sexta-feira, 21 de setembro de 2018

Extra Cheesy Cheddar Crisps

Hello!
Today I bring you the Extra Cheesy Cheddar Crisps! - "Made from a secret faerie recipe passed down for generations. How do they make them so cheesy"
Of course you don't have to make them in that shape, that lovely faerie wings shape. I had to for the sake of this food but, believe me, I've only made a few for the photos, the rest were cut the way I desired :P Or else I would still be cutting them today XD
Anyway! You will need:
- pan for deep frying + enough oil to do it
- rolling pin
- kitchen paper
- 1 and 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup of flour + more as needed
- 1 medium potato boiled
- 50 gr. butter
Start by mashing the potato into a bowl, very well mashed, or use a potato ricer (very handy here). Then add the rest of the ingredients: the cheese, the flour and the butter and use your hands to mix everything together very well so it forms a uniform dough.
Now form two or three balls or disks with the dough, which will be kind of sticky, wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes you will work with each piece of dough at a time. Put a bit of flour on a surface and roll the dough out to 5 mm thick. Cut the dough as desired (for the faerie wing shape I used a cardboard mold I drew myself, I would put the mold (wrapped with plastic wrap) on top of the rolled dough and I would cut along side it... as you may imagine, this was time consuming so then I changed the shape) but keep the pieces small, the size of potato chips is fine. Repeat the process for the other pieces of dough.
Put the frying pan with the oil on the stove and let it heat enough for deep frying. In the meanwhile line a plate with kitchen paper and set aside. When the oil is hot and ready, drop a few chips in the oil and they will be done in no time so pay close attention! Turn them on the other side to brown both sides equally and when they are golden brown, remove them with a slotted spoon to the plate with the kitchen paper to drain the excess oil. Repeat until you have no dough left. Serve as you wish but above all, enjoy!

*This image was taken from and belongs to Neopets.


segunda-feira, 17 de setembro de 2018

Omelette Monday - Bacon and Broccoli Omelette

Hello!
Omelette Monday is here! Lets make an omelette! More specifically... lets make a Bacon and Broccoli Omelette - "One of a Skeiths favourite foods, the Bacon and Broccoli omelette covers all main food groups".
You will need:
- frying pan
- bit of oil (if needed)
- 2 eggs + splash of milk
- some frozen broccoli florets (about 6 or 7 - you can use fresh broccoli, in that case you have to boil them until they're cooked) 
- 5 or 6 slices of bacon
- salt to taste 
Start by scalding the broccoli florets. In a pot with boiling water, let them boil for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, cut one or two very finely and set aside.
Cook and prepare the bacon. Put the frying pan on medium-low heat and place the bacon slices on it. Let is cook a little but no need to crisp it up. After the bacon has released some of its fat and gained a bit of colour, turn off the heat and remove it from the pan. Cut most of the slices in thin strips but cut 2 or 3 slices just in half for garnish. 
Now break the eggs into a bowl, add a splash of milk and season with a pinch of salt. Beat all together very well.
Put the same frying pan on medium-low heat and, if it has enough fat from the bacon you don't need to add more oil, otherwise just add in a bit of oil and put the beaten eggs in. When the egg starts to coagulate on the sides, add in the bacon cut in strips and the finely cut broccoli to only one side of the omelette. Let it cook a bit more to coagulate the eggs almost entirely. When the eggs are almost cooked, fold the omelette, remove from the heat and put it on a plate. Serve garnished with the rest of the broccoli florets and the bacon halves. Enjoy!

*This image was taken from and belongs to Neopets.



sexta-feira, 14 de setembro de 2018

Fail Friday - Chocolate Momo

Welcome once more to Fail Friday!
And in what did I fail may you be asking... Chocolate Momos - "Dessert dumplings filled with banana and covered in chocolate." That's what I failed in... well... not really, but I'll explain. I don't think this was a complete failure. It was edible... while hot! After cooling down, the dough became so tough it was almost like trying to chew on a piece of plastic. I'm not sure if this was due to the cooking time, the cooking method (steaming) or if it was from the type of dough I used (which I honestly don't think so).
Anyway, I'll share the recipe with you but please, take in consideration all the observations I'll be making if you ever want to try this recipe!
You'll need:
- a steaming utensil
- little squares or parchment paper
- dumplings' dough
- banana cut into rounds
- chocolate creme (like Nutella or similar) or chocolate sauce

This is my basic go-to dumpling dough. It makes about 28 or 30 10 cm circles of dough:
- chopsticks or a fork
- 200 gr. of flour
- 100 ml. of boiling water
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp of oil (I use sesame oil for that nutty flavour)
In a bowl put in the flour and whisk it around with the chopsticks or fork, whichever you use, to break any lumps. Add in the salt and mix well. Now pour the boiling water and mix very well until it forms like crumbs and add in the oil. Mix all again with the chopsticks until it starts crumbling again. Now use your hands. Bring the dough together by kneading it a bit and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to rest for half an hour. After that time, knead the dough again until it becomes very smooth and wrap for another 30 minutes. After that time your dough is ready.
Break the dough in two. Work one piece and keep the other covered. Roll the piece like a rope and cut it into 14 or 15 equal pieces. Now use a rolling pin to roll each piece into a circle with about 1 or 2 mm in thickness. There is your first dumpling, or in this case momo, shell. Continue this process until you have all the circles rolled out and prepared.

Now put one piece of banana on the center of each circle of dough, wet your finger with water and wet one side edge of the circle dough. Bring the edges of the dough up together and pinch them well so they won't open. Now bring each corner together around the momo and pinch them too. There you have your first momo!
Continue this process until you have all the momos you want. Place each momo on a piece of parchment paper and in the steaming utensil.

Put a pot with water on the stove and bring it to the boil. Reduce the heat to minimum, place the steaming utensil with the momos on it, cover and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and pay attention 'cause steam burns like hell! 
Remove the momos from the utensil, get rid of the parchment paper and serve them on a plate with chocolate sauce or creme drizzled all over them. Enjoy!

Notes:
- I know my dough recipe makes a lot of dough circles so feel free to make it in half. If you still have leftovers you can store them for 24h in the refrigerator, already rolled in circles, with pieces of parchment paper between each, and in an air tight container. You can also make big dumplings and with whatever filling you want (just as long as it's not very liquid), just make sure the dough is 1 or 2 mm thick;
- Now, the parts I think I failed: I decided to steam the momos but I usually never steam this dough, I boil it and fry it. Next time I'll try it this way. Next...;
- I never cooked this dough for so long! I usually boil it for 3 minutes (right out of the freezer!) and that's it! I think steaming it for 10 minutes was way too much (but I was following a recipe so I thought... well... steaming must require a different time... silly me -_-) and the protein of the dough seized up, turning it into a really tough and very hard to chew piece of dough. Not every bit but specially the parts where the dough was pinched together.

So, all in all, it was edible and delicious in flavour! Can't go wrong with banana and chocolate ;) But if I ever do this again I will make it without following a recipe. I will still use my dough and what I already know about it, which is: it cooks in 3 minutes and I will boil and fry it instead of steaming ;)

*This image was taken from and belongs to Neopets.


segunda-feira, 10 de setembro de 2018

Omelette Monday - BBQ Sauce Omelette

Hello!
It's omelette day and what omelette did I chose for today? BBQ Sauce Omelette!
This omelette is one of the simplest to make and yet it is so delicious! Lets get started!
For this omelette you will need:
- a frying pan
- 2 eggs + a splash of milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- BBQ Sauce and some Ketchup
Start by breaking the eggs into a bowl, add a splash of milk, season with salt and pepper and mix everything very well. Put the frying pan on medium-low heat with a bit of oil in it and put in the egg mixture. When the surface of the eggs is almost done, fold it in two and let it cook for a further 2 minutes or so. Turn of the heat and serve the omelette with a generous drizzle of BBQ Sauce on top of it, and a few dots of ketchup scattered on top of it too. Enjoy!

*This image was taken from and belongs to Neopets.


quinta-feira, 6 de setembro de 2018

Tofu Satay

Hello!
Today I'll be sharing with you my version on Tofu Satay - "Healthy and delicious!"
It sounds really fancy and exquisite but it is actually really simple to make.
You will need (for three or four skewers):
- a frying pan and a pot
- 3 or 4 skewers
- a block of tofu (250 gr. are enough) drained with weights overnight 
- salt and pepper to taste
- a bit of sunflower oil
For the satay sauce
- 300 ml of coconut milk
- half a cup of peanut butter
- half of a small onion grated
- 1 Tbsp of soy sauce
- 2 Tsp of brown sugar
- pepper flakes to taste
After the tofu has drained, cut it into 3 or 4 strips and stick a skewer in each one lengthwise. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Put a frying pan on medium-high heat with a bit of sunflower oil, place the tofu in it (if the skewers are to long to fit in the pan, stick them in the tofu after this step) and reduce the heat to medium-low. Now let the tofu brown a bit on each side. Just don't burn it. After browning the tofu on each side, put them on a plate and lets prepare the satay sauce.
In a pot combine all the ingredients and put it on medium-low heat. Allow to come to a boil, stirring constantly, and remove from the heat. Put some of this amazing sauce on top of each tofu skewer and serve :D Enjoy!

*This image was taken from and belongs to Neopets.



segunda-feira, 3 de setembro de 2018

Omelette Monday - Tomato Omelette

Hello!
Today's omelette is a pretty simple one. But I really love this combination of flavors: egg and tomato! So let me share with you my recipe for Tomato Omelette!
You will need:
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 small tomatoes
- a splash of milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- ketchup 
- bit of oil to fry
Start by peeling the tomatoes and cutting them into bite size pieces. Get rid of most of the seeds. They have a lot of water and we are not interested in that. Choose 7 or 8 pieces, deseed them, and save for garnish.
Break the eggs into a bowl, add a splash of milk and season with a pinch of salt. Beat all together very well.
Put a frying pan on medium-low heat with a bit of oil and put the beaten eggs in. When the egg starts to coagulate on the sides, put the tomatoes in and, once again, try to keep them on one half of the omelette. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and keep checking it until the top is almost cooked. Season with pepper and fold the omelette as you prefer. Serve with some dots of ketchup on top, and garnish with the pieces of tomato you saved. Put each piece on a dot of ketchup to hold them in place. Enjoy!

*This image was taken from and belongs to Neopets.