Chicken Burgers

One of those lazy days when you do not have the urge to move a muscle and want a filling junk food dinner. I had bought Hamburger Buns, Romaine Lettuce, Mayo, Cheese Slices, Tomatoes, Onions and some Chicken Patties from the local grocery. Why not plonk it all together for a quick Burger? I humbly obliged to P's intructions and he made these tasty and finger licking delicious bunny Burgers.

The approach was simple - I recalled the way Bappa, a grand old uncle used to make Cutlet Buns also called as Burgers in our college. It was quite a popular food amongst the students. He simply suated a few buns in pan slathered with some oil, added a slice of onion, tomato and some Amul Butter and a Potato Kaap coated with Rava and the humble Burger was all set to be devoured. Considering that those days our pocket money was frugal and within means, we all patronised the yummy Burgers he made. Even to this date, if I meet him at my College, I always thank him for this heavenly delight which was a big deal for us during those days.

Recipe ~ Inspired by my college day junk food = Burger.
Serves ~ 2 Burgers

Ingredients:
Chicken/ Veg cutlet - 2 Patties
Mayonnaise - 2 teaspoons
Romaine Lettuce - 6 leaves
Tomato slices - 2
Onion slices - 2
Butter - for frying
Cheese slice - 2

Method:
Lightly roast the Buns on a pan with some butter. Once they get crispy on both sides. Slather one side of Burger with Mayo, place a Patty, place a slice of Onion and Tomato each, place couple of Lettuce leaves, a slice of cheese and top it with another bun. Poke a plastic pin in the centre to hold the ingredients together. Serve with ketchup, salad vegetable strips and Chips. If Vegeterian, you will find the cutlet recipe here.

Enjoy the not so healthy pleasures of junk food at times. We are all humans!

California Pizza Kitchen - Crispy Thin Crust: Margherita

There are times when you feel like just crossing your legs, stare at the ceiling and do nothing. I made Pizza on one such occasion recently. Bought one reay-to-eat from local Shoprite, stashed some Kalamata Pitted Black Olives and Giorgio Mushroom pieces. Added some pieces of Chicken Patties on top for extra crunch and bite flavours; Baked for 20 minutes and presto! My pizza is ready.

Hold on! It was not so easy! I had kept the oven to pre-heat and to my horrors within a few minutes the kitchen stovetop area was full of smoke. Our apt has smoke sensors. The kitchen was full of smoke, alarm was festering my ears! P and I were running around to fix and stop the alarm lest the water sprinklers begin to shower! Finally, after 10 minutes situation was under control. P was very helpful, thanks to him, we realised the root cause was a BBQ grill rack lying in the oven which had grease on it. Sigh! After 5 minutes of alarm and 30 minutes of fire-fighting, we finally dug into this yummy Pizza.!!

This ready-to-eat was not a pleasant experience! ;-)

Recipe Source: California Pizza Kitchen - 12 " pizza

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

Pitted Black Kalamata Olives - 15 Olives (chopped and sliced)

Mushrooms (canned) - 1 can (I used Giorgio)

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Stash the pizza in the oven and allow to bake for around 15 minutes; We like it crispy so we allowed the Pizza to bake for some more time.

Garnish with Red Chilli flakes, Oregano seasoning and Basil herb. Serve hot with cool summer juices and mocktails.

Simple Yellow Cake

I always dreamt of Baking and felt that it was enormous task in itself. Much to surprise, I am wrong. Baking reqires precision, timing and good quality ingredients. I realised that unlike the daily kitchen cooking adventures where you can afford to play the ocassional guess work with your ingredients, baking takes the term "precision" and "timing" to a whole new level.

IF you have all of these in place, no one can mess your cake. I tried my hand at Baking for the first time and the results were much pleasing. The motivation for me was my 8 year old nephew bakes cookies and pies. I can do it too was my response. The quality of your blending, the cake batter, how well it beaten and how much it should be beaten also bears lot of weight.

All it needs is 3 eggs, 1/3 vegetable oil and 1 1/3 water. I found it easy when I read the instructions and thought should give it a honest try. My brother, P is in town, he promptly offered to give a helping hand. Knowing that someone would be there should it be disaster, I thought today I AM GOING TO BAKE A CAKE!!

Verdict: The cake was super delicious, soft and tasty. You are welcome to come and take a delicious bite!!

Recipe Source: Shoprite Yellow Cake Mix Recipe

Serves: 25 servings ~ 1 pound and a 1/4 more

Ingredients:

Eggs - 3

Vegetable oil - 1/3 Cup

Water - 1 and 1/3 Cup

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously grease pans and dust with flour. My baking tray is 13" x 9"

Blend in a large mixing bowl at low speed and until moistened. Add the ingredients in cake mix and beat the mixture in a clockwise direction with 450 strokes. Pour batter into pans.

Bake at 350 until done. Cake is done if toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not test for doneness by touching your finger. I baked the cake for 35 minutes and had set a timer for it just in case by grey matter fails to remind me.

Cool the cake for around 30 minutes on a cooling rack. Remove from pan and cool upside down. P and I were totally impressed with our creation. I marvelled at the way the cake had fluffed up! The cake cutting formally happened and we gorged on the pieces and have saved some for Summer Party today! I love Summer and I am no longer shy of baking!! :)

Garlic Bread ala Ash

There are days when you transport yourself to the Kiddy World. I happened to speak with my niece, the naught brat so much so that I quickly make a Garlic Bread for her which I am sure she would love. I added all her favorite elements as add ons for the Garlic Bread - Chunky Salsa sauce, Coriander leaves and Shredded Mozarella cheese which she loves to devour and gobble up. I named this dish Garlic Bread ala Ash.


Little bit of creativity and soul satisfaction = smiles and cheerz!! Now my niece does not like Coriander leaves, for that matter any humble sight of anything remotely green, so I thought of adding green in a different fashion. Hope she likes the idea of this creative style of consuming Garlic Bread.

Serves: 1 individual

Ingredients:
Garlic Bread - 2 slices
Chunky Salsa sauce - 2 tablespoon
Coriander leaves - 3-4 sprigs (chopped)
Mozarella Cheese (shredded) - 2 tablespoon

Method:
Take each slice of Garlic Bread from freezer. I used Texas Toast brand as I find their breads tasty and easy to bake and serve. Thaw for some time. Warm up on a frying pan or heat up in in microwave for 2-4 minutes with 1 T each of Mozarella cheese.

For garnishing, add a line of Chunky Salsa sauce and top it with Coriander leaves. I created a tiny coconut tree on my breads. Its important to get little creative with kids to make sure they tuck in their yummy fare without any fuss and tantrums. :)