Asian Burger with Brown Rice Tiger Bread

          Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!

         As soon as I learnt about the challenge for this month, I made up my mind to cook an Asian burger – I guess, the rice flour that is used for the crunch topping, gave me an impetus to go in this direction. Can you imagine my surprise when I found out that Dutch Crunch bread (also called Tiger bread after the tiger-like shell) was initially made with sesame oil?! It seemed that my idea of using Asian flavours was more than appropriate!

       I loved the recipe of the brown rice bread the girls provided us with: I figured out that it would be a perfect base for my dish. However, I decided to make bread rolls instead of a loaf and they turned to be much better than plain burger buns, with a sweetness of honey, earthiness of a brown rice and a scent of sesame oil.

       Instead of beef I used prawns, chicken and fish to make meat cakes for the burger: I simply adapted the recipe of Chao Tom that I had in my cooking book. Chao Tom is basically a Vietnamese dish – an entrée made with prawns grinded to a paste, wrapped around the sugar cane sticks and grilled. Of course, I didn’t use any sticks and changed the shape of the dish in general but it was still packed with flavours: the use of different types if meat and Asian condiments made it a lip smacking treat!

      An Asian cole slow was served as a side to the dish: Chinese cabbage, apple, capsicum and carrot with soy and honey dressing and toasted sesame seeds – can you think of a better accompany to the chaw tom cakes and brown rice tiger bread?

     Thanks to Sara and Erica for an opportunity to have fun in the kitchen and to come up with a new, fusion, delicious dish!

Prawn Cocktail

          One can speak of fashion not only when it comes to clothes, shoes, accessories and smart gadgets but to food as well. Indeed, there are tendencies in the food industry: some dishes are classic, others are associated with particular epoch, while the third ones – which become popular overnight – either leave a trace in the gastronomic world or vanish forever from the memories of demanding gourmets. 

         If you asked me to name a retro dish two years ago I would most probably stumble with the answer. Nowadays, however, one dish instantly comes to my mind: prawn cocktail. The thing is, I learnt about this hors d’oeuvre (that was popular in Great Britain from the 1960s to the 1980s) only when I came to India: here in Kolkata there is a good range of seafood and prawn cocktail is on the menu of most of the  “continental” restaurants. My husband appreciated the dish as soon as he came here so I bothered to get a recipe in order to be able to cook it for him at home.

        At that time the source of culinary information that I broadly used was a TV channel featuring the recipes of local chefs. I was lucky to get Sanjeev Kapoor’s version of the prawn cocktail. It was the first recipe of a cocktail sauce that I had ever tried to make in my life and it turned out to be absolutely fantastic! It received the highest praise not only from my husband but from my friends in Moscow as well: I used it for the prawn tartlets when I throw a party during the vocation and they were the winning dish on the table. The secret ingredient? Alcohol! Sanjeev Kapoor suggests using brandy but I prefer to make it with some dark rum: the Indian Old Monk, with a rich caramel flavour, works best.

        Recently, when I served this easy to make appetizer to our local friends who are well familiar with my range of very sophisticated dishes, asserted that I had outdone myself with that prawn cocktail. I was a bit astonished since the dish is way too easy to make and it takes no pains and absolutely no effort to pull it off. I guess, the key to success is rum. I haven’t actually mentioned to them that there was alcohol in the sauce. But you should expect it to be there, shouldn’t you? Otherwise why would it be called “a cocktail”?!

Smoked Salmon and Goat’s Cheese Tortellini with Prawns and Green Peas

      A special St.Valentine’s Day survey in one magazine showed that on a romantic date most people prefer to order pasta – no doubt, the Italian food can put one in a necessary mood! But what about a candle-light dinner at home? Boiling fettuccini and tossing them with cream is too simple – to the point of being inappropriate for a special meal. Making your own pasta, on the contrary, will allow you to express your feelings through the dish.

            Don’t yield to temptation to stop reading the post right here: home-made pasta is only deceptively difficult to make! You need to have just basic culinary skills to prepare the dough and a creative touch to make a complimentary sauce. I for one enjoy making ravioli most of all as there’s no limit to the variety of stuffing you can put inside.

            Last year when I needed to prepare a special meal, I searched the Masterchef website and found an amazing recipe of smoked salmon and goat’s cheese tortellini. After one hour of preparations (you see – it doesn’t take that much time and effort!) I ended up having one of the most beautiful and flavourful dishes I’ve ever cooked: the subtle taste of smoked salmon and the pungent aroma of goat’s cheese, together with a zing of a lime and a refreshing touch of dill couldn’t but make the dish a success. Prawns and peas, surprisingly, didn’t seem to be “over-the-top” elements on the plate: they added the depth to the taste and to the colour profile of the dish.

            I encourage you to make this stunning pasta at home: your special one will definitely appreciate it!

Scone Festival

         Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

I've never made the scones before but they were always on my list of “trying-to-cook-one-day dishes”. It turned out that they are very easy to make, fast to bake and – amazingly – very versatile! These small biscuits can be savory and sweet, with any kind of added ingredients, and can be served as a tea/coffee accomplishments, as a cocktail snack or as a side for a main course.

As Audax provided us not only with the detailed instructions for making the perfect scones, but with the links to the recipes of scone variations as well, I couldn’t resist a temptation to visit my all-time favourite web-resource where I discovered the dishes that use basic scone dough for creating something new. I got really inspired to cook quite a number of different things and it turned out that during this month’s challenge I made a journey around the world!

Salmon, White Fish and Prawn Terrine

Terrines produce a really strong impression on people: they are beautiful, flavourful and more-ish. But when it comes to cooking one, the perspective usually scares even the most adventurous cooks away. No wonder: it is quite a difficult dish to make since it usually has lots of ingredients and requires a thorough mise en place, a fine technique of assembling in a mould and a high precision when it comes to actual cooking (using a hot method – baking in the oven, usually in a bain-marie; or a cold one – setting in the fridge with the help of the gelling agents). I for one feel a thrill when I see a perfectly made terrine and look with awe at a person who managed to nail such a complicated dish. I tried to make a few terrines at home and, believe me, it’s always been an exciting moment when it came to cutting them. I held my breath and accurately sliced it – to see whether the layers are distinct or not. In general, it’s always a nerve-wrecking experience!

            Once, however, I got really surprised when I found a recipe of a terrine which promised to be quite easy to handle. I had some left-over salmon and white fish in the fridge and I turned to my best reference book – Larousse Gastronomique – is search of cooking ideas and came across this recipe. Strange as it may sound, but there was no fuss about this dish at all! It was rather quick and easy to make and tasted absolutely amazing! And as I cut the first slice, I saw a few, but really nice distinct layers – which added points to the ‘wow’ factor of the dish!