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Cooking, Recipe and Food Blog

Just Pudding It Back To Basics

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Nothing says home grown cooking than bread pudding! I must say no matter where you are and how long the years have passed, we all are just softies for home baked bread pudding. I could never say no! Sometimes, I make it a point to have left over bread just so I have a good excuse to make some … even just for a nice sweet afternoon spent absolutely doing nothing!

You all know the basics of bread pudding, right? It’s just day old bread, milk, eggs and sugar mixed together and poured into a pan and baked. Anything else you want to add to it is all up to your creativity and what’s in your pantry. You can add raisins, nuts and other fruit of your choice.

Although it is typically a dessert, why limit yourself to that? Have it for breakfast! You may choose to serve bread pudding with rum sauce, whiskey sauce and caramel. It is just as heavenly with custard sauce or vanilla cream, and even chocolate.  Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or slather on some luscious whipped topping and you’ve got yourself a pretty fancy dessert without the real fuss.

Essentially, it’s going to back to basics … back to where it all matters …it’s what hits home and it always feels just as good as you always remember it. So just play around with this home grown recipe and use your favourite things to eat. You might just come up with a seriously genius creation. Here’s something for you to whip up this coming weekend maybe?

Apple Breakfast Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

12 slices day old bread
4 tbsp butter, melted
½ c raisins (optional)
1 apple, peeled, chopped
2 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon powder
4 eggs beaten
3 cups milk
¾ cup white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  • Mix chopped apples with brown sugar and set aside
  • Break 6 slices of bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle 2 tbsps melted butter or margarine  over bread.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour half of mixture over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
  • Spread over the apple and sugar mixture onto the bread layer and sprinkle with raisin if desired.
  • Break the remaining 6 slices of bread over the layer of apples and sugar, drizzle with the 2 tbsps of melted butter and pour the remaining half of the milk mixture. Press down with fork making sure the bread pieces get soaked in the milk.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.
  • Serve warm with custard sauce or go all out with vanilla ice cream.

Photo Credit: missmeng

Photo Credit: montage_ man

Photo Credit: jennycu

Grilled Peaches with Chocolate and Marzipan

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Soft, juicy with a nice crisp edge to them – these Grilled Peaches are a great desert, especially after a rustic main course. For an extra crisp, sweet finish to them, sprinkle half a teaspoon of Brown Sugar over the top before grilling.

Grilled Peaches

If you’re not too fond of Peaches, you can always change them for some very ripe Nectarines or Pears – take a thin slice off of them so that they’ll stay flat and cook evenly.

To serve 4
4 Ripe Peaches
150ml Double Cream
125g Plain Chocolate, broken into pieces
1 Lime
50g Marzipan, chopped into small pieces
2tbsp Icing Sugar

1. Halve the Peaches, and cut out the stones. Arrange them, with the cut side facing up, into a shallow flameproof dish.
2. Pour the Double Cream into a saucepan, then heat up until just before boiling. Stir in the Chocolate chunks, and stir over a gentle heat until smooth.
3. Remove thin strips of the rind from the Lime and set aside. Squeeze two teaspoons of Lime Juice and add to the Chocolate Sauce.
4. Squeeze another two teaspoons of Lime Juice and sprinkle over the cut Peaches.
5. Divide the chopped Marzipan between the Peach Halves, and drizzle a little of the Chocolate Sauce over the top of the Peaches, then pour the rest into the cooking dish.
6. Sift some Icing Sugar over the top, then grill for around five minutes under a high heat. The Peaches and Marzipan should be slightly coloured, and crisp on the edges.
7. Transfer to warmed serving plates, and scatter the Lime Rind over the top. Pour a little Cream into the Chocolate Sauce, and mix lightly. Serve still warm.

Photo Courtesy of: mccun934

Gingered Chicken and Noodles

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A Rich, creamy flavoursome sauce, that’s a great dish for a lunch. It’s very quick to make – taking around thirty minutes from start to finish, full of colour, and full of taste.
Chicken with Ginger and Chilli
If you’re not able to find any Coconut Milk, chop up 50g of Creamed Coconut, and make up to 300ml with Boiling Water, and bring to the boil, before stirring well.

To Serve 4
1tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 bunch Spring Onions, sliced
2.5cm Ginger, peeled and grated
1 Garlic Clove, peeled and crushed
275g Skinless Chicken Breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2tbsp Mild Curry Paste or 1tbsp Hot Thai Curry Paste
300ml Coconut Milk
300ml Chicken Stock
Salt and Pepper
125g Chinese Egg Noodles
2tsp Lemon or Lime Juice

1. Heat the Oil In a large pan, and fry the Spring Onions, Ginger and Garlic until they begin to soften. Add the Chicken pieces and the Curry Paste, and cook off for a further three to four minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
2. Stir the Coconut Milk into the pan, along with the Chicken Stock, and season to taste with Salt and Pepper. Increase the heat, and bring the pan to the boil before adding the Noodles, broken into half. Cover the pan, and then simmer for around five to ten minutes, stirring occasionally. When cooked, the Noodles are just tender, and not too soft.
3. Add the Lemon or Lime juice, season to taste, and serve immediately.

If the mixture is too thick or dry after the Noodles are included, add some more stock. Similarly, if it becomes too watery, add more Coconut Milk and cook for slightly longer to thicken it up.

Photo Courtesy of: ricepalette

Beef Rendang

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Beef so soft and tender it should be close to falling apart, and a sauce that’s so thick and full of flavour makes this Indonesian dish really stand out.

Beef Rendang

It’s similar to a curry, and can be made with Beef, Chicken, Mutton, Duck or some vegetables. It’s a slow cooked meal, and can be served on it’s own as a complete meal.

To Serve 6
1 Large Onion, Peeled and Quartered
6 Garlic Cloves, Peeled
5cm Ginger, peeled
1 Red Pepper, Deseeded and Chopped
4 Dried Hot Chillies
2tsp Ground Coriander
2tsp Ground Cinnamon
1tsp Ground Cloves
1tsp Turmeric
3tbsp Vegetable Oil
1.1kg Stewing Beef, Cut into Large Chunks
1.7l Coconut Milk
1 Lemon Grass Stalk, bruised
Salt

1. In a food processor, add the Onion, Garlic, Ginger, Red Pepper, Chillies, Coriander, Cinnamon, Cloves and Turmeric, along with a tablespoon of Water. Process until smooth and paste-like.
2. Heat the Oil in a large pan or casserole dish, before adding the Paste that you’ve just made. Cook over a Moderate heat for three to five minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Add the Cubed Beef to the pan, and cook for a further two to three minutes, making sure that the Meat is completely covered by the spice mixture.
4. Pour the Coconut Milk into the Pan, and increase the heat whilst stirring to bring the mixture to the boil, then add a teaspoon of Salt, and the Lemongrass before lowering the heat and simmering gently without the lid, stirring from time to time for two hours.

If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount more of Coconut Milk and Water (mixed together), and if it’s too thin, remove the Beef, and bring the sauce to the boil, stirring frequently.

Photo Courtesy of: Avlxyz

Thai Beef Curry with Coconut Milk

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A really simple, basic dish, that will people craving more of the tastes and textures that make this such an appetising meal.

Thai Beef Curry

You can serve with Rice or Noodles – depending on what you prefer. Try adding prawn Crackers to have as a side.

To Serve 4

3tbsp Vegetable Oil

800g Braising Steak, Cubed

2 Onions, Thinly sliced

2tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste

1tbsp Tamarind Paste or Lime Juice

2tbsp Fish Sauce

850ml Coconut Milk

2tsp Sugar

6 Cardamom Pods, Crushed

1small Pineapple, Peeled and Chopped.

1.       Heat the Oil in a flameproof casserole dish, and brown the beef off before setting aside, making sure you keep as much of the juice and Oil in the pan as possible

2.       Fry the Onions and cook for five minutes, before setting them aside with the Beef.

3.       In the pan, add the Red Curry Paste, and cook gently over a low heat for a minute, then add the Tamarind paste, Fish Sauce, Coconut Milk and Sugar.

4.       Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to simmer.

5.       Re-add the Beef and Onions to the dish with the Cardamom Pods, then simmer for sixty to ninety minutes. Stir from time to time, and if it starts to become a bit dry, cover with a lid. Bare in mind that the dish shouldn’t have a lot of liquid with it, but it shouldn’t be very dry.

6.       Add the Pineapple and cook for a further five minutes.

7.       Check to make sure the dish is dry enough. If it isn’t, add a small amount of water or some extra Coconut Milk.

8.       Serve with Rice or Noodles, and Prawn Crackers.

Photo Courtesy of: Avlxyz

Simple Pleasure: Milk & Cookies

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The Urban Dictionary defines “milk and cookies” as:

the best medicine to be found in the kitchen

… and I have to agree. My mother-in-law is 82 and looks incredibly good for her age. Seriously, she looks at least twenty years younger (I’d post a photo here if she wasn’t so shy). One of her secrets? Milk and cookies for dinner.

Now, this might not seem like the healthiest of choices- but really, how can you go wrong? The milk gives you calcium and Vitamin D, the cookies give you chocolate (chock-full o’ antioxidants). And the combination of a chilled glass of creamy milk and some chocolate cookies gives you comfort- and a lot of pleasure. It is, after all, what you traditionally leave for Santa on Christmas Eve.

You can, of course, simply open a bag of Oreos, which are classic. But if you’d like to kick up your experience a notch, here are some of our recipes for cookies that go awesomely with milk: