Balsamic Chicken

Ever bought a whole bottle of balsamic vinegar just to make a little bread dip of EVOO and BV?

And then realised you have no idea what else to do with it?

Here's a dish that's so simple and full of flavour. And it makes great use of that bottle of BV  :)

BALSAMIC CHICKEN
Serves 4.

80ml balsamic vinegar
100ml red wine (or chicken stock)
2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder (or 1 clove garlic, minced)
1 tsp dried herbs (I used a mixture of thyme, rosemary, sage)
4 pcs chicken thighs

Combine everything except the chicken.
Marinade the chicken with the mixture for at least 10 min.

In a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil, cook the chicken on both sides till they start to brown.
When the chicken is cooked through, pour the marinade into the skillet and cook till it thickens slightly.

Serve the chicken with steamed rice and vegetables, drizzling the thickened sauce over the chicken.

Enjoy!!

Vanilla Bean & Chocolate Macarons

I promised there'd be more macs...

This time, I decided to go back to basics.
No green tea, no chocolate, no oreos.
Plain macaron shells.  (OK, I couldn't resist adding some vanilla beans.)

My oven is a modest space-saving multi-function piece of kitchen equipment - a microwave cum convection oven cum grill.
The largest pan it will fit is a 12"x12" pan. And that's leaving the bare minimum 1" allowance from the oven walls.
I need a bigger oven...
And a dishwasher...
And a larger freezer and fridge...
A larger home with a larger kitchen :)

Why did I start talking about my oven?
Oh, right... I wanted to say... I think it's my oven that's causing these less than ideal mac results.

You see, my oven's heat source (and fan) is from the top. So my macs tend to brown pretty fast, while the bottoms are not quite done yet. See the brown edges on my macs?
Alan from travellingfoodies once commented that it's a miracle that my chiffons rise in my oven. LOL.

I'm still not happy with the macs I've got, despite some very encouraging "they look perfectly fine" words.
OK, so it's great that I finally got feet. But they seem kinda small. Like it should be a size 8 rather than the size 5 it is now.

Anyway, the one thing that I am rather pleased about is the smooth smooth texture of the shells. No rough bumpy surfaces, no nipples that won't settle. That much I'm pleased with.

BUT... WHY are they still so dome-shaped like a hamburger???!!!!

If any of you have had the same experience, and have solved the mystery, please please please share with me.

VANILLA BEAN & CHOCOLATE MACARONS

Makes about 15.

40g almond meal

60g icing sugar

30g egg whites, aged for almost 48 hours

1/4 tsp egg white powder (optional)

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

10g caster sugar

Blitz almond meal and icing sugar in a food processor till as fine as possible. 

Sift, and discard any remaining chinks in the sieve. 

In a separate mixing bowl, combine egg whites, egg white powder and cream of tartar.

Whisk till peaks are soft. 

Gradually add caster sugar, whisking till peaks are just stiff. 

Fold the almond/sugar mixture in 3-4 batches into the meringue. 

Stop folding when the mixture is glossy and flows like magma, and any peaks settle in 10 seconds. 

Pour mixture into a piping bag and pipe 3cm circles on a silicone mat or parchment paper. 

Rap the pan a few times so that the mixture settles into smooth circles.

Ignore the piped circles for 45-60 min, till the circles are matte and the skins are no longer tacky when touched. 

Bake at 140*C for 12-15 min till the feet no longer look wet.

Let the macs cool in the pan (to continue cooking and setting the base).

When cool, lift the macs off and you should almost not have to clean the mat/paper. 

Fill the macs with nutella or your favourite chocolate, melted with some butter or cream to get a spreadable consistency. 

Coq au Vin, Simplified (Chicken in Wine)

Coq au Vin  
= rooster in wine  
= chicken stewed in red wine  



According to Wikipedia, Coq au Vin is a French braise of chicken cooked with wine, lardons (pork fat), mushrooms, and optionally garlic.

This is a rich, hearty, warming dish. Sorta like a stew, sorta like a casserole. It may even be sorta like a chicken bourguignon. You get the drift... 

I'm not good with descriptions... but I'll try...
This dish is full of rich red wine flavour without the hangover, and an intense sweetness from the bacon and onions that enhances the tender bite of the chicken. 

You can serve it with mashed potatoes, pasta, or just plain ol' rice.
I chose to serve it with some brown rice mixed with jasmine rice. 


COQ AU VIN
Serves 2. 

100g bacon (about 4 rashes)
1/2 yellow onion, sliced or roughly chopped according to preference
2 chicken drumsticks, skin on
3 garlic cloves
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
100g mushrooms

salt & pepper to taste

Start by browning the bacon. This will take a few minutes. 

Once they're nicely browned and crisp, set aside. 

Throw in all the onions and saute for a while. 

It's ok if your pot is full of caramelised goodness (that brown burnt-looking stuff on your pan). It's good stuff and will add a rich flavour to the dish. 

Don't worry, when you add the wine later, the brown stuff will be miraculously lifted away from the pan and dissolved in the stew. 

Now place the chicken skin side down in the pot. 

After a few minutes, when the skin side has browned, turn the chicken pieces to brown the naked side. 

While the naked side is browning, add the garlic, thyme and pepper.

When it feels like the naked side has browned, add the red wine and chicken stock...

... and a nice big bay leaf. 

Throw the crispy bacon back into the pot, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes till the chicken in tender. 

In the meantime, clean the mushrooms and chop it into nice chunky quarters. 

When the 20 minutes is up, dump the mushrooms into the pot and turn the heat up. Reduce the liquid till its thick and saucy.

Taste to see if more salt and pepper are needed. 

Serve with mashed potatoes, pasta or rice. 

This is my version of a simplified Coq au Vin.
If you want more flavour, you can add veges like carrots and celery.

Here are a couple of links to Coq au Vin recipes by Julia Child and Alton Brown.

Julia Child's Coq au Vin
Alton Brown's Coq au Vin 


Now, what else can I cook with the remaining bottle of wine??

Green Tea Swiss Roll

After so many months of baking, this is my first swiss roll.  
Unbelievable, huh?

It's actually rather simple.  
It's really just a sponge/chiffon cake in a shallow pan. 
Yup, that's all there is to it. 

The tricky part is the rolling. For me, at least. 

I'm glad I gave this a try.
The sponge is so so so so soft and fluffy, it's unbelievable. 


GREEN TEA SWISS ROLL
Makes a 12x12" (30x30cm) sheet cake. 

3 whole eggs
1 egg yolk  (save the white for macarons!)
80g sugar
75g cake flour  (plain flour will do just fine too)
5g / 2.5 tsp green tea powder
15ml corn oil
30ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract


Whisk the eggs, yolk and sugar bain marie till all the sugar is dissolved.
(Bain marie just means over a double boiler.)
Transfer to the bowl of your mixer, and whisk for about 5 min or so till it's light and fluffy. You should now have about 4 times the volume you started with.

Sift the flour and green tea powder over the fluffyness.
Gently fold with a balloon whisk or spatula till all traces of flour disappear.

Combine the oil, milk and extract in a bowl.
Mix in about 1/4 of the fluffy batter.
Pour this back into the fluffyness and fold a few times to combine.

Push all of the fluffyness into a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Spread the love fluffyness evenly throughout the pan, not forgetting the corners.

Bake at 170*C for 18-20 min.
Remove the cake together with parchment paper from the pan immediately and cool on the wire (with the parchment paper still attached to the bottom).  

When still warm but cool enough to handle, roll the cake (with the parchment still attached) and leave it to cool completely in this mock roll.

Meanwhile, make the filling...


RED BEAN WHIPPED CREAM
150ml whipping cream
2 tsp caster sugar 
50g red bean paste  

Whip the cream till soft. Then add sugar and whip till stiff.
Gently fold in red bean paste till evenly combined.
Unroll the cake, and spread cream evenly, leaving about 1" gap from the edges.

Peel a little of the parchment paper away from the top edge.
Now roll the cake towards you, using the parchment paper as a guide.
Continue rolling towards you, peeling the parchment paper as you go.
When you reach the end, use the parchment paper to secure the shape of the roll and refrigerate for at least 15-20 min before slicing.

I just love the little dark green specks on the cake. 
Just like the little dark specks on my Oreo Nutella Macarons. 

Nothing fancy. 
Nothing complicated. 
Just a simple swiss roll.
Makes me smile :)

* * * * * * *

Half & Half Pizza :: Smoked Salmon & Hawaiian

Can't decide what pizza to have?
Have 'em both!

The boy loves his hawaiian.
And I wanted smoked salmon.
So we had both :)

This is a simple and fairly quick meal to make. And this includes making the pizza base from scratch! Once you've had homemade pizza base, you'll think twice about buying that awful frozen pizza base from the supermarket. (God knows how long it's been sitting in the freezer collecting ice crystals.)


PIZZA BASE
Makes a thin 12" (30cm) pizza base.

120ml lukewarm water
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp olive oil
200g bread flour
1/2 tsp salt

Sprinkle sugar and yeast over water. Set aside for 10 min till frothy.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix till a dough forms.
Knead till smooth and springy (about 20 min by hand, 10 min by machine).

Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl.
Proof for about 30 min or till it doubles in size.
(While you wait, prepare the pizza topping.)

Generously flour your work surface.
Tip out the dough and flour the top.
Press or roll out dough to a 12" circle.
If dough keeps springing back on you, let it rest for a few minutes.

Prick the dough with a fork (so the dough won't balloon in the oven).
Place dough on a pizza stone sprinkled with bread crumbs or cornmeal, or on a greased and floured baking pan.

Brush the pizza base with a little olive oil.
Top the pizza with your flavour of choice.
Bake at 200*C for about 10-15 min till the cheese has melted and browned slightly.

HAWAIIAN TOPPING for half 12" pizza:
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2-3 slices of ham
1/2 cup pineapple chunks (canned pineapples, drained, will do just fine)

Sauce:
2 tbs tomato puree
1 tsp tomato ketchup
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
dash of cayenne pepper
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all sauce ingredients.
Spread on pizza.
Sprinkle ham and pineapples, then mozarella.

SMOKED SALMON TOPPING for half 12" pizza:

50g smoked salmon

1 small cucumber, thinly sliced

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Sauce:

3 tbs cream cheese (I used mascarpone) 

1/2 tsp dill tips 

salt & pepper to taste

Combine all sauce ingredients.

Spread on pizza.

Sprinkle onions, salmon and cucumbers.

* * * * * * * 

Oreo Nutella Macarons

I almost gave up on macarons.

I got feet. Once. Back in February this year.
But ever since then, all I got were meringue cookies (a.k.a. mutant feetless macarons).

After making tiramisu for a party last weekend, I was left with 5 egg whites sitting all alone on the counter. So I mustered up whatever courage I had left from my traumatic mac experience and plunged right in to mac-ing.

I should forewarn you... this post is kind of an odd one because the 'making of' photos are from a previous batch - which turned out less than perfect, so I didn't take the end shots.  All's not lost, because the 'making of' shots are still helpful (I hope) in showing how macarons are made.

Ok now, please resist the temptation to ask me why my macs look like hamburgers.

I have no idea.
But I wish I knew why my mac shells are so domed.
Time for more experimentation...


OREO NUTELLA MACARONS
Makes about 15 small macarons (30 shells).

30g almond meal
8g oreos (2 sides of an oreo cookie)
2g cocoa powder
50g icing sugar
30g egg white (from about 1 egg, preferably aged overnight)
20g caster sugar

Combine almond meal, oreos, cocoa powder and icing sugar in a blender.
Blitz till as fine as possible.
Sift to break up any clumps, and discard leftovers in the sieve.

In a mixer, whisk egg white till foamy.
Continue whisking while adding caster sugar gradually.
Whisk till the meringue is glossy and peaks are stiff.

Your meringue should NOT have black specks as seen in the picture below, unless you added scraped vanilla beans. Or, I can't imagine why, pepper!

Fold the sifted dry ingredients in 2-3 batches into the meringue till you get a thick and sticky batter.
Pour batter into a piping bag fitted with a #11 tip.
Pipe 3cm circles about 2cm apart on parchment paper or silicone mat.

Don't worry if the freshly piped circles have peaks.
Wait 5-10 seconds and it should all fall into a smooth shiny mass (like the pic above).

If it doesn't it probably means that your batter is under-mixed.
Scrape your batter back to your mixing bowl and fold it a few more times.
Try again.

Now, it is important to practice a little patience at this stage.
If you want feet, you need patience.

Let the piped batter dry for at least 30 minutes.
Yes, 30 long minutes.
In the meantime, distract yourself with making the filling and/or washing up.

After 30 minutes or so, the piped batter should have formed a dull skin and should no longer be tacky to the touch.
Yes, you can very gently test with your fingertip to one of the circles.
It should not stick.

Bake in a 140*C oven for about 16 minutes or when the feet no longer look wet.
(The feet should show up by about the 5th minute. If it doesn't, congratulations - you've just made meringue cookies!)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a minute or two before you nudge one of the macarons to test for doneness.
Gently nudge a macaron (pick the ugliest, just in case). If it comes off the parchment or silicone without leaving a messy mass, it's done. If it leaves a sticky mess/mass, pop it back in the oven for another minute or two.

To make the filling:
Combine the filling from as many oreo cookies you can find. (I used the whole small pack of about 10 cookies.) Then add nutella to make up about half a small bowl. Add milk by the teaspoon and stir till you get an easily spreadable / pipeable consistency. (Add less milk if you like it thick, and more if you like a lighter filling.)

When the mac shells have completely cooled, pipe or spoon about 1-2 teaspoons of filling onto the flat side of a shell. Smoosh another shell on top and gently squeeze till the filling just reaches the edges.

Macaron time!!!

Oh, wait.
Not quite yet.
You need patience again.

Macarons are best enjoyed after it's been left to mature in the fridge overnight, giving it time for the flavours to meld and the shells to develop that signature chewy bite.
Best to also let the macs come to room temperature before sinking your teeth into these little delights.

So, from start (ageing the egg whites) to end (when you can finally eat it!), that's a span of 2 days.
Patience, my friends, and you will be well rewarded.

More macs coming up...
Stay tuned :)

Chocolate Donuts

Have you ever wondered why donuts taste so good?

It's because they are F.R.I.E.D.!
Yes. Fried. In oil. 

They are essentially you tiao (fried chinese dough sticks) with your favourite glaze, like chocolate.

No wonder it's hard to stop at one, especially when they're fresh.

This recipe is great if you don't have all day to make a batch of donuts.
The high proportion of yeast - yes, 5 teaspoons, it's not a typo - means that the dough rises really fast and gives you risen dough by the time you finish cutting out all your donut rings and are ready to start frying.

You HAVE to try these!!
Even if you are not quite a donut fan (like me), once you've had a taste of one of these donuts fresh from the pan, you'll change your mind forever.


DONUTS
Makes about 30 small donuts.

5 tsp instant yeast
1 cup warm milk
2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
50g sugar
1/2 cup mashed potatoes
2 tbs oil

Sprinkle yeast over warm milk; set aside 5-10 min till frothy. 
Combine flour, salt, sugar and mashed potatoes.
Then add yeasted milk and oil.
Knead till a dough forms.

On a well-floured surface, roll out dough till about 1/2" thick; cut out donuts rings.
Save the holes to make dough-balls or re-roll for more donut rings.  
By the time you are done cutting out the last donut ring, the first donut should have risen a little. If it hasn't, wait for a few more minutes. (Sorry about not having photos of the making; hubby took the camera out while I was making donuts. I promise to take some photos of the making next time.)

Pour vegetable, corn or peanut oil into a saucepan to about 1 to 1.5" deep.
Heat till about 185*C.  Or test by inserting a wooden chopstick into the hot oil. If bubbles appear around the chopstick, the oil is ready. (I learnt this from Yan Can Cook.)
Fry donut rings till golden brown and cooked through on both sides.
Cool on a wire rack with newspaper below the rack to catch any oil drips.


CHOCOLATE GLAZE

300g chocolate
1 cup whipping cream

Heat cream.
Pour over chocolate.
Stir gently till well combined. 
Dunk cooled donuts into chocolate and let the excess drip back into the bowl. 
The glaze should set after half hour or so. 

Now impress your friends and family with home made delicious donuts  :)