Pumpkin pie with feta and walnuts
by peejeej on December 14th, 2011
My first real attempt cooking pumpkin and the result was absolutely fabulous. I can’t wait to make this again.
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Baked Camembert
by peejeej on September 7th, 2011
A simple dish that I’ve seen on tv multiple times, but never thought to try it myself. Camembert baked in it’s box. Although I’m not much of a cheese lover, I do crave it once in a while.
Simple and fairly quick!
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Chocolate truffle tart
by peejeej on March 2nd, 2011
I made this truffle tart to celebrate our 11 yr anniversary. I’ve made truffle tarts before, but this one is the best so far. No baking involved and only 4 ingredients.
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Chicken Sausage Rolls
by peejeej on January 3rd, 2011
I made these chicken sausage rolls inspired by Masterchef AU. Ofcourse me being me, I skipped a lot of steps.
I seasoned the ground chicken meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a bit of paprika powder. Folded them in puff pastry and sprinkled sesame seeds on top. I’m not a big fan of egg washing puff pastry. Just don’t like the flavor, but they don’t need to be a deep golden brown for me to enjoy them.
Experiment: no knead bread
by peejeej on December 6th, 2010
Behold, my first attempt at making a No Knead bread. I used the basic flour, salt, yeast, water ingredients, using this Dutch recipe since I don’t have any cupmeasures.
It turned out really nice and slightly chewy in the middle with a hard crust. The bread was slightly bland though, so I need to add a bit more salt next time or perhaps use a different flour.
I had a bit of trouble getting the dough in my Creuset so it’s not as high as I think it should be. I covered the pan with aluminium foil instead of the lid, because I haven’t replaced the knob with a stainless steel one yet. This wasn’t a problem whatsoever. Will definitely be making this again!
Peking Duck with pancakes
by peejeej on November 23rd, 2010
A week ago we got some Peking duck supplies at a local Asian supermarket. Boneless pre-prepped Peking duck, pancakes and hoisin sauce.
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Experiment: Shrimp Crab cakes
by peejeej on October 26th, 2010
- Ingredients:
- Tinned crab
- Frozen shrimp (peeled and deveined)
- 1 egg
- Green onion
- Few drops of Sesame oil
- Salt/Pepper
- Toasted breadcrumbs
- Oil for panfrying
I’ve been wanting to try to make crab cakes for some time now. I’ve never eaten them before. This was my attempt at making shrimp/crab cakes and they came out wonderful. I don’t have exact measurements and I didn’t go by a recipe.
I used a small tin of crabmeat, to have more filling I added some thawed frozen shrimps. Drain the crab meat, add chopped shrimp, egg, chopped green onion, couple of drops of sesame oil, season with salt/pepper and add breadcrumbs. Combine this into a fairly thick “dough” that will hold together. Shape into small patties and panfry for a couple of minutes on each side. The amount I had was only enough for 6 cakes.
Best eaten warm with some chili sauce. I’ll be making these more often 
.
DotD: Stirfried oyster mushrooms, broccoli with cashew nuts
by peejeej on October 20th, 2010
Wouldn’t classify this as a recipe. Minimal ingredients, fast, simple and yummy. Stir fry torn oyster mushrooms, add broccoli (until slightly softened and with a bit of a bite), add garlic, soy sauce and cashew nuts. Serve on steamed rice.
Epic Baked Cheesecake
by peejeej on October 12th, 2010
- Ingredients:
- 150gr cookies
- 50gr melted butter
- 100gr sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 2tbs cornstarch
- 500gr mascarpone
- 200gr creme fraiche
Butter a springform pan and line with parchment paper. I cut a circle slightly larger than the pan so there is a bit of an edge. This is to prevent any leaking. The butter will help the parchment to stick. Finely crush the cookies and mix it with the melted butter. I used a blender to pulse the cookies, which is much easier than stomping them with a rolling pin. Even out the cookie mix into the pan using the back of a spoon to compress and smooth the bottom. Put this in the refridgerator to set.
Now on to the topping. Mix the egg yolks with the sugar and the cornstarch first. I do this first so I don’t get any starch lumps. Then add creme fraiche and bit by bit add the mascarpone. I mix this by hand, but if you use an electric mixer you can add more stuff at a time. Thoroughly mix until the clumps of mascarpone are gone and the topping is smooth.
Pour the topping onto the bottom and bake for about 40 minutes at 190C/374F in the center of the oven. When the cheesecake is done it will still have a wobble to it. If it’s too liquid leave it in for a bit longer. The topping might puff up a bit (as it has with mine this time), but this will fall back down. Turn off the oven and leave to cool with the oven door ajar. When the cheesecake has cooled down enough, leave it to set in the refridgerator for a couple of hours or overnight.
For the cookies I used “bastonje koeken” I’m not sure what a US substitute would be. Perhaps gingersnaps? This cake is also wonderful with cherry pie filling on top. This cheesecake is a big hit with friends and family. NomNOM!
Gado Gado
by peejeej on October 6th, 2010
I tried to recreate a nice Gado-gado I’ve had from a take away place. Gado-gado is an Indonesian dish of a vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce dressing. I’ve made it into a one bowl dish with steamed rice underneath. Not a lot of cooking is involved in my version.
At the bottom I have steamed rice, then a layer of green cabbage which has been lightly braised in chicken stock and soy sauce. I kept a little bit of a bite in the green cabbage. Then topped with slices of cucumber, tomato and bean sprouts. On top a ready made peanut sauce. Yes I’m lazy, I don’t make my own peanut sauce. This one had a nice flavor, but I should have watered it down a bit more.
To make it completely vegetarian, substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock. To add a bit of crunch and texture, I ate this with some (bought) prawn crackers.
