Dates and Peanuts Ladoo (Dates and Dry fruits Ladoo)

Ingredients:
200 gm dates
½ cup roasted peanuts/Cashewnuts
1-tbsp ghee
¼ cup desiccated coconut (optional)

Method:
Step 1: Deseeded the dates and chopped it.

Step 2: Take the roasted peanuts and half crush in to mixer.
Step 3:If you like then use powder form of peanuts then it easy to mix with dates. I like crunchy test so I use half crush peanuts. Step 4: If dates are not much soft then microwave on high power for a minute.

Step 5: In a thick bottomed kadai, add one tbsp ghee in low flame.
Step 6: Add the soft microwave dates in it. Step 7: Keep stirring till the dates start to melt on low flame.
Step 8: Add half crush roasted peanuts in melt dates. While mixing dates and peanuts if they started burning slightly then immediately turn off the flame.
Step 9: When it is still warm, made small ladoos by hands.

Step 10: Roll the ladoos in desiccated coconut.

Step 11: Place in your container.Note:
1. If you like then add some sugar powdered along with desiccated coconut and then rolled the ladoos in them.
2. If you made this sweet for Diwali then add any Dry fruits whatever you like.

Next Coming recipe for

are KAJU KATLI and many more wait for post....:-)

Coming Soon: Low-Fat Pumpkin Flan

Freezer Burns and Veggie Burgers

I've been featuring some videos lately from my fellow creators on Hungry Nation, and today I'm happy to continue that by introducing Gregory Ng: The Frozen Food Master, from Freezerburns.com.

I love the concept of Freezer Burns, as Gregory takes one for the team by taste testing all sorts of frozen products so you don't have to. This episode is all about vegetable burgers, a subject near and dear to my heart, as evidenced by my post "Meaty Mushroom Veggie Burger - The Least Terrible Veggie Burger Ever!" I've posted the video below, just in case you decide to forgo the frozen food aisle.

I hope you like The Frozen Food Master's Veggie Burger Frodown, and be sure to check out Gregory's great website for more information. Enjoy!





Chef John's Famous Meaty Mushroom Veggie Burger

A Beef Chili That's Great Under Pressure

I've gotten a ton of food wishes for a pressure cooker demo, all unfulfilled due to my serious lack of a pressure cooker. So, when my friends at IMUSA asked me if I was interested in testing their pressure cooker, I answered with an enthusiastic yes.

When you ask someone why they don't use a pressure cooker, one of the most common replies is something to the effect of, "I'm really not into being killed by an exploding stew."

Well, I'm here to tell you, if used properly (meaning you actually read and follow the directions), the chances of a pressure cooker injuring you in an explosion is incredibly slim. You have a better chance of breaking your toe by dropping a bowling ball on it, and this assumes you don't bowl.

While the video features a quite acceptable beef stew-style chili recipe, which I've always called chili Colorado, the point of this post is to give someone new to pressure cookers an overview of the basic steps, tips, and techniques. I've listed the ingredients below, but this will work for any similar recipe.

As you'll see, these marvels of pressurized heat are very simple to use, and really do significantly reduce cooking time. Simply put, by increasing the pressure in the pot, you raise the boiling point, which cooks the food faster. For more info, ask anyone else.

I want to thank IMUSA for sponsoring this demo, and if you want more information about the model I used, you can get that here. Like I said in the video, no matter which brand or model you use, the method is basically the same. Enjoy!




Beef Chili Colorado Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut in 1-inch cubes
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic chopped
2 tablespoon ancho chili powder
2 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 can (10.5-oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon ground corn chips, optional
cilantro and chopped green onions to garnish

Give Us Today Our Daily Bread and a Good Night's Sleep

I just landed a few hours ago after an exhausting, but really fun and productive trip to Little Rock. I'm not sure exactly when the videos will be ready to air, but when they are, you'll be the first to know. I'm pretty excited for you to see what we did, and hopefully you'll be able to use some of the recipes during the upcoming entertaining season.

I have a new video on how to use a pressure cooker to post tomorrow, but will treat myself to a good night's sleep before finishing it off. Stay tuned, and in the meantime I hope you enjoy this incredibly fascinating TED lecture on the art of baking bread by Peter Reinhart.

Speaking of bread, if you click on the picture above, you'll be taken to a great no-knead country loaf recipe that features a touch of pumkin that would make for a wonderful seasonal treat. If you watch the lecture I have a feeling you'll be inspired to get your hands into some dough.Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

Smooth and silky vegan butternut squash soup with coconut milk.

Halloween is creeping toward us, minute by soon-to-be-an-hour-saved minute. Soft and slow but deft on black cat paws. I wake to the dry scratch clatter of leaves spinning down the sidewalk from Santa Monica Boulevard, riding the wind downhill like a gaggle of flattened tumbleweeds. I yawn awake dreaming of soup, imagining my favorite wooden spoon stirring the humble beginnings of some jewel toned potage as the French like to call it. Or so I'm told.

I don't speak French.

I'm craving soup like a mad woman, you see. Like some Shakespearean witch in the wild woods of West Hollywood, I long to stir a little seasonal magic into a pot of silky, orange hued soul food. So this week I conjured cooked up a curried fall classic. Every October I make batches of this gorgeous, comforting soup. That just so happens to be gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan.

The secret is- use ripe flavorful squash. Choose a butternut squash with firm golden-tan skin. The squash should make a hollow ring when thumped.

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This Strawberry Cheesecake Sauce Recipe is the Lesser of Two Evils

I only had enough time to do one of two things; write a post with no video, or edit and upload a video with no post. Guess which one I went with? Okay, so technically this is a post, but since it's really about not doing a post, I'm not sure it counts. Wow, I am tired! Where was I? Oh yeah, here's video recipe for the strawberry dessert sauce I paired with the cheesecake. Enjoy!



1 pint strawberries, rinsed, green tops removed (frozen will work)
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar (depends on sweetness of berries)
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved into 2 tablespoons water

Hello from Little Rock – I'm So Busy It's Scary!

Well, I was hoping to have a new video up today, but there just wasn't any time. We put in a full day getting all the scrips finalized and recipes prepped for the eight videos I'm here to film for Kellogg's Snackpicks.com (here are a couple iPhone pics of the studio). The next couple days don't look to get any easier, as tomorrow we begin shooting at 7 AM, and the same on Wednesday.

So, the best I can do is a frighteningly quick Halloween-themed re-run recipes post. To make it an even lamer post, other than the cheese fingers below, I don't even really have any typical Halloween recipes, but all these could work well if your planning a party and looking for some ideas. Just click on the title for the original post with ingredients and more info. Boo!! (yes, that was a double entendre)

Penne Pasta with Neck Sauce – Perfect for that vampire-themed party!




Pumpkin Brulee - Because if it has pumpkin in it, it's cool for Halloween!




"Severed Fingers" Cheese Sticks – So wrong, yet so right!

A Big Job in Little Rock

I'm heading off to historic Little Rock, Arkansas, to shoot a series of videos for a new corporate client. I leave today, and will return Thursday. I can't give any details at this time, but you will see the fruits (not a hint) of my labor on this blog at some point. As usual, you can follow along with my adventure on Twitter. By the way, I do have some new video recipes already filmed, which I'll post as soon as I can finish the editing. Stay tuned!

Mmm Me Gusta's Picadillo with Apples and Walnuts

Better late than never! I've been wanting to feature more videos from my fellow creators on Hungry Nation, and what better choice than the lovely and talented Claudia Yuskoff, from Mmm Me Gusta. I love this recipe and it's been requested on the blog before, so until I get around to doing my version, please enjoy this one! Great job Claudia, and thanks for sharing!

Pumpkin Polenta Recipe with Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa

My inspiration this week- pumpkin polenta with salsa fresca.

It's been a gloomy, rainy week here in West Hollywood. Weather-wise, that is. The kind of fallish, comfort food craving weather that has WeHo citizens ditching their flipflops and plucking pumpkin colored sweaters off hangers, while tucking umbrellas into faux leather satchels. If you can find the dang umbrella, that is. It's got to be around here somewhere, right? You used it last year.

Maybe.


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New York Style "Sunshine" Cheesecake - Crack isn't Necessarily Whack

This is my favorite recipe for New York style cheesecake, and includes a great technique for letting the citrus-kissed cake finish in the oven, so that no crack forms when cool. As you'll hear and see in the video, this isn't always the case.

It's ironic that the largest, deepest, most jagged cheesecake crack I've ever experienced would occur on the one I'm filming for a video recipe. I've seen this method used to produce completely crack-free cheesecakes, but I was opening the oven to take photos, and ended up adding more time at the end to compensate, and apparently, from the look of the grand canyon-sized crack, it was a bit too long.

According to my sources deep inside the cheesecake underground, if for whatever reason, the internal temperature goes above 160 degrees F. the cake will crack when cooling. The good news is the taste and texture was absolutely perfect. The moral of the story? Don't be afraid to make cheesecake!

Cheesecake purists believe "crack is whack," but truth be told, slightly overcooking this recipe is not a big problem, and the crevice causes no issues when you serve it (as you'll see with some state-of-the-art Photoshop effects).

Crack or no crack, this is a classic, dense, rich New York style cheesecake with just a hint of citrus, hence the "sunshine" in the title. I paired it with a lovely fresh strawberry sauce, which had a little dash of balsamic vinegar in it. I also filmed that, and will air it soon. With the holiday entertaining season rapidly approaching, keep this super easy cheesecake recipe in mind. Enjoy!




Recipe adapted from Chantals New York Cheesecake on Allrecipes.com
Crust Ingredients:
18 graham crackers
3 tablespoons melted butter
Filling Ingredients:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup milk
4 eggs
1 or 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
1 or 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest

Next Up: New York Style Cheesecake!

Macaroni and Cheese as Crunchy Potato Chip Topping Delivery System

Since everyone agrees that the best part of a macaroni and cheese is the crisp, crunchy topping, why not feature that as the star of the dish? That was the basic idea behind today's video recipe for crispy potato chip mac and cheese.

There are all sorts of "favorite" casserole toppings, but the one that seems to excite people the most is the potato chip crust. Maybe it's the extra crunch, or the cheesy flair, or that very few unpleasant memories include potato chips.

So, the concept here is simple. Make a batch of béchamel (basic white sauce) using the recipe below. If you need to watch the technique, here is a video recipe for it, but use this post's measurements. To that add 12 ounces of really good cheese, and when it's melted, mix into cooked macaroni.

That would make a great meal as is, but when you add a big spoon of this impossibly crispy, cheesy, crunchy, buttery love…well, damn. Not only is this delicious, but it's a triumph of textural perfection. It's also a versatile recipe, as you can make the topping mixture and the white sauce ahead of time. I hope you give it a try, enjoy!




For the white sauce: (watch technique video here)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 cups cold milk
small pinch of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, or few springs of fresh
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt, or to taste

Cheeses I used:
1/2 pound shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 pound shredded Gruyere cheese

For the potato chip topping:
1 tablespoon butter
1 bag (minus 6-7 chips) white cheddar kettle-style potato chips, crushed into medium-fine crumbs
1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (real Parmesan cheese)
2 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs

Coming Soon: No-Bake Mac and Cheese with Crispy Potato Chip Gratin

Trick or Treat? Thanks for the Apple

I can't help but think this post is the Halloween equivalent of ringing a doorbell trick-or-treating, and instead of a delicious candy treat, some truly evil soul hands you a piece of fruit. An apple? I spent three hours becoming Iron Man, and you give me an apple!?

This dead cheese fingers video is the only real Halloween-themed recipe I've done before, so I thought I'd rerun it today, after a fun, but tiring trip to Los Angeles, which has left me video-less. This was inspired by a version I saw on the blog, Our Best Bites, and you can read the full, original post here.

Today, I'm very excited to start production on several very-requested food wishes including …drum roll …New York Cheesecake! Also, working on a revolutionary new mac and cheese recipe. So, enjoy, and stay tuned!

Quinoa Salad with Pears, Baby Spinach and Chick Peas in a Maple Vinaigrette

Autumn quinoa salad recipe with pears, chick peas and baby spinach.

If you're looking for a fresh idea to liven up your ho-hum salad plate, Babycakes, have I got a recipe for you. Light, vegan, and packed with protein, this is no ordinary bunny food. It's got teeth- er, I mean, quinoa. Studded with nutty, buttery chick peas and crunchy toasted pecans and succulent jewels of ripe, juicy pears. And did I mention, in a bowl licking maple vinaigrette? In fact, this is a salad even salad haters would eat. You know, those stalwart gotta have my meat and potatoes aficionados who eschew anything leafy. Who snicker at fiber. And mock carrot sticks. The sort of individual who gets misty eyed for melted butter and bacon martinis. To said individuals, salad could never be anything but rabbit chow.


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Hello from Fugly Los Angeles!

Michele and I are in the City of Angels for the birthday celebration of our dear friend Jude Weng (seen here during her days as a tiger trainer), the Executive Producer and Co-Founder of Brand New Entertainment.

If that name sound familiar, it's because BNE was the company I signed a deal with a few years ago to develop a series of unscripted food-related television shows. There have been no major deals yet, but those efforts are still being shopped around, so you never know.

The theme of the party is the "Fugly Prom." You all know what proms are, but just in case you don't know, "fugly" is a combination of the words "f*cking" and "ugly." The pictures should be something, so stay tuned for those! We'll be back in San Francisco, Sunday night.

Chocolate, Egg, and Cream? Fuggeddaboutit!

This chocolate egg cream video was inspired by our recent trip to New York City, where my wife Michele and I enjoyed them on several occasions. As I watched the expression on her face while she sipped this unique treat, I knew I had to film a quick how-to as soon as we returned.

Contrary to the name of this New York City soda fountain classic, chocolate egg creams do not contain any eggs or cream. What is does contain is Fox's "U-bet" chocolate "flavor" syrup.

This uniquely American ingredient hails from Brooklyn, New York, and despite the picture of the woman on the label (why is she looking at me like that?), I love the flavor of this syrup. If you can't find it, I'm sure a certain brand from Pennsylvania will do just fine.

Along with the chocolate come the simple additions of milk and seltzer water. The magic of this drink is how the minimalist design produces such a rich, yet refreshing chocolate beverage. In fact, one of the reasons the beverage was so popular in its time, it was considered a cure for indigestion!

There are all sorts of arguments about the origins of this drink (when it comes to sports and food, New Yorkers do seem to enjoy a good debate), but most chocolate soda fountain drink historians think this was invented somewhere in Brooklyn, in the 1920's.

The technique is very simple, and as I suggest in the video, you'll want to adjust the trio of ingredients to the ratio that you find most satisfying. Some prefer this very light and frosty with extra milk, others go for the darker, flatter and richer.

Enjoy!



Ingredients per glass:
1-2 oz chocolate syrup
1-2 oz cold milk
8-10 oz very cold seltzer water

Lard-Fried Brussels Sprouts are Good For You

This short video was produced by my buddy, Stephanie Gallagher, and I'm posting it for three very simple reasons.

First: to help me convince people that lard isn’t poison. Second: to show that surprisingly little fat actually stays with the food you fry. Third: to remind you to eat Brussels sprouts, which, as far as green vegetables go, rock! (if cooked certain ways...like fried in lard).

Stephanie is About.com's Guide to Cooking for Kids, and her site is filled with wonderful recipes for children of all ages (including lots of great Halloween ideas). I hope you check her out. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies- Gluten-Free Recipe

Gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with a secret ingredient.

Autumn usually stirs my culinary imagination to conjure seasonal soup recipes and Crock Pot comfort food. The key word here is usually. Historically. As in, what I've done before, come September. This time around, however, my restless spirit has been wandering far and wide and away from dreams of butternut chili and baked rice casseroles toward the tempting, sweeter things in life.

As in cookies.

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A Small Post Before Coming Home from the Big Apple

Wow, what a short, but amazing trip this has been! We are packing for our trip back to San Francisco, and as I try to cram an unnatural amount of swag into my too-small suitcase, I can't even process all that's gone on the last few days. All I know, is I can't wait to back back to work.

Last night we attended the birthday party of a new friend of ours, Sarah Simmons, pictured here next to my old running buddy, Jennifer Heigl, from Daily Blender (right). I've been friends with Sarah on Twitter for a while now, and we finally got to meet. Say what you will about Twitter, and its possible responsibility for the downfall of our society, but anything that allows like-minded people to connect to one another can't be all bad. Sarah, who publishes the blog, sarahmcsimmons.com, is a formidable foodie, and you'll be reading more about her on this blog in the future.

Thanks for your patience, and stay tuned for a brand new video recipe tomorrow!

Photo (c) Jennifer Heigl

On the Lamb

Hello there! Just a very quick update from New York. Last night was the big Burger Bash, which was a lot of fun. We got to go because I received two tickets for winning the American Lamb Board's third annual “Get Your Grill On” video competition. Below I've posted the wining recipe in case you missed it. You can read the full, original post here.

Since this is our anniversary weekend, I've been trying to just enjoy myself without worrying about taking pictures of everything and blogging every detail. I think I needed a little break, and thanks to the American Lamb Board and Food Network, I'm certainly getting a great one!

The Winning Lamb Burger Recipe!