Apple & Peach Salsa

While I was making some pork carnitas yesterday for my taco, I realized I forgot all about some kind of salsa to go with taco. Since the pork is kinda rich and heavy, I knew I needed something light to cut down the richness of the pork. Not wanting to make traditional salsa, I opted to incorporate the 2 fruits I had in my fridge; apple and peach into the salsa.

I like the combination; a little crunch, a little sweetness, a little tanginess and a little heat in a bite (especially when you bite in that tiny tiny piece of serrano pepper). Adding it to some taco carnitas, I feel like I'm eating "quite" healthy! A little taste of pork carnitas and fresh salsa in one bite, YUMS! I really like the combination when I take a bite into the taco; I get the savoriness and richness from the carnitas and the freshness and lightness from the apple and peach salsa. I'm sure it will go great with some grilled pork chops or even some grilled fish. Here's the salsa recipe:

   

APPLE & PEACH SALSA RECIPE
**Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Medium Onion, Finely Chopped
• 1 Medium Green Apple, Peeled, Cored & Finely Chopped
• 1 Medium Peach, Peeled, Deseeded & Finely Chopped 
• 1 Small Serrano Pepper, Deseeded & Very Finely Minced **
• Handful of Cilantro, Chopped (About 1 Tbsp packed)
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Sugar
• Juice of 1 Lime

Method:

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients above. Taste and if you need more salt, sugar or lime juice, feel free to adjust. Set aside in the fridge for about 30 minutes until ready for use. Serve with your favorite pork carnitas or your choice of meat! 

**Reminder: Do not rub/touch your face or eyes after you cut the chili!

June's comments: Depending on how much heat you like or can take, add a little of the serrano pepper first, mix and taste. Add more if you like more heat to the salsa. You can also sprinkle a dash or two of cayenne pepper for more heat. But I like to keep this salsa a little more refreshing and therefore restrained from adding too much heat to it. 

Enjoy! 

Simply June 

Pork Carnitas

This dish highly inspired by the neighborhood Mexican market that runs a small Taqueria like stall at the back of the market. I remember the first time we went there to get some food, the food operators that day spoke only Spanish, and English was little to none. The husband and I ended up ordering tacos with a bit of sign language/pointing and the little Spanish we know. And we watched other customers order other delicious items to go.

The language barrier did not stop us from going back, and back, and back for yummy carnitas (braised pork) and chicarron (pork rind) tacos and/or combination plates. The husband and I are usually the odd ones out in line, but we don't care coz we love the food! However, during my last visit to the taquiera, I found that our regular food was not as good. For some reason, even though the pork was just swimming in lucious gravy a few minutes ago, it felt dry. Honestly, I was disappointed!

Since then, I was determined to replicate this dish. I gathered all the ingredients I think I needed and decided to make it for dinner tonight. Since I've planned ahead, I marinated the meat overnight before cooking it the next day. In this recipe, I added a packet of Sazon Goya to enhance the flavors. This seasoning is something like those chicken bouillon used in cooking. I happened to have a box of the seasoning from cooking a Guatemalan dish my friend taught it and decided to use it in today's pork carnitas.

I love the end product of the dish. The husband and I thought it was flavor of the pork carnitas was pretty close to the ones we get from the taquiera. Ok, if there were some chicarron in there, it would have been perfect! I served the carnitas as a taco (corn tortillas - my favorite!) and topped it off with some homemade Apple & Peach Salsa (I will share the salsa recipe tomorrow!). The husband and I enjoyed the different taste and texture from the savory pork carnitas filling and the fresh salsa topping.

Till then, here's the recipe for the Pork Carnitas. Please excuse my pictures, I had some trouble with the tortilla and plating the dish!

PORK CARNITAS RECIPE 
**Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 lb Boneless Ribs (Pork Shoulders), Cut into large strips 
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1/4 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Oil
• 1/2 Medium Onion, Chopped
• 1 Green Pepper, Chopped
• 2 Clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 Canned (14.05 Oz) Tomatoes (Wedges or Diced)
• 2 Cups (Reduced Sodium) Chicken Broth
• 1 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce 
• 1 Pkt Sazon Goya (Coriander & Annato)

Method: 

Mix salt, smoked paprika, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Sprinkle the mixed seasoning over the pork and let it marinate over night. 

In a heavy pot, heat 2 tbsp of oil over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, sear the pork for about 4 minutes on each side. Once the pork is golden brown on both sides, remove from the pot. Stir in onion, green pepper, and garlic and cook until the onions are slightly soft. Then, add canned tomatoes, chicken broth, worcestershire sauce, the sazon goya seasoning and the seared pork. Ensure that the pork is submerged as much as possible in the broth mixture (add slightly more chicken broth if required to achieve this). Reduce heat to medium low, cover and let the pork cook for about 1 hour. Check on the pork, turning it every 20 minutes or so. 

Once the 1hour is up, using a thong, gently twist the pork to check the tenderness. If chunks of pork can be shredded with the thong, then turn off the heat. If not, add a little more broth (about 1/4 cup, if the broth has become too thick) cover and continue cooking about another 15 minutes or so or until the desired tenderness is reached. 

Let the pork rolled a little before serving. Shred the pork in the pot using a fork. Alternately, chop the pork on a chopping board together with some of the gravy mixture. Serve this as a taco or over some warm rice. 

Serve it as a Taco: You can make about 10-12 pieces of tacos with the shredded/chopped carnitas. Serve the carnitas with some warm (dry toast on a pan) tortilla of your choice. Line the tortilla with a bit of shredded lettuce, then the shredded pork carnitas, cilantro and top if off with your favorite salsa.

Serve it over Rice: Serve some of the carnitas with some Spanish rice or your favorite rice dish. Add some refried beans and salsa (or a simple slaw) to complete the meal. This should be enough to feed 3-4 people. 

June's Comments: I do not need to cut the pork; they came pre-cut from the store and was perfect size for braising. Cutting the meat into smaller pieces will just shorten the cooking time. 

Even though I marinated the pork overnight (since I had time), I think you can just season the pork just before cooking. Since it's braising in liquid, the flavors will still be yummy. I braised my pork in a dutch oven (Le Creuset). Any large pot should work well to braise the pork. 

Depending on how much gravy you want at the end, feel free to add as much or as little more broth at the very end of the cooking time. If you're eating this over rice, more gravy would be yummy. If you're eating this over tacos, you don't need as much gravy. 

I found the level of saltiness perfect; if you prefer more salt in the pork carnitas, sprinkle as much or as little about 10-15 minutes before the end of cooking time. 

Enjoy! 

Simply June 

Cornbread (Muffin)

I'm never a big fan of cornbread as sometimes they tend to be a little on the dry side and too crumbly to eat. I like it when the cornbread is slightly moist and when there's pieces of corn in the cornbread.

I was having some friends come over for coffee and thought that it would be nice if I could serve them something else (I knew I wanted some kind of baked goods) besides coffee. As I was very low on eggs and butter and I had a large can of creamed corn staring at me, I decided to make some cornbread. I've never made cornbread before but I knew I needed a recipe that will give me a somewhat moist cornbread with the minimal ingredients I had.

After a bit of googling around, I found one recipe that appealed to me and decided to use the recipe with some changes. I also made the cornbread in a muffin pan so that I do not need to deal with cutting up the cornbread, and it just look much cuter this way!

I have to admit that I was nervous about the texture of the cornbread especially after being kept overnight.  The cornbread turned out nice and moist when I first ate it minutes after it came out from the oven. I wasn't sure how it would taste like the next day when I plan to serve it to my friends but was pleasantly surprised that it was still moist. Even my friend commented that the cornbread was moist and not as crumbly as other cornbreads she's had in the past and even requested for the recipe. Yay! The original recipe is posted here. Below is my tweaked version.

CORNBREAD (MUFFIN) RECIPE
*Makes about 15 (standard) muffins 

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Yellow (Fine) Cornmeal
• 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 5 Tbsp Sugar
• 2 Tsp Baking Powder
• 3/4 Tsp Salt
• 1/4 Cup Butter, Melted & Cooled
• 1 Large Can (14.75 Oz) Creamed Corn 
• 1 Large Egg, Lightly Beaten
• 1/3 Cup Buttermilk 

Method

Preheat oven to 400F. Line muffin pan and set aside. Combine all the the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) in a bowl and stir. 

Then, add all the wet ingredients (butter, corn, egg, buttermilk) into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Scoop batter (with a spoon or ice cream scoop) into the muffin tins till about 3/4 cup full. 

Bake for about 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. 

June's Notes: If you do not have buttermilk, no sweat. All you need is milk (I used 2%) and vinegar. Pour about 1/3 Cup of milk and about 1 tsp of vinegar into a small bowl and let the milk curdle before you use it.

You can also bake this in a lightly greased regular baking pan (perhaps about 8"). You may need to bake this for about 20 minutes or so, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. 

Simply June 

Korean Seasoned Spinach Banchan / Sigumchi Namul

With a little Korean bbq party planned at our patio, we needed to shop for some meat to cook and some banchan (Korean side dish) to accompany all that meat. I knew I needed a variety of spicy and non spicy banchan and decided to make some non spicy one myself. That way, we can control what goes into the dish and yes, save a bit of money while at it.

I had recalled eating a spinach side dish (Sigumchi Namul) at Korean restaurants and loving it. I also vaguely remember my mom saying it's quite easy to make. I think! After searching for different versions recipe, I decided to roughly do it my way, without garlic and green onion like some recipes required. I don't know if it's as authentic anymore, but it's surely is delicious and healthy! This dish can be eaten immediately or kept for a couple days. I made this a day ahead so that the spinach can absorb as much flavor as possible and so that I don't have too much things to do the day of the bbq. Here's the recipe!

KOREAN SEASONED SPINACH SIDE DISH RECIPE
*Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 Bunches Spinach (About 1-1/2 lbs total)
• 1-1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (Low Sodium)
• 3 Tsp Sesame Seed Oil
• 1 Tsp Toasted Sesame Seeds

Method

Trim the ends of the spinach, remove any wilted leaves and then wash the spinach thoroughly. Prepare an ice bath; a bowl of water with a lot of ice. Boil a large pot of water (large enough to fit the spinach) over high heat. 

Once the water is boiling, blanch the spinach for about 30 seconds. Then, quickly remove and place in the ice bath immediately to stop the cooking and cool the spinach. This will also help retain the beautiful green. Drain and squeeze it gently to remove as much water as possible.

Cut the spinach a few times and set it in a bowl. Add soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Using a chopstick, toss and mix well. Transfer onto a serving plate and serve immediately with some rice and your favorite meat dish. Alternatively, keep it covered and refrigerated (you can keep up to 3 days) until ready to consume.

June's Notes: You can definitely add more soy sauce and sesame seed oil to your preference. Start with the amount in the recipe first, taste then add more if you want a little more salt in your dish. 

Enjoy!

Simply June 

BAGNA CAUDA.........Love It!

We've been blessed to have friends from different parts of the world and generous to share their culture with us. Often, sharing their culture/tradition involves eating.... and the husband and I cannot say no to food! =)  A couple months ago, our Italian friends C&A invited us over for a traditional Italian meal; Bagna Cauda which originates from their town. According to C & A, their family always have it over winter and share the meal with family and friends. After I tried this delicious dip/meal, I was totally hooked!!

According to Wikipedia, Bagna Cauda is a warm dip typical of Piedmont, Italy and is served and consumed in a manner similar to fondue. The dip is made with garlic, anchovies, olive oil, butter and sometimes cream. Therefore, you must like fish or in this case anchovies to enjoy this dip. The dish is eaten by dipping raw, boiled or roasted vegetables and even bread. Traditional, the Bagna Cauda is placed in a big pan in the center of the table for communal sharing. Now, it is usually served in individual pots.

C & A was generous to haul 2 (or 3) large cans of anchovies back from Italy during their last trip. It took them several days to clean the salt cured anchovies and prepare some of the vegetables for dipping. We were greeted with a melange of steamed, boiled, and raw vegetables (raw beets, boiled cabbage, boiled potatoes, raw radish, steamed cauliflower, steamed asparagus, raw fennel, steamed carrots, boiled mini onions, etc) C prepared the quick yet delicious anchovy dip in front of us, so I had a first hand look of how it's being made. Super easy, just make sure you have some canned anchovies at home. Since I could not find salt cured anchovies, I used anchovies soaked in oil instead. The result is still as good.  It's definitely a good way to load up on a lot of vegetables. Some vegetables was surely an excellent match for the dip, some was just ok... but overall it's a personal preference thing as there's no one vegetable that I dislike after dipping it in the bagna cauda! Here's the recipe!

BAGNA CAUDA RECIPE
*Serves 1-2

Ingredients

• 1 Small (2 Oz) Can Anchovies (in oil), Drained
• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 4-5 Cloves Garlic, Grated
• 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
• Dash of Ground Black Pepper, Optional

Method
In a small pot, heat oil over medium heat. Then, add grated garlic and anchovies and let the mixture cook over medium low heat until the anchovies melt. Stir occasionally to help melt the anchovies. Finally, add in heavy cream and let the mixture warm up. Transfer bagna cauda to a small porcelain bowl and add some fresh cracked black pepper. Serve the warm dip with your favorite steamed or raw vegetables. Bread also goes well with this dip.

June's Notes: With the bagna cauda sauce I made, I decided to steam some asparagus till slightly tender and poached and egg. I poured about 2 tbsp of the bagna cause sauce over the asparagus and poached egg platter and loved the combination of the runny yolks and the bagna cauda sauce! 

To learn how to poach an egg, check out Alton Brown's tips. 

Simply June 

Bak Kwa (Asian Pork Jerky)

Updated Sept 26, 2013

Bak Kwa (Asian Pork Jerky) is a very popular snack during Chinese New Year. In Malaysia, the bak kwa shops will be fully packed with customers lining up and paying quite a bit of money for this delicious seasoned smoked meat, quite similar to the American Beef Jerky.... but so much better and flavorful!

In the US, it's almost impossible to get this snack here and many of us have resorted to making our own bak kwas to satisfy the cravings. I've made this snack many years ago and have not made it for many years. So, I decided to make it this year again and give my friends and neighbors a treat during our Chinese New Year potluck lunch. I must say, the bak kwa was a big hit with our guests. 2 lbs of bak kwas seemed so little and I could have definitely made more.

Knowing that my guests would appreciate this snack, I made it at night the day before (after coming home late from a wonderful dinner at Providence and was quite tired) as I knew there'll be no way I have the time to make it in the morning of our CNY lunch. I was totally right, as I was scrambling the whole morning till my guests arrived. Anyway, I baked the bak kwas the night before and the husband put it on the grill the morning off the party. I'm glad I stayed up and slaved over making bak kwas as it definitely put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces on Sunday! Here's the recipe.

BAK KWA (ASIAN PORK JERKY) RECIPE

Meat Ingredients

• 2 Lb Ground Pork (Not too lean - Around 20% fat)
• 2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Rice Wine
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
• A few Dashes of black pepper
• 1 Tsp 5 Spice Powder
• 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

Glaze Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Honey
• 2 Tbsp Water

Method
Preheat oven at 325F. Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat (using a stand mixer; paddle attachment) ingredients until mushy and "gluey". Line baking pans with foil paper (if using foil paper; lightly spray with some baking spray) or oven safe silicon pads; this is for easy cleanup. Scoop about 1/2 Cup of pork mixture and place in the middle of the baking pan (half sheet size). Place a piece of plastic wrap (the size of the baking pan) on top of the meat mixture. With a rolling pin, roll the meat mixture flat until desired thickness then remove the plastic wrap and let the mixture bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. The meat will look like a rubber mat once it's cooked. Remove and cut to desired size and repeat the process again until all the meat mixture is used up. Set aside the baked meat.

Mix the glaze ingredients together and lightly glaze the meat before putting them over a charcoal grill for a few seconds and turn them occasionally to give them the smokey bak kwa flavor. Alternatively, you can use a gas grill, or even pan fry it if you do not have a charcoal grill. Please note that the bak kwa will lack a bit of the smokey flavor by doing so.

June's Notes: When rolling the meat mixture, DO NOT roll it out too thin (i.e. until it's almost translucent) as you may have problems removing it from the foil. Use a cake spatula to help remove the cooked bak kwa from the pan. 

As the bak kwa has quite a bit of sugar in it, it will burn easily on the grill. So, it's important to make sure the fire is very low and keep a close eye on the bak kwa to prevent them from being burnt! Let the edges caramelized a little if you want! Gas grill should be ok, but I don't think it will give you the smokey flavor. 

Enjoy!

I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013

hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover

Simply June 

Honey Cornflakes Cup

After several months of hiatus (again), I'm back! We've been busy with travel (took a trip to India!) and family and friends visiting and I got a little lazy in between, the past few months. These days, I'm busy baking for Chinese New Year, a ritual I try to do every new year so that the husband and I and some of our friends get to snack on CNY cookies. And of course, my brother will also receive a care package of homemade cookies from me. =)

Anyway, I got a couple request for the recipe of one of the cookies I made; Honey Cornflake Cups. I've tasted them before but never thought to make it myself. But since, I had a big bag of cornflakes leftover from making the cornflake cookies, I decided to whip up a batch of these cute yummy stuff. I adapted the recipe from Charlene, made a few tweaks and I love the results and the simplicity of the recipe!  Here's the recipe if you want to make some for Chinese New Year or just for fun!

HONEY CORNFLAKES CUP RECIPE
*Makes about 70-80 super mini cups

Ingredients

• 90g Butter
• 2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Honey
• 4 Cups Cornflakes, Slightly Crushed
• 3-4 Tbsp Almond Flakes, Toasted
• 1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds, Toasted

Method
Place the empty baking cups on a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 325F. In a pot, melt butter, sugar and honey over medium heat. Once the mixture is bubbly, turn off the heat and stir in cornflakes, almond and sesame seeds. Coat the mixture well and spoon cornflakes mixture into the mini cups. Bake the mini cups for about 12 minutes until the cornflakes are golden brown. Let the cups cool (the cornflakes will stick together when it's cool) and enjoy.

I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013

hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover

Simply June 

Fresh Strawberry Crepe

I love crepe but I've never made them before. I would usually get a dessert crepe or a savory one if I see it on the menu. With a pint of fresh strawberry in the fridge, I decided to look up a crepe recipe online and make some for breakfast. I went with a basic crepe recipe I found on all recipes.com and added some strawberry jam, fresh strawberries and kept it simple. 

The crepe recipe was very easy and turn out pretty good. I had a little hard time trying to mix the batter, so maybe next time I'll blend all the ingredients in a blender. I used a crepe pan I had gotten as a X'mas present and it gave me perfectly cooked crepes. The combination of strawberry jam and fresh strawberries were just perfect; light, simple and not overly sweet. Here's the recipe for Fresh Stawberry Crepe, with the basic crepe recipe adapted from all recipes.com

FRESH STRAWBERRY CREPE RECIPE
*Makes 6-8 crepes

Ingredients

• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 2 Large Eggs, Lightly Beaten
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 2 Tbsp Melted Butter
• Oil for cooking crepe
• 2 Tsp Sugar
• 10-12 Fresh Strawberries, Quartered 
• Strawberry Jam

Method
In a large mixing bowl, which together the loud and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter and beat until smooth. Sieve the mixture to remove lumps and set aside.

In another bowl, add sugar to the strawberries and let the berries macerate. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of batter for each crepe. Tilt the pan in a circular motion so that the batter coasts the surface evenly.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottle is light brown. Loosen with a spatula. Turn and cook the other side for a couple seconds.

Spread a thin layer of strawberry jam onto the crepes, and fold them into quarters. Arrange them onto the plates and top with the fresh strawberries. Enjoy immediately!

Simply June 

Baked Eggs & Roti Canai = Pretty Awesome Combination!

I was in the mood for baked eggs a couple days ago after I saw a recipe from a cookbook I bought from Williams Sonoma. I made a couple changes to the recipe including adding more eggs coz I used a pretty huge ramekin. Those extra eggs was probably one of the mistake of the day, as it took longer to bake. I got impatient (mistake number 2) and hungry (since Hubby's simple 3 eggs sunny side up was already done), and decided to pull the eggs out of the oven. The eggs were quite uncooked overall, so I decided to stick them in the microwave (mistake number 3). I forgot how long I stuck it in for (probably a couple seconds), but it was a couple second too long for the fragile eggs. My baked eggs were very over done. I was anticipating luscious runny yolks, and was left staring at overly done yolks and a extremely messy looking ramekin. The baked eggs were still good..... but it was not what I had anticipated good. I ate it all up anyway as I liked the different elements I pulled together.

With this runny yolk craving that I've been having, I decided to make bake eggs again. Learning from the mistakes I made a few days ago, I scaled down a little by using 2 eggs instead of one, waited patiently and let the oven work it's magic. This time, I got delicious runny eggs and absolute satisfaction. The baked eggs was delicious! As I don't have bread at home, I decided to reheat a frozen roti canai/roti prata and dip my "roti" into the runny yolk, catching pieces of spinach and sausages in between dips. Mmmm..... this combination is pretty awesome!!! I paired my lunch with a Vietnamese Ice Coffee and for a couple seconds, it felt like I was transported to somewhere exotic and not my living room. You could certainly pair with with some toast, baguettes or whatever bread you have!

Here's the recipe for baked eggs, adapted from Georgeann Brennan's Brunch cookbook with my changes.

FRENCH BAKED EGGS WITH SPINACH AND SAUSAGE RECIPE
*Serves 2

Ingredients

• 4 Large Eggs
• 1 Fresh Bratwurst (or fresh sausage of choice), casing removed
• 2 Cups Fresh (Young) Spinach Leaves, Packed
• 2 Tsp Heavy Cream
• 1 Tsp Oil
• 1-1/2 Tsp Butter
• Ground Black Pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 2 (4 oz) ramekins with butter. Prepare a ice bath; bowl of cold water with ice. Boil a pot of water and once the water starts to boil, add spinach leaves. Blanch the leaves for about 1 minute and quickly remove and place into the ice bath for about 1 minute. Remove blanched spinach leaves from ice bath, squeeze the spinach firmly to remove water. Coarsely chop the spinach and divide the chop spinach into the 2 ramekins. Spread the chop spinach evenly. 

Heat 1 Tsp of oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Add the fresh bratwurst and cook it while breaking it into pieces. Continue to cook the bratwurst until they are slightly brown. Remove cooked bratwurst and evenly divide them into the ramekins over the chopped spinach. 

Break 2 eggs into each ramekin and drizzle with 1 tsp of heavy cream each. Place ramekins onto a baking sheet and bake the eggs for about 15-17 minutes or until the egg whites are firm and the egg yolks are still runny. Remove the ramekins from the oven, crack some black pepper onto the eggs and serve immediately with your favorite toast.

Enjoy!

Simply June 

Sausage and Mushroom Pinwheels

We were invited to celebrate A's surprise (belated) birthday at an art studio.  A's wife, C had planned and arranged for the few of us to gather at the art studio and do some painting. The owner of the studio allowed us to bring in some of our own food and drinks to enjoy while we painted. We had a lot of fun, the birthday boy was truly surprised and food was plentiful! I'll blog on that wonderful party in another post.

Anyway, as I hate going to parties empty handed and always try to make sure I have something in hand. I told C that I'll make some mushroom tartlets for the party even though she said we don't need to bring anything. On the day of the party (being a little disorganized),  I realized that I forgot a crucial ingredient for the tartlets; green onions. Not wanting to head out to the store again, I decided to go with making something else. Looking at what I had in the freezer and keeping in mind that I wanted to bring finger food... I decided to make some pinwheels. I'm glad I came out with this last minute idea as the birthday boy said it was delicious! Yay! The sprinkles of tomato in the pinwheel gave it a little pop of color. Here's the recipe.

SAUSAGE & MUSHROOM PINWHEELS RECIPE
*Makes 15 pieces

Ingredients

• 1 Sheet Puff Pastry
• 1 Fresh Sausage/Bratwurst, Casing Removed
• 10 Oz Mushroom, Sliced
• 1 Clove Garlic, Minced
• Dash (or two) Black Pepper
• 1/2 Tomato, Rib removed, Diced
• 1 Tsp Fresh Chopped Parsley
• 1/3 Cup Shredded Cheddar
• 1/2 Tbsp Butter
• 1-2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour

Method
Preheat oven to 400F. In a pan over medium high heat, add bratwurst and butter. Break bratwurst apart into tiny pieces, then add mushroom slices and garlic. Sitr fry mixture until mushroom and sausage turns slightly golden brown. Remove from heat and add chopped parsley.

On a slightly floured surface, slightly roll out puff pastry with the short side closest to you. Spread the sausage and mushroom filling evenly. Start about 1 inch from the edge closest to you and stop about 2 inches from the edge furthest away from you. On both sides, make sure you leave about 1/3 inch "filling free". Then sprinkle chopped tomato and cheese adhering to the same guidelines for the sausage & mushroom spread.

Carefully using both hands, lift and roll the edge closest to you; making sure the roll is tight. Once you finished rolling, pinch both edges to keep the filling in. Then, cut the roll into about 15 pieces and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or foil).  Bake the pinwheels for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy it warm or at room temperature!

Simply June 

Salmon & Spinach Quiche

Quiche for my French themed dinner! It was easier than expected especially when I use store bought crust. Here’s an easy recipe for either breakfast, lunch or dinner (like what I did!)! I did not fuss with the crust for my version of quiche and just used a store bought pie crust for it. I thought it turned out pretty well. The quiche although has cream and eggs was kinda light.

SALMON & SPINACH QUICHE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 Pillsbury Pie Crust, Defrosted
• 6-7 Oz Smoked Salmon, Chopped
• 1 – 10 oz Packaged Frozen Spinach, Defrosted and Drained
• 3/4 Cup Cream
• 4 Large Eggs
• 1/2 Medium Onion, Chopped
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• Salt & Pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Melt butter in a pan, add garlic and onion. Sauté until garlic is lightly brown and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and cream. Add chopped smoked salmon, spinach (with all juice squeezed out), onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Line a 9 inch tart pan with the pie crust, trimming excess crust. Lightly pierce the crust with a fork, then pour in egg mixture.

Bake quiche for 30-40 minutes or until the center is set. Serve either warm or even at room temperature! Enjoy!

Psst…Mom..you gotta try this recipe! =)

Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars…Lemon Squares…whatever you call it, this is one yummilicious Lemon Bar! I’ve always enjoyed Lemon bars/squares usually from catered events. I have a thing for this tart and tangy dessert but have never made it from scratch. The first time I made some lemon bars, I used Krusteaz lemon bar mix and I remember not getting a great lemon bar. My bars did not look like the picture on the box. It was all messy I probably threw the not so great lemon bars away out of frustration.

I had some Lemon Bars at work recently and that sparked my inspiration to make my own Lemon Bars. I found a Lemon Bar recipe on www.allrecipes.com and decided to try it out with a little tweaking based on the reviews.

The result was some awesomely lemon bars. The  filling/ “curd” was SO GOOD! Tart and tangy just the way i like it. The sweet salty buttery crust was a great companion to the tart lemon filling. The bars were half crust, half filling. The lemon filling was definitely refreshing and you get “burstfuls” of fresh lemony goodness in your mouth. I brought it to work and I’m happy to say it was quite a hit!

Here’s the simple recipe. It takes just about an hour to bake the dessert, but you do need to let it cool down before cutting into it!

LEMON BARS RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A (Crust)

• 1 Cup Butter, Softened
• 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

Part B (Filling)

• 4 Large Eggs
• 1-1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
• 1/3 Cup + 2 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
• 3 Medium Lemons, Juiced
• Zest from 1 to 1-1/2 Lemon

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden.

In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/12 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Lightly and randomly poke crust with a skewer/fork. Pour over the baked crust. Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. Cut into squares.

June’s Comments: It took me about 30 minutes to bake the crust till golden. If you’re not a big fan of tartness, reduce the juice of lemon to 2 medium lemons. If you do reduce the juice, reduce the flour to about 1/3 Cup or slightly less.  Use fresh lemons for this recipe!

PS: Mom, I think you’ll enjoy this recipe! Try it and let me know!! =)

Stuffed Mussels

With a package of frozen cooked New Zealand mussels I have in the freezer, I decided to do something with it for my Tapas Party. I’m not a huge fan of those plump mussels (or any similar shellfish), but I don’t mind them when they are chopped. I decided to google for a stuffed mussels recipe and found one on my favorite online food sites; Tastespotting. I found a recipe here and extracted bits and pieces from it.

The mussels can definitely be prepped / stuffed ahead and baked about 15-20 minutes prior to serving. You do want to make sure to cover and store the stuffed mussels in the fridge if you do not plan to bake it right away.

STUFFED MUSSELS RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 10 Cooked Mussels, On Half Shell
• 2 Tbsp Chopped Onion
• 2 Tbsp Chopped Bell Pepper
• 2 Clove Garlic, Minced
• 2 Tbsp Flour
• 6 Tbsp Milk
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Bread Crumbs
• 1-2 Tbsp Grated Parmesan

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Carefully remove mussels from shells and chop them. Set shells aside for stuffing. Set chopped mussels aside.

Heat butter in a pan over medium high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté until bell pepper is soft. Stir in flour and cook for a few minutes to make a roux. Gradually, stir in milk to achieve the béchamel sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Once sauce thickens, remove pan from heat.

Stir in chopped mussels and evenly stuff them into the mussel shells. Sprinkle some bread crumbs and parmesan cheese over the stuffed mussels. Placed them on a baking pan lined with some foil and baked them for about 15 minutes or when the crumbs turn slightly brown. Let mussels cool slightly before serving.

Edamame Spread

This recipe is inspired by my trip to Solea’s and I got addicted with their bean spread that they brought out for us. I decided to recreate it and serve it at my party. The twist was using edamame  instead of red beans as described by the waiter at Solea’s. I had a bag of edamame sitting in my freezer and decided this would be a great way to free up some freezer space! My freezer is so packed, frozen stuff might come crashing on you when you open it!!

Edamame is very commonly served as appetizers in Japanese restaurants and are often boiled in salt water (sprinkle with more salt before serving) and served in their own pods (Bottom Left). To eat it, one would need to split open the pods to eat the “peas” inside. I usually stick the edamame into my mouth, holding it by the ends and using my teeth to squeeze out the peas. And for those of you who might now know about this….edamame is green soybeans!

The overall result of my edamame spread is quite satisfactory. At least my guests seem to enjoy it!There is certainly more room for improvement! Except for the taste of the parmesan cheese, the taste is slightly different than the ones served at Solea’s. Perhaps the beans used does make a big difference. I could I guess add a couple tablespoon more of bell peppers to the recipe in the future to see how the taste will change. This is however quite a healthy snack for those of you who’s health conscious. Here’s the recipe.

EDAMAME SPREAD RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 Lb Edamame Pods
• 3-4 Tbsp Chopped Bell Pepper
• 3 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
• 1/2 Cup + 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Salt & Pepper

Method:

In a pot, boil some water (enough to cover the edamame). Once water is boiling, add edamame pods and salt. Cook edamame for about 5-10 minutes. Drain, let cool and remove the peas from the pods. Discard the empty pods.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium high heat. Add chopped garlic and bell pepper. Sauté mixture until bell pepper is soft.

Add peeled edamame, bell pepper mixture, a pinch of salt, a few cracks of pepper and parmesan cheese in a food processor. Blend mixture until smooth while slowly pour in olive oil. Season with more salt and pepper as needed. If you want a runnier spread, you could add more olive oil. This will give you about a little over 1-1/2 cups of spread. Serve the edamame spread over crusty baguette or crisp crackers.

June’s Comments: I ended up with about 8.5 Oz of edamame beans (after shelling them).

Salmon Cakes

I have a can of red salmon (what ever that is) sitting in my pantry. I think my inlaws got them when they were here and yes they’ve been sitting a while in my always very packed pantry. I can never go hungry if I’m stuck at home!! =)

Having never seen, heard and let alone use canned salmon, I had to think of a quick way to use it. Making cakes/croquettes was a brilliant idea to use up canned fish. I held my breath as I opened the can and dump the contents into a bowl. I don’t know what to expect. The canned salmon was actually a portion of a cut up salmon, cooked till bones are tender (skin still intact) and squashed into a can! Other than that, it looked any boiled salmon I guess…

Japanese Breadcrumbs (Panko) gives the cakes a nice little crunch! Ground cumin in the salmon cakes was a nice little spice spruce me up and gave the cakes a little different flavor. Here’s the recipe for the Salmon Cakes.

SALMON CAKES RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Red Salmon (14-2/4Oz can)
• 2 Ribs Celery, Diced (About 1 Cup)
• 1 Medium Onion, Diced (About 1 Cup)
• 2 Cloves Garlic , Minced
• 4 Tsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 Tsp Chopped Parsley
• 1 Tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 Tsp Ground Cumin
• 2 Large Eggs
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 Cup Panko
• Oil

Method:

Drain juice from salmon and remove skin and as many bones (bones are edible, but I like to remove them) as you can. I ended up with about 9 oz of salmon. Mash the salmon and set aside.

In a pan, melt butter over medium high heat. Once butter has melted, add onion, celery and garlic. Saute mixture until onion is soft. If you prefer, you can also cook until the celery is soft. I personally prefer a little crunch to the celery.

Once that is done, set the mixture aside and let it cool. Add celery & onion mixture, cumin, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt and pepper add one beaten egg into the mashed salmon. Mix well and use a ice cream scoop (or not) to scoop them and shape them into discs/patties (About 2-1/2” x 3/4”). Beat an egg. Gently dipped the salmon patties/cakes into the the beaten egg mixture and coat patties well in Panko crumbs.

Heat a pan with oil (to cover at least half the height of the salmon cakes) over medium high heat. Fry the Panko coated salmon cakes until golden brown on the first side and continue the same for the second side. This will give you about 9-10 pretty delicious salmon cakes!

June’s Comments: The Salmon Cakes can be quite fragile but will firm up after you cook them. I love to serve anything fried with a concoction of mayonnaise (my favorite dipping condiment!!), ketchup and chili sauce. Serve the Salmon Cakes as is, with some salad or sandwiched between bread! =)

Kuih Rose

I’ve never quite knew the name of this deep-fried cookies/biscuit/snack but I know my grandma makes a freaking yummy one!! Got to make a mental note to ask grandma for her secret recipe!! =)

Anyway, my friend Anna sent me the Kuih Rose mould last year and I haven’t gotten a chance to use it until recently. My fingers were itching to try out the mould and with CNY around, I’ve got a great excuse to be adventurous! I’ve never seen how this cookie is made but I suspect it can get rather tricky. One has got steadily dip the mould in the batter and not getting the batter all around the mould. Using the right recipe is also key to achieve a light and crispy Kuih Rose. I know one of the key ingredient to get a delicious Kuih Rose is the use of Rice Flour but I don’t know what is the right or perfect proportion. I looked for recipes, decided to try my luck and settle for this recipe coz it looks pretty good. The outcome was great! Light and crunchy!

Anyway, here’s the recipe extracted from www.neckredrecipes.blogspot.com that I tried and liked, if any of you are interested! I still miss grandma’s Kuih Rose though… =) Oh yeah, I later found out from my MIL that 100% Rice Flour is used! I guess I need to look for another recipe to try and to see if there’s a difference in texture!

KUIH ROSE / BEEHIVE BISCUIT RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Egg
• 35 gm Sugar
• 100 ml Coconut Milk
• 60 gm Plain Flour
• 25 gm Rice Flour
• 1 Tsp water

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved. Sieve batter and let batter rest for at least 30 minutes.

Heat your oil(medium heat) in a deep/fryer or wok or pot and place the mould in it to get it hot. Moulds must be hold enough for better to adhere to it. Remove mould from hot oil and stick it into the batter to get a coating; just on the bottom and the sides of the mould. Do not allow batter to cover the top of the mould. Hold still for a second or two to give the batter a chance to adhere to the mould.

Place the mould back into the hot oil. Hold still for a second or two and start jiggling the mould to get the biscuit to drop when the batter turns slightly golden brown . You could also use a wooden chopstick to slowly remove the batter. Deep fry until both side is golden brown. Remove and leave to cool. Repeat until all the batter is finished. Let them cool on wire racks then store in an airtight container.

Yao Char Kwai

My brother and Qi had been wanting me to attempt Yao Char Kwai (You Tiao in Mandarin) since Christmas. Or was it Thanksgiving? They have tried it before and did not have a successful result and wanted me to try making it. I’ve been delaying…delaying..delaying and finally decided to give it a try last week.

Yao Char Kwai /You Tiao/Chinese Cruller is basically fried dough commonly eaten during breakfast in the Chinese Community. There are several ways to eat this delightful fried dough; with soybean milk, with congee, with Malaysian black coffee, with Kaya (Coconut Egg Jam) or just plain. It’s all personal preference and sometimes differ from region to region.

In Malaysia, Yao Char Kwai is always freshly available from the street vendors. Here in the US, we can get frozen ones (which are not the greatest) and also fresh ones from Dim Sum places or some Asian grocery stores.

My Yao Char Kwai attempt was a success! The dough expanded, was crisp on the outside, holey, chewy and soft in the inside. I was quite nervous when I started mixing the dough together and trying to get the right dough texture. The next few hours of punching, folding, and resting the dough was antagonizing especially since it was my first time making it. I did not know what to expect and what would be the right texture. I was just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best. After a few hours, the dough became softer and nicer to touch. I decided to let the dough rest overnight per the suggestion of the recipe. It worked out like a charm. The dough was soft, and it stretched when i pulled the dough before dropping it into the hot oil. And best of all it EXPANDED!! And I managed to get the Yao Char Kwai to be uniform in size.

Here’s the recipe from one of my favorite food blog; Lily’s Wai Sek Hong.

YAO CHAR KWAI RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups Bread Flour
• 7 – 10 Oz Water
• 1 Tsp Ammonia Bicarbonate
• 1 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1 Tsp Alum
• 1-1/4 Tsp Salt

Method:

Mix the ammonia bicarbonate, baking soda, alum and salt with 7 ozs water until dissolve. Add in to the flour and using the end of a wooden spoon, stir in a circular motion until a dough is form – dough should be sticky, if not, add in more water – dough must stick to fingers.

Cover with cling wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, punch down the edge and all over dough with your knuckles for at least 8 punches, then take the dough from the side of bowl, lift it as high as it can go and fold in the middle - 4 folds will do . Let is rest for 15 – 20 minutes. Repeat the punching , folding and resting for 3 – 4 times more.

Next, oil your fingers and dough, lift it up and overturn it, oil the top so that it will not dry. Wrap tightly with cling wrap, and leave in the fridge for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove from bowl, divide into 2 portions and fold in to make a long smooth elastic dough. Wrap it back with greased cling wrap. Then put in a Ziploc bag and leave in the fridge for 3 – 4 hours. Leaving in the fridge, well wrapped, overnight is better – the dough is easier to handle and the result is lighter.

Heat a large wok with oil half full. After 3 – 4 hrs or overnight, lightly flour the pastry board. Spread dough into a flat long 2 inch wide and 1/4 inch thick. Use a rolling pin to aid the spreading. Cut into ½ inch strips. Check oil temperature, it must be more than 350 F to begin frying.

Using a bamboo skewer, dip in water and dap very little in the middle of a strip of dough. Top with another strip and using a dry bamboo skewer or a chopstick, press down horizontally in the middle of the two strips to adhere. Pull and stretch (until it resist) the pressed strips until as long as possible, and put the stretched strip in the hot oil. When the dough floats to the top, use a pair of chopsticks and turn the dough. Keep on turning until it has finished expanding. Fry until slightly brown. Remove from oil and drain excess oil. Repeat with the rest of the strips until all are done.

June’s Comments: When you mix the Ammonia Bicarbonate, Alum and Baking Soda with water, be sure not to sniff the mixture…you don’t want the strong intrusive smell of Ammonia up your nostril!

I only made half the portion and ended up with over 20 pcs of 3” Yao Char Kwai. I wasn’t sure how much the dough will expand, hence I decided to make mini ones. I did not use a whole load of oil to fry the dough. I filled up my frying pan with slightly less than 1 inch of oil and was still able to fry the Yao Chat Kwai without any trouble. I rest the freshly fried Yao Char Kwai on a cake rack for the excess oil to drain. I like that the Yao Char Kwai was not as oily as the store bought ones!

It was a great Saturday morning breakfast for Hubby and I. We ate our Yao Char Kwai with some Malaysian Black Coffee and also some homemade Kaya. Yums!!!

Bacon Enoki

I made some Bacon Enoki Wrap for New Year’s Eve dinner and got my inspiration from the western Bacon Wrapped Scallops and the Asian Beef Enoki Wrap. So, I came out with this East Meets West easy-to-make appetizer! It’s great finger food and does not require much time preparing it! =)

For those of you who’s not familiar or seen Enoki Mushrooms…these mushrooms are off white, long, thin and are very often used in Asian cuisine. You can get them fresh (packaged in a bundle) or canned. It is probably easier to get them at Asian grocery stores, but do check out the refrigerated sections where they sell mushrooms at your local grocery store for the fresh ones or the Asian Food aisle for the canned ones. Specialty Grocery Stores like Whole Foods where they carry a variety of exotic mushrooms would most likely have them!

 

Next time you have a party, make this no fuss appetizers for your guests! =)

BACON ENOKI RECIPE 

Ingredients:

• 1 Package Enoki Mushrooms (About 7-8 Oz)
• 9-10 Thin Strips Bacon
• 1 Sprig Green Onion, Chopped (Optional)
• Black Pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F and line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut bacon strips into halves. Quickly rinse mushrooms and cut off about 1 inch from the ends. Separate enoki mushrooms into 18-20 smaller bundles. You will want a bundle of enoki mushroom on a half strip of bacon!

Take a tiny bundle of the enoki mushroom and place it about 1 inch from the end of the cut bacon. Stretch the bacon slightly as you roll and wrap the enoki mushrooms. Place the bacon seam side down on baking pan (lined with aluminum foil). Sprinkle with some black pepper and bake bacon enoki rolls for about 15 minutes or until bacon is slightly golden brown. Transfer to serving platter, sprinkle with chopped green onions and serve warm (or at room temperature).

June’s Comments: Feel free to make bigger enoki bundle if you like! =) Also, feel free to add slices of red pepper or green onion strips to the enoki mushrooms when wrapping them to make them a little more intriguing!

Stuffed Mushrooms

The household especially the husband loves stuffed mushroom! I made some for my NYE’s dinner using a recipes I found on www.allrecipes.com. I again made some changes to it according to my preference. This was definitely better than the stuffed mushrooms I had in Macaroni Grill where the mushrooms were still raw and the stuffing were not hot. 

Here’s the recipe with my modification! The original recipe was submitted by a subscriber/reader and can be found HERE.

STUFFED MUSHROOMS RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 12 Whole Fresh LARGE Button Mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp Chopped Frozen Spinach, Defrosted & Water Squeezed
• 1 Tsp Chopped Parsley
• 1 Tbsp Oil
• 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
• 1 (8 Oz) Package Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 Tsp Onion Powder
• 1/8 Tsp Ground Cayenne Pepper
• 1-2 Tbsp Italian Breadcrumbs (Optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool. When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in chopped spinach, chopped parsley, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little knife and fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle with some breadcrumbs.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

June’s comments: Carefully make a bigger cavity in the mushroom caps by using a little knife to lightly scrap the sides and the insides (and save it for the filling) so that you can pile more filling in each mushroom. The mushrooms I used were about 2.5 inches in diameter. And after I made a bigger cavity, I still needed to pile the cheese high up! If you’re using smaller mushrooms, you either need to cut down the filling by half or perhaps double up the mushrooms.