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