January 1 - Dutch Doughnuts for New Year

Serving Oliebollen (Dutch doughnuts) on New Year's eve is a Dutch tradition. So when my husband learned that I am serving oliebollen on New Year's eve, he was very happy.





Oliebollen
Ingredients
1 cake yeast (2/3 oz)
1 cup milk
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup raisins (washed to soften)
1 apple, peeled and chopped
oil for deep frying
confectioner's sugar











Preparation Time (at least 4 hours)
Mix the cake yeast with 1/3 cup lukewarm water and let it stand for at least 15 minutes or until bubbles appear.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt.
Add the yeast, milk and egg to the flour mixture and mix.
Mix the raisins and apples to the batter.

Leave the bowl in a warm place.
Let it stand until the batter doubles in size.


Cooking Time (20 minutes)
Pour oil in a deep fryer.
Shape balls using two spoons and drop them in the deep fryer.
Cook the doughnuts for 7 minutes or until brown.
Drain the doughnuts on absorbent paper.
Cover thickly with confectioner's suger before serving.

December 23 - Grand Marnier Shrimp

Another way to enjoy shrimp - Grand Marnier Shrimp.



The prawns are simply dusted with cornstarch (as for me, I used pancake mix) and deep fried for two minutes. The Grand Marnier sauce is the complicated part of this recipe. Whatever happens, make sure that you just whisk enough liquid on the mayonnaise to make the perfect sauce.



Grand Marnier Shrimps
Ingredients
8 to 10 prawns (jumbo shrimps)
1/2 cup pancake mix (or cornstarch)
2 cups canola oil for deep frying
For the sauce:
1/2 Grand Marnier cognac
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup mayonnaise
For garnishing:
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup mandarin orange (from the can)
1 cup sweetened walnuts

Cooking Time (45 minutes)
Cook the Grand Marnier in a saucepan for 5 minutes to burn off the alcohol.
Set it aside to cool.
Cook the orange juice in a saucepan and reduce it to a syrup, about 10 minutes.
Set it aside to cool.
Place the prawns and the pancake mix in a bowl.
Shake it gently to mix the prawns and pancake flour together.
In a small deep fryer, cook 3 prawns at a time for two minutes.
In a small bowl, mix the Grand Marnier cognac and orange juice together.
In another bowl, add 1 cup of mayonnaise.
Pour a small portion of the liquid on the mayonnaise and whisk gently.
Pour just enough liquid on the mayonnaise to make a slightly thick sauce.
In a big serving plate, arrange the cooked prawns on top of the garnishings (lettuce, walnuts and mandarin oranges).
Slowly pour the Grand Marnier sauce over the prawns.

November 10 - Filet Mignon Simplified

Serving filet mignon is the classic way of serving an elegant dinner. But it does not need to be complicated. Freshly ground rock salt and pepper does the trick. Using a wok is one sure way of searing the meat the right way, if you are not opting for grilling or broiling.

I served the filet mignon with simply boiled French fingerling potatoes.

The kick came from the stir fried greens (way too exotic for my kids but the teriyaki-style sauce did the trick).

Filet Mignon

Ingredients

8 oz. filet mignon, pieces

freshly ground rock salt and pepper

12 pieces French fingerling potatoes

6 oz. stir fry greens (may contain Swiss Chard, Rapini Mustards, Kohlrabi, Chicory, Kale, Beet Tops, Amaranth, Bok Choi, Spinach), chopped

6 pieces of think bacon, chopped

3 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

3 slices of ginger

Cooking Time (35 minutes)

Pat the meat dry.

Sprinkle a generous amount of freshly ground rock salt and pepper on the meat.

In a large pot, boil the unpeeled potatoes with 2 tsp of salt.

Peel the potatoes before serving.

Meanwhile cook the bacon in a wok.

Set the bacon aside.

Using the oil from the bacon, add the ginger.

Cook the filet mignon in high heat.

Sear the meat on all sides.

For a 1.5" thick meat, sear for 11 minutes for medium rare, 13 minutes for medium and 18 minutes for well done.

Place the filet mignon on serving plates.

Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.

In the same wok, cook the greens with the ginger.

Add the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar.

Cook for 10 minutes.

When serving, top the greens with the bacon.

Serve the filet mignon with the potatoes and stir fried greens.

November 4 - Fried Chicken Revisited

Crispy fried chicken is one finger food that needs to be eaten right away to enjoy it. Max's Restaurant became famous with their fried chicken, the Max's fried chicken. What's unique about it is that they use spring chicken and cook the chicken so crispy that you could eat the wing bones.

Most of the chicken here in the U.S are jumbo, so I opted to use Cornish hens since they are about the same size as the ones serve in Max's.



Fried Chicken


Ingredients
2 Cornish hens or spring chickens, less than 1.5 lbs each
1 tbsp freshly ground rock salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 cloves garlic, peeled
spring onion (bulb only)
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 ginger, peeled
rosemary springs
48 oz. canola oil for deep frying





Cooking Time (2 hours)
Pat the chickens dry.
Rub the salt and pepper on the chicken.
Mix the garlic, onion, carrot and celery together.
Fill the chicken cavity with the mixture.
Place the chickens and the ginger on a steamer.
Steams the chickens for 30 minutes.
Let the steamed chicken stand for one hour to drain the liquids.
Take out the vegetable mixture out of the chickens.
Heat the oil in a large deep fryer or casserole.

Place the chickens in a single layer.
Fry the chicken for 25 minutes, carefully turning them twice.
Once cooked, let the chickens stand for another 5 minutes before serving.

October 23 - Kare-kare for Dinner

Kare-kare is the Filipino version of beef stew with peanut sauce. It is popularly cooked with oxtail meat and beef tripes, but for the faint of heart, beef short ribs is a perfect substitute.

This stew is cooked bland and served with sauteed shrimp paste on the side. If it is more convenient for you, you could also mix the shrimp paste in the peanut sauce when cooking.

Kare-kare
Ingredients

6 pieces of beef short ribs, about 1.5 lbs

4 cups of water

3 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium size onion, thinly sliced

1 lb green beans

3 Japanese eggplants, sliced

3 bunches of baby bokchoy

3 tbsp shrimp paste

4 tbsp Smucker's Natural peanut butter (no salt added)

Cooking Time (95 minutes)

In a big casserole, cook the beef short ribs with 4 cups of water for an hour, or until tender.

Set the beef short ribs aside and save the beef broth.

In another casserole, heat the olive oil and saute the garlic.

Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes.

Add the shrimp paste and the peanut butter and mix well.

Add the beef broth.

Add the meat.

Add the green beans and eggplants.

After 10 minutes, add the bokchoy.

Cook until the vegetables are tender.

Serve warm with white rice.

October 3 - Frutti de Mare Over Pasta

Being a seafood lover, Frutti de Mare is one of my favorites. You can pretty much include any kind of seafood, but for me, there should be shrimps, mussels, clams and squid. You can use your favorite marinara sauce or a simple can of chopped tomatoes. Chopped pancetta adds a distinct flavor to the dish.

Frutti de Mare Over Pasta
Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Vidalia sweet onion, minced

4 oz pancetta, chopped

10 oz. sliced fresh button mushroom

1 red bell pepper, minced

28 oz can of chopped tomatoes or bottle of marinara sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

1/2 cup red wine

4 jumbo tiger shrimps, peeled and deveined

4 squid, cleaned and sliced

1 dozen clams

1 lb mussels

1 package of fettuccine

4 tbsp butter

Cooking Time (40 minutes)

Heat the olive oil in a large pan or wok.

Saute the garlic, then the onions for 5 minutes.

Add the pancetta and brown for 5 minutes.

Add the red bell pepper, mushroom, and chopped tomatoes (or marinara sauce).

Add the basil, parsley and oregano.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Let the sauce cook for 10 minutes.

Add the clams and let it cook for 5 minutes.

Then add the mussels, shrimps and squid.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta.

Once cooked, mix the pasta with butter.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the pasta in a big serving plate.

Take out the clams, mussels and shrimps from the sauce.

Carefully pour the sauce over the pasta.

Arrange the shrimps and shells on top.

September 21 - Beer Braised Pork Chops

Beer braised pork chops is another easy yet delicious way of serving pork chops.

Pork chop is not a favorite meat cut for me. It tends to be hard than tender. When trying this dish, use the center cut with the bone in. It's all meat but really tender.

Rub the meat with salt and pepper then set aside for at least 15 minutes. In this way, the meat is tastier when browned.

Preparing the crispy fried apples and onions is a bit tricky and took much of the cooking effort. But the kids love the apples and the onions a lot that it was worth all the cooking hassle.

Beer Braised Pork Chops

Ingredients

4 pieces pork chops, bone in

2 tbsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

4 tbsp olive oil

1 bottle of beer

4 Gala apples, peeled, cored and each apple cut into 4 rings

1 large Vidalia sweet onion, cut into long strings

3 cups flour

4 eggs, whisked

3 cups bread crumbs

oil for deep frying

Cooking Time (1 hour)

Rub the meat with salt and pepper.

Heat the 4 tbsp olive oil in a large shallow pan.

Brown the pork chops, 5 minutes on each side.

Pour 1 bottle of beer in a large baking dish.

Place the chops in a single layer.

Bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the meantime, prepare the crispy fried apples and onion.

Heat enough amount of oil in a deep fryer, about 2 inches deep.

Place the flour in one bowl.

Place the whisked eggs in another bowl.

Place the bread crumbs in a third bowl.

Dip each apple ring in the flour, then egg, then bread crumbs.

Fry 4 apple rings at a time for about 4 minutes.

Fry the onion strings as well.

Once the meat is done, pour the drippings in a frying pan.

Add 4 tbsp of flour and whisk together to make the gravy.