/2 inch cinnamon powdered coarsely by slashing. ( optional)
Seasoning
Cinnamon 11/2 inch long broken to pieces
Cardamom 4 , peel ruptured
Black pepper 10
Bay leaf 2
2 green chili chopped to 1/4th inch
Other ingredients
Tomato 1 chopped fine ( about 2 inch size)
Red chili powder 2 tsp (more the merrier)
1 onion thin and uniformly sliced.
3 -4 tbsp mustard oil
Salt as required
Sugar 1 level tsp ( this is for taste and not for sweetening)
PROCESS.
Cut Pasanda into 1 inch by 2 inch pieces.
Whip the curd and mix all ingredients mentioned under marinade then mix the meat.
Keep aside for 1 hour.
Heat oil to smoking in a pressure cooker, remove from fire and give seasoning of bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon, green chili and black pepper.
Add the sliced onion and fry to brown. ( just 2 shades below dark brown), add tomato immediately to prevent over frying of onion.
Soute for 5 minutes.
Add red chili powder stir for 30 seconds and add the marinated meat along with the liquid.
Mix well. Add salt , sugar and 1/2 cup water.
Pressure cook for 6 minutes . (Count time from 1st whistle and reduce heat.).
Open the cooker after the pressure becomes normal, and boil to drive off water and the gravy should be of thick consistency.
Eat with rice, Paratha, roti.
Finished dish, Mutton pasanda curry
TO SANTINIKETAN
Santiniketan is my in-laws place, have been travelling there since 1970s. Apart from Tagore connection, one loves to be there to spend some time, repeatedly.
I dont want to write a travelogue on this ( too much on the net already). Here I give a compilation of video clips on train to Santiniketan.
I like the bengali folk songs called Baul. Most of you will not understand the meaning but enjoy the train ride and the rhythm of the song.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
“Passport to Dry Creek Valley” and the Legend of the Squash Bird
My wife and I are in the middle of planning and prepping a huge catering event this next weekend in Sonoma. It’s called “Passport to Dry Creek Valley,” which is an annual event showcasing the wines, and vineyards of the amazingly beautiful Dry Creek Valley (photo from visitwineroad.com). We will be doing the food and wine pairing for our dear friend Bill Frick, at the Frick Winery for the 11th year, and despite all the hard work we always look forward to it.
There are over 58 wineries involved in this event, and over 4,000 wine enthusiasts will be eating and sipping their way through the valley. By the way, if you have a chance, check out the Frick Winery website. Bill produces some of the most delicious wine in the entire state!
Due to the limited time available to film new clips and write articles, you may see me using this next week and a half as an excuse to finish adding the last of the old clips from Youtube and my previous blog to the site. I will have a few new clips to add, but don’t be surprised if you see a clip that you saw on the old blog (especially if you’ve been with me from the start).Today’s clip is a perfect example. It’s the (mostly) true story about how a young Chef (me!) got his big break and was sent to San Francisco to make squash into birds. Enjoy!
Saturday, January 25, 2014
How to Poach Eggs Better Late Than Whenever
So, its safe to say, this video recipe was truly "by popular demand." And by "demand" I mean constant harassment, and good-natured threats, or at least I hope they were good-natured. The lesson here is to never promise anyone anything.
In related news: Im not saying exactly when, only that it will be in the future, but the breakfast I used as a destination for my poached eggs will also be turned into its own video recipe for a sort of hollandaise-less eggs Benedict, so stay tuned for that.
Anyway, this is fairly straightforward stuff, except for the fact that the really, really fresh eggs I bought to show how amazingly well they hold together in the hot water, were anything but. As youll see, they spread out faster that a group of food bloggers in a free grand tasting tent. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
For 2 quarts of water
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh eggs!
View the complete recipe
View the complete recipe
Friday, December 27, 2013
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!
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