Chocolate chip cookies

QUES: Chocolate chip cookies, with their melt-in-the-mouth goodness, transport me to Enid Blyton's tales. Is there a hassle free, less time-consuming way to make these delights at home?
– Aditi Vaid, Pune
ANS: Chocolate chip cookies, originally, created at the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts in the 1920s, became so popular that small round chocolate pies, known as 'chips', were marketed especially by them. This recipe will take you 40 minutes, and it is easy to prepare too.

Ingredients:
115 gm unsalted butter, at room temerature
100 gm soft brown sugar
100 gm caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract or essence
155 gm plain flour
A pinch of baking powder
100 gm ground almonds
150 gm chocolate chips

Procedure:
Preheat the oven to moderate 180 degree C (350F) gas mark 4. Brush two baking trays with melted butter and refrigerate until set.
Using a wooden spoon or an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg and vanilla, beating well after each addition.
Sift the flour, baking powder and ground almonds together. Fold half into the creamed mixture. When almost incorporated, add the rest of the sifted mixture, then add the chocolate chips as you fold.
Divide into 24 portions and roll into balls. Place the balls, spaced well apart, on the two prepared trays and flatten lightly. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the tray while still hot and transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining mixture, preaparing the trays as instructed in step 1. Store in an airtight container.

Souffle Potatoes

QUES: Potatoes, I believe, are extremely starchy and fattening. But my family and I love them. Could you give me a fat free potato recipe?
– Sumira Pandit, Bhopal
ANS: Potatoes, by themselves, are not particularly fattening. It is the additions such as butter and cream that put on the weight. The potato itself is 99.9 per cent fat free, so a potato recipe without rich toppings makes for a perfect fat free meal.

Ingredients:
4 large old potatoes 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese 4 tbsps sour cream 1 tbsps chopped chives 1 tbsps chopped parsley A pinch of paprika 2 egg yolks 3 egg whites

Procedure:
Wash potatoes, pierce with skewer several times and bake at 180C (degrees 350F) for 1-1/2 hours. Potatoes should be soft but whole. Cut a lid off each potato and scoop out centre. Leave some potato on the skin to form a casing. Mash scooped out potato with all remaining ingredients except egg white and season to taste. Beat egg whites until stiff and gently fold into potato mixture. Spoon into potato cases. Place on an oven tray and bake at degrees 200C (degrees 400F) until tops are golden brown and puffy.

Beef Stroganov

QUES: What is the standard recipe for the classic Beef (or chicken) Stroganov dish?
– Patricia Nunes, Bombay
ANS:

Ingredients:
3-1/2 tbsps unsalted butter
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup beef broth
1 (1-lb) piece beef tenderloin, trimmed,
sliced 1/4-inch thick, then cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tbsps olive oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
1/4 lb mushrooms, trimmed and halved (quartered if large)
3 tbsps sour cream at room temperature

1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsps chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Accompaniment: buttered wide egg noodles

Procedure:
Melt 1-1/2 tbsps butter in a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat and whisk in flour, then cook fir 2 minutes, whisking consistently. Add broth in a slow stream, whisking constantly, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and keep warm.
Pat beef dry and season well with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp butter with 1 tbsp oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat and until foam subsides. Saute beef in two batches, turning once, until browned on both sides but still pink inside, about 1 minute. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.
Heat remaining tbsp of butter with remaining tbsp of oil in same skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saute shallot, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are browned. Return meat with its juices to skillet and stir to combine, then transfer to a platter.
Reheat sauce over low heat (do not let boil), then whisk in sour cream, mustard, dill, salt, and pepper. Pour sauce over beef and serve immediately.

Pasta with Tomato-Vodka Sauce and Ham

QUES: I ate Pasta with Tomato-Vodka Sauce and Ham in a restaurant. Pasta with vodka... that's an unusual combination. How do I make it at home?
– Vivian Rastogi, Bangalore
ANS: Penne alla vodka le sirenuse is what the Italians call it. Vodka may seem like an outrageous ingredient for an Italian pasta sauce, but the recipe is very successful. Probably due to the fact that its flavour is not as over-the-top as the presence of vodka implies.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup vodka
3/4 cup canned tomato puree
1 cup heavy cream
250 gm cooked ham, finely chopped
2 drops Tabasco
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
500 gm dried penne
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano ham

Procedure:
Cook onion in butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionaly, for 5 minutes. Stir in vodka and simmer for 4 minutes. Add tomato puree and cream and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft.
Stir in ham, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Keep sauce warm.
Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water and drain pasta in a colander. Add pasta to sauce in a skillet and toss with sauce and cheese. Add some of reserved cooking water if pasta seems dry. Serve immediately.