Bo Kho

I have made this dish twice and really liked it both times so I thought I'd share this with you. This is one of my favorite vietnamese dishes to make. It was so easy and if I can make this, anyone can. I used a Crock pot to cook this but you can use a regular pot was well. I got this recipe from this blog:

http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/

Bo Kho (Vietnamese Beef Stew)

For a 6-quart pot, you'll need:
1 lb beef stew meat
1 lb oxtails, or substitute with 1 lb short ribs or another 1 lb of beef stew meat
1 tblsp annatto seeds
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
2-inch knob ginger, cut into big slices
1 stick of cinnamon
3 star anise
1 bay leaf
2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
2 tsp Ca Ri Ni An Do (Vietnamese Indian Madras Curry Powder)
2 tblsp Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce)
2 tsp salt
6-oz can tomato paste
2 carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks
3 potatoes or more, cut into 2 -inch chunks
1 cup pearl onions, or 1 large onion, cut into 2 inch chunks

You'll need about 1 lb beef stew meat and 1 lb oxtails. Wash and set aside.


Annatto seeds provide the deep rich red color and a slight sweetness to the stew.

In a large pot on high heat, add 1 tblsp of annatto seeds to 2 tblsp olive oil. The seeds will start releasing their color. Be careful! The seeds may pop in the oil. Keep stirring until the oil turns red. Scoop out the seeds and discard.


Sprinkle about 1/2 cup flour over the beef, making sure to coat each piece. Pan-fry the beef and oxtails until each side is brown. You may have to do this in batches. I just move the oxtails to one side of the pot and stack them on top of each other. When the beef is all browned, add any remaining flour to the pot. It'll help thicken the stew.

Add two bruised lemongrass stalks, ginger slices, a stick of cinnamon, and 3 star anise pods. Also add 1 bay leaf, 2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder, 2 tsp Ca Ri Ni An Do (Vietnamese Indian Madras Curry Powder), 2 tblsp Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce), 2 tsp salt, and a 6-oz can tomato paste.

Then fill your pot about 3/4 full with water. When the water boils, turn the heat down to medium and let simmer for an hour.

Meanwhile, prepare your other vegetables. I used pearl onions because I couldn't resist how beautiful they looked. You can dice a large onion instead. Chop up 2 carrots and 3 potatoes, or more if you wish. Keep the vegetable chunks at least several inches in size as they'll simmer for a while and you don't want them to become mushy or lose shape.

Add the vegetables after the stew has been simmering for an hour. Taste and add fish sauce or salt if necessary. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let it simmer for another hour.


After simmering for several hours, the beef stew meat and oxtails should be fall-apart tender. Fish out the ginger, lemongrass, cinnamon, and star anise.

Serve with Vietnamese French bread, rice, or rice noodles.

Apple Pie with Whole Wheat Crust

I totally forgot that I made this on one of the weekends for work. I had bought a big ol' bag of granny smith apples from Sam's Club probably more than a week ago and they were just sitting on my countertop day after day waiting for me to decide what to do with them. Originally, I thought maybe I'll make two apple pies at a time so I might as well have enough apples around. I wasn't feeling up to the task and didn't have the time either so the green apples just sat there. I have other fruits in the same basket so it was ripening faster than fast. The quickest way to handle them was to cut it up and eat it fresh. It was sweeter than I thought and my boys really liked them too. Between me and the boys, we ate almost half of the bag :) I am just glad we were able to consume it and not let it go to waste. I still had a few more, so I made this pie using Krystin's recipe that she found from the internet. I didn't peel the apples just because I wanted to try something new. I am not so sure I like the apple filling with skin on. The skin didn't cook very well and has a slightly rough texture to it. I think I'll just stick to the original recipe next time just to be safe.

Apple Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 to 8 Tbsp ice water

Cut up the pieces of butter into small squares. Stick 'em in the freezer for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of your mixer.
Throw the butter in and mix some more.
Slowly add the ice water by tablespoons until you get a nice mealy texture. I ended up using about six tablespoons.
Dump the mixture onto a clean work surface and kneed a few times.
Shape into two discs.
Place into ziplock bags and chill in refrigerator until ready to use (but at least for 1 hour!).

For the Filling:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4-6 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced (I used 4)

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add flour to create a paste. Add water and sugars, mix well. Let mixture simmer for a few minutes.


Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Coconut Macaroons Recipe

I made these two days ago and they were so easy to make. It was only my second time and I think I have the recipe memorized already. I know I know... it was hard for me to believe it too. Normally, I don't like to memorize anything especially now. Since having two kids, it's been more challenging to remember things because there's a decline in the number of brain cells? At least this is what I have read while pregnant if I can remember it correctly. These macaroons will not disappoint you if you decide to give this a go. Everyone who's tasted this thought it was the freshest, best tasting macaroons they've ever had. I thought it was pretty chewy, not too sweet, and definitely very yummy. If you are a coconut fan like I am, you might like this. I was in a rush for work so didn't get to take a picture. Go to the website below and the picture there is pretty much what mine looked like.


http://www.joyofbaking.com/CoconutMacaroons.html


Coconut Macaroons:

4 large (120 grams) egg whites, at room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (60 grams) cake flour, sifted

3 cups (300 grams) sweetened shredded coconut


Coconut Macaroons: In a stainless steel bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and salt. When this mixture is warm to the touch, and nice and creamy, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, flour, and coconut. Cover and refrigerate for about two hours, or until firm.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place small mounds (heaping tablespoons) of the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing several inches apart. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes and then place on a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 2 dozen Macaroons.

Sources:

Lebovitz, David. Room for Dessert. Harper Collins Publishers. New York: 1999.

Luchetti, Emily. Stars Desserts. Harper Collins Publishers. New York: 1991

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/CoconutMacaroons.html#ixzz0uCk9wh3b

Fresh Fruit Tart

I was trying to make something unique for a baby shower and wasn't sure what. A coworker of mine was researching recipes for fruit tarts and gave me the perfect idea. It was a great choice because it was not only very pretty, colorful but also very light, healthy and fits the occasion well. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed it. I was able to make one complete crust on a tart pan and 3/4 of a crust on a pie dish using the below recipe. The one in the pie dish I filled with left over pudding and the other one I filled with pastry cream from the recipe below. I made the crust two days prior and prepared the cream the morning of. The cream was very easy to make. The fruits I had to wash one day in advance and dry really well before using. I only wish that I was a better decorator so that it would look more professional. I'll try a different technique with the fruits next time and see how that goes. I didn't use any glaze because It was going to be served within hours. This recipe is a keeper. I can see using this with all kinds of fresh seasonal fruits throughout the year.

Fruit Tart Recipe

Recipe for one 9-in tart or four individual 4-in tarts

Pâte Brisée (crust)

250 g all purpose flour (2 cups)
125 g cold unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water


To make the dough, use either a food processor, a mixer or a bowl and the best tools : your hands! Combine all the ingredients except the water. Work the mixture until crumbly. Add the water one tablespoon at a time until you form a dough. It is very important not to over work the dough otherwise your crust will shrink in the oven and you will not have that light, flaky kind of crust. wrap the dough and chill for at least 30 mn. This step can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Just wrap the dough well and keep it in the fridge.

Pastry Cream

1 cup whole milk (don't use low fat versions please)
2 egg yolks
40 g (2.5 TBSP) granulated sugar
30 g (2 TBSP) corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Heat the milk in a pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks, sugar and corn starch and mix until well combined. Gradually, add the hot milk. Put the mixture back in the pan and cook, stirring continuously (not the time to answer the phone, yeah yeah I know baking requires a lot of sacrifice) until it thickens. Off heat, stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let cool at room temperature then into the fridge for up to 2 days.
When ready to use, whip the cream and fold it into the COLD pastry cream.


Preparing the tart shells

Preheat the oven to 375. Remove the dough from the fridge and if it got too hard, let it sit for about 15 minutes. Flour your work surface and roll out the dough to about 1/4 in thickness. I like my crust pretty thin.
Arrange the dough on the mold (s) of your choice. Pick the entire surface of the dough with a fork and layer a piece of foil on top of it. Fill the foiled pan with beans. This will help the crust keep its nice shape.
Cook the crust for 10 minutes then remove the foil (and the beans!) and continue baking until lightly brown. Cool completely before filling.

Custard Filled Tassies

I got this idea from Martha Stewart's website. Instead of using cream cheese for the filling, I substituted it with Pudding and topped it with blueberries. After a few trials of preparing pie/tart crusts, I think I am an expert now..ha ha. I no longer have fears or doubts about making a crust. I just jump right in and get to work. And for the most part, the crusts come out tasting fresher and possibly better than the ones from the store. In this case, the crust is what makes this recipe so incredible. It's buttery, flaky, and crunchy. Topping this with pudding and blueberries makes this more weight watcher friendly and the fact that it's not too sweet also helps. I only use the below recipe for the crust.

Lemon Tassies

Ingredients

Makes 24

FOR THE CANDIED LEMON ZEST:
2 lemons, well scrubbed
1 cup sugar, plus more for rolling
1/2 cup cool water
FOR THE CRUSTS:
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus more for pans
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Pinch of salt
FOR THE FILLING:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions

For candied lemon zest: Remove zest from lemons with a vegetable peeler, keeping pieces long. Remove white pith using a paring knife, and finely julienne using a very sharp knife. Place julienned zest in a small bowl; cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes; drain.
Bring 1 cup sugar and the cool water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When sugar is completely dissolved, add julienned zest, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand overnight. Remove zest, and drain on wire rack. Roll in sugar. Dry on wire rack. Store zest in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with rack in upper third. Lightly butter a 24-cup mini-muffin pan; set aside. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flour and butter. Pulse until mixture is the consistency of fine crumbs. Add the sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Process until evenly incorporated and smooth; do not overprocess.
Divide the dough into quarters. Divide each quarter into 6 pieces. Shape into balls. Place each ball in a muffin cup; press down in the centers so that the dough fits the cups snugly. Set muffin pan on a baking sheet.
Bake until lightly browned all over and slightly darker at the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer baking sheet with muffin pan to a wire rack to cool.
Make the filling: In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla until completely smooth. Using a 1/4-ounce ice cream scoop, fill the cooled crusts. Bake until filling is set and just beginning to color at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer muffin pan to a wire rack. Garnish with candied lemon peel. Let cool completely before serving. The tassies may be stored in an airtight container, refrigerated, for up to 3 days.
From Martha Stewart Living Television


Read more at Marthastewart.com: Lemon Tassies and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com

Parisian Macarons with Swiss Merengue Filling

I didn't get to comment on this recipe before publishing it. I was uploading a whole bunch of pictures and got a little impatient and tired of waiting for one picture to load at a time. Does anyone know a faster way to upload multiple photos at once? I think I would post more pictures if I could figure out a faster method. So getting back to these macarons, I first learned about these cute little things from the bakerella website but didn't dare to attempt this because I needed a scale to weigh ingredients out if I wanted to be accurate. I don't have a scale and am not ready to purchase one....yet. So I just left the idea. You might ask what is it exactly? I found this in wikipedia that might define it better:

A macaron is a sweet confectionery. Its name is derived from an Italian word "maccarone" or "maccherone". This word is itself derived from ammaccare, meaning crush or beat, used here in reference to the almond paste which is the principle ingredient.[1] It is meringue-based: made from a mixture of egg whites, almond flour, and both granulated and confectionery sugar.

The confectionery is characterized by its smooth, domed top, ruffled circumference, and flat base. Connoisseurs prize a delicate, egg shell-like crust that yields to a moist and airy interior. The French macaron differs from macaroons in that it is filled with cream or butter like a sandwich cookie, and can be found in a wider variety of flavors that range from the traditional (raspberry, chocolate) to the exotic (truffle, matcha tea.

I saw a similar recipe on Martha Stewart's website and it looks a lot easier. I read through her version and thought well maybe I can do this if only I have a block of time to focus just on this. I really didn't know what to expect of this because I have never had a macaron before. Also because my egg beating/whipping technique needs fine tuning. I have had multiple bad experiences working with egg whites. It's really hard for me to tell when the egg whites have turned into a soft peak versus a stiff peak. It's a guessing game everytime and I really don't like doing that which you can understand why. So this recipe says to beat the eggs til it turns a soft peak and I think I did just that. Looking at the outcome of the cookies, I think I might have miscalculated that step or maybe I over folded the ingredients. Whatever the case, mine didn't look quite like the ones you see on the internet. As far as taste goes, I would think it should taste a little like a merengue cookie, light and airy in texture with filling? My filling came out a little on the salty side. While I should have used unsalted butter, I didn't. The salted butter had more salt in it than I thought. I didn't think it was too bad. It was so light, I must have ate 10 in a span of 30min. I think I'll make this again with other types of filling and maybe use food coloring to add some visual appeal.


Recipe:
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/parisian-macaroons

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Don't these look scrumptious? I made these for the July birthdays at work. I was not feeling 100% that day but didn't want to not keep my promise. I only tasted 1/2 of one and didn't crave for anymore. Everyone at work really liked the taste. They especially liked the cream cheese frosting. I did reduce the amount of sugar added to the frosting (used 1 cup only) and substituted sour cream for 2 TBSP of my homemade yogurt for that extra tart. Even though this is a great recipe, I won't necessarily make it again or will I ever buy a red velvet cake just because there's so much food coloring added to it. I am not exactly sure how food coloring affects our body but I'd rather keep its use to a minimum if I can control it. I found this from all recipes and it has the highest ratings compared to the other ones.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/red-velvet-cupcakes-3/Detail.aspx

Rocky Road Brownies

So it's been awhile since I've published anything but it doesn't mean I haven't been baking. You'll just get all my posts at once that's all. Don't be overwhelmed it's really not that bad. I did subscribe to a few food blogs and so I get all their publications in my email and when I saw this one I thought I just had to make this. I love rocky road ice cream. These brownies were so chocolaty and moist and delicioso. It's not something that you can eat just one. It was pretty easy to make so why not try it. Here's website for the recipe.

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2010/06/rocky-road-brownies/