Seduction on a Plate

Have you ever wondered how these self-announced culinary goddesses look absolutely ravishing in their kitchen spaces, day after day, show after show. Not a strand of hair out of place, not even a laughter line showing. They look sexy with their mouths full and their bodies look as if they stopped growing after 16! Nigella Lawson of course is an exception.

They have come-hither looks, husky voices, manicured nails, and botoxed assets as kitchen arsenals. I wonder how all their cook wares look so shiny (must be the sponsors!), stovetops spotless, kitchens gorgeous, pantries full and people like you and me eating out off their palms. Well, almost.

I know I am no Nigella or Giada, not even shortcut queen -Rachel Ray. But sometimes away from public eye, I pretend to be one. Yes, I convince myself that I am the domestic diva who can whip out meal after meal everyday, sometimes twice a day! Though its another story that a lot of the times, I spill, overcook, follow recipe books, make frantic calls to the mother, serve leftovers, or conveniently order take out.

Till about a few years ago, I even used to talk to myself, pretending I was hosting some food show. Well, that delusion hasn’t stopped altogether. Except that now, I also have a camera in my kitchen. I am also contemplating about shedding my PJs and slipping into fashionable clothes, curling up my hair and batting mascaraed eyelashes the next time I step inside my kitchen. Some day soon. Very soon. Till then, keep coming back to check on me and my un-sexy home cooked meals.

Today I made my usual, to-be-patented winter staple of clear tomato soup and served with croutons made of French baguette and Spanish Chorizo sausages. They paired well with a light salad made of baby spinach, arugula, red cabbage, sliced avocado, red bell pepper, generous shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano and a good drizzle of EVOO (just the way Rachel Ray says it!). For the uninitiated, EVOO is Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

If you cannot find baguette, take any long-thin bread and make even slices of it, preferably with a serrated knife. Drizzle olive oil. Slice the sausages too to fit on the bread.

Preheat your oven to 350°F, and leave the breads to turn into golden, crusty croutons topped with melt-in-the-mouth sausages.


For the salad I just tossed in everything at the very last minute and served in individual bowls with freshly shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, a dash of extra virgin olive oil, few squirts of lemon juice and some black pepper straight from the pepper mill.

King Of Queen Couscous Salad

Whoever thought I was the queen of my kitchen is going to have that myth dispelled today with this post.

Yesterday was a rare evening when P wanted to take matters in his own hands. Of course, I had to prep, chop, dice, and even crack pepper. He was feeling rusty and I was feeling lazy after all that Gajar ka Halwa. So the chemistry was perfect. My magic (read “rare”) moment of digression led me to park myself on the couch, prop my feet on the foot stool and turn on Food Network. From the couch, I watched my own personal chef boil couscous, toss everything in a bowl, mix everything up and serve a crunchy salad on a hot day.

Most of the ingredients were found in my personal air-conditioned art gallery commonly known as the fridge! You know all those humble leftovers from previous rendezvous in the kitchen. Except for these fresh, crisp stems of asparagus.
Of course, I had to wash, clean, cut and throw them in the oven with some EVOO, salt and pepper. All this work on a promised evening off made me realize I was something-in-between a Sous chef and a princess. I am allowed to sit out, but I have to dice, chop, and wash. But he “made the dinner”. Really! Remember those aromatic arugula from another day? Yes, they too. I was beginning to see what had inspired him. But I wasn’t complaining. Complaints about the cook could jeopardize my meal.
Our meal of couscous salad with arugula, baby prawns, grilled asparagus, capers, seasoned with parsley, lemon juice, EVOO, salt and pepper looked complete.
The stack of dirty dishes in the sink spoke well of who we were – two people who love eating! I wonder if someone in Japan is working on a self-cleaning kitchen…

After all, what's that saying – a meal is complete, when the kitchen is neat!

Mediterranean Night

Its not everyday that I make Mediterranean. So read carefully on how I created a simple dinner with a world of flavors – all of it straight from the Mediterranean.
I began by getting my basics right and listing all the ingredients for my grocery bag. Planning for a gourmet menu is a highly technical culinary skill not many have!
My husband loves pickled sweet peppers, that seemed pretty easy as all of the work was being done by a glassful of white vinegar!
Next was to marinade the meat – I planned on making Chicken Kabobs with some Greek-inspired spices. I mixed freshly squeezed lemon juice with ground ginger-garlic, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to get a marinade ready for my boneless chicken pieces. For flavor, I used dried oregano, a native of the Mediterranean region.  
A marinating time of about 5-6 hours turned the pieces of chicken into succulent bites full of flavor once they hit the broiler.

Eggplants are abundant in Mediterranean cuisine. For this free-style eggplant salad, which I’d like to call Ruffled Aubergine Salad, I used some very thinly sliced eggplants. Eggplants drink up lots of oil. In order to avoid that, I brushed them with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and tossed them in a hot pan.
I let them curl at the edges and get a good color on them. Once my eggplants were ready, I let them cool and prepared the dressing, the key ingredient for which was parsley.
Parsley is like the Miss Congeniality of the Mediterranean world. Its mild flavor is essential to many salads and garnishes. I used the Italian flat leaf variety.
I tossed finely chopped parsley, lemon juice, EVOO, fresh cracked pepper and very little salt and mixed it all with the eggplant making a quick, free-style relish to go with my Chicken Kebobs and my main which was also a salad or sorts – the Couscous Arugula Salad.  

Do you know why couscous is named what it is. Because it  is a food so good, they named it twice! This salad is a great getaway from serving rice or pasta or noodles for dinner. Its a versatile dish, easy enough for a weeknight dinner and elegant enough to serve when you have guests over.

For the couscous salad too, I kept it simple with some chopped white onion, lots of arugula, some crumbled feta cheese, EVOO, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Oh yes, and I added a touch of exotica with a handful of kalamata olives. I used the Israeli couscous, even after cooking it in hot water, it had an al dente feel to it. A right toss of these ingredients and you have a star. I did not add any fresh herbs to the Couscous Arugula Salad as I did not want to want to overwhelm the feta and olives with any dominating flavor. Plus the peppery taste of the arugula has to be enjoyed on its own.
This Mediterranean dinner looked so good, I did not know whether to have a picture taken with it or eat it. Without much deliberation, I decided on the latter. After all, a Bengali does not make Ruffled Aubergine Salad, Chicken Kabobs and Couscous Arugula Salad everyday.