Thursday 25 September 2014

Bibimbap

Bibimbap

Traditional in Korea, served all nice and pretty like this, so you can stir it into a heap and eat it. Perfect meal.

Ingredients:

  • 200 Grams, Fresh sliced deli Roast Beef, thinly sliced
  • 1 Bunch Enoki Mushrooms, or 4-8 Caps from other Mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 Cup Julienne Carrot
  • 1 Sliced Red Bell Pepper
  • 1 Cup Fresh Spinach
  • 1 Cup Bean Sprouts
  • 1/2 Cup Green Onion
  • 1 Tablespoon Lightly Toasted Sesame Seeds
  • Thinly sliced Nori
  • 4 Servings White Grain Rice, cooked
  • 4 Eggs

Beef Sauce/Marinade:

  • 2 Teaspoons Mirin
  • 3-4 Cloves Garlic
  • 1 Inch Ginger Root
  • 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil

Garnish Sauce:

  • 4 Tablespoons Spicy Korean Red Bean Paste
  • 1-2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
  • 1-2 Cloves minced Garlic
  • Small amount of hot water

For Bean Sprouts:

  • 1 Cloves Garlic
  • 1/2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

For Mushrooms:

  • 2 Teaspoons Mirin
  • 1-2 Teaspoons Soy Sauce
  • 1/2 Tablespoon Sesame oil

For Carrot:

  • 1 Teaspoon Soy
  • 1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil

Other:

  • Water
  • Salt
  • Rice Vinegar
  • Cooking Oil

Special Tools:

  • Large Skillet or Cast Iron Skillet
  • Large Tray
  • Large oven safe bowls or nine inch pie plates, one per serving

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 420°F.
  2. Set a small pot of salted water on to boil.
  3. Preheat a large skillet or cast iron skillet onto a medium heat.
  4. Start cooking rice if you haven't already cooked some.
  5. Prepare the Garnish Sauce, in a small bowl stir together the spicy Korean red bean paste, rice vinegar, and 1 clove of garlic. If the sauce is too thick smooth it with about 1/2 Tablespoon of hot water and stir again. It should be a smooth runny sauce. Taste it too make sure it is too your liking. If it is too spicy add some honey or mirin about 1-2 Teaspoons at a time to balance. If you want more spice you can add 1/4 Teaspoon cayenne pepper, some extra spicy red bean paste. Remember to only make small additions, stir well and then taste again to balance the final sauce. Cover and set aside in fridge when satisfied. 
  6. In a medium bowl stir together the Mirin, Garlic, Ginger Root and Sesame Oil. Pile the deli roast beef into a pile and use a sharp knife to shred it into small ragged slices and pieces. Stir the beef into the beef sauce until evenly coated and allow to marinate for about 15 minutes.
  7. While the beef is marinating, slice and prepare all the vegetables as described, slice the mushrooms and peppers, julienne the carrot, finely slice the green onion, peel the ginger root and peel all the garlic you will need. Slice or shred the nori into small slivers for garnish.
  8. Remove the eggs from the fridge and set on counter.
  9. If the water is boiling, add the bean sprouts and cook for 20 minutes. Once cooked, drain and transfer to a medium bowl. Toss cooked bean sprouts with 1 clove minced garlic, 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
  10. Fill a small pot with a lid with about 1 inch of water. Salt and bring to a boil. Add the spinach and cover for about 2-3 minutes, until spinach has wilted and is bright green. Strain from water, lightly season with rice vinegar. Just enough to add flavor but not enough to saturate. Set spinach aside on the tray.
  11. Lightly oil the heated skillet. Add the sliced red pepper, and season with salt and pepper. Lightly saute for about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to the large tray.
  12. If the skillet is dry, lightly re-oil. Add the julienne carrot as well as 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Fry for about 1 minute and transfer to the large try.
  13. If the skillet is dry, lightly re-oil. Add the sliced mushrooms, 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 2 teaspoons mirin. Fry for about 2-3 minutes. Stir in 1/2 tablespoon Sesame oil. Cook an additional minute. Transfer to large tray.
  14. Spoon the cooked rice into the oven safe serving dishes. Cover the bottom and create and even base.
  15. Place filled rice bowls into hot oven.
  16. If the skillet is dry, lightly re-oil once again. Add the sliced beef, marinade and all and cook for about 3-5 minutes until heated through and most of the liquid has evaporated. turn off the burner.
  17. Remove the rice bowls from the oven one at a time and arrange a little of each cooked vegetable form the tray in small piles around the outside edge of each rice bowl. Make it pretty. Once the vegetables are arranged, crack the egg and pour into the center of the bowl. Return to oven and do the process with each of the rice bowls.
  18. Keep a careful eye on the eggs. You basically just want the white, to turn solid white, the yolk should remain pretty runny. Remove each rice bowl when the egg white has cooked. Add the heated beef to the rice bowl.
  19. Drizzle some of the prepared red sauce evenly over the prepared bibimbap. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, sliced green onion and a small bunch of sliced nori.
  20. Serve hot, and eat by stirring the whole thing together.

Enjoy!

Notes:

This is not an easy recipe, it is long and it has many parts. But it is well worth it! Plus it makes my future husband to be pretty happy.

Also you can use as many of the ingredients listed as you want or just use the ones you like. But I do suggest you give the beansprouts a try, they are quite good and according to my husband to be "made it taste more like the stuff he had from street carts", and he swears he ate a lot of it while he was living in Korea, so I trust him a little bit.

Also i give instructions for baking the egg right on top of everything, if you didn't want to do it that way, or didn't have an oven safe dish on hand, you can arrange the rice and topping in a bowl, and fry the egg on the stove top and add it after. Whatever way is easiest or better for you.

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Well not exactly cooking but useful information! How to regenerate Green Onions, very useful if you are like me and love green onions on almost everything. This trick works well for a few weeks to a few months but eventually you will need a fresh green onion to start again with.

Sunday 21 September 2014

Aioli and Mayonnaise From Scratch!

So simple as long as you are willing to put in some elbow grease!

The difference between aioli and mayonnaise is basically that aioli has a garlic paste mixed in and mayonnaise does not. So you can either follow the instructions for making the garlic paste and make aioli or skip it and make a plain mayonnaise. You can also add extra seasonings to either the home made aioli or mayonnaise, I like to add some curry powder or paprika and then dip fresh home fries in it.

Aioli and Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

  • 2 Egg Yolks
  • 1 Cup Olive Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Garlic Paste:

  • 3-4 Cloves Garlic, minced
  • 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

Optional:

  • 1-2 Teaspoons Curry Powder or Paprika, or a spice blend of your choice

Instructions:

To prepare Garlic Paste:


  1. With a mortar and pestle or in a small bowl with a sturdy spoon smash and mash the minced garlic with the salt until it is a smooth and even paste.


To Prepare Mayonnaise or Aioli:

  1. Add the egg yolks to a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine the two together. If you are adding garlic paste, whisk it into the lightly beaten egg yolks.
  2. Add about 2-3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil to the bowl, whisk vigorously until the egg and oil are emulsified, or completely blended together.
  3. Continue to add the olive oil, several tablespoons at a time until about 1/2 cup has been incorporated. Whisk in the lemon juice until blended in.
  4. Continue to whisk the olive oil in slowly. Just a few tablespoons at a time, whisking until emulsified before adding more olive oil.
  5. Slow and steady whisking is key or else everything is going to split into a terrible oily mess.
  6. Once all the olive oil is whisked in the mayonnaise or aioli should be thick and similar to what you find premade at the store.
  7. If your sauce has split into a terrible oily mess, fear not! Things can sometimes be saved. In another bowl add one more egg yolk. Working with about 1 tablespoon at a time of your split sauce, whisk it into the fresh egg yolk. Being sure to fully whisk before adding more. Slow and steady add the olive oil while thoroughly whisking in between each addition. hopefully that solves things!

Enjoy!

Notes:

I find this to be a fickle recipe, it works perfectly some days for me, and other days I do not reach success. Oh well, can't be perfect all the time!

Other places:

If this recipe just isn't working out, I have a way to cheat!

Simple Aioli




Thursday 18 September 2014

Thai Fish Curry

Thai Fish Curry


Ingredients:

  • 2-4 Halibut Fillet De-boned and skinned (Or another meaty white fish)
  • Vegetable oil
  • 1 Onion
  • 2-3 Cloves Garlic
  • 2-4 Teaspoons Curry Powder
  • 2 Cups Vegetable or chicken Stock
  • 1/2 Cup Light Coconut Milk (Shake the can before you open it)
  • 1 Diced Tomato
  • Juice and zest of one Lemon or Lime
  • Finely sliced Green Onion
  • Spinach Leaves
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Cooked Rice to Serve along side

Instructions:

  1. Preheat a large high walled skillet or wok with a tight fitting lid, to a medium high heat. Add enough oil to lightly coat the skillet. Allow the oil to heat.
  2. Finely dice the onion and garlic cloves, add to skillet, season with salt and pepper and saute until onions are soft and translucent. At least 10-15 minutes. Add the curry powder and diced tomatoes. Cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add the chicken stock, citrus juice and zest, as well as coconut milk. Stir well. Allow sauce to simmer an additional 15-25 minutes, until sauce reduces to about 2 cups of liquid.
  4. Taste the sauce, Adjust seasoning as needed. It should be pretty spicy, if it isn't to your preferred spice level add some extra curry powder, or about 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder. This is our poaching liquid.
  5. Season the halibut on both sides with salt and pepper well. Submerge the fillets in the poaching liquid.
  6. Cover the skillet and poach the fillets for about 7 minutes, until just tender, opaque and beginning to flake.
  7. While the fish cooks, arrange spinach leaves in a soup bowl for each fillet to cover bottom, and slice green onions.
  8. When fish is cooked, transfer to the spinach lined bowls, ladle some of the sauce over top, including some tomatoes and onions. Garnish with sliced green onions.
  9. Serve along side rice.

Enjoy!

Notes:

A Future Mr Busy Bee Approved Recipe.

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Horseradish Crusted Pot Roast

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Roasted Honey-Curry Glazed Chicken

Roasted Honey-Curry Glazed Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 4 Pieces Bone in Chicken, or Quartered Whole Chicken
  • About 1 Cup Chicken Stock
  • 1 Onion, roughly Diced
  • 3-4 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
  • 2 Lemons, Quartered
  • 1/3 Cup Honey
  • 1-2 Tablespoons Curry Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 3-4 Cloves Garlic
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 1 Inch Ginger Root
  • 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Instructions:

  1. Lightly mist a large roasting pan with cooking spray and preheat oven to 450°F.
  2. Arrange the diced onion, 3-4 cloves minced garlic, and the lemon quarters (peel down) in the bottom of the roaster. Pour in the chicken stock, there should be about a half inch of stock along the bottom of the roaster. Set aside.
  3. Using a mortar and pestle grind 3-4 cloves garlic, ginger root and the teaspoon of salt until it is a fine paste. Grind and mash the curry powder, cumin powder, cayenne pepper until well combined. Blend in the butter and lemon juice.
  4. Season the chicken with salt and pepper well on both sides. Rub the spice mixture under the skin, and on all sides of each piece of chicken. Set in prepared roaster. Do not use all the spice mixture, you should only need a small amount for each piece of chicken.
  5. Mix the honey in to the remaining spice mixture to make a glaze.
  6. Roast chicken in preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven, Glaze each piece of chicken with the honey-spice mixture using a silicone basting brush. Reduce oven heat to 330°F.
  7. Return to oven and roast an additional 15-20 minutes. Following by another layer of glaze. Continue to roast in 15-20 minute intervals, basting in between until you run out of glaze.
  8. Continue to roast until chicken is cooked through. Usually takes about one hour from start.
  9. Allow chicken to rest about 5 minutes in the roaster before serving. If desired you can spoon some of the pan juice over the chicken for a light sauce.

Enjoy!

Notes:

A sweet and subtle spice blend gives the chicken a great flavor. You could rub the spice blend into the chicken and let it marinate for a few hours before cooking to really let the flavor settle in.

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago? (more or less)

Beer Bottom Roast Chicken


Thursday 11 September 2014

Chocolate and Coconut Dipped Meringue Buttons

Meringue Buttons:

Ingredients:

  • 2 Egg Whites
  • 110 Grams Icing/fine Sugar
  • Pinch Salt
  • 3 Drops Food coloring (to match the fruit)
  • 1-2 Tablespoons Lemon or Lime or Orange Zest
  • About 3 Tablespoons of the Chocolate Shell recipe
  • 1/4 Cup Sweetened and lightly toasted Coconut

Special Tools:

  • Piping bag, and a tip
  • Electric mixer of some variety

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 250°F.
  2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. In a stand mixer or with an electric mixer beat the egg whites and a pinch of salt until they turn white and start to fluff up. Add the sugar about 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well between additions.
  4. Continue to beat egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form. Drop in a few drops of food color and just fold in to leave a marble effect.
  5. Transfer meringue to piping bag  fitted with a large star tip.
  6. Pipe buttons onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet, about an inch in diameter.
  7. Bake meringues in preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Rotate pan, reduce heat to 210°F. 
  8. Bake an additional 30 minutes.
  9. Once baked, transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer to freezer for about 30 minutes.
  10. Pour the chocolate shell into a small high sided container and the coconut into a small bowl.
  11. Dip the chilled meringues into the chocolate shell sauce followed by the coconut, place on a sheet of parchment paper to set.

Enjoy!

Notes:

These are seriously addictive with high levels of awesome 

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Meat Loaf



Banana Split Cake

Banana Split Cake

Banana cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting, Skor chips and sprinkles!

Ingredients:

Cake

  • 2 Cups Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Nutmeg
  • 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 2 Eggs, Separated
  • 1-2 Tablespoons White Sugar
  • Pinch Salt
  • 4 Bananas
  • 3/4 Cups White Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Vegetable or Coconut Oil

Frosting and Decorating

  • 1/4 Cup Cream Cheese
  • 1 1/2-2 Cups Icing Sugar
  • 1/3-1/2 Cup sifted Cocoa Powder, unsweetened
  • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
  • Some Skor Chips
  • Some Sprinkles

Special Tools:

  • A stand mixer, a power mixer some sort of electric mixer will make this a lot easier, also a food processor with a blade attachment can help make a lighter smoother cake.
  • Bunt cake pan, the kind with a tube in the center of it.

Instructions:


  1. I hope you have a stand mixer. . .  if not prepare the meringue first before you start everything else. Whipping egg whites to fluffy greatness takes time and I just set it up in the stand mixer turn it on and start on the rest of the prep work. Usually by the time I get everything else together and the oven is preheated I still need to wait a few more minutes for the meringue to be ready.
  2. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  3. Liberally spray cake pan with cooking oil, and then lightly dust with flour, shake out excess.
  4. To make the meringue carefully separate the eggs into the yolks and the whites.
  5. Add the egg whites, 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and a pinch of salt to the stand mixer bowl or to a medium mixing bowl.
  6. With the whisk attachment, or electric mixers, or by hand (please don't try this by hand it will take a lifetime) whisk/mix the egg white mixture until stiff peaks form while mixing. At least 10-15 minutes. Just keep mixing! Set aside.
  7. In a medium bowl or in a large bowl food processor fitted with a blade attachment, whisk/pulse the egg yolks with 3/4 cups of white sugar until light yellow and sort of fluffy looking. Add the bananas and vegetable or coconut oil and mash/pulse until it is reasonably smooth. Set aside.
  8. In a small bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sift until evenly blended.
  9. Using a wooden spoon or in the food processor bowl, combine the egg yolk/sugar/banana and oil bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix until combined evenly.
  10. Once the egg whites are whipped to stiff peaks, fold the meringue into the cake batter, just gently mixing until blended in.
  11. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
  12. Bake for 55-70 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. If the top gets too dark cover with foil or brush with a bit of milk.
  13. Once cake is caked, remove from oven and allow cake to rest in pan for additional 10 minutes outside of oven.
  14. Invert to cooling rack to finish cooling. Serve warm or wait until cool to frost.

To make frosting 

  1. Add the cream cheese and vanilla to a large bowl.
  2. Sift the cocoa powder into the bowl and mix together.
  3. Add the icing sugar about 1/2 cup at a time and mix well after each addition.
  4. Continue to add icing sugar until the frosting is as stiff as you desire.
  5. Frost the cake once it has cooled.
  6. Decorate top with sprinkles and Skor Chips.

And you have a Banana Cake, with Cream cheese Chocolate frosting and Butterscotch Skor chips.

Enjoy!

Notes:

I feel pretty good about this cake, and to be honest I had tried to make an orange chocolate cake last week but things went terribly wrong. I also messed up making aioli from scratch last week. Not a good kitchen time. But that is the past and this cake now! This is one to be proud of, would be good for a little ones birthday party or something for a different spin on birthday cake.

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago?

Pan Fried Fish Fillet

Monday 1 September 2014

Over 200 Posts and New Things!

Wow! Doesn't take long for things to build up! Over 200 posts of recipes and tips are now on the blog which seems like a pretty decent accomplishment.

Just did some minor re-do's with the blog to make it a little more user friendly and update the tags I am using.

Hope to see you back here again sometime!

XOX

Miss Busy Bee

Sesame Chicken and Mushroom Noodle Bowl

Leave out the Chicken and or the mushrooms to just make a quick simple side for a meal.

Sesame Chicken and Mushroom Noodle Bowl

Ingredients:

  • 2-4 Servings Ramen Noodles
  • 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons Mirin or Sugar
  • 4 Cloves Garlic, minced finely
  • 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
  • 3 Tablespoons Sesame Seed Oil
  • 1-3 Teaspoons Sriracha
  • 1/4 Cup Sliced Green Onions
  • 1/2-1 Cup Shredded Cooked Chicken
  • 1/2-1 Cup Diced Mushrooms, I used Enoki and Shiitaki

Instructions:

  1. Ahead of time in a small bowl mix together the soy sauce, mirin, minced garlic cloves, rice vinegar, sesame seed oil and sriracha (to taste). Mix together and let it sit for a bit so the flavors can blend.
  2. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
  3. Very lightly oil a large skillet, and lightly cook the mushrooms and chicken together. 5-10 minutes.
  4. Cook the ramen noodles according to package directions. Drain and add to the skillet.
  5. Pour the sauce we made at the start over top of the noodles and toss everything together until noodles are coated evenly and the mushrooms and chicken are mixed throughout the noodles.
  6. Turn skillet to very low to keep noodles warm until ready to serve. Re-toss the noodles occasionally to keep everything warm and to prevent burning.

Enjoy!

Notes:

If you just make the sauce you can make plain sesame noodles, or you can add different meats or vegetables to suit what ever you like.

Other Places:

What was cooking one year ago? One of my favorites for sure!

Garlic Fingers