Garlic bread anybody?

More often than not I crave for Italian food… cheesy garlicky pastas, nachos with salsa, olives, sun dried tomatoes, thin crust pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven, the Tiramisu … ohhh all this makes me drool…and when I do  get these cravings there is no way to resist them. To fulfill these cravings I bully people into taking me to Little Italy, Deli 9 or the other famous local chains which I consider to be places that serve up decent Italian khana. I have observed that whenever I dine at these places I end up feeling guilty of over-stuffing myself with garlic bread and end up eating very little of the main course. I get so carried away eating the garlic bread that I keep asking the waiter for more and keep refilling the jar with salsa many a time ... so over time I have learnt that making garlic bread at home is so dead easy. I use any kind of bread and butter+garlic+cheese. How can anything with garlic and butter ever go wrong?

P.S:-This post is dedicated to Sandeep Anna who introduced me to Italian khana...I love you and love the fact that you never let me pay for all the innumerable trials at Italian joints :)

Garlic Bread
WHAT YOU NEED

•  1 loaf of bread or sub rolls( i use whatever is handy)
•  1/2 cup Amul butter
•  6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
•  3 tbsp of parmesan(again i use whever is availble)
•  Seasoning oregano,parsley(optional)

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

• Slice the bread
• In a small bowl heat the butter until slightly warm add chopped garlic
• Pour this mixture onto the bread using a spoon
• Top it with cheese and herbs(optional)
• Bake  in a preheated oven at 200°C for 6 to 10 mins until the cheese melts or slightly golden brown

All in a days work!

This brownie is a result of N’s and my day out in the kitchen.The day out in the kitchen was'nt the original plan,we actually met to finish an assignment. while we were almost doing it,N spotted a cook book under the rubble of other books. Now N is the kind who with mere mention of chocolate salivates was oohing aahing over the pics of dark chocolate oozing from the pies.I am not much of a chocolate lover! yes you 5 ppl in the world who read my blog you heard it right..i never get chocolate cravings when pmsing, never get weak kneed at the sight of chocolate,never gobble down a chocolate bar to give myself comfort,never squabble for chocolate pastry like N & L do.I am just happy if given a sweet white chocolate.The brown stuff doesnt impress me much..But this indifference doesnt keep me away from adding chocolate goodness in my bakes just for the sheer beauty of the colour and richness and to keep ppl like N & L happy & loyal..so we decided we break for an hour and bake ourselves brownies to keep us gng for the day..This recipe comes from one of my first cook books i bought at a book sale sponsored by v "fresh baked" by Louise Pickford.The brownies are very rich and chocolatey with a slightly unusual melt-in-your-mouth texture that makes them seem almost like cake.This recipe also calls for some maple syrup that gave the brownies a little moisture.The brownies were not too fudgey nor cakey but somewhere in between.Exactly the way i like them and what a relief that i didnt have to scrape the bits of it stuck in the pan it came out without much hassle..
In the end we had a pending assigmnt and two brownie fans!

P.S- I am still learning at the lens and I use my phone cam to click food pics,hence the haze please bear with me till i gift myself a fancy new cam !!

Double Chocolate Brownies
Adapted from "Fresh baked" by Louise Pickford

What you need
• 275 gms Dark chocolate
• 250 gms Unsalted butter
• 3 Eggs
• 175 gms Caster sugar
• 50 ml Maple syrup
• 100 gms Self-raising flour
• pinch of Salt
• 100 gms Walnuts toasted
What you need to do
• Melt the dark chocolate, Butter in a pan over a pot of simmering water
• Using electric beaters, whisk eggs, sugar, maple syrup till pale
• Stir in the choc + butter mixture and the flour, salt & walnuts
• oil and line 20x20 baking tin, spoon the mixture into the tin
• Bake in a preheated oven 190c for 30 to 40 mins until top sets but the cake still feels soft underneath