SPINACH STRATA WITH BACON AND CHEESE

My first time making and tasting spinach strata. One day, I saw a cooking show at createtv channel, and they showed this recipe. Actually, they showed it for christmas dinner, and I thought to make it for our Christmas dinner, but since I cooked loads of foods already, so I cancelled it.

Now, few days after Christmas and our Christmas leftover are all gone. I was thinking it is the time to make spinach strata. Since I know my hubby doesn't really like spinach, so I thought this dish is the perfect dish to force him eating the spinach ;).

So, here I am experimanting spinach strata recipe. I added chopped bacon to add some extra bacon-kick on the strata. The result......It is so good! Good taste and good smell which were exposed our appetite :).

My hubby liked it so much. The first time he heard there is spinach in this dish, he showed me 'eww-ie' face, but after he tasted it, he said, "This is really good hun. I like it". :)

So, let's make it for our loved ones who dislike spinach, I guarantee they will love spinach ;).

Spinach Strata with Bacon and Cheese

Ingredients:
2 packages fresh baby spinach
1 cup bacon, cut into 1-in width
1 1/2 cups (or 1 large) finely chopped onion
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
8 cups cubed (1 inch) French or Italian whole wheat bread
6 oz coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)
2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)
2 3/4 cups milk
9 large eggs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Preparation:
Boil spinach in boiling water until the spinach changes into dark green color. Drain it from the water. Rinse it with cold water. Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then finely chop.

Cook bacon in olive oil in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until almost brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in onion, stirring until soft. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in spinach, then remove from heat.

Spread one third of bread cubes in a buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other shallow ceramic baking dish and top evenly with one third of spinach mixture. Sprinkle with one third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice (ending with cheeses).

Whisk together milk, eggs, mustard, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Chill strata, covered with plastic wrap, at least 8 hours (for bread to absorb custard).

Preheat oven to 350°F. Let strata stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

EGGNOG

This time, I made the famous Christmas beverage in US which is eggnog. I knew there is a drink called eggnog since I was a kid, of course from movies ;). Then, I wondered how's the taste?

Once I moved to US, for some reason, I forgot about eggnog. Until, last thanksgiving my MIL bought 2 carts of eggnog and that was my first experience with eggnog :).
When I tasted it for the very first time, honestly, I didn't really like it. But then, after few drinks, I started to like it.

That's why this Christmas I tried to make homemade eggnog....and...voila...it tasted alot better than the one my MIL bought at store. Why? Because I can control the sugar. So, the sweetness of this homemade eggnog is just right for my hubby and me.
Some eggnogs are using alcohol, but mine, I omitted the alcohol. It's alot healthier, don't you think?

Lots of people posted the same eggnog's recipe in the internet, so I don't who invented this recipe. But the important thing is this eggnog is good :)

Don't worry, the process is not hard at all. The thing you should keep in mind is cook the milk-egg mixture over low heat and keep stirring it constantly. Then, the rest is just a piece-of-cake ;). Do you dare to try?

Eggnog

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups milk
2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tbsps dark rum

Directions:

In large saucepan, beat together eggs and sugar. Stir in the milk.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat a metal spoon with a thin film and reaches 145 F and is held there for 3 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir in whipping cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and rum.

Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, several hours or overnight. Serve garnished with whipped cream and nutmeg.

CHRISTMAS SOUP

Another appetizer on our Christmas dinner this year. My Christmas soup has kielbasa sausage, bacon, celery and potatoes. Its really different than the other soups I ever made.

This soup is more likely western-kind-soup which is thick soup. I looked around in the internet and I found lots of christmas soup's recipe, until I decided to make my own Christmas Soup. And fortunately it tasted really good, tasty and tangy. My hubby and I loved it :).

Christmas Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb kielbasa sausage (or you can use italian sausage)
1/2 lb bacon
8 large red potatoes, peeled and diced
7 stalks western celery, thinly sliced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 cup heavy cream (or whipping cream)
1-1/2 tbsps italian seasoning
1 tbsps oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt, sugar and blackpepper, to taste
Minced fresh parsley for garnishing


Directions:
In a 5-quarts saucepan, boil the potatoes and celery over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a teflon skillet, fry bacon in olive oil until the bacon is almost crispy. Drain the bacon from the grease. Using the same skillet with bacon's grease, fry the sausage. Drain the sausage from the skillet, thinly slice it and set aside. Put the onion on the skillet immediately. Caramelized the onion. Set aside.

Scoope about half of the potatoes into prepared blender. Blend it until smooth and sticky. Then, put it back into the saucepan.

Transfer the onion and the oil into the boiling potatoes, stir it well. Add in sausages, bacon, italian seasoning, oregano, thyme and rosemary. Season it with salt, sugar and blackpepper, to taste.

Pour in heavy cream, stir it well and boil it for 2 minutes. Serve it hot and garnish it with minced fresh parsley.

HERB-BAKED POTATOES

After I baked broccoli, bacon and cheese potatoes as side dish for many times, this time I chose herb-baked potatoes for the Christmas side dish.

Surprisingly the potatoes came out good! It is tangy, zesty and sweet. My hubby really liked it, so do I :). Plus, the preparations are alot easier and more simple than the broccoli, bacon and cheese baked potatoes.

Again, I made up my own recipe for this herb-baked potatoes ;)

Herb-Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:
1 lb new potatoes
2 tbsps olive oil
2.5 tbsps herbs de provance
1 tbsp oregano
1.5 tbsps thyme
1 tbsp dill
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tbsp salt (you can add more salt if you like salty)
1 tbsp blackpepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven into 350F.
Wash the new potatoes until clean. Then dry and wipe it with paper towel. Spread the potatoes in an 8-in baking dish evenly. Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil, fold it until the potatoes are coated with olive oil. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl, mix herbs de provance, oregano, thyme, dill and italian seasoning. Sprinkle it onto the potatoes. Cover the baking dish with alumunium foil.
Bake it for 30 minutes. Then, uncover the potatoes. Continue to bake it for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and tender. Serve it immediately.

DEVIL'S EGG

This was one of our Christmas appetizer. For the first time, I ate devil's egg at MIL's house on thanksgiving last year. Actually my sister-in-law who made it. On my first bite of devil's egg I liked it already.

So, this Christmas I tried to make homemade devil's egg. Also, I found the egg's platter. This plate is really helpful to make the shape of the eggs are nice.

The recipe is made by me based on the taste that I remember from my sister-in-law's devil's egg.

Devil's Egg

Ingredients:
12 large eggs, hard boiled
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsps mustard
5 tbsps sweet relish
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps lemon juice
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
Fresh parsley for garnishing

Directions:
Hard boiled the eggs one day before, then keep it in the refrigerator. The refrigerated hard-boiled eggs are alot easier to cut. Then halved it lengthwise.
Scoope out the yolks and transfer it to a small bowl. Add in mayonnaise, mustard, sweet relish, sugar, salt, cayenne powder and lemon juice, mash it with a fork. Fold it until thoroughly mixed. (don't forget to taste it and you can add more ingredients as your desire)
Place the halved hard-boiled white eggs on the platter. Fill the white egg's cavities with the yolks' mixture. Garnish it with fresh parsley. Serve it cold.

DDUKBOKKIE (HOT AND SPICY KOREAN RICE CAKE)

I saw ddukbokkie *hot and spicy korean rice cake* in the Korean drama series for the first time. It looks good, but at that time I didn't know what is that. Then, two years ago when I passed the food courts at Bugis Junction, I saw this hot and spicy korean rice cake. Of course without think twice I bought it. But, after the first bite, I am really dissapointed :(. Because it didn't taste good :(.

Few days ago I saw ddukbokkie recipe at maangchi.com. I guess I will give a shot to make it. Guess what? It tasted really good!! Absolutely different taste than the one I bought before. I love it love it love it!! I guess Maangchi's recipe is the best recipe for Korean food :).

For Korean food lovers, you have to try this recipe. The recipe is highly recommended! :)

Ddukbokkie (Hot and Spicy Korean Rice Cake)

Ingredients:
1 package (450 gr) rice cake
4 cups water
3 tbsps small dried anchovies
6 tbsps hot pepper paste (Belzy - use 4 tbsps if you dislike to spicy)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp hot pepper flakes
6 stalks scallion, sliced

Directions:
Boil water and dried anchovies in a pan for 10 minutes over medium heat.
Remove the anchovies and add hot pepper paste, sugar and hot pepper flakes. Stir it until the hot pepper paste is thoroughly mix in the water. Add the rice cakes. Stir it constantly. Add in green onions. Keep stirring until the sauce is thick and the rice cake is shiny. Serve it hot.

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SPREAD

I have nothing to do today, so I tried to make homemade chocolate spread and it tasted good!! Easy recipe and easy process :).

Homemade Chocolate Spread
Source: cdkitchen

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter // 125 gr mentega tawar
3 tbsps cocoa powder // 3 sdm bubuk coklat
1/4 cup cream cheese // 125 gr cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar, or to taste // 125 gr gula, (gula bisa ditambah kalau ingin lebih manis)

Directions:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. // Cairkan mentega di panci kecil.

Add the cocoa and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes over low heat. // Tambahkan bubuk coklat dan aduk2 selama 3 menit dengan api kecil.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes. // Angkat panci dari api dan istirahatkan selama 5 menit.

Stir cheese into the cocoa, then mix in the sugar to taste. // Masukkan cream cheese dan aduk rata, kemudian campurkan gula, aduk rata.

Chill the spread in a covered container for up to 3-5 days in the refrigerator. // Dinginkan selai coklat, pindahkan ke kontainer, tutup rapat dan simpan di kulkas. Selai tahan 3 - 5 hari.

BISCUITS AND HAM GRAVY

Yesterday, my hubby talked about his childhood biscuits and gravy which made by his mom. He said that it tasted good but very greasy. I who never eat or see what this biscuits and gravy look like wondering hows the taste of it.

So, I looked the recipe and found this 2 recipes, and I tried both :). One recipe is using buttermilk and cold butter. The other recipe is using milk and melted butter. For the texture the first recipe made a bit harder than the second recipe. But for the looks, the first recipe is alot nicer :). My hubby liked the second recipe, because the biscuits are soft.

I will post both recipe, so you can have more choices based on my experience :).



Biscuits and Ham Gravy

Biscuits Recipe 1 (Recipe courtesy of Darlene B.)
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon butter or margarine, melted

Directions:
In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Combine milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until blended. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Biscuits Recipe 2 (Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons buttermilk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and blend thoroughly. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and quickly blend in, making sure to not overwork the dough.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of 1/2-inch. Use a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass, press out as many biscuits as possible. Gather up scraps and quickly knead back together, then cut out as many additional biscuits as possible. Place biscuits on prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Ham Gravy Recipe
Ingredients:
300 gr ham slices
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour + 1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 tbsps chopped parsley
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat a large skillet over high heat and saute ham slices4 to 5 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate, then diced it. Set aside.

Add butter and onions to skillet and cook until onions are softened, scraping up any browned bits on pan bottom. Add flour and stir well to combine. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then add milk, chicken broth and the mixture of 1 tbsp flour + white wine. Whisk well to combine, then allow sauce to cook until thickened, about 6 minutes. Add chopped parsley and heavy cream and cook 5 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve over the biscuits.

SPICY PORK AND ONION JIAO ZI

Lately, I'm in love with Cooking Gallery's blog, because not only there are plenty of dim sum recipe *everything are all homemade, from the basic recipe til the advanced one*, also her buns are really cute!

I have lots of new recipe idea by seeing CG's blog. One of them was jiao zi, and kimchi and other korean recipes are in line still ;). When I saw this jiao zi recipe, it really brought back the old memories when I lived in China as a student 10 years ago.

However, there are loads of good food in China *tho some of them are too oily*. I remember, there were a shui jiao *chinese people called jiao zi* restaurant, and you need to be patient for the long lines there, especially at winter time. This restaurant has lots of kind of shui jiao with different filling. Usually, me and my ex bf ordered 5 kind of shui jiao and each kind came in 5 pieces. So, we ate 25 pieces of shui jiao *no wonder I gained few kilos there!*. No need to mention the black chinese vinegar with minced ginger and chilli oil as the condiments because those condiments are a MUST :). Without those condiments, the shui jiao will not as tasty as if you eat it with the condiments.



So, after my shui jiao was boiled, I ate it with memorizing those old days when I was in Nanjing, China.......what a day! :)

Spicy Pork and Onion Jiao Zi

Ingredients:
WRAPPER:
300 gr all-purpose flour
1 cup (250 ml) boiling water

FILLING:
250 gr ground pork
3 stalks spring onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsps oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp hot pepper powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper

CONDIMENTS:
1/3 cup black chinese vinegar
1 tbsp minced ginger
3 tbsps chilli oil

Methods:
For the wrapper: combine flour and boiling water, knead it until elastic and not sticky anymore. Shape it into long log. Cut it into small evenly pieces. Cover it with a kitchen towel to keep it moist.

For the filling: mix all ingredients until thoroughly mixed.

Finishing: take one piece of the wrapper dough, roll it as thin as possible. Scoope 1 spoonful filling, then fold the wrapper into jiao zi. You can go to this link to see the folding process.

Meanwhile, boil 1 liter water in a 5 quarter pan until boiling. Once it is boiled, dump all the jiao zi and boil it until the jiao zi is floating. Drain in from the water. Reserve the water for soup. Serve it hot with black chinese vinegar and chilli oil.

THE SECOND FONDANT: FOR AND FROM ME

Yea....it was my birthday cake that I made by myself :). Sad? Nope, just felt a little bit weird, cos this is my first experience making my own birthday cake. It was exciting tho :). My hubby complained,"Why your cake are more fancy than mine?" hahahaaha.....yea because I made Black Forest for his birthday cake last time :). Myself liked it so much because it was the most colorful cake I ever made :).
I made Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing and Daisies Go Crazy as the theme :).



Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing
Source: Wilton Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine , softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tablespoon Red-Red Icing Color
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoons white vinegar
Cream cheese icing (recipe below)

Methods:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray two 8 in. pans with vegetable pan spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs and red icing color; mix well. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir baking soda into vinegar and fold carefully into batter. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

To Ice: Spread a thin layer of cream cheese icing on bottom cake layer. Top it with the second cake. Icing cake with the remaining cream cheese icing. Cover it with rolled fondant and decorate as your desire.



Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese , softened
8 cups confectioners' sugar (about 2 lbs.)
1 tablespoon milk

For Cream Cheese Icing:
In large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar and milk. Beat on high until smooth (30 – 60 seconds). If icing seems too thin, add confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. If it seems too thick, add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time until icing reaches desired consistency



Also, on my birthday I received an award from my dear blog friend, Cooking Gallery :). Thank you dear! :).

HOT DOG BUNS

Who dislike hot dog? I bet, 99% people in this world like hot dog including myself :). The fact that I like hot dog made me challanged myself to make the hot dogs' bun. Ian Knauer's recipe is my choice this time and the recipe is really recommended for hot dog and burger buns.

Also, I used homemade bratwurst bramberger sausages. It is just so good and tasty!This time, I will share the recipe in English and Bahasa Indonesia.



Hot Dog Buns

Yield: 16 hot dog buns

For dough:
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup warm water (105—115°F)
1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
16 pieces homemade bratwurst bramberger sausage

Equipment: a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and 2 (13- by 9-inch) baking pans (for hot dog buns)

Make dough:
Bring milk and cream to a bare simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cool mixture to 105 to 115°F.
Meanwhile, stir together warm water and yeast in mixer bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)
Add warm milk mixture, sugar, flour, and salt to yeast mixture and mix at low speed, scraping down side of bowl as necessary, until flour is incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat 6 minutes. (Dough will be sticky.)
Transfer dough to a lightly oiled large bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.



To make hot dog buns:
Butter baking pans. Punch down dough, then divide into 16 equal pieces (about 3 oz each). Roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch-long log on a lightly floured surface. Space 8 logs evenly in each pan so that there are 2 columns of logs that run parallel to long sides of pan.

Loosely cover buns with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until buns just start to touch, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Bake buns, switching position of pans halfway through, until tops are golden and undersides are golden-brown and sound hollow when tapped, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Before using buns, pull apart and cut lengthwise down center of each (but not all the way through).

Notes:
•If you don’t have a stand mixer, stir ingredients together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, incorporating only enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, 7 to 8 minutes.
•Buns are best the day they are made but can be frozen in sealable bags up to 2 weeks.




In Bahasa Indonesia:

Roti Hot Dog

Untuk: 16 buah

Untuk Dough:
300 ml susu cair
250 ml heavy cream (krim kental)
62,5 ml air hangat (40-46`C)
1 paket (7 gr) active dry yeast
500 gr terigu protein sedang
2 sdt garam
16 buah sosis bratwurst bramberger

Peralatan: 1 buah stand mixer dengan paddle attachment dan 2 buah loyang kukis.

Cara Membuat:
Di panci kecil, rebus susu cair dan krim kental dengan api sedang hingga hampir mendidih (jangan sampai mendidih banget). Dinginkan sampai bersuhu 40-46`C.
Kemudian, aduk rata air hangat dan yeast di mangkok mixer, istirahatkan hingga berbusa, selama 5 menit. (kalau campuran yeast tidak berbusa, bikin lagi yang baru).
Tambahkan campuran susu, gula, terigu dan garam ke mangkok mixer yang berisi yeast, kocok dengan kecepatan rendah hingga terigu tercampur rata. Naikkan kecepatan mixer menjadi kecepatan sedang dan kocok selama 6 menit (tekstur adonan lengket).
Pindahkan adonan ke mangkuk yang sudah diolesi minyak, balikan adonan hingga bagian atas adonan teroles minyak juga. Tutup mangkuk dengan serbet (jangan gunakan serbet yang berpori) dan istirahatkan selama 2 jam di tempat yang hangat dan kering hingga mengembang.

Membuat roti hot dog:
Olesi loyang dengan mentega. Tonjok turun adonan, kemudian bagi menjadi 16 bagian (@85 gr). Ambil satu bagian adonan, kemudian roll adonan di atas talenan yang ditaburi terigu menjadi bulat panjang (gelondongan) berukuran 15 cm panjangnya.
Letakan adonan roti ke atas loyang secara memanjang, kasih jarak sedikit.
Tutup loyang berisi roti dengan plastik wrap yang diolesi minyak dengan longgar. Istirahatkan di tempat yang kering dan hangat selama 2 jam.
Panaskan oven dengan suhu 180`C dengan rak di bagian atas dan ketiga dari bawah.
Panggang roti selama 20 sampai 25 menit. Ganti posisi loyang di tengah2 waktu memanggang. Panggang hingga atas roti berwarna keemasan dan bagian bawah berwarna coklat keemasan dan jika roti di tepuk2 akan terdengar suara bergema.
Dinginkan roti di atas loyang selama 10 menit, kemudian pindahkan ke atas rak hingga benar2 dingin.

Cara Penyajian:
Belah roti hot dog secara memanjang, kemudian olesi dengan mayonnaise dan mustard, taruh sosis di atasnya. Sajikan.



Catatan:
1. Jika tidak memiliki stand mixer, aduk semua bahan di mangkok besar dengan sendok kayu sampai berbentuk dough/adonan. Uleni adonan ke atas talenan yang bertabur terigu. Uleni selama 7 sampai 8 menit sampai halus dan kalis.
2. Untuk hasil yang baik, sebaiknya langsung gunakan roti di hari pembuatan. Tapi bisa juga di simpan freezer di wadah kedap udara hingga 2 minggu.

SAVORY EN CROUTE

When I saw this braided pastry from Elra's Cooking, I fell in love right away. So, I made this savory en croute. I used the apple struddle's puff pastry recipe and I made a simple savory filling. Believe me or not, it turned so good. The pastry is so light with thick filling. My hubby liked it so much, and so do I :).

How to braid the puff pastry? Don't worry, it is not hard at all. You can check here on how to braid the puff pastry.

Savory En Croute

Ingredients:
Puff Pastry:
200 gr of all-purpose flour
1 tsp of granulated sugar
1 tsp of salt
1 egg
2 tbsps of olive oil
2 tbsps of warm water
100 gr of butter

Filling:
3 pieces chicken fillet, diced
1 cup (250 gr) corn
1 cup (250 gr) frozen green peas, defrost
2 big size carrot, peeled and diced
2 yellow onions, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup (65 gr) fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup (125 gr) button mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp sugar
50 ml white sauce or heavy cream
1/2 cup (125 gr) grated cheese
2 tbsps olive oil
Salt and blackpepper, to taste

Egg Wash:
1 egg yolk
1 tsp milk



Methods:
For the Puff Pastry:
In a big bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar until thoroughly mixed. Add in egg, oil and warm water, mix it well with spatula. Knead it with your hands until the batter form a dough. Shape it into ball form. Wrap it with plastic wrapper. Keep it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (better if you refrigerate it overnight)

Prepare a board or any clean surface and dust it with flour. Take the dough from the refrigerator, and unwrap it. Roll the dough on the floury work surface into 1/2 cm thickness, and roll it into long square form. Place the butter on the upper side of the dough, then fold the empty side up so the edge of the empty side meet the edge of the other side. Roll it a bit just to stick the edges only. Wrap it with plastic wrapper. Keep it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Repeat it until 7 times.

Roll the dough into 2 mm thickness in square form. Ready to use.

For the Filling:
In a skillet, caramelized garlic and onion with olive oil. Stir in chicken until the color changed. Add in carrot, corn, green peas and mushrooms, chopped parsley and nutmeg saute it for 10 minutes. Season it with sugar, salt and blackpepper, to taste. Set aside to cool. When the filling is cool enough, pour in white sauce or heavy cream and cheese.

To assemble:
Roll out the puff pastry to 17 by 17-inch square, transfer to a piece of parchment paper. Make a series of 1-inch slanting cuts on both side (between the filling). Place the filling in the middle of the pastry. Start braiding the pastry by over lapping each of the slice on top of the filling to enclose it. Transfer the pastry to a baking sheet. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes (I skipped this step)
Preheat oven to 375`F. Brush the pastry with egg wash mixture. Bake it for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve it warm.

APPLE COBBLER

A very simple and easy recipe but tasty!! Believe me, you'll like it. I topped it with a scoope of roasted banana ice cream, and it made perfect match for a dessert! You can use other kind of fruits such as peach or pineapple for the cobbler.

I got the recipe from my dearly friend, Selly.



Apple Cobbler

Ingredients:
6 medium sized apples, peeled, cored and diced
3 tbsps granulated sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
Roasted banana ice cream

Topping:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
2 tbsps butter, melted

Methods:
Mix apples, sugar, cinnamon powder and lemon juice in a big bowl, toss it well. Transfer the apples into 2 quarts (17 x 28cm) ovenproof dish. Set aside.

For topping: In another bowl, combine sugar, flour, egg and melter butter, knead it until melted butter thoroughly absorbed (at this point, the texture of the mixture is crumbly).

Pour the toppings on top of the apples evenly. Bake it in preheated oven (350F/180C) until the topping is golden brown.

Square-cut the cobbler (3x3-inch) and top it with a scoope of roasted banana ice cream. Serve it immediately.

KUE SERABI

One kind of my childhood sweet dessert. Kue serabi is pancake drizzled by sweet sauce (we called it kinca). It just like western pancake but Indonesian version.
It's been ages I never eat kue serabi, because I can't find it anywhere except in Jakarta.

There is two kind of kue serabi, one with sweet sauce and another kind we called serabi solo which is without sweet sauce. In Jakarta, the well-known kue serabi is the one with sweet sauce. But, if you go to Bandung, the famous kue serabi is serabi solo. The seller will put chocolate and cheese, or even sweet condensed milk and raisin for the sweet toppings. And, ham-cheese and mayonnaise or oncom and chilli for the salty toppings. Both are good though for my taste bud kue serabi with sweet sauce is a lot better :).

So, this time I made kue serabi with sweet jackfruit sauce (some people like to put durian instead of jackfruit, but unfortunately my hubby is an enemy of durian). I got the recipe from here and I modified the sauce by adding jackfruits.

Kue Serabi

Ingredients:

Green (Pandan) Serabi:
200 gram all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
300 cc coconut milk (Belzy - I used Chaokoh brand)
50 cc pandan juice (Belzy - I used 50 cc water + 2 drops of pandan essence)
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
Olive oil for brushing the pan

White Serabi:
200 gram all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
350 cc coconut milk (Belzy - I used Chaokoh brand)
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
Olive oil for brushing the pan

Sauce:
400 cc coconut milk (I used Chaokoh brand)
1/2 log Indonesian palm sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 pandan leaf, knotted

Methods:
For the serabi:
Combine flour and baking powder then sift on a big bowl.
Whisk egg and salt until foamy. Whisk in coconut milk and pandan juice until well combined (Belzy - for the white serabi, omit the pandan juice and add 50 cc coconut milk *as per the recipe above*)
Gradually pour egg and coconut mixture into flour bowl, fold it until the batter is soft and lumps free.
Let it rest for 2 hours.
Brush serabi pan (Belzy - I don't have serabi pan so I used a very small pan) with olive oil. Heat it over low heat (Belzy - depend on the pan, I used teflon so I set medium heat). Once the pancake surface is pored then put the lid on. Cook it until the pancake is set. Serve it with the sauce.

For the sauce:
In a saucepan, mix all ingredients and boil it until the palm sugar is melted. Keep stirring to avoid coconut crumbled.

MOO SHU PORK

Moo shu pork is a well-known chinese dish here. First time I heard it, I thought it is same as peking duck, because the way it served is same. You put the filling on a chinese pancake, add some sauce, roll it then eat it. But suprisingly, they are different. Basically, moo shu pork is stir fry meat and veggies wrapped in chinese pancake.

Frankly speaking, I never heard about moo shu pork before, I guess moo shu pork doesn't really famous in asian countries (correct me if I'm wrong please).
Well, this time I tried to make moo shu pork, and I got the recipe from here.

Moo Shu Pork

Ingredients:
Pancake:
3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
Sesame oil
Olive oil for frying

Filling:

1.5 lbs pork loin, trimmed and thinly sliced.
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
4 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 ounce dried Chinese black mushrooms (also known as black fungus or wood ear mushrooms; about 2/3 cup)
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

To cook pork:
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 (1/4-inch) piece fresh ginger, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced on diagonal
8 ounces Napa cabbage, quartered lengthwise, cored, and cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch triangles (about 5 cups)
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 English or kirby cucumber, cut crosswise into 2-inch lengths, then thinly sliced lengthwise (about 1 cup)
2 pieces young bamboo shoot, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon Asian toasted sesame oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Methods:
Make pancake dough:
In large bowl, stir together flour and 1 cup boiling water until water is absorbed. Add 1/2 cup cold water and knead until smooth dough forms. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rest 1 hour.

Prep stir-fry:
In large nonreactive bowl, toss together pork, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice wine, pepper, and cornstarch. Let marinate 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine dried black mushrooms and boiling water to cover. Let stand until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, squeezing out excess liquid, rinse to remove any grit, discard stems, and coarsely chop caps. Set aside.

In small bowl, stir together remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 1 tablespoon rice wine, oyster sauce, and sugar. Set aside.

In small sauté pan over moderate heat, heat sesame oil until hot but not smoking. Add eggs and scramble until softly set, about 1 minute. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.

Cook pancakes:
On lightly floured work surface, roll dough into long, even cylinder 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Using sharp knife, cut cylinder crosswise into about 30 (3/4- to 1-inch) slices. Using rolling pin, roll each slice out to 3 1/2-inch-diameter circle (about 1/8 inch thick). Brush 1 circle with sesame oil and top with 2nd circle. Repeat with remaining circles to form 15 "sandwiches." Roll each "sandwich" out to 6-inch diameter. (Pancakes can be made ahead up to this point and frozen, layered between parchment or waxed paper, up to 1 month.)

Heat wok or heavy large sauté pan over moderate heat. Brush pan lightly with peanut oil and cook pancake "sandwiches" in batches until lightly golden, about 3 minutes per side, brushing pan with oil between each batch. Transfer each "sandwich" as done to large plate and immediately peel apart 2 halves. Cover with moist towel while cooking remaining pancakes. Keep warm until ready to serve.



Cook stir-fry:
In wok or heavy large sauté pan over moderately high heat, heat peanut oil until hot but not smoking. Add ginger, garlic, half of scallions (reserve remainder for garnish), and pork and stir-fry until pork is cooked through and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add black mushrooms, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, young bamboo shoot and cucumber and stir-fry until vegetables are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs and soy sauce-rice wine-oyster sauce mixture and stir-fry until heated through, about 1 minute.



Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with remaining scallions. To serve, divide pork mixture among pancakes and roll up to enclose mixture.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU WITH HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

Yap, Tamani Kafe at Jakarta is my first place ate cordon bleu. And, their cordon bleu was really good! The things I always remember from Tamani Kafe are chicken cordon bleu, fish 'n chips and they always served the foods on a very big plate with big amount of foods! *but I dunno now. Hopefully nothing change ;)*

Last time, I made fish 'n chips and this time I made chicken cordon bleu based on Ramona Cafe recipe, courtesy Sonja Vanderveen. The only change I made was I reduced the breading measurements because it is too much :).

The taste? No doubt, because it tasted really good! I served it with buttery mix veggies stir fry.



Chicken Cordon Bleu with Hollandaise Sauce

Ingredients:
6 (10-ounce) chicken breasts, pounded out to 1/2-inch in thickness
12 ounces thin-sliced ham
6 ounces Gruyere cheese

Breading:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup rice flour
2 cups ground bread crumbs (panko or italian bread crumbs are ok)
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Egg Wash:
4 eggs, well beaten

Hollandaise Sauce:
4 egg yolks
Pinch fine salt
Pinch white pepper
Pinch paprika
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1 pound clarified butter, warmed until soft
Oil, enough for deep-frying

Buttery Mix Veggies:
3 pieces carrot, diced
1 cup frozen green peas, defrost
1 cup frozen corn, deforst
1 piece onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp butter (or olive oil)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Take a piece of chicken and place 2 ounces ham and 1-ounce Gruyere cheese in the middle. Roll up the chicken breast tightly and place toothpicks in the ends and middle. Place the chicken breasts in an oiled baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for 18 minutes.

For the breading:
Combine all ingredients, mix well, and place on a large platter.

To prepare the Hollandaise sauce:
Gently place 4 egg yolks in a food processor and add a pinch of salt, white pepper, paprika, the lemon juice and hot sauce. Place the warmed clarified butter into the food processor very slowly until it thickens. To thicken the sauce, add an egg yolk and to thin it out add warm water.

Place the baked chicken cordon bleu in the egg wash and then coat evenly with the breading mixture. Repeat process again.

Deep-fry the breaded chicken at 325 degrees F for 3 minutes. Drizzle the Hollandaise Sauce over top of chicken. Serve it with buttery mixed veggies and rice, if desire.

For the buttery mixed veggies:
Stir fry all ingredients until the carrots are tender.

MOCHI ICE CREAM

My hubby loves mochi ice cream *kona coffee mochi ice cream to be precisely :)*. And all these times we liked to buy it at 99 ranch or any other asian market that sold this mochi ice cream.

And, since we have an ice cream maker, my hubby asked me, "why don't you make mochi ice cream for me?". His question gave me this idea.....homemade mochi ice cream!
So, I googled the original recipe of how to make mochi ice cream. And I found this recipe that I like to recommend it to all of you. Because, the ingredients and the methods are not too hard. Also, the mochi wrapper is really soft and it just like the one sold in the asian market!

Unfortunately, we have raspberry cheesecake ice cream only so the kona coffee mochi ice cream in line now ;).

For the way of cooking, I used on stove cooking instead of microwave, and its worked!! :). Please go to the original recipe if you want to use microwave.



Mochi Ice Cream

Ingredients:
50 gr glutinous rice flour (or sweet rice powder or mochiko)
100 gr sugar
100 ml water
200 gr raspberry cheesecake ice cream, or any flavor as your desire (Belzy - make sure the ice cream is half frozen)
Cornstarch as needed

Methods:
Place the glutinous rice flour, sugar in a saucepan. Pour gradually the water until it is mixed well.

Bring it simmer over medium heat. Keep stirring the flour mixture until the mixture turns into shiny and smooth sticky dough.

Spread generously cornstarch onto a cutting board (use plenty so the dough does not stick to the board).

Dip your wooden spoon in water then spread the mochi dough onto the floured cutting board as flat as possible. Sprinkle the top of the dough with corn starch then flip it over. Pull and stretch the edges and make the dough thinner as your desire, or 2 to 3 millimetres thin (Belzy - I don't like thin wrapper on my mochi ice cream). Let it cool a bit before cutting.

Meanwhile, scoope the ice cream with cookies scooper and shape it into a little ball shape. Place it on a plate, then freeze it while waiting you do your mochi wrapper.

Back to the mochi dough, cut the dough into round shape using round cookies mold.

Place an ice cream ball onto the center of the mochi sheet. Fold and joint the edges, then shape it with your hand into nice round mochi.

Put it in the freezer for 30 minutes or until the mochi is settled, but don't too long if you won't your mochi as hard as stone. Enjoy!

CHAWAN MUSI

Yumm...yumm.....who is dislike chawan musi? I think most people like it, and my hubby is included into those people who dislike chawan musi :(. But, I love it! The first time I tried chawan musi was when I lived in Singapore. I liked to go to Sakura with my dear friend Debby *ahhh I miss her alot!*.

Also, this recipe was given by her on my last day in Singapore. The recipe is quite simple but the taste is rich of flavor!

Chawan Musi

Yield: 4 portions

Ingredients:
3 eggs, beaten and drained
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce Kikkoman brand (Belzy - I guess the brand of the soy sauce is very crucial, it will affect the taste)
500 cc chicken broth
200 gr chicken fillet, boiled and diced
12 pieces shrimp, peeled, leave the tail on
3 pieces shiitake mushroom, soaked and sliced
24 pieces soy bean (optional)

Directions:
Combine eggs, salt, sugar, kikkoman soy sauce and chicken broth, mixed well.
Prepare 4 hotproof bowl. Put in soy beans, chicken diced, shrimp and shiitake into each bowl. Pour in the egg mixture until 3/4 size of bowl.
Steam the egg mixture into a preheated steamer (preheat for 15mins). Steam it until cooked well and the surface of the egg shiny. Serve immediately.

VIETNAMESE CHICKEN SANDWICH (BANH MI)

This is my first time eating and making this asian sandwich. And, surprisingly vietnamese sandwich is pretty famous in the states. For some reason, I never know or heard it when I lived in asian countries before.

As usual, my dear friend Selly didn't hesitate to share the recipe of vietnamese chicken sandwich to me. *thank you Sel!*

It tasted really good! The freshness of daikon and carrot pickles became the secret of this sandwich. Also, cilantro made the taste rich of flavor. You have to try this asian sandwich if you never have one! I bet you will like it ;).



Vietnamese Chicken Sandwich (Banh Mi)

Ingredients:
6 pieces of soft baguette (Belzy - either buy or homemade baguettes)

For the pickles:
3 cups of daikon (Japanese White Radish), julienned
3 cups of carrot, julienned
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 tsp salt

For the filling:
4 pieces chicken fillet (or you can use skinless boneless chicken thigh), marinated*
1 cup of cilantro leaf
1/2 cup of red onion, thinly sliced
1 piece of cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
Soy sauce and blackpepper

For the chicken marinate:
1/4 cup soy sauce
6 garlic gloves, pasted (you can use mortar&pestle, or food processor)
4 shallots, pasted (you can use mortar&pestle, or food processor)
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp star anise powder

Directions:
For the pickles:
Combine sugar, white vinegar and salt, stir until dissolved. Place daikon and carrot in a separate bowl. Pour in the vinegar mixture to each bowl. Marinate for 2 hours or more (or it can be made 1 day ahead and chill it in the refrigerator). Drained well. Set aside.

For the chicken:
Mix all marinade ingredients, then marinate the chicken for an hour or overnight.
Before grilling the chicken add 1 tbsp vegetable oil in the chicken marinate.
Grill the chicken until cooked through, transfer to plate, slice it then cover with foil to keep warm.

To Assemble:
Grill or broil baguette for 1 to 2 minutes (Belzy - since my husband is not a fan of crunchy bread I used microwave to warm the baguette), split lengthwise, scoope out some of soft center.
Spread mayonnaise on bottom half of the baguette. Top with cucumber slices, then top with chicken, daikon and carrots pickles, red onion and cilantro. Season with soy sauce and blackpepper. Place top baguette piece over, pressing to compact and serve immediately.