[recipes] Christmas Bread

Christmas is around the corner and this year I managed to bake 2 batches of Christmas themed bread. These sweet Christmas buns make a great alternative to serve on festive table and you can choose to make it plain without the fillings in order to have it with soup or cheese.

圣诞节的气氛越来越逼近，今天就和你们一起分享我和小伙伴一起做的圣诞主题面包

[Updated] Christmas Wonderland 2015 @ Gardens By The Bay

This Christmas Singapore is holding her second Christmas Wonderland which is an annual yuletide fair with light sculptures and festive market at Gardens By the Bay from 28 November 2015 to 03 January 2016. Visitors will be able to experience "winter" at the new Ice Palace with indoor ice skating rink or making snow angels at the snow playground. Besides chilling up there are also carnival games and rides plus European-style festive market and Spiegeltent festive menu to perk up the festive mood too.

[Wordless Wednesday] Santa Claus Sushi Art Workshop

[Sushi Art Workshop] Santa Claus Sushi Art

[Sushi Art Workshop] Necessary Ingredients

Jolly Holly Christmas CG Party With PrimaDéli Truffle Log Cake

This festive season PrimaDéli’s has added two new items such as Salted Caramel Log Cake and their mouth-watering Chef’s Supreme Pie to their Christmas collection. And with their range of sweet and savoury treats you can pick your all-time favourite log cakes in any shapes and sizes from either standard design to Santa’s or Winter Wonderland Santa’s Cottage that made from chocolate or vanilla sponge.

Here I would like to thank PrimaDéli’s for the complimentary Truffle Log Cake (SG$36.90 (standard) / SG$47.90 per kg) and Chef’s Supreme Pie (SG$11.90; 16cm) which brings joy and festive atmosphere to our early Christmas cell group party last week.

Above shows their new Salted Caramel Log Cake (SG$36.90 (standard) / SG$47.90 per kg) which is an exquisite creation of layers fluffy vanilla sponge that covered with salted caramel cream and made perfect with an almond spread dotted with crunchy chocolate pearls. Although we didn't managed to sample this but I going to get it for our own Christmas gathering because I am a caramel fans and I am sure it will taste great with the combination ingredients too.

Festive Brunch Menu Using Perfect Italiano Cheese

Christmas is just another three weeks down the road and I am sure most of you are busy with the Christmas menu planning. Here with some complimentary cheese that we received from Perfect Italiano, we decided to whip up some dishes from their “Food Fixes in 15 Seconds” festive menu which features tasty and simple dishes that you can learn in just 15 seconds.

Using the cheese we prepared a 5 Course Brunch Menu shown above with Cheesy Corn Chowder, Parmesan Toast, Cheese Baked Christmas Casserole, Sausage And Mushroom Baked Rice plus Parmesan Pancakes for dessert.

Our Thanksgiving Feast - Roast Chicken With Cranberry And Macadamia Stuffing plus Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving is a time of the year where everyone in the family to get together to have meal and give grateful for things like family, friends, food and etc. To be frank this is my first year preparing Thanksgiving feast for the family and instead of the usual baked “turkey” I decided to swap with something smaller. So for this year, I prepared Roast Chicken with Cranberry and Macadamia Stuffing together with medley of colourful vegetables. And I also made our all-time favourite Pumpkin Pie with buttery crust for dessert.

I am thankful that this feast was able to complete and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner as planned. It was because during the preparation (if you have read about the mishap (here) on my Instagram (@cuisineparadise)) my old build-in oven (12 years) actually fused off while I was preheating it for the bakes. But thanks God with my Samsung microwave convection oven I am still able to prepare the dishes with slight changes or else I won't be able to know what to do. 

[Christmas Bake] Mini Fruit Cakes With Nut Topping

Fruit Cake is a traditional all-time British Christmas cake that is often made with butter, liquor (RUM/Brandy) and lot of dried mixed fruits and assorted nuts. This cake is best to consume a few days to weeks after baking for a better flavour. And if you prefer a strong taste of liquor, you can also bake the cake a few week ahead and brush it with RUM several times and allow the flavour to age before Christmas.

Out of all the Christmas bakes, fruit cake is one of my favourite and every year I will baked some for my family and friends as gift. And since Christmas is just less than a month from now, it’s will be a great time to start preparing some fruit cake to enjoy over the festive season.

{Fishy Dinner} Chinese Baked Fish Fillet And Baked Cheesy Salmon With Wasabi

Festive season is a great time to feast together with family and friends plus a bit of catch up and updates on each others progress. This Christmas season other than festive bakes I also have some quick dishes which you might be interested with.

In this post I am sharing two different "fish" dishes which you could cater for everyone in the family such as Chinese Baked Fish Fillet with oyster sauce and Baked Cheesy Salmon using Japanese mayonnaise and wasabi.

CHINESE BAKED FISH FILLET

For something more Asian taste, this Chinese Baked Fish Fillet would be something easy that you could prepare and get ready in less than 30 minutes for an evening dinner to impress your guests. For the fillet you can use any firm white fish such as cod, haddock, or grouper which work well on this recipe.

(Serves: 1 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 15 - 20 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 1 Piece Grouper Fish Fillet (200g), skin intact
• 1/2 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
• 1 Teaspoon Chinese Cooking Wine
• 1/4 Teaspoon Sugar
• 1/4 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
• 2 Slices Ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 Stalk of Spring Onion, cut into sections
• 1 Red Chilli(optional), sliced
• Served with Steamed Rice and Asian Greens

Method:-
1. Preheat oven to 200 °C (degree Celsius). Arrange spring onion and some julienne ginger on a disposal baking tray and top with fish fillet.

2. Combine oyster sauce, cooking wine, sugar and sesame oil in a bowl and mix well.

3. Spoon sauce mixture over fish fillet, top with remaining ginger and chilli, cover with foil and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until fish is just cooked through.

4. Sprinkle some extra chopped spring onion and serve hot with steamed rice and Asian green.

Note:
~ Stir-fry baby bok choy and fresh shiitake mushrooms with some garlic and ginger then lightly season it with salt.

BAKED CHEESY SALMON WITH WASABI

Whereas for a western treat, you might wish to consider this Baked Cheesy Salmon with Wasabi. For me, I am a salmon lover and I love to eat it either raw, grilled or baked. And my favourite way of cooking salmon is to top it with lots of shredded cheese and Japanese mayonnaise because after baking it would have a tasty cheesy crust on top plus a moist and juicy fillet below.

(Serves: 1  | Preparation: 5 minutes   | Cooking: 15 - 20 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 1 Salmon Fillet (200g), bones removed
• 2 Tablespoons Japanese Mayonnaise
• 1/2 Teaspoon Wasabi Paste
• Rind of 1 Lemon
• 1/4 Cup of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• Some Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Serve with French Beans and Cherry Tomato

Method:-
1. Preheat oven to 200 °C (degree Celsius). Arrange salmon on a disposal baking tray, top with generous amount of mayonnaise mixture (combine Japanese mayonnaise, wasabi and lemon rind till well-mixed).

2. Evenly top it with shredded mozzarella cheese and sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper on it.

3. Bake prepared salmon in an preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes or till salmon is cooked to your preference.

4. Serve hot with some french bean, cherry tomato and steamed rice.

With dishes like this you can play around with the ingredients and side dishes to cater for everyone's preference and the best thing is you can bake these two dishes together in the oven but just keep an easy on the salmon as you don't wish to over baked it. And as for the sides, you could add in some Cream Soup (recipes) or Salad (recipes) to make it a complete meal too.

Christmas Tree Tuna Sandwich

Good Morning! Merry Christmas to all my friends, readers and supporters out there.  Thank you so much for all your kind comments, supports and frequent visits to Cuisine Paradise website and Facebook page. I am so blessed to know some of you in person as well as those silent readers/supporters who are always there.

In coming 2013 I would continue to share more recipes ideas, review new products and etc which I hope it would inspired you to cook or bake more for your family or loved ones.

CHRISTMAS TREE TUNA SANDWICH

As today is Christmas, I would like to share with you this 10 minutes breakfast ideas which you could easily find the ingredients in your kitchen pantry. I am sure this Christmas Tree alike tuna sandwich would be a hit for your kid(s) or party guests today. It's so easy to prepare and yet too adorable to be consumed.

(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 10 minutes )

Ingredients:

• 4 Slices of Thick Toast
• 1 Can of Tuna Chunk/Flake in Olive Oil
• 4 Slices of Sandwich Cheese
• 1 Japanese Cucumber, thinly sliced and havled
• 1 Medium Tomato, sliced
• 2 Shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 Tablespoon of Japanese Mayonnaise
• Some freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Christmas Tree Shaped Pancake Ring Mould

Method:-
1. Drain the tuna chunk, place it in a bowl together with shallot, mayonnaise and pepper. Mix well and set aside.

2. Next using a Christmas Tree shaped cutter, cutout the shape from the bread and repeat the same procedure using sandwich cheese.

3. Put a slice of the cutout sandwich cheese on top of each Christmas Tree cutout before spreading a layer of tuna mixture on it.

4. Arrange the halved cucumber slices to resemble tree leaves and you can add on extra "Stars" cheese and tomato slices to decorate the trees.

Furthermore, other than the Christmas Tree alike sandwiches I also include this Rocky Road Granola with Milk for our breakfast. This is a super yummy treat made by Sherie from Maameemoomoo. I really loves this great combination and I am always craving for it even before bedtime.

Here you go, these are the lovely granola packaging from Maameemoomoo's Christmas collection which is known as Rocky Road Granola (RRG). Each packet has generous amount of chocolate coated rolled oats, roasted almond, cranberries, 46% milk chocolate sticks and fluffy marshmallows. You can find out more about Sherie's homemade Granola at this link HERE which connected to her Granola posts. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone! Have a blessed and fruitful festive season.............

Christmas Lunch At Parkroyal Beach Road, Plaza Brasserie

Last week of the year is always full of feasting, gathering and exchanging of gifts due to Christmas and New Year seasons.This year our family Christmas lunch is at Plaza Brasserie which is located at Beach Road near Golden Mile Food Centre and Golden Mile Complex.

We decided to have festive lunch instead of dinner so that we could take the time to enjoy the food and family bonding/chatting plus after which we could still go for last minute Christmas shopping or enjoy the beautiful Christmas lighting.

Orange Marmalade Bread Pudding

There are so many festive bakes to make during Christmas season like Gingerbread Man, Classic Chocolate Brownie, Yule Chocolate Log and etc. Here is another quick festive dessert follow by the Pancakemisu which I have shared two weeks back.

I am sure most of you have tried Bread and Butter Pudding which is one of those classic English recipes that everyone loves. With the addition of marmalade with the egg custard, it gives the bread pudding a zingy orangey taste which makes the whole thing superb.

ORANGE MARMALADE BREAD PUDDING
(using Frezfruta Orange Marmalade)

This dessert is so yummy with layers of soft custard insides that contrasts with the crispiness of the buttery danish bread and nutty almond flakes on top. And it is also very easy to prepare just by whisking together the custard ingredients, pour it over on the bread, bake till custard is set and top is golden brown in colour. 

(Serves: 4  | Preparation: 10 minutes  |   Cooking: 30 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 5 Slices Of Danish Bread
• 1/4 Cup Frezfruta Orange Marmalade
• 3 Egg (55g each)
• 200ml Milk
• 100ml Thicken Cream
• Zest of 1/2 Orange
• 1 Tablespoon Caster Sugar, optional
• Some Julienned Orange Zest, optional

Method:-
1. Preheat oven to 180°C (degree Celsius). Lightly grease the base of two 12 x 12 x 8cm square baking dish and set aside.

2. Spread each pieces of Danish bread with Frezfruta Orange Marmalade, cut it into 8 small pieces and layer them into the two prepared baking dish.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together egg, milk, cream and orange zest for 1 minute till smooth. Carefully pour the egg mixture over the bread and leave it to soak for 5 minutes.

4. Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes, remove the foil and continue to bake for another 5 minutes or until top is golden and the custard is set.

5. Remove the pudding from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately with a cup of Gold Kili Instant Double White Milk Tea.

Tip:
~ For extra flavour, you could sprinkler some castor sugar and julienned orange zest on the bread before baking..

During baking the bread pudding will puff quite a lot which resemble soufflé but it will deflate once it is out of the oven so remember to use a deep baking dish instead of shallow one for this recipe. And with this easy recipe you could prepare a quick festive dessert to impress your guests together with  some Floral or Milk Tea which is perfect beverage to go with bread pudding.

{Christmas Bake} ABC Power Cake

I am sure for those who love fruit juice you would probably have tried the ABC (apple, beetroot and carrot) Detox Juice during one of your orders. But other than the juice, have you ever tried any cake which is made from ABC Juice and it's residues. If NO, here is a new recipe that I would like to share with you and it might come in handy for this Christmas season.

As Christmas is approaching, I wanted to bake something which has some festive feel like Mixed Fruit Cake, Ginger Bread, Cookies or etc. And the idea of this ABC Power Cake inspired me from my Okara Black Butter Cake which I have shared sometime back.

ABC POWER CAKE
(using Juice and Fruit Residues from Apple, Beetroot and Carrot)

This cake has a brownish red colour tone which similar to those Christmas mixed fruit cakes or sticky date pudding which we all loved. Furthermore this cake is light and fruity in flavour as compared to those traditional Christmas bakes which are loaded with spices and dried mixed fruits or chocolate. 

(Make: 2 tins (17cm x 8cm x 6cm) | Preparation: 10 minutes |  Baking: 45 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 180g Self-Raising Flour
• 20g Valrhona Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
• 4 Eggs (55g each)
• 200g Unsalted Butter
• 180g Castor Sugar
• 150g ABC Fruit Residues
• 50ml ABC Juice

Method:-
1. Preheat Oven to 170°C degree Celsius.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (beating with an electric mixer for about 4 - 5 minutes on medium speed).

3. Add in 1 egg at a time, beating well in between each additions. Beat in ABC Fruit Residues till combined (a few seconds).

4. Using a rubber spatula, fold in half the sifted flour mixture (careful not to over-stir or beat the mixture) and follow by ABC Juice and remaining flour.

5. Divide the batter into the prepared casing, bake the cake in preheated oven for 40 - 45 minutes or until a skewer insert in the middle and come out clean.

6. When cooked, remove cake from the oven, allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

This cake is very moist and perfumed with fruity flavour and aroma from the fruit juice and residues used and with each bite you could also taste a mild beetroot flavour in it. For a change from the usual traditional Christmas bake, perhaps this power cake would be something that you would love to share with your family or friends during this festive season. And for party or potluck idea, you could even bake this in small cupcake size, dust with icing sugar and decorate with Christmas cake toppers too.

Vanilla Mixed Fruit Log Cake From PrimaDeli

Christmas is another two weeks from now and a few days back I have received a Vanilla Mixed Fruit Log Cake complimentary from PrimaDéli. For a white Christmas this Vanilla Mixed Fruit Cake is a good alternative to the standard Chocolate variation. The harmonious combination of exotic fruit is generously spread between layers of fluffy vanilla sponge together with a smooth vanilla cream on the outer layer which keeps it light and yet enjoyable for your palate.

Besides the Vanilla Mixed Fruit Log Cake, PrimaDéli also offers another two range of Christmas Log Cakes for chocolate lover such as Blackforest Log Cake which featuring luscious layers of Chocolate sponge filled with juicy dark cherries, laced with fresh chocolate cream. Or you could the Truffle Log Cake which is a decadently rich chocolate sponge cake covered with velvety truffle cream. All the three log cakes comes in S$35.90 (Standard) or S$46.90 per kg.

The PrimaDéli’s Christmas 2012 Collection will be available at all PrimaDéli bakeries (outlets) from 17 November 2012 to 20 December 2012. Orders must be placed at least four working days at the various outlets prior to collection. Closing date for orders is 20 December 2012.  For general and corporate enquiries, you could call PrimaDéli’s hotline at 6276 3333 or visit www.primadeli.com for more details.

Thanks to PrimaDéli and Foreword Communications Pte Ltd for the complimentary Log Cake.

Christmas Menu At Kiseki Japanese Buffet Restaurant

Christmas is about 2 weeks from now and if you have not decided on where to go for your Christmas lunch/dinner perhaps you could take a look at this wallet-friendly Christmas menu from Kiseki Japanese Buffet Restaurant.

For this Christmas season, Kiseki present a lovely white Christmas feast(lunch and dinner) starting from 21st - 25th December 2012 where diner could enjoy a hearty spread with less than S$50.00 per person.

During the festive lunch special, on top of the usual Japanese buffet favourite you could also enjoy Roasted Honey Gammon Ham with Yuzu Cranberry Sauce, Miso Glazed Roasted Char Siew as well as Japanese Style Buffalo Wings. I love the Yuzu Cranberry Sauce which is a bit sweet with a hint of refreshing yuzu taste which goes well with the roasted meat.

Example of the Christmas Roast that we have tried.

Whereas for the special White Christmas dinner spread add-ons, it includes the Roasted turkey, Roasted Striploin Beeef, Lamb Leg and Baked Salmon with Sake which I am sure everyone would be overwhelmed by these hearty spread.

For salad they have this Smoked Duck with Orange and Beef Root drizzle with Yuzu Balsamic which gives it a very refreshing citrus taste from the Yuzu. I am sure ladies or salad lover would love this as it really gives you a few bursting flavour in one bite.

This Christmas you could have another new pick for your favourite sushi because it had being transformed into these cute little Temarizushi (sushi ball) wrap. Each rice ball contains different type of filling and it is being wrapped using cute design food wrapper which makes them resemble candy. And I am sure this would be a "hot snatching" items among the kids too.

Other than Temarizushi Wrap, there are also many different assorted festive feel Sushi and Sashimi such as Egg Roll with Turkey Breast / Smoked Duck shown above.

Cucumber Gunkan Maki filled with diced Ham and Tomato

Colourful Chikuwa Maki served with radish and yuzu mixture dipping sauce.

Assorted Seasonal Sashimi Sushi that would whet your appetite as well as sight.

Cucumber Sushi Maki wrapped with poached Chicken Beast.

Japanese Curry Pizza with Seaweed Crust is one of my favourite because it consists 3 of my favourite choice in one dish. It has cheese, Japanese curry and sushi so this 3-in-1 combination dish definitely had caught my attention and to my surprised it does taste great just like their crispy crust pizza at Kiseki.

As you can see from the above photo, they are different layer of texture from seaweed, sushi rice, curry, cheese and etc. Love the combination and I recommend this to be the {must try} while they are out on the buffet line.

If you love skewers of food that are grilled over low charcoal heat, I am sure you won't want to miss any items from the Robatayaki Platter. Just grab a few skewers each and slowly enjoy them with your friends or family over at the dining table while chatting. For me the meat or mushroom skewers are always my favourite choice.

On top of the usual buffet items plus festive add-ons, if you still have room for dessert you could also try out their Christmas Festive Platter which consists some mini cakes like mixed fruit cake, black sesame cake, peach cake, ginger pudding, peanut butter pudding, blueberry mousse and etc.

Assorted Puddings and Mousse. I love their peanut butter pudding (3rd item from the front row)

Assorted cream cake, I prefer the Matcha flavour as compared to the peach and chocolate.

This year other than all hearty spread, Kiseki also geared with new attraction of a Two-Piece Band which will be taking in song dedications and performing carols for diners too. So if you are still looking for Christmas feast this season, do take a look on Kiseki Christmas Menu.


KISEKI JAPANESE BUFFET RESTAURANT
181 Orchard Road
Orchard Central
#08-01/02/03
Reservation: (65) 6736 1216
Website: www.kisekirestaurant.com.sg

Operating Hours And Pricing
21 December 2012
Lunch (11.30am - 3.00pm): Adult S$24.80++; Child S$15.80++
Dinner (6.00pm - 10.30pm): Adult S$39.80++; Child S$21.80++

22 - 25 December 2012 (Sat, Sun, Eve PH and PH)
Lunch (11.30am - 3.00pm): Adult S$32.80++; Child S$20.80++
Dinner (6.00pm - 10.30pm): Adult S$39.80++; Child S$21.80++