Oreo Cookie Mini Cheese Cake

I seem to have spent quite some time on the internet chatting with new found friends at CAL.  The inspiration to go into the kitchen again comes from all that talk of food and the inspiration for making mini cheesecakes came from the wonderful Norpro Mini Cheesecake Pan I saw and have to buy

Very soon Monish is going to throw me out of office as I dont seem to work - Hate to confess I am waiting for him to do that :)

My kids love Oreo and cheesecakes - so it had be a combination of both.

This can be made in a regular 9" springform pan also.

Ingredients

CRUST
10 oreo cookies
5 tablespoon butter(melted)

CHEESECAKE
2 cups heavy cream - I use Rich's
200 gms cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice

5 Oreo Cookies, crushed

Directions:

BASE
Separate the cookies, remove the vanilla filling, and crush to a rough powder

Add melted butter and blend until combined.  Press into pan. Set aside.

FILLING  
Beat heavy cream until medium peaks form. Set aside.

Add Oreo cookie vanilla filling, cream cheese, sugar, salt, &, lemon juice to a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until smooth (approximately 3-5 mins). 

Add cream cheese mixture to heavy cream and mix until incorporated.

Gently fold in crushed Oreo cookies.

Pour over the base and refrigerate for at least 6 hours to set or overnight for best results.

Remove from refrigerator and smooth top to level with edges. Serve garnished with halved Oreos.

TIRAMISU CAKE

Another hectic weekend.  Sometimes I wonder where time goes.  My son turned 16 on Sunday - whoever coined the term Sweet Sixteen was definitely not a parent.  Had to be one of the kids.  Its a terribly tough age and much as I love my kids Sweet is not a word I associate with them in their teens.  

I can beat my head asking him what he wants to eat and the answer is always the "Anything".  Does anyone know what or how to make Anything :)

So this birthday I decided to make him his favourite dessert in form of a cake - a Tiramisu Cake.  

I started this by making a basic vanilla sponge - you can use your favourite recipe.  Alternatively you could also use a chocolate sponge - thats a personal choice.

The tiramisu filling is a beautiful mascarpone, cream, coffee egg yolk filling which holds beautifully.

I have to admit that I have alsolutely no decoration skills.  After spending time racking my brains on what to do with the designing I remembered some chocolate transfer sheets that were lying around, so I just usedthat around the circumference of the cake and piped some cream on top.

All said and done the cake tasted really good.

CHILLI PASTE

50 gms Dry red chilly

150 ml oil

1/2 tsp ginger minced

1/2 tsp garlic minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ajinomoto

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 star anise

1. Remove the stem of chillies and soat in 1/2 cup water for 20 mins.  Mice or roughly grind in a grinder using same water
2. Heat oil, reduce heat, add ginger-garlic.  Cook till it turns golden.
3. Add chilli paste and cook for another 2 mins.
4. Add seasoning and cook another 2 mins
5. Remove from heat and allow it to cool
6. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

ANYONE FOR A CHINESE MEAL ??

It has been a harrowing week - started off with pouring rain on Sunday, the road outside our condominium sinking in, 2 cars getting caved in, my son falling sick - ooof

Poor Aakash - having to eat the most boring food due to his bad throat.  Yesterday he finally threw a fit and demanded something interesting.  Poor chap.  So like the dutiful mother [I try ;)] I decided to make him Chinese or at least the Indianised version of Chinese.

It was a simple meal of Fried Rice, Hot Garlic Mushrooms and Salt and Pepper Chilli Prawns.

Great to see a smile on his face after a week.  

SALT AND PEPPER CHILLI PRAWNS

Serves - 4

Total time required   20 mins

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Marinade

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp salt

Other

• 250 gms large prawns
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp pepper + 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp chilli paste
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 fresh hot red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
• 6 spring onions, cut into 5cm pieces, then halved lengthways
• 1 onion finely chopped
• corriander leaves
• 1 splash dark soy sauce
• 1 splash sesame oil
• sesame seeds for Garnishing

Marinade the prawns for 10 min with salt and lemon juice.

Wash and mix in cornflour, salt and pepper and chilli paste & keep aside.

CHILLI PASTE 

Heat the oil in a wok over a medium heat. Add the chilli, garlic, spring onions, onions and coriander and stir-fry for 3–5 minutes. 

Add the prawns, and cook for 3–5 minutes, tossing them gently until they are completely pink.  

Turn of heat and add soy sauce and sesame oil and toss gently.

Top with the sesame seeds and serve immediately.

KADHAI CHICKEN

This one was made by my daughter - under duress.  She hates cooking but has a knack of following recipes really well.  This recipe is from Nita Mehta's Learning to Cook.  Simple and easy to make, comes out real tasty.  

Dry roast 1 tbsp corriander seeds till aromatic.  Do not let it brown too much.  When cool,  crush roughly to split the seeds.

Heat about 10 - 12 tbps oil in a kadhai and temper with 1/2 tsp methi dana [fenugreek seeds] & 3 whole dry red chilli.  Stir for a couple of secs till methi dana turns golden

Add 3-4 onions cut into slices and cook till golden brown.  Add 2 tbsp garlic paste + 1 tbsp ginger paste and saute till dry.

Add in the crushed corriander seeds + 1 tsp red chilli powder + 1 tsp corriander powder and mix well

Add in 1 chicken cut into 8 - 10 pcs and cook till chicken is sealed well, stirring constantly.

Put in 4 large tomatoes chopped finely and cook for another 5 min or so.  Now add in the salt to taste, 1/4 tsp amchoor & 1/2 tsp garam masala

Cook covered for 10 - 15 mins till chicken is done and oil separates from the masala.

Add in 1/2 cup tomato puree and 1/2 cup chopped green corriander.  Cook a couple of mins

Lastly add in 1 capsicum sliced + few green chillies sliced + ginger sliced fine.  

Mix well and serve hot.

Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream

OMG - This is an ice cream to die for.  It is soo good not because of the chocolate or the chocolate chips which I am not overly fond of [I can see a lot of people looking at me like I'm crazy] but for the cookie dough.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

The Cookie dough is so tasty and can be used in various desserts.  There is a whole book dedicated to this - The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook - which is latest acquisition.  It uses a cookie dough mix in just about everything.  Am itching to trying all the recipes and sharing them to :)

The Traditional cookie dough ice cream is a vanilla based one but with the craze for chocolate and all things chocolaty at my home [is there a word such as that ?] I decided to go with a chocolate custard.  After hunting down - I spend too much time on the net - various recipes the one I bookmarked to try was from 

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2012/08/02/chocolate-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-ice-cream/  - 

It came out splendidly.  If you are a chocolate fan this one is for you -

INGREDIENTS:

For the Chocolate Ice Cream:
225 gms semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
350 gms heavy cream
365 gms whole milk
150 gms granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:
115 gms unsalted butter, at room temperature
110 gms light brown sugar
50 gms granulated sugar
30 gms  heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
105 gms all-purpose flour
½ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare the Ice Cream Custard: Combine the chocolate and cream in a large, heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted, then remove the bowl from the saucepan. Set it aside with a mesh strainer over the top.

2. Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

3. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula (it should reach 170-175 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer into the chocolate mixture and stir in the vanilla extract. Place the bowl in an ice bath and stir occasionally until the mixture has cooled to room temperature. Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

4. Make the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: Combine the butter and both sugars in a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cream, vanilla and salt, and mix for another minute or so, until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour, mixing just until incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.

5. Churn the Ice Cream: Just before churning the ice cream, scoop the cookie dough into ½-teaspoon to 1 teaspoon-sized balls and place on a plate or parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer. Churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer's instructions. When finished churning, fold in the chunks of cookie dough and transfer to an airtight container. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

Note: If you prefer a vanilla ice cream base for your chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, just use the same method as outlined above, substituting the chocolate.

Thanks to http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2012/08/02/chocolate-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-ice-cream/

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS

WEIGHING SCALE

Most essential for baking - I could not do without it

ICE CREAM CHURNER

Peach Ice Cream

Sometime back, going through the various items and gadgets I have accumulated over the years, I found a small ice cream churner, hidden away in one of the cupboards.  

This had been given to me by a friend - it belonged to her and am not sure if she ever used it.  Its a small little machine that goes into the freezer and the wire is allowed to hang out from the door.  So I decided to use it and see how it goes.

My first experiment with ice cream - a plain vanilla - was an extremely pleasant surprise.  The ice cream was tasty and flavourful.  And my kids enjoyed it which gave me the push to make more variations.  However, the ice cream had too many ice crystals so I sat and devoted an entire week to various sites on the internet giving details on how to make ice creams and how to get them right.

After narrowing down what I read the best tips & instructions found were on 

http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2008/06/10-ten-tips-for-making-homemade-ice-cream-success.html

Since then I have tried lots of various ice creams, which will be posted at different times.  I have successfully made

1.  Vanilla ice cream
2.  Cherry ice cream
3.  Chunky Monkey
4.  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream - my absolute favourite
5.  Cookies and Cream

The Peach Ice Cream came about when I found Peaches lying in the refrigerator.  I have difficult children who will not eat any fruit except Mangoes, straight out.  I love peaches, their beautiful colour and taste.  So this is my version of Peach Ice cream

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 egg yolks
• 113 gms granulated sugar, divided 
• 420 ml heavy cream
• 180 ml whole milk
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups chopped Peaches + 2 tbsp sugar + juice of 1 lemon

DIRECTIONS:

• In a large bowl mix together peaches, 2  tbsp sugar, lemon juice and the vanilla essence.  Let this sit for half an hour or till sugar dissolves.  Keep aside 1/2 cup and using a blender mix balance to a rough mash.  Keep in the fridge to chill
• 
  
• Whisk together the egg yolks and ¼ cup of the sugar in a large bowl; set aside.
• 
  
• Heat the remaining sugar, cream, milk and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Do not let it boil,  When the mixture begins to simmer, remove from heat & slowly drizzle it into the egg yolk mixture.  Keep Whisking constantly.  Pour this mix back into the saucepan.
• 
  
• Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. 
• 
  
• Strain the custard and place the bowl in an ice bath and stir occasionally, until the mixture reaches room temperature. 
• 
  
• Cover the bowl and place the mixture in the refrigerator and chill at least 2 hours.  Add in the chilled peach mash
• 
  
• Churn the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once the ice cream is ready, mix in the chopped peaches and freeze for a further 4-6 hours for the best flavour to develop

FATHER'S DAY SPECIAL

Each year Father's Day would come and go and I would start my morning with a call from my Dad who would not wait for me to call and wish him.  He loved reminding me to wish him :)

Dad & me - some million years ago :)

This year there was that feeling of emptiness - Dad went to his maker early this year.  How I miss him but am sure that he is enjoying life wherever he is.

This Father's day was spent with my Father in Law whose Birthday was the same day.  However, in memory of Dad and his love for food - the kids, MD and I celebrated Father's Day Eve in honour of Dad.

Here are some of his favourite things.

Peach Ice Cream

Alfanso Mangoes

Roast Chicken & Vegetables

Chocolate Tart

Kids were away to Maasi's house in Mumbai and their Dad was going through withdrawl symptoms. How does it matter if they are 20 & 16 yrs respectively........ he was miserable.  So I decided to cheer him up with :)

Chocolate - What could be better ?

This is a rich decadent tart - designed to cheer up the lousiest mood.  

And  yes it worked 

INGREDIENTS

For the base

• 150g - approx 10 - 12 - Digestive biscuits
• 30g unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp white caster sugar

For the chocolate ganache

• 175g thick cream
• pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream
• 50g fresh custard
• 110g dark chocolate 
• 50g milk chocolate

Cocoa Powder to dust

Method

1. Place the biscuits in a food processor and add the melted butter and sugar. Blitz until the mixture resembles fine sand in texture.
2. Place the biscuit mixture inside a 15cm loose bottom cake tin . Flatten using the back of a spoon then put in the freezer to set
3. Mix the cream, salt and Baileys and allow to stand for 5 minutes
4. Stir in the fresh custard.
5. Put the dark and milk chocolate in a bowl. Place over a bain marie ( a double boiler ) and allow to melt completely. Remove from the heat.
6. Add the infused cream to the bowl of melted chocolate, making sure to incorporate the cream thoroughly. 
7. Allow the ganache to cool to room temperature.
8. After 5 minutes, pour the ganache on the base and place the tart in the freezer to set for 2 - 4 hours. 
9. Dust with cocoa powder before serving.