American/Mediterranean on Kitchen3N

Rice Pudding Stuffed Crepes (Patishapta Pita)

Thu, 08 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Patishapta pitha was the rare pitha I would eat growing up. Maybe it's a regional thing, but I just did not enjoy most pithas I had. [Pitha: Bengali dumplings. Usually made out of rice flour. Sometimes a combo of rice flour and wheat flour. And in my experience, dry af most of the time. Sometimes sweet with a coconut or jaggery filling. And, as I found out after marriage, sometimes plain, eaten with curry.]

Coconut Jaggery Hand Pies (Narkeler Pitha)

Thu, 01 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Pitha - a Bengali style sweet dumpling. Narkeler pitha - dumpling filled with coconut and date sap. Usually the dough is made with rice flour and water(?), filled with the coconut mixture, then deep fried. I never learned how to make pitha, but I did teach myself how to make hand pies.

Rasmalai Ricotta Cheesecake

Sun, 18 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I had a lemon ricotta cheese in Sorrento that was a game changer. Compared to dense, tangy, NY style cheesecake (which is delicious in its own rite), this was so light, so brightly flavored with regional citrus, it was the most heavenly thing I had tasted during my 4 months in Italy (in addition to cinnamon gelato, rosemary potato pizza, and fresh ricotta calzone).

Strawberry Meringue Hearts

Mon, 05 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Just when you thought she couldn't produce another great recipe, she pulls one out just to prove you wrong. I'm referring to the OG Deb Perelman and a recipe from her new book, Smitten Kitchen Every Day. She calls them strawberry cloud cookies - they are essentially meringues flavored with a unique ingredient - strawberry powder, rather than the traditional vanilla extract. She dollops the meringue onto cookie sheets before baking for 30-35 min. I piped mine with an open star tip into heart shapes (it is February after all) and baked them for a shorter time, since they are flatter meringues.

Chocolate Pudding or Pastry Cream

Thu, 01 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I had a revelation this week: pastry cream is basically pudding, with perhaps an egg yolk or two more. Both start off with a milk/sugar base, thickened over the stove top using some combination of cornstarch/flour/egg yolks then flavored with vanilla, chocolate or any other flavor of choice. This recipe, in my opinion, can pass for both.

Green Tea Wafer Cake

Thu, 25 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

If it looks like a green tea crepe cake, it smells like a green tea crepe cake, and tastes like a green tea cake, it still may not be a green tea crepe cake. Truth is, I've never had a green tea crepe cake. And even though this looks like the famous Lady M green tea crepe cake, there are no crepes here. Just crisp wafers made with my trusty krumkake maker, matcha pastry cream and whipped cream. I didn't use any one recipe for this - I kind of threw things together that I thought might work. And while this worked out beautifully (though I did have a near disaster when the whole thing almost slid off as I was transferring it to the fridge! Pastry cream is slick, yo), I'm already dreaming up alternate versions of this: nutella swiss meringue buttercream filling? Salted caramel mousse? Matcha used to be difficult to find - now you can find it at costco! I don't use it that frequently so I'm still working off of the batch I bought a while ago. Hope you enjoy! And if you don't have a krumkake maker and don't feel like buying one and make it with crepes instead, please let me know!

Pastry cream recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.

Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Sat, 20 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I find myself craving less and less the city's top dessert spots. I used to LIVE for post dinner dessertscapades. But these days I wonder, why spend $11 on a dessert that you can whip up at home, exactly to your liking, and share a pretty picture of it on IG? Ok, maybe we're not all in the same boat here. But lately, when I go out, chocolates desserts aren't chocolately enough, flavor combinations that were fun for a while started feeling like a bit of a reach (black lava salt? spicy chocolate?). I want to y'all to be in the boat with me. Make fabulous desserts, tailored to your tastes. Make your dinner guests oooh and ahhhhh. We're on our way there. Today, I'm sharing strawberry swiss meringue buttercream. A naturally strawberry flavored, sophisticated topping for cakes, mousses, trifles and the like. It's as delicious on chocolate cake as it is on vanilla. I have so many other desserts in the pipeline I want to share with you. I want your suggestions! What do you want to see? A milk tea tres leches? A green tea mousse cake? A star anise/cinnamon citrus pound cake? If you're never made swiss meringue buttercream, it is a game changer for frosting cakes. It's in the same class as Italian meringue where there is some combination of egg whites, sugar and butter, for a lighter, smoother buttercream than one that's made out of butter and powdered sugar. When you start spreading it on the cake, it's like silk. No other way to describe it. It's traditionally less sweet than American buttercream, so I like to up the flavor and sweetness with extra extracts and even some corn syrup (astaghfirullah I know!). This makes enough to fill and frost a 6in cake generously, so you'll have some extra leftover for piping decorations. I used a #10 Wilton tip to pipe little hearts for Valentine's day. Then, because I had some red frosting leftover, outlined some of the hearts sporadically for a fun look. Topped with some silver dragees, it was ready to serve. ^How all my cakes end up.^

Ingredients

2 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 sticks plus 2 tbsp (26 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature (not too soft or greasy!)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2tbsp corn syrup (optional

Directions

In a small to medium saucepan, combine 2 cups strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and allow to reduce for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Heat about 1in water to a simmer (over low heat) in a small saucepan. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine egg whites and 1 cup sugar. Whisk to combine. Set over the saucepan of simmering water. Whisk occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot to the touch. Remove from heat and attach to stand mixer using the whisk attachment.
Beat on medium speed until mixture cools down (when you touch the back of your hand to it, it should be the same temperature as your hand) and medium peaks form. Start adding butter 1-2 tbsp at a time. The mixture might turn into a sloppy mess, but keep beating. Once it comes together (it will look like a homogenous glob instead of the previous curdled mess), add extracts, 1/2 cup strawberry puree (or more to taste) and corn syrup, if using. Stop to scrape down the bowl. Continue beating until fully combined. Use right away, or refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 1 month. Allow to come to room temperature and beat before using.

#Baesic Roasted Salmon and Veggies

Sat, 06 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

It's January and I know many of us are trying to find ways to eat healthy. I've had a little extra time on my hands so I've been coming up with different ways to eat healthy/less meat/fewer carbs. Not exactly low fat though. Kale caesar salad. Chana dal with veggies and coconut milk. Tomato soup. Today I whipped up this salmon and mixed vegetable sauté. Follow along for inspo on my Instagram! I'm calling this my #baesic salmon because even though it's a basic way to cook it, it's bae in my recipe book. I've tried cooking salmon just on the the stovetop, and it just burns on the outside before cooking through on the inside. If you lower the heat too much you don't get the nice crust. This way, if you sear it on the stovetop, finish it off the oven, you get the best of both worlds. I wasn't sure if it would be done actually, but when I dug into it, it was juuuuuuust slightly pink and rare in the middle. If you prefer it cooked well through, leave in for 2 more minutes. I know we all tryin' to eat more nutritious food, less meat, fewer carbs. And I know salmon isn't exactly the best option either. It's overfished, not sustainable. But I for one need to change things up from beans, lentils and eggs. We still do chicken once a week or so. Red meat once a month maybe. Baby steps.

Ingredients

For the mixed vegetable sauté:

3 tbsp olive oil
5 organic carrots (they're smaller, so if using big carrots, use 3-4)
1/2 large onion or 1 medium onion
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz cauliflower florets, or from 1 head of cauliflower
12 oz broccoli florets, or from 1 large head of broccoli (I had two small heads of broccoli)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
more salt and pepper to taste

For the salmon

2tbsp olive oil
2tbsp unsalted butter
12 oz salmon fillet
salt and pepper
a squeeze of lemon

Directions

For the vegetable sauté: heat up oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots, saute for 2-3 minutes, then add onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add the garlic, then broccoli and cauliflower florets. Add butter and more salt and pepper. If the veggies are starting to brown too easily on the bottom, reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until veggies are crisp tender, 10-15 more minutes. Taste for seasoning.
For the salmon: Preheat oven to 350F. Score the skin side of the salmon - about 3 slits diagonally. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Melt butter and olive oil in at least a 9in round french or other ovenproof skillet. When bubbling stops, add the salmon, skin side down. Don't touch it for at least 2 minutes. When there's a nice crust, it'll lift off easily. Flip over carefully, minimizing splatter of hot oil, using two spatulas if necessary. And cook for an additional 2 minutes. Then insert in preheated oven for 7-8 minutes.
Remove from heat, finish with a squeeze of lemon and let rest for a few minutes before serving. Serve alongside steamed quinoa or brown rice.

The Last Chocolate Chunk Cookie

Thu, 04 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

When I die, I want this recipe printed on my tombstone. Just kidding, Muslims don't do tombstones. But this really is the cookie I've been searching for all my life. Free of all the silly things people add to chocolate chip cookies (CCC's from here on out) to one up their game like extra SALT on top or TAHINI or the worst of all, NUTS. I don't understand the need to muck up the most brilliant baking invention of all time with things that are not chocolate, flour, sugar, butter, leaveners, salt or vanilla. The original Nestle Toll House recipe, as brilliant as is, is missing a little complexity, and little texture. I've tried SO many CCC recipes. Bang on a Pan. The Chewy. The Thin. Something from Buzzfeed. Tahini. Nestle. America's Test Kitchen. And they all have their redeeming qualities. But for me, the NY Times recipe by David Leite is the closest I've come to perfection: a combination of cake flour and bread flour, one makes it tender, the other adds a chewy texture. A full 2 tsp vanilla for extra flavor. Refrigerating the dough to let the gluten relax. I did need to tweak it to my tastes. I use my trusty OXO medium cookie scoop for perfect sizing. I use chocolate chunks in lieu of chocolate disks/feves/chips and I reduce the amount of chocolate from the original recipe. I know I make fun of my husband a lot for his critiquing the amount of chocolate in the original recipe, but he's kind of right. The 16oz that I have here gives you a generous amount of chocolate (use good quality!) while allowing you to taste the nutty, buttery, chewy cookie. This is the only recipe I use my scale for, mainly because the measurements are so fussy otherwise, with so many cup measures, plus or minus tablespoons. But this recipe is worth the fuss. Think of every delectable high quality CCC you've had at the best bakery - this one is it. Everything from the size (it's big enough so the centers are chewy, the edges are crispy), to the proportions, to the wait time - it's sheer perfection. Pro tip - if your brown sugar hardens, don't toss it! Place in a microwave safe bowl, cover with a damp paper towel and microwave at 30 second intervals at medium power until softened. Final tip, I don't know about your sieve, but salt doesn't go through mine. So I usually sift the flours and leaveners together, then add the salt. Whisking to combine. Don't let the butter get too soft, and that's it. Happy baking!

Ingredients

2 cups minus 2tbsp cake flour (8 1/2oz)
1 2/3 cup flour bread flour (8 1/2oz)
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10oz) light brown sugar
1 cup plust 2 tbsp (8oz) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
16 oz chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, or a combination of both

Directions

In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer cream the butter and sugars together at medium speed for 5 minutes. It should be light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time. Stop to scrape down the bowl before turning on mixer again. Add vanilla. Then, with the mixer on low add the dry ingredients, stopping occasionally to scrape down the bowl. Finally, add the chopped chocolate and stir with the mixer if it can handle it, if not, use a wooden spoon.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 1 3/4in cookie dough scoop (I use the OXO medium scoop), scoop out balls of dough until sheet is full. Flash freeze for 30 minutes. Take out then plop them into large ziploc bags or plastic containers. I recommend sticking them in the fridge to let the dough rest and the gluten to relax, as well as the flours to absorb some of the flavors/moisture. Refrigerate between 24 and 72 hours or freeze them if you'd like to bake them a week or two later*.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place on a parchment paper or silpat lined baking sheet with plenty of space between each. Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, at least 15 if taking directly out of freezer. Bottoms should be caramelized, nutty brown. Tops may look underdone but that's ok as it continues to cook on the pan, even after taking out from the oven. After they cool completely, store in an airtight container and consume within 2 days.**

*I know I can't help but bake some off right away, so please go ahead and do so (after the 30 minute freeze), but do save some for baking later so you can taste the difference! **It loses freshness after that, but probably still edible dipped in milk.

Coconut Layer Cake

Fri, 29 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This cake was kind of born 2 and half years ago when I was tasked with feeding 100 people with a coconut cake. "Can it have pineapple filling?" my dear friend Jaf asked. YES, YES IT CAN! This cake is a delicious, crowd pleasing hit in its original version, but with this pineapple filling, it takes it over the edge. It's kind of retro, but the fruitiness balances out the richness and creaminess from the buttercream. It's a little fussy, yes, with the beating of egg whites and the careful folding in, but the payout is worth it. It's the lightest, fluffiest, sweetest, nuttiest, flavorfullest cake you'll ever have. Ever. A retro cake deserves a retro look, so feel free to frost this simply, with swooshes of buttercream and toasted (and cooled) coconut flakes. I've piped some old school borders here with Wilton's open star tip and some silver dragee accents. I haven't tinkered with the original recipe at all, except that I bake them in 8in cake pans as opposed to 9in. I like the look of taller cakes, but if 9in is all you have, feel free to use those, just decrease the bake time by a few minutes. Cake recipe adapted from Taste of Home. Pineapple filling recipe from Genius Kitchen.

Ingredients

For the cake:

5 eggs, yolks separated from whites
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 cups flaked coconut (I like Baker's brand for this)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

For the filling:

1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
3 tbsp corn starch
1 20oz can crushed pineapple in its juices
3 tbsp butter

For the buttercream

1 cup butter, room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 to 5 cups confectioner's sugar, to taste
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2tbsp whole milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 3 8in cake pans with non stick cooking spray. Place over a large sheet of parchment paper and draw circles around the circumference of each pan. Cut out each circle and place at the bottom of each pan. Spray parchment circles with non stick spray.
In the bowl of stand mixer or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat butter with 1 cup of sugar on medium low. After about 2 minutes, when butter and sugar is pale and fluffy, add oil and remaining sugar. When well combined, add egg yolks, one at a time. Stop occasionally to scrape down the bowl. Add coconut, vanilla and almond extracts. Stop the mixer.
For the dry ingredients: sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add salt and combine with a whisk. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the batter, then 1/2 of the buttermilk. Add second third of dry ingredients then remaining buttermilk. Add remaining dry ingredients and flaked coconut. Mix on low until just combined.
In a large bowl, combine egg whites and cream of tartar. Mix on low, increasing to high, for about 4-5 minutes until beaters come out of the egg whites with stiff peaks. Add 1/3 of beaten egg whites to the batter to loosen it up. Add half of remaining egg whites to batter and fold in with spatula, cutting down the middle, then scraping against the bowl and folding up and over the batter. Rotate the bowl slightly and continue until you can no longer see egg white. Add remaining egg white and fold until just combined.
Divide equally between 3 cake pans and bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool.*
For the filling: in a small to medium saucepan combine salt, sugar, cornstarch. Whisk with preferably a flat whisk until combined. Add crushed pineapple and stir to combine. Turn on the heat to medium high. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until no longer milky white in appearance. When thickened, remove from heat and stir in butter. Turn out onto a plate to cool.
For the frosting: beat butter with cream cheese with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, or in a large bowl with handheld electric mixer. Sift 4 cups sugar into a bowl. Add a little bit of sugar into the butter and cream cheese until well combined. After adding 4 cups of sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and coconut extracts. Scrape down the bowl occasionally. Taste the frosting. If desired, add final cup of sugar, sifted. Add milk as needed to thin out frosting. Give a final beat until it looks like buttercream.
Fill a large piping bag with buttercream and snip off 1/2in tip. Place a small amount of frosting onto a 10in round cake board. Place first cake layer onto cake board. Pipe a dam around the circumference of the cake layer. Spoon 2-3tbsp pineapple filling onto cake. Smooth it out. Place second layer, press down slightly. Repeat and decorate as desired.

*I usually invert onto 8in round cake boards lined with plastic wrap and freeze until reach to decorate. These cakes are super tender and work best for decorating when frozen solid.

Small Chocolate Cake

Sun, 24 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

There are many a great chocolate cake recipes out there. Why, say you, post yet another? Take for example the great Beatty's Chocolate cake recipe that I made for many years. All the elements of a great chocolate cake: good quality cocoa, buttermilk, coffee. The problem is, they're quite big if you're making something for an intimate gathering. I've learned an 8in cake feeds approximately 20 people, and 9 feeds about 25. So, if you're looking for a small celebration cake for the family, this is the recipe for you. If you invest (~$20) in 3 6in round pans, you can have small, chic cakes any time. I always freeze my cake layers by inverting onto plastic wrap lined 6in cake board, then wrapping well with the plastic wrap. Small cakes can be kind of wobbly and difficult to decorate unless frozen solid. Then, let come to room temperature before serving. I also recommend using a good quality cocoa powder for your chocolate cakes. You don't have to break the bank. Rodelle from Amazon is really good quality for a reasonable price. You'll get 6 to 12 servings, depending on how big you cut each slice. I always find the best chocolate cakes are the ones with coffee in the batter. The batter will be quite thin - don't let this worry you. It makes for a wonderfully aromatic and moist cake - doesn't taste like coffee or mocha at all. For the biggest chocolate fans, frost with a chocolate ganache, using a 1:1 weight ratio of chocolate to heavy cream. Otherwise this goes great with salted caramel, vanilla, chocolate or raspberry buttercream. Links to each below!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed strong, hot coffee

Directions

1. Spray 3 6in cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Place the pans on top of a big sheet of parchment paper and draw circles around the bottom of each pan. Cut out each circle and line the bottom of each pan with one. Spray the parchment lined bottoms of the pans with a bit more non stick spray. 2. Brew coffee. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add sugar to the bottom of a large bowl or the mixing bowl of your stand mixer.* Place a sieve over the bowl and add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda. Sift into the bowl. Add salt. Whisk to combine. 3. In a large measuring cup or bowl, combine oil, milk, eggs and vanilla extract. With the mixer running on low, or by hand, slowly add wet ingredients to dry, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Finally, add the coffee, stirring slowly and carefully, until batter is combined. 4. Divide evenly between the three cake pans (I use a scale to determine this). Bake for 25-28 minutes in preheated oven or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool, then remove from pan and slice off the domes before stacking and frosting. Frost with my raspberry swiss meringue buttercream, american buttercream, vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, chocolate swiss meringue buttercream, chocolate ganache or your choice of frosting.

*I do this step first because I’ve forgotten to add the sugar too many times.

Linzer Cookies

Fri, 22 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I don't know why I became obsessed with Linzer cookies this week. I probably saw one or two in my Instagram feed because of the holiday baking season, got lured in by the jewel like centers and fluffy snow-like confectioners sugar topping. So the research ensued, and I learned they are an Austrian/Hungarian cookie, traditionally made with some nut flour (almond or hazelnut) and filled with raspberry jam. I saw a few recipes that looked true to form, but when I saw my beloved Ina Garten had her version, and it was no frills, I thought I'd go that route. Big. Mistake. Very minimally flavored and sweetened shortbread dough - OK. That's fine. It will get sweetness and flavor from the raspberry jam and confectioner's sugar. No almond flour, or flavorings besides vanilla - all OK to try. But what I couldn't believe was the bake time. 20-25 minutes?! Of course, in following these instructions, I way over baked my first batch. So I went back to the recipe and watched the video in which she made them...in the video she declares a bake time of 10-15 minutes! How has no one caught such a glaring mistake?! After re-rolling the scraps and baking a second batch (for 10-12 min) the results were much better, but I still had an itch I needed to scratch. I had to try the traditional version - with almond flour and lemon zest. But thank you, internet, for your recommendations. The King Arthur Recipe was the way to go. And although it was a little difficult to handle, the final product was worth it. Delicate cookies with a zesty lemon flavor, crumbly almond texture. It was a cookie to match the aesthetic. I hope you enjoy these cookies during this holiday season and beyond! Wishing everyone a joyous holiday, whatever you're celebrating, and a happy happy new year!

Recipe from King Arthur Flour.

Mini Cap'n Crunch Chocolate Tarts

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

When my friend Jafreen and I entered a bake off during our undergrad years, we thought we had it in the bag. We were both good bakers, definitely spent more time in the kitchen than our peers, and would put together thoughtful, from scratch baked goods. Needless to say, we lost. Terribly. We were outbaked by Duncan Hines. I don't remember who was on the judging panel, but this post is for you. This past weekend we got to compete at the Islamic Center Professionals of NYU's Bake Off. It was so fun. Secret ingredient was revealed 72 hours prior so research and experimenting time was limited. We were split into categories of cake, cookies, pies/tarts and puddings. My partner was the defending champ of the pudding category, with his cranberry creme brulee. This year we were in pies/tarts. So when they revealed the secret ingredient of breakfast cereal, my mind went into overdrive. If the secret ingredient were a single fruit, you'd have a lot less to work with. But there are dozens of cereals to choose from - all with different flavors and textures. I knew I wanted it to be a tart rather than a pie - pies rely on the flaking crust to be considered a pie and are more often than not made with fruit. Tarts can have a little bit more flexibility - can be made with a shortbread crust, or cookie crust. Then in terms of fillings - should I do pastry cream and fruit? Chocolate and peanut butter? Should I incorporate the cereal in the crust? In the filling? On top? My partner pushed me to go the extra mile. After all, when it comes to bake offs, presentation can be just as important as taste. So we thought of recreating the cereal bowl plus milk pour over experience. What is a pourable topping in dessert? Creme anglaise. What goes well with creme anglaise? Chocolate, souffles and cooked fruit desserts. So the chocolate tart was born. Mini because we'd have to make portions for the audience to try (also they are more elegant). And pourable creme anglaise in mini bottles that I found in the wedding favors section of Michael's. Cap'n crunch in the shell. Caramelized rice krispies on top so you have some crunch to balance the smooth chocolate filling. And garnished with a little berry.

We were proud of our entry. And I was proud of my friends who entered, particularly because they were overcoming challenges of their own to be there. My old friend Jafreen, as well as my new friend, Moni of Moni’s Kitchen.

Pistachio Layer Cake

Thu, 07 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I've been making pistachio cakes in various forms since my friend asked me to make one for her wedding last year. The truth is, it's very difficult to make a strongly pistachio flavored cake. It's not like ice cream where the nuttiness easily comes through the cream and sugar. In cakes, in its attempt to compete with all the flour, eggs and dairy, it struggles to maintain its flavor while maintaining a light, tender crumb we expect in a cake. I changed this recipe from the original, to include pistachio paste (which you can get online). I looked at peanut butter cake recipes and saw they utilized peanut butter in lieu or in combination with butter, so I thought I'd apply the same principal here. It provides a rich, creamy pistachio flavor. The cake is then lightened with beaten egg whites to add lightness. The result is a light, nutty cake. I'm not sharing an accompany frosting recipe, because in all honesty, I haven't got one. I tried making the boiled milk icing from the original recipe, but oh my God did it die on me. It was a runny mess (perhaps my boiled milk/flour/sugar combo was too thin?). I spent all morning trying to salvage it - first by adding some confectioners sugar, then some more cream cheese, then butter, then more confectioners sugar. After removing a small amount to mix with pistachio paste (my last ditch effort to salvage at least some of it), I was able to make a concoction that held up JUST enough to fill the cake. For the outside, I went with a tried and true (and quick) recipe: chocolate ganache. Which isn't much of a recipe at all as it's just some baking chocolate bars, broken up in chunks, then melted in the microwave at medium power with half its weight in heavy cream (so in this case, 24oz chocolate with 12oz heavy cream). Mixing every once in a while until completely melted and smooth. Not to say it's straightforward to make ganache. There are plenty of ways to muck it up. If you mix it before it is warm enough, it will start to get grainy. If you make it too hot, it will get grainy. Basically you need the Goldilocks temperature to get chocolate ganache just right (between 90 and 110 degrees). I recommend using an instant read thermometer to get your ganache just right, but if you don't, just make sure it's warm to the touch while you are stirring. I then placed it over a bowl of ice water, whisking with an electric mixer until it was thick and glossy. Finally, I decided to try decorating with pistachio sugar shards. I'm not sure if that's what it's called, but it's not quite praline, not quite toffee, not quite caramel either. It's just 1 cup sugar melted with 1/4 cup water until light golden in color. I then poured it over 1/4 cup shelled pistachios on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and let it cool. Once cool enough to handle, I broke it up into big chunks to decorate, then further crushed the remaining chunks with my rolling pin and a ziploc bag. It was surprisingly tasty. Next time, I will definitely add some salt to make them even better!

Recipe adapted from Handle the Heat

Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Thu, 30 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I recall as a kid, I would get visibly angry if upon cutting into a cake at someone’s birthday party, the interior revealed a pale cake with fruit wedged between the layers. I mean c’mon! Save the fruits for the healthy afterschool snack. If I’m dressing up and buying you a present, the least you can do is serve up some decadent chocolately goodness. I mean as I kid I wasn’t on the hunt for swiss chocolate or anything, heck I’d be happy if they served the Entenmann’s double chocolate cake over any of those cakes from my childhood. The one exception I make: raspberries. But only when smothered in chocolate, no less. Chocolate and raspberry will forever be one of my favorite flavor combinations. The chocolate/raspberry mousse cake from my local bakery was a long time favorite of mine, until my palette changed and only my homemade chocolate cake will do. So I created this homemade version, using swiss meringue buttercream instead of mousse as they are similar in texture and sweetness. In traditional Naureen style this is chocolate ganache dripping all over the cake, the perfect accent to the raspberry and chocolate layers underneath.

Pastry Pillows

Mon, 27 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I'm baaaaaaaack! After recovering from hosting Thanksgiving dinner, I'm back in the kitchen making some of my favorite things: small bites, filled with butter, sugar, then topped with more fat and more sugar. Yeah! Just in time for the holiday season, I'm whippin' out my trusty old "100 Best Cookies" catalogue from Better Homes and Gardens that I got way back when I used to live Poughkeepsie (2010). I don't celebrate Christmas, but I love all the holiday baking that comes along with the season. I've also been watching a whole lot of The Great British Baking Show so I'm super inspired by all the different creations I see on the screen. What shall I bake next? A Stollen (a German holiday bread studded with dried fruit with a marzipan center)? A chocolate twist bread? Chocolate revel bars? I'm enjoying the down time to explore cakes' buttery brethren - though I'll be back in the kitchen baking cakes as of tomorrow =).

I was fascinated by this recipe. Most pastry dough requires skillful combining of cold butter and flour in order to achieve flaky texture, but this fool proof dough creams together butter and cream cheese and mixes in flour. Somehow they puff up in the oven and look like glorious buttery pillows. The best kind of bedding I’d say! I did something sneaky and subbed mini chocolate chips for the jam in some of my later pillows. Hope you enjoy these as much as my friends and family have!

Cherry Almond Cake

Wed, 02 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I know, I know. I'm actually posting a non-chocolate recipe. There are few things that I enjoy as much as I enjoy chocolate. Vacations. Lobster truffle mac and cheese (just discovered at cute Sunnyside spot Côté Soleil while out to dinner with the talented and endearing Moni Begum of Moni's Kitchen). Moroccan almond cookies made by La Rose Kitchen. Actually, any almond dessert is fabulous. Rainbow cookies. Marzipan (yup, straight up). Stollen (German holiday sweet bread with marzipan filling).

So cherry almond cake was a no-brainer. Last week I had made a cherry frangipane (fancy word for almond filling) tart. Recipe from NYTimes. It was SO good, but since there’s already a perfectly good recipe out there, I wanted to share a less-fussy version of the dessert for those who may not have the time or desire to make pâte sucrée, chill it, roll it out, fit it, trim it, blind bake it, then fill and bake once more.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Tue, 18 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000

There is no rhyme or reason to this cake. It is neither healthy, nor a proper dessert. It is simply for chocolate lovers. It is a glorious use of a bland, high water content vegetable that lends it's moisture to the crumb of this perfect snack cake. It's blandness acts as a perfect palette for all the wonderful cocoa and brown sugar flavor to absorb. I've posted about chocolate zucchini cake before. This bread version is a bit heartier with whole wheat flour and almond flour - a little more substance to justify my classification of it as a snacking cake! I wasn't happy with any of the recipes I found online for chocolate zucchini loaf, so I made my tweaks, including adding chocolate chips, and voila! Perfection.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (or 1 cup AP flour/1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup almond flour)
1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa plus extra for coating chocolate chips(if using natural cocoa, swap the amounts of baking soda and baking powder)
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
12 tbsp melted butter
1 lb zucchini, grated
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and lightly dust a 9inx5in loaf pan with cocoa powder. Stick in the freezer while preparing your ingredients.
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Turn off heat and allow to cool down.
Wash and cut off one end of zucchini. Grate, not completely finely, but not in huge slivers either. Place a large sieve over a bowl and place grated zucchini there to drain while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl (everything except the eggs, butter and chocolate chips). Whisk to combine, breaking up any large clumps. Make a well in the center and add eggs and butter. Mix with a wooden spoon (Bengali alert: I used my hands to mix this batter!). Add all of the zucchini and stir until combined. In a small bowl combine the chocolate chips with sprinkling of cocoa (maybe 1/4tsp). Toss to coat the chocolate chips with the cocoa. Add to the batter, gently folding in. Take the loaf pan out of the freezer and add the batter, spreading evenly across the loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out relatively clean.*
Allow to cool completely before attempting to remove it from the pan.

*It won't come out completely clean due to the moisture of this loaf. A few crumbs are ok. You just don't want it to come out with wet batter.

Chocolate Candy Cupcakes

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

After a startling reading on the weight scale towards the end of December, I swore off sugar. Just two years prior I worked so hard to lose my baby weight. Inspired by beach body coaches in my network, I vastly cut down sweets, decreased portion sizes, drank tons more water, swapped quinoa for rice in many of my meals, and began to regularly exercise using Fitnessblender, the only exercise I’ve been able to stick to thanks to the fact that I can choose from workouts of different durations and can do it from the convenience of my home. So I lost the 9 pounds of lingering weight, and 8 pounds on top of that.

Chocolate Wafer Cookies

Thu, 05 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

If ever you've craved a cookie so intensely chocolately, with little to meddle with it pure chocolate flavor (no nuts, no eggs, and a high cocoa to flour ratio), then this cookie is it.

I first made these about 1 year ago when I made my first ice box cake…for 50 people. I must have made 4 batches. Probably could have made less if I hadn’t been snacking on them along the way.

Crepes

Tue, 03 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The first time I had crepes was in Paris in 2006. Kids coming home from school were snacking on this conical things wrapped in paper filled with all kinds of chocolately/fruity goodness. My buddy and I did not hesitate. We got ourselves some crepes filled with nutella and slices of banana and our minds were blown. So delicious and, as I'd soon discover, so easy to make, with such simple ingredients?!

Flash forward to 2017 and I’ve made it 34098734287234 times. I’ve filled them with sautéed mushrooms and swiss cheese to serve to guests. With scrambled eggs and spinach for a savory breakfast. Most often though, with nutella/banana or simply with strawberry jam for my sweet-toothed family. It is the THE most requested breakfast item, surpassing pancakes, waffles, french toast, everything. Which works for me since it’s SO EASY and cooks much faster than all those other options.

Royal Icing

Thu, 29 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I just started decorating with royal icing after all these years. Why have I been torturing myself all these years with confectioner's sugar/milk concoctions that thin too easily, and pipe too painfully?! Since royal icing is made with egg whites (I use meringue powder so I don't have to deal with leftover egg yolks), it has a lot of structure from the protein. Pipes wonderfully for borders and outlines and thins easily for flooding. I have been a fan of Sana Sodawalla of SugarBase_ for a while now. Her gorgeous marbled cookies, whimsical cakes, and informative videos are something to aspire to. Since I've started baking and cake decorating more, I've been creating more content tailored to Instagram. I like how the platforms caters to creatives, offering a very visual space to share our content, with lots of real estate for pictures, and just enough for explanatory text. I've created these cookies after watching her technique on marbling sugar cookies. I got the idea for gold splatter after taking a wonderful mommy and me art class I took with a talented local artist on paper collages. I don't know if I've done justice to Sana's beautiful cookies, but I hope you try your own version at home. My go to recipe for royal frosting below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L8vlUdQg34

Cutout Sugar Cookies

Fri, 09 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I've learned a lot of things the hard way. Like how filling in eyebrows is not for everyone/every situation. Or that low-rise jeans are super impractical for pretty much every situation, especially picking up your backpack from the ground. Or that frosting should not go on a cake you JUST TOOK OUT OF THE OVEN. This extends to cut out sugar cookies. So many ill formed, mutilated cookies from the process of transferring from the rolling out surface to the cookie sheet. WHY OH WHY didn't someone tell me earlier to just roll them out on a parchment paper and then just remove the scraps from around the shapes?! Would've saved so much grief.

So even if you have a great cutout sugar cookie recipe. Even if you already knew to chill the dough before rolling it out. if you take away nothing else from this post, I hope this tip will save you some heartache during this holiday cookie baking season. Happy holidays!!

Umami Vegetable Soup

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

If you follow my Snap or Instastories, you saw me make pull this soup together last night. I’ve been looking to finish up all the vegetables and herbs that I bought as a part of my Thanksgiving groceries, herbs that I don’t use very much apart from that day (sage, thyme, rosemary). In the version I made last night, I threw in the last of my turkey leftovers, but it didn’t add much to the soup, so the version here is without meat, and it’s delicious!

Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup

Mon, 21 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I wrote up so many drafts of my post election reflections but couldn’t get myself to publish any of them. I’ve just been obsessively consuming news and commentary from my Facebook feed, calling my local representatives for the first time, trying out this thing called civic engagement after getting over all the stages of grief. So many of my peers and associates are disillusioned with our country men. Could not perceive so many would vote for someone with such horrible character. Fearful of the spike in hate crimes. Frustrated that a majority vote in the Popular Vote is not enough to win office.

Cinnamon Honey Skillet Cornbread

Wed, 02 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received? Was it jewelry? A nice bag? Maybe those shoes you’ve been eyeing? For me, it was my engagement ring, hands down. BUT apart from the that, the best gift I continue to receive is from my mother. Every few months she gives me a jar of homemade ginger/garlic paste that is quintessential in Bengali cuisine. Sure, you can buy the jarred stuff from the desi grocery, but it’s just not the same. It’s fresh, preservative free, and it’s made with LOVE. Such a life saver on busy weeknights to not have to peel/chop fresh ginger and garlic.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Pomegranate

Mon, 31 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

The first time my husband had brussel sprouts, he boiled them, and ate them without any seasoning. This demonstrates the extent of his culinary abilities.

Since then, he’s swore he would never eat them.

Except one Thanksgiving when I roasted them til they were crisp outside, tender inside, and had a salty bite. That year, the brussel sprouts were cleaned up!! There wasn’t a single one left. As with most foods, proper preparation is key. Add some pomegranate arils and reduced pomegranate juice to the mix, and you get a perfect balance of salty/acidic/crispy/creamy.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Quinoa Pilaf

Mon, 24 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

When was the last time you embarrassed yourself? Like reeally really embarrassed yourself? Well this recipe is from one such incident.

Let me take it back a few steps - have you ever been to a South Asian wedding? There are kids running around, loud aunties and uncles in technicolor outfits fighting over placement on the buffet line and general disorganization/mayhem.

Now - have you ever been to an American wedding? A Northeastern, Catholic wedding? Civilized, subdued, tasteful. Bride is in white. The events more or less stick to schedule. Not so many kids running around.

American Buttercream vs. Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Wed, 19 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

American Buttercream: butter, powdered sugar, milk, flavoring Swiss Meringue Buttercream: egg whites, granulated sugar, butter, flavoring

When I first start baking and cake decorating seriously, there were so many, “I’d never do that.”

I'd never compromise on taste. That means no swiss meringue buttercream. No fondant.
I'd never waste time on tacky fondant figurines (somewhat holds - I'll make figurines but only tasteful ones).
I'd never make a bad cake (I once made a chocolate cake and forgot to add the sugar).

But I've come around on a lot of things. Example: expanding my frosting repertoire to include Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Hailed for being the King of Stability and frowned upon by many for lack of taste. It is not as sweet as the American Buttercream (AB) we are used to, and gets most of its structure from whipped egg whites rather than beaten butter/sugar, so that it's airy rather than creamy. But man, it is a cake decorator's dream. Just look at the picture above: the AB is so much more porous. Honestly, when I first thought up the idea for this post, I thought the difference would be much more pronounced. But I guess after frosting and smoothing dozens of cakes, I got the hang of it with both types!

Left: American Buttercream Right: Swiss Meringue Buttercream

To make Swiss Meringue Buttercream, you start with heating egg whites and sugar in a double boiler until the sugar dissolves. You then remove it from the heat and whip it in your stand mixer with the whisk attachment until the mixture cools to room temperature and has the consistency of a soft-peak meringue. You then add the butter, a little bit at a time, until it looks like a curdled slosh. Keep beating until it congeals (see picture). The result is a super smooth buttercream that spreads like a dream. And because it has the protein from the egg whites as a base, it won’t just melt in a warm room like butter would. As long as it’s done right. And boy have I done it wrong:

Mango Mousse (Eggless)

Thu, 30 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Summa summa summatiiiiiime. I’m keeping the oven off for this one. I’m keeping my fruit bowl stocked up on glorious mangoes. And I’m eating them whole, skin off, just me and the pulp, with the juices running down my elbows. When I’m not eating them whole, I’m whipping up the most divine desserts with them, from ice cream to pudding to this luscious mousse.

Of course I couldn’t leave well enough alone. Yes, I could’ve blended mango pulp with sugar and folded it into whipped cream. But why do that when adding a bump of flavor is so easy and impactful? I add the juice and zest of half a lime and it works so well to cut the sweetness of the mango and the richness of the cream. It’s a balancing act. And I’ve been obsessed with limes lately. I find the aroma absolutely intoxicating. From virgin mojitos to salad dressings - I’ve been putting them in everything. I also add a splash of vanilla to make it extra special - adding a floral dimension to a fruity dessert.

Ramadan Round Up

Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

[gallery ids=“2030,1609,1097,1073,478,497,955,1002,2106”]

Ramadan is halfway over, but there’s still time to make some of my favorite recipes for this time of year! Going clockwise from the top left:

Citrus Quinoa Salad with Dates, Almonds and Mint - we consume a lot of dates during Ramadan. This recipe uses up any extra dates you may have in a salad you can feel good about eating at the end of a long fast!

My Go-To Suhoor (Sehri)

Wed, 08 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

When you were a kid did you have curry for suhoor?

Let me take a few steps back here. Ramadan Kareem everyone! The blessed time of year when Muslims around the world abstain from food & drink (yes, even water) from dawn til dusk. Not just a physical fast, Muslims (healthy, adult) are to abstain from sex, violence and cursing. Particularly trying for those at northern latitudes where the days are long (16+ hours for us in NY), we need to make the most of our pre-dawn and fast-breaking meals. That means nutritious food that will keep our bodies busy breaking down complex carbs and proteins. Just as important: staying hydrated!

Eton Mess

Sun, 05 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Eton Mess aka Eat-A-Mess. Named for the school where it was first served - Eton College, presumably in the mess hall. For some reason I am surprised when people aren’t familiar with this dessert. I mean, didn’t everyone watch the episode of Barefoot Contessa when Ina Garten cooked a charity luncheon for Alec Baldwin and the lady from Law and Order?? I mean, she made Alec buy her groceries from a farm stand. CLASSIC INA.

Tropical Green Smoothie

Fri, 29 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I just realized that it’s been 2 years since I lost the baby weight. I realize it because I’m slowly putting the weight back on (oh no!).

It’s hard being smaller than your natural dress size! I look at all the women in my family, and post childbirth, we are all at least a size 8 and pear shaped.

I’m 5'1 and for the longest time after my second kid, I was stuck at 129 pounds. Inspired by my Barnard classmate, Asiya Khaki, photographer and beach body coach, I decided to get in shape. I started doing 25 minute interval training workouts with FitnessBlender. I cut out sugar almost entirely. Subbed quinoa for rice in pretty much every meal.

Citrus Quinoa Salad With Dates, Almonds, and Mint

Sat, 23 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Ramadan is coming up! I figured I should add a few more Ramadan friendly recipes to the blog, for those of us who are looking to depart a bit from the usual fried foods iftars. During these long summer days when we're denying ourselves food and liquid for 15 hours straight, we need to treat our bodies well! This is a dish you can feel good about eating, that's not going to make you crash before the long night of ibadah (prayers) you have lined up.

This recipe is based on one from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table. I know a quinoa salad is not the first thing you think of when you consider French cuisine, but she’s filled her cookbook with things she makes for her family, without strictly adhering to a particular cuisine. In our hyperconnected world, it’s kind of impossible to resist influences from other regions. She’s got a Moroccan Tagine and carrot salad, small plates from her American upbringing, French pastries and traditional stews from her current residence. And she’s kind of an authority when it comes to food so I trust her with my quinoa!

Mexican Chicken Noodle Soup

Wed, 13 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

The first thing I do when someone sneezes in the house, is submerge a chicken in a pot of boiling water to make chicken stock for soup. That’s a normal, knee-jerk reaction, right?

Ok, perhaps I exaggerate. But there’s just something about the thought of clear, warming chicken noodle soup that makes me feel like it will banish all the ickiness of a cold away. And while the classic has a special place, this tomato paste and spice spiked version will carry you over from your sick days to your top o’ the mornin’, heel clickin’ days. Because for some reason, the weather is still dipping below freezing here in NYC in the middle of spring and the kids have caught strep throat while the hubby and I work our way through the common cold. Un-believable.

My Go-To Bolognese

Wed, 30 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

One of my first cookbooks ever was Giada De Laurentiis’s “Everyday Italian”. From it, I made my first pesto, marinara sauce, bolognese, vegetable bolognese, her fabulous balsamic roasted chicken, and many other Italian classics. For that reason, it will hold a special place in my bookshelf. One thing I noticed though, was that many of the tomato based sauces required celery, onion, and carrots as the base. While I always have onion on hand, the times I bought celery and carrot for those specific recipes, it was a pain to try to finish them off. I’m not a big celery-snacker. I might make a salad out of the celery and carrot (though I much prefer carrot and mushroom salad). So while I appreciate the flavors attributed to the classic mirepoix (sweet onion, sweet earthy carrots, licoricey celery), I needed one that suited my family’s needs and my grocery habits.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Sun, 20 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Swiss meringue buttercream is a cake decorator’s dream. If you’ve ever tried to get a really smooth looking cake from a traditional American buttercream, you’ve probably noticed it’s very very difficult to do so. Mainly because of air bubbles. American buttercream relies on the aerating of butter and sugar to achieve the desired volume and consistency. So between the air bubbles and stickiness from the sugar, it’s hard to get it super smooth! Swiss meringue buttercream, however, is light years beyond in terms of texture. There is a bit of a learning curve the first couple of times you make it, but once you have it down right, it is so smooth, tints so well, it really takes your cakes from home style to bakery quality.

Rainbow Cookie Cake

Wed, 20 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I just came back from the most amazing trip to Bora Bora…

Not really. We've been hangin' back here in NYC. Celebrating my daughter's fifth birthday. Anxiously waiting for the first snow fall so our kids' Frozen dream can become a reality.

Adulthood. Family. Saving up for a down payment on a house. Elderly parents to think about. Student loans to pay off. Retirement. Kids’ college tuition.

Potato Leek Soup with Rosemary Garlic Oil

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I had a hankering for warm, comforting American dishes the other day. Creamy tomato soup. Potato leek soup. Corn chowder. Pan seared scallops. Flat bread dotted with goat cheese and herbs. Just things I wouldn’t usually make since there isn’t a huge appetite for these things in our household. Take exhibit A: potato leek soup. Despite my daughter’s proclamation that she LOVED THIS SOUP and my husband’s accolade, “this soup’s good, Jaan!”, they each had just one serving. Just one. So guess who else had ALL the remaining servings?Yours, truly, of course. When I was a work study (undergraduate doing an on-campus job) at Columbia Business School, I would go down to the cafeteria and scope out what I could afford. Back then, a small soup with crackers cost about $4.75. With tax, it came out to almost $6. Which was a lot for me to fork over for lunch. But a girl’s gotta eat. Neither the $3.50 muffin nor the $12 sandwiches weren’t good alternatives.

Almond Lace Cookies with Earl Grey Ganache

Tue, 05 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Oh no - I was supposed to kick off the new year with a healthy-ish recipe, right?? Gah - you’ll have to forgive me. Next post, I promise, something green. In the meantime, enjoy Kitchen3N 3.0! Now with creepy side picture so you can imagine I’m watching you as your read (and salivate at) my material. These cookies have many names: almond lace cookies (you can find similar ones at Trader Joe’s, except instead of sandwiching them, you’ll find them as single cookies dipped in chocolate), bocca di nonna (literally, mouth of grandma but I suppose grandma’s kisses sound better), and that’s it really. Sorry. They have wonderfully sweet, caramelly, toasty notes and the earl grey ganache just makes ya go, “hmm what IS that?!”. Throwback to Rachel Ray and every instance of her adding nutmeg to a cream sauce.

Menemen (Turkish Scrambled Eggs)

Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I invited my childhood friend, Aileen Olmedo of TheStyleBoro, over for breakfast this past weekend. Her blog is a fun destination for the unequivocally stylish and youthful city dweller. Youthfulness is a state of mind folks, not a number. Rather than prepare traditional brunch items she could enjoy at a number of NYC spots (e.g. eggs benedict, waffles, french toast) I thought I’d make her a spread reminiscent of my beloved babymoon in Istanbul.BTW, Zeynep if you are reading this please don’t hate me if I butchered an authentic Turkish dish. I know you’re supposed to use Turkish peppers, not jalapeno or Chinese peppers. I know you’re supposed to use onion not scallion. And any other changes I made, I only made to make this wonderful breakfast dish a bit more accessible to the average American home cook!I love how the colors pop in a Turkish breakfast spread. White cheese, green cucumbers, red tomatoes, rich Soujuk (Turkish sausage), black olives, fresh squeezed orange juice. Makes for a dramatic presentation. If you can find apple tea and borek (cheese or meat pastry), those are also wonderful additions. Even if you aren’t looking for an all out breakfast extravaganza, you can enjoy the recipe below for Menemen - eggs scrambled with peppers, tomato and onion until they are just barely set. A wonderful change up from your usual eggs and toast breakfast.

Creamy Less Cheesy Mac and Cheese

Fri, 13 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Anyone else find themselves questioning their life choices? First world problems, right? I’ve got a roof over my head, food to eat, a wonderful family - so much to be grateful for. But I’m feeling sorry for myself because I haven’t “made it” yet or didn’t pursue one of the more conventional paths of engineering, medicine, or law (not that I have a litigating bone in my body). Of course this comes at a time when most of my high school and college classmates are receiving their secondary degrees and the grass is looking greener on the other side. But I’ve been trying to embody the saying I’ve read recently, “The grass is greener where you water it”. I love my family and would be so empty without them. But I need to reach my professional goals as well. Would love to grow this blog or my little side hustle (custom cakes) but I feel like I’m lacking some guidance. Is it my content? My outreach? Help me out, guys!! Granted I have two little ones, one who is isn’t in school yet, so my resources are limited. Speaking of little ones, for years I lamented that despite my efforts to make mac and cheese from scratch, my kids preferred the stuff from the blue box. Relieved, since dinner could be ready in a snap if I had the blue box on hand. Affronted, as well. So I sought a solution. The problem was the traditional mac and cheese recipes I followed were quite cheesy. Resulting in a strongly flavored and thick sauce.So, I thought I’d make a bechamel sauce, add in a little bit of cheese at a time until it had just enough thickness and was mildly flavored enough for my kiddos, and voila! I made something that my 3 1/2 year old would lick clean off the plate. This comes together so quickly, you’ll be like, blue box, who? Granted you have pre-shredded cheese. I use the Trader Joe’s blend of mozzarella, cheddar and jack cheese. It’s wonderful in omelettes, grilled cheese, etc. Throw in some frozen peas with the pasta during the last minute of cooking to make it a complete meal. Or shredded beef/chicken. The sky’s the limit. I just keep the chicken broth on hand in case it gets too thick. Make this once and you’ll never go back to Panera’s mac and cheese! Feel free to double the recipe if you have more mouths to feed!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I usually shy away from pumpkin spice anything. It’s just not my cup of tea. But a few weeks ago our family went to Wightman Farms in New Jersey, where they attempt to ameliorate the hurt inflicted on your wallet from overpriced hay rides with complimentary pumpkins. Thus, I had 4 pumpkins and a whole lotta cooking to do. I made a pumpkin bread which was a bust (recipe said to bake in two 8x4 loaf pans; I brazenly baked it in a single 10x5 in pan and sadly watched through the oven door as it never rose), a pumpkin pasta which was delish, and finally, these fabulous little bites. Important to note that my homemade pumpkin puree is thinner than the canned ones, but I think since this recipe uses vegetable oil and not butter, you should be fine. I whipped these up without a recipe to refer to (hence most of the amounts are 1, 1, 1 [1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup pumpkin, etc.] but hey, it works!) and without even being sure if the end result would be a cupcake or a muffin. Since I wanted to practice my piping, I frosted them with a cream cheese frosting - so I guess they are officially in Camp Cupcake! They are so moist you can serve as a snack without the frosting.

Coconut Sheet Cake

Mon, 19 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I feel like I just completed a marathon. Not the running kind, though there was a lot of physical activity involved. Running to/from the store. Planning, baking, cleaning, putting away, assembling, decorating on top of the usual taking care of 2 small children and managing a household. Before this past weekend, my cake orders were usually 2-3 layer 9 in cakes. Now I had to prepare 2 full sheet cakes to feed 200 people over two consecutive days. Luckily the other cake was an icebox cake that required lots and lots of chocolate wafers that I was able to store in the fridge. I was pretty much at capacity when I baked the first layer of this cake and froze earlier in the week. I had previously made this as 3 layered cake. But the recipe needed tweaking in order to make it more sturdy and stand up to the demands of a sheet cake! The customer requested pineapple filling in lieu of the cream cheese frosting, so if you like pina coladas then this cake is for you! I made two batches using the recipe found here. It was just perfect. The groom to be, after taking a bite could only say “wow”. That’s right. I don’t strive to make the most over the top decorative cakes that look like your favorite handbags. I strive to make the best cake you have ever tasted, every time. I should probably mention this was for a Bengali pre-wedding party called a Gai Holud. The writing on the cake reads “Jamil’s Gai Holud”. It’s a tradition wherein the bride or groom is rubbed all over with turmeric paste and then bathed publicly (with the Bengali equivalent of a bathing suit on). Here in America, we do a more symbolic version. Bride/groom sits on some decorated platform with an array of sweets in front of him/her. There is a bowl of turmeric paste that is rubbed on a small portion of his or her face, then wiped off. This is how I prepped the board for my 16x22 in cake. Because apparently they make pans in that size, but not cake boards or cake boxes. Lame.I don’t usually do crumb coatings, but because I made the amount listed in the original recipe, it wasn’t enough to properly frost a cake of this size, so I used it just to cover the surface. This cake is very tender, very moist, so it needed the crumb coating. The real challenge was in getting the second layer onto the first. The first layer was just inverted by placing the cake board on top of the sheet pan and flipping. But the second layer was not as trivial. I stood over the first layer, second layer in hand for like 5 minutes taking deep breaths before going for it. And it didn’t align evenly! Although I held the cake in place by the bits of parchment sticking out of the edges, I couldn’t fully control how it flipped out of the cake pan so it came out slightly rotated down (by like 10 degrees). I sawed off the parts that stuck out on either side and sort of glued it onto the barren sides with frosting. It worked. The guests were none the wiser. Til now, of course.Traditional henna patterns as decoration and toasted coconut flakes all around for that extra oomph.

Spice Rubbed Chicken Cutlets

Thu, 08 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

My first born starting school has opened up a world of culinary challenges: what can I make and pack for her that a) she’ll eat b) is nutritious (most of the time) and c) not too messy? The top two contenders so far as been a chicken “salad” sandwich made from leftover chicken curry, mayo and provolone cheese. First choice though, banana nutella sandwich. That’s my cop out sandwich. Something I’m sure Park Slope moms would be aghast at finding out was given to a child. You’ve heard about that, right? The parents who wanted to ban the ice cream truck coming ‘round the block so they wouldn’t have to deal with their kids ice cream wanting tantrums. While I empathize with the tantrum dealing - I wonder how many parents in my generation reflect on the food they grew up versus the food they feed their kids. Sometimes I get so hung up on, “Are my kids eating enough greens?” “Are they getting enough fiber?” “Is it too late in the evening for chocolate?”. While it’s definitely good to be thinking of these things, some of us go off the deep end when it comes to this stuff. A certain parent comes to mind who flipped out when her daughter was given a rice biscuit or whatever too close to her dinner time. Do you know what my after-school snacks consisted of? Double chocolate chip muffins laden with all kinds of artificial flavorings and preservatives with a can of pepsi. Or entenmann’s chocolate cake. Or chips ahoy cookies with milk. My gourmet touch was microwaving the chips ahoy cookies to give ’em that just baked quality. Right.So, over the years, I’ve given myself a break. Not all their fruits and veggies are organic anymore. Sometimes they have nutella toast for dinner. And lollipops or ice cream in the evening? One heck of a reward for cleaning up their toys! Not to say I’ve thrown all caution to the wind. I snuck some baby kale leaves into my daughter’s wrap this morning. Usually I make her sandwiches with soft whole wheat bread. Pictured below is Malaysian style paratha which, if you were with me during my semester in Rome, you know it is crazy good. It’s a flaky flatbread that makes anything taste good (not that this chicken needs any help!!). My favorite part of this chicken is the wonderful caramelization from cooking it in the butter. Why didn’t we eat more butter growing up? It is so glorious when treated well. Buttered toast in our household usually meant Country Crock vegetable spread on lightly toasted Wonder Bread.So enjoy these chicken cutlets all throughout the week:

Meyer Lemon Strawberry Lemonade

Thu, 27 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve come a long way from the days of squeezing limes into a tall pitcher of water, and stirring in sugar until it dissolves. And stirring and stirring and stirring…

Lemon/limeades were usually reserved for Ramadan in my household. That meant we whipped up batches of the stuff without being able to taste it (since we were fasting) and without sticking to any sort of recipe (my mother never owned a recipe book). The results ran the gamut from mouth puckeringly tart to gaggingly sweet.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Tue, 18 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I was incredulous the first time I heard the words “Zucchini Bread” at my adopted Jewish grandmother’s apartment some 15 years ago. Her name is Sophie and she was my mother’s confidant, advisor, protector and friend for many years. She taught her the value of saving. She raised two children during the Depression. She told my mother, every week she set aside $0.50. She grew such a small sum into stake in a multi-million dollar company and a condo in a luxury apartment building in downtown Manhattan. So when she talked, we listened:

5 Things I've Learned About Baking Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wed, 05 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been baking chocolate chip cookies since I was 10 years old. It was my first culinary endeavor. What does that mean for you? That means I’ve messed them up every which way so here I am to share with you some of my learnings.1. Make sure your leaveners are still potent. For years I thought baking powder was just a more potent form of baking soda, just because the first batch of chocolate chip cookies I made came out flat as disks (and I blamed it on the baking soda! Rightfully so, just for the wrong reasons). If your baking soda and/or baking powder has been in your pantry for more than 6 months, toss them. If you’re baking cookies just for yourself or your family, you could take the risk if you fill guilty about tossing them. But if you’re planning to serve them to company or take as a hostess gift, do not take the chance! Use fresh leavener! 2. Use a cookie scoop! Gone are the days of using two teaspoons to artfully mold the perfect cookie mound. Using a cookie scoop is the only way to ensure each cookie is uniformly sized and shaped. I know it sucks to buy additional kitchen gadgets, but if you love cookies as much as I do, or when you realize how great it is to have frozen cookie dough stocked in your freezer to bake off when the occasion arises, you’ll be glad you have one in your arsenal!3. Use parchment paper or silicon baking mat. This might be old news for many of you, but I just cringe thinking of the days I greased cookie sheets and had to deal with the aftermath of scrubbing encrusted cookie dough off of them. They slide off parchment so easily that I’ve never looked back. I always keep my pantry stocked with parchment paper, chocolate chips, and butter so I can make these if I need a last minute hostess gift (or for a sudden attack of PMS). 4. Refrigerate your cookie dough. There’s an unmistakeable difference in texture when you bake off cookies that have had time to chill. The flavors blend, the dough rests, and the center attains a heavenly chewiness that’s consistent among the best cookie recipes. Bake times will vary depending on the temperature the recipe dictates and the size of the cookie scoop you use. I like to bake mine until the tops have the slightest blush. It may look underdone, but it will continue cooking once out of the oven and resting on the baking sheet. Be mindful not to remove it from the baking sheet right away, as it will mostly likely bend and break while in the process of transferring. 5. There is no single greatest chocolate chip cookie recipe. Your palette changes as you get older. Different recipes highlight different characteristics of a marvelous chocolate chip cookie: the nuttiness, the chewiness, the contrasting flavors. Lately I’ve been using Leit’s Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I like the combination of cake flour and bread flour to give it the ultimate texture - chewy while delicate. For years before switching over, I’ve used Alton Brown’s The Chewy recipe with great results. However, chocolate chip cookie recipes, like shampoo, should be switched periodically.

Caprese Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Burrata

Sun, 26 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

When I went to Capri in April of 2008, I trekked up the steep hills to a trattoria for lunch after a morning of taking in the vistas. I was so excited to have a Caprese Salad in the birthplace of Caprese Salads. Imagine my disappointment when the waiter brought us green, far from ripe tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Then it hit me. The seasons. Seasonal eating was such a novel concept to me as an American - everything’s available all year round, and the whole conscious foodie thing hadn’t really come into full swing at that time. So, what I had imagined was a plate of luscious, bursting at the seams red tomatoes with buttery mozzarella and verdant basil. What I got was lackluster citrus with less than memorable accompaniments. If I had only come in the summer!Fast forward a few years and now I know that even the most lame tomatoes can be made dynamite by a long, sweet roast in the oven. It’s precisely what’s required of the tomatoes I’ve seen so far this season. Mild summer temperatures means mediocre sweetness and acidity (I think). So I topped regular grocery store tomatoes with sugar, salt, black pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. They reach a flavor complexity that rivals the most pungent pickles. Sweet, tangy and savory, it balances the mild, creamy addition of burrata. Burrata, if you’ve never had it, is cream filled mozzarella. On top of pizza, it makes for the creamiest cheese topping. I wanted to try it on this salad, but freaked out once I tried picking it up from its solution and found it to be so soft, it immediately started running all over the board. And then when you cut into it, it’s even more of a mess! I grabbed a bunch of paper towels and started wiping up the mess and I thought this dish was doomed for sure. But when I started picking up the squares (or blobs) I had cut from the ball of burrata, I appreciated the rustic appearance. It certainly wouldn’t work with raw slices of tomatoes. The whole aesthetic of the traditional Caprese Salad relies on the symmetry of the tomatoes and mozzarella. But with the warped form of the tomatoes from the heat of the oven, it worked well. I didn’t drizzle additional olive oil atop since I felt the burrata had plenty fat content. A sprinkling of cracked pepper and hand torn basil was the perfect adornment. Hopefully your basil is fresh and not the last scraps you could salvage from your (read: my) week-old bunch.

Pistachio and Spice Roasted Rack of Lamb

Sun, 12 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Ramadan, the Islamic month during which Muslims around the world fast from sun up to sun down, is winding down. The last ten days is a time of great spiritual importance. Extra prayers, remembrance and mindfulness of acts of worship are highly stressed. My interpretation is that it’s a way to encourage keeping up the momentum, since Ramadan is 30 days long, and many start off the month with a lot of vigor, but find themselves struggling to keep up with the extra prayers and fasts as the days go by. Another important part of Ramadan for me is the communal iftar (evening, break-fast meal). One of the things that drew me to Islam as a child and again as a college student, is the community. When I attended my first ICNA convention as an almost 10 year old, I wore the headscarf for the weekend, per etiquette. And I recall descending on the escalator to the main convention hall and being amazed at seeing so many Muslims in the same room. For the first time I felt like I was part of something larger. Growing up in Queens, my childhood was characterized by my otherness. I was always one of two Bengali Muslim kids (no black, white, arab, SE asian or any other muslim kids in my neighborhood). We were all a rag tag team of immigrant kids - the only cohesive element being our physical classroom or schoolyard. So when I first felt that sense of community, it was exhilarating. I kept the headscarf on (with its ups and downs) since then. This was reinforced as a student at Barnard. The iftars hosted by Columbia Muslim Students Association was another reinforcement. A group to whom I didn’t have to explain my evening ritual of breaking the fast. A group that actually shared the values I was brought up with. I know we live in a society that in name celebrates individuality and uniqueness. But growing up in a society that is so different from your native one, is exhausting. How many times have I had to answer the question

A Red Velvet and A Double Chocolate Cake

Sun, 07 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Marriage is a most beautiful thing. Take for example the marriage of a hot dog to its bun. Mustard to a knish. Or in this case, the best cake recipe with the most glorious frosting.Oh, you thought I was referring to the marriage between two people? No, no, no - that’s a completely different story. It’s tumultuous. A dichotomy of opposing egos - it’s as generous as it is demanding. Like a cake studded with ghost peppers. You can figure out ways to maneuver around them, develop techniques over the years to handle them, but you’re inevitably going to chomp down one and when you do, you might find yourself questioning the decision to go for that slice of cake.But you go on anyway, running around with your head ablaze because darn it you committed to this slice of cake! And the heat dies down and you’re left with a smear of frosting on your plate that you scoop up and wonder, “Gosh this is so delightful, whatever was all that fuss about?”. That’s married life for ya.

Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies

Mon, 18 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I gave into peer pressure, guys. When the first ramps popped up in my instagram feed, I rushed to the Union Square Green Market to pick some up. Not too long after, I picked up some rhubarb without much idea about what I was going to do with it. I am all about eating seasonal foods, local, humane, natural, sustainable, etc. But sometimes the thing that’s in season isn’t exactly worth all the hype. Ramps are great and all. If you are less familiar with them, they are a green leafy vegetable available for a few short weeks in spring. They are sold leaves, stalk, bulb and all and have a lovely mild onion flavor. I loved them first time I used them, as a topping on my homemade pizza. More recently, I chopped them up and stewed them with some tomatoes. I even bought a ramp pesto that works wonders on a tomato mozzarella panino.

Ridiculously Good Fried Chicken

Fri, 24 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

If you follow me on instagram (kitchen3n), you’ll notice I went on a little trip recently! I had the opportunity to help organize a company retreat at the magnificent Qasr Al Sarab in UAE (about 2 hours south of Abu Dhabi). It was my first time abroad since having my kids so you can be sure leading up to the trip I juggled feelings of anxiety and excitement…but mostly anxiety.

Over the Muffin Top Blueberry Muffins

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I wasn’t planning on posting anything anytime soon. I’ve been swamped with work and caught in a whirlwind of Pre-K applications. If some of you have read my previous posts, you know I had been planning on homeschooling my kids. I felt I could provide them with a much more tailored education than could be provided at a public school - supplementing my kids’ homeschooling with extracurricular activities like soccer or dance classes, for the socialization, discipline, and physical outlet.

Tiramisu

Mon, 23 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Tiramisu is the rare dessert that can compete with chocolate anything. And, no, the dusting of cocoa powder on top does not a chocolate dessert make. Fluffy zabaglione - an italian custard composed of raw eggs, sugar and usually some flavoring, layered with espresso or coffee soaked ladyfingers. It is the most delicious no-bake dessert you can whip up. Though, not in a snap. This dessert is best served cold, having spent the previous night in the fridge. The hardest part of this recipe, is the wait. Yes, my husband dug into his birthday tiramisu about 3o minutes after I assembled it. And yes, he enjoyed it. But you can bet when he had it the next day, the MMM! reverberated around the apartment.

Lessons in Spatchcocking

Thu, 12 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Don’t double check your calendar. It is in fact, March. I cooked a whole turkey in March.

What else are you going to do when your buddies over at Honest Chops send you a 17 pound bird? Since we didn’t do the whole turkey day shebang last year, I got to try out the spatchcocking technique I read about over at Serious Eats. So you see, it isn’t a word I made up for my kids. It’s a cooking technique that requires removal of the backbone (seriously, this turkey has seen better days), then pushing the bird down flat to encourage even cooking. People go all kinds of crazy to ensure breast meat doesn’t dry out. In past years I’ve tried brining in a brining bag (thanksgifiasco 2011 - brining bag broke and peppercorns were still being found in corners of my apt six months later). I’ve flipped the bird half way through the cooking process - starting breast down, the finishing breast up.

Mini Turkey Pot Pies

Mon, 02 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Confession: I’ve never made an actual pot pie. Like with the flaky crust and roux (butter and flour mixture) thickened meat and vegetable filling. It just wasn’t something that was a regular on our dinner table. And given my zabihah-halal dietary restriction, ordering chicken pot pie at any ol’ restaurant just wouldn’t do. But, one day last summer (or was it two summers ago?) I was taking my New York-obsessed-child-prodigy of a niece around the city. After an eventful day of Top of the Rock, TKOs at Bouchon Bakery, and bumping into Naomi Watts in Soho, we were making our way through Chelsea Market and (I) decided we would have a well deserved sit down lunch at the green table.

Lamb Chops with Spiced Pistachios and Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Fri, 13 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I think I’m like most of you when it comes to lamb chops: straight up with a rosemary and garlic rub. But my copy of Smitten Kitchen’s cookbook had been sitting on the shelf long enough. Sure, I’ve looked through the pages MANY a time to drool at the beautiful, glossy pictures and so earnestly wish I were friends with Deb. But the execution just hadn’t happened. And though I’ve never had pistachio crusted anything before, I did have (almost) all the ingredients on hand for this recipe. Which is rare.

Valentine's Surf and Turf: Rib Eye Steak & Jumbo Shrimp

Tue, 10 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This Ribeye from Honest Chops was absurd…

Ly delicious. I’ve only had a handful of steaks in my life. Namely because halal steaks are so hard to come by. Most halal butchers don’t differentiate between all the wonderful cuts (I think we’ve discussed this before). Nowadays, you can find some halal steaks at select NYC restaurants by way of Creekstone Farms. However, the last steak I had at Marc Forgione, just wasn’t that great. Not so much a reflection of the meat, rather the preparation.

Fettucine with Mushrooms and Leeks

Sun, 08 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I have been using a dastardly amount of heavy cream in everything. Coffee - splash of cream. Pie - whipped cream. Fruit - sweetened AND whipped cream. Pasta - cup o’ cream.

I have a officially regressed from my diet of quinoa salads, eggs, oatmeal, and fruits/veggies. Size 2 - it was nice knowing you!

But let’s talk about the shrooms here. People can get downright militant when it comes to mushrooms: Don’t wash them!! Don’t crowd the pan!! Don’t season them too early!! All advice I’ve taken to heart many a time. And as much as I love properly sautéed mushrooms with bits of brown butter speckling the surface and all the right caramelization in all the right places, these mushrooms fare perfectly fine all in one pan, with leeks and all! And not just “fine”. How can I explain to you how well mushrooms and leeks pair without going into a series of clichéd analogies? Let’s try some non-clichés. Mushrooms are to leeks as

Sloppy Joes

Fri, 30 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I recall an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations when he was schooling his viewers on some things every home cook should know. Among them:

How to slice and onion. Key take away: don't leave your fingers sprawled all over the onion. You are asking for it. Tuck your finger tips under like you're tossing a knuckleball. Life-saver.
Beef bourguignon. It's just a pot of unattractive, purple-hued beef cubes simmering in an even less attractive liquid base UNTIL the magic time is up. For the first two, two and a half hours, that's all it is. But when the time is right, it all comes together to become the legendary French stew. That's a lesson I've carried with me for all my stews and curries. The key factor is time. Time for the meat to flavor the broth and for the broth to cook/tenderize the meat. You have to learn what that time is for each dish to have truly delicious stews and curries.
There were a few other lessons. Since I've forgotten them, they clearly weren't as life changing.

I’ve made sloppy joes the traditional American way before, loaded with ketchup, brown sugar, sometimes Worcestshire sauce and/or vinegar. It’s just too sweet for me. In my version, I add some warming spices, paprika to complement the bell pepper, a tiny bit of sugar to bring out the sweetness in the crushed tomatoes, and peas (hey food groups!). Both version wayyy surpass the school lunch version I had as a NYC public school student.

Sausages with Peppers and Onions

Wed, 14 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This past Sunday, my daughter turned 4. There was a time, a dark time, deep in the winter of 2011, when I thought I wouldn’t live to see that day. In my zombie-like state, trying to comfort my colicky baby between bouncing on an exercise ball with white noise machines running and skin to skin contact - her infancy seemed like an eternity. Days kind of melted into each other, with nothing more signaling a new day then the slight shift of the hour hand on our clock. But, thankfully, I did survive those first few months, and apparently first 4 years. And despite all my attempts to outsource the party by hosting it at a charming local art studio - I still had quite a bit to do in the kitchen! From making waffles (with homemade blueberry compote), to the fruit platter, to my homemade Bengali milk tea, and the birthday cake, of course.

Chocolate Pavlova

Mon, 29 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

This is for my friend Aaisha of BakingPartTime. Last time she was over for a brunch party at our place, I made two pavlovas - one classic and one chocolate. I’ve posted the classic recipe before, but this time around I’m serving up the chocolate version. By the way, can you tell we are crazy about pavlovas around here? If you haven’t had one - it’s high time to try. They hail from New Zealand, where my husband spent a good part of his teenage years. I love this man more than anything, but I love him a wee bit more for introducing me to this dessert. A welcome change of pace from cakes or cookies. Much easier to prepare than a pie. They are just the most perfect dessert to have in your arsenal. They are a winner presentation wise, as well. They just have the wow factor, but are deceptively easy to assemble, kind of like a trifle. You just whip up some egg whites with sugar. Bake it low and slow for 45 min to 1 hour. Once cooled, top with whipped cream and fruit (or chocolate). The original recipe suggests topping it with strawberries and chocolate sauce. I didn’t have strawberries on hand, or the time to assemble the chocolate sauce, so I just have the bare bones version here. If you haven’t worked with whipped egg whites before, you needn’t worry. Just have patience. They take a while to whip up to the right consistency, unlike whipped cream (which I’ve turned into butter many times just by looking away for a minute).

A Tale of 3 Cakes

Wed, 24 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

There was the most chocolatey of cakes. There was the spiciest of cakes. There was the most citrusy of cakes. There was the prep time. There was the baking time. But most importantly, there was the eating time. Ok, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system (thanks, Ms. Liu!) let’s talk holiday baking. Now, it’s probably obvious by now that we don’t do Christmas around here. Hence, no yule logs, reindeer cookies, or gingerbread houses on the blog. Despite not celebrating the winter holidays, I, like many others, am grateful for the end of year break. Time to unwind with family, watch The Interview, or maybe get in the kitchen to do some baking (read: eating). I kept it simple with these cakes. No fancy techniques here. Just some basic creaming together of butter and sugar, then flavoring, dry ingredients, and voila. You have cake. My sous chef and the forever cluttered kitchen island. All three recipes are from an old issue of Fine Cooking magazine that I got, oh, 5 years ago. Just been sitting on my shelf while I browse online recipes. WHY? Each cake turned out so wonderful. Your search for perfect pound cake, everyday chocolate cake and spicy, earthy gingerbread stops HERE. NOW. Confession: I haven’t yet tried the pound cake. But as soon I do I will post my findings. I tweaked the original recipe by adding orange zest and orange extract to the batter. You could go the extra mile and drizzle orange icing on top - but I thought it would look pretty with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. I’m going to pretend I wasn’t an awful parent by not letting my kids eat the powdered sugar face down into the bowl.

Potato Hash

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

I’m sorry I haven’t been posting any holiday related recipes. Do you guys want more of that stuff? Gingerbread, snickerdoodle and the like? For this post, I thought of one of my readers, Raseefa, who mentioned she loves the basic, every day South Asian (or not) recipes that she can make for her small family. Potato hash is definitely one of those recipes you should have your arsenal. It’s not complicated, but there is a small trick to getting it right… Add potatoes first, remaining vegetables after. I can’t tell you how many times in the early days of my marriage, did my husband put up with potatoes with slightly burned, shriveled pieces of onion and pepper running through it. Because potatoes take longer to cook, I save time by getting them going in the oil first, while chopping the rest of my veggies. This way of making potato hash won’t give you crispy potatoes. They’ll be tender and flavorful, but cooking them together with the peppers and onions will keep them from crisping up. If you’d rather fry them until crisp and take them off the heat, and combine them with the vegetables later, you’re more than welcome to. This version is easy, and gets eaten by the pickiest eaters in my household for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I didn’t add any heat this time, mainly to cater to the young’ns. But diced jalapeno, chilli powder or even chipotle peppers would be so good with this. I just doused mine in hot sauce.

Brisket Burgers

Fri, 05 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

For our third installment of HCxK3N (what? you don’t think it’s catchy?), we’re serving up some brisket burgers. Notorious for being overcooked, I’m sharing my experience in cooking these delicious burgers up. Don’t judge the placement of the cheese slice. It’s adjusted below.Just look at that caramelization!

And to give you some background, burgers are to Naureen as hunny is to ____. Pooh. The answer is Winnie the Pooh. Don’t judge my TV selections as of late. I LOVE burgers. But sometimes I wonder if I’m more about the burger fixins than the actual burger. For me the patty is more of a vehicle for the most wonderful combination of sauce, cheese, veggies and bread. I’m probably not supposed to be saying that but regardless I’m going to share with you the secret to keeping your burgers nice and juicy. The secret’s in the sauce. No it isn’t. I’ll be sharing my not-so-secret sauce recipe below.

Braised Lamb Shoulder

Thu, 27 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Happy Turkey Day everyone! In honor of this national holiday, I’m posting about…lamb. I know, I know - ill timed. But, come this weekend, when you won’t be able to stomach another ounce of turkey or leftover cranberry sauce, you’re going to looking for a hearty, warming meal like this one. Now, most days are not braise days. Most days are mac and cheese from a box, or spaghetti aglio olio, or chicken curry days. I usually leave the braising of big cuts of meat (lamb shanks, shoulder, or short ribs) to the pros at my favorite Persian or Turkish or Afghan restaurants. But sometimes, you have to pull out the big guns. Visiting relatives. Someone got a raise, or maybe just got a year older. Or, perhaps you’re snowed in. Look at it just getting all cozy in its bed of tomatoes, onions and spices. When the occasion calls for a braise, the long, slow cooking of a piece of meat in order to render all of the fat and break down the muscle fibers to make for a tender, delicious meat, tomatoes and onions are my best friends. Many French or European recipes rely on the acidity of wine to get the job done. My mother and many on the Subcontinent might rely on green papaya as a meat tenderizer (strange, I know, but it works!). So, when deciding how to prepare this awesome lamb shoulder, I noticed most of the recipes in my cookbooks called for about 2 lbs cubed, boneless lamb shoulder (oops). Since this piece came bone-in, I decided to make the most of it! I love bones (it’s the Bengali in me). Since I don’t cook with wine or chicken stock for the most part, I rely on the bones in the meat I prepare to flavor the broth that it cooks in. I reviewed many different recipes before I went ahead with this one. It’s a conglomerate of all of them (cooking technique based loosely on Andrew Zimmern’s stovetop method, spice mix based on Gourmet’s Ras el Hanout recipe). I used my dutch oven for this - it retains heat really well and the inside of the top cover is lined with bumps that allow the moisture to drip down and baste the meat. Any large pot will do, though. You want to cook until the meat is tender and falling off the bone, but not so long that the meat will dry out (not to worry, there is a fairly large window of time between the two). After a cooking time of 1 1/2 hours, I took the meat out and shred it with a fork. During this time, I took the pot off the heat, and blended all the chunks in the cooking liquid with my immersion belnder to make a satiny smooth sauce. You can do this in your blender, in batches, or leave as is for a more “rustic” look. I left the meat immediately around the bone in tact, for presentation purposes, or for the Fred Flinstone in your family. I served this with couscous cooked in a saffron broth, and vegetables lightly sauteed with garlic and rosemary.

Roast Chicken and New Potatoes with Herbed Butter

Thu, 20 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

I have an exciting announcement to make! No, I’m not expecting baby number 3 as my mother would so desperately hope for. I am partnering with awesome, organic, halal and quality meat provider Honest Chops! Gone are the days when us strictly zabihah halal eating folks were limited to the options available at our local butchers (God bless them, but good luck if you’re looking for a steak or any other sizable cut of meat). With Honest Chops, not only can you get a great selection of cuts, but you can rest assured the animals are local, were raised humanely without steroids or antibiotics, and are zabihah halal. Some, including the lamb and beef, are even grass fed! YUM! For the next few weeks I’ll be posting a new recipe each week highlighting some of the great cuts of meat they have to offer. I love you guys. I love them. I hope you guys love them as much as I do! For my first post, I’m offering a turkey alternative for your Thanksgiving spread. I promise, non-turkey poultry is not sacrilege. Plenty of people (ahem, husband) aren’t fond of turkey. Some people do cornish hens, maybe even a large roasted fish (Everybody Loves Raymond, anyone?). A roast chicken is perfect for a more intimate gathering. The way I do it here, in a cast iron skillet, is wonderfully homey, rustic and easy! No need to get down the giant roasting pan (or purchase one just for this once a year dinner). You just need to ensure your skillet is well seasoned (read: greased). If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, any heavy, large, oven proof pan or casserole will do the trick. I used an herbed butter to flavor the bird and the surrounding potatoes. It’s got some of the traditional fall flavorings: sage, thyme, orange and lemon zest. But don’t be alarmed by the amount of seasoning - it’s enough for the bird, potatoes, and probably one more roast chicken. You could substitute other root vegetables in lieu or in addition to the potatoes - you just want to ensure it’s cut big enough to withstand the long cooking time. This was a pretty small bird, weighing in at 2.5 lbs. It only took 1 hour at 450 degrees F for the internal temperature at the thigh to reach 165 degrees F. I believe it’s an additional 15 minutes per pound - but your best bet is either a meat thermometer or slicing into the thigh to see if the juices that run are bloody or clear. Just in case you needed a visual for where to place the meat thermometer. Now there are all these different techniques for ensuring juicy breast meat. Flipping the bird (not that kind!) halfway through the cooking process. Spatchcocking. Dorie Greenspan suggests Joel Rubechon’s technique of cooking the bird on its side, flipping to the other side, then after it’s done, turning it upside down and doing a rain dance (for moisture, of course). Ok, I made up the dance part just to show what lengths some will go to. The fact of the matter is - white meat is white meat. It’s inherently more fibrous than dark meat. But with a bird this size, I doubt you will run into issues with it drying out. I say this after roasting this in one position for the whole time, without any basting. Though, I will say, with the herbed butter spread between the skin and the meat, that ensures a sort of self-basting. If you don’t have sage, I’d imagine rosemary would work well. Or even tarragon. Something earthy! The last thing you need is some kitchen twine to tie the chicken’s limbs to the body (you don’t want the limbs flapping about, otherwise they’d overcook). With that said - happy eating and start to a holiday season!

Chocolate Pastry Cream (Chocolate Pudding)

Mon, 17 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

There’s a story behind these plates: we got them for free from our last CB2 purchase. I’m assuming because no one else would buy them. There are like 4 of them, all rectangular appetizer plates with quirky stick figure/food illustrations. This is the first time I busted them out. Somehow the bite taken out of the cream puff worked perfectly with this ugly little dude. I was inspired to bake these delectable cream puffs after purchasing Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. There’s so much goodness in this book. I was surprised at how much Moroccan cuisine permeated French food culture (as interpreted by Greenspan). The result is a multitude of really promising mezze/hors d’oeuvres, salads and other veg-centric dishes. The cream puff is made from a standard pate a choux recipe (minus one egg) - serving only as a vehicle for my silky smooth chocolate emulsion. Once I made and chilled the pastry cream, I started it eating it by the spoonful. I couldn’t help myself. That’s when I realized pastry cream is barely different from the more conventional pudding. Not the type of puddings that are thickened by just cornstarch, rather the ones that are thickened (and thus made more rich) by egg yolks. It’s great as a stand alone dessert. I piped these into the cream puffs using a pastry bag fitted with a long tip.

Braised Green Beans

Wed, 22 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

When it comes to vegetables, I find myself oscillating between tradition (oh, hello soggy vegetables swimming in grease and spices) and modernity (steamed, then tossed with garlic infused oil or vinaigrette). Even though I felt pretty good about myself cooking it until just cooked through, and going easy with the fat, I would always second guess myself when I’d go to my mom’s and find myself thoroughly enjoying her sides. Until I recently read about braising vegetables in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The idea is, you combine everything in a pot or saute pan: vegetable, fat, cooking liquid, seasonings, and you cook it through until the liquid evaporates and the veggies just finish cooking in the fat. PERFECT. Once you have the technique down, the possibilities are endless! Of course it takes some trial and error with each vegetable. They vary in cooking times, moisture levels, and sizes (of course it’s up to you how big or small to make your pieces). A few tips to recall are:

Double Chocolate Brownies

Wed, 22 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Apologies for the month of silence from Kitchen3n. The dog ate my computer. More like the Apple store took my malfunctioning iMac for a week and couldn’t reproduce the problem we are CONSISTENTLY having at home. Does anyone else’s mac do this thing where it just randomly starts producing a lot of noise (like the fans are in hyperdrive) even though there are NO CPU intensive programs running? Then just goes berserk and shuts off? Any ideas would be much appreciated. I just barely got to edit these photos before the issue started up again and am finishing up this post from my laptop.

Homemade Ricotta (and a lasagna, too!)

Mon, 22 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Why on earth would you make your own ricotta? Because it’s delicious that’s why! Also, for these reasons:

Unlike homemade chicken stock, you don't need 98765432 ingredients. You need 4.
It doesn't take 3.5 hours. It takes 0.5 (and you don't even have to stand watch over it for the majority of that time).
You don't need any special ingredients/equipment (screw cheesecloth! I used a papertowel!)
It is awesome over toast (or fruit) with a drizzle of honey and slivered almonds (that is, unless almonds trigger your eczema). Breakfast all week! Use it to kick your lasagna up a notch! The recipe I've used all these years advised defrosting frozen spinach, mixing it with some ricotta, eggs, and seasonings and adding it as a single layer. It was my least favorite layer. So, this time, I heated up minced garlic and oil in a saucepan/wok. I cooked the spinach in it, seasoned it with salt, pepper and nutmeg, then added it to my homemade ricotta, decreasing the ricotta to spinach ratio quite a bit. No egg. It was divine. I didn't think this process through very thoroughly. I boiled all the lasagna sheets. I just kept adding layers while I had stuffing/noodles. The top layer didn't receive its due (read: I ran out of sauce). I'm sorry top layer. I still loved your nutty, cheesy contribution. And now I have leftover cooked lasagna noodles in my fridge. Roll ups next week? Another thing to make with your fresh ricotta - lemon (or in my case lime) ricotta cookies! Not pictured: the tangy, sweet glaze that goes atop these lovelies. And hopefully, your baking powder isn't out of date, like mine was, and yours more resemble fluffy clouds rather than lemon disks.

For the Ricotta (recipe courtesy of Ina Garten - surprise!)

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk
2 cups cream
1 tsp salt
3 tbsps white wine vinegar

Directions:

Heat milk, cream and salt in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil.
Turn off the heat, add vinegar, and stir. Let sit 3-4 minutes while mixture curdles.
Place a mesh sieve over a big (preferably deep) and line it with cheesecloth or a paper towel. Carefully pour mixture in and allow the whey to separate from the curds for 20-25 minutes. Voila! You have ricotta cheese.

For the Lasagna (warning: did not measure - approximations below)

Ingredients:

3/4 lb ground beef
olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced small
2 carrots, peeled, diced into about 1/4 in pieces
2 celery sticks, chopped small (if you don't have carrots or celery, don't let this stop you from making this meat sauce!! use peppers, or more onions if you need to!)
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp chili flakes
salt
pepper
1 28 oz can crushed tomato
1 bay leaf
1 tsp sugar
about 2/3 box lasagna noodles (about 15 sheets)
16 oz frozen spinach
1 clove of garlic
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup of ricotta cheese
about 7-8 oz mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmigiano reggiano (sorry, no shortcuts allowed for this step)

Directions:

For the meat sauce: brown meat in lightly greased skillet or wok over high heat, breaking up the meat and cooking until meat is no longer pink and has a nice crusty exterior. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon. Set aside on a plate. Add a bit more oil, then onions, carrots, and celery. Sauté until translucent (about 5 min). Add garlic, oregano, chili flakes, and about 3/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Add crushed tomato, bay leaf, sugar. Stir then cover and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for about 20 min, stirring occasionally. At the end of 20 min, turn off heat and check for seasoning (it should taste GOOD - if not, add 1/4 tsp more salt). Set aside.
In a medium skillet/wok, heat 1 tbsp oil or butter over medium high heat. Add 1 clove of garlic, minced. After about 30 seconds, add frozen spinach. Stir to break down clumps of spinach. Add about 1/2 tsp salt and pepper and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Cook down until spinach is warmed through and flavorful (4-5 min). Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a tbsp of salt and lasagna noodles and cook according to package directions (6-8 min). Drain, then drizzle with oil to keep from sticking. Set aside.
Assemble the darn thing: preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 1/3 of meat sauce to the bottom of a casserole or lasagna dish. Add one layer of lasagna noodles (3 of the traditional barilla noodles). Then add 1/2 of the ricotta/spinach mixture. Top with 3 more noodles. Then add another third of the meat sauce - spreading to distribute evenly. Top with half of the mozzarella cheese (shredded or sliced). Top with 3 more lasagna noodles. Add remaining spinach/ricotta mixture. Add 3 more noodles. Top with remaining meat sauce. Add 3 final noodles. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and grated parmesan.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes. Uncover, then stick back in the oven for 10 more minutes. It should be bubbly and the parmesan should just be starting to brown. Let cool before slicing unless you want messy, gooey pieces like the one pictured here =).

Zesty Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

Thu, 04 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve lusted after many versions of Tequila Lime chicken for ages but never got around to finding a good substitute for tequila (we don’t imbibe or cook with booze around here - except for teeny tiny amounts of vanilla extract or almond extract). I’ve thought about agave syrup, among other things, and thought some more. All that thinking got me nowhere until I watched Pioneer Woman make her tequila lime chicken the other day. Enough is enough. It’s time to give those chicken breasts in the freezer some cilantro/lime lovin’ (is that weird?). Now I still haven’t found a good substitute for tequila, but I definitely compensated for the flavor in other ways. Along with super fruity EVOO, lime juice, salt and pepper, I added a touch of garlic and honey to the marinade. These days, I always add a bit of sweetness to chicken marinades. It seems to round out all the flavors. And the sauce just takes it over the top. It’s my go to sauce for dressing up any meat or fish. I don’t exactly measure things out these days, so I will attempt to provide the most accurate measurements I can! You really should taste as you go along though. If the flavor falls flat, add salt. If the tang of the yogurt overpowers, add a little bit more garlic. If it’s too pale green, add some more cilantro. If it’s not spicy enough, well you know what to do.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Fri, 22 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Is your fridge forever cluttered? If so, you can empathize when I say I made this cake for the sole purpose of clearing out a container of yogurt. I’ve been using yogurt quite a bit in lieu of buttermilk for our morning pancakes. Just sub it in your favorite buttermilk pancake recipe, thin it out with some water or milk, and it is just as good! Inaya is my go to person for sifting dry ingredients together. She can almost mix wet batter, but needs a little help reining in her stirring excitement. Kudos to her since I am not easy to work with in the kitchen. Any one of my friends who have attempted to cook or bake with me only to run out screaming and flailing their arms can attest to that. Sorry for the sofa/printer pictured here. It’s hard to find good lighting in my apartment and it just so happens that smack in the middle of the living room is the best place. There’s no butter in this cake. And I can’t say that I don’t miss it. I do. Sincerely. But, luckily, I am taking this over to my in-laws tomorrow, where there is a sort of hex on butter (I know, I know how could we be so different, might as well be from another planet). But there is no denying that some of the best cakes are made with vegetable oil. Namely because veg oil is a liquid at room temperature, so cakes made with it tend to be more moist. Take Beatty’s Chocolate Cake from example. And make no mistake - this is yet another Ina recipe, adapted a bit, which she adapted a bit from Dorie Greenspan. This cake gets a few hits of lemon flavor. First, the lemon zest infuses the batter. Second, it gets drenched in a lemon/sugar syrup while still warm. Third, it gets a pretty little glaze from a powdered sugar/lemon juice concoction. I used large eggs instead of the extra large eggs she usually calls for. Didn’t miss a thing. I might try a mixture of baking powder/baking soda next time though, just to see how it affects the rise. Also, I omitted the vanilla extract, which I sincerely regret. I also used 1/3 cup powdered sugar for the icing rather than a full cup (we’re watching our waist lines around here LOL). So, if you know of any butter haters, this is the cake to make for them.

Basil Smoothie

Tue, 22 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000

I’m pretty sure Kawsar and I are the only ones I know who don’t like smoothies. There’s just something off putting about the texture and consistency, especially when bananas are involved. I wasn’t always this way. He did this to me. It’s funny all the little ways you and your spouse end up influencing one another. Enter, the basil smoothie. As strange as it sounds, there is only one resounding response to this beverage any time it is served: REFRESHING. SO REFRESHING. No fruits here to muddle with the consistency. Just delicious, tangy, full fat organic yogurt. Fresh basil (a great way to use up that excess basil if your garden is currently overflowing - as basil tends to do). Simple syrup. And ice. Now if you have a quality blender, the consistency would be of a blended ice beverage. Mine is pretty prehistoric so when I hit the power button, it usually just liquifies the ice cubes. It doesn’t bother me too much, since the beverage itself tastes great. But if you are really looking for that shaved ice consistency, pour it into a flat baking dish, stick it in the freezer, and scrape with a fork every few hours to turn this smoothie into a granita type dessert. I saw Giada making this smoothie ages ago and I was hooked. I’ve tweaked it to cut down the sugar (and by omitting the lemon). Since then, pretty much everyone I’ve made it for has duplicated it at home.

Salsa all'Amatriciana

Thu, 10 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000

It’s Ramadan. The days are long. Brain cells hardly get enough glucose to function throughout the day. You would think after breaking our fasts in the evening, we get a second wind and can be productive. Not the case here. Usually after iftar, my husband and I try to make the most of the 20 or minutes we have together post-kids-bedtime and pre-taraweeh (nightly prayer). Yet even after he leaves for the masjid, I find myself completely unable to do ANYTHING productive. That includes the dishes. I don’t know why this year’s fasts has left my brain and body completely depleted (any md’s/rn’s/nutrionists feel free to chime in). But my dear friend Amreen has been requesting this recipe from the very first time I made it for her back in college. And I, being the jerk friend that I am, have neglected to share it until now. So, on Friday, with bacon, tomatoes and sidekick Moury in hand, whipped up this old favorite. This recipe is actually from my very first cookbook purchase in high school: Giada’s Everyday Italian. I know I’m always singing Ina’s praises and yes, her show really informed my current culinary outlook. But it all started with Everyday Italian. From Giada, I learned how to make my very first marinara sauce. Shrimp Fra Diavolo. Balsamic Roasted Chicken. Eggplant Caponata. Favorites that I use time and again - and they all come from this book. I can’t say as much for her follow up cookbooks, but this is definitely one I can vouch for. Any Roman reading this will gasp at my bastardization of their beloved Amatriciana sauce - a pancetta/onion/garlic/tomato sauce except with halal beef bacon in place of the pancetta. I’m sorry! This is just the best we can do! The fat from the bacon balances well with the sweetness/acidity of the tomatoes. So you neither feel like you’re eating a really greasy pesto, nor a flat lined marinara (let’s face it, marinara just isn’t that exciting unless doctored up with some crushed red chili flakes). My old, and I mean old (seriously, friends for 13 years now?), friend Moury was with me in the kitchen. And contrary to our last cooking experience, I wasn’t a total tyrant. She took all these photographs for you guys. And since I haven’t been doing any day time eating, these are the only photographs I could manage for this post. So, bacon and pasta lovers rejoice! The perfect marriage of the two is in this dish.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Sat, 31 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

I have always usually been outnumbered in my family by people who aren’t enamored by chocolate. Same was true when I married my husband. Even more so. But then the kids came, and they loved chocolate, especially dark chocolate. It was then that I knew they were mine (that was the real testament, not the whole watching them come out of me thing). And so now I have little people to share my chocolate obsession with. Little people to make chocolate cake for on birthdays. Little hands to help stir the chocolate chips into cookie dough. And little fingers to steal chocolate chips from the counter before they even have a shot at meeting pancake batter.

Banana Date Nut Bread

Tue, 25 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

I bought quinoa a week ago. I still don’t have the guts to prepare it, out of fear of what happens to unfortunately too many of my experiments in healthy-food-ness. Make it. Eat some the first day. Then a day goes by: everyone opts for the other options in the fridge. Another day goes by: my mom brings over a vat of chicken curry. Another day goes by: take out time! By day 4, no one will be eating what they hadn’t eaten the past 4 days (my chia seed pudding is currently suffering that fate)! So while I procrastinate on the quinoa, I tried to make some healthier substitutions in my usual banana bread. After going through Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I was all like “yeah! butter! if french people can douse their food in it, why can’t we?”. Then I read an article that scared the pants off of me about saturated fats. So what to do?! There’s got to be a balance between the Paula Deen fried mac’n’cheese-wrapped-in-bacon death on a plate and quinoa/kale/green smoothie diet.So, here is my answer. Banana bread. I know bananas have a bad rap for the amount of sugar in them, but hey, they have potassium. That’s important, right? Personally, I’d rather eat natural foods with natural sugars (like coconut water) and vitamins/minerals than an artificially flavored protein shake to curb my appetite! So, on to this bread. Does it have sugar? Yes. But there’s fiber from the date and whole wheat flour. Does it have fat? Yes. But it’s coconut oil and supposedly the saturated fat in that is better for you. And nuts! Good fats that keep you full longer! I cut the amount of sugar from the original recipe by a 1/2 cup. If you’re rolling your eyes at me at this point, I’m ok with that. This isn’t a cake baked in a loaf pan that you can call a breakfast. It’s hearty. It tastes good. And you don’t have to feel guilty for having a slice. Have it with a glass of milk for a snack, or with coffee for breakfast.

Caramel Cupcakes

Mon, 17 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

My sweet friend Rabia is expecting her second baby and one of the organizers of her baby shower, another long time friend, Nargis, tapped me to supply the cookies and cupcakes for the event! It was such a treat to experiment with new cupcake recipes, challenge myself with making sugar cookies shaped like books (theme was bring a book for baby), and contribute to such a lovely tablescape (made by Nargis!).Instead of doing the usual chocolate/vanilla selection, I decided to try a caramel cupcake recipe that’s been sitting on my shelf for years. It’s from a magazine from Fine Cooking entitled “Celebration Cakes” (that I think I got from a Lowe’s or Home Depot). If you’ve never worked with caramel, it might be a little tricky to get it right. But a little practice with caramel is so worth it for the world of concoctions you can make. The burnt sugar added some wonderful deep notes to the cupcake. And it came out moist and perfectly tender. Along with the cupcakes, I made sugar cookies in the shape of books by slightly bending my square cookie cutter to a rhombus shape. And, because everything tastes better with chocolate, I applied a chocolate glaze made out of 10 tbsp butter and 10 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips (melted). I did the outline of the book with a ziploc bag with the tip cut. I filled in the “cover” by applying a dollop of the glaze and smoothing it out with the back of a spoon. I applied the “pages” with a simple powdered sugar/milk concoction. And the lettering - traditional buttercream. For the frosting, I used Ina Garten’s cream cheese frosting from her Flower Cupcakes, tinted in blue and pink. Recipe for the caramel cupcakes from Fine Cooking below. Their suggested pairing is a butterscotch frosting. If you’d like for me to share that recipe, just let me know. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Were the first year or two out of college a big smack in the face for anyone else? I remember sitting around my freshman year sociology class discussing Durkheim, or learning about the Coriolis effect in Intro Mechanics, or even listening to Bashir Abu Manneh’s impassioned lectures on Fanon, thinking, “I’m good enough to get this far, I can do pretty much whatever I want to do.” Well, I couldn’t. Not for a long time. For many of us who graduate from Liberal Arts schools without ultra competitive job offers, Teach For America gigs, or grad school acceptances, life after college is a bitch. One of my peers in Physics had a nanny gig lined up after graduation. Mindy Kaling, even with her Dartmouth education, nannied for a while when she first moved to the city. I got a part time job pushing paper at a consulting firm (that led to better opportunities later on). I searched for jobs for over a year and a half, whereas I believed with my degree, landing one would be a cinch. It was a humbling experience. I realized that as while you’re dishing out the dough, you can be fooled into a false sense of entitlement. But when it comes to earning a few of those dollars back, intelligence is rarely enough. You need to be practical. Don’t fall into the same millenials boat. Moral of the story is this: don’t go to a liberal arts school. Of, if you do, do incredibly well, so that you graduate at the top of your class. Become a pharmacist. Or learn to code. Make sure you have a decent internship lined up before your senior year. Harass people to get a decent job offer - persistence pays. I wish someone had told me any one of these. What does all this have to do with chocolate chip banana pancakes? Well, I have a lot of time to think while babysitting these guys on the stove. I make these like once a week and they are so incredibly good. I rarely have enough overripe bananas for banana bread, but often have one or two. The perfect amount for providing a hint of sweetness and banana flavor to regular pancakes. They are so light and fluffly…not like these ricotta pancakes I had at brunch a few weeks ago at a pretty popular Greenpoint spot (could NOT finish those dense giants).

Rocket Cake

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Photo credit: my dear sister in law, Sabika Mustafa. Ethics Bowl Champ of NJ!!

My daughter wants to be an astronaut…for now. For the sole purpose of being able to board a rocket and go to the mysterious presence in the night sky. I remember wanting to as well. Then I learned you have to pass a swim test. And psych testing. And you need a PhD in math/science/engineering (the bachelors did me in).

Chicken Noodle Soup with Mushrooms and Swiss Chard

Mon, 23 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

This is what happens when you’re too lazy to properly defrost a chicken. So, I stuck this baby (read: chicken) into a stock pot with 4 quarts of water, and whatever aromatics or root vegetables I had on hand. In this case it was carrots, half an onion, an inch and a half of ginger root, thyme and a bay leaf. I didn’t even half enough garlic (just a few cloves) so I saved it for the mushrooms and swiss chard. And I just let it simmer away during our morning routine.

Sweet and Smoky Butternut Squash

Thu, 12 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been eating bad lately. Like oreos bad. Like soup from a can bad. Now keep in mind, I’m not exactly a health nut. I don’t do juice cleanses or quinoa. Kale rarely makes an appearance at our dinner table (I prefer swiss chard). But, I tell myself I’m eating ok as long as I get plenty of veggies, minimize the processed foods and eat only sweets I bake myself. Butter and oil are ok, in my book, since I don’t eat fried foods on the regular. But something happened after Thanksgiving. Burnout, perhaps? Winter weather? I guess I’ve been entertaining and cooking a lot recently. So combine that with two kids, NYC’s first snow storm, homeschooling stuff and going back to work (part time), and less frequent help from grandma. Yes - that spells burnout. So much so that I’ve been neglecting this poor butternut squash for like a week and a half. It really was a testament to this vegetable’s shelf life. But, today was the day. Both kids napped (simultaneously)! The sun came out! I had a wrap for lunch while this was in the oven! Hallelujah.

Homemade Hot Fudge

Tue, 03 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

It’s bad enough that hot fudge you get from the ice cream spot around the corner is crack. But when you make it at home with good quality ingredients, Ghirardelli (like I did) or even better…Callebaut or Valrhona? This happens:

(Image courtesy of Tumblr, katty-mee)

We were entertaining some old friends and so I thought I’d set up a little sundae bar with some of my favorite toppings: this hot fudge sauce, walnuts, and sprinkles (the ROUND kind, not those silly cylindrical ones. hmmph. who came up with those?? i’ll tell you who, someone with kids because they know once these sprinkles make landfall, they get scattered EVERYWHERE.) Get fancy with bananas, gummy bears, whatever you like. Just not whipped cream. I just don’t get whipped cream over ice cream. The latter is so much more rich and flavorful, what is the point of the whipped cream?? If your opinions on this are as strong as mine, please comment below.This is the first thing I made from my copy of Rose Levy Berenbaum’s The Cake Bible. Ok second. First was Swedish pancakes, which were a disaster. Anywho, she says to use dutch processed cocoa, but honestly, I have such a hard time finding dutch processed cocoa (in fact most of her chocolate cake recipes call for it. I’m going to have to experiment with subbing natural cocoa and making the appropriate leavening adjustments) and never get around to ordering it online, so I just went ahead and made it with good old fashioned natural cocoa. As many of you know, dutch processed cocoa is less acidic than natural and usually has a darker color, but I can tell you I did not miss a thing. And for the solid chocolate, I am sure she finely chopped 3 ounces of THE BEST CHOCOLATE IN THE WORLD, but I just used my semi sweet chips from Costco. They are already flavored with vanilla, so I did not add any, as the original recipe calls for. Make this for your next lunch/dinner party!

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Mon, 04 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

This is one of the rare cakes I love as much as a chocolate one. It’s not overly sweet like many caramel cakes I’ve had. It’s a super moist bundt cake that gets most of its flavor (and moisture) from chopped, pitted dates boiled in water. I know - that in itself does not sound appetizing. But it works. It’s not heavy on the butter (there’s only half a stick in the whole cake) so the whipped cream on top adds the right amount of richness. FInally, the nuttiness in the toffee sauce just takes it over the edge. Though I’m not sure why it’s called a pudding. It’s a cake, I swear. I was first asked to make this many Thanksgivings ago for dinner at a family friend’s. I’d never had it. Never known about it. I was handed a recipe, so I made it. And it. Was. Just. Divine. I remade it recently for a ladies’ luncheon (yeah, I live in the 1950’s). Needless to say, it was a hit. So you can imagine my surprise when I served my husband a piece of the leftovers…only to hear that he didn’t care for it! Just not a fan or caramel/toffee. Oh well. Tomato, tomahto. It’s perfect for post Ramadan if you have a ton of dates leftover and have run out of uses for them! I use Medjool dates. They’re nice and plump and sweet. I poke a few holes through the top with a toothpick to let the syrup soak through. And let me just say how much I love bundt cakes for entertaining. They always look so beautiful and with half the effort of a layer cake. No layer breaking or leveling or aligning. Just pop it out onto a nice serving plate and drizzle with icing. The cascade over the curves and in between the ridges always makes for a show stopper.

Pastitsio

Wed, 16 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve already written about Pastitsio. But since it didn’t exactly get its close up last time, I figured it was time for a redo. Pastitsio, btw, is a baked pasta dish, layered with meat sauce, bechamel and parmesan (or kasseri). Even though there are a few steps (and several pots and pans) required to make this dish, the flavor is out of this world. It all started when I bought some ground lamb on impulse. Tired of chicken or beef or beef or chicken, I reached for the lamb. Then days passed as I’d open the freezer door, stare at it to figure out what I could do with it (meatballs, kebabs), then close the door again. Then I decided, it was time to remake this lovely casserole. I had to buy some ground beef anyway, as the combination of the two types of meat helps mellow the strong flavor of the lamb. The cinnamon and lamb is such an unlikely combination, but it just works. Along with the thyme, garlic and oregano, the aromatics perfume the whole house. This time though

Julia Child's Ratatouille

Wed, 09 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

So, I’ve renamed my blog! Kitchen3n.com is now your source for traditional Bangladeshi as well as updated American and Mediterranean recipes. Please spread the word!Also, we have a winner for our giveaway! Congratulations to @DistractedDebra on winning the $50 gift card to Sur La Table! Happy shopping!It wasn’t going to be long before I posted something from my copy of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking (thanks to the hubby for the perfect birthday present!). My first attempts were some of the omelettes, the techniques for which she describes in painstaking detail. I had always heard that eggs were to be cooked low and slow…but she cooks them over very high heat for just a few seconds. And with all kinds of jerking, shaking and flipping action. All of which I failed at, miserably. So, I tried my hand at the ratatouille. Mainly because I had most of the ingredients on hand (a little short on the green pepper so I subbed red pepper). Also, I’d never had ratatouille before and seeing as how I LOVE eggplant, didn’t mind trying it a new way. And yes, that is a ruler you see in the previous picture. She is very specific about cutting the eggplant and zucchini into 3/8 inch slices (if my zucchini looks funny, it’s because TJ’s ran out of regular zucchini and only had baby zucchini left). The total cooking time was 1.5 hrs (active). I’ve never spent that amount of time on a vegetable casserole. But I wanted to do something by the book, and I wanted to make sure I did it just right. I didn’t by the way. In the final cooking, after the vegetables are layered and are set over a low heat to mellow out for ~20 minutes, she says to take care not to scorch the vegetables on the bottom. I scorched the vegetables on the bottom. Like many others, I will probably be making my ratatouille in the oven from here on out. The main flavorings come from the slow stewing with the tomatoes, a little bit of parsley and garlic. I would probably remake in the summer, when the tomatoes are at their ripest and have a lot to offer to the dish.

Toaster Oven Baked Eggs

Thu, 26 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

**$50 Sur La Table Giveaway ends at midnight tonight!**I nearly burned our building down a few months ago when I tried the self-cleaning mechanism on my oven for the first time and forgot about a teeny tiny pot of oil for deep frying in the back of the top rack. The initial fumes didn’t worry me…I knew it was incinerating all the baked on muck and turning it into ash. However, when the smoke started to darken, and our eyes started to burn, I ran to the oven to find smoke billowing out of the oven and “F10” flashing on the digital display. Needless to say, my stovetop was out of commission for several days until it was replaced. This was tricky for me, as fried eggs and oatmeal (alternately) are the most common breakfast foods in our house. Then, one day, I remembered Ina Garten’s herb-baked eggs, and I thought, I could definitely make these in the toaster oven. Now, I don’t have individualized gratin dishes, and I don’t imagine many people do. But I did have these creme brûlée dishes I got as a wedding gift that don’t get used nearly as much they should. So, I buttered them up, cracked a couple of eggs into them, sprinkled with salt, and voila. Breakfast was ready in 10-11 minutes. No babysitting a fried egg on the stovetop, or worrying about breaking the yolk. Use any oven proof, small, shallow bowl you have. Feel free to throw your toast in there as well, halfway through the cooking process. Remember, it will keep cooking even after the timer goes off. So, leave it in the toaster oven for another minute or two, letting the ramekin/gratin dish/creme brûlée dish cool a bit while the egg sets.

Chocolate Almond Torte & Giveaway!

Wed, 11 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

There is nothing more pleasing to me than a decadent chocolate dessert (a sublime mousse, a rich flourless chocolate cake, piping hot fudge on ice cream). After that comes almond cookies, anything from tricolor cookies to macarons to straight up marzipan. So, of course, when I found this recipe, I definitely heard a KA-CHING somewhere and my eyes reflected cupcake silhouettes or something. A few departures from the original Epicurious recipe: as in all of my baking, I use raw sugar. And instead of slivered almonds like the original recipe, I just use almond meal, using a scant 1 1/2 cups instead of a full 1 1/2 cups to account for settling and density of ground almonds vs. slivered.I’m not sure why the recipe called for a 1/2 tsp of lemon zest. I didn’t find it added anything to the flavor (it was way overpowered by the almond extract). My guess is because Capri (which is off the Amalfi coast) is brimming with lemons, some the size of pineapples, so they probably just add it to everything. This recipe was also perfect for feeding my almond meal obsession. I just love adding it to everything in lieu of some amount of flour. It adds such a nice texture to otherwise plain jane pancakes or sugar cookies. As you can see, there was some spillage. I won’t point fingers, but if I did they might point down. I am terrible at clearing counter space. And yes, that is Pam in the background that I used for greasing my springform pan instead of the butter the recipe so clearly stated to use. I haven’t noticed a difference…have you? The torte’s not so sexy close-up. Folding the whipped egg whites in three batches. So proud of myself for not deflating (it)! This is just seconds after it had a close encounter with a toddler with a truck in hand. It barely squeezed through. We whipped out the extra fancy serving dishes and silverware for this torte. Actually my husband and his brother were so eager to dive into it, I had to get up before I could finish my meal and scramble to get the camera before this precious first slice entered into the oblivion. Don’t be sad when your torte deflates. It’s an egg thing. You probably won’t even notice since you’ve taken a bite of chocolate heaven are doubly smacked in the face with almond flavor (both meal and extract), like Billy Crystal’s consigliere in Analyze This. Think, chocolate macaron meets rainbow cookie meets brownie. Really, really good with a dollop of homemade sweetened cream (as opposed to the powdered sugar the original recipe suggests).

Homemade Granola

Wed, 04 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Why not have breakfast in your favorite dessert bowl?

I am not crazy about oatmeal. Unless it’s steel cut. That I don’t mind for a weekday breakfast. But it can be time consuming. So, the other option is to make a nice big batch of this granola on a lazy Sunday (believe me, it does not take a whole lot of effort…a little babysitting while it’s in the oven, sure, but nothing over the top). And boom, you have breakfast ready for the whole week. Over yogurt, over milk, over ice cream as a midnight snack, it’s delicious. Can you buy ready made granola from the store with about the same amount of effort? Yes. Will it make your whole house smell like maple syrup and toasted coconut? No. Besides, like most foods when made fresh, it tastes better!I realize most people may not have all the necessary ingredients on hand for this, but if you make it just once, you’ll likely keep those items in stock for future cravings. It’s super customizable, too. Don’t have almonds? Use peanuts. Don’t have raisins? Use craisins. I don’t care for dried fruit in my granola so I just leave it out entirely. Just don’t skimp on the maple syrup or coconut.This is Alton Brown’s recipe. When it comes to basics, this guy knows what he’s doing.

Spinach and Tuna Sauté

Fri, 30 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Try to do a better job than I did with the onions.

This recipe is based off of one that my mom learned from our first hosts in American, way back in 1989 (listen up kiddos, fireside chat time). Of course, that one included all the usual spices found in Bengali curries (cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder). It was the perfect hybrid between American pantry basics and desi cooking. Props to Majumder Aunty for coming up with it! It’s great for so many reasons. Surprisingly flavorful for a straight-out-of-the-pantry dish. Really low budget. And quick. Frozen spinach is just such an all around winner. Always keep some in your freezer. So much easier to prepare than to rinse, cut, and cook fresh spinach, only for it to wilt down to nothing. And as per the tuna, I like the italian tuna packed in olive oil. So much more flavorful than the watered down chicken of the sea we used to have growing up. It’s amazing how much flavor tuna can impart on a dish when it’s not drowning in mayo and hiding in between slices of bread. I like to swap out the medley of spices for some freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest. “Brightens up the flavor” as Giada would say. And because I made it kid friendly, I dialed back on the amount of chili flakes. My mom tosses in whole green chilis, but I rarely have those on hand. I did keep the coriander in there because I think it complements the lemon. But if you’re truly making something from the pantry, this dish would still taste great with just the garlic, salt and pepper. You can serve this with rice and daal. It would also be great on some crusty bread with a little bit of grated cheese (gruyere, fontina), pressed and served as a panini. It’s super versatile. Hope you try it out soon!

Stone Fruit Crostata

Tue, 20 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t know at what point I got the inspiration to make this. I’m not one of those people who go ga-ga over summer fruit. I pretty much prefer a chocolate dessert any time of the week (or year). And the work involved in making a crust, rolling it out, refrigerating - usually too much for my lazy self. But I went to the farmers market this past Sunday and OD’ed on my fruit purchases. There were just so many different kinds of plums. And nectarines, and peaches, oh my! Or maybe it was the barrage of emails I was getting about galettes (french for crostata) from other food bloggers. This may be a good time to mention what this thing is: a free form pie. A rustic dessert that can be filled with pretty much any fruit of choice. Anywho, I thought, now is the time. Except making the crust wasn’t the labor intensive part…cutting all this fruit was! The peaches were fine but the plums and nectarines were impossible to pit without turning it into mush. So, you have to cut out each wedge, one by one, with an exact motion away from the pit in order to get decent slices. This is an example of how not to fill the dough: on the wooden board where you roll it out as opposed to on the parchment paper itself. Transferring it to the parchment paper lined baking sheet was a nightmare. It got so wet and soggy from the fruit juices that we (my sister and I ) just barely made the transfer without turning the whole thing into a giant fruity baked donut. This pastry has wonderful buttery crumb topping. And the crust is perfect in its simplicity. No vanilla, no cinnamon. Just pure butter, sugar, flour (and a bit of salt). Keeps me coming back for more! Though I did not excel at the folding over and pleating part. And given this batch of fruit, it needed a bit more sugar for our taste. So, we topped it with some powdered sugar and served with a scoop of ice cream (white chocolate raspberry truffle to be exact). The day was coming to an end by the time I got around to taking these pictures, so the only sun filled surface left was the kids’ toy chest. I think that’s ok. As long as you can see the food, right?Recipe just barely adapted from Ina Garten. Keep in mind, this makes two crostatas so if you planning on freezing the other dough for later, make sure to cut down the prepared fruit by half. I only pictured one here since the other one came out not so pretty from the transfer.

Olio, Aglio & Peperoncino

Tue, 25 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

For most people, the holy trinity means the Catholic theological doctrine of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. For those in the culinary world, it usually means carrots, celery and onion. But for me, it really is olio, aglio & peperoncino (oil, garlic and pepper). On busy weeknights, it is your best friend. Heat up some garlic and crushed red pepper flakes in a pool of extra virgin olive oil and you have the base for a flavorful, fast meal in minutes. Throw in cooked spaghetti, spinach, green beans, or broccolini. Or use it to dress up fish or chicken breasts before grilling. Remember to filter out the pieces of garlic and pepper, of course, otherwise it burns. Once you do that, the whole thing becomes a super versatile garlic and pepper infused oil.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Not the most appetizing name for a cookie, I know. But take one bite, and who? wha? What’s in a name? These are actually based off the kitchen sink cookies from a certain famous/infamous bakery that has taken Queens by storm (Martha’s, if you must). Why the duality? You either love it or you hate it. Their chocolate mousse and rainbow cookies: perfection. Their cheesecakes and gelato: leave something to be desired. Pretty much everything else is lukewarm, considering it opened shop in a city that is overrun with foodies, michelin award winning pastry chefs and french macarons that are flown in from Paris daily. Enough about their kitchen sink cookies. Mine have a tad fewer ingredients (nix the white chocolate and toffee bits) and satisfy a craving for chocolate chip cookies that have just a little extra something. The addition of coconut made them appealing even for all the South Asian mouths I have to feed around here. And obviously the oats make them a healthy and nutritious snack so when your toddler stuffs her face with them you’re not thinking “I’m a terrible parent” rather “just look at all that fiber she’s getting”. Lastly, after baking chocolate chip cookies for the past 15 years, I will leave you with some things I’ve realized:

Deb's Favorite Brownies

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Yes, I’m referring to her by her first name because she’s a household name around here, joining the ranks of Giada and Ina. Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman is who I aspire to be. Mother, blogger, and now, cookbook author. She is a meticulous cook whose love of food and attention to detail are the biggest attributes to her success. I am a novice in many of those respects and though parenting takes up the largest percent of my time, effort and mental faculties, my hope is that in time my recipes and food photography will start to measure up to hers.

Pavlova

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

By now, you must be thoroughly confused. Traditional Bengali food. All American desserts. Mediterranean musings. Korean restaurant review. And now an Aussie/New Zealander dessert? What kind of blog is this? In short, it’s a reflection of me. My south asian roots. My growing up in the most ethnically diverse place in the world. My brief, but glorious time in Italy. My marriage to a guy whose life is even more of a hodgepodge than mine (think, Bangladesh, Libya, New Zealand, New York).

Mushroom and Carrot Salad

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000

My best friend Moury and I are total health nuts…NOT!

She has sworn off salad greens and fruit. I am a dessert fiend and thanks to my husband, no stranger to midnight snacks (though not nearly as bad as he is…ahem empty pint of green tea ice cream sitting in recycling bin). But now, as I’m trying to lose the remaining baby weight, I’m trying to take baby steps towards better health (pun!).

Mint syrup

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

First post post-baby! That excuses a 3 month hiatus, right?

Anyway, my in laws have been blessed with abundant crops this year. Zucchini twice the size of butternut squash (pictures to come). A never ending supply of mixed greens. Cucumbers to rival the zucchini. All of these things make their way into my fridge. Part of their generosity included a giant bag of mint leaves (peppermint I believe). Now, you can only have so much mint tea before you realize you haven’t even made a dent and the leaves are starting to go. Hence, this simple recipe.

Spaghettini with Cherry Tomatoes

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

By now you all know that consistency is NOT my middle name. I offer, not as an excuse, but as a simple explanation for my long absence the fact that I am just about to pop this baby out (of course that means posts will become even more intermittent once I am a fully sleep deprived zombie/mother of two). I have been relying on a combo take-out, mom’s cooking and trader joe’s prepared meals to get by.

Grapefruit & Baby Spinach Salad

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

I did the unthinkable (for a South Asian): I made a carb free dinner that my husband and I enjoyed! Inspired by some uber fresh baby spinach I got from the farmer’s market (yess I finally made it to one this year) and some random grapefruit I picked up at Trader Joe’s. I usually segment my grapefruit, douse it in salt (and a dash of sugar) and eat it plain. I wanted a zesty and a tad more healthy way of eating it. Thus, this salad. It’s pretty simple…next time I might add some toasted walnuts or sliced avocado.

Pecan Bars

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Apologies for dropping off the face of the planet, but as my pregnancy winds down, I find it harder and harder to get through the day with a toddler, let alone baking/cooking for leisure and then blogging about it. But, thanks to my third trimester insomnia, I finally got around to this recipe sometime between my ill timed naps and my daughter’s night wakings.

The other day I re-watched Ina making her decadent pecan squares and decided it was high time I give it a try. Though there was no way I was going to expend 9 bars of butter in a single recipe. I don’t care how carefully she’s tweaked a recipe, I have a hard enough time getting rid of whole batches of baked goods without making enough for a traveling circus. The only challenge in halving the recipe are the 3 extra large eggs. Since I only have large, I settled for 2 large eggs.

Berries n Sour Cream

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

I think everyone has found themselves in the following situation: item X was on sale so, naturally, you stock up and reap the benefits of your frugality for weeks to come. Except, sometimes, this item doesn’t have a great shelf life. So you can start putting it in everything you eat, or just suck it up and toss it at some point. That’s what happened when my husband bought several tubs of sour cream (originally for spinach and artichoke dip for my daughter’s birthday party). After the last chip had been dipped, I started putting it into everything I could think of–mashed potatoes, sour cream pound cake, even pancakes (which did not go so well). I still hadn’t exhausted my supply when said hubby asked if we had any whipped cream to eat with some strawberries we had lying around. Inspired by sheer laziness, I came up with the following: berries with (sweetened) sour cream.

Pastitsio

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This will likely be the first post of many about an Ina Garten recipe. The woman is a genius. What I would give to be one of her gay hamptonites solely for the pleasure of her food. Um, I mean company. Her approach to food, cooking and entertaining has significantly influenced mine. From “turning up the volume on classics” to her emphasis on only using the best ingredients in her cooking - I adore the balance she’s struck between tradition and modernity. Reverence for what works and adaptability for what doesn’t has become a core part of my cooking.