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Now more than ever, it’s important to get the best bang for your buck. And there’s no question about it — when it comes to value, not every U.S. city is created equally.
Why chase a great salary if your rent swallows most of it, unemployment is skyrocketing and you spend two hours a day just to get to and from work?
via Top 25 Cities for Culinary Jobs – Chef’s Blade.
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What I Learned From the Food Channel About Developing a Niche
Anita Campbell (Small Business Trends)
Oct 20, 2009 -
The Food Network is masterful at defining the “niche.” If you do not watch the Food Channel on cable TV, you might be tempted to think, ‘Cooking is cooking – how boring to have cooking shows 24/7. Every show must be the same.’
Ah, but you’d be wrong.
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Consumer attitudes about healthful options at quick-service and fast-casual restaurant chains are convoluted at best, making it difficult to know what to offer and how to market it. Most operators agree that change is prudent, as legislation that has touched calorie content and trans fats may move toward sodium.
via Healthy Menus: Just Don’t Call Them Healthy – 9/1/2009 – Chain Leader.
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Chain Leader blogger and restaurant-chain marketing veteran Karen Brennan outlines the Top 10 things she has learned so far. For the full report, check out Brennan’s blog.
10. Customers own the brand. A brand is a set of expectations, and if your guests don’t believe your messaging, it may as well not be true.
via Top 10 Lessons in Restaurant Marketing – 8/31/2009 10:18:00 AM – Chain Leader.
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It happens in nearly every chef-driven restaurant: Some must-try new product purchased with the best intentions finds its way to the back of the shelf where it sits, unused, for months.
via Restaurant Pantries Inspire Budget-Friendly Dishes – 10/1/2009 – Restaurants and Institutions.
Operators looking to amp up their special-events offerings are going beyond tried-and-true wine- and beer-pairing dinners to give guests something new to buzz about: coffee-themed meals.
via Restaurant Special Events: Coffee Course – 10/1/2009 – Restaurants and Institutions.
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Diwali is all about Sweets isn’t it? I thought so too. But snacks and spicy eats are also an important accompaniment along with those Mithais.
photo credit: vandan desai
Except Om Pudi (which is a South India variety of Bhujia Sev), 2 of the other recipes are easier to make. Try them out and let me know how they turned out.
Three Snack Recipes are featured here:
1. How to make Om Pudi 2. Masala Papad 3. A different snack in Pepper Chips
Ingredients:
Method:
Ingredients:
Method:
Ingredients:
Method:
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If you want to know how to make delicious Deepavali sweets and Halvas, check them out here:
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Diwali is here, Yay! More than the crackers, it’s time for a fun get-together with family and friends and lots of Sweets, of course. Starting with Ganesha Chaturthi and Dasara, Diwali ends the Hindu festival season in a grand scale and then sets the atmosphere later for Christmas and New year.
Deepavali (festival of lights) is when the whole of India and Indian communities abroad, is decked with bright lights, mad-shopping and colors everywhere. Ok, coming to the food part; Deepavali is also the time to gorge on sweets and tons of them!
Here is a collection of 5 types of Halwa (Halva) Recipes. These have been adapted from a Tamil magazine and collated by my sister Harini.
Find links to other Halva and Sweet Recipes for this festival at the end of this article.
Ingredients
How to make
1. Soak the almonds in water overnight and blanch it.
2. (Blanching is soaking and removing the peels of the almond.
3. Remove the outer skin and grind into smooth paste using milk for grinding.
4. Mix little water to sugar and heat it in a heavy bottomed kadai or oan or vessel till it is dissolved and once when one string consistency is reached.
5. Add badam or almond paste and cook till it becomes thick.
6. When the halwa sticks to bottom, Add ghee little by little and cook till halwa consistency is reached.
How to make
1. Heat a heavy bottomed pan and boil milk till it reduces to three fourth of its consistency.
2. Add sugar, and lemon salt and cook for another few minutes.
3. Fry cashewnuts in ghee and add to the halwa.
4. Add little more ghee if necessary.
5. When halwa consistency is reached , remove from fire.
Ingredients
Method
1. Soak the dates in hot water, for about 1 hour and grind it along with milk.
2. Heat a heavy bottomed pan, Add Sugar with little water
3. When it reaches one string consistency, add the grinded date paste, cashews, almonds, and saffron.
4. Keep stirring till it becomes little thick.
5. When the halwa sticks to bottom, Add ghee little by little and cook till halwa consistency is reached. 6. Decorate with cashews or almonds.
How to make
1. Heat a heavy bottomed pan, Add half cup ghee and wheat flour.
2. Fry till the raw smell goes.
3. Then add milk to it and keep stirring continuously until it becomes thick.
4. Then add sugar, remaining ghee and keep stirring till it reaches halwa consistency.
5. Then add cashews and almonds and remove from fire.
Ingredients
How to make
1. Heat a pan, Add sugar with little water( 1 cup ). Stir until dissolved.
2. Then now, add all 3 types of milk to it and keep stirring till it reaches halwa consistency
3. Then add cardamom powder, chopped cashews and almonds and remove from fire.
4. When adding the milk in the sugar syrup, It will stick but it melts quickly if you keep stirring.
Chef Brad's Blog Post, Dates Halwa, Indian Desserts & Sweets, Milk Halva, Quick Halva, Recipe Blog, badam halwa, diwali recipes, diwali sweets, halva, halwa, indian festival recipes, indian sweet recipes | No Comments »
Update, October 2009: This year’s Diwali is around the corner and I have posted sweet recipes for Deepavali from previous years.
Wish you a very happy Deepavali!
Diwali has just started in India and it’s raining crackers and lights all over the sky. It’s time again to strengthen relationships and create new bonds of friendship.
What better way than to share sweets among loved ones? Here are a few sweets you can prepare today and enjoy over this festive weekend..
Recipes featured here are Cashew Burfi, Rava Laddoo, Shankarpare and Suji Halwa. You can also look for more sweet recipe links at the end of this post.
Ingredients:
Method:
Soak the cashewnuts in water for three hours. Then, drain the water and grind the nuts to a fine powder. In a pan, mix sugar and cashewnuts and roast on low heat, stirring continuously.
Put in the saffron color in it and coninue stirring for a while. Roast till done. On the rolling board, place a butter paper and pour the mixture on it.
Now place another butter paper sandwiching the mixture between the two papers. Roll this using a rolling pin. Remove the butter paper from top and place the silver foil (edible), and cut it into triangular burfi pieces.
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Ingredients:
Method:
Heat ghee in a kadai and fry kishmish and cashewnuts to a golden colour. Keep this aside. Add 1 more tablesoon of ghee and fry the powdered rava until it turns light gold in colour.
Heat 1 cup of sugar, adding 1/2 cup of water in the same kadai. Bring to one string conistency. Add powdered rava, cashew bits, kishmish and powdered caradamom. Mix it well and quickly.
Remove from the fire immediately. Use the rava sugar mixture, make small balls and dip it into the chilled milk and make small laddus. (chutney dal can also be substituted for rava).
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Ingredients:
Method:
Mix the ingredients with a little water and knead it into a soft dough. Divide the dough into equal parts and roll out into thick chapathis, Cut with a cookie cutter or a knife into small diamond shapes (about 2 inches on each side).
Lift the cut diamond pieces with a spatula and keep it aside in a dry cloth for about an hour. Deep fry in hot ghee or oil over a slow flame till it becomes light golden brown. Drain well and keep it aside till it cools. Store it in clean and dry containers.
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Ingredients:
Method:
In a skillet, heat ghee. Mix Cardamom and heat it for few seconds in a medium heat. Pour Semolina into the cardamon-ghee mixture and stir-fry for few minutes.
Add sugar and half of both cashew and raisin and continue to heat for few more minutes in low-medium heat. Add milk and water; stir well and heat until you are sure of the desired consistency.
Now, garnish with remaining cashew nuts and raisin. Serve hot or cold, as you desired.
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Menu Ideas: One-Dish MealsIngredient-packed rice bowls offer customers a complete, convenient meal, deep flavor profiles and value all in one hearty, tasty package.
via Menu Ideas: One-Dish Meals – 10/1/2009 – Restaurants and Institutions.
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