Chicken and Corn Soup

This was one of my favourite soup when I was a teenager ( years and years and years back).
Well i must say this was the only soup I ate, and that too was never home made, always had them in the Chinese.

We never had the habbit of having soup at home like lot of you will know, who lives in India.
At least we didn't had them.

So when ever we went to chinese I took this soup.

Ofcourse after getting married and learning to cook. I make lot of different kind of soup whick i love, but when ever I make this soup I feel nostalgic........ actually If I am honest i do feel nostalgic when I make other dishes or for some sweets etc....

For vegetarians they don't have to add the chicken and use vegetable stock.This is my entry for Bindiya's event These are few of my favourite things, thems this month is

Chicken,sweetcorn etc..

Busy

Any onr for a bowl of hot soup???

Ingridients:

Few spring onione cut finley + few for garnish
A small piece of ginger grated
Half chicken breas cut in small pieces
2 l Chicken Stock
400gm Creamed corn
4 to 6 tbsp corn fmour mixed with few tbsp of water
2 eggg whites.
2 green chillies optional
Peper and salt to taste.
1 tbsp oil

Heat the oil in a large pot, add the onions fry till they are soft add the chicken stock,chillies, ginger, chicken pieces, salt and peper. Boil for 10 to 15 minutes.

Now add the cream sweet corn and boil for few minutes now add the corn flour mixed with the water and boil for few minutes till the soup is thinck.

Beat the egg whites with a bit of water lightly, add to soup in a thin stream, stirring well.Serve the soup gernished withe the extra spring onions.

Gratin Dauphinois

This is something one should not make when one is in a diet.But then if you are like me, i would not be able to make them anytime as i always think I am in one or another diet expirement :-(((

Oh I do miss the days when one could eat anything one wanted and never gained a single gram.

Now a days I tell to my MIL I just have to pass by any kind of food, it automatically jumps into my body and stay there !!!!!!!!!!!! but then she replies well I am sure the food is not Jumping but your hand is grabbing them. Which I totally agree.

I think every few months she too comes up with different kind of diet or she buys a different diet book and try them.

And then she tell us what is good about this diet planning and then the whole family goes to this diet plan for few weeks and we give up till she brings up another one.

You woudn't believe in the last 17 years I have known her how many different diet we all have tried with her.

The first one I tried with her was years back Weight Watchers.She and I used to go tegether for that.

Then there was this Montiniac .... then the most famous diet cabbage soup diet.... then once we all did this diet with all kinds of different seeds, we were all feeling like birds eating these seeds....I can go on and on there will be no end to the different diets.
I have to say that I have a great MIL. She is always there for me. For good times and bad times.

So as I was saying the begning of the post before I started babling, this is certainly not a dish for dieters, but then who bothers, once in a while one should indulge.
Well that is my excuse always but then once in a while is more often than I dare to admit my indulging in all the different food I Love.

Potato,Cream,garlic etc...

Cream Poured over the potatoes

Ingridients:
800 gm potatoes, slices very thin.
50 gm butter
2 garlic cloves. ( Normally they rup the pan with garlic, but i love the taste of garlic in this dish and I mix the finley chopped garlic with the cream)
500 ml Cream.
a small pinch of nutmeg optional.
Salt and peper to taste.
50 gm grated cheese.

Preheat the oven 170°C.
Wash the sliced potatoes and dry them in a towel. . Spribkle them with salt, peper and nutmeg.
Butter a oven proofdish and aggange the potatoe slices.Pour the cream mixed with garlic.

The cream should cover all the potato slices. Add knobs of butter on top. Bake them in the oven for 40 tà 60 minutes.15 minutes before the cooking time is finished sprinkle with the grated cheese on top. So that the cheese gets brown.
I seved them with Lamb Chops. Will post that recipe another time.

When the dish comes out from the oven it is really hot, so leave it for 10 minutes before serving them. You don't want to burn you mouth do you.I am sending this to Sia of Monsoon Spice for her event and to Culninary Bazaar for her event too.

Brioche Filled with Chocolate Gnache

In the book-Artisian Bread in Five Minutes a day the author has written this is the closest you'll ever get to the aroma of a Paris Patisserie in your own kitchen.
And I can agree with this as when i made them the whole house was smelling to the baking of this bread.

I had found about this book trough Sreamy Kitchen and I have to admit it has been a great buy.

The recipes in this book is so easy.You just have to mix the dough and keep it in the fridge. You can keep them for 5 days. Jaden had written more you sit it in the fridge tastier the dough gets.
Normally you have to knead the dough for so many minutes when you make a bread, but in this book no. There is no work at all and that is what i love about it. And the results are so deliciously good.

From the same book i've made Sticky Cinamon pecan roll.

Before i get to the recipe I have a good news.
Rosie of Rosie bake a peace of a cake has awarded E for excellent award for me.
Thankyou Rosie. I don't know id she is awardind me for my smile or for my cooking :-)

Dough,Chocolate et...

Make 1 loaf.
1 pound brioche dough. I used half the recipe from the brioche bread. In the book it is written you only have to use 1 pound of the dough to make this.Choice is your own. You just have to know what is best for you.
1/4 pound bitter sweet chocolate finlay chopped.
2 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan.
4 tsp unsweetend cacoa powder.
1 tbsp rum
5 table spoon corn syrup. ( I don't get this hear so used golden syrup)
1 egg white lightly beaten with 1 tbsp of water.
Granulate sugar for sprinkling on top. I used pearl sugar

Making the ganache:
1. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in a MW on low heat, untill smooth. Remove from heat, add the butter and stir intil incorporated.

2. Stir the cocoa powder into the rum, add the corn syrup, znd mix untill smooth. Add to the chocolate.

Chocolate Ganache etc...

3. Assembling the brioche:

Lightly butter 9 x 4 x 3 inch nonstick loaf pan. Dust the surface of the refrigated brioche dough with flour and cut off a one poud piece. ( I uses half of the dough from the brioche mixture)

Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by streaching the surface of the dough around the ball a quater turn as you go.Using a rolling pin, roll out the ball into 1/4 inch thivk rectangle, dusting with flour as needed.
You will have to use generous amount of flour as the dough is really sticky tip i got from jaden.

4. Spread 1/2 cup of the ganache evenly over the rectangle, leaving a 1 inch border all aroundtarting at the short end, roll up the dough, beeing careful to seal the bare edge.

5. Gentley tuch the loose ends underneath, elongate into a oval , and drop into the prepared pan.

Done

6. Allow to rest 1 hour and 40 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Using a pastry brush, paint the top crust with egg white. Sprinkle lightly with the granulated suagar..

8. Bake the brioche for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the sugar caramalizes. Due to the butter in the dough, the brioche will not form a hard crust.

9. Remove from the pan and cool slightly, then drizzel the remaining 1/4 cup of ganache over the top crust. Cool completley and slice.

Here is the Sticky Conamon Pecan Rolls from the same book

Brioche Master Dough

This is a recipe from the bread book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a day.I am just givinh one of the Master dough recipe here and with theis recipe you can make lots of different bread.

With this Master dough recipe I made the Brioche Filled with Chocolate Gnache.

Few of the ingridients

Mixed everything

After 2 days in the fridge

Makes four 1 pound loaf.
The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
1 1/2 cups luke warm water
1 1/2 tsp yeast1
1/2 tbsp salt
8 Eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup Honey
1 1/2 cup unsalted butter ( 3 sticks), melted, plus extra butter for greasing the pan.
7 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Egg wash ( 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water)

1. Mix the yeast, salt eggs, honey, and melted butter with the water in a 5-quart bowl , or a food container (not air tight)

2. Mix in the flour without kneading, using a sppon, a 14-cup capacity food processor ( with dough attachement), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with dough hook). If you are not usinf a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incoporate the last bit of flour. The dough will be loosen but will firm up when chilled, don't try to work with it before chilling.

3. Cover (not airtight),

4. Refrigerate in a lidded ( not air tight) container and use over the next 5 days. Beyond 5 days freeze the dough in one pound portions in a airtight container for upto 4 weeks. When using frozen dough, thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then allow the usual rest and rise time

5. Defrost the dough overnight in the fridge if frozen.On baking day grease 9 x 4 x 3 inch nonstick loafpan. Dust the surface of the refrigated dough with flour and and cut ogg a 1 pound piece. (grapefruit size).Dust the piec with more flour and quickly shape into a ball by streching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all sides, roating the ball a quater turn as you go.

6. Elongate into a oval shape and place in the prepared pan. Allow to rest for 1 hour and 20 minutes

7. Preaheat the oven to 350°F.

8. Using a pastry brush, brush the top crust with egg wash.

9. Place the bread near the center of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or untill a medium golden brown. Due to the fat in the dough, brioche will not form a hard crackling crust.

This dough can be used for making variety of breads.Brioche filled with Chocolate Gnache is made with this dough.

When i made the dough I halfed the ingridients and made one brioche chocolate bread.

Meli - Mello

This is yet another recipe from the French magazine I buy ( hubby translated).
It is called Meli-Mello. Fruits with soft spices.

The fruits Salade with these soft spices are really delicious and not to mention so easy to make them. My hubby coudn't stop talking about this salade, he was so full of praise for it.
He thought it tasted so exqusite. Ladies he is not talking about me, he is talking about the salade :-)))

I made this on saturday and the whole weekend he was talking about this fruit salade which I hardly had tào do any work.I do have to admit they were really delicious.
We've decided next time whe we have guest we'll serve this as dessert.

This is my entry for Sunita's think spice...think star anise event. I am really glad for these event as I am trying to make new dishes.

Also sending it to Coffee of The Spice Cafe, she is hosting thins months JFI Lime/Lemon.

I am sending this to Martha of An Italian in the US for her event she is hosting Fresh Produce of the Month.
This month she has choosed Oranges.

Fruits, Star anise, Lime etc..

Grape juice, vanilla pod,etc...

Ingridients.
2 Bananas sliced
1 Grapefruit skin removed and in parts
2 Oranges skin removed and in parts
Juice of 1 lime.
1 Pear sliced
1 bunch of purple and white grapes each sliced half
4 Dried Plums ( I din't had at home so didn't add them)
4 Dried Figs600ml Grape juice. I used a good quality shop bought one
4 anise seed
1vanilla Pod split and cut in four so you can serve on top a quater pod and a anise seed.

Method.
In a pan add the vanilla pods, star anise, dried figs, plums and the grape juice and bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes in a low heat.
Leave it to cool.

Add all the sliced fruits together with the lime juice to a bowl and pour the cooled liguid on to the fruits and mix well.
I think it is better tasting if you mix all the fruits in the morning and then serve it in the evening. So the taste od the vanila and the star anise can really infuse to the fruits.
Divide the fruits into individual bowls and serve.

In the recipe it is written for four person, but i think you can serve it for six.

Spiced Up Nuts

From the time I saw this in Cooking 4 all Season . I've been wanting to make these spicy nuts when I saw it in her place in december.

Srivalli had written the spiced up nuts are wonderful way to munch on while you want to think on something. Well not that I have anything to think about :-)

Or you can munch on them without any thoughts too. I like to eat them this way without any thoughts :-)))

Doesn't matter what way you eat they are just delicious. We all were going on munching on it, till it was finished.
Actually I made them few weeks ago and didn't blog it yet so here it is.

Frying

If you want to have the recipe you can check out here
Thankyou Srivalli for the recipe

Feel Good Salade

I guess this is one of the easiets and healthiest recipe I have posted.

The AFAM this month is hosted by Sra of When My Soup Came Alive. And the fruit she have choosen is Pomegranate.

It was a sheer coincidence that I picked up a free magazine from the super market and there in it was this easy salade, which was looking so healthy and good, I thought well I will make this for the event and sent it to Sra.
The ginger powder gave a excelent taste to the fruit salade. So I will be making it again.

Fruits....

2 Pomegranate.
2 Kiwi sliced
1 Grapefruit sliced
1 soup spoon cane sugar / or just sugar
1 tsp ginger powder

Mix everything together and serve .
Didn't I say it is so easy :-)

Nice Matters and Great Cooks Blogroll

I received this wonderful Nice Matters Award from Retno Prihadana of Kedai Hamburg. Was really surprised but also very pleased about it :-)
Thankyou Retno Prihadana

Now I have to pass it to some of my other friends here.I always think it is really difficult to choose few friends when you have lots of friends here in the blog. Last time when I received a award from Ti I passed just to Asha but this time I will pass to few.

Rosie of Rosie Bake's A Peace of Cake don't know if I am giving it to her or to her wonderful cakes which I see and drool on her place :-)

Bharathy of Spicy Chilly now I know why I am giving it to her, she have these delicious Kerela fish and Kappa recipes , not mentioning the rest then I will have to sit here long.

Kribha from En Samayal Pakkam she have lots of recipes which i always think I should make it.

Dhanggit of Dhanggit Kitchen she is in a Valentine mood , have you seen the chocolate rool with the sauce just delicious.

I can go on and on writting down other friends name, it will never stop...... as I have made so many friends here.

Now to a another subject. I joined the Great Cooks blogroll

The blogroll is created for people who have a love for cooking.Abd if you own a blog about food, recipes, cooking, baking.... then you should also join in.
I have seen a lot of bloggers I know. So if you have not joined in go and sign up :-)

Minestrone alla Milanese

When Meeta of What's For Lunch Honey announced her Monthly Mingle for January was Comfort Foods,

I knew what i was going to send her. It would be SOUP. Now I just had to decide which soup.

Every lunch time we have soup. it doesn't matter if it is cold or warm weather, there will be always soup before the main meals. Aparently it is something my MIL tradition. She always served soup before the main meal and after getting married I too started doing it for lunch time.
That doesn't mean I am making fresh soup every day. When I make Soup I make them in big quantities and I freeze them in portions. Or I make fresh soup for three days and put it in a tupperware and keep for three days in the fridge.

Few times I have mentioned that mt daughter is a difficult eater when it comes to vegetables. The only vegetable she eats are peas and carrots

But when I make minestrone soup she eats the whole bowl, and come on the bowl is full of different kind of vegetables. But she remarks they don't taste bad in this soup........ that is kids for you!

I am taking a break from blogging for a week. My daughter is having her carnival holidays for a week. So I will catch up with all your delicious post on 11th February

Most of the ingridients

Fry the veggies

Soup any one????

Ingridients.
2 onions cut fine.
2 celery sticks cut fine
2 leeks cut fine100 gm bacon sliced ( vegetarians can omitt this)1 bouquet garni ( parsley, bayleaf and rosemarin tied together)
400 gm Canned chopped tomatoes. ( you can always use fresh in the season)150 gm each Potato, carrots, zucchini, cut in small squares
100 gm beans cut fine
100 gm white beans ( i use tin beanw in tomatoe sauce)
100 gm peas used tin ones
100 gm very small shaped pasta
3 litre vegetable broth.
1 garlic clove cut fine
1 tsp dried basil1tsp mixed Italian herbs
Few tbsp parsley
Peper and salt to taste
Few tbsp olive oil.

Method:
Heat the oil in a large pan.Add the onions , leeks, celery, carrots, potato, zuchinni and the bacon ( if using) and fry till they are soft.Now add the tomatoes, garlic, beans, peas and the broth.
Add the herbs and the bouquet garni , stir well.Cook for 30 minutes or till the vegetables are cooked. Now add the tinned peas and white beans and the small pasta .
Cook till the pasta is done.

I add sometimes a tbsp of concentrated tomato paste together with the tin tomatoes