Sugar Cookies for the New Year

Happy New Year to all the readers and well wishers of Bring On The Chef In You.

Wishing you health

So you may enjoy

Each day in comfort

 Wishing you the love of

Friends and family

And peace within your heart

Wishing you wisdom to

Choose priorities for

Those things that really

Matter in life

Wishing you generosity so

You may share all

Good things that come to you

Wishing you happiness

And joy and  blessings

For the New Year

Wishing you the best of

Everything that  you

So well deserve

 Wishing you the best in 2013

To start the New Year,  here is a Recipe for Sugar Cookies :

Sugar Cookies Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 egg
• 2-3 tsp vanilla essence (or use your favourite flavouring)
• 2 1/2-2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Instructions

Cream together softened butter and confectioner’s sugar. Crack the egg into a separate bowl, and add the flavoring. Add that to the butter sugar mixture and mix until the egg is thoroughly incorporated. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add little by little to the mixture. You can tell the dough is ready when it gets a dent/dimple when touched but does not stick to your fingers.

Keep ready two square sheets of wax paper.  Have your rolling pin fixed with ¼ inch thick dowel rings and roll – this ensures equal thickness of all the cookies.  If you don’t have – doesn’t matter, just ensure that the thickness is about ¼ inch.  Rolling between two sheets helps the dough not to stick on the counter-top or your rolling pin.  It is also easy to transfer to the baking sheet without getting the cookies disfigured.

Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes. This version makes 2-2 1/2 dozen.

Cool and decorate with royal icing as desired.

Royal Icing Recipe :

2 lbs confectioner’s sugar
1/3 cup  plus one tablespoon meringue powder
about 3/4cup water

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence (Use the powdered version as the liquid one is brown in colour and you wont get a very white royal icing)

To begin,   add sugar,  meringue powder  and powder essence to the mixing bowl and mix to well incorporate.

Next add warm water.

Beat till nice and fluffy and it forms peaks.

Colour the royal icing as desired.  Outline the cookies and use thinner version of royal icing to flood the cookies.

Decorate as you desire – as its New Year my cookies were made with the new year theme.

Birthday Cheesecake with a Twist

Celebrations, Congratulations, Champagne wishes galore
Finally that special day, you’ve been waiting for
Birthday wishes, hugs and kisses, gifts especially for you
Just once a year this day we cheer and raise a glass to you.
21 again. How do you do it?
You certainly have a secret
I wish I knew it
Then I could (look as young) as you
Have (energy and vitality) too
Let’s raise a glass to you dear Judy
Bottoms up! Here’s to a Birthday Cheer!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDY AND WISH YOU MANY MORE!

Now, how better to celebrate your birthday with this show-stopping cheesecake, each slice dazzled with fun, festive chocolate and jelly bean toppings.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups Cracker Crumbs
1/3 cup butter (at room temperature)
3 pkg. (200 gms each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs

For the White Chocolate Sauce:
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups chopped white chocolate
2 tsps. Brandy

Coloured Jelly Beans for decoration/toppings

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix cracker crumbs and butter and press onto bottom of 13×9-inch spring form pan.
Beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla with a hand beater. Add eggs one by one and mix until blended. Pour over crust.
Bake 30 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours.
To make White Chocolate Brandy Sauce:
Place 1 cup heavy cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Watch carefully so it doesn’t boil over. Pour hot cream over 2 cups of finely chopped white chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon until melted. Add brandy and continue stirring until incorporated. Pour over chilled cheesecake.
Decorate with coloured Jelly Beans to make a colourful cake apt for the festive season.

Mini Jello-Delights

Are you looking for a Dessert that you can whip up in a hurry, needs just a few ingredients and can be served in individual servings ?   Look no further -  here is something that is colourful, yummy, easy to make and can be  served in individual servings.

Ingredients Needed:

3 packets of jelly (small) in  raspberry, orange and lemon green flavor
Water (use as required in the pack) –mine needed 2 cups per packet
Sweetened condensed  milk -397 grams
12 mini glasses or wine glasses

Wash and dry the mini glasses that you will be using.  Boil water in a kettle and keep aside.

Prepare the orange jelly as instructed on the packet.   Dissolve the jelly crystals in 1 cup of hot water and then add one cup cold water.  Stir till the crystal  are dissolved and wait for the mix to come to room temperature.  Open the condensed milk and add three tablespoons of  it to the cooled (but not set) Jelly and stir.   Do not be tempted to add before the mixture has cooled or it will curdle.   Gently pour equal quantity into each glass and keep in the refrigerator  to set – say  10-15 minutes or till firm.  {A tip, keep all the glasses in a large tray – as you have to take them in and out of the refrigerator a couple of times;  by doing this you can just remove the tray with the wine glasses and put them in and out of the refrigerator without having to remove the wine glasses one by one)

When the 1^st layer of jelly has set,  prepare the lemon green jelly similarly.  Pour equal quantity  on the orange jelly which has already set in the wine glasses.  Refrigerate till set.

When the 2^nd layer of jelly has set,   prepare the raspberry jelly similarly.  Pour equal quantity on  the lemon green jelly which has already set in the wine glasses.   Refrigerate till set.

You can either add another layer of lemon yellow jelly on top – or spoon in custard as the last layer (as I did).

Garnish with a slice of strawberry/raspberry/orange and  sprinkle a few chopped nuts on top.

Looks colourful and tempting especially to kids.   Warn them that if they  dont eat their food fast they will not be getting Dessert;  and watch how quickly the food disappears from their plate.  Ha Ha !!!!

{Note :  I made 12 mini wine glasses with the quantity above and still had extra remaining,  which I just put in layers in a small square bowl – lined with plastic wrap.  Pull it out after it is set and cut into neat slices or squares}

Gingerbread Cookies

Christmas Season would be incomplete without  having gingerbread cookies on your Christmas platter.  You can use this batter to make plain cookies or to add that extra special touch,  use a Gingerbread Men cutter to cut out cookies.  Laced with spices these cookies are real fragrant and tasty and you can never stop at just one of these.

For Gingerbread Cookies :

3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup  sugar
1 large  egg
2/3 cup molasses (Easily available in the flour/sugar aisle of a grocery or supermarket)

Frosting:

2 cups  icing sugar
1/2 cup  butter
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices.  Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture beating until all is thoroughly mixed. Make 2-3 balls of the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and keep to chill in a refrigerator for about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 175 deg c.  Line 2 baking sheets with wax paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a gingerbread cutter to cut out the cookies. With an offset spatula lift the cookies onto the baking sheet, placing about 1 inch apart.   Keep the baking sheet in the fridge for about 10 minutes and then bake in the preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes. When you see that the edges are just getting brown- remove from oven, remove to a wire rack to cool complete.  Decorate after they have cooled with frosting as desired.

 Frosting:

Beat butter till creamy then add vanilla extract.  Gradually beat in the sugar.  Add the milk and beat till the frosting is light and fluffy.  Decorate the gingerbread men as desired.  This recipe yields about 34-36 small sized gingerbread men/cookies.

Choco Muffins

These Choco Muffins are a real hit in our house.  My teenager loves them so much that he wants me to give him the recipe so that he can make some whenever he wants…. so you know how good they are.  This is for you Devon……. sadly my secret recipe is no more a secret !!!!!

Recipe :

2 cups of sugar
1-3/4 cup of flour
3/4 cup of coco powder
1-1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs
1 cup fresh milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 cup hot water

This is a very liquidy batter – so dont be tense if you see a runny batter;  it will work just fine provided you use the right ingredients, the right measurements and the right temperature of the oven.

Line a muffin tin with paper liners.  Heat Oven to 350 deg F / 175 deg C.

In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients, sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on medium spped for 1 minute till well incorporated.  Stir in hot water and mix.

Fill liners with batter 2/3rd full abd bake for 18-22 minutes – depending on the mood of your oven.

Cool completely before frosting.   My son loves them better without the frosting;  but hubby loves them with frosting on.

Peanut Brittle

This crunchy, munchy  Peanut Brittle is easy to make and wows everyone!  Have all the ingredients for this recipe measured out and ready.  A Candy Thermometer is handy as you will know when to keep it down from heat.  You have to measure all your ingredients in advance and keep because once you commence to work on this – there is no time as you have to keep an eagle eye on the sugar. 

The caramel/sugar syrup is very hot and can cause severe burns;  so take extra care when handling it and also ensure that you have small kids and unwanted adults – out of the kitchen when you venture to do this.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/3rd cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 – 2 1/2 cups roasted and peanuts
Coarse salt  for sprinkling on top

(Alternatively you can use 2-1/2 cups of mixed nuts as well- chop the larger ones like almonds, walnuts to peanut sized pieces)

Method
Grease a rimmed baking sheet and a  spatula with butter, and set aside.
Have all your ingredients measured and ready before you begin (This is important)

In a large pan melt butter over medium heat. Add the sugar, corn syrup, and water, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly but gently until the sugar has dissolved.
When it starts bubbling use a candy thermometer to the side of the pot and allow the mixture to cook, stirring occasionally, until it has reached 325-330f. The frothing will die down and the syrup will start to look golden around the 300 degree mark – just give it a stir and keep going.

When the mixture reaches a temperature of 325-330f, remove the candy thermometer and turn off the heat. Stand back a little, and quickly stir in the baking soda and vanilla extract.

Add the nuts, give a quick stir, and immediately pour onto your prepared pan.
Quickly spread the mixture with the greased spatula to desired thickness, and sprinkle with sea salt to taste. Let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

Store in airtight containers.

Semolina Cake

For the Cake:
250 grams  semolina  (dry roast and keep aside)
150 grams sugar (=3/4 cup)
100+50 melted butter
1/2 cup coconut (= grated coconut )
1/2 cup yogurt
1 ts vanilla

For the Syrup:
150 gr sugar
125 ml water (=1/2 cup)
juice of a small lemon
vanilla

Method  :
Preheat the oven to 350F /180 deg. C.   In a bowl mix the semolina with 100 gr of the melted butter.
Add the sugar and coconut and mix.  . Add the yogurt and vanilla and mix .
Pour the cake batter into a buttered baking dish .   Mark small squares/diamonds  on the batter.  Do not cut – just mark the outlines.
Bake the cake in the hot oven for 20 minutes.   Take the cake out of the oven and spread with the remaining 50 gr butter.    Continue to bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cake is golden- brown.-

In the meantime make the syrup.  Cook the syrup ingredients, bring to boil and cook for 5 minutes); let the syrup cool until the cake is done.
Pour all the syrup at once on the hot cake.   After cooling and when the cake is s still warm cut into squares .  Best eaten warm;   though tastes equally good when chilled too.

Christmas Fruit Cake

May your Christmas sparkle with moments of love, laughter and goodwill,
And may the year ahead be full of contentment and joy.
Have a Merry Christmas.

Apologize !!! This is a repost from last year…please bear with me .

Christmas will not be Christmas if a Fruit Cake is no where near….so here is a tried and tested ‘Rum’ laced Fruit Cake that you can try at home. Its not difficult, and its moist, tasty, different, yummy and …ruuuuummmy !.

The colour of the cake depends on how dark you caramelize your sugar; so if you want a deep dark brown, caramelize the sugar a darker shade. Mine could do with a bit darker shade, I felt.
Soaking of the fruits can be done much in advance but even a mere 2 days will do. I soaked them for about 3 days in a steel pan, tightly covered.
To soak the fruits:
850 grams dry fruits (I used raisins, prunes, dates, mixed peel, sultanas, dried papaya, cherries, cranberries- as per your choice but see that it measures 850 grams)
2 tbsp strawberry or plum jam
1/2 cup orange juice
6tbsp granulated sugar
6 tablespoons dark rum
Lemon Juice – 1 Tablespoon
Vanilla essence – 1 tablespoon
Spices – (powdered fine 1 whole nutmeg, 1inch cinnamon and 12 cloves)
Mix and keep covered in a bowl.
For the Caramel Syrup :
1-1/2 cup of granulated sugar
3 / 4 cup hot water

Put the sugar in a pan and heat till it comes to a rolling boil and colour changes to a deep dark brown. Switch off the flame and add the water (hot) and mix. Be careful of the fumes and the hot caramel. Stir and keep aside to cool.
For the Batter for the Cake :
250 grams unsalted butter
300 grams sugar,powdered
5 eggs, separated
6 tbsp granulated sugar
200g all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
100 g cashewnuts
½ cup milk
50g Semolina

For the cake batter:
In a small bowl add the egg whites and 6 Tablespoons of granulated sugar and beat till stiff peaks form. Keep aside.
In another bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar (normal granulated sugar powdered in a dry blender) till fluffy. Add in the egg yolks one at a time and beat well. Add in soaked fruits and cashewnuts and fold it with a whisk or a wooden spoon. Add in the flour, baking powder and semolina and mix well. Then add milk and caramel syrup little by little and beat till well mixed. Lastly fold in the beaten egg whites.
Pour the cake batter into prepared pan, which has been greased with butter and lined with a double/or more wax paper on the bottom and sides of pan.

Keep in a preheated oven (180 deg C) and bake for 1 hour 45 minutes or till a cake tester inserted comes out clean. Do not open the oven till at least one hour is over – only after that you can test to check if the cake is done.

Remove the cake from the over once it is done and pour ½ cup of Rum on it all over the top. Every 2 days or so, add a tablespoon of rum. This ensures that the cake is moist.
When the cake is cooled, wrap in Aluminium Foil and keep in a cool dark place to age.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES.

Christmas is finally here and the geese are not the only ones getting fat……… ….. HO, HO, HO….. Have a jolly good time.

Eggnog for Christmas

I was always mystified by Eggnog.  I had only heard and read about it.  When I was little, I grew up on books by Enid Blyton;  and there it was something that always was the quintessential to the Christmas Cheer,   yet it was not something that I had ever made/had.  It was a holiday ritual that I yearned for,  so when a friend grandly announced that they had “Eggnog” the previous day…. my longing for Eggnog reached its peak.  I called my friend and pestered her to get me the recipe from her Mom.  A few phone calls did the trick….. and armed with the recipe I stormed into the kitchen with a vengeance.

My two guinea pigs at home did the taste-testing;  and when it was an undisputed “This is Good”;  I ventured to have a sip.   Sadly,  I must say that  it was not my ‘cup of tea’;  the threat of salmonella and the alcohol content made me wary of it and I could’nt have more than a sip.

But my boys had a real ball and kept saying I must make it more often;  and that kept me happy.  This is not for the faint of heart;  but if you want to bring in the Yuletide cheer,  then try it you must.

Ingredients:

2 cups  milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup rum
½ cup brandy
¼ cup tia maria/coffee liqueur
3 egg whites

Directions:

Put the egg yolks and sugar (put a pan with 2 cups of  water on low heat to boil – keep a saucepan on the mouth of the vessel, taking care that it does not touch the water) on a double boiler and whisk the egg yolks constantly till the sugar dissolves and you have the yolks a bit paler in colour.  It is important to whisk it continuously over low heat or  else you will end up with scrambled eggs.  Little by little add the milk to the yolks and sugar mixture keeping the whisk on.  This will temper the eggs.  When the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thickened a bit, put the heat off.

You must prepare an ice-bath in a small pan and keep the saucepan with the yolks, sugar and milk, in the icebath and whisk it together  till it cools completely.  Add the vanilla essence, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add the alcohol in a thin trickle/drip.

Beat the whites until peaks form and gently fold into the cooled eggnog.

Serve in small glasses, garnished with extra nutmeg and cinnamon.

Roasted Chicken

Feel the cold wind blowing-winter’s coming on
‘Tis the season, so they say
If you need help believing ’cause your spirit ain’t
Too strong
Hold my hand – we’ll push that cloud away

Put a little holiday in your heart
It’ll put a little shuffle in your step
Give you a song that you can sing
With a melody you can’t forget
And if you wanna join in a little harmony
To keep the world from tearin’ apart
Well you know where to look
Yeah – you gotta put a little holiday in your heart

Hello everyone.   If you cant have “Turkey” for Christmas…you better not pout !!!.   Go for the second best……. ‘Chicken’.   The pictures may not do justice to this lovely Chicken Roast;   but trust me this is GOOOOOOOOD and yummy.    Here is a recipe for a fairly simple  “ Roast Chicken”.

Ingredients Needed :

A plump chicken  (about 1800 grms or more)
2 -1/2 cups of curds
3 tablespoons of Tandoori Masala
1 tablespoon of chillie powder / bafat powder
1 or 2  Lemons
Butter -  3 tablespoons  (softened)
Ginger & Garlic paste  (made from 1 pod garlic and 2-1/2 inch ginger)
Fresh Pepper – 1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon – oregano
Salt
Olive oil or plain oil or melted butter (5-6 tablespoons)
(mixed vegetable chopped roughly  into chunks -  Potatoes –with skin on, carrots,  onions –choped into 4-6 pieces,  French beans-strung and left whole,  2 garlic pods –skin on,  tomatoes chopped into chunks,   & capsicums – you can use more other veggies of your choice)
For garnish – lettuce and cherry tomatoes

Clean and wash the chicken.  Keep skin on.  Dab with kitchen paper till it is dry.    In a large platter mix in curds, tandoori  masala,  chillie powder, ginger/garlic paste,  oregano,  little salt  (go easy on the salt as the tandoori masala also has it and the chicken will be rubbed with salt as well) and keep aside.

Cut the lemon into halves and rub the chicken  all over (inside and out) with the lemon halves,  pressing the lemon gently so that the chicken is covered all over with lemon juice.  Rub salt and pepper  in the cavity of the chicken as well as the outer side.

Take softened butter and  rub on the chicken – in and out.

Toss the chicken in the marinade and apply the marinade all over the chicken.   Keep aside for 2-3 hours – turning the chicken over  now and then.

Just half an hour before putting the chicken in the oven – add all the chopped veggies to the marinade and mix.

Take a large roasting tray and  put olive oil or butter in it….  Put the chicken in the center and surround all over with the chopped vegetables.

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.  (I used the Convection  oven on my microwave and set it for 2 hours– yes I have a large one – and as it rotates – the chicken gets evenly brown).    You can use your normal oven as well – but then you will have to change the direction of the  roasting pan  every 30 minutes or so – to ensure even browning.

Baste the chicken every 20 minutes with the remaining marinade and toss the vegetables with a spoon – so that all of them get roasted well.   After one hour – the chicken will start releasing its juices  -nothing to worry…. by now the reserve  marinade will be over.   Just toss the juices on top of the chicken to keep it moist.   I kept the chicken in the oven for roughly two hours -  for the chicken to be roasted well and brown all over– the vegetables well cooked, and all the juices in the pan nearly dried out.

Remove from oven and brush with remaining melted butter.   Cover  the hot chicken with a foil and keep it for 10 minutes.

Spread lettuce leaves on a large oval platter,   put the chicken in the center and surround it with the roasted vegetables.  Toss cherry tomatoes all over.   Brush melted butter on the chicken and on the veggies….. carve the chicken and serve along with roasted vegetables.