My version of mr Wolf's Pizza no.9 

(thanks to Karen Martini's cook book 

Where the heart is)

A christmas gift from my buddy Yi who is currently tracing her roots in the Foochow provence..... good luck with the toilets!

  

Pizza dough recipe

400 g plain flour (preferably unbleached)

100 g fine semolina

2 tsp table salt

1.5 cups (375 ml) warm water

3 Tbs olive oil

2 tsp (7 g) dried yeast

Combine flour, semolina and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with dough hook attached.

Mix water, oil and yeast in a small bowl and stir to dissolve yeast.

Pour water mixture into flour and mix on low speed until combined, then mix on high speed for 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic, but quite wet and sticky.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl.

Cover with plastic film and rest in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

Divide into four portions.

The dough can be used at once or stored, covered in the fridge overnight.

MAKES 4 PIZZA BASES

If preparing dough for the next day, use cold water in the dough and prove it in the fridge overnight

If you don't have a dough hook, combine basic dough ingredients and gather mixture into a ball. On a smooth surface lightly dusted with flour, knead for 15 minutes or until dough is smooth, elastic and sticky.

Pizza  no. 9 Recipe

A simple one, with fresh ingredients that are a perfect marriage made in pizza heaven.

olive oil and fine semolina to coat pizza tray/pan

1 portion basic pizza dough

1/3 cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil

150 g buffalo mozzarella, sliced

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 lemon juiced

80 g rocket leaves

6 slices prosciutto

Preheat oven to 250 degrees celcius

Light brush a large pizza tray with oil and dust with semolina

Roll pizza dough out on a lightly floured surface and transfer to the pizza tray

Drizzle pizza base with half the oil and top with cheeses. 

Season with pepper and bake for 10-15 minutes until dough is golden and cheese has almost melted

Whisk lemon juice with remaining oil.

Dress rocket leaves in a small bowl and toss to combine.

Remove pizza from oven and cut it, then immediately lay slices of prosciutto and dressed rocket on top and serve.

MAKES 1 LARGE PIZZA.

SERVES 4-6

Chicken with chickpea+couscous+tomato+onion

I've been trying to be healthier lately. But so far....it ain't working. I only went to one BodySteps class and one Reformer pilates class. Then...I let myself go and ate all that BAD but yummy stuff in Adelaide. Therefore, I shall force myself to attend more exercise classes (three times a week?) and eat home more often (i.e cook more).

This recipe is my modified version of what is in the May issue of Super Food Ideas.

Ingredients
Cooking oil Spray (I just started using sprays....they're so much better)
6 x Chicken thigh fillets (trim the fat)
400g Edgell chick peas drained, rinsed (found in cans or you can cook your own)
Cous Cous (Ainsley H) Spice sensation 200g (Or any other cous cous)
2 tomatoes (cut into chunks)
1 large onion (sliced roughly)
Lee Kum Kee Chicken Marinade
Chinese cooking wine

Method:

1 Marinade the trimmed chicken fillets with the bottled marinade and cooking wine. The amount used depends on how much chicken you have...etc etc... I just estimate with my eyes. Leave for 30 minutes or even longer to let the flavour soak in.

2 Heat a large, non-stick wok over medium-high heat. Lightly spray the wok with canola oil and fan fry the chicken pieces. Let each side cook until it is golden brown before turning over to seal in the flavour. Make sure the chicken is cooked thorough!

3 Add in the tomatoes and onion into the wok, and let them soften.

4 In the meantime, prepare the cous cous (add 180 mL boiling water to contents and let stand and fluff with fork after 2 minutes)

5 Add a few table spoons of cous cous into the wok with the chicken/tomato/onion

6 Spoon some chick peas into the wok too.... and dinner is served.

Sticky Date Pudding (another old favourite recipe to share)


Serves 4
400g pitted dates
600ml cup water
2 tsp bi-carb soda
125g butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
250g sugar
4 eggs
400g S.R. flour

BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE
2 Tbs cornflour
1.5 cups milk (1 1/2 litres)
1.5 cups cream
600g brown sugar, tightly packed
1/4 cup golden syrup

METHOD
Cook the dates in water and bi-carb until soft - bring to the boil and simmer very slowly, covered, for about 10 minutes (the mixture should form a jam consistency). Cool slightly and puree until smooth.

Cream the butter, vanilla and sugar until creamy; add eggs one at time until incorporated. Add the flour and date puree to the cream mixture, and mix well.

Butter and flour individual moulds or a large roasting dish and pour in the mixture.

Bake in a preheated 180 C oven for 35 - 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the pudding comes out clean.

Serve with butterscotch sauce and whipped cream.

BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE
Make a paste with the cornflour and a little of the milk. Bring the remaining milk and cream to the boil and whisk in the cornflour mixture to thicken. Simmer for 1 minute, then stir in the brown sugar and golden syrup. Serve.

Flake with tomato chilli relish




I cooked this last year and didn't post up the recipe....so here it is. Its actually really yummy...so do try it out k? Maybe over the Easter long weekend...dun eat too much Hot Cross Buns.

Serves 4
20g butter
1 Tbs olive oil
700g flake fillets
1/4 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 dill sprigs, roughly chopped ( i didn't use this )
1 lemon, cut to wedges, to serve

Tomato chilli relish
1 Tbs olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 large tomatoes, diced (vine ripened ones if you feel gourmeish)
2 long red chillies, deseeded, finely chopped (leave the seeds if u want extra HOT)
2 Tbs tomato paste (not sauce)
1/4 cup white wine

Method:
1) Make tomato chili relish
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat
Add onion and garlic
Cook for 2 to 3 mins or until soft
Add tomato, chilli and tomato paste
Cook, stirring, for 3 mins or until tomato is soft
Add wine and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low
Simmer, uncovered, 10-15 mins or until thick
Season with salt and pepper

2) Meanwhile...
Heat butter and oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat until hot
Cook fish, in batches, for 2 mins each side until cooked through.
Transfer to a plate. Cover with foil to keep it warm

3)
Combine mint, coriander and dill in a bowl
Spoon tomato chilli relish onto plates
Top with fish and sprinkle herb mixture
Serve with lemon wedges.

Note: I rubbed some salt and pepper onto the fish before cooking it....just to make sure I don't get too much fishy taste. I think any sort of white meat fish can be used in this recipe.

Enjoy!!!!

As Easy as A B C

How can anyone go wrong with Lee Kum Kee marinades? Saw this new product last week on the shelf while grocery shopping "Cantonese Barbeque Marinade"...just had to try it. Too easy to create succulent pork ribs for dinner.......

Ingredients: 1) Pork Ribs (or whatever your little tummy desires)
2) Minced garlic (my own secret recipe)
3) Spoonfuls of cantonese BBQ marinade

Method:
1) Preheat Oven at 200 degrees celcius
2) Cut away the bad ugly fat from the ribs
3) Put ribs in a bowl and mix well with the marinade and garlic ~ 30 mins
4) Place ribs into oven ~ 30 - 40 mins or until cooked. Turning it once.


Serve with rice and some vegies for a well balanced meal. Yummmmmm

What can one do with Oreo, Cream cheese and John Legend?
+

Last Saturday three girls gathered in my place (Yi, Vera and my sis). They joked, mixed some stuff, broke some biscuits, listened to sexy Legend and produced a CAKE!!! Magic! Aww its really really good.... I think I should try and make it myself next time. I saw a restaurant selling the same cake except in a much much smaller portion (i.e. single serve) for $6.50. Maybe I should quit school and start selling chilled oreo cheese cakes to cafes? Will it pay better?

Ingredients:

Base:
200g Digestive biscuits, crushed finely (bash it up in a sandwich bag^^)
100g Butter
2 tbsp brown sugar

Topping:
500 g cream cheese (mascarpone cream cheese if feeling luxuries)
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
65 g butter @ room temp.
100g castor sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp of gelatine
1 1/4 cups of whipping cream, whipped til just stiff
50g Oreo biscuits, crushed coarsely

Method:
Base
-grease a 20cm spring form pan
-melt butter in a small contained on medium high until melted. Add brown sugar and stir until roughly dissolved. Mix the mixture with the crushed Digestive biscuit.
-transfer mixture into spring form pan, spread it evenly. Use glass to press the mixture evenly. Refrigerate for 30 mins.

cheese bits
-blend in cream cheese, sugar and lemon rind until smooth. Add butter and continue to blend til smooth
-mix lemon juice and gelatine in microwave. Heat in high power for 30 secs uncovered. Stir until gelatine dissolves then pour it into cream mixture.
-gently fold whipped cream into cream mixture into spring pan.
-refrigerate 3-4 hours (or freeze if desperate for CAKE)

Feeling pineapple-ly

Checkout the little UFOs i made with mum. Each one is handmade to perfection. The pastry is 10 g and insert is 5 g. We weighed each one!!! So much time and effort put into it. We just had to make everyone eat it when they came to our place during the lunar new year. Pineapple tart...yummm.

Baking skills

I'm no Donna Hay or Martha Stewart but I think my gingerbread man and christmas cookies look SUPERB!!! Don't know about the taste though.....Gingerbread are suppose to taste nasty but they look so cute....maybe I should've made a hole at the top so I can hang it on my invisible Christmas tree (note to self: should buy a christmas tree....even if its a mini one...hehhee).

This the season for the cheeries (fa la la la la la la la la)

yummy yummy....so yummy....This is the first time I've ever stayed back in melbourne til this late in December and I;m glad i did cos there are cheeries everywhere (not everywhere on the streets la).... I dragged myself through the summer heat to Victoria Market the other and bought a 2 kg box of fat big momma cheeries for my sister to bring back to malaysia...and I was so stupid to buy it as the first item when i reached the market. I had to carry it all the way while I bought other stuff (fish....vegies....and all). Should have only gone to the cherry stall at the end but the temptation was too great.....but alas...the taste of sweet cheeries made the punishing trip to Vic mart an OK one.......

I bought the fish and some other stuff to make up a nice lunch for my bro and Joe. They were surprised why they were being fed such a nice meal in the middle of the day. I usually do not even bother cooking anything fancy for lunch. But but but.....ta daaaaaa.....I present to you my Tomato Chili Relish with fisheeee

Sushi


LOBSTER sushi....AS IF!!! I used carrots as feelers! hehhehe.. Made this pretty sad looking tuna/egg/carrot sushi for dinner. I can't roll proper sushi.. so its kinda wonky! but its still vinegared rice with stuff in it!