Tag: the f word recipes

A Pie Like No Other.

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Ever seen a recipe and add it to your bookmark list almost immediately but have no courage to give it a try? This was one of them. I got about 100 more recipes bookmarked and still trying to give them a go! I’m not kidding or exaggerating.

Truth be told, I never had a very good experience with pies. Or tarts for the matter. Especially food that involve the pie/tart tin. haha. One horrible experience was the Chocolate Ganache, Cream and Strawberry Tart that I tried to bake after watching Masterchef. It was a DISASTER! Free form tarts like Hot Apple Tart I could still handle. anything to do with short crust pastry or a tin, not so much.

But I decided to suck it up, and give tarts another shot. One consolation was that I didn’t need to make shortcrust pastry. But that’s not to say that this is any simpler! Although I have to admit, I love the fact that the base is made of oats! That made me push myself even more to try this recipe!

And so I did. As you can see from the picture above, it’s not a perfect looking pie. But I think I did pretty well! And boy was it yummy! The gooey-ness of the filling was just to-die-for. REALLY. Everyone should give this a shot! Don’t think about the calories, just have it. You will love it!

One of the challenges I had was taking the pie out of the tin, without the sides and corners crumbling on me. Let me tell you this, it is not a one person job. You need extra hands for this! Thankfully I had the Mr help me! (: And he also helped me in finishing up the pie! haha and after you do finish the pie, you need to head to The Training Geek to get some exercise tips and work the sugar off! But it will all be worth it, I repeat, worth every calorie intake!

So here’s the recipe from the Momofuku cook book! Enjoy every single crumb!

What’s better than hot gooey pie and ice cream?

Oatmeal Cookie for Crust

Ingredients
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup softened butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
Scant 1 cup rolled oats

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 190°C.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Cream the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Whisk the egg into the butter mixture until fully incorporated.
5. Stir in the flour mixture until fully combined. Stir in the oats.
6. Spread the mixture onto a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking sheet and bake until golden brown and set, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to the touch on a rack. Crumble the cooled cookie to use in the crust.

Crust

Ingredients
Crumbled cookie for crust
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions
Combine the crumbled cookie, butter, brown sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until evenly combined and blended (a little of the mixture clumped between your fingers should hold together). Divide the crust between 2 (10-inch) pie tins (I used a long rectangular tin and 8 small round ones). Press the crust into each shell to form a thin, even layer along the bottom and sides of the tins. Set the prepared crusts aside while you prepare the filling.

Filling

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus a scant 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon milk powder
1 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup plus a scant 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 egg yolks

Prepared crusts

Powdered sugar to garnish

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 180°C.
2. Whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, salt and milk powder. Whisk in the melted butter, then whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla.
3. Gently whisk in the egg yolks, being careful not to add too much air.
4. Divide the filling evenly between the 2 prepared pie shells.
5. Bake the pies, one at a time, for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake until the filling is slightly jiggly and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the pies and cool on a rack.
6. Refrigerate the cooled pies until well chilled. Serve cold, and the filling will be gooey. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

You. Will. Love. It. I. Promise. (:

Beef fillet with Gratin of Mushrooms

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I’m back! (: Sorry for the long long long long break! Had a crazy few weeks with uni! Got lots to update so give me a little time! (:

So let me ask you, what is your ultimate indulgence?

For me, it’s steak. and not just any cut of the steak, specifically, the eye fillet. It just melts in your mouth with every bite you take. I normally do prefer my steak medium, but just for the eye fillet, I like mine medium rare. hehe (:

I had a couple of close friends over on a Saturday night, and their only request is to have MEAT. haha. So, almost immediately, eye fillet popped into my tiny head. I have been dying to try this recipe of Gordan Ramsay’s and this would be the best opportunity to do so!

Eye fillet topping it with a gratin of mushroom and baking it just for 5 mins to get a nice crunchie outer layer of the gratin. The creaminess of the gratin just goes so well with the beautiful cut of the steak. This dish was to die for, and this recipe is definitely a keeper! (:

(Adapted from The F Word)

Ingredients :

Beef Fillet

  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 100g mixed mushrooms (shiitake, oyster), roughly chopped
  • 100g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
  • 4 tbsp double cream
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 4 fillet steaks, about 180g and 4cm thick
  • 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220°C/Gas 7.

2. To prepare the topping, gently sauté the shallot and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for about 5 minutes until nicely softened. Add a further 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the mushrooms over a high heat, stirring frequently, for about 7 minutes until browned and cooked. The mixture should be quite dry. If necessary, tip it into a sieve to drain off any remaining liquid. Remove the garlic clove and transfer the mushrooms to a bowl, allow to cool.

3. Whip the cream until softly stiff. Fold in the mushrooms along with the egg yolk, herbs and a tablespoon of the grated Parmesan, then season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Season the steaks all over with salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick frying pan until you can feel a strong heat rising. Cook the steaks for about 2-3 minutes, turning them to seal all over. Remove from the pan.

4. Put the steaks on a shallow baking tray. Pile the mushroom mixture on top of the steaks and dust with the remaining parmesan. Cook in the oven uncovered, for about 5-7 minutes until the topping is bubbling and golden.

So, trust me. Try this recipe, I guarantee you will love it! (: Have it with mash or golden baked potatoes and ENJOY!

so tell me dear readers, what is your ultimate indulgence?

Dover sole with shrimp butter sauce

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you know what is the best thing
and made me the luckiest girl in the world?
it’s when you reach home after a grueling exercise session (actually wasn’t too bad)
and smell the awesome yummy smell of dinner prepared by my baby (:
and very well know that dinner is going to be awesome!

and so it was (:

after watching so much F word (a Gordan Ramsay cook show)
we tend to try everything we could that he put up the recipes for.
so tonight. baby tried making the dover sole with shrimp butter sauce!

Ingredients :

2 medium Dover sole, gutted and prepped
100g plain flour
Knob of butter
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the shrimp butter:

30g butter
200g cooked and peeled brown shrimps
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp capers
1 lemon, juice only
Small handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
Steps :

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

2. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Dust the fish all over in the flour. Heat a little olive oil in a large pan, season the sole again and fry on one side until golden brown (3 – 4 minutes in total). Add a touch of butter towards the end, flip over and transfer the fish to the oven for a further 6 minutes or until its cooked.

we didn’t have dover sole.
so we just used the normal white fish.
as long as it’s a firm fish (: should work!

3. For the shrimp butter: melt the butter in hot pan and cook until it begins to brown. Add the shrimps, cayenne pepper and capers. Lightly season and add the lemon juice. Cook until the shrimps are heated through then add the flat leaf parsley and stir to combine.

baby shrimps
best if it’s fresh, but we used the ones from a can.
still as good! (:

and mixing that with butter will give you an awesome..

4. Serve the fish on warm plates, spoon the shrimp butter on top and a spoonful of nettle champ on the side.

so baby and I are really anal about presentation. haha.
so he put it together really nicely!
with crispy potatoes and beans (:
the potatoes were SUPER good.
crispy on the outside
and soft on the inside!

YUMSSSSS! (:

Thank You Baby! hehe

Plum Tatin with Ice cream

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Ingredients :
(from The F Word)

4 large ripe but firm plums
60g cold butter
60g caster sugar
300g puff pastry (one sheet of ready made puff pastry)
Ice cream to serve

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas 6.

2. Make sure the plums aren’t too ripe or they’ll fall apart when you try to cook them.
Halve the plums and remove the stones.
Cut into quarters and arrange, cut side down, on a tray lined with kitchen paper.
If you have time, refrigerate the plums overnight to dry them out a little
(this will help prevent the plums from releasing too much juice during cooking).

3. Cut the butter into thin slices and use to cover the base of a 21cm ovenproof pan
(or four small separate pans if you’re making individual tarts), no deeper than 6cm.
Sprinkle over the sugar evenly, then arrange the plum quarters in a circle around the pan,
cut side down, adding one or two quarters in the centre.

4. Place the pan over a medium heat and let the butter and sugar melt,
gently shaking the pan once in a while to encourage the caramel to form.
When the syrup has caramelised to a terracotta colour, after about 10 minutes, take the pan off the heat.
Set aside.

5. If you’re using your own puff pastry,
roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured board to a 24cm round
(or into four 6cm rounds if you wish to make individual tarts),
using a cake tin as a template.
if you’re using the ready made puff pastry sheet,
using a plate as a template, cut out the 24cm round.
Prick the pastry all over with a fork, then lift it up using a rolling pin and lay over the plums.
Carefully tuck the pastry edges down the side of the pan. Prick a hole in the top of the pastry.

6. Bake for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 180˚C
and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.

7. Leave the tart to cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a large serving plate.
Slice into individual portions and serve warm with dollops of clotted cream.

before I flipped it over. nice and crisp and golden!

our individual portions (:

we were happy and so were our tummys!

Gordan’s Classic Lasagne

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i thought the top was a bit too charred.
but Cheok described it as an equivalent to roast pork! haha
so I guess. it’s not too bad.
no charred taste. so im happy (:

My first go at cooking lasagne.
the cheese sauce and the meat just went really well!

absolutely love it.

though I didn’t have a shot with it in nice layers.
cos it topples once it’s lifted up.
but it was still quite yums!

Ingredients :
(Recipe from Gordan Ramsay’s Cookalong Live)

2 tbsp olive oil
½ large onion, peeled
1 large carrot, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 pinches dried oregano
300g minced beef
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
30ml (2 tbsp) red wine
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
50ml milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

for the cheese sauce :
25g butter
25g flour
300ml milk
Pinch of ground nutmeg
60g Cheddar cheese, grated
30g Parmesan cheese, grated
6 sheets of ‘non-cook’ lasagne sheets

Steps :

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

2. Heat the olive oil in a hot pan.
Grate the onion and carrot and crush the garlic before frying together.
Season with the bay leaf, a pinch of oregano, Worcestershire sauce and a little salt and pepper.
Allow the onion to soften before making a well in the centre of the pan.
Place the mince in the middle of the pan and stir to break it up.
Add the tomato puree and allow to cook out for 30 seconds.
Continue until all the meat has browned nicely.
Add the wine and cook off the alcohol before adding the tomatoes.
Leave to simmer for a further 2-3 minutes.
Finally add the milk, turn off the heat and set aside.

3. To make the cheese sauce, first melt the butter in a saucepan.
Add the flour and using a wooden spoon, stir to form a paste.
Over a gentle heat add a third of the milk, whisking to prevent any lumps forming.
Add the rest of the milk a third at a time, whisking as you go.
Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of ground nutmeg.
Allow the sauce to cook out for another minute before adding the Cheddar cheese.
Stir and remove from the heat.

4. Spoon half of the meat sauce into the bottom of the baking dish
and place pasta sheets on top (break the sheets if necessary to avoid any overlapping).
Next, pour in just under half of the cheese sauce,
and spread evenly using a spatula before spooning the remaining meat on top.
Add the final layer of pasta and use the spatula to pour over the remaining cheese sauce.

5. Finish with the grated Parmesan and sprinkle with another pinch of oregano.
Add a light seasoning of salt and pepper before cleaning the edges of the dish
and placing in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Stuffed Chicken Legs with Pea and Broad-bean Risotto

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Friday nights are always fabulous dinner nights.
Baby and I try new recipes to cook and bake.
just so to take the stress off that is induced from Uni or work.
and it always works! (:

So this week. Baby decided to make one of the dishes that I have been wanting to try :

It had alot of preparation before you actually get to sink your teeth into the yums.
So thank you for the effort sweets!


so yes. this is what you do to make the stuffed chicken legs

take slices of streaky bacon and lay them side by side
on an oiled big sheet of aluminium foil.

the chicken legs were stuffed with sausage meat, pistachios, parsley and thyme.
wrap the leg to form this round beauty
place it on the slices of bacon
and wrap it into a roll

very carefully twist the sides.
careful not to tear the aluminium foil.

Baby did it in cling wrap first
just so you get to see how it should look like inside! (:

you boil it for 25mins and take it out onto a plate
and chill it in the fridge for 30mins.

take out the foil and you should get something like this!
it should stay in the rolled up shape

pan fry the rolls to crisp up the bacon
till it’s nice and brown

then slice it into thick medallions to show off the inside (:

the pistachios just gives this nice colour to the dish

serve them on a plate of risotto.
YUMS!

Spiced Monk Fish

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since we started watching The F Word.
we haven’t stopped trying the recipes.
every week.
we try and cook at least 1 or 2 recipes from any series.
and when we saw the episode on Monk Fish
we have been tempted to try it!
but we didn’t know if we could get Monk Fish at Victoria Market

for the past few weeks.
we didn’t see any sign of Monk Fish at all.
and trust me. we never stopped looking for it! hehe
but last Friday
we spotted it! hehe.
another name for Monk Fish is Stargazer haha.
so cute. (:

SO WE BOUGHT IT.
of course. haha
not even thinking it for the second time.
we just asked for a large piece.
and paid for it.

not cheap. but so worth it!



i cooked it and sauteed some potatoes with thyme and garlic to go with (:
AWESOME. hehe
the fish was cooked to perfection
tender and still juicy.
and the coating of five-spice powder and paprika.
just compliments the sweetness of the fish.
we both enjoyed it very much!

stacking the slices of potatoes.
not as crispy as I hope the outside will be.
but still yumms!

then put one piece of fish on the potatoes.
gently

and then. the second piece. (:
DIG IN!

try it! it’s super easy and quick!

Ingredients :

4 monkfish tail fillets, skinned, each about 170g
1 tsp five-spice
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

5 small washed potatoes sliced thickly
thyme
2 cloves of garlic, crushed but left whole
25g butter

Steps :

1. Lay the monkfish on a board and remove any greyish membrane.
Mix the five-spice powder, paprika and seasoning together on a plate.
Roll the monkfish fillets in the spice mixture to coat evenly all over.

2. Heat 2 – 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan
and sear the monkfish fillets,
in batches if necessary for 4 – 5 minutes on each side until golden brown all over.
Baste as you cook to keep the fish moist.
When the fish is just cooked through,
remove to a cold plate and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

3. To serve : Stack the potatoes in the middle of the plate.
Gently place the pieces of fish on top of the potatoes.

4. Spiced Monkfish with sauteed potatoes.
DONE!

Enjoy!

Hot Chocolate Fondant

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(Recipe adapted from The F Word Series)

Ingredients :
50g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
2 tsp cocoa powder, to dust
50g good quality bitter chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), in pieces
1 free range egg
1 free range egg yolk
60g caster sugar
50g plain flour
Icing sugar to dust
Vanilla ice cream to serve
Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 160˚C/Gas 2.

2. Butter two large ramekins, about 7.5cm in diameter,
then dust liberally with cocoa, shaking out any excess.

3. Slowly melt the chocolate and butter in a small bowl set over a pan of hot water,
then take off the heat and stir until smooth.
Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

4. Using an electric whisk, whisk the whole egg, egg yolk and sugar together until pale and thick,
then incorporate the chocolate mixture.
Sift the flour over the mixture and gently fold in, using a large metal spoon.
Divide between the ramekins and bake for 12 minutes.

5. Turn the chocolate fondants out on to warmed plates.
Dust the tops with icing sugar and serve with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream.

6. Hot chocolate fondant. DONE.

Chocolate Souffle

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(Recipe from The F Word Series)

Ingredients :

25g of softened butter
Grated chocolate

Crème pâtissière

20g cornflour
200ml milk
200g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids, chopped
80g egg yolks

Egg white Mixture
200g egg whites
150g caster sugar

Steps :

1. Preheat oven at 180˚C/gas 4.

2. Brush 8 ramekins with the softened butter and chill it for 5 mins.
Then coat the ramekins with grated chocolate.

3. For the crème pâtissière, slake the corn flour with a little of the milk,
then gradually add the rest of the milk until you have a smooth mixture.
Pour into a small pan, and slowly bring to the boil,
stirring continuously.
Boil for 30 seconds then off the heat, add the chocolate and whisk until smooth.
Beat in the egg yolks until smooth before transferring to a bowl to cool

4. In an artisan mixer, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks.
Gradually start to add in the sugar, whisking well in between each addition.
Once all the sugar has been added, continue to whisk until you have a thick and glossy mixture

5. Add one third of the egg whites into the chocolate crème patisserie mixture and mix well.
Now add in the remaining egg white and gently fold into the mix.
Do not over work the mixture as it will become too hard and stiff

6. Divide the mixture between the ramekins.
Level the surface with a palate knife then bake for 6-8 minutes,
or until well risen and with a slightly wobbly centre.
Remove from the oven and dust with the remaining cocoa powder.
Serve immediately with a scoop of ice cream
(your favourite flavour!)

7. Chocolate souffle. DONE.

Hot Apple Tart with Caramel IceCream

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this is one recipe I followed step by step
and because my blow torch had no gas
I couldn’t torch it
But it grilled it instead! hehe
and it turned out pretty good too

Ingredients :

1 sheet of puff pastry (buttered preferably)
2 granny smith apples
brown sugar to top the tart
melted butter

Steps :

1. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees celcius.
Using a 98mm round cutter, cut out 4 rounds and place on a baking sheet in the baking tray.
Prick the pastry with a fork to stop it from puffing up.

2. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples

3. Arrange the apples on the puff pastry, overlapping them slightly.
Brush them with the melted butter
and sprinkle the top with brown sugar

4. Bake for 10-15 mins and turn it to the top grill and grill till the top turns
Top the tart with a scope of ice cream (any flavour you want)
and serve.

DONE! (:

just came out of the overn
and looking super good! (:

just another close up of the tart.

we were really spoilt for the night (:
and I love it. hehe