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This is one of the best dished I have had in a long time. I know what you are thinking- she is not very modest. I am my worst critic but I do know when something comes out really delicious and this is definitely one of those dishes.

I wanted to make two things I had never tried before. Short ribs and gremolata. I combined both in one dish. A gremolata is used as a condiment for stews, soups, etc and mostly consists of citrus zest and some herbs. In this case I used a lemon and orange zest. I also used a mixture of parsley, rosemary, thyme and garlic. This super aromatic mix wakes up any dish and makes it irresistible.

I started by marinated the short ribs with salt, olive oil, rosemary and thyme overnight. I took it out an hour before cooking the next day and started with browning the ribs. I added onion, garlic, celery and carrots. I also added tomato paste, chicken broth and red wine. It roasted in the oven a couple of hours and resulted in a tender, fall off the bone dish. Once I added the gremolata on top- the smell and flavor was amazing.

I would highly recommend this dish for the holidays. I served it with polenta and it was an amazing dinner. Oh, and don’t forget a copious amount of red wine…
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As I was looking at the different dishes I have posted for Thanksgiving, I realized I was missing a soup. I usually don’t serve a soup for the big feast but a lot of people do – I thought I should come up with one that will echo the fall, holiday flavors.

Of course butternut squash, pumpkin and sweet potatoes came to mind. I initially toyed with a chilled soup idea – which would be a great when you are expecting an army of people and making tons of other things. It would also be convenient if you are taking it to someone’s home- but then I felt, cold weather calls for a warm soup.

I am especially proud of this concoction. It has couple of my favorite ingredients- chipotle and smoked paprika. I wanted to make a soup with Latin flavors and so of course I thought of the smoked jalapenos that complement the sweet potatoes beautifully. To make it more holiday like, I wanted to add a cranberry compote on top. I simply made it with orange juice, paprika and a bit of brown sugar. I finished it with cilantro- yum!

The soup is healthy with just a quarter cup of half and half. You can even eliminate that and substitute more broth. Speaking of broth, my vegetarian friends can use vegetable stock instead of chicken and keep it completely vegetarian.

Serve this soup to your guests… they may never leave your house.
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This is a delicious dish for a chilly weeknight or even weekend evening. When I hear ragu- I think of red wine. In fact I used the same red wine for cooking as I did for drinking. That is one of the secrets to a successful dish. If you use a subpar wine for cooking, it will intensify in the dish and taste really bad- but if you use a reasonably good quality wine- it results in a delicious dish. By good quality I don’t mean a super expensive wine. It is amazing what $10 to $15 can get you.

Anyway, this is kind of like a coq au vin but a lot easier. Also it is served on top of creamy, herb polenta. My daughter is not a big fan but my husband and I love it. I made it with chicken broth and milk and added fresh sprigs of rosemary and thyme. The combination of the herbs and Gruyere made the polenta super flavorful and creamy.

Overall the dish was fabulous…
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With fall upon us, this is a perfect dish to make on a Sunday evening or even for entertaining.

I realized after watching  Julie Julia,  I didn’t have Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. How could I call myself a cook and not have this very important book.

I ordered it online and started reading it as soon as I received it. I came across the coq au vin in the book and wanted to replicate it immediately.

The only problem was that it was quite complicated and time consuming. It took me a while but I managed to shorten and simplify the recipe.

The result was delicious and best of all, my daughter loved it- especially because she loves mushrooms and chicken. Best of all I served the chicken on top toasted sliced baguettes rubbed with fresh garlic.

Try my version of coq au vin- you will love it…
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I have never made gumbo before. I decided to give it a try- why not? All I need is a good recipe… so I decided to do some research and found a few recipes which I combined and tweaked and came up with my version of gumbo.

As an Indian- I am very familiar with okra- which is a key ingredient in gumbo. I decided to use fresh okra instead of frozen. I prefer the fresh variety especially if I can find it. I usually buy it at the Indian grocery stores. The frozen variety is perfectly acceptable in case one can’t find the fresh.

This dish does have quite a few ingredients- so may be this is more suitable for the weekend. I served it with rice and a nice white wine. The best part of the dish is that it is a one pot meal- I love cooking them.

Try this recipe and let me know what you think…
Click here for the recipe… »