Tips and ideas when cooking with skewers:

When using wooden skewer, make sure you soak them before you cook.

Skewers can be done ahead of time: simply marinate overnight

Experiment with different mediums such as rosemary or lemon grass to skewer meats or vegetables

Create a colorful contrast and flavor by adding cherry tomatoes, peppers or mushrooms between layers of meat

Create a grilled dessert by skewering pieces of your favorite fruit

“Double up” use 2 skewers so that it is easy to cook and the meat will not roll over when flipping.

Do not have a grill a cast iron char grills with handles which fit over two burners is perfect for those crosshatch lines on grilled meat, seafood and vegies.

Stay tuned for interesting recipes………

Above images clockwise

Green Chili and Thai Basil Marinade
Chicken Tikka Skewers
Lemon and Sage Chicken Skewers
Cheese and Vegetable Skewers

There is no single right way to cook any Indian dishes, nor is there a single proper way to serve an Indian meal. The Indian recipes can be made using a variety of techniques – experimentation and practice are the keys to success!

Spices are to Indian cooking what basic stocks, sauces and dressings are to the Western cooking.The exotic spices add warmth, pungency, heat, and subtlety to dishes. Cooks are judged on their skills in blending seeds, powders and pastes. Adventurous chefs may juggle a dozen or more spices in one dish, but most good Indian home cooks do just fine with around six mainstays, although you may want to keep other spices handy for adding extra flavor dimensions to particular dishes.

Essentials

* Chilli powder
* Cumin seeds
* Garam masala
* Coriander powder
* Turmeric powder

Handy spices

* Black peppercorns
* Cinnamon sticks
* Cloves
* Coriander seeds
* Fennel seeds
* Fenugreek seeds
* Nigella seeds
* Nutmeg and mace
* Dried red chillies

Buying and storing spices
Spices are at their best when used within three months of purchase. To ensure maximum freshness, buy whole spices rather than powders, and grind only what you need. Buy spices from an ethnic grocer rather than a supermarket. Prices are surprisingly low and quality is top-notch. Store whole spices in tightly lidded jars or in the freezer.

Cooking with spices
Toasting whole spices before grinding them intensifies the flavors. To toast, or dry-fry, heat a griddle over a moderate heat, add the spices, and shake the pan until you catch a warm, nutty aroma – it doesn’t take long, about 30 seconds. Similarly, dropping whole spices into a spoon of hot oil also releases essential oils – ‘Tadka’

We all love a good bottle of wine! You’ve just had dinner with your significant other, and the half-finished bottle of wine remains on the table. It’s late, and you both have work in the morning, so you’re not thrilled with the idea of polishing it off right away.

But it’s a good wine, and cost a lot more than the bargain bin selections at the local wine shop. So how to ensure that the aroma, taste and character of the wine remain consistent for days – or even weeks – after opening?

There are several options these days to keep your wine fresh after it’s first opened, from high-tech preservation systems to simple tricks. “If you’ll be finishing the bottle in a day or two, simply re-cork it and refrigerate it and you’re good to go. In fact, aerating wine can actually improve the flavor after a couple of days.”

But if you’d rather save the remaining wine for weekend entertaining or beyond, here are a few things to know:

Re-pressurizing the bottle is a must. There are several ways to do this. Manual pumps that stick through the cork like a syringe will suck out the oxygen and create a vacuum inside the bottle – necessary to stop oxidation. Simply pump until you feel significant resistance, and you’re done.

Automatic vacuum preservers take out the guesswork. These high-tech devices cost anywhere from $30 to $100. Just press a button, and in just a few seconds they’ll remove the excess air in the bottle before inserting a wine stopper, creating a vacuum that will preserve the bottle for as long as 14 days more than simple re-corking.

Insert a wine preservative. Just point the straw into the bottle, spray a couple of blasts and re-cork. Comprised of a safe, odorless and colorless mix of inert gasses, usually Nitrogen and Argon, these preservatives create a barrier between the wine and the air remaining in the bottle.

Go pro. A new breed of restaurant-quality wine-preserving systems are trickling down to the consumer market. These systems allow upright display, on-tap-style dispensing and Argon gas preservation of three to eight bottles, so there’s always a variety of choices on-hand and ready to serve. Wine Saver Pro offers a classy looking, chrome and black, five-bottle model for around $1,000 and a three-bottle version for $800.

These above tips were taken in conversation with a wine expert and a good friend Dan Soskin, founder of PINOT , the wine accessories superstore in Philadelphia’s historic district. A must see!

Also visit an interesting site www.indianwine.com

Truffles have fascinated people for thousands of years. Their attraction is a tantalizing taste and aroma which, once experienced, can never be forgotten. The taste and aroma of commercially collected truffles is so intense that they are used as a flavoring instead of a separate dish. Magical powers and virtues have even been attributed to truffles. They have been collected for at least 3600 years. Growing underground, they are difficult to find and very expensive as a result. Every Spring, truffle hunters in Europe take to the woods, hoping that the sensitive noses of their trained pigs and dogs will lead them to buried treasure. In 1994, black truffles sold for $350 to $500 a pound.

The name “truffle” has been borrowed to describe small, fancy chocolate candies, another expensive and delicious food. Real truffles are roundish, brown, and dirty when they come out of the ground. They are the fruit of the truffle organism, like apples are the fruit of an apple tree.

Fresh truffles are difficult to come by, and expensive, especially the Italian white truffle . Fortunately, white truffle oil is available relatively cheaply on the market.

Truffle oil

You can make your own truffle oil by storing pieces of fresh truffle in clean, sweet, mild tasting oil. The oil is first heated slightley then shaved truffles are added .The more finely chopped the truffle is, the more of its essence it will give up into the oil and the less flavor the pieces themselves will retain. Make sure all liquid is drained off from the truffles before adding them to the oil; reserve the liquid for later use. Any kind of truffle may be used to make truffle oil. Light olive oil and grapeseed oil are good.

Store truffle oil in a cool, dark place away from heat, light and oxygen. Some methods of excluding oxygen include sealing wax or plastic wrap on the surface of the oil as well as nitrogen gas dispensers, sold commercially for wine enthusiasts under the name Private Preserve.

Truffle oil that is kept very cold in your refrigerator will whiten and solidify, but this is not necessarily harmful to the flavor. Truffle oil is tolerant of cold, and can even be frozen, but like fine wine it is less tolerant of temperature fluctuations and may lose quality if it is allowed to solidify and liquefy repeatedly. Remove from cold storage only the amount you intend to immediately use, and leave the rest at temperature.

The best use for truffle oil is summed up in one word — drizzle. It is drizzled over mashed potatoes, slices of fresh bread, risottos, and flat breads, asparagus, bowls of pasta, gourmet salads , thick soups, and mushroom ragouts and sauces. Beyond the drizzle, it is used sparingly to make vinaigrettes for fancy salads or other vegetable dishes. Finally, once you get a handle on the taste, experiment by adding a little truffle oil to some of your favorite dishes. You may well find that the best use for your oil is one of your own creations.

Truffles and Fried Egg

The exact origin of this dragon fruit is unknown, but is likely from Southern Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica. It is cultivated around the world in tropical regions. Native to Mexico and Central and South America, these vine-like cacti are also cultivated in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. They are also found in Taiwan, Israel, and southern China. This fruit only blooms at night; they are large white flowers that are often called Moon flower or Queen of the Night.

I have found this interesting site for all different varieties of this fruit

Watch this !

Here is a chutney recipe i tried which is pretty interesting:

Exoctic fruit chutney by Hari Nayak

6 c prepared dragon fruit (peel and chop)
1½ c cider vinegar
1½ c granulated sugar
¾ c dark brown sugar
1½ c chopped onion
½ c raisins
3 tart apples, peeled, cored and chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ginger root, finely minced
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mustard seed
½ tsp each: cayenne, ground cloves and allspice
¼ tsp each: ground pepper and salt

Combine dragon fruit, vinegar, sugars, onion, raisins, apples, garlic, ginger root, cinnamon, mustard seed, cayenne pepper, cloves, allspice, pepper and salt in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Boil gently, stirring occasionally, 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is thick.

A good recipe for canning & preserving.

Dragon Shrimp Salad by Hari Nayak

1/2 pound dragon fruit, sliced
1/2 pound (21-30) size shrimp, shelled, deveined and cooked with tails intact
1/2 cup each finely julienned radish and pomegranate
1/2 head lettuce
lemon ginger dressing

Arrange all ingredients in shallow lettuce-lined salad bowl. Serve with lemon ginger dressing. Makes 3 to 4 servings.

Lemon ginger dressing: Combine 2 tablespoons each oil, vinegar and lemon juice. 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
Mix well.

Makes about 1/3 cup.