Holiday Bake Challenge No.2

Okay, so I didn’t do so well with this holiday bake challenge. Only managed to do two dinners and two desserts but I did enjoy myself. I will try to carry on trying out new recipes and keep posting them in here when I have the time. Anyway, here is the last dinner we had to celebrate the last day of my holiday

Main course: Crab linguini with water cress and parsley

I decided to make a simple dinner as dessert was quite a heavy dish. I made the sauce with garlic and lemon juice then added a small can of tinned crab with some extra virgin olive oil. I added a handful of chopped watercress and parsley and tossed in the warm linguini. Delicious and simple.

Dessert: chocolate pear pudding

We had this a few years ago in a small restaurant in London and I decided to make my own version of this delicious dessert. It’s so simple, all you have to do is line the bottom of a glass oven dish with some canned pears..

Now just make a simple chocolate cake batter and pour it over the pears. I used the Madeira cake recipe and added 25grams of cocoa powder.

Bake at a high heat, I baked mine at 220c for 20 minutes. You want the cake to be gooey and warm in the middle. SO DELICIOUS!! Here is another picture!

While

While I was baking, I kept hearing little scratchy sounds. I looked everywhere and couldn’t find the source, I actually got quite scared that it could be a rat or a mouse in the kitchen with me (not that we have ever had a rat in the kitchen.) After placing the pudding in the oven, I finally found the source of thescary sounds and here he is..

He was on the fridge!!

Cheeky cheeky MURPHY!

Food Glorious Food

I am so sorry for not writing for so long ! There really has been two main reasons why I have been neglecting you and mind you, they are very good excuses!!

1. My first BIG assignment is due soon! I have been reading up on Coherence and Cohesion non stop for the last three weeks and it still doesn’t make sense!! Forcing myself now to write the first draft, then want to re write that three more times before I hand it in… My course is 100 percent coursework so every single assignment is VITAL!!

2. As usual, as soon as it gets colder…. I GET A COLD!! Sorethroat, headache, runny nose, fever – THE WORKS!! Pete has been nursing me back to health with large amounts of TLC and huge spoonfuls of cold medicine…

See!! I have very good reasons for neglecting you but I had absolutely nothing to talk about as I have been under voluntary house arrest for 10 days now! I guess I could have blogged about cohesion and coherence but then …. that would just give you a headache and I would lose you forever…

Okay, lets get on with this food blog….

I haven’t really had time to bake anything but Pete ( I guess being so excited about being home and surrounded by all the food he loves) has regularly been churning out many amazing delights night after night.. His regular expeditions to the supermarkets (stopped only by a small budget) brings back many hidden treasures that he unveils with gusto every dinner time!! In the short time we have been here he has made roast duck, a wide variety of stews, many many bakes, pancakes, burgers and pasta… Once in a while, I would give him a break and make uda’s chicken curry that reminds me of home… Right, PICTURES!!

It’s a big chilli!! Hehehe,

Not really, it’s a gorgeous red pepper that we now love because it tastes so sweet!

Chicken pasta bake

This was an amazing lamb burger with spinach  and roasted peppers!

Ooops, just realised I haven’t been very good at taking pictures of everything he has made mainly because of a very greedy wife who devours every yummy meal even before it reaches the table!

We have also been exploring the high street a bit more and found the most AMAZING bakery!! It’s called Ottolenghi (i’m sure I spelt that wrong) and even though it is TINY, it produces the most mouth watering desserts! Have a look!

I bought the blueberry vanilla cupcake, the meringue with passion fruit tart and the flourless orange almond cake…. As Bruneians say NYAAAAMAAAANN!! Definitely going back for more and more and more and ……….

Pete of course pointed out that my cupcakes are better (see how awesome he is!)

I have to say, the high street is brimful of yummy places to eat! There are lots of restaurants selling a variety of cuisine from all over the world and many little bakeries and cafes serving the most wonderful desserts! The thrilling thing is… it is just outside our door!!

Oh dear, all this talk about food is making me terribly hungry! Think I will leave my desk for a while and go out for a while on the hunt for food… Will write more tomorrow!! See you soon!!

Tiramisu

Been meaning to make this yummy desert for a while eversince Pete found a nice big packet of mascarpone cheese in the supermarket. Found a really nice recipe on the net but I made a few changes to it, instead of coffee liquer, I used a really strong cup of expresso! I also added a teaspoon of vanilla to the cream and custard mix to intensify the taste of the mascapone and instead of just 280 grams of cheese, I used 500 gms with less cream. Got the recipe here.

Doesn’t it look like a giant cupcake! It has two layers of coffee soaked sponge fingers and I used the extra fingers to make a pretty border around the bowl. It needs just a few hours in the fridge to set and then its done! Definitely making this again oneday. DELICIOUS!! Do give this a try, no baking needed!

My First Cheesecake – oreo crust and choc chips

I made my first none bake cheesecake today and it was dead easy! Couldn’t find a recipe I liked so decided to experiment with it in the kitchen – although I didn’t have enough whipping cream,  don’t think it came out too bad. Brought it over to sister’s place tonight and it did quite well!

It was a tad bit too cheesy which I guess is what the cup of whipping cream is for. I think I will try the New York cheesecake recipe next but that needs to be baked! Maybe a creamy white beauty with a digestive biscuit crust, creamy white filling and fresh strawberries! Yummy!! Stay tuned!

The Recipe for None Bake Cheesecake – Oreo and Choc Chip version

Crust

Crumble 2 packs of oreo cookies with 1/2 cup of unsalted butter. Then press the crust into a pie dish. Pop it in the fridge while you make the filling. If you are making ordinary cheesecake, people traditionally use digestive biscuits or Americans would call them Graham crackers.

Filling

Blend three packs of cream cheese, 1 cup of icing sugar and a teaspoon of lemon juice together. Put aside.

In another bowl, cream a whole cup of whipping cream until it peaks.

Add the two together – now this makes ordinary cheesecake.

Or you can go a bit decadent like me and add 1/2 cup of crumbled oreos and choc chips.

Spoon the mix onto the pie crust then refrigerate for a few hours until firm!

Enjoy!

The last slice!

Chocolate Tart

I am a self confessed chocoholic. Chocolate icecream, chocolate rolls, chocolate bars, brownies, cake, give them all to me and I am a happy bunny!! My first taste of this dish was on a romantic dinner at sheraton hotel and I loved it so much, I ate 3 slices!

Really wanted to try it on my own but I confess I needed Pete’s help with the pastry. Bringing this over to  parent’s house to share with everyone. Happy happy days!

Don’t have a pie pan so used a cake pan instead but I have to say, I really like the curly crust weaving in and out of the filling! Hehehe

Scones

Peter has been talking about scones everytime I bake something, everytime we have tea, everytime we go to the shops and look in the windows at foam cakes… Today, I caved in and went hunting for scone recipes on the internet.

Wanted it to be a surprise but Pete found out what I was doing and got so excited that he took over! Here is his final masterpiece..

Very yummy to eat when it is warm, whip some cream up and a dab of strawberry jam.

After tasting one, I finally understand what all the fuss was about!

We got the recipe from here!

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

Amar’s Birthday Apple Cake and Mayin’s Cupcake

This is a bit of a late post so I apologise to Amar and Mayin but I’ve been so busy with work!

It was my little brother and sister’s birthday last weekend and I wanted to make something sweet for them.

Here is what I made for Amar1

Marin love cupcakes so I made her these!

I love those pink and blue flowers!! Cute!!

Mango and Strawberries Pavlova

Pete and I are trying to stick to a fairly healthy diet that included lots of fruit and greens… The diet took a day off today!

Woke up this morning and had one thing on my mind.. I MUST MUST make a Pavlova! We went food shopping yesterday and there was a tub of strawberries and some thai mangoes in the fridge just waiting to be used.

Our oven is a bit temperimental and the Pavlova base was a bit brown, but I knew by the smell that it was gooey and mashmallowy inside!

Next came a thick layer of cream, mango slices and strawberries!! I decided to completely spoil myself and sprinkled the whole thing with dark chocolate shavings… And here it is!!

Believe me, it taste as good as it looks!! We each had three slices after dinner and will save the rest for tomorrow! I will have to exercise extra hard tomorrow but my goodness me, it was worth it!!

Banana Crumble Muffins

Found out something today! Muffins do NOT rise as high as cupcakes so it is necessary to fill 2/3 of the case to get a decent ‘crown’ on it. I especially like the crumble on this which is cinnamon and sugar.. Great for breakfast! I used local bananas for this so I had to use double the quantity. A definite HIT!!

I got the recipe for this at this website: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Crumb-Muffins/Detail.aspx

The Quest for Banofee Pie

I love Banofee Pie!

The first time I tasted this delicious dessert was in 1997 in a small cafe in Watford.  Oh, the layers of toffee, fresh cream and bananas transported me to a world where everything was great and good!! Everytime we come home to UK, I am like the Big Bad Wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, sniffing and looking for that same mind shattering pie that gave me orgasms years ago…

A few days back, Pete and I had lunch in this small italian place and lo and behold…. they had banofee pie!!!

It wasn’t the same as that elusive perfect pie I had years back but it was damn close*roll eyes in ecstasy*

Will definitely definitely try to make this one day… Here it is to help you picture each tasty bite!