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Sunday, May 29, 2011

First off I would like to say I am sorry for not posting. I have been so busy with my personal life and I didn't get a chance to even update my latest creations. At work I have been constantly designing and it has been tough for me to go home and cook / bake. But I am excited today to share with you guys some interesting and tasty baked goods.

First off:
Mini Lemon Meringue Cheese Cake. 

This was from Anna Olson's "Fresh" and the beauty of this is its in little bites that make you believe that they're low in calories. Haha. Anyways heres how it goes


baked at 350
Crust:
graham cracker crumbs
unsalted butter
sugar

Cheesecake
room temperature cream cheese
sugar
cornstarch
finely grated lemon zest
lemon juice
large egg at room temperture

Meringue
large egg whites
lemon juice
sugar
cornstarch


The beauty of this is it's simple math, make the crust, add cream cheese filling(bake and cool) and then top it off with meringue (bake and cool). This is literally a crowd pleaser, I served this to my family and relatives and I got nothing but good reviews. Too bad I mis-caluated the amount of cream cheese but to me it was just right.

I felt that I could have added more lemon flavour to it since I love lemon and so does my mom but I will re-visit this again.





he wanted to make a dessert buffet, he did a great job =)

Anna Olson: Jazzy "Platz"
Lately I have been craving for something, fruity and rich in spices. I was flipping through the book and I landed on this recipe, so I decided to give it a shot.

This is a fruit-laden coffee cake that smells and tastes just right. When I say just right it means it has a well balanced spice and fruit taste to it. The fruit can be anything that is in season like apples, rhubarb and plums.

Heres whats in it:
sugar
unsalted butter at room temp
sour cream
large eggs at room temp
vanilla extract
almond extract
all purpose flour
ground almonds
lemon zest
baking powder
ground nutmeg
salt
mixed fruits ( I used peaches, apricot, raspberries and blueberries )


Like most of Anna's recipes, this was a no brainer. The only thing I had trouble with was the baking part, it always tells me to bake between a certain time but never gives me an exact time. To be honest, all ovens are different but I always aim for the shortest time in her book and test before baking any further.

The cake turned out just how I imagined it but it rose a little too much? The raspberries didn't give me that rich red that I wanted when I cut into each slice maybe I'll use strawberries next time.

The texture of this cake was divine, it was soft and fluffy just like cakes from Starbucks. The fruit was not over powering and the spices had a nice kick to it. Purely amazing.







jazzy phatz

Today was baptism day! A lot of my brothers and sisters got baptised and I am very happy for them that they found new life! This is so inspirational to me and makes me want to find the perfect me which I will. No one can stop me, I am on fire! =)

Before I end this blog, I just want to say that taking pictures of food is a challenge of its own. I really want to buy a SLR camera but I am "bank modding." Haha.


congrats cat and katy!

iphone sucks =(

Monday, May 16, 2011








Sunday, May 15, 2011

First off I have to apologize for not updating in the longest time. I don't know why I haven't been on top of my things but my only excuse is, I have been too stressed and busy for the past few weeks. I barely have time for myself, blah. But here I am.

Today I made Anna Olson's blueberry buckle from her "sugar" book.

Blueberry buckle with cream cheese topping:

cake:
125 ml unsalted butter at room temp
125 ml sugar
1 egg
5 ml vanilla extract
500 ml all purpose flour
12 ml baking powder
1ml salt
125 ml milk
500 ml blueberries


Beat the sugar and butter till pale yellow, add the egg, vanilla and dry ingredients together. Add the milk and Spread the batter. Spread blueberries over the top.

streusel topping (crumble)
75 ml sugar
75 ml flour
2 ml cinnamon
45 ml unsalted butter


Mix the dry ingredients together and then add the butter. Play around with it using your hands till the chunks of butter is gone. Then spread it on top.

cream cheese topping:
250 g cream cheese
50 ml sugar
5 ml vanilla extract
1 egg

Beat the cream cheese till its smooth and add the sugar, extract and egg. Spread it on top of the cake. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

This reciepe was not as easy as I thought it would be, it took a lot of effort and preparing or maybe I was just rusty. The actual finished product was very rewarding, the smell of cake, cream cheese and blueberries filled the kitchen with a nice soft smell. It really did give a country kind of feeling to it. I wish the weather would have been nicer here in Toronto, so that I can eat this outside and enjoy a coffee but you can't win them all.

I felt that the cake was a little over baked, I could have taken it out at like 50 minute mark but I took it out at the 55 minute mark. It still tasted very soft, sweet and sour (blueberries) which was a very nice combination.

Anyways, I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU GUYS TOMORROW!! Promise me you will check my blog out tomorrow. =)


Malaysian place at bayview and major mack

wendy's crew! three generations!

pre-oven

pre-oven stage 2

my break smoothie =)

blueberry cream cheese buckle


Sunday, May 8, 2011

It's mothers day, well what's left of it at least. Today was a grand day, nice weather, good company and good food. It started off a day at Coras with her and it was jam packed, so we resorted to milestone brunch. For some reason, milestones just doesn't do it for me anymore. I feel like I can make whatever they serve and the taste is just not as good as it use to be back then. Oh well.

Let's talk desserts now. Today I baked "chocolate" from Kitchen, best of the best by Michele Cranston.

Here's what you need:

Preheat at 350F
4 ramekins (300 ml)

4 tablespoons cocoa powder
90 g brown sugar
300 ml boiling water


Mix all together and set aside

2 eggs
150 g sugar


2 1/2 tablespoons chopped unsalted butter
100 g dark chocolate
125 ml milk


Over medium heat, melt the chocolate and butter together. Then add the milk. Set aside and cool.

125 g flour
2 tablespoon cocoa powder

Mix these dry ingredients together then add the hot chocolate mixer slowly. Divide the batter among each ramekin and then add the hot water mixture over the puddings. Bake 30 mins until firm.



Thursday, May 5, 2011

thats what it is, updates later

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

So yesterday night, she came over and I cooked dinner for us. It was a whole new experience for me since I only used reicpes off the top of my head (which wasn't much) and didn't have enough time to make dessert. I started off with a nice refreshing salad packed with three of my favourite flavours. (sweet citrus, sour citrus and honey)


Michael Smith's prosciutto wrapped salmon

Here's what you need for the salmon:

375 F
4 salmon fillets
60 ml fine grain mustard
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 slices of prosciutto

Now the salmon was okay, it was'nt great and I was a bit hesitant with the mustard because I was afarid the taste would be too strong. Turns out, it wasnn't enough and it evaporated during the baking process. The good side to this was, inside of the salmon was nice and juicy! It was done just right and she loved it of course. My mom gave me a thumbs up for approval on both dishes and she even wanted more.

fusion of kitcehn best of the best and jamie oliver ( so I guess you can say this was a Daniel oliver dish haha)

Blah weekend coming up and I can't wait. Here's a bonus for you guys. I finally got my book in, I designed the cover and the contents. Look out for it! =)

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Born-Ugly-Beth-Goobie/9780889954571-item.html?ikwid=born+ugly&ikwsec=Books

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Hello hello! I can never get things right, you will know what I mean later on in this blog. So anyways, I got my car detailed today, sorta, not really. It started off in the morning where I arrived at the shop, which by the way was very ghetto and hidden! I walked in and there was only one guy at the place but just around the corner was a GTR and Ferrari. Everything was all good and when I got on the highway, I ran over a rock and my tire just ripped! Long story short, I am okay =)

fancy

more than I can afford

=(

Dinner Party:

My sixth dinner party was today and I have to say, it was a little daunting at first cause then of my poor symphony. Oh well, you move on. =) So lets get started!

yes i have white friends =) haha

starter


Guests started to arrive at 730pm, I got most of the stuff ready by 7. Here's what I made:

Florida orange and pecorino salad:

2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 oranges
spring mix of your choice
shaved pecorino cheese

This salad was actually a remix of the apple and pecrino salad recipe but this time instead of using apples, I used oranges. It turned out just the way I imagined it, juicy, sweet, sour and fresh. Since this was a bit of a budgeted dinner, I bought a pre-mixed spring salad. To top it off was shaved pecorino cheese. My guests loved it, especially the cheese.

entree

Peppered beef with cotton mash potatoes:

3 LB beef eye fillet
2 tablespoons freshly ground pepper
mashed potatoes

Cotton mash potatoes:
2 lb potatoes cut into chunks
125 milk
125 butter

This recipe I had a problem with, not the mash potatoes but the beef rib eye. I had a 3 lb strip of it and I baked it for a good 30 or more minutes on 400F? It still was giving me blood. In the end I cheated a bit and baked it for another 10 minutes or so and got it right. I am glad that I still got praises for it though or maybe they were just being nice.

dessert


=)

Fruit Crisp:

3 lb fruits of your choice
( I did raspberries, blue berries, black berries and strawberries )
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
125 ml butter
150 ml flour

This is definitely the new meringue! It feels different since I usually finish off the night with a meringue shaped like a roast pig that would guarantee "wows." The fruit crisp was nice a warm, it was just right for the occasion. It had a very nice home / country feel to it if you know what I mean. I only had one serving but my friends had multiple, they even scrapped the baking pan clean of fruits and crumbs. How nice. =)

Sometimes I feel that we need a life crisis in order for us to find a hidden skill and this is my hidden skill. I will definitely embrace and cherish it. Thank you for all your support friends and families! I am not a chef but I just love cooking in general. =)