Masaman Curry on White Rice

Thai cuisine is one of my favourites. In fact, we have a world class Thai restaurant in the city here that we frequent and love - largely because they offer so much choice in vegetarian food. Of course, I do make Thai food at home too, experimenting with various spices and sauces. My favourites are green curry, yellow curry, sticky rice, pad Thai, light summer rolls, dumplings, bananas in coconut cream, and of course the tasteful Thai chili sauce!!

Tuiles from the Daring Bakers

This month the Daring Bakers Kitchen set us a lighter challenge than those we have grown accustomed to in the last few months of 2008. It's the ultra light French cookies known as Tuiles!! This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Despite it being an unusually busy time of the year, I really was very excited about this challenge. And was even happier when I saw that a savoury version had been added. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, and so just the thought of a savoury alternative made me happy, more so as I knew that I would not really have the time to hunt for alternative recipes this month. The Savory Tuile recipe provided via DBK is from Thomas Keller The French Laundry Cookbook.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (65 grams/2.1/4 ounces) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt (= 2/3 teaspoon table salt)
8 tablespoons (114 grams/4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 large egg whites, cold
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until it is completely smooth and mayonnaise-like in texture.
2. Using a stiff spatula or spoon, beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and without any lumps.
3. Transfer the batter to a smaller container, as it will be easier to work with. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Make a 4-inch hollow circular stencil.
4. Place Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan). Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. After baking the first batch of cornets, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness of the cornets. There should not be any holes in the batter.
5. Lift the stencil and repeat the process to make as many rounds as you have molds or to fill the Silpat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cornets. Sprinkle each cornet with a pinch of black sesame seeds. Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat.
6. The cornets may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point. Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door. This will help keep the cornets warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. Flip a cornet over on the sheet pan, sesame seed side down and place 4-1/2 inch cornet mold at the bottom of the round. If you are right-handed, you will want the pointed end on your left and the open end on your right. The tip of the mold should touch the lower left edge (at about 7 o'clock on a clock face) of the cornet.
7. Fold the bottom of the cornet and around the mold; it should remain on the sheet pan as you roll. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds; as you proceed, arrange the rolled cornets, seams side down, on the sheet pan so they lean against each other, to prevent from rolling.
8. When all the cornets are rolled, return them to the oven shelf, close the door, and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes to set the seams and color the cornets a golden brown. If the color is uneven, stand the cornets on end for a minute or so more, until the color is even.
9. Remove the cornets from the oven and allow to cool just slightly, 30 seconds or so. Gently remove the cornets from the molds and cool for several minutes on paper towels. Remove the Silpat from the baking sheet, wipe the excess butter from it, and allow it to cool down before spreading the next batch. Store the cornets for up to 2 days (for maximum flavor) in an airtight container.

I followed this recipe but I have to say that it did not work too well for me. For one, the batter consistency was not as I would expect to make Tuiles! Secondly, the oven baked Tuiles did not take a shape very well. They are more on the crisp side and broke rather readily. I tried several batches. Above are the ones I managed to save!! And finally, the taste just did not sit well on our palette :( Maybe I'll try the sweet cookie next time. Hoping for better luck then!!

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Cheesy Hot Toast

Last weekend I visited a cheese shop in our parts and was delighted to see some lovely artisan cheeses on the shelves. The one that caught my eye was none other than a - hold your breath - three alarm cheese. With a name like that I just had to pick it up. A spicy mix of three different chilies lends its name to this cheese. And no more than the tiniest bite assures you that this cheese was made to live up to its name.

Now, as almost everyone would agree, there is nothing quite like hot toast with tea on a freezing winter afternoon!! The only thing that can make it better is some spicy melted cheese on the top - Yum! And if you want something superlative, stick some tapenade on the toast just under the cheese.

Ingredients:
4 slices honey wheat bread
1 tsp butter, softened
2 tbsp tapenade
4 tbsp 3 alarm cheese, grated (replace with
Jalapeno Jack for a milder taste)
2 tbsp mozzarella cheese, grated

Method:

1. Pre heat the oven to 350F. Place the bread on the wire rack and toast until crisp and golden.
2. Remove from the oven and butter each slice. Now thickly spread the tapenade on two of the slices.
3. Mix the two cheeses, and spread equally on the 4 slices.
4. Return to the oven and grill until the cheese melts completely.
5. Carefully remove the toasts from the oven. Cut into squares or triangles. Serve immediately.

These mini-toasts are superb with a cup of tea or coffee. They are also great when served with wine. These spicy snacks are making their way to Pallavi @ All Things Yummy. Don't forget to visit Sunday Snacks this month, where you will find all things Hot n Spicy!!


All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

BBD #15 Festive Breads: The Final Course

To anyone who has just joined in, this is the final lap of a Roundup of the monthly food event Bread Baking Day #15. You can find the first part of this roundup at A Roundup of Festive Breads: BBD #15 and the second at BBD #15 Festive Breads: Second Helping.

Here I being with Jude's contribution - Dan Lepard's Stollen Recipe via The Guardian. Jude says that this recipe for an extra moist Stollen may be lengthy, but they come together easily and there is very little kneading. What Jude loved best was placing the marzipan in the dough!! Do stop by at Apple Pie, Patis & Pate for a slice of this beautiful bread.

Location: Chicago, IL

Elizabeth prepared a lovely Festive Bread for Christmas breakfast. Elizabeth decided to skip the saffron in her bread this year and made a sweet six-strand bread to serve with hard-boiled eggs. for some wonderful tips on getting this bread right, stop by at Blog from OUR Kitchen.

Location: Toronto, Canada

Cheesy Herb Challah with Masala Cola!! Talk about tickling the taste buds and experimenting with food. That's exactly what Navita proposes to continue doing as she steps into the New Year. Find this lovely treat baked by Navita on her blog Zaayeka.

Hong Kong

Natalia's friend had her family visiting from England for the holidays. They asked Natalia if she could bake a Vegan Panetonne for them. And as Natalia adores challenges, that is exactly what she set out to do. Visit her blog gatti fili e farina for this recipe.

Location: Roma, Italy

Miriam baked a beautiful bread - Il Pandoro - Simili for Bread Baking Day #15! This is a perfect festive bread as it is not only pretty, but the Pandoro is a delicious bread. Its sure to please all your family and friends when they bite into it! For a more detailed recipe, do visit Miriam's blog at Chaosqueens Kitchen.

Location: Lübeck - North Germany

Stefan of Der Suppenkasper blog baked an exquisitely beautiful Neujahrsbretzel - New Year´s Pretzel. Do visit his blog for this and two other beautiful breads baked by him for the festive season this year - a Six Point Star, and a Hungarian Ring Bread!!

Location: Hessen, Germany

Temperance from High on the Hog shares her Grandma Skinner's Bread for All Occasions. Temperance says they would receive one of these beautiful prepared loafs from her every year for Xmas!! Now that she has the recipe too, Temperance bakes this bread annually in her own home on festive days! Peek in for a delicious recipe, perfect for sharing with friends and family alike!!

Location: Texas, USA

Jacqueline of Toxo Bread baked a truly festive Blueberry Cream Cheese Braid for dessert on New Year's Eve. She says that while this may not be a traditional holiday bread, it sure has great appeal. Her family loved it and I am sure we all give her the 'thumbs up' from too.

Location: Burlington, VT

And finally, my humble offering to this lovely food event. I baked a simple aniseed flavoured bread - the Vasilopita or St. Basil's Day Bread! For the beautiful story behind this bread and a recipe, join me at Annarasa.

Location: USA

Once again, thank you all for making this event such a success. I really enjoyed hosting BBD #15: Festive Breads. The next Bread Baking Day is hosted by Temperence of High on the Hog. Do visit her blog for the theme for January. I have covered all entries that made it to my inbox. If you did send me your entry and it is missing from this roundup, kindly alert me at annarasa[at]gmail[dot]com. and I will add your entry.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.