OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS!

INSTANT CHOCOLATE & CASHEWNUT FUDGE

These are the days when I wish I can whip up something in less than 5 minutes,something which is good, in taste and looks and these blocks of chocolate goodness is my answer! If you ask me what's keeping me busy,we have been having parties at home back to back, baking and cooking on all the 4 burners at the same time,baking goodies to giveaway as gifts, some were packed and sent to my relatives on the otherside of this wide nation, some as 'under the tree' gifts for friends and some just for the 2 of us to munch on while we vaccum clean the house and load the dishwasher! :)

I still have another big batch of  fruit cakes and  cookies to be baked and in between all this I think of how to shoot some pics and post them on my blog. My blog has not been fed well the last week, but the author has been,very well! :) I made a batch  of delicious Orange Marmalade 2 weeks ago and it's been sitting inside my fridge all these days! I'm thinking of baking some tarts with it but I have made so many plans and I am planning to execute it all, but when? That's the big question,a million dollar question? Looks like my blog will have Christmas goodies till the end of January! :-)

I have made this fudge before,a pistachio version, when I was in India. At that time, we couldn't get foil trays of the mentioned size or shape in the recipe and I longed to be in US or UK then. And now that I am, nothing 's gonna stop me! The best part of this recipe is, you can make them in less than 5 minutes which definately doesn't include the time you spend in hunting for your can opener (like me!) to open the condensed milk ! Oh, you need to give them some time to chill, okay? Otherwise you wouldn't be able to chop them up into those pretty squares you just saw :-)

INSTANT CHOCOLATE & CASHEWNUT FUDGE
Recipe: Nigella Lawson


Ingredients:
350g Semi sweet chocolate/Dark chocolate chips
1 tin /396g condensed milk
2 tbsp butter
150g cashewnuts, chopped

Method:
Into a saucepan, on medium heat, add the chocolate chips , condensed milk & butter and let it melt together.
As soon as it is mixed together, switch of the flame and add the nuts and mix well.
Pour into a square* foil tray/tin lined with foil. Cover it and leave it in the fridge till well set (about 1 1/2 hr).
Mark the set fudge into squares using the tip of a sharp knife, turn it out onto a chopping board ,peel the foil away and cut into pieces.
Store it in the refrigerator.You can freeze them in a ziplock bag and eat them straight out of the freezer too!

*I used a rectangular foil tray and my fudge was a bit thin. I like it this way. If you are making it in the square tin, cut them into small pieces because these are quite rich.

Verdict: I was afraid  I would have to make another batch to give away because we both couldn't stop digging into it! It's a very easy and delicious recipe, try it and you will know! :)

I am sending these to Chocolate Extravaganza -Monthly Mingle hosted by myself and also to the new blogging challenge 'Forever Nigella' started by Sarah of Maison Cupcake.

CHOCOLATE CHIP NANCUTS/NANKATAI

Ihave never baked so much in so little time. Phew! That was a LOT of baking happening in my kitchen. I must say,my oven is still grateful. It hasn't given up on me :-) But trust me, it feels so good to be near the oven during winter...keeps you warm and keeps your house warm,too! Plus, you get to eat your favourite baked goodies!

                                                                  Photo Courtesy: Chris Ann
I met Chris Ann last month for a small blogger meet in Minneapolis. I have to say, she was a very graceful host! She brought us some yummy yummy homemade chocolate chip cookies! I remember her saying that she slaved over it...I don't think so! ;-) Anyhow, it was delicious. During the meet,we were having a casual chat and she mentioned that she would like me to do a guest post for their 'Cookie Exchange' event on the blog during the month of December. I agreed on the spot. Why wouldn't I? :-)

But the challenge for me was that she asked me if I could bake some sort of an Indian cookie. Umm, now that's interesting! Indian cookie? I had to think about it for a while because we Indians, really don't have a 'typical' Indian baked goodie.But then again, there should be something that we can call it 'Indian'...and yes! it was a cookie called 'Nankatai' or 'Nancuts' as we call at home. Indian cookies or 'biscuits' as we call it, is never soft like the 'cookies' that we get in US. It's crisp, crunchy and even crumbly, at times. So this is the texture of this cookie/biscuit too. :-)

Nancuts is the simplest of all the cookies. It's a very simple 3-ingredient recipe. You don't need any fancy equipment to get it done. At any given point, you can bake these cookies in less than half an hour!Usually this cookie is baked plain or maybe with a hint of crushed/powdered cardamom. I thought of giving it a twist and added chocolate chips to the dough.

For recipe..visit Love Feast Table!

I am sending these cookies as my entry for the Monthly Mingle- Chocolate Extravaganza hosted by myself! :)

Season's Greetings!

PEAR & CHOCOLATE CRUMBLE...perfect for the season!

This season, some of my favourite fruits have vanished from the scene...but some not-so favourite ones before, are becoming my favourites now :-)  Pear is one amongst them. Yes, they are crunchy, sweet and juicy but they just cannot beat the Bing Cherries! Surprisingly, one of my friends, kind of hates cherries. Umm..so maybe it depends from person to person.
Crumbles are a firm favourite with us. I have made a Cherry crumble before and Jobin was hooked on to it. Then I made an Apple crumble which never appeared on the blog because it was a big hit amongst Jobin and his mom. We dug into the bowls like there was no tomorrow! :-)

Everytime I go near the produce section of our supermaket, I become very slow. I drag the cart along. Jobin sometimes seem to be lost ,thinking why do I behave like that everytime 'all of a sudden'...you know like the 'slow motion' scenes in movies? Hehe,I love  looking at all the colourful fruits that we get here and those we never get in India. I somehow enjoy taking a stroll around the fruits and thinking about what I can possibly do with each one of them...but in reality, it rarely happens because I can get very lazy at times and eat the fruit as it is! :)

This time, it was Pear & Chocolate Crumble for our 'Sweet Punch' bake for the month of December.We all were given a recipe but I chose to go with my own measurements. It is so perfect for these cold days that we are having right now in Minneapolis.We need something warm to keep us warm...be it dessert or clothes!

PEAR & CHOCOLATE CRUMBLE
My own recipe
Serves-2

Ingredients:
2 pears, peeled, cored and chopped into 1" pieces
Sugar to taste
1 tsp lime juice
3 oz milk chocolate, roughly chopped

For the crumble:
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c oatmeal, crushed by hand
Sugar to taste (use light/dark brown sugar, if available)
1 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced
2 tbsp almond slivers, broken up

Method:
Pre- heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4.Grease 6 oven proof ramekins.
In a bowl, mix together the chopped pears,sugar,lime juice and half the chocolate.Divide them equally among the ramekins,spooning over any remaining juice.
For making the crumble,mix together flour and butter and rub it with your fingertips till it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in rest of the ingredients.
Spoon the crumble over the pears. I always like to make extra topping,so that there is a good crunch all the way.
Transfer the crumble to a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Verdict: Jobin eyebrows shot up as he took the first bite.I closed my eyes and enjoyed the chocolate and pear combo...
In Jobin's words,' It was a very yummy dessert!' :) As always,we loved the crumble, maybe a bit more this time...because of chocolate!

I am sending this dessert as an entry to Monthly Mingle- Chocolate Extravaganza hosted by myself :-)

A WIN TO KEEP ME GOING...

Remember those lovely Chocolate Doughnuts I posted a while ago? I had submitted that picture to a photography contest called 'Does My Blog Look Good in This'...and I won! This picture won the 'Edibility Category'. I am so happy to share this news with you all! Did you see that badge on my sidebar? No? Scroll down then!

Isn't that a pretty badge? I love it! I used to underestimate my photography skills a lot before,not any more :-)
Have a nice week!

CHOCOLATE EXTRAVAGANZA ...come on in! Let's Mingle!

There are four basic food groups:  milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles.  

~Author Unknown ~

Odear December, what took you so long to arrive? Do you know that I wait for you all these 11 months? So please stay and don't fly by so fast!This X'mas is very special for me...it's our first X'mas together,my first white X'mas (oh yes, it's snowing outside as I am typing) and my first X'mas away from my beloved family & country. Everything that I have experienced all these years is a lot different from what I am experiencing now.It does get me nostalgic, especially when there's not many people who come to our house to see our X'mas tree or the wreath that I made from scratch!Back in India, it was the prime time when families visited each other with boxes of goodies from where they come. Then there is laughter on the dinner tables,lot of good homemade food, freshly baked goodies and everything nice! I miss all the good times I had with my cousins, especially those late night talks, sleepless nights...

I guess I should stop my banter now considering that I am alone at home right now and Jobin is not around for me to complain! :-) Well, the happy side is that our tree is lit ,stockings are hung and our little apartment looks very Christmas-y! Ok, we don't have a fireplace...so I am envying all of you who do have one!But that does give me one thing less to clean :-D

I think I love holidays because of the fact that I get to bake a lot, mostly for family and friends! This year is no different, I am going to continue baking,maybe more ...or so I would like to think :-) How can I resist baking more this year especially when I am hosting the Monthly Mingle, the brainchild of the fabulous Meeta, right here on my blog, during my most favourite month, December! The theme, as the title of this post suggests , is CHOCOLATE EXTRAVAGANZA. I am a hard core fan of anything chocolate, so I couldn't think of a better theme than this!
So just in case you happen (I know you will) to bake anything with chocolate in it, from cakes to cookies, tarts to pies, hot & cold puddings, souffles etc do send it to the Monthly Mingle. By the end of December (sob!) let's get together and share all the goodies on my table. I'll make sure that the coffee is brewing to keep you all warm!

If you do not have a blog and would like to participate, kindly send me the photograph of the chocolate goodie to airmathew AT gmail DOT com.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Create a dish (or as many as you like) that fits the Chocolate Extravaganza theme as described above.
2. Post about it on your blog from now till 27 December 2010 (entries must be in English, please).
3. Your creation should be prepared for the current Monthly Mingle theme and posted anytime from now till the given deadline. 
4. You must provide a link to this post and the official Monthly Mingle page.
5. Once you’ve posted your dish, send your entries to airmathew AT gmail DOT com with the your name & post link. Please make sure your pictures are not more than 300 px wide picture.

What are you waiting for? Get those mixers and baking sheets out! Just in case you need any ideas :-) feel free to go through my Recipe Index. Let's make this season Chocolate-y!