Melted Brie and Balsamic Bruschetta Dip

Hope you are all having a great start to the new year, and dealing with the fact that the holidays are over much better than I am. I think I am in denial and am having trouble getting back into the routine. I stubbornly refuse to take down the Christmas ornaments and get into the celery nibbling mode that is typical for this time of year. All your amazing carrot soups and Tabbouleh posts may help me finally get over cookies and desserts though, so please keep them coming! 

We had a truly wonderful two weeks with my sister- in-law and family visiting us and I so miss my nephew, niece and our monkey being all kinds of goofy together- whether it was endless jumping around to Gangnam Style or being Batman, Super girl and the big monster and chasing each other around the house.  Thank God this time the three kiddos did not decide to fall sick together and we didn't have to make those dreaded trips to the ER like we did the last two times we all met up. So we had a great time- lots of poker playing, charades, just dance 4 sessions, and my cute as a button little niece and I were even able to do craftsy shrinky dink jewelry making and use her easy bake oven cake decorating kit which I admit was a Christmas gift as much for myself as it was for her! 

We even managed to do a little sightseeing this time, and went wine and cheese tasting and picnicking in wine country.Yes, it is almost always picnic weather in California, but hey, all weather is wine and cheese weather :)

Photo taken by my sis-in-law 

 We went to the Mondavi and Gundlach Bundschu Wineries in Napa and like every time we visit, I decided that we must visit more often. Would love recommendations for wineries to visit so do comment on the ones you love.

He did ask for wine but the monkey only got to taste water :) 

The Marin Cheese Company in Sonoma (not too far from the kiddo's favorite Train Town) is a great place for all cheese and wine lovers to go to and is such a nice picnic spot, with  lots of space for the kids to run around, a pretty duck pond, picnic tables and a convenient, well stocked tiny little deli with all kinds of cheese, wine, sandwiches, pastries, deli meat..all kinds of wonderful things, so you don't have to bring your own food, or even paper cups and things because they give you all that. 

They have lots of cheese set out on platters to taste, their specialty being small wheels of brie and we made a beeline for the one that was topped with an amazing roasted tomato and caper bruschetta which was the starting point for this post. We enjoyed the combination of bruschetta and the soft cheese both with garlic bagel chips and the baguette that they even slice up neatly for you, and I decided to make my own version at home with whatever I had on hand, though I would love to try another version with either broiled or sundried tomatoes. 

I LOVE cheese but I don't like brie too much, especially on its own, so this warm, gooey, cheesy dip with balsamic bruschetta was the most delicious way for me to use up the last of the cheese hanging out in my fridge and the perfect quick and easy, delicious appetizer that I see my self throwing together all this year. I love it so much, I may even put it inside a sandwich.  

Melted Cheese Bruschetta Dip
Makes enough appetizer for two-four people 

2 plum tomatoes chopped
1 clove garlic minced
3 thai green chilies chopped ( optional) 
2 small pearl onions chopped or a tablespoon of chopped regular onion
1 tsp chopped fresh basil or 1/2 tsp dried 
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp rice vinegar ( optional) 
1 small brie round ( I used Rouge Et Noir Le Petit Bleu from Marin Cheese Company and also tossed in a bit of some Parmesan that needed to be finished, but you can use any melting cheese you like, even a mix since we will be melting them together to make a spread or dip) 

Method:
Keep the cheese aside and mix all other ingredients gently together in a small bowl
Taste and adjust, adding more herbs or more tomato if you find the mix too garlicky or spicy for your taste
Set in the fridge for about an hour or longer
If your cheese has a thick rind, cut it off since it won't melt and chop up or grate the cheese if you are using a hard cheese
Heat either on the oven, stove or in the microwave on high for about 30 seconds to a couple of minutes or just until the cheese is slightly melted, warm and gooey
Stir up the melted cheese and top with the bruschetta mix
Enjoy over some lightly toasted baguette or crackers and a glass of chilled Gewürztraminer!

I am sending this dip over to Lisa the Authentic Suburban Gourmet for her Appetizer party to celebrate her blog birthday! 

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easy and quick cashew chicken stir fry and a trip to china town

Photo for "Less is More" Photography Exercise 

When we were kids, on Sunday after breakfast mom's kitchen was closed, and that was one day in the week she usually didn't cook. Sundays meant church, grocery shopping or trips to the zoo or the park, all of us watching the Mahabharata or Tipu Sultan on Door Darshan ( ah! those days before cable!) and the highlight being when dad would take us to our favourite neighbourhood eat out. Most often these were small hole in the wall kinds of places which I have learnt have some of the best food! Annapurna for crispy Dosas, the Shawarma stand at a nearby park, Moti Mahal for their yum butter chicken or to Golden Dragon, our neighbourhood Chinese restaurant where the food was in no way authentic to China but modified and spiced up to suit local tastes which is why I will only call it Asian inspired or Indo-Chinese.

Now that we live in the San Francisco Bay Area,  I have the opportunity to taste and discover many kinds of cuisines and sample unusual dishes and ingredients - from fresh tofu straight from the bamboo molds to funky fermented things. But even today when I crave Chinese food what I usually mean is the familiar, Indo-Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork,  chilly chicken, gobi manchurian etc. that I grew up eating.

So when I recently wandered around the colourful and bustling San Francisco China Town where I guess I will taste the most authentic versions of Chinese Cuisine without actually taking a flight to China, I found the food ( apart from the dim sums which I LOVE) to be bland to my taste buds accustomed to the heavy dose of garlic and ginger and assaulted with spices. Although I am beginning to appreciate more subtleties and nuances in flavour, more often I like my flavours really bold!

Visiting China Town:
Walk! It's impossible to find parking here. Plus it's great to wander around and soak in the ambiance and especially interesting to visit during parades and festivals- though ofcourse would be much more crowded then.
My little one loved the stone lions outside the Chinese Benevolent Association building.
For knick knacks and props : The Far East Flea Market 
and The Wok Shop for cast iron woks and other kitchen utensils
Keep an eye out for street art by the UK artist Banksy 

I love going to China Town to pick up unusual ingredients and inexpensive little props for the blog. It's good to carry cash as some stores don't take cards.
It's also great fun to walk through the busy market and see weird things like dried sea urchin that I someday hope to find a way to use in my cooking! There are also lots of familiar things too, like this dried shrimp that made my Mallu mouth water.

China Town has very unique bakeries with impossibly fluffy sponge cakes and filled steamed cakes, and these cute shaped breads, that I spotted while I was traipsing down the busy markets, camera in one hand and my delicious bubble tea in the other. That was a good day!



When I got back home I was craving some of the kind of spicy Asian inspired stir frys that for me ( An Indian in the US)  is quintessential Chinese food. I am very curious to hear suggestions for authentic and unique Chinese food I should try next time in China Town.

I usually make stir frys in my cast iron skillet to give the chicken a nice sear and a better alternative to deep frying. Garlic powder gives it that restaurant type taste, though I often add a lot of fresh garlic as well, being a household of garlic lovers! I toss in what ever vegetables I have on hand- broccoli, mushroom, peas, even a bag of frozen mixed veggies. That day it was bell peppers and onions and a handful of cashews for crunch!  It may not be authentic, but it sure tastes good!

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How to cook rice

There is nothing more appealing than a bowl of fluffy, perfectly cooked, steaming hot rice. 
Although I love tasting food from around the world, comfort food to me is a bowl of rice and dal. 
From a lot of trial and error, I think I have learnt how to cook rice perfectly.
The secret to cooking perfect rice i found is to wash it 4-5 times before cooking to ensure that all the sticky starch has been removed. You should also soak it after washing for about 30 mins to ensure it comes out just perfect. I use a pressure cooker & put a little more than double the amount of water per cup of rice.You can also use a pan with a tightly fitting lid. I wait exactly until the first whistle ( about 10-20 mins) after which I quickly run the pressure cooker under cold water  to release the steam ( this step is of course unnecessary if you are not using a pressure cooker) & immediately strain the rice so that it doesn't get overcooked. If you leave the rice in the hot water in the pot you run the risk of it continuing to cook and turn mushy.


 However, accidents do happen. If they must, you could use some of the following little tricks that I found here and have used to rescue my rice, sadly a few more times than I would like to admit. 
 
 Problem: The rice is still very chewy or hard in the middle. 
Solution: Add just enough water to create a little steam, 1/4 cup or less. Put the lid on and cook the rice on very low heat for another 5 minutes. 

 Problem: The grains are split and the rice is mushy because of over cooking. 
Solution: This is the worst problem because you can't really fix over cooked rice. You could wash the sticky rice under cold water. That helps a little, but the best way to use it up would be to make rice pudding with it, 


 Problem: The bottom layer of rice has burned. 
Solution: Run cold water over the outside of the pot's bottom to stop it from continuing to cook, and preventing the burnt flavor from permeating the rest of the rice (don't add water to the rice itself).Tip out as much rice as you can salvage. Be careful not to mix the burnt part at the bottom with the rest of the rice.


 Rice is usually eaten with curries. It is also often flavoured and cooked with ingredients as in fried rice, biryani etc.

South Indians have an interesting variety of rice dishes like curd rice, mint rice, coconut rice, spinach rice, tomato rice, sambhar rice, tamrind rice and my favourite, the tangy Lemon Rice.

Lemon Rice
Ingredients: 
2 cups cooked rice 
2 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil 
1 tsp mustard seeds 
3-4 curry leaves 4 green chillies slit lengthwise 4 dry red chillies 
1 tsp ginger paste or grated ginger 
1/2 cup peanuts (roasted and unsalted) 
1 tsp turmeric powder 
Juice of 2 lemons 
Salt to taste 


Preparation: Add salt and lemon juice to the cooked rice and mix well so that it is spread evenly. Keep aside Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies. Fry till the spluttering stops Add the ginger and peanuts. Fry for another minute. Add the turmeric powder and red chillies and stir. Turn off the fire. Add the rice and mix well so that it takes on the bright yellow colour from the turmeric. Can be eaten plain, with pickle or served with a raita ( Yogurt mixed with a little salt, finely chopped onion, cucumber or tomatoes)

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