Showing posts with label homemade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homemade. Show all posts

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Spicy Beer Mustard

Spicy beer mustard is a traditional German condiment with a delightful kick, essential for serving with sausages and pretzels. It’s super easy to make and keeps for months in your refrigerator.


I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for a very long time. In fact, I have several recipes calling for yellow mustard seeds in my “to make someday” files because I haven’t been able to find them. I don’t know why the yellow seeds are such a challenge. The brown ones are everywhere and I always have them on hand because they are a common ingredient in curries. But, once again, the heavens aligned for me when the Sunday Supper Oktoberfest theme was announced and I spied yellow mustard seeds in my local supermarket for the very first time.

After all, what could be better than a spicy beer mustard that goes together nicely with all types of German würste or sausages? It’s also great to dip your pretzels in as you sip a cold beer.

Adapted from the recipe on Food and Wine.

Yield: Makes about 485g or 2 cups of spicy beer mustard

Ingredients
1/3 cup or 60g yellow mustard seeds
1/4 cup or 80g brown mustard seeds
1/2 cup or 120ml apple cider vinegar
1 cup or 240ml dark beer, divided
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons dry mustard powder

Method
Put your mustard seeds in a small bowl or a clean jar, then pour in a 1/2 cup or 120ml of the dark beer and all of the vinegar. Cover the bowl with cling film or put the lid on the jar loosely and put the mixture in the refrigerator. Leave to soak overnight. I used a clean jar because I thought it would give us a better picture of what happens to the mustard seeds after soaking. Boy, was I right!



In a small saucepan, whisk together the other 1/2 cup or 120ml dark beer, sugar, honey, salt, turmeric, and allspice.




Warm over a medium flame and keep stirring until it comes to a slow boil and the sugar has dissolved.



Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Scrape the soaked mustard seeds into your blender with any liquid that wasn't absorbed. Add in the dry mustard powder and then pour in the warm liquid mixture.



Blend on high until the mustard seeds start to break down and the mustard thickens into, well, mustard. Stop and start the blender again if it begins to cavitate or form a air pocket around the blender blades, and you can see that the mustard is not moving.


Store in a clean jar with a tight fitting lid in the refrigerator. It’ll be even better if you can wait a day to use it.



Serve with sausage, soft pretzels, hot dogs, hamburgers or wherever you might enjoy some spicy beer mustard.



Now pour yourself a cold beer and check out all the other great Oktoberfest recipes we have for you today! Many thanks to our event manager, Marion of Life Tastes Good and today’s host, Cricket of Cricket’s Confections for all of their hard work!

Appetizers (die Vorspeisen)

Breakfast (das Frühstück)

Condiments (die Gewürze)

Main Dishes (die Hauptgerichte)

Side Dishes (die Beilagen)

Dessert (der Nachtisch)

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Sunday, July 31, 2016

Dueling Gyozas - Pork vs. Tofu #SundaySupper

With a good hit of fresh ginger, garlic and chili pepper, these gyozas will delight your whole family, vegetarians and meat eaters alike. Bonus: They are fun and easy to make!



First off, let me say that dueling gyozas is a misnomer. There's really no competition between the two. Both are delicious. That said, I couldn't name this recipe pork and tofu gyozas because that would imply that each gyoza contained both of those ingredients. Which they do not. Half are pork, half are tofu. The other seasonings and ingredients are otherwise almost identical.

We had been living in Southeast Asia again for just a couple of years when I first learned about gyozas from Jamie Oliver on his show Oliver’s Twist, circa 2004. Kinda funny, when you think about it. Living in Kuala Lumpur, Japanese friends and restaurants all around me and I find out about gyozas from a English chef on television!  The gyoza episode was called East Meets West and, in typical Jamie style, he made them look so easy.

I scribbled down the ingredient list as I watched and have made it with my daughters ever since. Since we like things spicy, we add fresh red chili peppers to both the filling and the dipping sauce. Oh, and Jamie also puts sake - Japanese rice wine - in his filling. I never have sake in the house, so I just leave it out. The original calls for ground pork but when the girls left home for university and became vegetarians, we adapted the recipe to use firm tofu as an alternative.

Not only is this one of our favorite family recipes, it’s a great group activity. Gather everyone around the kitchen table, put your fillings and gyoza skins in the middle, and get filling and folding. As the saying goes, many hands make light work and we have a lot of fun chatting and joking while getting it done.



If you’d like to watch Jamie make gyozas, here’s a link to the show on YouTube. East Meets West is actually Season 2, episode 22, but this is the only link I could find.

Ingredients
For the dipping sauce:
5 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 red chili, minced
1 tablespoon chopped green onion

For the pork filling – for 40-45 gyozas
10 1/2 oz or 300g ground pork
1 cup or 100g finely sliced Chinese cabbage
5 green onions, chopped finely
2-in length of ginger, peeled and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red chili pepper, minced - optional
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil

For the tofu filling – for 40-45 gyozas
1/4 oz or 7g dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated, drained and chopped
10 1/2 oz or 300g firm tofu, cubed and drained
1 cup or 100g finely sliced Chinese cabbage
5 green onions, chopped finely
2-in length of ginger, peeled and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red chili pepper, minced – optional
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil

4 packages gyoza skins  - about 25 per packet - you'll have some left over.
2 tablespoons oil for pan

Method
Start by making your dipping sauce by combining all the ingredients, so that the minced chili has time to infuse. Set aside.

In large bowl combine your green onions, sliced cabbage, ginger, garlic, chili pepper and pork.



For the tofu filling, in another large bowl, mash the tofu with a fork until it’s in big crumbles then add in your mushrooms, green onions, sliced cabbage, ginger, garlic and chili pepper.



Sprinkle the soy sauce and sesame oil into each filling bowl.


Mix well with a fork and pan fry a small amount of each to check seasoning. Add a little more soy sauce if the filling still needs salt.

Get yourself a small bowl of cool water and dip one finger in it. Run your wet finger around the outside of the gyoza skin.  Place a spoonful of the filling mixture on top of the skin.

 Close edges carefully, making sure there is no air inside.



Wet the semi-circular edge and then make pleats around it.



Set it pleat side up in a non-stick skillet coated with the oil. Press down gently to flatten out the bottom a little bit so the gyozas can stand up.



N.B. With this many gyozas, you are going to have to cook them in batches or use more than one pan. Also, you will want to keep the tofu ones separated from the pork ones if you are serving strict vegetarians. When they are cooked, they are pretty much identical from the outside.

Continue with remaining filling until all of your gyozas are made. These guys are listed under appetizers below but we often make a whole meal of them.

The tofu filling


Tip: You can freeze the gyozas now in a well-sealed container and cook them from frozen when you are ready to eat. They just take a bit longer to cook.

Heat your pan and fry the gyozas until the bottoms are brown and crispy.


Add 1/2 cup or 120ml water to the pan and cover the pan tightly.



Steam over low heat for 8 - 10 minutes, until the gyozas are cooked through and the water has evaporated.

Serve with the dipping sauce.



Enjoy!



This week my Sunday Supper family are sharing their kids' favorite recipes. We hope you find some new family favorites among them. Many thanks to our host Ellen of Family Around the Table and our event manager, Renee of Renee's Kitchen Adventures for all of their hard work.

Appetizers

Snacks

Main Dish

Desserts

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board. Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Pin Pork or Tofu Gyozas! 

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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Eggnog Pound Cake with Eggnog Glaze #FoodieExtravaganza

Homemade eggnog adds richness to the tender crumb of this sweet pound cake and eggnog glaze with extra freshly grated nutmeg is the perfect icing on the cake. If you only have the store-bought kind, that would certainly work just as nicely.

The best laid schemes
When I initially signed up to contribute a recipe to this month’s Foodie Extravaganza eggnog themed event, I did it with a certain amount of smugness because I knew I had one Tetra Pak of Borden’s eggnog, still in date, that was left over from last year. So even if the new ones didn’t make it to the Dubai supermarkets in time. I was GOOD to GO.

But to paraphrase the poet, Robert Burns, “the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry." And I find myself, happily, willingly, extending my annual visit to Kuala Lumpur to help a dear friend and her family through a rough time. Except the Borden’s eggnog has not come in yet here. In fact, the store where I used to buy it when we lived here says they aren’t getting any this year. Say what, Ampang Mini Mart??

Needs Must
So here’s what I did. I made our family's favorite eggnog, my grandmother’s recipe, already posted here, but in a much smaller quantity, and I added in a little vanilla. (I’ll put the ingredient quantities below, for those who want to go all homemade too.) And THEN I baked eggnog pound cake and made eggnog glaze. It’s been a favorite at snack time all week and one piece has even been requested in a lunch box. Score!

Ingredients
For the eggnog:
Follow the general instructions here but use the following ingredient list if you are making your own eggnog, just for this cake. Then allow it to cool before starting the cake.
1 3/4 cups or 415ml whole milk
1 egg
1/3 cup or 75g sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The cake recipe has been adapted from this one From Chocolate, Chocolate and More. Joan's makes two loaf-shaped pound cakes.

For the cake batter:
1/2 cup or 115g butter, room temperature
1 cup or 200g sugar
2 eggs
2 cups or 250g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 240ml eggnog

For the glaze:
1 cup or 125g powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch salt
1-2 tablespoons eggnog

Plus extra nutmeg for sprinkling on top of the glaze, if desired.

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 10-cup Bundt pan by spraying it liberally with non-stick baking spray (the kind with flour in) or by buttering and flouring it.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream your butter and sugar together until they are light yellow and fluffy.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

First egg going in. 


Add in the flour, baking powder, vanilla, salt and nutmeg.

Then pour in all the eggnog.



Beat until well combined. Once the batter is mixed well, turn the mixer up to medium high and beat for 2 minutes.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Remember, this is pound cake so it's going to be quite thick.

 Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a wooden skewer stuck in the middle comes out clean.



Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes and then turn the cake out onto the rack.


While it cools, you can make the glaze. Measure your first three glaze ingredients into a small bowl then add the eggnog a little at a time until you reach your desire consistency.



Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake.

Grate a little more nutmeg on top, if desired. (But I highly recommend it!) Let glaze set up before serving or storing.


Enjoy!






Are you a fan of eggnog? Then this is your season of joy as well as your Foodie Extravaganza month! Many thanks to our great host, Alexis from We Like to Learn As We Go.


Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday. If you would like to participate in the next Foodie Extravaganza, just go to our Facebook page to join. We would love to have you!

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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Soft and Tender Dinner Rolls #BreadBakers


If there is any bread more delicious than a soft and tender white dinner roll, brushed with melted butter, I’d like to meet it. Because I don’t think there is one.

My grandmother was a fabulous cook – actually, they both were – but in this instance I’m talking about my maternal grandmother. Thanksgiving and Christmas were usually celebrated at her house and she put on quite the spread. I honestly don’t remember if she baked them every time, but I remember eating those soft white bread rolls that came in the foil (or was it some sort of weird cardboard?) pan, ready to bake. And they were wonderful. Not too yeasty that a child might object, brushed with butter and so soft and smushy that you could make a dough ball out of them, perfect for nibbling as you waited your turn to fill your plate with the other beautiful dishes. Those rolls were what I was hoping to recreate here for our Bread Bakers Thanksgiving event, where we have been challenged by our talented host, Holly of A Baker’s House, to bake bread fit for a special occasion.

I started with this recipe from All Things Delicious and made a few alterations to the ingredients and the method but I followed Hannah’s instructions for making the dough into classic round dinner rolls. (She shows several different ways of shaping the dough into special rolls so make sure to go have a look if you need some ideas.)  I have no idea if my Red Star yeast was more active than whatever was used in the original recipe, but I ended up with monster rolls. Beautiful, soft and tender but so big! Next time I will roll them half the size to get the rolls of my childhood memories. But I will definitely be baking these again.

If you are looking for a special bread to bake for your holiday table, make sure to scroll on down to see the list of 21 recipes we are sharing today. Many thanks to Holly for hosting!

Ingredients
2 cups or 475ml milk
1/3 cup or 80g butter
1/4 oz or 7g yeast (one sachet – I used Red Star Quick Rise Yeast.)
1 egg
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
2 teaspoons salt
5 cups or 625g flour, plus extra for kneading and sprinkling on before baking

1/8 cup or 30g melted butter for brushing on after the rolls are baked

Method
Put the milk in a large microwaveable vessel (I use the biggest silicone measuring cup* from this set. It was a gift from my cousin years ago and I love it!) and add in the butter. Microwave until the butter is mostly melted, about 3-4 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes.

Put the yeast in your mixing bowl and pour in about a cup or 240ml (no need to measure exactly) of the warm milk/butter mixture and set aside for about 10 minutes. You are hoping that the yeast activates and gets all bubbly. If it doesn’t, you need to buy some fresh yeast and start over.

Now add in 3 cups or 375g of flour, the egg and the salt to your mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until all of the flour is incorporated.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to mix in any flour left there. It’s a very runny batter at this point.

You can see the bubbly yeast/butter/milk there on the left. That's what it should look like!


Continue mixing and add the remaining flour by spoonfuls until all is incorporated. Now it should be wet and soft sticky dough but that’s what is needed for soft and tender rolls.


Now mix for 3-4 minutes, changing to the dough hook, if necessary, to help develop the gluten.

The finished dough

Cover the bowl with cling film and allow the dough to rise for about an hour or until it doubles in size.


Meanwhile, line your baking pan with parchment paper, a silicone mat or grease it liberally with oil or butter.

Once the first rise is done, punch the dough down and knead it briefly on a floured surface. Cut the dough ball into halves, then cut the halves into half again. Cut each piece into three to make very large bread rolls, or six to make more reasonably sized ones.


Roll the dough pieces into balls, pinching them from underneath to stretch the tops so they are nice and round. Put the balls, side by side, pinched side down, in your prepared baking pan.



Sprinkle the tops of the rolls with flour and put the whole baking pan in a clean, new garbage bag, capturing some air before you clip it shut, so that the bag doesn’t touch the top of the bread rolls. Allow the rolls to rise for about an hour.



About 15 minutes (or however long your oven takes) before the second rise is completed, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Bake the dinner rolls in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden brown all over.



Brush with melted butter and serve warm, if possible.




Enjoy!

Tender, soft and fluffy. Just as a dinner roll should be. 




Our celebratory breads, for your enjoyment!

BreadBakers


#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.


*This is an Amazon affiliate link. 



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