Mushroom Quiche

Baking a quiche was on my to-do list for quite sometime. I even got my Mom to get me a pie dish (ones with removable bases and fluted sides) - but somehow I was not getting time and motivation enough to bake one. But I had planned it out this week to bake a mushroom quiche this weekend - so right after coming back from office on Friday evening, the 1st task I did was knead the dough for the pie shell. I did lots of blog surfing before I started on my task, and some of the blogposts I read were http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001753mushroom_quiche.php and http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.com/2007/12/mushroom-pie.html.

I was quite concerned about getting it right, since all the blogs seemed to tell me that its difficult to get it right the 1st time. How I got the pie shell is here:

1 cup flour + 1 tsp salt
~ 100 g cold white butter (I grated this into the flour)
3-4 tbsp ice cold water
I took care to use all ingredients which were cold and also not to knead the dough a lot. As soon as the dough stuck together, I stopped the kneading and packed it in a ziploc bag and put it in the fridge (not the freezer).

This evening, I simply rolled out the dough, then realized that my pie dish is ~ 12 inches, so my dough will not be enough for it:( So ultimately I used the smallest baking disk I have, and lined it with Al foil, which I kept longer than the edges of the dish. After carefully placing the dough in the lined dish, I punctured holes in the base of the shell and baked it for 10 mins at 190C. I did not use beans to weigh down the pie dough to prevent it from rising, but kept small steel dish on top;)

For the filling, I sauted some sliced button mushrooms and finely chopped shallots in olive oil. This I seasoned with salt, pepper, marjoram and dried italian herb mix. I then grated 2 cubes of cheddar cheese on the base of the pie shell, put the mushrooms on top, grated some more cheese on top and poured egg mixture (beat 2 eggs + 1/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup thick cream + salt/pepper) on it. I then placed the dish in a preheated oven and baked it for 25 mins at 190C.

I am quite a happy (and relieved) person after trying out this dish:) This was weighing onmy mind for quite sometime. I really liked the outcome (dont the pics speak for themselves?), and so did my hubby. We had initially decided to eat a couple of slices with evening tea on Saturday and spare a few for Sunday b'fast - but as you can very well realise, we polished up the entire quiche in the evening itself:) My hubby has already planned on making a chicken version of this quiche very soon - and I wait for his
trial.

Super Eggless Yoghurt Cake

Last week, I had an appointment with my Doctor in Mumbai, so we planned to stay with our friends Prateek and his new wife Shivangi for the weekend. Since S is a vegetarian, I baked an eggless cake for her. My previous eggless cake experiement was not very successful, so I called up Mom to pass me one of her yoghurt cake recipes. The ones with 'Milkmaid" somehow turn out very dry for my taste.
I have to accept that the cake turned out very well...appreciated by all who had a piece out of it, including my colleagues in office as well as my hubby's colleagues! Most had assumed that the cake had been bought from a bakery shop!! I guess, this was one of the biggest compliments that I have received as yet.
I am sorry - but I did not click any pics of the cake..but it turned out nicely moist, dense and dark chocolaty brown (obviously bcoz of all the cocoa powder).
I did lots of approximations during the measurements, since I was in a hurry. Also, since we were packing for our short weekend getaway, I wrote it hurriedly someplace I dont remember now:) Some of the approx measurements that I do remember are:
1. 1 1/2 cup plain flour or maida (my cup was 200 ml)
2. 1/2 cup or slightly less cocoa powder
3. 1 small container of amul dahi or yoghurt (I think - 200 g pack)
4. 3/4 cup powdered sugar
5. 1/2 cup refined vegetabel oil
6. 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking powder
Process -
1. Sift the dry ingredients together
2. Mix curd and sugar together, and to this mixture. add the flour mixture and curd alternately. Also pour in the oil slowly and mix with the hand-held whisk. I just used up one mixing bowl and one whisk to prepare the batter...wasnt that cool!:)
3. The batter turned out slightly thick..Mom had asked me to add a few tbps of milk if the batter was not in pouring consistency, but then I was not in a very patient mood, so I simply dumped the thickish batter into the greased/dusted 9" round baking dish. I baked this initially at 220 degress for 10 mins and then lowered the tenmperature to 180 for the other 20 mins.

I will be making this cake again very soon..since not only was it super-easy to bake, super-dense and moist to eat, but also because it is quite healthy, with no eggs and minimal oil. Just take care of the quality of curd you use for the cake - I purposefully did not use home-made curd for this,since I wanted to thick creamy curd to give the cake its moistness.

The Omnivore’s Hundred

well...since i've not yet blogged about my recent recipes, but am listing the The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred list (from http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/uncategorised/the-omnivores-hundred/), you can very well understand that I enjoy reading blogs more than writing myself:)

anyways, as asked by the UK bloggers, I will copy the list of 100 things that they think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. The instructions are quite explicit...
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
So! this is it! The verdict is out. I have failed the examination with a measly score of 21/100:(
I guess, it calls for me becoming more experimental in my foodie eatout sessions from today onwards.

Apologies for my inactivity

I am aware that I had promised to be more active on my blog..a promise which I broke within a month's time..but then I know many of you would commiserate with me that it is more fun to read other peoples blogs than to make the effort of writing one oneself:)

But, worry not - I will try to make amends. Last few weeks did not provide me with much online time, what with many relatives over, both of us traveling, planning and arranging long-pending dinners and lunches...yes! I did cook quite a bit in the last 6 weeks. When Annu was here for a fortnight, we also baked many a cakes - I have taken pics of most of these ...will write a post on each as soon as I convince myself to download all the pics from the camera:)

I was visiting my folks recently after they came back from NYC, and they were sweet enough to carry a few baking stuff that I had ordered..a 9" Wilton pie dish, a springform pan and a muffin pan:) I am yet to come across any store here at Pune which has good baking accessories, and since I am right now in a 'baking frenzy', I simply asked my mom to pick these up for me in NYC. I am yet to use these - but I am really excited about making a pie/tart/quiche in my new dish. In his last visit, Annu was really keen on baking a quiche - but we had been limited by the lack of a pie dish. But, Annu - worry not! When you are here next, we will make n number of quiches and tarts as you desire:)

My next few posts will describe the varios cakes I had baked in the last 6 weeks.

Scalloped Chicken in Mushroom & Mustard Sauce

It is soo much fun (and yes touching) when friends and family call up to say that they actually open and read my blog and are looking forward to reading more about our escapades in our tiny kitchen:) I am really touched when Ma and Papa from Udaipur tell me that they regularly read my blog to know whats going on in our life, and when my Mom (the last person I thought would ever become net-savvy and read my blog) from NYC emails to tell me that the blog pics look very nice and that this is a very cool way to not lose good recipes as well as be in touch!! :)

Also, I am soo surprised to learn that people I never knew existed, people outside my circle of friends and family - actually dropped in to read (and comment) about my recipes:) Folks!! this makes me feel soo happy and special:) A big thanks to all who are reading this:)

Yes - I simply cant stop myself from grinning now..but its ok! am sitting all by myself..so no pains:) Now lets get back to business..serious business. Scalloped Chicken Dish recipe. Like I had mentioned in my earlier Fruit Salad post, I had served this simple chicken dish with some Penne in Tomato Sauce for V-dinner.

(Ahh...I am re-writing the post from here on - somehow I was not connected to the internet when I completed and published the post...so I lost all that I'd written in one sitting session:( ..so here it goes..again).

The Chicken: I got these really fresh succulent boneless chicken breasts, which I then cut in thin slices (you can in turn, pound them under a layer of plastic foil with a mallet to get nicely scalloped pieces).These I marinated for a couple of hours in extra-virgin olive oil (EVO), minced garlic, salt, pepper and Worchestershire sauce.

The Sauce: I sauteed some finely diced onions and garlic (can be omitted as well) in some EVO and then a cup of diced fresh mushrooms. To this, I added 2 tbsp of cornflour, and salt, pepper, dry mustard powder and Worchestershire sauce - add water to this, stirring continously till I got a creamy sauce bubbling away in my saucepan:) Ideally, I should have added some chicken/vegetable stock..but then I was too lazy to make that also, so just adjusted the seasonings in the sauce:)

The Assembling: While the sauce is bubbling over the fire, I pan-fried the chicken scallops in EVO over a skillet - this does not take too long and the scallops turn crispy and golden in a few minutes:) I simply placed the scallops on the dinner plate and poured the sauce over them. You can garnish with some finely chopped parsley..we were to hungry to even bother by then:)

Tangy Fruit Salad

I was browsing through the past pictures of our dinner, when I came across this Fruit Salad pic..and felt like sharing this colorful pic with you all:)

Actually this pic is from our V-day dinner that I'd cooked for my hubby dearest. Since we could not go out for our 1st V-day dinner together because of his multiple fractures, he was feeling pretty low and lousy, so had made his favorite pasta dinner for him:) - Penne in Tomato Sauce with Chicken Scallops in Mushroom Mustard Sauce, teamed with a tangy Fruit Salad and some Chocolate Custard.
I just used a few fruits available round the corner in February here, and since Pune is simply run-over with fresh strawberries then, it was the main fruit for the salad. So I simply diced some apples &oranges and added some whole strawberries and cherries, with some ruby red pomegrenate seeds to the salad bowl. For the salad dressing, I mixed some olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper with fresh coarsely hand-broken celery leaves and sticks and poured over the fruits. Done! The Salad Bowl was ready in a jiffy:)

Our new baking dish

After the moratorium imposed on me by hubby dearest on baking any more cakes for a while, I was sulking that I was not getting much baking to do..so yesterday he took me to Shopper's Stop for shopping:) and guess what?? We ended up buying a nice 1.5 L borosil baking dish for preparing our pasta dishes:)

Yes..yes..I know it is a bit too big for 2 people, and also our microwave, as well as our OTG (we had to place the dish diagonally to close the oven door), but then both of really liked the rectangular smooth shape:)

So obviously, after buying the dish..both of us rushed back home (on the way picked up a packet of button mushrooms and american sweet corn) and prepared a simple pasta dish for dinner. Our original plan was to use penne rigate for the pasta, but somehow we had runout of it, and I was not too keen on spagetti, so we settled on elbow macaroni to get a dish very similar to the Baked Veggies recipe, only instead of the white bechamel sauce, we prepared this real yummy tomato sauce.

Tomato Sauce: We blanched 4 big red tomatoes in the microwave and then pureed it. In the saucepan, saute some minced garlic and add the puree. Season it with some Worchestershire Sauce, mixed dried herbs, some more oregano mix and salt and pepper. Since we underestimated the volume of our dish, we had used only 3 tomatoes, so then we had to add some thick cream (or milk - your choice) to the sauce - it not only added bulk to the sauce, but also make the pasta smooth and creamy:)

We smothered the pasta-vegetables-pasta layer combo with the sauce and grated some cheddar cheese on top. The cheese gave a very crunchy crust on top, which we completely loved:)

Pasta dinners are fairly common at our place, generally once a fortnight is the norm, but both of us really like baked pasta dishes..it does give something extra to it:) So apart from being nutritious, healthy, simple and non-fussy, it is also soo very delicious!