Eating my way through June.

I agree I have been away for close to a month. But the thing is my hands were busy holding a fork and a spoon and sometimes a whisk, the mouth munching, the eyes salivating and well the mind was gainfully occupied thinking of what and when will be my next meal. Enough reasons not to show up here, right?

Without further ado let me share the month of June with all of you. Oh and it is going to be a long post so I suggest you get yourself a cup of coffee and make yourself comfortable.

Cooking up a storm

Well..just like every month (as expected) there has been a lot of action in the kitchen here and while I managed to click some of the things that made their way to our tummies...most made their way...way too fast to be shared here. Five spice orange cookies with candied oranges, a chocolate chip bread pudding, baby spinach, feta and pomegranate salad,a ratatouille, a beetroot, green apple and carrot salad, a Nutella cupcake and fruity yogurt parfaits both made entirely by my little chefling (MLC from now on) and more...

And pancakes. MLC has been bitten by the pancake bug. No, she clearly doesn't want variety when it comes to the recipe, you knows oats in one, buckwheat in another. Whole wheat with honey each time. But it has to look different. There is a design brief each morning. No circles, triangles, stars & moons this time. Only fairies, ballet dancers, pointy shoes and umm..an occasional Santa. Her verdict...I am doing okay.

Eating out

Amongst the numerous meals that our family had outside of our kitchen, two that NEED to be shared have to be the ones we had at Peshwa and Barrio Fiesta. The first was one was this really awesome & authentic Maharastrian meal & the second was lip smacking Filipino food. I am no food critic hence no review & snaps of what we ate (Also note: my fellow diners will kill me if each time we went out to eat and I began to take pictures:)) but if you trust my taste buds a bit do give these places a try.

Of food events, meeting people and some more eating

June also brought with it many lovely opportunities. A pity that I could only attend two of those. 

The first one was to meet and congratulate the amazing team at Baker and Spice. They invited me for the Annual World Environment Day Harvest Breakfast that brought their Farmers' market season to a close. Their philosophy is really simple  yet one that very few follow. Local, organic, fresh and homemade. So their menu keeps changing depending on what is in the season. You can know more about there here 

The day started pretty early and as I entered I was greeted by this lovely wooden long table that made me swoon;with food enough to feed an army. 

There was the mouthwatering classic shakshouka, their new green version made with zucchini that I simply loved, a to die for aubergine and pepper preparation called sabih, creamy hummus, labneh, freshly baked bread and croissants, peach parfaits and fresh orange juice,tangy plum & pomegranate spritzers to go along.

Lots of fresh produce all around, gigantic platters of salad and hummus that were too pretty to even touch. Had I made them I would have not allowed anyone to come near them but the people at Baker and Spice were  too kind.

It was a lovely morning spent breaking bread with fellow food bloggers, producers, people from the food world and friends. Big thanks to Angela who handles their PR and the entire team of Baker and Spice for the invitation and the warmth.

And ofcourse the very same night I had to recreate the shakshouka at home for my loved ones:)

See more pictures here

And now for the second memorable event.

That I love France is not a secret and at some point in life I would want to live there(DH are you listening?). So when Moustafa Mahdi extended an invitation to attend the Apéritif à la française there was no way I was going to let this pass. Arrangements had to be made for the little one to put to sleep early and her aunt watched over her so that I could sneak my way out on a weeknight to be there. And I am glad I did.

The Apéritif à la française is a celebration of french food and beverages where people who appreciate French art de vivre and those curious to learn more about it come together. This annual event is organized by the International Food & Lifestyle Marketing Group, SOPEXA, and is supported by the French Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to promote the French gastronomy and Art de vivre. It was held on the 10th of June at the Westin Mina Seyahi. 

This year was its 10th anniversary and it was celebrated at Berlin, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hong-Kong, Milan, Montreal, New-York, Paris, Sao Paulo and Tokyo on the same date and at the same time.

It was a beautiful evening buzzing with people all of them having one thing in common; food. The stage was set and there was a large mouth-watering display of dairy products, breads, fruits, chocolates, biscuits, seafood, meat as well as wide selection of beverages including tea, bottled water, syrups, lemonades and more in very authentic French atmosphere.

Much thanks to the team at Apéritif à la française for their hospitality and Moustafa Mahdi for the invitation.

See the complete album here

Writing on food
And before I bring this long post to an end, Dubai please join me in welcoming a new e-magazine The Indian Trumpet. 

It aims to capture the colour,culture and chaos of India that Indians crave and miss. The first issue goes live on the 1st of July. So wish them lots of luck  and give them tons of love. I have a written a short food story for them which I hope you will enjoy going through.

That was my month in food. My desktop wallpaper reads, "Kitchens are meant to bring families together". Mine did. I wish the same for you.

Eat well. Stay healthy.

Images: Personal Album.While you enjoy reading this post with visuals.Please do not use them without asking. They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.

Master Class at Treat, BurJuman World Food Fest 2013.

That I love bite sized food is no secret. An ideal weekend for me is the one spent with friends, fairy lights twinkling in the background and a platter full of little bites. Mini blue cheese and celery muffins, ham and date bites, barbeque cocktail sausages, caprese salad on a toothpick, lotus stem kebabs and now my new favorite. Smoked Salmon Roulade. 

That I learnt at my masterclass at Treat. The BurJuman World Food Fest 2013. This was my first time at the BurJuman Festival and I sure did come back very pleased.

The stage was all set, the tools all laid out and the ingredients looked interesting to work with.

Our lesson of the day was a Smoked Salmon Roulade taught by Chef Diyan of Radisson Blu. Now the word roulade originates from the French word "rouler" which means"to roll". Typically, a roulade is a European dish consisting of a slice of meat rolled around a filling, such as cheese, vegetables, or other meats and is secured with a toothpick or a piece of string.The roulade is then sliced into rounds and served. And Chef Diyan did a modern take on it. A roulade that was simple to put together (sometimes they are so complicated and delicate that rolling them makes me nervous), very quick and had beautiful and clean flavors. 

We were handed over our aprons and assigned our stations. There were three elements to the appetizer. The crepe, the filling and the salad to go with it.

For the crepe we took 60 gms of all purpose flour, 120 mls of milk, 1 egg and salt and pepper to taste. We also added some white sesame seeds to the mix which was a pretty interesting. And then proceeded to make crepes.

Next we put together the filling for the crepe. Some delicious and soft cream cheese, fresh chives and salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble the roulade, place the pancakes on a flat surface, spread some of the cream cheese filling and top it with a big slice of smoked salmon. Now begin rolling it. After rolling, cut it into bite sized pieces at an angle (cutting at an angle will make it look prettier. Also cut the rough ends out so that all the pieces look the same and look clean). The pink salmon, the white filling and the off white crepes; the colours already look good.

While the crepes were cooling, we also made a salad and a very delicate Cheddar basket to hold it. Once again extremely easy to put together. Take some salad leaves and dress them up with some balsamic vinaigrette ( Half cup balsamic vinegar, a cup of extra virgin olive oil. two teaspoons of good mustard and salt to taste).

At this time also prepare a cocktail sauce;  half mayo and half ketchup.

For the cheese basket, take a relatively warm non stick pan, sprinkle the entire pan with a generous amount of grated cheddar cheese. The layer of the cheese should be thick enough so that it can stand the weight of the salad inside. Now for the moment when you truly feel like a chef and get ready to hear lots of wows for the neat little trick that Chef Diyan taught us. Sshh...don't share this with your guests. Just act that you know a awful lot about plating:)

Flip out this cheese pancake onto a warm ceramic bowl and press the sides gently for the pancake to take the shape of the bowl. Leave it for a minute or two and take your edible bowl off the ceramic one. There you have it; your cheese bowl. Now go impress everyone.

Now for plating like a pro. Make a swoosh on the plate with the cocktail sauce.To make a swoosh, fill up a spoon with the sauce, tilt it over the plate so that it is nearly vertical and the sauce falls on the plate. Immediately tilt the spoon at a 45 degree angle and drag the spoon across the plate to give it a little tail. 

Begin doting your swoosh with the roulade pieces, place the cheese basket with the salad in it at the other end. To finish dot the plate with some of the balsamic dressing. There you have it your pretty pro like plate.  Dig into it and enjoy.

I wish I had more snaps and better snaps to show you each step. But with a spatula in one hand and a pan in the other and my eyes on the screen I didn't get a chance to take many and better snaps. However in the days to come I am going to try and update this post with visual instructions. 

I know I am going to be making this roulade many many times in my kitchen for I loved the way the velvety salmon came together with the rich, glossy and sweet balsamic vinegar of the crunchy salad and ofcourse the sharpness of the cheddar basket which was both a visual and a gastronomic treat.

Do try this at home and let me know how it turned it out for you. Before I end this post, I have to thank some people. The very patient Chef Diyan who was flooded with questions from everyone and was still smiling, the team from BurJuman for putting together this masterclass and their PR agency, TRACCS  for inviting me.

The festival that began on the 14th of May and concludes on the 25th of this month. If you haven't had the chance to attend it there is still some time. I know you would want to after reading my experience there :)

Disclaimer: All views expressed here are my own and I wasn't asked to write any of it by either BurJuman or TRACCS. I had such a great time there that I just had to share with all of you here. Hope you enjoyed reading it.

Images: Personal Album. While you enjoy reading this post with visuals.Please do not use them without asking. They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.

Galeries Lafayette Gourmet Festival 2013.

It’s been a little over two months that we made Dubai our home. There are times when I feel that I have been living here forever. You know how it is when regular work, home and school schedules begin and you forget about all the packing, unpacking and setting up you've been doing ever since you decided to change your postal address.

It begins to feel like you are finally home. This is my home. After all, home is where the heart is. And my heart is divided between my love for family and food.

Food. The very thought of how much there is to explore in this new city for the three of us makes me giddy with excitement. Each weekend looks promising. You know how it is when you have been living in a city forever (Read: eight years) and you've already had a taste of a LOT of places and figured out your favorites; the comfort of going to the same place because sometimes that’s all you want to do. That started happening to me. It is nice to know where you’d like to have your cup of coffee and where you’d like to dig into that creamy risotto or that prawn curry that sets your tongue on fire.

And this move to Dubai has taken that all away from me. In a good way. I am clueless. And that’s the part that I love about our move the most.A whole new world. For DH and my little chefling.

As soon as we landed here we got a Taste of Dubai (pun intended).And just last week I had the lovely opportunity of attending the Galeries Lafayette Gourmet Festival that was on from the 8^th to the 12^th of May 2013.

Much as I like going to the hidden gems in the city (Thanks Ishita for your post on Bu Qtair; we loved it) I also like going to food festivals which give me an opportunity to observe and learn and taste and meet all under the same roof. N times multiplied.

A lot of readers of Orange Kitchens are not from Dubai and so let me first introduce Galeries Lafayette to all of you. Established in 2009, the high end Parisian department store aims to bring the French spirit of fashion, beauty, food and home to Dubai. The interiors are gorgeous and it is massive! You may want to read all about the store here. I obviously am more partial to their gourmet section. Fresh and diverse produce, nine kitchens, interesting products sourced from all over the world and an inspiring Gourmet Culinary Director behind it all.

Chef Russell Impiazzi. I met him a day before the festival started and he was kind enough to give me what he called was his “five dollar” tour:). He is a man who is passionate about his work and who wants more and more people to experience fresh and quality produce and lend their taste buds to simple, traditional and delectable food. And thus was born the very idea of this first gourmet festival at Lafayette.

Bringing the producer to the store floor and connecting them with the audience. Five days of sampling exceptional produce, interacting with the people behind each of the products and of course learning and educating one by attending master classes. That for me was the festival in a nutshell.

Saying hello to fellow Dubai food bloggers whose work I have admired was the icing on the cake for me. 

I also got to taste the liquid pot of gold, Balqees raw yemeni honey…thick and amber and listen to Raith Hamed founder Balqees narrating interesting tales. So what is raw honey? Unlike the commercial honey the raw  honey comes straight from the farms and isn't pasteurized or processed which means that the nutrients and antioxidants in the honey are all intact.

We also taste ChoCo’a silky and luscious Belgian truffles.Tempered chocolate rolled with hands and coated with cocoa.

We sampled Unifrutti’s organic produce and I find myself liking their mantra of think green, eat green and be green. The red pepper from Netherland was a beauty.

And then I gave my taste buds the chance to experience heritage angus beef. Succulent served with a mild black pepper sauce and a divine mushroom sauce.Its grass fed.

What clearly stood out for me were the three that follow.

The truly exotic and fresh produce from Rungis...purple potato salad, smoked garlic smeared on bread, glazed asparagus, roasted beetroots, multi-hued roasted carrots, watermelon radish, fresh bay leaves, heirloom tomatoes and more all explained by Tony Colley himself and how the chef at the station made the vegetables shine.

The exceptional almost velvety hand cut smoked salmon by Al Fumo and very endearing Bahir Keldany who had the enthusiasm of a child and the wisdom of his many years of experience behind him. The fish that he sources is from the very best of the Northern Atlantic waters and yes he refuses to share his secret spice mix:)

And of course my master class on cheese where I ended up stuffing myself (Read: Educating) with at least 30 varieties of cheese. The section has over 240 varieties from cow, goat and sheep milk mostly from France, Italy, Spain and England. Over the one hour session Manjeet my tutor for my culinary lesson took me through the origins, the similarities, the differences of over 30 of these. Sharp, pungent, sweet, hard, semi hard, soft..we have it all. Chartreux, Perail, Morbier, Ossau Iraty,Valençay, Brebirousse, Coulommier, L'occitane, Le Roule, Cantal, Fourme d'ambert, Taleggio, Mahón, Oveja, San Simón, Manchego and more. You can see that I take my classes very seriously!

Big thanks to Chef Russell for taking out the time to meet me. Thanks to Cynthia for the invitation. And to the entire team at Lafayette for putting it all together. Another round of thanks for Soul Communications for their hospitality.

Disclaimer: All views expressed here are my own and I wasn’t asked to write any of it by either Lafayette or Soul Communications. I had such a great time there that I just had to share with all of you here. Hope you enjoyed reading it.

Image: Personal Album. 
While you enjoy reading this post with visuals.Please do not use them without asking. They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.