Grissini

I love this recipe. My guest always ask how to make it. Here is the recipe from Food.com.

Ingredients:

 1 package active dry yeast

 2 cups warm water 

 1 pinch sugar

 1 pinch salt 

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper 

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra needed for baking 

1/4 cup fresh rosemary, finely chopped 

1 cup grated parmesan cheese 6 cups flour 

Directions: 

Day 1

1.In a small bowl, stir the yeast into 1/2 cup of warm water. 

2. Add sugar and stir. 

3. Leave 10 minutes to ferment. 

4. Stir together the flour, cheese, rosemary and pepper. 

5. Place in a mound on a large board or counter, and make a well in the center. 

6. Add the yeast mixture, the remaining water, and the oil into the well. 

7. Mix together until stiff, and knead by hand until smooth for about 10 minutes.

8. Shape into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover with clingwrap and refrigerate overnight. 

 Day2

9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

10. Grease 4 baking sheets. 

11. Take a handful of the dough, leaving the rest covered. 

12. Dust well with flour and press into a flat disk. 

13. Run the the first setting of the rollers in your pasta machine. 

14. Dust again with flour and roll through a second time. 

15. Again dust with flour and pass through the fettuccine cutter on the pasta machine. 

16. Carefully separate the grissini and place on the baking sheets so they do not touch.

17. Brush with a little more oil and sprinkle with salt. 

18. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

19. Cool and store in an airtight container.

20. Note: If the Grissini are well floured it makes separating them after they have been cut much easier!

Christmas Cookies

Got this recipe from Cooking with Ina Garten.

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.
Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.

Fried Tilapia

I miss Fried Tilapia. The thought of it makes me feel like I'm back home again. I prefer to use tomato and onion as dip but today I realize I have to replenish my pantry with supplies. I think sweet and sour sauce is not bad plus sambal, yummy! The recipe is from Cooks.com.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs. Rain Forest Tilapia fillets
1/2 c. flour
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
1/2 to 1 c. milk
Plain bread crumbs
Vegetable oil

Rinse the Tilapia fillets in cold water and drain thoroughly. Cut the fillets into 2 x 1 inch pieces. Season the flour with salt and pepper and coat the fish lightly. Combine the 2 eggs with enough milk to equal 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Coat the fish with the egg milk mixture, then cover the fish completely with bread crumbs. Preheat the vegetable oil in a wok, frying pan or deep fryer and cook the fillets at 350 degrees until golden brown. Drain the fish on paper towels and keep warm. Serves 6.

Spicy Thai Chicken

 

A sumptuous chicken dish from Kasma Loha-Unchit! The smell of it made me very hungry. I almost finish the whole bunch of serving before my hubby arrived. I made it up by letting him have another bottle of beer. .

Ingredients

• 2-3 Tbs. peanut oil for stir-frying
• 10-12 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2-3 shallots, thinly sliced (or substitute with 1/2 cup sliced onion) – optional
• 1 lb. boneless chicken thighs, coarsely chopped, or cut into small bite-size pieces
• 12-20 Thai chillies (prik kee noo), cut into very thin rounds; or substitute 4-6 serrano, jalapeño or fresno peppers, cut into large slivers with seeds
• 2 small kaffir lime leaves (bai ma-gkrood), very finely slivered (optional)
• 2-3 tsp. black soy sauce (the semi-sweet kind), or to taste
• 2 Tbs. fish sauce (nam bplah), or to taste
• 1 cup fresh Thai holy basil (bai gka-prow), or Thai sweet basil (bai horapa) leaves and flower buds; or use 1/4 cup dried holy basil, soaked to soften plus 1/2 to 1 cup fresh Thai sweet basil (bai horapa)
• Dash of ground white pepper 
  

Cooking Direction:
 
Prepare the ingredients as instructed. Leave the fresh basil leaves whole; the flower buds may also be used. The dried holy basil will soften when soaked in tap water for about 10 to 15 minutes. Pull off and discard the hard stems. Drain.
Heat a wok until its surface is smoking hot. Swirl in the oil to coat the wok surface. Wait a few seconds for the oil to heat, then stir in the garlic, followed a few seconds later with the shallots or onion. Stir another 15 to 20 seconds before adding the chicken. Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until most of the chicken has changed color on the outside and is no longer pink.
Toss in the chillies, slivered kaffir lime leaves (if using), and softened dried holy basil (if using). Sprinkle black soy sauce over the mixture and stir-fry for another 15 to 20 seconds. Season to taste with fish sauce, then stir in the fresh basil. Toss well. Stir-fry another 1/2 to 1 minute, or until the basil is wilted and the chicken cooked through. Sprinkle with white pepper. Stir and transfer to a serving dish, or spoon directly over individual plates of plain steamed rice.
Serves 6 to 8 with other dishes in a shared family-style meal.

Chicken Curry

I love curry! Today I made chicken curry paired with Roti Prata.

The result of my chicken curry.

Ingredients: (serves 4-6)
For marinade:

1. 2 tablespoon lime juice
2. 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
3. 3/4 tablespoon red chili powder
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 3-4 tablespoon yogurt
6. 1/2 tablespoon mustard oil
7. 2 tablespoon grated/finely chopped onion
8. 2.5 – 3 lbs chicken

For the sauce:

1. 6-7 tablespoon oil
2. 4 small green cardamom
3. 2 cloves
4. 2″ stick cinnamon
5. about 8 peppercorn
6. 1 tejpatta/Indian bay leaf
7. 2- 2.5 cups chopped red onions
8. 1 teaspoon sugar
9. 1.5 tablespoon garlic paste
10. 2.5 inch knob of fresh ginger, grated or made into a paste
11. 1  cup fresh  finely chopped tomatoes
    
12. 4 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
13. 1 tablespoon red chili powder
14. 1/2 teaspoon and 1 teaspoon turmeric
15. 1 tablespoon coriander powder
16. 2 hot green chili peppers
17. 2-4 cups of water
18. lemon juice and fresh coriander or cilantro for garnishing.

Method:

1.Wash chicken well and pat dry.
 2.Combine lemon juice, salt, turmeric and red chili powder and chicken in a zip lock bag. Allow it to sit for about 30 minutes.
3.Add the yogurt, 1/2 tablespoon oil and the chopped/grated onion to the chicken and marinate for an hour or more.
4.Lightly crush the peppercorn, clove, cardamom and cinnamon.
5.Peel and slice the potatoes.
6.Sprinkle half teaspoon turmeric and salt.
7.Add 1/2 tablespoon oil in a pan , heat and add fry the potatoes until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
8.Add another  tablespoon of oil in the same pan and allow it to heat up.  Shake off the marinade from the chicken pieces and add them to the pan in a single layer.
9.Cook on all sides until the chicken whitens and just starts to brown.
10.Add the rest of the oil in the pan. Heat and add the peppercorn, bay leaf, clove, cinnamon and cardamom. When they sizzle add the sliced/chopped onions and the teaspoon of sugar.
11. Cook the onions until they start turning golden brown. Add the ginger paste/grated, garlic paste, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder and the tomatoes. Toss and stir well; cook for 2 minutes.
12.Add the chicken, the marinade and the coriander powder. Stir occasionally .
13.Add the water, green chili pepper and the potatoes. Cover with tight fitting lid and cook until potatoes are tender and the chicken is falling off the bones.Drizzle some lemon/lime juice and garnish with fresh cilantro before serving.
14.Serve with hot steamed rice or bread.

Tour Biggore 1993 (red wine)

My friends parents came for a visit.  Good friends needs to have good food and good wine. Glad to serve them a 19 year old red wine! Unfortunately I was unable to take a snapshot of the main dish, it was gone with the wind.

I'm not an expert in opening wine but since I have to decant I did try my very best.

Oops I need some ice here!

Decanting the wine.

Look how the cork looks like after I opened the bottle hahaha. Well you can't blame it on me. The wine was kind of old and cork was aged as well ;-)

Blue cheese really stink but it was worth serving it.

Everybody loved the bocconcini.

And our guest liked the flower as well eventhough it was nothing special. She said the color is very feminine.

The signature dessert.

Indonesian Cheesecake

I love this cake. It's very soft, simple and melts in your mouth.

Here are the steps and ingredients:

90g flour
5 egg yolk
5 whole egg
125g melted butter
100g sugar
1tsp SP ovalette (emulsifier)
1 block Kraft cheddar cheese

Flour, sugar, cheddar cheese, butter and SP

The famous SP, I read many are looking for this ingredients, this is how it looks like

Always line your baking pan with parchment paper.

And dust it with flour.

Put eggs, sugar and SP in a bowl.

Sift flour and melt butter.

This is how the egg mixture should look like before you add the flour. Once all the flour is mixed then add melted butter. Pour in the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes on 170 F.