Forget the gingerbread house. Your holiday dessert should be simple to prepare, so you can spend more time with your family (that is what Christmas is about, right?). Here’s a quick chocoalte mousse recipe from Nigella Lawson’s cookbook, Nigella Express: 130 Recipes for Good Food, Fast.

Nigella says that most mousses need to be made the day before, to allow the egg yolk to set. Here’s her “instant” alternative. She does away with eggs, which not only saves time but allows you to safely feed it to young children.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) soft butter
9 oz best-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup hot water from a recently boiled kettle
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Pour the marshmallows, butter, chocolate, and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2. Melt over gentle heat, stirring occassionally. Remove from heat and let cool.
3 Whip the cream with the vanilla until it’s got a thick consistency. Fold it into the cooled chocolate mixture.
4. Pour into individual dishes or cups and chill until ready to serve.

Watch Nigella’s regular TV show, Nigella Express on the BBC Channel for more recipes and tips.

This delicious recipe (said to be Oprah’s favourite) from the cookbook “Taste Pure and Simple“, Nischan interestingly uses fresh vanilla bean. Not something you would expect from a corn chowder but Michel Nischan explains quite endearingly why he thought of the unlikely combination:

“This recipe proves a belief of mine. When you cook with ingredients that sound good in your head, they will taste good, too. I feel this way about vanilla and corn, which may seem like a strange pair, but once you try this combination, you�ll like it.”

Sweet Corn and Vegetable Chowder

Serves 4

About 2-4 fresh ears corn, shucked
1 Yukon Gold Potato
� split vanilla bean, or � teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds fresh or frozen edamame, fava, or lima beans (about 1 cup shelled)
1 to 2 tablespoons water
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
� cup shredded spinach, sorrel, or arugula
1 tablespoon julienned lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat over to 450�F. Place 2 ears of corn directly on the over rack and roast, turning occasionally, until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. When cool, cut the roasted corn kernels off the cob. You should have about 1 � cups.

Meanwhile, cook the potato in salted boiling water until tender in the center when pierced, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and let cool to the touch, Slip off the skin and cut the potato into �-inch dice.

With a large, sharp knife, cut the kernels off the remaining ears of corn. Run the kernels through a vegetable juicer. You should have about 4 cups of juice. Combine the corn juice and the vanilla bean in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly so the liquid doesn�t curdle. The natural starch in the juice will thicken it to a sauce consistency. The degree of thickness will depend on the amount of starch in the corn. If the soup is too thick, thin it with a little water or lemon juice. Remove from the heat.

Fish out the vanilla bean and, with the tip of a small knife, scrape the seeds from the bean into the soup; discard the pod. If the soup appears a little broken, don�t worry. Blend the soup in a blender at medium speed for a silky-smooth consistency. Return the soup to the pot.

Put the roasted corn kernels, beans, and potato in a medium saut� pan or skillet with the water. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes until the vegetables are hot. Pour off the water and add the vegetables to the soup. Stir in the shredded spinach or other greens, the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Note: If the corn milk curdles during cooking, don�t worry. Beat the curdled milk with an electric mixer set on medium speed until it returns to its perfect smoothness before you add the rest of the vegetables.

To compliment your Halloween cocktails, here’s another recipe from Emeril that fits the bill for a spooky celebration – Torched Pumpkin served with a tasty Asian dipping sauce. Fiendishly good!

2 pounds yellow pumpkin, peeled and seeds removed, cut into 1/2-inch by 3-inch strips
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups dark beer
1 tablespoon Emeril’s Essence, plus more for dusting, recipe below
Vegetable oil, for frying
Salt
For the sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 to 2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

In a heavy, deep saucepan, heat the oil to 360 degrees F.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, beer, and Essence. Dip the pumpkin strips into the batter, letting the excess drip off. Fry in the oil until golden, turning to brown evenly, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and Essence.

For the sauce: In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, sesame oil, and green onions.

Serve hot with the sauce.

Essence (Emeril’s Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Technorati Tags: Halloween, pumpkin, pumpkin recipe, emeril

I shouldn’t really bag on a show (Ready Steady Cook), which actually has a lot of attributes to it. It has some pretty decent and creative recipes using affordable, simple ingredients, not to mention the time-saving and entertainment factors.

Also, come to think of it, its rather nice to have a show that in unabashedly entertaining in a game-show way, without the usual jazzy music and media-whore chef types you get on the Food Network these days.

So here, from Ready Steady Cook, is the simplest of recipes by chef Phil Vickery, quintessentially English and delicious for quick late night snacking:

Mushrooms On Toast

Preparation time less than 30 mins

Cooking time 10 to 30 mins

Ingredients
4 slices bread
2 tbsp olive oil
For the mushrooms
300g/10�oz mixed mushrooms, sliced
3 tbsp butter
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 tbsp parsley, chopped
Greek-style yoghurt and paprika, to serve

Method
1. Heat a grill pan. Brush the bread with oil and grill for 1-2 minutes per side.
2. For the mushrooms, heat the butter in a pan and add the mushrooms and garlic. Saut� for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the parsley at the end and serve on the toast with a dollop of Greek-style yoghurt and a sprinkling of paprika.

Technorati Tags: Ready Steady Cook, Mushrooms, Mushroom on Toast, UK cooking show, Recipe

Good vegetarian recipes aren’t that easy to come by, but this recipe by Ainsley Harriott combines fantastic flavours with ease and best of all, speed. I’m a fan of couscous and a good meatless recipes, so I highly recommend this dish, so aptly named.

Serve it on its own as a good vegetarian meal, or throw in some of Ainsley’s lamb cutlets, to please the meat eaters in your life. This recipe uses one of Ainsley’s products, the Premium Couscous, which offers superb flavour with versatility. If you can’t get it where you live, any good quality couscous will do fine.

Mixed Vegetable Couscous

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

* 15g (� oz) butter
* 150g (6oz) favourite mixed vegetables, chopped (eg peppers, courgettes, green beans, peas, carrots, sweetcorn)
* � a vegetable stock cube
* 175ml (1 small teacup boiling water)
* 1 x 125g sachet Ainsley Harriott Premium Cous Cous
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

* Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan then add the chopped vegetables, saut� for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

* Dissolve the � stock cube in the boiling water.

* Add Cous Cous to the vegetables then add vegetable stock. Bring to the boil; remove from heat, cover and leave to stand for 5 � 7 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed.

* Fluff with a fork; if required piping hot, re-heat over a low heat for 1-2 minutes, separating the grains with a fork.

* Season to taste before serving.

Technorati Tags: Ainsley Harriott, vegetarian recipe, couscous, meatless recipe

We mean that in a good way.

This is Rachael Ray’s recipe for spiced nuts, taken from Food Network which hosts her show. If you’re making this in bulk buy nuts from the market.

Ingredients

2 cups walnut halves
1 cup peeled hazelnuts
1 cup whole unsalted cashews
1 cup whole pecan halves
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon ground anise
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, eyeball it
1 cup smoked almonds (recommended: Diamond Smokehouse almonds)

What’s Next

Toast nuts in a pan. This usually takes 7 minutes but use your nose as your judge. Transfer to a plate when done. Then, melt butter in the pan, adding your spices. Pour back the nuts. You’re done!

Cooking is best practiced if it has been something that was experienced from the start especially during childhood. Such is the story of one of the glamorous personalities to grace TV cooking shows in the mold of Silvana Franco. Franco trained as a chef at High Peak College in Buxton and obtained a degree in Home Economy at South Bank University.

Silvana started out writing for BBC Worldwide in its Vegetarian Good Food Magazine. She made this her cup of tea until she was elevated to a senior writer. She soon graced the TV sets for such shows as Gourmet Express 2, Ready Steady to Cook and Two�s Saturday Kitchen. But despite her continuous rise to stardom, she never let go of her writing which include that of Can�t Cook, Won�t Cook, Ainsley�s Big Cook Out and Friends for Dinner.

She also runs a food media company called Fork, proof of her continued love and loyalty in the field of cooking.

Technorati Tags: cookbook, chefs, tv shows, vegetarian

With a dozen best-selling cookbooks tucked under his belt, Jeff Smith, is best known for hosting the popular American cooking show that began in Washington. The show was aired in PBS from 1988 to 1997.

Smith was a United Methodist who graduated at the University of Puget Sound in 1962 and Drew University in 1965. His first run at food ventures was the Chaplain�s Pantry where he held cooking classes to the public and stored deli and kitchen supplies as well.

Being in the celebrity status that he is in the world of cooking, Smith has had his share of controversies as well. Legal issues concerning sexual harassment in the 70�s were just some of the trials that Smith had to go through.

Known to be the food genius that he is, Smith has authored several books under his wing including The Frugal Gourmet (1984), The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine (1986), The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American (1987) and The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China, Greece, and Rome (1989).

Technorati Tags: cookbooks, jeff smith, frugal, gourmet

Eunice Kennedy Shriver is known to be the executive vice president of the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation and honorary chairperson for the Special Olympics. Her main goal is to be able to provide support in enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities all throughout the world. With such efforts comes a moniker that is used by people to associate with certain bake goodies.

Such was the tag given to an extra ordinary way of presenting the usual baked cookies that people are used to. While the recipes for preparing such are almost similar to that of mixing baking powder, vanilla, cream butter and sugar, the twist comes in when the butter is brushed and sugar is sprinkled to produce the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Sugar Cookies. This recipe was originally founded in 1989 during the Winter Games which contain heavy cream for the people who savor their sweet tooth demands.

Technorati Tags: eunice kennedy shriver, cookies, baking, baked goodies. recipes

A celebrity chef is called a celebrity chef often because they cook and have great personality on camera. They are able to draw people to the kitchens. They give people confidence to try cooking for themselves. This is why though they are not true chefs, people like Rachael Ray have their spot in front of the camera.

TV has a hundred and one tricks to make cooking look really fast and easy. This includes making some of the dishes before the show starts or having the make up of the celebrity chefs constantly retouched so that they don’t look like they sweat while they cook – like the cooks truly do.

This is why the shows of Bobby Flay and Rachael Ray are so popular. Almost all the dishes that they feature on their shows really are prepared within the time allotted by the network. Add that the food really comes out delicious, as well as beautiful to look at, is it any wonder that their fan base keep growing?

Here’s an easy recipe from Chef Bobby Flay (Throwdown With Bobby Flay) that is really great. Try this Philly Cheese Steak for yourself:

Ingredients:

• 2 to 2 1/2 pound strip loin, trimmed
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Soft hoagie rolls, split 3/4 open
• Provolone Sauce, recipe follows
• Sauteed Mushrooms, recipe follows
• Caramelized Onions, recipe follows
• Sauteed Peppers, recipe follows

Directions:

Place steak in freezer for 30 to 45 minutes; this makes it easier to slice the meat. Remove the meat from the freezer and slice very thinly.

Heat griddle or grill pan over high heat. Brush steak slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 45 to 60 seconds per side.

Place several slices of the meat on the bottom half of the roll, spoon some of the cheese sauce over the meat, and top with the mushrooms, onions, and peppers.

Provolone Sauce:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, heated
1 cup grated aged provolone cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the warm milk, and cook, whisking constantly until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk in the provolone and Parmesan until combined; season with the salt and pepper.

Sauteed Mushrooms:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds mushrooms (cremini and shiitake), coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil and butter in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are golden brown. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Caramelized Onions:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoons canola oil
3 large Spanish onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook slowly until golden brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

Sauteed Peppers:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 poblano peppers, thinly sliced
2 Cubano peppers, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in medium saute pan over high heat. Add the peppers and cook until soft. Season with salt and pepper.