Oooh! Pie!

Good evening bloggers. This is a slightly delayed post. I have been a bit tied up today. I am a "designer" so to speak and I get pretty busy during the day. Well, anyway... I promised you all a tasty and sweet pie today and I have come through! Grab your aprons and those handy, dandy whisks and spoons and let's get baking!

Raspberry-Lemon Pie with a Coconut Crust

You will need:

• 2 cups shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1.5 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 2 egg yolks at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1.5 pints fresh raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Spread the coconut onto a baking sheet, and bake in the preheated oven until lightly toasted and golden, about 10 minutes. 
3. Watch carefully to prevent burning. 
4. Mix the coconut and 1/2 cup melted butter in a bowl, and chill until it begins to firm, about 15 minutes. 
5. Pat the coconut mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie dish. Chill the crust until set, at least 30 minutes. 
6. Place the sugar, 1/2 cup of butter, lemon juice, eggs, and egg yolks in a saucepan. 
7. Place over low heat, and whisk constantly until thickened for 15 to 20 minutes, but do not boil. 
8. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, and stir in the lemon zest. 
9. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard, and chill thoroughly. 
10. Spoon the lemon custard into the coconut crust, and top with fresh raspberries.
11. Enjoy!

I hope you all have a spiffy rest of the evening and I will catch you on the flip side, hopefully earlier tomorrow. Happy blogging and love to you all!

Cheesecake Mania!

Good afternoon bloggers! We are here for another very sweet and very rich entry to Everyday Meals. Today, we are dabbling in the fine art of cheesecake! This is an area where I am the champion. Every Christmas, my sister and I bake our Peppermint cheesecake with candycane bits in it. It is a bit hit and also, an original. Unfortunately, we will not be making that today. That is a family secret. Instead, we will be making... drum roll please?

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

You will need:

• 1 (21 ounce) can apple fruit filling, divided
• 1 (9 inch) graham cracker crust
• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup caramel topping
• 12 pecan halves plus 2 tablespoons chopped pecans

Still with me?

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Reserve 1/2 cup apple filling and spoon the remaining filling into the crust.
3. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. Pour the eggs over the apple filling. 
6. Bake for 35 minutes or until center is set, then leave to cool.
7. Mix the reserved apple filling and caramel topping in a small saucepan, and heat for about 1 minute.
8. Arrange the apple slices around the outside edge of the cheesecake. 
9. Spoon the caramel sauce onto the cheesecake and spread evenly.
10. Place the pecan halves around the cheesecake edge, then sprinkle the top with chopped pecans. 
11. Refrigerate at least 6 hours until firm.
12. Enjoy!

I hope you have a delightfully sweet afternoon and rest of the night. I will catch you all tomorrow for a scrumptious pie recipe! Happy blogging and I'll catch you on the flip side.

Who Loves Sweet Treats? I Do!

Good evening bloggers. I want to welcome you all to our first day (or night depending on where you are) of Dessert Week! We will be taking a tasty Asian dessert straight out of Mae's Kitchen and into our own. When you think dessert, you don't typically go straight for Asian dessert, do you? I know I was blind to it until Mae showed me this recipe. Well, I'm glad she did. So, let's grab our aprons and get in that kitchen!

Ichigo Daikufu

You will need:

• 1 cup shiratama-ko (glutinous rice flour)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• For The Filling
• 1/3 cup water  
• 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup dried anko powder, or 1/2 cup premade anko (sweet red bean paste)
• 6 strawberries
• katakuriko potato starch or corn starch for dusting

1. Heat 1/3 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar in a pan. 
2. Add 1/4 cup of anko powder in the pan and stir well, then set aside. 
3. Wash the strawberries and remove the calyxes. 
4. Wrap a strawberry with about a spoonful of anko and round it to make a ball. 
5. Make 6 balls. 
6. Put the shiratama-ko in a heat-resistant bowl. 
7. Mix 2/3 cup of water and 1/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl. 
8. Pour in the shiratamako, making sure to stir well. 
9. Put the bowl in the microwave and heat the dough for about two minutes. Stir the dough, then continue to heat the dough in microwave until the dough inflates. 
10. Stir the mochi quickly. 
11. Dust a flat pan with some katakuri-ko starch. 
12. Also, dust your hands with some katakuri-ko. 
13. Remove the hot mochi from the bowl to the pan by hands. 
14. Dust your hands with more katakuri-ko starch and divide the mochi into 6 pieces by hands. 
15. Make 6 flat and round the mochi. 
16. Put a piece of strawberry and anko filling on a mochi piece and wrap it by stretching mochi, then round the daifuku. 
17. Repeat the process to make more pieces.
18. Enjoy!

I hope you all enjoyed this sweat treat from our friend, Mae. Have a sweet and savoury evening and I will see you all tomorrow for possibly the *best* cheesecake recipe ever! Happy blogging and I'll catch you on the flip side!

Soup, Soup, Soup!

Good afternoon bloggers! I've got another recipe from Mae's kitchen to bring to our own. We've done many Asian recipes, but one recipe we have yet to make is soup. That is what we are going to do today. This is a fairly easy recipe and I'm sure it will leave you salivating from the smell as it cooks. Let's grab our whisks, our woks, and our aprons and let's get cooking!

Wasabi Snap Peas, Daikon, and Egg Soup

You will need:

• 4 large eggs
• 2 scallions, roots and tops cut off
• 3 tablespoons rice bran oil
• 1/3 cup finely diced yellow onions
• 1/3 cup finely diced and peeled daikon
• 1 shitake mushroom, stem cut off and cap finely sliced
• 5 cups dashi
• 1 teaspoon sake
• 1 teaspoon ground sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 20 snap peas, springs removed, cut into thirds
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

1. Break th eggs into a medium sized bowl and whisk until thoroughly mixed.
2. Cut one of the scallions into half inch long batons for soup. 
3. Thinly slice the other scallion to use as garnish.
4. Place a wok over high heat. 
5. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl it around to coat the interior of the wok. 
6. When the oil begins to simmer, add the beaten eggs; they will form a disc and immediately begin to puff and bubble around the edges. 
7. Fry the egg for 2 minutes or until the center portion is no longer runny. 
8. Turn the egg and fry for one more minute, then transfer to a plate. 
9. When the egg is cool enough to handle, tear it into bite-size pieces.
10. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. 
11. When hot, add the onion, daikon and mushroom. 
12. Stir fry for 3 minutes, then add the dashi, sake, salt and several grinds of pepper and bring to a boil. 
13. Skim off the foam from the surface with a ladle. 
14. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the soup for about 3 minutes or until the daikon has turned translucent.
15. Add the bits of torn omlette to the soup, along with the snap peas, scallion batons and soy. 
16. Cook over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until the snap peas are crisp, but slightly tender
17. Lay out 4 large soup bowls and ladle equal portions of the soup into them. Garnish with scallion.
18. Enjoy!

I hope you all have a great rest of the day. Don't work too hard, or play too hard for that matter. Stay cool and come back tomorrow for another delicious recipe from our friend Mae! Happy blogging and I'll catch you all on the flip side! <3

Teriyaki Fish

Good evening bloggers! I was going through my email today and this dish from Mae popped right out to me. I am a sucker for fish and a sucker for teriyaki! I could put teriyaki and soy sauce on everything, but I don't. Anyway, we are going to be handling some fish tonight. So, let's grab our aprons, knives, and pans and get down to business!

Teriyaki Fish

You will need:

• 4 fish fillets (Wild Alaskan Salmon, Farmed Striped Bass OR Pacific Halibut work wonderfully)
• 1 tablespoon rice bran oil

FOR THE MARINADE

• 2 tablespoons sake
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce

FOR THE TERIYAKI SAUCE

• 1/4 cup mirin
• 2 tablespoons soy
• 1 teaspoon sugar

1. Make the marinade by blending the sake and soy in a dish. 
2. Place the fish fillets flesh side down in the dish and marinate for 10 minutes.
3. Make the teriyaki sauce by blending together the mirin, soy and sugar, then whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. 
5. Using a paper towel, gently blot each fish fillet on both sides to absorb any excess marinade. 
6. Place the fillets in the skillet (skin side down) and cook for 5 minutes. 
7. Turn the fillets an cook for 1 minute.
8. Transfer the fish to a large plate and peel off the skin.
9. With a paper towel, wipe out any excess grease from the skillet. 
10. Place it back over medium high heat and add the teriyaki. 
11. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer the sauce for 1 minute. 
12. Add the fish into the pan. 
13. Tip the pan slightly and spoon some of the teriyaki over the fillets. 
14. Cook them for 1 minute or until the center portion is just cooked through.
15. Arrange on plates and top with teriyaki.
16. Enjoy!

I hope you all have had a wonderful day. I will be back tomorrow with more Asian themed dinners for you to enjoy. Oh, just a little sneak peek of what next week brings... Who loves sweets? I do! Have a great evening and happy blogging!

A Delicious Version of Burgers

Good afternoon bloggers! We are keeping with the trend of Asian delights this week. Today we have another excellent dish from our resident guest blogger, Mae. This was a dish someone special to her used to make and now we are going to try our hands at it. It's a twist on burgers that I'm sure all of us will enjoy. Let's grab our aprons and get cooking!

Salmon Edamame Burgers

You will need:

• 1 one inch chunk of fresh, peeled ginger root
• 1 cup blanched, shelled Edamame
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green capsicum
• 1 tablespoon sake
• 1.5 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup panko
• 1 egg
• 4 cups oil
• 4 cup small sprig mitsuba OR Italian parsley

1. Place the chunk of ginger root in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and prrocess until minced, scraping down the sides of the work bowl one or two times. 
2. Add the shelled edamame and pulse until minced as well. 
3. Transfer the contents of the processor to a large bowl.
4. Place the raw salmon chunks in the food processor and process until ground. Transfer the salmon to the bowl with the edamame and add onion, green pepper, sake, soy, salt and several grinds of pepper. 
5. Stir the mixture until well blended.
6. Lightly wet your hands and form the salmon into patties, then set aside.
7. Put flour on a large plate and panko on another. 
8. Beat the egg, then one by one coat each salmon patty in the flour, then the egg, followed by the panko. 
9. Remove the patty from the panko and press it between your hands.
10. Heat the oil in a deep skillet and bring the heat to 340 degrees. 
11. Lower the salmon patties into the oil and fry them for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. 
12. Lay out 4 plates and arrange 2 patties on each plate.
13. Garnish with mitsuba or parsley.
14. Enjoy!

I hope you all have a wonderful afternoon. Enjoy your culture and remember, we are always up for new cultural ideas. Happy blogging and I'll catch you on the flip side!

Asian Authenticity!

Good evening bloggers! If you were around last night, we had a mash up of tons of different recipes. Tonight, I paired up with my lovely guest, Mae M. again and she shared these lovely authentic recipes with me. We are taking a bit of Asian culture and making it our own. Let's put our hands together for Mae and her recipes and let's get started!

Tokyo Fried Chicken

You will need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 inch long chunk of FRESH ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon sake
• 1 teaspoon Mirin
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups rice bran oil
• 4 shisho leaves for garnish, cut into thin ribbons
• soy sauce for serving

1. Put the chicken into a bowl. 
2. Line a small bowl with cheesecloth. 
3. Grate the ginger over the bowl, gather the cheesecloth around the ginger and squeeze the cheesecloth to release the ginger juice. 
4. You should have 1.5 teaspoons of ginger juice. 
5. Pour the ginger juice over the chicken, along with the soy, sake and mirin. Toss the chicken to coat and let marinate for 10 minutes.
6. Place the cornstarch in small bowl. 
7. Remove the chicken and blot any excess marinade from the chicken with paper towels. 
8. Working with a few pieces of chicken at a time, drop them into the starch and push them around until coated, then put on a platter.
9. Heat the oil in a wok until it's 350 degrees. 
10. Working in batches, add 1/3 of the chicken to the oil. 
11. Fry for 1 minute on each side or until the chicken is golden and just cooked through. 
12. Transfer the fried chicken to a platter lined with paper towels. 
13. Cook the remaining chicken in the same fashion.
14. Transfer the chicken to a large serving dish. 
15. Sprinkle it with the shiso ribbons and bring to the table, along with a bottle of soy.
16. Enjoy!

Simmered Succulent Tofu

You will need:

• 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons Mirin
• 1/2 cup Bonito Flakes
• 4 shisho leaves, sliced thin
• 2 scallions, roots and tops cut off and thickly sliced
• 5 cups Dashi
• 2 one pound blocks Silken OR Cotton Tofu

1. Blend the lemon juice, soy, and mirin in a small bowl to create a dipping sauce.
2. Place the bonito flakes in a small dish and the slivered shiso leaves and scallions on a small plate. 
3. Bring these garnishes to the table along with 4 small bowls for the dipping sauce.
4. Place the dashi in a deep, 3 quart oven to table casserole dish with a lid.
5. Gently rinse the tofu under cold water. 
6. Cut each block into large bite size squares and add them to the dashi. 
7. Turn the heat to medium. 
8. The tofu cubes will swell and puff as the dashi heats. 
9. When the dashi is almost boiling, reduce the heat to low and gently simmer the tofu cubes for 4 minutes. 
10. When you remove the casserole from the flames, cover it and set it on a trivet in the center of the table.
11. To serve, let each diner pour approximately 2 tablespoons of dipping sauce into a small bowl. 
12. Using a small ladle, retrieve a few tofu cubes from the hot dashi, along with a little extra dashi and add to the small bowl. 
13. Season with the garnishes if desired.
14. Enjoy!

Well, until tomorrow, I bid you a good night. Stay tuned for more amazing recipes from more friends like Mae! I'll catch you on the flip side. Happy blogging!