Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Cream Cheese Pecan Pie

Cheesecake meets pecan pie in this smooth and decadent seasonal dessert.
        Ingredients:

1 Trader Joes pie crust or homemade one 
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
3 eggs, divided
3/4 cup sugar, divided
4 tsp Vanilla Extract, divided
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 tbs butter, melted
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups pecan pieces, toasted
1 egg white


Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare crust as directed on package for one-crust pie using 9-inch deep dish pie plate. 
 Gather together cream cheese 1 egg, 1/3 cup sugar, vanilla.
Beat cream cheese, 1 of the eggs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and 2 teaspoons of the vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended and smooth.  
 Spread evenly on bottom of crust.
Bake 15 minutes.  
Toast Pecans if they are not toasted. 
 Gather together 2 eggs, butter, corn syrup, vanilla, salt, 1/2 cup sugar.
Whisk 2 eggs and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl with wire whisk until smooth.
 Add corn syrup, butter, remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla and salt; stir until well blended. 
Whisk 1 egg white.  For decoration cut leafs or flowers. 
Sprinkle pecans evenly over baked cream cheese layer. Use egg white to glue leafs to the edges. Then spread egg whites on top of the leafs.
Slowly pour corn syrup mixture over nuts. Bake on 325 F, 35 to 40 minutes or until its puffed, and set around edge, but center still jiggles slightly.  Cool completely on wire rack. 
Enjoy!!!

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Monday, February 3, 2014

Lets Squash it

Buttercup Squash Bread

1 pkg (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 tsp. caraway seeds
1 cup buttercup squash, cooked and mashed
3 cup all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add molasses, salt,
caraway, squash and 2 C. flour; mix well. Add enough remaining flour
to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth
and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once
to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down then shape into a loaf. Place in a
greased 9" x 5" x 3" loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled,
about 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until
golden brown. Remove from pan to cool on a wire rack. From: Mignonne
Yield: 1 loaf

Calabacitas (Skillet Squash)

5 cubed small summer squash
1 diced large onion
2 roasted peeled green chiles
or
1 small can diced green chile
1 tablespoon shortening or oil
3/4 cup shredded longhorn cheese

Saute onion in shortening or oil until soft. Add squash and stir until
almost tender. Add chiles; simmer briefly. Sprinkle on cheese and stir
until melted. From: Dove
Yield: 5 servings

Abenaki Squash Soup

4 strips smoked bacon, sliced very thin
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 medium onions, peeled and diced
3 quarts chicken stock (homemade)
4 big potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 acorn squash, peeled and cubed
1 tbs. sugar
pinch salt
pinch hot pepper
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
chopped parsley (if you have it on; hand)

In large saucepan, slowly render bacon until crisp. Add carrots, onions.
Cook until vegetables are soft. Add chicken stock and simmer for 90
minutes.Add potatoes, squash, salt, and pepper. Simmer 40 minutes, then mush or
puree. Add lime juice. Check seasonings and adjust to taste. Serve with
chopped parsley, if you have it on hand.

Anasazi-Squash Stew With Basil And Serrano

1 cup anasazi beans, rinsed and sorted fo; r debris
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut in; to 1-in. cubes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6 whole star anise
6 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 piece ginger (2 in.), peeled and grated
2 pcs serrano chiles, halved, seeded, and; thinly sliced
12 pcs large fresh basil leaves, chopped

This fragrant, buttery stew is hearty enough to work as a vegetarian
main dish. Serve with a green salad and fry bread (Indian flatbread) Prep
and Cook Time: 45 minutes. Notes: If you cant find
serrano chiles, substitute 2 fresh jalapeƱos. You can also use less
common varieties of basil, such as Thai or lemon (double the number of
leaves in the recipe if theyre very small).
1. In a large pot, bring beans, turmeric, and 4 cups water to a
boil. Lower heat to a simmer, partially cover, and cook until beans soft.
2. Add squash, salt, sugar, and star anise. Bring to a boil, lower heat
to a simmer, and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until squash
is tender, about 15 minutes.
3. In a small frying pan, melt butter. When melted butter stops foaming
on top, turn heat to high, add cumin seeds, and cook, stirring, until
browned and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add ginger and chiles and cook,
stirring constantly, another 2 minutes. Add basil. Stir to combine and
cook until basil is wilted, about 30 seconds.
4. Serve stew hot, with the spiced butter poured over each serving. Or
stir all the spiced butter into the pot of stew before serving.
Yield: makes 4 serving

Fried Cherokee Squash Bread

2 summer squash, diced
water
1 c corn meal
1/4 c buttermilk
1 pcs egg

Cook squash in water until soft; leave 3/4 c. water in pot. Combine other
ingredients with squash and water; mix together. Fry in hot oil until
golden brown.

Yield: makes 1 batch.
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Muffins

Pumpkin Cappuccino Chip Muffins
(adapted from Starbucks recipe)

2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
2 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 packet Starbucks VIA (I used 2 tsp. espresso powder instead)
1 c. mini chocolate chips (optional, but who are we kidding...everything is better with chocolate!)

BruCrew Additions
1 c. canned pumpkin
2-3 tbsp. sour cream
4 tbsp. extra flour
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350*. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners. Mix together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir until combined. Do not over stir, batter should be lumpy. Add the chocolate chips...it isnt optional:-). Fill muffin liners 2/3 full. Bake for 22-24 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched. Cool on wire rack. Enjoy! Makes about 24 muffins.

Posted by: Jocelyn
www.insidebrucrewlife.blogspot.com
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Sunday, February 2, 2014

buffalo Chicken Burgers



Buffalo Chicken Burgers





Ingredients:

1lb ground chicken



1/4 c Franks Original buffalo sauce



sandwich thins, or bun thins



muenster cheese



and whatever vegetable you want to make with it.





Im normally not a fan of Muenster. Its kind of rubbery, and a little too salty for me, but when its melted on this burger Its DELICIOUS. I wouldnt choose another.







SO, put the meat in a bowl... and add 1/4c buffalo sauce. Mix it together with your hands. The texture of the chicken is nothing like hamburger. Its just really cold, and flimsy-- but not hard to shape a burger with.



Shape your burger, and put it on a pan on med-high. Put a lid on it to ensure it cooks all the way through, and to lock moisture in. Flip it from time to time. When its done, put sliced muenster cheese on it, and return the lid until its melted. Spread some mayo on the bun if you choose, and put your delicious buffalo chicken burger on.


Posted by Laura
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Bise Bela Bath



Ingredients 
Raw Rice-2cups
Toor dhal-1cup
Small sambhar onions peeled-25/ Onion big sliced-1
Mixed Vegetables-2cup
Turmeric powder-pinch
Hing-pinch
Mustard seeds-2tsp
Curry leaves-few
Dry chilly whole-3
Salt to taste
Gingelly oil-6tbsp

Bisi Bela Powder ingredients
Coriander Seeds-6tbsp
Channa dal/ Bengal gram dal-2tbsp
Whole dry chilly-12
Shredded coconut-1/2cup
Methi-less than 1/4tsp
Jeera-2tsp
Pepper corns-1tsp
Clove-2
Green Cardamom-1
Cinnamon-1/2"

Method
For the bisi bele powder, dry roast all ingredients( except coconut) separately and grind the spices together with coconut to a fine powder. Wash and soak the dal and rice for half an hour, pressure cook the soaked dal and rice together with little salt and turmeric until both rice and dal are well cooked. In a large pan heat the oil, add mustard seeds, red chilly and curry leaves. Next add the onions, saute for a minute and add the mixed vegetables. Fry for few more minutes, now add the turmeric powder, hing, bisi bele powder, enough salt and water. Cover with a lid and allow the vegetables to cook. Once vegetables are done, add the cooked dal and rice mixture. Mix well. Serve hot with Appalam/Pappad.
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Saturday, February 1, 2014

SaffronTrail Food Times Edition 01


This is the first edition of the SaffronTrail Food Times, where Ill try and share food news in and around Bangalore- be it new restaurants in the city, food workshops that enthusiasts can participate in, food festivals hosted by restaurants and so on. Im thinking of having this a fortnightly or monthly column. If you have anything interesting for me to share here (Bangalore based), do mail me at saffrontrail [at] gmail. Please understand that I shall use your information at my discretion and cannot promise to post everything that comes my way.

SAFFRONTRAIL FOOD TIMES EDITION-01

Weekend Breakfasts in Bangalore
We found two breakfast places which couldnt be more different from each other. 



One serves up the Full English Breakfast, cocktails you can feel less guilty about over drinking in the morning, absolutely sinful Red Velvet waffles and thick French toasts. I dont know if youve guessed, were talking about the Breakfirst at Monkey Bar. Apart from eggs, waffles and toasts, vegetarians have a few other choices like the Handwo, Chilli Cheese Vada Pao and a really big croissant called the Mobar Maxi Croissant. Theres a Big Bang breakfast specially for vegetarians called the Garden City which comprises of gratinated vegetable crepe, feta stuffed mushrooms, hash browns, grilled tomato, baked beans and jumbo toast. Mobar has tied up with theindianbean.com to serve up a specially formulated single estate coffee blend, so you can be sure that youre in for some good coffee.
Expect to be put behind by INR1500 for two people. Theres good music and the company of breakfast loving enthusiastic morning crowd and one must give them points for innovation (Red Velvet Waffles, Pita with Pandi etc.). The good part is you can skip lunch altogether and have a long snooze after filling up here.
Monkey Bar, 14/1 Krishna Manere, Wood Street, Richmond Road, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru - 560025. Phone: 080 41116878/ 79 | www.mobar.in
Weekends 9 am-12 noon

The other breakfast we loved was the all you can eat spread at Kamat Yatri Nivas (Hoodi). The  South Indian breakfast serves all the usuals. The Masala dosa, vada, kuzhi paniyarams are freshly made in small batches. The other items served are masala idli, puri-chana, khara-baath, bisi bele baath, mangalore buns, akki rotti, watermelon juice, fruits, rosogulla, coffee/tea. They also had bread, butter, jam and some other things I may have missed. The buns were delicious, and our friend said that the kuzhi paniyarams were as good as the ones he had eaten at a small eatery in Coimbatore. I dont think theres any other breakfast in Bangalore that can beat the VFM-ness of this one. If you live in and around Whitefield, dont miss this. It is a steal at INR 125/adult, 75/child. 
Kamat Yatri Niwas, Graphite Road, Hoodi Circle, Whitefield. Phone: 080-28459075 | kamatyatri.in - Weekends 7am-10am, no reservations required.


CBTL celebrates 50 years with a new menu
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has introduced a new menu with more focus on healthy and gourmet options. 



We liked their Japanese Cherry Green Tea and Swedish Berries Tea, both made using loose leaf tea bags. These are a perfect choice for those who want to spend time in a cafe without loading up on calories. For those who like their high calorie drinks, they also have a Hot Double Chocolate  with Caramel Swirl and whipped cream :)




Among their healthy eating options, I liked their Roast Vegetable with Hummus. Their Greek salad however was a disappointment because of tons of fake feta. Even if it was paneer, it was a stale one. Their muffins are the giant American size, Id recommend it be shared between 3 people! Their Chocolate Chunk muffin was loaded with chocolate chips. Try their signature Ice Blended coffee in your favourite flavour. 
http://www.facebook.com/TheCoffeeBeanIndia
Branches: Koramangala, 1MG Rd Mall, Inorbit Mall (Whitefield), Phoenix Market City

A cozy cafe inside a mall- Plus 91


Photo courtesy: Aravind Balakrishnan

Newly opened at the buzzing Phoenix Market City mall at Whitefield, they are the modern upmarket version of a multicuisine restaurant with a bar. From chaats to steaks, they have it all on their menu, along with an extensive alcohol and drinks menu. Theirs is a cozy ambience of a street corner cafe, with a little outdoor section. The indoors nearly makes you forget you are in a mall. The fact that they have a jukebox gives them extra points from my side. We were invited for their pre-launch Sunday lunch and they were playing vintage disco for which Ill give them two thumbs up. We tried the radga patties, a modified version of sev puri (using baby papads instead of puri), paani puri, frankie, paneer tikkas and the sizzler. While the penne pasta in tomato sauce was perfectly made, the chaats needed some help from the roadside chaatwala in terms of textures and flavour. The feedback was passed on and I hope theyll get better in that department. As they have an extensive appetisers menu, I think this will be a good place for a couple of after work drinks and small bites, for those working in and around ITPL. Their dessert menu is limited to three items. In case youre wondering about the origin of their name, it indicates Indias phone code :)
Plus 91, Phoenix Market City, 1st Floor, Mahadevpura, Whitefield Road, Bangalore-48.
Phone- 80-65995666 | https://www.facebook.com/Plus91India
Hours: 12 noon-11.30pm, walk-ins welcome



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HARD CHOCOLATE SHELL FOR ICE CREAM

 This fudge-y treat is rich, delicious, quick to make and fun to serve, AND....when you pour it over something COLD, it turns hard, just like commercial "Magic Shell" ice cream topping (except it is a lot more budget friendly).

Ive only ever made chocolate (duh!!) but I dont see why peanut butter chips or white chocolate chips or even mint chocolate chips wouldnt work just as well!!


1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the chocolate, butter and oil until the chocolate melts. I do this in the microwave, starting at 30 seconds on high, then stir, then 15 more seconds and stir and a final 15 seconds and stir.


At first, it will seem like the ingredients dont want to blend, but whisk it for 10-15 seconds and it will go together beautifully. Once it is smooth, whisk in the vanilla extract.

Cool to room temperature, (you can use it right away, but if you use it before it cools down, it will take a few more seconds to harden on the ice cream).



NOTE: If you use your microwave to melt the chocolate, watch it carefully, since your microwave might cook faster or slower than mine and chocolate scorches easily.

NOTE: With the addition of butter and oil, I thought this might have a greasy taste, but it does NOT. While it is still hot (which is my favorite) this has a velvety texture, almost like the best hot fudge sundae taste.
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