Thursday, May 29, 2008

I want to join

Tuesdays with Dorie.
But there's no way the required book is in Malaysia!

I wonder about Daring Bakers though...

*click*

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Chocolate Walnut Bars


A layer of walnut at the bottom and a layer of chocolate at the top makes this treat delectable!
Although I wonder why my chocolate layer has holes at the top (due to the bubbles when the chocolate was "boiling" in the oven).

Isnt as perfect as the pictures in the recipe book at all. Gotten this recipe from Essential Baking by Carole Clements.

Tasty nonetheless :)
This is how it looks like. Sorry about the blur picture. Camera still isn't working like it should.

Apple Buns


The apple buns finally make their debut here. After making them for like...what? the 5th time? or was it 6th?

Easy to make, and delish to eat, except the waiting time for the buns to rise is the killer. But all in all, its all worth it :)

Pinwheel Cookies!

Recipe from one of Agnes Chang's recipe books :)
Took me 4 hours just to prepare, mix and roll the dough into a pinwheel shape before refrigerating it overnight (required in recipe).

Some of them broke into pieces when i tried cutting the log into cookies before baking.
Forgot to brush the egg whites between the doughs before rolling. Silly me.

Tastes nice, and perhaps a tad too crunchy, but that's because I left them abit too long on the baking sheet, resulting the bottom being more cooked than the top.
Love the custard + coffee combination though :D

Sunday, May 4, 2008

All the things I've made so far II

1) Apple Fan Bun (twice)
2) White Chocolate & Almond cookies
3) Coco Crunch cookies (yetch!)
4) Steam buns (half batch of white, half batch of milo - milo one sucks)

Friday, April 18, 2008

American Apple Pie

Made American Apple Pie yesterday. After the Lemon Tart episode, was itching to make another pie :D but pies have loads of fat content :( might not bake another one till next year or two.



Taken with Nokia 6300. It doesn't have the macro function so there's no way I can get pictures anymore clearer than the above (they're on the verge of getting blurer too).

The pie is baked in a 9-inch flan pan (it's written "pie pan" but since the bottom juts out, I googled and found out its a flan pan). Soft texture and delicious apples inside.
Substituted butter for margerine. Scared it didnt work out but its fine :D

Recipe here

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

All the things I've made so far

Because of my faulty camera batteries, there would be no proof to show I made them, but I made them anyway (I should know it myself right):

1) Cinnamon buns (twice)
2) Chocolate piped biscuits
3) Currant(kismis) muffins (twice)
4) Plaited bread
5) Walnut bread
6) Crispy Oats Biscuits (failed - didnt cream butter and sugar according to instructions)
7) Chocolate Chip Cookies (failed - didnt cream butter and sugar according to instructions)
8) Banana Cake (twice - with help from Mom :D)
9) Victoria Sandwich (failed twice - did as recipe stated, 2nd time with sister's help but yield negative results)
10) Peanut Butter Cookies
11) Semprit Biscuits (instructions weren't clear, but cookies came out flat but soft)
12) Terengganu Butter Buns
13) Lemon Tart
14) Mango Pudding
15) Honey and Yogurt Muffins
16) Coffee Buns

Friday, March 28, 2008

Basic Muffins Recipes

Since i started baking muffins, I've been looking for the perfect basic muffin recipe (so I can add my own stuff to add taste to it). I've found 4 so far:

Basic Muffin Recipe I

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup warm milk
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup berries

Combine sugar and butter. Add eggs, milk and dry ingredients.
Fold in berries.
Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until done (springy when lightly touched).


Basic Muffins Recipe II

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 & 1/2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 220C. Combine wet ingredients.
Combine dry ingredients.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and just mix until combined.
Bake at 220C gas oven for 20-25 minutes or until "springy" to touch.
Variety: For blueberry muffins, add 1 tin of blueberries or 1 packet of frozen berries after combining wet and dry ingredients.


Basic Muffin Recipe III

2 cups all-purpose flour (wheat flour NOT wholewheat flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl beat the egg, milk, and oil.
Pour into the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.*
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full and bake at 400F for 18-20 minutes.
Makes one dozen normal-sized muffins.

*-add your desired flavours:
(1) 1/2 cup chocolate chips; or
(2) 3/4 cup blueberries, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, some lemon zest (grated yellow part of the lemon skin-this is optional); or
(3) 1/2 cup raisins and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder


Basic Muffin Recipe IV

1 & 1/2 cup wholewheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 cup skim milk
6 tablespoons apple sauce(it will have abit of an apple-ish flavour)

Preheat oven to 400F.
Mix first 4 ingredients together in a medium bowl.
Mix last 3 ingredients together in another bowl.
All liquid ingredients to dry ingredients.
And mix with few strokes as possible.
Line muffin pans with paper liners.
Fill liners 3/4 full.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until done.
*Variations:add about 1 cup of fruit or vegetables and 1 teaspoon of spice.


Good luck! :D

Monday, March 3, 2008

New Oven!

Dad bought a new oven yesterday XD Mighty happy, havent tested the oven yet, though i've done the first time heating :D

He didn't want to get the RM1k oven, so we decided on a RM429 one, which so happened was on sale too (it's not a display piece, mind).

Shall be using it to make Semprit Biscuits tomorrow ;)

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Recent news

Been making orange cookies and cream puff, delish! Although the orange cookies were a tad too sweet (because I used mandarin oranges instead of normal oranges), but their texture were a pass :)

No pics coz was too hungry hence didn't think of taking pictures first :(

Next on my must-try list:
1) Semprit cookies
2) Half Moons
3) Whole grain bread

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Places I'd like to eat...Authentic Japanese Cuisine

Gonbei
Starhill Gallery, Bintang Walk Tel : 03-2782 3801
-Foie Gras(Goose liver) Teppanyaki
Enjoy high-class semi-traditional Japanese dining experience.



Kampachi
Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur Tel : 03-2161 7777
-Vinegar sushi rice layered with seaweed and topped with salmon roe
-pan-fried clams with bean paste
-unagi no hako sushi
Voted by Malaysian Tourist Development Board as Best Oriental Restaurant. Kampachi offers Japanese cuisine from Ginza-trained culinary masters. Can also experience traditional Japanese dining atmosphere in the private rooms.



Zipangu
Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur Tel : 03-2032 2388
-Strawberry kiwi iced tea
Based on the modern Tokyo-style brasserie, offers modern design and authentic cuisine. There's walk-in wine and sake(Japanese rice wine) cellar, and individual grill and sushi counters.



Source : FEMALE magazine, issue and year published unknown, BuzzDining section.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Party Food

As a note to self:
*best way to serve spring rolls is when they're piping hot. Deep-fry it in hot cooking oil and only take it out when it's golden brown.
*for dips choices, there's sour cream, salsa, and chocolate(best with strawberries)
*for chips choices, there's potato, tortilla, and pretzels
*for stacked choices, there's canapes, mini sandwiches, pancakes, pizzas, and quesadillas
*for skewers variety, any marinated veggies or meat (beef, chicken, lamb) with toothpicks

Source : seventeen magazine, December 2006 issue, Nosh page.

Baking Tips...for fruit based cakes(like mango mousse and strawberry shortcake) and cupcakes

Source : Seventeen magazine, September 2006 issue.

When making fruit-based cakes/mousse:
*Use high quality ingredients.
*get fruits that are very ripe and juicy (unless stated in recipe) or the delicate flavours in the fruits will be lost.

When making cupcakes:
*to check if cupcakes are ready, insert a toothpick in the middle, if it comes out clean, then its done.
*always allow cupcakes to cool completely before decorating them.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Places I'd like to visit...for cakes and cupcakes!

Short note : I haven't been able to make anything or review places to eat so I'll just be putting up my target places I'd want to try out in the future.

Bakerzin
G312 G Flr One Utama Shopping Centre
Tel : 03-77294493
-mango mousse
-strawberry shortcake
-millefeuille (puff pastry with vanilla custard cream)

Delicious
F315 1st Flr One Utama Shopping Centre
Tel : 03-77241086
-cupcakes

Monday, February 4, 2008

Places I'd like to visit...

Hotel Nikko's Cafe Serena Brasserie
Tel : 03-2782 6228

Hotel Nikko's Benkay Japanese Restaurant
Tel : 03-2782 6228

Wild Rice Restaurant at Boulevard Hotel, Mid Valley
Tel : 03-2295 8124

Semarak Cafe at Grand BlueWave Hotel Shah Alam
Tel : 03-5511 8811 ext 2616

Ratu Manja (Vietnamese restaurant)
47 Jalan Damai KL Tel : 03-2161 9633

The Boardwalk @ Hilton Kuala Lumpur
8th Floor, Hilton KL Tel : 03-2264 2264
-Yakitori skewers with corn salsa
-Mini burgers
-Virgin Mai Tai, Marya Maniac, Pussy Foot
-Salmon Fish & Chips
-Japanese gyoza dumplings with ginger vinegar(minced chicken wrapped in wonton skins. They are steamed/deep-fried or pan-fried)
-breaded mini peppers with cheese (pepperdews<--a type of pepper that looks like cherry tomato but is very spicy, with pickled feta cheese that are then deep fried) -Japanese mini crabs with chilli sauce -Prawn wrapped in potato with egg sauce

(great view of the city, comfy chairs to lounge on, twinkling stars, swaying palm trees, soft music, best for celebration)

Ecogreen Life Cafe (for organic food)
125, Jalan Aminuddin Baki, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur Tel : 03-77258388
-grilled mackerel fish
-pie tee
-bread & egg set
-braised noodle
-soy burger
-chicken fried rice
-country chicken goulash
-organic chocolate

(there's also an outlet in One Utama Shopping Centre, Bangsar Village, and Hartamas Shopping Centre. Call 03-77242166 for outlet details)

Gobo Chit Chat @ Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur (appx RM30-RM50)
Tel : 03-23329888
-Dessert Sampler
-Assorted Sushi and Sashimi Platter
-Australian Beef Tenderloin


Dome Cafe
(appx RM25-RM40)
Tel : 03-2141 5971
-Chicken & Mushroom Pie
-Big Breakfast
-Pancake Stack
-Twister (drink)

Izzi @ KL (appx RM20-RM35)
44-2A, 44-3A, 44-4A Jalan Sultan Ismail Kuala Lumpur Tel : 03-2141 5808
-Fettucini Con Funghi
-Cheese Dough Ball
-Chocolate Dome
-Cappuccino

Lotus (appx RM5-RM10)
Restoran Nasi Kandar Penang Lotus No. 2 Jalan Binjai, Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03-2163 5181
-Naan & Tandoori
-Fish & Chips
-Chicken Rice
-Char Kuey Teow

Italiannies Restaurant
Lot F355, 1st Floor, Rainforest Zone, 1Utama Shopping Centre (New Wing), Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03-7727 1399
-Sicillian Chicken Salad (diced chicken breast, ripe mangoes, grapes, pine nuts, creamy lemon-Dijon dressing, served on a bed of crispy romaine lettuce)
-Garlic Chicken (roasted garlic, green and red pepper strips with grilled chicken and pomodoro sauce and mozzarella cheese)
-Spaghetti and meatballs (authentic spaghetti and delicious lightly herbed meatballs made with fresh oregano and parsley with delicate tomato sauce)
-Clam Linguine (aromatic simmer of garlic, tomatoes and parsley in olive oil and butter with clams and linguine)

18th-20th Centuries Restaurant
52, Jalan Datuk Sulaiman, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03-7725 5875
-baked cod fish with curry mayo and sambal spaghetti
-charbroiled lamb cutlets served with black pepper udon
-pan-fried Norwegian salmon cooked with red curry (tender salmon fillets are pan-seared with salt and pepper and served over Thai red curry, which is cooked with a generous amount of vegetables like brinjals, French beans, carrots together with anchovies to bring out its flavours.
-Norwegian salmon otak-otak (salmon mousse mixed with a mixture of herbs and steamed to perfection)
-ayam percik Kelantanese with pineapple fried rice
-wine (Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir)

Kottaram (Authentic Malayalee cuisine)
Lot F102 & F103, Phileo Damansara 1, Jalan 16/11, PJ
Tel : 03-7955 1342

Cibo Ristorante Italiano, Holiday Villa Subang
-Four Seasons Pizza
-Seafood and Spinach pizza
-Satay Pizza
-Hot & Szechuan Pizza
-Murtabak Pizza

Avanti Italian-Restorante
Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel Tel : 03-7492 8000 ext 3176
-Grilled Sea Scallop or Beef Carpaccio (starters)
-Maltagliati served with lobster ragout, fresh tomato and pesto sauce, or the Black Ink Fettucine(prawns, calamari and clam) (Pasta dishes)
-New Zealand Beef Tenderloin with Seared Duck Liver, Seabrass Papilotte and Pan Seared Fillet of Salmon (3 main dishes of choice)
-Warm Chocolate Cake served with homemade Mint Ice-Cream, and Avanti Tirami Su (dessert dishes)

Burharry Nasi Kandar Bistro
Asian Heritage Row
-local favorites + North-South Indian and Thai cuisine
The food has less oil and sugar therefore is healthier. Drinks are all less sugar-ed too.
-Briyani "Dham" Buhari
-Lamb Stroganoff
-Nasi Ayam Golek

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Places I'd like to visit...at One Bangsar

Bangsar Seafood Garden Restaurant (Oriental food)
No. 63 Jalan Ara Tel: 03-22822555
-Butter crab, prawns (Vietnamese and Jiang Nan style)

Sagar (North Indian cuisine)
No. 63A Jalan Ara Tel: 03-22842532
-Biriyani specialties
-fresh Indian bread like chappati and paratha
-Butter chicken (complements bread)

Hideki Fine Cuisine (Japanese)
No. 63B Jalan Ara Tel: 03-22821111
-Goma Ramen (contains milk and mayo)
-Oyster Mayo Yaki (grilled oysters served with special topping)
-BBQ Lamb Cutlets

Assam & Garam (Malay specialties)
No. 63C Jalan Ara Tel: 03-22826286
-Assam pedas
-Baby Pomfret Noodles
-Tok Beef
-open for breakfast, has tea spread with roti jala, local kuih and prawn botok

Stan's Deli & Bar (traditional Malay cuisine)
No. 63C Jalan Ara Tel: 03-22826286
-freshly made nasi lemak (with choice of sambal and gravies)
-variety of sweets and savouries (profitroles and scones to cakes and pies)

Cungdinh Vietnam Restaurant (Vietnam food)
No. 63D Jalan Ara Tel: 03-22835088
-Beef Ball Noodles
-Fish Fillet with Dill served with crackers

Montien Thai Restaurant
No. 63E Jalan Ara Tel: 03-22833116
-Fish Skin Kerabu
-Nahm Prik Long Rea (Thai minced chicken, dried prawns and salted egg with a platter of raw beans, sliced cucumber and cabbage, fried eggplant, steamed okra and crisp flaked catfish)

Le Francais French Dressing
No. 63F Jalan Ara Tel: 03-22822510
-Salmon Tartare
-Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce
-Creme Brulee (signature dessert)

Nine@One Bangsar (located above Stan's Deli) (Western food)
No. 63C-1 Jalan Ara Tel: 03-21666680
-Cinnamon and Honey Souffle
-great place to hang out with family and friends for drinks

Vincenzo (Italian cuisine)
No. 63H Jalan Ara Tel: 03-22871686
-pizzas, pastas
-slow oven-cooked Canadian codfish
-Strawberry Baked Cheesecake

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

:(

One year ago, I read an article featuring places to eat delicious brownies. Listed were Truffles Cafe, Ms Read Delicious, and Secret Recipe. The thing is, the Truffles' Cafe brownie looked oh-so-delish! in the article. Now, the cafe is non-existant, damn! :(

Monday, January 28, 2008

Cottage Pie

Ah, the traditional cottage pie. Topped with loads of mashed potatos, that itself will send potato-lovers to potato-heaven in an instant! Below the whole load of mashed potatoes, is filling like fried minced chicken/beef/pork and vegetables!

My Mom loves pie, especially those with loads of mashed potatoes :D so decided to make this for dinner one day.

After frying all the minced chicken and mixed vegetables underneath, youngest sis helped mashed the potatoes (more like lumps in there) and then sealed the fried filling underneath, and sent them all into the oven (for the purpose of cooking the mashed potatoes.

1and half hour after it came out of the oven ^^ happy happy~

Things that actually boost me to go on with baking/cooking: When I see people eating my cooked food and they're happy, I'm also happy ^^

EVO Yogurt Cake

I came across this great recipe (it really is great!) for a yogurt cake. So far I've never heard of a yogurt cake, and it seems healthy, and according to the person who made it, it's easy.

Hence, I gave it a try.

Hehe, was waiting for it to rise :) The baking sheet is to balance the heat. Yes, my oven is the cheapo type.

The oven's being real idiotic, without fail, whatever cake i bake, it will ALWAYS burn the side and the bottom part of the cake (which touches the tin) :(
But the rest of the cake is nice and tasty :)Almost one hour after baking it...

Only the parts with badly burnt side are left (I don't blame anyone for not eating them =/)

Gotten the recipe from here *click*

The cake is really good :D Do give it a try :)

Mee Suah (supposedly for CNY)

Mom wanted to try a recipe from this book she bought which features the type of meals we eat during Chinese New Year. One of them, is the traditional mee suah, but this one is with a twist. It's not the soup mee suah, its the dry one. It involves frying, basically.

Managed to get a couple of shots of it before Mom shook her head at me.


Really tasty ^^ the bits of chicken adds flavour to the entire meal :)

Friday, January 11, 2008

Recipe : Bowties with veal and mushroom sauce

Found this recipe at the back of the San Remo bowtie pasta package.

Ingredients :
*500g San Remo Bowties
*4 veal steaks cut into strips
*1 small onion, finely chopped
*125g mushrooms, thinly sliced
*1 tablespoon butter
*1/4 cup dry white wine
*2 teaspoons plain flour
*1/2 cup water
*1 beef stock cube
*salt, pepper
*2 tablespoons cream

#1 Melt butter in large frying pan and fry veal and onions until veal is cooked through. Remove from pan.

#2 Add wine to pan and bring to boil, stir in flour and mix well.

#3 Remove from heat and stir through water and crumbled stock cube.

#4 Return veal and onions to pan, stir in mushrooms and mix well.

#5 Season with salt and pepper and shimmer very slowly for 5 minutes. Stir in cream.

#6 Cook pasta according to packet instructions. Drain then gently mix through meat sauce.

Serves 4.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Chocolate Chip Cookies

A recipe for choc chip cookies in the Malaysian Women's Weekly mag. It's a reader's recipe, by Sherlin of Selangor (I'm quoting so I ain't plagiarising here).

Prep time : 20 mins
Bake time : 20-30 mins
Makes 24

* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 cup light brown sugar
* 3 tbsps granulated sugar
* 1 large egg
* 2 tsps vanilla extract
* 1 cup flour
* 1/2 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1 level tsp instant espresso coffee powder
* 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

#1 Preheat oven to 300'C. Cream butter with sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 secs or until fluffy.

#2 Beat in egg and vanilla for 30 secs.

#3 Sift dry ingredients together. Beat in butter mixture at low speed for 15 secs. Stir in espresso powder and chocolate chips.

#4 Using a tablespoon, scoop cookie dough; drop onto a greased cookie sheet. Place cookies 3cm apart. Gently press down dough with back of spoon to get a 5cm circle.

#5 Bake for 20 mins or until brown around the edges.


Hope to try this recipe, but I currently don't have an electric mixer (all these times I've been using a spoon and my own energy >.<

Quick Snack Fixes

Some info I found in a magazine:

#1 Instant soups can help warm you up in a cold freezing office.

#2 Take a good look at the label when buying:
For healthy intake, keep to 2.4g of sodium a day, and less than 2.4g if you have hypertension.

#3 Crunchy nuts like almond and pistachio are healthy snacks.

#4 Have some fruits on hand. Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose, and combined with fibre, a banana gives an instant boost of energy.
It's an economic and healthy way to beat the afternoon slump, compared to having your signature coffee.

15 Minutes Pasta Aglio Olio

Yesterday, attempted to make this 15 minutes Aglio Olio pasta. This is different from the cream-based pasta as Aglio Olio pastas are fried.

Sooo I happened to read this recipe from a Malaysian's Women Weekly magazine, June 2006 issue. Decided to try it out.

The result?

Took me quite awhile to get the ingredients ready as I had to boil the pasta, skin the garlic and chop them, and measure 100g of butter. Later, my mom helped with the garlic, while I boiled the pasta, and gotten the rest of the stuff on the cooking table.

And then it begans. Melt butter, add ingredients, add pasta(after draining the water) then add some more ingredients.

After that, I was supposed to toss the whole thing one last time, but being me, I tossed it till it was oily and dry. And you know what?

I couldn't even eat my own cooking. Had critics of my cooking. My brother loved it, ate two plates. M youngest sis said its too dry and oily. I can't taste it coz the bowtie pasta was hurting my braces -.-

Overall, I can add this to my achievement list :D

Welcome Note

Decided to open this blog dedicated to my culinary (mis)adventure. Well, I've left my accounting degree course forever. Considering diploma in culinary arts, so this blog is basically to see how far I can go. Track my progress. :D

So, here goes. I have loads of things want to do, but I have to go slow. Cannot make the same mistake as I did last time. Sigh. *fingers crossed*