Potstuck

About ten years ago, my roommates and I were involved in a cooking extravaganza. Every dinner we made, every party we threw, was an elaborate array of dishes, around which we arranged to invite and impress our nine friends. Let's be honest, the parties were for us, not for them.

At random moments, I'll remember something ridiculous we cooked. Ridiculous because it was incredibly complex for a party full of 22 year olds who would be happy with a keg and a bag of Ruffles. Deep fried ravioli, grilled pineapple soaked in rum, a fruit salad in a watermelon half, marbled cheesecake squares (yes that does mean making two types of cheesecake batter), and who could forget our "authentic" Chinese New Year meal?

Using a fabulous cookbook called the China Moon Cookbook which taught us how to make our own hot chili oil, we slaved over egg rolls and hot and sour soup. But the best thing about learning to make Chinese food was finding out how easy it was to make our own potstickers.


Potstickers or dumplings or gyoza - whatever you want to call them - are the most pleasing little packaged food. With a lovely, chewy wontonny wrapper and a gingery garlic filling, a potsticker is hardly any more trouble than mixing up a batch of meatballs. Pork is a popular filling, but I'm a fan of ground chicken too. The best part of potstickers is how easy it is to cook them, but you have to do it the right way or they will be potstuck.

Lemongrass Chicken Potstickers (Food and Wine)

Ingredients
1 lb ground chicken
1 cup finely shredded napa cabbage
1/4 chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons finely grated lemongrass
2 tablespoons snipped chives
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 minced garlic clove
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
wonton wrappers
peanut oil

Mix all ingredients, kneading into the ground chicken. Fill a small bowl with water. Wet your finger and rub it around the edges of the wonton wrapper. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Lift the sides and press together. I keep it simple by making triangles but you can also crimp the edges or something fancier. It can take some time to fill all the wontons, but just plop yourself in front of the tv while you do it.

When your potstickers are ready, heat two tablespoons of peanut oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Fill the pan with potstickers with their pleated edges up and cook until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water and cover, reducing heat to medium. Finish the potstickers by steaming them in the pan for five minutes until filling is cooked through and water has evaporated. Uncover and brown the bottoms another 1 minute. Transfer to plate and repeat with any remaining potstickers.

You can also freeze extra potstickers. Placed them on a sheet of parchment on a baking sheet that fits in the freezer. Freeze separately, then put in a zip lock bag and store in the freezer for up to 1 month. Cook the same way from frozen.

Tonkatsu

12 november 2010, jumat

Hari ini bikin tonkatsu, makanan favorit suami. Caranya gampang banget dah.
Bahan
2 potong steak babi
garam lada

Lapisan = terigu , telur, panko

Cara
1. Daging ditekan2 pake garpu biar lunak, taburkan garam lada secukupnya
2. Gulingkan di lapisan terigu, telur kocok, lalu panko
3. Goreng hingga matang
4. Biasanya dimakan bersama tare tonkatsu yang warna coklat2.
Gampang kan? Kalo nasi di cawan, diatasnya ditaroh tonkatsu ini, namanya berubah jadi Katsu don...hehe...lucu ya..

My Authentic Ilocano Pinakbet

I was born with an Ilocana mother who hails from Northern part of Ilocos called Dingras and that's the reason why it enables me to cook most of the dishes from this region. Although I often hype my flagship claim to be a true blooded Kapangpangan (from Pampanga province) than its feud province Ilocos. The reason behind it is simply because Pampanga is the culinary capital of the Philippines and I am proud that it's where my father come from. Everyone believes that people who hail from that province are mostly natural cooks. I can attest to that because most of my aunts are really good especially my GrandMother from the father side where I learned my basic of cooking skills.

But Ilocano cuisine is something that I also grew up with and my GrandMother from my mother side cooks the perfect Pinakbet! I remember I was only five years old when I first and last came to Dingras. Even though I was a little child during that time I had a vivid memory about the things I saw and experienced. I saw the backyard of my GrandMa filled with all the planted vegetables that are mainly the key ingredients to cook a Pinakbet. I am just happy to do this dish based on what are the available ingredients here in Vietnam.

hugs,
joanie xxx

Where's My Tiara?

Alright, I am going to dispense with the humility and just put it out there. I AM THE CHEESECAKE QUEEN.

I guess I should  preface this by saying that cheesecake isn't trendy anymore. In its heyday, it enjoyed a fair amount of fame and accolades, but no one even thinks about it these days, unless you are in a Jewish deli or in one of those Greek diners in New York. Sigh. And sorry, but in my book, The Cheesecake Factory doesn’t count. Generally speaking, I hate chain restaurants.

And of course, cheesecake isn’t on the hit parade these days because it’s not good for you. Well, what is, if it’s a combination of fat and sugar?

Nonetheless, a good cheesecake is smooth on your tongue, a tiny bit tangy, has that great contrast between the silkiness of the filling and the crunch of the crust and it will make you so very happy while you are eating it. We won’t talk about the aftermath. Just head to the gym or get on the treadmill the next day and deal with it. It’s worth it, but only if you have spent those calories and fat grams on a really good cheesecake.

So here I am to give you THE ONLY CHEESECAKE RECIPE YOU WILL EVER NEED. It’s the foundation for any cheesecake you would ever want to make and it is a flat-out showstopper. Once you master the basic technique, you can adapt it to any possible combination of flavors.


CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO CHEESECAKE (flavors inspired in part by Ina Garten)

For the crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (7 oz.)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Butter a 10 X 3-inch cake pan (not springform), line bottom with a parchment round and butter again.

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Place in prepared pan and spread evenly over bottom. Use your fingertips to press into an even layer.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until just barely golden. Remove from oven and place on rack to cool. Reduce oven heat to 250-degrees.

For the filling:
8 oz. (1 cup) chocolate chips
1 tablespoon instant espresso
3 lbs. cream cheese, room temperature
2 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ cup sour cream

Place chocolate chips and espresso powder in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until mixture is smooth and no lumps remain. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, place cream cheese into an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until it starts to smooth out, then add sugar and salt. Continue to beat until mixture is COMPLETELY smooth, scraping down bowl three to four times. (Important note: this is the only chance you will have to beat out all the lumps. Once you add liquid, it will be impossible to get it completely smooth, so have patience and take the time to do it properly during this very important step).

When mixture is completely smooth, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, but not so much that you incorporate a lot of air (too much air is a bad thing as it will cause your cheesecake to rise then fall during baking, resulting in a large crack). Stir in vanilla and almond extracts and sour cream. Fold in the cooled chocolate mixture.

Pour batter into prepared crust. Bang pan sharply on counter to break up any air bubbles.

Place the pan on a dishtowel in a larger pan filled with enough water to come ¾’s up on the sides of the cheesecake pan. Place in oven and bake for 2 hours or until barely firm in the center. Resist the temptation to increase heat for a faster baking time. Cool, then refrigerate overnight.

To remove from pan, fill kitchen sink with about 2-inches of very hot water. Place chilled cheesecake in sink and let sit for about 30 seconds. Remove from water and shake pan until cheesecake loosens from sides. You may have to do this up to 3 times. When cheesecake is loose, invert it onto a plate so it is crust side up. Top with a cardboard cake round, if desired. Place serving platter on top and immediately invert again, so that cake is crust side down.

For the garnish:
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/8 cup heavy cream

Melt chocolate and cream over low heat in a small saucepan.  When completely smooth, remove from heat and cool slightly.  Place into a pastry bag (or use a fork) to drizzle over top of cake.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To cut cake, use long pieces of unflavored dental floss. Bring floss down through crust, then pull out from the bottom. Repeat to cut slices.

Serves 12 - 16

Some Important Cheesecake Notes:

• The preceding recipe is the quintessential cheesecake recipe, originally developed by Glenn Powell and Elise Griffin Hughes for the late-lamented Peasant restaurants here in Atlanta. The basic formula (3 lbs. cream cheese, 2 ½ cups sugar and 6 eggs) can be used for any type of cheesecake. Just add whatever flavorings you like.

• Vary the crust by using different types of cookies, such as shortbread, gingersnaps, oreos or whatever else you can think of, like Pepperidge Farms Bordeaux, Walker’s Shortbread, etc. Just grind them up in a food processor or blender. You will need 7-8 oz. 

• Make sure you bang the prepared pan on the counter a number of times (hard!) before you put the cheesecake in the oven. This will prevent air bubbles.

• Again, don’t raise the heat over 250-degrees. If you do, the cheesecake will rise too quickly and subsequently fall, thus resulting in large cracks. When in doubt, underbake, don’t overbake.

• Don’t even think about skipping the water bath. It’s essential for evenly distributing the heat and ensuring that the cheesecake cooks evenly.

• Be creative! For example, for oreo cheesecake, grind oreos with butter and use for crust. Add crushed oreos to the basic cheesecake batter, along with vanilla. Top with a chocolate ganache (bittersweet chocolate melted with heavy cream as detailed in the recipe above), if desired.

• Other ideas: for coconut cheesecake, add a can of Coco Lopez cream of coconut. Use shortbread or coconut cookies in the crust. Maybe even some lime zest.  For eggnog cheesecake, add dark rum, brandy, vanilla extract and nutmeg to the basic cheesecake mixture. Use vanilla cookies or shortbread for the crust. You get the idea….

• For Liz’s vanilla cheesecake, use shortbread for the crust and add ½ tablespoon grated lemon zest and ½ tablespoon grated orange zest. Pepperidge Farms Bordeaux cookies are also good here. To the basic cheesecake batter, add 1/8 cup orange juice, 1/8 cup lemon juice, ½ cup heavy cream, ¼ cup flour and 2 teaspoons vanilla paste.  You could also substitute mascarpone for the heavy cream.

So now you have my treasured cheesecake recipe, right in time for the holidays.  I hope it turns you into a cheesecake rock star.  (I already hold the "Queen" title, so that's  no longer available).   Oh yes, and better this should go on your hips and thighs rather than  mine!

First Love

"You're the only girl who can makes me melted and silence without words, the one that I gave my heart to for the first time, the one that always crossed on my mind although I had a girlfriend..You are the one I cant forget till now" (From a guy that made you his first love)

Its been 8 years already. And that someone said to me like that. =)

Being in love for the first time is the best feeling. But sometimes you have to let go everything in the past and you cant make it blossoming again.

"First love definitely unforgettable, no matter how much you loved your husband later on, you will always remember that boy who confess that he liked you when you were in junior high school."