Is Cooking an Art?

Is Cooking an Art? Can Cooks be termed Artists? I have often heard both arguments that "Cooking is an Art" or "Cooking is a Science". Well for be it is both. I could not have found a better way of saying this but Alton Brown put it so beautifully. This is exactly how I feel.

"No matter how much creativity goes into it, cooking is an art or perhaps I should say a craft. It abides by absolute rules of physics and chemistry and that means unless you understand the science you can't reach the art. Cooking is like engineering and there is great beauty in it".

My two passions in life have been cooking and painting and they do have certain similarities like the creative aspects. But cooking does involve a lot more of the scientific aspects. The tastes, smells, textures and working with endless herbs and spices does require the knowledge of their properties and how they compliment each other. I heard this often from my mom that knowing the egg in details helps you scramble it better :) and that has stuck with me ever since. I like to understand the flavors, textures, smells and properties of each element before I can put them together. This cannot be accomplished overnight, it has taken me years of trial and error to be able to pull out stuff at random from my refrigerator and open up my spice cabinets and create a recipe instantly. It is second nature now, I don't even think about it.

Last night was a classic example of such a creation. I had put zero thought into what we would be eating for dinner and we had had an overdose of Indian, non-vegetarian food over the weekend so at about 5'O clock all I wanted was a simple and light dish full of vegetables. I opened up my fridge and got out a medeley of vegetables, pasta and random seasonings and spices to make "Mixed Vegetable Pasta with Pesto" I had the dinner ready in less than 30 minutes.

3 Step Pasta:

1. Chop all your vegetables, I used Onions, Zucchini, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Green beans, Carrots and Corn. Heat some olive oil and saute them on high heat so they get a little brown on the edges.
2. While the veggies are cooking, make the pasta according to package directions. I used the tri-colored spirals readily avalable at any grocery store. Drain and set aside.
3. For the pesto since I did not have fresh spices i made my own dried spice blend with Basil, Parsely, Salt, cornstarch, garlic powder and parmesan cheese. Added these to some marsala wine to make a paste. When ready to eat I tossed the veggies, pasta and pesto and heated it up a little.

For me, cooking is definately an Art that involves a whole lot of science to accomplish the end result; a delicious meal that gets all the oohs and aahs. Without the creativity the meals can be really blah and boring.

What do you think?

Flourless Mandarin Cake and Mascarpone

Tis the season for Oranges...

I got such rave reviews with the last orange cake so I am making this new invention with Mandarins this time. Again you can use any oranges that you have available. I just like to experiment with new flavors.

If you have been following my blog you already know about my inspiration to cook comes from my exceptional mom and her love for food. This is my way to carry on her legacy with my writing and recipes.

This cake reminds me of the winter days when we used to sit out in the sun as a family and enjoy the ripe juicy and oranges, brings back so many precious family moments. During the winter months, Oranges were abundant and my mom insisted on making some home-made marmalade which I never cared for at the time. It was too pungent and strong for me but now I miss having my mom live close by and make it for me. Anyhow, this is my way to recreate some of those amazing aromas wafting from her kitchen and I am using the same technique that she used to cook the oranges for the marmalade.

To macerate, means to soak and soften in liquid and in this recipe we are cooking whole mandarins in simmering water to soften and plump them to later add to the cake batter. This eliminates some of the bitterness from the orange peels but they still have that bitterness from the oil i the peels. This is definitely an adult tasting dessert and very marmalady (that's not even a word)

The velvety richness from the almond paste and the intensity from the Mandarins makes it incredibly delicious.

RECIPE: Flourless Mandarin Cake and Mascarpone

Ingredients

For Mandarins:
4-5  Mandarins
1-2 Sticks Cinnamon

For Almond Paste:
2 Cups Almonds, blanched
2 Cups Confectioners Sugar
2 Egg whites
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp Cream or milk

For Cake:
6 Eggs
2 1/3 Cup Almond Paste
1 tsp Baking powder

For Garnish:
Mascarpone
Cointreau or orange liqueur (optional)
Orange, peeled and cut into thin circular slices.

Method:

1. For Mandarins: Put mandarins in a pot of cold water with the cinnamon sticks and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 2 hours and let cool. Drain water and cut mandarins into fine dice with pith and peel and all :)
2. For Almond Paste: Put 2 Cups blanched almonds in a food processor and process until smooth. Add 2 Cups confectioners sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 egg whites and 2 Tbsp cream or milk and process it into a very smooth paste.
3. For Cake: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease any medium size pan or bowl that is deeper than a cake pan. You can use a bundt pan too. In a bowl beat all 6 eggs. Add almond paste, 1 tsp baking powder and the chopped mandarins. Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour till the skewer test is clean. Cover cake at the 45 minute mark to prevent browning the top.
4. For Garnish: Garnish the cake with finely sliced mandarin rounds and a drizzle of Cointreau on top. Slice it and serve on to plates with a dollop of Mascarpone.

Step-by-step process,

For Mandarins: Put mandarins in a pot of cold water with the cinnamon sticks and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 2 hours and let cool. Drain water and cut mandarins into fine dice with pith and peel and all :)

For Almond Paste: Put 2 Cups blanched almonds in a food processor and process until smooth. Add 2 Cups confectioners sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 egg whites and 2 Tbsp cream or milk and process it into a very smooth paste.

For Cake: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease any medium size pan or bowl that is deeper than a cake pan. You can use a bundt pan too. In a bowl beat all 6 eggs. Add almond paste, 1 tsp baking powder and the chopped mandarins. Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour till the skewer test is clean. Cover cake at the 45 minute mark to prevent browning the top.

For Garnish: Garnish the cake with finely sliced mandarin rounds and a drizzle of Cointreau on top. Slice it and serve on to plates with a dollop of Mascarpone.

This turned out AMAZING!! Enjoy making it and don't forget to leave some feedback. Thanks.

10-minute Tuna Veggie Toss

Hope you are enjoying making these recipes. I have had a lot of fun creating them and for today's dish we have a low-carb, low-fat but rich in protein and nutients recipe. The kids ate Indian stuffed naans for dinner last night and I was in no mood for a carb-rich dinner. So once I had the kids in bed for the night I rummaged  through my fridge to look for what I could make for my own meal. I had been craving meat and veggies after all the vegetarian food I had been eating lately :). I also wanted to keep it low-carb since it was late in the day and I absolutely did NOT want another Salad...

Anyhow, I got Tuna steak from my freezer and found kale and green beans that were almost wilting so they needed to be cooked soon. Let me tell you that some of my best creations have been through these random cravings. Lets get this cooking. I was not planning to document this but I got a few pictures so you will get the picture of what I am talking about.

RECIPE: 10-minute Tuna Veggie Toss
Ingredients
Olive Oil Spray
4-5 Oz Tuna Steak, fresh or frozen cut into cubes chunks
1/2 Onion, chopped into big
1 Cup Kale, chopped
1 Cup Green beans, chopeed into 2" long segments
5-7 Garlic cloves, peeled 
1/4 Cup Marsala wine
Salt to taste
Red peper flakes (optional)
2 tsp Garam Masala, Roasted and ground (how I like it, from scratch)

Method

1. Spray the non stick pan with some Olive oil and throw in the whole garlic cloves. Keep it on hight heat and let them sizzle to a light brown. Add the Onion chunks and cook till caramalized, still on hight heat. Don't let it burn. This should take 3 minutes.
2. Add the marsala wine to get them all glazed and juicy. Reduce heat to medium and add the kale and greenbean. Saute for a couple of minutes till the kale wilts and the green beans are a little soft. I like to keep my veggies crunchy and bright colored. Overcooking not only loses the vibrant color but also depletes the flavor and nutrients.
3. Add the tuna and cook for a couple of minutes. Tuna does not take very long to cook. Overcooking will make it tough and chewy.
4.  Add salt, pepper flakes and garam masala. give it a good toss and there you have a perfect meal that is not a salad.

Onion and Garlic

Garam Masala, roasted and ground

This has been the best meal in a long time and totally hit the spot. Enjoy!!