Mini Bagel

Spaghetti With Bolognese Sauce

The sauce may be made without pork; just use an additional pound of ground beef.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon Olive oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped (3 cups)
• 3 carrots, finely chopped (1 cup)
• 6 cloves garlic , minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree
• 1 cup milk
• 12 ounces spaghetti
• Finely grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

1. Make sauce: In a Dutch oven (or 5-quart saucepan), heat oil over high heat. Add onions, carrots, and garlic; cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add beef and pork; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Add wine and tomatoes. Bring sauce to a simmer; cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 1 hour. Add milk; simmer until completely absorbed, about 15 minutes more. Season again with salt and pepper.
3. When sauce is almost done, cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions; drain. Toss pasta with half the meat sauce; save remaining sauce for next day. Serve sprinkled with cheese.

Egi's Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small carrot, peeled and grated (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/3 pound ground beef
• 1/4 pound ground pork
• 2 cups canned peeled whole tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream, (optional)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery, and onion; cook for 2 minutes. Add beef and pork; cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and 1/4 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Cook, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Remove from heat; stir in heavy cream, if desired. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Risotto Cakes with Lime Fish and Fresh Wild Rockets

Lime Fish

1 large lemon fish fillet, trim and cut up to bite size, zest and juice of 1 small lime, 2 cloves garlic, chopped, salt and pepper to season, oil for cooking

Put the garlic and half of the juice in a bowl. Give a good grind of black pepper and sea salt. Rub on to the whole fillet slices. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a frying pan until very hot. Cook the fillets one at a time until cooked. Set aside.

Lime Sauce: heat the other half of lime juice, zest and 1 Tbs butter, 1 cloves garlic, chopped, salt and pepper in a small saucepan until boiling and simmer for 5 minutes. Add 1-2 tsps white sugar to balance the sourness of lime. Check seasoning. Pour on to the cooked fish and serve with risotto cakes.

Risotto Cakes

1 ½ cups arborio, 4 cups fish stock, 1 medium onion, finely chopped, 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped, 2 tsps salted butter, ½ cup grated Parmesan, salt and pepper to season, oil for cooking

Heat the oil on a large skillet, cook the onion and garlic until tender. Add in arborio, sautee for a minute, pour in the stock, cover and let all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked (Add more stock if the rice is still hard in the middle). Add butter and season with salt and pepper. Add Parmesan, mix well. Remove from the stove.

Prepare a baking dish, about 20 x 25cm, lined with baking paper. Put the cooked rice on to the dish, spread all over, and press (just like when you're making a biscuit base for cheesecake), so they'll be glued together. Refrigerate until firm. Put the firm rice on to the benchtop, then cut with a large cookie cutter to make nice round cakes.

Heat a frying pan, wipe it with oil or butter. Cook the cakes until golden on top on one side, then flip over to brown the other side. Set aside.

Pumpkin Cakes, Garlic Lime and Sweet Chili Prawns with Basil and Baby Lettuce Salad

Pumpkin Cakes

I think it's great to combine the creamy Camembert with the nutty and sweetness of pumpkin cakes.

300g cooked pumpkin, mashed with 1 tsp salted butter, 1 Tbs cream, 1 Tbs chopped parsley, ¼ cup roast pinenuts, process into very fine crumbs, freshly cracked black pepper, pinch of salt, breadcrumbs for rolling, 200g Camembert for stuffing, cubes

Put the combined and mashed ingredients in a bowl.

Put the breadcrumbs into a small bowl which is tall, so when you rotate the mashed pumpkin mixture into the breadcrumbs, you will have a good shape of pumpkin cakes with a hole in the middle. Put the mashed pumpkin mixture into the bowl, rotate roughly until they all are nicely moulded. Keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 170C fan bake. Transfer the pumpkin cakes on to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Brush lightly with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Stuffed with Camembert, bake again for 10 minutes. Serve warm with hot prawns and salad.

Garlic, Lime and Chili Prawns

This dish is zesty, and garlicy at the same time.

250g prawns,
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped,
grated lime zest from 1 lime,
lime juice of 1 lime,
1 tsp fish sauce,
1 tsp brown sugar,
1 Tbs sweet chili sauce,
1 Tbs olive oil

Trim the prawns, wash well. Heat the oil until hot. Add in the chopped garlic, cook until fragrant. Add in the rest of the ingredients, cook until bubbly. Add in the prawns, cook until pink but not become hard. Remove from the pan. Served mixed with salad.

Fresh Basil and Baby Lettuce Salad: 1 cup fresh basil, 2 cups baby lettuce. All washed and trimmed. Combine them with prawns. Serve immediately.

Croquettes

Croquettes

300g potatoes, wash, steamed, peeled,
2 Tbs butter,
a good sprinkle of salt,
a good crack of blackpepper,
1 tsp milk,
50g cheese, diced thickly,
2 egg whites,
1-2 cups breadcrumbs or golden breadcrumbs,
oil for deep frying

Peel the skin off steamed potatoes. Mash the potatoes until smooth, add in butter, salt, pepper, and milk. Mix well. Whisk the egg whites loosely. Put the breadcrumbs in a plastic bag. Take a spoonful of potato mixture, roll into a ball, flatten, make slightly hollow in the middle, then put the smoked chicken (if using) and/or cheese. Fold the edges of the flatten dough, roll into a croquette shape. Dip into the egg whites, put into the breadcrumbs in the plastic bag, shake it until all covered with breadcrumbs. Keep the croquettes in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Heat the oil. Fry the croquettes until golden brown. Serve warm.

Mini Bagels

Prep time: 30min., rising time: ~90min., baking: 10-15min.

Ingredients (yields 16-20 mini bagels):

250g white flour (I used type 450)

1 tsp salt

165ml lukewarm water

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp dry yeast

poppy seeds, sesame seeds etc.

Mix flour and salt in a large bowl and make a little depression in the middle. Then pour water and olive oil into the depression and sprinkle dry yeast on top. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes.

Either use your kitchen machine or knead by hand until the dough becomes smooth, shiny and elastic. Add some more flour if it feels too sticky. Again, let the covered bowl rest at a warm place for about 60-90 minutes (size of dough should have doubled by then).

Preheat oven to 200°C (392°F). Punch down the dough, and shape about 16 to 20 equally sized little balls. Now comes the fun part: You can either use your index finger (poke it in flour first) or the handle of a wooden spoon to create a hole in the middle and try to give each bagel a nice look. Be sure to make the holes a notch larger than you’d think is necessary, they tend to quickly close up as the bagels rise and bake.

Heat up a pot of saltwater and bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer. Send bagels into the hot water for about a minute (they’ll float on top) and remove with a skimmer. Imagine wrinkled fingers after a long hot bath - yep, that’s what they look like now.

Note: You could now brush some egg yolk over the bagels to give them a darker (and more yellow-ish) color. We tried with a few and found the original color to be much nicer looking.

Sprinkle with sesame, poppy seeds or other seeds/spices of your choice and bake in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooled down a bit you can serve right then and there, but they also taste phenomenal the next morning, straight from the toaster with cream cheese and jam. Home-made jam of course :) Throughout last year, my family went a little overboard preserving jams and jellies (and other) - this is what we got just this Christmas… Sour cherries and blood orange are my new favorites - so far.

Chai Glazed Salmon & Lemony Grilled Tuna Steaks

2 black chai tea bags
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 salmon fillet (1 1/2 to 2 lbs) cut into 6 strips

Place tea bags in glass cup; pour boiling water over tea bags, Steep 5 minutes; discard tea bags. Stir in remaining ingredients except for salmon. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes or refrigerate overnight.

Place salmon flesh-side down on oiled grill over medium to high heat; cover , grill 4 minutes. Turn fish skin-side down - stir glaze and spoon over fish; cover and grill, occasionally spooning glaze over salmon. Cook until internal temp is 145 degrees F, about 10 min per inch of thickness

Oyako Donburi
serves 2

• 6 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh, sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced very thin
• 3 shiitake mushrooms (fresh or dried), sliced into 1/4 strips
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 T. dashi no moto
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 2 T. mirin
• 1 T. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 c. cooked rice

Start rice cooking. Slice chicken and set aside. If you're using dried shiitake mushrooms, soak them in hot water for five minutes to soften, then discard stems. Slice the mushrooms and onion, then set aside.

Combine water, dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sugar in a skillet and heat until just boiling. Add chicken, mushrooms, and onion. Allow to simmer until the chicken is just barely done, just a few minutes. Beat the eggs and pour them over the chicken mixture. Cover and allow to cook another minute, until the eggs have set.

To serve, place a scoop of rice in an individual bowl. Lay a section of the egg/chicken across the rice then ladle a small amount of broth over the top.

Katsudon
Serves six.

• 1.5 lbs. pork tenderloin
• salt and pepper
• 1 c. flour
• 3 eggs, beaten with 2. T water
• 2 c. panko
• oil for deep frying
• 2 c. dashi stock
• 5 t. sugar
• 6 T shoyu
• 6 T mirin
• 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 c. cooked green peas
• cooked rice

Freeze the pork for half an hour to firm it up, then slice 1/8 inch thick cutlets. Salt and pepper to taste then set aside while prepping the breading.

Place the flour, beaten eggs and panko in three separate, shallow bowls. Dredge each pork cutlet with flour and knock off any excess. Dip the cutlet in egg and then panko. Press the panko crumbs into the cutlet to coat evenly, then place the coated cutlet on a tray. Once you've coated all the cutlets, refrigerate for two hours.

Heat one inch cooking oil to 325 degrees. Cook the cutlets a few minutes on each side until golden brown, removing them to drain on paper towels when done. It's better to cook in small batches than to crowd the cutlets into the pan. They need good oil circulation and steady temp to cook to their best. Congratulations, you now have tonkatsu. Slice the tonkatsu into 3/4 inch strips, but keep the strips aligned as whole cutlets.

While you're letting the cutlets cook, bring your stock ingredients (dashi, sugar, shoyu and mirin) to a simmer in a wide pan. Figure that you'll be laying the cutlets into this pan without overlapping--divide the stock into multiple pans if you need more room. Add sliced onion and simmer a few minutes until tender.

Add the sliced tonkatsu cutlets, lifting them with a wide spatula as whole cutlets and sliding them gently into the stock. Immediately pour the beaten egg over the tonkatsu, onion and stock. Cook just until the egg is nearly solidified. If you cook too long at this stage, the steam while soften the crispy tonkatsu coating.

Divide cooked rice into six large bowls. Top each rice bowl with a cutlet and a portion of the onion, egg and stock mixture. Garnish with the cooked peas and serve immediately. I make no promises that you'll now ace your exam, but at least you'll be well-fed. Katsu!

Nuoc Cham

• 1 or 2 small red chiles
• 1/2 c. fish sauce, also known as nuoc mam
• 1/4 c. fresh lime juice (2-3 limes)
• 1 small shredded carrot, rinsed and squeezed dry
• 2 minced cloves of garlic
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 c. warm water
• 2 T. minced cilantro (optional)

Nuoc cham is a very versatile sauce that accompanies almost every Vietnamese dish. It will keep refrigerated for up to a week.

Mix everything together and stir until the sugar dissolves. The cilantro is not a standard ingredient but I'm taking my nuoc cham to Hawaiian language class tonight, where a full xalach dia plate isn't practical. Adding the cilantro into the sauce instead captures some of the same flavor.

Scones
750 grams (5 cups) self raising flour
330 mls soda water ( or 1 can Sprite/ 7Up/ lemonade)
300 mls cream

Preheat oven to 230 degrees.
Sift flour into bowl.
Add cream and soda water and mix.
Lightly knead and roll out to 3 cm thickness.
Cut with scone cutter, place on greased tray or tray lined with baking paper.
Brush tops with milk.
Bake 10 minutes in 230 degree oven.

Yogurt Spread

Quick and easy method
Line a sieve with muslin and place over a bowl.
Pour 1 kg container of unsweetened low fat yogurt into sieve and leave to drain in fridge overnight.
Gather up corners of muslin and squeeze gently to create a round shape.
Place in dish to serve.

If you can be bothered method
800 mls low fat milk
2 tablespoons cultured yogurt

All utensils must be spotlessly clean.
Heat milk to between 20 -25 degrees, stir in yogurt and place in container in a warm spot and leave overnight.
Place a sieve over a bowl, line sieve with several thicknesses of clean muslin, tip yogurt mixture in, place in fridge and leave to drain.

This method can be difficult as the setting is effected by room temperature.

Setting Guide:
Room Temperature 15C 16 hours
20C 12 hours
30C 8 hours

To Serve
Split scones in half, top with yogurt spread and a teaspoon of jam or can serve Lemond Curd

Lemon Curd
Mix together:
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
juice and zest of one lemon

Add:
3 tablespoons melted butter

Cook:
for about 3 minutes on low setting in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds.