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

Triple Chocolate Brownies cake 朱古力布朗尼



I put more flour to make a more cake-like texture this time. And I substitue chocolate chip with white chocolate chips.  Love it!


Serving: 12 Large Brownies

Ingredients

8 ounces dark chocolate
1 cup Butter
1 cup all-purpose flour (add 1/2 more if you want more cake like and less fudgey)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
4 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips ( I use white chocolate chips this time)

Instructions

 

Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).

To protect the chocolate from direct heat, melt it and the butter in a heatproof bowl set over a small pot of simmering water(Pic 1), stirring constantly. When the chocolate and butter have melted, whisk until smooth.(Pic 2)

While the chocolate mixture cools slightly, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt(Pic 3). Whisk Eggs, sugar and vanilla until well mixed(Pic 4). Add chocolate melts to eggs batter and mix thoroughly (Pic 5). Stir in the flour mixture and chocolate chips until incorporated (Pic 6-7).

Pour batter into a lightly oiled and floured 9- x 13-inch (3.5 L) pan (I use cocoa powder to dust to the pan)(Pic 8). Bake for exactly 25 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Chef Michael Smith Triple Chocolate Brownies.

Red Velvet cupcakes with dental fondant decorations紅絨小蛋糕

I receive a cupcake order from my friend and she wants me to make 24 fondant decorated cupcakes for her UBC dental students. She wants red velvet cake with dental theme decoratings. I found this recipe from Martha Stewart site. The outcome is: not red enough, lack of cocoa taste and a bit oily. But the taste is good and easy to make recipe. But I think I can put more cocoa to increase the taste!

Martha Stewart Cupcakes

• YieldMakes 24

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder ( can double it)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (can put less)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color (double it to have more red appearance)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.
3. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.
4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
5. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting.

Cook's Note

Gel-paste food color is much more concentrated than the supermarket liquid variety; if you substitute the liquid, you may need to add an entire bottle (1.5 ounces) to achieve the desired shade.

Boxed and ready for delivery!

Creamy Sweet Corn soup 香濃滑滑忌廉粟米湯

Birthday birthday birthday! My birthday is coming! I invited some friends over to have a birthday gathering dinner. Since it's my birthday celebration, I minimized my duty on cooking the dinner or making desserts. I only made this Creamy corn soup, mash potatoes and Caesar Salad. Heat up meat loaf, calamari, and spring roll. We ordered some sushi and my husband do some lamb chop, chicken steak and meat balls BBQ. At last my friends will buy me a birthday cake!! Actually they bought me 2 CAKES!!!!!
Thanks everyone! I feel blessed! Muah kiss kiss ~~

Ingredients:

• 1kg bag of  frozen whole kernel corn (reserve 1/2 cup corn for later use)
• 15 ounces bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 5 cups Vegetable broth
• 1 cup whipping cream
• pinch of salt (adjusted to taste)
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 can of crabmeat and some tiger prawn for additional flavour

Directions:

1 Saute bacon in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until brown and crisp.

2 Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.

3 Pour off all but 3 tablespoons bacon fat. In a 2 qt saucepan, cook the onion and garlic in hot cooking oil till onion is tender, not brown.

4 Carefully add chicken snd vegetable broth.

5 Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Add corns.

6 Simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.

7 Stir in whipping cream, salt, and white pepper.

8 Simmer, uncovered, for 10 min.

9 Watch carefully because it may foam and rise in pan.

10 Remove from heat; cool slightly.

11 Pour the cooled mixture into a blender container.

12 Cover and blend until smooth. ( Then I use a sieve to sift the soup for creamy and smoother serving- that's optional)
13 Return to same sauce pan.

14 Keep warm.

15 Add the fresh or canned crab meat; Add the bacon ; Add prawn; Add corn (1/2 cup reserved previously) as many as you want accordingly to your favour.