Stuffed chicken legs wrapped with bacon

Imitation of Gordon's recipe on youtube: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=y_tcvvStxAs&feature=related




Made a few mistakes here and there. Had too few pistachios in the centre and I skipped masala wine cuz thought it wasn't necessary. Other than that, sherry vinegar was given by a friend so that wasn't too bad.

Maybe because I skipped masala wine,that's why my sauce isn't as brown as Gordon's. Hmmm...

Overall, it was delicious and fun to make once a blue moon!!

Christmas eve dinner

2pm yesterday WL suddenly called me and wanted me to cook christmas dinner. He told me to plan and then go shopping.. :S

Anyway, I decided to try one of Gordon's recipe which is 'crispy' salmon as the starter. Unfortunately the salmon in Marks and spencers had no skin on it. There was no choice as I could not find salmon in tesco. I was lucky enough to find a goose in Tesco which had been reduced from 50 pounds to 27 pounds and it was a really really HUGE goose. Three times the size of the duck.

Anyway, the starter: Sorry that it is burnt at the top cuz I couldn't see what I was cooking..WL never repaired his kitchen stove's lights. So I was really cooking in the dark.









Ai shin and David gave us a christmas present! A cake baking tin by Circulon. Really good baking tin and is life guaranteed non-stick.


A pic of the goose we had for christmas dinner.



Esther was in charge of the goose as I was busy with starters. Unfortunately the goose was a bit too well done.But it is still quite nice with the orange sauce.

Anyway...thanks WL for the meal! Expensive meal...since most of the ingredients was bought in Marks and Spencers being the meal a last minute planning.

Chocolate banana cake

Chocolate banana cake (an imitation of secret recipe)
Though I dun really know how blueberries really fit the taste of the cake. :p

Char siew pao

Basic yeast dough for making pau:

Ingredients A:

500g plain flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp instant yeast
100g castor sugar
240ml water
3 tbsp shortening

Ingredient B:
1 tbsp baking powder

Method:
1) Mix all the ingredients A together and knead into a smooth and elastic dough.

2) Cover with a piece of wet cloth and leave until the size of the dough has doubled.

3) Sieve B on top of the dough and knead well to distribute the baking powder until the dough is smooth again.

4) Cover and allow dough to rest for 15 minutes before shaping.

I have problems describing the process of rolling the skin of the pao with the rolling pin...anyway, just follow your common sense (if you have one... :p)...then fold the sides of the skin, make something like a well and put in the char siew/ chicken etc (normally I marinade the night before and then fry with shallots etc the next day).

Anyway, steam for 15 minutes and it is ready to be eaten.

Not a easy thing to make and also to describe..haha

Roast chicken

Roast chicken

Ingredients:

1) 8 x Chicken thighs

2) 1 lemon

3) 1 bouquet garni

4) 4 tablespoons olive oil

5) salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

Just mix the chicken in all the ingredients above. Then spread evenly on a pyrex bowl or oven dish, making sure that none of the chicken are overlapping each other.

Preheat oven to Gas mark 7.

Roast for around 1 hour or when the chicken is cooked/tender in your opinion and have a nice colour.

Sorry for the vague description as I always modify recipes and ended up not being able to describe very well.

As some maybe wondering what is the orange stuff on the plate, it is sweet potato mash. I like sweet potato mash. heehee...the rest are salad. Welcome to the british world of salads!

Brownie base cheesecake

Time flies, it is friday! I did not realise that I have not updated my blog for the past 4 days as I had been pretty busy.

More pictures!

Brownie Base cheesecake

Ingredients:

Brownie base:

1) 115g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing.

2) 115g plain chocolate

3) 200g caster sugar

4) 2 eggs, beaten

5) 50ml milk

6) 115g plain flour

Topping:

1) 500g cream cheese

2) 125g golden caster sugar

3) 3 eggs, beaten

4) 1 tsp vanilla extract

5) 115g natural yogurt

6) melted plain chocolate, for drizzling.

Steps:

1) preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 9 inch springform cake tin then place baking parchment around the tin.

2) Melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and beat in the sugar.

3) Add the eggs and milk, beating well. Stir in the flour, mixing just until blended. Spoon into the prepared tin, spreading evenly.

4) Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 160C/325F/Gas mark 3.

5) For the topping, beat together the cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until well blended. Stir in the yogurt , then pour over the brownie base. Bake for a further 45-55 minutes, or until the centre is almost set.

6) Let cool before removing from the tin. Chill in refridgerator.

As I realise how serious plagarism is, I have therefore decided to acknowledge my cookbooks from which I have modified some of the recipes (just to be safe).

This recipe is taken from "coffee morning cakes: essential dishes for everyday cooking".

I really like this cheesecake among all the cheesecake I have made. :p

Oreo White Chocolate Cheesecake

The oreo cheesecakes above are 2 differently decorated cake made from the same recipe. Everyone liked oreo cheesecake as compared to other cheesecakes that I made so I have put it on my blog to share with those who have been asking me fervently for the recipe. Haha...I will put up a brownie base cheesecake recipe that I made recently which in my opinion, tasted better than the oreo cheesecake. The brownie was first tasted and the cheese left an aftertaste which was really nice and creamy. Anyway, the recipe for oreo white chocolate cheesecake.

Oreo White Chocolate Cheesecake

For the base:

1) 200g oreo biscuits

2) 50g unsalted butter

For the filling:

1) 300g good quality white chocolate, broken into pieces

2) 400g full-fat soft cheese

3) 150ml soured cream

4) 2 eggs

5) 1 tsp vanilla extract

6) 10 pieces oreo biscuits (adjustable to own preference)

Steps:

1) Preheat the oven to gas 3/160C/325F. Make the base: put the biscuits in a plastic bag and crush using a rolling pin. In a small non-stick pan, melt the butter then stir in the biscuit crumbs and mix well. Using the back of the metal spoon, press the mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9 inch springform cake tin. Chill.

2) Make the filling: melt the chocolate. In a bowl, briefly stir the cheese, soured cream, eggs and vanilla extract together with a wooden spoon to blend lightly. DO NOT overbeat (too much air makes the cheesecake rise, then sink, or else, then crack). Add the melted chocolate and stir until smooth (the mixture will thicken slightly). Crush the 10 pieces of oreo biscuits as fine as you can in a plastic bag. Add the crushed biscuits into the mixture and mix well (careful with overbeating).

3) Spread the mixture evenly over the biscuit base and level the top. Bake for 50 minutes until the mixture feels firm round the edge and is slightly soft but set in the middle (It is important not to overcook the cheesecake, or it will go grainy around the edge).

4) Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Remove the cake from the cake tin and chill. When ready to serve, decorate as you wish.

A question that everyone always ask:" Do I need to remove the cream in the centre of the oreo biscuits before crushing the biscuits?"

Answer is you don't have to! haha..

Recipe is modified from "Surrender chocolate".