Mac n Cheese

Hearing mac and cheese sounds cheesy *LOL*

Usually the western one use a many type of cheese.But I made this one with things I have at home during Jakarta’s flood. It’s simple and don’t need a great chef to cook. You can put the rest if you don’t eat all of them and heat them on the oven the next day. 

Ingredients:

·         1 liter water to cook the pasta

·         1 tsp salt

·         250 gr macaroni (any type)

·         3 tbsp butter

·         1 small onion

·         2 tbsp all purpose flour

·         650 ml milk (I use non-fat)

·         2 bay leaf

·         50 gr grated cheddar cheese

·         2 wiener sausage

·    1 tsp salt 
-     1 tsp white pepper powder

For garnish: 4 tbsp breadcrumbs

How to make :

1.        Boil water on the pan, add 1 tsp salt and put the macaroni.

Boil for 10 – 12 minutes, strain and set aside.

Heat the oven on 180°C.

Prepare 6 bowl and spread the butter inside the bowl.

2.       Heat  butter in the pan, put inside the onion, flour, and milk. Stir until thickened. After that, add the bay leaf, cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir evenly

3.       Put the sausage and macaroni and mix well.

4.       Put the mixed macaroni in the prepared bowl, and spread the breadcrumbs on the top.

5.       Put the bowls on the oven. Bake for 25 minutes.

6.       Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

What to do with Last Night NYE left overs

What to do.... After last night dinner, I still got hundreds grams of black pepper raw beef, stocks of boiled potato, onions, sauce, and rice. Think...think..think.... Tadaaaa! Then is here along with my mom-in-law ideas:
1. Make a mash potato
2. Stir fried onion and beef
3. Re-heat the rice

Mashed potato:
- Press the boiled potato until soft but still got small crumbles (about 500 g)
- In a pan, put  4 tbsp cooking cream and  1 tbsp butter until it melted
- Pour the butter and cream on the mashed potato than add 1tbsp milk or more, to make the consistency that you like
- Add pepper and salt if necessary. Done!

Stir fried blackpepper beef :
- Chop the onions into quater inch thin
- Heat 1 tbsp oil on the pan then put the onions and cook nicely until golden brown
- Put the sliced beef and the ready made/ home made blackpepper sauce
- Stir until the beef is well done. Serve with rice/ left over veggies

Here you go! you have a nice lunch for the 1st day on 2013! Happy New year!

Matcha (green tea) home made ice cream

Whoa! Monhts since I've wrote some recipes...
Fresh start after finished my Thesis, now I'm back to cook! What I made is for a fresh and cool start... It's.. ICE CREAM! Home made ice cream isn't as hard as I thought... for real, ya know! Green tea.. why? I've travelled to japan last month and the green tea fever in there makes me want to make my own matcha desserts here. In this recipe I use green tea powder from the baking store. If you have pure green tea, it will become less sweet. ice cream tends to lose it's sweetness when it freeze. So you have to measure the sugar and salt well.
The sugar is used to make the soft and "hole" like texture. Brown sugar can be use if you like caramelized flavor. I prefer the white granulated sugar.. but I lessen the quantity. I tried this recipe from a book but I still have to tried for 3 times to make this better. I need to improve with another ice cream flavor also.. I will post the chocolate ice cream recipe later on.

Here we go! * I  forgot to take the process pictures... Sorry :( *

Ingredients:
250 g liquid milk ( Skim/ full cream can be used)
150-250 g white granulated sugar (depends on your sweetness level)
1/4 tsp salt
500 mL thick cream ( about 30 % fat)
2 tbsp green tea powder
6 egg yolk ( keep the egg white for macaron)

How to make:
1. Put inside a pan: milk, sugar, and salt then cooked it on a small heat. Stir until the sugar is melted and set aside (A).
2. In a bowl, put in the thick cream and green tea powder then stir (C).
3. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolk and put 2-3 tbsp hot milk ( some of A). Then put it again on the milk pan (A) and cook in a small heat until thick and become custard (not boil or it will become a scramble milky egg) (B). Move the pan from the heat then stir slowly until it become cool.
4. Strain the (B) in the bowl that contains green tea powder and cream (C) . Stir evenly.
5. If you don't have an ice cream machine: Put THE ICE CREAM (LIQUID) in the freezer for 3 hours then scramble it with mixer (high speed) until soft. Repeat the mixer process 3-4 times every 3 hours, than freeze about 5 hours before the ice cream ready to be served.

I use ice cream machine so i PUT THE LIQUID for 8 hours on the refrigerator (depends on the machine instructions) then I put it on the ice cream maker for 15-20 minutes, then put it again in the freezer for about 1-2 hours. Enjoy!

Kroket or Croquettes

Kroket…. Sounds like rocket?  No! no! this one is a “peranakan” (mixed born) China and Dutch. In English it called Croquette. In every country its usually made from potato puree then filled with vegetables or meat and then deep fried. Indonesian also like to eat this “kroket” as an appetizer. Y0u can cook this as much as you want and keep in the fridge for 3 days after you fried the, then just reheat them on oven/ miicrowave or even just stir fry them a bit. Eat while it's hot so the filling will melt... Yumm!!!!

 

Ingredients:

100 g minced meat ( I like beef with a bit of fat)

125 mL water

1/8 tsp salt

50 g champignon mushroom (canned)

1 stick of celery

25 g margarine

75 g onion, minced

25 g all purpose flour

100mL milk

50 mL cooking cream

½ tsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp salt

½ tsp white pepper powder

¼ tsp nutmeg powder

¾ tsp granulated sugar

Frying oil

Mustard for dipping

For the skin:

50 g all purpose flour

1 whisked egg

50 g bread flour/ crumbs

How-to make:

1.       Boil the minced beef with a little water and salt, boil until the meat is cooked and the water evaporate, set aside. Slice the mushroom thinly and the parsley also, set them aside.

2.       Melt the margarine on a pan, add the onion and cook until soft. Add the flour, milk and cream. Stir until become thickened.

3.       Put inside the mushroom, parsley, salt, pepper, sugar, and minced beef. Stir evenly. Split the “kroket” dough. I use one tablespoon (full) then put it on a plastic and roll to shape it.

 

 

4.       Roll the “kroket” to the flour then egg then the bread crumb.

5.       Deep fry to a hot pan filled with frying oil (the “kroket” should be sink on the oil). Cooked until golden brown with a medium heat. Enjoy!

Socijsbrood Recipe

What is that? Well, this is one of my favorite childhood snack. "Peranakan" food they called (Melayu and Chinese combined). I eat this since I was a kid when the old lady walking around selling socijsbrood. It's a pastry filled with minced meat. When I grow up, she never appear again, so I try to find all kind of socijsbrood in town, none of them near the smell on my mouth when I ate them. Until... I found this recipe from femina group cook book. This recipe usually chicken liver, but... I dislike them. I made this recipe for 2 giant rolls ( I love full stuffed pastry), so you may divide them into 4 rolls.

Ingredients:
500 g minced beef (with some fats)
200 g chicken liver (if you like)
2 egg yolk
2 slice white plain bread (minced)
1 tbsp margarine
75 g onion (chopped)
30 mL cooking cream
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
1/2 tsp white pepper powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp white granulated sugar



For topping:
375 g puff pastry dough ( I buy the ready made)
1 egg yolk + some water for the spread

How - to make:
1. If you want to make 4 rolls, with the rolling pin, flattened the dough until it reached 20x30cm for each roll. I just use the ready made without rolling them. Heat the oven about 200 degree Celcius

2. For the fillings: If you use chicken liver, rinse the liver with boiling water then fine chopped it. Mixed the liver, minced beef, and minced bread.

3. Heat the pan, add the margarine and onion until the smell comes out. Set aside. Put the onion into the minced beef-liver mixture. Add the eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and sugar evenly.

4. Take a slice of pastry dough, put the meat mixture then spread some water to stick the dough and roll it. Coat the pastry surface with egg yolk (not too much). Scratch some of the pastry surface until the beef mixture can bee seen.

5. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Let it cool then cut into slices. EnjoY!

Potato lover: Gnocchi with curry sauce

Gnocchi.... hmm wondering what's that... Then I eat some of my cousin made.. Potato or pasta? Because the texture is like mashed potato but chewy... then months later, I open detik.com for the recipe. I don't have the cheese sauce so I'm thinking make one gnocchi recipe with curry sauce... Taste good!

From wikipedia.com, I searh gnocchi history: "Gnocchi are eaten as a first course (primi piatti), alternatives to soups (minestre), or pasta. They are generally home-made in Italian and diaspora Italian households. They may also be bought fresh from specialty stores. In supermarkets, industrially-produced packaged gnocchi are widely available refrigerated, dried, or frozen. Common accompaniments of gnocchi include tomato sauces, pesto, and melted butter (sometimes fried butter) with cheese".

Cheese it is, then potato as the main ingredients. I thought this gonna be a hard-to-make recipe like making pasta from starch. It's not, fortunately and taste good. this recipe serve about 6 persons.

Ingredients:
1 kg potato
200 g all purpose flour
2 egg
½ tsp white pepper powder
1 tsp salt
150 g Parmesan cheese (I use the powder one)

Curry:
1/2 block curry ready-made
1/2 thin sliced onion (optional)
200 mL water (or more if it's too thick for you)

Wasabi for extra hot sauce

How to make:
1. Boil or steam the potato until soft (stab it with fork, if it's soft enough then it's good)
2. peel the potato skin then mashed the potato while it's hot

3. Add the rest of the ingredients for making gnocchi

4. Make the dough in a ball shape

5. Boil the water in a pan then add the gnocchi. When the gnocchi float, set it aside (use a small strainer).

6. Curry sauce: cut the curry block. Add the sliced onion on non-stick pan, then add the water and curry block. Cook in a small heat until it thickened.

7. Serve the gnocchi with the sauce on the top, then add wasabi or any sauce you like. Enjoy!

PS: If you like just plain gnocchi, add some parmesan powder...tasty to eat also!

Sukiyaki

Woaahh! Been busy sooo busy2 with my thesis prep again...
I cook things but didn't have time to put them on this blog. I decided to do it today! Yeaaahh!
Undergoing my yo-yo diet plan.. I try to eat without rice.. only veggies and meat. * I can't wait to cook cakes after my sis-in-law wedding*. dying to make some cakes... Roaarrr!

Sukiyaki would be a good choice for me and Mr.C.. so our tummy will at least-flattened for 2 cm a week *crossing finger*. from Wikipedia I found the history of sukiyaki. This recipe I make also adapted from Indonesian cook book. Lots of variations to do with sukiyaki's sauce and stock. I use a semi-flat hot pot pan but you can use any pan you have.

Sukiyaki (Japanese: 鋤焼 or more commonly すき焼き) is a Japanese dish in the nabemono (Japanese hot pot) style.It consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. Before being eaten, the ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beaten eggs.
Generally sukiyaki is a winter dish and it is commonly found at bōnenkai, Japanese year-end parties (Wikipedia.com)

Ingredients (be creative and cook anything you like and sliced them in any size you desire):
Beef sukiyaki (sliced beef)
Sausage
Meatball (in Indonesia it's not like minced spaghetti meatball)
Udon
Tofu
Grated fresh corn
White chicory (Indonesia: sawi putih)
Mushroom (any kind)
250mL chicken/ beef stock ( I mede this from the instant one)
Onion
Chives
2 tbsp oil
Thinly sliced carrots

Sauce:
250mL chicken/ beef stock
75mL mirin
3 tbsp cooking sake
1 tbsp granulated sugar
100 mL Japanese soyu (Indonesia: kecap asin)

How to make:
1. Heat the pan and add the oil. After that, add the onion and chives, stir until golden brown.

2. Cook the meat until well-done than add the stock and cook until boiled

3. Add the ingredients that took the longest time to cooked, first. I put the carrot, chicory, and the corn first. Then after it boil a bit, I add the rest ingredients. Let it cooked for a few minutes (close the pan lid)

4. Add the sauce that already mixed together then stir and cooked until boil. Add the eggs on the top and cook for another 2 minutes (until the egg is done)

5. Enjoy the sukiyaki with chilli powder or sauce!