A decadent and sinful celebration!

Vish and I clocked 8 years together as a married couple, and with a toddler on a week day, this was pretty much the highlight of our day (after a satiating meal of home made pasta and bruschetta - yes, you see I am finding my way back to the kitchen :p)!

This is an Irish car bomb cake - A chocolate Guinness cake with a subtle flavor of Irish whiskey. The frosting is whipped cream cheese with a hint of whiskey for the layers and Baileys for the top. Here's the recipe I followed. And if you are not drooling already, here's the picture of the show stopper of the evening.

Indulgence for the wintry days...

P.S. I have not been washed away in rainy Portland - I have been growing fatter during my Great Indian Vacation, of which I hope to share more in the days to come but meanwhile coming to my perennial sin - gluttony. So I do promise to be more disciplined and less indulgent from February 01, 2015 but for the time being, you have to have to try this out - Chocolate Cup Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - as sinful as this sounds, the one saving grace is that it is whole wheat!

Check out the recipe here.

Because Olive Garden does not home deliver!

Pasta is one of my favorite dishes - like an anytime dish - I can eat it for main course or snack or even have the leftovers for morning breakfast. And it is a pity that such a connoisseur as I proclaim myself to be, I am yet to visit Italy and taste the authenticity for myself. Now, if I had a bucket list, that would surely make it there. But, I digress.

So it happened. A rainy day. Under home arrest with a slightly sick baby. And the craving for creamy delicious pasta strikes. 

P.S. While I have nothing against the red sauce pasta - and till this past weekend that was the only pasta kind I had ever experimented with and made, it is the white sauce pasta that is my weakness. 

So, I decided to attempt the unknown. I followed Martha Stewart's recipe. And so what if I have to say it myself - the bechamel sauce was delicious. Her recipe is perfect and the addition of garlic and onions gives it just the right flavor. I steamed some veggies available in the refrigerator and my yummy "comfort" indulgence was ready. Oh, the joy when your own cooking turns out good. It got a thumbs up from the husband too. The daughter was unimpressed (as always). 

And, I remembered to click a pic too!

My latest gastronomic indulgence...

...Is Apple Crumble! 

And, no, I don't mean the painstakingly one done in an oven with the aroma of baked apples in the whole house. I would love that but time is at a premium these days, and the oven in not so great a shape, and I have these cravings (no, I am not pregnant again - but then I never had any cravings during my pregnancy :D) that need to be satiated almost instantly. 

This is a quick apple crumble in a mug kind of a recipe (except, that I make the dessert mug recipes in a bowl because I don't really have those huge 10oz+ mega mugs in my collection yet :)). I looked around for quite a few recipes and no particular one sounded absolutely doable and great, so I took them as inspiration and decided to experiment with the measures etc. And without being modest, I must tell you I concocted an awesome recipe (especially if you don't like your apple crumble super sweet) that I had for three consecutive days for lunch (and not dessert, mind you!.

So, sharing the recipe that I followed here - you can play around with the ingredients and their measures as you will :). 

1. In a bowl, mix together 1 tbsp butter (melted), 2 tbsp flour, 1 tbsp sugar (this is for average sweetness), 1 tbsp quick rolled oats, 1 tbsp walnuts, and a pinch of cinnamon powder.

2. Peel, core and slice n dice an apple, and place in a microwaveable bowl. Crumble the mixture in step 1 on the apples.

3. Bake for about 5 minutes (till the apples can be pierced with a fork). 

And you are done! 

By the way, this is a kid friendly recipe too. I tried it for my almost-16-month-old daughter but she didn't like the sweetness too much - she was happy munching on the cooled baked apple pieces instead. I didn't really mind - I don't care sharing desserts anyways!

(Almost) Instant Yummilicious Desserts!

Decadence takes a new form in winters. I am an awful diet follower but come winters, and my gluttony reaches an all time high. All resolutions of shedding the pregnancy weight and buying a slim fit pair of denims a size smaller are sacrificed at the altar of rich (read: fattening) foods that seems to be a must in these lovely, snug winters!

Okay, enough of the prologue. I have always shied away from trying out instant microwave dessert recipes because I always thought I'd rather have the "real" thing than some sad substitute. But one desperate evening, when I was really craving chocolate brownies but didn't have the energy to go through the entire baking process, I turned to a bookmarked recipe: Emergency Chocolate Brownies. I swear it takes less than five minutes and it is extremely yummy!

Here's a peak into my sinful indulgence :D.

Encouraged by the success of this shortcut method, I also tried this baked custard recipe. It was so creamiliciously good. A must try.

Tres Leches Cake!

Our little munchkin's first birthday just went by. And I have to boast about this right away. Yours truly baked the cake! I have this now new badge of great pride (:D) that the first cake my daughter ever had was baked by me. Aaah, motherhood does make me petty, huh?

Anyways, here's the cake I baked. It's a Tres leches (three milks cake). I picked up the recipe from the ever so dependable Martha Stewart. And I was not disappointed. This was my first attempt at the cake though I have had it from bakery stores. It happens to be one of my favorite ones, and guess what - Manya and Vish loved it too! If you love milky sweetness, this one's for you too!

You can hop onto my mommy blog for more details on the celebrations!

Savory baking...

It had been on my mind for a while now to try some of the savory bakes that seem to be very popular on Pinterest and FB pages. Finally, a friend's visit this weekend broke the jinx and I did try my hands at a recipe. It was ridiculously simple and the end product was sooo yumm.

Presenting Cornmeal muffins (recipe here):

These were soft, light and quite flavorful. Also, they make a great side dish for any meal as you can prepare the muffins well in advance and warm them a little just before serving.

Though, I have tried making Indian veggies like aloo shimla mirch (Potatoes and bell peppers) and gobhi (cauliflower), and even some very simple casseroles (mostly sauteed veggies with cream of potato/ mushroom/ corn - a great accompaniment to spicy/flavored rice) in the oven, I have not tried too many muffins, puffs, quiches and the likes. Have shortlisted a few tempting recipes - with the hope that I will make them some day!

First cheesecake!

When my S-I-L shared this recipe of a no-bake Oreo cheesecake on her blog, I bookmarked it for a must-try. Vish's first Father's Day presented the perfect opportunity :D. 

The recipe is fairly simple and the end product is soo yumm. How can it not be with - complete with lots of whipped cream, cream cheese and Oreo cookies! (I am dead serious about trying out more varieties of cheesecakes!)

Slurrp...time to dig into the leftover in the refrigerator :P.

And this time around, I did not forget taking a pic. ;)

(P.S. Whenever I whip cream and then decorate the cake, it always falls - doesn't stay sharp - any tips and tricks?)

For the love of chocolate!

I had been postponing this post for a long time, because I wanted to have pictures to go with the recipes but every darn time I baked, the camera was no where in the picture :(. So before I forget, noting the recipes down here for my future reference and for you to try out too!

So, here are three chocolate-based cakes that I have tried more than just once in the last 6 months, with success every time. These are super yummy and like I always say, if I could get them right, anybody can!

1. Martha Stewart's Ultimate Chocolate Cake with Ultimate Chocolate Frosting: This has to be the easiest frosting ever! The cake comes out so well that it is an instant hit with everybody. Also, you can whip it up at very short notice. My favorite decorative addition has to be the MnMs I put on it.

2. Martha Stewart's Moist Devil's Food Cake with Mrs. Milman's Chocolate Frosting: The cake is fairly basic but the frosting requires a loads and loads of patience. The creams needs to be cooked on a low flame for almost 40-50 minutes and then refrigerated for a couple of hours to get the right consistency. I was actually surprised I got it right the first time. But, the frosting is well worth the effort. It's absolutely yummy!

3. Chocolate Cake with Nutella Buttercream Frosting: I wanted something quick and tasty for my hubby's birthday. And as luck would have it, I chanced upon this recipe. We both love Nutella and this seemed a fairly easy frosting to prepare. And it was. I gave a slight twist to the cake by adding strongly brewed coffee - it went very well with the Nutella taste. 

What are your favorite chocolate cake recipes?

New additions to my 'Can Cook' menu!

Like I said  in a post earlier, have a bunch of items to share with you from the culinary department :).

Somebody mentioned to me the other day, "with all the yummy looking food pictures on your blog, you are undoubtedly a good cook". My response? "Hell, no!" All these brag posts and pictures are after long hours of labor. 

So, I thought before beginning, I should clarify that cooking doesn't come naturally to me; I have to put in considerable effort and believe me there are so many fiascoes. The only reason they don't get space on my blog is because, well, they don't make pretty pictures. Imagine me posting the horrible mess of spring rolls the other day, or the dhokla attempt that had to be instantly discarded, or the go at dosas that resulted in rubble on the pan!

With that modest start, here I go.

Venn pongal and tomato gotsu

This is a south indian dish that is fairly easy to make and is now a quick fix dinner solution for both of us. Here are the recipes I followed. On a side note, I am also now a self-proclaimed expert on sambhar and rasam. And what I mean by that is that when I make it Vish is able to recognize it and even throw a compliment my way :D.

Medhu vadai

I followed the standard recipe here. Was not very happy with the results though. The vadais didn't come out fluffy and light like they are supposed; plus shaping the damn things with the hole in the middle was so difficult!

(P.S. The coconut chutney in the picture below is from the local Indian store.)

Masala vadai

One would think I really needed something from hubby dear to suddenly attempt so many south indian dishes :D. I clarify, there was no such intent. This is the recipe I followed. And the dish was a super success. Teamed with tomato ketchup, this is one of the few recipes that came out almost perfect!

Chilli gobhi

I remember learning how to make chilli gobhi during one of our hobby classes in school. This one dish is ideal for a rainy cool summer evening. And I think I did a reasonably good job. Here's the recipe. 

Foccacia bread on a griddle

Got this recipe from a reference in my sister in law's blog. She made it primarily for her kids, but I seem to consider it a serious adult food. I end up making it every week but only for myself. Vish dismissed this delicious wonder after the very first bite. He called it "a dosa gone awfully wrong, and a wannabe uthhapam" :(. To reiterate, I absolutely love it.

Low fat banana bread

I am often accused of posting high calorie recipes. Well this one is to satisfy those complaints. This is the recipe I followed. Baking is seldom disappointing and I am so happy that I was not disappointed this time again. This makes a nice moist bread and both of us enjoyed it as an evening snack for almost a week!

Happy cooking to you too :)!

Flashback: The Dessert Menu Before 100 F

So, long before summer had set in, and much before my self inflicted hiatus, there were days when warmth was romantic, the sun didn't shine down with so much vengeance, and one had a wonderful appetite to eat and be merry! Compare that to now. The only two things I feel like eating are watermelons and ice lollies! 

I chanced upon my neglected point and shoot, and realized that there were quite a few culinary adventures that I had not shared here. Will do it in parts, I guess. 

Here's a toast to the good times (read: winter) that were...

Pinni (Atta/Whole Wheat) Ladoos

This was the third variety of ladoos I tried after the unsuccessful rava ladoos and the very successful besan ladoos. And I was more than happy with the results. Followed the simple recipe here, and the goodies were over before we knew!

Jalebis

I tried the instant recipe by Tarla Dalal, and I'd say the results were partially satisfactory. The jalebis didn't turn out to be as firm as I 'd like them to. Also, shaping them in the kadhai/wok was a herculean task too. I couldn't figure out how to close the loop, so I did end up with quite an endless strings of jalebi that I smartly rolled together after frying to give the required semblance - don't ask me the mess that the sugar syrup created. Not sure if I have given up on this delicacy yet though - practice is what I need - hopefully next winter!

Carrot Cake

I love the simplicity of dry cakes. You can bake them in bulk and then enjoy for weeks together with fresh cream, whipped cream, syrup or just a glass of plain cold milk. Tried this easy recipe and trust me you can never go wrong with dry cakes!

Chocolate Cream Cookies

Yours Truly went out and out adventurous with the herald of the new year. Found this very yummy looking recipe here, and made my first set of cream cookies ever! I did follow the recipe to the T, however, was not very happy with my cream - it was a tad bit runny. I refrigerated it for much longer than specified in the instructions and even kept the cookies in the fridge for storage as I was scared the cream might just "melt" away. Was not a super hit but I had put way too much hard work into it to dismiss it as "okay" :).

Lemon Pie Bars

This is a must try recipe. It looks only slightly complicated with the dough and the crust et al. But in practice, it's really easy and if you like the tangy lemon flavor in tarts, this is just the recipe for you. The one small mistake I made was that I made my crust a little too thick but that was all. Gorged on this for all meals in the day!

Black Forest Cake

This was our anniversary special and boy, the hard work it took. All worth the effort though. Here's the recipe. Followed it word for word. Didn't find the kirschwasser (german cherry brandy) at the local store - I used cherry flavored Vodka and the result was super awesome (and more potent maybe :D). I baked the cake a day before and yet couldn't slice it evenly - the top layer was thicker than the other two. Apart from that, it has to be the most delicious and fancy cake I have ever baked (and successfully, may I add).

And here's a cross section view...(you'll notice the thicker top layer :()

Signing off on that sweet and creamy note!

A yummy year end...

If you thought that my culinary experimentation had gone cold after the self lauding post here, you couldn't be more wrong. The dipping mercury, all the time in hand, and that unmistakable love for good food has ensured that I keep busy with cooking all the stuff that I would want to have. Being in the kitchen in the winter is a nice warm feeling and plus the layers of extra clothing ensures that the million calories go unnoticed. [I swear I have never dreaded spring/summer so much before. Come the new year, and whether there is rain or hail, I promise to hit the gym :(]. But aren't resolutions for new year; let's just enjoy the yummy year ends now :)...

So here's presenting to you my new feats...

Everyday Experiments

We had some friends over for dinner a couple of times giving me the opportunity to expand my guinea pig base :D. In addition to my forte (*wink* *wink*), I tried out the malai kofta for the first time ever. The koftas were not very shapely but I was reasonable satisfied by the end result. I followed Manjula's Kitchen for this one. This pic is straight from the wok...

I tried my hand at some maida crispies. The recipe is ridiculously simple, but the product is a hit especially at tea time...

Had to make some goodies to fill a friend's bakeware that she had brought along (with food ofcourse :)) for a dinner at our place. And the self-proclaimed baking expert that I have now become, dished out these simple yet awesome chocolate walnut muffins. These are much dryer than the cup cakes I did earlier, and make great accompaniments to your coffee. Recipe here; and picture below :D.

Thanksgiving Specials

Just the two of us, so moong daal kachoris with aloo sabzi was the main course. The recipes I followed are here and here. The kachoris came out so nice and crisp - good enough to warrant a snap...:D

For dessert, I made a German Apple Cake with Pecans. Here's the recipe; just add a cup full of chopped pecans to it for added flavor. Here's the picture. It looks a little bland and dry in the pic but that's because this was taken when it was just out of the oven. Infact the cake is quite moist and refrigerates well. No topping for this one as I wanted to store it for long. To serve each time, I warmed it a little and poured some maple syrup over it. Vish loved it with Vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. 

Winter Specials

Winter is really the time for some good comfort food. And we did have a binging spree...

After my near disaster with rava laddoos earlier, this time, I placed my trust in Tarla Dalal's recipe for besan laddoos. And boy, I was so not disappointed. I had to put a little more besan than mentioned in the recipe because I felt there was too much ghee, and I didn't really want ghee dripping laddoos, so... The slight deviation did do me good. The laddoos came out extremely well and we finished the lot in no time at all.

Found an awesome chana daal kebab recipe that does not need too much oil - Tarla Dalal, obviously. Kebabs or tikkis, whatever you call them make a filling evening snack; we dined on it :).

If it is not already obvious, let me say it again, Vish and I have an enormous sweet tooth and well made halwas may well be our greatest undoing. Tried my hand at gajar/carrot halwa following the recipe here - it was okay, came out a little too creamier for our tastes - and that is obvious from the pic too.

I then tried making doodhi/lauki/bottlegourd halwa, following the recipe here. The picture doesn't look great but it was one of the best halwaas that I have had (and not made, please note :P), plus I did not use any food coloring.

Christmas Special!!!

Save the best for the last they say; and this one actually takes the cake - quite literally. Attempted the Christmas Special - Fruit Cake with Rum and Wine (recipe here) - and it is the richest and the best cake I have ever baked. Following the instructions, I had soaked the fruits in rum, wine and spices for a week and let the cake rest for a week after being baked. Come Christmas evening, and the cake tasted delicious - all thanks to the wonderful recipe - the spices and liquor gave it a wonderful kick and according to Vish, we must celebrate Christmas more often :).

( I have this one still in my refrigerator, stop by if you can ;))

Adios 2011. And see you guys next year.

Tricking and Treating!

So, my culinary skills have not been much to boast about. However over the years, I swear I have been getting undeniably better (Here's an earlier post on how I have been faring :)). I have up my sleeve a few sure shot hits that can be unfolded without any mitigation strategies in place, and thank god for that!

With all the time in hand that I now seem to have, I have decided to further upgrade my competency - and therefore, the past fortnight has seen me battling it out in a not-so-familiar realm - la cuisine! I have tried to go beyond my comfort zone, experiment - and all this with quite a bit of success, and so here is the brag post :D.

I learnt two very important lessons that I will take to my deathbed (oops, that came out a little over dramatic but never mind) - One, for most recipes - especially Indian ones, you need to know basic tricks and tips - so google or ask expert friends if you are stuck. Second, for every meal that you experiment, have a quick roll back option or one safe net menu item available - always!

Here go the stories of my conquests and forfeits...

Everyday Experiments

Chhola Bhatura

I am quite a pro at making chholas (chick peas/garbanzo beans) - This time around, the advancement was the tea bags I used while boiling the chholas to give it a nice dark color; and for the gravy, I roasted the dry spices (cinnamon, cloves, cumin, red chilli, cardamom) and then used the powder - the result was expectedly delicious.

I had never attempted bhaturas (a kind of Indian bread) ever before. I used the instant bhatura recipe here, and voila it was a super success (call it beginner's luck, if you will)! I did not have baking soda on me, and on a friend's advice I used Eno instead. The trick is to use eno equal to one and a half times the amount of baking soda prescribed in the recipe. 

Dahi Rajma

This scrumptious recipe was a chance discovery as I googled the search phrase 'rajma (kidney beans) recipe without tomatoes' (you guessed it right, I had run out of tomatoes and had the beans already soaked over night. Followed the recipe to the T and loved the creamy texture the dahi (yogurt) gives to the gravy.

Diwali Delicacies

I had never tried making Indian sweets/deserts apart from kheers and payasams (which I must tell you I do a fine job with). This time, I kept a very safe main course menu - puris with matar paneer (cottage cheese and peas) and fried arbi (colocasia) and decided to attempt gulab jamuns and rava ladoos.

Gulab Jamuns

Ofcourse I used the popular Gits mix - it is quite an effort in itself and I consider that as cooking from scratch :D. I thought I did everything right - used milk to knead the flour instead of water, added saffron and cardamom to the sugar syrup - but when I soaked the fried jamuns in the sugar syrup - lo, behold they multiplied in size. Couldn;t they have given the diameter of which the flour balls should be :(. Vish exclaimed at the sight, "yeh gulab jamun hai yaa gulab jamun ka baap!" (loosely translated as - are these gulab jamuns or their dads - taking a dig at the humongous size). Anyways, though they were a little softer than ideal, I swear they tasted yummy. Here's the pic of the baaps...

Rava (Semolina/Suji) Ladoo

This was an almost-disaster. And I don't want to be the bad work woman who blames her tools - but I think the recipe I followed was flawed - here it is. It seemed so simplistic but the mixture was too wet to qualify for a ladoo - i tried my best to dry it out but with little success - so my ladoos were midway between halwa and a proper ladoo :(. I was shocked when Vish said he loves them and he proved it by finsihing most of the lot all by himself  :) :). (P.S. Tips and links to better recipes would be appreciated).

Halloween Specials

Considering the festival inspired the blog title, I owe some allegiance to it, don't I? To get into the spirit, we bought the little fella up there (the first pic in this post) and painted it a little :).

I made pumpkin rice (recipe) and pumpkin raita (recipe) - both were a super hit and super easy to make. Considering the nutrition factor, I plan to do these more often! (Except that I cut myself twice trying to slice the raw pumpkin - next time I around  I plan to bake it before cutting - to make it easier on my fingers :()

And then comes my favorite part - Halloween Style Cup Cakes. I enjoy baking for one simple reason that if you measure and follow the step-by-step procedure - you can never go wrong - atleast not in the simple recipes - unlike Indian cooking that requires a considerable amount of adept skill. 

I made chocolate cup cakes with butter cream frosting following the recipe here. (The only minor variation being the color of the frosting in-keeping with the occasion.

Here are my cupcakes fresh from the oven...

And here they are, complete with all the festive regalia...

Wow, this has been a very long post - and if you are with me till now, kudos :). And wait, before you chide me on all the calories, apart from the desserts, I try to keep the food low on oil and fat but nevertheless, I can already feel the need to hit it at the gym MORE regularly.

Happy Tricking and Treating!