Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Baking Recipe: Key Lime Pie (Non-Baked)


If you really want a quick dessert, and you love anything that's tangy and related to citrus? This is your answer. Let me tell you, that I'm really quite a "lazy" person and I dread washing up at times. Therefore, I will try to think of desserts with the least washing up, and still taste delish.

For recipe: Click on image + Zoom
(Something I left out: **Make sure to chill for 3-4 hours before serving. )

This post is a sequel to my Cooking Recipe: Juicy Lamb Burger post, and will now showcase my dessert. Remember I said it was a 3-course meal? Well I meant it. As for the tuna salad, that's really simple, because there was no recipe to it. Tuna Salad will be free-style. What I am more excited to share with you will be my Key Lime Pie (Non-Baked).

Possibly, Fall is starting in the States, Spring in Australia, and while weather remains hot and humid in Malaysia; I think the Key Lime Pie can be made anytime of year. Hopefully you do try it and share all the love with family and friends. Or if you are having an aching heart, this could be comforting too :).

xx

Monday, August 29, 2011

Cooking Recipe: Grilled Juicy Lamb Burgers served with Homemade Pickled Cucumber


It was time for us gals to have some catch up, unwind and enjoy some summer treats. I thought, let's have a complete meal. So,I've prepared a 3-course meal and served the ladies with my very own refreshing Orange-Lemonade.

For recipe: Click on image + zoom

Plus I don't think my friends ever tried my home made juicy lamb burger patties. The last time I made them were back in uni-days just for myself.. What can I say, I can be a glutton.

To do some justice to my cooking, I will break down my recipes to a couple posts or so? Hopefully to get you coming back for more? Hehehehe.. [ooopsss.. I think I've just shared with you my "evil" plan]

First stop, I will showcase you my lamb burgers served in a fresh sesame bun, layered with melted mild cheddar, saute white and brown button mushrooms and top with my own homemade cucumber pickle. My juicy lamb burgers will be served with baked shoe string fries with homemade aioli dip. Do I sense some drools ;p? After all a burger's best friend will be Mr Fries. Till then folks!!

xx

Friday, August 26, 2011

Featured In: Little Wed Hen & Show Your Cake


I've been itching to share with you the good news, but I figured it's best that I wait for it to be published first. When Stephanie from Little Wed Hen dropped me a message on Twitter wanting to feature Amanda's Pink Rainbow Cake in their website, I was super duper thrilled. Come to think of it, it hasn't really sink it yet. I'm still excited, and trying to glue my bottom down to my seat.

Then, Marda at Show your Cake also left me a comment wanting to feature my cake in her blog too. Wow!! It's an AWESOME accomplishment for me and hopefully I can keep up and create more beautiful treats.

I cannot believe that I will be featured in Little Wed Hen, a Bridal Website based in Melbourne, Australia. Ahh.. Melbourne has an impact on me while I was there and certainly left a small piece in my heart. If I have any excuse, Melbourne will be the place I go to for a cool vacation. All I do is eat, eat and eat and catch up with family and friends.

Okay now back to this exciting news that I have to share with you.. or have I just blurted out everything on top? Anyhow, do pop by Little Wed Hen or give Marda a buzz. Check them out and read a little more on what they have to say.

I certainly am Tickled Pink right now.

Have a great weekend!!

xx

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Facebook Page: Chic & Gorgeous Treats has joined the band wagon!!


Hey Everyone!

Chic & Gorgeous Treats now have a Facebook page. So if you do enjoy my blog, do support me on Facebook and add me as a friend too. Good to stay in touch and become one huge foodie family. I will be thrilled to know that you're a fan of my page.

If you have a Facebook page too, drop me a line under comment and I will definitely come knocking on your door. Happy cooking and baking and thanking you in advance for your support!!

Facebook URL: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chic-Gorgeous-Treats/200155216713698
xx

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Dessert Recipe: Oreo BerryLicious Ice-Cream


I admit, I've been a little crazy over Oreo cookies recently. Not going to be twisting, licking and dunking them in milk. Instead I added them into my craziest version of Oreo BerryLicious Ice-Cream. I know over in the States that summer is coming to an end soon and Fall is just around the corner.

However, that does not mean that  you can't make this lovely cool treat and stash it in your freezer? I think this is the best time ever to use all the berries you can get. I had a mixture of berries, from blueberry, strawberry, raspberry to blackberry. So I thought it would be fun for a change to whip up some cool dessert.
For recipe: Click on image + zoom

Let me clear this though, I don't have an ice-cream machine to churn my ice-cream. So for myself, I had a lot of work up my sleeves. Can you imagine me running back and forth from the freezer to my Kitchen Aid mixer and then back to the freezer to freeze my ice-cream? I'm not complaining, because at the end I get to have a lovely scoop of creamy smooth Berrylicious ice cream with some Oreo bites in them. Yummmmmm...
 
Enjoy Chic & Gorgeous Treats new look; currently work in progress.. and have a great week everyone!!

xx

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Baking Recipe: Creamy Peanut Butter Pie (Non-Baked) & A Tribute


As a lot of you fellow bloggers know, there has been a lot of tribute to Jennie from In Jennie's Kitchen and her family. After having re-directed from Ann at Cooking Healthy For Me to Jennie's blog, that's where I discovered something sad had happened and her story brought me to tears and a sudden ache in my heart left me questioning myself. Do we live our life from day to day or do we always complain that it's never good enough? Right now, I know I am learning and trying hard to make the most of everything every single day.

Being brought up in an Asian community, we are not used to show our love towards our love ones openly, as where we rarely utter the words "Mom, Dad.. we love you and thank you for everything". These words are not said out loud; guilty I know..however, we do show them in other ways.

For recipe: Click on image + zoom

Jennie's story is so deep that I feel it's also a lesson to all of us, to always learn to cherish what is in front of you, stop finding fault in one another, learn to grow as better individuals and most importantly, keep showing LOVE to our love ones like there is no tomorrow. Jennie's message to everyone was to help her and her family heal is to make Creamy Peanut Butter Pie. For the Creamy Peanut Butter Pie, this will be my own recipe, as I tend to work with what I have in my pantry.

This post is a tribute to everybody who matters most in my heart, who have helped me along the way to become a better daughter, god daughter, friend, aunt and a lady foodie blogger in a making. I feel no words could ever describe my gratitude and my countless of profound love and care towards you. To all of you out there, whether you loss a love one or closest buddy a not, let it not be too late as I always live on this motto "better late than never". So, it is never too late to start today!

xx

Friday, August 19, 2011

Tagged: Seven Links!!

Wow.. this is like a trick questionnaire. Elisabeth from Food and Thrift Finds and Sandra Garth from Sweet Sensations tagged me to the latest game called "Seven Links'..How fun is that. I always like how suddenly somebody tags you and you'll be put on the spot to really crack your head to look for the answer.

However, right now in my opinion, I'm having the hardest time to even draft this post.. LOL.. a sudden loss for words or maybe just no clue at all. Instead, I will do my level best to go through all my posts and share with you on what I thought about them. Walking down this memory lane, I now know I've come a long way. So long that at one point I was demotivated to even posts anything, partially busy at work plus I had a mind block. No excuse there.. I know.. especially when I love food, treats or even hosting a cookout or party so much. It's scary, and I hope I will not have another mind block again and start losing all of you readers and supporters.

Also I like to mention this as I still recall that Elisabeth was the very first person to discover me, added me in Foodbuzz and the rest was history. No bias here, and because of her; I'm glad I met all of you lovely foodies. So here goes.. and taking a deep breath [phew...]

1. The Most Beautiful Post

Hmmm... this is tough, as I really love all my posts. Whether the photo is good looking or not. If I had to pick, this is seriously a tough choice... I will pick my Gerbera Daisy Cake. This was an exotic rich cake flavour. Dark rich chocolate cake with light fluffy mango butter cream. Let's just say I'm a sucker for Gerbera Daisies.

2. The Most Popular Post

It has to be the most recent cake I baked for my niece's full moon. My Amanda's Pink Rainbow Cake made to Top 9 and was on the no# 1 spot, then was tweeted or mentioned by Foodbuzz themselves on Twitter. It's my first time ever having so many bloggers, readers stop by leaving me with the sweetest comments ever, and not only that.. it helped shot up my followers from 48 to 61 now. This is real epic, and I feel I don't say it enough.. THANK YOU for making it possible.

3. The Most Controversial Post

I'm not quite sure what it means by controversial, but I believe I was taking a gamble on the ever classic Lemon Meringue Tart. I decided that it was time for a make over, and made it to my very own version of Lemon Curd Pavlova Tart.. still covering the base elements of the lemon tart. I could have either had foodies like it or maybe disliked it as I was changing a classic tart.

4. The Most Helpful Post

Well let me see, I think it could probably be my Homemade Pizza dough post and I hope this is good enough to inspire you to make your very own pizza base. It's light and crunchy and will have you asking for more.

5. Post That Was Surprisingly Successful

I love samosas, but not willing to deep fry and end up with heaps of cleaning up to do. So for the first time I posted my Jo's Veggie-ish Samosas, it surprisingly attracted a lot more readers too. And this was my very first time making Foodbuzz Top 9. This was the day that I decided that I will continue to make more lovely treats or even share with you my cooking recipes.. whether I make it to Top 9 or not.

6. Post That Did Not Get The Attention It Deserved



I think it definitely had to be my Tiramisu tarts, and Scrumptious Strawberry tarts and Heavenly Mango Mousse Cake. Come to think of it they are really lovely and deserve some love and attention too ;). Though one; is thinking out of the box and one is classic or should I say.. maybe common, I feel they are all delish. So I hope you do try them out.. Maybe tarts can be the new trend, just like the macaroons or the cupcakes.

7. Post You're Most Proud Of


For this I'm indecisive, and like to share with you 2 out of 3 of my posts which I truly am proud of since one of them is up there too. For me, kneading dough has been daunting. However, I feel I've overcome this fear of mine, and am definitely going to come up with more recipes or test out any recipes. Right now, I like to share with you my Peanut Butter and Jelly Doughnuts and Tana Ramsay's Bagels. I assure you frozen or store bought ones are completely different from the ones you make on your own. Though slightly more work.. but every single minute is worth it.

Now, I am going to tag a few new 7 blogger friends too. Let me see who's the lucky one ;).

1. LOLA LOBATO
2. Katie's Cucina
3. Amanda @ Baking Without A Box
4. Stacey @ Baker Court
5. Stephanie @ Eat. Drink.Love
6. Sheri @ Homemade Served Here
7. Pierre @ Little Hungry Heart

Till then everyone.. TGIF and have a good weekend.

xx

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Food Buzz Top 9: Amanda's Pink Rainbow Cake is #1


Gosh.. THANK YOU to all my foodie friends who buzzed, and my friends [the quiet supporters] that left me with so many sweet comments whether in my blog or over chat rooms. This is real EPIC. I am so thrilled and really feel like a kid all over again. Being no# 1 for the very first time, is something to me.. however having made Top 9 is already something to me..

Have a great week and hopefully this Pink Rainbow Cake will put heaps of smiles on any little girl to big girls face. I really do believe now, when a door closes another will open. This is a beginning of a wonderful food journey for me.

xx

Monday, August 15, 2011

Baking Recipe: Amanda's Pink Rainbow Cake


I am so happy to introduce my sweet little niece to you. It was her big day, her Full Moon. Being an aunt [I felt older for a moment.. still young at heart nevertheless ;)] to her means I have the privilege to prepare her lots of good healthy meals and also to share with her my passion. I am recording this day for her and hopefully when she's older she will look back to know that she's a fortunate little girl who have lots of love from her family, where by her arriving in to this world has touched my heart.

For Recipe: click on image + zoom


Disclaimer: Picture courtesy from Pei Li's Miniature, please do not copy and reproduce, TQ.
For sweet Amanda, it has to be something special. The theme has to be pink for the cutest little girl, however I didn't want it to just be in plain pink. It has to be unique. The Pink Rainbow Cake is deeply inspired from another talented dessert blogger, Linda from Call-Me-Cupcake and also from Pei Li's Miniature. Pei Li has created a 1:12 scale miniature Pink Rainbow Cake and I thought this would be the perfect cake for my niece. We have been secretly planning on this, and this is my own version of Pink Rainbow Cake; plus it's edible. The cake has some what a chic flare to it. It's a classy simple vanilla cake frosted with vanilla butter cream. The design is simple with a surprise on the inside. It's a gradient of colour all related to the pink theme. The challenge to this little 6-inches, 5 layered cake was tinting the colour, as it's really tricky. Too much or too little will end up with a different colour once baked. To finish off the cake, instead of writing, I decided to make little flags with her name spelt on them and I feel this was the cherry on top of the cake. Enjoy!!

xx

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Cooking Recipe: Momsie Shepard's Pie


For recipe: Click on image + zoom

To me, my mom makes the BEST Shepard's pie ever. Why? That's because she cooks without a recipe. I think it runs in the family as I tend to cook without a recipe and trust my own instincts and taste.

Momsie Shepard's pie is what I had growing up. It was always once in a blue moon meal, and depends on what we had in the pantry and fridge. That is why till this day the flavours are locked in my head. I do not tell my mom enough; but I adore my mom's cooking to bits; I idolised her.. and in my eyes she is the celebrity chef. However, these days she has handed over her hat to me in preparing certain type of cuisine. Apparently I'm now the master chef of western cuisine. Talk about pressure. I like to think I'm still growing and there will always be room for improvement.

Okay I will try to break down the recipe as much I could, however the balance of flavours in this one pot meal is crucial in my opinion. The key elements in a Shepard's pie is the gravy cooked together with the meat. The tomato puree must not be overly sour and if there are carrots involved, it should not be over cooked and turns mushy when baked in the oven and if possible no lumps in the mashed potato. Also herbs, really gives you an aromatic tomato puree.

The balance of texture should give you a delicious moist cooked meat [not dry] drenched in the right amount of gravy, some bite and crunch to the carrot and to bind them all together, a rich mashed potato top with some mozzarella baked in the oven till melted and golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Food Buzz Top 9: Lemon Curd Pavlova Tart is #3


Hooray! My favourite tart, with a twist made it to Top 9 in Foodbuzz, 8th August, 2011. Thanks everyone for buzzing and leaving me with sweet comments. And to my new foodie friends, thanks for becoming my newest follower. Lets all share the love of food, indulgence is a must and moderation is key.

xx

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Baking Recipe: Lemon Curd Pavlova Tart


Okay, I think it's time for the lemon meringue tart to have a make over, not that I don't like the classic version. Whenever I host cookouts or dinner parties, my friends would always have 1 similar request." Jo, when can you make your lemon tart, or lemon meringue tart?" Sadly all these were not captured, recorded and blog about. After all, I only started my blog last year August ;).

For Recipe: Click on image to enlarge + Zoom
This time round, I thought of making the tart a little more interesting. I will fill it with soft velvety lemony lemon curd with lots of zing, and balance it of with the sweetness of pavlova. Not to mention it adds a whole new dimension and texture. Buttery soft crunchy crust, with zesty and zingy smooth lemon curd filling which is topped off with light fluffy mid-crunchy pavlova. I think it works, after all the elements are still a base of a lemon meringue tart. Instead or torching the meringue or baking it in the oven, you get a ready baked pavlova...Very much like 2 desserts in 1.

A new twist to my very own all time favourite tart. Have a great weekend!!

xx

Friday, August 5, 2011

Baking Recipe: Juicy Buns using leftover Doughnut Dough


Ever wonder what can you do with remainder yeast dough? Don't toss it out in the bin as I think that's plain wasteful. I didn't know what to do either at first, so I decided to experiment by piecing some technique I learnt through my bagel making.

Now, do you remember I posted about Peanut Butter and Jelly Doughnuts recently? Well the dough recipe suggested could get more than 20 doughnuts out. For doughnut dough recipe, click here. Since I don't need more than 20 doughnuts, I used the left over dough to make buns.

I think this is such a great switch up. From doughnuts to dinner rolls or use the buns for breakfast or lunch. Pair it with chicken mayo, tuna, ham or even a fried egg. The bun is really light and fluffy on the inside. Plus it can be stored up to a week in a fridge. Just pop it back in the microwave, heat up for about 10-20 seconds. I assure you that you still get to enjoy the freshness of the bun as it's not like the store bought ones where it will dry out after a day or two. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Here are the simple steps.

To prepare and bake the bun:

1. Preheat oven to 190 Celsius.

2. Roll remainder dough to any shape you like, set it aside for another 15- 20 minutes and cover with the dry cloth to allow it to rise.

3. Meanwhile, cover a tray with parchment paper and  boil some water in a deep pot. When water is boiling, turn down the heat slightly, and gently drop 1 rolled out bun at a time, and cook it for just 1 minute. Take it out and set it on your baking tray. Do the same for the remainder.

4. Lightly beat 1 egg and egg wash the buns. I would recommend some egg wash as it will give you a glossy brown shine when bun is baked. Now go creative. Add some sliced almonds, sesame seeds or poppy seed or any topping of your choice.

5. Bake the buns for about 20 minutes or until golden brown in colour.

*Some tips I discovered*

Freezing dough
  • I wouldn't recommend to freeze the dough, unless the dough you prepared is meant for freezing. It's because I read somewhere that you will need to double the amount of yeast, as yeast might die during freezing stage.
  • To thaw: Set it out on a tray line with parchment paper, cover with a greased cling film (e.g: vegetable shortening), then thaw dough in the fridge overnight and let it rise again (approx 2 1/2 hours) slightly longer than the usual 1 1/2 hours before working them in to your bread, then cover with cloth and set aside for another 20 minutes to allow it to rise again.
To store in fridge and use later

  • You can roll out bread to your desired shape or choose to roll later. Just make sure to cover with cling film wrap and put it in a zipper lock bag.
  • To thaw: Set ready rolled bread on to a tray line with parchment paper, cover with a cloth to allow it to rise (approx. 20-30 minutes) and then bake them accordingly. For non-ready roll breads, thaw and let dough rise (approx. 30 minutes), work the dough by punching slightly, and roll into desired shape. Cover with cloth and set aside for another 20 minutes to allow it to rise.
Hope this helps, for more tips click here.

xx

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Cooking Recipe: Malaysian Prawn Noodle (Har Mee)


While most of you will have cereals, sandwiches, yogurt with fruit or granola bars for breakfast, here in Malaysia; the locals will turn to our array of local dishes like Har Mee/ Prawn Noodle, Wan Tan Mee or Nasi Lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk served with some fried anchovies, hard boil egg and spicy sambal). Of course over the generations and period of years, we too have become more health conscious and turn to simpler breakfast. However, the beauty of our local cuisine is that you can have them anytime of the day. Be it breakfast, lunch or even dinner.

Usually I will just pop by a hawker stall and order a bowl of prawn noodle soup. But these days, it's getting a little tougher in getting a decent 'Prawn Noodle/ Har Mee' . The broth or the soup seems to be lacking in some flavour. Well let me tell you this, the key to have a wonderful delicious 'har mee' lies in the soup. There's not much art in making the soup, but patience and having good ingredient is key. The slices of pork, prawns, fried shallots will be the garnish which compliments the dish. As one will only remember the soup and not so much of the rest.

Some parts of the recipe is referenced from Rasa Malaysia; a famous Malaysian food blogger residing in the States who is constantly missing good food back home in Malaysia. However, the recipe suggested below has been tweaked slightly to make it simpler; I hope.

With our melting pot of culture, and races, one would agree that Malaysia is truly a land of magical colours with warm friendly people. So, this post is dedicated to my Malaysian roots, and I would like to share it with you a tiny glimpse of our culture. For the prawn noodle soup, do try out the recipe, as there is a perfect balance of the sweet broth and hint of spiciness. Enjoy!!

Recipe
referenced from Rasa Malaysia
yields 4-6 bowls depending on portion served

For the Broth/ Soup
1 Ziploc bag of shrimp or prawn heads and shells (I used Ziplock Easy Zipper Bag)
3- lbs pork bones (try getting them from the Asian market, tell the butcher you need it to boil soup)
15 cups of water or more depending on the amount of shrimp head and shells and pork bones (reduced to about 12-13 cups of water after hours of boiling and simmering)
2-3 pieces of rock sugar (about the size of a small ping pong ball) or to taste
Salt to taste

For Chili Paste:
30 dried chilies (seeded and soaked to soften)
10 shallots (peeled)
5 cloves garlic (peeled)
2 tablespoons of water
6 tablespoons of cooking oil

OR
**Refer no.2 & 3 to prepare chili paste. Toss in garlic first into the oil, then the chili paste.

6-8 tbsp ground chili paste (store-bought or ready made found in Asian market)
4 garlic cloves, diced
3 tablespoons of cooking oil

For Noodle:
1 pound of yellow noodles (scalded)
1 pack of rice vermicelli (scalded)
Some kangkong or water convolvulus (scalded)

For Toppings:
1/2 pound of lean pork meat (boiled and sliced thinly)
1/2 pound shrimp or prawns (shelled and deveined)
Some fried shallot crisps (store-bought)

To prepare chili paste:

1. Using a food processor, pulverise the chili paste ingredients until finely ground and well blended.

2. Next, heat up the wok and add cooking oil. Then stir fry the chili paste for 5 minutes. (Cautious: Be careful as the oil might splatter at this point). Dish up and set aside.

3. Using the same wok (unwashed), add a little oil and cook the shrimp topping. Add in a little chili paste, sugar and salt. Pan-fry the shrimp until they are slightly cooked and turned coral blush in colour. Dish up, and set a side to cool.

To prepare broth or soup:

1. Using a frying pan, with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, fry shrimp heads and shells until they are cooked.

2. Transfer into a deep pot, and add in the pork bones and water. Simmer on low heat for about 2 hours or longer until stock becomes cloudy and tastes quite prawn-ish and pork-ish.

3. Using a ladle, carefully scoop out and discard as much of orange and brown foam as possible. Then using a sieve, strain the soup into another clean pot and discard the shells and pork bones. Otherwise, strain into a big bowl, then wash the pot and strain the broth one more time back into the pot.

4. This time, add in rock sugar and salt to taste, and simmer until rock sugar has completely melted.

5. Add in lean pork meat into soup and boil until it's cooked. Take it out and let it rest before slicing thinly.

To assemble prawn noodle or har mee:

1. Place a portion of noodle, vermicelli, and kangkong in a bowl. Ladle hot stock or soup over. Top with meat, prawn or shrimp and garnish with some friend shallots. Serve immediately and enjoy!

xx

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Food Buzz Top 9: Kiwi Orange Creamsicle is #9

Yeay!!! Made it to Top 9 once more. This is really the cherry on top of the cake as my blog anniversary gift. Thank you foodie friends for voting, and buzzing.. Then again, I'm still not quite sure how it all works..Oh! well.. it's okay. Perhaps you can try buzzing and so it moves around the queue..LOLs.. Top 9 or not, I still hope that I'm able to constantly come up with more delicious food posts. So please stay tune to check on what I'm up to.

A shout out to Ann: THANKS for alerting me in my blog comment. Otherwise I wouldn't even know :).
Once again the earliest blogger friend who noticed and comment.. AWESOME!!

xx
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