FRITTATA: BRUNCH FAVORITE !!

As I stare out of the window, its all wet, its all snowy and its all grey. So the late afternoon Latte tastes even better. Its Sunday and the weekend is on its lasts legs.

I had too many plans for this weekend. Its a different story that the weather Gods seemed to have another set of plans for us. We did pack in a lot of activity, despite the inclement weather and my apparent condition. So not much to regret about. With Sundays, come Brunches, and that makes everything better !! Brunches always create memories, and even re-kindle some good old ones.

I have my own set of favorite Brunching Joints, and also some Brunch Favorites. As I savored the last bit of my brunch today, I just thought that I should pen down about my all time Brunching Favorite: Frittata.

Silky eggs with a Parmesan crust, stuffed with vegetables, and other proteins, seasoned with some Chili flakes, baked to perfection.

Did you know, it pairs very well, with a dry white wine?! I am sure you did.

Doesnt it just shout out SUNDAY ! It does big time for me. So when the man whips up some Frittata on a cold and grey morning, it does bring a smile. Frittata is more than just a baked omelet. Its a one pot/pan meal in itself. Pretty heavy, a meal. I can never go beyond two slices.

The best thing about baking some frittata is that, one can play with the fillings according to one's choice. While you will need the share of eggs, the rest can be altered. So if you have spinach, throw in some, or if you prefer some sun dried tomatoes, that can also go in. If you are not a Parmesan fan, how about some Pecorino Romano or maybe some aged Gouda.

The man whips up  quite a few versions of it. But my favorite is the one, he made on one of our vacays. This particular Frittata had been whipped up by him, when we were relaxing at a log cabin in the Smoky Mountains,in Tennessee last summer. It was all too perfect. The green mountains, and the whiffs of smoky mist from the trees. The lovely cabin nestled in the hills, a hot tub overlooking it all, great food and not to forget the Man !! Irresistible !!

FRITTATA: 

Ingredients: 
Olive Oil : 4 tbsp
Potato: 2 large: Diced
Onion: 1 large: Chopped finely
Garlic: 3-4 cloves: Chopped finely
Spinach: 2 cups
Salt and Pepper: to taste
Eggs: 8 to 12 large eggs
Milk: 1/4 cup
Parmesan Cheese: 1/2 cup: Grated
Crushed Red Pepper/Chili Flakes: 1 tsp
Bacon Strips: 2-4 : Chopped

Procedure: 

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

Chop the veggies and keep them aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with some milk, red chili flakes, and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese, salt and pepper. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a skillet, and saute the potatoes, until they start changing color.

 Add in the onion, garlic and chopped bacon and saute for around 3-5 minutes. Add in the spinach and let it wilt. Season with salt and pepper.



Transfer the veggie mixture to a large baking dish, and then top with the egg mixture. Bake at 350F for around 10-15 minutes or until a knife inserted at the center comes out clean.

Top with the remaining Parmesan cheese and place under the broiler. Broil until the top is golden brown, and lightly crusty.

Remove from the broiler and let it cool for around a couple of minutes. Cut into wedges and serve .

 Hope all of you whip up this Brunch favorite pretty soon and make Sundays even more memorable.

Bon Appetit !!

SARASWATTOYI NOMOH !!!

Saraswati Pujo(the worship of the Goddess of Learning) always beings back fond memories of childhood. Pujo in the morning at home. Waking up really early, to help in the Pujo preps. Donning a yellow saree, which was kept in place by a multitude of safety pins, and often paired with a blouse, which was not our size(read: a few sizes always bigger). And yes, being officially off from lessons. Who can forget that.

Even after so many years, Saraswati Pujo kindles the same kind of excitement, although I am miles away from my homeland. Some routines never change for Bongs, no matter which part of the world they are in. 

So a new crisp saree, an early morning shower,and we were off for Pujo. The highlight of this year's Pujo, was the young priest. In a bid to involve the youngsters, it had been decided, to have the Pujo performed, by young Rishi, though under strict supervision. Donned in yellow, Rishi left us all enthralled. We had reached just in time, when all the ceremonies began.

With Pujo, comes the quintessential adda.

A few quick pictures for the family album ! Must say, Mashi was quite the head turner, despite, slogging at the kitchen since 5 am, to ensure all the Bhog was ready.

Then there was the call for Pushpanjali !

Then Prasad and Bhog !! I was so hungry by that time, that I forgot to take pictures. Khichuri, Bandha Kopir Tarkari, Luchi, Aloor Dom, papad, Chatni, Beguni and Payesh. And yes, Roshogolla. All from Mashi's kitchen. Everyone was lining up for second and third helping. Needless to say, Bhog was a super success.

Then it was time for the Kiddos to take the stage. They had us laughing, clapping and shouting out in glee.

There were those, who wanted to run away from stage, despite the efforts of their older siblings or mommies.

There were the seasoned performers !

And there were those who had the crowd shouting for an encore !!

By the time, the day rolled to an end, we were all saying, "Aschhe Bochhor Abar Hobe !" 

SNOWY DAYS AND KHICHURI-ALOO PHULKOPI BHAJA !!!

Welcome to Winter Wonderland !!

Mother Nature has been overgenerous with us, in the Midwest, with her bounty of snow this year. Two blizzards in a span of four days. The patio has a few feet of snow which shoes no sign of melting away. The newspaper is either not getting delivered, or is getting buried under the fresh pile of snow accumulating very hour.

We are practically snowed in, although the snow ploughers are hard at work.

We are making the best use of our time indoors. Loads of indoor games, good movies on the telly and some neighborhood friends, who decided to walk through the snow. So we planned on a Khichuri potluck party.

Khichuri always brings back memories of rainy afternoons in India. Staying off from school, to enjoy an unexpected weekly day off, when it was pouring heavy. Khichuri from Ma's kitchen, with Begun Bhaja(Eggplant Fritters), Maachh Bhaja(Fried Fish). A dollop of ghee and even the grey rains seemed cheerful from the dining room window. Not to forget that anything from Ma's kitchen makes one warm and fuzzy, no matter how bad the weather is.

This time around, it was Khichuri from our friend Arka's kitchen. Loaded with peas and other veggies and also quite a few dollops of Ghee. He had dry roasted the Mugher Daal, till it changed color. The rice had been soaked in plain water for around half an hour.The ratio of Rice to the lentils was 1: 1. In a heavy bottomed pan, he had added some Mustard Oil, and let some whole Cumin (Jeera )seeds crackle along with some Green Chillies. Then he added the rice, daal, turmeric powder, Cumin Powder, Ginger Paste, salt and water and let it cook covered. He added in some random winter veggies lying around. Once the Khichuri was almost cooked, he added in some frozen peas, and finished off with some dollops of ghee.

Hubby cooked up some spicy Cauliflower and Potato Fritters , with a heady dose of Shukno Lanka ! Spicy crunchy and super nice. He added some Shukno Lanka(dried red chillies) to some Canola Oil. In the meantime, he had cut the cauliflower in small florets and diced the potatoes, to match the size of the florets. He mixed in some Paprika, salt with the veggies, and added them to the hot oil in batches. Somewhere between deep frying and shallow frying sealed the trick.

We had all run out of fresh fish. So Sayan improvised with some store bought breaded Halibut Fillets, which were fried to perfection.

We all decided on going with a little more ghee on each of our plates.

Pretty soon, everything was polished off, and then it was time for some playing in the snow !!!

Here's hoping all of you stay warm !!

CILANTRO LEMON PASTA IN CREAMY ALFREDO SAUCE :

Pasta is my definition of easy dinner !
Prawns are my definition of easy cooking(if such a phrase exists) Proteins !
So more often than not these two find a place on our dinner plates, especially on weekdays.

Now that I have officially given calorie count a miss, I can indulge in cheesy goodness totally without guilt. Maybe the man, has to spend some extra hours at the gym for all this calorie overload, but he ain't complaining.So it was Cilantro Lemon Pasta in a creamy Alfredo Sauce !!

Some of my friends tell me, that why do I take the trouble of making Alfredo sauce, when I can just pour it out of a bottle. Yes, I can do that, but somehow, I find store bought Alfredo Sauce to be very clawing. So I try and whip up some, whenever I am in the mood. I am all for semi-homemade meals, only when the end result does not taste like cardboard.

I swear by heavy Cream and I am proud of it .

Sometime back, we had picked up a packet of Green Pasta ! The color caught Deb's eye, and when he read the ingredient list, he was all smiles. The Pasta was flavored with cilantro and lemon, and that's combination which is very pleasing to our desi taste buds. The recipe on the packet, asked for a sweet and tangy orange sauce, made with orange juice concentrate and and some slices of ham. Off late, Deli Meats(though super favorites) are off limits for me, courtesy the Doc. So I reached out for the Prawns in the freezer instead and settled for an almost basic Alfredo Sauce.

A colorful and tasty dinner plate, which made the weeknight not seem so mundane.

CILANTRO LEMON PASTA IN CREAMY ALFREDO SAUCE : 

Ingredients: 
Cilantro Lemon Pasta: 8 oz: You can cook with any kind of Pasta. Just bump up the lemon zest and cilantro proportions. 
Cilantro: A handful: Chopped finely
Lemon Zest: 1 tbsp
Heavy Cream: 1/2 cup
Prawns: 1 cup (Shelled and De-veined)
Olive Oil: 2 tbsp
Onion: 1/2 : Sliced finely
Garlic: 4 large cloves: Minced
Salt: to taste
Black Pepper: 1 tsp
Butter: 1 tbsp(more if you wanna OD like me)
Grated Parmesan Cheese: 2 tbsp:
Gouda:: 3-4 shavings or more

Procedure: 
In a large non stick pan, add in the olive oil, butter and the onions. Once the onion starts getting translucent, add in the minced garlic and fry for another minute or so.

Add in the prawns and the lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the Pasta al dente(with a bite) according to package instructions, with some salt. Drain and keep aside. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.

 Fry the prawns , till they start turning pink.

Add in the cream and some more butter(the butter at this stage is optional.)Mix everytging well. Make sure that you have turned the heat to low.

Add in the cheeses and let it all bubble away. Make sure to stir in between.

Once the sauce starts thickening, do a  taste test and add in the pasta.

Toss everything together, add in the chopped cilantro. Add in some pasta water, if you feel that the sauce has thickened way too much.

Serve hot !!

Bon Appetit !!

AEROSMITH : CONCERT DIARIES :

When you are in love with a musician, Concerts become an obvious part of your social calendar. After all these years of being together, and after attending so many Rock Acts, I thought it was about time, I started penning down, some sort of a concert diary ! We had even cancelled our Honeymoon plans to attend a concert by KISS  in Kansas City !!

Last year was no different. A few weeks before our anniversary, we went ahead to yet another concert. This time the Bad Boys of Boston were in town. AEROSMITH !!!   All roads in Kansas City seemed to lead to Sprint Center, to see the men in action !

It was a two hour concert where they just proved that one is never too old to rock. It seemed like 60s were the new 20s . Steven Tyler pranced around on the stage with such energy, which could give the youngsters a serious run for their money. Maybe his voice has taken a beating over the years, but he was every bit a super energetic frontman needs to be. The way he sashayed down the stage, made me forget that I had a bun in the oven and stand up and cheer !

Joe Perry was no different. Dressed to kill and driving the crowds crazy with his guitar licks !

The band mostly delivered their older hits and no one seemed to be in a mood to complain Jaded, Love in an Elevator had the crowd going berserk. They belted out only track from their current(15th) album, Music from Another Dimension. 

The final stretch had hot favorites like Dude(Looks Like a Lady), and Walk this Way !!  By the time the show ended, Tyler was topless, and we were covered in confetti !!