birthdays

mr loy's birthday coming up this Saturday.

sunday is mr lim.
monday is von's.

i haven got much time to bake!
and i haven got a clue to bake which cake!!
manager is back in china, meaning i gotta shoulder everything for a month.

think i gotta skip baking birthday cakes(and baking!) for this year.

migraine, migraine...


=S

Not Your Usual Mushroom Soup

Ingredients...

- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 whole Small Carrrot, Finely Minced
- 1 whole Celery Stalk, Finely Minced
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic, Crushed And Minced
- 450g (or more!) White Mushrooms, Sliced Thin
- 120ml, fluid Chablis White Wine
- 120ml, fluid Tomato Juice
- 120ml, fluid Chicken Broth
- 450ml Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese, Freshly Grated
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1/4 cups Water
- 1 pinch Salt And Pepper, to taste

*i had tomato paste on hand and didn't want to waste it. thus i mix 3tbsp of paste with 1 cup water. and voila! i now have a cup of tomato juice!


How to...


Heat oil, over medium heat, in a large deep pot.

Mince the carrot and celery nice and fine. Too big and the soup will end up chunky. Toss into the pot and allow them to soften while you slice the mushrooms. (Please remember to clean the mushrooms first. You probably already knew that … I’m just sayin’.) Next, add your garlic, right as the carrots and celery start to cook down.

Add the mushrooms to the pot and allow them to reduce and soften. Pour in the Chablis, and let it cook with the mushrooms for a few minutes.

Add the tomato juice, and the chicken broth. Allow it to boil for about 5 minutes before adding the heavy whipping cream, and bring to a soft boil.

Grate Parmesan and add it to the pot. Let this cook for a few minutes, until the cheese is melted and blended with the soup. Add the cornstarch to 1/4 cup of water, then pour into the soup.

Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes or so, until thickened. Salt and pepper the soup to your own tastes.

Serve with French bread or just plain ‘ol crackers. Whatever floats your boat!

Panko Mac n Cheese

Ingredients...

- 454 grams Cooked Pasta (slightly Undercooked)
- 4 tbsp (60ml) Butter
- 1/4 cup Flour
- 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) Milk
- 2 tsp Mustard Powder
- 1 tsp (more To Taste!) Salt
- Black Pepper
- 230 grams Cheddar Cheese, Grated
- 230 grams Fontina Cheese, Grated
- 4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Sliced Thick
- 1 cup (237g/ml) Panko Breadcrumbs (more To Taste)
- Salt And Pepper For Sprinkling

* feel free to use any cheese that makes your skirt fly!


How to...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta until al dente.

1. Melt butter in a large skillet.

2.Sprinkle in flour, whisk to combine, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it deepens in color.

3. Pour in milk, whisking constantly.

4. Add mustard, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking until it thickens, 4 minutes or so.

5. Add cheese and stir until melted. Pour in cooked pasta and stir to coat. Check seasonings and add more salt if needed.

6. Pour into a buttered casserole dish. Top with 3/4 of the panko crumbs. Arrange tomato slices neatly on the top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with the rest of the panko crumbs.

7. Bake for 20 minutes. Broil for 3 to 4 minutes at the end to make the top golden brown.

Meatball Burger

Ingredients...

- 1 pound Ground Chuck Or Ground Beef
- ½ cups Panko Or Other Bread Crumbs
- 1 clove Garlic, Minced
- ½ teaspoons Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- ½ cups Milk
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- ½ whole Medium Onion, Diced
- 1 jar (large) Marinara Sauce
- Hamburger bun
- Provolone Cheese


How to...

1.Mix meat with bread crumbs, garlic, salt, pepper, and milk. Knead together with hands. Roll into palm-sized patties.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for one minute. Add patties between the onions and brown for one minute.

3. Pour in jar of marinara; shake pan gently to mix. Put on lid and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.


When ready to serve, cut each hamburger bun in half. Place a wedge of Provolone on the top and bottom of each roll. Spoon a meatball with the sauce onto the bottom bun; top with the top bun.


Serve immediately!

Com Do (Vietnamese Tomato/ Red Rice)

Adapted from Luke Nguyen & Mark Jensen's Secrets of The Red Lantern


Ingredients...

- 150 g (3/4 cup)rice, cooked, left in the fridge overnight
- 10 g butter
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (concentrated puree)
- Salt to taste


How to...

1.Put the cooked rice into a large bowl. Wet your hands slightly so the rice doesn't stick to them, or don a pair of plastic gloves, and break up the rice.

2.Place a wok over medium heat, add half the butter and the garlic and stir-fry until the garlic is fragrant, then add the rice.

3.Increase the heat and, using a wooden spoon, stir and toss the rice.

4.Add the tomato paste and continue to stir-fry, working the tomato through the rice until it is evenly coloured. Add the remaining butter and fry until it is incorporated.

5.Season with salt and serve.


something different than normal fried/plain rice.

=)

Apple'ssant

*will take a nicer pix in a few days time


Ingredients...

- 2 whole Granny Smith Apples
- 1 packet ready bake puff pastry
- 230g Butter
- 1-½ cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- Cinnamon, To Taste
- 1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda


How to...

Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir.

Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top


it's a mini apple pie!
=)

Pineapple Fried Rice and Thai Green Chicken Curry

added a little too much of water when simmering down the onions, thus the fried rice turned out to be a teeeennnyyy bit sticky.

but it still turned out yummy!

going to try making burger next.
wish me luck!

=))

Abby Dodge's Nutella Brownie

This recipe comes from pasty chef, cookbook author, and Fine Cooking Magazine’s contributing editor, Abby Dodge. She has a new cookbook coming out in September called Desserts 4 Today: Flavorful Desserts with Just Four Ingredients filled with fabulous everyday desserts made with only four ingredients! Can't wait for the book to launch!

Ingredients...

- 1/2 cup Nutella spread ('bout 155g)
- 1 large egg
- 5 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts


How to...

Makes 12 mini

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup mini muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

2. Put the Nutella and egg in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth and well blended. Add the flour and whisk until blended.

3. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins (about 3/4 full) and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.

4. Bake until a pick comes out with wet, gooey crumbs, 11 to 12 minutes. Set on a rack to cool completely. Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.


If u don't like hazelnut or for what so ever reason, switch in one of the following:
-ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon (add with the flour)
-peanuts, chopped, 1/4 cup


it's more like a molten lava cake than a borwnie.
super moist and will literally melt in ur mouth!