Here is a link to my new website. It is organized a lot better than my blog. Enjoy!

Comment: I think this hummus recipe is restaurant quality. It is spicy and has a great pepper flavor. One of the main ingredients used to make hummus is tahini. If you are not familiar with tahini, I will just tell you that not all brands of tahini taste the same. We go through a restaurant owner online to get our tahini. It can only be purchased with a business licence and is brought in by a supplier from the middle east. Here is a link to the site where we order it from – Dedemed

Recipe for spicy roasted red pepper hummus

1 can garbanzo beans

3 Tbsp garbanzo bean juice (from can)

3 Tbsp Tahini

3 Tbsp lemon juice (I use lemon juice in a bottle)-

3 Tbsp plain yogurt

1/3 red bell pepper, roasted

1 Serrano pepper, roasted-1/2 tsp salt

1 small clove garlic

Roasting the peppers Broil each side of your red bell pepper for 5 minutes. The skin will look black or have black spots. Pull it out and with a fork scrap off the skin. Take out seeds. The Serrano pepper needs to be roasted to but it takes less time since its so small.

Making the hummus - Blend all ingredients. Heat a pita in microwave for 30 seconds and use it to dip in the hummus.If you want to make the Garlic hummus version, just omit the peppers

Comment - These rolls are amazing. The flavor reminds me of a danish. The filling has a liquid constancy right out of the oven, but it firms up a little after cooling down. To make the rolls, I filled dough with a vanilla cheesecake mixture & sweetened blackberries. The dough is fairly easy to make. I leave out the salt when I make them. You just mix the ingredients together, knead the dough for 8 minutes, separate it into small sized balls, roll it out, add a Tbsp of the cream cheese mixture along with a few berries, enclose and let the rolls rise for 30 minutes. They only take 10 minutes to bake. I would not recommend refrigerating them because it pulls the moisture out of them.

Dough Recipe

Cheesecake recipe

1 – 8oz package of cream cheese

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp mexican vanilla

Blackberries sweetened with sugar.

After kneading the dough for 8 minutes, Separate it into medium balls. Roll each ball out, but not too thin. You want the bottom of your roll to match the top in thickness. After rolling out the balls, add 1 Tbsp cream cheese filling & 3 to 4 sweetened blackberries to the center of each. Cover the filling with the dough. let rise for 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash mixture (egg & small amount of water), bake for 10 min at 450 degrees.

Comment: These sliders turned out fabulous. The fish cakes were warm and crispy, the mayo had good flavor with some heat, & the bread was soft. I made homemade buns for the first time to go with the shrimp fish cakes. I have always thought sliders make cute appetizers for adults, but I think they would be fun for kids too.

Bun Recipe

Fish Cakes
12 shrimp (medium sized)
2 Tilapia Fillets
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp onion, chopped
salt/pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Mayo
1/2 tsp mustard
dash lemon juice
2 dashes Worcestershire
1/2 an egg
Pinch lemon pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Pinch dried dill
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Heat oil in pan and cook onions for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 minutes before adding shrimp and fish. Break fish up into chunks while cooking. Season with salt and pepper. When the meat has finished cooking, take it off the heat and cut it up into smaller pieces. Mix the remaining ingredients in with your meat mixture. Shape each ball using 2 Tbsp of filling. With your hand press down so the top and bottom of the ball are flattened. Cook in oil over medium heat on each side for about 2 minutes.

Comment: This pineapple upside down cake recipe is from Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion restaurant. I have made these cakes many times and they always turn out great. I like to bake the cakes individually in my molten lava cake pan with removable bottoms. I think the cakes are best served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe

The sauce around the plate was made by combining 3/4 cup pineapple juice with 2 tsp cornstarch.

The garnish was made by putting brown sugar in the oven at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes. You have to wait at least 5 min before touching the sugar when it comes out of the oven. The hot sugar liquid will harden & set up within that time.

 

Comment: This dessert exceeded my expectations. The cinnamon spice in the Mexican chocolate Mousse paired well with the spice in the ginger cookie crust. The Mousse was melt in your mouth creamy and had a spiced, light chocolate flavor. I brought the dessert to a BBQ and one of my friends who tried it said “I give this dessert an A” grade. I received a few more complements and think it is probably the best dessert I have made so far using Mexican Chocolate.  If you don’t know what Mexican Chocolate is, then google “Ibarra”.

Mousse Recipe

Note – For the chocolate I added 3 Tbsp regular semi sweet chocolate chips and 2 triangles of mexican chocolate. I disolved the mexican chocolate into the milk before adding any other ingredients. I also added 2 Tbsp of butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper. I did not have heavy cream, so I used whip cream that came in an 8 oz tube. I should note that I took out 1 cup of the whip cream for something else earlier in the week so I did not use the whole tube for this recipe.

Ginger Cookie Recipe -

I used oil instead of butter when making the cookies. I added fresh nutmeg and cloves to the spice mix.

Crust -

The crust was made with the ginger cookies that I baked and then pulvarized in the blender. I added 1/4 cup of butter to the crumbs and patted them down in my 9″ round springform pan. I baked the crust for about 8 minutes at 350 degrees F. I think I used 2 or 3 cups of gingerbread crumbs for the crust.

Final Note – I recommend putting this dessert in the freezer overnight.

 

Comment – These orange jello cookies are easy to make and have great flavor. The texture of the dough reminds me of play dough after it has set up in the fridge overnight. The consistency allows you to easily shape the dough. I chose to make flowers.

Sugar Cookie Recipe

Note –  I mixed a small package of orange jello with a couple tablespoons of water over medium heat to dissolve the sugar. Than I added the wet cookie ingredients to it. I waited for the mixture to cool down before adding the eggs to it. I cut the sugar cookie recipe in half and added an addition 1/2 cup of flour to thicken up the dough.  Also, I reduced the amount of sugar to 1/4 cup because of the sweetness from the jello.

To make the flowers - I formed all the petals into equal sized balls of dough. I made a slightly bigger ball for the center of the flower and pressed it down so that it had a flat surface on top. I made an indent in the center of each ball of dough for the petals with my thumb or fingers, then shaped them into petals. If the petals are touching the center of the flower before baking they will stick to it once cooked. I cooked the flowers for about 10 min at 350 degrees F.

Comment: I have made Quail several times this week. The Asian sauce I used to glaze this quail is incredibly good. It has a sweet and spicy flavor. There is not a lot of meat on a quail so I usually try and serve it with a more filling side. I served this dish with mushroom risotto cakes. Honestly, I did not like the way my risotto cakes turned out. So far, my favorite way to serve quail is with this sauce and steak fries. I saute the quail in butter for a few minutes, then bake them for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F, brushing them with sauce every 5 minutes.

Sauce Recipe

Note – I only use the first 6 ingredients for the sauce. I do not add the chicken broth or cornstarch when I make this dish and only use green onions to garnish.

Comment: The tamarind lemongrass sauce for this recipe is a good match for the crispy tofu. I cooked up two thick tofu pieces and two thin. I liked how the thiner pieces of tofu turned out. There was a crispiness on the outside and a softness on the inside from battering and pan frying it.

Recipe -

1 lb Extra Firm Tofu
Breadcrumbs
Oil to pan fry

Lemon Grass Sauce & Marinade

1-1/2 tbsp tamarind
1 cup water
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ginger, grated
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp water
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp lemon grass, grated
1 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp chili sauce

Instructions -
Add water and tamarind to a saucepan and boil for 10 minutes until it becomes soft. Strain tamarind into a bowl.

Add oil to a separate pan. When hot add chopped onions and cook for 2 minutes, then add the ginger and garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add these ingredients in with your tamarind.  Combine this mixture with your remaining sauce ingredients.

Pile 2 plates onto of your block of tofu and let it set so the water will come out of your tofu. Then slice it and marinate it in your sauce mixture for at least 1 hour.

When done marinate, pull your tofu out of the sauce and dip it in bread crumbs. Fry them on all sides in a pan. It usually takes 3-5 min per side.

Strain your marinade. Put the liquid into a pot and add 1 tsp of cornstarch to thicken it. Strain again and serve with your fried tofu.