Quick and Easy Doughnuts

Just a quick update :)



Quick and Easy Doughnuts
Ingredients :
source : videojug

2 eggs
170 gr sugar
1 cup yogurt
1 tbsp vanilla
a pinch of salt
45 gr melted butter
500 gr flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp baking soda

Directions :
1. Start your doughnuts by putting the 2 eggs and the sugar into a mixing bowl. Whisk them briskly until their appearance becomes very pale and fluffy.
2. Add the yoghurt, vanilla, salt and butter to the dough and mix it all together briefly.
3. Mix dry ingredients. You can now add the baking soda and the baking powder to the bowl of flour and mix them together a little bit. Next, add this dry mix to the egg mixture and combine them thoroughly. Be careful not to over-mix the dough or the resulting doughnuts will turn out tough.
4. Roll the dough out and cut it. Begin forming the doughnuts by sprinkling some flour upon the work surface and then dusting your hands with a little more flour. Now roll the dough out to a thickness of about half of a centimetre. Next, use the large cutter to cut out the doughnuts. You can then use the small cutter to cut out their centres. Set the doughnuts aside and combine the leftover dough with some new dough. Roll it out again and repeat the process until all the dough is used.



5. Fry. It is now time to fry your doughnuts. Place a saucepan with the oil over a medium heat. While waiting for the oil to heat up, you can prepare a tray by lining it with some paper towel. Now place the doughnuts into the hot oil a few at a time. Let them cook for about one minute until golden brown and turn them over. Cook the other side and place them on the tray. Repeat until all the dough is used.
6. Dust and serve. Place your doughnuts on a plate and liberally dust them with powdered sugar. Your doughnuts are now ready to serve! As a serving suggestion they can be glazed with strawberry, chocolate, or raspberry sauces.

Baked Farfalle with Cheese

My kids love pasta for their lunchboxes. This one is our all time favorite. Instead of farfalle, we usually use penne or macaroni. It's really easy to make, just boil the pasta al dente, add bechamel sauce/white sauce, add shredded cheese on top of it then bake for half an hour.



My Kind of Bechamel Sauce/White Sauce

Ingredients:
60g butter, chopped
garlic, chopped
1/3 cup plain flour
4 1/2 cups whipped cream (liquid)
75g parmesan cheese/cheddar cheese, finely grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
good pinch ground nutmeg

Directions :
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until foaming. Add garlic, sauteed until fragrant, then add flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes or until bubbling. Remove from heat. Slowly add whipped cream, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth. Return to heat. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 10 to 12 minutes or until sauce comes to the boil, thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat. Stir in parmesan, salt and nutmeg.

Sometimes I add smoked chicken, mushroom, cubed carrot and chopped parsley in the sauce.

Mix together cooked pasta and sauce in the baking dish. Add shredded cheese. Then bake in a preheated 350 degree F(175 degrees C) oven for 30-45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Buttery Soft Pretzels

It was my first attempt on making pretzels. I tried to find a simple recipe and found this one. Surprise surprise, it turned out good. So happy because the result was pretty similar with Auntie Anne's pretzel.

Buttery Soft Pretzels
source : all recipes

Ingredients :
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil



1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

Directions :
1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
4. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.



Better eat warm! Enjoy!

Tossed Lettuce and Orange Salad

Very simple, light yet flavorful green salad.

Tossed Lettuce and Orange Salad
source : all recipes

Ingredients :
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (Dita-I used red grape vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large head romaine lettuce - torn, washed and dried (Dita-I used regular lettuce)
3 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges (Dita-I used fresh orange)
(Dita) I added red radish
1/2 cup slivered almonds



Directions :
Prepare the dressing by whisking together the orange juice, olive oil, vinegar, pepper and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the romaine and oranges. Add enough dressing to coat and toss well. Sprinkle with almonds and serve.

Grilled or Roasted Chicken with Yogurt Sauce

Winter is finally come! It means picnic in the beach! People in Kuwait used to go to the beach for picnicking and BBQ-ing in the winter. With only 12ºC-19ºC at noon, it's a perfect weather to do some outdoor activities.

Here's a recipe that I made with my friend for our picnic day, last weekend. I might say this is the easiest grilled/roasted chicken recipe yet so delicious. You only need a cup of yogurt for 1 whole chicken, a pinch of turmeric powder/saffron, sauteed chopped garlic, black pepper-salt-sugar to taste (I like to use a lot of garlic and black pepper). Marinate it overnight in the refrigerator, for the best result marinate it for 2 nights. You can grill it or roast it in the oven, I prefer charcoal grill. It smells heaven :)). Best serve with hot steamed rice and sambal kecap (sweet soy sauce with chili), it's the Indonesian way to eat it.



Thanks to my friend, teh Dina for sharing the recipe :). I totally recommend this recipe!

KBB #27 Fortune Cookies

Making fortune cookies by myself? Oh My...I did it! It wasn't that hard as I imagined :). Just need to practice how to fold the cookies,not perfect yet.

Fortune Cookie
Source: about.com



Fortune cookies can be tricky to make - it's important to make sure that the cookie batter is spread out evenly on the baking sheet. Instead of using the back of a wooden spoon to spread the batter, it's better to gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth as needed. Wearing cotton gloves makes it easier to handle and shape the hot cookies. This fortune cookie recipe makes about 24 cookies.

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons granulated sugar (dita-I used only 6 tbsp)
3 teaspoons water

Preparation:



1. Write fortunes on pieces of paper that are 3 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 9-X-13 inch baking sheets.

2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg white, vanilla extract, almond extract and vegetable oil until frothy, but not stiff.

3. Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar into a separate bowl. Stir the water into the flour mixture.



4. Add the flour into the egg white mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter. The batter should not be runny, but should drop easily off a wooden spoon.
Note: if you want to dye the fortune cookies, add the food coloring at this point, stirring it into the batter. For example, I used 1/2 teaspoon green food coloring to make green fortune cookies.

5. Place level tablespoons of batter onto the cookie sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth and from side to side so that each tablespoon of batter forms into a circle 4 inches in diameter.

6. Bake until the outer 1/2-inch of each cookie turns golden brown and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet with a spatula (14 - 15 minutes).



7. Working quickly, remove the cookie with a spatula and flip it over in your hand. Place a fortune in the middle of a cookie. To form the fortune cookie shape, fold the cookie in half, then gently pull the edges downward over the rim of a glass, wooden spoon or the edge of a muffin tin. Place the finished cookie in the cup of the muffin tin so that it keeps its shape. Continue with the rest of the cookies

Lemon Meltaways

I baked a lot, did I? My kids are on school holidays and they couldn't stop munching. So I baked almost everyday. 1 simple recipe a day. For cookie like this, it's gone in a day.

I used cookie cutter instead of rolling the dough to form a log, because I'm baking with them. They love cute shapes! I love the result. It's sweet, sour and a bit salty.

Lime Meltaways
source : Martha Stewart
Yield Makes about 3 dozen



Ingredients:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 limes (dita-I used 3 lemons)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (dita-I used 6 tbsp fresh lemon juice)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (dita-I used 2 cups)
2 tablespoons cornstarch (dita-I used 4 tbsp)
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt



Directions
1. Put butter and 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add lime zest and juice and vanilla, and mix until fluffy.
2. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.
Divide dough in half. Place each half on an 8-by-12-inch sheet of parchment paper. Roll in parchment to form a log 1 1/4 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log. Refrigerate logs until cold and firm, at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove parchment from logs; cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.



4. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, toss cookies with remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks.

Strawberry Mint Cooler

May peace be your gift for this Christmas and the blessing of the Almighty be with you and the world to help us all make this world a better place. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, dearest friends!

Strawberry Mint Cooler
source : Betty Crocker



Ingredients :
5 cups fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups ice
6 cups lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage, chilled
1/4 cup packed small mint leaves



Directions :
1. In food processor, process 4 cups of the strawberries and the sugar with on-and-off motions until smooth.
2. Pour pureed strawberries into large pitcher. Slice remaining 1 cup strawberries; set aside.
3. Just before serving, stir in ice, carbonated beverage, sliced strawberries and mint.

Tangerine Cheesecake

Baked this cheesecake for my friend's birthday. I was looking for a light and fresh cake idea, then came up with the idea of experimenting with tangerines that I bought a few days earlier. I used to make strawberry or blueberry cheesecake. But never this one. Hope it will turn out good.

Surprisingly it turned out great! :) Love it!

I used basic recipe from Philadelphia Cream Cheese Packaging everytime I make cheesecake. Sometimes I modified it a little bit to make another flavor of cheesecake.



Tangerine Cheesecake
Ingredients :
12 biscuits (any biscuits will do, you can even use oreo)
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp. sugar, divided
3 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
300 gr PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 Tbsp tangerine rind, grated
3 Tbsp flour
1 Tsp vanilla
1 cup yoghurt
4 eggs
1/4 cup tangerine juice (from 2-3 small tangerines)

Tangerine Topping
Ingredients :
1 cup ground tangerines, seeds removed before grinding
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tsp maizena/corn flour



Directions :
1. Heat oven to 325˙F. Line 13x9 inch pan with foil. Mix crumbs, 3 Tbsp sugar and butter; press onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 min.
2. Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, tangerine rind and vanilla until blended. Add yoghurt; blend. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed until blended. Blend in tangerine juice.
3. Place aluminum foil under pan on oven rack and bake in 400 degree F oven for 8 to 10 minutes until crust browns lightly.
4. Reduce heat to 225 degrees F and bake 1 hour and 20 minutes longer. Cool slowly (do not put in cold place) and then refrigerate.
5. Top with tangerine marmalade and serve. Makes 16 servings

How to make Tangerine Topping :
To grind tangerines, cut into pieces and remove seeds. Put through medium blade of food chopper or grind in an electric blender. Measure and place in saucepan. Add sugar. Stir over moderate heat until sugar dissolves. Let it boil. Add corn flour to thicken the juice. Cool and spoon over top of cheesecake. Decorate the the cheesecake with sliced tangerines.

Chicken Pie

I had chicken cream soup leftover from yesterday. I thought making creamy chicken pie would be a good choice. Just added more veggies (carrots, mushrooms and peas), made the soup thicker ( I added 1 tsp cornstarch) and use it up for pie filling.



For the filling : use this Chicken Cream Soup recipe

For the pastry
source : UKTV

Ingredients :
340 g plain flour
170 g butter

Directions :
1. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Stir in enough iced water to bring the mixture together into a smooth dough. Roll half of the pastry out to line a 23cm pie dish or plate and chill for 30 minutes, or until required.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Place a baking sheet on the middle shelf of the oven to heat up.
4. Spoon the filling over the pastry. Roll the remaining pastry out to make a lid and lay it carefully over the chicken mixture.
5. Brush the top with beaten egg. Cut a cross in the middle of the pie right through the pastry to allow the steam to escape as the pie cooks.
6. Bake for about one hour, until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into slices and serving with vegetables of your choice.

Chicken Cream Soup

I always make cream soup with roux based. This is a quick and easy recipe. You don't need chicken broth. But if you want to add chicken broth, it would be great.



Perfect for cold day!

Chicken Cream Soup

Ingredients :
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
2 garlics, chopped
2 cups cooked chicken meat, diced
4 cups milk (I like 3 cups milk and 1 cup heavy cream and it would be super yummy if you add chicken broth)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
a pinch of nutmeg powder
(you can add mushroom or any vegetables you like)



Directions :
1. In a 3 quart saucepan, melt butter, add garlic. Gradually stir in flour. Let this form a paste, or roux. Then, gradually stir in the milk and continue stirring until thickened.
2. Add chicken to white sauce mixture. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix well and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat. Stir in the heavy cream.
3. If soup is not as thick as desired, mix a small amount of corn starch with a small amount of water and add to soup. Simmer for 10 minutes.



Homemade Croutons
source : a sweet pea chef

Ingredients :
day-old French bread (approximately 1/2 loaf)
olive oil (approximately 1/4 cup oil per 1/2 loaf)
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Optional: Parmesan cheese, dried herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary), garlic powder

Directions :
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Using a bread knife, cut the bread into 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch cubes. If you prefer larger or smaller croutons, make your cuts accordingly–just be sure to make your cuts as similarly as possible to help them bake evenly. In a large bowl, toss bread cubes with enough olive oil to lightly coat. Add kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste and any seasonings you prefer. Once cubes are evenly and lightly coated, pour bread onto a baking pan lined with aluminum foil (for easy clean-up).
3. Bake bread in oven for 20-30 minutes until bread is golden and very crunchy. Toss cubes several times during baking.
4. Homemade croutons, stored in a plastic container or a plastic bag, last up to two weeks unrefrigerated.

Food iPhoneography

Here's why I've been missing for so long in the blogging world? Sometimes I feel, blogging is so time consuming. I'm busy nurturing and taking care of my 3 kids. I can't even sit still in front of the computer without being distracted by my kids. The only peaceful time I had was in the night after my kids went to sleep. And that's the only time I had to write Food Photography book with Empat Rana.

So, mobile phone became my best friends. I used iPhone and felt more comfortable doing everything online from my iPhone. I rarely sit and typing in my laptop and desktop computer.

Then I started experimenting taking food photos using my iPhone. I didn't need to use my heavy DSLR, I didn't need complicated setting, styling and composition and the most important thing I didn't have to edit my photos in the computer. I thought it's quite fun playing with iPhone and its applications. Really handy and I don't need a fancy software to edit the photos. And only in 1 click, I could share my photos easily to any social network.

Now I start blogging again, I feel like I've been left behind. So many new food bloggers and food photographers that I didn't know. I miss taking food photos using my DSLR and I miss blogging :). While sipping your cup of tea, please enjoy the new look and new address of my food blog.

Here are some of my food iPhoneography works when I was MIA.





If you are in Instagram, meet me there. I'm @ditut :)