| Sarah's Layered Stuff |
[Dec. 22nd, 2009|03:18 pm] |
Trying to remember a couple of recipes that Sarah gave me. Unfortunately, I think I did it from memory... To be formatted later... maybe...
Layered Salad
Taken from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Deep-Dish-Layered-Salad/Detail.aspx [this is most similar to Sarah's. The mayo dressing sounds familiar]
Similar recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pretty-Layered-Salad/Detail.aspx
Ingredients:
3 eggs, boiled
1 package of favourite salad mix [or 1 head favourite lettuce - rinsed, dried, and shredded]
1 cup of cherry tomatoes [or roma tomatoes (sliced)]
1 cup chopped bell pepper (red or green, I prefer red...for some reason)
1 cup chopped green onions
2 cups frozen green peas
1 cup of cooked bacon, sliced into 1 inch pieces
Other options for salad:
mushrooms, sliced
parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese (on top)
cucumbers
whatever you want or prefer. It is a salad, after all. Change the portions if you prefer.
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, add 1/2 (or all, if you prefer) lettuce. Then add the rest of the veggies in layers in any order that you want. You can add the mayo dressing (if you want) in the middle or on top). Put tomatoes (if sliced or other wet veggies) last as it'll make things soggy.
The way I layer it (I think..) is lettuce, mayo dressing (if I bother making it), green onion, red peppers, green peas, bacon, eggs, tomatoes
Dressing:
2 cups mayonnaise
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
Whisk everything together. :D
Layered Terrine
1 1/4 cup of parmesan / asiago, grated
1 pkg cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup of black olives
1 cup of canned artichokes, drained and chopped
1 cup of red peppers, chopped
1/2 cup of green onions, chopped
1. Take a bowl that you like the shape of (bigger than a standard, asian rice bowl... something that will hold all the ingredients) and cover the inside of the bowl with a piece of saran wrap. Try to get it as smooth as possible.
2. Take 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese and add it to the bowl.
3. In another bowl, mix 1 cup of the parmesan cheese with the cream cheese until parmesan is well mixed in the cream cheese. I think here you can also mix in some chopped herbs... I just can't remember which one. LMAO.
4. Layer half of mixture into the first bowl that is covered in saran wrap and press the mixture into the bowl as much as possible.
5. In layers, add red peppers, greeen onions, and the chopped artichokes.
6. Layer the second half of the cheese mixture and again, press the mixture (+ layers of veggies) into the bowl as much as possible.
7. Layer the black olives into the bowl and again, press the mixture (+ layers of veggies) into the bowl.
8. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.
9. When chilled, pull mixture out of bowl using the saran wrap (if done well, you should get the shape of the bowl... or close enough. :D). Flip the hopefully solid, layered terrine onto a plate.
Serve with chips or toast or pita bread, etc. |
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| Thanksgiving Dinner - Partial Fail! |
[Oct. 10th, 2009|08:10 pm] |
ha ha... moooore recipes. And oh yes, hope everyone (in Canada) has a good Thanksgiving weekend!
Butternut Squash
Source: Patty
1 butternut squash
2 garlic clobes, smashed, peeled and chopped
2 slices of butter (like you would see on TV commercials - ha ha..) broken up into pieces
salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven at 350 F
- Slice squash in half lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds.
- Place squash cut-side up onto a baking sheet.
- Perforate the squash with a fork to allow the squash to cook faster.
- Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Put garlic and butter pieces along the entire length of the squash.
- Bake for 1 hour.
Really nummy recipe from my good ol' buddy ol' chum, Patty. ^_____^ ha ha... My mom quite liked it and I was surprised how good it turned out. It was simple (even easier for me b/c I used a small butternut squash and could use the toaster oven *peace to no preheating*) and right now is the perfect time to be cooking (and EATING) squash.
I still have a spaghetti squash sitting in the fridge so I shall see what I can do with it later this weekend.
Partial fail? Because of this recipe: Garlic Soup (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/richard-olneys-garlic-soup-recipe.html). It was actually working out really well until I heated the broth with the egg in it and a lot of the egg cooked.... leaving me with a pot of steamed, scrambled eggs. FAIL On the bright side of things, the eggs did taste pretty good so I would like to try again. LOL.
On the bento side of recipes, I finally made the 'Tamago no takarabukuro' (http://justbento.com/handbook/recipe-collection-mains/eggs-treasure-bags) with some success. It was pretty tasty especially the carrots, but there were some minor issues. I bought the smallest chicken eggs possible (apparently extra small eggs are called 'pee wee' LOL!) but the biggest inarizushi was still too small to be tied up so I ended up holding the inarizushi over the pot of boiling broth with chopsticks. ha ha.. It was a fun and interesting recipe but I don't think I'll probably won't be making this one too often.
Edit (2009.10.14)
How to Cook Spaghetti Squash
- cut squash lengthwise
- take out seeds and strands
- bake for 50 min - 1 hr @ 350 F or until easily pokable (lol)
- scrape flesh out with a fork |
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| Chicken Karaage |
[Sep. 14th, 2009|11:46 am] |
So the weekend came around and after a week of just throwing whatever I could find in my lunch box, I decided to make a few things. Of course, this was also the weekend I had my potluck with Patty and them, and my parents STILL thought it would be a good idea to bring leftovers AND groceries... but yes, our fridge can now feed a small nation...
Anyway, got off on a tangent there...
So I made a couple of things from this really great website called 'Just Hungry' - http://www.justhungry.com/. There are a lot of good recipes and the majority(?) of them are Japanese. I actually got my tamagoyaki recipe from there and there are quite a number of bookmarks saved from that site that I want to try at some point in time. Like this creamy-ish miso soup recipe... maybe once the fridge clears up a bit.
Chicken karaage
Taken from: Just Hungry (http://www.justhungry.com/2004/04/karaage_japanes.html)
2 - 4 boneless chicken thighs - can be skinned or skinless
1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin - orig. recipe called for sake or sherry... w/c I didn't have. :D
cornstarch
preferred oil for frying
- Cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces
- In a bowl, add the chicken, grated ginger, soy sauce and sake, and mix well. Marinate for 1/2 hour
- Add cornstarch until each piece of marinated chicken is properly coated.
- Heat the oil. Toss in enough cornstarch into the marinated chicken so that each piece is completely coated. Fry the chicken pieces a few at a time until a deep golden brown.
- After frying, place chicken on some paper towel to soak any access oil.
- Serve with some lemon
Notes:
- With the soy sauce I had, I would probably have changed the ratio to 2 tbsp soy sauce and 2 tbsp of mirin
- Recipe called for min 1/2 to max 1 hour, but I think this is dependent on your soy sauce and personal taste too. I swear my mom must have bought an uber salty soy sauce or something. ha ha...
- I have no idea how much cornstarch to use or what the chicken is supposed to look like after coating. Some was covered like you would to bread and deep fry food.. while others the corn starch and mixed in with the marinade more and looked gooey. Either way, the chicken turned out tasty.
Carrot Rice
Taken From: Just Hungry (http://justbento.com/handbook/recipe-collection-mains/carrot-rice-two-ways)
2 rice cooker cups of uncooked rice
1 cup of fresh carrot juice
1 tsp. tomato paste
1/2 onion
1/2 tsp. salt
Pepper
- Chop up the onion finely. Sauté it in oil or butter until limp.
- Wash the rice as usual. Add the carrot juice to the rice cooker with the washed rice, and top up with water to the 2 cups mark. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook the rice using normal settings.
This makes some lovely rice... and it makes a lot... so much so that I may be eating it all week. ha ha.. It's all good because it is tasty. I might try a couple of other combinations like 1/2 the rice but not the rest of the ingredients just to see how it goes. I think maybe even adding in cooked peas and grated carrots would be a good idea as well. I shall test and try and adjust accordingly. :D |
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| Lulu's Lemon Loaf |
[Sep. 5th, 2009|04:47 pm] |
My mom is doing some CRAZY mahjong this weekend (O_O) and has basically left the good ol' kitchen to little ol' me. Meaning? I get to try recipes to my heart's content. Actually, I was gonna try these recipes anyway, but this time around, there will be less nagging and the lack of fear of having someone *cough*mom*cough* hovering until she gets her hands on some dishes and promptly starts washing them.... regardless of whether or not you were done with them (or if you had actually used them in the first place). It doesn't sound that bad, but trust me... it is.
Anyway, a couple of recipes from my good ol' friend, Patty (and her mom). Last night I made stuffed squash (zucchini and acorn squash were used), lemon loaf and tamagoyaki.
The tamagoyaki recipe was taken from this place - http://www.justhungry.com/tamagoyaki
I'm still trying to figure out the proportions of sugar and soy sauce for my liking, but the important thing is... it didn't look like a total disaster!! YAAAAY!
The stuffed squash was a recipe from Patty's friend. I used the wrong kind of cheese but it turned out not bad. I think I liked the zucchini the best, but I might be a bit biased in that regard (I ♥ zucchini).
Stuffed Squash
Source: Patty :D
6 large squash (or equivalent)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter - or use olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 ten once package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 cup chicken flavored stuffing mix
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
salt
pepper
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Brush cut side of squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place squash cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes.
- Scoop out the pulp into a bowl, keeping shells intact.
- Reduce heat to 350F.
- In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat (or alternatively use olive oil). Add onion. Cook 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in spinach and squash pulp, cook 3 – 4 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, stir in stuffing mix, cheese sour cream and salt to taste.
- Spoon mixture evenly into squash shells. Place on the baking sheet and bake 15 – 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
What you actually do with the cheese is unknown. I think you either put it on top of you mix it in with the mixture.
Lulu's Lemon Loaf
Source: Patty's mom :D
This was about 10 years in the making. I still remember the first Christmas that Patty's mom made this. LOL. It was so good. I almost made myself sick by eating as much of it as I could. Turns out, it's not too hard to make. XD
1/2 cup shortening - or butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 lemon, juice and rind
- In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening (or butter) and sugar.
- Add eggs to creamed mixture and beat until fluffy.
- In another bowl, mix dry ingredients together.
- Add dry ingredients and milk alternately to creamed mixture.
- Once mixed, add lemon rind.
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Pour batter into greased 9"x5" loaf pan. Let stand for 20 minutes.
- Bake for 50 minutes.
- Once baked, remove loaf from pan. Pour a mixture of 1/2 cup of sugar plus the lemon juice over the top of the loaf. Allow the mixture to drip over the sides. If you don't like things too sweet, use less sugar.
- Cool and serve.
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| quick recipe blurb |
[Jun. 30th, 2009|08:35 am] |
Made a quick salad over the weekend (one of many meals I had over the weekend now dubbed the glutton weekend) it had 1) lettuce, 2) mango and 3) diced swiss cheese. It was good. I'm wondering if I should add stuff to it next time - something salty like prosciutto or bacon.
P.S. I bought some processed cheese slices awhile back. mmmmm... I forgot how damn good they are. ha ha..
Edit (2:21 pm):
I am slowly dying of boredom!! Could this day go any slower?? I hate documentation...
Edit (2:24 pm):
Weeeeee! ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) tomodachi totally posted some Orlando Blom photos on her latest entry and I'm freakin' giddy. *sighs dreamily* |
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| Hummus |
[Jun. 7th, 2009|05:51 pm] |
Hummus
(http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=6016)
1 x garlic bulb
1 tbsp olive oil
2 x 15 oz cans chickpeas, drained (reserve ¼ cup liquid)
1 tbsp tahini
1 x lemon, juice only
paprika and chopped parsley to garnish
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Cut the top off of garlic bulb. Drizzle with olive oil and place on a baking tray. Roast for about 1 – 1 ½ hours or until tender. Allow to cool and squeeze out garlic.
- In a blender or food processor puree chickpeas with roasted garlic, tahini, lemon juice and reserved chickpea liquid. Season to taste with salt. Place in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. Garnish with paprika and chopped parsley. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and serve with warm pita bread.
P.S. Can add 1/2 cup of roasted red pepper. |
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| Strange weather we have over here.... |
[May. 15th, 2009|12:30 pm] |
So today started off really warm. I was doing my once-in-a-blue-moon laundry and my bedroom was getting pretty warm. I get the first load of laundry in and I start making lunch. Next thing I know... it's FRICKIN' SNOWING!!! It was seriously sunny and blue skies and everything, and then I turn around and not a patch of blue sky as far as the eye can see and tiny little bits of hail consistently falling from the sky. Good times all around. Anyway, I may have to change out of the tank top and skirt (w/c was all that remained after my once-in-a-blue-moon gathering of dirty laundry) when I do go out.
Also, what really got me excited was this recipe/idea. ...now if I start with the beginning, it sort of goes along the lines as this -
I normally read this one blog 'are you gonna eat that?' (http://ugonnaeatthat.com/), a local food critic blog (and much much more. lol). Really great reads and a really good place to check if you want to try new restaurants. I actually found it when I was dying for some Taiwanese beef noodles (most likely after talking with Auj no doubt. Damn you, Auj Podge...) and trying to find a decent Taiwanese restaurant. There is one in Chinatown but I still haven't had the chance to check it out.
From that link there's a cooking blog called 'Chinese Soul Food' (http://chinesesoulfood.squarespace.com/). One of the first recipes? Tomatos and eggs - my mom's favourite. Another recipe? Zha jiang mien (炸酱麵), another one of my mom's favourites. So I like to check it out from time to time. The latest entry? It's about putting red bean paste (紅豆沙) into a flat bread called tsao bing (燒餅). The 燒餅 is basically a type of small flat bread that's covered in sesame seeds. I think the closest equivalent could be puff pastry.... only not so puffy. ha ha..
I have to say, it's a frickin' fantastic idea. It took a long while to put together. The 燒餅 was sold out at one point and my mom forgot to find it for me a couple of times. When I went to find the red bean paste, it was unfortunately located on the top shelf....at the back of the top shelf ... and this, in turn, lead to a semi-traumatising moment of being spoken to in Mandarin while this lady's husband was reaching for a package with me. OK, so it wasn't traumatising, the family was really very very nice but the Mandarin sent me into a mind-reeling panic.. if that makes sense. (If not, then just focus on the word panic). I also have to admit that my navigation skills in T&T are complete and utter crap.
Soooo, I just managed to add the red bean paste to the 燒餅 today.
Result: SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO good. mmmmmmmmmmm.... It was really yummy, so it's definitely worth a go. If you want to see the original blog article, it's here: http://chinesesoulfood.squarespace.com/chinese-soul-food/2009/3/3/my-nutella.html
Though, I doubt nutella will ever (ever!) be replaced, this is a really good snack! |
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| Another Miso Recipe |
[Apr. 4th, 2009|02:38 pm] |
This time, the recipe is from 101 cookbooks. The Miso-Walnut dressing is amazing. My only problem was that I halved the recipe but not the garlic. mmmmmm... garlic. A bit overpowering, so I would probably half it in the end, but still... mmmm... garlic.
Walnut Miso Noodles Recipe
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/walnut-miso-noodles-recipe.html
4 ounces whole wheat spaghetti or linguini (or soba)
1 small bunch of asparagus, sliced thinly (1/4-inch thick)
Dressing:
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium clove garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons mellow white miso paste
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar I used rice vinegar and it worked really well. XD I would probably add more too, but do this according to taste
1 teaspoon honey
2 big pinches salt (or to taste)
1/4 cup+ warm water
Topping ideas: sliced green onions, chopped chard stems and leaves that have been cooked for a minute or two in a skillet with a bit of olive oil and salt (see photo), chopped fresh chives, toasted walnuts
- To make the dressing, use a food processor, blender or hand blender to puree the walnuts, olive oil, garlic, miso paste, vinegar, and honey. Add the warm water a bit at a time until the dressing is the consistency of a heavy cream. Taste and add salt if you think it needs it.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously and cook the pasta per package instructions, being careful to not overcook. About 10 seconds before you are going to drain the noodles, add the asparagus to the pot.
- Now drain and toss with about 1/2 the walnut-miso dressing. Here, I actually doused it in cold water. I love cold soba, so it was a bit of a habit. ha ha.. It was good. Could treat it as a pasta salad.
- Add as much or as little dressing as you like to the noodles and toss well. Arrange in two bowls or on a platter - I finished off this version topped with sliced green onions, a bit of sauteed slivered rainbow chard leaves & chopped stems, a few toasted walnuts, and some chives.
Serves 1 - 2.
Notes: I did not gradually add the water because apparently, I forgot how to read. ha ha.. It still worked out quite well. This recipe is really good and you don't necessarily need asparagus (btw, mmmm...). Just whatever is seasonal. Again, the dressing was amazing. Would be lovely for dipping as well. *drools* |
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| miso soup |
[Apr. 4th, 2009|12:06 pm] |
Miso Soup
2 tbsp miso - add more to taste (original recipe called for 4, but I found this too salty. This is probably dependent on what miso you bought)
4 cups water
Additional ingredients:
tofu
wakame (seaweed)
chopped green onion (to sprinkle at the end)
The amount really depends on how much tofu, seaweed and onion you would like in your soup. :D
- In a pot, boil water and add the miso.
- Stir until miso is completely disolved.
- Add tofu and wakame seaweed. Boil for another minute and the soup is ready to serve.
- Serve soup in a bowl and sprinkle green onions on top.
There it is. Super duper easy. Took me less than 10 minutes to make... I know, because I was in a hurry. ha ha.. There was also the mention of adding about 1/2 tbsp of dashi which is some sort of fish soup base. *long pause* but I didn't have it, so yeah. Maybe next time. |
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| Lots of Cooking a.k.a. Recipe Catch Up |
[Dec. 25th, 2008|11:30 pm] |
Merry Christmas, guys!! (again ^______^)
So, I've done a lot of cooking over these past few days. More than I've ever done in quite some time. O_O
Here's what I cooked:
- minty chocolate christmas cookies (from 101cookbooks.com)
- plump pea dumplings (from 101cookbooks.com)
- veggie pizza (from Sarah of the 'stomach love' variety)
- scalloped potatoes
So, the Minty Chocolate Christmas Cookies made me realise one thing... or more like it left me with one conclusion: I am never baking again. ha ha... I've already ranted and raved about baking the cookies in a previous entry, but I have to admit that they did turn out quite well.
I'm still never baking again... (stupid creaming..)
Minty Chocolate Christmas Cookies
Taken Directly From: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/minty-chocolate-christmas-cookies-recipe.html
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup cocoa powder
1 egg white
3/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (I used all-purpose)
Peppermint Cream Filling:
3+ cups powdered sugar, sifted (ROFL! I didn't even sift this at all)
10 - 15 drops peppermint extract (to taste)
1/4 cup half and half (or water if you are going to keep the cookies around unrefrigerated for a while)
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F degrees, position the racks in the middle of the oven, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a stand mixer or handheld mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and cream some more, scraping the sides of the bowl a time or two. Stir in the vanilla extract, cocoa powder, egg white, and salt and mix until the cocoa powder is integrated and the batter is smooth and creamy and the consistency of a thick frosting. Add the flour and mix just until the batter is no longer dusty looking. It might still be a bit crumbly, and that's okay.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, gather it into a ball, and knead it just once or twice to bring it together into a smooth mass. Divide into two pieces place each into a plastic bag and flatten into disks roughly 1 inch thick. Put the dough in the freezer for 20 minutes to chill.
- One bag at a time remove the dough from the freezer. On a well floured surface roll it out very thin (remember these are going to be sandwich cookies) - roughly 1/8 inch thick. Or you might find it easiest to roll it out between to Silpats or pieces of plastic. Stamp out cookies in whatever shape you like - I used tiny scalloped circles here. Place on the prepared baking sheets, and bake for 7-10 minutes, or until they small of deep warm chocolate with toasty overtones. Larger cookies will take longer to cook than smaller ones. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack (if you have one).
- While the cookies are baking, go ahead and make the filling. Using a stand mixer or handheld mixer, whisk together the sugar and half and half until nice and fluffy. You want the filling to be thick enough that it doesn't ooze out the sides of the cookies after they are filled, so if you need to add more powdered sugar, do so in small increments. If you need to thin out your filling, add more half and half a few drops at a time. Whisk in the peppermint extract a bit at a time, and taste as you go, the peppermint flavor shouldn't be overwhelming. When the cookies have completely cooled slather a bit of filling on half of the cookies. Top each slather with another cookie and enjoy!
101cookbooks is an amazing website owned by Heidi Swanson. She provides healthy recipes of the vegetarian variety. The photos are seriously inspirational. Please check her website out.
I also tried out her Plump Pea Dumpling recipe ... and it totally didn't work out. I mean, they looked great, but it was definitely not for me. I think it was the shallots and lemon zest. Mind you, the shallot I used was semi-old so that could have contributed, but either way... I ended up not liking it. This was, of course, after I made a million dumplings (Go big or go home!!) and the day of my friend Patty's Christmas potluck. On the bright side, I am very good at folding wontons now. ha ha...
Sooooo... I ended up making my friend Sarah's recipe for Veggie Pizza. Since she hasn't posted it, I'm not going to put it in my journal. It's super good. The crust is basically Pilsbury crescent rolls all laid out, and the "sauce" is a combination of cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan cheese, garlic powder and dill. I actually used Sarah's processor again and it worked like a dream. You don't know how thankful I am. Seriously... It was SO MUCH easier. ha ha... Anywho, you spread that stuff on the crust and press these veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and olives) and cheddar into the errr.. stuff using parchment paper. It's AMAZING. And the veggies give this a really tasty crunch to it. And it's a pretty quick recipe.
FYI to myself, the recipe was sent to my gmail account. ha ha... There are, however, a whole bunch of recipes like that on the web. Here's one (for example): http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Veggie-Pizza/Detail.aspx
Alright, and now for the scalloped potatoes. My mom decided she wanted to make ham for Christmas dinner. A Cheung family first, let me tell ya.. ha ha.. Anyway, that's all she decided. She had no idea what to make and since I had some half and half and a lot of cheese, we decided that I should try to make some scalloped potatoes.
Scalloped Potatoes
Taken from these recipes:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Three-Cheese-Garlic-Scalloped-Potatoes/Detail.aspx?prop31=2
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Scalloped-Potatoes-and-Onions-2/Detail.aspx?prop31=2 (more so this one than the other one)
3 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup chopped onion
3+ cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (I realise now that I did NOT use enough broth. *smacks forehead*)
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or enough to cover top layer)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I used half and half)
pepper
cayenne pepper (to taste)
- Preheat oven at 325F.
- In a baking dish, layer potatoes, and onion and garlic alternately.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add broth, mayonnaise, and pepper; cook and stir until smooth, thick and bubbly. Pour over potatoes.
- Sprinkle with cheese and cayenne pepper.
- Bake for 30 minutes covered, and for 1 1/2 hours uncovered.
OK... ALL DONE NOW. Just going to sleep... now... |
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| Cooking Kick |
[Nov. 12th, 2008|10:10 pm] |
This was originally a long post with my usual boring but very random update, but as it turns out, hitting the post button was as effective as smothering my face with chloroform (*pause* ...not that I do that or anything.. *cough*).
Anywho, quickie update comprises of this -
1) have new teacher for japanese class as principal a) no longer wants to do it or b) had been waiting for a new teacher all along.. I hope it's b...
2) leaving for Taiwan in less than 2 weeks and I have no idea what I'm bringing. ha ha.. Planning for the trip isn't too bad, at least.
3) I'm starting a baking kick. :DDD I don't usually bake - mainly b/c I suck and I can't even make pancakes. But that's sort of related to what this post is going to be about.
Roasted Zucchini and Asiago Dip
From: http://stomachlove.blogspot.com/2008/09/roasted-zucchini-and-asiago-dip.html
INGREDIENTS
1 large zucchini
3 large shallots
3/4 cup freshly grated Asiago
salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil
white balsamic vinegar
- Preheat oven to 375◦
- Wash zucchini, trim off stem, and slice lengthwise down the middle. Lay round side down on baking sheet.
- Peel and cut shallots in half. Place next to zucchini on baking sheet.
- Drizzle all with olive oil and drizzle shallots also with white balsamic.
- Place in oven and bake for about 1/2 an hour or until all is soft and the shallots are barely golden on the underside (and I mean barely as any overly brown bits will be too much for the delicate flavour of the zucchini).
- Cut zucchini into large pieces and put everything, including any juice or leftover oil or balsamic, into a food processor. Process until all is nicely blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour half of zucchini mixture into an oven safe dish. Sprinkle on 1/4 cup of the Asiago. Pour in the rest of the zucchini mixture and sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup of Asiago on top.
- If you are serving this right after you make it, simply place the dish under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese bubbles and turn golden. If you are making this ahead of time, keep covered and refridgerated until ready to use. Bake in a 350◦ oven for 15 minutes or until heated through then turn on the broiler to get that cheese bubbling and golden.
This is a recipe from my friend Sarah's blog (which is now number 1 when you search 'Stomach Love' on Google! Hooray!!) and it's nummy. Sarah even gave me a food processor (!!) when I was telling her how hard it was to do it the first time I made it. So nice.. Anywho, the recipe got me ga-ga for roasting vegetables (and the shallots roasted with balsamic vinegar is my favourite part). If I could, I would probably have gone to the grocery store just to see how many veggies I could roast. ha ha.. It's fun. Autumn veggies are the best. :D
Also, like I said - I've going on a baking kick. Last week, I tried my hand at making banana, chocolate chip muffins. It turned out alright, but I think I may have mixed it a little too much. They're by no means inedible, but I think they could have been more fluffy. I didn't have enough bananas and it REALLY surprised me how much sugar actually goes into muffins. O_O It also makes me wonder about the muffins you buy at bakeries and stores. ha ha.. Anyway, I read that apple sauce is a good substitute for vegetable oil and if I use that, I can use less sugar. :D I also will have enough bananas this time around and of course, will probably add more chocolate chips. heh heh.. I should be able to do that this weekend (when I should be thinking about what I should be packing. ha ha..)
If the recipe with the substitute works out, I'll post it here.
I'm also going to try my hand at brownies. I'm looking at recipes right now. :D
I have to admit - the reason to why I'm on a baking kick is sort of forced as well... since I found out that we now have TWO containers of baking powder (!!!). O_O Apparently, my mom enjoys taking all our baking ingredients, putting them into a closed tupperware container and putting it into the pantry. Don't ask me where, tho. I still don't know where it was. She just stuck her hand in and suddenly, she had everything that I needed .. including the baking powder. Of course, I had just bought a new jar(?) of baking powder and threw away the receipt. booo.. Anyway, I'll probably never use all of it, but I can at least try. I think you only use, like, a teaspoon each time. ha ha..
It's lots of fun, tho. |
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| Guacamole |
[Apr. 20th, 2008|03:19 pm] |
I haven't done this for awhile. ^_____^ I'm really surprised how much I use livejournal for recipes. It's because my memory is terrible and it's easier to remember the proportions that I used when I first made it (and hopefully liked it). It's especially nice when I've combined a few recipes together. ha ha.. Generally, I'll just bring my laptop down on the kitchen table and just continuously use it as reference. Saves on paper! ...... but not on electricity. ha ha...
Anyway, I was supposed to do this with salsa a couple of weeks ago, but the cilantro I used went bad, so you can imagine how that salsa turned out. ha ha.. Hopefully, I'll try it again sometime..
Guacamole
Taken from this recipe - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Guacamole/Detail.aspx
INGREDIENTS
1 avocados, pitted and cubed (2 avocados if you are particularly craving avacado :D)
1/2 lime, juiced (use whole lime if 2 avacados are used)
1 small shallot, minced (or onion....like 1/6 of an onion...)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tomatoes, chopped finely
1 teaspoon minced garlic (1 clove?)
salt
pepper
cayenne pepper (optional)
- Place cubed avocado into a medium sized mixing bowl and stir in lime juice until avacado is completely coated.
- Stir in shallot, tomato and garlic into mixture. I sometimes combine these in a different bowl and slowly add it to the avacado to prevent from adding too much onion/shallot.
- Stir in cilantro. (I add this slowly as well.)
- Add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste.
Cubing the avocado and stirring in the ingredients basically lets you have a more chunky styled guacamole.
Also, I haven't tried this yet, but my best friend Niki just likes avocado, lime and pepper. I'm sure that's good as well. mmmm... guacamole...
P.S. It's fuggin' snowing over here in Calgary!! |
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| More recipes - to come... |
[Oct. 21st, 2007|10:23 pm] |
Just made my first batch of onion rings. ooooohhh... unfortunately, by the time I was done, it was already 10 o'clock at night. *lol* OH well, I guess I'll have some day old onion rings tomorrow. ha ha..
Also, coworker Sarah (things are alright again... I've basically brushed it off again..) gave me this really cool recipe for layered salad. It's really yummy. I will have to share that as well. The only thing is that it required A LOT of mayo. I mean, A LOT... I'm trying to think of something else to use instead of the mayo.
Oh well, all recipes to come... Re-watched Transformers tonight. It reaffirmed my love for Bumblebee. ha ha.. he's so cute..
Oh well, weekend is over now. I shall do a bit of my course in Ryo-logy (Edit: *drools* brain overload. tee hee...) and then play some more Zelda. Still not sure what to make of the stylus controls. It's still really amusing, though.
Oh wait - Auj bought Super Paper Mario!! (Oh how I miss thee...) They started from the very beginning and it was really amusing. Especially all the little Marios would show up. ("Sacrifice!!") ha ha... Will probably buy it soon. I really want to finish the game. |
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| Green Onion Pancakes |
[Aug. 29th, 2007|11:37 pm] |
I lied... *smacks forehead* This SHOULD be the last one. They turned out fairly well, except the last batch I forgot to use salt. :( I had to throw salt on the top.
On an entirely different note, I realised that I am so allergic to dogs that I can figure out the number of dog hairs that have fallen on me by looking at my skin afterwards and counting the number of ... mosquito bump like things. Hives? Yeah, I guess that's what it is. Reaction time is almost instantaneous. 0_o Yess.. I thought I would share that with everyone.
Green Onion Pancakes - 蔥油餅
from this recipe - http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?tname=green%2Donion%2Dpancake&print=true
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups chopped green onions
Grease - Cooking oil (peanut, corn, etc) or butter
Salt
Note: Water temperature is apparently important - though I haven't tried it myself. Cold water will make a crispier dough. Warmer water will make a chewy-er dough.
- In a mixing bowl, combine water and flour, and mix until you get a relatively consistent dough.
- Place dough onto a floured surface and knead the dough until smooth.
- Flatten the dough until it is about a 1/4" thick.
- Spread the preferred type of grease and salt onto the dough.
- Sprinkle and press the green onion into the flattened dough. Make sure it is consistently spread across the surface.
- Roll up the dough. I usually did this width wise.
- Cut the dough up into 1 1/2" segments.
- Take each segment and flatten them with your hands until they are about 1/4" thick again. If it is sticky, you may need to sprinkle flour on both sides of the newly made pancake.
- In a skillet over medium heat, fry the pancakes with oil on both sides until golden brown. (Oil isn't necessary, but it makes it MUCH better. ^___^)
- If a lot of green onions were used, lower the heat to low and cover for 5 minutes.
- Place pancakes onto a paper towel covered plate and allow to cool before eating.
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| Breaded Eggplant |
[Aug. 26th, 2007|11:09 am] |
Dear lord... it's flipping cold!! I'm off to Mozart on the Mountain in about an hour - but it looks like I will be bundling up quite a bit. It is raining right now and it is currently 9 degrees C. 0_o
Saw Stardust on Friday and I loooved it. It was such a fun movie to watch. Really entertaining. I don't want to give away too much and I don't have a lot of time to go into a lot of detail, but yess... 2nd last swordfight - very cool. I love the seven brothers idea. Captain Shakespeare rocks!! His first mate is from Press Gang!! I love him!
Anyway, last recipe for this summer since I won't be getting half days on Fridays anymore. My mom brought home some left overs from dinner that was basically battered eggplant. It was really really REALLY good. It was one of those recipes that uses the yolk of an egg (salted?) and so it was really flavourful. I tried out two recipes and only one turned out well - the other one required (I realised a little too late) a grill so that was messy... The breaded eggplant, I think, is a good substitute for anything you like to put on top of a slice of toasted bagette.
Breaded Eggplant
from this recipe - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Eggplant----Easy-Good-and-Tasty/Detail.aspx?src=etaf
INGREDIENTS
1 medium eggplant
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 cup dry bread crumbs
(+favourite toppings)
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet or pizza pan.
- Slice the eggplant into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices. Trim the skin, maintaining the round shape of the slices. In a small bowl, whip together the egg and water. Place the breadcrumbs in a separate small bowl. (I've also added onion salt and pepper to the breadcrumbs for more flavour)
- Dip the eggplant slices one at a time into the egg and water mixture, then into the breadcrumbs. One by one, place the coated slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet or pizza pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven approximately 15 minutes. Change oven setting to broil, and continue cooking 3 to 5 minutes. Check the slices frequently while broiling to avoid burning.
- Lower the oven temperature back to 375 degrees F, and take baking sheet out and top the eggplant with equal amounts of your favourite bagette toppings (think Tapas). Place the sheet back into the oven for an addition 5 minutes or until toppings are warmed up to desired temperature.
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| Niki's Moroccan Mint Tea |
[Aug. 19th, 2007|05:42 pm] |
Niki and Auj came over last night to try some Moroccan mint tea and watch the beginning of the Gladiator. We ended up watching the whole movie (as Auj strongly suspected) and I guess it was too late afterwards or Auj was really tired to go clubbing as originally intended. I was about 98% certain I wasn't going to go join them, anyway -- but that didn't stop them from teasing me about it. ha ha...
Gladiator was good. I've only ever watched it once, and it was still very entertaining. Love love love that song at the end: Now We Are Free - Gladiator OST. Beautiful song. It did come to the discussion of how we all end up viewing different cuts. Even DVDs will show different cuts from what is actually shown on TV. Apparently, on TV, there was a scene where Commodus(?) smashes his father's bust. It seems familiar to me and Auj remembered a scene like that, but it wasn't shown on my DVD. I think I thought the same thing for the Order of the Phoenix DVD had a different ending from the movie theatre. I'll have to watch it agiain...
Anyway, Niki made some Moroccan Mint Tea and it was yummy. It reminded me of drinking tea after popping an after dinner mint into my mouth at sushi. mmmm...
Niki's Moroccan Mint Tea
1 tablespoon (sprig) fresh mint leaves (per serving)
1 package gunpowder green tea
sugar
Prepare gunpowder tea as per directions.
Add mint leaves to individual cups, and add sugar to taste. I like about 1 teaspoon. |
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| YAY!!! Sweet and Sour Meatballs! |
[Aug. 17th, 2007|10:38 pm] |
Made the stuffed mushrooms again this Friday. This time I used bigger mushrooms and they turned out alright. ^____^ I actually liked the smaller mushrooms a lot better, so maybe for the actual event I will try to find medium sized mushrooms.
Anyway, tried a new recipe this Friday - Sweet and Sour Meatballs! They actually turned out pretty well. I just need to make more sauce next time ... and make them earlier in the day.
Bourne Ultimatum
I finally saw it this aftenoon! It was pretty cool and I liked it a lot. I'm pretty happy I went to watch it.
( Spoilers ahead... )
Link Rec
BTW, if you like cooking, you should visit my coworker's blog - http://www.stomachlove.blogspot.com/ (Stomach Love)
She's so enthusiastic and likes to share cooking tidbits and fun recipes.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
from this recipe -
Sweet 'n' Sour Meatballs - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-n-Sour-Meatballs-2/Detail.aspx
INGREDIENTS
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 pound ground beef
1 - 2 eggs (recipe specifically states 1 1/2 eggs so it's your call)
SAUCE:
3-1/2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- In a bowl, combine the eggs, onion, parsley and salt. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-1/2-in. balls. In a large skillet, brown meatballs in batches with a little oil. Transfer to a greased baking dish.
- In a saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Pour half of the sauce over meatballs. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.
- Place meatballs onto your serving dish and pour the rest of the sauce over the meatballs.
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| CEEEEEELEBRATE TONIGHT... COME ON!! |
[Aug. 10th, 2007|06:23 pm] |
Ali's first attempt at making stuffed mushrooms is a success! Huzzah! *chou happy*
Stuffed Mushrooms
combination of two allrecipes.com recipes -
1) Mouth-watering Stuffed Mushrooms - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mouth-Watering-Stuffed-Mushrooms/Detail.aspx?src=etaf
2) Stuffed Mushrooms with Spinach - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Stuffed-Mushrooms-with-Spinach/Detail.aspx?src=etaf
12 whole fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 package chopped spinach
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, spinach, shallot, spinach and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until cooked, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.
- When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons melted butter.
- Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.
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