With Love ..SYAKIRA: Food and Recipe

Coming back from such a long hiatus, with food and dessert :)

tonight is roasted butter, lemon herb chicken..not that I ditch the rice but lately my palate seems craving for western food.

Serve with penne pasta n stir fried pak choy...or with rice , talking about asian vs west

Chicken Recipe:

2-3 chicken thighs (any part will do)

(I just leave the skin on, just for the crispy effect when u roast it)

unsalted pure butter 30g

3-4 cloves of garlic,finely chopped
italian herbs
salt
ground black pepper.
1 tbs lemon squeeze

Mashed the butter with all the ingredients.

gently massage the clean chicken.

Stuff the mix butter herb in the skin.

Roast in the oven for 35 min , 180 degrees, with grill fan bake.

For the sauce:

I'm using the melted butter from the roasted chicken.

Heat it up , add 1 tbs of plain flour

black pepper, dash of salt

and milk..just to make it nice and creamy.

(whisk till it incorporated)

Cheers

Monday, November 14, 2011

Oven Baked Cheese Pasta

Ingredients

2 cups of pasta (i'm using penne)

3 cups of milk

2 tbs of plain flour

1 0nion ,2 clove of garlic (finely chopped)
baby mushroom (approximately)
Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese (grated)
salt ,black-pepper.
italian herbs.
butter & olive oil

1.Boil the pasta until ala dente-drained

For the white sauce (Bechamel Sauce)

2.Heat up the pan,put the olive oil and butter, sauted the onion n garlic until golden brown
3.Put in the dice mushroom.Stir well
4.Add the plain flour.Stir until the flour form a dough
5.Add the milk.Stir well for a smooth mixture.
6.Put in salt, white pepper,black pepper and dry italian herbs

Next, combine the sauce with the pasta put in a baking dish.

Spread over on top with grated cheese.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 25-30 min.
Serve with mix salads.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Tasty DIM SUM

Asian flavors never fail me. The tangy taste, the aroma, the depiction are impeccable where it never stop me from craving more. I love Chinese food very much. In fact in my pantry, I have most of the basic ingredients for chine cuisine. U name it, sour plum sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil etc.
It is very difficult to get halal Dim Sum here so I’m thinking of trying one. This is when my husband been busy with his work and only came home late night and I’m obliged with my night classes for this semester. So you can count how many nights we have dinner together :(.
I chose to prepare something light for dinner just for me, myself and I for that fastidious night.
Yes a wee bit cheating here as I’m using frozen dim sum pastry where you can find it in the supermarket nearby.

Ingredients:
Dim Sum pastry
For the filling:
Minced beef.
Oil, Garlic, ginger, spring onion, white button mushroom, fresh red chili salt, black & white pepper and sesame oil

Method:
Heat up the wok and put a little bit vege oil.
Sauté the chopped garlic, ginger, fresh chilli and white button mushroom add the minced beef, stir until cooked.
Add the salt, black n white pepper for seasoning. Dash some sesame oil for the flavor and garnish with chopped spring onion.

Once cooked, put 1 tsp of the filling in the pastry.Fold it in any shape u want and steamed it for about 7-10 mins.

For the dipping:
Chopped garlic. chopped ginger
soy sauce, sesame oil and bird's eye chilli

Super easy and super yummy :).

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

The best carrot & pineapple cake :)

Assalamualaikum,

Eid Mubarak to all of you.I wonder if there any readers out there? :)
Well, I know this is such a long silent despite I have so many things to share here. By the way have u had enough with the yummy food last Eid? I'm going to share the best recipe i ever tried.

Carrot & pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting. Made this during last eid Adha and Alhamdulillah, I received just wonderful responses from family how good it taste :)

The recipe can be ladled from the show “barefoot contessa” with Ina Garten and wee changes were made to the recipe :)

For the cake
2 cups caster sugar
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil (i'm using corn oil)
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2½ cups self raising flour
1 tablespoon 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda -omit this cause I'm using self rasing flour
1 teaspoons salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnut
2 stick of carrots, grated
½ cup diced fresh pineapple (can pineapple)-rinsed the liquid

For the frosting:
250 g cream cheese, at room temperature
100 g of butter , at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sieved

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans. Beat the sugar, oil, and eggs together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light yellow. Add the vanilla.

In another bowl, sift together 2½ cups flour, the cinnamon, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Toss the raisins and walnuts with 1 tablespoon flour. Fold in the carrots and pineapple.

Add to the batter and mix well. Divide the batter equally between the two pans.

Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans set over a wire rack.

For the frosting, mix the cream cheese, butter and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until just combined.

Add the sugar and mix until smooth.

Place one layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Enjoy :)

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Lemon Meringue Cheesecuppies

(Receipe from anna olson show)

Ingredients
Crust
1-1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (I'm using digestive biscuits)
1-1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake
1 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large eggs, room temperature

Meringue
1 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp cornstarch
I add 1/2 tsp vanilla essense to reduce to egg smell :)

Directions
Crust
1.Preheat oven to 350°F (depends on your oven) and line 6 mini muffin tins with paper cups.
2.To make crust, combine all ingredients until evenly blended and crumbly. Press into bottom of mini muffins cups. Bake for 8 minutes, then cool.

Cheesecake
1.To make cheesecake, reduce oven to 325°F. Beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy, then gradually add sugar while beating, scraping the sides of the bowl often. Beat in cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, scraping well after each addition. Spoon or pipe cheesecake filling into cooled mini muffin tins and bake for about 18 minutes, until cheesecake still moves a little when pan is shaken gently. Let cheesecakes cool to room temperature. Meringue layer can be made once cheesecake have cooled and cheesecakes can be chilled overnight and then finished

Meringue
1.For meringue, preheat oven to 375?F. With an electric mixer, whip egg whites with lemon juice n vanilla extract until foamy. While whipping, gradually pour in sugar and whip on one speed less than highest until whites hold a stiff peak (the meringue stands upright when whisk is lifted). Whisk in cornstarch. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star or plain tip and pipe on top of each cheesecake. Bake pie for about 6 minutes, just until meringue browns lightly. Allow cheesecakes to chill for at least an hour and up to a day before serving.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Red Velvet Bread Pudding :)

This wasn't my intention at the first place you know, to combine these sweet tooth :). I baked red velvet cake last night and hubby keeps saying I haven’t bake a proper cake for him... (Haven’t I? you've got to be kidding me man!!!). He added, he only tastes the balance of the batter which I baked in a smaller ramekin.

Then I replied (If you want, you need to order and pay for it la)
He: “Duduk satu rumah pun kena bayar ke??? pffft”.

So while baking for the order, I realized we had halve of walnut bread that I bought few days back. So I’m thinking to bake bread pudding for him and yes, he was right, (not a proper red velvet for him).I have remnants of the red velvet batter so my inner creativity yielded the second I ripped my bread in the baking tin.

I should combine these two and see what happen?

err..yummilicious :)

Ok the Bread Pudding Recipe:
Halve of walnut bread *any bread will do*
2 cups of milk
1 egg
¼ cup of sugar, and 2-3 tbs condensed milk
Chocolate spread,
Vanilla essence
Fresh strawberries and raisins
*Red velvet batter”

1.Rip the bread in a tiny pieces
2.Spread the chocolate over the bread
3.Mix all milk, egg, condensed milk and vanilla essence together.
4. Thinly slice the strawberry.
5. Put in the bread in baking tin and pour the liquid mixture
6.Mix well and add the strawberry and raisins.
7.Spread the red velvet cake batter on top * just a thin layer” and bake for about 20-30 min.

Enjoy the pictures :)

Sunday, April 3, 2011

TIRAMISU- with zabaglione filling

It is Tiramisu time.. How are you people? I'm fulfilling my spare time at home this weekend. Which is very rare moment to me and hubby. So I 've been in the kitchen since this morning. Fuuhhhh!!!"wipe the sweat'. Fried kuewteow for breakfast, doing some laundry, 3 times to be exact, masak asam daging for lunch err dinner I guess, since we haven't touch the dish after a well-supplied kuew teow. And now i just had my TIRAMISU time.

I googled the recipe and friends' blog and I noticed the TIRAMISU used raw eggs in the ingredients. I don't really fancy the fact that it used raw eggs in the batter.So I googled more and discovered this "ZABAGLIONE" or Sabayon, some kind of light custard best served with biscotti and also fresh berries.

My tiramisu recipe replicated from here but I adjusted according to my liking :)

Ingredients:

5 egg yolks

vanilla extract

250g mascapone cheese

50 g cream cheese (tatura)

half cup of cream

3/4 cup of caster sugar

espresso coffee( nescafe will do)

lady fingers (Bonomi)

cocoa powder for dusting

Steps:

1: Prepare the zabaglione filling

Beat the egg yolks, vanilla extract and 2/4 of sugar in a bowl of double boiler. Make the bowl doesn't touch the boiling water underneath. You don't want your "sabayon" to turn into scrambled egg :)

Whisk until thicken and small bubble appeared.

2:Beat the mascarpone , cream cheese, thicken cream and 1/4 sugar until fluffy.

3: Mix zabaglione filling and cheese cream mixture

4: Lightly soak the lady finger in the espresso mix and lay in your casserole dish

5: Distribute the filling on the first layer .

6: Repeat step 4 and 5 accordingly.

7: Sprinkle over crush lady fingers and dust with cocoa powder on top.

8: Chill for 3-4 hours

Monday, March 14, 2011

Mac -a- roon

Macaroon have become the latest hit in Malaysia. This sweet tooth has replacing the cupcakes frenzy with it's colourful, chic and petite look. I've tried my first macaroon here in Malaysia at Whisk cafe ,Empire Subang. Don't be surprised, the price will cost you around RM2 per pc. Googled the infamous macaroon from Laduree and ya, it has flavours of macaroon that can statisfied your craving. But I am afraid we don't have one here in Malaysia, soon perhaps :).

I tried baking one, and yes please don't ask me the recipe coz it turns out to be a disaster (for me) and the texture not really into my expectation. I should enroll a class then. Noticed one cafe at Solaris do provide the class for macaroon making.

Presenting .....

Strawberry macaroon

Monday, March 7, 2011

P.A.V.L.O.V.A

Have u ever tried pavlova? I did and the taste not really into my liking, probably u can taste and smell the egg white.But with the combination of whipped cream, grated chocalate and fresh strawberries, i can afford to dig in. Yes, i do like the crunchy crust and soft marshmellow interior, but overall pavlova has been overrated hehe, for me and the price is highly ridiculous. I mean, well u just need the egg whites, caster sugar, vanilla extract and and lil bit of vinegar n corn starch (meringue)

how hard can that be ??

Yesterday pavlova @ DELICIOUS midvalley

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Feeling Peachy ...

Ingredients

1 cup of corn oil
1 cup of brown sugar
2 cups of self raising flour
1 egg
1tbs vanilla essence.
1/2 cup buttermilk.
Peach slices

(Mix all in a food processor, pour in the batter and lay few slices of peach in the baking tin,bake for 30 mins ). Once cool down, put slices of peaches on top and dust with powder sugar.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Scrumptious salted egg salad

I'm raving about a simple yet delicious salad that definitely makes my mouth water. Great for the appetizer or side dish. With plain hot basmathi rice and steamed seabass (I'm salivating now..). hehe

Have a try then, you will come back craving again about this once you've tried .

2 Salted Eggs-cut into strips or wedges (thinly)

1/2 Red Onion-thinly cut

1 fresh red chilli

1 apple-shredded

1 tomato-cut into strips

generous bunch of chop corriander

for the dressing (3tbs fish sauce, and juice of half lemon)

Monday, February 7, 2011

Strawberry Sponge Cake

1. 2 layers of strawberry cake

2.Spread strawberry jam on both sides

3. generous amount of mix cream cheese n whipped cream on top of first layer

4. Sandwich both layers (looks like a giant macaroon!!!)

5.Put a great dollops of cream cheese on top and garnish with fresh strawberries

6. Bon Appetit

With Love ..SYAKIRA

Monday, April 2, 2012

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Roasted Butter lemon herb Chicken