"Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first"

A restaurant once I visited read on its menu - "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first"
People cherish dessert but are also scared of its calorie count.
Well, I always said. "Food is to be enjoyed, Not to be worried about"

Banana and cream melt

Ingredients

• 700ml Heavy Cream
• 250g Ripe Bananas
• 150g Cream Cheese
• 40g Gelatin sheets
• 110g Sugar 
• 3 drops vanilla essence 
• 100g blue berries + 10g sugar
• whipped cream and mint leaf for garnish

Procedure

Cook the blueberries with 10g sugar till its thick like a blueberry preserve and cool it. set aside.

Blend together heavy cream, bananas, cheese and sugar to a very fine and smooth mixture.

Soak gelatin in cold water for a minute till it gets soft. Squeeze it out and melt them on a low flame.

When the gelatin is melted, quickly whip into the rest of the mixture. Add vanilla essence.

Pipe them into greased molds. And allow it to set in refrigerator for about 2 hours.

Unmold it into a plate, place a spoonful of blueberry preserve.

pipe some whipped cream on top and finish it with some mint sprig.

For Boishali Sinha Massot. As i promised 

Pasta florentine

Thanks to the Italians for there pasta contribution to the world cuisine.
Pasta is categorized in two basic styles: dried and fresh. Dried pasta made without eggs can be stored for up to two years under ideal conditions, while fresh pasta will keep for a few days under refrigeration. Pasta is generally cooked by boiling.
Its obvious that most love going for dry pasta from stores.


Pasta Florentine

Ingredients (2 portions)

• 150g -  penne pasta
• 400ml - heavy cream
• 400g - canned spinach or fresh spinach
• 5g -  minced garlic
• 15g -  finely minced shallots or white onion
• 40ml -  dry white wine
• 10g - grated Parmesan
• Butter for cooking

Preparation


Boil the pasta with salt, strain and set aside.
Saute onion and garlic over a low flame, do not let them brown.
Glaze with white wine. once the wine evaporates add heavy cream.
Cook till the cream reduces to half the volume. Add half the spinach and cook for a minute or two.
Pull the mixture off the range, cool and puree very fine.
Return to the pan and add the remaining spinach. season it with salt and pepper.
Mix in the pasta. cook for a minute or two. 
Serve with sprinkled Parmesan on top. 


For my friends Boishali Sinha Massot, Harpreet Kahlon and Nishant Kalia 


Little variation with the recipe. Add some pecan halves at the end. Goes well.

Go green with Salad

Salads, not all enjoy it. 

But you still want it .

Food is to be enjoyed. so lemme give you a salad which is not just greens.

Baby Spring and Corn salad

Ingredients

A handful of spring mix

30g corn kernels or sweet corn

10g finely diced red pepper

10g grated carrot

freshly squeezed lime juice about a teaspoon

toss all together in a bowl with seasoning and serve immediately

Fish for health

Why bank on supplements for essential fatty acids like omega 3 when you can have them included in your diet?
Research prove that fish, especially saltwater fish, is high in omega 3 fatty acids, which are heart-friendly, and a regular diet of fish is highly recommended by nutritionists.


Modern day convenience offers you cleaned and readily available fish and fish products. Yet, i always preferred buying fresh. 
This morning i bought some sardine to try it out with the new sherry wine sauce i made.
sardines because of its bones, are not very popular on a plate.
But if you are the one who enjoys deboning fish on your plate then try this.


Pan seared Sardine with corn kernels and shanghai tips

Ingredients 


1 sardine (about 10cm long), cleaned off the head.
2g garlic paste/ a pinch or 2 if using granulated garlic
Oil to marinate and to sear the fish
seasonings
50g corn kernels 
10g tomato finely diced
2-3 shanghai tips

Preparation


toss the corn kernels and shanghai tips with chopped tomatoes in butter, add seasoning.
clean and marinate the fish with garlic, oil and seasonings.
sear the fish till golden brown on both sides and crisp.
i would recommend using a nonstick pan to avoid fish from sticking into the pan.
serve the fish with the kernels and shanghai tips.
you can also add a slice of lime while serving,


i was more interested in my sherry wine sauce going with it.
i wont be sharing the recipe of the sauce in here. But wouldn't mind mailing it to you.

Prawn curry for curry lovers

Google up for an Indian recipe, you will find hundreds around. Recipes differ from region to region, people to people and palate to palate. One of my favorite which in general most liked is using a cashew paste.
I always loved this recipe for it goes well both with Indian breads and also with any Indian rice preparations.

Ingredients (for 2 portions)

• u15 shrimps
• 20g butter for cooking
• 1 teaspoon (5g) cumin seeds
• 1 stick cinnamon (about 3cm long)
• half a medium onion roughly chopped
• half a medium tomato roughly chopped (make sure u use 5/6 tomatoes, no to tomatoes that have a little acidic taste)
• 50g cashew
• 2 - 3 dry red chilly (non spicy,) 
• 5g cumin powder
• 50ml heavy cream 

Method

I would recommend using a non stick pan. cashew paste sticks to bottom and you don't wanna burn them.

Melt butter and wait till it heats. sprinkle cumin seeds and cinnamon. allow them to brown a bit.

Add ginger and garlic paste, onions, tomatoes, cashews and chillies.

saute it for a about 5mins.

cool the mixture and make a very smooth paste. smoother ur paste is, smoother your curry would be.

Bring back the paste into the pan.. cook stirring constantly for about 10mins on a slow flame.

Add shrimps and stir for a minute or two.

Add water according to your desired consistency. 

Allow it to simmer for at least 15mins.

Whisk in cream just before you take off the range.

sprinkle cumin powder and give a mix. 

Vegetarian issue

 Vegetarian !!!!!

Do u have a vegetarian menu?

Every one guest out of twenty we receive in our restaurant is a vegetarian. Like about 5% !
people who eat selective or no meat.
those who practice of following a plant-based diet including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, mushrooms, with or without dairy products and eggs. Also have guest who are lacto-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, ovo-lacto vegetarian and vegans.


How many food outlets here in USA have menu designed for these group of people?
vegetarian menu ain't expensive, they in fact  go easy on your food cost unless you really wanna go crazy with ingredients.

Frites Burger for my restaurant

you simply can through in some vegetarian patties with lettuce, onion, tomato and slam it on a burger bun...
Bang! there u have a veg patty burger.


I have a staff who is vegetarian. i may not expect a vegetarian guest everyday, but do have this person in house working with us. Few days back i stuffed in some French fries, onion, lettuce and tomato between a bun with some sauces to go inside. Well, not just this person, others who tried also liked the idea. like i said, doesn't take much but now i have some choices for my vegetarian guests.

welcome aboard.

Lets have a platform for all chefs and friends for whom this industry is not just a profession but also a passion.


lets lay out a page where you and i can talk hospitality, discuss and appreciate cuisine.
a page that will chain us together for the flow of those limitless knowledge.