Durian Oh Durian! :D

So E king of fruits are apparently in season now. Mom bought 7 durians last week and I managed to sneak 1 to make durian cream puffs! Actually I was hoping to "hide" enough to make some muffins too but there wasn't enough durians to "sneak" :p Oh well, E cream puffs were so lovely yet simple to make! For E filling, I added some whip cream to E durian puree. I didn't use sugar as E durians were really sweet. I also spread a thin layer of whipped cream on E filling coz I wanted to "camouflage" E durian filling. I thot it would be a nice surprise when my family bite and realised that it's actually durian puffs! Seriously, I don't know what I was thinking. Obviously my brain was malfunctioning at tht point of time. Yes it didn't look like a durian puff but it definitely SMELL like 1!! Duh! Nee'ways I would update E recipe if any1 is interested. Right now, I'm lazy to type much....hehehe :P

Pasta-mania

Nk borrowed this book from E Lib... Initially, I thot it wasn't a book I might like/need. I mean after cooking for more than 10 years, what's E need for a "beginner's book"... I was wrong. Although E recipes are simple and it involves very basic cooking, E end product tasted really good! In E end, we decided to photocopy E whole book! 2 sets in fact, 1 for her and 1 for me! E best thing was, she photocopied and bind it for just 9 bucks! Cheap eh? I'm sure E book wld have cost at least $29-90-$39-90. So Nk tried E grilled chicken recipe and apparently her whole family loved it. I tried making cream puffs a few days back and E recipe worked like a charm! Shall update tht later.

Anyways, since I had a pack of pasta, I decided to whip up something. Flipped thru E ages and I decided to make my own bolognese since I had a can of stewed tomatoes. Most of E time, I cook some bolognese and add a btl of those readymade ones as I feel tht my bolognese sauce doesn't taste as good as E bottled ones :p This recipe was perfect though! I believe it was E tomato puree. I never used tomato puree in my bolognese sauce and my sauce is usually not as thick as how I would like it to be.

I guess I'm gonna use this recipe from now coz its super simple yet tasty. I ate 2 plates of these! When it comes to Pasta/Italian food, I have E appetite of a horse it seems!!! :D I shall update E recipe later.

Ps: To those who left me emails/comments, I shall reply 'em later. I'm sorry but I have been tied up with work. Shall update E recipe requests soon! Thanks :)

A quick update!

I have been bz in E kitchenette and I have quite a lot to blog about....but I don't really have time to update E recipes and pics. I shall get on with those next week. Anyways, I made these cupcakestoday. Its E Heavenly chocolate cupcakes aka E little Devils and Strawberry Cupcakes with Mascarpone frosting which is yumz!

Heavenly Chocolate Cupcakes

E mini version

Strawberry Cupcakes topped with strawberry filling and frosted with
mascarpone cheese. Rich yet refreshing.

This is a sample wedding favors for E bride and family to try. There's Korova and chocolate chip cookies. I don't think any1 can say NO to these especially when E recipe called for Valrhona! :p

Tht's all for now, am off to bed! Shaf and me gonna watch a movie tom. I better get some sleep coz she's coming at 12!!! Actually, I was planning to sleep E afternoon away :p Well, no complains. I love watching movies and bonding with my cousins! :D

Yummeh!

Cream scones are too good. I love to eat 'em with strawberry jam. When eaten with whipped cream, its deadlyyyyy! Sinfully delicious!!! Recipe can be found here

Black Forest Cake

Blackforest cake was what inspired me to make this. Chocolate cake top with strawberry preserves and topped with a dallop of fresh cream. I then sprinkled some chocolate shavings and end it with a cherry. Voila! I dunno how it tasted coz I didnt try :p Gave these to my cousins....

A reward...

I went to Ph last week to stock up my baking stuffs. As I took mascarpone from E fridge, I did a 180D turn and I saw this....

I nearly fainted in excitement! Wilton tool caddy!! I thot I should reward myself after working so hard....:p So I bought this toolbox that I have been eyeing on Wilton website. E truth is, I have been wanting this box so much. Rewarding myself was just an excuse :p I did thought of buying it another time coz I had a lottttt of things to carry. And when I said a lot, I'm referring to 10kgs of chicken, 8kgs of noodles, lots of vege, canned stuffed, 2 big bags of baking stuffs and MORE! And I was alone. Oh well, this is a very normal scenario. I'm used to this. I like to go super marketing alone...at my own pace. I have this super gigantic marketing trolley that holds a lot of stuffs. Every time I bring out 'tht trolley" I get ppl asking me "where did you buy tht" :P Oh well actually my mami bought tht. It's huge and I love it coz I can fit lotsa stuffs there! :D Ok I just realised Im digressing! Anyways, I bought this box coz there was ONLY 1 left! So I took it happily and brought it home. As I made my way home, I realised tht mom is so gonna shake her head when she see this box coz she just bought 2 big steel boxes to hold my baking stuffs from Ikea! But mommy, I love this 1 ....:(

Anyways, I was surprised tht she didn't nag! Maybe even she thot E box was too
cool! *Happy Grin* I seems to love this box more than my make up kit! :D

E lift out tray keeps 48 tips and 12 color jars.

There's more room to store things below E tray.

I'm still using E 1s mom bought from ikea though. Mom says I have too many rubbish treasures :p

My 2 fav Tupperware. Mom bought these to keep my sprinkles and decorative
stuffs. I love it crazy! :)

Another busy week just flew by....

The past few days have been busy. On Sunday, I had cupcakes order and a small party for 60 ppl to cater too. This is E 3rd time I'm catering for 'N' I'm always happy to see customers coming back. Anyways, it was for her son's 21st bday party. There were Fried laksa, Fried Bihun, Chicken wings, cupcakes, satay, creamy chicken...etc2. As per normal, I was unable to take proper pics. Whenever I have an order, I would be busy working all E way till before E collection/delivery. I like to serve food fresh and warm. Furthermore, I like to frost E cupcakes last. These are a few of E pics of E food I managed to snap towards E last min....just a few though...

Fried Bihun

Fried Laksa

Strawberry and Chocolate Cupcakes - After packing E cakes, I realised I didn't take any pics of E cakes!! I was tempted to open up E boxes and take some pics but I was rushing for time :S

250 Sticks of Satay - I marinated E beef and made E satay gravy but it was my sister in law who helped me to skew all E satay. Thanks Ct :D

100 Sticks of Creamy Mushroom Chicken on sticks - This is E 2nd time, she's
ordering these so I guess they do like it :D

Ya, I know some of E food are missing in action but I can't help it. Given an opportunity, I would love to capture all E food but its hard being E cook, E photographer, E teacher etc2 all at E same time! Thanks god I had 2 assistants! *aka my mom and Sil* :D

Chocolate Meringue

E crisp meringue exterior gives a nice contrast to E melt in your mouth yet chewy inside. This recipe is from this blog. An amazing lady with a flair for baking and writing. Best of all, she is always willing to share her knowledge and skills....and not to forget E sweet and generous boyfriend she has beautiful pictures she snap! *Naughty grins*

A scone that will wake you up!

Imagine sitting at your dining table in E morning while sipping a cup of tea and devouring a uber delicious scone! There is nothing I find more satisfying than that. In fact when I have it on a small plate with all E trimmings aka jam and cream, I find it just to feel intensely proper and English! (What happened to being Italian btw?) Scones are just too easy and quick to prepare! Best of all, its pretty, scrumptious and so appropriate to be served for tea or breakfast! Scones made with cream are very good and rich, so It's best that you find some1 to share E calories with. In my case, I had HER! Oh yes, there's Sk too! Thanks Cuzens! This brings Calorie distribution to a whole new level! *Grins

1 down, hundreds more to go...!

I'm not really a big fan of Green Tea. I do drink sweetened green tea once is a blue moon....but when I saw these Green Tea Cookies, I just felt that I had to give it a try. I have been wanting to try these for a couple of months now. Of course this is not E only recipe I have been wanting to try. There's hundreds more!! :p Anyways, finally I remembered to buy a bottle of Matcha powder! This recipe is a finalist in the Best Bakery Recipe category for Pastryscoop.com’s Golden Scoop Awards 2007. When I 1st tasted it, I thought it was just ok...after each subsequent bite, it gets better. Infact these were good! Buttery crisp yet they melt in E mouth. Mom loved it. She ate a few pieces easily. She said "this is good change, no chocolate" Mom is not a fan of chocolate, thus she always stay away from my "chocolaty bakes" Well I'm not E biggest fan of chocolate either but ppl around me are mostly chocoholics. Most of E time, I bake to feed E crowd but once a while, I do bake for my own cravings.....like these green hearts over here :)

Original recipe here

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (2.25 oz) Confectioners sugar

5 oz Unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 3/4 cup (8.5 oz)

All-purpose flour

3 Large egg yolks

1 Tsp vanilla extract (I added this)

1.5 Tbsp Matcha (powdered green tea)

1 cup Granulated sugar (for coating)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F.

Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and green tea together in a bowl.
Add the butter, vanilla and green tea/sugar mixture to the bowl and cream till light.

Add the flour and mix until well combined.
Add the egg yolks and mix just until the eggs are fully incorporated and a mass forms.
Form the dough into a disk and chill in the refrigerator until firm (about 30 minutes).
Roll the dough out to ½” thickness.
Cut the dough with a cookie cutter.
Toss each cut cookie in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat.
Place the sugar-coated cookie on a baking tray.

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges.

A 10 mins quicky!

My mom makes nice "Murtabak" from cream crackers. When I saw

these

I thot it's something different and I had to give it a try. It is good. Perfect for a lazy snack.

Could anyone not be loving berries?

Strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blackberries, and BLUEBERRIES! My favourite still has to be E undisputed red king aka E strawberry, whether its drizzled with some honey of served with whipped cream...it always works! As for raspberries, they just add a "Wow effect" with their presence. As for blueberries, I have to say that its E perfect all rounder. In ice creams, muffins, pancakes....etc. I just love how it "melts" into cakes and "spread" its colour! :) Ok a yummy recipe for every1!! :D

Ingredients:
2 cup all-Purpose Flour - 2 cups
1 cup granulated Sugar - 1 cup
2.5tsp baking Powder

0.5tsp salt
2 eggs - beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter or cooking oil (I used Butter)
1 tbsp orange zest (I omitted this)
1 cup blueberries
Coarse Sugar (optional)

Method:
In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the centre of the dry mixture and set aside.
In an another medium mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, butter or oil, orange zest. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Whisk lightly.

Fold in blueberries.
Spoon batter into the prepared muffins cups, filling each 3/4 full.

If desired sprinkle tops with coarse sugar.

Bake in 350 oven for about 35 minutes or until golden.

Serve warm.

Back to my roots. . .

Yesterday my 2nd brother came over with his family. My cousins came over too. 2 days ago, Bb was asking me as to what I'm gonna cook. I told her, she can "request" whatever she wanna eat. She said "Cook something Indian....don't go to a lot of trouble though, just cook 1 Indian dish" So I served these yesterday. Bb's husband said that he's giving me 9stars for E food. Yeay! E funny thing was, he said he wanted to give me E full 10 stars but since I dropped 1 of E bread on E table instead of E plate, he decided to deduct 1 star! Haha! He's 1 funny guy I tell you. Anyways, every1 enjoyed E food. Even E so called Italian *ahem2* felt that E food was lurveeeeeeely!

Aloo Gobhi - In Hindi, Aloo is Potato and Gobhi is Cauliflower. This dish from Punjab is simple yet delicious. Every time I served this, people always wanted E recipe and
they are usually surprised to know that it requires very few ingredients to make :)

Bathura - A fried Indian bread. It is similar to Puri but it is usually made with
plain flour wherelse Puri is made with whole wheat.

Tandoori Chicken - Tandoor cooked chicken dates back to the Mughal period. This delicacy was a main course during enormous Indian feasts. Tandoor refers to E earthen oven that's made of clay. Nowadays, it's easily grilled in a normal oven. Basically Tandoori Chicken is chicken that is marinated in yogurt and seasoned with spices. If I had to choose 1 food to represent E Indian Cuisine, it has to be this.

Nargisi Kofta - This dish sounds and taste exotic as it is believed to be food for E "Royal" E lamb/beef Kofta (meatballs) has a hard-boiled egg on the inside. It is then lightly fried and served in a creamy gravy using quite an amount of fresh tomatoes, yogurt/milk/cream. It is super delicious and you don't really see it much unless in North Indian Restaurants. Despite being exotic, It's really fairly simple to make.

Raita is a yogurt sauce/dip which is season with some spice, herbs or a mix
of both. Cucumbers, carrots or even pineapple can be added so that it serves as a dip cum salad. It is usually served chilled. This cool dip complements E usually
spicy Indian dishes perfectly.

Medley of Three - Pomelo and Mango Dessert was E inspiration. This time, I
used Mango, Mandarin Oranges and Peaches. It was E perfect Trio! Each spoonful
was creamily rich with a tang.

The 8 Eight immortals

Im tired...I'm still lazying around on E bed. E last thing I wanna do is to get up! Getting up to take E lappy and camera is a total different story! :D Anywayssssssss, my cousins came over yesterday. My bro came with his family too. Btw, this guy friend of mine was asking me as to how many cousins I have. He was shocked with my reply.


*A conversation on 1 fine Friday*
He: You have how many cousins ah?
Me: About 60.
He: WHAT?? How come so many?
Me: Wat do you mean by HOW COME??
He: 60 a lot!
Me: Well my maternal grandparents have 13 children and its E same scenario over at my paternal, so that explains it I guess....
He: You kept mentioning Nk, Sk and some Shaf on your blog. I thot you only have those 3 cousins.
Me: Haha! Well you are so wrong, I have 60 cousins! I have not even get to E second cousins as yet!
He: Interesting. So you not close with E other cousins right? That's why never mention them.
Me: That's not true! I have 8 besties cousins and I'm close with E rest. Well at least I know most of my cousins.
He: Not bad....hmm 8?8 out of 60... less than 20%! Haha
Me: Apparently you have a lot of friends, but you are still stuck with those 2 besties of yours! Anything to say to that?
He: Errrr....no...haha. ok2...got your point.. Haha
Me: Good (Full stop)



*BIG GRINS*


I do agree that I mention Nk, Sk, and Shaf E most. They are E 1s whom I meet E most and furthermore...they live E nearest compare to E rest of my cousins. Im close with quite a lot of my cousins but these 8 are a riot!! (In order of age...oldest to youngest) :D


Mazia - She's E doctor who is living in Aus. I always looked up to her. She was E patient 1...ever so gentle, respectful and ready to help :)

Bb - She's a freak with cleanliness. She starts doing housework in E morning and finishes 'em by 5 pm! She actually wipes E walls, ceilings and washes E kitchen flooring DAILY! Hehe....but she's super cool! Always smiling and laughing and ever so updated on fashion. Despite being a mother of 2, she can easily pass of as a 20 years old lady ;) Whenever I sleep over at her place. We would end up chatting all E way till 7am!!


Nor - She's Bb younger sister. She's E 1 that I used to spend my childhood with. We fought, cried and then made up! She's just a year older than me, thus we get on very well. She's helpful, generous and easy to get along with. She's an artsy person. From henna designing to walls designing, shes E lady for E job! :D

Rehana - She's my childhood "friend" She used to live on E 11th floor while I was on E 10th. We went to school together, sat in class just next to each other and come home together! She has 2 elder brothers and I have 3 elder brothers, thus we always ended up keeping each other company. During my childhood, she was just like a sister I never had.


(E next 4 cousins and those who read my blogs, so I better be "more careful" with my words :p)


Sk - E eldest among E happy sisters is known as being "not E cool 1" (that's wat Nk says but its of coz not true) She is as cool as E Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream that she loves! Maybe she's just not as cool as me! Heeeeehee :D Seriously speaking....she is 1 young lady who have a LOT of respect for others especially those who are elder to her. She's also E 1 who is very generous with thank yous and with an inverted food pyramid! Haha. Sk is some1 I can always turn to for sound advice. A good listener that actually understands 1 problems...

Shaf - Being E only child of my mami, she is "sibling-less" It is only right that she is nice to me and treat me like a sister. :D Our moms only have 2 sisters and my other mami have 3 sons and mom has another 3! Thus me and shaf are E only 2 flowers among 6 bees, maybe thts why we got close :D Anyways, shes my cousin with E prada *Evil grin* She's fashionable, hates to carry ''plastic bags" and she is crazy just like me. She is some1 that I can talk to for hours and hours without running out of topics. She is also a Sharukh-natic! :D

Nk: She brings out E worst in me. I'm a total angel but when shes around, I turned to E opposite direction :p We do share a lot in common from baking/cooking to hindi movies!! :D We always talked about setting up a bakery and stuffs. She is supposed to be my PD which actually meant "Personal Dragon" Haha! She's born in E year of E Dragon so I guess that explains it :p This personal dragon of mine is not just smart. She is also very helpful. I can always count on her to go to Phoon huat to buy butter, vanilla essence...etc :D

Izzybaby: She's E youngest among E happy sisters. She's 13! She's 1 of my food ambassador. She always have something nice to say. Everything seems to be "heavenly" to her. At times I wonder....is it E truth or she just don't wanna break my heart...awww :p

My oh my...where is this heading? I was supposed to be posting pics of wat I cooked yesterday! Shall post 'em up later I guess. Let me just grab a bite!!

62353535 too expensive? Try this instead! :D

This "ingenious" idea struck my head when I saw baguettes on E table and E cheddar cheese in E fridge. After baking it, I realised...this is nothing new, Delifrance has these!! And I though I'm E "creator" of this :p Anyways, I served this to E rest of my family members. I didn't mention Pizza coz I wanted them to say it tasted like pizza! Hehe :p Anyways mom was like "eh you made pizza? See so easy, now no need to make dough or order pizza anymore" Maybe she said that coz she still owe me a "Pizza Treat" Anyways, I loved it! I think its fabz. Just need to use different kinda fillings to get a whole new taste. I'm gonna try making this with teriyaki chicken sometime!! You should try it too! Use E leftover ingredients in you fridge to create your own personal pizza! *Grins*

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes - skinned and chopped (Use canned ones if you prefer)

2 garlic - Chopped

Some basil

Some oregano

Salt

Pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp tomato sauce

Mix all E ingredients in a pan and heat up for about 5 mins. Alternatively you can use bottled sauce :D

Toppings:

Use ANYTHING you like. Ham, salami, tuna, olives, sliced red and yellow peppers, sliced mushrooms, sliced cherry tomatoes, mozzarella or grated Parmesan ...etc2!

I used Cheddar, sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes and green peppers.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Split the baguettes and spread the tomato mixture on the cut surfaces. Drizzle with a little olive oil, if desired.

Sprinkle with grated cheese

Top with toppings and sprinkle with more cheese.

Bake in the oven for about ten minutes or until the cheese has melted and the bread's hot and crisp.

Dig in!! Yeay!

Peaches and Chocolate. . .

Nk came over yesterday and we baked some cupcakes and cookies. We made peach cupcakes (yes again) and Viennese Fingers (yes, again and again). Nk loves it, so I'm just being accommodating. :D Anyways, I made these Peach Cupcakes many times and it's always a hit with guests :) It's delish with lots of peachy bits and moist because of the peach juice and milk. We were supposed to bake Oreo Cookies and Chocolate Cupcakes too but due to time constraints, we had to abort E plan.

Recipe for E Peach Cupcakes can be found here I know I have posted Viennese Fingers a couple of time, but this time I'm updating E recipe upon request. Ann, this 1 is for you.

Ingredients:
4 oz. butter

3 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

5 oz. plain flour

1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3 oz. compound chocolate

hundreds and thousands/sugar decorations

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

Cream butter and icing sugar in a mixing bowl and cream till very soft.
Add the flour and vanilla essence to the creamed mixture and mix till thoroughly combined. Spoon the mixture into a large pastry bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe 4-5 inch lines onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving space for expansion.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until pale golden brown. leave on the sheets to cool slightly before lifting onto a wire rack. Leave the cookies to cool completely.
Melt the compound chocolate in the microwave. dip one end of each cookie into the melted chocolate and return them to the wire rack.

Top with sugar decorations.

Allow them to set.

Raisin Scones

I have not been baking for E past few days as I was busy helping Nk and Sk with packing and stuffs. They finally moved yesterday. We have been spending a lot of time together and I'm so gonna miss them! Now when I bake, I should bake in moderation and bear in mind that they are no longer "just 2 blocks away!" Anyways Nk was saying she can come over anytime...and E youngest happy sister gonna come over every Wed before going to Sinda, so I guess we won't be "far" after-all! :D

So last night, while browsing through this book that I bought a couple of months back....

I realised that I had only attempted 1 recipe from here and this book has about 416 pages! And here I am thinking of buying Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From my home to yours! Someone please slap me!! :S So, as I browsed through E pages, e Scones caught my eyes. I was asking mom whether she eat scones. She said "I ate anything..." Well2, truth is...She don't just eat "anything" :p

Anyways, I never tried my hands with scones except during home econs. I'm sure that we didn't even use cream then. E thought of scones with jam immediately activated my taste bud! Today, I decided that I wanted to break my fast with scones and jam. Everything was made possible coz I had cream in E fridge. It turned out nicely. Crusty on E outside and soft inside.

As I sandwich some jam in between E scones, I just stared at E "object" of my attention, E focus of my temptation!

I swear, I never never feel that way before. I am someone who has strong willpower whenever I fast. For E 1st time, I actually can't wait to break my fast!!! And it was just a plate of scones! E moment I heard E Azan.... after a little prayer, 1 scone immediately "flew" to my mouth. Now as I am typing this post, I'm so ashamed of myself. Wat a loser! *A BIG toink on my head* That's a well deserved 1. *Grins* Anyways, here's E recipe...It's lurvelyyyyyyyyyy!

Ingredients:

1 Cup all-purpose flour

1/2 Tbsp baking powder

2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 Tsp salt

2 1/2 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1/4 Cup raisins - chopped them into smaller bits

1/2 Cup heavy cream plus 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

Method:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl. Mix well.

Mix in butter and use the rubbing in method until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Stir in currants and stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.
Transfer dough to tabletop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, about 10 seconds.

Form scones by either

• Pressing the dough into an 8-inch cake pan, then turning the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, cutting the dough into 8 wedges with a knife.
• Patting the dough onto a lightly floured work surface into a 3/4-inch thick circle, cutting pieces with a biscuit cutter, and pressing remaining scraps back into another piece (what I did) and cutting until dough has been used up.

Place rounds or wedges on baking sheet and bake until scone tops are light brown for about 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Simply Buttery....

These cookies are buttery. E icing is a delicious alternative to royal icing. It pipes beautifully and it hardens nicely too.

Ingredients:

6 Oz butter

5 Tbsp of icing sugar

8 Oz plain flour

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

Preheat E oven to 160 degrees celsius.

Cream butter and icing sugar in a mixing bowl till soft.

Add vanilla and flour to E creamed mixture and mix till thoroughly combined.

Roll E dough and cute into desired shapes. If you find it too soft to handle, keep it in E fridge for sometime.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until pale golden brown.

Once it cool, frost as desired.

Butter Icing

Ingredients:
2 Cups icing sugar
2 .5 Tbsp cream
4 Tbsp butter
1 Tsp vanilla extract

Method:

In a saucepan, over medium heat, heat cream and butter until butter is melted. Stir in the vanilla and icing sugar. Remove from heat, and beat with an electric mixer until thick and smooth

Cousins Bonding....

On Tuesday, my cousin aka Shaf came over for a baking session as she's having her semester break. So we made some cookies!

Viennese Fingers - A never fail melt in your mouth recipe. Buttery yummy with every bite!

Gingerbread Couple!

It's butter cookies with butter icing. It's really buttery and E icing is good. It sets nicely yet it doesn't get tooooo hard. I shall update E recipe later. So we decorated a couple each. (mine on E right and hers on E left) Shaf was saying that "My girl" looks happier. My reply was "well she found E right guy!" Now as I'm typing this post, I realised I should have said that my gingerbread girl looks happier coz my gingerbread boy has hair! Her gingerbread boy is Bald aka BOTAK! Hahaha! Sorry cousin...just joking!! :D

Ps: Shaf, ur gingerbread couple has nice shoes btw! *Smiles sweetly*

And E winner of E day,

Korova Cookies!

It's E best cookie I ever tried! It's so intensely chocolaty and when you bite into it, theres this little bits of chocolate slightly melted and yet crunchy. We added some chopped Varlhona chocolate bits to it. Shaf said it tasted just like Famous Amos Double Choc Chip and Pecan. In fact, its quite true :D Oh ya, E dough itself was so so good. I'm definitely not a dough/batter eater but this was too good we could have eaten just like that without baking it :) Shaf polished E mixing bowl clean! Had she tried a little harder, we wouldn't even need to wash E bowl! Heeeeeeeee :p

Easy Peasy Cheesy Tomato Bruschetta

Bruschetta is a food whose origin dates to at least the 15th century from central Italy. It consists of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Variations may include toppings of spicy red pepper, tomato, vegetables, beans, cured meat, and/or cheese; the most popular American recipe involves basil, fresh mozzarella, and tomato. Bruschetta is usually served as a snack or appetizer. In Italy, Bruschetta is often prepared using a brustolina grill. In Tuscany, bruschetta is called fettunta, meaning "oiled slice" - Wikipedia

So I made this yesterday. I loved it! I was telling Nk that I'm very sure that I was an Italian in my previous life! :D Every1 ate this happily. I'm so gonna make these again soon! So here's E recipe! Easy Peasy and YUMZZZZZZZZ! :D

Ingredients:
4 Plum tomatoes - Chopped
3 cloves garlic - Chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
A lil dried basil or other herbs that you like (I used oregano and rosemary)
Salt
Ground black pepper
1 French baguette
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven.
In a large bowl, combine E tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, herbs, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
Cut the baguette into 3/4-inch slices. On a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer.
Place in oven for 2 minutes, until slightly brown.
Divide the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices. Top the slices with mozzarella cheese.
Return it to E oven for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Serve Hot!

Note: I spread a tiny weeny bit of butter on E baguette slice before toasting it. It is of coz optional :)