Movie and a Nom: Slumdog and Samosas

Hey Hey! I'm starting a new segment on my blog called Movie and a Nom. Yeah it's pretty much what it sounds like, I'll watch a movie and make a nom to go along with it. First up is Slumdog Millionaire and my lazy Samosas.

I love Indian food and always order samosas when I eat out. So I thought I'd try making them at home! Unfortunately, while I may make an awesome pie crust I kinda stink at making other pastry doughs and breads. One time I tried empanadas and it was not pretty. So to make it easier on myself I used frozen puff pastry sheets instead.

I thought they turned out great! Like a savory, spicy turnover. Mmmm. The pastry was buttery and flaky and the filling of potatoes, peas and spices was exactly like in restaurants.

As for the movie, I thought it was good but not great. I feel like I've been hearing for so long now about how awesome and wonderful the movie is that it was kind of a let down for myself. I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't think it was a great as everyone said but let's just say it didn't change my life. While I don't think I'll watch this movie again, I will definitely be making these samosas many many times.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to make them yourself:

Lazy Samosas
adapted from epicurious.com

1 package frozen Puff Pastry, defrosted
2 medium potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled
1/2 bunch green onions (white and green parts), chopped
1 fresh green chiles, such as jalapeños, seeded and minced (optional)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted (more if you really like peas, which I do!)

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and cool, then finely dice. Mix potatoes with rest of ingredients (except the puff pastry silly) and mash lightly to help bind together. Take one sheet of puff pastry and place on floured surface. Pinch together seams on both sides and then roll out a little bit, to about 12 inch x 12 inch square. With a pizza cutter cut pastry into quarters. Put about 1/2 cup of filling on each quarter and brush sides with a little egg wash. Bring the corners of each square together in the middle and pinch the edges together to seal in the filling. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with other sheet of puff pastry. Brush samosas with egg wash and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, or untle samosas are golden brown.

And now I'll leave you with a few more photos of golden deliciousness.

How Very British!

I'm a bit of an anglophile. I love British humor (humour), British TV shows, British cars, and of course British accents. The food is a little hit or miss though. Fish and chips - hit! Steak and kidney pie - miss. Shepherd's pie - hit! Blood sausage - miss. You get the idea. But a huge hit in my book is the scone! Crumbly and buttery, it hits the spot for afternoon tea, breakfast, a midnight snack, lunch, dinner, mid morning snack, mid afternoon snack, whenever!

Here's what you'll need: flour, baking powder, butter, sugar, cream, salt, an egg and some type of add ins. I used craisins and pecans but you could also use chocolate chips, currants or other dried fruits, any type of nut, or orange zest. You are only limited by your imagination!

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut the cold butter into chunks and work into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender, fork or your fingers. Work the butter in until the mixture is crumbly. Mix together cream and egg and pour into flour and butter mixture. Mix until dough is moistened and comes together. Stir in dry fruits and nuts.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a rectangle. Using a pizza cutter, cut into wedges. (You could also cut them in circles like biscuits.) Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush with beaten egg white wash. Sprinkle with some sugar if you'd like.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Mmmmmm. Perfect with a cup of tea. Or coffee, or milk, or orange juice, or a soda, or a beer, or a nothing at all, or you get the idea. Enjoy!

Cream Scones
recipe courtesy of my friend Nathania

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup cream
1 egg well beaten
1/2 - 1 cup (depending on what you like) of craisins or other dried fruit, nuts, etc

Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl. Cut in the butter
with a pastry blender, or rub in with fingertips (Cut cold butter into bits
then blend in with fingers.) Mix in egg and cream with fork. Stir in craisins.
Turn dough out on a lightly floured board, and pat out in a rectangle about one
half inch thick. Cut in wedges. Brush tops with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

The Search For The Perfect ... Brownie

There are lots of different ways to make lots of different foods, so I thought I'd take it upon myself to try different variations of some of my favorite foods to try to find the PERFECT one. And what better place to start than with brownies?

Looking in my pantry today, my sweet tooth started itching and unfortunately there was nothing in there to scratch it. A box of unsweetened chocolate caught my eye and I immediately thought, oooooo brownies! So I turned to my trusty computer to find a recipe and was dismayed when 100 different variations popped up, all with different ingredients. Unsweetened chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, or cocoa powder? White or brown sugar? Walnuts or pecans? Mocha? Mint? Cheesecake? Ahhhhhhhhhh! So I thought I'd start with the most basic of basic recipes, the one on the back of my Baker's chocolate box. Here's what it said:

For the ingredients: Unsweetened chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs, flour and vanilla.

In a microwave safe dish heat the butter and chocolate on high for 2 minutes, or until the chocolate is melted. Remove from the microwave and stir until chocolate is melted. Let it cool a little bit. Yes, those are photos of a bowl of chocolate and butter. What else do you need in life?

Mix the sugar in with the chocolate, then add the eggs and vanilla. Be careful not to scramble the eggs if your chocolate is still warm. Add in the flour and stir. (I also added a pinch of salt because I used unsalted butter.) Pour the batter into a 9x13 inch pan lined with foil and sprayed with oil. An easy way to line your pan is to fit the foil on the bottom of the pan first before setting it in the inside. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with fudgy crumbs. Do not overbake!

Cool the brownies before slicing. To slice, pull the brownies out of the pan using the foil. Since these brownies are pretty moist I found the easiest way to cut them is with a pizza cutter. Cut the brownies in big or small pieces depending on how much you want to indulge in. :)

Mmmmm, nothing beats a warm brownie. Except maybe a warm brownie with a scoop of ice cream on top. Overall this was a pretty good recipe for a standard brownie. Nice and moist, chewy, with that light crust on top. And the ingredients are pretty basic, so as long as you have the chocolate they're a snap to make. (Pretty instant gratification as far as baking goes.) I like a deeper chocolate flavor though, so I guess the search will continue. But it was a delicious start!

Chocolate Brownies
recipe courtesy of Baker's Chocolate

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 sticks of butter or margarine (3/4 cup)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
(A pinch of salt if you use unsalted butter)

In a microwave heat chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl for 2 minutes on high or until butter is melted. Remove the bowl and stir until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, stir and be sure not to scramble the eggs. Stir in flour (and salt). Pour batter into a 9x13 pan lined with foil and greased. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until just set and a toothpick comes out with fudgy crumbs. Cool and enjoy!

For the purposes of this search I will not be changing any of the recipes I try. But that doesn't mean you can't! Feel free to add in nuts or different flavorings.

The Definition of Comfort Food

I know a lot of people hate meatloaf. The thought of it brings up horrible childhood memories of mystery mush or dry hard-as-a-rock brown lumps. Not for me though. I love meatloaf! It's a great comfort food. Filling, hearty, delicious! And this is a great basic meatloaf for beginners just wanting to get their feet wet or traumatized individuals ready to give meatloaf another shot. Time to get over your fears people! Let's have meatloaf!

Here's what you'll need: ground beef (or you can use ground turkey or a combination of meats), breadcrumbs, onion, bell pepper, carrot, garlic, an egg, thyme, chili pepper and salt and pepper.

Combine the breadcrumbs with the thyme, chili pepper, salt and pepper. Add the ground beef. Chop the veggies into chunks and put them in a food processor. Process the veggies until minced but not mush. Learn from my experience and put the carrot in first near the blade. It'll be easier to get them chopped finely that way. Add the veggies to the meat and breadcrumbs along with the egg. Mix it up! (With your hands if you don't mind getting a little messy!)

Form your meat mixture into a 10-inch loaf and put on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. I put my loaf on a rack so any fat drippings would drip off instead of pool around. This is a good option if you're using a high fat content ground meat.

I got this recipe from Alton Brown so he uses a thermometer probe to cook to a temperature instead of a time. If you have a probe, insert it at a 45 degree angle so the end is a little more than half way through. Be sure not to touch the cookie sheet. If you don't have a probe, no problem! Bake at 325 degrees to 155 degrees if you're using a probe, or for about 1 hour and 10-15 minutes if you're not.

While the meatloaf is baking mix up the glaze with ketchup, mustard, honey, worschetshire or however you spell it, and some cumin.

After the meatloaf has been baking for 10 minutes take it our and apply about half the glaze. Put it back in the oven. About 10 minutes before the loaf is ready take it out and apply the rest of the glaze. Continue baking.

Let the loaf rest a little bit before cutting. (If you can wait that is) Slice and serve!

I had my meatloaf with mashed topatoes and peas. Classic! Of course I gave myself the end piece, the best part! The glaze is browned and yummy, and the meatloaf is nice and moist.

The perfect bite! I can't wait for lunch tomorrow. Meatloaf sandwich anyone?


Classic Meatloaf
recipe slightly adapted from Alton Brown

4 ounces breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 onion
1 carrot
4 whole cloves garlic
1/2 bell pepper (red or green)
36 ounces ground beef (I used 85/15 but could have used a little more fat. Feel free to try different meats like turkey too.)
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg

For the glaze:

1 cup catsup
2 tablespoons mustard
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Dash Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon honey

Combine breadcrumbs and spices in a large bowl. Add in the meat. Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and bell pepper in the food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed. Add into bowl with meat and breadcrumbs. Add the egg and mix.

Pat meat mixture out to a 10-inch loaf on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Put on a rack if you'd like. If you are using a temperature probe insert at a 45 degree angle into the top of the meatloaf. Avoid touching the bottom of the tray with the probe. Bake at 325 degrees to 155 degrees or for about 1 hour and 10-15 minutes.

Combine the ketchup, mustard, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, and honey. Brush half of the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes. Brush the rest of the glaze onto the meatloaf about 10 minutes before it is done.

Berry Licious Pie

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July holiday! I know I did. I floated around in the pool reading a book all day, couldn't ask for more! There was some good food involved as well of course, including this yummy Fresh Strawberry Pie. It's the perfect summer dessert to take advantage of all those plump and juicy strawberries from the grocery store. Here's how to make it!

You will need lots of strawberries of course! Also you will need sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and a baked pie shell. Mash half of your strawberries (I used 3 quarts total so 1 1/2 quarts), and mix in a medium pan with sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Cook over low heat until the mixture has thickened and turned into a clear glaze. It kinda looks like strawberry jelly.

Chop the remaining strawberries into quarters or halves depending on their size and mix into the cooked strawberries. Pour into the your baked pie crust. (You can bake a frozen crust or make your own. Guess which one I did!) Refrigerate your pie for about 4 hours or overnight until it is set.

Slice your pie and enjoy with a dollop of cool whip! Mmmmmmm. Perfect for a hot summer day!


Fresh Strawberry Pie
Recipe Courtesy of Seed to Spoon

5-6 cups fresh strawberries
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

9-inch baked pie crust

Halve or quarter half the strawberries depending on their size. Mash the other half and mix with the cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice. Cook on low heat until the mixture thickens and the glaze turns clear, it took mine about half an hour I think. Cool slightly, then mix in the rest of the berries. Pour mixture into baked pie crust. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Serve with whipped cream.

Back in Action

Hi Peeps! If you're reading this now, thanks for sticking around and checking in! I know I haven't blogged in a while but I have excuses! First I was out of town shooting a wedding in Puerto Rico. That was muy fun but muy tiring, which probably explains why as soon as I got back ... Wham! I got the flu. Sads, I know. And it's taken another week to get over that but I feel much better now! So look forward to next week when normal service will be resumed. I got some yummy recipes coming up, and maybe an update about my garden which is barely hanging in there in this awful heat. (Except for the cucumbers, RIP)