Take Me To Cookie Heaven.

Much as i adore cookies, i don't make them very often, because, well, i tend to hoard the whole batch to myself and polish them off. Yes, i know, i'm a glutton and i love my cookies maybe a little too much, no shame in that :)


A quick flip through a cookie book while watching an episode of Heroes (yes i multi-task that way a lot) proved to be too much of an temptation for me late one night. Especially when i came across the recipe for peanut butter and chocolate cookies. As i scanned through the ingredients list, mentally ticking off everything i had in the kitchen, i started tuning out from the ongoing show. The room seemed to have gone silence in that few moments and nothing stood between me and my recipe.


Surprise surprise, i just loved this cookie. Packed with liberal amounts of dark chocolate and salted peanuts, and having both peanut butter and chocolate in the batter itself, this was downright sinful but so damned good. I especially loved how the smoothness and slightly bitter taste of the dark chocolate really cut through the rich texture of the cookie.

Peanut butter and chocolate, both in a cookie? It really doesn't get much better than that.

Just on a side note, it still amazes me how, despite not having any visual stimulus, i find myself going back to this book time and time again. Such is the power of Maida Heatter (and a tiny bit of blind faith) and she has never let me down. Gotta love her.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies [taken from Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies]


Ingredients
170g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
3/4 cup sifted plain flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
125g butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 175C. Line two baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
2. Sift flour, cocoa and baking soda into a large bowl and set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, mix butter, vanilla and peanut butter till well combined. Add in sugar, beat well. Add egg and combine well.
4. Fold in flour mixture. Add peanuts and chopped chocolate, mixing well.
5. Drop dough in heaping teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking trays, placing them about 2 inches apart.
   
6. Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating trays from front to back halfway through. Cookies will still be too soft when you remove them from the oven. They will become firm when cooled completely. Makes 36 cookies
   

Chicken Fingers.

Ever had one of those days where you come home starving, eager to soothe your rumbling tummy with the first edible thing you see? Rather than scoff down that bar of chocolate or bag of chips, why not try this- oven baked crispy chicken fillets.


Super easy to put together and really tasty. Plus preparation hardly takes up any time at all. Twenty minutes max is all it takes from taking the fillets out of the fridge to putting them into the oven. I just used whatever i had but feel free to drizzle some honey or add a couple drops of sesame oil, whatever rocks your boat.

Panko flakes, if you've never had them, are Japanese style bread crumbs. I much prefer them to the usual dried bread crumbs as they crisp up much better in the oven, making much yummier chicken strips. Nothing like a good crisp coating to jazz up your protein intake.

Crispy Chicken Fingers


Ingredients
2 pieces of chicken thigh fillets, sliced into thin strips
1 tsp five star powder
Generous dose of garlic powder
2 tbsp chicken curry powder
Dash of soy sauce
Salt and black pepper, to season
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko flakes

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Line 1 baking tray with baking paper or aluminum foil to ease cleaning up and set aside.
2. Season chicken strips with five star powder, garlic powder, chicken curry powder, soy sauce, salt and a generous amount of pepper.
3. Dip each strip into beaten eggs, then into panko flakes, placing crumbled pieces on prepared baking tray.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes. Serves 2 or 1 very hungry person
   

Semi Charmed Cookies.

Making macaroons, honestly, scares the hell out of me. I've heard enough horror stories about all the different things that could go wrong with it and had the pleasure of having it gone wrong not once but all four times i've tried my hand at it. The first two times were so bad they went straight into the trash can. The third time was well documented here and last but not least, the fourth time, well, let's just say they ended up looking more like meringues :) So you can understand why i'm pretty pleased with how these turned out though i still clearly have a lot of improving to do.

Hard as they might be to get right, there's nothing quite as thrilling as a good challenge in the kitchen. There's something about these little babies which goes beyond their amazing texture that keeps me trying to perfect them, working on my techniques and learning how stiff the whites should be beaten to, sifting through recipe after recipe in hopes of getting one to work for me. It could be my amazement at how egg whites can be whipped into such glossy and fluffy foam or the anticipation one gets after putting the unbaked macaroons in the oven, not knowing if the feet will form or the macaroons will crack while baking. Either way, i'm currently hooked on making these Italian cookies.


While these are not perfect by any means, i actually love how these look. The little cracks give them character in my humble opinion and i think it's cute how no two sandwiched macaroon looks the same.

These little babies were amazing, taste wise. Almost as light as air and crisp yet chewy at the same time. Sandwiched between chocolate ganache only serves to make it even more heavenly (think Nutella) and way more tempting to polish off the entire batch :)

Chocolate-Sandwiched Macaroons [adapted from here]


Ingredients
60g (about 2 eggs' worth) egg whites
17g caster sugar
75g hazelnut meal
75g icing sugar

75g caster sugar
25g water

1/3 cup cream
1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 160C. Line 2 baking sheets with nonstick baking paper and set aside.
2. Beat 30g of egg whites with electric mixer till soft peaks form. Add caster sugar and beat till well combined.
3. In a medium saucepan, combined caster sugar and water. Over high heat, allow mixture to boil, stirring well, then remove from heat. Pour boiling syrup slowly into egg white mixture and continue to whip till mixture is completely cooled and glossy.
4. Add remaining 30g of egg whites into mixture. Beat to combine well. Sift hazelnut meal and icing sugar over mixture and gently fold to combine well.
5. Using a plain tip, pipe macaroons onto prepared baking sheets in 3cm rounds, leaving about 2cm space between each macaroon. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Macaroons are done when they slide off baking paper easily.
   
6. To make filling Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside. Heat cream in a medium saucepan till just before boiling point. Remove from heat and pour cream immediately over chopped chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes then stir well till mixture is combined and smooth.
7. When both filling and macaroons have cooled completely, spread a scant teaspoonful over one macaroon and sandwich it with another. Repeat with the rest of the macaroons and fillings. Makes about 25 sandwiched macaroons
   

Garfield's Favourite Food.

At GT's request, i made lasagna tonight. Lasagna, you think, would be pretty easy right? Minced beef, tomato sauce, couples layers of pasta and tons of cheese. Sounds simple enough right? Well, apparently it isn't so simple. At least not for me the first time i tried it.

About a year ago i thought i would be adventurous and make lasagna, having eaten it a million times at cafes. After couple hours of preparing the ingredients and slogging in the kitchen, it was finally put into the oven as we eagerly waited for it to be done, appetites whetted by the aroma of the lasagna baking. So when it was finally done, we cut into it and piled it onto our plates. already tasting the heavenly lasagna. Well, let's just say, after the first forkful of lasagna, we were all laughing so hard it took us a while before we could continue with the rest of the meal, painfully. The lasagna was way too sweet. I was sure my sugar level was sky high after that meal. It was that bad. On hindsight, i should have smelt a rat with the recipe (tomato sauce and sugar?) but it did get a good laugh out of us. And yes, GT still teases me about it :)

So after that "incident", you could see why i was a little cautious when asked to make lasagna. God bless his soul for trusting me again where lasagna is concerned. So off i went, scurrying all over the internet in search of a decent recipe.


Thankfully, i pulled it off this time i think, if his polishing off four servings says anything. This was pretty easy to make although there is quite a bit of stirring by the stove. The minced beef and vegetables are first cooked in milk and then white wine, locking in both flavour and moisture in the meat. With the meat mixture layered between pasta sheets and topped with three different kinds of cheese, this was one hell of a lasagna.

Hopefully this means we can put my sweet lasagna episode behind us now :)

Lasagna [adapted from here and here]


Ingredients
2 chorizos, roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 brown onion, finely minced
3 handfuls of grated carrots
500g minced beef, seasoned with salt and black pepper
1 cup milk
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 can (400g) of diced tomatos
1 small tub of tomato paste
A pinch of nutmeg

2 egg yolks
50g grated parmesan cheese
200g ricotta
Pinch of nutmeg

6 large lasagna pasta sheets
1 cup tasty cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven at 200C. Grease a 9 inch square baking dish and set aside.
2. In a large pot, cook chorizos, onion, garlic and carrots over medium heat till softened. Add minced beef to mixture, cooking till browned.
   
3. Increasing heat to high, add milk and nutmeg. Allow milk to evaporate, stirring frequently. Add wine, allow to evaporate as well over high heat, stirring frequently.
   
4. Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, mixing well. Season to taste and simmer over low heat till sauce thickens.
   
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, ricotta, parmesan, nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Combine well and refrigerate till ready to use.
6. Dividing sauce into three portions, spread one portion over the bottom of baking dish. Top with 2 pasta sheets, overlapping them slightly. Spread another portion of the sauce and crumble half of ricotta mixture over sauce. Top again with 2 pasta sheets and repeat with remaining sauce and ricotta mixture. Top with remaining pasta sheets and generously sprinkle tasty cheese.
7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, covering baking dish with foil if cheese browns too quickly. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6
   

"Pizza Tonight!"

Pizzas are without doubt one of my favourite food. Give me a slice of mushroom or hawaiian pizza anytime any day and i would be hard pressed to turn it down.

But the one issue i've always had with most pizzas is that the crust isn't thin enough. I like my pizzas with really thin crust, as thin as they can go. Most of the restaurants on Lygon Street do a really good job at thin crust but when it comes to doing it myself, i can never roll out the dough thin enough. So imagine my excitement when i chanced upon this post by Elise. Flour tortillas! Who would have thought.


The pizzas came out perfect. Hawaiian was my choice of poison naturally. A crisp, paper thin crust topped with juicy, bursting with sweetness cubes of pineapples and savory leg ham, I really could have asked for a more perfect pizza.

Super Thin Hawaiian Pizza


Ingredients
6 flour tortillas
250g leg ham, shredded
Tasty cheese, grated
2 small tubs of tomato paste
1 bulb of garlic, peeled and mashed
Ground black pepper
Sprinkle of dried Italian herbs
Olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 225C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2. Combine tomato paste, garlic, pepper and italian herbs in a small bowl.
   
3. Place one tortilla, or two if they'll fit, on prepared baking tray. Brush with olive oil. Spread a thin layer with tomato paste mixture. Sprinkle ham and pineapples. Generously top with cheese. Brush edges of tortila with a bit more olive oil.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes, checking regularly, till tortilla is browned and crispy. Repeat with remaining tortillas and ingredients. Serves 4

P.S: If you're wondering about the title of this post, i'm convinced that's what Super Mario says each time he completes a stage :)

A Lazy Sunday Lunch.

It has been too long since i last cooked anything so when GT was craving for some roast beef while we were at Vic Mart, we picked up a slab of beef tenderloin and a bottle of red wine and were all set for a good meal.

This was really too easy. Barely any work required, in typical me fashion but it made for a really wholesome, satisfying lunch. The beef was a nice shade of pink, roasted to perfection, really succulent with the rich, warm undertones of the red wine really shining through. And how much do i love the potatoes. Crisp on the outside and warm and fluffy inside.

It really should be a crime for a meal this easy to put together to be this good.

Roast Beef with Red Wine


Ingredients
1 kg of beef tenderloin
Bottle of red wine
Salt
Black Pepper
1 bulb of garlic, peeled

Roast Potatoes


Ingredients
5 potatoes, quartered
A generous pinch of fresh rosemary, chopped
Olive Oil

1. Put beef into a ziplock bag and generously pour red wine into bag till the beef is completely soaked in it. Leave in fridge to marinate overnight, if possible.
2. Preheat oven to 200C. Line 2 roasting pan with aluminum foil to ease cleaning up. Take beef out of bag and place on 1 roasting pan, reserving red wine. Generously season beef with salt and pepper. Cut deep slits into beef at random intervals. Insert a garlic clove into each slit. Drizzle some of reserved red wine onto beef. Set aside while preparing roast potatoes.
3. Combine rosemary and olive oil in a small bowl. Place potatoes in the other roasting pan and generously brush potatoes with olive oil mixture, making sure to coat well.
4. Place the pan with the roast beef on the rack in the middle of the oven and the pan with the potatoes on the last rack. Roast for 20 minutes
5. Remove both pans from oven. Turn beef over. Turn potatoes and generously brush with more rosemary mixture. Return to oven and roast for another 20 minutes, checking on them frequently. If roast beef is starting to look dry, cover the top loosely with aluminum foil. Let beef stand for about 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4
   

And Everything Was Made Good.

Long before classes ended for the semester, way before the examination schedule was out, i made a list. A list that would give me the motivation i so sorely needed to get through the long, dark period of intensive studying. A list i had to learn to ignore each time i walked past the shelves that housed my much treasured cook books and food magazines, the same way i had learnt to ignore the 2.5 kg (yes you read it right) bag of Lindt 70% dark chocolate i had sitting on the floor, tempting me to chucking my books away for a couple of hours and reacquaint myself with the kitchen.

Oh, the temptation. It wasn't easy, i tell you but i resisted for what it was worth, for i knew that list, that list of all the meals and desserts i'm intending to whip up over the next month or so, was my light at the end of the long, dark, lonely tunnel.

Ironically, the second i finished my last paper, that list went right out the window. It was a horrid horrid paper and all i wanted was some chocolate ice cream to drown my sorrows in.

So make some chocolate ice cream i did. Chocolate truffle ice cream, to be specific. I ripped open that bag of Lindt chocolate and went about my merry way, the days where hours i spent studying stretched on from early morning to way past sun down long forgotten.


The heavenly aroma proved too hard to resist, i gave in to temptation and had a taste after it was freshly churned. My goodness, it was like eating a huge chocolate truffle; smooth, dark and really chocolatey. This really sent me to chocolate heaven, largely due to the combination of the generous amount of dark chocolate and cocoa powder i suspect. Definitely the best dark chocolate ice cream i've had in a while.

If stuffing up exam papers is what it takes for me to discover a to die for chocolate ice cream recipe, bring it on, i say :)

Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream [taken from Bruce Weinstein's The Ultimate Ice Cream Book]


Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups cream
1/4 cup cocoa powder
175g dark chocolate, chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 cup of cream with cocoa powder, whisking to combine. Bring to boil, then let simmer for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate in, stirring till smooth. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of cream and stir well. Pour into a large bowl, sitting bowl in an iced water bath and set aside.
2. Warm milk, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks together. Gradually pour warmed milk mixture into egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour mixture back into saucepan.
3. Over medium heat, stir mixture constantly with a wooden spoon, making sure to scrape the bottom of the saucepan, till mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Remove from heat and immediately pour custard through a strainer into the chocolate mixture. Add vanilla extract and stir till smooth.
4. Transfer to an airtight container and chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours. Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Makes 1 heavenly litre

Easy Peasy Waffles [taken from Betty Crocker's Cookbook]


Ingredients
2 cups self raising flour
125g butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt

1. Heat waffle iron. In a large bowl, beat eggs till fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients and combine thoroughly.
2. Bake for about 5 minutes with waffle iron, for about 5 minutes or until steaming stops. Carefully remove waffles and serve immediately. Makes about 6 waffles
   

Made With Love.

My little sister doesn't venture into the kitchen much, because i'm a hoarder and our tiny apartment kitchen gets a little too cramped for comfort with more than one person. But when she does, she bakes the most delicious things and these were truly no exception.

In fact they were so good i just had to rave about them here.

A bite into these petite babies reveal a red bean paste filling although much of its taste is lost in the creamy, subtle green tea frosting. But once all the hype your tastebuds have been making about the delicious frosting that complements the moist cupcake batter so well dies down, the red bean paste starts to shine through, leaving a pleasant, textured aftertaste. I scoffed down two at one go :)

Ahh, the benefits of being an older sister :)

Mooncakes Cupcakes [taken from Cupcake Bakeshop]


Ingredients
1 1/4 cups red adzuki beans
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 stick butter, at room temperature
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. To make bean paste Cover beans in cold water and soak uncovered, overnight.
   
2. Drain, transfer back to the pot and cover in 5 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
3. Drain and puree with a hand blender or in a food processor. Press through a metal sieve.
4. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pureed beans and sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon for about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to cool.
5. To make cupcake batter Preheat oven at 175C. Line 2 mini cupcake trays with mini cupcake liners. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
6. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beat well after each addition.
7. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add to mixer bowl. Add the milk and vanilla. Mix to combine. Fill each cupcake paper about 1/4 full. Smooth with the back of a spoon. Fill with about a teaspoon of bean paste. Top with more batter until about 3/4 full. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
   
8. To make green tea frosting Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy.
9. Add half of the sugar, the green tea powder, and the vanilla. Beat until combined. Gradually add remaining sugar until you get desired consistency. Frost cooled cupcakes. Makes 48 petite cupcakes
   

Colour Me Green.

I must admit, i'm not much of a cookie cutter person. Where cookies are involved, drop and bake are more my style. The whole chilling of the dough, rolling it out then gingerly cutting forms out with cookie cutters make for pretty, bite size cookies but they're a little too involved when i just want a cookie.


However, i just had to bring out my collection of cookie cutters for these delicate babies, and they were totally worth the effort.

Growing up, my family consumed boxes and boxes of Walker's shortbread. We could never get enough of those sinful cookies and they soon became my benchmark all shortbread would measure up against.

Those were good. But these. These petite shortbread just blew me away. They were simply everything shortbreads should be. A luscious intense green tea flavour perfectly matched with a lingering rich, buttery aftertaste that leaves you wanting more.

I just love the gorgeous hue of green these cookies have, tinted by the matcha powder. Nature once again leaves me in awe of her beauty. As though being shortbread that defined perfection wasn't good enough. I guess even in the cookie world, life sometimes just isn't fair.


Green Tea Shortbread [taken from Martha Stewart's Living Dec 2000 issue]


Ingredients
125g butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup plain flour, plus more for rolling
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp green tea powder

1. Preheat oven at 165C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and green tea powder.
   
3. Using an electric mixer, beat butter till pale and creamy for about 2 minutes. Add sugar and beat till well combined. Add flour mixture and fold in gently till just combined. Chill dough for about 30 minutes in the fridge till firm.
4. Dust work surface and rolling pin with flour before turning dough out onto surface. Roll dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut dough with 2 inch cookie cutters. Bake till firm, about 15 to 20 minutes, rotating tray halfway. Cool completely on wire rack. Makes about 65 tiny cookies

Caffeine Fix.

I have to admit, the first time i made biscottis, i wasn't impressed. Granted they were really easy to put together and didn't call for too many ingredients, they started to split halfway through the baking time. They totally didn't have the gorgeous sleek smooth curvature biscottis usually have. So i quickly took them out, cut them into slices anyway and had a taste. Superficialities aside, they were pretty good so i tried them again and the same thing thing happened.

I wrote it off to just being a recipe that didn't work for me and duly put biscottis out of my mind. Until i came across this post by ovenhaven. I knew i just had to give them another shot.

Fresh out of bananas and in bad need of caffeine fix, i decided to use the trusty Google to search for a recipe and viola, came across this recipe at JoyofBaking.


Surprise surprise, they split again while baking. Out of desperation to know what i was doing right, and others right, i Googled it and came across a post that claims it's natural for the biscotti logs to split. But that's the only source i've found on it so far so i'm not too sure how true it is.

In any case, these were nice crisp biscuits perfect for snacking. My only grip is that i could barely taste any hint of coffee. So i did what any normal person would do, have them with a huge mug of coffee. Just dunk and indulge. Bliss.

Cleaning Out The Fridge Part II.

At long last, i finally made that carrot cake.

This cake practically defined my childhood. There was little that could get me more excited than the aroma of this divine cake wafting through the house. To my then undiscerning tastebuds, a slice of this cake was such an exquisite treat and would quickly be gobbled up faster than you could ask to have a taste.


As far as carrot cakes go, this is the carrot cake i measure all other carrot cakes against and most don't even come close to being half as good. Moist, crumbly with the occasional burst of sweetness from the raisins i threw in in a whim and pineapple and topped with a generous dollop of cream cheese frosting, this is the cake that will put the spring back in my step in a long, hard day, turn a smile into a frown, you get my corny drift :)

This is by no means a health-conscious cake, it is meant to be dug right in with a fork, heck even with your fingers if you wish, and indulged in all its glorious tasty sinfulness. Be warned though, you might polish off the entire cake before you realize it.

My Mum's Carrot Cake
The list of ingredients came with one line; mix all ingredients. This is how i interpreted that.


Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup corn oil
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
2 cups grated carrots
1 can (440g) of crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup ground hazelnuts (use ground almonds if you like. i just had hazelnuts on hand)
3 handfuls of raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 tsp vanilla essence
250g Philly cream cheese, at room temperature
125g butter, at room temperature
1 cup icing sugar

1. Preheat oven at 180C. Grease and line the base of a 9 inch round springform pan. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine everything but flour, eggs and oil, taking care to mix well. Add oil and stir vigorously to combine. Add eggs in one at a time, combining well after each addition. Add flour in 2 batches, mixing till just combined.
   
3. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for about an hour, or till a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes up clean.
4. To make frosting Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, vanilla and butter together till well combined. Add icing sugar and combine well. When cake has cooled completely, spread evenly over top of cake.
   

I made 4 cupcakes, to tide a friend through her long day studying at the uni, and the rest into a cake, just for convenience's sake. Bake the mini cakes for about 25 minutes if you choose to make them in that form. It should easily give you 24 cupcakes.

Edit:
Text received from said friend an hour after the cupcakes were delivered-
"Babe, these are really really good! I've had two already. How much will go straight to my ass?"

Gotta love that girl :)