Showing posts from December, 2009

Choux Pastry

December 20, 2009
I've been wanting to try my hands on... choux pastry ....at the same time... was a little ' apprehensive ' that it may not turn out well as I expected...Watching Laura Calder on TV, making her various 'French' pastry ie choux pastry, chocolate eclair etc... she made everything seems so 'easy'...manage to write down her recipe... but still I was holding back....afraid that it might not ' puff '... Coincidently... the very same weekend...in the West Australian Saturday newspaper .... there was this article on one French Pastry chef living in Perth ~Emmanuelle Mollois... gave out his version of choux pastry (recipe below)... literally.. 'pulled' myself together (including my courage ... before it decided to chicken out on me again!!)...and the result was ~tremendously puffed... and I was chuffed!!! 120g plain flour - sifted 90g butter 200ml milk 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar 3 eggs In a saucepan, mix milk, butter, salt and s


raspberry eton mess

December 12, 2009
Miss E has been asking me..." Mom, when are you going to publish my raspberry eton mess?.. Its been awhile since I made them ..." Yes... sweetie, your mom has been 'sleeping on her job'!! I meant to publish this much earlier but somehow ... kind of miss my 'attention'...sorry my dearest dessert queen... promise to do better next time... made and decorated by Miss E... isn't she creative? like her mom...hahaha 225g fresh or frozen raspberries 1/4 cup caster sugar 450g strawberries 150ml thick cream 150ml Greek yoghurt 4 meringue nests Place raspberries and sugar in a saucepan over low heat for 5 minutes until the juices strat to flow, then leave to cool. Transfer to a food processor and puree until smooth. Pass through the sieve, discarding the solids. Place strawberries in a bowl with the puree raspberries, cream, yoghurt and the meringue. Fold everything together until combine. Spoon into 4 glasses and serve immediately. ~delicio


Prawn Fritters or Cucur Udang

December 11, 2009
Prawn Fritters... they are so yum to have in the afternoon with kopi O (Malaysian local coffee..)... my mum would serve the prawn fritters with peanut sauce (just like satay sauce)... Prawn fritters sold in the food stall has lost its 'identity' over the years.... there are less prawns used, more flour.... 2 cups of Plain flour 400g fresh prawns - roughly chopped 30 cooked prawns - de-vein and shelled 1/2 cup of fresh chives - chopped 2 handful of beansprout 1 teaspoon of tumeric powder salt Sweet Chilli sauce to serve Mix everything in a mixing bowl... add water adequately to make a smooth batter. Shallow fry in a large frying pan using canola oil. Drop in 2 serving spoonful of the batter into the hot frying pan... top with the cooked prawn. Turn the fritters over once the bottom side is cooked and golden brown in colour. Repeat with the other side... Serve with sweet chilli sauce.


Moroccan Apricot Chicken

December 09, 2009
Couscous again!!! my kids will be sighing... eventhough I tried to explain to them ...it's pasta.. that comes in different shapes... nobody buys the idea... its just like parmesan or blue cheese... you have to acquire the taste and the smell!! in my kids' case... the shape... fussypots .. They'll finish their dinner .. no doubt...but later they'll be ranscaking the pantry for other so called 'REAL FOOD' according to the two fussypots ... 4 chicken breast - trimmed 1 brown onion - thinly sliced 3 garlic - crushed 1 canned diced tomatoes 1 canned chickpeas 1 cup chicken stock 1 cup dried apricot - sliced 2 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 tablespoon moroccan seasoning Using 1 tablespoon olive oil, heat up the frying pan and cook the chicken for 2 minutes on each side or until slightly brown. Transfer to a plate. Saute onion until soft. Add garlic and seasoning, stir until fragrant. Add honey and tomato paste. Then stir in the diced


teriyaki beef noodle salad

December 07, 2009
Summer is officially here....The sun rises earlier and earlier... it was almost 'hot' by 11 am and all it takes was 2 hours for my washing to be bone dry on the washing line ... Australian sun can be harsh...My kitchen will be less 'smoking' during these long hot summer days... Nothing beats the nice cool crisps salad on any hot days..yummm.... 300g beef steak - marinate with teriyaki sauce overnight packet salad a packet of thin Hokkien noodle (yellow noodle) Pan fry the beef steak and cut into thin strips. Cook the noodle as per packet instruction. Mix all the ingredients in a salad bowl. salt to taste.


meringue lemon curd

December 05, 2009
Browsing through my new cookbook, Mr H Jr wanted to try... to make this dessert. And since I have all the ingredients needed... plus the lemoncurd... I was ecstatic!!.... that my teenage - stuck with computer in his room -son wanted to make some dessert!!! woohoo!!! Wish that he would be out doing something else more... rather than glued to his computer!! sigh..... We tried using meringue recipe from Ms Janelle's book but somehow it did not turn out well... its a bit chewy and moist... so its best to adopt the meringue from Donna Hay.... The rest as follows: Drop the meringue onto a greased baking tray... using a small teaspoon to make a indentation at at the top. Reduce the oven temperature to 100C and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or more until the meringue is dry to touch.... Spoon a small amount of lemon curd into the indentation and top with raspberry. Tip: to have a 'drier' meringue... bake longer.....


Debbie's Remedy

December 04, 2009
Debbie made this 'concoction' drink last winter. As she had just returned from her European Summer holiday and was having a 'tingly' throat ... she made this and brought to work... and I had the pleasure of 'tasting' her remedy. It was soothing .... and the ginger quickly warmed up my tummy!! Good for winter and must remember to have this warm ginger drink every winter... and since I am having a 'sniffle'... could do with a cuppa!!! a handful of red dates 4 or 5 honey dates 2 inches of ginger - thinly sliced some rock sugar 4 or 5 chinese rice bowls of water Everything in a slow cooker, and cook for 4 hours on LOW. Adjust the rock sugar to the level of 'sweetness' to your liking.


Chicken, Mushroom, Sundried Tomato Quiche

December 02, 2009
Its quite easy to make if shortcrust pastry is within reach in the freezer .... Easy... Lazy meal .... 1 cup cooked chicken - shredded 1/3 cup sundried tomato - thinly sliced 200g mushroom - sliced few fresh basil leaves 2 shortcrust pastry - partially thawed 1/2 cup cooking cream 8 eggs 1/2 cup parmesan cheese salt and pepper Pre heat the oven to 200C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Using the springform quiche or tart dish, cut up the shortcrust pastry to fit. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Blind bake the pie casing for 10 minutes then carefully remove the beans and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. In a jug, mix the eggs, parmesan cheese, cream, salt and pepper. Cook the mushroom for 4 minutes, then add cooked chicken, sundried tomatoes and shredded fresh basil leave. Arrange the mushroom mix in the pie casing, pour in the egg mix carefully...not to over spill. Bake at 180C for another 40-45 minutes ..... Note: I cooked mini quiches for the kids l