fascinatingfoodworld

One more year comes to an end! This year has been very special. I took wedding vows with an amazing guy, had a beautiful holiday in New Zealand, gave my readers interesting recipes. It has rather passed fast. It's time now to ring in new year with friends and family. While some like to party at a plush hotel, I enjoy doing a house party with friends.  Back in Bhilwara, Minal di's family would invite me over for new years. We would chit chat, laugh, gather around bonfire and dance till wee hours of morning. Isn't that the idea? I mean to just enjoy and have a good time with company of good food. Be it any celebration or a party, people gather around food as soon as it arrives. Food brings everyone together :) In case you are wondering which appetizers to make for new year party, I have put together 3 of my favourite crostinis/burschetta to accompany alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and get the party going. Brushcetta/crostini is an Italian appetizer which comes...

BASIL PESTO Pesto is a classic Italian sauce which traditionally consists of fresh basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, salt, olive oil and parmigiano reggiano cheese. It adds big burst of flavor to dishes. It's fragrant, vibrant and green too! Remember green is always good for you and so is pesto if eaten in moderation. Earlier when I was making pesto, I was blitzing everything together which was giving my pesto a dull green color. I have improvised the method and now I can proudly say that I have perfected the recipe of pesto. Now it is yummier, creamier and I for one have a big grin on my face whenever I make it :D There is so much you can do with pesto :- Make sandwiches. Use it as a dressing to make salads. Dish up beautiful risottos using pesto. Meat lovers can spread pesto over their meat and relish. Use it as a pizza sauce. Mix pesto in mayonnaise or sour cream for a delicious dip. Who doesn't like pesto pasta! Flavour soups with pesto. Whe...

Bro-in-law's 5 sauce Pizza Apologies for being M.I.A. for so long. Parents had come down for a week and before that this and that happened. Regardless, I am back! Today I am going to share recipe of a pizza which was a revelation to me. This is my bro-in-law's recipe and I almost made a face when I heard about the sauces that go in this pizza. As apprehensive as I was, I jumped with excitement after tucking into it. It is a cracker pizza which combines amazing flavours. Being a fan of Italian food, I love thin crust pizza. Pizza as we all know is a flat bread with toppings on it. Who doesn't love a classic margherita! Simple marinara sauce+ basil+ mozzarella is a match made in heaven. INGREDIENTS Peanut butter - 1 tsp Mustard sauce - 1 tsp Mint mayonnaise - 1tsp Garlic mayonnaise- 1 tsp Pizza sauce - 1tsp Tobasco( optional) Chopped vegetables ( sweetcorn, tomato, onion, bell-peppers, baby-corn, olives) Mixed herbs, chilli flakes ...

Gnocchi in Marinara Sauce If you are a lover of Italian flavours like me, then you must be familiar with what gnocchi is. Gnocchi is soft Italian dumplings or pasta which is made with soft dough of boiled potatoes, flour and seasoning. Dough is rolled and shaped into small ovals. Gnocchi is then poached in boiling water and added in desired sauce. Sauce can be as simple as brown butter with sage, pesto, marinara and alfredo. Italian food is all about simple flavours. Basil, tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic are one of the staples of Italian pantry. Like any other recipe, gnocchi has many variations. Some recipes call for semolina, eggs, bread-crumbs too. It really depends on how you want to make it. You can experiment and even add spinach, pumpkin, ricotta, mascarpone. This recipe which I have used is eggless and gnocchi comes out beautiful. Marinara sauce is a classic Italian sauce. Marinara is just so wonderful. It is made usi...