Tomate Farcie (Stuffed Tomatoes)

Tomate Farcie

In France, they love to stuff everything from vegetables to meat!  When I arrived here, I don't understand much French and one day I bought some stuffed veal, thinking that it is quite cheap, after roasting the veal, discovered that the veal is acutally stuffed!

When I was doing this stuffed tomatoes, my mind got transported back to Malaysia, yes, it's yong tau foo!   Here is the recipe from Cyril Lignac, a French celebrity chef!

Ingredients :
6 large tomatoes
350 gm sausage meat
3 shallots, chopped
3 stems of parsley, remove stem and roughly chopped
2 garlic, chopped
1 egg
50 ml milk
2 slice of overnight bread
1 bouquet garni
salt and pepper

Method :
1.  Wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut a hat and put aside, remove the seeds from the tomatoes and lightly salt the inside of the tomatoes and set aside.  Reserve the inside of the tomatoes.
2.  Heat the oven to 150°C.  Soak the bread in the milk and break them up, then add the sausage meat.  In France, this is sold like minced meat, when I first arrived I bought it to cook some Chinese style soup, yucky! Add the rest of the ingredients, the garlic, the shallots, the parsley, the egg, salt and pepper. Mix well.
3.  Use a fork to prick the inside of the tomates before adding the filing.  Place them on baking pan, leave the tomato hat on the side of the stuffed tomatoes.  Mix a cup of water with the inside of the tomatoes that was set aside in 1 above.  Add the bouquet garni and pour them into the baking pan.  Put in the oven for 45 minutes, baste regularly with the roasting juice. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Lazy cook does not reserve the hat on the tomatoes but cut the tomatoes in half so that it looks like more, here is the picture of one done!

Before roasting

Tarte Poire Bourdaloue (Pear Almond Tart)

Poire Bordaloue 

French have a love affair with tarts and custards, this tart is a combination of both and the addition of almond makes it so heavenly.  This recipe is from Chef Cyril Lignac, a famous French chef, why not?

Ingredients :
250 gm pâte brisée http://zhelazycook.blogspot.com/2011/01/pate-brisee-short-crust-pastry.html
3-4 pear or a can of pear in syrup
500 ml milk
3 egg yolk
100 gm sugar
30 gm all purpose flour
75 gm almond powder
1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla essence

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
Roll out the patê brisée onto a tart pan, chill.
Cut the vanilla pod into 2, remove the seeds and place them with the milk. Place the milk in a pot, heat it over slow fire.  In the meantime, whisk the egg yolk with the sugar till pale. Add the flour, continue to whisk till combine.  If you are using vanilla essence instead of vanilla pot, you can add it now. Add the warm milk into the egg mix.  Do not boil the milk because it might cook the egg mix. Mix well, then transfer the mix back to the pot.  Whisk over slow fire till thicken to custard like.  Turn off the heat and add the almond powder.  Let cool.
Once cool, pour the custard over the patê brisée.  Lazy cook don't pre-cook the pâte brisée.

Custard onto pâte brisée

Place the pears onto the custard.  Lazy cook uses the can pears. Put it in the oven at 200°C for 25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let it cool.  Best easten slightly chilled.

Tarte Bourdaloue before putting in the oven

Pear Bordaloue after cooking

Banana Cheesecake

In Malaysia, normally when we have cheesecake it's made with Digestive biscuit as the base and Philadelphia Cream Cheese.  When I first arrived in France, I could not find any of those cream cheese, and to make cheese cake the cream cheese they use to replace the Philadelphia Cream Cheese is St Moret.
France is known to be land of many cheeses, I've discovered that the French make their cheese cake with cheeses available around the region.  It is not so creamy, and not so sinful eating them!
I have a banana left sitting in the kitchen, so I have chosen this Banana Cheesecake recipe, the recipe is for 4 person.
Ingredients:
125 gm speculoos (belgian cookie spiced with cinnamon)
60 gm butter, softened
1 ripe banana, sliced
2 eggs, separated
1 packet vanilla sugar
30 gm sugar
150 gm ricotta cheese
125 gm natural yoghurt/ fromage blanc

Pre-heat the oven at 150°C.
In a bowl, combine the speculoos crumbs with the softened butter. Press the crumbs onto the base of a greased 6 inch springfoam pan. Refrigerate while making the cheese mix.
Whisk the egg yolk, then add the sugar, if you don't have vanilla sugar just additional 10 gm sugar with a teaspoon of vanilla essence. Whisk till pale,  then add ricotta and yoghurt.  In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white, with a pinch of salt,  till stiff.  Fold the egg white into the cheese mix.  Arrange the bananas onto the speculoos crumbs, then pour the cheese mix on top of the banana on the speculoos crumbs.  Bake for 40 - 45 minutes.
Cool and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
To serve, topped with honey.

Banana cheesecake

L'île Flottante

L'ile flottante

L'île flottante is a simple French Dessert, in English it's Floating Island and it's actually meringue served with creme anglaise and topped with caramel.  I normally buy the creme anglaise and caramel so only need to do the meringue only.  For every egg white, I add a tablespoon of sugar.  I use about 2 cups of egg white and add about 8 tablespoon of sugar and beat the egg white till stiff, then I placed the egg white into a baking pan and bake at 100°C for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, let it cool then place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.  Cut them to the size that you want to serve and place them in a bowl, pour the creme anglaise around the meringue and topped with caramel.

Meringue

Kari Kapitan

Kari Kapitan served with fried rice and spicy vege

For the nyonyas in Penang, this chicken curry is what they are proud of!  My mom cooks this curry once a year during the eve of Chinese New Year for the family reunion dinner. This recipe is taken from Nonya Flavours cookbook.  The ones that my mom cooks according to my sista is the Portugese version, I would one fine day post that version but for today, its this yummy version from Nonya Flavours! And when I tell my mom about this version, she says that this is the one that her mom, my grandma cooks!
Ingredients :
1 kg meaty chicken pieces (lazy cook uses about 8 pieces of chicken thighs, no mess in chopping up those chicken)
1 tbsp tumeric powder
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 cup oil, for deep frying
2 onions, skinned, halved and sliced (omitted this cos hubby hates the sight of onions)

1 cup thick coconut milk (from 1 grated coconut)
1 tbsp finely shredded kaffir lime leaves
1 tbsp brown sugar/palm sugar
2 tbsp lime juice

Spice Paste :
350 gm (20-30) shallots
10 gm (2 cloves) garlic
20 gm (2 cm) ginger
20 gm (2 cm) galangal
10 gm (1 cm) tumeric
10 gm (3) candlenuts (lazy cook uses almond powder)
50 gm (2 stalks) lemongrass
75 gm (6) fresh red chillies
20 gm (10) dried chillies
20 gm belacan, toasted
5 gm (8-10) bird's eye chillies (optional)

Garnish (Optional) :
2 tbsp shallot crisps
2 sprigs mint leaves

Marinate the chicken pieces with turmeric powder and salt overnight.  Lazy cook just marinate for 30 minutes cos forget this step.  Deep fry the chicken in hot oil till golden, drain and set aside.
For the spice paste, lazy cook uses a mix of onions and shallots because shallots are expensive.  Lazy cook uses dry ginger powder, dry galangal powder, dry turmeric powder, almond powder instead of candlenuts, dry lemongrass powder, dry chilli powder and a squirt of harissa (Tunisian chilli paste).  In a blender, I blend the onions, garlic and belacan, then I mix the dry spice into the onion paste to get my spice paste.
Heat half of the frying oil in a wok to saute the spice paste till fragrant.  Add the chicken and cook for 5-7 minutes over medium flame.
Add the coconut milk (lazy cook uses canned), lime leaves (lazy cook uses frozen) and brown sugar.  Simmer till chicken is tender. Add the lime juice and mix well.
Dish onto servicng plate and garnish with shallot crisps and/or mint leaves.  Serve with bread or rice.

Lorbak

This is my son's favourite dish, in France we are fortunate because we could find the beancurd sheets and the five spice powder! 
Ingredients :
500 gm pork, cut into bite sizes
1 clove garlic chopped
1 shallot chopped
3 tbsp sugar, or to taste
2 tsp salt, or to taste
a dash of pepper
3 tsp five spice powder
2 tbsp tapioca flour
2 eggs

Beancurd sheets
oil for deep frying

Marinate all the above ingredients (except the beancurd sheets and oil for deep frying) overnight or for at least 4 hours.  Cut the beancurd sheets into the size that you would like, I normally follow the folds of the beancurd sheets that I buy.  Spoon the meat onto the beancurd sheet and roll them, if the beancurd sheet is too dry use a wet cloth to wet them a bit. Use the grave from the marinade to stick the edges.
Deep fry until golden brown and drain on paper towel.  My mom serves this with a mix of chilli sauce and tomato sauce and some crushed peanuts, also can serve with sliced cucumbers and deep fried tofu.

Lorbak

Chocolate Cupcakes

Yummy chocolate cupcakes

Cupcakes are so addictive, it is so good that I have to try doing another flavour and what other flavour than chocolate.  I gave some to my neighbour and she came back and said the gôut is so good that she cannot find them in the pastry shops!  This is a must try, really really good! Got this recipe from Joy of Baking website:

Ingredients

1/2 cup (50 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 cup (240 ml) boiling hot water

1 1/3 cups (175 grams) all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

 

Chocolate Fudge Frosting:

4 ounces (120 grams) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup (150 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/3 cups (160 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly butter, or line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling hot water and the cocoa powder. Let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated. Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16 - 20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. (Do not over bake or the cupcakes will be dry.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or if piping, use a large Wilton 1M open star tip to make lovely swirls. These cupcakes are best the day they are made, but can be covered and stored for a few days.

Chocolate Frosting: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes). 

This time being lazy, I did not pipe the frosting but use a spoon to cover the top.

Makes about 16 cupcakes.

Chocolate cupcakes before frosting

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolateCupcakes.html#ixzz1IAiVnDag