Cooking and Photography and Stuff
Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category: Saturday, December 26th, 2009
Well, I didn’t take a picture of the yule log that I made, like I said I would mostly because I’m silly and would rather eat food than photograph it most of the time. HOWEVER… in case anyone is interested in making one for next holiday season, here is the one I used and LOVED from AllRecipes.com:
Serves 12
CAKE BATTER:
5 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup cake flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
MOCHA CREAM FILLING:
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
MOCHA BUTTER CREAM FROSTING:
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup baking cocoa
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon brewed coffee
2 tablespoons milk
Line a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with parchment paper; grease the paper. Place egg whites in a small mixing bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks on high until light and fluffy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until thick and lemon-colored. Combine flour, cocoa and salt; gradually add to egg yolk mixture until blended.
Beat egg whites on medium until foamy. Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Stir a fourth into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining egg whites until no streaks remain.
Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until cake springs back (do not over bake). Cool for 5 minutes; invert onto a linen towel dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Peel off parchment paper. Roll up in the towel, starting with a short side. Cool on a wire rack. In a mixing bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and coffee granules. Beat until stiff peaks form; chill. Unroll cooled cake; spread filling to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up again. Place on serving platter; chill.
In a mixing bowl, beat frosting ingredients until smooth. Frost cake. Using a fork, make lines resembling tree bark.
Oh… what else have I been up too? Oh – I made fish n’ chips for the first time at home for my Christmas dinner while my parents ate crab (while gloating about how tastey it was and “OH! THIS IS SO DELICIOUS!” (I can’t eat shellfish of any kind for fear of potential death)) On top of this I made the Butternut Squash, Kale, and Cheddar Bread Pudding dish I ripped from Bon Appetit. Banana pudding also made it in there somewhere… had that for breakfast this morning.
I also developed 2 rolls of film recently. Good ol’ me didn’t realize that I didn’t have enough negative sleeves to put the negatives in, so they’re sort of hanging in my room at the moment looking awesome. But really, they need sleeves. Soon the prints will start happening and I will start trying to sell stuff (one day).
Oh! And day two of my Doctor Who season four marathon continued today. Three more episodes left before I allow myself to watch the ever coveted Christmas Special (possibly the last one before the new Doctor arrives?). Mr. Tennant, I will be sad to see you leave… for real.
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Thursday, July 16th, 2009I’m making this tomorrow night, so I figured I’d post the recipe from The Food of India. Yes… I’ve got a lot of India recipes on this blog… mostly because it’s some of the best food to eat. Ever.
Serves Four
Marinade
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons garam masala (if you buy the book, look to page 284)
1/4 teaspoon tandoori food coloring (I haven’t used this because it’s just food coloring)
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 garlic cloves roughly chopped
5cm (2 inch) piece of ginger roughly chopped
15g (1/2 cup) coriander/cilantro leaves chopped
125ml (1/2 cup) thick plain yoghurt (if you buy the book, look to page 280)
500g (1lb 2oz) skinless chicken breast fillets, cut into cubes
wedges of lemon
For the marinade, blend all the ingredients together in a food processor until smooth or chop the garlic, ginger, and coriander leaves more finely and mix with the rest of the marinade ingredients. Season with salt to taste.
Put the chicken cubes into a bowl with the marinade and mix thoroughly. Cover and marinate overnight in the fridge.
Heat the oven to 200C (400F). Thread the chicken pieces onto four metal skewers and put them on a metal rack above a baking tray. Roast, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and browned around the edges. Serve with wedges of lemon to squeeze over the chicken.
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Friday, July 3rd, 2009I’m cooking Indian food again. I mean, why not? This is a recipe that I haven’t made or tried before, but it looked pretty good in the picture of the book that I got the recipe from. Right now, the chicken is marinating in the fridge waiting to be cooked. The recipe is from The Food of India.
Serves Six
20cm (3/4 inch) piece of ginger roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
80g (1/2 cup) blanched almonds
170ml (2/3 cup) thick plain yoghurt (if you buy the book, you can find the recipe on p. 280)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon garam masala (if you buy the book, you can find the recipe on p. 284)
4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
400g (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 kg (2lb 4oz) skinless, boneless chicken thigh fillets, cut into fairly large pieces
5 tablespoons ghee
1 large onion, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves
4 tablespoons thick cream
Blend the ginger and garlic together to a paste in a food processor or pestle and mortar, or crush the garlic and finely grate the ginger and mix them together. Grind the almonds in a food processor or finely chop with a knife. Put the paste and almonds in a bowl with the yoghurt, chili powder, cloves, cinnamon, garam masala, cardamom pods, tomato, and salt. Blend together with a fork. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat thoroughly. Cover and marinate for two hours or overnight in the fridge.
Preheat the cover to 180C (350F). Heat the ghee in a karhai or deep, heavy-based frying pan. Add the onion and fry until softened and brown. Add the chicken mixture and fry for about two minutes. Mix in the fresh coriander. Put the mixture into a shallow baking dish, pour in the cream and stir with a fork.
Bake for one hour. If the top is browning too quickly during cooking, cover with a piece of foil. Leave to rest for ten minutes before serving. The oil will rise to the surface. Just before serving, place the dish under a hot grill (broiler) for about two minutes to brown the top. Before serving, slightly top the dish and spoon off any extra oil.
Goes great with basmati rice!
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Sunday, May 31st, 2009Feeds 3 to 4
1/2 green pepper
1 small potato
1 1/2 cups of frozen peas
1 small onion
1/2 of a head of cabbage
1 cup frozen, cut carrots
14-ish oz can coconut milk
2 tablespoons Patak’s Original Mild Curry Paste
1 cup rice
2 cups water
First cook the rice, since it always takes the longest. When it’s done, just cover it up with a lid so it stays warm.
Cut potato into 1″x1″ to 1″x2″ cubes and boil in one pot, then in another, boil the carrots and peas. And in one final pot, boil the cabbage.
When the potatoes are cooked to that “perfect for eating” softness, drain them, the cabbage and the carrots and peas.
Add half of the can of coconut milk to a large frying pan on medium high. When the coconut milk starts to bubble, promptly add the curry paste. Stir the coconut milk and the paste until everything is mixed well in the pan.
Right after you do this, add all of your vegetables (potatoes, carrots & peas, cabbage, and raw onions and peppers). Lower the temperature on the pan to a medium to a low-medium-high.
Add the rest of the coconut milk and stir it into the mixture very well.
You can let the sauce reduce down a bit, but not too much because the sauce is excellent when it’s mixed with rice. I typically stir the mixture for 3-5 minutes so the onions and peppers cook in well.
Put the rice on plates and top with the vegetable curry.
Serve warm.
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