Taste of Home Cook Meals

Paella De Pollo Con Romero

2013-04-30T22:03:00.000+08:00

Ultimate delicious and easy Spanish chicken paella dish (Chicken paella with rosemary) and will serve 4 as a main course.

Ingredients:

4-5 boneless chicken thigh, cut into halves
350g De Cecco riso arborio (rice) wash and drain
1.2 litre boiling chicken stock
3 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
1 medium size red Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
1 medium size pimiento or red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
320g or 3 medium size tomatoes, coarsely chooped
2 laurel or dry bay leaves
1 tsp azafrán de la mancha (saffron)
1 tbsp hot paprika, I prefer (Ambroisa)
½ tsp Ambroisa paella mix, added some colour and flavor (if available and preferable)
1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 fresh spring rosemary
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
freshly ground black pepper
salt

Preparation:

1. Marinate the chicken with chopped parsley, salt and ground pepper, leave at least 30 minutes, preferably longer on the fridge.

2. Heat the paella copper pan (Mauviel) or any heavy gauge paella pan over medium heat. Add only 1 tbsp olive oil, fry the chicken and skin side down its juices became the oily pool and cooked in its own fat

3. Fry the chicken thighs 8 minutes per side or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and crisp. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a large plate with wire rack or paper towels and drain the excess oil. Set aside.

4. On the same pan sauté garlic until fragrant, add onion and stir until the onion is translucent. Stir with pimientos and sauté for a 1 minute, then add the tomatoes and bay leaves.

5. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly until tomatoes are softened and caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld.

6. Add the rice into the pan.

7. Stir well to coat the rice.

8. Add 6 ladle spoon of boiling chicken stock.

9. And stir for a few seconds.

10. Add the paprika, saffron, paella mix, pinch of ground black pepper and season with salt. Taste and adjust seasoning (you might have to add more salt.)

11. Add the 1-2 spring rosemary and pour more 2 ladle spoon of chicken stock.

12. Stir well again until totally mix all the ingredients blended with the rice, you almost can smell it the aromatic flavor of rosemary and spice. Cover with lid and bring to a boil for 10-15 minutes. Stirring occasionally so that it does not burn on bottom of pan

13. After 10-15 minutes when the rice evenly and absorbs the liquid. Add the remaining stock and stir.

14. Place the chicken thighs on top of the paella rice mixture.

15. Reduce the heat to low, cover again and cook for a further 10 minutes until rice is tender but al dente and all the stock is absorbed.

16. When the paella is cooked, turn off the heat and rest for a few minutes.

17. Place paella at the table.

18. And serve with lemon wedges if desired.

L'Orange Soufflé Served With Crème Anglais (French Soufflé)

2013-04-02T22:44:00.000+08:00

Since its Easter Sunday or Domingo de Pascua, I thought it would be a fun and perfect recipe for the sweet treats is to cracked some eggs in the kitchen. I decided that I’d make a soufflés for Easter Sunday lunch. I'm gonna be honest it is my first time to make this luscious soft and airy dessert. I am so wary of attempting soufflés, which have the reputation of being difficult and temperamental it required techniques. I remember I pay for this souffle more than NT$400 in expensive french restaurant in Taipei. But after I made them and baked in perfection. I'm not gonna let any french restaurant and not at all to charge me around that price for just a little cost. And I'm so glad I did, I proved to myself that I could do it and say yes I can cooked French! Wasn't difficult! The reality is that they are relatively easy to make is like your making a Salzburger nockerl. While I am peeking in the glass window of the oven. I’m pleased as they rose up perfectly, I was so excited that I did say Alleluia the Christ is risen and so my souffles! This souffle recipe is so easy, If I can do it so you can, just involves dedication on cooking.

Ingredients:

2 oranges, juice and zest

3 tbsp cognac

2 organic egg yolks

4 organic egg whites

3 tsp corn flour

1 tbsp plain flour

100ml whip cream

100ml whole milk

6 tbsp caster sugar

pinch of salt

melted butter for greasing

refine white sugar

icing sugar for dusting
cream vanilla sauce

Preparation:

1. Take 4 ramekins and brush them completely with softened butter. Sprinkle some refine granulated sugar to each ramekins and turn them to coat the sides and bottom. So the soufflé doesn't stick to the dish. Shaking out any excess, set aside to chill in the fridge.

2. Put the cream, salt, plain flour and cornflour into a saucepan and whisk to a smooth paste.

3. Heat the milk in the microwave, but do not let it boil just steam. If you don't like using the microwave, just heat it up on the stove. Warm the milk in a saucepan over a medium heat until just boiling, remove from the heat. Mix the hot milk into the cream flour mixture with the wooden spoon, spatula or balloon whisk. Add a little a time and mix well until the mixture is smooth like really thick cream. Press if any lumps to the side, then add and strain the orange juice, orange extract and cognac then whisk.

4. Add the egg yolks whisking occasionally. Put the saucepan back on the stove to thicken again. Whisking constantly to a velvety texture. Transfer the custard mixture into a mixing bowl if you prefer. Let it cool into a body temperature. While cooling the custard mixture, preheat oven into 180°C.

5. When the custard mixture in the mixing bowl has cooled. It's time to whip or beat the egg whites. Place the egg whites in a large bowl using a hand whisk or electric mixer. Whisk and add the sugar as you are mixing, one spoonful at the time.

6. Keep whisking to give stiff, firm peaks to give volume to the meringue.

7. Add one large spoonful of the egg whites and mix well with the whisk or spatula to make the mixture less stiff. Add the orange zest and carefully fold in the remaining egg whites until well mixed.

8. Carefully spoon the mixture into prepared ramekins.

9. Run a thumb nail around the inside of the ramekins, this will help them to rise evenly.

10. Place the ramekins on the baking tray in the middle of the oven for about 15-20 minutes until risen and turning golden Don’t open the oven during cooking just watched them through the glass until they were done (The soufflés should be evenly risen and soft-pillowy inside..)

11. Take them out from the oven as soon as they’ve risen. Be careful, the ramekins are very hot. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately with cream vanilla sauce.

12. I loved to make a small slit in the middle of soufflé and fill it with cream vanilla sauce.

Dinuguan or Tidtad (Pork Blood Stew)

2013-03-22T22:08:00.000+08:00

This dish is one of my number 1 favorite Filipino dish. Dinuguan is a stew made of pork that has pig intestine usually including pig ears and everything in bizzare, cooked in its own blood with vinegar, laurel, garlic, onion and japaleños. It is similar to ancient Greek-Spartan melas zomos called the black soup. It may look disgusting and seems to be complicated bloody recipe, but it's delicious and worth all the trouble!

Ingredients:

800g pork butt or meat part is fine, cut to small pieces

700g clean pork intestine, cut into chunks

3 tbsp fish sauce

3 laurel or bay leaves

4 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped coarsely

5 long green chilies (japaleños)+ 2 red small chili if you like

1 medium red onion, sliced

pig's blood

datu puti plain vinegar or white vinegar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

healthy msg

salt and pepper

Notes:

Pigs blood its easily find somewhere in supermarkets, ethnic small grocery store or public market here in Taiwan.
Preparations:

1. Take 1 pigs blood is equivalent to 100g add some water just enough to make 3 cups, blend it, process it until just right consistency for the soup base.

2. In a heavy cassserole (mine is copper) heat oil over moderate medium heat, saute garlic until lightly brown then add the onion until translucent. Then add fish sauce, stir until it start to sizzle and frangrant.

3. Add the pork meat.

4. Then saute until browned.

5. Add pork intestine into the casserole.

6. Followed by bay leaves, add around 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper and stir for 3 minutes.

7. Pour the blood into the casserole.

8. Add some water around 2 cups, stir well.

9. Add 2 cups vinegar, but I will go for 3 cups it helps to eliminate the strong taste from the blood.

10. Stir, uncovered the pan and simmer slowly for 30 40 minutes or until blood is cooked and colour turn to black and thickens. All this time, the dinuguan should have been stirred occasionally.

11. After 30-40 minutes, add the chilies. I don’t like my chilies over cooked, the reason why I added them last.

12. Season with salt and msg as required, then stir and uncover.

13. Continue to simmer for about 5 or 10 minutes.

14. Once cooked, turn off the heat, cover and let the dinuguan or pork blood stew sit for awhile before serving. The stew gets more and more delicious even the next days!

15. Time to plate up and enjoy with steamed puto or steamed rice.

Blueberry & Orange Square Cake

2013-03-15T22:21:00.002+08:00

This is my husband favourite cake at the moment. It’s really light and tasty perfect for afternoon tea. I love the combination of the blueberry with extra hint of parmesan cheese. Then I used both rind and juice of orange. The result was yummy, it was even yummier the next day.

Ingredients:

2 cups self rising flour

1½ cups fresh blueberry

1 squeeze of sunkist cara cara orange

2 zest of orange

1 tbsp orange extract

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

3-4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup milk powder

1 cup melted unsalted butter

3 organic eggs

black sugar syrup

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C, prepare 9x9 inch square baking tin by greasing with butter. Line the base of tin with baking parchment cut to fit. Place flour, baking soda, baking powder, eggs, sugar, butter, extract and milk into the mixing bowl.

2. Beat in electric mixer, add the juice a little at a time.

3. Whisk for a couple of minutes until pale and creamy.

4. Now add the cheese, blueberry and orange zest.

5. Gently fold the batter mixture using a spatula. Be careful not to crush the blueberry and do not over mix.

6. Pour the batter mixture into tin.

7. Drizzle the black sugar syrup on top of the batter mixture.

8. Place on the middle shelf of preheated oven.

9. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until risen and golden brown. If you’re still not sure, insert a skewer in the center. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked through.

10. Remove the cake from the oven and leave in the tin, leave to cool completely.

11. Then run a knife around the edge to loosen it. Peel off the baking parchment, then cut the cake into squares.

12. Put the square cakes on a serving plates, drizzle some powder sugar if necessary.

Stir Fry Shrimp With Tomato & Basil

2013-03-14T23:05:00.001+08:00

This stir fry shrimp combination features zesty tomatoes and onion with a pleasant hint of basil.
Ingredients:

350g prawn or sweet shrimps, discard the shell and de-vein the black part of the prawn

250g cherry tomatoes, sliced in halves

3 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1 medium Spanish red onion, cut into a small chunks

2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

1 tsp dried red chili flakes
half of lemon

a handful of sweet basil

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. In a nonstick skillet or wok, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir-fry garlic, onion and cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the shrimp and stir-fry until pink but still translucent in the middle.

2. Add the chili flakes.

3. Shake or toss the shrimps around in the pan either sliding the pan back and forth.

4. Then squeeze half of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

5. Add the tomatoes and basil.

6. Continue to saute the shrimp mixture, tossing for a few seconds.

7. Add the parsley.

8. Stir-fry until the shrimp and tomatoes coated with sauce for about a few seconds. Do not overcooked the tomatoes just slightly translucent.

9. Remove pan from the heat, transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Izgara Köfte (Turkish Broiled Meatballs)

2013-03-08T22:16:00.000+08:00

One of my favourite ways of Turkish meatballs is this absolutely delicious and very quick and easy to make, that I discovered during our travel in Turkey. These izgara kofte can be made using minced lamb meat, infusing the meat with a fragrant Turkish spices and adding a little bit of sugar it helps to balanced the flavor. This is a simple recipe for making a meatball in the oven. They’re tender, delicate, moist not dry and taste like the autentic Turks kofte/meatballs. We personally love eating this dish in middle eastern style along with the saffron rice, bulgur pilaf, and charcoal grilled chili's, it goes well with shepherd's salad dish and wedges of lemon. (Makes 20 pieces of meatballs)

Ingredients:

600g ground beef

1 large yellow onion
1½ tbsp kofte spice
½ tbsp sumac spice
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
1¼ cup bread crumbs
1½ tbsp sugar
salt
olive oil
Preparation:

1. The first step was finely chopping my onion in my food processor for a quick prep.

2. Next up, preheat oven to 220°C; In large bowl combine all ingredients including the chopped onion, except olive oil, add some salt around 1¼ tbsp or depends on your personal taste.

3. Mush with your hands to mix well until combine. Clean your hands before handling the food.

4. Take a big bite size of meat mixture about 4½cm or you could make them any size you wanted. Roll each one in the palms on your hands and shaping them into a full moon, crescent, star hehehe.

5. Seriously just shape them into a classic meatballs or ovals.

6. Place on a shallow pan allow fat to drip away while broiling them into the oven.

7. Brush with olive oil.

8. Adjust your oven shelve to the top middle, place the roasting pan in the hot oven, pour around 500ml of boiling water.

9. Put the meatballs on top of the roasting pan.

10. Bake at preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until browned and no longer pink in center. You can cook these meatballs in a frying pan, add a few drops of olive oil and fry for 5-6 minutes or in barbecue grill.

11. When done, take them out from the oven.

12. Allow to rest for 1-2 minutes before serving.

13. Serve the warm kofte with steamed saffron rice, shepherds salad and grilled chili. You could do almost anything with them (pita bread with some salad) or plenty more ideas to serve these meatballs.

Crème Anglaise

2013-03-04T20:13:00.000+08:00

This french cream vanilla sauce it can be served warm or cold over souffle, fruits and other desserts.
Ingredients:

500ml whole milk but preferred low fat milk

6 organic egg yolks

1 vanilla pod, scrape

1 cup white granulated sugar

a dash of salt

Preparation:

1. In small pan simmer the milk until hot but not boiling. Combine sugar, egg yolks vanilla seeds and a dash of salt to bring out the flavor. Stir until evenly mixed, then add the vanilla pod or skin.

2. Place on top of the hob at low heat. Gently add the milk stirring constantly with balloon whisk until sauce thickens and creamy.

3. Immediately pour sauce through a fine sieve.

4. If is not thick enough on your linking. Put back in the pan add 1 tbsp cornstarch, then gradually whisk until lightly creamy custard.

5. Pour into a container, drizzle over the cake.

Steamed Cod With Pickle Bird Lime Tree

2013-03-01T22:27:00.000+08:00

Delicate and healthy dish and this is a basic and common Chinese steamed fish. But my husband think that this is a Taiwanese style steamed fish. Because of the Taiwanes pickle bird lime tree makes a good match with the fish. This recipe is really quick and easy to prepare it has similar result served in local food restaurants in Taiwan. Serve over white rice, using some of the sauce.
Ingredients:

600g clean black cod a.k.a sablefish, or used any white fish fillet.

2 tbsp thick sweet soy sauce

½ tbsp sugar
½ tbsp aroma sesame oil

1 tbsp rice wine

1 red chili, seeded and sliced

2-3 spring onions, shred

4 tbsp pickle lime bird tree or manjack tree

Preparation:

1. Add enough water to the wok then place a stainless steel steamer or bamboo steamer, bring to the boil in high heat. In a bowl combine soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar and mix well. Place the fish in conventional ceramic plate. Add the sauce mixture, arrange the spring onion and lime bird tree on top of the fish.

2. Then add the chili.

3. Place the plate over boiling water.

4. Cover and steam for 15 to 20 minutes, or until fish flakes easily. The fish steams in its own juices so you retain all of that flavor.

5. When ready, take the steamed fish out of the steamer. Drizzle some sesame oil over the fish then serve and dig in while is hot!

Fried Eggs With Spring Onion

2013-02-28T21:18:00.004+08:00

Simple Taiwanese style omelet and a very popular one and my husband favorited fried eggs. It only takes a few minutes and adds a great savory to go along with steamed rice or congee. You can also cooked this dish with dry salted radish.

Ingredients:
7 free range eggs
120g spring onion, coarsely chopped
salt
5-6 tbsp vegetable oil
Preparation:

1. Crack the eggs into a glass mixing bowl and beat them until they are frothy. Stir in spring onion, season with salt.

2. Heat a heavy nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Add the oil into the pan. When the oil is hot enough. Gently pour in the eggs, reduce the heat to low. Let the eggs cook for up to a minute or until the bottom is puffed or starts to set.

3. Using turner, gently stir the pan to allow the still liquid egg mixture to flow in underneath. Flip the omelet once or twice, Continue to fry it until inside is done and both sides are browned but still moist and soft. Transfer to a plate when the eggs are set, drizzle a litte bit soy sauce if desired and served with steamed rice.

coarsely slice

Ginataang Mais With Macapuno

2013-02-21T19:22:00.000+08:00

My version of ginataang mais with macapuno. Ginataang mais is a Filipino rice and corn sweet dessert or rice pudding and it really brings back a lot of memories of my grandmother Anastacia. There is one ingredient that not really a very traditional Filipino ginataang mais. I found out that the black rice it has a nutty flavor which makes this ginataan extra enjoyable to eat. Black rice is a type of whole grain glutinous rice usually eaten in Thailand. If you can't find black rice, just white glutinous rice that would be great. You can use corn kernel in a can but fresh is always best. This dish is that it can be served warm or cold, after meal or just a snack that every Filipino loves!

Ingredients:

4pcs fresh corn kernels

½ cup black sticky rice

1 ½ cup glutinous rice or malagkit

8-10 cups coconut milk

1 ½ cup granulated white sugar

2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup macapuno

a dash of salt

coconut cream

Preparation:

1. Put the black rice in a deep bowl and pour in cold water and soak for overnight. Drain the rice, wash and rinse through your fingers to clean it then drain. Repeat until the water comes clean.

2. Remove the fibers and outer skin, rinse and use a sharp knife to shred the corn from the cobs. Set aside.

3. In a copper pot or any heavy pot, mix all ingredients except for corn and cream, cover and heat until boiling.

4. Add the corn and stir, reduce heat to low and boil for about 20 minutes or until the rice and corn are cooked. By the way don't cooked too much, the rice it should be cook in al dente and not too soft it should be close to risotto.

5. Add the macapuno or fresh grated buco strips even better. Stir every now and then to prevent it from sticking to the pot., uncovered and cooked and boil for another 10 minutes. Add more water if necessary.

6. Add around 1 cup of coconut cream.

7. When the coconut cream has been absorbed, remove from the heat.

8. Serve hot or cold and drizzled some coconut cream on top if desired.

Scrumptious Apple Pie

2013-01-16T21:10:00.001+08:00

This was absolutely delicious apple pie I ever made and the perfect sweet to indulgence the first day of the year.
Ingredients:
10-12pc small granny smith apples or 5 large granny smith apples (green apples) peeled, cored and sliced
pistachios pie pastry☛see the recipe below this page
1 cup muscovado sugar
½ cup granulated white sugar
75g unsalted butter
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon powder
¼ salt
½ of lemon juice
1 zest of lemon
1 zest of orange
1 cup ocean spray dried pomegranate cranberries
1 egg beaten ,mix in 1 tbsp milk
some crystal sugar for dusting on top of the pie crust
Preparation:

1. Gently transfer the dough to a 10-inch pie plate, preferably baking glass, set aside. Then preheat oven to 220°C.

2. To make the filling , in a heavy pan, melt butter,sugar, cinnamon and a dash salt, stir thoroughly. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally while you are melting ingredients. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract, continue to stir until mixture thickens and its fully incorporated.

3. Add the sliced apples, dried pomegranate cranberries or just dried cranberries, zest of lemon and orange. Stir it all up from the bottom so that the softening apples come to the top and the raw apples get moved down. Continue to stir and cook until apples have softened and release more liquid. Just cook the apples they should still pretty much retain their basic shape and firmness. Remove from the heat, transfer the apples filling except the juice to a prepared pie crust.

4. Sprinkle with brown sugar and brushing the crust and edges with egg mixture.

5. Place the another crust on top, trim and crimp the edges. Roll out the remaining pastry, then use the cookie cutter to cut out Christmas tree or other shapes to decorate the top of the pie. Brush with egg mixture and attach. Poke some holes of the pie to allow for steam to escape.

6. Glaze the top of the pie with egg mixture.

7. Sprinkle with crystal sugar it adds crackle and crisp to the crust.

8. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and continue to bake until the juices are bubbling for further 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is a deep golden brown.

9. Meanwhile, bring to boil the apples' juice with 2 tbsp brown sugar until it's syrupy and leaving you with a very rich dark caramelized apple sauce. Transfer the apple sauce in gravy boat. Set aside.

10. When the pie is done, remove from the oven.

11. Let the pie cool for at least 1 hour or until the filling is set.

12. Serve slightly warm with additional vanilla ice cream and drizzle the apple sauce on top.

Lemon & Butter Herb Roasted Chicken

2013-01-10T22:00:00.000+08:00

This simple chicken recipe is what I use to make for sunday dinner or lunch twice a month. It’s one of my husband favorite roast chicken meal. My husband and kids prefer this dish without any sauce. These herb butter mixture, garlic and fresh herbs make for a good combination of savory flavor. I love the roast chicken cooked in lots of butter with herbs, season a bit more of salt and pepper, then marinate overnight. So makes the chicken very tasty and juicy, its melt-in-your-mouth flavor.
Ingredients:

4lbs free range whole chicken

175g softened butter

20g chopped rosemary, parsley, thyme, tarragon and oregano

2 garlic cloves, peel and used garlic press

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp spanish smoked paprika

1 lemon zest
1½ lemon juice

1 medium white onion

salt

roasted herb potatoes and carrots for side dish

Preparation:

1. For herb and butter seasoning, in a mixing bowl, mix together butter, herbs, paprika, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper with your hand or spoon. Set aside!

2. Preheat oven to 220°C; Rinse chicken pat dry with paper towels, remove any giblets and neck from inside chicken. Make sure the chicken is clean and dry. Using a long spoon or with your fingers slide under the skin starting from the neck side, and working your way to the legs and near to the wings side. Gently work the skin away from the meat and create as a pocket to place the seasoning in. Sprinkle body cavity with salt and pepper.

3. Now take some herb butter mixture to the pocket and work it in between the skin and the meat.

4. Use your hands on top of the skin and gently spread the butter mixture throughout legs, breast and near the wing. Do this on both sides of the breast. Leave around 1/3 or 1/4 of the herb butter mixture for stuffing .

5. Place the remaining herb butter mixture, 5 garlic cloves, onion and ½ lemon juice inside the body cavity. Tie drumsticks and wings together using kitchen twine. So that it holds together and butter seasoning while cooking. Then season generously with salt and pepper, another of squeeze of 1 lemon juice outside the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for overnight until ready to cook.

6. Place the chicken on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, cover with foil. Tuck the foil in every place to perfectly cover the baking dish to prevent the top from burning to quickly so the chicken will cook evenly inside-out. Roast in the preheated oven for about 1 hour.

7. After 1 hour of roasting remove the foil, reduce the temperature to 200°C. Basting with pan juices and bake for a further 30 minutes or more until the chicken is deep and golden so that you get that lovely crust.

8. Remove chicken from oven. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes before carving and this will ensure perfect moist and juiciness.

9. Transfer the chicken to a chopping board or large serving plate.

10. Cut and slice the chicken and serve with roasted herb potatoes and carrots or any side dishes and gravy sauce if you want. I made lemon onion gravy sauce but my family they didn't use any sauce. My husband says as the meat already juicy and very flavorful and roasted herb potatoes and carrots goes really well with chicken.

Roasted Herb Potatoes & Carrots

2013-01-09T20:27:00.000+08:00

I made these roasted potatoes and carrots are a great addition and accompaniment to New Year lunch meal. And these roasted potatoes and carrots they’re just as good and perfect served as a side dish with roast chicken.
Ingredients:
14-16 small gold yukon potatoes, peeled
400g earthbound organic carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into chunky pieces
5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbs chopped parsley and thyme
1 spring rosemary
1 lemon zest
salt and pepper
herb infused grapeseed oil

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 230°C. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the potatoes and carrots cook for about 15-20 minutes or until they are completely tender.

2. Strain well the carrots and potatoes.

3. Sprinkle generously with herb infused grapeseed oil. To making herb-infused grapeseed oil, select the herbs of your choice.I used to make herb-infused grapeseed or olive oil are rosemary, thyme, sage, tarragon, oregano and Italian parsley, you can chopped them and add garlic crushed if you want. In a sauce pan and add the oil to it. Heat it over a low flame until the oil is completely hot. Turn off the heat and add the herbs and cool. Discard the herbs and place the oil in container.

4. Place the boiled carrots and potatoes into the baking dish. Sprinkle generously with salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic and lemon zest.

5. Toss them well until evenly coated.

6. Bake these for 30 minutes until brown.

7. After 30 minutes, take them out from the oven. Add and sprinkle the herbs and torn the rosemary leaves into the roasted potatoes and carrots.

8. Add more herb infused grapeseed oil over the carrots and potatoes.

9. Put them back into the oven and bake for 15 minutes until crisp and serve straight away.

Prawn Salad In Pomegranate Salad Dressing

2013-01-03T17:32:00.000+08:00

Prawn cocktail is a classic appetizer dish and this one I’m doing is a salad version, which uses prawns, mayonnaise and pomegranate juice makes this dish one of the best prawn salad to kick off a holiday season celebration. I confess and the truth is, this is my first time tasting it. And it taste so good and I like it a lot.
Ingredients:

500g prawn, sliced

1 head romaine lettuce, sliced or torn into pieces

1 earthbound organic carrot , sliced thinly

12 orange cherry tomatoes, cut into halves or serve whole one

1 small red onion, sliced thinly

1 ripe avocado, peeled, cored and sliced

pomegranate seeds

For Pomegranate Salad Dressing:

200g mayonnaise (light)

1 tbsp extra strong french dijon mustard sauce

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp finely chopped red onion

4 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tbsp worcesrshire sauce

1 tsp tabasco sauce

4 tbsp freshly squeeze pomegranate juice

salt and ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Rinse the shrimp then steam for about 10 minutes over boiling water. Once cooked remove them from hot boiling water and cool for a few minutes. Once it cool, remove the heads, peel the prawn and set aside. You can devein the prawn if desired.

2. To make the pomegranate salad dressing, combine the mayonaise, worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, honey, onion, ketchup, tabasco except pomegranate juice in a mixing bowl and whisk together well. Adding a good amount of salt and pepper to your liking, then whisk.

3. Pour the pomegranate juice into the mayo mixture.

4. And whisk, make sure that this thoroughly blended well.

5. I like to put and make a bed of spoonful salad dressing into the base of salad bowl.

6. Divide the lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, carrot, onion and prawn.

7. Then sprinkle the pomegranate seeds and spoon over pomegranate salad dressings. Garnished some parsley leaves and serve.

Piña Ham-Homemade Sweet Ham Flavored in Pineapple

2012-12-28T10:48:00.000+08:00

Baked ham is an iconic holiday "Noche Beuna" centerpiece. As a Filipina with western cultures, I prefer the sweeter version of the ham flavor in pineapple with this pininyahan hamon or piña jamon. Sure! you can order or buy a holiday ham in Costco or supermarkets. Making a ham from scratch it something that sounds hard to do and it seems it takes a long time, actually is very easy to make. Home curing your own ham its freely to access any flavor you want and less expense. Buy a fresh boneless pork leg in a market and ask the bucther a piece of shank portion leaving just enough fat on the meat. This important for the perfect carmelise to juicy meat ratio.This easy recipe yields a sweet and juicy of my piña ham. Its old fashioned, it's comforting, it makes the kitchen smell wonderful Christmas and it's good for the heavenly holiday season.
Ingredients:

pork leg (3-4 kilo)
10 tbsp sugar
7 tbsp salt
2 tsp salitre or cured meat powder
kitchen twine
medical injection or syringe
1.6 litre Del monte pineapple juice
5 garlic cloves, crushed
10 Jamaican peppercorn
1 bay leaves
cloves
pineapple slices
2 dijon mustard sauce
3 tbsp honey syrup
Preparation:

1. Combine salt, sugar and salitre in a bowl, then mix all ingredients. Rub some of these season ingredients well into the meat. Then used kitchen twine and tie the meat tightly to maintain it's shape during the curing and cooking process. This is a very important step in creating a successful end product. Set aside the seasoned meat in a glass bowl. Rub again all the remaining season ingredients. Then cover and refrigerate for one day.

2. Using a syringe fill it up with the meat juices that were left in the glass bowl and start injecting into the meat. Set the cured meat aside in the glass bowl, covered inside the refrigerator. Repeat the injecting process every day until no juices remain. I marinated this ham for about 1 week. You can keep the ham inside a air tight plastic bag in the freezer for a month or more. Put the ham in a deep casserole, add enough pineapple juice to cover the ham but not quite full to the top of the ham. Add the Jamaican peppercorn, 10 cloves, bay leave and garlic, feel free to improvise. I injected the pineapple juice in the ham everywhere and anywhere I could poke that needle and inject the goodness into the meat.

3. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 2-3 hours, let the ham cool in its own liquid. The ham will continue to cook as the juice cools and this will allow the ham to soak up the flavor of the juice. If you plan to bake it directly to the oven, however, you may want to skip this step. Place the boiled ham in a baking dish and remove the twine. Preheat oven to 200°C and bake the ham for 30 minutes.

4. After 30 minutes baking in the oven. Remove the ham from the oven. Top with the pineapple rings, securing and stud them with cloves or toothpick. Place cherries or fresh cranberries into the centers of the rings, if desired.

5. Combined the honey and extra strong dijon mustard, mix well.

6. Brush the ham on top of pineapple and de-glazed to help carmelized the fruit during baking process.

7. Return the ham to the oven and bake until heated through for 25-30 minutes. Basting occasionally with the honey mixture. When done remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before carving, adding more jewel on the centers of the rings. Serve hot or cold in slices.

Suggestion: Best eaten while still hot served with mashed potato and pineapple reduction sauce. Enjoy!
For the Sauce:

Ingredients:
Remaining pineapple juice
1 tbsp dijon mustard
pinch of ground black pepper
cornstarch mix in 2 tbsp of water

Preparation:

1.While roasting the ham. Put the remaining juice in a saucepan, strain the peppercorns, cloves garlic and bay leave.

2. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer. Skim the fat off the liquid, reduce by half. Add the mustard and ground pepper. Continue to simmer for a couple minutes or until the glaze start to thicken. Add the cornstarch mixture stirring occasionally and simmer until thickened. When sauce has thickened, remove from heat and place on gravy boat.

Christmas Cupcakes

2012-12-27T10:23:00.003+08:00

Christmas time is like heaven to me and its my favorite time of the year! I had to find a way to turn chestnut cupcakes and pairing it with pomegranate seemed like a great combination with chocolate frosting cream. I made this little cakes the day before X'mas while my daughter was at school to share some with her classmates. They was thrilled the X'mas decoration and taking a lot of photos of my little cupcakes.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour, sifted
2 eggs, beaten
200ml melted butter
100g , coarsely ground cooked chestnut
175ml granulated sugar
1 whole pomegranate (makes ½ cup of juice)
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
sugar sprinkles and edible gold sprinkles, if desired
For Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 bar or 100g Noir 72 % cacao (dark chocolate)
1 block cheese cream
1 cup caster sugar
2 tbsp softened butter
2-3 tbsp milk or whip cream
Preparation:

1. Using the tip of a sharp knife, gently score a circle around the skin of the fruit. Cut the fruit into halves or quarters, then pull the fruit apart, working over a deep pan or large plate. Gently loosen the seeds with your fingers and tear away the bitter white part that segments. Some people bash a wooden spoon on the fruit but you lose too much juice. Using potato ricer this is the best way to squeeze and strain the pomegranate juice into a container. And there you have it! Use the juice for drinking or use these ruby jewels to adorn other recipes.

2. Preheat oven to 180°C, line cupcake 0r muffin pans with paper liners, set aside. Using an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and mix on low speed until combined for about 2-3 minutes. Slowly add the eggs and butter beating after each addition. Stir in pomegranate juice until light and fluffy.

3. Mix in the chestnut until everything is well combined.

4. Scoop batter into baking cups filling about 2/3 full.

5. Bake for 20 minutes, once fully cooked, immediately remove the pans from the oven. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

6. Heat some water in the saucepan, then place a deep bowl over the top of the saucepan. Place the chocolate to be melted, broken into small pieces into the bowl.

7. Once the chocolate appears to have melted. Stir the melted chocolate well to ensure that it is completely smooth, remove the pan from the heat, it is ready for use in recipes.

8. Beat the cream cheese, butter and sugar in a electric mixer until soft. Add the milk or whipped cream, then gradually add the melted chocolate and mix until blended and creamy.

9. Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe the icing using a spiralling motion onto the cup cakes. Decorate and grab some of your favorite holiday sprinkles.

Festive Hot Chocolate With Marshmallows

2012-12-26T18:00:00.000+08:00

I made this hot drink before my kids going to school on X'mas day. During winter season they loves hot chocolate and was very happy with this version. A little hazelnut added at the end gives the drink extra hint of the original marshmallows chocolate milk. Then finishes off the drink with a pile of whipped cream. This is just like the real thing sipping it on early cold Christmas morning and take the chill off with a warm cup of hot chocolate! Once you try it you may never want drink instant swiss-miss again and tastes so much better than those instant packets.

Ingredients:

8 cups fresh whole milk

5 tbsp hersey's unsweetened cocoa powder

100g 72% noir or dark unsweetened chocolate bar

2 tbsp finely and coarsely ground hazelnut
sugar sprinkles
gold edible sprinkle

sugar

salt

Preparation:

1. Heat the whole fresh milk into a saucepan at low heat until very hot, but do not boil. Whisk constantly in a while to ensure that the milk doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the vanilla, cocoa powder and chocolate bar

2.Whisk until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat then add the hazelnut, add sugar on your desired sweetness. Add a little bit of salt to brings out the flavor, stir well.

3. Place marshmallow into the mugs.

4. Then pour the chocolate mixture.

5. Serve with whipped cream and sprinkles on top. Makes for 4 servings!

Eggplant Salad

2012-12-24T09:00:00.000+08:00

This dish is turned me on to Turkish cookery called "Patlican salatasi' it taste delicious. I personally love eating this dish with grilled fish, kebobs and hot steamed saffron rice. So I had to try to replicate this eggplant salad dish. The taste is pungent, smoky, tangy and more pleasing in texture. Serve for 4 persons!

Ingredients:

750g eggplants

2 green sweet peppers

1½ lemon juice

7 pitted black olives, chopped

10 pcs cherry tomatoes

1 small white onion chopped coarsely

8 tbsp pure olive oil

1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Prepare and heat a charcoal barbecue. Wash the eggplants and sweet peppers and grill. Turning a couple of times until they are burnt outside and tender inside.

2. Place in a bowl while still hot, cover with plastic wrap until they are cool enough to hold.

3. Then peel off all the skin, cut the steam of the eggplants and deseed the sweet peppers.

4. Put immediately in the mixing bowl and mash it with a fork.

5. Add the onion, salt and pepper to taste, olive oil, lemon juice, mix well.

6. Add the chopped pitted black olives, tomatoes and parsley, stir gently and blend all ingredients. Do not over mix. Arrange on a serving dish and decorate with black olives (cut into halves) and spring parsley.

Apple Apricot & Peach Crumble

2012-12-21T21:51:00.001+08:00

This apple apricot and peach crumble and absolutely delicious served with vanilla ice cream. It tastes even better while still hot! This recipe it's super easy to make and my kids love it. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Ingredients:
3 pcs. red apples
3 pcs. peaches
4 pcs black velvet apricots
50g pecans
1 lemon zest and juice
½ cup light sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder
Crumble Topping:
1½ cups self rising flour
1 cup wheat germ
½ cup softened butter
½ cup muscovado sugar or you can over power the sweetness of this dessert.
4 tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Preparation:

1. Heat oven at 180°C, butter a square baking dish. Meanwhile, skin peeled the apples and cut into quarters. Then peeled and cored the peaches and apricots or leave the skin on and cut into quarters.

2. Put the sliced fruits, pecans, cinnamon, lemon zest and juice in a large mixing bowl, mixing all together.

3. Transfer the fruits mixture in a prepared baking dish.

4. To make the crumble topping, put the topping ingredients into a mixing bowl.

5. Then rub with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

6. Spread the crumble all over fruits.

7. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until the apples are soft and bubbling, and the crumble topping is golden brown and crisp.

8. Pop a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

9. Place on top of the fruits crumble on each plate and drizzle some caramel sauce if desired. Serve and enjoy

Autumn Cupcakes

2012-11-23T15:10:00.001+08:00

I made this cupcakes yesterday and inspired me the autumn colours. The combination of pumpkin and poached pear makes this recipe a perfect treat for cool thanks giving day!

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups sifted flour

¼ cup wheat germ

2 free range eggs, beaten

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 pcs poached pear see the recipe below☟

1 cup homemade pumpkin puree

175ml melted butter

2/3 cup or 150ml refined granulated sugar
sprinkles and edible fall leaves cake decorations (sugar robot)

For Frosting Cream:

300g cheese cream

1 cup custard sugar

2 tbsp honey syrup

2 tbsp vanilla extract

green food colouring paste or colour of your choice

Preparation:

1. Using a food processor, pulse poached pear until coarsely ground, set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 200°C and prepare a 12 double paper liners in a muffin pan. Combine the flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt in a electric mixing bowl and whisk. Add eggs followed by butter beating until each is incorporated.

3. Remove from the stand, add pumpkin puree and coarsely ground pear.

4. Gently stir until just combined and do not over mix.

5. Spoon the batter equally into the lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.

6. Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes until golden brown.

7. Remove the cakes from oven.

8. Remove the tins, transfer the cakes onto rack and let cool completely.

9. Combine the sugar, cream cheese, vanilla extract, honey and beat until fluffy. Using a bbq stick, add food colouring paste and stir until smooth again. Transfer the frosting icing to a piping bag or a resealable plastic pastry bag.

10. Spread the frosting icing equally over the tops of the thoroughly cooled cupcakes.

11. Then sprinkle with colored sprinkles on top and decorate your cupcakes with decor.

For Poached Pears

4-6 red firm pears, peeled

600ml water

150ml french champagne cognac or brandy

1 whole lemon peel (skin)

1 whole lemon juice

1 cinnamon stick

3/4 cup muscovado sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

Place the sugar, water cognac, pinch of salt, cinnamon sticks in a pan and add vanilla extract or half vanilla pod doesn't matter which you prefer. Bring to the boil and simmer until bubble then add pears immediately in the sugar mixtures and cover the pan with a circle of greaseproof paper, followed by a lid. Cook pears for 20-25 minutes in simmering liquid or until tender but not mushy, set aside.

Poached pears can be refrigerated for a few days in airtight containers.

Confit Duck With Yellow Lentils

2012-11-22T21:12:00.000+08:00

French confit duck or duck confit a wonderful served with lentils and a savoury dressing it just seems like a luxury 'an indulgence.' Confit duck also it goes well with bake potatoes and green salads.

Ingredients:
2 whole duck or 4 duck legs
6 cups duck fat (lard)
1 tbsp dried tarragon
1 spring rosemary
2 spring thyme
pinch of salt
For the Sauce:
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
8 cubes or 120ml duck demi-glazed sauce
½ lemon juice
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt
For The Lentils:
3 cups yellow lentils

3 cups chicken stock

1 large potato cut into small chunks

1 large onion or fennel even better (dice)

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 bay leave

2 tbsp duck lard from marinated confit duck

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

pinch of salt and black ground pepper to taste

2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley, sage and thyme

Preparation:

1. Before making your confit duck, you’ll need to butcher the duck, the first method, separating the breast and leaving leg and thigh intact and save the other parts for other cooking purposes. Lay the leg portions on a chopping board or platter. Rub with some salt and ground black pepper on each of leg portions, the good thing about making it own your confit duck, you can control to decrease the over-salty quality and get rid the saltiness of your marinated confit duck. Put the ducks in the bottom of a glass or plastic container then sprinkle and rub with the garlic and tarragon with your hands. Cover and refrigerate and allow to cure for overnight or 2 days.

2. Preheat oven to 150-200°C; Remove the duck from the refrigerator, melt the duck fat in a small saucepan or in a microwave oven. Arrange the duck pieces in a enameled cast-iron pot. Add the rosemary and thyme in the bottom. Pour the melted fat over the duck and it should be covered by fat, place the confit in the oven. Cook the confit slowly at a very slow simmer for 3-4 hours until the duck is tender and can be easily pulled from the bone. Remove the confit duck from the oven, transfer the duck in a glass air tight or stoneware container. Cover the confit with the fat and stored in the refrigerator for several weeks.

3. Meanwhile; rinse the lentils, heat 2 tbs reserved fat in a copper pan or any pan over a medium heat. Saute garlic and onion until lightly browned. Add the potatoes, bay leave and stir for 1 minutes, then pour the chicken stock, cover and bring to a boil until the potatoes slightly tender or almost half cook. Add the lentils put a lid on top, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 20-25 minutes until lentils are just tender or have reached the texture you desire, adding more stock if necessary. Add the balsamic vinegar, lemon zest,chopped herbs, season with salt and pepper, mix all together and set aside.

4. While the lentils are cooking, after the duck legs were ripen in the refrigerator for a week. Then took them out and scrape off excess fat from duck as possible and set aside.

5. Preheat oven to 220°C. Heat 2 tbsp butter or reserved fat in a oven proof skillet over a medium heat. Place duck legs, skin side up and fry for a while around 1-2 minutes.

6.Then roast in the oven for a further 10 minutes until skin is browned and crisp.

7. Pat legs dry with paper towel.

8. Reduced the duck fat from the same skillet. Saute shallots, stirring, for 1 minute until just starting to soften. Add the duck demi glazed sauce, balsamic and lemon juice, simmer and stirring continously until all of the components are melts and hot then season with salt.

9. Place the lentils on a individual plate.

10. Lay the crisp duck leg on the lentils, drizzle the sauce over the duck leg. Serve immediately with glass of good red wine.

Shepherd's Salad

2012-11-21T22:13:00.002+08:00

Coban salatasi (Turkish shepherd's salad) a nice and refreshing salad with a bit of heat from fresh chillies. Ingredients

3 large size red tomatoes

1 medium size red onion

2 medium size green sweet chillies

2 small size cucumber

a handful of fresh flat parsley

olive oil

salt

sumac

Preparation:

1. Wash, peel and cut cucumbers into small parts. In the meantime, wash the tomatoes, peel and remove the seeds and cut into pieces. If you prefer, you can leave the skins and seeds on the tomatoes although traditionally most of the restaurants we have eaten in Turkey will peel the skin of the tomatoes. Slice and dice the onion, then cut the chillies diagonally or slit along the length, coarsely chop the parsley, place in large bowl.

2. Add pinch of salt and drizzle some good olive oil.

3. Mix everything together.

4. Serve this salad in small portions on salad plates, sprinkle some sumac spice on top or just toss everything all at once. Garnish with parsley leaves.

Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Pie

2012-11-20T20:30:00.001+08:00

A delicious sweet pie, two things that go great together are pumpkin and sweet potato, the pairing of the season!
Ingredients:

9 inch pistachios pie pastry crust☛see the recipe below this page
700g sweet pumpkin or half cut of whole pumpkin
3 egg yolks
5 tbsp sifted plain flour
50g ricotta cheese
1 cup condense milk
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
½ tsp cinnamon powder
¼ salt
1 orange zest
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Preparation:

1. Rinse the sweet potato, peel and cut into cubes. Scrape and wash the exterior of the pumpkin. Lay the pumpkin and sweet potato in a baking pan. Bake at 200°C for 30 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and let it cool, discard the pumpkin skin. Now, if you have a food processor, combine all the ingredients, pulse the ingredients until it’s totally smooth. Just before you start to bake the pie, preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Pour the pumpkin and sweet potato mixture into the warm prepared pistachios pie crust.

3. Smooth the surface of pumpkin and potato filling.

4. Sprinkle with colored sprinkles any colors you like if necessary. I used autumn sprinkles to capture the autumn color on top of the sweet potato and pumpkin pie.

5. Then bake for 50 minutes or until the center is set.

6. Remove from the oven and place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature for as long as you please.

7. Cut into slices and serve with a generous amount of whipped cream or nothing at all - it's great!

Fried Zucchini

2012-11-19T23:33:00.001+08:00

This simple zucchini recipe is pretty darn good and great side dish or as an appetizer.
Ingredients:
4 medium zucchini
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
½ of lemon juice
1 lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup olive oil
Preperation:

1. Cut zucchini into 1/2-inch thick slices.

2. In a mixing bowl, toss the zucchini slices with parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. If desired, you can sprinkle other spices on zucchini.

3. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Lay the zucchini tothe pan in batches, taking care not to crowd.

4. Fry on one side, flip carefully and cook until evenly browned and zucchini is just tender but not too soft.

5. Drain on paper towels and serve along with pan seared fish fillet, steak or other hot grilled meats.

Chicken Kebabs Serve With Chili's Zucchini & Saffron Rice

2012-11-16T23:09:00.000+08:00

Chicken kebabs or kebobs a favorite of ours. Originally this was a Turkish dish of marinated in saffron chicken are supreme flavor and tenderness along with cumin, garlic and onion, that was skewered and grilled over a charcoal fire.
Ingredients:
800g skinless and boneless chicken breast
1 tbsp saffron powder
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp salt
1 medium red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
2 zucchini and chilli's (optional)
Preparations:

1. Cut the meat into a 1 to 2-inch cubes or bite pieces, add salt, cumin and saffron powder.

2. Add the onion and garlic use a garlic press to release more flavor.

3. Mix well the lean meat by hand to extract the flavors.

4. Cover and marinate in the fridge 6 hours or overnight.

5. Skewer the meat, cook over hot coal to your liking, turning and brushing with some olive oil. Alternating with sliced zucchini and chilli's and cooked and brush with remaining olive oil and sprinkle salt on each side. Serve kebabs on hot saffron rice.