How to: Ham Stock

Ingredients:

the basics:
cold water
1 large ham hock or the bone leftover from a roasted ham
3 carrots, cut up
2 onions, quartered
1 large shallot, quartered
1 bunch celery, cut up
1 head garlic
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole allspice
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon mace blades
1/2 stick cinnamon

Directions:
Place the ham, spices and the vegetables in a large stockpot (I use my lobster pot). Add water until the pot is nearly filled. Bring to a rolling boil. After 4-5 hours, strain into a large bowl or smaller stockpot. Cool immediately by placing the bowl in an ice filled sink. Do not refrigerate hot stock. Refrigerate the cooled stock overnight, then skim off any fat that rose to the surface. Package in air tight containers or freezer bags to store. I like a mixture of 2 and 4 cup quantities.


I suggest freezing any stock you don't use right away. In using freezer bags, lay the bags flat so they freeze in a shape that takes up the least amount of room. To defrost simply remove the block of stock from the container and place it in a sauce pan. Heat on low for 3-5 minutes.

Yield: about 8 quarts

My thoughts:

I love making my own stocks. Not only are they more flavorful than store bought, they are incredibly cheap to make and I feel good about making something from something that I normally would thrown away. I always hesitate about posting stock recipes here but invariably every time I call for a stock I get an email from someone asking how they can make it themselves, especially for the more difficult to find stocks. So after a lot of requests for a ham stock tutorial, here it finally is. While you can a more neutral tasting stock similar to chicken or turkey stock, I like to use the flavors often found in ham dishes or spice rubs for ham in the stock because the foods I end up using the stock in are often enhanced by those flavors. Don't worry, the stock isn't too heavy spiced, it is just a wonderful background note.

Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dry Mix

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry buttermilk*
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons freeze dried chives
1 1/2 teaspoons dillweed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Most buttermilk powders need to be kept refrigerated once opened. If this is true of the one you are using, keep the dry rub refrigerated.



*Look for it in the baking or natural food aisle.

My thoughts:

I keep dry buttermilk on hand for baking and one winter day I got to thinking about ways to use it without re-hydrating. While at the grocery store I realized it must be an ingredient in Cool Ranch Doritos and other ranch flavored snack foods. So I decided to try to make my own buttermilk ranch mix. It is so good! Very fresh tasting despite the lack of perishable ingredients.

Short of making my own Doritos (even I have to draw the line somewhere) or sprinkling it on popcorn I wasn't sure how I'd use it without re-hydrating it. Months went by but I kept the idea in the back of my mind. Then I started thinking of it not just as a topping but as a dry rub and did some experimenting. I found that it was especially good on chicken, it can be just rubbed into the skin before breading and frying or grilling. I bet it would be good in pork or chicken burgers too.

Of course, this mix can all be used to make ranch dip (add to sour cream) or turned into salad dressing (just add some water). But it is fun to use it in unexpected ways.

How to: Clean Soft Shell Crabs

Start with a live soft shell blue crab. They are in season now so if you live in an area where they are available, they should be fairly easy to find alive. Buy them on the day you plan on eating them and keep them refrigerated until you are ready to prepare them. I keep them in the box they come in or on a plate covered with a paper towel. If you do have to use frozen, they probably have already been cleaned. Defrost them and double check before cooking. I don't recommend buying dead (refrigerated/"fresh") soft crabs. Soft shell crabs are very perishable and should be cooked or frozen within a day of their demise. If they are already dead, you have no way of knowing when they were caught or how long they have been kept refrigerated and that puts you at risk for food poisoning. Frozen crabs can be defrosted overnight in the refrigerator.



Start by cutting off the mouth and eyes of the crab using a knife or kitchen shears. I used kitchen shears because I could cut using my non-dominant hand while the other wielded a camera but a knife works just as well. There is some goo behind the eyes. Use the tip of your knife or closed shears to scoop it out. Don't worry about the crabs moving around, the cold makes them pretty dopey and once you do this step, they are dead. Keep the rest of the crabs refrigerated while you work on each one.



Flip the crab over. That pointy bit is the apron. Bend it towards you.


Cut it off at the base of the crab.


The appearance of the apron depends on the sex of the crab. It might look like this. Cut it off in the same way.



Flip the crab over. Lift one side of the shell. It isn't attached on the ends so it will open easily. Those squishy pale things are the gills. Use your fingers to pull them out or your shears to cut them out. Repeat for the other side. You're done!



This is just to show you how the shell is attached to the crab. There are some organs in the the middle section but they will be thoroughly cooked when you cook the crab and are safe to eat. If you really want to remove them for some reason, you will have to cut the bottom of the shell. I don't bother. I think it makes some of the juices run out and I like a juicy crab.



Cleaned and ready to go!

My thoughts:

If I had a favorite food I think it would be soft shell crabs. It seems like they are increasingly difficult to find so when I do, I snap them right up. When I was a child my mom would buy at least a dozen soft shell crabs at a time. She'd prepare them, we eat a couple of soft shell crab sandwiches and then she'd freeze the remaining ones in bundles of two and every week for the rest of the summer we'd defrost a pack and have another sandwich. In my opinion, that is the best way to eat soft shell crabs: dredged in flour with a little salt and pepper and pan-fried in butter. On white bread. Nothing else that might possibly distract from the crab's flavor. I do have to say that I had a soft crab sandwich that had a cornmeal crust that was pretty good. The crab was huge though, I haven't found a crab that big at the market yet, and that helped the crab flavor stay strong.

How To Make Fondant Icing

Image courtesy of The Wedding Chicks

Have you ever sat admiring the beautiful cakes that the team of Charm City Cakes create for their beautiful events!! And I bet you have spent more than a few minutes admiring the beautiful wedding cakes that you see these days, with exquisite flowers and pearly designs adorning the smooth and shiny base. Much of this magic is created using Fondant Icing. Sounds familiar? Yesterday I posted a recipe for Cherry Blossom Chocolate Cupcakes on Fun and Food Cafe, and I got several responses from readers, admiring the cupcakes and also the power of Fondant Icing! Some of you also requested a post on how to Make fondant at home. Whether you are a baker who knows how to work with fondant, or are a novice who wants to dabble at making fondant icing yourself, just so you can decorate your cakes and cupcakes, here's a tutorial that will serve as a set of guidelines whenever you want to work with Fondant Icing.

What is Fondant Icing
Fondant Icing is an alternative to butter-based Royal Icing, and is used to decorate cakes and petit-fours. It includes gelatin (or agar-agar in vegetarian recipes) and food-grade glycerin, which keep the sugar pliable and creates a dough-like consistency, that makes it easy to roll out, then use to cover the cakes, rather than slathering it on like regular frosting. It can also be made using powdered sugar and melted marshmallows. It is definitely not as tasty and creamy as Royal Icing, but rolled fondant can be used to cover the cake, giving it a smooth appearance, and also to make more decorations sticking to the base.

How To Make Fondant Icing
Here is a basic recipe that I learnt during my Wilton Cake Decorating classes. it is fairly simple, and I'm sure a novice baker should be able to follow instructions and recreate the recipe.

Ingredients
1 tbsp unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tbsp glycerin
4 cups powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
oil or cornstarch

Method
Add the gelatin to a saucepan of water. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water, and allow it to sit for 5 minutes to let it bloom. Simmer the gelatin under low heat, and stir until dissolved completely in the water. Be sure to use a low flame so as not to boil the water, as this can create lumps in the fondant icing; cover the gelatin and keep warm.

Pour the confectioners' sugar into a mixing bowl. Create a medium sized well in the center of the sugar. Add the glycerin and light corn syrup, and do not stir the mixture. Pour the warm gelatin into the well, and then stir the mixture until well blended.

Continue stirring until the mixture becomes stiff. Be sure to stir in one single direction only - switching directions can cause air bubbles to be trapped in the final fondant. Grease your palms with some oil or cornstarch and knead the dough until all of the sugar mixes completely into the fondant.

Now sprinkle cornstarch on a flat surface and knead the fondant on that surface. The cornstarch will prevent the fondant from sticking. Continue the kneading process until the fondant becomes smooth and shiny. Add a few drops of water if the fondant is dry or starts to crack.

Next step is to roll the fondant. For best results, roll the fondant into a ball, wrap it with a plastic wrap, and wait for at least 30 minutes until you roll the fondant out to place it on your cake. You can even refrigerate your wrapped fondant for some more time so that its easier to work with it when decorating your cake.

Adding Color to Fondant
Decorating cakes is not much fun unless you add some color to the end product, right? When you want to color your fondant icing, the best time to do this is when you have rolled the icing into a ball, but not refrigerated it. Get your fondant on your counter and smash it out a bit. Using a toothpick dipped in food coloring gel, add a small glob of the Wilton color on the white fondant. You can also take a golf ball size of fondant and use that to smear the food coloring around on the fondant. Put the ball in the middle, fold the fondant over it and knead the big gob of fondant until all of the color is evenly mixed in. You might need to add a bit of shortening to your hands and counter to keep the fondant from sticking. If it is still too pale, use the same procedure to add in more color. Remember that it is easier to add color than take it out. Start with small amounts of color and add more as you need to.

How To Decorate with Fondant Icing
You should always refrigerate your fondant icing before using it to decorate your cakes. This makes it easier to form shapes with the icing. Remove your icing from the fridge, sprinkle some cornstarch on your countertop, then roll out your fondant on it using medium-pressure and long strokes on a rolling pin. Roll it out till it is 1/4th inch thick, and slightly bigger than the size of your cake that needs to be covered.

Fondant as a Base
To cover a cake, flip over the rolled fondant and stick it gently on the cake, covering all sides evenly. Cut off any extra fondant using cooking scissors and trim the edges. Remember to flip your rolled fondant - the side facing the counter-top is shinier, and this should be on the top of the covered cake.

Fondant Decorations Over Fondant Base
To make small decorations, use the rolled fondant technique, then use different shaped cutters to make your own designs. You can even form 3-D sculptures using your hands and some oil or cornstarch to make shapes. In order to stick the fondant decorations over a fondant base, take a paint-brush - dip it in water and apply it to the smaller decorations. Then gently press it onto the fondant base and hold on for a few seconds so it sticks to the base. Remember to not use too much water as this can cause the color of the icing to tint and mix with one another - just a drop should work just fine!

I bet you know more about Fondant Icing now that you've read this tutorial! So are you ready to try your hand at Fondant decorations? Then start with these really simple Cherry Blossom Cupcakes - perfect for upcoming Mother's Day celebrations!

Happy Baking! And do come back and share your experience with us!

Logo Cake

Logo Cake, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

The Aquatics Director at Chapel Hill Country Club ordered this cake as an end of season "Thank You" for her staff! The cake is Baker's Cakes Signature Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. I finally figured out how to transfer a logo onto fondant! I printed out the logo, placed the paper onto the fondant, and then traced the lines that I wanted to cut with an exacto knife. When I picked up the paper, a slight impression was left in the fondant to show where I needed to cut out the logo. This was particularly helpful with the negative/positive space in this logo design!

How to Eat Steamed Blue Crabs

You need:
newspaper
crabs
crab mallet
paper towels

Quick notes:

Crabs are sold by size: small, medium, large, jumbo and occasionally colossal. They can be very expensive (especially if you buy them already steamed) and the price difference between the sizes can be significant. I recommend getting at least the medium size. The size difference between medium and large is often slight but the price difference is frequently about $10 a dozen.


Picking crabs is time consuming. Unless you are a professional, plan to spend the bulk of an afternoon or evening picking crabs.

Your hands will get very dirty. I find it is difficult to eat anything but crabs while you are picking unless you're willing to get up and wash your hands frequently. If you want to serve other food, I suggest serving it before or after the crabs.

Avoid touching your eyes while picking, seafood seasoning burns. Also, it is not uncommon to cut your finger on a shell but it is generally no worse than a papercut.



Step One:
Cover a large dining surface with a thicker than you would think layer of newspaper. It really is best to do this outside on a picnic table if at all possible. If not, resign yourself to cleaning the floor afterwards.



Step Two:
Pick out a crab. Try and get one that has both claws and feels "heavy" before someone else does.



Step Three:
Bend or twist the legs and claws to snap them off at the body. Some times a bit of crabmeat will come off with the legs or claw. Eat it. Set the claws aside. There is not much meat (if any) in the legs so I just push them aside.



Step Four:
Pull off the "apron". Some people use a butter knife for this but I am a purist and only use my hands. Simply slip your finger under the edge of the point and pull down. It should pull off easily.





Step Five:
Pry the shell away from the body. The easiest way is to use both hands and pull the crab halves in opposite directions.



Step Seven:
Flip the crab over.


Remove the squishy, grey gills. They pull off very easily. Discard them. The yellow stuff is colloquially known as the "mustard" and is edible.



Step Eight:
Crack the crab in two. Pull out any loose crabmeat and eat it.



Crack the halves and extract the meat. Again, some people use butter or crab knives but I find that fingers work just fine. Eat the meat as you go.



Step Nine:
Hold both sides of the crab claw and break off the part that I am holding in my fingers.




The meat should come off on the claw. If not, break the claw with your mallet.



The other half of the claw has meat as well. Break it off at the joint. If this doesn't yield meat, hit it with your mallet.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.

My thoughts:

Steamed hard shell blue crabs are a staple here in Baltimore and I think us natives possess innate knowledge of how to pick crabs. However, I realize that this isn't true of many people, my husband included. Last year I posted a how to steam crabs that was well received. After that post, I got quite a few requests for a how to pick crabs post. I had tried to take pictures of the picking process at the time but it is hard enough to photograph yourself but covered in seafood seasoning? Nearly impossible. So I waited until we had crabs again and tried again with much more success. Having a crab feast is a lot of fun and it is a shame to miss it because you are crab-wary! Now everyone has a slightly different crab picking style but this is all you really need to get the most out of your crabs.

How To Carmelize Onions

If you love cooking as much as I do, I am pretty sure at some point of time, you must have been enthused by the flavor of Carmelized Onions, be it as a topping on your Pizza, or a garnish on your Pasta or Salad, and I've received several requests to post about how to make them at home. The first thing you notice about these Onions is that they are "Golden-Brown". But the more important fact is how they smell and taste; unlike regularly sauteed onions, Carmelized Onions have a unique flavor, fragrance and texture, which is brought upon by the chemical reactions between sugar, water content in the onions, and of course, the heat in your skillet. Here's a scientific explanation for carmelized onions, if you are interested, but for home cooks like me just looking for a simple tutorial on How to Carmelize Onions at home, just hop ahead and read on! [Image courtesy: Fine Cooking]

Making Caramelized Onions at home is not as difficult a job; the key is to cook them on medium-low heat, a process which is called Sweating, and which allows all the water to release into the pan and then evaporate slowly. ensuring that your onions will be soft and caramelized all the way through. Here's what you need, in addition to patience, and some spare time on your hand (not when the kids are cranky for dinner!!)

Ingredients
1/2 cup clarified butter or olive oil
2 cups of onions of your choice(white, yellow, or red) - chopped thin
2 tsp granulated sugar
Hot water as needed
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method
Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saut� until golden-brown, about 4 minutes. Add the sugar as soon as the onions have been coated with butter.

Continue cooking until the onions are deep brown and candied, and look browned & crisper from the edges; this can take up to 35-45 minutes. Add an occasional tablespoon of hot water if the pan becomes too dry, or if you see that the onions are sticking to the pan. Season well with salt and pepper to overcome the sugar, and also to help preserve their sheen or gloss.

Now you can use them in any recipe that calls for Caramelized Onions. Remember, the trick is in the right amount of sugar, and using medium-low flame, and slowly letting the onions get cooked; patience is the key, so hurrying will not help you get those burnt edges that are so typical for caramelized onions.

Note: The more the quantity, the longer it will take to caramelize your onions! Also, the sugar helps to accelerate the browning process, but you can skip it or lower the quantity if using red onions, as they have more water content than their white counterparts.

Related Recipes
How to Make basic Onion Sauce
How to Cut a Pineapple
How to make Pie Crust at Home

Homemade Corned Beef

Ingredients:
6 lb beef brisket, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick

brine:
4 quarts of water
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
10 bay leaves
8 cloves garlic
5 whole star anise
2 sticks cinnamon, broken up
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
2 tablespoons whole peppercorn mix
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon sodium nitrite*
1 tablespoon whole coriander
1/2 tablespoon whole cardamom
2 teaspoons dill seed
1 teaspoon mace
1 teaspoon celery flakes
1 teaspoon whole cloves


the cooking spices:
1 cinnamon stick, broken up
3 whole star anise
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seed
1 tablespoon brown mustard seed
1 tablespoon dill seed
1 tablespoon coriander


Directions:
Place the brine ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.



Allow to cool completely. Pour into a large, non-reactive, air-tight container.



I cannot recommend this container enough. It was the perfect size and believe me, it is harder to find a container that was actually air-tight and big enough to hold quarts of brine and a large cut of meat than you would think.

Add the meat.



Weigh down the meat with something non-reactive and heavy. I used a gallon-sized plastic resealable freezer bag filled with cool water. Refrigerate. Once a day, flip the meat, re-weigh it down and continue refrigerating it. This is to make sure both sides are evenly brined.


After 12 days, remove the meat from the brine. Discard the brine. Add the meat and the cooking spices to a very large (I used this 16 quart lobster pot)pot and fill with water. Boil for 3 hours or until the meat is tender and sort of flakes when you poke it with a fork. Allow to cool. When cool, scrape off any loose bits of fat and discard them. Slice the meat across the grain with a very sharp knife or meat slicer. I borrowed this meat slicer and it worked pretty well slicing the meat to deli-thinness.




*Sometimes called "pink salt" or "curing salt" this is a perservative that helps the meat retain the pinkish color. I had a hard time finding it locally but I finally found it for sale from this website. 8 oz is only $2 and is enough for dozens of curing experiments.

My thoughts:

There were times when I was making the corned beef I felt slightly insane. After all, I am lucky enough to live in a city with a good deli so it wasn't 100% necessary that I make my own corned beef from scratch. Luckily, after the weeks long, insanity inducing hunts for a brining container and sodium nitrate were over, the actual corning of the beef was really easy. Really, really easy. The brine was simple and while flipping the meat every day was one more thing to remember it wasn't time consuming. At the end of the 12 days you just boil it until tender.

I wasn't sure what spices exactly went into corned beef the few recipes I could find that didn't call for pre-brined meat just called for "pickling spices". What exactly was in those pickling spices wasn't really clear. So I just picked spices that I thought would make for tasty meat and hoped for the best. I then waited a long 12 days to try it and well, it totally worked. It was the best corned beef I have ever had and I have had a lot of corned beef. It was melt in your mouth tender and had the most perfect straight-from-the-deli flavor. Well worth the effort.

How to: Chicken Stock

Ingredients:

the basics:
cold water
1 chicken carcass, meat removed
6 carrots, cut up
3 onions, quartered
2 parsnips, cut up
1 bunch celery or just celery tops
2 heads garlic
optional: 1 bunch green onions or scallions


Directions:
Place the chicken and the vegetables in a large (8-10 quart) stock pot. Add water until the pot is nearly filled.

Periodically skim off fat as it floats to the top. After about 3 1/2 hours, strain into a large bowl. If you want it super clear strain through a paper towel lined colander. Cool immediately by placing the bowl in an ice filled sink. Never place the hot stock directly in the fridge or you run the risk of rapid bacteria growth which may result in food poisoning. Refrigerate overnight, then skim off any fat that rose to the surface. Package in air tight containers or freezer bags to store.



I suggest freezing any stock you don't use right away. In if freezer bags, lay the bags flat so they freeze in a shape that takes up the least amount of room. To defrost simply remove the block of stock from the container and place it in a sauce pan. Heat on low for 3-5 minutes.

Variations:
Add ginger and/or galangal and extra garlic and green onions to the mixture if using it in a Thai, Japanese or Chinese dish for extra flavor. Alternately, add these ingredients into the pot when defrosting plain chicken stock, simmer for 5 additional minutes then strain them out. Similarly, if making Mexican or other spicy food, add dried chile peppers, extra garlic and/or onions to the stock or when defrosting.

Add some whole spices or herbs (bay leaf, peppercorns, thyme, rosemary etc) to the mixture.

Roast the chicken carcass in a 350 oven for 15-30 minutes before tossing it in the pot. This helps intensify the flavor.

Add some whole, skin-on raw chicken legs or wings for extra flavor.


Makes about 5-6 quarts of stock.

My thoughts:

Stock is so basic, I almost feel odd posting a recipe for it but I use it so much when cooking and I've received numerous requests for a guide on making it, I gave in. It truly is simple but delicious. Much better tasting then what you can buy in the store. It is also much cheaper. A box of our favorite store-bought stock is nearly $4. The chicken I used was $6 (on sale) yielded more than two meals worth of meat and over 6 quarts of stock. You really can't beat that!

One last tip:
Save odds and ends of vegetables (a carrot top, celery leaves, bruised green onions etc) in a container in your fridge or freezer to add to the pot when you make stock. The whole vegetables add a lot of flavor but every bit helps!

How to Steam Blue Crabs

Ingredients:
water
apple cider vinegar
Old Bay
kosher or coarse salt
live blue crabs


Directions:
In a large boiling pot with a 2 inch raised rack add water and vinegar in equal amounts until the level is just below the rack. Bring to a boil. Drop the crabs into the pot in single layers*, sprinkling each layer with a thick coating of Old Bay and salt. The larger the pot, the more crabs you can steam at once, just make sure that the lid is still able to fit tightly. Steam in batches if you have to. Cover the pot and steam until until crabs turn a bright orange, about 20 minutes. If the shells are dark red or have reddish-green patches, then the crabs are not fully cooked and you need to keep steaming them. I found that stirring occasionally with a long handled spoon helped make sure the crabs at the top were cooked enough. Remove the crabs from the pot with tongs and serve on a newspaper lined table, preferably outdoors. Make sure you have lots of paper towels! Now, I am a Baltimore native and an experienced crab picker so I normally don't need any utensils beyond my fingers but it is often wise to have wooden crab mallets, butter knives or even nut cracking tools handy in case you need them to get the last bits of crab out of the shell. Now you are ready to get picking!


*Wear gloves! Refrigerating the crabs before you steam them keeps them alive and dopey but they still want to pinch and are stronger than you'd think.

My thoughts:

Steamed crabs are the quintessential Baltimore food. I actually have never steamed them at home until today but when I scored 16 good-sized, sweet crabs for $11 because they were packing up for the day at the farmer's market, I couldn't resist. Normally, they run about $20 a dozen. Steaming the crabs was super easy-I had seen people steam them before (mostly while I waited to pick up my order) so pretty much knew what to do. I even ran out of Old Bay 3/4 of the way through and they were still good! Of course, admitting that I ran out of Old Bay is enough to get me run out of town, but in my defense, my New Yorker husband claimed that a 6 oz tin was "more than enough Old Bay" for the Summer. I knew we needed the 1 lb tin. I found that using apple cider vinegar gave the crab a subtle tang that accentuated the crab's sweetness. I know some people like to steam in beer but I think that obscures some of the crab's natural flavor. Simple is best!

So, if you have access to fresh, live blue crabs, it is worth it to pick some up! It is super easy to steam them at home (even if you have to make a makeshift crab pot) and cheaper than getting them out. Old Bay is available in most groceries stores in the seasonings and spices isle or in the seafood department.


Learn how to get all of the succulent meat out here.






Also: a quick welcome to all of my new visitors who found me via the article this month in Baltimore Magazine! I've enjoyed all the emails and well-wishes! Thanks!

Homemade Garam Masala Recipe

Garam Masala is almost always the secret magic ingredient that imparts most of the flavor to Indian food, and there's nothing like a homemade garam masala recipe! There are several recipes for curry powders, but this one is the most widely-used. A mix of several spices lightly roasted and ground into a fine powder, Garam Masala is much like all-spice, except with different flavors. This fragrant spice is best made fresh just before you begin cooking, but since most of us do not have the luxury of time, it works in our favor that Garam Masala can be stored for 3-4 months without losing its flavor and aroma! It is indeed very easy to make, and just adding a pinch will go a long way to give a lasting impression to your recipes. Every household has its own recipe, and here I share my mom's garam masala recipe, hoping that it will win you more accolades as a cook, just as it has done to me!

Garam Masala, which literally means "Hot and Spicy" is undoubtedly the heart of most Indian Cuisine, especially north indian and mughlai dishes. And almost every one has a "mom's garam masala recipe" to share. It is basically just a combination of different spices, and you can modify the basic recipe shown below to suit your taste by adding or omitting spices as required. It is best to add this spice towards the end of cooking your meal; and don't worry, unlike its name, this spice powder is more aromatic than spicy!

Ingredients
Makes about 4 tbsp of Spice Powder

1 tbsp cardamom seeds
1 2" long cinnamon stick
1 tsp black cumin (shahjeera)
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 nutmeg
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp dried coriander seeds
1/2 tsp mace powder (javantari)
1 piece star anise
1 long bay leaf

Method
Roast all the aboe spices lightly on low-flame for about 2 mins. Now powder them in a clean, dry spice grinder until smooth. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

This Garam Masala can be added to any gravies or curries, and not just indian! The aromatic spices in this recipe add a subtle flavor to your dish. But remember to use this very sparingly, as it is very powerful in taste. Freshly ground garam masala can be stored for upto 3 months in an air-tight container in a cool, dry and dark place.

My mother has been my biggest inspiration in cooking, now surpassed by my husband. Upto this day, she deligently makes her signature garam masala and parcels it to me all the way from India, just so I wouldn't have to compromise on the taste of freshly-ground spices. If that doesn't convey love, what does?! So this post is dedicated to my mom, and I hope her recipe adds more "spice" to your life, just like it did to mine!:)

More Basic Recipes:
How To Make Paneer
Homemade Recipe for Marinara Sauce
Restaurant-Style Recipe for Indian Gravies

Two Ways to Use Up Leftover Risotto: Riso al Salto and Arancini di Riso

Quick notes:

If your leftover risotto is very cold from being refrigerated, let it sit out a few minutes to allow it to come closer to room temperature. This will help ensure that the final product will be heated all the way through and it will be little easier to handle.

It is best to use risotto that is free of large chunks. If your risotto has large chunks of meat or vegetables, remove the largest chunks before making either of the following. I used leftover and relatively smooth fennel risotto and can't wait to try it with roasted beet risotto but I bet any risotto would be tasty.

Arancini di Riso
Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 cups leftover risotto
1 cup matzo meal or bread crumbs
1 teaspoon oregano
1 egg, beaten
4 oz mozzarella, in 3/4 inch cubes
canola oil

Directions:
Heat 1/2 inch oil in a large skillet. Meanwhile, mix the matzo meal/bread crumbs with the oregano in a shallow bowl. Pour the beaten egg in a second shallow bowl. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of rice into the palm of your hand. Make a flat round and place a cube of cheese in the middle. Fold the rice over the cheese and roll lightly between your hands to form a ball. Then roll in the egg to coat evenly, then roll in the crumbs. Repeat for remaining risotto. Fry in the oil, turning to evenly brown on all sides-I found a heat-safe slotted spoon worked well for this. Serve hot.

Riso al Salto
Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 cups leftover risotto
1 egg
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Meanwhile mix the egg into the risotto. Shape into flat patties. Pan-fry in oil, flipping once to brown on both sides. Serve hot.

My thoughts:

While I love risotto, I don't always want to eat the exact same thing again the next day for lunch. Enter these yummy risotto balls (which would be great with a bit of shrimp or maybe even ham as a filling instead of mozzarella) and risotto fritters. Both are made with minimal fuss but excellent results. The riso al salto is especially quick and easy and both would be great served with a simple salad. You're going to want to make double batches of risotto just to have an excuse to make them.

How To Make Paneer (Ricotta Cheese) at Home

Paneer, also known as Ricotta or Cottage Cheese is a favorite ingredient in Indian cooking, and there's nothing like fresh homemade paneer! I have posted several paneer recipes on this blog, and over the course of time, a lot of my readers have reported that they live in regions where readymade paneer is not that accessible, and it'd be great to make it at home. Actually, making paneer at home is not such a big deal; its simple and does not require a lot of care or expertise! Plus, homemade paneer guarantees that you are eating something fresh, and its definitely a great resource for those who cannot find it in stores near them. So catering to popular demand, here's a simple recipe to make paneer at home.

I have adapted this recipe from ehow's article on How To Make Paneer and also Indira's post about homemade paneer. You need only two ingredients for this - whole milk and an acid like lemon juice or vinegar. The final quantity of paneer that you get would be about 15% of the weight of the milk you start with. So one liter of milk makes about 150 grams of cheese and a gallon of milk makes a little more than a pound. What you get after curdling the milk is cottage cheese or ricotta; when you press it and shape it like a bar, you would get the firmer version called "paneer", same as what you get in the indian grocery stores.

Ingredients (For 150 gms of paneer)
1 liter whole milk
1/2 lemon or lime - juiced, or 1-3 tsp vinegar
muslin cloth (or anything that's a bit thin)

If you are using 1 Gallon of milk, use juice from one whole lemon

Method
Bring the milk to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning or sticking.

When it comes to a boil, stir in the acid and cook for another 2-3 minutes; in a few minutes, you see small curds floating on top. Wait till they get bigger to form small stone-like granules, about five minutes. The solids will clump together (known as channa or curd) and the remaining liquid will become a thin watery white (known as whey).

Now turn off heat and allow to sit for a few minutes to cool.

Strain through the muslin cloth. When the liquid is mostly drained out, lift the cloth by the corners and twist to squeeze out remaining liquid. You can put the cloth with the paneer in it to sit on a colander over the sink for an hour or so till all excess water drips away. What you get at this stage is cottage cheese. If you let it sit for an additional 12 to 24 hrs at room temperature to develop acidity, and then cook it further you will be able to make ricotta cheese.

To make paneer, press the cloth-covered cheese under a 5kg (or anything heavy enough) weight for up to two hours. I folded the cloth around the cheese, then pressed it to shape like a rectangular bar, and put it between two heavy wooden cutting boards. Put something heavier on top of the cutting board to increase the weight. Leave it like this for a couple of hours.

This makes the paneer firm and hard. Now you can store it in an airtight box and refrigerate till ready to use. You can even cut it into cubes and store them.

Cooking with paneer
When you want to use the paneer, remove from fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 mins. Then you can slice it, shred it, grate it or cut it into desired shapes!

Now that you have homemade paneer, try some of these delicious paneer recipes:

Paneer Butter Masala
Savoury Paneer and Tomato Muffins
Spicy Chilli Paneer
Paneer Paratha(Stuffed Flatbread)
Rasgulla - Bengali Sweet

How to Supreme An Orange, or a Tangerine, or a Grapefruit...

Supreming is one of those tricks that one can use to instantly make a dish look more special with just a little extra effort. To supreme citrus is to taking peeling to the next level-to actually remove the flesh of the fruit, whole, from the membranes. To be honest, there are not a whole lot of uses for this technique, but it is great for salads or in desserts when you might not want the slight bitterness of any pith or membrane to come through. Plus it looks impressive.

First, you start with a a whole fruit. Larger specimens are easier to handle so pick the largest tangerines, oranges etc as possible.




Next, cut off the very top and bottom of the fruit.



Then, peel the fruit using a knife.



You want to follow the shape of the fruit like so:



Continue until all of the peel is gone. If the peel or pith was especially thick or your fruit wasn't symmetrical, you might end up with a slightly misshapen fruit. It really won't make much of a difference.



Then you want to put you knife between the membrane and the fruit segment. Cut, repeat for the other side and remove the fruit. Repeat for the rest of the segments.



Voila! A naked fruit segment.