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Showing posts from January, 2011

Baked Cannellini Beans In Tomatoes

This is a very comforting home-styled Baked Cannellini Beans In Tomatoes. A perfect meat-free dish that’s packed with plenty of nutritional benefits. Cannellini beans are high in fiber, low fat, and contains magnesium, iron, protein, and folate. If you can’t get cannellini beans, then, you may consider to substitute with other white beans, such as Great Northern or Navy bean. Enjoy this great tasting fresh baked beans with your favorite bread. My pick is a couple of sliced toasty baguette. Recipe adapted from Apples For Jam by Tessa Kiros (pg 48) Baked Cannellini Beans In Tomatoes Ingredients 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) Dried Cannellini Beans, soaked overnight (in cold water) 1 Sage Sprig 1 Bay Leaf 4 Tbsp Olive Oil 1 Medium Red Onion, finely diced 3 Tbsp Chopped Italian Flat Leaf Parsley 2 Cloves Garlic, chopped 1 ½ tsp Smoked Sweet Paprika Powder 1 Can (28 oz/1 lb 12 oz/794 g) Diced Tomatoes 3 Tbsp Tomato Paste Sea Salt to taste Fresh Ground Black Pepper Method Put the beans in a large pan, c

Egg Muffin Sandwiches With Crispy Bacon Strips

I made some Egg Muffin Sandwiches for breakfast last weekend. My kids woke up craving for some and I wasn't bothered to head over to the nearest McDonalds, in the cold and wet weather, to do a Egg McMuffins and Hash Browns takeaway. Anyway, no “recipe” needed here, just assemble the fried egg and cheese on a lightly toasted muffin. Then, toast the assembled sandwich again in a Panini grill or on a hot griddle until the cheese melts. I prefer to serve this breakfast sandwich with some crispy bacon strips, tastes great! I have also included an easy method for cooking crispy bacon in your oven here. Try it. Egg Muffin Sandwiches With Crispy Bacon Strips Ingredients English Muffins Fried Eggs Cheddar Cheese Crispy Bacon Method Crispy Bacon : Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line a large baking pan with tin foil. Place a wire rack on top of the prepared pan. Arrange bacon slices in a single layer and bake for about 20 minutes, flip over, and continue to bake for another 8 to 10 minutes or until

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken

I think Vietnamese food is just awesome. So, today, I’d like to share with you one of my favorite, this fantastic Vietnamese inspired Grilled Lemongrass Chicken. I love the simple taste of the charcoal smoked grilled chicken, infused with the aromatic flavor from the lemongrass. The grilled chicken bites are best enjoyed with lots of crisp lettuce leaves, mint leaves, Asian basil, shredded cucumber, carrots, and Vietnamese dipping sauce. Just ensure you have plenty of napkins as this is a fun DIY hands-on meal. Grab a cold beer or a glass of wine and enjoy! Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Ingredients 4 (850 g) Chicken Breast, lightly pounded and cubed (about ¾ inch) 4 Stalks Lemongrass, minced 2 Cloves Garlic, minced 2 (60 g) Shallots, minced 2 Tbsp Sugar 1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
 2 tsp Chili Flakes
 3 Tbsp Fish Sauce
 1 tsp Sea Salt 3 Tbsp Peanut Oil 20 Bamboo Skewers, soaked in the water for 1 hour
 or metal skewers Peanut or Vegetable Oil Lettuce Leaves Mint Leaves Asia

Spicy Garlic Hot Wings

Besides the baked Tex-Mex potatoes, another yummy snack that I made this weekend was this Spicy Garlic Hot Wings. Instead of deep-frying, just bake the seasoned chicken wings in the oven until golden brown. This way, you can still enjoy watching your game, with minimal disruption, and you don't have to work the wings in-front of your deep fryer or stove either. :-) The crispy baked chicken wings are then tossed with buttery hot sauce and some crunchy fried garlic bits. Simply irresistible! Spicy Garlic Hot Wings Ingredients 12 Chicken Wings, tips removed Sea Salt Freshly Ground Black Pepper All-Purpose Flour (about 1/4 Cup) 3 to 4 Tbsp Canola Oil 3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter 1 tsp White Vinegar 6 Tbsp Hot Sauce 1 ½ Tbsp Fried Garlic, lightly crushed 1 Scallion, chopped Method Preheat oven to 400˚F. Lightly oil a baking pan with canola oil. Cut the wings in half, and season with salt and pepper. Coat the wings the flour and shake off the excess. Arrange the wings

Baked Tex-Mex Potato With Pico De Gallo

This was a pretty busy sports weekend. We had the football AFC & NFC divisional playoffs earlier, and the first major tennis Grand Slam got started for the new year, the Australian Open. Naturally, I knew that I was going to be glued to the television and so, I decided to bake this Baked Tex-Mex Potato With Pico De Gallo in advance. This is a really scrumptious snack that you can prepare well ahead, the potatoes and the salsa, with ample time to spare before intending to serve. Just pop the layered cheese potatoes in the oven for 10 minutes. Serve with lots of refreshing salsa and you have an addictive baked cheese potatoes ready to be enjoyed! Baked Tex-Mex Potato With Pico De Gallo Ingredients About 900 g Roasted Potatoes (I used small tricolor potatoes)(click here for the recipe, quartered the potato and omit the rosemary) 200 g Tex-Mex Cheese (combination of Jalapeno Jack, Cheddar, and Mozzarella cheese) Olive Oil Sea Salt Fresh Ground Black Pepper 2 Scallions, chopped Pico De

Cowboy Cookies

I picked up a new baking book, Baked Explorations, this past weekend. While browsing through the recipes, the one that instantly caught my attention was this, Cowboy Cookies! Right then, I knew I had to get around to bake some for my kids. :-) So, here it is. Most cookies recipe usually includes oatmeal, chocolate chips, walnuts or pecans. However, this recipe also called for some espresso and crunchy pretzels to be added! If you are baking these for your younger kids, you may opt to omit it. I just thought the espresso added a nice twist to perk-up these cowboy cookies! Try it. Recipe adapted from Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito (pg 91) Cowboy Cookies Ingredients 1 ¾ Cups All-Purpose Flour 1 tsp Baking Soda 1 tsp Baking Powder ½ tsp Sea Salt 2 Cups Rolled Oats 14 Tbsp (1 ¾ sticks) Unsalted Butter, cool but not cold, cut into 1-inch cubes ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar (I used ¼ cup) 1 Cup Firmly Packed Dark Brown Sugar (I used ¾ Cup) 1 Large Egg 1 Large Egg Yolk 1 tsp

Mini Scallion Puffs

This is my version of the popular Chinese scallion pancake, the modern and simplified way. Instead of the traditional flour dough, these Mini Scallion Puffs were made with store-bought puff pastry. Put a generous sprinkling of scallions and sea salt on the pastry and then baked in the oven until golden light brown. These mini puffs will turn out tasty, crunchy, and makes a great in-between meal snack. Mini Scallion Puffs Ingredients 1 Sheet (250 g) Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed 4 to 5 Stalks Scallions, finely sliced Sesame or Peanut Oil Sea Salt Dipping Sauce 3 ½ Tbsp Soy Sauce 2 Tbsp Black Vinegar 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil 1 tsp Chili Flakes 1 Scallion, thinly sliced 3-½ inch Cookie Cutter Method Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, unfold the puff pastry and cut into circle with a cookie cutter. You will have about 18 pieces. Work with one piece at a time and brush the surface with sesame or peanut oil and sprinkle with scallions and

Hazelnut Dark Chocolate

Do have a go at making these Hazelnut Dark Chocolate treats at home. It’s an easy and fantastic recipe from Tessa Kiros’s Apples For Jam cookbook . If you love Ferrero Rocher, you should like this recipe as it’s just dark chocolate and hazelnut basically. Anyway, to make this delicious treat, you just need chocolate wafer or biscuits, roasted hazelnuts, chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella), and dark chocolate. Try it. Recipe adapted from Apples For Jam by Tessa Kiros (pg319) Hazelnut Dark Chocolate (Hazelnut Chocolate Balls) Ingredients 16 Pieces Loacker Hazelnut Bite Size Wafer Cookies 250 g Roasted Peeled Hazelnuts, chopped quite finely About 180 to 200 g Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread 250 g Dark Chocolate Method Crumble the cookies into a bowl and the hazelnuts and about two-thirds of the hazelnut spread to start with. Mix together until it all looks a bit like mud cake. Try rolling a small portion into a ball, if it breaks up; mix in more chocolate hazelnut chocolate spread unti

Dan Dan Mien (Noodle)

This is my favorite version of the popular Dan Dan Mien. It’s a classic Sichuan spicy noodle that makes a perfect winter time meal! This common street food is usually prepared with pork or beef; but, I decided to use chicken instead which tastes just as delicious. Just make sure you mix all the ingredients well to ensure the spicy, salty, sweet, and nutty flavors of the meat and sauce are meshed to the delicious noodles. Add some garnishing on top before serving and you have a hearty bowl of noodles. Enjoy! :) UPDATED: December 28th 2013 This is an updated post with a new video cooking guide. Dan Dan Mien( Noodle) Ingredients 450 g Dried Wheat Noodles, cooked according to manufacturer instructions Baby Bok Choy, blanched (optional) Fresh Coriander Leaves, chopped (optional) Chinese Celery, chopped (optional) Meat Topping 380 to 400 g Ground Chicken Breast/Pork/Beef 3 to 4 Tbsp Peanut Oil 1 tsp Sichuan Peppercorn 100 g Preserved Vegetables (Sichuanese Ya Cai or Ti

Cinnamon With Apple Pull-Apart Bread-Monkey Bread

If you love the sweet smell of cinnamon baked goods, do try baking this Cinnamon With Apple Pull-Apart Bread (or aka. Monkey Bread). I will admit that I have a real weakness for any cinnamon baked goodies and when the craving hit me over the recent holidays, the monkey got me into the kitchen to bake this bread! :-) Honestly, I am not sure where it got that nickname; but, this bread is really delicious. The bread is soft, gooey, sweet, and with the baked apple and cinnamon aromatic flavors, you will need to restrain yourself from going for the second or third portion! Anyway, please note that I opted to use store-bought chilled biscuit dough here, instead of making the dough from scratch. If you prefer to make the bread from scratch, then do check out My Kitchen Snippets blog for the recipe. Happy baking! Cinnamon With Apple Pull-Apart Bread-Monkey Bread Ingredients 2 Cans (340G X 2) Pillsbury Country Biscuits ½ Cup Granulated Sugar 2 to 2 ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon 1 Apple, peeled, cored

Loh Han Guo or Siraitia Grosvenorii With Dried Longan Drink

Well, after all the recent boozing, I had to start the New Year with getting hydrated, in a healthy way. So, I decided to boil a pot of Loh Han Guo or Siraitia Grosvenorri With Dried Longan Drink yesterday. I can hear you saying now, “what???”. :-) Well, Siraitia Grosvenorri is grown primarily in the Southwestern Chinese province of Guangxi and in Thailand. The plant’s prized sweet fruits are used mainly for medicinal purposes and as a sweetener. It’s generally sold in dried form and used in herbal health teas or soups, which are widely enjoyed in South East Asia. Some of it’s medicinal benefits include alleviating respiratory problems, sore throats, and reputedly, it’s claimed by some to aid longevity too. Not sure about the last claim though. :-) Anyway, when boiled together with dried longan and rock or palm sugar, you have a really healthy and delicious dried longan drink. Here is a picture of the dried fruit and drink, which can be served cold or warm. Available at any Chinese me