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Carrabbas Pork Chops in Port Wine
Copycat Recipe

Serves 2

1-2 pork chops per person 3/4 inch thick
1 large apple  Granny Smith or Red Delicious
salt and pepper
1 large onion, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves
1/3 cup port wine
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon freshly dried thyme
olive oil and a little butter

Sprinkle freshly cracked pepper on one side of pork chops and a little of the thyme and set aside on a plate. Slice onion thinly while skillet heats up on medium heat. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil into hot skillet and add onions.Cook for 4-6 minutes, stirring frequently.While onions cooking, mince up garlic and set aside.Once onions are cooked and slightly browned, take out of skillet and put in bowl and set aside.

Cook the Chops:  Put skillet back on heat, add a little olive oil and a teeny amount of butter and place your pork chops spiced side down into hot skillet. Cook 3 minutes on each side.If you chops are thicker than 3/4 inches, you will have to cook them longer. Chops are done when they have just lost their pinkish color. They will continue to cook a bit once out of the skillet. Sprinkle salt, pepper and additional thyme on the other side of unseasoned chops.While chops are cooking, peel and slice thinly your apple.Turn chops and let brown on the other side.Remove chops onto a plate.

Make the Sauce:  Add apple to skillet and let brown, stirring frequently, let cook for 3-5 minutes, add a little butter if you have to. Add garlic and let cook one minute only, you do not want to burn the garlic. Add port wine carefully to skillet, scrape bottom to remove brown bits. Add onions back to skillet. Let cook for two more minutes.Add bullion paste, and water and let reduce by a half. Add one small pat of butter remaining sauce taste for any need of salt or pepper. Pour mixture over your pork chops and dinner is ready.

The two week holidays are back and its that time of the year when I struggle to find ways to interest my pre-schooler boy outside of the iPad or DVDs. Last afternoon, it was baking time. I pulled out the Muffins Bible from the bookshelf, read out the recipe for Blueberry muffins to the son, made him wear his spiderman apron, spread newspapers on the kitchen table and we were all set to bake together. He promptly recruited my househelp as the sous chefs sous chef, i mean, his sous chef. We measured out the dry ingredients, and the boy threatened to stir it with so much enthusiasm that I thought there would be more flour outside the bowl than inside it. When it was time to crack the eggs, he wanted to do it all by himself, breaking each of them like coconuts on the tines of the fork. My househelps heart was in her mouth, in the fear that how much clean up wed have to do if he broke the eggs on the floor. Thankfully, it wasnt that much of a disaster. We managed to fill up the muffin cups and when I turned around to put it in the preheated oven, guess what I see? When my attention had turned elsewhere for a nanosecond, he had cranked up oven temperature to 250C, changed the oven setting to grill - one crazy sous chef indeed. After some rectifications, the muffin tin finally went inside and then he sat almost burning his nose by touching it to the oven glass, to wait for them to be ready.



Finally when it was out, he didnt mind his tongue getting burnt but he had to taste them immediately. This morning, I asked him if he could recall how we made the muffins, this is what he drew. This made me a happy mom :)




Lemon & Blueberry Muffins
Makes 15 medium sized muffins






Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup oil or 1/2 cup oil + 1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup milk (at room temperature)
Zest of two lemons
Juice of 2 lemons
1 cup blueberries* (frozen or fresh)

Directions
Preheat the oven at 190°C.
In a large bowl, mix the flours, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and mix well with a fork or a whisk.
Whisk the oil / butter, vanilla extract, eggs and milk in another bowl. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice, give it a quick whisk and add this to the big bowl of dry ingredients.
Gently fold in the blueberries.
Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper liners or grease them well with butter.
Divide the batter between the 12 muffin holes. If theres any extra, make in the next batch, or bake a baby cake with left over batter.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown.

Shopping Guide
I used frozen blueberries that goes by the brand Delishh, found in the freezer section of Auchan Supermarket (Gopalan Mall), KR Puram. Rs.215 for 200 grams, they were of reasonably good size and freshness. This freeezer section also stocked frozen raspberries and blackberries. 


My Doodle recipe is a part of Easy Doodle Recipe contest at BlogAdda.com in association with TastyKhana.com

While it may seem silly, the appearance of a little radish rose on my salad plate has the power to tickle me from head to toe. Maybe its my fondness for the concept of edible art. Moreover, can you deny that a pretty dessert or any other dish just seems to taste better? Even the slightest special touches in culinary preparation and presentation, transform the mere act of eating into a full-blown aesthetic experience. Sprucing up up a buffet for a party or a sit down meal for guests (or an especially spoiled loved one) is easier than you might think and makes all the difference. Be truly dazzled by these extra little touches will people. Here are some ideas to get you started in the art of food presentation. Good luck!

Presentation basics

Color- When it comes to color, its all about creating contrasts. A dish with a white sauce is going to look boring on a white plate. When it comes to "plating" food, put a few colorful vegetables next to visually bland items like mashed potatoes. Even a dollop of yogurt can look spectacular atop a bowl of split-pea soup!Chargers, the circular settings under plates, are also a great opportunity for color and contrast. They come in all different colors, textures, and materials.

Nature- The best food presentation incorporates the beauty of nature. A simple vase of flowers can do so much for a table, but experiment with less common items like pinecones. Fill a vase with crabapples and pinecones for a great-smelling autumn centerpiece. Mix flowers and fruits for especially beautiful and interesting centerpieces. For example, intersperse white flowers with limes in a silver bowl, or combine bright lilies with tropical fruits.
While porcelain and glass serving platters are common in food presentation, do not forget wood. Natural and even exotic woods work beautifully to display items like breads and cheese.

Odd Numbers- A good rule of thumb in any type of decorating is that an odd number of items grouped together is more visually attractive. Just as you would, for example, place a group of three pillar candles on the fireplace mantle, keep the same rule of odd numbers in mind when decorating your table or buffet and when garnishing plates.

White goods- Nothing is as elegant or as easily adaptable as a set of basic whiteware, including white platters, plates, and white linens. You can dress it up or down for different events.

On the plate

Smaller is better- Take a cue from fancy restaurants and create smaller, more elegant portions. Slice vegetables like bell peppers into thin strips. Use plates with a smaller basin for food, but a larger rim to create the illusion of a larger portion. Arrange the food vertically or fan it outward from the center for more artistic arrangements. Garnish- While this may seem obvious, only decorate with edible food. You want peoples taste buds to respond to everything on the plate. Moreover, the garnish should correspond to predominant flavors in the dish. Garnish with sprigs of rosemary for a chicken dish with rosemary in it sprinkle- if a food looks boring, sprinkle on some fresh chopped herbs, nuts, or finely chopped vegetables. Squeeze Bottles- Forget the ladle! The big thing with sauces right now is to paint and drizzle designs over your food with a squeeze bottle. Drizzle thin lines of teriyaki sauce back and forth over dumplings, for example.
Curls, roses, and other edible accoutrements

Butter curls/rosettesHeat a butter curler under hot water for a moment and pull gently over a stick of butter firm to create curls. Dip in hot water between each curl. Use flowers softened butter and a piping bag with a flower nozzle to create pretty butter. Remember to keep chilled until right before serving!
Vegetable creations
Carrots Use a vegetable peeler to cut strips of carrot, roll each into a spiral, and secure with a toothpick. Submerge in ice water for several hours and the carrot strip will remain curled after removing the toothpick. Cherry Tomatoes- To create a cherry tomato, flower, cut a small X on the blossom side of a cherry tomato. Partially peel back the tomato skin in the four sections with a sharp knife to make four petals. Cucumber/courgette Create fluting along a cucumber or zucchini slice with a fork. Green Onions- For green onion "brushes", cut the roots and most onion of the top portion from a green and make several cuts at both ends to produce a fringe. After being submerged in ice water for a couple hours, the onion ends to curl back like brushes. Leeks- Make pretty leek "asters" by first cutting off the roots and the bottom a little. Cut into 3-4 cm parts. Using a sharp knife, make many cuts along leek but dont split the bottom. Soak the leeks in cold water for a day and the flowers will curl out. Sprinkle with bed juice for a touch of color. Radish- Slice small triangles all around the radish and peel back the red skin to create flower petals. Or, make several cuts radiating out from the top center of the radish, water, and the radish will soak in cold "open" on its own. For a cute and simple trick, the radish very thin and use slice as the round slices petals for a flat flower. You can use a carrot slice stem for the center of the flower and scallions or cucumber peel for the.
Sweet touches
Chocolate- Let a bar of chocolate come to room temperature and carefully draw a vegetable peeler along the bar to create long curling strips. Use the narrow side to create thin curls and the broad side to make bigger curls. To make chocolate leaves, find broad leaves such as mint, rose, lemon or some nontoxic. Brush melted semi sweet chocolate on the underside of the leaves, wiping off any that runs to the front of the leaves. Repeat layers of chocolate to make sturdier leaves. Place chocolate leaves, chocolate side up, on a baking sheet lined with wax paper, and freeze until hard. Then, simply peel away the real leaf from the chocolate leaf. Fruit- Make strawberry fans with stemmed strawberries. Many simply cut, small slices into the strawberry almost to the green stem but not quite through and then fan out the strawberry. Or for on easier trick, brush fresh fruit with a mixture of water and meringue powder, and then immediately sprinkle with (granulated) sugar for a frosted look. Sugar- Powdered sugar (or cocoa powder) can easily create designs on top of brownies or a cake. Cut out a design from a piece of sturdy paper, such as swirls or stars, and then lay the piece of paper over the dessert. Sift the powder on top and then carefully remove the paper. Voila!

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