Puding Caramel - a flan worthy of being a family favourite !

I have always seen myself as totally lousy at baking, making 'kuih' or even desserts. But, friends of mine have on number of occasions tried to convince me otherwise. I remember Diyana & Rashidah (Ada) and even Rusminah (Rose) saying to me " Resipi yang paling senang K.Ainal.. blend jer !! " Sure, jadi ... I've never tried it in Shah Alam becos as usual, mana ada masa.. ! Now that I've all the time in the world, I tried once in Boston and the pyrex dish I used exploded ! Haa... right inside my kuali (wok ) which I used as part of my equipment for kukus (steaming). So I gave up until I read this article by Aleta Watson in the San Jose Mercury News recently. She mentions that it is a staple dessert in countless Spanish and latin American Restaurants. All the while, I thought it's Malaysian! Well... because of the secret ingredients, of course... evaporated and condensed milk! Which is nothing fancy.. We call it Puding Caramel but Aleta named it Alicia's Flan...after her friend whom she says learned to make it from a woman she stayed with during an educational exchange in Spain. The only problem was the recipe was in Alicia's head, macam Diyana, Ada and Rose ... I guess because it's so simple. Anyway, with Alicia cooking and Aleta taking notes they came up with a recipe that is sure to work every time. It worked for me ! So try it, if you haven't done it yet...

ALICIA'S FLAN

Ingredients - serves 10-12
6 large eggs
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar

Method
1. Place eggs in 5-cup blender jar and whirl 10seconds. Pour in condensed milk and whirl 10seconds. Add evaporated milk and whirl 10seconds. Fill empty condensed milk can with water. Add vanilla and enough water to fill blender jar to brim. Whirl on low speed a couple of seconds. Set aside while you make the caramel.
2. Place sugar in 10-inch skillet and over medium-low heat, tilting pan now and again to help sugar melt evenly, until it liquifies and turns golden brown, about 5 minutes. Do not stir as it will be clumpy. Watch mixture carefully as it cooks to avoid burning. Don't ever put in any liquid such as water!!
3. Carefully pour caramelised sugar into a 1 1/2- quart souffle dish. Slowly pour egg and milk mixture from blender over caramel. Seal dish or flan pan tightly with foil and place in roasting pan or soup pot large enough to hold dish and cover with lid.
4. Pour water into larger pan to a level about a third of the way up the dish. Cover pan with lid and bring water to boil on stove. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered, one hour.
5. Remove dish from water bath and let cool. Refrigerate overnight and turn upside-down on a plate to unmold and serve. must be well-chilled to unmold in one piece.
Note:
I don't have a 'periuk kukus' so I use a round metal cake mould placed on top of a small metal rack which is put inside a wok. I cover the whole thing with the 'wok's cover'. If you don't have the metal rack use something, - like empty milk cans - that can raise up the mould so that it doesn't touch the water bath but still low enough to be covered.

Making Sushi without Auntie Yasmin..

My daughters suka sangat makan 'sushi'. They had the opportunity to learn how to make 'makanan Jepun' tu when we were in Boston - Yasmin lah yang suka sangat melayan dia orang with all her fancy recipees: French...?, Italian...?, Mexican...?, Indian? you name it... Sedap2 pulak tuu...Well, they don't have Auntie Yasmin to guide them this time , now that we are here in San Jose. They only have me! The one who prefers to eat rice with curry, sambal and ikan goreng and not wrapped up in seaweed or topped with raw fish!. Rather then buying prepared 'sushi' from the shop which I suggest to 'pass', they decided to do it themselves. To get the stuff to make 'sushi' is very3 easy here.. banyak sungguh Asian grocery shops in San Jose. We bought ours at Hankook Supermarket down El Camino Real, in Sunnyvale - an establishment run by Koreans. Kita kena beli la tikar buluh kecik tu untuk peralatan menggulung. Rice is of the soft kind...Yasmin says beras 'yasmine' will do.. Masak nasi macam biasa, then masa panas2 tu renjis kan 'sushi vinegar'. Kacau sehingga rata. Kemudian letak atas seaweed - yang kami beli namanya Yaki Nori.. Didalam nya kita boleh letak crab strips, cucumber strips, avocado, carrot strips...kemudian gulung ketat2. Bila dah ready, potong dan makan bersama2 kicap sushi, halia or even wasabe.....Yasmin letak some other ingredient along with the vinegar...but we forgot what it was.. Anyhow, my daughters say macam ni pun dah sedaaap...

Garlic Scalloped Potatoes

There are many ways to make this simple, satisfying potato dish. This method is among the easiest and can be modified in infinite ways. Its so easy even a 9- year old can do it!. These warm and delicious garlic scalloped potatoes are the perfect addition to any hearty dinner. I got this recipe from "Entertaining" by Martha Stewart - the 'Guru' for home making. Even after a brief stay behind bars ( accused of insider trading her corporation's stock ) she retained her ability to earn money. While it may not be at the rate she had before, she is still worth $638 million, good enough for number three on the Forbes list behind Oprah Winfrey ($1.5 billion) and J.K. Rowling - author of Harry Potter ($1.0 billion).
Okay, lets get back to the potatoes..

One tip, which was told to us after we finished making this dish for the first time, is use a shallow casserole dish! The one we used then, ended up stacking the potatoes a little too high and we had to add a half hour or so to the cooking time. The potatoes absorb the liquid as they cook, the cheese melts (if you want to add cheese), the top gets browned. What you don't want is crispy browned on top and not-cooked-enough potatoes inside. If you need a faster cooking time, someone recommends boiling the potatoes first for a few minutes.

Garlic Scalloped Potatoes
Serves 14 to 20
3 pounds yellow potatoes, peeled and sliced very thin
2 cloves garlic
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pints heavy cream
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Rinse sliced potatoes in cold water. Pat dry in a towel.

3. Rub a shallow earthenware dish with garlic cloves and butter well.

4. Arrange the sliced potatoes in layers in the dish, seasoning between each layer with salt and pepper.

5. Dot with remaining butter and pour cream over potatoes.

6. Bake until cream has been absorbed by the potatoes, 1 hour and 20 minutes.
7. Increase heat to 400 degrees. Cook until top has browned, about10 minutes.

Serve immediately.

sedap!!! tu sebab makin montel..

Yasmin's New England Boiled Dinner Recipe

My good friend Yasmin has provided us her recipe for New England Boiled Dinner as follows ....
The main ingredient of New England Boiled Dinner Recipe is Corned Beef. So below is a homemade Corned Beef recipe plus some information pertaining to Corned Beef.
Homemade Corned Beef Recipe
It's easy to make your own corned beef at home. Just plan ahead. The beef brisket will take about 3 weeks to cure. You can also use bottom round roast in place of brisket, if you wish.
INGREDIENTS:
• 4 quarts water • 1 cup salt • 1 teaspoon saltpeter (see note 1 below)
• 2 beef briskets, about 4 pounds each (see note 2 below)
• 12 garlic cloves • 3 tablespoons pickling spices • 8 bay leaves
PREPARATION:
Boil water. Add salt and saltpeter, stir to dissolve and set aside to cool. Place brisket in a large crock, zipper-style plastic bag or other non-metallic container. Pour salt water over meat and add garlic, pickling spices and bay leaves. Meat should be submerged; use a weighted jar to hold meat under pickling solution. Refrigerate or set in a cool place for 3 weeks. Drain and remove bay leaves before cooking.

Note 1:
Saltpeter is known commercially as potassium nitrate and is used to give the meat a pink coloring.
Note 2:
Bottom round roasts may be substituted for the brisket for a leaner corned beef. What is corned beef brisket? Where is the corn in corned beef? It's a curing process. What is corned beef brisket? Brisket is the most common cut used for corned beef, although other cuts can also be used. Corned beef is beef that is cured in a salt brine, often with spices. Some meat-packers actually inject the brine into the arterial network.
The term corned comes not from the vegetable corn, but from the English term corn, meaning any small particle, such as the coarse-grained salt which was used for curing.
In your market, you'll most likely find the newer style of corned beef, a rosy red color, vacuum-sealed in a bath of brine. Old-fashioned corned beef is more grayish-pink in color and more salty.
Luckily, most of today's corned beef is processed without nitrates (saltpeter), which used to be used as a preservative against botulism and to maintain the bright red color.
What is brisket? Brisket is a beef cut taken from the breast section beneath the first five ribs, behind the foreshank. It is a tough cut made tender by a long cooking process. With a little bit of time and the proper cooking method, even the toughest piece of meat can be made palatable. Brisket is one of the least tender cuts of beef, but it can be made tender and the flavor is tough to beat.

Fresh brisket is an inexpensive boneless cut that requires long, slow cooking to break down the collagen in the connective muscle tissues achieve tenderness. The long piece is cut in half for marketing. You'll find it sold as a flat cut or a point cut. The flat cut is leaner, but the point cut has more flavor due to a bit of extra fat (called the deckel).

Corned Beef Brisket Storage and Freezing:
Frozen corned beef may be cooked without thawing.
Brisket Storage and Freezing:
Fresh corned beef is usually sold vacuum-packed in brine with a "sell-by" date. It may be refrigerated in the package up to seven days beyond the sell-by date.

If you make your own corned beef, it should be tightly wrapped and stored five to seven days in the refrigerator. Vacuum-sealed corned beef can be frozen in its original packaging up to one month before cooking.
Hint: There is no need to thaw frozen uncooked corn beef before cooking. It can be popped right into a pot of simmering water. Cooked corned beef may be refrigerated up to five days and frozen up to two months.
Beef Brisket Cooking Tips:
Brisket requires long, slow cooking.
Brisket is usually prepared using a braising method, with a liquid that produces wonderful gravy.
I recommend choosing the more flavorful point cut and removing any excess fat from the gravy after cooking if you need to do so. You'll need to plan ahead when cooking fresh brisket as it will need a minimum of 2 to 3 hours of cooking in a slow oven (usually 350 degrees F.) Better yet, use a slow cooker, and let it cook all day. Some recipes call for quickly searing the meat before beginning the braising process. It's really a matter of personal preference. Do be sure to place the meat in the pan fat-side up for baking. If you are on a low-fat diet, resist removing the fat until after the brisket is done cooking.The fat not only releases flavor, it also protects the brisket from drying out on top. The texture of brisket requires slicing across the grain through the long fibers into thin slices. Slice it any other way and you may chew longer, but the flavor will still be great.

Now here is the New England Boiled Dinner Recipe:
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001819new_england_boiled_dinner.php

Step by Step Approach to Doughnuts

Would like to share this doughnut recipe with you guys. It looks simple enough, even for me!!

Prep: 30 mins ; Chill : 2 hrs ; Fry : 2 mins per batch

Doughnut - Ingredients :

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup milk

2 Tbsp. shortening(butter, margerine) , melted

1 tsp. vanilla

Cooking oil for deep frying

Sifted powdered (icing) sugar (optional)

Method :

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In another mixing bowl, combine eggs and granulated sugar; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes or until thick.

3. In another bowl, stir together milk, shortening, and vanilla.

4. Beat item 2 at low speed (just to combine), after each addition of item 1 and item 3, alternately.

5. Stir in remaining flour mixture by hand. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and chill dough for 2 hrs.

6. Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.

7. Cut dough with a floured 2 1/2 inch doughnut cutter, dipping cutter into flour between cuts.

8. Reroll remaining dough as necessary

9. Fry 2 or 3 doughnuts in deep, hot cooking oil (375F) for about 1 min. each side, turning once. Removing with slotted spoon.

10.Drain on wire rack covered with paper towels. Repeat with remaining dough.

11. Dip tops of warm doughnuts in Chocolate Glaze. If desired, place cooled glazed doughnuts on waxed paper and drizzle with Cocoa Icing.

12. Or, dust plain doughnuts with powdered sugar. Makes 12 doughnuts and "holes".

Chocolate Glaze - Ingredients :

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3 Tbsp. margarine or butter

3 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 - 4 Tbsp. warm water

Method :

1. In a soucepan melt chocolate, and butter over low heat

2. Remove from heat, stir in powdered sugar and vanilla

3. Stir in warm water until glaze coats back of spoon

Cocoa Icing - Ingredients :

1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

4 tsp softened margerine or butter

2 -3 Tbsp warm water

Method :

1. In a small bowl, stir powdered sugar, cocoa powder and butter

2. Stir in warm water until icing is of drizzling consistency.

Have FUN !