Cheers with Beer on Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest, the 16 days beer fest is celebrated in Germany annually, for the honor of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig's marriage. The vibrant fest stretches from September 19 to October 4, 2015. Let’s revive some facts and yummz.

• It must not be surprising if I say around 2 million beer gallons is consumed by 6 million people at the fest.
• Different tents offer different kind of beer.
• Capacity a tent can accommodate is 10,000 people.
• The traditional stein costs around $13 (33 Ounces).
• People with hangover can rest on the beds arranged by the Red Cross society.
• Best recipes offered on the fest includes:-

1. Brezn (pretzel)
2. Wurstl (sausages)
3. Haxn (pork knuckle)
4. Hendl (roasted chicken)
5. Weisswurst (white sausage)
6. Kaasspotzn (cheese noodles)
7. Schweinsbraten (roasted pork)
8. Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes)
9. Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on stick)
10. Knodeln (potato/bread dumplings)
11. Obatzda (spicy cheese-butter concoction)
12. Sauerkraut or Rotkraut (pickled red cabbage)

Do try my Fried Chicken recipe with Beer Dip. It would pair very well with following Cocktails.

The Eclipse 

Ingredients:-

Ginger beer,

6 Blueberries,

3 Mint leaves,

4 Strawberries,

1½ oz. Sour Mix,

1½ oz. Tequila.

Preparation Method:-

1. Muddle raspberries, blueberries, and mint leaves in a cocktail shaker.
2. Add tequila and sour mix. Shake vigorously and strain into a glass filled with ice. Top with beer. Enjoy!

El Ayudacal

Ingredients:-

1 Lime zest,

1 bottle Beer,

1½ oz. Lime Juice,

½ oz. Agave Nectar,

Lime wheel for Garnishing.

Preparation Method:-

1. Combine lime juice, agave nectar, and lime zest in a glass.
2. Add beer and stir gently. Garnish with a lime wheel. Enjoy!

Dance with Beer!

Celebrate Australia Day with Traditional Chocolate Lamington

Australia Day, falling on January 26, has become nation's largest annual public celebration. It brings together Australians from all walks of life. Be sure to grab your spot along the streets of Australia to cheer the bulk parade participants. It's the national day and ultimate time to celebrate with classic and traditional dishes. Australia has a rich variety of food and drinks. Last year I shared with you Australian Cocktails and I'm so glad that everyone loved to dance with those drinks. 

This time I come up with the traditional dessert called Lamington. Lamington are squares of sponge cake that are dipped in melted chocolate and grated coconut. Lamingtons are usually made up of stale cake. I have used fresh cake. So the trick is to freeze it. After this, sauce the lamination when it is slightly frozen. Though I am equally fond of strawberry and raspberry flavor, this time I tried Chocolate Lamington. You can also add in strawberry cream in between the cake as I have done. 

For the Cake:-

3 eggs,

1/4 cup milk,

1/2 cup sugar,

1/4 cup cornflour,

3/4 cup self raising flour,

3 teaspoons melted butter.

For Icing:-

1/2 cup milk,

3 1/2 cups icing sugar,

1/3 cup cocoa powder,

2 teaspoons melted butter,

2 cups desiccated coconut for coating.

Preparation Method for Cake:-

1. Preheat oven to 180 D.C. Now grease and flour a square shaped cake tin. Take a bowl. Beat eggs, sugar, butter and milk in it. Sift this mixture in flour and cornflour mix. Mix until well combined.

2. Pour the mixture into the greased tin. Bake in preheated oven until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Bake time is 25-30 minutes.

3. Allow to cool. Cut into smaller squares. Place in the freezer until it begins to harden, for 1 1/2 hours, uncovered.

Preparation Method for Icing:-

1. Stir butter, milk and cocoa powder, together. Then stir in the icing sugar.

2. Dip frozen cake squares into icing mixture and then into grated coconut.

3. Place on baking paper and allow to defrost. This must take 1 1/2 hours at room temperature.

 Enjoy Australia Day!

Chill with 6 Grills

Here are some unique food which you never thought could be grilled.

1. Potatoes - Potatoes are everyone’s favorite. We love potato fries, stir-fry, potato hash etc. Potato grill? It might sound strange but it’s true. There are 3 methods to do this.

a. Parboil the potatoes. Add coating of mustard plus mayonnaise of your choice to keep the potatoes moist. Grill and serve.

b. Take raw potatoes. Prepare the grill in such a manner, that it serves as heating agent from medium to high heat. Arrange the charcoals within the griller in such a manner. Cut slices of potatoes, neither too thin, nor too thick and grill. Enjoy the unique grilling experience.

c. One of best ways to cook potato on the grill is wrap them tightly in foil. Cover the grill. Your dish is ready within 40 minutes. Enjoy with lemon and pepper!

2. Eggs - We boil eggs, fry them, bake them but grilling eggs? Yes, we can certainly grill eggs. There are two methods to do this:-

a. If you are grilling eggs in the shell, place them over a hot grill. Cook until the shell is browned, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes and there you are.

b. Another method is to grill the eggs inside something else that will go on the grill. Crack the eggs into a halved bell pepper, portobello mushroom or a small muffin aluminium cup, then place it on a hot grill. Cook.

3. Octopus - You love grilled fish isn’t it? Have you thought of grilled octopus? The smoky flavor of a charcoal is what gives grilled octopus the real flavor. The time to grill depends on the thickness of octopus meat, you can check with knife. 

Grilling creates crispy exterior bits while the inner portion of the amazing seafood remains tender. Cut tentacles when ready. Serve with with extra virgin olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper.

4. Watermelon - You may be a bit leery about grilling a watermelon, but trust me it is a must try for summer. Make a mixture of lime juice, honey, cayenne pepper and salt. Remove the seeds from watermelon. Cut into triangular pieces. Baste the mixture on the melons and grill 3 minutes per side. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Similarly you can grill peaches and strawberries.

5. Cake - This even surprised me when i first heard of it from a friend of mine. Grilling cake may sound odd but it gives a toasty texture. Pound cake or polenta cake are the best options. Enjoy the warm cake with your favorite ice-cream or maple syrup.

6. Cocktails - It is very common to add herbs like mint, citrusy bergamot or lavender. Grilling the herbs for a few seconds will bring out the herb's floral quality. Wow, aromatherapy in a glass.

Enjoy the summer with grilled food!

Sweet Strawberry Marshmallow Cake

It is often said, “there is no sincerer love than the love of food”. Festive season gives boost to the foodaholics. Season of desserts is never ending. Marshmallow Cake very much resembles to that of cheesecake, but it’s actually not the one. Cheese cake is very heavy. In this case, the butter biscuit base gives the crunchy crisp feeling. Creaminess of Marshmallow is very rich and creamy.

The tartness of strawberry jello gives it a perfect blend of sweet with tinge of tangy taste. There is no doubt that strawberry is widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red color, juicy texture, and sweetness. The pink color of the cake is itself very enticing. This January, let us wish everyone Happy New Year with the creamy and fruity Strawberry Marshmallow Cake. 

Ingredients:

For Base-

200 gms digestive biscuits,

80 gms melted butter

For Marshmallow filling-

230 gms marshmallow,

150 ml fresh milk,

300 ml whip cream,

2 tsp of gelatine powder

Jello topping-

90 gms raspberry/strawberry jello,

400 ml of water,

2 tsp of gelatine powder

Preparation method:-

1. Crushed digestive biscuits and mix well with melted butter. Press into a 7” tin. Refrigerate for later use.

2. For Marshmallow filling, put all the ingredients mentioned under it, into a pot. Boil over small fire and stir continuously until gelatine is dissolved.

3. For Jello topping, boil all ingredients mentioned under it, until dissolved.

4. Now, assembling the cake. Pour marshmallow filling into the prepared baking tin with biscuit base.

5. Put in freezer until slightly harden but not totally frozen. Take it out and arrange sliced fresh strawberries on top of the filling.

6. Put it back to freezer to harden a little. When slightly harden take it out and pour the slightly cooled jello on it.

7. Put in fridge to chill. Cut into small pieces to serve.

Satisfy your sweet tooth with Strawberry Marshmallow Cake!!!