Steel Cut Porridge or Irish Oatmeal

Hello Everyone. Belated Happy New Year to you all.  It's not too late to make New Year's resolution with hearty staple breakfast on  weekday mornings.

 

A good day always starts with the wholegrain breakfast and a steaming bowl of hot porridge is the best. But porridge often gets a bad rap if prepared poorly. Porridge, dressed with fresh fruits, dry fruits, nuts, seeds, yogurt or milk tastes heavenly. I love porridge so much that I wouldn't even mind eating it again for dinner. 

Pomegranate Martini

Let's toast to a healthy and happy New Year with  delicious Martini.

I have been planning to make this cocktail since Thanksgiving. Due to various reasons, I wasn't able to make it earlier. I had focused on baking and cooking mostly. That's my top priority always. Finally I am ready to make this delightful sweet-tart  cocktail with freshly  home made juice for New YEAR'S  Eve. This is my first time making Martini. Fresh pomegranate juice mixed with good quality Vodka and Cointreau or Triple sec, lime juice and crushed ice make absolutely fantastic cocktail for any holidays. If you are hosting a party, serve this Martini to brighten up the celebration.

Eggnog

                                            

Christmas spirit is quite incomplete without Eggnog, a festive drink at most households. Traditional Eggnog is made of milk, sugar, heavy cream, raw eggs, vanilla and spices. This kid friendly Eggnog is made by slowly cooking the eggs with milk and sugar to eliminate salmonella poisoning. This will be part of our holiday tradition now on.

Turkey Shepherd's Pie

                                            

We had a big fancy Thanksgiving dinner with a soft n succulent turkey roasted by my friend and I knew I would make Sheppard's Turkey Pie with leftover turkey. What a wonderful way to gobble up leftover turkey!

                                     

Pumpkin Cheese Tart

Pumpkin Pie is the famous traditional dessert for Thanksgiving dinner in America and Canada. I am not a big fan of Pumpkin Pie because of its custardy texture. I rather bake a cake or Pumpkin Cheesecake and everyone loves this over Pumpkin Pie. Yesterday I made something bit different, Pumpkin Cheese Pie in a tart pan with fresh roasted pumpkin puree, low fat cream cheese and spices that turned out delish. This tart is a cross between cheesecake and pie.

Pumpkin Dinner Roll

Hello Everyone. Holiday season has just begun and I love being festive as usual.  A few days back I had made  Pumpkin puree from scratch that I would use in making either pie or cheese cake and dinner roll for our Thanksgiving dinner. I made slightly sweet pumpkin cranberry bread couple of years back as trial and tasted delicious. This year I will be making pumpkin shaped dinner roll and they will look fabulous on our Thanksgiving dinner table.

How to make Pumpkin Puree

 

Fall means pumpkin season and this is the time of the year pumpkin pies, pumpkin latte, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancake, pumpkin cookies are served. Sounds so very pumpkiny. So why not make your own pumpkin puree instead of buying canned one. It takes a bit longer time and effort but in the end it is very satisfying to make pumpkin puree from a fresh pumpkin while it is in season.

It is important to choose the right pumpkin for puree. Sugar pumpkin that has darker skin or cheese/fairytale  pumpkin more like butternut squash  are two varieties that good for making pumpkin puree.

Three years back my first pumpkin puree from scratch didn't taste that good. My little one brought a tiny sugar pumpkin from her field trip. It became very pale yellow color and stringy while roasting. This year I have decided to make with fairytale pumpkin for its bright orange color and sweet firm flesh. Our neighborhood Indian grocery store carries whole and small cut pieces fairytale pumpkin. 

I used 4 1/2 lb pumpkin. It can be either roasted or boiled. I like roasting. Wash the pumpkin with cold water. Scrape out the seeds and stringy pulp. Line a swallow heavy duty baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place cut side down and roast  for 40-50 minutes or until fork tender. Roasting time depends on the size of the pumpkin. Let it cool enough to handle. Peel the skin and cut into small pieces.Now drain excess water through a colander or strainer and add to a blender or food processor. Puree it up until pumpkin is smooth and creamy. If the puree is still too watery strain it through a cheese cloth-lined strainer for couple of hours. Makes two 8oz cups rich thick puree. Total time is 1 hour and 25 minutes from start to finish.

Now puree is ready to be  used in sweet and savory dishes. Store leftover puree in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days or freeze it up to 2-3 months in the freezer safe individual containers. Don't forget to date and label. For the best result I will always recommend deep orange fleshed pumpkin/butternut squash. There are great recipes with pumpkin puree beyond pumpkin pie and I will post some recipes with this puree shortly.

Happy Cooking!