Orange Pannacotta with Caramalized Oranges

This is a recipe from the famous Brittish Chef Gordon Ramsay's book Dessert from a Master Chef.
I love this book as it is full with wonderful dessert recipes.Ofcourse I have give my version of the recipe.
So when I heard about the O Foods for Ovarian cancer event I thought why not try a recipe from this book.
Hubby and I loved this dessert, my daughter didn't lik it , she didn't like the taste of the liquor in it.
Of course to be honest i did made it a bit boosey, I added extra liquor to the sauce and also added extra to the pannacotta mixture.

O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness MonthSeptember is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen and Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy, Jenn of The Leftover Queen, and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are asking you to donate to the:

Ovarian Cancer Research Fundand then, out of the goodness of your hearts and to be eligible for the OFoods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Contest, please do the following:Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato) and include this entire text box in the post;OR

If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word about the event and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.ANDThen send your post url [along with a photo (100 x 100) if you’ve made a recipe] to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on September 30, 2008.We will post a roundup and announce prize winners on October 3.

Prizes:1 Recipe Prize for best “O food” concoction: $50 gift certificate to Amazon;1 Awareness Prize for only publicizing event: Copy of Dolce Italiano cookbook.

From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.The American Cancer Society estimates that 21,650 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the U.S. in 2008 and about 15,520 women will die from the disease.
The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose. There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.

In spite of this patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.

Caramalized Orange skin is almost there

Caramalized orange zest and orange slices

Almost there.....

Ingridients for pannacotta:
250 gm sugar.
6 tbsp water.
150 ml milk600 ml full cream
4 leaves of gelatine soaked in cold water for 5 minutes.
2 tbsp fine grated orange zest, just the skin not the white ( I didn't add this, I added 3 tbsp of extra liquor to it)
3 tbsp Orange Luquor

Add 150 gm sugar with the water in a pan and heat it in a low fire. And let it caramalize.I made a very light caramel sauce and added 2 extra tbsp of orange liquor to it.Pour the sauce to the ramekins and let it cool in the fridge

For the pannacotta :
Heat the cream and milk and the rest of sugar in a big pan and bring it to boil. Now lower the heat and cook the mixture for 8 minutes.

Add the grated orange zest and the soaked gelatine ( squeeze out the water from the gelatine)Mix them and let it cool down.When it is cool add the orange liquor to it.Take out the ramkenis out from the fridge, divide the pannacotta mixture to it.

Keep in the fridge for few hours till it is set.

When it is time for serving take them out from the fridge. I dipp them for a second in hot water so they come loose so it is easy to plate them.I serve the pannacotta with caramalized orange slices.You can serve with any fruit you want.

Edited 7/09/08
Thanks to Ivy of Kopiaste ( she had noticed i had forgotten to write the recipe for caramel orange zest) So thankyou Ivy
You have to do few steps to make them, In the book it is noted that you can make this and keep in the fridge for a month and use them when ever you needed.

Basic syrup: ( for 750 ml syrup)

500 gm crystal sugar
500 ml water
2 slice of lemon skins

Heat a pan with the water and sugar and let it cook til the suagar is melted.
Stir once or twice.
Add the lemon skins to it.
When the sugar is dissolved cook the mixture in hight heat for 5 to 7 minutes.
Let the syrup cool, take out the lemon pieces,
You can keep this syrup in a bottle for 2 to 3 weeks.

Caramalise Orange zesrt:
Wash 4 oranges peel the skins with ( don't take ths white) cut them very fine.
Blanch them in cooking water for two minutes, reapet the process twice more.
In a small pan bring 250 ml of syrup to boiladd the finley cut orange skins cook in low heat for 3 minutes.
Take the pan from the fire and leave i the orange skinbs in the mixture to cool in the pan.

When it is cold take the orange skins and bottle it and use it when evver you need them.
You can keep this in the fridge for 1 month.

The pannacotta is really wobally. Gordon Ramsay wrote in his book that in his kitchen they call it Chi-Chi-Lina as it shakes so sexy when they take it to the table.
If you want it to have a bit solid then i would suggest addding 1 more gelatine leaf

Garidomakaronada Ouzo and Fresh Tomato

I have to admit my cooking skills are getting better every day thanks to blogging. I have started making dishes from all around the world.

This dish is a example. I would have never made this dish if it is not for my blog hopping which I do almost everyday.
I visit my felow blogers to know what new dish they are making and If i think it is a delicious loooking dish I bookmark them.

You should see my Try recipes list, it is just overflowing.
So last week on my daily blog hopping I saw this recipie in Kalofagas - Greek Food & Beyond by Peter, and I was like wow delicious pasta dish I surley should try this.

And that is what I did today, made this dish for lunch.They were super super delicious. This is a dish. I will be making again and again.If you want to try this delicious pasta dish you can find the recipe here.

Peter has also explained what the recipie means.I didn't had the pasta he used so I used the normal thin variety I had at home and I also added a bit of parsley to the sauce.
You can see the steam on my picture as for me it is cooking the food and fast platting it up and inbetween taking the picture for the blog :-)
I am sending this to the Pasta presto night event.

And also sending it to bookmarked Recipes, which is hosted by Pam from Sidewalk Shoes

Raspberry financiers/Cupcakes

I have been wanting to make this for long, but I don't have a financiers mould, and I coudn't wait any longer so I made them in muffin pan which was also really a excelent idea...... don't know why I didn't do this idea before than waiting to buy the special pans.

I love this finacier/cupcake as they are not too sweet and loved the raspberries inside them.

Ingridients.
4 egg white whipped up till snow

80 gm sugar
100 gm almond powder
30 ml Amaretto drink ( idf you don't have don't worry)
80 gm flour
100 gm butter, melt the butter until it turns to a rich brown color. Strain it and let cool to room temperature.
200 gm Raspberry

Method:
Mix the flour, almond powder and sugar in a bowl.
Add melted butter and the amaretto to it and stir.
Fold in the egg whites too it.Add the raspberries to it and gently stir it to make sure you don't break them up.
Spoon them into the muffin tins.

Preheat the oven to 180°c and bake them for 20 minutes.
Let them cool on a wire rack and serve the with whipped cream.

Chicken in a Jiffy

If you want to have a fast meal , then I would suggest make this chicken.
It is easy to male and you don't need that much ingridients.

Actually it is so easy now I am thinking to myself why am I posting such a easy recipe.
With a smile I am saying to myself, hi hi that is bacause I have not been cooking than much these days other than easy food.

There is another reason for me for posting this dish as there is a chicken event going on in the month of September which is hosted by Srilekha of me and my Kitchen

I am sending this to her.

Chicken, nuts etc...

Frying

Half chicken breast slices

Quater cup cashewnuts dry roasted in a pan. If you have almonds do use them.

4 tbsp Amaretto Disaranno ( if you don't have use honey)
1 peach/Nectarine Optional

Peper and salt to taste
Butter for frying the chicken

Heat a pan and add the butter,when it is melted add the chicken pieces , with peper and salt and brown both sides and cook till it is done, pour the amaretto into the pan. Stir nicely so all the pieces get coated.

Serve the chicken pieces with nuts scatterd over it and sliced peach.nectarine.

Mango Pannacotta

When I saw this dessert in What's for Lunch Honey in june , i bookmarked it for making them soon. But then went to India for holiday.
And now that I am back i noticed that there is no more good strawberries in the shops so I thought well instead of strawberry I will use frozen mango.
Meeta used straberries, i replaced them with mango, and 2 to 4 table spoon of Mango Liquer other than that the recipe of the pannacotta is same.
If you want to have the recipe check it out here in her place. Well if you go there you will be in her place for a while as you will be just drooling over the pictures and the desserts she make there.

Updated : I seved pannacotta topped with the mango liqueor. It gave a excelent cick ;-)

I am sending this to susan over to Susan of Stickt,Gooey,Creamy,Chewy for her Blogiversary Bash. I am sure the guest will love this creamy dessert.

I love the Mango pannacotta, next year when it is strawberry season, I am sure going to try it with them.

Time just flew

First let me Wish all my Readers A very Happy Onam.

It is true when they say, time just go fast when one os have a wonderful time. We all had such a lovely time in India..

Days and weeks just flew.........As i promised I did eat lots of different snacks and food, which I had not had for a while, didn't take that much picture as when one is going out for eating ; the camera is never with us.

Vegetarian Thali in Sarvana Chennai

Flower Market in Mysore

Yumm Spicy chillies

In Mumbai I ate the vada pav which was so delicious......now when i think about it, I am ddrooling.In Bangalore I ate for first time papadi chat...........in mysore ate the mulagu bhaji from the street vendour, which was yumm....... should I continue :-) not to mention the thalis in Sarvana in Chennai.

Ofcourse nothing could beat the delicious food we had in Srivaliis home.

She was so kind to invite us for dinner even in her hectic life. And the variety of food she had prepared for us was so DELICIOUS.

We enjoyed every mouthfull of it. I cannot say which was the best dish in her place as all of them we so good. When i tried her paneer butter masala we were like wow and then i tried her chicken dish ( ladies she is unbelievably fast in cooking) she made this chicken dish while i was there and it was done in a flash and I was like my god if i have to make this dish at home i will be slaving half the day to make it.

There was this andhra vada which was aslos superb.......

Her twins are so adorable. You know when you see small kids u just want to grab them and squeeze them ( at least i do) I wanted to do that to both of them.
Her daughter Anjana is so sweet. Not to mention smart and witty.
My hubby and daughter wanted to take her with them as both of them thouht she is the most smartest girl they have met.

Not to mention she has a wonderful smile.And Srivalli she is really wonderfull. I am sure if I was living in chennai I would go to her home every week.
Their home is just wonderful I am sure she has no dull moment with such a wonderfull family

Fresh ginger in the market

Oh yeah and then we went to Munnar.

Salted Nellika in the road side shops. On the way to Munnar

I am sure if you have gone there you will agree with me when i say the place is just breathetaking, with all the tea plantations.

Tea Plants in Munnar

Of coures what did I buy from there, tea and spices. I tasted there the best Cinamon . So you can imagine i was like a child in a toy shop seeing all the different type of spicces.

Bought cardamom, cinamon, cloves ........ but one of the best find and buy I did was Vanilla sticks. They were so cheap that i bought 75 sticks. I will tell about the quality when I use them. But they look and smell really good.

My daughter and I wend to India 2 weeks earlier than my husband as he had to go to US. So as he was there he went and stayed with my sister for a week.
So what does elder sis send for her blogging sis, you all can imagine ,

Few of the things she send me
Thankyou sis. Isn't it great to have elder sisters :-))))