Season's Greetings & Christmas Specials

How are last minute preparations for Christmas coming along? Are you frantically baking and cooking or relaxing with your feet up while your parents put together the Christmas feast? Either ways, I'm sure you are all looking forward to Christmas celebs tomorrow.

The husband has pushed off to India and I had to stay back because of a hectic work schedule and Id be joining him only in Jan. I was all ready to have frozen pizza and get drunk on wine on 25th, when a friend invited me over to hers for Christmas. Since the entire transport system comes to a standstill on 25th I am heading to hers tonight, attend a midnight Christmas service at the church and ring in Christmas with friends tomorrow. I would have loved to be with family, but hey, I'm not complaining. Atleast I'm not having frozen pizza and watching Downton Abbey reruns in my Pj's.

Anyways, here's wishing all you guys a very Merry Christmas. Have a glass or two of wine on me and enjoy your day to the max. Leaving you with some fun Christmassy stuff ...

Oddka

I love my cocktails and am forever trying to recreate new ones at home, which means scouting the drinks aisle at the supermarket is a treat. I came across this vodka drink called ODDKA and was thoroughly amazed at the flavours on offer. Fresh cut grass.. seriously.. now that's a flavour I'm completely intrigued by. Other flavours include Electricity, Salty caramel popcorn, Twisted melon and Peach Bellini. As luck would have it, I was asked if I'd like to try some Christmas cocktails using ODDKA and how on earth could I say no? Since I'm home alone, I've not really made any cocktails as yet but if I have a girls night out around New Years, I'd definitely be trying out a few cocktails from the list ODDKA has put together. If you do want to try something different this Christmas, then head on over to the ODDKA website and give some of their cocktails a go. Your local Asda or Sainsburys should stock a few flavours of ODDKA.

Castello Cheese

I received this really adorable Christmas stocking, with my name on it and all, filled with Castello Cheese. I had big plans to make Ronnie Murray's Baked leek tart with Castello Jersey Blue and I even bought all the ingredients, but with crazy work schedules I had to put the cooking on hold. I shall definitely give it a go one of these days I'm home. The Castello range includes Creamy Blue, Creamy White, Traditional Danish Blue, Extra creamy Danish Blue, Pineapple Halo i (I made a macaron filling with the Pineapple cheese), and the latest addition just in time for Christmas is the Tickler Cheddar, with a sweet, strong and tangy taste. If you are doing a cheese platter for the parties, don't forget to include this one, its a winner. Pair it with a Rioja Gran Reserva 2001 or a an Italian Barolo wine.

Christmas food and drink matching

Pairing the right drink with the food you serve is really an art. I try hard to actually do this and mostly, because of lack of knowledge, I just do a theme and follow with drinks from the same cuisine. When you do a large spread like for Christmas, this becomes a bit of an issue, especially when you have invited people with different tastes. To make matters easy for people like me, Waitrose has teamed up with wine lover Philip Schofield and wine connoisseur Olly Smith to develop a food and wine matching guide to get the combinations right. The infographic gives you a basic knowledge of pairings which would help you manage your Christmas meal pretty easily. I am sooo going to keep this for future references. There are also some great videos here for some festive inspiration

Parmigiano Reggiano Christmas Cook-off

Parmigiano Reggiano (PR) is one cheese I regularly use in cooking- in soufflés, bakes, dips and just to grate atop pasta. I was recently invited to a Parmigiano Reggiano Christmas Cookalong organised by the Consorzio del Formaggio and lead by top chef Valentina Harris. We started off the evening tasting some amazing starters like dates filled with PR and wrapped in Parma Ham, PR lollipops with sesame seeds and chilli (an absolute favourite) and a 30 month matured PR with balsamic vinegar. We were then split into two teams and set about creating our meal for the night- Venetian duck stuffed with a PR mix, Fennel topped PR and Rosotto PR. It was my first time cooking with duck, and although not really a favourite, I quite enjoyed the whole cooking experience. Highlight of the evening, however, was cracking open a 45kg PR wheel which we all got to taste, after which we all sat down to a fabulous meal. After an evening of like minded food enthusiasts and after gaining such indepth knowledge about PR, I cant wait to cook with the cheese. For more information and recipes check out the website

With thanks to all the brands for inviting me to their events and for review samples.

Chocolate and hazelnut laddoo (truffles)

First of all a huuuuge thanks to all those who left comments on the ad post. I am a wee bit embarrassed and at the same time overwhelmed at the outcome. Its weird watching myself on telly and I hope I get used to it soon :)

Those who attended Bloggers' Buzz beginning of this year might remember Devnaa who sponsored a box of sweets for the goody bag? Or let me put it this way, those of you who attended BB will not forget Devnaa and that amazing box of Indian-inspired sweets in the goody bag. I remember a lot of you writing back and saying that was the best part of the goody bag- the well packaged, colourful box with delicate chocolates. Started by brother-sister duo Roopa and Jay Rawal, the journey of Devnaa began at their kitchen table with praises flowing in about Roopa's home made sweets. They decided to take this interest further by starting Devnaa, a collection of sweets and desserts combining authentic Indian recipes and artisan chocolate techniques. 

Now, I am not a big fan of Indian sweets and desserts, with maybe gulab jamun and gajjar ka halwa being an exception. So in all honesty I was not too excited about the box of chocolates. But of course I had to give it a try and must say I wasn't too disappointed. I mean i did have a few favourites like the saffron and pistachio caramel and the cinnamon praline, and my not so favourite were the ones with ginger. Ginger or not, I think the whole concept of Devnaa is quite interesting.

They also sent me their cookbook and ingredients for two recipes. I have bookmarked a whole bunch of recipes from the book, but like a million other recipes I have bookmarked, God alone knows when they will actually make an appearance on the blog. The recipes are pretty descriptive, but being a big fan of food photography, I would have liked some better pictures. I mean desserts are so pretty to photograph and I would have loved to see some cool styling and stuff. 

These chocolate and hazelnut laddoos did not disappoint, but i would def try them with dark chocolate next time. Gave it to some friends at a party and they loved it. They are really easy to make a do a good job of being pretty, presentable and tasty. Do some cool packaging, and they would double up as return gifts for guests. 

Recipe adapted from Devnaa- Indian Inspired Desserts

 

Condensed milk- 200 gms

Cocoa powder- 1 tbsp

Milk- 2 tbsp

Milk powder- 100gms

Milk chocolate- 100 gms

Chocolate-hazelnut spread- 1 tbsp (say like Nutella or equivalent)

Hazelnuts- 60 gms, slightly roasted and crushed or chopped finely

Dessicated coconut- 20 to 25 gms (optional)

 

Mix together the condensed milk, cocoa powder and milk in a saucepan and heat gently. (It would make it a lot more easier if you sift the cocoa powder into the condensed milk, because it was a bit of a trouble for me with small bits of cocoa powder dotting the mix. I had to use my spatula to break them down and still couldn't manage to do it all. So my mix was speckled with cocoa).

Keeping the heat on low-medium, add the milk powder and stir until the mixture starts forming a smooth dough that comes away easily from the sides of the pan. This may take about 4 to 5 minutes. Make sure you don't leave it unattended and that you keep stirring till you get the desired consistency.

Take the mix off heat and leave aside to cool in the refrigerator. The recipe called for just leaving it aside to cool, but still warm and pliable. I did as mentioned, but the dough was just too loose to work with. So I chucked it into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, and waited for it to become completely cold (like with truffles) and then it was easier to handle.

Scoop out 1 tbsp of the dough at a time and roll into a smooth ball. Mine were slightly bigger in size so I got a total of 12. Leave on a tray lined with baking paper.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a microwave.

Stir in the chocolate-hazelnut spread and make sure that the mix is not too hot, but warm and runny. If it hardens up when you are ready to dip, then just give a burst or two in the microwave and stir again to mix well.

Arrange the chopped/crushed hazelnuts on a plate.

Dip the rolled dough balls into the melted chocolate, trying to coat them evenly on all sides, followed by generously rolling them in the chopped hazelnuts.

Carefully place them back on the same lined baking tray. Continue with all the dough balls and chuck the tray back into the refrigerator till the chocolate hardens, say about 30 minutes.

Serve them at room temperature.

Notes: I generously rolled the dough balls in hazelnuts, so I didn't have enough to roll the entire batch. So i used dessicated coconut and did the same rolling process.

Feel free to use chocolate of any type for the dipping...dark, white, flavoured etc.

With thanks to Devnaa for sending me the book and the ingredients to make two recipes from the book.

Caribbean Jerk marinated poussin- a post in association with Schwartz

I know.. 3 posts in a week. Pat on the back for me right?

Well, truth be told.. loads of pending posts and me being a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my blog (OH MY GOD did I just say I was a perfectionist???), I end up taking a looot more time on a post with editing and re-editing and sometimes even re-cooking (is that a word?) and re-shooting. In spite of all this Ro finds grammatical and spelling mistakes in my posts. Seriously..he cant just say the picture is nice, or that dish was so yum , you should make it again or generally something nice about me.. but no, he says my grammar is rubbish and i need to pay someone (Jane, you in particular actually) to edit my post. Of course if i could pay someone to do my job, then I would have done that in the beginning itself wouldn't I? Anyway, who needs compliments from the husband when I have all you lovelies sending me all the encouragement and push needed to carry on blogging. Big hugs :)

Coming to the recipe. I first tried jerk chicken at the Nottinghill Carnival and liked it. Not loved it , but liked. That was around 4 years ago and then it was recently at Manjiri's place that I tried it again. She was enthusiastic enough to make the spice from scratch, but I was just plain lazy and picked up the Schwartz Jamaican Jerk spice blend off the shelves to give it a go. One word..loved it! Makes life so much more easier and it tastes absolutely fine. The recipe I followed was from the Schwartz website and it was a really simple one at that. I jazzed it up a bit and served it with rice and beans (again Caribbean in Nature), but its not really necessary. You can find other chicken recipes from Schwartz here

Caribbean Jerk marinated poussin (Recipe adapted from here)

 

1 small poussin/ chicken- 500 gms

Schwartz Jerk spice blend- 1 1/2 tbsp

Soy sauce- 1 tbsp

Vinegar- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Vegetable oil- 1 1/2 tbsp

Onion- 1 small, roughly chopped

Garlic- 5 pods

Lemon- 1 half

Mix together the spice blend, soy sauce, vinegar and vegetable oil in a bowl.

Check for salt and add if necessary.

Place the chicken and garlic pods in roasting tray and pour over the marinade.

Rub it into all parts of the chicken. Try and get it under the skin if possible.

Keep aside for about 30 minutes. I skipped this part and baked it immediately.

Squeeze the lemon over the chicken and add it into the tray.

Pre-heat over to 200C and bake the chicken for 30 minutes.

Take the chicken out once the 30 minutes is up and baste with the juices from the tray.

Scatter the onion around and on top of the chicken and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes more. If you want, you can turn the chicken up side down. I didn't.

During the last 10 minutes or so, you can change to grill mode and broil it to get a charred effect.

Check if the chicken is done by poking the fleshiest part with a knife or skewer and if juiced run clear you are good to go.

Notes: Feel free to use cut chicken- legs, thighs anything.

The garlic gets roasted nicely and emits some great flavour, but not a must. Same with onions and lemon.

Its not a spicy dish (as opposed to the actual) one, so add some chilli powder if you want it hot.

Here is the recipe for the jerk chicken spice from scratch.

Rice with beans (Recipe adapted from here)

 

Vegetable oil- 1 tbsp

Onion- 1, finely chopped

Green chilli- 1, slit

Garlic- 2 cloves, peeled and finely chopped

Rice- 1 cup, washed and drained

Kidney beans- 200 gms, drained

Coconut milk- 1/2 cup

Chicken stock- 1 1/2 cups

Thyme- 1/2 tsp

Kidney beans- 200 gms, drained

Salt- to taste

Heat oil in a chefs pan and fry the onions till they soften and turn a bit brown.

Add the chilli and garlic and saute for a minute or two.

Throw in the rice and stir it slowly, making sure it is well coated with oil.

Pour in the coconut milk followed by chicken stock, and also stir in the kidney beans.

Bring to a gently boil on high heat. You can check for salt at this point and add if required.

Then reduce heat to low, put on the lid and let it cook for about 10 to 12 minutes or till all the liquid has been absorbed.

Open the lid and sprinkle thyme.

Keep closed for another 5 minutes after which you can fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

Notes: The coconut milk I used was from powdered coconut and I may have diluted it too much, the taste of coconut was not obvious at all. Do use a good can of coconut milk for this recipe.

Replace kidney beans with gungo peas or black eyed peas.

This is a post in association with Schwartz

Review: Thorntons Chocolates

My brother and I used to look forward to relatives visiting from abroad just for the chocolates. Those fancy ones with nuts and fruits and all that jazz were so totally popular among us kids, the fights we've had over them are endless. So the moment someone gifted us chocolates, my mum used segregate them and make sure we both got equal share. I used to happily finish off my share and then beg and plead with my brother to give me some of his. After a bit of convincing, he would actually part with some of his stash and I'd do a victory dance. When the situation was reversed, I'd be this really mean sister and refuse to give him some from my share and stand solid on the fact that mum segregated them so we wouldn't have to share. Go on, say it...I'm horrible. :) :)

Anyways, coming to today's review...Thorntons was the first brand of chocolates I was introduced to in the UK. Our first year here was a year of exploring everything British, and chocolates topped the list (for a while at least). My husband is such a Thorntons fan he says there is nothing better than Thorntons ice cream. Its a bit of an exaggeration, but I'll let it pass.

I was sent one of the boxed chocolates by Thorntons- the Continental Milk, White & Dark Collection- to review and that was our after dinner treat for about 2 weeks. Its their finest chocolate range and a good gift idea for anyone who loves chocolate. More so if you don't know what the persons preference is, since this box contains an equal mix of milk, white and dark chocolates, with fruity flavours, with nutty centres, mousses, pralines and so on. We are more of the dark chocolate lovers, so we thought the white and milk ones would go to waste, but I absolutely liked them and there was none left. The ones I didn't really enjoy much were the fruity chocs, but that's just me. I have an issue pairing fruits with chocolates and so the husband took it upon himself to eat it all. The boxes come beautifully packed and you would think twice before throwing it away (and maybe even the ribbon. Yes I have a hoarding problem). They are also packaged well and the chocolates were all intact when it arrived at my doorstep.

If you ever get stuck with a gift idea for a friend, don't forget to check out Thorntons' great gift ideas. They really do have a few options to choose from. Word of advice: Dont gift this box to someone who plans on going on a diet. You may get an earful for the sin they are about to commit. Instead, check out the Thorntons website and get inspired.

With thanks to Thorntons for sending me the samples.

Curried coconut shrimp and Merrydown cider review

I love cider, more than beer. I started off with the really sweet ones and now my preference is the medium or the dry ones which are perfect to glug on a hot summer afternoon. A couple of weeks back, we had some great weather and as luck would have it Merrydown Cider sent me their cider to review. It was my first time with Merrydown and my first cider this season and so was really excited. Yes, I do have seasonal drinks, in case you ask ;)

They also sent me a Great Summer Celebrations recipe booklet featuring some great ideas using cider as a key ingredient, which you can download. Since summer is just around the corner (or I'm hoping its just around the corner), I thought the cider would be a great addition to the BBQ parties and brunches. I paired it with this simple coconut shrimp starter and it was perfect. I always think fried food and cold drinks go hand in hand. My initial plan was to make a cider-batter for the shrimp, but the dry cider bottle broke in transit and so had to just do a pairing instead. I promise I'll update the post once I get hold of their dry cider, which I'm pretty sure would be my favourite out of the two. Not that the medium cider was any bad, but it was a teeny tiny bit on the sweeter side and since I've evolved from  the really sweet drinks (be it wine, cocktails or cider), the dry version would have hit the spot (or so I think). 

Anyways, coconut shrimp has made its way through to my blog before and this time I did a curried version which is not too bad, but I preferred my first version better. The marinade options are endless and if you do get your hands on some dry beer or cider, then the batter would be even better. I served the shrimp with a mayo-ketchup sauce (recipe here), but feel free to serve with just ketchup or any other hot sauce.

Serves 2 to 3 as starter

Shrimp- 250 gms, cleaned and deveined

Curry powder- 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Plain flour- around 1/4 cup

Baking soda- 1/4 tsp (optional)

Pepper- 1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

Egg- 1, small

Water- 1 to 2 tbsp

Dessicated coconut- 1/2 to 1 cup

Oil- to fry

Marinate the shrimp with curry powder and salt and keep aside for about 15 minutes.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, pepper and salt.

Add the egg and enough water to make a smooth batter. It shouldn't be too loose.

Tip in the marinated prawns into the batter and mix well to coat the prawns evenly.

Get the dessicated coconut ready in a plate

Heat oil in a deep saucepan. Check that the oil is done by dropping some batter into it. If it floats to the top immediately then you are good to go.

When ready to fry, take each shrimp out of the batter, drip off any excess and roll in the dessicated coconut a couple of times to coat as evenly as possible.

Drop into the oil. 

Repeat with remaining shrimp. 

Once the prawns turn golden brown on one side (in about 2 minutes), turn them over and cook for another 2 minutes or so.

Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

You may need to fry them in a couple of batches, depending on the size of the pan.

With thanks to Merrydown Cider for sending me the samples.

Harrods luxury Christmas hamper (review)

With Christmas less than 2 weeks away, I am sure everyone's gone into either merry-making mode, or panic mode like me about the number of gifts I still need to pick up for friends and relatives. It does become a bit tricky when it comes to picking up gifts and the more options we have, the better isn't it? 

Harrods, the upmarket department store, has some really fancy Christmas Hampers this year and if you want to treat someone a bit more than the others, then you definitely have to check these hampers out. I have also been drooling over their luxury chocolate hampers and I still haven't decided if Ro is on the naughty list or nice list, but if he does qualify, then I am thinking of splurging on one of the hampers for him :) 

I was really happy to receive the Chelsea Hamper from their collection this year and it was everything I imagined it to be. The hamper came in a beautiful wicker box with a classy leather top and honestly I didn't feel like opening it. But as expected, curiosity got the better of me and I, as daintily, as possible took it apart. No opened it. Perfectly packed were a wide variety of food products, guaranteed to make you feel special.

The hamper included a box of Harrods Christmas Spice Loose Tea, a tin of Christmas Spice Ground Coffee, a jar of Brandy Butter (we have been spreading this on everything from biscuits to bread to just easting it on its own), a jar of Strawberry and Champagne Conserve, a gorgeous Christmas Pud, a pack of Brandy Butter Shortbread (what a fab idea to use up the brandy butter), a box of Chocolate Praline Selection and a cute lil red Harrods Christmas Bauble. That's right, everything you need for a cosy Christmas day with your family.

The products are all of excellent quantity and we have been thoroughly enjoying the coffee, shortbread and chocolates. The pudding, however, shall be opened only on Christmas day and I'm sure that's not going to disappoint us either.

There is still time to buy these hampers, so go on..put them on your Christmas list and get shopping.

With thanks to Harrods for the gift hamper.

Smoked salmon- two ways

It's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas this side of the pond. Temperatures have significantly dropped and a white Christmas is predicted for London this year. We did have our tiny stint with snow recently, but thanks to a drunken night out, I happily missed the snowfall (or flurries??) by sleeping in late. It wasn't that strong in Central London and since it didn't even settle on the ground, there was no proof that it actually snowed. I was, needless to say, a bit bummed that I missed the first snow fall of the season, and added to it was everyone flaunting snow pics and status updates on FB. I am praying it does snow like crazy one of these days, much to the husbands annoyance :)

I know we are all running around trying to get gifts sorted in time for the big day. If you want some cool Christmas gift ideas visit The Handpicked Collection online store for some inspiration. The pretty heart shaped chopping board in the pic was my Christmas gift from the lovely people over at The Handpicked Collection. Also, they have launched The Handpicked Food Store online which features award winning smoked salmon and other fine foods from artisan British producers, handpicked by food experts. I was sent a smoked salmon taster to review from the store, and I decided to go ahead and use it wisely in a dish, or two.

Smoked salmon-cream cheese sandwich (makes 4 finger sandwiches)

 

Smoked salmon- 3 to 4 thin slices

Green cucumber- peeled and sliced into 8 small rounds

Whole wheat bread- 2 slices (use white if preferred)

Cream cheese- 2 tbsp

Chives- 1 tsp, finely chopped

Salt and pepper- to season (optional)

Mix together the cream cheese and chives and spread the mix on the sandwich slices.

Top with smoked salmon slices. Trim to required length, if necessary.

Place the cucumber rounds on top of the salmon and season with salt and pepper.

Finally, top with the remaining bread slice, cheese side facing downwards.

Using a serrated knife slice the sandwich into quarters and serve with some crisps.

Notes: Use a mayo-chive mix if you don't have cream cheese.

Slice off the edges from the bread if you want to, but we keep it on 

You can flavour the cream cheese with lemon, garlic, parsley etc etc.

Smoked salmon breakfast bruschetta (makes 2)

 

Sour dough bread- 2 slices, toasted just before assembling

Butter- 2 tbsp

Eggs- 2, well beaten

Tomato- 1 small, cut into rounds

Salt and pepper- to taste

Chutney- 2 tsp (optional)

Smoked salmon- 2 thin slices, diced into long strips
Chives- finely chopped, to garnish

Heat a non stick frying pan and melt 1 tbsp of butter.

When bubbling, add the tomato rounds and fry on medium heat till done and slightly charred. About 3 to 4 minutes.

Flip the rounds and fry for a further 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season with enough salt and pepper.

Into the same frying pan, add the eggs and scramble till the eggs are cooked, but don't dry it out too much.

Season with salt and pepper, give a final stir and transfer to a bowl.

To assemble, place the toasted bread on to serving plates and butter them well using the remaining butter.

Add a layer of chutney (if using) and spread it as evenly as possible.

Top with the grilled tomato followed by scrambled egg and slices of smoked salmon

Drizzle some of the chutney on top of the salmon, garnish with chives and serve immediately.

With thanks to The Handpicked Collection and Handpicked Food Store for samples 

Domino's pizza vs the Naanizza I made

As mentioned loads of times before, Fridays are pizza days for us. We mostly have pizza for dinner and if Friday is inconvenient, then Saturday it is. We are ardent pizza lovers and even the frozen ones make us drool. Well not so much, but you know we would have it without complaining much if that was our last choice!

Since we had guests visiting for the past 3 months, our pizza ritual had come to a standstill. We were just wondering how to revive it when I was asked to review the new Gourmet Pizza Range by Domino's. Of course I said yes, because its one of our favourite Pizza brands especially since we have had a couple of bad experiences with some of the other bands and we always return to Domino's. So off we log on to their website and make an order for a take away pizza. It's so convenient, I'm not joking. The wait for the pizza to arrive is the worst but since we are pro's at this whole thing, we time it perfectly well and get the pizza just when our stomachs start to rumble.

The Gourmet range from Domino's offers 4 different types of pizzas- the Firenze with salami, pepperoni and roquito peppers, the Florentine which is a vegetarian option with spinach, sun blush tomatoes, and feta cheese, the Rustica with chicken, bacon, spinach and tomatoes (which is what we ordered) and the Four seasons with a 1/4 of all the 3 above mentioned pizza's and sun blush tomato topping.

The Rustica was a good change from the usual Mighty Meaty which, as the name suggests, is loaded with all kinds of meat (delicious if I may add). This one was much mellow in nature with the individual flavours coming right through. If there was one complaint, I would say that the tomato was a bit too tangy for my liking and a bit over powering. I loved the addition of smoked bacon rashers and of course spinach is a winner for us any time.

To make the review more exciting, I was also asked to create my own pizza and compare it to that of Domino's. I decided to go ahead and try making my version of the Rustica pizza at home. Since I was a bit time constrained, I chose to use Naan as the base. I have done it a lot of times before and must say its a really easy and tasty alternative to a normal pizza base. If you manage to get flavoured naan then even better because you get the best of both worlds. I also used pancetta instead of bacon which was probably not the best idea because bacon would have done more justice to it taste wise. The pancetta was not a bad choice but in the larger scheme of things, its flavour just got lost. Comparing mine to the Domino's Rustica- I love the pizza sauce Domino's uses, which of course I couldn't get right, so full points to Domino's for that. I used normal cherry tomatoes instead of the sun blushed ones since I thought that was what made it a tad too tangy, so points for me on that one. The chicken strips, I shall keep them bigger next time because Id shredded them too fine for it to stand out, Rustica did a great job with the size of the strips. Since I didn't want to keep any leftover filling, I loaded my naanizza with toppings, which was perhaps one advantage over the Domino's. But then you cant have it all right :)

But on the whole Rustica stayed true to its name and I would definitely be trying out more pizza's from their Gourmet Range. People, if you haven't given it a go as yet, do try it and oh please do yourself a favour and also try the chicken kickers which I think is so yummy it makes me want to eat the entire thing without sharing with Ro. 

Naan- 4 small/ 2 big (plain or flavoured)

Pizza sauce- 4 tbsp

Baby spinach- 1/2 cup

Shredded chicken- 1 cup

Cherry tomatoes- 1/2 cup, sliced into halves

Pancetta- 4 to 5 rashers, cooked and sliced long

Mozzarella cheese- 1/4 to 1/2 cup (as required)

dried oregano- 1 tsp

Olive oil- to drizzle

Dice the chicken into chunks and marinate with salt and pepper. Cook in a saucepan till well done and keep aside to cool.

Shred using a fork and keep aside. You can store remaining chicken in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days, and use it in a sandwich or you can even freeze it.

Place the naan on a baking tray that has been lined with aluminium foil or baking paper.

Slather on 1 tbsp of pizza sauce on to each naan if using small ones, or 2 tbsp per big naan.

Arrange a layer of spinach leaves on top followed by shredded chicken.

Arrange the sliced cherry tomato cut side up. You may want to go easy on this if they are too tangy.

Either crumble the cooked pancetta and throw onto the naan or for a more orderly look, slice it lengthwise and place it strategically 

Finally add the mozzarella cheese, again in any way you like, over the toppings or next to it. Its cheese, you can eat it however:)

Sprinkle the oregano, drizzle olive oil and place in an oven preheated at 200C for about 6 t0 8 minutes.

Don't keep it in for too long, it can go crunchy on you.

Take it out of the oven and eat while hot, otherwise its rubbish.

Notes: Feel free to marinate the chicken with any spice you like. I kept it simple.

Some grated Parmesan would take it to the next level.

With thanks to Dominos Pizza for gift vouchers to pick up the pizza

Hot chocolate fudge cake

Wow I think I hit a nerve with my previous post epiphanies. All those who wrote in with their opinions, good for you. I completely salute all you ladies out there who can get a frosting to stay as frosting and substitute ingredients with what's available, in India. But I love my convenience way too much than baking or cooking to oversee it, so I am gonna stick to what I said. 

Since that's out of the way, I shall get down to discussing my favourite subject, the weather. It finally feels like winter in London. Temperatures have gone down to 0 and although there is still no sign of snow, it does get a bit frosty in the mornings. I have always dreaded February (not just because I turn a year older), its the coldest, dreariest month, I feel. 

But the good thing is, I have discovered the benefits of drinking green tea. I mean I have tried it a couple of times in restaurants, but never really liked it, because, lets face, it has absolutely no taste. But then Twinings (the really popular tea brand) came out with their new Green Tea varieties like lemon, ginger, mint etc. and now I'm hooked. I was always a sucker for anything with lemon in it and oh to sip on it in this cold is absolutely soothing. Of course, the benefits like losing weight, reduced risk of heart disease, delaying signs of ageing (ooooh I like that one) are all added advantages, and if sipping on some delicious flavours of green tea is going to help me, why fight it right? So without wasting time, head on over to the Twinings Tea Shop and buy green tea to keep you going this winter.

Coming to the recipe, this ones from my mother-in-law. For a chocolate hater like me, this pudding-like cake did wonders. And by that I mean, I could manage to eat a cup full, that's it. Mamma made it last year when we were in India for her chocolate obsessed son, but guess who enjoyed it more?- the daughter-in-law. The thing is, I enjoyed it way too much to not touch it for one whole year. I binge eat anything I like and then end up hating it with a vengeance. This recipe was jotted down and brought back with the hope of making it to my blog in 2011, but the thought of all that gooey chocolate put me off. Its only today that I had this craving for something warm (trust me, a brioche bread pudding topped the list), and since the ingredients for this chocolate fudge cake was readily available, I went ahead with it.

The technique and recipe is much different from the usual fudge cake and the outcome, absolutely marvellous. The batter layer rises to the top forming a cakey layer and then you dig into it to get the gooey topping which sinks to the bottom. You can either make it in a single casserole dish or in individual ramekins or mugs/cups and be more concerned about how it looks than tastes (like me). I had picked up a lot of prop for the blog from India and now I have this block when it comes to styling and photography. After 1 week there is some sun out here and I ended up with unattractive pictures. So till I get the photography mojo back, you will have to do with bleak, non-creative pictures. Enjoy!

For the cake:

Flour- 1 cup

Baking powder- 2 tsp

Granulated sugar- 2/3rd cup

Cocoa powder- 2 tbsp

Salt- 1 tsp

Vanilla extract- 1 tsp

Milk- 1/2 cup

Oil- 2 tbsp

For the topping

Dark brown sugar- 1 cup

Cocoa powder- 1/4 cup

Boiling water- 1 3/4 cup

Whisk together all the dry ingredients for the cake in a large mixing bowl.

In another smaller bowl, stir together the vanilla, milk, and oil.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well to combine. No traces of flour should be seen. I did this with a wire whisk. Beater is unnecessary.

Grease the dish you are using and pour the batter into it. If using individual ramekins/ cups, then fill each of it till about half full. Keep aside. 

Pre-heat the oven to 200C

Prepare the topping by mixing together the brown sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl.

Sprinkle this mixture over the cake batter as evenly as possible.

Then using the back of a spoon, slowly pour the boiling water over the batter. Do the same with all the ramekins till they are about 3/4th full.

Reduce the oven temperature to 150C and place the bowls inside.

Bake for 30 minutes. Do not over do it.

Take them out, keep aside to cool for a while and either dig in, or once they are completely cool, refrigerate for further use.

Notes: I halved the recipe and got 4 mugs of pudding

The topping procedure mentioned above sounded a bit complicated to me and so mamma gave me an alternative. After you mix the brown sugar and cocoa powder, add a tbsp of hot water to it and mix it till you get a paste-like consistency. Into this add the boiling water slowly using the back of a spoon and mix it all in, Finally, use this mix to then pour on top of the cake batter. That way everything is evenly mixed and you have more control over how much to add in each ramekin.

Since brown sugar is not readily available in Kerala, mamma substitutes it with 3/4th cup of sharkara paani (jaggery syrup) or a cup of jaggery. If using the syrup, make sure you use 2 cups of boiling water instead on 1 3/4.

Add an oz of rum or brandy to the topping and it would be yummm.

Review: Domino's Reggae Reggae pizza

As you all might already know, I'm a big Domino's fan. So when I was asked to review their newly launched Reggae Reggae pizza, I didn't think twice. Gladly agreed to do so.

If you are a regular viewer of Saturday Kitchen Live, you would know Levi Roots who does gorgeous Caribbean cooking; and his new Reggae Reggae sauce is the main ingredient in this pizza. Its a very Caribbean inspired pizza with roast chicken, tomatoes, green peppers, pineapple and of course glorious mozzarella cheese. 

We went a notch further and ordered the large non-veg Reggae reggae pizza with a stuffed crust, which is also a new addition to their collection. The delivery, as usual, arrived on time (something I absolutely love about Domino's) and we dug into it with all gusto. First bite, and honestly I wasn't that impressed. I mean I don't usually prefer sweet/ spice combinations and maybe it was because I'm not a big BBQ sauce fan, that I didn't like the sauce too much. The addition of pineapple also was a bit of a bummer for me, but hey that's what Caribbean cooking is all about, so you need to go with the flow.

That said, after a few bites, the whole taste just grows on you. Prior to my observation, my husband thoroughly declared this pizza as more juicy and flavourful and he loved the sweet-spice flavours it imparted. But otherwise, the chicken was cooked to perfection and the cheese did its job really well. The stuffed crust was a bit of a let down and I don't think I'd order that again. But the next time if we pick up a Reggae Reggae pizza, I would do a thin crust and maybe try and omit the pineapple (just cos of preference, nothing else).

If you like BBQ flavours with a tint of sweetness, then this pizza is definitely for you. Vegetarians worry not, there is also a Vegetarian reggaie Reggae pizza with sweetcorn as an addition and can also be bought as one of Domino's oven baked subs. Go ahead and order and while you are at it, don't forget to check out their amazing pizza offers. We did ours as a 'Two for Tuesday' deal and paired it with an equally gorgeous 'Full House' Pizza.

With thanks to Dominos Pizza for gift vouchers to pick up the pizza

Review: Domino's pizza versus the sad one I made

I love Domino's pizza.period. And no I wasn't paid to say that. We have been big fans of Domino's from the time we were in India, since Saturdays are usually pizza and movie days and I totally look forward to it. We used to get the cheese stuffed crust back in India, something I miss out here, but I have a whole lotta other varieties to choose from.

So when I was given an opportunity to make my own pizza and compare it to the Domino's pizza, I didn't think twice, but jumped at it. Neat huh? Well yes, till I made my own pizza and figured out Id never be doing that again!

Other than the fact that I love their flavours, what I love even more is the fact that I can order the pizza online from Dominos and the deed is done in a matter of a few clicks. We have saved our info on their website and the next time we just have to log on and place our order. You get a confirmation number and if you are not comfortable giving your credit card details online, you can pay them on delivery. We have personally never had a bad experience with them; as in we didn't have to call and confirm or there is no delay in delivery. In fact they are scarily on time. You tell them you want it delivered at 8.15 and you'd be surprised when they land up exactly at that time, as opposed to a certain other pizza chain (lets just say the name starts with P) never delivered our pizza till an hour later. While we are on the pizza subject, I must also add that I have tried almost every pizza delivery place nearby, but we end up being loyal to Domino's just because their delivery is to the dot. You don't want to order for pizza and keep the movie and beer waiting just to realize that its been over 30 minutes and the pizza guys are still nowhere to be seen and even worse, you call them up and find out they are accidentally at the wrong place, or stuck in traffic (lame).

So we ordered 3 pizza's from Domino's over the weekend: 

The new Spanish Sizzler which has roast chicken, green peppers, chorizo sausage and roquito peppers. It was alright, except I didn't really like the sweetness of the peppers that much. 

The Tandoori Hot which was basic except that I love the hot jalapeño peppers in them

And my favourite the Mighty Meaty which has all those gorgeous toppings I love- pepperoni, ham, beef, sausage and mushrooms. 

And what I made at home a few days later was a Pepperoni and cheese pizza and my version of the Tandoori Hot. If I were to compare the pizzas, I'd say mine were horrible (no I'm not sucking up to Domino's..I mean it), except I was quite generous with the topping. Other than Mighty Meaty, I thought all the other pizza's were a big meagre when it came to the topping. I could find bits of chicken here and there, but not as much as I would have liked- an issue I've always had with Pizza chains. Taste-wise I must add, Domino's' any day kicked my pizza's butt. The cheese, the sauce, the spice everything was brilliant. I always end up burning the cheese and the topping and if I want to keep that consistency right, I end up under cooking the pizza base. Well its cos of hopeless amateurs like me, that chains like Domino's thrive I think :)

So without boring you any further, here's my recipe:

For the base:

All purpose flour- 145 gms + extra for dusting

Active Dry Yeast- 1 tsp

Salt- a pinch

olive oil- 1 tsp

Warm water- as required (I used about 100ml)

(or like me, just buy the ready made pizza base mix add enough water and make the dough)

Mix the yeast into the water, stir to dissolve and keep in a warm place for 10 minutes

Mix the AP flour and salt together in a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture and oil to form a slightly sticky mixture. You can keep adding water till you get the deserved consistency.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and pliable.

Place it back into the mixing bowl, cover and keep in a warm place for up to 2 hrs. It would double in size by now. Punch the air out and knead for another 2 to 3 minutes and then roll out into a size (and shape) you prefer.

Topping:

Red pesto (I used that instead of pizza sauce)

Grated parmesan cheese

Grated mozzarella cheese

Cheddar cheese (optional)

Pepperoni slices

For the tandoori chicken:

Chicken breasts- 1 medium

Yogurt- 2 tbsp

Ginger paste- 1 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1 tbsp

Lime juice- 1 tbsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 tsp

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Tandoori masala- 1 tbsp (If you have this, omit coriander and cumin powder)

Salt- if required

Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the chicken. Keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes. Grill in the oven at 176 for about 15 to 20 minutes on each side

Slice into strips and use for the pizza.

Assembling:

Generously spread the red pesto on the pizza base, leaving about half an inch from the sides.

Grate some parmesan cheese on the top

Cover with enough pepperoni/ tandoori chicken

sprinkle some mozzarella and cheddar on top and bake in an oven preheated at 220 for about 15 to 20 minutes.

I sprinkled some coriander leaves on top of the tandoori chicken pizza and it tasted good.

If anyone in UK is interested in taking part in this challenge, please do let me know and I can pass on the necessary details. You can make your own vegetarian pizza and compare it to a veg one as well..whichever suits you.

With thanks to Dominos Pizza for a gift voucher to pick up the pizza

Review: Penn State Snacks

I thought I'd never find pretzels here in UK and boy was I glad when Penn State, the leading supplier of pretzels here in the UK, contacted me to review their Christmas snack Box.

A big red box looking all Christmassy landed at my door step and in the box was the Original Sea Salted Pretzels, the Sour Cream & Chive flavour, Spicy Jalfrezi and an array of exciting dips to go with it. I devoured each and every one of it with great enthusiasm and what went through my mind immediately was it would be great to snack on these while watching a movie or just chilling out at home.

Now the exciting bit is that these Pretzels are baked and not fried which makes you a little less guilty gobbling them up and they are lower in fat as well...good eh? Absolutely!

The original Sea Salted Pretzels were basic as far as taste was concerned with the initial salty flavour melting off and giving way to a crunchy pretzel. But what hit the spot for me was this dipped in the 'Mistletoe & Thyme' dip which was slightly sweet and caramelised with a hint of thyme. The combination was so good I found it hard to stop with just one.

I also tried the 'Cinnamon Wonderland' with the salty pretzels and they were nice too. The strong chocolate and cinnamon flavours combined well with the salty pretzels, but its not a combination everyone would like I suppose.

My favourite pretzel however was the Sour Cream and Chive- which as a flavour on its own is brilliant. Imagine pretzels with the same awesomeness included? Yes, it was mind blowing and I loved it so much that i went back to Sainsbury's to pick up a few more packets. I liked them on their own but I'm sure it would have been great with the Jingle Bell Chilli (I know, I love the name too), a honey and chilli mix.

The Jalfrezi flavour somehow didn't hit the spot for me. It was just about OK I would say. Although, what I did with it is, crumble it and layer it on top of a macaroni bake for that crispiness, and the Indian flavours it emitted went well with the bake.

The 'Cinnamon Wonderland' dip was really hard and it took me a lil over a minute to warm it up in the microwave and even then it wasn't as gooey as i liked it to be. I am thinking of using the leftover dip to drizzle on some cookies.

My favourite dip was the 'Mistletoe & Thyme' and I also served it with some chicken kebabs I'd made. It was a nice combination..the spiciness of the chicken with the chutney-like dip was a hit among my guests.

The Penn State pretzels are available in most of the leading grocery stores in England, but do check where all they are available on their website. I shall definitely be picking them up more often at the store now!

With thanks to Penn State for this wonderful box of goodies. 

BBC Summer Good Food Show

This post comes in really late, merely because of my laziness and also cos I was a tad too busy the past 2 weeks. Anyways, like I'd mentioned before..Reena of Coconut Raita was giving away two tickets to the Good Food Show and I, won it! I was ecstatic because I NEVER win anything. This show was in Birmingham, about 2 hrs north of London and since my good friend and fellow blogger Swar of Swars kitchen was living in Coventry, I decided to drag her as well...some good girly time. I have forever been a fan of BBC Saturday Kitchen Live and so the Chef line up was pretty interesting. I had to catch James Martin, Thomasina Miers and the Hairy Bikers, if not anyone else. So off we went to Birmingham for a day filled with loadsa food, drinks and wait-for-it....shopping!!!!

Got there at around 11 and my first impression was, ' gosh its filled with oldies...is this some sorta boring thing?' And then we realised there was a garden show in the next pavilion and assumed they were here for the flower show instead. Wrong we were! 

The advantage of this show (like the Regents Park Taste of London and the Hampton Court Foodies Fest) is the free tasting sessions each and every supplier provides. I mean you just have to walk through and every stall offers you something to eat, drink, smell etc. We completely took advantage of that and after about 2 hrs we were slightly tipsy from the numerous wines, cider, vodka and fancy liqueurs that were offered to us..needless to say, being asked for the id at a few places made us feel great but annoying after a point of time (its nice to know they still think you are under 21 or so). We picked up some taster pizza slices from Dr Oetker's Ristaurante Pizza, grabbed a sandwich and sat down to watch one of the Chefs from a well known Gastro Pub in London cook Salmon in a mussel sauce with some risotto and the works. 

He asked someone from the audience to cook along with him, but we chickened out, but got to taste what he cooked which was yummeee. 

We walked around again, had some ice cold Pimms, picked up some cupcake liners, Swar bought yummy strawberry and cream liqueur, did some more tasting and conveniently missed the Hairy Bikers' Show.

I bragged about it so much to Ro i had to atleast catch a glimpse of them, but again got side tracked when i saw Toffee vodka...now you very rarely get to taste stuff like that right?

Then I got my priorities right and settled down to see Thomasina Miers, previous MasterChef winner and owner of Wahaca- an up market Mexican restaurant chain in London (I have reviewed it here and I actually didn't have a pleasant experience at her fancy pansy restaurant, but I still had to see some celebrity chef do some cooking). So we sat there and watched some guests from the audience do their bit of cooking and Thomasina give them tips etc etc.

And Andi Peters who was supposedly the runner up of one of the MasterChef sessions was doing give aways and asking us questions and Swar and me were so scared whether we would be pulled up to answer since we were sitting right up front. 

But we left half way through because we were hungry again (its the drinking i tell ya) and so had this amazing crepe with banana, toffee and ice cream and I said I wanted to come back to watch James Martin perform but it wasn't on for another hour or so and so we walked through the Gardeners Live area which seemed to amuse me much better than the food and so I ended up clicking more pics of the Garden and the awesome flowers than the food show itself.  Sorry if you are getting bored!

And then we found out I could catch any train back to London and so off we went to Birmingham city centre and shopped liked mad in the huge mega mall...yes I know what you must be thinking...my priorities are all screwed..well who wants to choose food over shopping with a girl friend? well I did and had the time of my life the 2 hrs we spent at the mall. James Martin and Hairy Bikers, I can still watch on BBC but the girl bonding, which I was so deprived of, that i get once in a while, I was def not gonna miss. 

All in all I had a blast, but if you ask me whether id go for a food show like this again..well unless I get free tickets I don't think id want to because its almost all the same, the tasting sessions, the master class sessions etc..well unless Gordon Ramsey decides to grace the occasion, then I might just drop in to hear him say 'The F Word.' :)