Posts

Showing posts from May 29, 2011

Home Made Pasta: Part I....Delicious When You Have The Patience

Image
One Two Three Mini Roller Pin Middle Cylinder Turns Freely While Keeping Both Handles Steady. W hen someone likes pasta, like myself, he will go through a lot of pain to have the best possible, and sometimes the best possible is made at home....you know what goes in it....and it is fresh. Further my yesterday's recipe with the dry Tortellini bought off the rack of a supermarket, today we shall enjoy together the adventure of making pasta at home. Picture No. 1 shows you the equipment you need to make home made pasta. Picture No. 2 shows you the Ravioli maker which together with a mini roller pin Picture No. 3 , will help you make 36 little raviolis just like that! Five Four Picture No. 4 , shows the cutters in different shapes to make bigger raviolis...square, round, big, smaller. Tip: Put just enough stuffing, to fill the center of the square or circle. Do not put too much stuffing because it might go the edge of the circle a

Tortellini Con Latte / Panna / Burro.....Tortellini With Milk / Cream / Butter

Image
I believe by now you have graduated from the University of Plain Pasta and you are about to begin your Master's Degree in stuffed pasta. By stuffed pasta I mean, Tortellini, Ravioli, Canneloni, and Lazagna and precisely I mean home made pasta. You would want to make your own pasta and your own ravioli, and tortellini etc. so you can know what is inside or stuff with whatever ingredients you want. Today we shall begin with something easy.  We go to the supermarket and pick up a couple of packs of tortellini off the rack. These are dry, ready made. The next step is to go to the supermarket and stop at the fresh food refrigerator and check out the different freshly made pastas, including tortellini and ravioli.

Tunisian Couscous With Fenel And Cilantro........Totally Vegetarian And A Fantastic Meal By Itself.

Image
Vegetable Couscous Courtesy Of Wikipedia On Google T his is one dish I will never be able to cook myself...Maria, during our stay in Sfax, Tunisia (1981 - 1985), learned first hand how to cook it from the Tunisian ladies in our oilfield community...Yep! 30 years ago. All I know is that Maria really knows how to cook this version of the Couscous, and the standard ones with the chickpeas, lamb / fish / chicken / beef / and the various vegetables. For this recipe, which I am certain you will like, you will need: Serves 4 - 6 -  500 gms of medium Couscous. -  200 gms of fresh cilantro (fresh coriander) very finely cut. -  200 gms of fresh fenel ( looks like dill but it is not) very finely cut.(Maratho in Greek, bessbess in Tunisian Arabic). For the sauce: -  2 medium onions chopped. -  8 cloves of garlic chopped very finely. -  500 gms of grated tomato with juice. -  1 tsp. tomato paste. -  3/4 cup olive oil. -  1 tsp. cayenne pepper. -  1 vegetable bouillon cube. -  S

Hussaini Kabab......Skewered Barbecued Lamb....Typically Mughal

Image
Courtesy of Google Maps Simple RaĆÆta (not spiced) And Hussaini Kabab T he Moguls invaded the territory of India in the 16th century and ruled for almost 300 years. During their journey to India, through present day Pakistan, the Moguls came across the much admired Persian style of cooking, which they adapted and introduced to Pakistan and India.  This has become known as the Muglai Cuisine . Today I would like to share with you a typical Mughal dish originally prepared by the Master Chef Sajid Hussain Qureshi himself and author of the cook book in English Language "Art of Mughal Cuisine" ILM-O-IRFAN PUBLISHERS, published by Gullfraz Ahmad, 1rst Edition January 2004 which I am presently using. The name of the dish is Hussaini Kabab.  We had it for lunch and it was excellent. Due to health reasons a change was made to the topping sauce. Instead of the milk/butter/cream almond paste mix we prepared a RaĆÆta instead with yogurt, shredded cucumbers and dried mi

Quick Mild Curry With Rice....Going East

Image
V ery often you would want to change tastes, cuisine, go on a culinary trip somewhere. A quick Indian dish would be a very simple chicken curry with plain white rice.

Tarte Tatin....Upside Down Green Apple Pie

Image
Courtesy Of Wikipedia On Google C ulinary wonders sometimes result from mistakes during cooking.  One of those wonderful mistakes is the Tarte Tatin .

Irini's Chocolate Lava...The Third And Last Dessert ...Barbara's Birthday Dinner

Image
To make Irini's Chocolate Lava you will need: