Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushroom

Yet another mouth watering appetizer and my love for mushroom got me there..I was looking at making some stuffing for mushroom and kind of liked this idea i came across..I would say this is the western way of having a mushroom, with baking, cream cheese etc..I find the idea of baking appealing as I can prepare rest of things before hand. So that when it is time to eat I could just put the baking tray lined up with mushroom in the oven and not bother much with things like stirring, mixing etc. etc.

All that I used :

(a dozen bite sized mushrooms)

• Button mushroom - about 12

• Cream cheese - 8 oz (1 pack)

• Parmesan cheese - 1/2 cup

• Garlic - 2-3 pods

• Vegetable oil - 1 Tbsp

• Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

• Cayenne pepper - 1/2 tsp

• Onion powder - 1/2 tsp

How I made it :

• Wash and clean the mushroom nicely. Let the water dry off naturally.

• Get the cream cheese to room temperature (we want it soft).

• Break the stem of the mushroom. Mince those stems.

• Chop the garlic finely.

• Heat the oil in a a pan. Add the garlic and minced mushroom stem and fry for about 5 minutes on medium heat till it is completely dry and smell of garlic is gone. Take it out in a big bowl and let it cool.

• Once the garlic mushroom mixture is completely cool, add the cream cheese, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper and onion powder. Add almost all of the cheese, leaving a little bit to sprinkle on top of the mushrooms.

• Mix all the ingredients nicely into a thick paste.

• Now take spoonful of the mixture and start filling up the mushrooms, making a heap on each one. Sprinkle little cheese on top of each mushroom.

• Line up the baking tray with aluminium foil and grease it lightly with cooking spray or butter.

• Put the mushrooms on the tray, evenly spaced out.

• Now preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Bake the mushrooms for about 20 minutes, till they are slightly brown.

Serve the piping hot mushrooms right out of the oven!!

(Sorry for not posting a picture now as as I am not able to trace it. I will do it asap)

Recipe Source : Allrecipes

Garlic Focaccia Bread

I have been wanting and thinking of baking a bread since long. Even the yeast packet I had brought had got tired of sitting in my kitchen racks. This is the first bread I baked, finally. It came out really well and we all liked it too..The only thing I wish is that I had baked it with fresh basil leaves rather than the dried packaged one, the taste would have been really much different and better!!!

This could be such a appetizer for any party that you hold have. Keep it ready before your guests arrive, put it in the oven once they are settled in and take it out fresh in about fifteen minutes. Cut it into bite sized pieces and serve warm with some nice dip... 

All that I used :

• All purpose flour - 2 cups

• Basil - about 2 Tbsp

• Active dry yeast - 1 tsp

• Black pepper - a generous pinch

• Olive oil - 2 Tbsp

• Unsalted butter - 1/2 stick

• Garlic - 6-8 pods

• Salt - 1 tsp

• Water - about a cup

How I made it :

• It is definitely better to use fresh basil leaves but I used dry and crushed basil leaves (I decided to make it in a jiffy and basil was the only thing I did not have so I went ahead and used the packaged dried basil). If you are using fresh leaves, chop them nice and fine.

• Take the all-purpose flour in a big bowl. Add about 1 table spoon of the chopped basil, the yeast, salt and black pepper. Mix well.

• Add the olive oil to the flour mixture.

• Warm about a cup of water.

• Using the warm water, knead the flour mixture into a soft and nice dough. It should take about 5 minutes.

• Take a pizza pan and grease it lightly with some butter and flour (it is a general thing to do for any baking).

• Take the dough and flatten it on the pizza pan, making a circle of about 9 inch.

• Cover it (with some other big bowl or utensil) and let it rest and rise. Leave it for about 30 minutes.

• Now preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Use a butter knife and make about 4 lines on the flattened dough. (see pic below to get a fair idea what I mean).

• Melt the butter. Mince the garlic. Add the garlic and the remaining chopped basil. Mix well.

• Spread the butter mixture on the dough.

• Now put the tray in the oven and bake it for about 15 minutes. Check if it is done and cooked fully.

Cut in desirable pieces and serve warm....Tasty soft fresh and warm garlic bread is ready to melt in your mouth...The aroma is what will pull people..

Note :

• Definitely use fresh basil..I used the dry one so my pic doesn't look all that great, and the basil looks a little bit too much.

• I kind of like garlic so I can use it a little more. Adjust the amount of garlic you want to use depending on your taste.

Chocolate Cherry Treat

I was inviting few of my friends and their families over for dinner. And these friends of mine, each of them had 2 kids. So it got me thinking that no matter what I should have some exciting dessert for the kids. I kind of started surfing the net until I came across this one. This was easy, simple and straight forward and did not need much preparation or time. Kids like jelly (gelatin) stuff (I for one like it...) and chocolate is everyone's all time favorite...I was also intrigued how the combination of chocolate and cherry would turn out. So I made these and it so turned out that the kids really liked it. One gulp and one down!!

What I used :

(makes about 12-14 treats)

• Cherry flavored gelatin - 3 oz (1 pack)

• Semi-sweet chocolate - 2 oz (1/4 cup)

• Evaporated milk - 6 oz

• Water - 1/3 cup

• Cherry - about 12-14

How I made it :

• Boil about 1/3rd cup of water.

• Pour the whole packet of cherry gelatin powder in a bowl. Add the water to it. Mix well (for may be about 2 minutes) till the powder is dissolved well. Keep it aside

• Pour the evaporated milk in another microwave safe bowl. 

• Coarsely crush the chocolate and add to the bowl with evaporated milk.

• Microwave it on high for about 2-5 minutes, till it is completely melted. Stop and check in between each minute to make sure it is melted and stir each time.

• Add the melted chocolate mixture to the cherry gelatin mixture and mix well to blend it properly.

• Lightly grease a mini cup cake tray or an ice cube tray using a cooking spray.

• Pour the mixture into the tray and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

• Take it out and add a cherry topping to each mold. Press down gently so that the cherry sticks.

• Put it back in the refrigerator for another 20 minutes.

• Take out of the molds and serve.

Serve it out on a platter for your guests to pick each one up and gulp it down!!

Note :

• You may try it with any flavor of gelatin. Make sure to top it with that fruit (and may be not with a cherry!!!)

• You could use semi-sweet chocolate chips or bars. I used chips so i did not have to crush them much. If you using a chocolate bar, crush it coarsely before microwaving it.

• You could use small paper cups as molds if you do not have a ice-cube tray or a mini cupcake tray.

• I used the preserved cherries (maraschino cherries). You could use fresh ones, ones with the stems as it adds nice look to the treats.

• The size of these depends on you, but make sure not to make them too big as they are best in a small shape.

• This can stay overnight in the refrigerator.

Recipe Source : Kraft

Burnt Cheesecake (Oriya Style) : ''Chena Poda''

Happy Ram Navami to everyone!!

As Navratri ends and to celebrate Ram Navami, my friend Himanshi has invited us for dinner tonight to their place to savor prasad - puri, chole and sooji haIwa. I told her I would bring some dessert and since its a puja celebration I had to do something without eggs. Long back my aunt from Texas had told me how to make Chena Poda, the typical and very famous Oriya sweet. I decided no better day to make it. It is really very easy to make and is done with very few ingredients.

Chena Poda is my all time favorite Oriya sweet. Chena means paneer and Poda means burnt. So it is basically a sweet made out of paneer (cheese) and baked to an extent where its slightly burnt. And for me those burnt edges are the tastiest portion!!

Back home we don't buy this sweet in pieces but rather in quantities of kilos (kg)..That is how  much this sweet is loved. 

What all I used :

(makes about 25 pieces)

• 16 oz Ricotta cheese (2 cups)

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup half and half (or whole milk)

• 1/4 cup Sooji

• 3-4 pods of cardamom

• Little butter or ghee for greasing

Optional

• Few raisins

• Few cashew nuts

How I made it :

• Mix the ricotta cheese, brown sugar, sooji and milk together in a big bowl. You can use a hand mixer or else do it with your hand. Make sure all of the ingredients are mixed well.

• Break down the cardamom pods and crush them a bit (you can use a mortar and pestle). Add them to the mixture.

• Taste the mixture. If you feel it is little less sweet then add some more sugar to suit your taste buds.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

• Take a stoneware baking dish. Grease it nicely (by spreading it all over) with butter or ghee (1/2-1 teaspoon should do it).

• Pour the mixture in the baking dish and cover it tightly with aluminium foil.

• Bake it (on the lower rack of the oven) for about one hour (60 - 70 minutes). Check with a knife or a toothpick if the center is baked properly or not.  If not, give it another 5 - 10 minutes in the oven. Once done take off the foil of the baking dish.

• Now turn the oven into the broil mode. Put the dish on the top rack of the oven and broil it for 5 -10 mins, until the top is nice golden dark color. Definitely check it at 5 minutes and if you want it to brown up further leave it for another 3-5 minutes.

• This is how it looks once you take it out finally.

Let it cool don and cut it into small pieces to savor.!!

I put in the refrigerator for some time and used it.

Note :

• I usually pick my Ricotta Cheese from Walmart. It is a pretty common thing and you will find it in most other stores too.

• You can use fresh paneer if you can make it or fetch it from somewhere. Make sure you have drained all the water out of it. (Here is USA it is easier to use Ricotta Cheese ;))

• You can use packaged cardamom powder too. Take 1 tsp. But best will be to use fresh crushed cardamom.

• Adjust the level of sweetness to suit yourself by adding more or less of sugar.

• I did not use (this time) raising / cashews but it surely brings out good taste. You can chop them into smaller pieces and add them to the mixture before baking.

• I personally love a little extra burnt Chena Poda (after all that is the Poda meant for). To suit your liking and taste keep a check on the broiling part.

Recipe Source : Rina Misra, My aunty who lives in Lubbock (TX)