Showing posts with label Finger Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Finger Food. Show all posts

Thursday 2 April 2015

Fun Recipe Ideas using The Laughing Cow Cheeses

[Main] Cheesy Penne with Salmon and Broccoli
Dairy products such as cheese and milk are often considered as a natural source of calcium to strengthen children's teeth and bones. With that our fridge is always packed with bottles of fresh milk and array of cheese in all form such as cheese spread, sandwich cheese and belcube cheese.

The Laughing Cow cheese products have been around for many many years. It’s known for its superbly smooth and creamy taste. So in this post I would like to share a quick pasta lunch recipe which can be easily prepared in less than 20 minutes using their cheese spread and sliced cheddar to create a delicious white cheese sauce. Besides that there are also a few fun ideas of adding cheese into your daily diet. 

Sunday 17 November 2013

Pezzo Launches Ho Ho Hola Hawaiian Pizza + Win A Year Supply Of Pizza

[Pezzo Pizza] Hot Chick, Fisherman's Favourite and Sambal Ikan Bilis (clockwise)
Pezzo, a home-grown pizzeria chain with 13 convenient pizza-by-the-slice kiosks and 6 delivery stores around the island of Singapore. With its fresh new look of bright red and yellow Carnival-themed storefronts and custom designed delivery boxes, Pezzo hopes to create the same happiness for their customers through its pizzas too. And thanks to the folks of Pezzo, we get to try some of their new creations plus their Ho Ho Hola Hawaiian pizza which will be available for this festive season till 31 December 2013.

[Pezzo Pizza] Sambal Ikan Bilis, Ho Ho Hola Hawaiian (top row), Fisherman's Favourite and Hot Chick
The pizzas are Pezzo are freshly made with hand-stretched dough that topped with freshest quality of meat and vegetables together with different types of cheese to enhance the taste of each creations. Overall we were quite satisfy with the taste of the four flavours that we had tried but the crust was not very consistent (perhaps due to hand-stretched) as certain portions were relatively thicker than the other which we think there is still rooms for improvement.

Below are some of our thoughts on each of the flavours that we had tried.

Monday 2 September 2013

[4 Recipes] Quick and Easy Meal With Bosch MSM6 ErgoMixx Hand Blender

With the new gadget Bosch ErgoMixx Hand Blender added into my kitchen pantry, I decided to work on a lunch menu to test out its features and functions to blend, process and whisk. In this post, I will be sharing four recipes using those functions which I am quite happy with the end results.

Actually before using the hand blender I did a Google search on it's review; and I am pretty distracted with some of the negative reviews on it's universal cutter and blender. But all those worries were put in vain after I tested out the blender with the recipes shown below. Now I am glad that I can easily handle small amount of ingredients using this reliable blender.

Saturday 29 December 2012

Huiji Baked Honey Chicken Wings

2013 is approaching within another 2 more days before 2012 ends and indeed this year I have another fruitful year with new recipes testing (Happy Call Pan, Korean Recipes, Joyoung Soymilk Maker, Zespri Kiwifruits and etc), family trips (Voyager Of The Seas, Tokyo (Japan) and Bangkok (Thailand)) and friends that I get to know through blogging and other social media platforms.

With another festive countdown gathering to celebrate 2013 I am sure finger food will be something handy for you to prepare or bring along as one of the potluck dishes.

Monday 13 August 2012

{Zespri Kiwifruits Feast} Apple, Kiwifruit Mint Smoothie, Baked Drumlets With Kiwifruit, Spicy Penne with Salmon and Kiwifruit plus Lemongrass Jelly with Kiwifruits


I am sure those of you who has being following my threads on the various social media platforms (such as facebook, twitter and instagram) would have been seeing me updating a lot of "kiwifruits" related posts for the past one week. (so sorry if I have "spam" some of your timelines :p ) As you have read from my previous post(s), this year I am taking up the "Zespri® 14 days Daily Scoop of Amazing Challenge (#14daysofZespri)" to test out how creative I can work with these "fuzzy brown fruits" to incorporate them into our daily diet.

So over the past weekend, I have come out with a 4 Course Kiwi-licious Menu starting with:- Apple, Kiwifruit And Mint Smoothie, Baked Drumlets With Kiwifruit And Mint, Spicy Penne With Salmon And Kiwifruit follow by a refreshing Lemongrass Kiwifruits Konnyaku Jelly for dessert. In this post, I would be sharing the first 3 recipes whereas for the Lemongrass Jelly it would be featured in another post.

Sunday 5 August 2012

Zespri Kiwifruit, Your Daily Scoop Of Amazing

I am sure recently when you are doing your daily or weekly groceries shopping, you would notice that most supermarket are storing or having promotion on Zespri® Kiwifruit such as Zespri® Gold, Green or Organic which are available in their peak season.

So with Zespri® Kiwifruit as a great source of fibre which is essential in maintaining a healthy digestive system. I decided to take up the Zespri® 14 days Daily Scoop of Amazing Challenge which I am sure it will helps to improve my health (which I always have indigestion problem) as well as in-cooperate a balance diet and at the same time boost out our family immune system too.

Eating and bring Kiwifruit around is such a breeze with a handy kiwifruit container like this (I got this from last year Zespri® event but sometime you can get this free during Zespri® Kiwifruit promotion in the supermarkets too). As you can see from the photo above, it comes with a 2-in-1 plastic spoon and knife which enable you to cut and eat the fruit without having a mess.

As most of us know, Zespri® Kiwifruits is low in calories and fat which is a perfect snack to eat every day too. So when I post a photo on instagram and facebook page yesterday evening asking which kiwifruit I should bring along for dessert when dining out,  I received quite a number of suggestions from readers, where most of them prefer Zespri Gold (I guess they have impression that Zespri Gold is sweeter than the Green). So below I include a chart comparing both Zespri® Gold and Green for your leisure read up and better understanding of these two kiwifrutis.

Photo Credited to Zespri®


Other than serving it as snacks or desserts, Kiwifruit can also be a great breakfast choice especially for many Singaporean who are caught up in the morning rush like school kids or working adults. To eat this fruits, all you need to do is cut it into half and scoop to enjoy. Moreover kiwifruit has dose of Vitamin C, fibre and anti-oxidants which will help to promote good health and directly benefits the body.

And as usual for this year blogger's introductory pack, we also received quiet a number of interesting cute kiwifruit items such as keychains, recipes booklet, pens, lunch box, fresh kiwifruits and etc like what we get last year (HERE, if you still remember the Zespri® Goodie Bags Giveaway). So please stay tune for this year's Zespri® Goodie Bags Giveaway (more details will be reveal soon) if you are interested to win some of these lovely items.

Since I have extra supplies of kiwifruits (on top of those that I bought weekly) from Zespri® I decided to share the goodness of this amazing kiwifruits with some of my besties and other family members whom I know they would definitely love them to bits.

Emmmm! Even Mum's Beagle is curious about the taste of the kiwifruits


RECIPES USING ZESPRI KIWIFRUITS


Below are some of my Zespri® Kiwifruit recipes that I have shared last year using Zespri® Gold and Zespri® Green Kiwifruit which you might be interested to read more about it.


MENU
Kiwi, Lime And Mint Cooler
Avocado with Gold Kiwifruit Salsa
Pan-fry Salmon with Green Kiwifruit



DESSERT / TEA 
Kiwi And Lime Cupcakes


Lastly if you like to try other new dishes or bakes using kiwifruits, do stay tune for my upcoming post(s) on how/what I am going to create for this year using these amazing kiwifruits from Zespri®.

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Deep-fried Banana with Popiah Skin

This is a yummy finger food that mum taught me while we are having a conversation about how to use those banana that I always stock up for our weekly fruit supply. She mentioned that she saw a Taiwan cooking clip from youtube which use fresh "popiah skin" to wrap banana with some Japanese mayonnaise and deep-fried till golden brown.

So without hesitate, I bought some fresh popiah skin and start making some for our morning tea.  After which when I posted this photo on my "Instagram", someone comment that it looks similar to one of their Philippines dessert which is known as Turon or Banana Lumpia.  And when I did a Google, it shows that Turon is a Philippine snack made of thinly sliced bananas and a slice of jackfruit which dusted with brown sugar and rolled in spring roll wrapper and deep-fried.

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Rosemary Honey Chicken Drumlets


There are many ways you can enjoy honey either on it's own, mix it with water or juice, drizzle on fruits and pancakes or use it for baking cake or savoury food. No matter which method you prefer, a daily dose of honey in whichever way is good to boost the body's supply of antioxidants which is therefore essential for protecting against free radicals.

In my last related honey post, I have shared a "Honey Lemonade" recipe which is good for flushing out your body system and gives it a boost to increase your daily energy. And in this post, I will be sharing another finger licking recipe using honey to enhance it taste and colours.


ROSEMARY HONEY CHICKEN DRUMLETS


If drumlets is not your preference you can always replace it with mid-joints or even chicken maryland for a hearty serving portion together with some mashed potato or garden salad to complete the meal.


(Serves: 2-3 |      Preparation: 5 minutes |         Cooking: 30 - 40 minutes)

Ingredients:
10 - 12 Chicken Drumlets
1 Tablespoon Honey Sheep Lemon West Coast Honey
1/2 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon Cooking Wine
1/2 Teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 Sprigs Rosemary, remove leaves and roughly chopped

Method:-
1. Trim the bone end of each chicken drumlets, remove skin around the bone and push the down the flesh to the head of the drumlet to form a cluster.

2. Marinate the drumlets with honey, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, pepper and rosemary leaves. Set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

3. Line baking tray with baking paper or aluminum foil, arrange marinated chicken drumlets(remove from the fridge 10 - 15 minuets before cooking)on it and bake in oven toaster for about 30 minutes(flipping the drumlets two to three time during cooking to even the brown colours)

ALTERNATIVELY:-
~ Bake in a preheated 200° Celsius(400 degrees Fahrenheit) oven for about 30 - 40 minutes or till cooked through.

4. Next brush chicken drumlets with some extra honey lemon during the last 5 minutes of cooking time to enhance the colour and flavour of the drumlets.

5. When done, remove from oven and serve immediately.

Personally I love this hassle free recipe which consists of light fruity flavors of lemon with fresh herbs and honey which makes it an refreshing starter for parties or even main dish. And in conjunction with the Food Revolution Day mentioned below, I would like to encourage more readers or food lovers to choose and eat your food wisely. Nothing beats homecook food which use fresh ingredients, I am sure with some simple recipe(s) such as this Rosemary Honey Chicken Drumblets above, you are able to feed your loved ones with fresh and healthier meals anytime of the day.



HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE


Recently there is a wave about this "Food Revolution Day" which is going to take place on 19th May 2012 in different parts of the world. Initially this project is bought up by Jaime Olive to bring awareness across food consumers on proper diet habits using fresh ingredients rather than processed food which are high in sugar, unnatural preservatives and unknown chemicals. And here in Singapore we also have a group of food lovers who gets together to support this event, and this would be held on 19th May 2012 at The Lawn.

So all food lovers in Singapore, come and join with us on Food Revolution Day where all food lovers gather for a dinner party, share and learn about their knowledge about food! To find out more, you can hope over to Facebook or Twitter now to get the latest updates! Cya there!

Saturday 28 January 2012

Caramel Popcorn

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Popcorn or popping corn is corn (maize) which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. There are many techniques for popping corn from either normal kitchen pan/pot, microwave to large scale popcorn machines. Usually Popcorn is eaten in movie theatres that served in choices such as salted or sweetened. But now instead of having it only in the cinema, we could also easily make them at home or purchase in major supermarkets.

About a year ago "Garrett Popcorn" which is a chain of popcorn outlets open it's first outlet in Resort World Sentosa and now they have many other outlets located in Singapore too. (detail HERE). I love their Caramel Flavour with Macadamia Nuts where I could enjoy my favourite nuts and popcorn coated with delicious caramel.


CARAMEL POPCORN


My boy prefers popcorn which is sweeten like those sold in the "cinema" compared to those available in the commercial shops (either nuts, chocolate,  cheese, colouring and etc). And since it is pretty easier to make "popcorn" at home using minimum ingredients and a cooking pot (or home type popcorn machine), we always "pop" some whenever we crave for them.


(serves: 4 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Corn Kernel

Caramel Sauce:
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Golden Syrup
3/4 Cup Caster Sugar
100g Butter Chopped


Method:-
1. Line a big baking tray with baking papers, allowing 2cm overhang at long ends.

2. Heat oil in HCP(or any cooking pan) over medium heat. Add 2 - 3 corn kernels to test the heat. (Oil is hot enough when corn turns slowly in a circle)

3. Add remaining corn, cover and lock the pan(if using HCP). Shake pan gently when corn starts popping.

4. Remove from heat when corn stops popping. Transfer to a bowl and discard un-popped corn.

5. To make Caramel Sauce:- Clean the pan using kitchen paper towel after removing the popcorn. Place honey, golden syrup, sugar and butter in the pan. Stir and cook over very low heat for about 6 minutes or until sugar dissolved.

6. Next bring the mixture to boil without stirring for another 5 minutes or until light golden.

7. Work quickly, pour mixture over popcorn and stir to combine. Rest caramel popcorn in prepared lined baking tray to cool completely.

8. Break into pieces and served or stored in air-tight containers.


Although this recipe is done using Happy Call Pan (HCP) but you still can apply the same method using any heavy duty pan/pot to achieve the similar results. Have a lovely weekend everyone!!! Cheers!

Thursday 13 October 2011

{Giveaway plus Review} Easy Thai Cooking by Robert Danhi

Last month while lasing with Bee's Easy Chinese Recipes cookbook giveaway with Tuttle Publishing, Margaret from the team suggest if I would like to review Chef Robert Danhi's cookbook on Easy Thai Cooking. (more information at www.chefdanhi.com). I was thrilled and immediately accepted the offer because my family (especially my mum) love Thai cuisines.

In this post I would be sharing 3 dishes (with a complimentary recipes) which I have tried a few days back from Chef Robert's Easy Thai Cooking cookbook. With the step-by-step photos and sample recipes you can easily follow the preparation on these delicious dishes shown below.

Wednesday 20 July 2011

Chicken Karaage

Sorry for the lack of post(s) these few weeks because I was pretty busy with a few projects on hand. I would try to get all the draft post(s) published as soon as possible but to compensate, I have invited a few well-known bloggers to guest post(s) some of their home-style dishes and bakes.

Today's let put our hands together and welcome Nami from "Just One Cookbook". I know Nami through her comments on my blog a few months back. From her blog link I also get to know her better as well as exploring her wonderful recipes collection on her home-style Japanese Cuisines. She is also the one who help me to look up recipes on Japanese website regarding the Japanese Steamed Cake which I wish to learn more about it. Today I am so happy to invite Nami to Cuisine Paradise to share her classic “Chicken Karaage” recipe with us and I sure you would like it as much as we do. Enjoy!

Hello readers of Cuisine Paradise! Usually, I’m just the same as you, a fan enjoying Ellena’s delicious creations. She was generous to invite me to contribute a recipe on her site so today I will share one of my family’s favorite Japanese dish, Chicken Karaage (鶏の唐揚げ) recipe. I am a dedicated visitor to Ellena’s site and her mouth watering photos always make me hungry. With her extensive library of recipes from around the world, I learned so much from Ellena and especially Chinese and Southeast Asian cooking techniques. Personally I’ve used multiple recipes from her site to feed my family lunch and dinner and her website has been a great inspirational resource.

Chicken Karaage is a classic Japanese fried chicken dish. It’s a very common Japanese home cooking recipe and many Japanese restaurants including Izakaya (Japanese tapas) offer it in many countries all over the world. You might also find them as a main dish in lunch teishoku (meal set) at restaurants or bento box (lunch box) you buy from Japanese supermarkets. Usually the chicken is marinated in a mix of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and lightly coated with potato/corn starch mix, then finally deep fried. However, each family has different way of preparing it, and here is mine that my family loves.

I hope you enjoy my Chicken Karaage recipe and thank you so much Ellena for having me!



Chicken Karaage



Difficulty: Modearate
Cooking Time: 60 minutes (excluding marinade time)
Makes: 5-8 servings

Ingredients:
5-10 Chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2 inch pieces (make sure each piece is about the same size so it takes about the same amount of time to deep fry.)

Seasonings
¼ onion, grated
½ Tbsp. ginger (1.5 inch ginger), grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp. cooking sake
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup corn starch (Please adjust if necessary. If you use 10 chicken thighs, probably about ½ cup)

Oil for deep frying

A couple of lemon wedges
Ichimi Togarashi (Japanese red chili pepper flakes) (optional)
Green onion for garnish (optional)



Directions:
1. Put chicken in a Ziploc bag and combine all the ingredients for Seasonings in a bowl and mix all together.

2. Pour the Seasonings into the Ziploc bag and rub the chicken well with hands. Keep it in the fridge for at least 1 hour, preferably 3-4 hours.

3. In a wok, add oil to about half way full and heat it on medium high heat. When you put a chopstick in the oil and bubbles start to appear around the tip, the oil temperature is now around 180C (356F) and ready for deep frying.

4. When oil is ready, take out the Ziploc bag from the fridge and transfer the chicken into a bowl and discard the marinade (liquid). Then add corn starch and mix quickly. You don’t need to mix it evenly (as you see in the picture below). The uneven coating gives each piece its unique texture.

5. Place each piece of chicken separately into the oil. Do not overcrowd the wok, fry maximum 5 pieces at a time. If you put a lot of chicken in the oil, the temperature will drop quickly and chicken end up absorbing too much oil. Make sure the oil temperature stays around 180C (356F) at all time.

  1. Deep fry for 90 seconds.
  2. Transfer the chicken onto a wire rack (if not, paper towel) to drain the oil for 4 minutes,
  3. Deep fry again for 45 seconds, or until golden brown.

Transfer the chicken onto a wire rack to drain the oil. Before you start the next batch, skim/remove leftover crumbs from the oil in order to keep it clean.

6. Serve the chicken with lemon wedges. Squeeze the lemon right before you eat. You can dip in Ichimi Togarashi if you enjoy spicy chicken.


For more Japanese home-sytle recipes, you can refer to Nami website at Just One Cookbook for more recipe ideas.


Tuesday 12 April 2011

[Gyoza Mold Giveaway!!!] 3 Ways of Eating Dumpling or Wonton

Continue from the previous post on the "Steamed Dumplings with Assorted Vegetables". Here I will be giving away a set of "Gyoza Mold" which you can use it to wrap either Japanese Gyoza or Chinese Dumpling/Wonton. This is a handy and easy to use mold by just placing a gyoza or wonton wrapper on top of the press (mold), add in fillings, close and press tight to form a perfect sealed gyoza or dumpling.

If you are interested to win a set of this "Gyoza Mold", just leave your Name and which type of dumpling you prefer (steamed, pan-fried, boiled  or deep-fried) "I love xxxxx" in the comment box and I will pick one TWO Lucky winners on Tuesday, 19 April 2011. Do check the result after Noon, 19 April.


For this Dumpling/Wonton post, I will be sharing another two different ways of cooking dumpling/wonton dish which you could try it out anytime at home. First let's take a look at this "Chicken Dumplings with Chili Oil - 紅油抽手". This is one of the common dumplings dish that you can easily order from most Chinese Ramen and Steamed Bun Restaurants. Usually the ingredients are shrimp and pork mince that are wrapped in thin layer of handmade dumpling skin and serve with the unique spicy chili oil sauce.


CHICKEN DUMPLINGS WITH CHILI OIL - 紅油抽手

Ingredients: (makes 10 Dumplings and 15 Wonton)
150g Mince Chicken Meat
20g Carrot, finely chopped/grated
2 Shallots, finely chopped
3 Fresh Water Chestnut, skin remove and finely chopped
1/2 Tablespoon Chopped Spring Onion

Seasonings:
1/2 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
1 Teaspoon Cooking Wine
Dash of Fish Sauce, optional
Dash of Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Cornflour



Method:-
1. Put all the ingredients in a medium bowl, mix well with seasonings and marinate in the refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or more.

2. Refer to the photo above, place 1 piece of round dumpling wrapper on the gyoza mold, top with meat fillings, close and press tight to form a perfect sealed dumpling.

3. Repeat the same process and makes about 10 dumplings using the gyoza mold.

4. Next bring a pot of 1.5 litres of water to boil with 1/2 teaspoon of oil. Slowly drop in the wrapped dumplings and cook over medium heat.

5. Once the dumplings float on the surface, lower the heat and continue to simmer for another minute. Remove the cooked dumplings and place it in a bowl of water to stand for another 1 minute.

6. Drain well and place the cooked dumpling in a serving plate. Drizzle some sesame oil then pour over the prepared spicy chili oil and top with some extra chopped spring onion and serve.


I use the Lao Gan Ma(老干妈) Chili Flavoured Oil(油辣椒) which you could purchased from either Sheng Siong(昇菘超市) or any provision shop in the wet market to create this Spicy Sauce for my dumplings.(Price:- range from S$1.95 - S$2.50)

Spicy Chili Oil Ingredients:-
2 Tablespoon of Lao Gan Man Chili Flavoured Oil
80ml Hot Water
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Vinegar, optional

Method:-
1. Using a microwave safe bowl, reheat the chili flavoured oil on medium heat for about 1 minute or until warm through.

2. Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in 80ml of hot water then add it into the prepared chili oil (add vinegar if using) and stir till well combine. Set aside.


Chicken Dumplings With Chili Oil - 紅油抽手



These fried Wontons will definitely be a great finger food or snacks during party or gathering and it goes well with cool icy beer too. You can prepared these ahead by wrapping the dumplings and keep them in the fridge for a few hours or a day before cooking. And these can be a very addictive finger food too... so beware!


DEEP-DRIED WONTONS

Method:-
1. Prepare the same fillings using the above ingredients shown for the dumplings.

2. Refer to the photo above, place about 1 teaspoon of meat filling in the middle of the square wonton wrapper.

3. Brush some water on the top 2 corner of the wrapper, fold it into half to form a triangle.  Pull the 2 edge below to form a diamond shape by sticking the two edge together.

4. Repeat the process to make about 7 Triangles and Diamond shape wontons.

5. Preheat a pot of oil and deep-fried the prepared wonton on medium heat till golden brown, remove and drain well.

6. Serve with desire dipping sauce.


With a little effort done, you can whipped out two homecook dishes by just using one prepared meat fillings. Isn't this wonderful! I am sure your family will loves these quick and simple dish. If spicy food is not your choice, you can always replace it with just light soy sauce.

Non-Spicy Sauce Ingredients:
3/4 Tablespoon of Light Soy Sauce
80ml Hot Water
1/2 Teaspoon Sesame Oil

Method:-
1. Mix all the ingredients together and pour over to the cooked dumplings.


Total cost for these two dishes is about S$4.00 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ 150g Mince Chicken Meat = S$1.50
~ 3 Water Chestnut = S$0.50
Wonton Wrapper = S$1.00
~ Carrot, Spring Onion, Shallot = S$0.50
~ Chili Flavour Oil = S$0.50


Updates: I am so happy that many of you are interested in this "Gyoza Mold". So in order to increase the chance of winning, I will be giving away "2 Sets" instead of 1 to "2 Lucky" winners. Good Luck, everyone!



GIVEAWAY RESULTS!!!!!





GIVEAWAY RESULTS ARE OUT!
Are you the Lucky One!!!!!

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