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Tuesday 15 November 2011

Gg's Danish Croque-madame

Egg in a basket met Croque-madame and fell in love with a Danish boy. 



Danish Croque-madame Recipe:
(serves 2)

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 slices of Danish bread or any bread of your choice 
  • 8 rashers Danish streaky bacon (cooked)
  • 8 slices of Danish Brie (as thin or thick as you like)
  • butter
  • oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 4 sausages 
  • a handful of cherry tomatoes (garnish, optional)

Directions

  1. Set the oven to the conventional cooking setting () at 150 degrees Celsius. Lay a piece of baking paper on a baking tray and set aside.
  2. Heat a non-stick pan over a low fire.
  3. With a round cookie cutter, cut a hole out of two slices of bread (tops). Save cut out rounds.
  4. Top the remaining 2 slices of bread (bottoms) with two slices of Danish Brie followed by 4 rashers of cooked Danish streaky bacon and another 2 slices of Danish Brie. Set aside on the prepared baking paper.
  5. Add a little butter and oil to coat the pan.
  6. Place the tops in the pan and crack an egg into each hole. Turn heat up to medium-low.
  7. Once the whites of the eggs are slightly set (about 2 to 3 minutes), remove carefully from the pan and place on top of the prepared bottoms.
  8. Turn fire up to medium-high and cook sausages in the same pan.
  9. Pop the sandwiches and the cut out rounds into the oven on the center rack and bake till the eggs are just set on top. The sausages should be cooked by the time the eggs are done.

The Danish Croque-madame

Breakfast together on the weekends (or holidays) is a treasured luxury. The weekend brings about a better-rested, more relaxed DCM whom I am more than happy to indulge. I try to think of as many ways as possible to make weekend breakfasts interesting. 

This is a little restricted when my DCM does not have a sweet tooth. He'll have one or two cupcakes I make, some chocolate with almonds as a snack, a bit of birthday cake or try a dessert I'm having if I ask nicely but that's about it. 

So Gg says "bye bye" to pancakes and sweet french toasts... I love pancakes... And pancakes are something that you cannot make just for one.

Our breakfasts therefore consists a lot of bacon, eggs and sausages. I'm not complaining (much). I love bacon, eggs and sausages.

Here's one of my bacon, eggs and sausages variations I call Gg's Danish Croque-madame which combines the concept of Egg in a basket with the concept of a Croque-madame. What makes it Danish is the use of this bread I found at GWC's CS called Danish bread (a bread version of croissant), Danish brie instead of Emmental or Gruyère and Danish streaky bacon. See recipe here.


Danish Brie melts beautifully and it's subtle flavour brings out the salt of the bacon. The egg is cooked so it's not runny and messy yet not overcooked so it's hard and rubbery. The Danish bread's light crispiness causes crumbs but it's so nommy I only notice after we've made a mess. I like adding cherry tomatoes to my dishes as they add a fresh sweetness and are good for the prostate.

It sure takes more time and effort than just frying up eggs, bacon and sausages, and toasting some bread but it's for my DCM so it's worth it. He liked it plenty, making me a very happy girl.

Gg's Cucumber, Mint & Yogurt Sauce/Dip

A cooling and healthy sauce/dip which complements Gg's Turkish Roasted Chook and spicy foods.




Cucumber, Mint & Yogurt Sauce/Dip Recipe:
(serves 2)

Ingredients

  • 1 medium Japanese cucumber (peeled and grated)
  • few sprigs of mint (chopped)
  • zest of half a lemon
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 1 cup of natural or Greek yogurt
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix.
  2. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Gg's Carrot & Cranberry Salad

A fresh and sweet salad that goes well with Gg's Turkish Roasted Chook, any salty, spiced meat and seafood or just on it's own.




Carrot & Cranberry Salad Recipe:
(serves 2)

Ingredients

  • 4 organic baby carrots (grated)
  • a handful of dried cranberries
  • few sprigs of cilantro (chopped)
  • few sprigs of mint (chopped)
  • few sprigs of flat leaf Italian parsley (chopped)
  • zest of a lemon
  • juice of a quarter lemon
  • juice of a quarter orange
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix.
  2. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Gg's Roasted Turkish Chook

A finger-lickingly tasty, juicy and tender roast chicken that takes you to Turkey without having to travel. Additional spices, herbs and lemon are added to the marinade simply because they work well together and I love those flavours. The chicken is garnished with roasted pistachios as they are my DCM's favourite nut. Any olive of your choice works if you're an olive lover like we are. Pita can be substituted for Turkish bread if you are unable to find any. 




Turkish Roast Chicken Recipe:
(serves 2)

Ingredients

  • 3/4 - 1 large chicken (whole and butterflied, bones left on, the spine portion removed)
  • a handful of shelled pistachios (garnish, optional)
  • a handful of cherry tomatoes (garnish, optional)
     Marinade:
  • 3 - 4 tablespoons Turkish chicken spice rub (My taste buds tell me the components should include: all spice, cardamon, cloves, cumin, fenugreek, dried oregano, garlic powder, ground coriander, dried mint, paprika, red pepper and tumeric) 
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
  • 3 - 4 tablespoons olive oil or any oil you would like to use
  • zest and juice of one lemon
  • few sprigs of lemon thyme or regular thyme
  • few sprigs of cilantro
  • 1 fresh/ dried bay leaf
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

    Marinating:
  1. Throw all ingredients into a zip lock bag or airtight container big enough for chicken and mix. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking.
  2. Add chicken to the marinade. Coat chicken well marinade. Leave in the fridge to marinate overnight or up to a week. Turn chicken occasionally.
    Cooking:
  1. Take chicken out of the fridge, transfer to a roasting tray. Arrange the chicken so it is laid flat with the meat and skin side facing up. Place on the lowest rack in the oven.
  2. Set the oven to the conventional cooking setting () at 200 degrees Celsius. This allows the chicken to warm up and the skin to dry while the oven is heating up at the same time. Dry skin = crispy skin.
  3. Once the oven is properly heated, start timer to roast chicken for 30-45 minutes. Your nose is your best indication of whether food is cooked. Once you can smell delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen, your food is more or less cooked.
  4. When chicken has turned slightly golden brown, switch the oven to the fan assisted grilling setting () and turn the heat up to 250 degree Celsius. This renders the fat and crisps the skin. About 8 to 15 minutes. 
  5. Turn off oven and remove chicken from the oven. Allow chicken to rest 10 to 15 minutes. 
  6. If serving with shelled pistachios, scatter pistachios on a baking sheet and pop into the oven together with the chicken in its last 3-5minutes of roasting. If they are not as done as you would like them to be, just leave them in the oven after you have removed the chicken and turned off the oven. Be careful not to burn the pistachios.
  7. If serving with store bought Turkish bread, pop bread into the switched-off oven to warm while chicken rests.

Turkish Delights For Deepavali

I love marinating meats, especially chicken (chook). Marinades turn a normal piece of meat into something spectacular! If you just throw a chook into the oven with a little salt and pepper, olive oil; you get dinner. Throw together a marinade of lemon juice, Dijon mustard, splash of white wine, trickle of honey, bit of melted butter and of course good ole S&P (salt and pepper), let a whole chook or your favourite chicken parts marinate in the marinade overnight to a week before you chuck it into the oven and you get dinner that makes you go "OMG... Mmmm...". 

Yes it is more effort. But really, only slightly more. And the rewards are well worth it. I like putting together the marinade first so I may taste and tweak if necessary. Once that is done, that's all the extra effort done. 

Since the apartment comes with a mediocre, tiny fridge (provided by the landlord), I am not able to store many things as the freezer portion is so limited. The solution is marinating. Marinades keep meats 'fresh' for longer in the chiller section through preservatives like salt, spices and oil.  

So, it was Deepavali and we were staying in. I wanted to make an indulgent yet healthy meal for my DCM. The Parentals recently went to Turkey on holiday and came back with Turkish goodies like apple tea, cheese, cold cuts, figs, honey comb, macadamias, marinated green olives, olive oil infused with black pepper, pistachios, saffron and Turkish chicken spice rub. I'd marinated 3/4 of a fat chook in the Turkish spice rub and a few other ingredients, had organic baby carrots in the fridge and there were those green olives. A trip to Cold Storage (CS) at Great World City (GWC) provided me with all the other ingredients needed to whip up a Turkish-inspired meal. 

Gg's Roasted Turkish Chook with Carrot & Cranberry Salad, Cucumber, Mint & Yogurt Sauce/Dip, Turkish Green Olives and Turkish Bread

A week of marinating allowed the earthy, auburn spice mix to properly permeate the flesh while the lemon's acidity acted as a tenderiser. I have a technique of oven roasting that always produces perfectly cooked chook (see recipe and cooking method here). The skin, always the most flavourful part, was crispy. The meat was so succulent that there was a pool of chicken juices at the bottom of the plate when we were done with the meal. Yes, even the breast meat was juicy.

The salad was fresh, crisp and sweet (see recipe here) while the yogurt sauce/dip was cool, refreshing and zingy (see recipe here). The yogurt sauce/dip cooled the spicy heat of the chicken and the sweetness of the salad balanced the sour tones present in the chicken and the sauce/dip. The Turkish bread I found at GWC's CS was chewy, slightly dense and great as a vessel for the chook, salad and yogurt sauce's trip to our mouths.

It was delicious, messy and so satisfying. My DCM and I did not stop eating until everything on the tray disappeared. 

Monday 14 November 2011

Gg's Double Chocolate Cupcakes With Caramel Mascarpone Frosting

A light and not-too-sweet chocolate cupcake topped with caramel Mascarpone frosting and mini chocolate chips.



Double Chocolate Cupcake Recipe:
(yields 20-24 cupcakes)

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate buttons
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick salted butter (room temperature)
  • 1 cup granulated white sugar
  • 2 large eggs (room temperature)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup milk (room temperature)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius and place rack in center of oven. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. 
  2. In a stainless steel or heatproof bowl combine semi-sweet chocolate buttons, unsweetened cocoa powder and boiling water. Stir until melted. Set aside to cool while you make the batter. 
  3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. 
  4. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. 
  5. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is fluffy. About 2-3 minutes.
  6. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
  7. Add vanilla extract and melted chocolate mixture. Beat to combine. 
  8. Add the milk and flour mixtures in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat only to incorporate between additions.
  9. Evenly divide the batter among the muffin cups, and bake for about 18 - 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. 

Caramel Recipe:

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/3 stick salted butter (cold & cubed)
  • 
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons heavy cream, at room temperature

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, cook sugar over medium heat, whisking as it melts. 
  2. When it turns a deep amber color, add butter cube by cube and stir between additions until butter melts and is incorporated. 
  3. Add heavy cream and whisk until the caramel is smooth. Remove from heat and let cool. 

Caramel Mascarpone Frosting Recipe:

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup caramel
  • 1/2 stick salted butter (room temperature)
  • 
1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 3/4 cup Mascarpone cheese (chilled)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

  1. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and Mascarpone cheese until light and fluffy using the lowest setting to begin, gradually moving it up to the highest setting. About 5 minutes.
  2. Add icing sugar and beat until thoroughly combined.
  3. Add pure vanilla extract and caramel, and beat on low then medium-high speed until light and airy.  About 2 minutes. For a stiffer frosting, add more icing sugar.


The Almost Perfect Chocolate Cupcake

In my last post I mentioned I'd made a batch of chocolate cupcakes. These required more work than the last two recipes but when I popped one in my mouth for a taste test, it made me smile. 

Texture-wise, it was airy, crumbly, light and moist. Taste-wise, chocolatey, not too sweet and nommy! Alas, still not the perfect chocolate cupcake...

Firstly, they sank a little in the middle after I took them out of the oven. I wonder if it was due to opening the oven and checking for doneness. They took more than the 20 minutes most cakes take. I did a spring test (touching the top of the cake to see if it springs back, if it does, it's done. If your finger leaves a bit of an indentation, it is not.), realised it needed more time and let it continue to bake another 2 minutes. They were nice and puffy when I took them out of the oven but the pretty rounded tops sank once cooled. Just a wee sinking that was easily camouflaged by frosting.

The second reason is the chocolatey-ness of the cake. It was more chocolatey than my first two attempts. But not enough. I'd thought that with 2 chocolate components and the addition of more chocolate than the original recipe called for it would have been more chocolatey...

I've mentioned I'm not big on chocolate but I think chocolate lovers would prefer that anything chocolate  should pack a certain oomph. I got a hit but I wanted a Bazinga! (Yes, I am a fan of 'The Big Bang Theory'.)

My verdict is that this is a good chocolate cake to top with chocolate or Nutella frosting but not good enough on its own or if topped with a lighter frosting like the caramel Mascarpone one I made. I did go 'Mmmm...'  though when I popped one in my mouth. See recipe here.




I have a lovely friend Elaine who is very supportive of my baking endeavours. She randomly bought 6 Kahlua cuppies I made awhile back and has told me to let her know when I bake as she would like to continue supporting me. She loved those Kahlua ones (topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting and Maltesers). 

I brought a box of these chocolate, caramel Mascarpone frosting cupcakes down to Elaine and as expected, she too felt that the chocolate cake was good though it could be more chocolatey, the caramel Mascarpone frosting was a little too light for her liking and she still preferred my Kahlua cuppies. I was right. Chocolate lovers want chocolate overload when they eat anything chocolate. If I had topped these with the Nutella butter cream I made previously, she would have gone to chocolate heaven for sure.

My cousin-in-law and BFF (I shall call her my Sayang) who also got a taste of these chocolate cupcakes liked them plenty. She preferred the lightness and ate 3 of the 4 she had (she told me she would have finished all of them if her maid had not asked to try one).

I'll definitely tweak the recipe and attempt making chocolate cuppies very soon as my quest for the perfect chocolate cupcake continues...

Thursday 10 November 2011

Gg's All Together Chocolate Cupcake With Nutella Butter Cream (2)

An easy all in one bowl chocolate cupcake recipe paired with a luscious, sinful Nutella butter cream frosting simply spread on and decorated with mini marshmallows.




All Together Chocolate Cupcake (2) Recipe:
(yields 20-24)

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon coffee powder/ granules
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons of Nutella
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside.
  2. Sift cocoa powder into a measuring cup, add coffee powder and warm water. Stir to combine into a smooth paste. Leave to cool.
  3. Sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder into a large bowl. Add sugar and salt. Stir to mix.
  4. Add buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla  to the cocoa and coffee mixture, stir to combine.
  5. Add wet mixture to dry mixture. Using handheld electric mixer on the lowest setting, mix until smooth, 1 - 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
  6. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes. Do not open oven door while cupcakes are cooking. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. 
Nutella Butter Cream Recipe:

Ingredients

  • 1 /2 stick salted butter 
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
  • As much Nutella as you like

Directions

  1. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy using the lowest setting to begin, gradually moving it up to the highest setting. About 5 minutes.
  2. Add icing sugar and beat until thoroughly combined.
  3. Add pure vanilla extract and Nutella, and beat on low then medium-high speed until light and airy.  About 2 minutes. For a stiffer frosting, add more icing sugar.

Gg's All Together Chocolate Cupcake With Nutella Butter Cream (1)

An easy dump everything in a bowl and mix chocolate cupcake recipe paired with a luscious, sinful Nutella butter cream frosting simply spread on and decorated with mini chocolate chips and little heart sprinkles.


All Together Chocolate Cupcake (1) Recipe:

(yields 20-24 cupcakes)

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon coffee powder/ granules
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons of Nutella
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside.
  2. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and baking powder into a large bowl. Add coffee, sugar and salt. Stir to mix.
  3. Combine buttermilk, eggs, oil, warm water and vanilla in a bowl or measuring cup, stir to combine.
  4. Add wet mixture to dry mixture. Using handheld electric mixer on the lowest setting, mix until smooth, 1 - 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed. You should get quite a liquid mixture.
  5. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full (transfer batter into a measuring cup with spout to make this easier). Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes. Do not open oven door while cupcakes are cooking. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.  

Nutella Butter Cream Recipe:

Ingredients

  • 1 /2 stick salted butter 
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
  • As much Nutella as you like

Directions

  1. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy using the lowest setting to begin, gradually moving it up to the highest setting. About 5 minutes.
  2. Add icing sugar and beat until thoroughly combined.
  3. Add pure vanilla extract and Nutella, and beat on low then medium-high speed until light and airy.  About 2 minutes. For a stiffer frosting, add more icing sugar.

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Still Searching For The Perfect Chocolate Cupcake

The perfect chocolate cupcake. What exactly constitutes as the perfect cupcake? I think the perfect chocolate cupcake should be fluffy, light, soft and moist texture-wise, not too sweet (to allow for frosting) and it definitely needs to be intensely chocolaty.  

In my quest for the perfect chocolate cupcake, I'd done additional research and read that mixing cocoa powder with hot water would better bring out the chocolate flavour. I tweaked the All Together Chocolate Cupcake (1) recipe to make some birthday cupcakes for my sweet friend Cynthia. This would be my contribution to her little pot luck birthday party at another friend Charmaine's home.

The result was a slightly more chocolaty cake, a little lighter in texture than the All Together Chocolate Cupcake (1) which made it a tad better but it still wasn't perfect. It's a good thing there's that Nutella butter cream to save the day.

Baking them in pretty pink and white polka dot cups and adorning with mini marshmallows as well as a sprinkle of icing sugar after spreading on the Nutella butter cream made them almost too adorable to eat! Almost.



I recommend eating these with a teaspoon. They can get quite messy. See recipe here.

They were quite a success at the party so I was a happy girl. 

But I knew I was still unsuccessful in my quest for the perfect chocolate cupcake so I researched cupcake recipes all weekend and came up with one which I made tonight since my DCM was out. Look out for my next post to find out if I was successful!


Friday 4 November 2011

In Search Of The Perfect Chocolate Cupcake

Honestly, I'm not a fan of chocolate cake. I might get a very rare random craving and even then I won't actually act upon it. But I know a lot of people love chocolate and because my cousin Winnie asked if I could make her some, I went on to search for and attempt to make chocolate cupcakes. 

I did not know how elusive a good chocolate cupcake recipe was! I tried three before I found one that was decent. Not 'better than sex' or 'so amazing I cried' but they didn't sink like the first recipe's (although the flavour was great) or not taste chocolatey (even though I added a lot of chocolate) and had a weird sticky texture like the second recipe.

This recipe is fairly easy to make, rose quite nicely, tasted relatively chocolatey and has a fluffy but sightly dense texture. It also does not contain butter and yields chocolate cupcakes that aren't very sweet. This means, no guilt about the nommy Nutella Butter Cream Frosting I made to go with these cuppies! 

Then comes the back-breaking part. Frosting the cupcakes was relatively easy. It was individually applying the mini chocolate drops and heart sprinkles that was hard work. I tried using my fingers but they didn't work very well. I also tried kitchen tweezers. Finally, I got a skewer, dotted it with the teeniest, tiniest amount of icing which acted as a sort of 'magnet' for the decorations and arranged them one by one on the cupcakes.

Behold the fruit of my labour!  


I had my DCM take them to work today as one of his colleagues is leaving the company. They were a hit!

I'll shall continue in my quest for a better chocolate cupcake. These were chocolatey but I felt not chocolatey enough. There are so many recipes out there that there must be one that is perfect. I must say though that working with cocoa powder is very annoying. That stuff gets everywhere! 

Hopefully the next batch I attempt will be better. See recipes here


Thursday 3 November 2011

So It Begins

So... I am finally blogging. After years of procrastination... And honestly with Facebook, I don't really see the point of blogging.

But anyway, here I am. My first post.

Why am I blogging now? Maybe it's cause so many people say I should. It could also be due to the lack of anything better to do. Whatever it is, here I am.


What is my blog about? Mostly my attempts at achieving Domestic Goddessness. My interpretations of the sort of things Ina Garten, Martha Stewart & Nigella Lawson would do. Please understand though that I do not idolise these women. I just love the idea of what they represent since I have a newfound love of cooking, gardening and making the apartment my DCM (the boyfriend's nickname) and I live in, a little more aesthetically pleasing.


So, I'm annoyed with the sun today. It is being lazy. My plants are suffering from a lack of Vitamin D and it's laundry day, which means the weekly cleaner is going to have issues drying our clothes. I don't have to cook today as my DCM is headed out tonight for farewell drinks. And, I think when the cleaner is done, I might just try making some chocolate cupcakes to amuse myself.

So anyway, off to help the help and if those chocolate cupcakes are successful, I may just blog about them.
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