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| Unique Visitors: 0 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 98 |
| Visitors Out: 219 |
| Total Visitors Out: 219 |
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| I am a CIA alumni with a Culinary arts degree |
| 2008-07-06 19:28:10 |
On the 3rd of July, it was a nice sunny morning when i was awarded the Assoicates degree from the prestegious Culinary Institute of America. I was overwhelmed by different emotions. It was the day of my graduation, that i had been waiting for a long time. It was a hard for me to imagine that i would be studying in this prestegious college that has produced some eminent personalities in the culinary world. The dream came true as my whole family supported me throughout the process. It was a hard decision that i had to make when my daughter was born, and was just 1month when i had to tell my wife and daughter that i will have leave for my education. My wife understood the reason behind the decision, which would be just nothing without her support. The money i had saved through the years that...
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| A weekend of fun |
| 2008-04-13 09:44:28 |
Being a long weekend, i decided to spend time with my brother and family. It was a weekend that was just filled with fun and learning. My sister-in-law though had a hectic schedule (being a doctor), picked me up from the station and bought me home for some good food. I was treated to a south Indian pancake (dosa). On saturday we visited the american museum of natural history which had a lot of information and worth the money spent. The lunch that was planned for the afternoon was at the Joe's Shanghai restaurant at flushing New York. My sister-in-law made sure that we have the reservations for the lunch. We waited in line though we had reservations and finally was seated with all the six of us cramped in a corner, as the restaruant was packed to the max. The waitress wasted no time, and as...
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| Persillade Crusted Salmon with Horseradish mashed potato and beurre rouge |
| 2008-04-09 18:36:53 |
Myself and salmon we get along very well. It had been the first choice in seafood next to swordfish (if cooked right). I have been a fan of salmon since i started with salmon gravlax which was served on the cruise line that i worked with. Salmon has a unique falvor and taste which differentiates from the rest of the seafood varieites. This recipe could be tried at your lesiure, which is very simple and easy to make.Ingredients:Salmon, 5oz slices 5eaSalt and pepper t.tDijon Mustard 1/4tspJapanese Crumbs 1/4tspParsley chopped 1/4bunchMethod:Preheat oven to 350*FSeason fish with salt and pepper and organize accordin...
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| Endive and Scallop tart |
| 2008-03-26 21:03:10 |
When we think of lettuce, there are variations among them with reference to texture, bitterness and palatability. Endives is a bitter lettuce which is a great combination with light seafood. This is such an example of a wonderful recipe that would work great with the endives.This recipe serves 4 peopleIngredients:Basil leaves blanched 1 buOlive oil 1/4 cupSalt and pepper to tasteFor the orange OilOlive oil 1/2 cupOrange Juice 4 eaOrange zest 4 eaSalt and pepper to tasteFor the TartPuff pastry 1/4#Belgian endives 4eaButter 3ozSugar 2ozFresh scallops 12 eaSalt and pepper to tasteFor the garnishBasil leaves fried 8eaFirm ripe plum tomatoes, peeled seeded and diced 2eaMethod:For the basil oil:Place the freshly blanched basil leaves in...
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| Tapioca Pudding |
| 2008-03-25 20:42:59 |
When you are catering for large group there are many simple dishes that would work wonders at the party. Among them is the tapioca pudding which blends good with any events.This recipe yields 80 portions.Ingredients:Milk 9 qtSmall pearl Tapioca 3 lbSugar 1.5lbSalt 2 tspVanilla bean 5 eaEgg yolks 8 eaSugar 1.5 lbHeavy cream 1 qtMethod:Soak tapioca in milk overnightBring tapioca, milk, salt, 1lb of sugar and the vanilla beans to a hot, using a double boiler. Cook tapioca until it's translucent and tender and mixture is very thick.Mix egg yolks with remaining sugar. Remove tapioca from heat, add egg mixture into tapioca and cool mixture over ice.When cold, fold in one quart of soft peak whipped cream.Garnish with your choice of fresh fruit (i.e raspberreis, ...
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| A tip on wines |
| 2008-03-20 22:01:34 |
I am aware, that there are some readers to this blog wondering what too me so long to get myself back and running. I was taking a crash course on wines which is part of the Associates programme at the C.I.A Oh! let me get this right it is the culinary institute of america. This programme runs for 3 weeks and includes wines, regions, grapes, laws, varietals anything and everything that come under the term wines. It is a pretty intense course with failure rate on the high. I would like to give you a bit of the various aspects of wines, which could be of good help to all.In the world of wine making, grapes are divided into red and white.The major white grapes are:ChardonnaySovignon BlancReislingPino grisThe major red grapes are:Cabernet sovignonPinot NoirMerlotSyrahWe can seperate these grape...
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| Stuffed lobster with spetzel and gnocchi |
| 2008-02-20 18:37:07 |
Stuffed lobster with spetzel and gnocchi Originally uploaded by sujith gangadharanThis was a experimental dish which was a combination of seafood with starch of two varieties. The potato gnocchi and the spetzel. This is yet in the process of confirming which would be the best suitable starch for this seafood. There is nothing fancy about this dish, but has a great flavor with the butter sauce that goes in with the flesh of the lobster,that has a combination of the three different peppers (red, green, yellow) diced and tossed in butter with seasoning and finished with marsala wine. As it is yet in the process of confirming which would be a suitable starch for this elegant dish, there is the world of culinarians who can give suggestions....
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| Lindser Tart |
| 2008-02-09 15:42:28 |
Dough for the tart crust Spreading raspberry puree filling Final product once bakedServes 6ea Ingredients Butter 1.8lbSugar 1.2ozEggs 3eaCake Crumbs 4ozCake flour 1lb14ozCinamon powder 1/2ozBaking soda 1/2ozHazelnut powder 12ozRaspberry puree 2lbMethodIn a bowl mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar.Once it has formed a nice creamy paste add the cake crumbs, cake flour, baking soda, hazelnut powder and cinamon powder.Once it has totally incorported add in the eggs and mix it throughly.The dough will be ready for making tarts.Organize the tart mold six each and a rolling pin,.Divide the dough into six equal portions.Dust the table with little amount of cake flour and roll the dough flat about 1/2 inch thickness (do not excess pressure as the dough will stick to the rolling pin).Roll the d...
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| Cake Decoration series |
| 2008-02-08 23:01:50 |
Music theme cakeWedding cake 1Kids play cake 1 Banquet style cakeWedding cake 2Spring cakeBeach cakeKids play cake 2 Wedding cake 3Wedding cake 4 Wedding Cake 5Wedding cake 6Beach party cake 2 Wedding cake 7These are some of the creations from the future patessiers of the world. These show pieces were created by students of the Culinary Institute of America. They were given themes that need to reflected in the cakes that they make. There are competations held by the student bodies to encourage bringing out the hidden talent in the students at this prestigeous college....
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| Crep Raisin Bread |
| 2008-02-08 22:18:16 |
Crep Raisin Bread dough Crep Raisin bread after bakingAs promised i have here the second recipe for the unique bread that i was talking about in my last post. It is great to enjoy the smell of freshly baked bread. Being a raisn bread it has a sweet fragnance when you bake these breads. Ingredients Bread flour 6.2lbRye four 2.4lbRye sour dough 7.5ozSugar 10ozSalt 2.5ozMilk 5pintYeast 5ozButter 18ozRaisin 2lbPecan/Walnuts 2lb MethodPass the flour dough, rye flour though a fine meshAdd the sugar salt and yeast to the flour and mix it thoroughly (make sure that the salt goes in first and mix it to the flour before adding yeast, as yeast will not raise if salt is added over the yeast. As salt can kill the yeast)Place in the mixing bowl and add the butter let bi...
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| Chocolate cherry bread |
| 2008-02-07 17:54:50 |
Chocolate cherry bread doughChocolate Cherry bread after bakingThis is one of the two different bread recipes that i would like to introduce to you. The two breads recipes that i am going to bring to you have unique flavor and has a texture and taste that is not found in other breads. Ingredients: Bread flour 2.5lbWhite sour dough (mother dough) 1.5lbWater 1.5lbCoco powder sifted 6ozSalt 1.25ozYeast 1.5ozCoffee powder 2ozPre-fermented dough 1lbChocolate chips 1lbDried cherries 1lb MethodBefore you can start off with this recipe we need to have mother dough which is pre-fermented dough that has been fed for 1 day with 1.5lb bread flour, pinch of yeast and water.Once we have the pre-fermented and mother dough, sift the co...
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| Pate d Choux photos |
| 2008-02-07 17:25:25 |
Swan made with pate d chouxpate d choux with whipped cream and vanilla sauce pate d choux with cream and strawberryIn my earlier post i had explained the method of making pate d choux. Here i got the photos of the various presentation that can be done with pate d choux. The pate d choux is also used in the garde manger, with filling of foie gras....
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| Cookies delight Madeleines |
| 2008-02-06 22:00:18 |
Madeleines piped in mouldsBaked madeleinesI am sure everybody must have enjoyed the earlier post of the dutchess cookies that i had posted. I enjoyed making them and also the taste was absolutely great. This is another one of those easy to make cookies which is not time consuming and the ingredients are readily available. The great aspect of the baking process is that you dont need a commercial oven to prepare these cookies. It can be done with the oven at home.Ingredients:Sugar 14ozButter 9ozEggs 11ozVanilla extract (5 drops)Lemon zest 1eaMilk 5ozAll-purpose flour 14ozBaking powder 1tspMethodIn a mixing bowl add the sugar and butter and whip it thoroughly until it forms a fine cream.Into this add the all purpose flour, baking powder, vanilla extract and...
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| A dessert revered as tiramisu |
| 2008-02-06 18:37:35 |
Working in the kitchen, has a different edge to itself. The previledge of working in the kitchen is that you get to know the history of the food, the ingredients, chemical compositons and also the combinations that makes sure the recipe goes the extra mile. As the title for this post goes "A dessert revered as tiramisu" is because i have worked with this dessert for quite sometime now. Tiramisu has a unique taste of kalua which gives it a coffee liquourish flavor and has pieces of sponge cake which are again soaked in kalua that just melts in your mouth. There are other coffee liquors in the maket but it is advicable to use the kahlua because it reatains the sponge cake pieces together, in case of other coffee liquor it soaks the sponge cakes and does not...
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| Better world for a international culinarian |
| 2008-02-05 18:20:26 |
I study at the culinary institute of america. It is one of the world's premiere college in culinary arts, baking and pastry. It is considered to be the harvard of culinary. Today was a special day for the all the future culinarians of the institute. We had our most awaited career fair. Being an international student at this prestigeous college, i had the previledge to meet representatives from various hotel's all over the world. It is not surprising to any student that about 80% of all the recruiting companies had a C.I.A (Culinary institute of America) graduate as the managers and directors. There was also a sad issue for a international student like me, having dreams to pursue a future in this country, has only companies that can offer a J1 visa o...
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| Pate d Choux |
| 2008-02-05 17:31:24 |
This is a versatile recipe of pate d choux, which can be used for various uses in garde manger, pastry and stuffed pate d choux is something which we see in various hotels for display. As i was talking to chef Levy (the instructor for baking and pastry skills at the culinary institute of america), he jokingly told this would be a good test for any bakers or culinary professionals as this looks one of the easiest item to prepare but this includes a lot of skills to prepare. It is the right consistency that is required for the mixture to raise and leave the inside of the pate d choux hollow. The pate d choux can be stuffed with cream, marscapone, it is used in the filling of foie gras that is first prepared into a fine paste and then piped into the pate d cho...
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| Dutchess cookies |
| 2008-02-04 18:18:11 |
This is the dutchess cookies after baking
When you have guests in your house, waiting for the professional chef at home (the host) to prepare cookies for the tea party. It is best to have something that is simple and not tiring but easy to bake and also not expensive. This is just one of that wonderful cookies that you can try at home. Ingredients: Almond flour 8ozSugar 6ozCake flour 1.5ozEgg White 4oz For the common Maringue: Egg whites 8ozSugar 3oz Method:Preheat the oven to 450*FIn a clean bowl mix Almond flour, sugar, cake flour an...
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| Lobster salad with Mint oil and petite greens |
| 2008-02-03 21:00:20 |
I started a conversation with my long lost friend on the net, as we were about to say audios amigo, he reminded me that he was going to the farm in arizona which harvested lobsters. That sparked an idea of posting this wonderful recipe that i tried during my stay at arizona. It is not a time consuming process but a simple and easy one that can be done with ease. Makes 4 portions IngredientsLobster claws 4eaExtra virgin Olive oil 2.5tspWhite wine 1.5 cupSalt to tastePeppercorns whole 1tspThyme 3stemsShallots chopped 2tspBay leaf 1ea For the salad: Basil leaves 1/2cupBlood beets petite 1/2cupLemon zest 1ea For the Dressing: Lemon juice 1eaMustard 1/2tspBlood orange juice 1eaExtra virgin olive oil 2TbspSalt and pepper to tast...
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| Dover sole paupiette vin blanc |
| 2008-02-03 16:58:24 |
Dover sole paupiette vin blanAs i had mentioned in my earlier post there is nothing like starting the day with a good breakfast, it is the same with starting a dish with a objective that unique taste and bringing out the true flavors in them. Dover sole needs to be handled gently as it is quite tender when fresh and also once cooked. With a thin flesh the filet can be shaped into a paupiette and also hold stuffining in them. This dish that i would like to present here is served in different ways, but to bring out the uniqueness of this fish i chose this recipe.Yield: 5 portionsIngredientsFlounder fillets 2 lb.Red pepper, Julienne, blanched 1 ea.Carrot, Julienne, blanched 1.5 oz.Yellow squash, Julienne 1 oz.Zucchini, Julienne 1 oz.Salt and white pepper, ground. as neededButter, whole 1/2 o...
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| Avial a Indian dish making waves |
| 2008-02-03 16:55:57 |
Avial goes with rice and also with Indian bread (Chappati)Avial in its true formWhen my wife called me to talk about the posts on my blog she was very much enthusiastic in her voice and she told i have a surprise for you. I was eager, to know what was in this surprise for me and here it is the surprise she gave me. My mother and wife, made sure that the photo's were taken of the dish with the accompliments and sent it to me.Indian dishes, have a unique flavor with the addition to spices that has come down from generations. This is reflected in every households in India. Festivals that are celebrated in India, has its relation to food. It is common throughout the country to have a unique dish that gets its origin in a perticular state or region. Towards th...
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| Fat facts |
| 2008-02-01 22:01:41 |
In recent years, our knowledge of foods have grown to a great extent. This is being used by people all over the world. The aspects that worry us the most is the fat in the food that we eat. Fat has been considered to be an untouchable, in the past years, but these non-scientific beliefs have taken a new turn. Fat is considered to have a good amount of impact on our brain development according to recent studies. There has been books on diet plans, advertisments have shown there are different pills and treatments out there to take care of the body fat and reducing fat in our body. Fat is considered to be the villain to be avoided at all times. Excess of fat is truly unhealthy due to high risk of coronary disease, obesity and certain types of cancer. Fat coushins all the vital organs, helps i...
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| Bavarian Cake |
| 2008-01-31 21:46:38 |
A bavarian cream cake is basically vanilla sauce that has it's shape retained by gelatin. The reason that it maintains it's texture and strength is due to the aerated structure. This is derived by measuring out equal proportions of ingredients in terms of weight. The bavarian cream as such can be used for various dessert preperations. To make the Bavarian cream, we need to whip the cream, mix it with the vanilla sauce. The vanilla sauce should be allowed to cool and should maintain a temperture that is just warm. Any kind of flavoring needs to be added at this point. It is desirable to add extra flavoring as the whipped cream would reduce the final flavor of the product. (It is recommended to have the molds ready before preparation as the bavaraian cream wil...
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| Hard Ganache |
| 2008-01-30 21:32:16 |
We have seen those beautiful chocolate coated desserts, as we walk down the streets of New York. The smell of freshly baked breads filling the side walks, it just tempts us to walk in sit down, have a piece of that finely decorated desserts, with a cup of expresso. The clean silvers neatly arranged on the table, just welcoming you to join them to enjoy the freshness. It would be good to know how those shiny neatly coated chocolate desserts are made. The sheen of the chocolate depends on the tempering process. Usually tempering is done on a marble surface with the temperature being monitored. The ideal temperture for tempering dark chocolate is 84-86*F and in the case of white chocolate it would be 82-84*F.There are different ways by which a dessert can be coated with chocolate and one of them is ganache which in french translates to: an emulsion of chocolate and cream. Ganache may also be made with butter or other liquids in place of cream.There are two types of ganache (soft and ha...
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| A simple breakfast |
| 2008-01-29 21:24:58 |
In the past fine dining was based strictly on French cuisine. But with today's international influences especially the spicy and garlicky flavors of thai and mexican food it's getting harder to find the right ingredients. With fusion cooking being a trend, for the demanding public who, have the electronic media to bring in Food network, America's test kitchen, these have changed the palate of the the masses. What is it in for a ordinary man when he/she watches prime time televison feauturing celebrity chefs cooking extravagant dishes, with morecular biology being explained in the background. It would be a simple breakfast that would bring out the happiness in any laymans eyes. The sight of a plate with two waffles and maple syrup to accompany and sprink...
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| Sugar Decorations |
| 2008-01-28 22:03:53 |
Sugar decoration This is a world, filled with fantasies. I would describe a true fantasy is in any form of art. My friend who is a baking and pastry student at the culinary institue of america was exited, when she heard i was going to take photos of her work. I found that nature comes alive in the forms we create, there are different ways to interpret this and she found solice in expressing it with sugar. I was overwhelmed, as i looked at the various creations that they had in store for me when i entered the classroom filled with future pattisiers readily allowing me to take photos of their decorations with sugar.This is one of the sites that i found would help my picture above:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs2vkjYUaKA&feature=related...
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