The Buena Vista Cafe

The Buena Vista Cafe

2765 Hyde Street, San Francisco, CA 94109. (415) 474-5044
http://www.thebuenavista.com

It's said that you can't go home again, but I call BS. This past weekend during our escape to San Francisco, Mr.S. took me to one of his childhood haunts- the historic Buena Vista Cafe near the Fisherman's Wharf. Had we planned a little more carefully, we probably could have hopped on a cable car right outside of our hotel and rode it straight to the porch of the cafe. Instead we drove over there and luckily parking didn't turn out to be an issue. We got there minutes before it opened and as we stood outside in line, we inhaled the crisp bay air and Mr.S. excitedly told me how he and his family would always stop by the Buena Vista when he was a child. At 9am promptly, a matronly waitress unlocked the doors and the masses moved in, tables become occupied in a flash and seats at the well worn wooden counter quickly filled. Somehow we were one of the lucky ones who were able to slide into a table next to the window. Those who were unable to find a table stood in the walkway and any open nook or cranny available anxiously looking for a seat to open. Everyone's elbow to elbow, that's how it rolls at the Buena Vista...a bit like musical chairs.

Now if you haven't heard, the Buena Vista is supposedly the birthplace of the Irish Coffee in America. The Buena Vista has been using the same tried and true recipe since 1952, can you believe it?!  Every table around us seemed to be sporting a goblet of the hot, frothy liquid. (I bet they go through TONS of Irish Whiskey!) For breakfast, we both went a bit traditional. Mr.S. ordered a plate of corn beef hash (he loooves hash) and I went with some eggs, sausage and toast. Both orders were tasty- nothing fancy. Service was a bit slow but it was a full house. As soon as we paid our tab and stood to leave, hungry patrons quickly swooped into our still warm seats.

The food at the Buena Vista is solid, the atmosphere is fun and nostalgia is abound in the small restaurant. Regulars and visitors equally were lining up to come in and smiles were plentiful. While I was digging into my breakfast , I looked up and I swear I could picture a school-aged Mr.S. bellying up to the counter and demanding a plate of hash. That made ME smile. So even if the joint is a wee bit touristy, I'm glad we stopped by.

Egg-cellent Strata

Egg-cellent Strata

Most mornings I like to start off my day with just a cup (or two) of black coffee. Sometimes on the rare weekend I'll make an exception and eat in the a.m., if Mr. S. cooks his wonderful omelets, pancakes or a plate of crispy bacon. I love breakfast, truly I do...I'm just not an early morning eater. There's something about ingesting food at 8, 9 or 10 am that just makes me feel a bit queasy and off kilter for hours afterwards. So to compensate, I usually end up making my favorite breakfast dishes for lunch or sometimes even dinner. I love that most breakfast recipes are versatile and you can pretty much use whatever's lurking in the corners of your fridge or vegetable bin. Last night's leftover sausage? Throw it in there! Sunday night, you had extra cheese after making some enchiladas? Throw that cheese in there! Garden overgrown with tomatoes and zucchini? Chop 'em up and throw them in there! I'm sure you get my point. Great breakfasts can be created from eggs and whatever scrappings you have lying about. Omelets are probably the simplest of the breakfast dishes to make, but you can always step it up with a frittata or a strata. Never heard of a strata? It's like a frittata but it has bread mixed in. I usually gravitate toward making this dish when I have some leftover rustic french bread that's gone a bit stale. I've listed below what I put into my most recent strata but just use that as a loose guide, there are endless variations. When making your own strata, customize it with whatever meats, veggies or cheese YOU like or have in your fridge. You really can't go wrong as long as you remember the eggs, bread and milk.

Strata

Ingredients

4 eggs
3/4 cup milk (I usually use soymilk)
1 1/2 cups (day old) cubed, rustic french bread
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1/2 cup spinach leaves
2 slices prosciutto, torn into small pieces
6 grape tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
2 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup cheddar, grated or shredded
1/4 cup mozzarella, grated or shredded
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper


Instructions

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

- In a pan, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat until it shimmers. Then add the garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Add in the spinach leaves, prosciutto pieces, tomato halves and onion. Continue to cook until spinach wilts and tomatoes slightly soften. Remove from heat and set aside.

- In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper.

- Place two oven-safe ramekins on a baking sheet. Place the bread cubes inside the ramekins. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread. Add in the sauteed vegetables, prosciutto and a tablespoon of goat cheese to each. Sprinkle the tops with the mozzarella and cheddar cheeses.

- Place the baking sheet with the filled ramekins into the oven and bake for 23-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

- Eat while still warm.

Methi Corn Aappe

Methi Corn Aappe

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

This recipe is inspired by the Corn Aappe Recipe I had posted long time back.. I thought little taste change in same recipe would bring variation and thats how this one came to life :)


Ingredients
4 Cup Sweet Corn
2 Cup Rawa
4 Green Chillies
1 Cup Methi Leaves
1 Cup Coriander Leaves
1/2 Spoon Garlic Paste
1/4 Spoon Ino
Salt to taste

Method

• In a mixie, crush together green chilies and corn till smooth paste.
• Add in salt, rawa, garlic paste and mix.
• Add in finely chopped methi leaves and coriander leaves and mix.
• Add in ino and if required little water and make batter by mixing well.
• Heat the aappe pan and sprinkle drop of oil in the pan and pour in spoon of batter in each appe cup.
• Cook the appe till they become brown, flip and let it cook till the other side browns too, serve hot

Notes
If using frozen sweet corn microwave them for couple of minutes so that making paste is easier.

Methi Puri

Methi Puri

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Few weeks ago after getting fresh Methi from Indian market, i decided to try something different than usual paratha or vegetable and so came this puri. The first attempt itself was perfect and so tasty that I had to share.


Ingredients
1 Bunch Methi
2 Cup Maida
1 Cup Wheat Flour
2 Green Chillies
1 Spoon Ginger
4-5 Garlic Cloves
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• Wash methi and add it to the mixer
• Add ginger, garlic, green chilli and half cup of water. Crush it to fine liquidy paste.
• Pour it into the plate, add in maida, wheat flour, salt and knead soft dough.
• Add couple drops of oil and knead again for a minute. Keep aside for half an hour
• Heat oil in pan, roll small puris from the dough and fry them till light brown on both sides.

Notes
Making very fine paste is important because otherwise the pieces will come out while rolling and the puris would remain flat.
I didn't need to use more water while kneading dough as the paste itself was enough to accommodate the maida, but you could change the water and maida quantity if you need to.

Savory Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Cottage Cheese Muffins

Savory Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Cottage Cheese Muffins

It's been a hectic week, I've been staying the last few nights at Mr.S.'s so I was looking forward to a nice, quiet night in at my cottage. I decided to stream a movie tonight (Romantics Anonymous, a cute French flick- perfect for Valentine's week) and bake a batch of these savory sun-dried tomato and basil cottage cheese muffins. These muffins are vegetarian and use cottage cheese and ground almonds as their base (yummy!). As they cooked they filled the cottage with such delicious aromas that when my neighbor stopped by to deliver some mail that was mistakenly put in her mailbox, she just had to ask what was baking. Her eyes lit up like a Lite-Brite when I offered to send her home with a few fresh out of the oven. ;)  I'll definitely have to make these again (they'd be perfect for a brunch) only next time I'll have to remember to use silicone non-stick baking cups...the muffins were a bit difficult to get out of the paper cups- but delicious nontheless!

Savory Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Cottage Cheese Muffins (adapted from Vegetarian Supercook by Rose Elliot)

Ingredients

1 cup plain cottage cheese

3/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

1/4 cup AP flour (soy flour or white whole wheat flour can be substituted)

1 cup almonds, very finely ground (flour-like consistency)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), finely chopped

1/4 cup basil, finely chopped

1/4 cup water

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt


Instructions

-Preheat oven to 400F degrees. *Line a muffin pan with silcone non-stick baking cups.

-Put the cottage cheese into a bowl with all but 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, water, and eggs, and season with salt, then mix all together.

-Spoon the mixture into the muffing cups 3/4 full, scatter with the remaining Parmesan, and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until set, risen, and golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Bread Dahi Wada

Bread Dahi Wada

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

As you know with New Years and my jetlag my unofficial resolution of the year is to eat anything but simple bread butter or cornflakes in breakfast :) So when Ajoy got bread with groceries I came up with this :)


Ingredients
8 Bread Slices
2.5 Cup Curd
2 Green Chillies
4 Garlic Cloves
3 Spoon Sugar
1/4 Spoon Black Pepper
A Pinch of Red Chilli Powder
A Pinch of Chaat Masala
Handful of Coriander Leaves
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• Soak Bread slices in water and immediately press them in your palms to remove the water.
• In a plate add this bread, finely chopped green chillies, garlic, ground pepper an salt to taste. Knead really well and make the lemon sized balls.
• Fry these balls in hot oil till brown.
• In a bowl mix curd, sugar, red chilli powder, chaat masala and salt to taste
• In plates serve the fried bread mixture balls, covered with curd and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves

Notes
If you are not going to eat all the wadas at a time, then keep the bread dough and fry it later, otherwise fried and stored wadas get little rubbery.

Cabbage Pattice

Cabbage Pattice

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone. With parents around, then our vacation, in last few months, I had to hardly anytime make breakfast. So given the long break from cooking breakfast and Jetlag which makes me wake up really early in the morning, i was set to try out something different for breakfast. So here comes the new entry.


Ingredients
2 Cup Cabbage
2 Potatoes
2 Spoon Corn Flour
1/4 Cup Rava
1/2 Spoon Jeera
2-3 Garlic Cloves
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• Pressure cook potatoes and keep aside till they are cold enough to handle
• Heat a pan and add few drops of oil.
• Let the Jeera splutter in it.
• Add in finely chopped garlic and cabbage and cook till cabbage is brown.
• Grate the potato and add the corn flour, salt to paste
• Knead it well, put couple of drops of oil and finish the kneading.
• Make lemon sized potato balls and press them to make a cup shape.
• Add in half spoon of mixture in each cup and close them. Press each ball lightly to make Pattice
• Roll each Pattice in the rava and cook them on tawa sprinkling drops of oil couple of times.

Notes
I didn't want to make the cabbage very spicy instead i wanted to give it flavor of garlic and Jeera hence i didn't use any other spices in this at all. Its really upto you to decide the spices you want and can vary the flavor each time you make this.

Tiny Dogs & Mini Frittatas

Tiny Dogs & Mini Frittatas

So last Thursday night, I was invited to a tiny dog party. Yes, you heard me right...a tiny dog party and once you quit laughing I'm sure you'll be jealous because the guest of honor was absolutely adorable. Here's a picture of Lily (formerly known as Franny).

(photo courtesy of C. Schmiedt)

Cute, huh? I told you so. Lily here, used to be a foster puppy about two years ago. When my friend C. took her in she was pretty pathetic looking. She suffered from mange, had an odd odor and didn't do much beside heave the occasional sigh. Despite this, C. took her into her home and gave her lots of love. Lily thrived under C.'s care. Since then, she's been adopted to a loving home. So when Lily's owner asked C. if she'd like to dogsit while she was gone, C. asked if we'd all like to come by for a "tiny dog party" and see how great Lily was doing (and no, there were no party hats!). So if you're thinking of adopting a pet this holiday season, please think about adopting from a shelter or rescue. Pets like Lily need a home to flourish in...look how your love and attention can totally turn their world around.

Note: Through December 30th, the Sacramento SPCA, City of Sacramento Animal Care Services, Sacramento County Animal Care & Regulation, and Happy Tails Pet Sanctuary will be working together on a special pet adoption program called, "Home For The Holidays," where adoption fees for all animals will be reduced by 75%.

Sooooo....after we all got to see Lily, the human people needed to eat, drink and talk (of course!). Some of us brought wine, some brought beer, our hostess made some tasty treats including some fancy homemade cheese (which was delish). I was in a hurry that day so I made some mini frittatas; after all, who doesn't like miniature breakfast food as an appetizer? No one, I know....

Mini Frittatas
Makes 12

Ingredients

8 large eggs

2.5 cups chopped veggies and/or meat of your choice (I like to use leeks, sun-dried tomatoes & ham)

1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper, to taste


Instructions

- Spray a non-stick muffin pan with cooking spray.

- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

- Fill about 1/3 of each cup with your veggie/meat mix.

- Place about 1.5-2 tablespoons of cheese in each cup.

- In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

- Divide the eggs amongst the 12 cups evenly.

- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the frittatas puff up and turn golden. Serve warm.

- Can be served with a side of guacamole, salsa or sriracha for added flavor.

Sunday Brunches at Selland's Cafe

Sunday Brunches at Selland's Cafe

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast." ~John Gunther

5340 H Street, Sacramento, CA 95819. (916) 736-3333. http://www.sellands.com
Brunches- Sundays only

Knowing that I love to dine out and do it often, I'm frequently asked the question of, "Do you know of any good brunch places in Sacramento?" and for a long time I dreaded that question because quite frankly--there weren't. But lately, there's been some ch-ch-ch-ch-changes around here. This Sunday after making our W Street farmers' market haul, my friend LB and I decided to check out the Sunday brunch being held at Selland's Market. Now I've been to Selland's Market numerous times at lunchtime and am a big fan of their warm meatloaf sandwich and friendly service but I had never been to their Sunday brunch. First of all I liked that their brunch hours ran late giving late risers (or people who liked to hit the farmers' market) time to toddle in there at a leisurely pace but more important was that the food was REALLY GOOD. This wasn't just your Grandma Edna's flapjacks and a side of overcooked bacon, there were fresh quiches, eggs benedict, casseroles and all kinds of fancy breakfast pizzas to choose from. In addition, they were rockin' some yummy looking mimosas and bloody marys. I decided to go with the crab cakes benedict which came with fried potatoes. I also ordered a side of brussels sprouts with bacon...I couldn't pass them up, I'm pretty much a whore when it comes to brussels sprouts. There's not one bit of advice I could offer Selland's in regards to this dish, except maybe to offer home delivery. The crab cakes were cooked perfectly and not overly fishy tasting. I loved the toasted levain that became the perfect softness as it soaked up the hollandaise...and the hollandaise had a hint of lemon zest flavor that really set it off. My friend also gave me a bit of her prosciutto breakfast casserole...delish!  Nice and airy...I might have to get that next time.  She did comment that the bloody mary could have used a tad more vodka...it was on the weak side. (I didn't taste it as I abhor tomato juice, but as a bartender she knows her mixology.) Anyhow, in additional to the extensive brunch menu they offer, Selland's also runs a $20 Brunch for 2 Special that changes weekly. The day we were there it was 2 plates of Huevos Rancheros paired with 2 Bloody Marys. (You can check their Facebook page if you want to see what it is before popping in, they're usually pretty good about posting their specials.) So, if you're looking for a good brunch spot skip the stuffy buffet lines and give Selland's a whirl, I think you'll find it worth leaving your warm toasty bed to brave the cold for.

Spice Paratha

Spice Paratha

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I made these simple spice parathas today for dinner. They are very easy to make and taste yum.


Ingredients
2.5 Cup Wheat Flour
1 Spoon Maida
1/2 Spoon Jeera
1 Spoon Jeera Powder
1/4 Spoon Coriander Powder
1 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• In a plate mix in maida, wheat flour, jeera, jeera powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste.
• Add in 2 spoon of oil and mix well.
• Add water and knead the dough. Sprinkle 1 spoon of oil and knead again. Keep aside for at-least 30 minutes.
• Make lemon sized balls and roll the 3 fold parathas and cook them on the tawa, sprinkling oil.

Notes
The turmeric gives them awesome yellowish tinge and they look awesome. I also cooked them with very few drops of oil and that helped in retaining the yellow tinge
Maida helps getting crisp parathas.

Mung Daal with peel Aappe

Mung Daal with peel Aappe

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Mom had made these yummy aappe few times and we all liked it a lot. So this time i told her to show me the recipe. The aappe are easy to make and really healthy and tasty.


Ingredients
1.5 Cup Mung Daal with peel
2-3 Green Chillies
2 Garlic Cloves
1/4 Spoon Ginger piece
1/4 Onion
Two pinch Garam Masala
Handful Coriander Leaves
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• Soak mung daal in water overnight.


• In the morning take out all the water from the daal and add it in the mixer.


• Add in green chillies, garlic and ginger. Grind to fine paste


• Add in finely chopped coriander leaves and onion


• Add in salt and garam masala and mix well.


• Heat Aappe Pan and grease it well. Add in spoonful of mixture in each, sprinkle drop of oil on each aappe and cook covered for 2 minutes on medium flame till the sides separate from the pan.


• Flip the aappes and cook without cover for another 2-3 minutes till the other side is done too. Serve while warm.

Notes
The daal can be soaked for couple of hours as well, so if making it for evening snack you need not have to soak it in the morning itself and these can be made on few hours notice.

Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink Frittata

Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink Frittata

Oh readers, I wish I could say I lived the glamorous life and every night was full of parties and chef's tasting menus; but in actuality there's often nights where I'm hot, tired and just want to wear my fat pants and veg out in front of some mindless TV with the AC blasting. Last night was one of those nights. Mr. S. and I had plans to hang out but nothing in particular scheduled; so we decided to stay in, throw a meal together and catch up on some True Blood. He had a few episodes from last season to watch before tuning into this season's opening episode. Usually we'd order some thai or sushi takeout on nights like these but I really needed to clean out my fridge so I offered to cook. I had all kinds of odds and ends (leftover from other recipes) accumulating in my icebox so I decided to throw together a frittata. If you've never made a frittata before you'll be amazed at how easy it is. I listed what I used in my frittata last night but frankly you can throw in whatever meat, herbs, vegetables and cheeses you have laying around in your fridge. There's no right or wrong ingredient list. Although I have to say, last night's frittata was one one damn fine frittata.

Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink Frittata

Ingredients

1 dozen eggs

1.5 cups fresh baby spinach

1/2 cup maitake mushrooms, chopped

3/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped

3/4 cup leeks, white and pale green parts only, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1.5 T fresh dill, chopped

1.5 T fresh lemon basil, chopped

1.5 T fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

1 handful cheddar, grated, for garnish

2 T feta, crumbled, for garnish

1-2 T olive oil


Instructions

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

- In a large cast iron skillet, heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat and saute each of your ingredients (except the cheeses).

- In a bowl, beat your eggs until smooth. Add crumbled. goat cheese. Then add sauteed ingredients. Mix well.

- Pour your egg mixture into your cast iron skillet.

- Place in oven, cook for 15-25 minutes. Frittata will be done when eggs appear set and golden.

* A few minutes before the frittata has completed cooking, sprinkle the cheddar and feta cheeses along the top and then pop it back in the oven.

There you go-easy, nutritious and gets all that crap hiding in the nether regions of your fridge cleared out. Tasty and economical, gotta love that! :)

Café Lumiere

Café Lumiere

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast." ~ John Gunther

5701 Broadway, Suite B, Sacramento, CA 95820. (916) 456-2679.

Warm, flaky and with a buttery outer layer that just melts in your mouth? Sounds good, right? Well, you if love a well-made croissant as much as I do, I suggest that you mosey yourself down to the family-owned Café Lumiere. Just down the street from the DMV and DOJ in an inconspicuous but well-kept strip mall you'll be able to satiate that croissant jones.

Café Lumiere, owned by Geoffrey Matsuyama and Peter Kuo, opened up quietly in Tahoe Park just over a year ago but has steadily gained popularity with the local neighborhood residents and area workers. The cafe's design is simple and the service friendly. I found the mango and banana colored walls to be warm and welcoming and enjoyed reading past-issues of Dwell and Atomic Ranch while waiting for my order.

The breakfasts at Café Lumiere are what draws the crowds. I decided to pop in last week and try one of their much-talked about breakfast sandwiches. I love that they aim to please the customer and allow you to choose your bread, meat, cheese and how you want your eggs cooked. I went with some sliced ham, scrambled eggs and provolone cheese served on one of their handmade croissants. It was served open faced, freshly made and was quite delicious. Simple but perfectly-executed.

Café Lumiere also does lunch (a juicy Angus burger, fresh salads and sandwiches) and offers various tasty pastries (I was drooling while checking out their display case). My only disappointment with the joint is that they serve Java City coffee (ugh!), which I'm not a fan of. I'd love to see them carry one of the other local roasters like Temple, Old Soul or perhaps Chocolate Fish. With a good cup of joe, I'd definitely be there more often. By the way, I know everyone's pinching pennies these days because of the economy but Café Lumiere's prices are reasonable, they do take plastic and even better-- they offer a 10% discount to state, federal and UCD employees.

Family Favorites Friday: Sweet Biscuits with Skillet Berry Jam

Family Favorites Friday: Sweet Biscuits with Skillet Berry Jam

I've always been a 'jam hater'.  Even back when I was a kid, if someone put jam on my peanut butter sandwich I'd gag and pass on lunch.  The sticky sweet stuff just didn't taste like real fruit to me.  And yet, for some reason, when I saw this recipe for a 10 minute berry skillet jam with vanilla, I  raced to the kitchen to make it.  Somehow I knew that a warm, freshly made jam would infinitely trump the jarred variety and make everyone swoon over it.  

I must have have been looking into a crystal ball because this has become my family's very favorite Saturday morning breakfast.  I adapted my Herb and Cheddar Biscuit recipe, removing the cheese and herbs and adding a couple extra tablespoons of sugar.  The freshly made jam is insanely delicious.  I've made this combination dozens of times for friends, family, my 2 year olds tea party birthday, church breakfasts and for munching on a sunny weekend morning and it's always met with rave reviews and requests for more.  

That got me thinking about "Family Favorites".  Those treasured recipes you make again and again, that your family craves, that friends ask you for the recipe for.  The ones you make because there's peace at the dinner table when you do.  We all love those kinds of recipes, so I thought if I shared some of those with you, then maybe you could share some with us too.  In case you want to share the love with your "Family Favorites", I'm adding a linky at the end of this post.  Please link up and show us the recipes your families go crazy over.

Recipe for Skillet Berry Jam with Vanilla from Dinner with Julie

Recipe for Sweet Biscuits from Meal Planning 101

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Skillet Berry Jam with Vanilla

4 cups berries, hulled (can use all strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (pure vanilla is best)

In a bowl, roughly mash your berries with a potato masher (you may need to lean into it at first to get them going).  Put them into a large skillet with sugar and lemon juice and cook over medium high heat, stirring often and breaking up the large chunks of berry with your spoon, until in thickens and your spoon leaves a trail across the bottom of the pan (this takes anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes depending if you used fresh or frozen berries).  Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and cool.  I love to serve it warm which takes about 10-15 minutes of cooling once you remove it from the heat.  Store the rest in the fridge.  Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Click here for printable version of Skillet Berry Jam with Vanilla

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Sweet Biscuits

2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Measure flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a bowl and stir to combine.  Pour in the oil and milk and stir until it forms a soft ball of dough (add more milk if needed to achieve this). Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 8-10 times. Roll out into a 1 inch thickness, and using a knife cut into about 12 squares. I never worry about making these perfect. Place the biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet close together for moist sides or further apart for crisp sides. Dab the tops of the biscuits with a bit of milk so they brown. Bake for about 15 minutes until lightly browned and serve warm.  Makes about 12 biscuits.

Click here for printable version of Sweet Biscuits

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THE RESULTS?

These are the easiest biscuits you will ever make, and yet they taste so dang good and the jam is the best partner for them.  I've made the jam dozens of times, with different berries, both fresh and frozen and it's always fabulous.  (I will say though that it is better with fresh berries, but frozen will do in a pinch.) The vanilla is a scrumptious addition.

Okay, show me what YOU got.  

• Link up to any posts, past or present, as long as it is a Family Favorite.
• Make sure your link goes directly to the recipe and not to your homepage.
• When linking please leave your blog name as well as the name of your recipes.  Ex: Meal Planning 101 (Sweet Biscuits and Jam)
• Your blog post must link back to this one.

If you don't have a blog, you can still participate by leaving us the recipe or a link to a recipe online as well.  I can't wait to see what you all cook for your families!

Corn Coriander Paratha

Corn Coriander Paratha

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

To all the blogger readers Happy New year. After rejuvenating holidays this is my first post of the new year. Well I had made these parathas the day Ajoy came from India but its today I finally get to post the recipe. The parathas are very simple easy, using whatever I had in fridge but the end product was very tasty.


Ingredients
2 Cup Corn
2 Cup Wheat Flour
Handful of Coriander Leaves
5 Garlic Cloves
2 Green Chillies
1/2 Lemon
Chaat Masala
Salt to taste
Ghee
Oil

Method

• Add in a spoon of oil in the wheat flour. Add water and knead the soft dough. Keep it aside.
• Microwave the corn for two minutes.
• In a mixie add in garlic, coriander, green chillies, corn, lemon juice and salt and make a smooth paste.
• Make lemon sized dough balls and roll two rotis.
• On one roti, spread the corn-coriander paste, roll over the second roti and close the sides.
• On hot tawa, cook it over medium flame with ghee and oil.
• Sprinkle a pinch of chaat masala on top and serve with pickle and cold curd

Notes
I microwaved the corns instead of boiling them as its quick and easy but if you don't have microwave you can always boil them with water and then let the water drain out.

Strawberry Crepes

Strawberry Crepes

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

I had made them almost a month back but had forgotten about them. It was yesterday I realized that I have forgotten to post this recipe. Then I looked around and realized that since I didn't have laptop that time because of battery issue I had forgotten images on Ajoy's laptop and that was the root cause I missed posting this recipe on time. But here it is, one of the quickest and delicious breakfast.


Ingredients
3 Cup Strawberries
1/2 Cup Maida
1.5 cup Milk
1/2 Spoon Melted Butter
2 Eggs
1/4 Spoon Vanilla Essence
2 Spoon Sugar
Salt to taste

Method

• In a bowl, mix in finely diced strawberries and 1 spoon sugar and keep aside.
• In another bowl mix in maida, milk, remaining 1 spoon sugar, butter, vanilla essence, eggs and salt to taste. Blend together using hand mixer to form a uniform batter.
• Heat the tawa and spread a cup of batter on the tawa each time, tilt tawa each time to get thin crepes.
• Cook both sides on medium heat till light brown and take out on the plate.
• Spread couple of spoon of strawberry sugar mixture on top of the crepe and fold to make a roll. Sprinkle some powdered sugar if you like and serve.

Notes
I used nonstick tawa so that I didn't need to grease the pan, the butter in the batter was good enough

Nutty Butterscotch Chocolate Cake

Nutty Butterscotch Chocolate Cake

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Yesterday I was looking for cake recipe so that I can bake a cake to take into my cake decoration class. First I thought I will bake some simple quick cake and get done with it, but as I approached kitchen I couldn't resist but look into my recipe book for some instant reference to cook something different. I liked a peanut butter recipe in there but because I didn't have peanut butter I decided to give it twist and make my own version of cake. It was delicious and even smelling so good that it was huge hit in my decoration class as well.


Ingredients
4 Cup Maida
2.5 Cup Butter
1 Cup Hazelnuts
1 Cup Almonds
1.5 Cup Sugar
3 Eggs
1 Cup Milk
2 Cup Butterscotch Chocochips
2 Spoon Baking Powder

Method

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C
• Grind hazelnuts and almonds to fine powder and keep it aside.
• Cream butter and sugar together till fluffy.
• Add in hazelnut-almonds powder and whisk again.
• Add in each egg one at a time and beat well after each addition
• Sieve maida and baking powder couple of times. Add salt to taste.
• Add maida-baking powder mixture alternating with milk slowly into the egg-butter-sugar mixture and fold in carefully.
• Microwave chocochips for 1 minutes and stir well to get molten chocolate. Fold it in the batter lightly
• Grease the pan and line it with parchment paper. Grease the paper as well. Pour the batter in the cake till half full.
• Bake the cake in oven on 350F/180C for 40 minutes
• Decorate with icing or serve as it is.

Notes
I used two 8 inch round tins to bake the cake but after baking I thought I should have used one 8 inch and one 6 inch instead to get perfect rise in both the cakes.
I iced one cake with butter icing as part of my cake decorating classes and we ate another cake as it is. Both taste awesome, but I would use dark chocolate or less sugar if I am going to ice the cake next time.
Recently I came to know that preheating oven at least 15 minutes in advance helps to get oven to heat uniformly even hot so I tried this time and results were superb, the cake rose from all sides and there was literally no bump.

Cookbook Review Recipe - Chorizo and Tomato Frittata

Cookbook Review Recipe - Chorizo and Tomato Frittata

At the end of a busy workday I pick up my kids, pull out my hair because they are already driving me nuts, and try to muster up the energy to put some delicious food on the table. Since most of this is done while also having one of them directly underfoot and/or pulling on my pant leg and the other one is barking orders and requests at me, I can really use a meal that requires little brain power and energy. I love hands off meals; the kind that you put very little effort into and yet they still knock your tastebuds around a bit.

Jamie Oliver's cookbook Jamie's Dinners: The Essential Family Cookbook has a great chapter called "5 Minute Wonders" in which he pulls off a meal for one in five minutes or less. I spotted a recipe for a Chorizo and Tomato Omelette and the chorizo was beckoning me. Since this recipe is only for one person, I adapted the omelette into a frittata in order to feed my whole family. It's a meal that can be prepped in 5 minutes and you'll be sitting down to eat 15 minutes later. I can definitely handle that.

Recipe adapted slightly from Jamie's Dinners: The Essential Family Cookbook
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Serves 4

125 g (4.4 oz) hot Spanish chorizo, sliced
2 green onions, sliced (whites and greens separated)
2 roma tomatoes, deseeded and sliced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
6 eggs
1 red chili, chopped (optional)
Salt and pepper


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

If you have an oven proof skillet use it, if not wrap some tinfoil around the handle of your skillet. I think non-stick works best.

Set your skillet over medium high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Saute the chorizo and whites of onions for 2-3 minutes until the sausage is starting to brown. Add the tomato and parsley and saute another 1-2 minutes.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the chili and season with salt and pepper. Pour the beaten egg mixture over everything in the pan and sprinkle with greens of onions. Turn the heat down to medium low and let cook for another 5-8 minutes until the bottom of your frittata sets. Then place it in the oven and bake for 10 minutes until the top of the frittata is set and your eggs are golden.

Remove from oven, cut into wedges and serve.


Click here for printable version of Chorizo and Tomato Frittata
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THE RESULTS?
The flavor of chorizo is fabulous and all the spices and garlic and paprika kind of melt into the oil when you saute it, which give the entire frittata a nice smokey spicy flavor. Studded with the bits of juicy tomato this meal will surely win you over. The combo is fabulous and the meal is effortless.

If I am being honest about the recipe as written in the book, the process is quite vague. Jamie doesn't give a clear set of directions for actually cooking the omelette, saying only "continue to fry until the eggs set, giving you a lovely little omelette." Ummm...how do you cook an omelette? No seriously. Had I actually cooked an omelette I would have had to google that first, then proceeded accordingly. But the flavors are smashing and lovely and wonderful, so I can't fault him for that :)


Meal Ideas:

• Chorizo and Tomato Frittata + Arugula Salad drizzled with Lemon and Olive Oil
• Chorizo and Tomato Frittata + Cream of Leek & Celery Soup
  

Paneer Pattice

Paneer Pattice

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Today morning Ajoy demanded something fancy and new for breakfast. After thinking for a while I came up with this :) It was tasty and we had it as brunch instead :)


Ingredients
4 Cup Finely diced Paneer
4 Potatoes
3 Spoon Corn Flour
1 Spoon Ginger
3 Green Chillies
5 Garlic Cloves
1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

• Cook the potatoes in pressure cooker.
• In a mixie grind ginger, garlic and green chillies with 1/4 cup of water to fine paste.
• Heat oil in a pan and turmeric powder and the paste in it and saute for couple of minutes
• Add the diced paneer and salt it in it and cook till paneer is done well. Keep aside
• Peel off the potatoes and mash them to fine paste.
• Add in corn flour and salt to taste and knead to nice dough
• Make lemon sized balls and press down to make cups.
• Fill these cups with spoonful of paneer we made earlier and add close and flatten it
• Heat oil really well and fry till brown on all sides. Serve hot with ketchup

Notes
While frying the pattice, the oil should be really hot otherwise the potato coating will stick to the bottom.

Chicken Rolls

Chicken Rolls

मराठीमध्ये वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा

Its been a while since I made any chicken dish.. It was always Ajoy who ended up cooking chicken or mutton which obviously is exactly of one type. Gravy remains same and chicken or mutton changes :) So today I thought probably i can make some chicken dish to surprise him. What would have been better than his favorite roll.


Ingredients
500g Boneless Chicken
2 Cup Maida
1/2 Cup Wheat Flour
1 Big Onion
1 Cup Broccoli
1 Cup finely diced Tomato
1/2 Cup Tomato Ketchup
1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder
1/2 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1/2 Spoon Black Pepper Powder
1/2 Spoon Garam Masala
1/2 Spoon Jeera Powder
1/4 Spoon Corriander Powder
1 Spoon Grated Ginger
8 Garlic Cloves
Salt
Oil

Method

• Mix in maida, wheat flour, salt and couple of spoon of oil and add in water and knead the dough well. Keep aside.
• Dice the chicken into small cubes.
• Heat oil in a pan and add in the chicken cubes. Cook stirring it occasionally
• When chicken turns white in color, add in grated ginger, turmeric powder, red chili powder, jeera powder, coriander powder, garam masala and pepper powder and cook till masalas start to leave aroma
• Add in tomato ketch up and cook further for 5 more minutes.
• Add in diced tomatoes and salt and cook till chicken is done completely stirring occasionally. Keep aside
• Heat a shallow pan with a spoonfull of oil and add in sliced onions, diced garlic and brocoli and cook till they are completely done. Add in salt and a pinch of pepper powder and stir well. Keep aside
• Beat the egg and put it in wide pan.
• Make a small lemon sized balls of the dough and roll thin roti
• Dunk the roti into the egg only on one side and then put it on the hot tawa with the non egg washed side down
• Sprinkle few drops of oil on to top of the roti and flip it and cook till both the sides are done. Put it on a plate
• Spread couple spoon of chicken we made earlier in the middle as one line. Add in half spoon of onion-brocolli mixture on it.
• Fold the roti from the bottom and then folding the left side on top of the mixture and roll tightly to cover the mixture completely. Serve hot with ketchup or just like that.

Notes
I wanted to keep the rotis light so instead of putting a complete egg on top of each roti i chose to egg wash one side and that worked well. rotis were light and the taste of chicken came out really well.