Vanilla Pudding

Thick enough to pipe and hold its shape, though I haven't tested how long it will hold its shape unsupported. Use as filling for cupcakes/ layers or served in a bowl when lightened with a touch of whipped cream.

500ml milk
160g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 egg yolks
13.5 g cornstarch
30g flour
1/2 vanilla bean/ 1 tbsp vanilla essence
50g butter

same procedure as standard pastry cream.

Double Chocolate Pudding

Creamy, thick, can be super intense if made with bittersweet chocolate or mild if made with milk chocolate. Works well as cupcake/ cake filling or just by itself, in a bowl. Adapted from Martha Stewarts recipe of the same name.

500ml milk
140g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 egg yolks
20g cocoa
25g cornstarch
1 tbsp vanilla essence
125g chopped chocolate
50g chopped butter

Whisk the yolks, cocoa and cornstarch together in a medium sized metal bowl with a splash of milk.
Combine remaining milk with sugar and salt and heat on medium till it simmers.
Temper the egg yolk mixture, then incorporate and cook till thickened, whisking well towards the end.
Simmer for 30 seconds to cook out the starch.
Place the vanilla, chocolate and butter in the metal bowl, pour the pudding over and whisk till chocolate is dissolved. Press plastic wrap and chill till cool. Thickens overnight.

Chocolate Cupcake

Moist chocolate cupcake without venturing into gummy, mushy territory. Also good as layers.  Heavily adapted from the Hersheys recipe thats so popular.

1200g sugar
135g dutched cocoa
636g flour
4.5 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup vanilla essence
1 tbsp orange essence
1 3/4 cups oil
3 cups water
6 large eggs
500 ml milk

Place all the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl and paddle till combined.
Add all the wet ingredients and paddle till batter is smooth.
Portion and bake at 350F.
Batter can be made and held up to 2 days ahead.

Vanilla Cupcake

A very good, basic vanilla cupcake that uses regular ingredients easily found. Results in a fluffy, light, not-overly-sweet cake with a medium crumb and almost no crust. Does not dome too much but that works well for frosting a cupcake or even stacking a layer cake. Developed at Cupcakes Amore.

8 large eggs
700 g sugar
1 tsp salt
570g flour
4.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup vanilla essence
1 3/4 cup water
2 cups oil


Whip the eggs and salt till foamy. Add the sugar gradually and whip till thick, fluffy and lightened in color.
Sift the flour and baking powder together. Add half this mixture to the eggs and whip on low for 1 minute to develop structure.
Stream in the water and vanilla on medium just till incorporated. Stop and scrape the mixer bowl.
Stream in the oil steadily on medium.
Incorporate remaining flour mixture till combined, scrapping bowl as needed.
Portion and bake at 350F.

Corn Sandwiches

A no-fail recipe for creamy corn sandwiches. Developed at Cupcakes Amore.

butter 50g
onions/ shallots/ scallion whites, chopped 100g
jalapeno, chopped 20g
water 125g
flour 2T
cream cheese 180g
corn kernels 200g

Melt butter in skillet. Add onions and jalapenos and sweat till softened. Onions and jalapenos can be quickly chopped together in a food processor.
Add flour and cook till pale blonde.
Pour in the water and simmer till thick.
Remove from heat and stir in the cream cheese till smooth.
Fold in the corn kernels and season to taste.
Scallions / chopped cilantro may be added but are not essential. 

Fruit & Nut Cookies

A very good recipe for fruit and nut cookies / everything/ kitchen sink cookies. Adapted from The Ultimate Cook Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Makes a chewy/ mildly bendy cookie without being undercooked and doughy or crumbly.

butter 85g
sugar 136g
peanut butter 48g
liquid glucose / corn syrup 53g
eggs 1ea
baking soda 1/2t
salt 1/2t
vanilla extract 1t
flour 125g
oats 47.5g
2 cups of mix-ins such as chocolate chips/ raisins/ cranberries/ chopped toasted nuts/ coconut

Paddle both the butters, sugar and corn syrup till smooth.
Add the egg, baking soda, salt and vanilla and paddle till smooth.
Add the flour and oats and mix till combined.
Fold in mix-ins.
Scoop and chill dough for an hour before baking. Bake at 325F.

Poppy Seed Pasta with Lemon Butter

Thought of this when I was reading the Grains, Pasta and Pulses book in the Time Life series. The poppy seeds will be incorporated in the dough and rolled out. Either leave the pasta in sheets or cut into wide noodles.
Toss in an emulsified lemon butter sauce. Simple but I think it may work because lemon and poppy seeds are always good together.
The only problem I see is the poppy seeds in the dough. Would it tear the dough as its being rolled out? Or would the pressure from the rollers crush the poppy seeds and cause unsightly grey streaks through the dough?
I guess there's only one way to find it.
For the sauce, I am thinking it will be like a lighter version of a buerre blanc maybe.

Yotam Ottolenghi

I have been hearing a lot about this person for the last 6 months or so. This article from the Guardian has a couple of very interesting recipes that must be tried.
Here's the link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/dec/16/roasted-squash-stuffed-quince-recipes

In case the link expires, here are the recipes:
ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH TAHINI DRESSING

1 large butternut squash (around 1.1kg), cut into 2cm x 6cm wedges 
2 red onions, cut into 3cm wedges 
50ml olive oil 
Maldon sea salt and black pepper 
3½ tbsp tahini paste 
1½ tbsp lemon juice 
3 tbsp water 
1 small garlic clove, crushed 
30g pine nuts 
1 tbsp za'atar 
1 tbsp roughly chopped parsley

Heat the oven to to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Put the squash and onions in a large bowl, add three tablespoons of oil, a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper, and toss well. Spread, skin down, on a baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes until the vegetables have taken on some colour and are cooked through. Keep an eye on the onions: they may cook faster than the squash, so may need to be removed earlier. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Put the tahini in a small bowl with the lemon juice, water, garlic and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Whisk to the consistency of honey, adding more water or tahini as necessary.

Pour the remaining oil into a small frying pan on a medium-low heat. Add the pine nuts and half a teaspoon of salt, cook for two minutes, stirring, until the nuts are golden brown, then tip the nuts and oil into a small bowl.

To serve, spread the vegetables on a platter and drizzle over the sauce. Scatter the pine nuts and oil on top, followed by the za'atar and parsley.

LAMB STUFFED QUINCE WITH POMEGRANATE AND CORIANDER

The work involved in hollowing the quince is well worth it, as the result is stunningly satisfying. Serves four.

400 minced lamb 
1 garlic clove, crushed 
1 red chilli, chopped 
20g chopped coriander 
50g breadcrumbs 
1 tsp allspice 
2 tbsp finely grated ginger 
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped 
1 free-range egg 
Salt and black pepper 
4 quince
Juice of ½ lemon, plus 1 tbsp extra
3 tbsp olive oil 
8 cardamom pods 
2 tsp pomegranate molasses 
2 tsp sugar 
500ml chicken stock 
2 tbsp chopped coriander 
Seeds of ½ pomegranate

Put the lamb in a bowl with the garlic, chilli, coriander, breadcrumbs, allspice, half the ginger, half the onion, the egg, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Mix with your hands and set aside.

Peel the quince, cut in half lengthways and put in a bowl of cold water with the juice of half a lemon, so they do not turn brown. Use a melon baller or small spoon to remove the pips, then hollow out the quince halves so you are left with a 1.5cm shell. Keep the scooped-out flesh. Fill the hollows with the lamb mix, pushing it down.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Put the quince flesh in a food processor, blitz, then tip into the pan with the remaining onion, ginger and cardamom pods. Sauté for 10 to 12 minutes, until the onion has softened, then add the molasses, a tablespoon of lemon juice, sugar, stock, half a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Place the quince halves in the sauce, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes, until the quinces are soft, the meat well-cooked and the sauce thick (reduce the sauce as needed). Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with coriander and pomegranate seeds.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Basic ratio for swiss meringue buttercream is 1:2:3. Egg whites: sugar: butter.
updated April 2012: i find that you can increase the sugar to 2.5. Simply add a healthy splash of water along with the whites to help dissolve the sugar.  Also, if shortening is needed to stabilize the buttercream, a 70:30 butter:shortening ratio is working well. Stable but without a perceptible shortening flavor.

Fried Biryani

This is like an Indian version of Italian arancini. And, a cool- sounding play on words. How nice does that sound? Fried biryani.
Components:
Rice. Biryani spice. Chix/ lamb/ beef. Fried onions. Mint. Cilantro. Bechamel. Standard breading procedure.

Maybe served with an aerated raita?? Yogurt mixed with onion juice/ pureed onions and jalapenos?

Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce

This has 3 ingredients. 3. Tomatoes. Butter. Onion. Add one, if you want to count the salt. I tried it once, without following any weights or proportions and using whole tomatoes that I pressure cooked and peeled. It was still quite ok. But I am curious to try it like it's written, considering the amount of stuff written about it.

28 oz/ 800gm whole, peeled tomatoes in can (preferably san marzano)
5 tbsp/ 70gm butter
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and halved
salt
Place all ingredients in medium sized pot and simmer gently till fat floats on top. Crush tomatoes as you stir. Discard onion, season with salt and serve.

Balsamic Meringue

I don't know how I came up with this but it's a thought. Miro did it for his beet tasting, components of which are beet cake, chocolate sorbet, beet sorbet and balsamic meringue. perhaps I am missing out on some candied fennel seeds that he may have used as well. He said the meringue was "banging"! 

"Snickers" Bars

Here's the link to the recipe: "Snickers" Bars: bonappetit.com

Just going to copy and paste the recipe from the website, just in case the link expires

Ingredients

Base

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

3 1/2 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (such as Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, or Lindt), chopped

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup puffed rice cereal

Peanut Nougat

1 large egg white

1/8 teaspoon plus 3/4 cup sugar, divided

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1/2 cup toasted salted peanuts, chopped

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Milk Chocolate Bavarian Cream

4 tablespoons whole milk, diided

1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

1 cup chilled heavy cream, divided

3 large egg yolks

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

9 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (see above), melted

Chocolate Coating

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preparation

Base

Coat an 8x8x2" metal baking pan with nonstick spray; line with plastic wrap, pressing to smooth out any wrinkles. Place chocolate in a medium metal bowl. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from saucepan. Stir in peanut butter, then cereal. Transfer to prepared pan; press over bottom in an even layer. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Peanut Nougat

Line a baking sheet with parchment; coat with nonstick spray. Place egg white in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until frothy. Add 1/8 teaspoon sugar; beat until peaks begin to form. Bring honey to a boil in a small saucepan. With mixer running, gradually add honey to egg white. Set aside.

Stir 3/4 cup sugar, corn syrup, and 3 tablespoons water in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Attach a candy thermometer to side of pan. Increase heat; boil until mixture reaches 275°, 5–7 minutes.

Return mixer with egg white to medium speed. Gradually add syrup to egg white, allowing it to drip down sides of bowl. Beat until glossy and stiff, about 5 minutes. Fold in peanuts and salt. Spread nougat over prepared sheet into an 8" square (about 1/4" thick). Let cool for 1 hour.

Invert nougat over base in pan; peel off parchment. Spread over base in even layer.

Milk Chocolate Bavarian Cream

Place 2 tablespoons milk in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over; let stand to soften, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring remaining 2 tablespoons milk and 1/4 cup cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Whisk yolks and sugar in a medium bowl; gradually whisk in hot cream mixture. Return to same pan. Stir over medium-low heat until thickened and a thermometer registers 175°, about 3 minutes. Add gelatin; whisk until dissolved.

Place melted chocolate in another medium bowl. Pour cream mixture through a strainer into chocolate; whisk until smooth.

Beat remaining 3/4 cup chilled cream in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Fold into chocolate mixture in 2 additions, folding just to blend between additions. Pour Bavarian cream over nougat, spreading in an even layer. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours.

Chocolate Coating

Place chocolate and butter in a bowl set over a medium saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Invert 8" pan onto a work surface; remove pan and peel off plastic. Turn over. Cut into 6 slices, then halve each slice crosswise. Transfer pieces to prepared baking sheet, base side down. Using an offset spatula, spread chocolate over tops and sides of bars. Freeze to set, 30 minutes. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover with foil; freeze. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

Chocolate pate choux

I don't know why this is not done more frequently. But judging from the availability of the images, maybe I just haven't looked hard enough, earlier. I know someone filled theirs with chestnut cream, which sounds kinda nice, like a mont blanc. 

Hazelnut Frangipane and Stone Fruit Galette

Pie crust, frangipane made with hazelnut instead of almonds and pitted, sliced stone fruit (perhaps apricot, peach, maybe plum? or how about pear?)

Brush with cream, sprinkle with coarse sugar and bake

         

Seasoned popcorn

                                                                        

How about seasoning popcorn like pori? with dried red chili, mustard seeds, whole garlic, hing, curry leaves and those urad dal (?) seeds. Perry used to make flavored popcorn for the bar with Oreville Redenbacher, minced rosemary and olive oil, so why not?

Baked Alaska

                                                    
Why am I obsessed with this idea? Maybe for Christmas season, because of the fruitcake. I think it should work.

Frozen Nougat Ice-cream (david lebovitz: Room for Dessert)
Chocolate Fruitcake ( David Lebovitz: Room for Dessert/ King Arthur Flour website: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/chocolate-cherry-berry-fruitcake-recipe)
Brown sugar Swiss meringue

French Fries

                                                                   

Not sure if we'll really go all out to making french fries at home, but this article is intense and it makes sense to me.
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-perfect-mcdonalds-style-french-fries.html