Crispy Roast Duck

Mouth-watering. Period.

INGREDIENTS
I whole Pekin duck (thaws for 24 hours in fridge) about 4 pound
1 gallon cold water
2 oranges (cut halves)
2 drop of red food coloring *optional*
1 tbsp
5 spices powder
2 tbsp sea salt maltose for brushing

PROCEDURE
Remove plastic bag cover thawed duck,then remove and discard excess fat from body cavity and neck. Prick skin all over very thoroughly with a fork on both sides (25 to 30 pricks for each duck or as many times as you can to make the skin crispy).

Prepare a large pot or bin with cold water ,cut oranges and few drop of red coloring.Then let the clean duck dip into the cold water mixture for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven at 350 F.Remove duck from cold water and pat it dry with paper towel.Rub salt and 5 spices powder all over the duck.Line up an aluminum foil over a roasting pan (to prevent deep scrubbing).

Place duck onto the roasting pan ,breast facing downward,in the middle rack of oven .Use bake setting to roast for 40-50 minutes,then turn the breast facing upward,roast for another 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden brown .

Remove duck from oven brush with maltose all over the skin, let it sit for 10-15 minutes before carving.Serve warm as main course.


Thanks to www.beachloverkitchen.com.

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Maui Banana Cake with Lime Coconut Glaze

INGREDIENTS
2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
¾ teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt 1 cup of sugar
½ cup of low fat vanilla yogurt
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups of smooshed ripe bananas
3 tablespoons of dark rum (or coconut rum)
Or 1 teaspoon of rum extract
1 teaspoon of a good vanilla
1 teaspoon of coconut extract (optional)
½ cup of unsweetened coconut flakes

Lime Glaze
½ cup of powdered sugar
1 ½ tablespoons of lime juice
2 tablespoons of chopped macadamia nuts
2 or 3 tablespoons of coconut

PROCEDURE
Turn on the tropical sun (the oven) to 350 degrees. Whisk the flour, soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl till all mixed up. Combine the yogurt with the sugar and beat with a mixer till well blended. Add the eggs beating as you go. Stir in the bananas, yogurt, rum, vanilla, coconut extract, next. When everything is well blended add the flour mix and combine till just moistened then barely mix in the coconut. Pour batter into either a bread loaf pan or a cake pan, depending on the look you want. Bake the loaf for about one hour or the cake for about 35 minutes, while the palm trees sway. When the house fills with the heavenly scent of banana bread, check with a toothpick to see if it is done. Cool 10 minutes on a cooling rack and place on a deserving platter. Whip up the lime juice with the powdered sugar and drizzle over the warm cake then sprinkle with mac nuts and coconut. Take a bite and do the hula! Ono! (Delicious in Hawaiian)


Thanks to http://danazia.wordpress.com.

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Oatmeal Pancakes

INGREDIENTS
2 cups Old Fashioned Quaker Oats, or other quick-cooking oatmeal
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

PROCEDURE
Add oats and buttermilk to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight (this gives the pancakes their distinctive texture). Add eggs, honey and oil. Stir to combine. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together.

Lightly oil a non-stick pan or griddle. Pour batter in 1/4 cup increments. Watch for the tops to bubble. Turn pancakes and cook until golden on the second side.

Thanks to http://houndstoothgourmet.com.

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Going Easy When Dining Out

Keep your weight on check. Here are practical things to remember if you wanna avoid over-eating when you dine-out.

• Avoid all-you-can-eat buffets.
• Order entree-sized meals for yourself or share a main.
• Remember: you don't need to clear your plate.
• Avoid garlic breads and herb breads.
• Order dressings or sauces on the side.
• Choose tomato-based sauces on pasta.
• Choose sorbets or fruit salads for dessert.
• Fill up on water

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Green Flash Cocktail

Green Flash is a “natural tropical phenomenon occurring at sunset. Very rarely, on utterly cloudless occasions, and just after the sun has disappeared underneath the sea, a brilliant band of green light as wide as the sun itself will flash across the horizon.”

Summer's here again and this is a perfect treat!

INGREDIENTS
1 oz vodka
1/2 oz Peach Schnapps
1/2 oz Blue Curacao
3 oz orange juice
3 0z sprite ice

PROCEDURE
1. Mix ingredients together, serve over ice.
2. Garnish with an orange slice and maraschino cherry
3. Lean back, savor the tropical evening and enjoy

Thanks to http://whiteonricecouple.com.

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Homemade Oreo Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
15 Double Stuffed Oreo Cookies, roughly chopped

PROCEDURE
Heat the milk and cream in a sauce pan, over medium heat, until bubbles form around the edges. Beat the egg yolks and sugar, on medium high speed, until combined and forms yellow ribbons. Reduce the mixer to low speed. Slowly add the hot milk to the egg mixture until well combined. It is important to pour slowly to prevent the eggs from curdling.

Pour the combined liquid back into the sauce pan and cook over medium-low heat. Stir constantly for about 5 – 8 minutes until thickened and coats the back of the spoon. Pour the liquid through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Add the vanilla and chill in the refrigerator until completely cooled.

Pour the cream into the ice-cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. In the last 15 minutes of the churning process, add the chopped Oreos. Spoon into a lidded container and freeze until completely hardened. The freezing should take about 2 hours. Makes about 1 quart.

Thanks to http://penniesonaplatter.wordpress.com.

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Thai Cucumber Salad

INGREDIENTS
Dressing
1/2 Cup Vinegar
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 Cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
4 Shallots, thinly sliced
5 Thai Bird's Eye Chilies, chopped

PROCEDURE
Mix the dressing ingredients and bring it to a boil. Set aside to room temperature.

Place sliced cucumber, shallots and chilies in a mixing bowl. Mix the dressing over the cucumber mixture. Marinate briefly and serve with deep fried fish cakes, prawns or even fried chicken.


Thanks to http://www.seasaltwithfood.com.

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Hamantashen

These cookies are basically circles short pastry filled with all sorts of fillings (usually poppy seed filling, chocolate, or dates), which are folded to triangle shape and baked until crisp.

One of the most complicated things about these cookies is getting the cookies to remain at their original shape while baking. If you chill the filled and shaped cookies before you bake them, they generally tend to lose their shape, the solution is to chill the shaped and filled cookies before baking (preferably overnight).

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
200 gr. cold butter, cut into small cubes
zest from one orange (or lemon)
2 egg yolks
2-4 tablespoons fresh orange juice (or milk)

fillings: Nutella, poppy seed, nuts, jam

PROCEDURE
In a food processor combine the flour, baking powder and sugar. Add butter and orange zest, and pulse until the the butter incorporates with the flour, add the yolks and pulse until the mixture looks crumbly. Add 2 tablespoon of the juice, and combine until combined (if needed, add the rest of the juice) .

Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 160-170 degrees C.

To form the hamantashen, roll out the dough on a well-floured surface until it is about 3-4 mm thick. Using a round cookie cutter (about 6 cm diameter), cut the dough into circles, brush the edges of the circles with a little bit of water. Spoon a teaspoon of the filling in the center. Fold the dough in from three sides and firmly crimp the corners and give them a little twist to ensure they stay closed. Leave the filling mostly open in the center. Put on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Cool on rack, powder with powdered sugar.

Thanks to http://bakingforthecure.wordpress.com.

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Cantonese Chicken, Shiitake Mushroom, Leek and Water Chestnut Stew

INGREDIENTS
25g (1 oz) dried shiitake mushrooms
30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
2 chicken legs
225g (8 oz) can water chestnuts, drained and sliced in half
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 leek, weighing about 200g (7oz), chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2.5cm (1 inch) piece ginger, cut into thin strips
45ml (3 tbsp) Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
60ml (4 tbsp) dark soy sauce
10ml (2 tsp) caster sugar
45ml (3 tbsp) oyster sauce
1 chicken/vegetable stock cube (which makes 450ml stock if mixed with hot water)
1 star anise
250g (8 oz) fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
10ml (2 tsp) cornflour
8 spring onion, finely sliced

PROCEDURE

1. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in 300ml (½ pint) water for 20 minutes. Drain and thinly slice the mushrooms.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a flameproof casserole and fry chicken all over until golden.
4. Transfer the pieces to a plate put it to the side.
5. Add the onion, leek, garlic and ginger to the casserole and fry until the onion and leek have softened. Add the dried mushrooms and all its liquid to the casserole as well as water chestnuts, soy sauce, wine, sugar, oyster sauce and star anise. Next, add the stock cube to the mix and stir, making sure it dissolves complete. Let the sauce bubble for a minute or two then add the chicken to it. Make sure the chicken it more or less covered.
6. Place the casserole in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
7. After 30 minutes, add the fresh mushrooms to the pot and stir well. Place the casserole back in the oven, this time at 160°C/fan 140°C/325°F/gas mark 3 for another 30 minutes.
8. Remove the chicken pieces from the casserole and keep warm. Mix cornflour with a little cold water to form a paste, stir into the boiling liquid and simmer for 2 minutes. Serve immediately and don’t forget to sprinkle spring onions on top!

Serving Suggestion
Serve on top of egg or rice noodles.
Note
If you can’t find dried shiitake mushrooms, use another dried variety instead. The only sort I could find at my local shop was wild ones.
Simply pull off the chicken skin because it ends up a bit flabby. It’s mainly used for flavouring the sauce.


Thanks to http://www.greedygourmet.com.

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Stick-free Cooking

Sticking Cake Layers -- Cake layers sticking to the bottom of the pans? Put them back in a warm oven for a short time. The layers will then come out without a problem. Or, try lining the bottom of your pans with waxed paper

Spray your tupperware with non-stick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces~no more stains!

To easily remove honey from a measuring spoon, first coat the spoon with nonstick cooking spray!

Transfer your jelly to a small plastic squeeze bottle~no more messy, sticky jars or knives! This also works well for homemade salad dressing!

Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispies treats in the pan~the marshmallow won't stick to your fingers!

If you don't have enough batter to fill all cupcake tins, pour 1 tablespoon of water into the unfilled spots...this helps preserve the life of your pans!

Dropping Cookie Dough -- To get cookie dough to drop without sticking dip the spoon in milk first.

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