When you are dying to Party....

It had been quite sometime since i had friends over, because of hectic work hours, travelling and then some MY time. And i have always been someone who likes to have someone around me all the time and i love to cook and serve and hear the comments. So, last eve i called over a few friends after a long time and had a ball.

As i said, i love to cook and serve...i had planned to cook a lot and then bake etc, but unfortunately i was stuck at office and by the time i reached home after all the purchases and traffic jams, it was 7pm and i was expecting my friends by 7.30. So i made Chicken Steak and some snacks with lots of corn...i just love them.

For Chicken Steak, i followed the following steps:
- 1/2 KG Chicken breasts
- 3 finely chopped onions
- 4 Tablespoons Soya Sauce
- 4 Tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon Garlic paste
- Salt
- Pepper
- a pinch of sugar
- Oil

Wipe the chicken breasts and beat with a mallet or a knife to flatten. Cut each into two pieces.Mix the chicken with the other ingredients, except oil. Put aside to marinate for 2 hours or so.

Brush the base of a pan with oil and cook covered on simmer for 3-4 mins. Place as many pieces of chicken without them touching each other, turning over at once. If your dish is not big enough to take in all the pieces together, you may have to do them in two lots.Cook covered, turning the pieces halfway through.Serve hot. If you want it browned, turn once then cook under a grill, until light brown.

My friends relished it and infact, my friend called me today and said 'It was rocking'. So i was glad. It didnt take me much time to cook and it was filling and went well with kind of eve we were having. All in all it was cool.

Regarding the snacks, I make this very often. Its healthy, yummm, very light, goes well with drinks and guess what, doesnt take much time either :D

So, this is what i do

In a pan, I take some olive oil and put in finely chopped onions, fry till pink, add tomatoes...once the tomatoes are tender, add salt, pepper and a bit of vinegar...toss it nicely, cool it and serve with crackers, or papad or have it just like that...Cheers!!!

The Eve with No Time and nothing in the fridge

Well, so two days back i reached home at 8.30 and was exhausted with all the driving and clearing the work log of two days. We had some left over pasta from last eve which we got from this lovely restaurant called 'Earth' suggested by 'The Singing Chef'. So other than the pasta and a few dals at home there was nothing which i could cook in 10 mins and be happy. So, i decided to try my hands at 'Cheese toast'.

What i did was:
Grated some cheese and some butter. Chopped some onions and green chillies, added some salt, pepper and some herbs and a bit of cooking oil. Mixed it all up nicely. Spread it over three slices of brown bread and grilled it for 10 mins in preheated oven at 150 degrees.

I had some yummy cheese toast, i cut them in slices, made some soup and warmed the left over pasta...and voila...hubby darling and I had a stupendous meal.

Try it, its painless and is a treat.

Cheers!