“Do something you love and people will love you for it.”
Maneet Chauhan
’twas a great way to begin Monday morning. I almost fell off my twitter perch to see that Alice Medrich had followed me. She was one of my first baking inspirations. The author of an array of sinfully delicious cookbooks like Pure Dessert, Seriously Bitter Sweet, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy and of course Bittersweet {among many others}, never fails to amaze. Chocolate dessert chef, teacher, James Beard and IACP Cookbook of the Year Award winning author … one of my favourite dessert chefs!
My first window into her world was way back in 2008 when I was inspired to make her Olive Oil Orange Cake. The inspiration continues … Dark Chocolate, Craisin & Walnut scones, Nibby Buckwheat Butter Cookies, and one of our all time favourites, the Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Fallen Cake.
Talking of chefs, more specifically favourite chefs, I have a few more quite a few more on my list. These I have been fortunate enough to meet, they are large hearted, affable, poster boy chefs who are some of the nicest human beings I have met. Saby or Chef Sabyasachi Gorai was among the first I met in Delhi. He’s the sweetest ever. A chef who is a painter? Yes indeed! A chef with the midas touch as I always tell him. Down to earth, hugely talented, young, bursting with energy and ideas. As I write this, Saby is in Goa launching his first restaurant there today, Destination One!
Next on my list is one of my favourite chefs, Michelin star Chef Vikas Khanna. Down to earth, a crowd pleaser, uber talented, works 28 hours a day, feet firmly on the ground, bursting with stories not necessarily food related, passionate about India, passionate about America … words escape me.
We worked together on the Saffola Food Food TV series {episode 1 & episode 2}. All of us were blown away by his friendly nature, unfussy attitude and his side splitting humour. From Amritsar to America, he is possibly India’s best and most loved export to the west. .
More favourites … Aussie Masterchefs George and Gary who we had a chance to meet over breakfast when they were here, the heart of gold Chef Kunal Kapoor, the absolutely animated and entertaining Chef Vicky Ratnani, the sweet Chef Maurizio Raselli at the Hyatt…
…quiet and unassuming Chef Anahita at Soda Bottle Openerwala {restaurant pictured above}, the ever charming David Rocco…… I could go on forever but instead will leave you with a question and a holiday giveaway.
Who is the one chef that has left their impression on you? Who is your favourite chef?
Since we’re just ringing in the holiday season here.Zoutons have been sweet enough to sponsor a giveaway for one of my readers.
The giveaway is a gift voucher worth INR4000 from Flipkart.
To be included in the giveaway, there are 2 simple rules:
1. Name your favourite chef
2. At the end of your comment, you must mention “For the contest on “My Favourite Chef” sponsored by Zoutons.com“
Please ensure you leave a valid email address.
The contest is open worldwide.
The contest closes on the 15th of October. We will randomly pick a winner thereafter.
The contest winner is VJ Sharma . Congratulations. Please send me your email address so I can send you the coupon details.
“Oh how we love pumpkin season. You did know this gourd-ish squash has its own season, right? Winter, Spring, Summer, pumpkin…. We anxiously anticipate it every year.”
Unknown
Pumpkin Pie Mousse …‘This is the best pumpkin pie mousse I have ever had‘, declared Mr PAB. Never mind that it was the first time I’ve made it. Chances are slim that he would have opted for it on a menu elsewhere. The kids asked for seconds before they hit the bottoms of the first servings!! That good! Such fun when a dessert experiment is successful. I have been eternally charmed by the humble pumpkin. With the pumpkin pie spice & walnut cake with buttermilk frosting, roasted pumpkin soup, then pumpkin brownies {yet to be blogged}, praline pumpkin pie, pumpkin pots de creme, pumpkin pie tartlets and pumpkin custard pies under my belt, I bought another huge chunk of pumpkin the other day.
With winter almost here I was in the mood to make a pumpkin peanut butter soup. Once the pumpkin was roasted, the day went rather busy. The well roasted veggie was hastily packed away, ziplocked and refrigerated for ‘tomorrow’. Yet tomorrow never came!
A million school holidays, the onset of the festive season, Diwali {read more food} and winter clothes to be unpacked made the pumpkin less urgent. Not forgotten though! Then the doodling teen and her father went for a quick trip to HKG. I thought I’d have SO much time. Boy, was I wrong!!
Then I thought of a welcome dessert, something pumpkin. A pie? Niyet! Too much work and no time. Plus gluten free pie crust scares me at times. With homemade pumpkin puree having the tendency to leave some watery liquid, I’d rather experiment in a better frame of mind. The morning gone, no time to bake, a mousse it was to be.
This was fun to do. I went with very basic pantry ingredients, happy in the thought that healthy pumpkin was the base. I added the gelatin on a whim. Have to say that it added just the right airy, light moussey texture once the mousse was set!
This mousse is off to My Utensil Crock for Our Growing Edge…“Our Growing Edge is the part of us that is still learning and experimenting. It’s the part that you regularly grow and improve, be it from real passion or a conscious effort. This monthly event aims to connect and inspire us to try new things and to compile a monthly snapshot of what food bloggers are getting up to”.
[print_this]
Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Spice Mousse
Summary: Airy, light, moussey and delicious, the Pumpkin Pie Mousse is a wonderful make ahead dessert option. Serves 6 {and worth doubling}. Keeps for 3-4 days refrigerated.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
“A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you’ve been taking.”
Earl Wilson
Hello again! It’s been a while since I blogged. Just got back from a short vacation in Goa. It’s a beautiful city, even though it was off season, a visit some folk may call no-brainer, but we LOVED it! The laid back lifestyle, the quaintness, the gentle mild folk, the lilting beaches and the Portuguese flavour all leave a song in your heart! For starters, I bring to you a bit quite a bit of colourful, vibrant Goa … then in my next post a Black Forest Cake that I made just before leaving Delhi.Reaching there from the mad hustle bustle of North India put us in the slow lane immediately. It’s a city of pubs, bars, sea, sand, sea-food, beaches, tattoos, more beaches, barges, beer, two wheelers, cashew nuts, coconuts, ceramic tiles, churches, tiled roofs, wonderful warm folk … and COLOUR! My visit couldn’t have ‘happened‘ so beautifully without Aparna who I finally got to meet after years of virtual blog talk! She’s been in Goa for years, got me the best cab driver ever, and helped me find my way around the city!The ‘now beginning to be quite terrible‘ pre-teen and me hit Miramar beach early in the morning, while the ‘not quite so terrible anymore’ teen snoozed! It was just me and the kids in Goa as Mr PAB was busy at work, so I tried to work around their interests which were quite limited actually. Sleep, beach, food, TV, sleep, beach, food, TV, sleep, beach, food, TV … and a little shopping. Go to Goa folks. It’s got something for everyone!!I haven’t seen them smile so much in a while, loving the sea, enjoying the sand {and each others company} … almost like when they were toddlers! Goa did it to them … {they are back to being grumpy again as the temperature here in North India hits 45C and rising}.Oh and I also very bravely took the kids in a rickety old boat to the mouth of the Arabian Sea to see dolphins, but chickened out halfway through as the sea was really CHOPPY … and we had no life jackets!! We sailed past Mumbai millionaire Jimmy Guzder’s beautifully landscaped bungalow, which stood in stark contrast to the the Aguada Jail a few heartbeats away! Then the others on the boat panicked big time as the rickety old boat hit the waters alarmingly. Much to the horror of the kids, we turned the boat around even as they were ready to swim the choppy seas! No dolphin sighting for us!!En route to a south Goa beach, Majorda, I stole a devious detour and off we went to the Sahakari Spice Farm. We were welcomed with flower garlands and a warm lemon-grass ginger tea {very refreshing indeed}. Then led for an eye opening tour of the farm by the very affable guide Sachin. I thought I knew all a lot of spices, and was proved absolutely wrong!To end the spicy tour we were all served some fermented cashew drink before it became traditional Goan cashew feni... In the few days we were there, we did a short drive through of Old Goa, and managed a Mandovi river cruise as well ….… and ended the trip with a second early morning visit to Miramarbeach which was a brisk walk from the Vivanta Taj where we stayed!It’s been ages since I made a Black Forest Cake. Cherries, plump, black, juicy and delicious ones have flooded the market of late and this quintessential cherry dessert cake called my name! Typically, the day I decided to bake the cake every silly thing went wrong, leaving me in a race against time … and I had to turn to a jar of canned cherries! The Black Forest Cake is a cake lovers delight … and that’s up next!!
