Wild Rice Kale Salad with Pomegranate Molasses Dressing

Blogging Marathon# 62: Week 2/ Day 1

Theme: Salads

Dish: Wild Rice Kale Salad

My theme for this week's blogging marathon is 'Salads' and Valli gave us free rein on choosing the type of salad. So for the next 3 days I have some delicious salad recipes coming your way.

First up is this Wild Rice & Kale Salad. I watched Chef Bobby Flay make it on Food network during Thanksgiving time and I have made it 2~3 times since then. Wild rice is my latest favorite, I love its chewy & earthy flavor. I buy wild rice from Trader Joe's and it is well worth the money spent.

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Buttery Sourdough Buns

It's only 4 days to Christmas and hope all of you have your gifts and menus ready for the big day. This year, one of our lovely friend is hosting the Christmas eve party and she asked me to bring some dinner rolls. They all love these golden pull apart dinner rolls, but I wanted to try a new recipe this year.

I found the recipe for these sourdough buns in the King Arthur Flour baker's catalog. I loved their cute little swirly shape and the addition of paprika to the butter gives them a nice reddish hue on top.

These buns are super soft on the inside and a nice crispy crust almost like a crescent roll. The swirly shape means they are fun to unravel and enjoy just like a crescent roll.

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Ambrosia Parfait

Today I have a no-cook, no-bake dessert that is quick and easy to make. It is called Ambrosia Salad aka fruit salad. Ambrosia literally means 'food of the gods'  in Greek & Roman mythology. But this dish is very much American and from what I've read it is a very popular dessert/ salad that is served around holidays in the Southern states.

It is quite a simple dish to make -- lightly sweetened whipped cream is mixed with fresh fruit and grated coconut. Even though it sounds so easy, the resulting dish is light and absolutely delicious, hence the name - Ambrosia.

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Overnight Pecan Sticky Bread for #BreadBakers

This month's theme for BreadBakers is Overnight Breakfast Breads. Our host for the month is Holly Baker and she wanted us to come up with either a yeasted or quick bread that can be prepared the night before and then baked off in the morning. December being a busy time for celebrations and getting together with family and friends, it is always nice to have these overnight breads in your repertoire, so that you, the bake, can enjoy the fruits (or breads!) of your labor with your loved ones. Scroll to the bottom to get more ideas for overnight bread from my fellow Bread Bakers.

Initially I wanted to prepare a no-knead bread, but then I realized that it involved shaping and baking in the morning which didn't really fit into theme. I couldn't really find any bread that was appropriate for the theme and I almost panicked.

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Pan Seared Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Almonds

Here's a quick and easy side dish made with Brussels Sprouts for your holiday meals. Brussels sprouts have quite a bad rap because they tend to be pungent and mealy when cooked improperly. But this pan seared brussels sprouts recipe is so tasty that even my 3 year old couldn't stop eating them.

Pan searing brussels sprouts until toasty is a quick alternative to roasting them in the oven. Topping with crispy panko breadcrumbs and almonds nicely balance both the taste and texture of the dish.

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Wild Rice Salad with dried Cherries and Pecans

Hope all of you had a fun filled Thanksgiving weekend. Like always it felt really short and went by in a hurry. We had quite a busy weekend with family and friends -- lot of food and some shopping.

Here's a Wild rice salad recipe that I brought to the Thanksgiving party at our dear friends home. Recipe is from Cooking Light magazine. I tweaked it just a little bit to make it a little more tastier. It is colorful and festive looking. It is great addition to the holiday buffet table or as a filling weeknight meal.

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Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Blogging Marathon# 58: Week 4/ Day 1

Theme: Bookmarked Dishes

Dish: Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Soup

We are in the last week of this month's blogging marathon and my theme for this week is 'Bookmarked Recipes'. I always jump on the chance of getting some of my bookmarks cleared and this theme is just perfect.

We are 2 days away from 'Thanksgiving', which means that holiday season is right here and I'm sure many of you are planning on sending/ shipping gifts to your loved ones. I just found out about a really good shipping option for all your international and domestic packages -- Transworthy. Few points that make it better than the other international shipping options are:

• 74% savings on your shipping costs.
• NO waiting in lines to send the package, they pick up the package right from your home or office.
• Shipment can be tracked on the DHL site.
• Convenient payment on their site.

So take a minute to explore more about Transworthy and see if it is a good fit for your shipping this holiday season. Here's a list to my edible holiday gift guide to help you out with what to send :-)

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Quinoa Salad with Pistachio and Dates

Blogging Marathon# 58: Week 3/ Day 3

Theme: Salads

Dish: Quinoa Salad with Pistachio and Dates

I love grain based salads. If planned correctly they make for a wholesome meal and you don't have to worry about side dishes or protein to go along with it. This Quinoa salad is one such recipe.

This recipe is also from 'Vegan Eats World' cookbook like yesterday's Avocado Mango Salad. This quinoa salad has all my favorite ingredients, dates, pistachios, baby spinach and of course quinoa. I love dates - they are so chewy, caramely and oh-so delicious. I always keep a bag of them in my pantry for snacking or for making desserts (like this burfi or these nut balls or this decadent cake) or salads like this one.

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Pumpkin Dinner Rolls for #BreadBakers

November is cruising by and with the festival season around, I'm sure all of you must be planning or at least thinking of your holiday menus. So you are in luck because our #BreadBakers group is baking up some special and festive loaves or rolls or breads that you can bring to a family feast or celebratory dinner. Actually I'm lucky to be hosting this month's event, big thanks to Stacy and Renee for the opportunity. Don't forget to scroll down to the bottom of the post for the list of breads by my fellow bread bakers.

We went apple picking last month and ended up with 4 little pie pumpkins from the patch. I kept them for display till Halloween, then roasted a couple and made pumpkin puree out of them. With that puree I made these Pumpkin dinner rolls. Recipe is from King Arthur Flour site.

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Chocolate Orange Yogurt Panna Cotta (using Agar)

It is very hard to believe that this creamy and chocolaty treat is made with yogurt. I saw Bobby Flay making it on his Cooking Channel show, Brunch at Bobby's and wanted to try it for myself. I actually made this quite a while back along with Chocolate granola, but couldn't post it earlier.

Traditionally panna cotta is made with sweetened cream thickened with gelatine and molded. But this recipe uses low fat milk and Greek yogurt to get the same creaminess. It is a great dish to serve for brunch like Bobby Flay did, but it can also be served for dessert.

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Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Rolls and Chocolate Risotto.... and a GIVEAWAY!

Can't believe holiday season is almost upon us and I'm very happy to be a part of Colavita and Perugina 'Join our Italian holiday Table' campaign this year. They sent me a large variety of their products including olive oils, crushed tomatoes, marinara sauce, artichokes hearts, olives, lasagna, arborio rice and some absolutely delicious Perugina chocolates. One of you lucky readers will also receive the same amazing products -- scroll down to the end of the post for more details of the giveaway.

Colavita is a family owned company and they have been importing and distributing Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil for over 30 years. Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil is recognized as the #1 Italian brand in the US and has earned awards from renowned cooking publications such as Fine Cooking and Cook’s Illustrated and general-interest magazines like Men’s Health. Perugina is Italy’s most renowned chocolate maker and Baci are Perugina’s most famous confection. Baci (which means “kisses” in Italian) are perfect as an ingredient in recipes, as a daily indulgence or as a gift for a loved one.

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Pumpkin Ice Cream (Eggless Recipe)

I don't want to say it loud but it has been a mild fall so far. Temperatures have been warmer than usual and we are occasionally still sporting our summer sandals and half sleeves. But the daylight hours have started to get shorter and the trees are changing into beautiful shades of red, yellow and gold.

This pumpkin ice cream is perfect for this time of the year. Fall flavors with not so fall weather calls for an dessert like this. I tasted my first pumpkin flavored ice cream on one of my recent farm visit with few of my blog buddies. It was a pumpkin-vanilla soft swirl and I loved it. Also my son randomly asked for pumpkin ice cream recently, so I've been looking for a recipe.

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Arugula & Pear Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 2/ Day 1

Theme: Food52 Contest Recipes from here

Dish: Arugula & Pear Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

We are starting a new week of blogging marathon and my theme is to cook from 'Food52 Recipe Contest winners'. I didn't really know about Food52 until I signed up for this and now it has vecome my go-to site to look for for new recipes.

So for people like me you are new to Food52, here's a little backstory: 'It was started by 2 foodies Amanda & Merrill to bring cooks together from all over to exchange recipes and ideas and to support each other in the kitchen. Food52 means you cook food for 52 weeks of the year'.

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Imam Biyildi (Turkish Stuffed Eggplant)

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 1/ Day 1

Theme: Eggplant Dishes from here

Dish: Imam Biyaldi

We are back to our regular 3 days a week blogging this month. My theme for this week is 'Eggplant Dishes' and if you follow my blog you know my love for eggplant and there is no way I would miss this theme. Valli gave us a list of eggplant dishes to choose from, so for the next 3 days I will be posting 3 eggplant dishes from around the world.

The baby and the big eggplants you see in the below pictures were picked fresh from the farm and the long Japanese eggplants are from my backyard garden. All these fresh eggplants were a great inspiration to cook for this theme.

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Skordalia (Greek Potato-Garlic Dip)

Skordalia is a traditional Greek appetizer dip made with whipped potatoes flavored with fresh garlic, almonds and olive oil. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm with warmed pockletless pita triangles or with crispy oven-roasted eggplant and zucchini.

This recipe is from 'Vegan Eats World' cookbook. I was so excited to see this creamy potato dip recipe that I made it right away for the Buffet on Table -- Condiments week, only to realize that I already had a dish from Greece, so moved this over to this week's Cooking from Cookbook Challenge.

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Carrot Halwa Ice Cream

Blogging Marathon# 55: Week 4/ Day 3

Theme: Bookmarked Recipes

Dish: Carrot Halwa Ice cream

Did you ever eat warm carrot halwa with a scoop of vanilla ice cream? That is one extremely rich and decadent dessert to have (also a calorie bomb -- but you are allowed to indulge once in a while, not everyday, mind you!!). My mom and sister love this combination.

This ice cream combines carrot halwa and vanilla ice cream to make a flavor that is sure to be a hit at a Indian themed parties. Recipe is from here and it is just as it sounds, make some carrot halwa, make a vanilla ice cream base -- mix them both and churn.

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Dulche de Leche Ice Cream (Eggless recipe)

Blogging Marathon# 55: Week 4/ Day 2

Theme: Bookmarked Recipes

Dish: Dulche de Leche Ice cream

Next ice cream I made this summer is this Dulche de Leche Ice cream. I had a bottle of dulche de leche in the fridge that my husband got from Argentina. It needed to used up and this ice cream from Smitten Kitchen sounded like the right recipe to make.

This is one of the most easy ice cream recipes I've made. All it needs is bringing milk and cream to boil and then stirring in dulche de leche and setting aside to chill, then churning it in the ice cream machine to finish making the ice cream. I swirled some dulche de leche while putting it into a container.

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Cookies and Cream Ice Cream (Eggless Recipe)

Blogging Marathon# 55: Week 4/ Day 1

Theme: Bookmarked Recipes

Dish: Cookies & Cream Ice cream

My theme for the final week of this month's blogging marathon is 'Bookmarked Recipes'. Since it is almost the end of summer (sigh -- why does it have to end so soon!!!), I thought it is time to post the ice creams that I made during summer.

First up is 'Cookies & cream ice cream'. I read somewhere that 'Cookies & Cream' flavor is one of the most popular ice cream flavor and I told this little tidbit to my son. From that point on he started pestering me to make it for him (thanks to the summer vacation, he had too much free time on his hands to pester me).

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No-Bake Nutella Cheesecake

Blogging Marathon# 55: Week 2/ Day 3

Theme: Nutella Galore

Dish: No-Bake Nutella Cheesecake

Here's another lip smacking dessert using Nutella, a no-bake cheesecake. I usually plan the dishes to make for the marathon, well ahead of time. But for this week except for the muffins I made for the first day, I had nothing planned for the next 2 days. I was able to make the s'mores based on my son's tv show, but I was clueless as to what to make for today.
Clueless because there are sooooooo many dishes that can be made with Nutella and I'm sure every single one would taste amazing. I was very tempted to make Valli's Nutella mousse in chocolate cups, but was too lazy to make the chocolate part.

Then I saw this no-bake Nutella cheesecake on Pinterest and made it right away to make sure I don't change my mind :-) Original recipe used frozen whipped topping, but I didn't want to wait for the whipped topping to thaw, so I whipped fresh cream and folded it into the nutella-creamcheese mixture.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

This is one of the 3 pies along with Sweet Potato Pecan Pie that I made at the pie making class last month. The crust here is super simple, it's just crumbled cookies mixed with some melted butter. I guess the chef wanted to teach us a very easy crust along with the ones that are a bit more elaborate.
The filling is the highlight of this pie. I wasn't sure if I would like the peanut butter in the filling, but when I tasted it -- it was a dynamite. Peanut butter taste is not too assertive, but plays a nice balance to the cream cheese and brown sugar.

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