CAMELOT FANTASIES

very interesting story about coffee.



this is going to be a great thread. just wait until we get a few more folks here.





 

what is your favorite breakfast?

I can hardly cook but I will use this thread to learn a little bit about cooking.


cooking saves money and you can eat so much healthier.

Butter Chicken:



 Ingredients


 Spices

 ½ teaspoon turmeric
 ½ teaspoon paprika
 ½ teaspoon nutmeg
 ½ teaspoon cloves
 1 teaspoon cinnamon
 1 teaspoon garam masala
 2 teaspoons coriander
 2 teaspoons cardamom


 Main Curry

 500g boneless, skinless chicken
 200ml whole cream
 50ml tomato puree
 1 teaspoon cornflour
 ½ chopped medium onion
 3 cloves crushed garlic
 1 inch crushed root ginger
 3 tablespoons cooking oil
 1 teaspoon salt
 20ml cold water


 Butter Sauce

 30g butter
 2 teaspoons cornflour
 2 tablespoons lemon juice
 50ml cold water


 Method

 Maintain a low-medium heat during the cooking process.

 In a thick bottomed saucepan heat the oil and add chopped the onion, crushed garlic & ginger. Sauté for around 3 minutes until transparent and beginning to turn golden.

 Add the spices together, and put in the saucepan with the onion mixture for a further minute.

 Next, add the tomato puree and the chicken. Cook with the lid on for 10 minutes before adding the salt. Stir well, and cook for a further 5 minutes.

 Reduce the heat to a minimum and add the cornflour mixed in the cold water. Stir until the mixture has thickened and then add the cream. Stir well and bring back up to heat before removing from the stove.

 In another saucepan melt the butter to make the butter sauce. Add the cornflour mixed with the cold water and stir in briskly to form a thickened sauce. Take off the heat and add the lemon juice.

 Combine the butter sauce with the curry, and serve on a bed of rice with chopped coriander if desired.



 If your butter sauce goes lumpy, add more cold water and stir out the lumps.
 If you like tonnes of sauce and lots of tomato, add a whole can of chopped tomatoes instead of the puree.

 If you want a low-fat option, use carnation light and creamy evaporated milk. I just thicken the curry and forget the butter sauce all together - tastes awesome and has very little calories (for those fellow Weight Watchers, if you skip the cream and forget the butter sauce its only the points for the chicken and the evaporated milk!!)

Grilled Pizza with Hot Sausage, Grilled Peppers and Onions and Oregano Ricotta










 1/2 pound Italian hot sausage
 1 large red onion, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
 2 large yellow pepper, cored, seeded and quartered
 2 large red pepper, cored, seeded and quartered
 Olive oil
 Salt and pepper
 1 recipe favorite pizza dough, rolled into 4 (6-inch) rounds
 1/2 pound grated fontina cheese
 1 cup sheep's milk ricotta
 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
 Basil Vinaigrette, recipe follows

 Preheat a grill.

 Grill the sausage on both sides until golden brown and cooked through, about 10 minutes per side. Brush onions and peppers with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the onions and peppers until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the sausage from the grill and slice into 1/4-inch thick slices. Remove the onions, separate into rings, and roughly chop. Remove the peppers and slice into 1/8-inch thick slices.

 Heat grill to high. Brush dough with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grill for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn over and grill for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the grill and place on a flat surface.

 Divide the fontina cheese among the 4 pizza rounds. Divide the sausage, onions and peppers over the cheese. Place the pizza on the grill, close the cover and grill until the cheese has melted, about 3 to 4 minutes. To finish in the oven, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the pizza on sheet pans and bake until the cheese has melted, about 5 to 10 minutes.

 Mix together the ricotta, extra-virgin olive oil, and oregano in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove the pizzas from the oven and drizzle with Basil Vinaigrette. Top with dollops of the ricotta cheese mixture and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

 Basil Vinaigrette:
 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
 1 tablespoon honey
 Salt and freshly ground black pepper
 1/2 cup olive oil

 Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste.

Lemon and cream cheese muffins





Ingredients:
 1/2 Cup of freshly ssqueezed lemon juice
 2 large eggs
 2 tablespoons of lemon rind, freshly grated
 1/2 cup of melted butter
 1 Cup of unsifted flour
 1/2 Cup of sugar PLUS
 2 Tablespoons of sugar
 1 Tablespoon of baking powder
 1 Teaspoon of salt
 Block of cream cheese (you can use the pottled stuff, but the block form is easier)

 Directions:
 Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius.
 Stir lemon juice, lemon rind, eggs and butter together in a bowl.
 In another bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
 Grease the muffin tray (this makes around 12 muffins).
 Mix the two mixtures together, but don't stir too much otherwise the muffins go rubbery. I usually use a whisk when stirring anything, makes it go nice and fluffy.
 put around about just less than a spoonfull of mixture into each cup. then place the desired amount of cream cheese in the middle and cover with another spoon full of mixture.
 Sprinkle each muffin with sugar (thats what the 2 Tablespoons of sugar are for).
 Bake for 15 to 20mins until they are lightly browned.

Apple and Walnut bread





 Ingredients

 * 1 3\4 cups all-purpose flour
 * 1 1\2 teaspoons baking powder
 * 1\4 teaspoon salt
 * 3\4 cup sugar
 * 2 large eggs, beaten
 * 1\3 cup butter , melted
 * 3\4 cup orange juice
 * 2 medium apple pealed and grated
 * 1\2 cup walnut halved, chopped
 Directions

 1. Preheat oven to 350?F. Butter a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Dust pan with flour; tap out excess.

 2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add sugar stir with a fork.

 3. Combine eggs, butter and juice in a small bowl. Add to the dry ingredients and using hand mixer; lightly mix in the egg mixture until just combined. Add apple and walnuts and gently stir to combine the ingredients.

 4. Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until top is golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack.
 (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.) Dust with powdered sugar and serve.