Go-to Waffle Recipe

Yesterday, I made waffles.  I absolutely love waffles and think they are delicious!  I definitely prefer them over French Toast and Pancakes.  I love the crisp light airy bite of waffles. Especially when they are made like so.  I found the perfect recipe online from Pamela Anderson in Fine Cooking.  I adapted her recipe.  It is the GO-TO WAFFLE RECIPE!!! Instead of using cornstarch, I prefer to use potato starch.  Also, you could probably get away with just putting 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) of vegetable oil.

This waffle can also stand alone.  You can just eat it as is.  It is a light and crisp, yet has a toothsome bite to it.  We usually have ours with fresh whipped cream and berries.

I actually doubled the recipe so I could freeze the rest for the future. Simply pop them in the toaster for about 4 minutes.  Adding the vanilla extract really gives it a rounded flavor.

The Best Waffle: Light Crisp Bite Print

Adapted from PamelaAnderson

Yields four 8-inch waffles

Ingredients:

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup potato starch (or cornstarch)

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

¾ cup buttermilk

¼ cup milk

6 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large egg, separated

1 tbsp sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

For Fresh Whipped Cream:

1 cup whipping cream

2 tbsp sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Set oven to 200°F. This is where you will place the cooked waffles until all of them are made. It will keep them warm and help crisp them until ready to serve. 

2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, potato starch, salt, baking powder and baking soda. 

3. In a Pyrex measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, milk, vegetable oil and egg yolk.  Whisk together and set aside.

4. In another bowl, beat the egg white almost to soft peaks. 

Sprinkle in the sugar and continue to beat until the peaks are firm and glossy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

5. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until just mixed. 

6. Drop the whipped egg white onto the batter in dollops and fold in with a spatula until just incorporated.  Be careful not to over mix, you want to retain the air to get light and airy waffles. 

7. Turn on the waffle iron.  As it is heating up, this will allow your batter to set a bit.  I set mine to around 4-5. 

8. Pour the batter onto the hot waffle iron (about ½ -2/3 cup) and cook until the waffle is crisp and nutty brown (follow the manufacturer's instructions for timing at first and then adjust to your liking).

9. Set the waffle directly on the oven rack to keep it warm and crisp. Repeat with the remaining batter, holding the waffles in the oven.  Do not stack them.  When all the waffles are cooked, serve immediately with your choice of toppings (berries, whipped cream, maple syrup).

Fresh Whipped Cream:

In a bowl, combine whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract.  Using an electric mixer, whip until stiff. 

If you own a waffle maker, I highly suggest making these.  They are absolutely delicious!  It is the only recipe I use to make waffle.  You can also make variations with chocolates, cornmeal, etc...  But I like it plain and simple.  

Christmas Past

I'm so sad that Christmas has passed!  On our car ride the day after Christmas it was sad. Christmas Music was no longer on the radio.  I know a lot of people find it annoying but I enjoyed it.  The bright side, the after Christmas sales.  Frank was such a trooper.  We went everywhere and even ran errands.  I got even more wrapping paper and some cute ornaments.

Now, back tracking to Christmas Eve, but aka Frank's Birthday.  I made Banana Pancakes for the occasion along with some Chicken Apple Sausage and Eggs. 

I love banana pancakes.  We first had them on a trip to Kauai at Tip Top Motel Cafe & Bakery.  They were the most delicious pancakes and after that trip I was on a quest to replica the recipe. Since then, I forgot all about them and here I am making it again.  The secret is to put banana slices in the pancake as you are cooking it.  It caramelizes a little and gives it a slight crisp, yet fluffy pancake.

I don't have a go to recipe yet, but I adapted one from allrecipes.  I just mashed one banana and used the 2 other bananas for the slices and toppings. These pancakes are 1/4 cup in size.  In the future, I want the pancakes to feel softer on my tongue so I will have to experiment with some batches.  Overall, pretty fluffy and tasty.  Also cook on medium-low heat to prevent burning.  

This year, I made Frank mini Cheesecakes.  I topped them with some berries and such. 

We had a pretty quiet celebration.  Tomorrow, we are going to dinner for his birthday.  I am excited!  We are having sushi!  And it is so close to our house.  That is the best because we can just walk there. 

For Christmas we had some friends over.  It was nice having a meal with friends.  I made some Turkey Meatballs for appetizers.  I am really liking using ground turkey these days.  It is also healthier than ground beef or pork.  I had some leftovers today and it was even more delicious. YUM!  I also started using ground turkey for my chili recipe.  

A new side dish that I added was Japchae (Chapchae).  Usually at my family gathering there would be a noodle dish.  I thought my guest might enjoy this so I made it.  That's also my lunch for tomorrow.  YUM!

This was our Christmas spread.  Japchae, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Roast Chicken, Green Beans, Roasted Carrots and Onions, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Bulgogi and Cranberry Sauce.  Frank absolutely loves it because of all the leftovers.  It makes him so happy.

For dessert we had apple pie.  It's going to be a while before I make this again. Now that the Holidays are coming to an end.  We have two more slices left.  In the past four months, I've made this 4 times.  And we are always so sad when we finish it.  

Hokkaido Milk Bread

A couple weeks ago, I tried to make Sweet Red Bean Milk Bread.  It was a FAILED attempt.  Yes, I did make the bread and it was edible.  However, it was not fluffy and soft.  It was so dense that it was just nutritious.  I didn't knead enough and did not let it rise long enough.  Basically, I was hungry and impatient.  

Anyways, I did some more research, gathered more patience and compiled a recipe for Hokkaido Milk Bread (Japanese Milk Bread). 

I adapted my recipe from Ellie’s Blog Home Cooking in Montana and Mika’s The 350 Degree Oven.   Both were great resources.  Ellie’s Blog utilized a kitchen aid and Mika’s method was using a breadmaker.  In my recipe, I used the kitchen aid.  If you do not own one, then you will be doing quite a bit of kneading. 

So what makes milk bread so delicious?  And why should you spend time making it?  It is the softest and fluffiest bread, but at the same time has all these complex textures and the flavorful is so delicious.  YUMMO!  Frank and I consumed half the loaf like it was nothing.  This is my all time favorite bread.  It has similar texture to a brioche but with a lot less egg and butter. 

The secrets to achieving soft and fluffy bread are:

• utilizing a method known as tangzhong
• kneading it just right (15 minutes kneading)
• giving it time to rise (85-135 minutes)

I’ll warn you now that this will take quite a bit of time to make.  So you have to be very patient if you want that soft fluffy delicious bread. 

What is tangzhong?  Simple put, it is a water roux originated by the Japanese to create soft and fluffy bread without the need for artificial preservatives, allowing bread to stay fresh longer.  This method of bread making was introduced in the 1990s by Yvonne Chen, author of The 65° Bread Doctor.  Tangzhong is a mixture of flour and liquid (either water, milk or a mixture of both) heated until 65°C (149°F) to make a smooth paste with pudding like consistency. 

Hokkaido Milk Bread Recipe Print

(Makes 1 loaf) I used about a standard 1.5-quart bread pan.

Ingredients: 

2½ cups bread flour

4 tbsp sugar  

½ tsp salt

2 tsp active yeast (1/4 oz packet)

1 egg

½ cup milk, warm 

½ cup tangzhong, room temp

3 tbsp unsalted butter (cut into small pieces, room temperature)

1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp of milk (optional)

1 tbsp melted butter (optional)

Tangzhong (water roux): make ½ cup of tangzhong

1/6 cup of bread flour

¼ cup milk*

¼ cup water*

*Alternatively, you could just use ½ cup of water instead of the 50:50 liquid ratio that I used. 

Let’s make some bread!

1. First, make the tangzhong.  In a saucepan, whisk bread flour, milk and water well.   Heat over medium-low heat.  The mixture will thicken.  Stir consistently to prevent it from burning.  Swirly lines will appear and when you have a pudding like consistency (ideally the temperature here is 149°F), take it off the heat.  You can transfer it into a small bowl.  Set aside and cool to room temperature. 

2.  In your stand mixer bowl, combine bread flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.  Quickly mix using a dough hook, just to combine.  

3. Add warm milk, egg and tangzhong to the dry ingredients.

4. Knead on medium (6 on the stand mixer) for 5 minutes to let the gluten develop. 

5. Decrease to speed to 4 and add in the butter while mixer is still kneading.  Continue to knead for an additional 10 minutes. 

6. Once the dough is done kneading, form into a ball and place into a greased bowl.  Cover and let sit in a warm place for 40-60 minutes or until doubled in size.

7. Divide dough into four equal portions and form into the shape of a ball.  This will deflate the dough. Cover and let rest for another 15 minutes.

8. Prepare loaf pan by lightly greasing.  This will make it easier for your loaf to come out.  This is an optional step.  (I actually forgot to do this and got lucky because I was using a glass pan and my loaf came out smoothly.)   

9. Now it’s time to form the rolls!  Flour a nice clean working area. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into an oval.  Then fold 1/3 from the top to the middle and 1/3 from the bottom to the middle.  Rotate 90 degrees; roll out with the rolling pin.  And roll dough like a jellyroll.  Place the roll with seam side down into loaf pan.  Repeat with the remaining dough. 

10. Let sit for another 30-60 minutes in a warm place, or until the dough doubles in size.  We want the dough to rise some more.  Be patient.  (I live in Chicago and it is not warm here in the winter, so I had to wait 60 minutes for mine to double in size.  If you live in warmer climates, it will double in size much faster.)

11. Preheat oven to 350°F.

12. Brush loaf with egg wash and bake for 30 minutes on center rack.  Rotate halfway through and if the bread browns before it is done, loosely cover it with foil. 

13. When done, place on a wire rack and brush the top with melted butter.  This will soften the crust and add some deliciousness.  After 5 minutes, remove from loaf pan and cool completely on a wire rack. 

Enjoy!!!  This is absolutely delicious!!!  It’s much easier to cut when it has cooled completely.  But after all that waiting, we couldn’t wait and dug in.  We ate half the loaf already.  We are such piggies. 

It was pretty rewarding making this once you have the end product.  There is just a lot of time that you have to wait while it doubles in size.  I reside in Chicago and making this in the winter, it’s cold out here.  Finding a warm place isn’t easy.  My microwave is where I put it, but it still takes a while.  Perhaps, in the summer, it will rise faster since it is so hot here.  But summer baking isn’t as fun because of the heat. 

Sick again!

I am sick again.  Boo!  Being sick really takes all the energy out of you.  This most likely happened Friday night when we were out.  It was doable cold but then rained.  The next day we were out and about again.  And perhaps that is when the virus fully developed because as monday came, so went my throat.  It's Thursday now and I am congested with a post nasal drip.  I went to the pharmacy today to fill some prescription for other things.  But I think this sickness is also allergy related.  Good thing I filled the Rx for my nasal spray.  I think it prevents my allergies and other stuff.

It also probably did not help going out last night.  I really wanted to see the ZooLights and it was 30 degrees no rain or snow, so I had to go.  Usually, these days 30s is considered warm.  The singles digits or the teens, we stay home.

I feel bad because Frank is sick too and he has to go to work.  Whereas, I can stay home.

Crockpot Cooking: Saucy Chicken

Late at night, I hide under the sheets and check out what people are posting on pinterest. From there, I get inspired to create a dish or try what pinners suggest. In particular, the Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken appealed to me. Today, I attempted to make some form of it. I really like using a Crockpot to make meals because its almost fool proof.

This recipe was inspired by Kelly Senyei from Just a Taste. The only thing about this recipe is the sodium content.  Even though it is not heavy, it is rich for my taste. But the sauce is definitely tasty, almost finger licking and could be a good rib marinade. I put a little more onion in mine so the garlic really didn't stand out. Also, she uses blackberry jam, I didn't have that so I made do with my cranberry jalapeno sauce left over from Thanksgiving. Lastly, I felt this was a saucy chicken so I named it so.

Saucy Chicken Crockpot Cooking
Yield: 4 servings     Prep time: 20 mins     Cook time: 4- 5 hours

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup cranberry jalapeno sauce (or some sort of fruit jam)
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp potato starch
3 tbsp cold water
2 stalks green onions, finely sliced for garnish
Sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions:
1. Place the chicken breasts in the crockpot and make sure they are not overlapping.
2. In a bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, cranberry sauce, hoisin, olive oil, garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes.  Whisk together and pour over the chicken.  Make sure the chicken is covered by the sauce.
3. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or until chicken is fully cooked.  You can also cook it on low for 4-5 hours.
4. When cooked, remove the chicken from the slow cooker with tongs and place it on a large bowl. Use two forks and shred the chicken.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the potato starch (cornstarch or flour work as well) with 3 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry.
6. In a small sauce pan,  transfer the liquids from the slow cooker over medium-high heat and whisk in the slurry. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until it reduces and thickens slightly. This take about 3 minutes.
7. Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss to combine. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

This dish goes great with brown rice and green veggies.  Noodles would also be delicious.  You can also reserve some of the sauce to make other dishes like noodles or tofu of some sort.  Enjoy!!!

Cranberry Oatmeal Flax Muffins

After Thanksgiving we bought some more cranberries because I wanted to make cranberry muffins. Some people actually use the left over cranberry sauce to make muffins. I did not do this because I made a Jalapeno Cranberry sauce and I read that if you put onions and jalapeno it doesn't work as well. Contrary to that, I still think it is possible. But Oatmeal and Jalapeno doesn't seem like it would marry well together.

Last night, I was combing the web for a good recipe. I did not find one that I liked, so I made my own. Along the way, I read a lot about the chemistry of food and interaction that occur during baking. Some questions I had in mind were about the use of baking powder, baking soda, and butter vs. oil. I will go into that later, perhaps.

The blog inspiration that I used to make my recipe can be found here and here.

You can also interchange the cranberry for something else like apples or blueberries. I like Pecans so I threw that in as well. I used oil for this recipe instead of butter to cut down on the saturated fat and cholesterol. If you like Chia Seeds you can also put some of those in there, maybe about a tbsp or so.

Cranberry Oatmeal Flax Muffins Recipe

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup regular oatmeal

½ cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp flax seeds

1 cup chopped fresh cranberries

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup yogurt

1 egg

Let's make muffins!

1. Grease muffin pan or use liners. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place oven rack in the center position.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, flax seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk until well sifted and set aside. Make sure that you also break up the large brown sugar pieces.

Remove 1 tbsp and toss with fresh cranberries and pecans. Set aside. This prevents the cranberries from bleeding.

4. In another bowl, whisk oil, egg, and yogurt.

5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add wet mixture.

Stir until moistened. Do not overmix, just until the wet and dry combine and is moistened.

Gently fold in chopped cranberries and pecans.

6. Scoop into a well-greased muffin tin about 2/3 of the way full. This should make 12 muffins.

7. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Let muffins cool for 5 minutes in their tins before removing to cool on a wire rack.

Here's how they turned out. Goes great with a latte and some fresh fruits.

And here you can see how moist it is.

I used the muffin method to make these muffins. Basically this is when you mix the wet and the dry ingredients separately and then add the wet to the dry. Stir with a spatula just until moistened and bake immediately.

Chicken Tikka Masala

The first time I had Indian food was in college. My friends introduced me to Natraj's Tandoori. I usually got a 2 item combo of Chicken Tikka Masala and Palak Paneer. Those are my absolute must when it comes to Indian cusine. Since then, other places worth noting are The India Restaurant in Artesia, CA and Indigo Indian Restaurant in Fiji. The Indian Restaurant in Artesia makes a delicious Chicken Tikka Masala. The Indigo Indian Restaurant in Fiji makes the most delicious Palak Paneer I have ever consumed. They also make a Crab Masala.

I was on pinterest and came across a Chicken Tikka Masala Crockpot Recipe. So, I thought that sounded easy enough. Boy, I was wrong! It was actually a lot of work. I found another recipe that is much easier, which I will try in the future. But I will post them both.

Here is the Long Crockpot Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe. I probably made this longer on myself because I made my own chili powder, garam masala and tikki paste. This recipe definitely used a lot of spices. As I was making this, I realized it utilizes a lot of cumin. Also, I felt like this was not a true crockpot recipe because you have to cook the chicken first to just brown it and the same goes for the onions. But if you like a lot of aromatics, then this is worth a try.

Now, I also found another recipe that is true to its crockpot name. It is pretty much throwing things in the crockpot and letting it simmer and marry all the delicious flavors. If you want to try making Chicken Tikka Masala, try this recipe from Table for Two. She makes making Chicken Tikka Masala more doable.

This is how I made garam masala and tikka paste. It is pretty much just blending a bunch of spices.

This is how my Chicken Tikka Masala turned out. I didn't have basmati rice so I used the white rice that I had in my pantry and just added tumeric and saffron cooked stove top. I also had some garlic naan from Trader Joe's to soak up the juices from the sauce. Overall, I was happy with how it turned out.

Chicken Tikka Masala Crockpot Cooking Recipe:

Test Kitchen Recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1.5″ cubes

1 onion, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

2 inches fresh ginger, grated

1 (28 oz) can of tomato puree, alternatively, you can use 4 tomatoes and boil them and puree it, cuts down on sodium content

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp garam masala

1 tbsp cumin

1/2 tbsp paprika

2 tsp salt or to taste

3/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1-3 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it HOT!)

2 bay leaves

1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half

3 tbsp cornstarch or flour

Chopped cilantro for topping

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine onions, garlic, ginger, tomato puree, yogurt, olive oil, garam masala, cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine. Pour half of the mixture into the crockpot. Add chicken and pour remaining mixture over the chicken. Add bay leaves and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. You can also cook it on high for 4 hours. When it is done, whisk together cream and cornstarch and pour into the crockpot. Let cook for another 20 minutes to thicken up. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice.

I will attempt to make this again someday and let you know how this recipe turns out. I read that some people like to cook the chicken first to add more flavor. But it defeats using the crockpot to its fullest capabilities.

एपीटिट बॉन

ēpīṭiṭa bŏna

Cheese Rolls

I made Cheese Rolls today. I was attempting to make the ones similar to the cheese rolls from Porto's or Goldilocks. Overall, they turned out pretty well. The only thing I would do differently in the future is drop the egg from my filling recipe. The egg made it taste more eggy than a savory cheese. I didn't use too much sugar, about 2 tbsp of powdered sugar. I used the left over pie crust that I made for Thanksgiving as my pastry dough. You can also buy the store bought puff pastry.

I borrowed the recipe from the blog of The Red Apron. She has great pictures and instruction as to the construction of the cheese roll. Alternatively, I also used Kraftibakes blog as a reference as well.

I am still working on a recipe, this is what I came up with and will try in the future.

Cheese Roll Recipe Test Kitchen Recipe

Homemade Puff pastry (usually left overs from when I make pie, or Flaky pie crust), alternatively you can buy store bought puff pastry

4 oz Cream Cheese at room temperature

2 tbsp of powdered sugar

1 egg, beaten (to brush)

granulated sugar (to sprinkle)

1. Thaw puff pastry in the refrigerator the night before. Once thawed, roll out puff pastry in 8 square. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat.

2. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar. Using a mixer, blend well until smooth and creamy.

3. Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of the puff pastry. Do not overfill or else the filling will explode out.

4. Brush top of pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle granulated sugar.

5. Bake at 400° F for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Let cool for 5 mins, you can dig in but you will burn your tongue because the cheese is so hot.

In the future I will make this again and let you know how the recipe turns out. For now, these are the cheese rolls I made earlier today. On some of them, I put some pear in.

Snowy days are here

I lay in bed for a couple of hours before I actually get up. I never had this luxury before. In the past I would get up at 5 am to get to work by 7 am. Nowadays, I don't work and have the luxury to sleep in. It has been cold these days and my bed is really warm. In fact, I am blogging from there right now. 

It is almost 11 and I really should get out of bed. I have been doing Tracy Anderson and my lower back is pretty sore. I did the insanity fit test and that also made me sore. 

I am going to try to make cheese rolls from Porto's today. Oh how I miss that deliciousness. I am going to be in SoCal in January so I made a list of must eats while I am there. Hopefully I don't blow up. Surprisingly, I've thinned out since being out there. I think it is all the sleep I get and the lack of working out. And all the walking I did in the summer and fall. We are working out now to lower our cholesterol. Dang genetics!

This is what the roads look like when it snows. Tonight it drops down to 0 degrees. ❄️⛄️❄️⛄️

Brrr...Its cold out here!

The 20s are really cold. I just went downstairs to check the mail and it was really cold. I found a way to stay warm. I wear my long ultra light down coat from uniqlo and it helps a lot. I could also wear my robe. This just happens to be lighter. This is my winter coat.

I am glad that I live on the third floor. First Floor felt cold as I was walking down to check the mail. It's already friday. I am behind on my blogging. The holidays really took up my time. It was just myself and Frank. We had roast chicken instead of a turkey. Made some mashed potatoes, jalapeno cranberry sauce, and green beans. A simple meal for two. We had left overs for days which was nice. When we went shopping on Black Friday, I brought a sandwich made from left overs, it was delicious.

Our Thanksgiving meal.

What I did with the left overs. Made a sandwich with chicken, apples and jalapeno cranberry sauce.

We are such fatties, we ate dessert first on Thanksgiving. I made the apple pie in the morning and Frank couldn't resist. Apple Pie is my favorite baked pie. I used a Flaky pie crust. I will blog about that in the future.