White chocolate and strawberry mousse

Whenever I have people over for a meal, I almost always end up making chocolate-based desserts. Last week we had some friends over for lunch and I made this dessert using fresh summer berries with of course, some chocolate! I've been meaning to make this ever since I read the recipe in this magazine. To read the story on how I got the magazine click here. The dessert was delicious. The strawberry coulis with sliced strawberries along with creamy white chocolate and strawberry flavor melts in your mouth. Hmm! I want more!

Ingredients:

• 750g/1lb 10oz strawberries + extra
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 250g/9oz good quality white chocolate, broken into pieces
• 1tbsp white chocolate liqueur (optional - I didn't use)
• 12g sachet powdered gelatine
• 450ml/16fl oz double cream
• 25g/10z icing/confectioners sugar

Method:

Place half the strawberries in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Pass the pureed strawberries through a fine sieve into a bowl, then add the lemon juice*. Slice the rest of the fruit and add to the puree.

Place the chocolate & chocolate liqueur if using, in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, then leave for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time, until melted. Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatine over 50 ml water in a cup or small bowl and leave to soak for 5 minutes

Pour a quarter of the cream into a pan, add sugar, then warm gently. Add the soaked gelatine and stir for 5 minutes over a low heat until gelatine has dissolved- do not let the mixture boil.

Pour this cream mixture to the melted chocolate and stir until smooth. Add three -quarters of the strawberry puree. Pour the remaining cream into a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Gradually fold the whipped cream into the chocolate and strawberry mixture.

Divide the mixture between 4 serving glasses**, then leave to chill for at least 2 hrs or overnight. Chill the remaining strawberry puree, too.

Spoon the remaining strawberry puree on top of each mousse and serve.

Note: *My strawberries were a little tart so I added few tbsps of icing/confectioners sugar.

**I got more then 4 serving glasses as I served them in smaller glasses.

The first picture is going to Click of Jugalbandi for their monthly food photography event. The theme is bi-color this month.

Recipe from BBC GoodFood Magazine.

Curried cheese bites

The above picture was my last months entry to Click.

So I was at the supermarket and while browsing through the aisle, this lady and I made eye contact, exchanged smiles and walked past each other.  I bumped into her again at another aisle, this time she starts a conversation.  

The Lady,"Are you Indian?"

Me, "Yes"

The next question believe it or not was...

The Lady," Do you speak English?"

Me, a polite, "Yes"

The Lady, "Do you make curry?"

Me, "I sure do"

The lady," I made this curry this one time and it was a disaster, I think I used too much curry powder."

Me, "Aaah, you see, we Indians don't really use curry powder to make curries.  Instead we use a combination of 'powders' when we make curries," and I went on to give her a lecture on how to make a curry.

The lady,"That is interesting, I never knew" and continued," My husband loves Indian food and that was my disastrous attempt to make a curry, but I made raita and that was pretty good."

Me, "That's a great start, good luck with another attempt of making a curry, and this time without the curry powder."

We exchanged thank yous and good byes and moved on.

So, why am I sharing this conversation?  When I was making these curried cheese bites the whole conversation with that lady came as a flash back and I had to share this.  Also, the other simple reason being that in this curried cheese bite the recipe calls for "CURRY POWDER"(the one I asked that lady not to buy). HA!

Yes, I must admit that I usually have some "CURRY POWDER" in my spice rack. No, no I don't make a curry with it - that's clearly wrong - right?  But I  do use it every so often to make western/continental savory thingys.

I have been thinking of making this recipe for a while now, for few reasons,

1. The ingredients do not include eggs (to which my son is allergic) 

2. Cheese, who doesn't like cheese?

3.Then the flavor of curry...mmmm had to try this one.

This recipe is good when you want to eat something savory with your evening tea or coffee.

Makes around 40

Ingredients:

• 100g butter softened
  
• 100g all purpose flour
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 2 tsp curry powder
  
• 100g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  
• 100g grated mellow semi hard cheese
  

Method:

Lightly grease about 4 cookie sheet with a little butter or you could skip this step if using Silpat.

Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl.  Stir in curry powder and both cheeses.  Rub in the softened butter with your fingertips, then bring the mixture together to a soft dough.

Roll out the dough thinly on a lightly floured surface.  Cut out 40 circles using a 2 inch cookie cutter and arrange on the cookie sheets. Bake in a preheated oven, 350F/180C for 10 -15 minutes until golden brown.

Let the curried cheese bites cool slightly on the cookie sheets then transfer them to wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Perfect Baking

My apologies for posting this recipe so late.

Click: Red: Rhubarb

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is in season from April to September in the United States.  I bought some when it was in season last year and clicked these photos then.  I made cake with it on the day I got to know about my son's food allergies - It was indeed a depressing day and I almost ate the whole cake.  

I first tasted rhubarb when we lived in Belgium in a restaurant that served it with venison.  It went well with the gamy flavor of venison. I had no clue, what this vegetable was back then. I then came across it in desserts.  

The stalk of the rhubarb is firm, and while red on the outside, it's green inside.  Botanically, rhubarb is a vegetable but it is treated as a fruit, and is used mainly in pies and desserts. I love the tart taste of rhubarb.

To buy rhubarb, look for the firm, plump  and crisp stalks.  Beware - do not eat the leaves as they are poisonous - they contain oxalic acid. Rhubarb should be stored in fridge as it wilts easily.  It can't be stored for more then a few days after you buy it.  Use it in desserts to make cakes, pies, puddings, crumbles and jams.  

I will definitely buy Rhubarb when it appears in the supermarkets this year and will post a recipe here.  

For more information on rhubarb click here.

The above photo is going for Click, it is a monthly food photography event hosted by Jugalbandi.