TO BE OR NOT TO BE

No, not a Shekspeare quote to look intellegent. I'm just questioning myself if I want to be in this blogging game or not to be in it. I really want to have a blog to pass my ideas and express my culinary knowledge but it's so difficult to find time to prepare regular posts. Here I am and starting to have a go again.

I want to tell you about my recent discovery about a new cooking equipment. A toaster, Panini machine or a contact grill. Whatever you call it? It's a 40 x 30 cm griddle with a ribbed top. Yes, the one you see in coffee shops which they make their panini on them. You might say that "what's so new or what did you discover?"

Chicken Salad

I'll tell you what? I have been running a small coffee shop in a Language School for a while. It's a small place and only cooking equipment available is a Contact Grill for to toast the Panini. To increase the turnover, I decided to put some salads on the menu. Cheese Salad, Tuna Salad, Ham Salad were OK! but I could see that the students were looking for something warm and hearty. I started to grill some pre-roasted sliced chicken and make "CHICKEN SALADS". This was an instant hit. Following that I sliced the pre-cooked Chicken breast to 2 pieces, grilling and making "CHICKEN BURGERS" I started to see the potential of my contact grill and begin to toast my flat bread (tortilla bread that I use for my wraps) top it up with grated cheese and making a base for my salads and called it "TOSTADAS".  One day I found some "LAHMACUN" Turkish Pizzas sold frozen in my suppliers Product List and now I warm them on my contact grill, wrap them up with some Salad (again) and they are another dish which are on the Menu. Last one is the best one. PIZZAS. Yes, I use flat bread, tomato sauce, cheese and toppings and my contact grill creates an oven effect and nobody complains. In fact Pepperoni and Ham Pizzas are the favourites.

Now, here are some photos we took for the promotional posters and you can see for yourselves. So, when you are desperate you can use anything to cook on.

World's Easiest Dessert

I watch a cooking programme called"Arda'nin Mutfagi" (http://www.facebook.com/ardaninmutfagi) every Sunday on Turkish Satellite Channel CNN . Arda is a nice chap with charming personality and he is an accomplished chef. Every Sunday he visits a local market and buys his fresh and interesting ingredients and cooks amazing dishes in his kitchen. This week he came up with the "world's easiest dessert". His version was really the easiest cooked - dessert you can make. But I want to put my own touches so, at least i would be able to say that "I haven't pinched his recipe". The picture belongs to him and if he allows me to use it. I will publish this post.

Arda made his dessert with Pomegranate Jam. I will be using strawberries but you can use any fruit to add your choice of taste.

World's Easiest Dessert


INGREDIENTS
For the Base
1 Large Drinking Glass of Flour
1 Large Drinking Glass of Milk
1 Large Egg
1 Pinch of Salt
Some vegetable oil to coat the bottom of your dish

For filling
500 gram Mascarpone Cheese
400 gram Sugar
200 ml Whipping Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

For Topping
250 gram Fresh Strawberries
2 Table spoon of Sugar
2 Table spoon of Water

DIRECTIONS
Base
1. Turn on your oven to 250C
2. Coat your ovenproof dish (or you can use ramekins for individual servings) with some vegetable oil. But make sure that you don't use too much oil.
3. Put your dish in the oven for 5 minutes for warming up
4. Put the flour, milk and the salt in your blender and blend for a minute for a smooth batter.
5. Take the warmed up dish from the oven and quickly fill 3/4 of it with the batter.
6. Bring down the oven to 200C and cook your base for approximately 20 minutes. The base will rise and turn to golden colour.
Filling
7. Meantime put the cream and 100gram of sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk until thickens with an electric whisk.
8. Put the Mascarpone, Vanilla extract and 300gram of sugar in a bowl and and mix with a spoon until it's creamy and mixed.
9. Fold the whipped cream in to the Mascarpone mix.
10. Put the final creamy mix in piping bag with large nozzle.
Topping
11. Save few strawberries for decorating the final dish
12. Put the remaining strawberries, sugar and water in a pan and simmer until soft
13. Crush the cooked strawberries with a fork. Do not over crush them. They should look like a jam.
Assembly
14. Take out the base from the oven, rest for 10 minutes and put in a serving dish upside down.
15. Fill the Base by squeezing the piping bag loaded with creamy mascarpone mix from the top.
16. Pour the strawberry sauce on and decorate with remaining strawberries.

Useless Gadget No.2

Here is another Useless Gadget. Foolproof Chopstick. You can eat easily with this Chopstick like a Chinese but in fact you are Using a cheat's Chopstick. I do not understand the need to pretend in a Chinese Restaurant. I can use a Chopstick but, there were times I had problems eating with chopsticks. I would start trying with chopsticks but when my hunger took it over I would grab a fork and carry on with my dinner.

There it is. Reminds me a clothes peg with that metal spring. But I must admit that I like the black & white stripes. I leave it to your judgement. If you have one or used one let me know your opinion. Someone said "It's good for practicing". Maybe it is but not for me and goes in my Useless Gadgets collection.

Champagne Cocktail in a Lazy Summer Afternoon

Last week we gathered "again" in Iskenders' for a usual, drink, BBQ and catching up with some friends. Food was good as always, we had some tasty nibbles with really good dips from M&S, salads and good sirloin steaks, some butcher's sausages and I made some Koftes for the BBQ. I'll post my Kofte recipe later for you. But I want to concentrate on the drinks today.

We started with really good wines. But I want to tell you more about the afternoon drinks which were the highlights.

Alp's Tequila obsession is still as strong as ever and he only drinks the best. Jose Querva Special was on the table for anyone who wanted to pretend that they were serious drinkers. But I joined the ladies and convinced them that Champagne Cocktails were the drink for a not so warm "British" afternoon. There was a decent bottle of  Champagne available but the interesting bottle was the mixer. A blackcurrant liqueur in a really sexy looking bottle in see through clothing. (Check the pictures)

What I made was Kir Royale maybe the most popular Champagne Cocktail -  but that Blackcurrant Liqueur in a sexy dress made our drinks special. The colour was an exquisite pink and looked really good in crystal flutes. Here is how you make a Kir Royale.

KIR ROYALE

Ingredients
Glass of Good quality Champagne
Creme de Cassis Liqueur or any good Blackcurrant Liqueur
Champagne Flute

Directions
Just add dash of Liqueur to a glass of really cold Champagne.

Useless Gadgets No.1

I found this Useless Gadget in a website and wanted to share it with you. I'm sure that sometimes, chopping herbs is difficult for some of us. But i doubt very much that i would buy this stupid looking scissors. :)))

Please also, note that i don't want as a Christmas present either. I will be very happy to forward the link if any of you want this weird looking scissors.

I have few more funny, useless, weird and wonderful gadgets in "my pictures" and I'll post them regularly. Let me know what do you think? Would you buy one for yourself or do you want one to annoy somebody?

Everybody likes my ENCHILADAS

Yes, everybody likes my Enchiladas. But to be quite honest, Enchiladas or Burritos are as good as what you put inside. You can play with the presentation or what you serve them with but still the taste comes from the yummies you put in them.

I obviously, first experimented with Chili con carne. One pot wonder. I think still is the best. But, you can try them with Grilled Chicken, sauteed mushrooms with garlic (vegie's choice) or some Kebabs such as Kofte Kebabs or Shish Kebabs. You must cover the tortillas with cheese and bake them in the oven for few minutes. Top it up with the Soured cream or Turkish Yoghurt for a cooling effect in your mouth. Always serve with a Salsa. I spend a lot time with my Salsa. I chop the ingredients very fine, I mean really fine. This helps the tomatoes, onions, peppers, parsley etc. to release their flavours and compliment the final dish perfectly.

Feeds 2 hungry souls

INGREDIENTS

Chili Con Carne 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chilliconcarne_67875 
try this link by Jo' Pratt or your favorite recipe

4 x 10" Flour Tortillas
Grated Cheese (Cheddar or Mozzarella)
Soured Cream or Turkish Yoghurt (ask for Suzme Yoghurt)

For Salsa
1 x Medium size Red Onion
2 x Tomatoes
1/2 Green Bell Pepper
1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper
Bunch of Flat leaf Parsley
1/2 Lemon's Juice
1 tbsp Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1/2 tsp Red Chili Flakes
1 tbsp Sumak (This is a Mediterranean ingredient, try your local ethnic shop)
1 tbsp Pomegranate Molasses

DIRECTIONS

1. Put desired amount of Chilli Con Carne on the Tortillas and rolled them.

2. Grease an ovenproof dish and place the rolled up tortillas in the middle.

3. Put desired amount of Cheese on the Tortillas.

4. Put the dish in an oven and bake them at 350F for about 10 minutes or until the cheese melt.

5. While Tortillas are baking, you can start making the Salsa.

6. Chop the Red Onion, Peppers, Tomatoes and Parsley very very fine.

7. Season with Salt and Black Pepper, add Sumak and Chili Flakes

8. Add Virgin Olive Oil, Pomegranate Molasses and the Lemon Juice and mix the whole salsa with it.

PRESENTATION

9. Put the baked Tortillas in the middle of your plate.

10. Top it up with the Soured Cream/Turkish Yoghurt

11. Put Salsa on the top and serve.

12. You can sprinkle some Sumak around the plate for speckled look.

This is a perfect and easy dish for a dinner  party or a brunch. Enjoy it!

Food Glorious Food

Taflan from the Black Sea Coast

I like food, I like talking about food, i like technical aspects of food and i can cook. So, i decided to have a blog about food.

Most of my friends call me Taffy but my real name is Taflan. Taflan is a fruit similar to bunch of grapes but grows on a tree. Usually found in Black Sea coast, North of Turkey. You can see what Taflan fruit looks like from the above picture and i can tell you that it tastes very good too.

I hope that you like my blog and start following it. I promise you that you will find interesting posts and delicious food recipes, restaurant reviews around the South Coast of Great Britain (where I live) maybe information about some interesting gadgets, certainly advice and details of some ethnic ingredients and techniques.

Thank you for visiting my blog and let me know what do you think.