Meringue Ghost Colony!

Happy Halloween everyone!

So when i saw this cute little recipe on Joy of Baking, I just couldn't pass it up.

They turned out so cute and was sooo easy to do -- Ian and I had such a great time making them. Yes, ian did like 1/2 of them. And they turned out exactly like the picture, except i used chocolate chips instead of googly eyes. (I think they actually taste better and gives a good contrast) Btw, pics to follow.

Everyone in the office love them. Naz this one's for you!

Ginger Orange Meat Balls and Asian Roasted Potatoes

This was honestly one of the easiest meals I've every made!

Potatoes
small potatoes wash and cut in half
boil in microwave for 15 mins

salt
pepper
grated lemongrass -- 1/2 stalk and chopped 1/2 stock
6 cloves of garlic -- 3 grated , 3 sliced
cumin to cover each
paparika to cover each
oil to cover
green onions 1 stalk chopped (green parts only)
heat oven to 450 F roast for 20 mins.


Meat Balls
Frozen meatballls (as many as you need -- I usually do about 6 per person, max!)
VH orange ginger sauce
soya sauce
ketchup

boil meat balls, drain, put it back into the pot, add oil, brown the bottom/sides of the meat balls, add sauce to cover, turn down the heat, let it boil for a few minutes, add two big squirts of ketchup, sprinkle of soya sauce.

I paired this with sliced fresh orange peppers and cucumber. good balance.

There were no veggies left, but the potatoes and meatballs lasted a dinner and a lunch.

Thea's Lasagna

Ok I've made lasagna before. But it's never been this good!

I'm no Italian, but i don't need to be one to tell me a lasagna's good.

All u need:

1 pkg of lasagna noodles
1 can of Primo tomato pasta sauce
1 lb fresh ground beef -- i always do lean, but if you do not-lean (fat) they it's more beefy for sure. (you'll just have to make sure you eat less of it? what? nevermind)
two packages of cheese, this particular recipe took a "pizza" mix and an "italian" mix. the former being a mix of cheddar and mozz and the latter being a mix of povalone and mozz. -- the secret is really in the cheese
I clove of garlic
salt and pepper
onions
diana sauce (secret)
soy sauce (secret)
olive oil

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brown the beef slightly
add generous salt and pepper
1 table spoon (I just eyed it) just a bit all over diana sauce original
sprinkle of soya sauce

continue to brown
add can of sauce when 1/2 brown
grate in the one clove of garlic using a rasp
chop 1/2 an onion and put that in the sauce once it's on a soft boil (turn the heat down and put on a clear lid (if you have one, so you can make sure it doesn't burn. I'm not kidding make sure it's turned down to a gentle boil like min-med or you're gonna get little red sauce volcanoes -- you don't need this)

Boil some water at the same time, enough to cover your noodles
Boil the noodles for about 6 - 8 mins. (7)
Do NOT salt the water, honestly there is no need
After done al dente, drain and add olive oil all over so the noodles don't stick together, plus olive oil is just yummy!

Ok, now assembly. Make sure you have your cheese ready. if you are gungho, you can buy your cheese in a block and grate/process if you're lucky enough to own and have room in your downtown condo for a processor.

choose a container that you like that can go in the oven. if i don't think there is any difference between a teflon coated aluminum, glass, or ceramic. I think everything under the top layer is basically the same: wet, gooey cheesy and saucy goodness. I use a glass container that has a plastic lid -- so i can close it up when it cools down -- it makes an amazing lunch! everyone at the office will be jealous.

layer the sauce , cheese, and noodles in whatever order you like. make sure that you stick to that order though, so that you don't get double layers of anything. if the lasagna is not spaced out correctly it may fall apart (2+ consecutive layers of sauce and cheese) or be too dry (2 plus layers of noodle) when you go and cut it open to eat it.

ok last step: preheat the oven to 425 F . once you have it stacked, make sure the top layer is lasagna and just sprinkle enough cheese in a thin layer. when you look at the top, you should see mostly noodle and not cheese. this is how we make a crunchy lasagna top.
make 16 - 18 mins. (17).

Take out the lasagna -- the top should be crusty, crispy and slightly brown on the edges. sprinkle garnish as you like. Let cool for five minutes. I don't know why, this is ian's advice. and it turned out great and who can argue with greatness.

This will make at least 6 regular servings. 10 servings if this is a second course of three.
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Since this is a pretty hearty meal, I paired it with fresh thickly sliced cucumber. Very refreshing -- bon appetite!

Mini Chocolate Brownie Cheesecakes

So here is my next project, and it involved everyone on my team at work. After having them try out my banana chocolate chip muffin recipe and the chocolate chip cookies. i thought I'd get on a row to challenge myself to keep baking.

so i did a poll and they came up with a few key words/ingredients:

1. chocolate
2. low fat
3. cheesecake
4. brownie

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The answer came just minutes after the poll, seconds actually. So scrambling those, we have:
Low Fat, Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake.

(I'll throw in the mini)

Mini, low fat chocolate brownie cheesecake.

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What's the recipe?

I thought I'd start off with thinking about the bottom and go bottom up.
And combine a few recipes at the same time. What can I say I love hybrids.

Starting at the bottom: A chocolate wafer.
Then...a variation of the mini cheese cake.

Then top it with a roasted marshmellow and some chocolate shavings OR whole chunky cherry glaze.

Just got one other amazing idea. i can bake for the prizes of an upcoming event and put our tag to them: Theian Catering?

Best Egg Salad! -- SIMPLE!

6 eggs

that's all it takes. i used only 3 - 4 of the yolks -- in my feeble effort to decrease my cholesterol.
Hard boiled.

also didn't have any celery. but i thought, what's refreshing, crunch and green? A celery replacement? Good ol' english cucumber.

so what did i do after the eggs are good and hardboiled?
1 tablespoon of mayo/ or more if you like it more creamy
then season to
2inches of cucumber. Sliced, then use 2 slices for dicing , put it in the egg mixture. Use the rest for garnish. nice to chew on while you enjoy the salad.

Even better. if you get a chance to stop by and get an olive baguette from Kensington , the salad goes great on the bread sliced and toasted!

enjoy!

Banana Bread/Muffins

One of my best friends, J, just gave birth to a little girl (little "M) and i thought I'd bring her/them something while she's in hospital. I worked at that same hospital years ago and really the food isn't that great. If there is one thing that j and I can't live without, it's good food.

So here is the recipe i'm trying out and actually the baking takes more like 30 mins and not ten from the original recipe on google.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 bananas
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup *Chocolate Chips

Mix, fill muffin cups, Bake at 375 for 28 mins.

enjoy!

Amazing Chololate Cookies

Let me just start by saying: I HATE CHOLCOLATE AND I HATE COOKIES AND I HATE BAKING.

But somehow, These are the best CHOCOLATE, CHIP, COOKIES, that i ever BAKED!

the batter lastest forever! and i cooked them every day! actually like everyday i baked at least 10 cookies over three days.

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 egg
• 2 egg yolk
• 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

melt the butter.
mix all the stuff together.

bake for 16 mins in a 325 F oven.

good luck! like i said this will make a huge batch of cookies that you can bake over three days.

Asian Deep Fried Chicken Wings

I made the most AWESOME deep friend chicken wings.

Shrimp paste
lemon grass
ginger
garlic
fish sauce
soya sauce
3 lbs chicken wings

1/2 cornstarch + 1/2 flour OR just corn starch for coating
oil for frying

1. clean chicken wings of feathers etc. The easiest way to do this, is to boil a pot of water and blanch
them quickly.
2. then make sure they are pat dry/drained
3. mix all the ingredients for the marinade. The secret weapon here is the rasp! use the RASP! just grate the amount you want into the sauce boom there ya go! as for the wet parts, make sure you mix enough of the sauce of cover the chicken up properly.
4. taste it -- not if it's been contaminated by the chicken.
5. mix it with the chicken
6. soak the marinade in the chicken (or vice versa) say for 15 mins.. b/c this this really salty stuff!

7. make sure that you PAT DRY. this was my mistake the first time around. make sure the wings are really dry and THEN pat them in flour. DON'T SKIP this step or you're gonna be stuck with three pounds of wet/soggy wings.. and no one wants that.
8. pat with 1/2 cornstarch and 1/2 flour. or just rice flour. make sure you use very little and pat the wing free to excess flour jsut before frying. Dont' "pre-pat" b/c it will be less crispy.
9. make sure oil is 350 F or sizzles slowly
10. after you patted the wings lightly with flour, fry slowly.

then drain on a cookie rack/other metal rack.

enjoy!