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RUSTIC ITALIAN FOCACCIA…IN A RING & MORE!
“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.”Robert Browning as rustic as it gets… Italian artisan bread… Thicker than a pizza, this dimpled bread, focaccia, gets it’s name from the Latin word focus, meaning ‘hearth’ , because it was originally baked on an open hearth. Italian bakers use focaccia dough to make many different speciality breads, such as this ring, stuffed with fragrant pesto, or for that matter, with any other flavouring you might like ( quoted from Le Cordon Blue; The Cook’s Bible). I made one with home made pesto, & the other with a mushroom, garlic, cheese filling (we liked…
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MAKE WAY FOR THE DANISH BRAIDERS…Ooooops, I mean the DARING BAKERS!!
“The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight. “ M. F. K. Fisher ‘Danish Braid’ from Sherry Yard’s ‘The Secrets of Baking’ Hello from a Daring Baker who is now a Danish Braider!! The day is finally here when this ‘daring group of bakers’ present their monthly challenge. This month, we were dared to bake a Danish Braid…a challenge hosted by Kelly of Sass & Veracity, and Ben of What’s Cookin’? What a fun challenge it turned out to be, even though I was overtaken by agony & ecstasy when I read about it. Agony because…
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IN THE PLUM OF THINGS…A sweet tale of sauce & ice-cream
“A sauce…..adds something, really two things: a taste as well as the opportunity to think about how the thing was made.” Raymond Sokolov Spicy Sweet Plum Sauce Plums ‘n’ Cherries…the fruit of summer! Plum, Cherry & Black-cherry Conserve Ice-cream Fresh fruit in food is my kind of thing. Summer brings with it delightful juicy fruit from the hills of Jammu & Kashmir, (Gurgaon & Delhi lie in the plains of North India where the weather these days is HOT, HOT, HOT), & one just cant seem to get enough of these delicious fruit. Have to limit the amount of sweet in everyday food, but the temptation is far too great.…
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FRUITS AT WORK…A FRUITY DESSERT & A WIERD MEME!
“There is greater relish for the earliest fruit of the season.” Marcus Valerius Martialis, Roman poet Fruits at work…Strawberry, Kiwi, Orange & Basil The minute winter begins to go away, the mind defrosts & begins to work overtime again. There is so much colour in the fruits & veggies appearing on the shelves, that I find it impossible to sit back & relax!! This is the result of one such instance…one fruity dessert that I tried for the first time last year & we loved it. It’s very simple as there’s no cooking involved; full of fruit, full of flavour, & colourful as ever. Very tropical & summery feel to…
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PANNA COTTA with STRAWBERRY COULIS…Elegant & Sublime!
“Good food gladdens the heart.” Author Unknown Panna Cotta with Strawberry Coulis… An elegant, simple Italian dessert. Creamy & incredibly satisfying! Having read about it several times, I always wondered of how beautiful & versatile something like this would be. Somehow never got down to making it till now when strawberries started showing up in the market. Sublime…& a sure winner. DH loved it & the kids found it AWESOME!! The pudding before it was sent to chill!! I scoured plenty of recipes on the net, & I finally settled for this one from Good Morning America by Chef Emeril Lagasse…I had to do one with strawberry coulis. Coulis is…
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I’M A DARING BAKER…& I dared to make a LEMON MERINGUE PIE!
“Ability is of little account without opportunity.” Napolean Bonparte LEMON MERINGUE PIE…testing times! A new year with a new challenge…and this ain’t a challenge for the faint-hearted. There are bakers & then, there are ‘daring bakers’. 2008 began with me joining the DARING BAKERS. A new challenge is thrown open every month…this months challenge is the ‘Lemon Meringue Pie’. With this challenge, the baker in me has been pushed to the limit & I have got my feet firmly back on terra firma. My heart has sank with the sinking hearts on the edge of my pie crust while they slid down as it baked & shrank!! PHEW!! No mean…
