Tray baked triple cheese toast : perfect for brunch

In my book cheese is always good, for tea as well as breakfast and brunch. Continuing from my last post, let me tell you about one of my favourite brunch food. The genesis of this recipe is part Nigella Lawson's triple cheese strata and part my need to create tasty dishes using the supermarkets marked down buys, which means stale baguettes and cheese thats at its end by date. This is a very flexible recipe, so feel free to adapt it to your own liking. The following quantities makes very generous portions for two people.

Ingredients

1 onion (Nigella's recipe uses spring onions, I use whatever is available, which more often than not, a red onion)

1 baguette

Choice of cheese (Mature cheddar is a staple, the rest depends on what I buy)

Sour cream (two generous dollops)

3 eggs 

Coriander (for garnish)

Method

Preheat your oven to 170 Celsius. 

First I melt my cheese over medium heat. Once the cheese has melted, I take it off the gas. If I am using mozzarella, I just cut it into bite size chunks and add it to the hot cheese, it will melt anyway once in the oven. Nigella blitzes all of this in a food processor, I tried that a couple of time, but find melting the cheese works more for me. I then whisk up three eggs, add pepper, a bit of cumin powder, and a bit of sea salt (the salt quantity depends upon the kind of cheese used. Sometimes I skip this step altogether).

I then cut up the stale, slightly hard bread into medium sized round slices and arrange it in a baking tray like so. And sprinkle finely chopped onions or spring onions over it. 

Next, I add the sour cream and egg mixture to the melted cheese which should have cooled down by now. 

And then I pour the liquid over the bread and pop it into the oven for about 25 mins. I add a bit of coriander on top for a fresh hit and there, its done. 

This dish is easy to make but is a real treat. Its part toast, part cheese omelette in the best possible way. The original recipe is assembled overnight and kept in the fridge, I prefer mine this way as the bread  gives a very satisfying crunch. And it really works well as a lazy brunch, as you can see from the empty  tray. 

Cheesy tea time cake: cheddar, cranberry and pecan nuts

One of my favourite food blogger is Joy and I have been following her blog since 2010. And on twitter and instagram too if you must know. What makes her such a darling is that not only is she a great baker, but her food photography is to die for. She was responsible for the great baking experiments of 2013 which ended up in me buying only baking stuff on my US trip (Well baking and multiple trips to Sephora). And last week she posted an unbelievable recipe of a savoury cheddar cheese with cranberry and pecan nuts and the moment I saw it, I knew I had to make it. And here I ran into a problem, I couldn't find any cheddar cheese powder in any stores around my area or online. King Arthurs Flour is available only in the US and I didn't have a food dehydrator or the time to make my own cheese powder so I did what I had to do, I adapted the recipe. Joy's version is a bread, mine is a hybrid between a bread and a cake. But its darn good. Especially right now when the weather is just so depressing and horrible. I have this for my post gym snack with a cup of hot tea and all rights in my world. And let me tell you there is nothing like a bit of cheese post workout, nothing. So without further ado let's get started. 

Ingredients: 

Dry Ingredients

self raising flour (1 1/2 cups, I ran out of plain flour so used this)

soda bicarb (1 teaspoon, Joy uses the same amount)

Baking powder (1 teaspoon, used less than the original recipe as I was using self raising flour, If using plain flour, put in 2 teaspoon baking powder)

Salt (1/2 teaspoon)

Sugar (6 tablespoon, this is double of the original recipe, and I used cane sugar)

Butter (120 gms, cut in cubes. Not sure how much Joy uses as thats in oz.)

Wet Ingredients

Egg (1 large)

Buttermilk ( I used the Dale Farm pot which is 250 gms)

Yogurt (1/2 cup)

Extra bits

Cheddar cheese (200 gms grated, extra for toppings, I had to make up for the loss of cheese powder. You can put in a bit more if you prefer)

Dried cranberries (100 gms, I used this as I had some left over from my mince pie filling. The original recipe uses fresh cranberries)

Pecan nuts (a very generous handful, roughly chopped)

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 Celsius. 

Sieve the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt together. I don't know the scientific reason for doing this but I have always seen my aunt doing this and I have just taken it from there. To this I add the butter (I take this out of the fridge about 1 hour before so thats its cold but not too cold) and work it into the flour with fingers. The mixture will remain crumbly, not to worry. 

Add the cranberries, nuts and grated cheese to this crumbly mixture.

I then whisk all the wet ingredients in another bowl and add to the flour mixture. Fold the batter in gently and add the sugar. The consistency should be slightly gloopy and I know there is a lot of stuff in the bowl, but it works. 

Grease a 81/2" x 41/2" loaf tin and spread the batter evenly. Grate over some more cheese for a more cheesy crust. 

I baked this at 190 Celsius for 40 minutes. Everyones oven is different so its a bit difficult to give a specific time. The best way is to insert a skewer into the middle and if it comes out with no gloopy bits, then you are done. I like to rest my baked goods in the oven for about 10 mins before bringing it out, so I time it accordingly. You can also create a foil tent to cover the top if it should brown too much during baking. I faced no such problems with this one. 

Winter nightcap: mulled cider

The moment we step into the new year there is an urgency to start everything on a fresh slate. I however have been struggling to get into any kind of active zone right now. Its been a combination of events, a very hectic holiday season, my pets been sick and a very close family member passed away suddenly. Being so far away from home makes you feel a bit helpless at times like this so I have turned to baking with a vengeance. But before I post my baking recipes, I want to share a something a bit more familiar and comforting : mulled cider. Technically, mulled wine or cider is more of a holiday drink and I don't deny that I guzzled quite a few glassful down at christmas parties but I like it most at bedtime while reading a book. This version has been supplied by the much maligned domestic goddess of this tiny island, Ms. Nigella Lawson and is part of her spectacular Nigella's Christmas series. I made a couple of tweaks to it keeping in mind taste and pantry provisions but the bulk of it remains the same. Do bear in mind that different ciders give different flavour. If you are using something like Kingston cider, reduce the level of sugar as this cider is very very sweet. Something like Stella gives a more appley tang which I like. So without much ado, here goes:

Ingredients
Cinnamon stick (I used a whole stick)
Cloves (a couple)
Cardamom pods (I use the green ones not the black, in other words the choti elachi)
Apple cider (1 bottle)
Brown sugar (3 tablespoon)
Rum (a generous Patiala peg)
Clementine (halved with tops studded with a clove)
Bay leaf (I use the indian variety because I have it in my pantry)
Tea (1 big mug of Lady Grey which mirrors the orange flavour, the original recipe uses apple infusion tea)

Method

I brew the tea separately in a mug and tip it into a pan along with the sugar and the spices. To this spiced tea I add the juice of a squeezed clementine and the shell with its studded clove. This adds to the orangey flavour that we are going for. I then add the cider and rum to the pan and after the fizz settles down, I bring the liquid to a gentle boil. And thats it. Done. Now all you have to do is pour it into mugs, take to bed, get under duvet and curl your toes around a hot water bottle. A good night's sleep guaranteed.

Fall time, fun time

Autumn is definitely becoming my favourite season of the year. The British summer is overhyped, this year we have been lucky, but generally we have such sporadic bursts of sunshine that its not worth it. Last year we had precisely 10 days of sunshine in all, so that's not a good number at all. Fall on the other hand is perfect. Its not too cold, the leaves change colour and best of all, you can get your mitts on  all the wonderful Christmas gift offers which start to trickle in as early as October. And then of course there is Starbucks festive flavour offering. I am not a huge coffee fan but I love the Spicy Pumkin Latte and the Orange Mocha Latte so I have been a regular at my local Starbucks. Oh, and there is Halloween, good fun if you want to play dress up as adults. Sadly, my favourite club Priory got shutdown so we had to make do with a trawl down Belmont Street with stints in Slain's Castle and Revolution. And then there is Diwali, one of my favourite festivals. All in all, the last two months have been fun.

My garden gave the last of its bloom, I have been lucky with my roses this year. Even Lilly agreed that mommy's gardening skills have improved. 

Diwali was quite fun this year. For starters, we won the series against Australia. I had bought some crackers to light but as it was raining very heavily, I had to make do with sparklers instead. There was mixed success with homemade Gulab Jamun, but that's another story.

There have been many walkies recently with Captain, Lilly on the other hand hates going for a walk, she's more of a home girl but even she enjoyed a recent outing to this beautiful park near our home. 

And then there was the Guy Fawkes Night and the Winter Lights Festival at the beach. This is one event I really enjoy, of course it s$@t cold, so you have to layer up. But its great fun playing with the faux jedi swords and singing along to the Proclaimers 500 miles. Seriously if you are in scotland, this is one song that you have to be able to sing along, its sort of equivalent to Om Shanti Om, circa Rishi Kapoor. 

That's what I have been upto recently. Now that the weather is changing, I am looking forward to Christmas and New Year's Eve. Let the party begin. 

Comfort Food - Tenga Dal

UK should definitely register its Winter Flu as a certifiable weapon of mass suffering. Every year, come September, there is a deluge of cold and flu sufferer sniffling and sneezing their way through life. I myself have suffered through a particularly bad one last year which lasted for 18 miserable days. Apparently there was a bad viral strain doing the rounds last year. This year, it was my husband's turn to  suffer, and when you are sick, your taste buds off, nothing feels better than some good old comfort food. Comfort food by definition is a bit tricky, it depends on geography, family traditions and most importantly, taste buds. For example, my grandmother's roast chicken is the ultimate comfort food for me. An awesome dish, but a bit tricky to make when you have a fever. So since last year, I have been making my own comfort foods, borrowed heavily from my grandmother's cooking. A taste of the home but with no fuss.

First up is the Tenga mogul dal, or lentil soup. Nothing else will do for me when I have a running cold. Like all comfort food, this one too has a story. In Assam, lemon or lime also known as Kaji Nemu is an essential part of your lunch or dinner experience. The Kaji Nemu especially has a most aromatic smell and for me it is the most exotic accompaniment to any dish. When I was a child, this was often made at home with the fruit and the leaves used from our own lime tree in the back yard. I have since jazzed it up a bit for a bit more grown up version. Depending on your larder, this will either be kitchen essentials or something warranting a special shopping trip. For me its the former, so its an easy dish to cook.


What you will need

1 cup dal (you can use mogu or mosur)
A slice of lemon
1 stalk of lemon grass
A couple of frozen lime leaves (I get this from a local Chinese store, its not Kaffir leaves, just regular lime leaves. Although you can use Kaffir leaves as well)
Green papaya (optional)
1and 1/2 teaspoon regular cooking oil
Panch phuran or kalonji (optional)
Garlic

I rinse the lentils once and put it in a pan with 2 cups of water, papaya and lemon, lime leaves and lemon grass (also sliced into 1 inch pieces). I put this on medium heat, lid on for about 20 minutes. If you are worried about the water boiling over then partially cover the pan. After 20 mins, the lentils should be soft enough. Give the whole thing a good stir. This ensures that all the flavours get meshed in well.

If you want, you can fish out the lemon now and add a little water if you prefer a more soupy texture. The magic ingredient is actually the lime leaves, the moment you add this, this dal becomes a show stopper.

At this point I generally decant the cooked lentils into a bowl and in the same pan add the oil and panch phuran or nigella seeds and garlic. Once the seeds start popping, I add the lentils back in and season with salt as per taste. And your dish is ready. For me, the lemon and lime combo is a bit of heaven when I am down in the dumps.

Where to eat- 4Rivers Smokehouse

Since we are on the subject of food, let me introduce you to the sandwich from heaven otherwise known as the Southern Pulled Pork sandwich from 4Rivers Smokehouse. In Scotland, its a bit difficult to get a good man sized smoked meat sandwich, so I didn't waste time heading off to the 4R. I was craving some comfort food after a long flight and went a bit crazy with the amount I ordered.

Everything on the menu looked good and we finally settled for a bit of everything: smokehouse prime ribs,  southern pulled pork sandwich and the messy pig, pulled pork with slaw, jalapeño, pickles and smothered with 4R sauce. For sides we selected the sweet potato mash (loved it), smoked jalapeños (a bit meh), french fries (perfect), corn on the cob (sweet and tender) and a huge blueberry cupcake.

The eating area is an open patio with old fashioned fans lazily going round, and since the portions are so huge, there are take away containers kept on the side in which you can pack and dash if need be.  Am quite proud to admit that we managed to clean our plates. I won't lie, it was an effort resulting in a most ungracious waddle back to our car. But it was worth it.

My verdict, if you want a burger, go for Five Guys, but if its man sandwiches you crave, especially a melt in the mouth pork one, then it doesn't get better than 4 Rivers.

Joe's Stone Crab, Miami

There's some sense in shunning touristy eating joints and gunning for a local gastronomical meccas when you are holidaying, but when a restaurant becomes an institution, you just have to go, touristy or not. And that was the case with us when we went to Joe's Stone Crab in Miami. Now this is a place notorious for not taking reservation, but, it is still jam packed with people patiently waiting for their turn to eat the famous stone crabs. A word of warning, dress up, really. I went there after a day on the beach and an afternoon hauling faux Cuban cigars (America has a trade ban with Cuba, hence all Cuban cigars are not made in Cuba but in-store factories in little Havana). So when we landed up at Joe's, the hubby was in wrinkled cotton shirt and shorts and I was in a sun dress circa 2008 and rubber flip-flops. And we were surrounded by a Pucci-Cavalli mass. And there's a difference when Europeans do designer beachwear, the vibe is more casual and boho-luxe. But the Americans, boy when they play dress up, its the every piece of hair in place kind. It's very disconcerting. I took comfort from the only thing I had going, a hot pink-red lip courtesy Georgio Armani Lip Maestro, this is something that every lip girl should try, the texture and lasting quality is amazing. And the fact that I still fitted into a dress bought five years ago.  

Back to the restaurant, our wait time was somewhere around 30 minutes, pretty reasonable for a weekend I think. We we were ushered into the bar area, which was jam packed with fellow would be diners. We somehow managed to order our cocktails and squeeze into a corner and people watch. The hubby was a bit bemused by my fashion policing, especially my reaction to a pair of Louboutins on the spindliest legs and the knobbiest knees possible. Seriously ladies, baggy knees don't do a Léger dress credit. The cocktails were okay, I had better ones out on the Miami street, but the stone crabs, ah they were the jam. I didn't fill up on breads and starters which was just as well because the stone crabs are huge. We weren't very clear about the helping and ended up ordering for four people, but, nothing was wasted, trust me. One of the most helpful trick when you over order is to take some time out in between, sit, relax, sip your wine, and then, go for round two or three, as may be the case. 

For me, this was a stand out meal and I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area. Just make sure that the restaurant is open. Stone crab harvesting is legal only from the 15th of October to the 15th of May. And please dress up, not in a bandage dress, you are going there to eat, but in something that allows you to tuck in well.