a good sandwich

School season is upon us and I'm starting to think the good ol' chicken and cheese sandwich needs a little upgrade. 

Armed with a freshly baked loaf of italian herb and garlic focaccia, I proceeded to slather it with unsalted butter and whole grain mustard and filled it with some iceberg lettuce, cheese and deli roast chicken slices. Like many other savoury sandwiches I make, a crack of freshly ground black pepper is a must.

Today there was a new last minute addition to the sandwich; a chunky cranberry and orange sauce. Something sweet to offset the salinity of the processed chicken, which I think will go well with sliced turkey or shredded roast chicken. The flavour combination is comparable to IKEA meatballs served with lingonberry sauce.

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chunky cranberry and orange sauce     makes enough for 1-2 sandwiches

a small handful of dried cranberries

hot water, as required

rind/zest of 1 orange

juice of 1/2 an orange

Put the cranberries in a small bowl and pour in enough hot water to just cover it. Leave for 5 minutes (alternatively nuke it for 30 seconds in a microwave). Transfer to small saucepan and add in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer until mixture has thickened. Allow to cool slightly before adding it into your sandwich!

trying new things

Every week I find myself rearranging the books on the bookshelf to fit in more than it can. A very recent addition is the Nordic Bakery Cookbook by Miisa Mink. I was originally drawn in by the simple design and photography, but after baking from it twice, with plans for more, it's becoming a new favourite. Someday, I'd like to sit in the Scandinavian-style cafe with a cinnamon bun looking out at the streets of London.

I wanted to make the parsnip and sesame flatbreads but quark isn't readily available here. Miisa Mink suggests to substitute it with thick Greek yogurt but I wanted to try make my own version by straining some natural yogurt in muslin overnight. I'm not sure if the texture and taste compares, but it gave me a really thick, less tart yogurt with some parts near the edges resembling cream cheese. The flatbreads were just as delicious (and addictive). 

I haven't decided what to do with the whey yet, but I'll probably make Calpis or bake bread with it.

With bread, needs soup. I tried a new pumpkin soup recipe out of Jason Atherton's Gourmet Food on a Budget. The method is very different to the usual one I make. The pumpkin is roasted in a foil parcel, pureed, then cooked over a low heat until almost dry before mixing it in with stock, grated parmesan cheese and cream. It resulted in a velvety soup with a cheesy tang. I didn't make the lime chantilly but I think it would be pretty amazing and innovative.

Last thing I did today was deep fry some choux pastry to make chouxros (please ignore my crappy pun). The chouxros weren't crispy as I anticipated but was light and fluffy. It doesn't tastes like much on its own, but with the accompanying salted caramel and dark chocolate ganache...it tasted SO UNHEALTHY I probably won't make/eat it again. It also becomes quite oily when cooled, so I ended up dumping half the batch after dinner... At least I can enjoy the salted caramel with something else...!

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #34: Choux Party (August 2013) hosted by Jasline of Foodie Baker. (Thank you for taking the time to host!)

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chouxros     makes around 20 x 4-5cm long pieces

Just a note, these taste very unhealthy...

1 batch of choux pastry made with bread flour instead of plain flour
oil, for deep frying
salted caramel (see below) and dark chocolate ganache, to serve

Once you have made the choux pastry, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 9mm star piping tip and leave to rest for 30 minutes or more. 

When ready to fry, heat a small saucepan, half-filled with oil. When the oil is hot, pipe 2-3 pieces of 4-5cm choux pastry into the oil. You may need to use a scissors to cut/separate the dough. Deep fry, turning frequently until golden brown. Drain off excess oil.

Serve immediately with salted caramel and warm chocolate ganache.

Note: You may want to flavour your choux pastry with vanilla bean paste/extract, orange blosson water etc. before frying and roll the chouxros in cinnamon sugar or caster sugar after draining the excess oil. Up to you! 

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salted caramel     makes around 150-200ml

Add the salt according to your taste. I gifted Mrs Roddick a bottle of fleur de sel recently and she has told me salted caramel tastes better with it. But she said to add a little at a time as it is saltier than sea salt.

50g caster sugar
150ml thickened cream
sea salt, to taste

Put the caster sugar in a shallow frying pan and shake it gently so the sugar is distributed evenly. Dissolve over a low heat, shaking the pan frequently. Gently stir the sugar into the dissolved parts and continue to stir until it becomes a golden amber/whisky colour. Add the cream (be careful of splatter). Stir until the hardened caramel dissolves into the cream*. Turn off the heat, add salt, stirring to taste. Leave to cool before storing in a glass jar. The sauce with thicken slightly upon cooling.

*I like to reduce/thicken the sauce by simmering it for a few minutes. It will become like a spreadable paste.

a day off

Slept until the afternoon was going to arrive! Munched on vanilla ice cream cones with homemade caramel cream sauce (my phobia of making caramel has gone!) for lunch and played Wii with the cousin and sister until dinner time.

Remember those pizza nights that you share with friends during camp and talk about everything? We had one at the local pizzeria with us 3 kids and 2 adults last night.

Fun times.

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homemade caramel cream sauce

ingredients:makes approx. 1 cup (250 ml)

• 200 g caster sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 300 ml thickened cream

method:

1. Boil cream in a small saucepan and retain heat.
2. In another saucepan, dissolve sugar and caster sugar over low heat, stirring gradually.
   When the sugar crystals has dissolved, switch the high heat and let it bubble until part of it begins to change into a golden colour.
   Gently move the saucepan up and down to even the colour of the sugar syrup.
   When it reaches an amber, dark golden brown colour, slowly pour in the warm cream (be careful of splatter!)
3. Stir the cream and the caramel together until the two have combined. Simmer until the liquids has reduced by half.
4. Cool before pouring it into a glass jar. Serve with ice cream, pancakes, waffles etc.

maple syrup pancakes + mixed berry compote

[Scroll down for recipe if you don't want to read useless rambles]

Graduated. Exams finished; Monday actually. The time of our lives and yet everyone I know is busy doing nothing or being unsuccessful in part time job hunting, including me.

But I haven't been exactly doing nothing. I've returned to school a few times this week distributing appreciation gifts, hassling Year 11s to buy my text books (and made $65 today) and catching up with fellow Year 12s who drop in.

Going to school is actually more interesting than staying home actually. Fairly interesting reactions from the juniors when Murasaki and I barricaded the study room to set up a "store".

Hrm, so what's with the pancakes and compote? They're nothing new really, but I procrastinated and made a ton of pancakes during my exam period :D And now I'm too lazy to bake or cook anything at the moment.

Who knew having the time of our lives would be so boring. I need something to do.

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mixed berry compote

ingredients:makes 2 small servings

• 1 packet (75 g) frozen mixed berries
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 - 2 Tb water

method:

1. Place all the ingredients into a small pot.
2. Stir constantly for 8 - 10 minutes on low heat.
3. When the berries are soft, and when liquids are slightly thick, the compote is ready.
   Cool and refrigerate for later use.

* Mix with plain yogurt and freeze for a frozen treat.
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maple syrup pancakes
ingredients:
makes 10 mini pancakes

• 1 egg
• 3 Tb maple flavoured syrup
• 75 ml milk
• 1/2 Tb unsalted butter, melted
• 75 g self raising flour, sifted
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• vanilla ice cream and mixed berry compote, to serve

method:

1. Using a whisk, beat the egg and maple syrup until frothy.
   Whisk while adding the milk and melted butter / margarine.
2. Add the sifted flour, baking powder and whisk to make a smooth and runny batter.
3. Heat a non stick frying pan and add a small piece of butter / drizzle of oil.
   Wipe fat off with kitchen paper and reserve. Turn heat to a medium high*.
4. Add 1/4 cup of batter and flip with a spatula when many bubbles appear on the surface.
   Cook other side until golden.
5. Wipe the frying pan with the kitchen paper and repeat step 4 until there is no more batter.
6. To serve, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some mixed berry compote.

* For the heat use, I generally start of using a medium high heat and lowering it each time as the pan gets hotter.
* To make even coloured pancakes, turn heat to medium high then to low. Cook pancakes slowly over low heat.

quanjude + teriyaki sauce

Earlier last month, my family and I dined at Melbourne's Quanjude (the main branch is in China) for dinner. Actually the main purpose was to try their Peking duck, since they are famously known as "the duck specialist".
It was a tasty experience despite staff calling us at 10 PM confirming the reservations. I've also eaten this dish in Malaysia and Taiwan. From my experience in Malaysia they only slice the crispy skin for the wrapping. The other part of the duck is usually deboned and mixed with stir fry noodles and chopped up. Same with the roast pig, only the crispy skin is served.

The chef thinly slicing a freshly roasted Peking duck

We also tried some prawn, wagyu, hot pot dishes as well and one of the dishes that caught my uncle and dad's eye was the thinly sliced wagyu wrapped around enoki mushrooms which were priced at around $4~$5 per roll. Dad remade this ate home with scotch fillet (seen above) whilst my uncle and I had a teriyaki sauce cook off.
Apparently my sauce was better because it was sweeter which matched the flavour at the restaurant, but Uncle's sauce was good too. I reckon they tasted pretty similar except Uncle's sauce had a dash of chili powder added to it. I don't know his secret recipe but I'll post my not so secret recipe :P
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teriyaki sauce
ingredients:

• 100 ml mirin
• 100 ml cooking sake
• 100 ml soy sauce (Kikkoman)
• 25 grams sugar

method:

1. Place all ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a boil stirring so the sugar dissolves. Lower the heat to simmer and let it reduce by a quarter.
2. To thicken, dissolve 1 tsp of potato starch into 2 tsp of water and add it to the boiling liquid.
   Stir until thickens.

***
Note: Uncle said it will taste better if I add a tad more sake to it. Will do more experimenting on it. But for now, this sauce is good enough for me to eat it with plain rice :D

strawberry compote

Ah! Photos look so much better without shadows :)

Compared to other months, sales of strawberries have peaked! Currently, we buy around 3 -5 punnets of strawberries each week because they are so sweet now :D Did I mention they're also cheaper? Well, that's the only perk in the upcoming Spring. Definitely not looking forward to the heat!

The idea of creme brulee french toast was stuck in my head since Christine mentioned it a while back. Instead of the usual mix I dip the thick sandwich slices in, I tried to dipping it in raw creme brulee mix instead. The result? There wasn't really a difference except that the cream flavour was more prominent (even though I did a 50% cream and milk ratio).

But never mind that, it was still a good snack to the point where my sister wanted a slice o_o Now that's RARE!

The recipe for this week is the strawberry compote that went with the french toast. Nothing too hard and doesn't take too long to make a small batch and add it to your favourite sweet breakfast or brunch!

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strawberry compote

ingredients:
makes 2 small servings (about 125 ml)

• 1/2 punnet strawberries, hulls removed and quartered
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice

method:

1. Place all the ingredients into a small pot.
2. Stir constantly for 8 - 10 minutes on low heat.
3. When the strawberries are soft, squash them roughly with a wooden spoon.
   When the liquids are slightly thick, the compote is ready.
   Cool and refrigerate for later use.

* Mix with plain yogurt and freeze for a frozen treat.

blueberry compote

Lately I have been busy...cooking and trying new recipes as well as doing household work around the house. Who knew the stovetop could be so dirty after one week's use and how much dust the television tops catch. Over the past two weeks, cooking and baking has been my first priority so I've been practically going through cook books and in the kitchen and I've been moving around my yahoo.jp kitchen, cookpad kitchen, tsunagaaru and of course, this very blog.

Many parents say that cooking 3 meals is a chore, but I find it quite fun and addictive, right now anyway. I don't think it will become a chore for me at this rate XD

This recipe is based on a blueberry jam/sauce kinda thing but turned out to be a compote instead. It's great with creamy vanilla yogurt and on top of pancakes :) Simple, fast and easy!

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blueberry compote

ingredients:
serves 2

• 100 grams frozen blueberries
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• rind of 1 orange

method:
1. Place all the ingredients into a small pot.

2. On a low heat, stir constantly for 8-10 minutes.

3. When all the blueberries are soft and mushy, the compote is ready. Cool and refrigerate for later use.

Note: Mix half of the compote with vanilla yogurt and it will become blueberry flavoured yogurt. Freeze the yogurt for a delicious treat :) Great for the upcoming summer heat waves.