Cinnamon Bread Stick with Chocolate Sauce

These cinnamon bread sticks are so easy  to make. The dough needs only one rising, and you can enjoy these in less than two hours. Make it in the early afternoon, and by tea-time, you'll have these Cinnamons Sticks to enjoy with a cup of warm tea.

The risen dough is rolled out and divided into four equal sections. Brush the top with some oil, (I used canola), and scatter with half the mixture of demerara sugar and cinnamon, pressing the mixture down lightly. Then place the dough onto a baking sheet with the cinnamon-sugar mixture facing down. Repeat with the top, brushing with oil and scatter with the balance half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Using a dough scraper, divide each piece into 3 pieces, totalling 12 pieces. You may need to adjust the positions of the pieces on the baking tray, spacing them a little. Bake in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, (mine took about 18 minutes), until golden.

Transfer the baked Cinnamon Sticks to a wire rack to cool slightly.

There's a chocolate sauce in the recipe, but I have opted an easy way out of using some leftover chocolate syrup instead... I was lazy and I do not like to melt chocolate, I hate to do the cleaning up!

which is not a good idea... it did not have that "umph"! My daughter was rather silent when she ate this.... So I took out THE chocolate sauce....

Good old Nutella to the rescue! What a difference it made! The breadstick are yummy with Nutella!

Back into the fridge the chocolate syrup went! We ate the rest of the bread sticks with Nutella. These bread sticks are best eaten while still warm, while they are soft. They get a little stale when they have cooled down. If you are making these, either make the chocolate sauce, or use Nutella instead!

Cinnamon Bread Sticks With Chocolate Sauce
(adapted from the independent, Bill Granger)
300gm/10oz strong white bread flour, plus extra for kneading
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp light-flavoured oil, plus extra for greasing
3 tbsp demerara sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

For the chocolate sauce :
150gm/5oz plain chocolate, broken into small pieces
4 tbsp double cream
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Put the flour, yeast, sugar and salt into a bowl, stir to combine. Make a well in the center, then pour in 200ml/7fl oz of tepid water and stir to form a soft dough.

Tip out on to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and set aside for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas6 and lightly grease an oven tray. Combine the demerara sugar and cinnamon. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and stretch it out to about 20cm x 20cm.

Brush it with oil then scatter with half the sugar-and-cinnamon mix, pushing the mixture down lightly, then place the dough sugared-side down on the prepared oven tray.

Brush with oil and top with the remaining sugar-and-cinnamon mix and cut into 12 lengths. Separate the sticks slightly and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until cooked through and crisp. Transfer to a wire rack.

For the chocolate sauce, put all the ingredients in a small pan over a very low heat. Stir occasionally, until the chocolate has melted. Stir in a pinch of salt. Serve the warm bread sticks with the chocolate sauce on the side.

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I'm linking this post to Cook Like A Star, All-Stars Anniversary Party, hosted by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, Mich of Piece of Cake and Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.

(click on any of the hostess blog for further info and to link your posts)

All-Stars Anniversary Party featured chefs :  Ina Garten, Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Curtis Stone, Ree Drummond, Bill Granger, Masterchefs, Martha Stewart, Delia Smith, Donna Hay

and

See Ya In The Gumbo @ Ms. enPlace

Honey Lemon Chicken Wings

It is a long school holiday break right now, and my sister and nieces came over to stay at my place for the holidays. We were out on most days. Yesterday I was feeling lazy and decided to stay home with the younger kids, while my sister and my other older nieces  went shopping.  We ordered home delivery pizzas and I made this Honey Lemon Chicken Wings. 

These are fairly easy, simply bake the chicken wings in the oven for half an hour. Meanwhile, make the sauce, with only three ingredients, honey, lemon juice and garlic. Mix them all together. According to the recipe, remove the pan from the oven, pour the sauce and continue baking for another 20 minutes. I have however, pour half the sauce over the wings, bake for 10 minutes, remove the pan, turn over the wings, pour the remaining half of the sauce over the wings, and bake for another 10 minutes. Place tray on the upper level for about 3-5 minutes more to get them all really brown and nice.

Advise to go easy on the lemon juice, start with a few tablespoons, taste and add more if needed. 

Chicken wings, either roasted, fried, or baked would make a great party food, especially if you are hosting one this coming Christmas.

December is a busy month for most of us, there are Christmas shopping to do, presents to wrap, menus to plan, and despite all that, it is a fun busy month, especially when we have families from out of town stayed over for the holidays. Before you know it, holidays will be over soon, the new school term starts, and life gets back to daily routine! Enjoy this month while it lasts, with only less than three more weeks to go, before the New Year sets in!  

Honey Lemon Chicken Wings
(source from : lifestyle.com, Bill Granger)
16 chicken wings
1-1/2 tsp salt
125ml lemon juice
5 garlic clove (if you are serving it to children, use 1 garlic clove)
90gm honey
lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 200C (400F/Gas6)
Place chicken wings in baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, roast for 30 minutes.
Place lemon juice, garlic and honey in small bowl and stir until honey has dissolved.
Pour over wings and stir till well coated.
Bake for another 20 minutes.
Serve with lemon wedges.

I'm linking this post to Cook Like A Star : Nov/Dec featuring Bill Granger, hosted by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, Yen of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake.

 

and 

"Baby Sumo's Christmas Recipe Collection 2013" event hosted by Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out

See Ya In The Gumbo @ Ms. enPlace

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

I have heard of Bill Granger and have seen his cookbooks, and that is as much that I know of, about this Australian food writer. I don't even remember ever watching any of his cooking shows on TV. From what I've read from various websites, he is a self-taught cook, a restaurateur and food writer. He is very popular in Australia and has a large following of fans. I could be one too, well, at least for this pasta dish that I'v tried.

This pasta dish is very simple and quick to make. The recipe uses dried porcini mushrooms, since it is not available in the area where I live, I have substitute with dried shiitake mushrooms instead. I have no idea how dried porcini tastes like, never tried them before, but the dried shittake mushrooms works out great, for me.

I have used white button mushrooms and garnish with fresh thymes from my garden, since I do not have any parsley at hand. Recipe uses zest of one lemon and some lemon juice to taste, if you are making this pasta, do not skip the lemon, it really brings out the flavour of this pasta dish!

I have used linguine instead of pappardelle, as I always have a pack or two of linguine and spaghetti in my pantry. While the pasta is boiling, prepare the creamy mushroom sauce, which takes only minutes to cook. I have used a little more water from the soaked mushroom and more cooking cream than the recipe calls for, as my kids like to have their pasta a little "saucy"! Drain the cooked pasta and toss in the creamy mushroom sauce, serve immediately, garnish with either fresh chopped parsley or fresh thymes.

Review : A delicious pasta dish. Really well-liked by my kids and myself included. Simple and delicious, I would definitely make this again. Am I a fan of Bill Granger yet? I'm getting there! And I like his Chicken Drumstick with Paprika Garlic. 

Creamy Mushroom Pasta
(source from : independent.co, Bill Granger)
30gm /1-1/4oz dried porcini mushrooms (replaced with dried shiitake mushrooms)
300gm / 10oz pappardelle pasta
50gm / 2oz butter
1 tbsp olive oil
500gm / 1lb mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp lemon thyme
zest of 1 lemon, plus a squeeze of juice
100ml / 3-1/2fl oz single cream
handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Soak the dried porcini in 75ml/3 fl oz boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid and roughly chop the porcini.

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions. While the pasta cooks, heat the butter and oil in a large, non-stick frying pan, add the mixed mushrooms and fry over a high heat for 3 minutes. Tip in the soaked porcini, garlic and thyme and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Strain the porcini liquid into the pan with the lemon zest and juice. Season well, remove from the heat and stir in the cream and the drained pasta. Finish with the parsley and serve.

I'm linking this post to Cook Like A Star : Nov/Dec featuring Bill Granger, hosted by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, Yen of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake.

Chicken Drumstick with Paprika and Garlic

I made some pasta for dinner the other night, and wanted something else to serve with the pasta. Found this easy and simple roasted chicken drumsticks recipe from Bill Granger.

This couldn't be any easier. Simply mix the marinade, rub all over the chicken drumsticks, leave to marinade for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. About an hour before serving, roast the chicken in a preheated oven until cooked and charred in places.

The marinade is a mixture of soy sauce, lime juice, crushed garlic, ground cumin, paprika, grated ginger and chopped chilli (which I have substitute with dried coarse chilli flakes).

Delicious! Very yummy eaten with lots of fresh coriander leaves.

Chicken Drumsticks with Paprika and Garlic
(source from goodfoodchannel.com, Bill Granger)
8 chicken drumsticks
5 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
5cm piece root ginger, peeled and grated
1 small red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped (replaced with 1/2 tsp coarse chilli flakes)

1. Using a sharp knife, make a few slashes, about 0.5cm deep, through the thicker parts of the chicken and place in a dish.
2. Combine all the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Using your hands, rub this marinade all over the chicken drumsticks. Cover and transfer to the fridge to marinate for at least an hour, or overnight if possible.
3. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 or light a barbecue.
4. Place the chicken on a baking tray and roast for 40 minutes or until cooked through and lightly charred in places. Serve.

I'm linking this post to Cook Like A Star : Nov/Dec featuring Bill Granger, hosted by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, Yen of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake.