Category — Kitchen Brands

Palak Paneer is one of my favorite Indian dishes comprised of spinach and cheese. I love both, so there is no better dish for me than this one. It’s creamy, pungent and so comforting. Blogger Indian Simmer was lucky enough to have her significant other make this for her on her birthday! Here is here recipe:

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh green spinach
8 oz packet of paneer cut into cubes
1 cup red chopped onion
1 cup tomato pureed
3-4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 inch ginger
2-3 thai green chili
1 tsp fennel seeds
3-4 cloves
1/4 cup heavy cream or 2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp coriander powder
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
3 tbsp olive oil/cooking oil
Salt

Method:

Boil spinach in a big pot (Rachel Ray Cast Iron Casserole Dish) adding fennel seeds and cloves to it. Let it cool and then blend it in a blender (Cuisinart SmartPower Blender from Crate & Barrel). Save the water in which you boiled your spinach.
Grind onion, ginger, garlic and thai chili making a thick paste. Heat oil in a medium sized pot and add the ground paste of onion, garlic and the other ingredients. Cook everything until the paste starts changing color from light pink to darker pink and then slowly towards golden. Then add salt.
Stir for a minute and you’ll see onion loosing some oil that’s when you have to add coriander powder & curry powder.
Mix it all together and add pureed tomato.
Cook everything until the paste is thicker and all the liquid from the tomato is cooked. Then you have to add the pureed mixture of spinach, fennel seeds and cloves. Fennel seeds and cloves here are the secret ingredients that I add to my spinach. This gets rid of the spinachy (if there’s any word like that) smell of the greens.
Don’t forget to turn the heat to lowest because as soon as spinach hits the hot pot it would start bubbling and jumping. So continuously stir it on low heat for a minute or two and then cover it with a lid to let it cook. If you think the gravy is too thick for you add a ladle or two of the saved boiled water from the spinach and then cover it.
In a separate sauce pan boil salted water, turn off the heat and then add the paneer cubes. Let it stay in hot water for 2-3 mintes while your curry is being cooked. This helps drain all the excess fat from the cheese making it softer.
Then add cream or sour cream whatever you are using to the spinach curry. Mix well.
Drain our paneer cubes from the salt water and add it to the gravy.
Give it one quick boil and your Palak Paneer is ready. We ate it with some char grilled butter naan (grill with Sur La Table Stainless Steel Flexi Grill Basket).

Sometimes there’s nothing more relaxing than having a piping hot cup of tea.

I have an electric water jug, but there’s something nostalgic about putting on a pot of tea and waiting for the whistle to blow.

KitchenAid 2.25 Qt. Tea Kettle – Warm Berry

Rachael Ray 1.5-qt. Porcelain Enamel Whistling Teakettle, Orange

> shop more whistling tea kettles

I am currently obsessed with lime popcorn. I eat it while waiting for dinner to cook because, really, any excuse to eat it is just fine. I make the quickie Orville Redenbacher Lime and Salt, but imagine how great it would be to cook and make my own flavors! Glamour has this amazing recipe for Chili Lime Tequila Popcorn that I’m dying to try!

Chili Lime Tequila Popcorn
Adapted from Dolcetto Confections

Ingredients:

4 quarts freshly popped popcorn
1/4 cup butter, melted (Note: I use less–butter is absolutely optional)
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 teaspoon tequila (optional)
1/2 small jalapeno, seeds and membrane removes, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or SilPat. Set aside. Put popcorn in a large, clean paper bag. In a medium-size bowl whisk together the butter, lime juice and zest, and tequila. Add the jalapeno. In a small bowl combine the black pepper, salt and red pepper.

Drizzle butter mixture over the popcorn, fold over the top of the bag, and shake until the popcorn is coated and moist. Sprinkle pepper mixture over the popcorn, fold over the top of the bag, and shake a few times to coat.

Spread the popcorn evenly over the baking sheet and bake until the popcorn is dry, five to seven minutes. Store in clean paper bag for up to 1 day.

Cuisinart Popcorn Maker

Theater Popcorn Popper

Say it isn’t so! I’ve never seen croissants so perfectly baked at home,  but Tracey from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures did just that! I’m so jealous and terrified that if I ever attempted this recipe my croissants would go up in flames. For you brave bread souls:

Find the formidable recipe at Tracey’s Culinary Adventures!

Some things you’ll need:

Rolling Pin (J.K. Adams High Roller Gourmet Rolling Pin Individual Pieces Cookware)

Ruler (12-1/4″ long x 2″ Wide Aluminum Ruler)

Knife (Harold Import Company TBCL Cooking Knife 15 Centimeters)

Next time I play hostess, I think I’ll make some of these homemade hostess cupcakes that was posted by Sassy Smith on The Family Kitchen.

Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 hot coffee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl sift together sugar, Dutch process cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla and then add into the dry ingredients. Whisk in the hot coffee (Keurig Gourmet Mini Plus Personal Brewer).

Fill lined muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes (Rachel Ray 12 Cup Muffin Pan). Remove from oven and allow to cool.

For the filling:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup marshmallow creme

In a medium bowl, beat together all filling ingredients. Fill a large piping bag (Ateco Plastic Coated Pastry Bag 18 Inch). When cupcakes are cool, press tip into the center and squeeze 1-2 tablespoons of the cream filling into the center. Repeat for all cupcakes.

For the ganache:
3/4 cup cream
7 ounces chocolate

Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat stirring frequently until the cream is hot and just starts to boil. Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Spread warm but slightly cooled ganache over the tops of the filled cupcakes.

For the icing:
1/2 stick butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2-1 tablespoon milk

Once the ganache is set, whip together all icing ingredients until smooth, adding more milk if necessary. Fill a piping bag and pipe on the curls or write fun messages on your cupcakes.

Now that the weather has officially turned, I have a feeling I’ll be having a lot of soup. One of the most important components of a good soup is good broth! Chicken broth, vegetable broth, beef broth all are the foundation for so many soups and even important in many other dishes. Don’t forget, you need a big stock pot!

Bayou Aluminum Stock Pot

Economy Stock Pot

Crate & Barrel Stock Pot

It’s been gray and gloomy! Here are some bright colored cups to make me and you happy!

Unbreakable Polycarbonate 10pc. Tumbler Set Assorted

Cool Set Insulated Tumbler Set Of 4 16 Oz.

Four Iris Iced-Tea Glasses

I have a confession. I have been ordering-in Chinese. Broccoli Beef to be more specific. Here’s a simple recipe from New Asian Cuisine that should give me a kick start to back away from my bad, bad habit of lazy eating!

Jaden Hair says, “The secret ingredient to the absolute best Broccoli Beef is Chinese black vinegar, which adds a mellow sweet tang. If you don’t have Chinese black vinegar, substitute it with a good, dark balsamic vinegar. Speaking of sauce, there’s nothing I detest more than goopy brown sauce that normally drags this dish down at most Chinese restaurants.I want my broccoli to be tender-crisp and taste like broccoli, not like cornstarchy brown goop. The secret is to cook the broccoli separate and to use minimal amount of cornstarch – but only in the steak marinade. We’ll simmer the sauce to let it thicken naturally.”

Chinese Broccoli Beef Recipe

1 lb (460 g) top sirloin or flank steak, sliced into 1/8-in (3-mm)-thin strips

For the marinade
1½ teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon cooking oil

For the Stir-fry Sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 teaspoons black vinegar

For the Broccoli
1½ lb (700 g) broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic

Marinate the beef in soy sauce, cornstarch and the ½ teaspoon of oil for 10 minutes at room temperature.

In a small bowl, mix together the stir-fry sauce ingredients.

In a wok or large frying pan, add 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water and salt and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and cover to steam for 3 minutes. Broccoli should be bright green, crisp tender and you should be able to pierce the stem with a fork. Drain.

Discard the water in the pan and dry the pan well. Heat the pan over high heat and when hot, add the 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the garlic and fry for 15 to 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the steak strips, keeping them in one layer and fry 30 seconds. Flip the strips and fry the other side.

Pour in the stir-fry sauce and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat a back of a spoon, about 30 seconds. Add the cooked broccoli back into the pan and toss to coat well.

***
More Options
- To keep this dish vegetarian, replace the beef with fresh, thick, meaty shitake mushrooms (cut in half) or even Portobello (cut in ½ in/13 mm slices).

Butternut Squash Soup is warm and comforting. It’s just what the doctor ordered as we bid summer adieu. This beautiful picture is from Bay Area Foodie who used Thomas Keller‘s recipe. Yum!

Butternut Squash Soup With Brown Butter
1 3-to-3 1/2-pound butternut squash
2 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 sprigs sage
1 cup thinly sliced leeks
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
6 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tablespoons honey
6 cups vegetable stock, more if needed
Bouquet Garni made of 8 sprigs thyme, 2 sprigs Italian parsley,
2 bay leaves and 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, all wrapped in a
packet made of 2 green leek leaves
1/4 cup creme fraiche
Freshly grated nutmeg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced chives
Extra-virgin olive oil.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut the neck off the squash and set it aside. Cut the bulb in half and scoop [Rosle Ice Cream Scoop] out and discard seeds. Brush each half inside and out with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the canola oil. Sprinkle the cavities with salt and pepper and tuck a sprig of sage into each. Place cut-side-down on the baking sheet and roast until completely tender, about 1 hour. Remove the squash from the oven and let cool, then scoop out and reserve the flesh (discard sage).

2. Meanwhile, using a paring knife, peel away the skin from the neck of the squash until you reach the bright orange flesh. Cut the flesh into 1/2-inch pieces (you should have about 4 cups).

3. Put the remaining canola oil in a stockpot [Infinite Circulon 7 Qt. Covered Straining Stockpot]  over medium-high heat, add the leeks, carrots, shallots and onions and cook, stirring often, for about 6 minutes. Add the diced squash, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook gently for 3 minutes, reducing the heat as necessary to keep the garlic and squash from coloring. Stir in the honey and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock and bouquet garni, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the squash is tender.

4. Add the roasted squash and simmer gently for about 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Remove from the heat and discard the bouquet garni. Transfer the soup to a blender, in batches, and puree. Strain the soup through a fine sieve into a bowl. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning. Let the soup cool, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

5. Place the creme fraiche in a small chilled bowl and stir in nutmeg to taste. Whisk until the creme fraiche holds a shape. Cover and refrigerate.

6. Gently reheat the soup until just hot. If it is too thick, add a little more vegetable stock. Heat a medium skillet over high heat. When it is very hot, add the butter and rotate the skillet over the heat as necessary to brown the butter evenly, scraping up any bits that settle in the bottom. As soon as the butter is a hazelnut brown, pour it into the pot of soup — keep a safe distance, it may sputter — then stir.

7. Ladle the soup into six serving bowls. Top each with a dollop of creme fraiche. Grind some black pepper over the top and sprinkle on the chives. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top. Serves 6.

Adapted from ”Bouchon,” by Thomas Keller.

Blogger Kitchy Kitchen has this amazing recipe for Black Rosemary Fizz. Kitchy Kitchen listed her photos and recipe as a summer drink, but I think it’ll be really great as a non-alcoholic beverage for a Halloween party. The deep ruby blood color is so pretty!

Here’s her pretty pitcher:

Lenox “Tuscany Classics” Pierced Pitcher

Crate & Barrel Bitty Bite Glasses

Crate & Barrel Extra Punch Cup 10oz.