by Currylicious | Apr 11, 2013 | BLOG
My daughter goes to art classes in a small warm cozy art studio in Maplewood, NJ. The owner is an extremely talented, warm and nice. She was organizing an Art Show at her studio and wanted me to cater some short eats to go with wine for all the people who were invited. I decided to make Polenta but wanted to make it mess free for people to pick and eat. The first thing that came to my mind was the mini cupcake baking pan. I have baked so many cupcakes and done bake sales for my daughter’s school. I decided to use the cupcake bake pan to mold the polenta. I always try and use Bob’s Corn Grits or Polenta from the supermarket simply because its convenient and easy to prepare.
The instructions usually tell you to cook the corn grits with water but I do it differently.
Currylicious Tip: I whisk half heavy cream and half whole milk in a pot until it comes to a boil. Then, I add corn grits and whisk well to avoid lumps. By the way dont 
ask me why I whisk the cream/milk and bring it to a boil:))) lol I just feel that it tastes absolutely delicious when I make it this way!
Once the polenta is creamy and hot, I spooned it into the mini cupcake baking pans and leave it in the refrigerator to set for about 1/2 hour. Once you take them out of the refrigerator, you can scoop out the polenta cupcakes easily. I also made a baked 
eggplant dish which i used to top off the polenta cupcakes.
I also made a Tuscan ChickPea spread with garlic and tomatoes and it was served on toasted bread.
I took all the food to the studio as I was also invited to the Art Show. It was so much fun meeting several people and to see them taste my food and get their feedback and appreciation.
With much love …….
by Currylicious | Feb 4, 2013 | BLOG
I know that everyone was excited about the Superbowl yesterday and today is of course the discussion day about last evening ‘s game!
Well, I had an interesting time yesterday evening not watching the Superbowl but cooking for a group of wonderful people who got together to watch the game.
Debbie had called me a few days back and left me a message saying it was last minute and that she was planning on having me cook some delicious appetizers for game night. She wanted to see if I was available to cook for a bunch of her friends who were gathering at her place to watch the Superbowl yesterday evening. When I called Debbie, I was so thrilled to know that she and her girl friends were going on a trip to India and so she wanted me to make some Indian Appetizers so they can enjoy them while watching the game. So we came up with a Menu Plan and I promised to get her place at 5:30 pm with all the ingredients and grocery.
I shopped all morning yesterday, getting prepared for the evening’s cook off. I was very excited and reached Debbie’s place at 5:30pm. Words simply cannot describe how nice she and her husband are, and the beautiful house they have. They were such wonderful hosts and made me feel so welcome and at home. The kitchen was spectacular and Debbie was so kind to get me whatever I needed- like pots and pans and bowls and spoons. One by one, the guests started arriving. I started organizing and prepping. There were about 14 people altogether and a bunch of 7 beautiful girls who hung out with me in the kitchen chatting and asking me about India and the food.
The menu that we planned was:
Chickpea Salad with grated coconut, cumin and cilantro
Cocktail Papads with Onion tomato cilantro and chat masala
Crostini topped with baked eggplant
Bite sized Quesadillas with an Indian twist
I must say that as I put forth every single dish- everyone was so appreciative and gave me feedback on each dish. When you work with such a group of people, who tell you exactly what they liked about the dish and want to know about what goes in their food, there is nothing more rewarding than that.
My guess is they liked the Crostini with the baked eggplant the most:) I leave it to them to comment:) if I am right.
The evening was perfect and I enjoyed cooking for such a warm, welcoming beautiful group of people. I look forward to going back there like Debbie mentioned to cook some dinner parties for her in future.
I wish them a WONDERFUL, SAFE, ENJOYABLE TRIP TO INDIA!
With much love….
