Snowglobe Christmas Cake 2012 and Spider web cake

Year 2011, I made Yule Log cake for my Christmas party.

                       http://winniemsfong.blogspot.com/2011/12/cakes-of-2011.html

This year I made this for my Christmas Eve Party:

Merry Christmas to you all and wish you have a Happy New Year! God Bless You!



On Dec 16th, I made the spider web bday cake for my friend David who likes Spiderman! I will keep in mind that cream cheese frosting's colour will bleach onto whipped cream frosting if leave it overnight at fridge. On Dec 9 party, I made Chai Latte mousse cake for my friend Clivia's bday!

Cream of wild mushroom soup 忌廉蘑菇湯

WILD MUSHROOM SOUP

makes 8 servings

4 tablespoons butter

I used Minibella and white
mushroom this time

2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced into quarter-inch rounds and rinsed well

2 pounds mushrooms, any kind you like, chopped coarsely

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ cup white wine

5 cups vegetable stock

1 cup water

1 cup cream

 ½ cup sherry

salt and black pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add leeks, and sauté for about five minutes.

Add mushrooms, sprinkle with fresh ground pepper, and sauté until the liquid cooks off and the mushrooms start to brown, about 12 minutes. Hold off salting the vegetables. The stock may be salty enough.

Add thyme and garlic, and sauté for another minute or two. Add wine and simmer for five minutes.

Add vegetable stock and water. (You can use store-bought stock if you’re not inspired to make your own. I’ll never tell.) Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Puree soup in a blender or food processor until it is very smooth. Return soup to pot over low heat.

Add cream and sherry and stir to blend. Warm soup over low heat until it is warmed through. Do not boil the cream.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with a sprinkling of fresh thyme.

Gingerbread cookies 聖誕薑餅

Christmas Time! Christmas cookies time! Love~~~~~ Gingerbread Cookies

 

 

Cookies for my daughter's piano class.

 

 

Gingerbread cookies from allrecipes

Makes  36 servings (2 dozens)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unslated butter, melted and cooled slightly

1/2 cup molasses or corn syrup

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  

Directions

Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the shortening, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, until they are completely absorbed. Divide dough into 3 pieces, pat down to 1 1/2 inch thickness, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-9 mins in convention oven (my oven) or 10 to 12 minutes in the normal preheated oven. When the cookies are done, they will look dry, but still be soft to the touch. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on wire racks. When cool, the cookies can be frosted with the icing of your choice.

Miso roast boneless prime rib 麵豉牛扒

蘇三茶室: http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=15008

蘇三茶室老闆兼大廚是我老公的小學同學！Food are extremely good and creative.
And he loves to share his recipes and cooking tips to all his client. This recipe was given from him. All his dishes use slow cook method. Which means all his dishes' cooking time usually take half a day or more. Marinating time also takes up to days. This miso rib steak took us 4 days to marinate. Marinating ingredients included: Aka miso赤麵豉，shiro miso白麵豉，Sake 日式清酒 and sugar糖。This miso roast rib eye can be served without gravy or any kind of sauces. It already contains the natural miso flavour on the rib itself!

Medium rare, just perfect!

Ingredients:

Miso mixture ratio:

Aka miso:Shiro miso: Sake wine: sugar

1/2:1/2:1:1

This is the ratio of mixture. And it is adjusted according to your rib roast size. For my 5lbs rib, I applied around 1/2 cup Aka miso 1/2 cup Shiro miso 1/2 cup sake and 1/2 cup sugar

I always taste the mixture according to my own flavour. Add more wine if the mixture is too thick. Or put less if it is too watery. The mixture should appears muddy. Not watery. The mixture should taste a bit sweet too. Therefore, adjust quantity of wine and sugar accordingly to your taste.



1. Ingredients: Sake wine, sugar, Miso paste 2 kinds
2. I purchased 2 x 5lbs boneless rib eye (for party of 11 adults)
3. I use cotton string to tie the rib to have better meat texture Tying Up Prime Rib:  It is important to tie the prime rib before roasting. If left untied, the outer layer of meat will pull away from the rib-eye muscle and overcook.
4. Wrap beef with cheesecloth
5. Rub miso mixture to cover all cheesecloth area
6. Wrap it with plastic wrap and put into refridgerator for 3-4 days to marinate



My guests want the meat to be served in medium rare doneness. Therefore, I set my thermometer to 120F which is rare. Then let the residual temperature do the rest of cooking while it stays on counter after it was taken out from oven.

Directions:
Since I use convention oven, I can roast 2 rib eyes side by side at the same time. But I put a digital cooking thermometer to each rib eye to make sure I got the accurate temperature of doneness.

STEP 1. VERY IMPORTANT! Place the rib at room temperature before roasting.

STEP 2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

STEP 3. Unwrap plastic wrap and cheesecloth from rib eye. Place the roast, in a heavy stainless-steel deep roasting pan or other metal roasting pan.

STEP 4. Sear the rib roast for 15 minutes at the higher oven temperature (450 degrees F.), then turn the oven to the lower temperature (325 degrees F.) for the rest of the cooking time.  Do Not Cover the roast. If you have time and if you want more tender and juicy rib roast, lower the temperature and slow cook in longer time per pound.

STEP 5. Keep checking the internal temperature 30 mintues before the estimate end of cooking time. Or I use stay in oven meat thermometer as shown in picture above. My meat thermometer can stay in oven the whole time while roasting. It will beep when it reaches my desire temperature.

When checking the temperature of your prime rib roast, insert meat thermometer so tip is in thickest part of beef, not resting in fat or touching bone. I want my roast served Medium rare. Therefore, cook until rib roast reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees F (this is temperature for rare doneness).

STEP 6. Remove from oven, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let sit approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Cutting into the meat too early will cause a significant loss of juice. Do not skip the resting stage.

Residual Heat or Carry-Over Cooking: Remember, the rib roast will continue to cook as it sets. The temperature will rise to 125 degrees F. to 130 degrees F. internal temperature (medium rare) at 15 to 20 minutes.

If allowed to rest as long as an hour, the temperature will rise even higher. So, pay attention to how long you let the cooked prime rib roast sit.

Approximate Weight	Oven Temperature	Total Estimated Time Only	Meat Thermometer Reading (Rare)
2 ribs	4 to 5 pounds	450 deg/325 deg F	60 to 70 minutes	120 degrees F
3 ribs	7 to 8.5 pounds	450 deg/325 deg F	1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours	120 degrees F
4 ribs	9 to 10.5 pounds	450 deg/325 deg F	1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours	120 degrees F
5 ribs	11 to 13.5 pounds	450 deg/325 deg F	2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours	120 degrees F
6 ribs	14 to 16 pounds	450 deg/325 deg F	3 to 3 1/4 hours	120 degrees F
7 ribs	16 to 18.5 pounds	450 deg/325 deg F	3 1/4 to 4 hours	120 degrees F

Beef Roast Cooking Temperatures
Rare	120 to 125 degrees F	center is bright red, pinkish toward the exterior portion
Medium Rare	130 to 135 degrees F	center is very pink, slightly brown toward the exterior portion
Medium	140 to 145 degrees F	center is light pink, outer portion is brown
Medium Well	150 to 155 degrees F	not pink
Well Done	160 degrees F and above	meat is uniformly brown throughout

Cooking prime rib direction sources from: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beef/ClassicPrimeRib.htm



Shortbread Cookies 奶油(牛油)酥餅

Shortbread cookies

Ingredients:

22 large cookies

2 cups (260 g of flour)

1 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

Royal Icing:  

1 egg white

Up to 2 cups sifted icing sugar 

1tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1.    Cream the butter until smooth. Cream with the sugar and salt until incorporated.

2.    Add vanilla extract and gradually incorporate all the flour.

3.    Once you get a dough, gather it into a disc shape and cover with saran wrap. Chuck it into the fridge for about an hour until it’s cold and firm. Better this than soft and squishy or else the dough will stick to the rolling pin. 

4.    Once it’s cold, start rolling it out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about half a centimetre. Really however thick you want them to be really. They’ll be softer if they’re thicker.

5.    Cut out your shapes with a cookie cutter/pastry cutter/etc.

6.    Pop them in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes so that the cookies will keep their shape when they’re in the oven. Put the uncut dough in the fridge too because it’s easier to work with when it’s cold.

7.    Preheat oven to 325F

8.    While those are chilling, mix up the icing. Add whatever food colouring you want, and put that in a ziploc bag or piping back and put it in the fridge to chill. 

9.    Bake the chilled cookies for about 15-17 minutes or until you see one of the bottoms of the cookies start to brown. Take them out and let them cool on the pan (they’ll break if you take them off before they’re coolish to touch).

Alternate way in making Royal Icing by using Meringue powder:

Makes 3 cups of icing.

Ingredients:

·         3 tablespoons Meringue Powder

·         4 cups (about 1 lb.) confectioners' sugar

·         6 tablespoons warm water

Instructions:

step 1

Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).

step 2

NOTE: Keep all utensils completely grease-free for proper icing consistency.

* For stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.

**When using large countertop mixer or for stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.

Thinned Royal Icing: To thin for pouring, add 1 teaspoon water per cup of royal icing. Use grease-free spoon or spatula to stir slowly. Add 1/2 teaspoon water at a time until you reach proper consistency.

Red wine braised ox tail (oven bake)

Red-Wine-Braised Oxtails

Gourmet  | December 1997

recipe

yield: Serves 5

ingredients

500-ml. (2 cups) red wine
10 large oxtail pieces (about 4 pounds total)

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

5 shallots

5 garlic cloves

2 medium carrots

1 medium onion

2 celery ribs

3 bay leaves

1 bunch parsley stems
some thyme

about 4 cups beef broth
1 can tomato paste

preparation

Preheat oven to 325°F.

In a 4- to 6-quart heavy saucepan boil wine until reduced by about half (about 3 1/4 cups). Trim oxtails and pat dry. Season oxtails with salt and pepper. In a deep heavy ovenproof kettle just large enough to hold oxtails in one layer heat 1 tablespoon butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides and brown half of oxtails on all sides, transferring to a bowl. Brown remaining oxtails in 1 tablespoon butter in same manner and transfer to bowl. Coarsely chop shallots, garlic, carrots, onion, and celery. Add vegetables to kettle and cook in 1 tablespoon butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened.

Arrange oxtails over vegetables and add reduced wine, herbs, and enough broth to just cover oxtails. Bring liquid to a boil and braise oxtails, covered, in middle of oven 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or until meat is very tender but not falling off the bone.

Transfer oxtails with a slotted spoon to a bowl and keep warm. Pour braising liquid through a fine sieve into a large saucepan and discard solids. Boil liquid until thick, shiny, and reduced to about 1 3/4 cups and whisk in remaining tablespoon butter.

Serve oxtails and sauce with celery root puree or mashed potatoes.

 

 

Linguini with red wine beef sauce served with Ox Tail