Friday, February 22, 2013

Bloggers Table: Cypus Food festival, Eros Hotel (Hilton), New Delhi

Middle-Eastern food always fascinates me. In fact as I write this post, I have just finished cooking a Lebanese spread for some friends. So when The Blogger’s Table was invited to the Cypriot festival at Eros Hotel managed by Hilton, Nehru Place, New Delhi, I was pretty excited. This was more so because I had missed the Table’s events in the last few months- and I was looking forward to meeting everyone.
It was a perfect winter evening, not too cold; just right to be outside in the garden. The Spread was extensive, with a very elaborate menu. Unlike Traditional Indian hosting style, the focus was not on the appetizers but instead on the Main Course spread, which comprised of a wide range of salads, and anti-pastis. After a brief introduction on the festival itself and the chefs, Cocktails were served with a variety of marinated olives, crackers and a creamy yogurt dip. Other appetizers were pickled calamari, filled chicken breast roulade with poppy seed bread and tomato/feta mousse on multigrain bread. The flavors were nice, but the bread tasted like it had been laid out for hours.
Coming back to the Main course, Personally, for me, this was the best part of the evening. The salads were unique, only made with ingredients that we all use often. I loved haloumi cheese salad, even the one with white beans, the rocket and tomato salad- how simply they had removed the mozzarella, and added sesame seeds instead. 
The grills attracted a lot of attention too- people were almost queuing up. My experience was mixed- the meats could have been cooked a bit more, but maybe that’s just because there were so many people. Other traditional dishes that were a part of the menu Pork Afelia (Pork braised in red wine with crushed coriander seeds), Beef and Tavvas (Oven cooked beef and potato with cumin, onion, and tomatoes). The Keftedes (meat balls of Lamb and Chicken) were really, really good- only that they were deep fried! Freshly made, I could have gone back for a second helping of these. I did pass the pickled octopus though.
I didn’t try much of the desserts, but the ones made out of phyllo were nice. The festival offers a great variety of food, for those interested in a lavish spread. If you are a foodie and someone interested in a wider experience of Turkish food, the festival offers a great variety.

Others at the Table were :


Thursday, February 14, 2013

Chocolate and Strawberry Cake


Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt and dance like no one is watching.
- Randall G Leighton

No- this blog has not died yet. At least, not as of now. And Yes, I Know it’s been a while since I posted.
A lot happened since the last cake that I baked, and it’s almost after a month and a half that I baked something today. And while going through the camera, I found this. I realized that I must post this wonderful cake that I had baked early on for a New Year celebration, simply because it looks so pretty.  Also, it being Valentine’s, which I’m not really much of a believer in- This cake is perfect for those who would want to indulge in the reds and strawberries and the chocolate.  I adapted the Sponge Recipe from Passionate AboutBaking- one of my favourite blogs, and did the icing myself from a unique trial and test that I have done over the years. A must try, very simple to bake, this cake disappears sooner than one would imagine- the cousins for whom it was made, finished it within 24 hours. Serve it with some whipped cream or a scoop of Vanilla or simply have a slice by itself.
Most often, despite the troubles, it is only the simple things that add joy to our life.