Alicia Augello Cook (stage name Alicia Keys)
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began to play classical music on the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.
  
Keys made guest appearances on several television series in the following years, beginning with Charmed. She made her film debut in Smokin' Aces and went on to appear in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Her third studio album, As I Am, was released in the same year and sold six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. The following year, she appeared in The Secret Life of Bees, which earned her a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards. She released her fourth album, The Element of Freedom, on December 15, 2009. Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.
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Written by Shani
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Friday, 04 December 2009 11:02 |
Mushroom cappuccino + Fish fillet on Baby potatoe salad.
MUSHROOM CAPPUCCINO (6 PORTIONS)
Ingredients 100 gm Fresh Oyster Mushroom 100 gm Canned Button Mushroom 1 tbsp Garlic Crushed 1 tbsp Carrots (chopped) 1 tbsp Celery (chopped) 50 gms Plain Flour (sifted) 01 litre Chicken Stock 2 tbsp Butter 100 ml Milk 100 ml Fresh Cream Salt and Pepper to taste
To finish off 50 ml Fresh Cream 2 tbsp Fresh Butter
Garnish Long Cheese Toasts
Method - Saute onion and garlic in butter. Add carrot, celery and mushroom and cook for 3 more minutes. - Add flour and .continue to cook for another minute, stirring well (do not brown the flour). - Add stock little by little and mix with a whisk (do not allow lumps to form) - Add milk and cream and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. - Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. - Take off fire and puree in a blender still smooth. - Return to the fire and finish off with fresh butter and cream, holding a hand mixer. - Pour the soup into a coffee cup and place the froth on top. - Garnish with a long cheese toast.
FILLET OF MODHA WITH TANGY SHRIMP CRUST ON WARM BABY POTATO SALAD
Ingredients 6 pcs Boneless cleaned Fillet of Modha Fish (140 gm each) To taste Salt & Crushed Black Pepper 2 tbsp Lime Juice 2 tbsp Olive Oil
Method - Season the Fish with above ingredients and leave for 1/2 hour. - Place tablespoons of shrimp mixture on the fish and spread evenly. - Bake in a moderate oven for about 10 mts. until the fish is cooked.
FOR SHRIMP CRUST
Ingredients 200 gms Peeled & cleaned Shrimps 1 tbsp Coriander Leaves chopped 1 tbsp Onions chopped 1/2 tbsp Garlic chopped 1 tbsp Coloured Bell Pepper cut into small cubes a pinch Chilli Powder (optional) 1 tbsp Olive Oil To taste Salt & Crusted Pepper 1 tbsp Lime Juice
Method - Chop the peeled shrimps roughly (not too fine). - Mix with all the other ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until required to use.
WARM POTATO SALAD
Ingredients 400 gms Boiled Baby Potato with the skin 2 tbsp Onions chopped 2 tbsp Pork Bacon or Chicken Bacon chopped 150 gms Tender Spinach Leaves roughly sliced 1 tbsp Sherry Vinegar or any other Vinegar To taste Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper
Method - Peel the boiled small potatoes and keep aside. - Saute bacon in very little olive oil until brown. - Add chopped onion and cook for another minute. - Add the potatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes tossing now and then. - Add the raw spinach leaves, toss for a while. - Season with salt, freshly milled pepper and vinegar. Mix well and take off fire.
MARINATED TOMATOES
Ingredients 200 gms Peeled Tomatoes cut into ¼ " cubes 1 tbsp Chopped Garlic 50ml Olive Oil 2 tbsp Basil Leaves (thinly sliced) To taste Salt & fresh ground Black Pepper
Method - Mix all ingredients and leave in a refrigerator.
How to assemble the plate - Spoon the warm baby potato salad on a plate. - Place the baked fish on the potato. - Sprinkle the marinated tomato around the plate and drizzle little virgin olive oil.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 December 2009 11:17 |
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Birth Name : Barack Hussein Obama Jr.
Nickname : Barry, Bama, Rock, The One
Height : 6' 1½" (1.87 m)
Spouse : Michelle Obama (3 October 1992 - present) 2 children
Mini Biography : Barack Obama was born to a white American mother, Ann Dunham, and a black Kenyan father, Barack Obama, Sr., who were both young college students at the University of Hawaii. When his father left for Harvard, she and Barack stayed behind, and his father ultimately returned alone to Kenya, where he worked as a government economist. Barack's mother remarried an Indonesian oil manager and moved to Jakarta when Barack was six. He later recounted Indonesia as simultaneously lush and a harrowing exposure to tropical poverty. He returned to Hawaii, where he was brought up largely by his grandparents. The family lived in a small apartment - his grandfather was a furniture salesman and an unsuccessful insurance agent and his grandmother worked in a bank - but Barack managed to get into Punahou School, Hawaii's top prep academy. His father wrote to him regularly but, though he traveled around the world on official business for Kenya, he visited only once, when Barack was ten.

Obama attended Columbia University, but found New York's racial tension inescapable. He became a community organizer for a small Chicago church-based group for three years, helping poor South Side residents cope with a wave of plant closings. He then attended Harvard Law School, and in 1990 became the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He turned down a prestigious judicial clerkship, choosing instead to practice civil-rights law back in Chicago, representing victims of housing and employment discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation. He also began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School. Eventually he ran as a Democrat for the state senate seat from his district, which included both Hyde Park and some of the poorest ghettos on the South Side, and won.
In 2004 Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat, representing Illinois, and gained national attention by giving a rousing and well-received keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. In 2008 he ran for president as a democrat and won. He is set to become the 44th president of the Unites States and the first African-American ever elected to that position.
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Written by Shani
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Tuesday, 15 December 2009 10:25 |
THAI DISHES
GREEN CHICKEN CURRY
"A fragrant creamy curry which is always popular."
Ingredients ½ cup Coconut cream 3 tbsps Green curry paste (see recipe below) 400 gm Chicken breast, sliced 1 ½ cups Thin coconut milk 2 Lime leaves 1 tbsps Fish sauce 1 tsp Sugar 150 gm Aubergine, cut into bite-sized pieces ¼ cup Basil leaves 2-3 red chilies, Cut in lengthwise strips
Method Heat coconut cream until it begins to have an oily sheen, then add the curry paste and stir well. Add chicken and cook until it changes color.
Add coconut milk, lime leaves, fish sauce and sugar. Bring to the boil than add the aubergine. Simmer until the chicken is cooked, then add the basil and chillies. Remove from the heat and serve.
**This dish can be prepared in advance by cooking it until the chicken is tender. Add the basil and chillies when re-heating the dish just before serving.
GREEN CURRY PASTE
Ingredients 1 tbsp Coriander seeds 1 tsp Cumin seeds 15 Green bird's eye chillies 3 tbsp Finely chopped shallots 1 tbsp Finely chopped garlic 1 tsp Finely chopped ginger 1 tbsp Finely sliced lemon grass 12 teaspoon finely chopped lime rind 1 tsp Finely chopped coriander root 5 black peppercorns 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Shrimp paste
Method Dry fry the coriander and cumin seeds in a wok over low heat for about 5 minutes, then grind into a powder. Put the rest of the ingredients except the shrimp paste into a blender and blend to mix well. Add the spice seed mixture and shrimp paste and blend to obtain 12 cup of fine-textured paste.
MUSSAMAN BEEF CURRY
Ingredients 3 tbsps Mussaman curry paste (see recipe below) ½ cup Coconut cream 500 gm Beef sirloin or stewing beef 2 cups Thin coconut milk 5 Cardamom seeds, roasted until fragrant 1 Cinnamon stick, about 8 cm in length 200 gm Potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks 1 Heaped tablespoon unsalted peanuts, chopped 10 Shallots 3 Bay leaves 3 tbsp Chopped palm sugar 2 tbsp Fish sauce 3 tbsp Tamarind juice
Method Cook the curry paste and coconut cream together for five minutes, then add the beef and fry for 8 – 10 minutes. Add the rest of the coconut milk, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Add all the remaining ingredients and cook until the potatoes and meat are tender
**The potatoes provide a contrast in texture and a bland counterpoint to the spicy gravy.
MUSSAMAN CURRY PASTE
Ingredients 3 tbsps Finely chopped shallots 1 tbsps Finely chopped garlic 1 tsp Finely chopped ginger 1 Heaped tablespoon finely sliced lemon grass 2 Cloves I tbsp Coriander seeds I tsp Cumin seeds 5 Black peppercorns 3 Dried chillies, cut, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and de-seeded
1 tbsp Salt 1 tsp Shrimp paste
Method Dry fry the shallots, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, cloves, coriander and cumin seeds in a wok over low heat for about 5 minutes, then grind into a powder. Add the rest of the ingredients except the shrimp paste and blend to mix well. Combine the blended mixture and the shrimp paste and blend again to obtain ~ cup of fine-textured paste.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 December 2009 10:56 |
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