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Friday, December 31, 2010

Goodbye 2010 & Happy New Year 2011


HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011 from HomeKreation. Many thanks for the support in 2010 & hope that I can still keep up with the challenges in 2011 and able to allocate time between my busy career, family and blogging. Most of all, thanks for the friendship and all the best, happiness and health to all of you in years to come...!

Stripe Apam Pisang

 Sorry, another banana menu... you'll see more until I exhausted all my bananas....LOL.
 I'm using the same recipe posted earlier here but this time I've added cocoa to half of the batter & layer it for stripe pattern. Below is the recipe again for ease of reference.

Source:  here and CMG
HomeKreation modification: Added cocoa for stripe pattern
(makes 8" round)
INGREDIENTS:
4 Eggs
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Melted Butter (can mix butter & oil instead)
2 cup Plain Flour*
1 tsp BP* (* mixed)
8 Bananas** - mashed (about 300g)
1 tsp Bic Soda**
Pinch of Salt** (** mixed)
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

METHOD:
1. Beat eggs & sugar until thick.
Add in mashed banana & flour.
Stir well after each addition.

2. Divide batter into two portions.
Add cocoa powder to one portion.

3. Pour plain & cocoa batter alternately into a greased & lined tin.
Steam for 45 min until cooked.

New Year Greetings from Nur (JB)

Lovely greeting card from sweetie Nur with following caption:

No regret about the past...
No fear about the future...
New hopes and dreams in 2011..
Thankful to God for His blessings in 2010..
Happy New Year..

Thanks sweetheart....mmmmuah2....love ya.

Nasi Dagang (Fragrant Black Rice)


Nasi Dagang originated from East Coast of Peninsular has gained popularity across whole Peninsular but not yet in Sarawak. In Kelantan, they used special rice to cook Nasi Dagang which is light brown color. In my recent trip to Sabah, there were several types of organic rice sold near KK mountain. The color is black but they have special fragrant and quite pricey. The one I bought weigthed 800g sold for RM8/-.

Today, I decided to try to cook Nasi Dagang using the Sabah rice that I bought last week. The outcome was very surprisingly delicious despite the black color which outdo the original look from the East Coast.
Most recipes will call for hours of soaking the rice & cook via steaming method. Since I decided to cook this at the last minute, I have simplified the recipe by skipping the soaking & steaming part. I just dumped the whole things into a rice cooker & that's it....done and it turned-up lovely!

By: Roz@HomeKreation
Serves 6 persons
INGREDIENTS:
3 small cup Organic Black Rice
1 small cup Glutinous Rice
4½ cup Coconut Milk
4 Shallots*
3 cloves Garlic* (*sliced) 
1" Ginger**
1 Lemongrass** (** bruised) 
1 tsp Fenugreek
1 tsp Salt

METHOD:
1. Wash rice thoroughly & drained.
2. Place everything into a rice cooker & let it cook like normal.
3. Serve with Fish/Chicken/Beef curry but mine was with Venison Rendang, Cabbage Acar, Shrimp Fritters & Sambal Belachan.

ACAR CABBAGE:
I ran out of stock of cucumber or carrot & only had sweet cabbage bought from KK the other day. So I gave it a shot....lovely surprise.

Chopped cabbage, tomato + sliced chilies + sliced big onion + 1 tbsp Vinegar + 1 tsp Sugar + Salt. Mix well & let it stand for at least 10 minutes before serve.

SHRIMP FRITTERS:
I'm allergic to medium to big size prawns but amazingly ok with shrimps. So here is my Shrimp Fritters:

Shelled shrimps + flour + rice flour + curry powder + curry leaves + water (just enough to wet the flour) + salt. Deep fry.

Venison Rendang (Rendang Daging Rusa)

 Venison or deer meat is tastier and finer texture than beef. I observed that the dishes do not turn as dark as beef dishes. With the same recipe, my beef rendang will turn to almost black but with venison, the color of the gravy was hardly change.
Recipe by: Roz@HomeKreation
INGREDIENTS:
1 kg Venison - slice to small size 
1 cup Chili Paste
5 Chili Padi*
20 Shallots*
4" Ginger*
5 Lemongrass*
1" Galangal* (* blended) 
1 big bowl Thick Coconut Milk (freshly squeezed) 
2 Turmeric Leaves - sliced finely 
2 tsp Sugar
Salt

METHOD:
1. Heat up some oil & stir fry chili paste until fragrant.
Add in blended ingredients & stir fry until dry.
Add in venison, coconut milk and the rest.
Cook until meat is tender & gravy is thick.

2. Serve with rice.
I served this with white rice for lunch & with Nasi Dagang for dinner.

Chocolate Banana Toffee Pie II

 My sons said this is the most delicious dessert I've made so far..... one piece will make you lost from this world and need second piece to bring you back on earth but the danger will be very addictive and you will be asking for the third one and so on....hehehe.
 I have created the filling differently from the last one by mixing the toffee with melted chocolate and it is really awesome...!! The idea came up because I ran out of cream to make the chocolate layer, so why not just mix the chocolate & toffee... Sometimes you'll be surprise with wild ideas after tested...hehe. See here for the earlier version.

Source: Roz@HomeKreation
(Makes 10" pie)
CRUST:
200g Marie Biscuits
100g Melted Butted
- Mix well.
- Grease pie tin & press crumbs until fully covered.
- Bake for 10 minutes & cool.

FILLING:
200g Chocolate - melted
1 can Toffee / Dulce de Leche
Fresh Milk

Enough Bananas to cover - sliced
Whipping Cream
Cocoa Powder 

METHOD:
1. Mix melted chocolate & toffee. Add few tbsp of fresh milk if it is too thick.
Spread it into the crust base.
2. Arrange sliced bananas until fully covered.
3. Whip cream untl stiff & spread on top of banana layer.
4. Sprinkle cocoa powder.
5. Chill overnight before serve.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Deep Fried Salmon & Hasselback Potatoes

 Our dinner set tonight: Mushroom Soup, Baked Garlic Bread, Deep Fried Salmon in Breadcrumbs, Hasselback Potatoes and Salad with Balsamic Sauce.
DEEP FRIED SALMON IN BREADCRUMBS:
1. Rub Salmon with Salt & Pepper. Marinate with Mango juice.
2. Coat Salmon in Cornflour, dip in beaten egg, roll in breadcrumbs & deep fry.
HASSELBACK POTATOES
Source: Deliah
INGREDIENTS:
3 cloves garlic - pound 
3 tbsb Butter
A pinch of Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

METHOD:
1. Wash potatoes thoroughly. Trim one side of potato to a leveled surface (flat) for ease of cutting later.
On a chopping board, with the trimmed flat side down, start from middle of the potato, cut almost all the way through, but being careful not to actually cut through.
I used a pair of chopstick (Deliah used forks) as stop-gap/leverage to maintain the consistencies and pattern of the slices.

2. Arrange the processed potatoes in a greased baking tray and insert the pounded garlic in between the slits.
Brush some butter on top of each potato, then sprinkle some salt and some freshly ground black pepper.

3. Bake potatoes at 200C for about 40-50 minutes until the potatoes turn crispy.
You may serve this with sprinkles of cheese or sour cream.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Banana Upside-Down Brownies

 This week my menu will be filled up with bananas again because we just chopped a tree with a huge bunch of bananas. The bananas ripened so quickly.... but it is good to be able to experiment with various recipes and here is one of them. It is quite sweet due to caramel topping but it is super delicious and very moist.... and I love every bites of it.... oh no... suddenly my pants cannot zip due to increased calories intake lately!! Which one will you choose: die from the calories or die from craving..... I'll choose the former....hehe.
Source: link 
Rate: 5*
Makes 8" square
TOPPING:
100g Brown Sugar
2 tbsp Butter
(room temperature) 
3-4 Ripe Medium Bananas

BROWNIES:
112g Plain Flour*
1/2 cup plus 1/2 tbsp Cocoa Powder*
1/4 tsp Salt*
1/4 tsp Baking Powder*
(* Sifted together) 
5 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 1/4 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1
tsp Instant Coffee Powder - dissolved in 1 tsp Hot Water

METHOD:
1. To make the topping, place the brown sugar and butter in a metal cake pan. 
Place the pan directly over low heat, stirring until the sugar is the texture of wet sand. Stir just until the sugar is moist and bubbling, then remove from heat. 
Let cool to room temperature.

2. Peel and slice the bananas (1 cm thick). 
Arrange them, slightly overlapping, over the melted brown sugar.  

3. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. 
Off the heat, stir in the sugar until combined (texture will remain sandy). 
Add the eggs, vanilla, and dissolved coffee powder. 
Beat with a wooden spoon about 40 strokes, scraping the sides of the pan as necessary. 
Add the dry ingredients and beat for another 40 strokes, or just until completely mixed. 

4. Scrape the mixture into the pan and spread evenly. 
Bake for 25 minutes at 180C or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out a little gooey.
Cool for about 20 minutes, then invert the brownies onto a serving platter.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Pandan Chicken (Again)

 It has been quite sometime since I last made this.... I posted two versions of recipe in the past - you can check here & here. I didn't refer to any recipe when I made it as I like to follow my instinct when cooking but when I checked out the previous entries, it is similar to the first version but added more garlic.

As usual, kids enjoyed it so much! The chicken is very tasty with Pandan aroma. See the naked one below:

Cream Cracker Cheesecake

 There was leftover cream cheese filling from Blueberry Cheese Tarts but the amount is not worth making another batch of pastry cases. To bake the filling without base does not sound appealing to me. I searched the pantry to find idea and saw a packet of cream crackers..... yes, that's it! Coincidently I have muffin moulds which size is just nice for a piece of cream cracker.
Idea by: Roz@HomeKreation
METHOD:
1. Place muffin liners in the moulds.
Place a piece of cream cracker in each mould.
Pour cream cheese filling on top - see here for recipe.
Marble with pattern using chocolate/blueberry mixture.
2. Bake at 180C for 10 min.
3. Cool at room temperature & chill.

Below is showing the moulds that I used:

Monday, December 27, 2010

Blueberry Cheese Tarts

 I made this for my sister in conjunction with the KK trip. I was too busy packing for the trip that I didn't manage to update it earlier on.
 Very crispy crusts and lovely filling. Actually I made a mistake for the filling recipe. There were two recipes on side by side page & I used the recipe from the cheesecake instead of tarts! Fortunatley it turned out alright and compatible with the pastry.... fiush!

By: Roz@HomeKreation
Source: Pastry from Che'Pah Fotopage; Filling from Rachel Ray
Recipe simplified & refined by HomeKreation
Makes about 70 pcs
PASTRY:
250g Butter (HomeKreation: I used cold butter) 
80g Icing Sugar
2 Eggs - slightly beaten 
440g Flour
1tsp VE

METHOD:
1. Mix all ingredients, except eggs, with processor until resemble breadcrumbs.
Pour in egg slowly until dough is formed.
Chill for 30 minutes.

2. Pinch small amount & press into tart moulds.
Pricks surface with fork.

3. Bake 175C for 10 min.
Cool and keep in air tight container until required.

FILLING:
250g Cream Cheese
2 tbsp Soft Butter
1/3 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
2 tbsp Milk
1 tbsp Flour
Blueberry Jam

METHOD:
1. Beat cream cheese, sugar & butter until creamy.
Add in egg one by one & mix well.
Add in milk & flour & mix well.

2. Spoon blueberry jam into tart shell.
Cover with cream cheese filling.
Make marble pattern on surface with blueberry mixture.

3. Bake at 180C for 7-10 min.
Cool & serve warm/chilled.
 
BAHASA MALAYSIA VERSION


Source: Pastry from Che'Pah Fotopage; Filling from Rachel Ray
Recipe di permudahkan oleh HomeKreation
Bilangan: lebih kurang 70 biji
PASTRI:
250g Mentega Sejuk
80g Gula Aising
2 biji Telur - pukul sedikit
440g Tepung
1tsp Esen Vanilla

CARA2:
1. Campurkan kesemua bahan, kecuali telur, sehingga seperti serbuk roti. 
(Along guna food processor)
asukkan telur sedikit2 sehingga membentuk ketulan doh.
Seukkan 30 minit.

2. Cubit doh & teknkan ke dlm acuan tat.
Cucuk2kan dgn garpu.

3. Bakar 175C selama 10 min.
Sejukkan & simpan dlm bekas kedap udara sehingga di perlukan.

FILLING:
250g Cream Cheese
2 sb Butter - di lembutkan pd suhu bilik
1/3 cwn Gula
2 bj Telur
2 sb Susu Segar
1 sb Tepung
Jem Bluberi

CARA2:
1. Pukul cream cheese, gula & butter sehingga lembut & sebati.
Masukkan telur satu persatu sehingga sebati.
Masukkan susu, tepung & gaul sebati.
2. Sudukan jem bluberi ke dlm pastri tat.
Tutup dgn adunan cheese.
Corakkan pattern ke atas permukaan dgn campuran jem & sedikit adunan.
3. Bakar 180C selama 7-10 min.
Hidangkan suam atau sejuk.

Special 280th Follower

After returned from KK, I was so surprise to discover my 280th follower is Chef Zaidah... a celebrity chef who appeared in many television programmes since 20 years ago and still active & popular until now! I jumped high with excitement, feel very honored because she is my idol chef...!

In the old days (back in the early 90s) when there was no internet, television was my favourite source for recipes and cooking. Chef Zaidah was my number one favourite because of her sincerity in sharing accurate recipes and lots of tips for successful cooking. I always get ready with pen & paper to follow her programme every week and her simple presentation helped me to capture most of the recipes/tips without fail. Thanks so much chef for your dedication in the culinary world and be follower to my humble blog.

Refer here to go to Chef Zaidah's blog.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Liana on Holiday and My 21st Anniversary

 Hello everyone, I am back feeling mentally fresh after few days holidaying in KK in conjunction with our 21st wedding anniversary. It was a whole family trip and we had lots of fun going round to several places including a boat ride to an island. It was just a very short break but so good to be away from daily routines.....
Thanks so much to my sister & BIL who entertained us everyday for tour...love you all...!!

Syukur, alhamdulillah that we made it for another year a happy and blessed marriage. What more can I ask from Allah except for continuous happiness and blessings for both of us and our children. No home-made cake this year to share with all of you but sharing some photos with Liana who enjoyed herself more than anyone else.

To MAA, thanks for remembering our special date with advance wishes.... appreciate that very much especially your very encouraging support for this blog.



Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Banana Caramel Cake

 Sorry everyone, another banana recipe.... I promise you this is the last one that related to bananas this week.... hehe. This is a lovely cake which I am very glad that I tried. I shared the cake during lunch gathering at a friend's house and was a big hit. So moist and the whole combination of bananas, chocolate, walnut & caramel topping just make you drool & want more after every bites....!

This is my last entry this week..... see you when I'm back from holiday....taaaaa!
By: Roz@HomeKreation
Source: Stylish Cuisine (HomeKreation: I simplified the recipe to suit my reference & skipped the spices)

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups All-purpose Flour*
1/2 tsp Salt*
1 tsp Baking Soda* (* sift together) 
3 large Eggs
1¼ cup Veg Oil
1½ cup Sugar (HomeKreation: reduced fr 1¾ cup) 
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
¾ cup Walnuts - chopped coarsely 
3 oz Choc Chips / Chopped Choc
3 Ripe bananas - mashed 

CARAMEL:
½ cup Brown Sugar
2 tbsp Milk
4 tbsp Butter
- Prepare this 10 min before the cake is cooked.
- Boil for 5 min

METHOD:
1. Combine egg, oil & sugar & beat medium speed 2-3min.
Add in VE & mix 30 seconds.
With low speed, add in flour mixture bit by bit.
Lastly, fold in walnuts, choc chips & bananas.

2. Pour into buttered/floured tube pan.
Bake at 180C for 50 min.

3. Once the cake is out of the oven, poke holes all over the cake with a skewer.
Immediately pour the caramel over the cake, stopping every now and then to let the caramel sink in. 
If the caramel pools in spots, poke more holes to allow it to sink in.
Let the cake cool in the pan before unmold it.

Spiral Potato

 Tried Spiral Potato to accompany our breakfast today: Spiral Potato, Baked Beans, Half-boiled Eggs and Toasted Bread (actually I also made baked tomato but forgot to snap it). The Spiral Potato turns out crispy and kids love it. We actually had this once the last time when we visited Taiping (sold at Pasar Malam).
By: Roz@HomeKreation
Source: Hana
METHOD: Poke a potato with a stick & slice thru in spiral. Move the spiral slightly apart. Sprinkle wth salt & pepper & deep fry.
You can also refer to: VIDEO You Tube

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Banana Chips II

 
I've got abundance of bananas, so I have to come up with different varieties of products. So far, this week I have made Banana Chips, Banana Fritters and a cake. I have turned the last batch of unripe bananas into this Banana Chips of different shape than the one I typically made in the past. The problem with this version that it is gone before you actually realise it because it is so light & fine shape.

Apart from Roses, I love Lavenders....
Recipe created by: Roz@HomeKreation
INGREDIENTS:
Unripe Bananas
Salt
Oil for deepfry

METHOD:
1. Cut bananas into the required length if using Horn Bananas. No need to cut for smaller types.
Grate bananas (lengthwise) into match stick shapes.
2. Sprinkle salt & mix well.
3. Deep fry until crispy.
 This is the grater that I used:

Monday, December 20, 2010

Ayam Panggang Lada Hitam

 AlongRiz ada kat rumah ni, hari2 masak lauk ayam. Abah dia beli 5 ekor ayam saja2 nak isi petiais tu, tengok2 habis dlm masa seminggu.... Ini half chicken yg terakhir, buat panggang untuk makan dengan nasi lemak malam ni.... Respi amik kat rumah besan kat Jepun...hehe sedap!
 By: Roz@HomeKreation
Source: hanamemories.blogspot.com

BAHAN2:
1/2 ekor ayam size kecil
*1/2 labu bawang putih
- parut
*2 inci halia
- parut
1 sudu besar lada hitam
- tumbuk kasar
2 sudu besar kicap manis/pekat
1 sudu besar sos tiram
2 sudu besar madu
garam sedikit
minyak zaitun

CARA2:
1. Gaul ayam dgn halia,bwg putih, kicap, lada hitam, sos tiram, madu, dan sedikit garam. 

Masukkan dalam mangkuk tahan panas/loyang. 
Perap sekurang2nya 2-3jam atau semalaman.
 

2. Panaskan oven 180C. 
Curahkan minyak zaitun ke atas ayam (bleh tukar butter) dan bakar selama 1jam atau sehingga ayam masak. 
Setiap 20min jirus2kan air ayam yg keluar ke atas ayam supaya permukaan atas tidak terlalu kering dan juicy.

Along buat Nasi Lemak dengan lauk Ayam Panggang, Sambal Telur Rebus, Timun & Tomato:

Award & Tag from Mimiey

Award & tag ni dari Mimiey cayang.... maceh ya ingat kat Along. Along ni masak sekadar untuk bebudak & Abah dia makan ok ler, tak ler terrer tara mana pun.

Tag/Soalan:
1. Sejak bila anda mula memasak dan apakah masakan pertama anda?
Waktu dalam perut Emak dah start memasak sebab Emak Along rajin masak, pagi, petang, siang malam masak je keje dia, dari dulu sampai lah sekarang...hehe!

2. Sapa yang menggalakkan anda masak?
Sendiri minat, Emak Along tu cerewet kena halau jer kalau nyibuk kat dapo tapi kita siap main masak2 bawah rumah nasib tak terbakau rumah tu....kikiki.

3. Masakan yang paling anda suka masak dan digemari orang2 kesayangan anda?
Along tak suka masak respi yg sama, selalu je try macam2 and family pun ok jer, janji sedap! Lauk2 biasa yg Along paling suka ialah kari & semua pun suka gak!

4. Tag 5 orang blogger masak yang sering berkunjung ke blog anda.
Alaaa... part ni susah sikit nak pilih.... kita skip jer ek. Kalau sape2 yg sudi, sila lah amik award & tag ni...hehe.

Banana Tartlets

 This is a recipe that I've created myself after watching AFC on tv. It was just a quick show with no recipe given and I searched the AFC website for the recipe with no success. I was so curious how the tarts would taste with mashed banana filling that I decided to do it by trial & error. I am very please with the result and amazingly very delicious filling. My two boys and hubby enjoyed it so much that they asked me to make this again...! I'm so delighted with satisfaction....
Recipe Owner: Roz@HomeKreation
Makes about One Dozen (depending on the size)
INGREDIENTS:
One portion Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (Can use any recipe. See below the version I used) 
480g Bananas (I used Pisang Emas) 
50g Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Essence

METHOD:
1. Divide pastry into two portions.
Line greased tartlet moulds with 2/3rd of the shortcrust pastry.
Bake 180C for 15min.

2. Mashed bananas & sugar.
Place in a pot with VE & cook until it is thick.

3. Place a tbsp of banana filling into case.
Cover with the remaining 1/3rd pastry like shown in the photos.
Brush surface with beaten egg.
Bake 180C for 30min.
Source: Roz@HomeKreation
SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY:
200g Flour
30g Cornflour
125g Cold Butter - cut small 
65g Caster Sugar
1 small Egg
1 Egg Yolk
1 tsp VE

METHOD:
Mix all using processor to form dough.
Do not knead but mix just enough to bind.
Chill 30 min in fridge before use.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Banana Breadcrumbs Fritters

 I've created an idea to use breadcrumbs to make banana fritters and yes... very nice & crunchy! However, I had limited breadcrumbs leftover so the breadcrumbs is not thick enough. Will be nicer with a lot more..... Nevertheless, kruuup-kruup-krup....hehehe. It is raining out there at the moment and so nice to have banana fritters & a cup of coffee....
Source: Roz@HomeKreation
INGREDIENTS:
Bananas - sliced
2 spoon Rice flour
1 spoon Plain Flour
1 pinch Salt
Water
Breadcrumbs

METHOD:
1. Mix flour, water & salt to produce thick runny batter.
2. Dip banana slices in batter & roll on breadcrumbs.
3. Deep fry until coating is crunchy.
4. Drain excess oil on kitchen paper & serve hot.



What Cake Is This?


Nice and light cake with heavier texture at the bottom.... However, this not supposed to look as such, so should I call it success by incidence or a failure... LOL. Whatever it is, it is nice! I will post it again if I get more successful to look like what it supposed to be.... in meantime, just enjoy it and don't ask me what the name is... it will be a surprise when I post the success version if I try again...hehe.

By the way, I made it to serve the kampung people who works (gotong-royong) in the preparation for gathering at my friend's daughter Akad Nikah (wedding vows) yesterday.