THE BEST CARROT CAKE

How is carrot cake for Easter? The Easter bunny eats carrots thats why. Carrots are not only super nutritious, they taste so good, too.  The lowly carrot, the larder staple, the dependable side, the earthy root crop takes center stage when made into a carrot cake. 

BEST EVER FRUITCAKE

There is a long running joke about just the one fruit cake making the rounds at Christmas, it being passed around like a hot potato. For the benefit of fruit cake lovers, I would like to debunk the myth. First of all, most fruit cake recipes make at least two loaves because of the amount of ingredients involved in making it. So if the joke were true, there should at least be two fruit cakes going around. Corniness aside, there are a lot of people who take fruit cake making seriously. I must say that I have tasted just a few fruit cakes that I really like. 

HONEY WALNUT SHRIMPS

Chinese food differs from country to country. The Chinese food on one's plate may differ greatly from another one's on the other side of the globe. In fact, the food that we know as Chinese food is different from the traditional food in China.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH PANCETTA AND CHESTNUTS

Alright, those who make fun of brussels sprouts, you may stop now. A lot of people wrinkle their noses at these Lilliputian cabbages but still eat them nevertheless. Brussels sprouts are now officially a trendy vegetable. They always appear at the celebratory table for some reason; they are delicious. 

APRICOT AND ALMOND STUFFING

This is the stuff that great turkeys are made of. The debates are numerous, sometimes big and at times heated. What stuffing goes in the turkey? There are a million and one ideas but not all are good, unfortunately.

HOT BUTTERED CHESTNUTS

In the Philippines, new year's eve celebrations are steeped in traditions and beliefs. We welcome the new year with a bang, literally. Pyrotechnics of all sorts light the sky from dusk to dawn on new year's eve to ward off evil spirits and welcome the good ones. The noise from the fireworks is deafening almost and visibility is close to zero from all the fumes. 

FLOURLESS PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

I do not bake cookies a lot. I probably like savoury snacks more than sweet ones. This one, though, is one that I really like, and if I am in the mood to bake cookies, this is most often the one I make.

CARAMEL CAKE WITH SUGARED PECANS

Time flies especially when you're blogging. I've said that before and will say it again. 

Adora's Box is two years old today! I wish to thank all of you readers who regularly visit here. You have contributed to keeping this blog alive. I hope you'll keep on doing so, and as long as you do, I will be here to welcome you with the only way I know how...with food!

CHICKEN AND PRAWN PAD THAI

Pad Thai is the perfect epitome of Thai cooking. It is sweet, sour, salty and spicy. It is so delicious and has become ever popular and readily available in most places, even in the ready meals section of the supermarket. Now this is when things go wrong. If food becomes so popular, it becomes commercial and starts to veer away from the essential flavours that it is supposed to have. This is the reason why I'd rather cook pad Thai myself even if I know that I'll never be able to do it as well as the Thais do. At least I know that the end result will be to my liking.

AVOCADO AND PISTACHIO PRALINE GELATO

My husband loves avocados but the only way he knows how to eat it is in salads. When we first met he only had it with prawn cocktail.

Avocado grows in abundance in the Philippines. I just love it but the only way I know how to eat it is in sweets. The most common way to eat is is scraped into noodle shapes with a special tool, then mixed with milk, sugar and ice. When I made this for my husband for the first time, he was very pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted made that way. He couldn't imagine it being eaten sweet. He was converted from the first spoonful. It was love at first taste.

KOREAN STYLE SESAME AND PEANUT CRISPY WINGS

I know that people get excited at the mere mention of chicken wings. There is one person here at home who does and always avers that "this chicken wing recipe is the best so far". That has been said so many times before. I don't know if each recipe really surpasses the previous one. I know I already have a lot of chicken wing recipe posts but just in case this really is the best one, I best share it with you.

CHINESE PEANUT COOKIES

We used to go home to Malaysia for the Chinese new year every year until the children started school. I just enjoyed the festive atmosphere everywhere but most of all in the shops. I feasted my eyes on the beautifully packaged munch-able goodies. Red and gold trays of assorted lucky foods were piled high on display tables. 

MINI CARAMEL APPLE PECAN PIES

Come Christmas, an assortment of desserts at the end of the meal provide a fitting finale to the celebratory meal. Although we are spoilt for choice with the assortment of desserts at the supermarkets, nothing is nicer than a homemade one. I always prepare a few contrasting desserts to suit everyone's taste. This one would be a great alternative to mince pies. It is easy, can be done the previous day and the kids can help make it.

We all love crispy crust on pies but sometimes that doesn't happen when there is a juicy fruit in the filling. Baking blind helps to give the crust a crispy start but I did not want to bake 12 little pastry cases blind so I pre-cooked the filling instead. I thought that filling the pastry with a thick filling rather than a wet mixture would prevent that soggy pie bottom. That did work out quite well. The pastry came out perfectly crisp and flaky.


They were delicious, too, by the way. How can you go wrong with apples, caramel and pecan. The pastry tasted good too as it had cream cheese in it.

Ingredients for the crust:

1 cup flour
1/2 c. butter, cut into cubes
1/2 c. cream cheese (4 oz.)
1 egg yolk plus 1 tbsps. milk for glazing

Pulse the flour and butter in a food processor until the butter pieces are pea sized. Add the cream cheese and pulse again until the dough clumps together into a ball. Wrap the pastry dough in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, roll out the dough on a floured surface to a 1/4 cm. thickness. Cut into 12 rounds and line  a 12-hole muffin tin. Crease the pastry to fit the muffin holes. This will make a nice rustic look to the pies. Cut out decorative shapes with the rest of the pastry. You can also make a lattice top crust. 

Fill the pastry cases 2/3 full with the cooled filling. Top with the cut-out pastry shapes but leave gaps for the steam to escape. Brush pastry tops with the egg yolk glaze. 

Bake at 350° F/ 180° C for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 300° F/ 150° C and cook for a further 20 minutes. Leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes before taking out of the molds.

Ingredients for the filling:

1/2 c. condensed milk
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 tbsp. corn flour
3 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored, quartered and sliced thinly
1 egg
6 tbsps. butter
1/2 c. roughly chopped pecans

In a pan, mix the corn flour and brown sugar together until well combined. Whisk in the condensed milk and egg. Put the pan on low heat and add the apples and butter. Stir constantly until the mixture is smooth and thick. Add the pecans. Take off the heat and leave to cool before filling the pastry cases.

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Apple Crumble Pudding in a Mug

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FOOD FOR THE GODS (DATE AND WALNUT BARS)

These moreish bars are called food for the gods but us mortals can have it as a treat. These bars are very popular in Philippine bakeshops but, judging from the ingredients, they are surely of foreign origin. They are so delicious but can only be had as a treat because both dates and walnuts are not grown in the Philippines and therefore not cheap. They are in fact sold as little bars wrapped in cellophane_taster or teaser portions.

If you don't want to make fruit cake, these bars are a worthy substitute. These treats are actually very easy to make. They are ideal for Christmas gift giving, wrapped individually in cellophane or baking paper or put them in a nice gift box. 

I have brushed some with edible gold dust for an opulent Christmas look. Wrap a band of unbleached baking paper tied with jute string if you are going for a rustic look. Anyway it's packaged, I'm sure it will be warmly received.

This recipe was adapted from The Best of The Maya Kitchen cookbook.


Ingredients:


1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3 medium sized eggs
3 tbsps. brandy
1 1/4 c. sifted flour
1 c. pitted and coarsely chopped dates
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. coarsely chopped walnuts


Method:


Pre-heat the oven to 350° F/180° C. Line a 13"x9"x2" rectangular baking pan. 


Cream the butter until light and fluffy. 

Add the sugars and blend well. 

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the  brandy. Set aside.

Put the flour in another mixing bowl. Add in the chopped dates and mix very well. Separate the pieces and make sure that they are all coated with flour. This will keep them suspended in the batter when baking. 

Add in the baking soda, baking powder, salt and walnuts and mix very well. 

Add this mixture into the creamed mixture and fold until blended. 


Bake for 10 minutes. 

Lower the temperature to 300° F/150° C and bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes. 


Run a knife around the edges. Cool slightly before cutting into bars. Leave to cool completely before wrapping or storing.

All rights reserved ©Adora's Box Copyright 2011. 

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Coffee, Date and Cardamom Pudding

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Thanks for dropping by. It would be nice if we could meet up on FACEBOOK or TWITTER. 

PORK, PEANUT AND CORIANDER POT STICKERS

Pot stickers as we say it simply in English or gyoja in Korean, gyoza in Japanese or Jiaozi in Chinese are all the same banana so to speak. They are little dumplings wrapped in circular flour pancakes, part steamed and part grilled or fried. The filling is usually made with minced pork and Chinese leaf (Napa cabbage). 

COUSCOUS WITH APRICOTS, SULTANAS AND TOASTED PINE NUTS

Side dishes usually take the sidelines at meal times. We sometimes over think the main entree and just spin the roulette and randomly choose the sides. Rice, potatoes, vegetables usually go on the boil just to make things easier.

SATAY CHICKEN

Satays are delicious morsels of well seasoned meats threaded on bamboo skewers and grilled over hot coals. It is one of Malaysia's ubiquitous street foods.  Eating satay for supper is one of the things I enjoy doing most when I'm there. It is not only the food itself but the whole experience of outdoor dining in the full Malaysian sense that excites me. The warm air, the cooking smells and the jovial mood all combine to make an atmosphere that cannot be recreated elsewhere.

ALMOND CREAM PUFFS

It is Easter time and this is my 100th post. Time flies. I always wonder what people would like to see in my blog. To tell you the truth, after 100 posts, I still don't know. The recipes that I hesitate to post prove to be the popular ones. Still, in all, I am really grateful to all the readers, followers and supporters of this blog. May you never tire of reading my posts.

SESAME AND CASHEW CHICKEN

The one thing missing from UK shopping malls that are always present in American ones are the Chinese fastfood joints. Yes, those that give away free samples speared on toothpicks are what I'm referring to. Though their menu can be pretty standard, they are very satisfying and good value for money.

This recipe is my take on the dish that's ever present in Chinese buffets and fastfood joints: Sesame Chicken. It is a very close cousin of General Tso's Chicken and were it not for the sprinkling of sesame seeds, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart. 

My version has cashews for extra crunch and honey for sweetness. I did not make it as sweet as the original because I wanted a balance of saltiness, sweetness and just a hint of tanginess. A few easy steps led to a more superior dish filled with home cooked goodness.

Ingredients:


6 chicken thighs, deboned and cut into 2" cubes
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 c. cashews
2 tbsps. of chopped spring onions, green parts only
1 tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
oil for deep frying


A. 

2 tbsps. light soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1 tbsp. corn flour (corn starch)
1 egg white


B.

1/3 c. plain flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda


C.

1/2 c. water
1/4 c. honey
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tsp. corn flour
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. chilli oil (optional)


Method:


Mix all of ingredients (A) together and add in the chicken meat. Stir well and leave to marinate for half an hour. 


Heat up the cooking oil in a wok. 

Mix ingredients (B) and add to the marinated chicken. Blend well. 

Fry the chicken pieces, a few at a time, on medium high heat until golden brown and crisp. Drain and set aside. 


Fry the cashews briefly in the same oil and scoop on to a kitchen paper lined dish. 


Mix all of ingredients (C) in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until thickened. 


Heat up a clean wok and put 1 tbsp. of cooking oil (from the oil used for frying) and add the garlic. Stir fry on high heat for 2 seconds, then add the fried chicken pieces. Stir fry for a minute then add the sauce while stirring. Most of the sauce will evaporate and glaze the chicken. 

Take off the heat and add the cashew, spring onions and sesame seeds. Mix well, then transfer to a serving dish. Serve with steamed white rice.

All rights reserved ©Adora's Box Copyright 2011. 

Please support Adora's Box by making your Amazon.com and mymemories.com (use the code STMMMS55174) purchases from this site. Click on their respective banners to proceed to their websites. It will not cost you a single cent more but will help sustain this blog. Thank you.

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Crispy Ginger Chicken

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Thanks for dropping by. It would be nice if we could meet up on FACEBOOK or TWITTER. 

MOCHA AND CHESTNUT CREAM GATEAU

A cake is for celebrations. The mere sight of a cake brings on the celebratory mood. Everyone cheers up when they see something to forward to at the end of the meal.