Coco Chanel and Soupe A L’Oignon - Never Out of Fashion

“Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury”. Well, I guess she was right. She learned about luxury the “difficult way”. Born to an unmarried mother “Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel” or famously known as “Coco Chanel” was a smart and a self made woman. Thanks to her smartness and a penchant for comfort, women around the world were relieved of those “breathtaking” corset. Her father sent her to a convent where she learnt this art of sewing and those days at convent had an impact on her future projects. Though she fell in love with French, Russian, German and English men - the best of them - her first and last love remained ‘fashion’. She started with Hats and then implemented revolutionary ideas in the field of fashion.

Let it be Chanel No 5 or the Little Black Dress, she sure was upto something. Her one concept which I love is of Costume Jewellery. Wear one or two expensive jewels, then add a lot of imitation jewels over it- cheap thrills for me (tight lipped smile). And yes, one more thing, she was supposedly a Nazi spy. She had her “dances” and those who knew her, saw those impeccable moves. Now here is the part where food enters. She was a French who struggled her way to the top and and today Chanel is one of the leading fashion brands. There is one more thing from France which has been on top for quite a long time now and will stay too - Soupe A L’Oignon. I love French recipes. This classic French Onion Soup will sure hit the right spot.

Ingredients:-

50 gm Butter,

1 teaspoon Sugar,

1 kg sliced Onions,

4 cups Beef Stock,

4 sliced Garlic Cloves,

4 slices French Bread,

1 tablespoon Olive Oil,

250 ml Dry White Wine,

2 tablespoons All-purpose Flour,

140 gm grated Gruyere Cheese.

Preparation Method:-

1. Melt butter and oil in a pan. Add onions and fry for 10 minutes until soft. Sprinkle sugar and cook for 20 minutes.

2. Stir till caramelized. The onions must be golden and soft. Make sure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

3. Add garlic at final few minutes of the onion's cooking time. Sprinkle in the flour. Stir well.

4. Increase heat and keep stirring while adding wine, followed by stock. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. For serving turn on the grill and toast bread.

5. Ladle soup into thick bowls. Put a slice on top of bowls of soup. Pile on the cheese. Grill until completely melted. Serve hot!

 

Enjoy!

Party Bash on John’s Pass Seafood Festival

Hey friends, hope you had a bash on 33rd Annual John’s Pass Seafood Festival with an electrifying weekend, full of taste bud teasing, ear vibrating diversion and sight pleasing. This year the event had taken place from October 24 to 26, 2014. The event takes place at Historic John’s Pass Village located on most beautiful Madeira Beach, Florida, United States. The highlights of the event includes musical entertainment, art and craft show and luscious seafood. There were delectable grouper sandwiches along with 100+ seafood options. 

Some of my special friends paid a visit to that place and were talking about the goodies including food vendors, beer truck, full bar rodeo-style fishing tournament etc. Oh! I missed it all.. They had ultimate time on the Halloween Party and Costume Contest. Nevertheless Best Seafood Competition was the centre of attraction for the tourists as well as the localites. Keeping the spirit of the event, let's make the Korean Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup AKA Champong that is welcome by lot many goodies from the sea.

Korean Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup AKA Champong

Ingredients:-

8 peeled Shrimp,

1/2 sliced Onion,

1/2 sliced Carrot,

6 scrubbed Mussels,

7 cups Chicken Broth,

2 sliced Green Onions,

60 grams sliced Pork,

1 packet Egg Noodles,

60 grams sliced Squid,

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil,

1 teaspoon sliced Garlic,

1 teaspoon sliced Ginger,

2 sliced Red Chili Peppers,

5 dried black Mushrooms,

Salt and Pepper as required,

1/4 sliced Chinese Cabbage.

Preparation Method:-

1. Soak mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes. Drain, slice and set aside. Bring mussels and water to a boil in a pot. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 5 minutes or until shells open.

2. Set mussels aside. Do not throw away the liquid. Add it to chicken broth to make 6 cups total liquid. In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles. Drain and set aside.

3. Add olive oil to a wok. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant for 5 seconds. Add pork and stir-fry. Add shrimp, squid, and mussels and stir-fry. Add onions, carrots, red chili pepper, and green onions and stir-fry.

4. Add cabbage and chicken broth mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low and let simmer. Add soy sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Place noodles in a large soup bowl. Pour hot soup mixture over noodles. Enjoy!

Have fun on John’s Pass Seafood Festival :)

Gala with Risotto on White Truffle Festival

Just Italian red wine called Barolo is not enough to celebrate the month of October among the Italians. Alba is considered as Italy’s top culinary commodity, where people celebrate the White Truffle Fest, aka, Tuber Magnatum Pico. During the weekends, the markets are flooded with luscious local treats. The white truffle season brings with it the rarest of all the mushrooms. For good quality of white truffles, leaching of fungicides into the soil and global warming is of utmost importance. White truffle reminds one about a perfect combo of wet soil, rain of the fall, youth that is lost and old steaming affairs. 

The highlights of the fests includes a parade of 1000+ people decked up portraying medieval period and amusing donkey races. The restaurants throughout are stuffed with heavily truffled lunch and grand dinners. I must definitely try something authentic, after all I love Italian food. I thought of trying out something with Arborio rice. Arborio rice is Italian short grain rice. It is called so because of the town of Arborio, in the Po Valley, where it is grown in abundant quantity. I have used wine which is one of the specialty of the country. You can definitely replace chicken stock with vegetable stock if you are vegan/vegetarian or beef/fish if you are a fan of non-veg or seafood. The recipe is quite flexible, filling and easy to cook. 

White Truffles Soup with Risotto Recipe

Ingredients:-

6 tablespoons Butter,

2 cups Arborio rice,

1 cup Dry White Wine,

7 cups Chicken stock,

3 finely chopped Shallots,

1 tablespoon chopped Garlic,

1 ½ ounces fresh White Truffles,

Coarse Salt and freshly ground Pepper to taste.

Preparation Method:-

1. First of all, melt three tablespoons of butter in a heavy frying pan over low heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent. Pour in the rice and stir with a wooden spoon over medium heat until all the rice is coated with the butter. Let it cook for four minutes.
2. Stir frequently. Then add wine. Let it evaporate. Then add chicken stock, one cup at a time, and cook the rice over medium heat, stirring constantly as the stock is absorbed by the rice. When the rice is almost done, add in garlic. Cook again for ten minutes.
3. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Add in the remaining butter. Serve with Barolo!
   
   
   
   
   
   Enjoy the Fest!

Keep Calm and Eat

Life seems to have shaken hands with stress. Getting up in the morning, going to the gym or walk, preparing meal, packing the lunch box, having breakfast, traffic, work pressure, coming back, again cooking, OMG! We always wish for a meal that is quick, tasty,healthy and something that removes stress. All we need to do is smart shopping that helps in quick cooking.

Muesli with Milk - It is often said, milk is complete food. I completely agree with this. It keeps you energetic throughout the day. 

Method 1: This quick and easy recipe needs hardly anytime to prepare. Mix muesli, Greek yogurt, milk and honey (desired sweetness). Place it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill overnight. Sprinkle chia seeds in the morning. Enjoy :)

Method 2: Boil 1/2 cup of muesli and milk. Let it cool for 5 minutes. Top with seasonal fruits!

Healthy Smoothie: Avocado, coconut milk, apple juice and berries make a great smoothie. Though there are variety of healthy smoothies, and you can opt for anyone, this is my favorite one. <3 <3

Spicy Chicken and Vegetable Soup: Spices like ground nutmeg, garlic and curry powder add a kick to the hearty stew/soup. Such spices make digestion strong and also heal the guts. The nutrients get easily absorbed and surprisingly satisfy the sugar craving as well. Adding veggies like carrots, leek, cabbage are always welcomed. With addition of skinless and boneless chicken, the taste is doubled, trust me. Sometimes I even prefer having this light recipe with boiled rice, starch removed, during the lunch. We can relish the yummzz at dinner as well with multigrain bread or gluten-free as per choice.

Greens with Cashew and Ginger Stir-fry: Green leafy vegetables are loaded with vitamins and minerals. They are known as disease-fighting phytochemicals. They are rich in fibre and reduce weight. And trust me if cooked well, they are very tasty. The technique of preparing yummy green leafy vegetable is the amount of water you use in it. Unless we are preparing curry, broth or soup, use minimum water. Addition of ingredients such as ginger and cashews, give it a gingerly plus nutty taste. Ginger cure various stomach problems. It relieves us from arthritis, menstrual pain, respiratory infections and bronchitis. Ginger tea is widely recommended if one is suffering from cold, cough and flu. Cashew prevents cancer and keeps the heart healthy. It is very good for hair and skin. It keeps the bones strong. A delish stir-fry of broccoli, carrots, pak choi, kale with the garlic ginger blend and soya sauce sooths the taste buds. Cashew is just like icing on the sugar. Delectable blend :P

Enjoy Stress-free recipes!