Carrot And Raisin Salad

Ingredients

500 grams carrots
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup raisins (kish mish)

Directions

Peel, wash and grate the carrots.

Mix the grated carrots with mayonnaise, raisins and salt.

Chill before serving.

This easy salad make the perfect starter for a special meal.

Fruit Salad

Ingredients

4 - peaches

4 - guava, umrood

3 - bananas

4 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon chat masala

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Skin the peaches, then cut them into half and remove the stones. Slice the peaches thinly and place them into a salad bowl.

Peel the bananas and cut them into thick slices. Add to the peaches.

Cut guavas into half, scoop out seeds and discard them. Peel and slice the guavas and add to the peaches and bananas in the bowl.

Mix together lemon juice, sugar, salt, and chaat masala, add to the fruits and mix carefully. Refrigerate for two hours.

Chaat Papri

Ingredients

Refined flour (maida) 1 cup / 100 gm
Semolina (suji) 1 tbsp / 10 gm
Salt ½ tbsp
Baking powder a pinch
Vegetable oil ¾ cup / 150 ml\
Vegetable oil for frying
To serve
Potatoes, boiled, cubed ½ cup
Chickpeas (kabuli chana), boiled ½ cup
Tamarind chutney ¾ cup / 150 gm
Mint chutney 4 tbsp / 60 gm
Yoghurt (dahi), beaten 1 cup / 180 gm
Chaat masala to taste

Directions

Sift the refined flour, semolina, salt, and baking powder together. Add hot oil and mix Well. Knead with enough water to make a smooth dough. Divide the dough equally into tiny balls. Roll each out into a very thin disc, 1½ "in diameter. Perforate each with a fork so that it doesn't puff out while frying. Keep aside for 30 minutes, uncovered.
Heat the oil in a wok (kadhai); deep-fry the discs on a medium flame till crisp and golden.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain the excess oil on absorbent kitchen paper towels. To serve, arrange the fried discs (papri) on a plate; spread the potatoes, chickpeas, tamarind and mint chutneys, yoghurt and chaat masala to taste.

Black Forest Cake

Ingredients:
75 grams white flour
50 grams cocoa
100 grams butter
225 grams sugar
6 - eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
800 grams cherries , black, stoned, canned
650 ml cream whipping
125 grams chocolate caraque
1 teaspoon arrowroot

Directions:

1. Drain the cherries into a sieve and reserve the syrup. Line and grease a deep 9 inch round cake tin. Put the butter in a bowl over a pan of warm water, beat until very soft.
2. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl standing over a pan of simmering water until pale and creamy, and thick enough to leave a trail on the surface when the whisk is lifted. Remove from the heat and whisk until cool.
3. Sift the flour and cocoa together and then lightly fold into the egg mixture. Fold in vanilla essence and softened butter.
4. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and tilt to spread evenly. Bake at 350F (150c) mark 4 for about 35-40 minutes until well risen, firm to touch and beginning to shrink away from the sides of the pan. Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.
5. Cut the cake into three layers. Place one layer on a flat plate. Sprinkle about 3 tablespoons of cherry syrup over the cake. Spread a thin layer of cream over the soaked cake. Reserve a third of the cherries for decoration, scatter half the remainder over the cream.
6. Repeat layers of sponge, syrup, cream and cherries. Top with the third cake round and spoon over the remaining syrup.
7. Spread a thin layer of cream around the side of the cake. Press on the chocolate caraque, reserving some. Pipe whirls of cream around the edge of the cake and top each with a chocolate caraque.
8. Fill the centre with the reserved cherries. Blend the arrowroot with 3 tbsp cherry syrup. Place in a small pan; bring to the boil, stirring, for a few minutes until the mixture is thickened and clear. Brush the glaze over the cherries.
9. To make the chocolate caraque, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl standing over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and spread out thinly on a marble slab or clean work surface. Leave to set until no longer sticky to touch.
10. Hold a large knife with both hands; push the blade across the surface to shave off long chocolate curls...

Baked Rigatoni and Sausage with Beans and Roasted Squash

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash - peel, remove seeds, and cut into 2-inch chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for pan
6 stems thyme
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2/3 pound chicken Italian style sausage (remove from casing if uncooked)
1 (10 ounce) box frozen spinach, defrosted, and excess water removed
1 pound rigatoni pasta
2/3 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup grated mozzarella, divided
2/3 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can BUSH'S® Great Northern White Beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons heavy cream
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DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place water for the pasta on to boil. Lightly oil a 9-by-13 inch gratin or baking dish.
On a large baking sheet or roasting pan, toss squash with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Scatter thyme and half of the whole garlic cloves over the squash. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes until squash is tender, but not mushy.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet set over medium high heat, heat remaining tablespoon of the oil. Add sausage and cook, stirring frequently until meat is fully cooked and no longer pink.
Lower heat to medium and add remaining whole garlic cloves and spinach, saute for 1 minute then remove garlic if desired. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
When squash has finished cooking remove from oven and remove garlic cloves and thyme stems if you prefer. Add squash to the sausage and spinach mixture.
Reduce oven to 375 degrees F.
Boil pasta, and drain about 2 minutes before the package directions suggest, so pasta is still a little firm. Toss drained pasta with sausage mixture.
Add stock, 1/4 cup of mozzarella, 1/3 cup of Romano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add Great Northern Beans and gently toss.
Transfer to prepared gratin or baking dish and top with breadcrumbs, remaining 1/4 cup of grated mozzarella and 1/3 cup of Romano. Drizzle with heavy cream (or olive oil).
Bake for 25 minutes, until heated through and crusty on top.

Ten Minute Enchilada Sauce

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons self-rising flour
1/4 cup New Mexico or California chili powder
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
salt to taste
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DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and chili powder, reduce heat to medium, and cook until lightly brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning flour.
Gradually stir in tomato sauce, water, cumin, garlic powder, and onion salt into the flour and chili powder until smooth, and continue cooking over medium heat approximately 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt.

April Fools & Day Dinner

Most historians agree that April Fools' Day began when the Christian world adopted the new Gregorian calendar. According to the old calendar, the New Year was celebrated in the spring for eight days (the final day of celebration being April First), but because the new calendar was so different, the date of the New Year was changed to January First.

Many of the people who lived in the countryside didn't know of the change for years, and continued celebrating the New Year during the spring. Those "in the know" thought this was hilarious and started to call the April celebrators "fools." From then on, these people began to go of their way during this particular season to make friends believe something that was false. And April Fools' Day was born!


Make Dinner Look Like Dessert


Everyone will look at you wide-eyed when you serve dessert first. But, surprise! It only looks like dessert...

The Meatloaf Cake
What you'll need:
Two round cake pans
Your favorite meatloaf recipe
Mashed potatoes
Ketchup
Cherry tomatoes

Prepare your favorite meatloaf recipe as you normally would, but, before baking, divide the mixture into the two round cake pans and pat it flat.
Bake as usual, but shorten the cooking time (these thinner meatloaves won't take nearly as long to cook).
While the meatloaf is in the oven, make a batch of mashed potatoes, adding a little extra milk to them and whipping them with an electric beater until they are fluffy and spreadable.
When the meatloaves are done, invert one of them onto a round plate.
Cover the meat with a thick, even layer of mashed potatoes.
Place the other meatloaf on top of the potato layer, and finish frosting the "cake" with the remaining potatoes.
Garnish with halved cherry tomatoes to look like cherries.
Just before serving, decorate the top of your cake with ketchup. Write a personalized message, or just a simple "Happy April Fool's Day!"