Nigella Lawson's ChocoPots

I can't believe it's October already. I'm gonna be 19.... in 13 days. :s Somehow i still feel like 16. I've decided since the beginning of September that i wanted to celebrate my birthday with my own cake. since I'm well, me, who needs like 3-4 times bake a messed up cake and leave the kitchen looking like it's been hit by a truck, i need a lot of practice.

And guess what, today is the first episode of the-messed-up-cake which ends in a emotional break down-kitchen wise. In a second i knew that i need chocolate. like, STAT!

and I'm back in the kitchen. My-look-alike-hit-by-truck-kitchen. Let's just skip that part. I've always been a huge fan of Nigella Lawson and i just simply, adore her. Her recipes are easy, quick, and you just can't go wrong. All you need is her ChocoPots to warm up your day.

 Oh, take a look at how it cracks, the crispy outside, gooey chocolatey, mmmm....

PS:  Sorry bout the pictures! It was raining cats and dogs so I couldn't get the picture with natural light.

Nigela Lawson's ChocoPots

• Butter for ramekins
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Place baking sheet in an oven preheated to 400°. Butter four 2/3-cup ramekins and set aside.

Using a microwave oven or double boiler, melt together the semisweet chocolate and the butter. Set aside to cool.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, sugar and flour. Add cooled chocolate mixture, and mix until blended. Fold in chocolate chips.

Divide mixture evenly among ramekins and place on baking sheet. Bake until tops are shiny and cracked and chocolate beneath is hot and gooey, about 20 minutes. Place each ramekin on a small plate with a teaspoon and serve, reminding children that ramekins and chocolate are hot.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

I've been craving for Chocolate Thumbprint cookies since last Eid ul Fitr, when my mom went crazy and bought almost all cookies from Harvest, our local bakery. Chocolate Thumbprint is my favorite, thou Harvest's called them White Button. why, they are as cute as a button indeed! it was really easy and fun to make, despite the part where you bake the cookies for 10 minutes, dipped ur thumb to the half cooked so freaking hot cookie dough, then put it back in the oven.

My red sore thumb is all worth it when I bite into these cute botton cookies, feel the vanilla cookies crumble into rough sand and blend gently with the silken dark chocolate. Oh, Heaven!

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
makes 4 1/2 dozen

1 cup plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped
2 tsp corns syrup ( i used honey instead-it works too)

preheat the oven to 350 F. line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 


In the bowl of an electric mixed fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together 1 cup butter, the confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla on medium speed until smooth about 2 minutes, beat in flour, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium until combined

Form balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each, place balls 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. 

Bake 10 minutes, remove from the oven, and press thumb into cookies to make deep, wide indentations, rotate the pan, and return to the oven; bake until light brown on the edges, 7 to 9 minutes more. ( if the indentations begin to lose definition, remove cookies from oven and press again.) 

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Combine the chocolate, the remaining 6 tablespoons butter and the corn syrup in a small heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water; stir occasionally until melted and smooth. 

Allow to cool a bit until slightly thickened. fill thumbprint with the chocolate mixture, and set aside to firm up. cookies can be stored in a single layers in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Magnolia Famous Banana Pudding

When my best-friend went to NY and screamed to me how yummy magnolia banana pudding is, (She said it's even better than the cupcake) i just can't wait to make them! I'm not a big fan of banana, but my parents are. Dad can eat 3 bananas after dinner and mom usually chew on that fruit with anything she can find on the fridge, nutella, cheese, peanut butter, chocolate, anything!

Lucky me, I happen to have magnolia bakery cookbook in handy. what I like about everything in magnolia cookbook that it is so well describe. honestly, it's.so.easy. i usually need to do trial-and-error-and-messed-up-the-kitchen like 2 - 3 times before i can get any recipe right. but with magnolia bakery? snap-snap delicious!

I am lucky to have my cousin-in-law ( what do u call someone who is married to ur cousin?) to take pictures of my pudding. these pictures below are his. hope you enjoy it as much as i do!

PS : I personally think that this pudding is too sweet. next time I'm gonna reduce the amount of the condensed milk

PSS: I just realized that i baked 2 times in a row using magnolia cookbook. hmm. Got to do more variety!

Magnolia Famous Banana Pudding
taken from More From Magnolia by Allysa Torey

one 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cup ice cold water
one 3.4 ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups heavy cream
one 12-once wafers(the book said to use Nabisco Nilla Wafers but I can't find it in Jakarta so i substitute them with Loackers)
4 cups sliced ripe bananas

In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. it is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.


in a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peak form. gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.


to assamble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5 quart capacity. arrange one third of the wafer to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layers of the pudding. cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours-or up to 8 hours, but no longer!- before serving.

Strawberry Icebox Pie

Oh, there are days when i just can't think of what to write. which confuse me, because i talk a lot. like, a lot. i can spend like 5 hours straight talking. no kidding. why can't i write? i guess talking and writing is a totally different things.

it helps to look back at the title. Right. Strawberry Icebox Pie!

When I first read the recipes, the word 'icebox' confused me. what the heck is that supposed to mean? icebox? but then i realized after further reading that this recipe requires a lot of freezing and refrigerati-ing ( is that even a word?)

And it requires no flour! YAY! i'm allergic, you see. To dust. And small particles of flour flying around my nose when i bake equals to dust. When my immune systems are down, shifting flour can send me to a series of nonstop coughing and sneezing. Ppfftt.

The crust is made of wafer crumb and melted butter. i used loacker wafer because i love the milky flavor. i whack the wafer out with the back of a wooden spoon. i love wackhing. it felt gooood. 

The filling was made out of strawberry-like-preserved. i totally love them. it's so easy and u only need like 15 minutes max to make them. And it also smells amazing. my fingers smell like strawberries all day long :D

 

I love the idea of making the bite-size of this icebox pie, so i made them! i used mini muffin pan and mini muffin liners, and i need to emphasize this that u kinda need the muffin liners or the crust won't stick to the pan. took me half and hour racking my brain to figured that out.
  

Strawberry Icebox Pie

from At Home with Magnolia by Alyssa Torey

makes one 9-inch pie

  

crust :

1/2 cup unsalted butter,melted

2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs

filling :

5 cups fresh strawberries, sliced in halves

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tsp vanilla extract

to make the crust : in a medium-size bowl, combine the butter and vanilla wafer crumbs. press firmly into a lighted buttered 9-inch pie dish. cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 hour. 

to make the filling : mash 2 cups of the strawberries and place in a medium-size saucepan. add the sugar and cornstarch, and stir constantly over medium heat, until the mixture is the consistency of fruit preserves 10 - 15 minutes. 

reduce the heat to low, and continue cooking for 2 more minutes until the mixture thickens slightly. remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. transfer to glass measuring cup and allow to cool to room temperature about 15 minutes. stir in the remaining berries and spread the filling evenly in the prepared crust. cover with plastic wrap and chill the pie in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours

Chicken Fajitas Recipe

this is the  Chicken Fajitas recipe i cooked the last time, guys. especially for my friend who asked for this recipe! Ratih Amandhita  :) :)

Ingredients :
Chicken Fajitas  
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast cut in stripes
finely grated zest and juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 onions
3 bell peppers ( red, yellow and green)
3 tbsp vegetable oil

* heat the pan and pour the vegetable oil
* sautee onions and bell pepper until soft
* add chicken
* add juices and zest of lime
* add oregano, cayenne and cinnamon
* add sugar
* season with salt and pepper

Guacamole
4 medium tomatoes
4 ripe avocados
juice of 1 lime
1/2 small onion
2 garlic cloves
small bunch of cilantro, chopped
3 fresh red Fresno chili ( i used regular small red chillies)
salt

* smash the avocado until soft
* cut the tomatoes, onion, garlic and chilli into small pieces
* in a bowl, combine all of ingredients.
* season

Tomato Salsa
3-4 fresh serrano chilies ( i used regullar green chilli)
1 large white onions
grated zest and juice of 2 limes plus strips of lime zest to garnih
8 ripe, firm tomatoes
large bunch of cilantro
1/4 tsp sugar
salt

* cut tomatoes, chillies and onion itu small squares
* combine all ingredients together, in a bowl
* season
garnish :
sour cream

Put the Chicken Fajitas in the middle of the tortilla, fold the tortilla.
serve it with guacamole, salsa and sour cream.

i used packaging tortilla, but you can always make your own tortilla.  u can check out the yummy tortilla recipe here.

enjoy!

Valentine's day!

 know maybe it's a litte bit late, but
Happy Valentine's Day!

or maybe for some, shitty fcuklentine day. well for me, it's fall for chocolate day. remember what they say?

i whipped up some really good (and easy!) chocolate layer cake for valentine's day. well maybe it's not really a cake, maybe you can call it pudding. or parfait. or whatever. u named it. one thing it's true though, it's yum.

you're gonna need :

200 ml ganache ( store-bought chocolate pudding will do too)
brownies
fruits you like. ( i used oranges and strawberries)

i used betty's instant fudge brownies because
1. i'm too lazy to whipped up my own brownies,
2. betty's taste sooo damn good.

i whipped up my ganache with ratio of 1 : 1. so 1 part of chocolate with 1 part of cream. this time, i used 200 gr of chocolate and 200 ml of cream.
chop the chocolate to pieces, and melt then on double boiler. let it cooled for a few minutes then incorporated the cream.

sometimes i like to put my ganache in the refrigerator until it reached the desireable consistensy

i added some chunk of white chocolate because i was running out of my dark chocolates. teehee. don't worry, it won't change the flavour, these dark babies are waay too strong.

bake the brownies according to the box's direction ( your favorite recipe or store-bought brownies will do too) and cut them to squares

cut your fruits, i cut my stawberries to squares and add some sugar in it

then, the fun part. assembling!

put the fruit first,

dipp some chocolate

add the brownies

then more chocolate

fruits,

and more chocolate! ( oh I loveee them!)

sprinkle some grated white chocolate, tied it with a ribbon, and there you go

full of love valentine's gift.

enjoy!

Carrot Potage

I love books. I love books like pigs love shit. lol.
Gue tumbuh dengan buku, lebih senang berada di gramedia di banding zara, lebih senang menghabiskan duit di kinokuniya dibanding departemen store belanja dan bergenit ria memakai make up. ( kecuali parfum. gue cintaaaaa parfum!) gue suka bau toko buku, gue suka bau buku baru, gue suka.... eh, Enough with my bookgasm, bukan itu inti dari post ini, hahahaha.

recipe books :)

Kecintaan gue ke memasak juga tumbuh dari buku. Manga sih, sebenarnya (komik jepang). Komik-komik spt cooking master, kitchen princess, antique bakery, gue sambat habis. Membaca tokoh utamanya memasak bikin gue pengen ikutan.
So, this is it, resep yang dipraktekan dari buku komik

Enaaaaak bgt, and mind you, it’s HEALTHY!

Carrot potage is basicly carrots, onion, blend into one and then incorporated wih milk and cream. Rasa langu dari wortel hilang dan terganti gurih dari bawang Bombay dan manis dr susu dan krim.
Cucok untuk orang yang ingin makan sehat dan doyan sayur
Dan juga untuk ngibulin anak kecil yang ga doyan sayur supaya mau makan sayur, ( wortel sayur kan ya? -tee hee)

Patut diingat bahwa wortel kaya dengan vitamin a dan c, membuat mata sehat dan kulit indah.


Carrot potage

Untuk dua porsi

U will need :
30 gr butter
1 / 2 bawang Bombay
1 wortel
Garam dan lada secukupnya
1 kaldu blok ( i used chicken stock)
200 cc susu
50 cc cream

1. Kupas kulit bawang Bombay dan bersihkan wortel, potong separuh dan iris setebal 2 mm

2. Panaskan butter dipanci, tumis bawang dan wortel dengan api sedang

3. Larutkan kaldu blok dgn 300 cc air panas, tambahkan tumisan bawang, beri garam dan lada. Angkat dari api.

4. Setelah agak dingin, hancurkan tumisan bawang dengan blender. Saring hasilnya agar tidak kasar.

blend baby blend!

5. Masukkan hasil saringan ke dalam panci, tambahkan susu dan cream, panaskan di atas api sedang. Setelah mendidih, kecilkan api dan panaskan selama 1 menit.

6. Tuangkan di atas mangkuk, dan hias dengan dots of cream

enak dimakan dingin maupun panas

enjoy!
 

Baked Eggs

waktu gue dapat ide resep ini, jam 10 pagi, perut gue berteriak dengan kecepatan maksimum. food quotation by me.

"i'm not a fan of breakfast. i'm a fan of brunch,lunch,afternoon tea, dinner, supper and snacks time"

perut gue berteriak it's brunch time! B-R-U-N-C-H time! chew something!
dan secara impulsif pun gue mengangkat my lazy butt from the sofa and sprint to the kitchen.

gue demen nih masakan kaya gini, yang cuman tinggal cemplung-cemplung, enggak pake repot.

you will need :
4 eggs
1 buah daun bawang
1/2 bawang bombay
1 buah tomat
keju ( gue pake quickmelt, tp pake keju apa aja juga ok)
ramekins
mentega

* preheat oven dalam 160 drjt celcius

* potong bawang bombay,tomat, daun bawang dan keju kotak-kotak

* break 2 eggs dan campur semua!


*jangan lupa-oles ramekins dengan mentega agar tidak lengket, dan masukkan egg mixture
* break the other two eggs, hati-hati supaya kuningnya utuh
* dan pajang dipaling atas! jgn lupa sprinkle sum salt and pepper :)



* bake for 20 minutes or till done



enjoy fellas!