HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 NEW YEAR EVE!!!

New Year is a very exciting event in my life and the life of my family. Generally, this is the day when we exchange the presents and Santa Claus might stop by to bring something special for my kids. This is the day, for which, the menu has to be thought through weeks before the event. I cook a lot for 31 December. I try to be rational, and break cooking steps in parts, like boiling the vegetables for salads one day ahead, or baking the sponge cakes. The regular dishes are extremely popular on New Year's Eve table almost in every post-Soviet countries families. We cook "Olivie" salad, "Herring under the fur coat", Caviar on top of the crust bread and champagne. Even, many are saying that all the heavy salads with mayonnaise and meat are sooo bad for your body, and I clearly understand that. Still, the taste of it reminds of childhood, spent awaiting for the presents, and the Holiday spirit full of magic and surprises. 

The Menu for the New Year party.


Olivie salad
Herring under the coat of shredded cooked vegetables
Carrots salad -Korean style
Stuffed cherry tomatoes
Caviar tart
Shrimp, cucumber and avocado salad
Samsa
Crab cakes
Shrimp Kebabs
Smoked Salmon souffle
Mushroom paste
Eggplant rolls
Lamb Ribs
Young potatoes
My Special Cake 
Ant House Cake in a shape of Tiger's head

There is a tradition to make wishes , while the clock's beat goes on for 12 times. We all spend those beats with the dreams and wishes in our head. I wish you to never forget you wishes and keep dreaming no matter what it takes. 


Happy New Year!!! Have a great 2010!!!!


The recipes will be published after 1st. January. 

TURKISH BAKLAVA

   The recipe from SULTANORHANGAZI. (youtube recipe)

   I make baklava pretty often and always try something new, trying to find the one, the perfect one. This time , I tried the recipe , which I found on YouTube channel. I followed exact recipe, and I loved it. The baklava pieces come very light, because you use only 2 sheets of filo pastry per a row. It's good to know, but doesn't save you from the calories, because everyone just had 10 pieces at a time. It's easy to make and fast. The rolling pin that she has in the video is also available in asian supermarkets. Mine is a little bit short, that's why I had to cut 2 cm from the edge of the pastry to fit the rolling pin.

Christmas Card. Project for kids.

 I volunteered in my son's class yesterday as an art teacher. I decided to show them how to make a greeting card. This is an  easy project and with your help and a little story, your kids will have fun making it.

 The first greeting cards, is believed, were used in China in 1400s. Chinese people celebrated the Traditional Chinese New Year and loved to exchange the greetings written on a small cards. The European travelers loved the idea of giving cards and brought it with them to Europe. Germans , of course took the whole idea to a new level and decided to print greeting cards. They used carved wood blocks to make copies of the same card. I showed kids stamps and we made some nice small stamped cards. 

 One of the oldest Valentine card is kept in British Museum . The card is more than 600 years old. I asked children when do we use cards and why do we need them. We also discussed the meaning of the tradition word. They decided that giving and receiving card was a beautiful tradition that made people happy. 

 I told them that very real artist needs an INSPIRATION. We discussed the inspiration meaning and they shared their favorite inspiration with me. I baked some gingerbread man cookies at home and brought them for children as an inspiration for their project. They learned that the gingerbread cookies recipe came from Germany and that Germans brought it with them to America. Germans loved the beautiful state Pennsylvania and built their houses in Lancaster county. We discussed the ways of decoration of the house and trees and learned that the same ornaments and decorations were not available at that time. That's why children loved the decorated gingerbread cookies. The used them to hang on the Christmas trees and used to put them on the windows. The passing by people saw the little smiley faces of the cookies and that cheered them up in  cold, winter days.

 CARD.

You will need

1 RED or GREEN cardstock paper folded in half for the card.
1 BROWN paper for the gingerbread man
1 Strip of some colorful paper (you can look in your wrapping paper collection)
1 BLUE cardstock paper
Construction paper for buttons and decoration of the gingerbread man
Hole Puncher
Glue stick or glue dots
Scissors
Christmas themed stamps and Ink pad

For children I made templates of the Ginger man out of Cereal boxes. They had to just trace the figure on the brown paper and cut it out. If you have little kids, then precut all the "ingredients" of the card, and then simply assembly them on the card. Decorate it with some stamping or color it with a white pencil.

Have Fun!!!

ROASTED SALMON WITH MOROCCAN BARBECUE SAUCE (Moroccan Barbecue Sauce)

  This recipe is from "Great Recipes of the Great Cooks" cookbook by Patrick Clark. The recipe requires to cook your own Moroccan Barbecue Sauce. The sauce is to die for. It's sweet , delicious, with nice heat and aromas. The sauce is about 1 cup and it will be enough for couple times.


 MOROCCAN BARBECUE SAUCE.


2 1/2 cups honey
1 cup ketchup
1 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
Juice of 2 limes
1 tbsp chile paste with garlic  (You can find it in Asian food store)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
5 star anise
2 small cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tsp ground cardamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground mace (I didn't have mace, and it was still fine)

In a medium -sized nonreactive saucepan, combine the honey, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, chile paste, cilantro, ginger, star anise, cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cardamon, cloves, and mace and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer , stirring frequently, for about 45 minutes, or until reduced by one third. Strain through a fine strainer into a bowl and discard the solids. Cool to room temperature.


After you prepared the recipe above, and cool it to the room temperature, preheat the oven to  400 degrees F.
Season the salmon to taste with coarse salt and pepper, lay on a heavy-duty baking sheet, and baking for 7 minutes. remove the pan from the oven and lightly coat the salmon steaks or fillet with the sauce. Roast  the fish until ready.
You can serve it with additional sauce.

BEST- EVER INDIAN CHICKEN CURRY

INDIAN CHICKEN CURRY FROM MY FRIEND

Sorry, I do not have picture. The dish was gone in seconds, and I couldn't find anything left for the photo. This curry is very delicious. You can easily substitute chicken with vegetables or tofu and make your own vegetarian version of curry. Serve it with basmati rice. 

Ingredients:


I used about 2 pounds of chicken thighs cut into cubes
2 yellow onions chopped
4 cloves of garlic chopped
1 inch of fresh ginger peeled and chopped
1/2 stick unsalted butter or ghee
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
3 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp of mustard seed (my own preference, optional)
1 tsp turmeric (optional)
salt
1 can of crushed tomatoes
10 fresh cilantro
1 cup cashews grounded in food processor
1 cup whole-milk regular yogurt (if I don't have yogurt, I substitute it with sour-cream mixed with kefir)

Heat butter in heavy pot. Cook the onions until golden color. Add the garlic and ginger. Cook 1 minute and add all the spices ( curry, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, mustard seeds, salt). Cook the spices for 2 minutes, do not forget to stir it. Add chicken and stir. Cook chicken for 5-7 minutes and add tomatoes. After the sauce will start boil, lower the heat and simmer it for 30 minutes. Do not forget to stir.

Pulse you cashews in food processor and when the chicken is ready, add the cashews with yogurt into the curry. Stir very well and cook just until first bubble.  Chop the cilantro leaves and garnish the curry.

OVEN-BAKED RED SNAPPER

 RED SNAPPER.

1 whole red snapper (ask the guy from the store to clean the fish)
olive oil
salt, ground pepper
1 lemon
1/2 of a yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 ziplock bag

The fish is perfect as good lamb chops with simple seasoning like salt and pepper. My kids, unfortunately, don't like the fishy smell and that's why I try to marinate fish for at least 30 minutes in lemon juice.

Prepare your fish, wash the inside and dry the fish with paper towels. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon, chop the garlic, add a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle the fish cavity with salt and pepper. Put the fish into a ziplock bag and pour the lemon juice mixture. After locking the bag, massage the fish with juice and leave it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Line a heavy baking sheet with foil and and oil it with olive oil. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place fish atop the foil. Slice the onions into rings. Place few circles of onion inside the fish. If you have few sprigs of rosemary, place it inside the fish. Slice the lemon and place few slices on top of the fish.

Bake the fish for about 40 minutes until the fish is cooked through the bone.

FAUBORG PAVE

THE MOST DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE FROM PIERRE HERME'S "CHOCOLATE DESSERTS" BOOK.

 Thanksgiving holiday was really a joy in my family. The special feast required a special dessert. After looking through hundreds of recipes, I couldn't find something new that I had never done before. Then, I remembered about the Pierre Herme book, and found this recipe. 
The cake is very delicious. Rich ganache is to die for, together with dried apricots the cake tastes heavenly. 


It took me 4 hours to complete the cake. The recipe is not very difficult and you can definitely fasten the process if you will think throughly the timing, since some of the components can be done in advance.


The recipe is long and may scare you away, but if you will think over of all the components before starting the process, you will see that the it is not complicated as it seems.

This recipe makes two cakes-one for now and one that can be stored in the freezer. You will need two 
7 1/2 by 3 1/2  pound cake pans (loaf pans).  My loaf  pans are 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches, that's why I had a good size one cake and second pan was baked with a thin cake layer. 


You can bake in advance COCOA CAKES (Sometimes I bake cake in the evening before the day of the party and store them wrapped airtight at room temperature.)
  
 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp (40 grams) Dutch-processes cocoa powder
 1/4 cup (35 grams) cake flour
 3 1/2 tbsp potato starch
 5 1/2 tbsp (75 grams) unsalted butter
 9 large egg yolks, at room temperature
 1 1/4 cups sugar
 5 large eg whites, at room temperature


1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter two loaf pans, then line  the pans with parchment paper.


2. Sift together the cocoa powder , cake flour, and potato starch. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool until it is barely warm to the touch.


3. Working in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks and 1/2 cup plus 2 table spoons  of the sugar on a medium-high speed. About 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl. You will need another mixer to beat the egg whites, if you don't have one, scrape the thickened egg yolks into a large bowl and wash and dry you mixer bowl and whisk attachment.


4. Whip the egg white at medium-hih speed until they form soft peaks. Gradually add the 
remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar and beat until the peaks are firm and shiny.


5. Working with a large rubber spatula and a light hand, fold the sifted dry ingredients  and 1/4 of the beaten whites into the yolk mixture.  Stir few tablespoons of this mixture into the cooled melted butter, stirring to incorporate the butter as much as possible. Add the butter and the remaining white to the yolk mixture. Gently fold everything together.


6. Pour the batter into the prepared pans - it should come three-quarters of the way up the sides. Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes. Check with the wooden skewer or the toothpick for doneness. 


7. Cool the loaves, allow them to rest 3 minutes in their pans, then gently unmold them onto cooling rack. Cool to room temperature.


 THE SOAKING SYRUP


 ( can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator)


1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salted butter (or use unsalted with a pinch of salt)
6 tbsp warm water


Put the sugar in a medium saucepan or a small skillet and place the pan over medium heat. As soon as the sugar starts to melt , stir it with a wooden spoon. Keep heating and stirring the sugar until it turns a rich brown color. Standing away from the pan , drop the butter into the pan , then  as it melts , stir it into the caramelized sugar. Stand back again and add the water. When the mixture comes to the boil, pull the pan from the heat. Allow syrup to cool to room temperature.


THE APRICOTS


 6 ounces (170 grams) moist, plump dried apricots.
 1 cup water
 Juice of 1/2 lemon
 pinch of freshly ground black pepper


Put the apricots  and water in a medium saucepan  and bring to a gentle boil.Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and simmer for 3- 4 minutes. Drain the apricots and let cool


 When they are cool, cup the apricots into small dice.  (If you'd like, you can reserve couple apricots and use them to decorate the tops of the cakes). Toss the apricots with lemon juice and black pepper and set them aside until needed.


 THE GANACHE


 6 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (the best quality you can find), finely chopped
 4 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
 2/3 cup sugar
 1 1/2 tbsp salted butter (if unsalted , then add a pinch of salt)
 1 cup plus 2 tbsp heavy cream
 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature.


1. Mix together bittersweet and milk chocolate together in a large heatproof bowl.


2. Set a heavy-botomed medium saucepan over medium -high heat and sprinkle about one-third of the sugar over the bottom of the pan. As soon as the sugar starts to melt and color, stir it with wooden spoon until it melts and caramelize. Sprinkle over half of the remaining sugar and, as soon as it starts to melt , stir it into caramelized sugar in the pan. Repeat with the last of the sugar and cook until the sugar is deep brown color. Stand away from the pan , still stirring, add the butter and then, when the butter is incorporated, the cream. Stir  and bring the cream to the boil, then remove the pan from the heat.


3. Pour half of the hot caramel over the chopped chocolate, using rubber spatula , stir gently. When the chocolate is smooth, add the remaining caramel, stirring. Set the ganache aside to cool for about 10 minutes. It should still be warm to a touch.


4. While the ganache is cooling, beat the unsalted butter , using either the paddle attachment or spatula. You want to soften the butter until it is consistency of mayonnaise, but you don not want to beat air into it. Gently stir the butter into the ganache. You can use it now or store it in refrigerator for up to 2 days. When you are ready to use it, allow it to come to room temperature and stir it. 


5. To work with ganache, it must be the consistency of a very creamy frosting and must have enough body to mound. Place bowl of ganache in refrigerator, checking every 5 minutes  to stir it , so it doesn't become too firm around the edges. 


TO ASSEMBLE


Working with a serrate knife, slice each cake horizontally into 3 even layers. Place a first layer on the cardboard or cake platter. Using a pastry brush, dab the bottom layers with the syrup. Use a metal spatula to spread ganache over the moistened layer. (1/2 inch thick) Top the layer of the ganache with half of apricots and very gently press the apricots into ganache. Set the next layer into place on each cake, and moisten it syrup. Smooth each layer with another layer of ganache and dot with remaining apricots. Moisten the top layer with syrup and settle it on the place. Spread a very thin layer of ganache over the side and tops of the cakes. Chill the cake for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Keep the ganache at room temperature. Remove the cake and spread a new layer of ganache on top and sides with metal spatula. Use a fork to comb the sides of the cake for decorative purpose. You can serve the cake now or refrigerate it for up to 12 hours. If the cake is too cold the extraordinary texture of he ganache is diminished. Just before serving, dust the tops lightly with cocoa powder. Place the reserved whole apricots.