I was very excited to receive a copy of Trading Dishes from Pitch Public Relations to review. The photographs of the exotic landscapes and food are amazing and I love the recipes in this book. Fresh ingredients, prepared in fun ways that result in aromatic delicious dishes. The recipes I prepared were easy to make and my dinner guests loved them.
A bit about the chef: Chef Steven Ferneding received his degree in International Business from Arizona State University. He continued his education at the Le Cordon Bleu, graduating with honors at the top of his class. His culinary journey over the past 10 years has taken him to 46 countries where he has enjoyed the wide variety of culinary delicacies in the world. His sister joined him on this journey and was the photographer for Trading Dishes.
Chef Ferneding traveled extensively throughout India and Southeast Asia. During this time he created, produced and hosted an international travel cooking series called Trading Dishes, that we filmed over 93 days in Nepal, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Bali. Based on the recipes he learned during the filming, he co-authored and published a cookbook which is for sale on Amazon and iTunes.
His mission: to teach locals and remote viewers alike new and healthy dishes using the produce available locally to them as they adapt to the inevitable effects of climate change.
His cookbook is dedicated to the millions of lives affected by the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal,India,China and Bangladesh. The Trading Dishes team departed the region less than one week before this tragic event.Many of the people filmed for this project lost their homes, businesses and some lost their lives. A portion of the royalties from the sale of this cookbook are donated tothe non-profit Practical Action and to the United Nation’s World Food Programme,to help those in need.
The first Trading Dishes recipes I prepared was the Golden Temple Chai Tea. I adore chai tea and this one was over the top delicious. The aroma of the spices in the tea was amazing as it steeped on my stove. Chef
Ferneding gives us relaxing advice as we enjoy our tea “Close your eyes and imagine you’re sitting on the perfectly crafted tile looking up at the majestic temples of India…pause…enjoy!” Yes, I totally get that! Cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, star anise….yummmmm…
It is worth it to purchase the Trading Dishes cookbook just to get the recipe for these fabulous Pineapple Fritters with Caramel Sauce. I served these to friends who just returned from a trip to India and they loved them! So easy. Make the caramel sauce and the fritter batter the day ahead, then dip the pineapple chunks in the batter, fry the fritters and drizzle with caramel sauce. OH MY! You will love these fritters, I promise!
I used caster (fine) sugar for the caramel sauce. Allow the sugar to melt slowly over medium low heat (the recipe recommends medium/high heat, but stove heat varies and I found medium low worked better for melting the sugar on my stove). Patience is the key to this recipe, although it really does not take that long. You just need to give the sugar time to melt and not stir it until it starts to turn into liquid caramel. And yes, go ahead and lick the spoon when the sauce is completed…it’s that good.
I served the pineapple fritters with a sprinkling of pistachios and a scoop of pistachio ice cream on the side.
I am looking forward to trying the other recipes in this fabulous cookbook. I think I will try Fresh from the Sea Grilled Prawns and Khoa San Road Spring Rolls next. Thank you Chef Ferneding!
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