Pokemon (B#339)

With school holidays, Master Prince is usually home all day, playing or creating havoc!

But at about 3.30pm, there's always 'tea time' and thereafter maybe a short nap (just to give the house AND EVERYONE (esp. the adults) a break!).

In this bento is a muffin with some slices of melon and longan fruit.

Rose Chiffon Cake

Pretty in Pink!

(remember that movie?? And Andrew McCarthy *blush blush* gwad...seems like centuries ago. haha)

To start the week, wanted to share a romatic cake.
Fell in love with it as soon as I saw it on Terri's blog and couldn't wait to try it out.

For this cake, you must frost it pink otherwise the effect is just not quite the same.

Recipe adapted from here

Cake Ingredients

70ml rose water (or mix 40 to 50 ml rose syrup with enough water to make 70 ml)
4 egg yolks
70 ml vegetable oil
1/4 tsp rose essence
30g caster sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
120g cake flour, sieved
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
50 g sugar

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 160C degrees.

2. In a bowl whisk together rose water/syrup, essence, egg yolks, oil and 30g sugar together. Slowly add in flour and baking powder and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy, then cream of tartar. Gradually add in 50g sugar and whisk until glossy peaks stage.

4. Fold 1/4 of the egg white into the yolk mixture to temper/lighten it. Then pour in the egg yolk mixture into the egg white and gentle fold in to combine thoroughly.

5. Pour batter into an ungreased 22 cm tube pan. Gently tap cake tin on counter a few times before putting in oven to bake for 40 min or until skewer comes out clean.

6. Remove cake and gently tap cake tin on the counter a few times before inverting the pan upside down to to cool. Cool cake completely before icing with the Creme Chantilly.

Creme Chantilly:
225g dairy or non-dairy whipping cream
1 tsp rose syrup
drop of pink colouring
3/4 tsp gelatin with 2 tbsp hot water (*optional - if using dairy whipping cream, otherwise can leave out)
2-3 tbsp icing sugar (nb. didn't add this as I find the whipping cream sweet for my taste)

Method:

1. Whisk everything together until stiff peak stage.
2. Decorate on completely cooled cake. Use fresh rose petals for decorations (optional)

Like a slice of an absolutely dreamy pink cake??

Bench notes - If you find rose water/essence too powering for your taste, can substitute with vanilla essence.

Singing duo (B#338)

Its FRIDAY :)

A tea time snack pack - Egg custard buns (lao sa pao) and some fruits (apples and grapes).

Very Vanilla GIVEAWAY

Hi everyone, I'm back - though recovering from a cough and flu....yes, yes enjoyed too much until I fell sick, but more about my trip later.

Right now, I'm just excited with this year end giveaway - yes, starting early to avoid the usual year end festive mad rush :) + its likely I'm gonna be busy too so.....

Any idea what this is???

W-A-I-T

You don't really need to solve it for this giveaway but
I'll certainly applaud and pat you on the back if you knew what it was at first glance.

Remember this?

That precious liquid has turned really dark DARK brown owing thanks to the many vanilla pods I've been adding since, waiting patiently in the darkest corner of my cupboard. In fact, I've lost count how many vanilla pods there are since as the liquid is too dark for me to count! Well, time to take it out and share - a toast to the new year perhaps???

Hm....me thinks perhaps the task could be to guess how many vanilla pods are there in the bottle instead???

Since tis the season for sharing and generosity of spirit, scrapping that idea out :) *heheh*

*all jokes aside*

Up for grabs is an exclusive (ahem) bottle of VVV (that's 'Very Vanilla Vodka' - hahaha). In fact TWO bottles (about 30ml) will be given away by random draw.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what your plans are for this year end festive break - its simple as that....yep, no fussy linking back required or other complicated ties - heck, you don't even need to say hello to me :) *haha* However do bear in mind that leaving a name (at the very least) would definitely make it easier to announce the winner. ;p

BUT there is ONE tiny (but crucial) request - one entry per person without any spam, thanks
(otherwise I'll have no choice but to tell the Big Man (Santa??) on you and I'm sure you don't wanna be on the 'Naughty List' right....or you do!!?).

Entry for this giveaway closes 28th November 2010 (Sunday) midnight MST.

Updated 24/11 - thanks to those who have entered. Looks like its gonna be a busy but fun month for everyone!! :)

Lemony Lemon Tart

It would have been handy to have a blow-tourch but since I didn't own one, I dusted some icing and put it under the grill for a few minutes for a slightly 'brown-crust' topping. Served this chilled with extra cream on the side: Y-U-M!

Pastry base

110g plain flour
50g unsalted butter, cold
1 tbsp icing sugar
3-4 tbsp iced water

Method:

1. In a bowl, sieve the flour and add the sugar. Rub the butter into the flour until resembles coarse bread crumbs.

2. Add water as required to form a dough.

3. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 30 min.

4. Roll out pastry on a 6-inch loose-base tart tin.

5. With a fork, randomly prick the base of the pastry before blind baking it for 15 - 20 min at 180C degrees, until the pastry is just cooked but still pale in colour. Remove from oven and reduce the emperature to 150C degrees.

Filling

80g lemon juice (about 3 medium lemons)
250g caster sugar
110g pure cream
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
zest of 1 lemon

Method:

1. Whisk eggs, egg yolk and sugar until thick and creamy. Add the cream and whisk to combine.

2. Sieve the mixture (optional) and then add the lemon juice and zest.

3. Pour liquid into pre-baked pastry. Return to oven and bake for 35-40 min or until the filling is just set in the centre.

4. Leave to cool before serving with a generous dusting of icing sugar.

Marcella's Hazan Lasagne

Marcella shares some wisdom in her book (which I am still trying to get my hands on) Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking that the "ragu must be cooked for no less than 3 hours!”

She describes:

"...what makes lasagne a triumph of Bolognese pasta mastery is the ephemeral lightness of the dough building up to many layers of nearly impalpable pasta interleavened by equally thin layers of luscious, but not overbearing filling."

Obtained a copy of the recipe here.

Bolognese Sauce:

1 tablespoon oil
3 tablespoon butter
½ cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup chopped carrot
3/4 pound ground beef chuck
salt & pepper
1 cup milk/stock
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup dry white wine
1 canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice

1. Put the oil, butter and onion in the pot, and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until is has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring the vegetables to coat them well.

2. Add the ground beef, a large pinch of salt, & a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork and cook until beef has lost its raw, red color.

3. Add the milk/stock and let simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. Add a tiny grating – about 1/8 teaspoon – of nutmeg and stir.

4. Add the wine, let simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is stirring, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, continue the cooking, adding ½ cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.


Béchamel Sauce:

3 cups milk
6 tablespoons butter
4½ tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt

1. Put the milk in a saucepan, turn the heat to medium-low, and bring the milk just to the verge of boiling, to the point when it begins to form a ring of small, pearly bubbles.

2. While heating the milk, put the butter in a heavy-bottomed, 4- to 6-cup saucepan, and turn the heat to low. When the butter has melted completely, add the flour and stirring it with a wooden spoon. Cook, while stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Do not allow flour to become colored. Remove from heat.

3. Add the hot milk to the flour-and-butter mixture, no more than 2 tablespoons of it at a time. Stir steadily and thoroughly. As soon as the first 2 tablespoons have been incorporated into the mixture, add 2 more, and continue to stir. Repeat this procedure until you have added ½ cup milk; you can now put in the rest of the milk ½ cup at a time, stirring steadfastly, until all the milk has been smoothly amalgamated with the flour and butter.

4. Place the pot over low heat, add the salt, and cook, stirring without interruption, until the sauce is as dense as thick cream. If you find any lumps forming, dissolve them by beating the sauce rapidly with a whisk. If all else fails, strain the mixture!!

Bench notes - adding warmed milk to the roux bit by bit really helps with getting a smooth mixture!

When you have prepared the ragu and the white sauce, all you need is to assemble it.

1. In a baking dish, smear the bottom with some ragu, add some white sauce and then layer the lasagne pasta sheet. Repeat this layering until you reach the top of the dish.


2. Be generous with the grated cheese.

3. Bake in the oven until the top is golden brown.

Not just Garfield's favourite food, its Master Prince's too. Well, all love it too!

Ponyo (B#337)

Master Prince's favourite scene is when Ponyo was served a big hot bowl of noodles with a slice of ham and sunny side up egg. He's not too keen on the egg preferring the yummy ham and slurpy noodles!! Since watching the anime, he's requested a few times for the same food (minus the egg though).

In this box are some jam sandwiches with cheese, cereal bites and slices of apple.

Have a great weekend.

Giveway Winner Announced

Dear Ladies:
-Ang3
-Annie
-Cynthia
-Elaine
-Emily
-Jacss
-Morgana ^-^

Firstly thank you for being so sporting. :) There's one more fun giveaway planned to end the year and hope you'll join that too.

I will be honest to say that I thought I may have failed miserably in giving the clues/hints properly and was all ready for a back-up random pick if no answer matched mine.

I was ready to shoulder the responsibility.

but HAH....I may have been too hasty.

There is a winner.

Congratulations to jacss!!

Must mention that Elaine came a close second (in time...only an hour difference!!! If only you had logged on earlier). lolz

So jacss, will be contacting you soon with your prize - not sure what it is right now but promise it WILL NOT be earrings, key chains, thermal underwear, FR, China iphone or China irobot. *since you already have these, grins*

O wh't the heck + a GIVEAWAY

Shall or shan't, shall or shan't...that's what I've been tussling all weekend.

Should I or shouldn't i?

Gee-beez, its actually not difficult + I'm game for a little blogging fun (r u?) especially since its nearly year end and everything.

So I'll just lame away, a giveaway prize will be given to the first person who is able to correctly match the places (state name of country) per hint I'm travelling to next week.

Hint #1: Pumping full on yummy egg tarts.

Hint #2: Swallowing hot tasty bowls of springy egg noodles (not allowed to chew, that's the pace here!); which leaves more time to shop and S-H-O-P.

Hint #3: Back for more historical sights and who knows, maybe a visit to the lucky lady will cover the holiday expenses???

too E-A-S-Y right?

Only rule is one entry per comment, so NO anonymous (even if you get the answer right!!).

Entry guesses closes midnight (MST) this Thursday (11 Nov 2o1o).

Winner will be announced on Friday (12 Nov 2010).

Back to the prize, juz don't shoot me if it turns out to be souvenir magnets!! *will do my utmost best to make it interesting though* haha...

Good luck.

*updated: Thank you all who have submitted. For a little suspense, will release first batch of all comments received on Thursday afternoon + balance rest after midnight so everyone can keep guessing till then - sounds reasonable right? or am i over analysing*

Ultraman (B#336)

3 mean-looking octo-monsters were causing destruction and mayhem to the city. Running for cover, the innocent city people look to Ultraman save them! haha

In this box, some spam musubi, corn, sausage, endamame, broccoli cucumber and carrot sticks.

This bento was specially made for MP's best friend. Not sure whether he liked it, must check with his mother!!

Snapshot

Great with bread.

Absoultely fabulous with a glass of chilled white wine!

(From bottom to top, click for recipe)

Peperona

Tapande

Hummus

Happy Deepavali to Indian readers and those celebrating!

Puffed Pesto Curls

Just one of those days when you want a quick gourmet snack.
Perfect finger bite cum snack with wines.<>

What you need:

some puff pastry;

pesto paste;

some milk/egg to glaze the tops.

1. cut pastry into a triangle. spread paste and roll up.

For more detailed step-by-step instructions, click here. Basically same technique used even though I know the link is for making croissants.

2. brush with some milk or beaten egg.

3. bake at 180C degrees in pre-heated oven until golden brown.

Suprisingly even though this snack was quick to make, it actually took longer to bake them!!

Bench notes: Helps when you have pre-made frozen pesto sauce in the fridge. Note to self to make extra filling next time!

More post-halloween monsters (B#345)

Inspired by LianMama who actually made her musubi very neat :)

Since there was leftover spam, made more 'scruffy' looking spam musubi monsters who no doubt woke up blur (& slightly grumpy) due to last night's late party!

On a plate (since Master Prince was dining at home) are also some octopus sausage, broccoli, corn and cherry tomatoes.

Happy Halloween!! (B#334)

A plateful of creepers with some cuties to boot!

Was inspired with the visit of 3 lovely princesses and decided to plate something fun and cute comprising of an array of sushi, quail eggs, sausages and vegetables.

Since it was halloween weekend, it wasn't hard to decide on the theme for the night!! We didn't go 'trick or treating' since its not a common celebration here.

Was a little rusty since my last bento so it did take quite a bit of effort! But seeing the happy faces on the princesses faces made it all worth while :)

Hope you had a fun and exciting weekend.