Rotisserie Chicken

Near where we live, we have a very nice farm shop.  

We bought a hugeeeeee free range chicken and thought we would try out the rotisserie function of the bbq we bought last year.  

We marinated the chicken with olive oil, lemon zest, fresh rosemary, lemon juice and garlic, salt and pepper

Stuffed slices of butter underneath the skin around the brest to keep it moist

We stuffed more garlic lemon and rosemary inside the chicken --> how can it not taste nice!

Our bbq has this battery operated motor that turns the chicken constantly to make sure the chicken is cooked evenly :) 

We put a little plate to keep the juicee and Keith constantly brush it back on to keep the chicken moist

It took approximately an hour (depending on the size of the chicken + how hot the charcoals are)

We checked the temperature of its thigh using a thermometer

According to the below website

http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2007/OlubunmiFashusi.shtml

Something along 65 - 75 degree should do

and it tasted sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo goooooooooooooooooooood

Summer Roll

Dipping sauce  ( ¾ cup)

3 tablespoons lime juice (1 fat, thin skin lime)

2 tablespoons sugar

½ cup water

2 ½ tablespoons fish sauce

Optional additions:

1 small garlic clove, finely minced

1 or 2 Thai chilis, thinly sliced or 1 teaspoon homemade chili garlic sauce

Ingredients

Dried rice paper wrapper - soaked till soften

Rice vermicelli - boiled and cooled with cold running water

king prawn (3 halves per roll - panfried with garlic)

chopped fresh mint, coriander, thai basil

lettuce

(whatever u want really) 

Instructions: http://www.chow.com/recipes/10641-vietnamese-style-summer-rolls-with-peanut-sauce

Miso Glazed Salmon ochazuke

Ingredients
1 tbsp miso

1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp (1 inch) crushed ginger
1/2 tsp (1/2 clove) crushed garlic
1-2 tsp vegetable oil
2-3 oz salmon fillet, skinned and pin bones removed
1/2 tsp furikake, optional
2/3-3/4 c steamed rice
1/2-1 c green tea (I used genmaicha tea)



1. Mix together miso, mirin, ginger, and garlic – forming a thin paste like mustard.
2. Coat the Salmon with miso mixture.
    Seal and marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
3. Wipe off excess miso mixture with your fingers from Salmon .
     It’ll look a little smeary but you don’t want large blobs
4.  Pan fry the Salmon on the skin side
     Put it onto a baking tray and grill it on the highest rack for 3-4 minutes till cooked.
5. Serve over rice, sprinkle with furikake
    I have also sprinkled a sachet of chazuke crispy seaweed mixture
    Pour hot tea over everything. Makes 1 serving.


Link http://gekiuma.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/%E5%A1%A9%E9%AE%AD%E3%81%8A%E8%8C%B6%E6%BC%AC%E3%81%91-japanese-comfort-food-or-miso-salted-salmon-with-green-tea/

Carbonade

Carbonade

Ingredients
1.25 kg stewing beef , cut into 4cm cubes
400ml Trappist ale such as Leffe or Chimay, or other dark ale  (I used Cider)
3 garlic cloves , finely chopped
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp plain flour , seasoned with salt and pepper
2-3 tbsp olive oil
250g diced pancetta
2 carrots , sliced
2 onions , sliced
1 leek , sliced
1 tbsp tomato purée
350ml beef stock
1 bouquet garni (a small bunch of thyme , parsley stalks, a bay leaf and about 6 peppercorns tied in muslin)
a handful of parsley , chopped

1. Marinate the beef overnight in the ale with the garlic and bay leaves.
2. The next day, drain the beef from the marinade, reserving the marinade.
3. Pat the meat dry with kitchen paper and toss it in the seasoned flour until evenly coated.
    Shake off any excess flour.
4. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large flameproof casserole until hot.
    Fry the beef in 3-4 batches for about 5 minutes per batch, stirring occasionally, until it is a rich golden brown all over.
   Remove the meat with a slotted spoon to a plate and set aside.
   Don't worry if the bottom of the casserole is starting to brown, this all adds to the flavour of the finished dish.
5. Lower the heat to medium and fry the pancetta in the casserole for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp and golden. Scoop the pancetta out with a slotted spoon and set aside with the beef.
6. Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/gas 3.
7. Tip the carrots, onions and leek into the casserole and fry, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown - this takes about 12 minutes.
8. Spoon in the tomato purée and continue to cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
9. Add the beef and pour in the reserved marinade.
    Bring to a simmer, scraping any sticky bits off the bottom of the pan, then add all the beef stock and bouquet garni to the casserole. Season with salt and pepper and bring everything to the boil.
10. Remove from the heat. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 2 hours, stirring once halfway through. 11. When the beef is ready, taste for seasoning and scatter the chopped parsley over the top

Link: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1236/

We served it with Rosti :)
yummmm

Profiteroles

I used Gordon Ramsey's recipe
(tried Raymond Blanc a few times and the mixture was too wet !)


INGREDIENTS

For the choux pastry
125ml milk
200ml water
150g plain flour
1 tsp golden caster sugar
½ tsp salt
100g unsalted butter
4 medium eggs, lightly beaten

For the chantilly cream
1 vanilla pod, split
300ml whipping cream
1-2 tbsp icing sugar

For the chocolate sauce
200g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
30g unsalted butter
3 tbsp clear honey
125ml full fat milk


METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 200@C/Gas 6. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Place the milk, cold water, salt, sugar into a pan and set over a low heat. Once the sugar and salt has dissolved add the butter. Once the butter has melted, bring to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat then tip in the flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon. As soon as the mixture starts to come away from the side of the pan, stop beating and tip onto a plate to cool.

2. Return the mixture to the pan, then gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, mixing well between each addition, until you have a smooth paste. (Alternatively, transfer the mix to an electric mixer and gradually add the eggs while the mixer is running on a low setting).

3. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Spoon the choux pastry into a piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle (about 1.5cm in diameter). Pipe a small blob of the pastry mix under each corner of the greaseproof to keep the paper in place. Now pipe about 20 walnut-sized balls onto the baking sheet, spaced well apart. Level the peaked tops with the tip of a wet finger then bake for 18-20 minutes until well risen and golden brown.

4. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.

5. For the Chantilly cream scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod into a large mixing bowl. Add the cream, and icing sugar then whisk together until the consistency of a soft meringue with floppy peaks. Spoon the cream into a clean piping bag, fitted with a small plain nozzle. Pierce the base of a choux bun with the tip of the nozzle and pipe in the cream. Repeat with the remaining choux buns.

6. For the chocolate sauce, break the chocolate into small pieces in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and heat. Add the butter and honey stirring from time to time, until the chocolate begins to melt. Gradually whisk in the milk until you have a smooth sauce and warm through. Serve the cream-filled profiteroles with the hot chocolate sauce drizzled over.

Link:
http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/gordon-ramsay/profiteroles-hot-chocolate-sauce-recipe

To make it my own (and to perfectionize it) :p
I put Ben and Jerry's Caramel chew chew icecream in the middle and Chocolate sauce + Double chocolate cookies crumb on top..
Muahahaha.

Udon Salad with Sesame dressing

Making udon:


Ingredients

300g Udonko - Wheat Flour w/ protein content 9.0~9.5% (10.6oz)  - we used bread flour instead
15g Salt (0.529oz)
130ml Water (4.40 fl oz)
50g Corn Starch or Potato Starch (1.76oz)

we used Pasta machine which made rolling a lot easier.

We then mixed it with
- panfried Halloumi
- toasted sesame seed/ sunflower seed/ hazelnut
- salad + tomato
- slices of omelette (3 eggs)
- sesame salad dressing
- sesame oil
- pepper

Mocha Orange Swiss Roll

It's very light and NO butter/oil at all

(but with lots of cream and sugar p ) 

Recipe

Weak/Cake Flour 1/2 cup ( I substitute it with Plain flour + cornstarch)

Cocoa Powder 1/3 cup

Bicarbonate soda 3/4 teaspoon

Salt 1/4 teaspoon

Large egg white 5 

Large egg yolk 5

Caster Sugar 1/2 + 1/4 cup

Instant Coffee powder 2 tablespoon

Vanila Essence 1 teaspoon

Filling 

Whipping cream

pinch of sugar

grated chocolate

1 Orange zest

some orange meat

1. Preheat oven 400 oF/ 200 oC / Gas mark 6

1. Whisk egg yolk + 1/4 cup sugar + coffee powder till creamy (roughly 3 min if by hand)

2. Mix Weak flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate soda and salt

3. Whisk egg white till foamy, then add 1/2 cup sugar and whisk till firm

4. Add half of the flour mixutre into the egg yolk mixture + a dollop of egg white

    Fold  in the flour 

5.  Repeat 4. 

6. Fold in the rest of the egg white

7. Cover Greaseproof paper on a baking tray  15 1/2" x 10 1/2" x 1" 

8. Spread the mixture on the tray

9. Bake for 12min and let it cool 

Filling

1. Whisk the whipping cream 

2. then fold in the rest of the ingredients 

Assemble

- spread the filling over the cake and roll it up

(you might want to search on youtube for tips on how to roll it up)

- put it in the fridge for a while till the cream firms up before cutting 

Tarte tatin

Ready made puff pastry

175g/6oz granulated sugar
900g/2lb red dessert apples
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
75g/3oz caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.

For the caramel
Place the granulated sugar and 6 tbsp water into a stainless steel pan.
Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and there are no granules.
Remove the spoon and increase the heat.
Boil until a golden straw colour and immediately pour into a 23cm/9in fixed-base deep sponge sandwich tin. Don’t get it too dark or it will be bitter – this is very important!

For the topping
Core the apples then thinly slice.
Arrange a layer over the caramel in the tin in a circular pattern – start from the outside of the tin and work inwards.
Toss the remaining apples in the lemon zest and juice, scatter in the tin and press down.
Roll out the pastry to a round, slightly bigger than the tin.
Cover the apples and tuck the edges of the pastry down around the apples.
Make a small cross in the top of the pastry to let the steam out.

Bake for about 40 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden-brown and the apples are soft.
To finish, before turning the tarte out, tip the juices from the tin into a saucepan. Add the caster sugar and boil until syrupy.
Turn the tarte tatin out onto a plate and spoon the syrup over the apples.
Serve with cream or crème fraîche.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/marys_tarte_tatin_89344

Shakshuka

An easy to make, filling and flavoursome brunch.

Quite a healthy start of the day too :) a whole plate of veg

served with toasted olive bread

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/19/yotam-ottolenghi-breakfast-recipe-shakshuka


Serves 4 generously

cumin seeds ½ tsp
light olive oil or vegetable oil 180ml
large onions 2, sliced
red and yellow peppers 2 of each, cut into 2cm strips
muscovado sugar 4 tsp
bay leaves 2
thyme sprigs, leaves picked and chopped 6
chopped parsley 2 tbsp
chopped coriander 2 tbsp, plus extra to garnish
ripe tomatoes 6, roughly chopped
saffron threads ½ tsp
cayenne pepper a pinch
water up to 250ml
free-range eggs 8
salt and black pepper

In a very large pan dry-roast the cumin seeds on a high heat for 2 minutes.
Add the oil and onions and sauté for 5 minutes.
Add the peppers, sugar and herbs and continue cooking on a high heat for 5-10 minutes to get a nice colour.
Add the tomatoes, saffron, cayenne and some salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
During the cooking, keep adding water so that the mix has a passata consistency.
Taste and adjust the seasoning. It should be potent and flavoursome. (You can prepare this mix well in advance.)
Remove the bay leaves, then divide the pepper mix between four deep frying pans, each large enough to take a generous individual portion.
Place them on a medium heat to warm up, then make two gaps in the pepper mix in each pan and carefully break an egg into each gap.
Sprinkle with salt and cover the pans with lids.
Cook on a very(!) gentle heat for 10-12 minutes, or until the eggs are just set.
Sprinkle with coriander and serve.

Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache cake

Based on Heston's exploding chocolate gateau but since tesco ran out of passionfruit, I made it with Raspberry intead :) 

http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/heston-blumenthal/exploding-chocolate-gateau-recipe

Heston mixed the popping candy into the shortbread crumbs. 

I found most of the popping candy has already popped by the time it was served. 

Therefore instead, we drizzle them on top just before we serve it :) 

We have also added toasted hazelnut with the chocolate ganache. 

It tastes like heaven :)

Nikumen Bun

- recipe from cookingwithdog youtube channel

 

steamed then fried :)

Cream cheese and smoked salmon Ravioli

 

carefully drop an egg yolk into the little well of cream cheese with smoked salmon

 

 

the egg yolk pour out as well as it is cut opened.

Bruschetta

been working from home lately
What's better than having a freshly made lunch by hubby :)

Left: Fig, mozzarella basil and honey - we fell in love with this combination after trying that out at Pizza east!

Right: Smoked salmon with mozzarella

Scotch Egg

Home made scotch egg is soooooo much nicer than ready made ones

Keith made some that are runny in the middle.
He followed Heston's recipes - with some slight alterations with the seasonings..


1. Soft boiled egg
- Boil for 4.5minutes for runny scotch egg

2. season some sausage meat  - as you like
- with herbs/ salt & peper/

3.wrap the egg with a thin layer of sausage

4. Coat it with egg, flour, breadcrumbs and cumin seeds
    Deep fried them at 190oC  till Golden - for 2 minutes

 5. Bake at 190oC for 10minutes and tadaaaa

Reference : http://www.waitrose.com/content/waitrose/en/home/recipes/recipe_directory/h/heston_s_scotch_eggs.html

Honey glazed duck breast with couscous

Based on Marco Pierre White's recipe at Knorr's website

http://www.knorr.co.uk/Recipes/Game-Recipe/Honey-glazed-Duck-Breasts-with-Apple-Sauce.aspx

115g runny honey

2tsps coriander seeds, dry-fried and roughly crushed

4 star anise

4 duck breast fillets, skin on (200g each)

A sprinkle of Knorr Chicken Granules

Olive oil

4–5 sprigs of fresh thyme

1. Place the honey, coriander and star anise in a small pan. Bring to the boil and cook uncovered (taking care it doesn’t boil over), stirring often until reduced by around a half.

2. sprinkle the Knorr Chicken granules (we just used salt and pepper_ over both sides of the duck breasts to season them. Add a little olive oil and spread evenly over the duck breasts, coating the breasts thoroughly in the seasoning mixture. Add the thyme sprigs. Set aside for 5–10 minutes.

3.    While the duck is marinating, pre-heat a good quality, thick griddle pan. Add the duck breasts skin side down to the pan and cook over a low to medium heat for 10–15 minutes, turning over halfway through.

4.    After 12 minutes cooking, turn off the heat under the duck breasts and leave them in the pan to cook in the residual heat left in the griddle pan. 

5.    Brush the honey glaze over the skin side of the duck breasts, topping each breast with a star anise as decoration.  Garnish with fresh coriander sprigs. 

Chocolate Lava Cake from Little Paris Kitchen

HEAVENNNN

from little Paris Kitchen





I would add extra salt onto the salted caramel sauce
you have to be patient and focus when making caramel.
I burnt the first round :p coz I was sorting out other stuff while doing it :p

http://www.saturdaykitchenrecipesearch.co.uk/rachel-khoo-chocolate-lava-cake-the-little-paris-kitchen

INGREDIENTS
For the caramel filling
150 g sugar
150 ml double cream
1 tsp salt (course sea salt)
For the chocolate sponge
large bar of dark chocolate (150g? min. 60% cocoa solids)
85 g butter
cocoa powder
170 g light brown sugar
85 g flour
6 eggs

MAKE THE CARAMEL FILLING
1. Sprinkle enough sugar to cover the bottom of the medium sized saucepan
2. Cook this until it melts and begins to go golden brown then add the rest of the sugar
3. Cook all the sugar until it reaches a cola colour
4. Add 150 ml double cream (be careful at this stage – stand back – it does boil up)
5. add 1 tsp of salt
6. Cook until it reaches 108 deg or it coats the back of a spoon
7. Pour into a bowl and carefully place in the fridge to cool (this is piped into the chocolate sponge later so its got to stay runny)

MAKE THE CHOCOLATE SPONGE
1. Put water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer
meanwhile
2. Break the chocolate bar into a bowl
3. Add 85g of butter
then
4. Place the bowl over the saucepan to melt the chocolate and butter (stir occasionally)
meanwhile
5. Grease ramekins
6. Coat the inside of the ramekin with cocoa powder
7. Mix 170g of light brown sugar with 85 g of flour in a baking bowl
8. Then add the melted chocolate and butter and mix through
9. Crack and blend six eggs
10. Add the eggs to the mixture in the bowl and blend thoroughly
11. Ladle the mixture into the ramekins filling about three quarters full (leaving room for the caramel sauce which gets added later)
12. Chill the filled ramekins for about an hour in the fridge

13. Squeeze the caramel into the chocolate mixture using a piping bag
14. Bake 180oC for 15min
15. Enjoy :)

Melody's Ramen :p with Japanese Braised pork

Bought some fresh ramen when we were in Japan
so I made my own Japanese braised pork (Buta kakuni) and marinated "soft" boiled egg to go with it



Japanese Braised Pork
I used the recipe here:
http://www.justhungry.com/buta-no-kakuni-japanese-braised-pork-belly
I melod-ize it by adding extra ingredients like garlic, onion to make the stock even more flavoursome :)
It's a very easy and yummy recipe :)




Buta no kakuni (Japanese braised pork belly)
About 450g / 1 lb pork belly
2 Tbs sugar
1 piece of leek (about 6 inches / 15 cm long or so. You can use the green part too.)
1 large piece of fresh ginger
1 star anise
3 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. sake
2 cups water

Cut the pork into cubes about 1 inch / 2cm or so square. If the skin is still on, leave it on. Heat up a large pot with a heavy bottom. Sauté the pork belly cubes, without any added fat (you don’t need it…) until browned.

When the meat is browned, scrape it to one side and put the sugar in the fat that’s accumulated on the bottom, and stir around until it’s a bit caramelized. Stir and toss so the meat gets coated by the sugar.
Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a simmer and lower the heat. Put a lid on and let it simmer gently for about 3 hours, turning occasionally.

To serve, dredge the pieces carefully out of the very oily cooking liquid, and peel of the thick layer of fat that’s on the skin side of the meat. Drizzle a little bit of the cooking liquid over the cubes.

I then made Heston's Soft boiled egg, and marinate the egg in the braised pork sauce over night ...
My eggs were a little overrrr.. but still yum :)
http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/heston-blumenthal/soft-boiled-eggs-recipe

Method
Place the eggs in the smallest pan available and only add enough cold water to cover them. Put the lid on the pan and place over the highest heat possible.
When the water comes to the boil, remove the pan from the heat and wait for 6 minutes.
After the time has elapsed, remove the lid and carefully remove each egg. Cut the top of each egg before serving in egg cups.

Cheese & Rosemary Madeleine

It was light and yum :)
I used Emmantel instead and sprinkled some Parmasen on top and it worked well :)




INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup parm or Swiss Gruyere cheese, grated
1 tbsp rosemary, minced

DIRECTIONS
1. 425F.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, egg and yogurt in a food processor or blender; add cheese and herbs.
3. Spoon batter into madeleine molds and bake in the centre of the oven for 10 mins. Remove and let cool in mold for 10 mins before turning onto a rack to cool further. Store in a ziploc bag at room temp for up to 3 days.

Chinese year cake

Happy Chinese New year :-) 

This is my favourite Chinese New year food

I've added  driied 桂花 (Sweet Osmanthus?) to one of my batch :) 

It's so nice! 

材料（2個3.5吋x7吋的長方模）

糯米粉    300 克

片糖     300 克    ( I saw some black cane sugar from Waitrose - I would guess it would work too!)

清水   490克

澄麵   75克

製作

1.  將片糖加水煮溶待凍，待凍後加入椰槳、薑汁用格篩過去什質

2.  加入糯米粉和澄麵中（粉要篩過），用筷子攪勻用隔 2 次，粉會滑一點。直至挑起粉槳即瀉下為合。

3.  倒入已塗油之糕盆內，隔水蒸約 1小時。

Ceviche with taco

with sea bass, prawn and scallops

light and refreshing : ) 

Recipe: http://www.channel5.com/shows/mexican-food-made-simple/recipes/coconut-and-sea-bass-ceviche
From Mexican food made simple