US Travelogue Part 1

Last year I had the chance of going to the US for a couple of weeks and my destination was San Francisco. So basically my travel plans were for in the east coast. But then how is it possible that I visit US and not go and make a trip to my favorite bakery which is the Carlos Bakery of Hoboken, New York. It was like I had to go there, only then my trip would be successful and meaningful. I wanted to meet the Cake Boss Buddy Valastro too. Initially this thing was not possible as we had a very few limited days. But somehow The Man worked out things and he casually, very casually informed me one day that our travel is Mumbai-AbuDhabi-New York-San Francisco. I was like "Wait, Whaattt?!" But he warned me "It's gonna be one long journey, mind it!!!" But anything for Cake Boss right? Hell yeah :)

So this 'little' detour made our travel time from Mumbai-SFo to be of a total of 48 hours. Yes, 48 hours of air travel, of walking and taking subways and metros to reach Hoboken!! Also, New York was going through an unexpected day of rain and chilly winds. We were all wet from the rain and freezing to the bone. For a Mumbaikar, it was a totally new experience for me being in the New York rain and feeling what its all really like. No amounts of coffee helped me. Ugh. But all that in the name of Carlos Bakery. And when I saw the bakery it was worth it all, really. I had forgotten how tired I was and sleep deprived and hungry hahaha. This makes me sound like some mangled being travelling in the 1900s. But anyway, I entered the bakery and all I could feel was a moment of exhilaration and too much excitement. Although I didnt get to meet Buddy or any other family members and people from the show, I atleast got to taste his goodies. It was worth it all. And I felt lucky & fortunate to be there. Couldnt thank The Man enough for making this possible!!!

 This was the sight I was so looking forward too!!! It was a sight for my sore eyes.

 The wonderful and artistic cakes on display. There were many more like these...

An artist at work... shes lucky to be working there ***sigh***

Finally, my very own goodie bag from Carlos. I took their infamous lobster tails, cannolis, and their cheese cake which was absolute yumm. Never tasted such an awsome cheesecake before ever.

A few displayed goodies...

The lovely cheescake, up close and personal !!!

Their tiramisu was also very good.

So, all in all I had one thing striked off my bucket list and I was happier than ever.

And whoever happens to be in Hoboken, this is a must visit.

Stay tuned for more of my travel food stories from US.

Till then lots of love 

Happy Eating :)

Risotto with Caramalised Onions & Roasted Chicken

Hello everybody out there !!!

Today's post is all about the yummy risotto and the 'death dish' which is so lovingly called this in the Masterchef Australia. I was always intimidated by this dish and thought maybe I will never attempt making it. But, here I was all ready with the ingredients and hoping dearly that it does not fail me.

Here's the recipe that I followed... The ingredients are:

• One and half cups Arborio rice
• 6-7 cups of stock you can use vegetable or chicken as per your taste
• Two onions chopped
• Roasted chicken
• Salt and pepper
• Thyme fresh or the dried one
• Two tbsp butter
• Parmesan cheese, lots of it!!!

The first step is to caramalize the onions. The trick for best caramalized onions is heat the oil quite hot then add in sliced onions. For one minute or two keep the flame high and then lower the flame to lowest and caramalize the onions on low flame till the onions are golden in color. Remove the onions and keep aside.

In the same pan, add the roasted chicken. Cook for some time and keep aside.

Now in a separate pan, saute the rice with the butter or the olive oil for two mins. Now remember, do not wash or soak the rice use them as it is because if you wash the rice then the rice will loose its gluten and the risotto will not become sticky and gluey as it is supposed to be.

So moving ahead, cook the rice by adding the stock gradually. That is one cup at a time. This entire process takes 20 mins approximately. 

When the rice is cooked, that is it should be a bit hard in the centre and not completely cooked like a mash. There should be a bite to it. So when the rice is done, add the caramalised onions and the chicken. Then the seasonings and lastly parmesan cheese. 

You can also try any variation of vegetable you want for instance you can add sauteed mushrooms alongwith the chicken. I have tried it and it tastes heavenly!!!

So, go ahead, conquer the risotto and dont be scared of it.

Happy Cooking ya all !!!

Lots of love :)