Pad Thai

I thought I knew how to do this, and did. And it was good. But having a blog helps me learn -- when I started trying to write out my method, I thought I should look around the web for how its done by others. And now I feel my way wasn't 'right.' Not that I'm against changing things around, I just feel I've been missing what's what about this dish. So here is a promise to work it out, and write out a proper Pad Thai in Sri Lanka recipe and method soon!

Until then I think Pim's blog, which has a really detailed account, is the best guide.

Chocolate Coated Meringues or Kisses

Yes, I've dipped my paw in chocolate. I am so pleased! Another first for my little food blog -- since I've never made any thing chocolate before. How did that happen? Well, I've read about it, and it seemed complicated, so I left it to the experts. But its not -- well, some thing may be, but just coating some thing with a googy layer of chocolate, and then letting it set -- well, its almost easier than eating the said thing, I tell you.
The kisses in the picture are supermarket ones (Edmunds, many in a bag! all gone now (:) -- the coating is home made. To do it, you get cooking chocolate (available every where -- I used Ritzbury caterer's superfine (Rs.250 for 400g) here, but Kandos has one also) and you melt it. You can melt it in a bowl over hot water, and I you need a pyrex bowl for this -- but you are also do it the microwave, 1 min at a time 2-3 times at half power, and its melted. My. Then just dip the little critter in -- and it sets. So easy. Gives awhole another dimension of texture, soft, bitter, sweet to the soft, airy crunch of the kiss. And when it all mixes up in your mouth, the chocolate coats each granule. Marvelous.


My sense is that there will be a lot more chocolate in my halflife now.

More on Tuile, with Coffee

In June, 2008, in one of cooking fits -- which are good things, I suppose, I had egg whites left over from making jaggery creams, and I made tuiles, the recipe I got from my big book of french recipes. this is what I wrote then:

"I like coffee, but i hadn't had it with tuiles before. i made these melt in your mouth crisps, which turn out in between a cookie and cracker, with egg whites i had left over from making kithul cream pots, with added sugar and flour. they are oven baked for 8 mins. really changes that ten mins with coffee.
also possible with added crushed almonds, which i didn't get around to yet."

(these are my ones, june 2008)

So there it was; until I stopped by at Monis (at Maggona, and famous for its rusks, of course) on the way back from Bentota the other day. I think it was Malathi who had said, when I first made tuiles 'Oh Monis does this' (like i was old hat for looking it up in a recipe book)-- but when we stopped before, at the New Monis, not the old, we are unable to find them. Well, at Old Monis, (and really can't they merge?) -- they have it, but its called Tuilips. Now don't cackle -- I don't know the history of this creation, its name or the confection, but it is melt in your mouth good, and at 6 for Rs. 45/=, very good value. Would be at least 450 at the Hilton, wouldn't it?

(the Monis variety)

Try some with Coffee, and say thank you to Monis!

Omelette aux Lardon in Antibes

I owe my visit to Antibes to Uday, wonderful new friend and colleague I met in Bellagio. He had visited there while a student, and recalled its beauty. Its a fantastic place, with a old fortress and city, going back again like Nice, to the Greeks. It was then taken over in the fourteenth century by the Girimaldi's of Genoa and still of Monaco & Monte Carlo. In the 1920s the old castle was turned in the museum, and part of it was being used as a workshop in 1946, when Picasso was invited to live and paint there for an year. The castle is now a Picasso Museum, with a collection of his painting and other artists. The court yard that over looks the Mediterranean is a sculpture garden, making it by far the most stunningly beautiful modern art museum I've been to.

Yes, that was wonderful. Then I walked down to old city and happened upon a small cafe that served only crepes and omelettes. So since I was not feeling like any thing sugarly opted for the Omelette Aux Lardon, which means, with bacon. Huh! I was very hungry and this was really teriffic. To die for, in more ways than one, of course.



To make this, and I had chat with the chef, you simply let your chopped bacon cook in a pan, until its sizzling, and then add the well beaten eggs. "How did you beat it," I asked him. "Whisk?"
"No," he said, holding up a knife." I looked suprised. "How do you say.." He went on, "knife and, kinfe and..." which he repeated until he found a fork. "Fork?" I said. And that was that.
You don't need salt or any other kind of fat, since the bacon has both. Amazingly good.

Poached Eggs & Bananas

Poached Eggs & Bananas
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

Eggs again. I know.
I poached these eggs in a boiling water bath, setting the egg filled ramikins in, and then gently scooping them out, with a flat spatula after the eggs set. This kind of poaching, if you can called it that -- it strictly isn't, I suppose -- gives the eggs a moist taste, that comes I think from the steam of the hot water bath.
Its very refreshing.

Omelets, considered

One of the pleasure of a food blog, is re-collecting old posts.
Since I migrated my-halflife to new-blogger, which has an indexing feature that old-blogger didn't have, these re-collections have become simpler and more organized. So I realized I've done four omelet posts, for example. Re-reading them, I thought to surf around the web, and check out how other people do their omelets.
And there seems to be a lot of different opinions on the matter. Some, like Pineapple Girl add milk, but most as it turns out don't. Whisking to a froth is recomended by several, but Delia (who has the best series of how-to pictures) insists that one should not - she just blends her yolks and whites. Adding chopped herbs to the blended or whisked eggs, is a basic of the classic (french) omelete, Pim over at Chez Pim, who blogs beautifully, reminds us -- and this Chili Cheese Omelete, on the BBC's well designed Good Food site adds the chopped Chilie right in the mix.
My own method is to add a little water to my eggs, whisk well to a froth, some times adding a little grated cheese into the mix. Up above are thumbnails of my old posts -- just for colour, fun, and the pleasure of recollecting.
But my question is, 'how do you do your omelet?'

Bombay Toast

Bombay Toast
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

Beaten eggs, lots of milk, salt & pepper.
Soaked bread, quickly seared in a heavy pan. With Jam, or with grated Hakuru, (Jaggery).

Heavenly Breakfast.

Pepper on a Poached Egg

Pepper on a Poached Egg
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

Always nice to wake up and have breakfast!

Another Egg

Another Egg
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

Another day, and another egg.
Still good as ever.

Soft and Jagged

Soft and Jagged
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

One soft boiled egg, and much pleasure.

Breakfast

Breakfast
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

Two eggs, beaten with salt, pepper, milk and grated cheese, yes the cheese is beaten in, and then, when its cooking, tomatoes, and more cheese. That's a slightly new direction for me, in omelets. The consistancy was different, softer; very nice indeed.

Three Eggs

Three Eggs
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

usually, i mix up my eggs, yolks white and all, and micro wave them gently. but rebecca who is visiting, likes them soft boiled, the old fashioned way. so i tried it, with her.

Yet another omelet :)

Yet another omelet :)
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

May be this is getting boring?
Dunno; I'm on a omelet thing. Grated Highland cheese, chopped green chillies and a tiny bit of MD green chillie sauce, splashed on.
With my beaten eggs and water, from the earlier recipes.
It was good!

Another Omelet

Making an Omelet
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

Another breakfast omelet.
Cheese and tomato, is such a great combination, and for me, has all these memories of sandwiches with afternoon tea, in the lesuirely times when my father's cook would actually make a proper tea each day, and I was young enough, just a little cub that is, and thin enough, to eat loads.

By the way, here is how I like to do my omelets

Shreded green chillie omlete

Shreded green chillie omlete
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

Here is one way to make a shredded omelet, which ends up sort of like an egg kottu, without the roti, in a way.
And so this one is for indi and mahangu, who made kottu.org for us.

Recipe:

slice a bombay onion (thats a shallot like thingy), crush a clove of garlic, and chop three green chilies fine. and sauté all of it a tiny bit of olive oil.
remove the stuff from the skillet, when onions are transparent.
beat two eggs, until frothing, and add little water, two or thimbles, no more (not milk) – and beat again. season with a pinch of salt and peppr. Heat up the skillet again (I use cast iron dutch ovens) with a tiny bit of butter, this time, and pour in the beaten eggs. Wait as a soft pancake forms, break it gently several times with your spatula, letting the tears heal with the uncooked mixture. When its nearly all done add the previously sautéed stuff, and break it all up.

I like to garnish this with MD green chillie sauce, which is a marvoulous thing.