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Jihva For Ingredients #1: Mangoes

Apr 30, 2006 Noticias

Indira from Mahanandi is hosting the first Jihva For Ingredients and it’s theme is mango. The purpose of Jihva is to celebrate natural ingredients and mango certainly is an object to be desired. There’s not much that beats the sheer pleasure of eating the unadulterated flesh of a ripe mango, it’s the real definition of “finger licking good.”

The dish I’m making has mango at it’s heart and it sits of a light bed of coconut and ricotta that’s held together with crisp puff pastry. This little tartlet could be a special lunchtime treat or dressed up and served as a light dessert.

Mango, Coconut and Ricotta Tartlets

1 sheet ready made Puff Pastry
100g ricotta
20g Demerara sugar
50g Shredded Coconut
1 mango, diced
icing sugar, for dusting

Cut sheet of pastry in half - then cut each half into three.

Roughly fold the edges of each rectangle over to create a lip - then with a fork, prick the base of each tartlet - this helps to stop the centre of the pastry from raising.

To make the filling, place the ricotta in a bowl and add the sugar, mix this well to ensure the sugar is well incorporated and the mixture is fairly smooth. Add the coconut, mixing well.

Loosely top the centres of each rectangle with this mixture - don’t pack it down, just spread it out using a fork.

Top this with the pieces of mango and sprinkle with a little extra demerara sugar.

Cook in a preheated 180°C/350°F about 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Cool on a wire rack and dust with extra icing sugar.

You could make this as one large tart instead of the 6 individual tartlets.

Tagged with Jihva

Sweet Bruschetta

Apr 29, 2006 Noticias

Derrick from Obsession with Food has developed an obsession for old bread and for this months IMBB we’re to delve into those stale loaves and see what we can create.

I’ve gone the savoury route in the past - whipping up Fattoush with left over pita bread and Bruschetta al Pomodoro with yesterday’s Ciabatta - so I thought I’d step into the sweet area. I didn’t really want to make Bread and Butter pudding having had a few too many rich desserts of late, so when I saw this idea for a Sweet Bruschetta, I was sold.

The bread I’m using is called a Briont - it’s a Brioche type loaf with a lovely sweet yeasty aroma and largish open grain. It has a lightly glazed crust and an egg yellow crumb.

It’s almost too pretty to eat - but that won’t stop me.

Prepare the topping:
This will only work if you go out and find the real ricotta - the stuff found in tubs in the supermarket just won’t do.

Using the back of a spoon, push the ricotta through a sieve and into a bowl- this improves the texture and makes it easier to mix. Add the icing sugar followed by the nuts and liqueur.

Since I’m using hazelnuts I’m matching it with an sympathetically flavoured liqueur, in this case Frangelico. If I was to use almonds, I’d match it with Amaretto. The choice of liqueur and nut is up to you - naturally enough, you can use orange juice instead.

Add the diced strawberries (once again, you can replace this with a fruit of your choice), stir carefully and set aside while you prepare the bread.

Assemble the dish:

For this recipe I’ve used Briont, but you could also use Panettone, Pandoro, Brioche, and type of egg based sweet bread. Cut the slices fairly thick - 3/4 inch thick - and dot lightly with some softened butter.

I’m using the ubiquitous Sunbeam Cafe Grill again to toast my bread - you can do this using a non-stick fry-pan over medium heat. I like to use butter as I find it enriches the bread and stops it from being overly dry when toasted.

Once the bread is toasted place it on a wire rack. Generously dollop the ricotta mixture over the slice, pushing it to the corners and ensuring an even coating - don’t try to flatten the ricotta, you want it to be fairly fluffy as it sits on the toasts. Sprinkle over with sprinkle sugar and then place it under a griller to lightly caramelise the surface and gently heat the ricotta.

The filling is perfectly edible as is - you can serve it cold on the toasted briont and omit the last grilled stage.

When the sugar has caramelised, remove and dust with icing sugar before serving.

This makes for a most enjoyable weekend breakfast served with a good coffee.

MSFT , GTW , AET , LRCX , earnings data

Apr 28, 2006 Noticias

Chart courtesy of stockcharts

Microsoft said on thursday that its quartely income rose 16% , reported earnings of $2.98 Bilion or 29 cents per share, compared with $2.56 Bilion or 23 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier, The revenue for the three-month period was $10.9 Bilion, a 13% increase over sales of $9.62 Bilion a year earlier. Microsoft shares fell sharply today after reduced forecast, suffering their worst percentage fall since late 2000, with a volume that was the second highest in the stock’s history.

Chart courtesy of stockcharts

Gateway the third-largest U.S. personal computer maker, on Thursday said its quarterly loss widened because of litigation expenses and sales in its professional unit fell on competitive pressures. Gateway reported a first-quarter net loss of $12.3 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $5.19 million, or 1 cent per share, this results included $14 million in litigation expenses. Revenue for the quarter rose to $1.08 billion, up from $838 million last year, the company sold 1.38 million PCs in the first quarter, up 47 percent from the same period a year ago. According to the recent IDC data, Gateway was the fastest growing PC company in the U.S. and was the only company to experience sequential unit growth in the U.S. in the first quarter. Gateway ended the quarter with $590 million in cash and marketable securities, an increase of $4.5 million from the fourth quarter of 2005. Gateway and eMachines products are now sold in more than 7,000 retail locations in the U.S. and Canada and in more than 2,500 retail locations internationally, including France, Japan, Mexico and the UK.
According to chart above we can see that the stock breakout the short downtrend line yesterday, but after reported earnings the stock bounce back and closed under LT.

Chart courtesy of stockcharts

AETNA ( AET stock ) fell more than 20% on Thursday after the company reported strong earnings, but announced the retirement of two key executives and revealed that a computer with sensitive customer information was stolen, reasons that have pressured the stock.

Chart courtesy of stockcharts

Lam Research Corporation stock breakout yesterday the big resistance at 48.57 on higher volume and have tested today the breakout point with sucess, closing above this level at 48.88.
According to chart above the indicators still showing Bullishs signals.

Friday hot stocks in after-hours : XLB , NWL , WIBC ,

Next week will be another big week of earnings May 1st-5th some stocks that will report:

Monday : GVHR, HERO, HUM, NOVN, SYY, TSN, KAR, ALO, CHK, DLLR, EPEX, FSH, FCN, BGC, GW, NCOG, PKY, PDII, PLAY, PPS, PL, PFG, SRX, TSRA, TXRH

Tuesday : ARJ, ADM, BWNG, CMX, CHTR, CKP, RRD, DUK, ECLP, EFJI, EMR, ETR, EOP, EVVV, SINT, SIRI, SHOO, TXU, UTHR, VZ, VSH, LNC, OKI, OPEN, OSUR, WMS

Wednesday : ARTC, BEC, CI, CCU, CCO, CLX, EQR, FBN, GMR, LM, NRP, Q, SBGI, SKYW, ABX, CBT, CECO, ERTS, EXPD, JDSU, MSSR, QLGC, SUN, SPSX, TRLG, WFMI

Thursday : ACW, AXCA, DRL, COG, DJO, EK, ELN, ITWO, INCY, NRGY, MVL, PMI, RHB, SLXP, STRA, TYC, UBLBI, VRX, BKHM, CAMD, CALL, GMST, RMD, UVN

Friday : ACET, CACH, FS, GMRK, LOJN, MHS, MCCC, THQI, TOL, WMG CRK, POM

That’s All, Have a great weekend !!!

AC

Pumpkin Soup

Apr 28, 2006 Noticias

It’s not Mick Jaggers lips - it’s a pumpkin called Australian Sunset. It has an usual patterned ochre coloured skin and a deep orange flesh. Spying it on offer at the market, and the change to more cooler weather, spurred me to try it out as a soup.

The difference with this version of Pumpkin soup is that the pumpkin is roasted first! One of the more finger-threatening things to do in the kitchen is remove pumpkin skin - for this recipe that danger element is eliminated. Here you’ll be roasting the pumpkin pieces with the skin on - and when they are cooked, the flesh just melts away from the skin, a flat spatula or the back of the knife will easily remove the flesh.

If this pumpkin was to be part of a roast dinner, I’d prepare it in the same way, roast it a little longer to get a crisper skin and serve it skin on - it’s prefectly edible.

Roasting the pumpkin for the soup encourages the natural sugars to caramelise and enriches it’s flavour creating a more complex soup.

Pumpkin Soup

1kg pumpkin, seeds removed, cut into thick chunks, skin left on
olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground pepper
freshly ground nutmeg, to taste
½ cup cream

Place the pumpkin chunks into a dish and splash over with olive oil, ensuring the pieces are lightly coated before placing them on a baking tray and into a preheated 180°C/350°F oven.

Cook until softened and lightly coloured. Set aside and when cool enough to handle, scrap the flesh from the skin and set aside.

In a pot, cook the onion and garlic with a little olive oil. When softened and beginning to colour add the pumpkin flesh and the stock. Stir and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it’s smooth and creamy. Taste for seasoning and adjust and if you like, add some freshly ground nutmeg. Stir in the cream and let it gently come back to temperature.

Serve with some crusty bread or for a party idea, serve sip-sized (give the mix another burst with the blender to create a more lighter and aireated mixture before placing it in the cups)

Tagged with Soup

Parmesan Bread

Apr 26, 2006 Noticias

It’s the return of those little loaves - this time it’s simply flavoured with Parmigiano Reggiano (Grana would be a good substitute).

Parmesan Bread

2 teaspoons dry yeast
½ teaspoon sugar
2/3 cup lukewarm water
2 cups plain flour, sifted with ½ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
25 grams Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

Place the yeast, sugar and water in a bowl, whisk together and let sit 5 minutes to ensure the yeast activates.

Add the flour, olive oil and Parmigiano and using a dough hook, work the mixture for around 5 minutes until the dough is smooth.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for a couple of minutes to ensure the dough is nice and elastic and glossy looking.

Divide it into 6 - either by eye or use scales. Roll each piece into an elongated ball shape and place into a lightly greased mini loaf tin

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until risen.

Bake in a preheated 180°C/350°F oven for around 20 minutes or until golden.

These were well matched to the Roasted Garlic and Onion Soup.

Tagged with Bread

Panch Phora

Apr 25, 2006 Noticias

Panch Phora (also known as Panch Phoran, Panch Phoron, Panch Puran, Panch Puram, Punch Puram and Bengali Five-spice!) is an Indian spice blend made up of equal quantities of cumin seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and nigella seeds. In Bengali, Panch Phoron is said to mean “five spices”. It’s most commonly used in fish and vegetable dishes and usually added to the oil to impart it’s aromatics.

When I’ve used it in the past it’s been a pre-made version but one of my latest cookbooks called “Spice It” opened my eyes to its simple nature - so now I’m making my own. I have mentioned my love of potatoes so when I saw a recipe that involved potatoes and panch phora I just had to make it. Anyway, how could you resist something that looked like this…

Par-cook the potato cubes in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain, and dry with paper towels.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the panch phoron, ground cumin, ground turmeric and chilli powder and cook over a medium heat until fragrant. Add the onions and cook until onion has softened and lightly browned.

Add the potatoes and garlic and stir well ensuring they are well coated in spice. Continue cooking for 15-20 minutes until potato is cooked through and golden.

This was an excellent companion to roasted chicken.

Tagged with savoury food

Anzac Biscuits

Apr 24, 2006 Noticias

April 25th - ANZAC Day, a day of national commemoration of those that served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice. One of the traditions of this day are Anzac Biscuits.

The history of Anzac biscuits (or Soldiers’ Biscuits as the were originally called) is a case of ingenuity and making of the most of what you have - during the first world war, food sent overseas in care packages had to survive two or more months of sea-travel to get to the soldiers. So the problem arose of making something nutritious but with a long shelf-life. The solution to that problem came in the form of a biscuit. One of the ingenious aspects of this recipe was that due to the lack of eggs an alternative had to be found, and that came in the form of golden syrup to bind the biscuit and give it that unmistakable flavour.

The ingredients haven’t changed since these were first baked - every biscuit really is a little time capsule.

Mix together the oats, flour, sugar and coconut.

In a pan, melt the butter with the golden syrup, mixing well to combine. Set aside then mix the bi-carb and hot water together, before pouring it into the butter mixture, stir then pour this into the dry ingredients.

Stir well and then scoop out tablespoonful of the mix - roll in your palm then flatten into a rough circle.

Place on a baking paper lined tray, leaving space for the biscuits to spread.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until a golden brown. Cool on the tray before placing on wire racks.

Tagged with biscuits

Is going 80 in a 55 unethical?

Apr 24, 2006 Noticias

Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way

Benjamin Cowgill, the host of Blawg Review #55, has a fun road trip planned for us, or so he says:

Next week I will be proud to present Blawg Review #55, the 55th edition of the Blawg Review, here at SoloBlawg.

BR 55 will be called “Pulled over going 80 in a 55.” It’s gonna be a high-octane, Bawls-induced, drive-by shooting of the blawgosphere, stopping anywhere that looks cool but staying just long enough to get pumped.

But this road trip needs your help. I’ll do the driving, but I need to know where you wanna go.

Do you want us to stop at your place? Submit a blawg now, to make sure it will be on the map when we head out next Monday.

Have you visited any other cool blawgs lately? Would you like to go back there together? Drop me a note and I’ll add your favorite destination to the program.

And, of course, we need tunes. We’ll set up some channels on Pandora, so let me know what you wanna hear. I’m thinking we want driving music: Steppenwolf, the Boss and Quadrophenia.

Sure we’re lawyers. In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream. But we’re also bloggers. At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines. So tell me where you wanna go. The night’s bustin’ open; these two lanes will take us anywhere.

Editor’s Note:

Mama don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys
Don’t let ‘em pick guitars and drive them old trucks
Make ‘em be doctors and lawyers and such…

New Project: Google Ctemplate

Apr 24, 2006 Noticias

The code just keeps on coming! Today we’ve released Google Ctemplate, a library implementing a simple but powerful template language for C++ that emphasizes separating logic from presentation. You’ve already used Ctemplate: this is the same code that formats all of the pages for Google’s web search.

Source code and RPMs for Ctemplate are available from SourceForge. Give it a try!

Savoiardi

Apr 23, 2006 Noticias

Savoiardi, as the name suggests, were first baked for the House of Savoy and while they originate from the Piemonte region of Italy, Savoiardi were also baked in other areas ruled by the Savoys. Differences in the recipe are the result of the regional nature of Italian cookery.

Savoiardi are probably best known for their part in Tiramisu or as I’ve shown recently, as a partner to Zabaglione, but they are also used in Zucotto. They can naturally enough, be eaten as is.

There appears to be two forms of Savoiardi, the thicker, more uniform type that are made using a mould and that you usually find in packets at the supermarket, or the thinner, less constructed type that I’ve made here, and which are more in line with what I’ve experienced from Pasticcerias and are the style that I tend to prefer.

Savoiardi

100g plain flour
100g caster sugar
4 egg yolks
2 egg whites

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.

Beat the yolks with sugar until light and fluffy and sugar has dissolved.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.

Sift flour over egg yolk mixture and very gently fold to amalgamate. You need to keep the mixture as light as possible and incorporate as much air as possible.

Finally add the egg whites in two batches, folding until just combined.

Put mixture into piping bag fitted with plain tip. Pipe lines onto baking paper - as you can see from this batch, you really can make them any size. Dust them with icing sugar and then bake for about 8 minutes or until they are a light golden colour.

Let them cool on the tray before removing them - keep them stored in an airtight container.

Tagged with savoiardi : sweet food