More of my cake creations

                               

Hearty Country style Meatball and Pepperoni Gravy with Buttermilk Biscuits



This is the recipe I use for making my buttermilk biscuits. There a video there too.
http://thefrugalchef.com/2009/12/buttermilk-biscuits/

4 cups flour
2 TBS baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
12 TBS cold butter
2 cups cold buttermilk   ( If you do not have buttermilk.. make some from full cream milk. For every cup add 2 tablespoon of white vinegar and let set for at least 10  minutes)

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Whisk all of the dry ingredients together. Place the flour mixture into a food processor and add the 12 TBS butter cut into 6 pieces. If your processor is not big enough, work in batches. Pulse the flour a few times until the flour resembles coarse crumbs. If you do not have a processor, use 2 knives or a pastry blender. Work with cold butter and stop when your flour resembles coarse crumbs.

Form a well in the middle of your flour mixture. Add the buttermilk. Make sure it is cold and shake the box well. Very gently incorporate the liquid into the dry ingredients. Do not over handle! You want to combine all the dry with the wet ingredients. If you need a little more buttermilk go ahead and add it a ½ TBS at a time. The dough will be- and must be – sticky.

Flour a large board or your counter. Place the dough on the board and spread it out using your fingers. Do not knead it, simply flatten it until it is about ½ inch thick. Cut your biscuits using a biscuit cutter, cookie cutter or a large glass. Do not rotate your cutting instrument into the dough. Aim for a straight cut. Get all your remaining dough together and repeat the process until you have cut all of your biscuits.

Place the biscuits on a baking sheet very close to each other. This will keep them from having crusty edges and will let them get taller. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

My Meatball and Pepperoni Gravy

You will need:

12 pc  Ikea Swedish meatballs (warmed up in the oven  and broken up to bite size pieces)

1/2 cup of sliced pepperoni -cut into strips (or you can use any kind of bacon)  

4  tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoon plain flour

2 cups milk 

1/2 onion 

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 bayleaf

1 cube chicken stock

parsley, salt and white pepper 

1. In a saucepan heat up (low heat) 2 tablespoon olive oil and brown the pepperoni strips and meatballs. Remove and set aside.

2. Add the balance olive oil to the saucepan. Add butter and scrape out all the brown bits  in the pan. Add the flour and stir to cook the flour. Then add in the milk. (You may need to add a little more milk or hot water if the mixture gets a little too thick. Add in the half onion (you can also stick 2 cloves on the onion if you like) While stirring constantly, add in the chicken stock, nutmeg, bay leaf, parsley and salt and pepper  to taste. Bring to boil. Add in the meatball and pepperoni  and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add some hot water if your gravy is too thick.

Serving suggestion:

Break up the buttermilk biscuits in a plate and pour gravy over . Enjoy...

Oriental Tamarind Prawns

This recipe was given by a special Chinese friend, Mrs. Toh. I love the sweet and tangy tamarind taste in this dish..You must try this!!YUMMMMMMMM......and its super easy!!

15 large prawns
1/2 cup of tamarind
1 teaspoon of white pepper powder
2 tablespoon water
2 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoon vegetable oil.

In a bowl, marinade the prawn with the tamarind, white pepper and water for 30 minutes to an hour.
heat up oil in a wok and put in the prawns and tamarind in the wok. put in the sugar and pinch of salt. Stir-fry till the sauce thickens. You may add some sliced Thai chilli or some chilli paste if you like it hot.

My favorite snack - Corn Fritters

2 ears fresh corn -slice out the kernels

6 shallots

5-6 dried  - seeded (1/2 snip thinly with scissors, 1/2 soaked for a while and pound with shallots)

2 tablespoon dried shrimp (washed and pounded with the shallots and chillies)

1 cup all purpose flour

3 tablespoon rice flour

1/2 cup thick coconut milk

2 teaspoons tumeric powder

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon food seasoning (optional)

vegetable oil for deep frying

1. Ground with a mortal and pestal or a blender, the shallots , half of the dried chillies, dried prawns and tumeric powder into a paste.

2. In a bowl, mix together the flours. Put in the corn and the sliced shallots and snipped chillies. 

3. Add in the pounded paste, coconut milk, salt, seasoning and water . Mix well

 4. Let stand for about 1-2 hours.

5. Heat up some oil in a wok.

6. Using a teaspoon, spoon the batter into the oil and fry till golden brown.

Prawn Fritters with peanut sauce

Prawn Fritters or "cucur udang" is a very popular Malaysian snack. Making prawn fritters brings back childhood memories of breaking of fast time in the month of Ramadhan. This is my special recipe for Prawn Fritters - notice I use fresh chillies and oysters sauce...

15-20 medium size prawns (cut into 2-3 pc)
1 cup bean sprout
1 cup chinese chives (kucai) -cut into one inch strips
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
2 fresh red chillies
5 shallots
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon tumeric (optional)
1 cup of water
vegetable oil for deep frying

1. With a mortar and pestle  pound together the chillies and shallots. Mix in the tumeric and oyster sauce.

2. In a bowl put all the dry ingredients and the vegetables . 

3.Add in the prawns and the chilli -shallot paste

4. Put in the water and mix everything well. the mixture should be slightly thinner than the normal pancake batter.

5. Heat up vegetable oil for deep frying. Using a spoon drop the batter into the oil. Fry until golden brown.

6. Dry on paper towel till cool. Cut into bite size morsels.

7. Serve on its own or with peanut sauce.

The Peanut sauce - the sauce is slightly hot, sweet, sour and salty so you may adjust the sugars,salt and tamarind to your liking
1 cup of peanut - roasted without oil, skinned and grounded ( or you may use peanut butter in which case you may omit the sugar)
3 dried chillies -roasted in a wok and finely grounded in a blended
1/2 teaspoon of shrimp paste -roasted and grounded into powder (optional)
1 tablespoon tamarind mixed with 1/4 cup water
brown sugar and white sugar for taste ( about 2 tablespoon each)
1/2 cup water
In a small saucepan mix all the above ingredients and bring to boil. 

Mexican Churros - Fun snack for tea time

This is a real fun snack for party or tea time and yummy too... real easy to make and uses very minimal ingredients too.. try it!!:)

1 cup butter
1 cup water
1 cup flour
a pinch of salt
2 eggs
oil for deep frying
cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

1. In a saucepan melt the butter in the water. Turn the heat off

2. Put in 1 cup of flour and quickly stir into a ball (cheux paste)

3. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for 15 minutes to cool.

4. Mix in 0ne egg at a time , mixing well after each one.

5. Pipe using a star cookie presser or star tip onto a plate.

6. Heat up oil for frying. Drop the piped churros into the oil for deep frying. Fry until golden brown.

7. Mix some sugar with some powdered cinnamon and sprinkle over the churros while they are still hot

8. You can also serve the churros with chocolate sauce.