Monday, 18 March 2013

Pizza Dough Sliders



Ingredients:
Pizza dough
Sandwich fixings of your choice

Directions:
  • Roll your pizza dough out to about 1/3 -1/2 inch thick.
  • Cut out small circles using a shot glass or small circle cookie cutter
  • Place circles onto a pizza stone or a regular cookie sheet lightly dusted with cornmeal
  • Bake according to recipe or package directions. Watch closely. Mine took about 8-10 minutes.
  • Using one circle at the bottom of the bun and one as the top, assemble sliders to your liking.
( I chose chicken nuggets, celery straws, blue cheese, ranch dressing, Swiss cheese, deli turkey, tomato, bacon, lettuce, honey mustard. I think a meatball dipped in marinara sauce with some mozzarella cheese would be awesome)

Your  Pizza Dough Sliders are ready.


APPLE CUSTARD CAKE

This is an awesome custard recipe from Brandi

Ingredients:

3/4 tsp baking powder
3.75 Oz AP flour
1/2 vanilla bean
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp kosher salt
6 Oz sugar
1 lbs 2 Oz chopped apples
4 Oz unsalted melted butter 
3 TBSP apple cider
Unrefined sugar for sprinkling

[NB:1 Oz= 28.35g]
 Preparation:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch springform cake pan and line it with parchment paper. Sprinkle unrefined sugar on the sides of the pan and tap it around
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl
  3.  In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until they’re foamy. Rub the vanilla bean seeds into the sugar and add to the eggs. Blend well
  4.   Whisk in the apple cider, half the flour blend well
  5. Add half the melted butter and the remaining flour and butter. Mix gently after each addition so that you have a smooth, rather thick batter. 
  6. Fold in the apples, so that it’s coated with batter. Scrape the mixture into the pan and poke it around a little with the spatula so that it’s even. Sprinkle the top of the cake with unrefined sugar. 
  7. Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 30 minutes.
  8.  Wait until the cake is cooled, then carefully remove the cake from the pan & serve it.

Mini Quiches


1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3/4 teaspoons salt
A dash of pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Peppers or mushrooms or any other vegetable you desire! (Diced or cut thin)
Preparation:
  1. Lightly grease two mini muffin pans (preferably 24-count).
  2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
  3. Whisk together cornstarch, cream and milk. Add eggs, whisk until light and frothy. Stir in salt and pepper.
  4. Sprinkle a teaspoon of cheese in the bottom of each mini muffin tin. Arrange vegetables on top of cheese. Pour in 1 1/2 tablespoons of egg mixture (or until near the top of the muffin tin).
  5. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for ten minutes.
  6. CAREFULLY remove with a knife. 
These can be enjoyed right away or frozen after they’ve thoroughly cooled.
Thanks Monet Moutrie for this recipe!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares



Makes about 25 small squares

Ingredients
For the Crust:
22 Nabisco FAMOUS Chocolate Wafers, finely crushed (about 1⅔ cups crumbs)
¼ cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

For the Filling
6 firmly packed tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 cups Confectioners’ sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1⅓ cup creamy peanut butter (I like Skippy Natural “No Need To Stir”)
Pinch of salt

For the Milk Chocolate Ganache Topping
1-11.5 ounce bag Ghirardelli (or similar best quality) milk chocolate chips
6 tablespoons heavy cream
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Make crust: Combine chocolate wafers, sugar and butter in bowl of food processor fitted with a blade attachment and pulse until cookies are finely crushed. Press mixture firmly into prepared baking pan (I spread it with my hands first, then use the bottom of a measuring cup to even it out). Bake for 8 minutes. Set on rack to cool completely.

3. In the meantime, make peanut butter filling: Combine all ingredients together in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix at low speed until just combined (do not whip). Set bowl in refrigerator while you prepare the rest.

4. Make chocolate ganache topping: Combine milk chocolate chips and heavy cream in microwave safe bowl and cook in microwave at medium power (50%) for 1-1½ minutes. Stir until bowl no longer feels warm. Continue heating at 15-30 second intervals, stirring until smooth and melted. Do not overheat.

5. Put it all together: Use an offset icing spatula (see photo above) to spread about ¼ cup of chocolate mixture evenly over cooled crust; place pan in freezer until chocolate is set, about 5-10 minutes. Spread peanut butter mixture into an even layer over chocolate (if it’s firm, you can use your hands; if it’s soft, use a butter knife or spatula). Give chocolate ganache a quick stir to smooth any lumps, then spread evenly over top of peanut butter layer. Cover pan with plastic wrap and place in freezer for 1 hour to set (or, if you’re not in a hurry, you can just leave it in the refrigerator for a few hours). When firm, use a sharp knife to cut into squares (make them smaller as they are very rich!). Keep refrigerated and serve cool.
Recipe taken from Once Upon A Chef 

Monday, 11 March 2013

Lamb with Rice

Saudi Cuisine has a wide range of lamp recipe. Given below is one such recipe with lamb, tomato and green peas as main ingredients. I make this recipe very often for lunch.
Lamb with rice

Ingredients

750 g lamb, cut into big chunks
8 cups water or 2 liters
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion or 125 g, chopped
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 medium tomatoes or 300 g, peeled and diced
1 tin canned green peas or 400 g, drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cubes MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon
2½ cups basmati rice or 500 g, washed and drained


Preparation

1) Put lamb chunks and water in a large pot and bring it to boil. Remove froth as it appears. Simmer over low heat for about 1½ hours or until lamb becomes tender. Set aside. 

2) Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes  (or until they become golden brown in color)

3) Add spices, tomatoes, green peas, tomato paste and MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon cubes. Stir for 2 minutes.

4) Add the cooked lamb with 4½ cups of the lamb stock, add water if needed.

5) Add the rice and stir occasionally and bring to boil. 

6) Cover with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes (or until rice is cooked).                                


Source:  Nestle Saudi Recipe 
 

Condensed Milk Cookies



Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Mix butter and condensed milk. Add salt, baking powder and flour, and mix just until combined.
  2. Stir in chocolate chips.
  3. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Sausage Pizza Balls

Ingredients.

  • 10 refrigerator biscuits
  • 3 string cheese sticks, quartered
  • 1/4 cup pizza sauce
  • 1/4 cup precooked sausage crumbles
  • 1 egg white, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  2. Flatten the refrigerator biscuits to about 3 1/2 inches wide.
  3. Top biscuits with 1 teaspoon pizza sauce, a few sausage crumbles, a string cheese piece and a sprinkle of oregano.
  4. Gather the edges up around the toppings and pinch together at the top.
  5. Place the pizza balls into a greased pie pan with the seams on the bottom.
  6. Brush the tops with a beaten egg white.
  7. Sprinkle the tops with grated Parmesan cheese.
  8. Bake at 425°F for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  9. Serve with additional pizza sauce, if desired.