Roast Leg of Lamb ala Tom

We can't thank Sandra's friend, Tom, enough as he did it again. He sent me a leg of lamb and it made out New Year's Eve Dinner the most memorable. I could not believe that time flies so fast, it is 3 months already since we had this delicious lamb dinner. Thank you again, Tom and hope to get more lamb and rosemary from you.



Ingredients:

1 leg of lamb (about 4 1/2 pounds)
1 handful fresh sage
1 clove garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, juiced
Olive oil
1 handful fresh rosemary
3 ounces pancetta, sliced

Method:

With a knife, follow the lamb bone down about 4 inches (you are just making a 'tunnel' where you are cutting the meat away from the bone). Do this from the top end and the bottom end.

Roll the leg into a roast shape and tie with cotton butcher's twine.

Pierce the meat at an angle with a sharp pointed knife 6 to 8 times at random around the leg.

Where you have made the incisions, open them up a bit by poking your fingers down in them to make a bit of space.

Using a pestle and mortar smash up half the sage with the garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt. When its pulped, add the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the other half of the sage and the rosemary roughly chopped.

Stuff the mixture into all the incisions and gaps you have made with the knife. Then stuff the pancetta deep into the gaps along the bone and the incisions. This gives a lovely fragrant flavor to the meat. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Brown lamb on all sides.

Place lamb in roasting pan and roast in a preheated 425 f oven for 30 to 40 minutes for medium rare, 1 hour for well done. (A meat thermometer inserted in center should read 160 or 165 degrees F or a thinbladed knife inserted to the center for 20 seconds should feel lukewarm on your lips.)

Let sit at room temperature about 10 minutes covered loosely with foil before carving, so juices can run to center.

Remove strings and slice meat thinly across the roll.

Serve with Deep fried french beans and mint sauce.

To reheat carved lamb, place slices on a sheet pan, cover with a wet towel, and bake 5 minutes at 375 degrees F.


Serves

Sweet Potato Balls

I had some sweet potatoes that i must have cooked for too long or the sweet potatoes do not have so much starch to hold itself after cooking. They were too mushy to my liking and i had to make something with it otherwise in the trash they go. If i am not eating them, no one will. The sweet mushy potatoes are perfect for this recipe.



Ingredients:

500g mashed sweet potatoes
200g glutinous rice flour
1 1/2 tbsp custard powder
3 1/2 tbsp castor sugar
1/2 cup sesame seeds
Enough Oil for deep frying


Method:

Combine mashed sweet potatoes, glutinous rice flour, custard powder and sugar with just enough water to form a smooth dough that is soft in texture but not sticky.(you might not need water if the mashed sweet potatoes is wet enough)

Divide dough into small, equal portions and roll into balls. Dip in water and coat with sesame seeds.

Deep-fry sweet potato balls till golden brown.

Dish out and drain well before serving

Serves

Renee's Chocolate Cake

Renee named this cake as her cake because she found this recipe from her game cd - My Little Pony, printed it out and insisted that i have to make it. We made it, the both of us as a team, she measured all the ingredients with my supervision of course but when it comes to cracking the eggs, it was quite a task for a to be 5 year old. Well, we had fun and the best part is that the cake turned out to be the best chocolate cake that i have ever baked and it was so easy that a child could accomplish.



Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup coffee



Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 f.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cocoa.

Add the milk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. We don't want to see lumps!!!

Add in coffee and mix again thoroughly.

Grease two 9 inch round cake tins with butter (i line the bottom of the tins)

Pour the cake batter into the cake tins.

Bake at 375 f for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes.

After the cakes have cooled, take them out of the tins.

Decorate with frosting or whatever pleases you.(i put two strips of paper on top of cake and sprinkle with powdered sugar)

Your're done and ready to eat.

Enjoy!!!!!



Serves

Radish/Daikon/Turnip/Law Pak Koh

"Law Pak' is in cantonese and in english it has been termed radish, daikon or turnip. This is a delicious savory Cake served in dim sum houses throughtout the year and most auspiciously, on Chinese New Year's Day as a symbol of prosperity and rising fortunes. This recipe is from Jodelibakery. Thank you Jo, for sharing.




Ingredients:

500g radish(白萝卜)
15g tung min flour (澄面粉)
150g rice flour (粘米粉)
20g corn starch (太白粉)
500ml water
2 nos. shallots, sliced
40g dried shrimps
1-2 nos. chinese preserved sausages (腊肠)
4 nos. dried mushrooms
2 tbsp oil, for frying
A little oil for greasing

Seasoning;
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
Pepper, to taste


Method:

Shred turnip. Set aside.

Clean and soak both dried shrimps and dried mushrooms until soften. Chop dried shrimps slightly. Cut mushrooms into small cubes.

Cut sausages into small cubes.

Grease a pan with some oil.

Place tung min flour, rice flour and corn starch in a mixing bowl. Pour water into flours and stir well.

Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a pan/wok and fry these ingredients by order ,remove and set aside, first the sausages , then the shallots, lastly dried shrimps. Without removing the dried shrimps, add in the mushrooms and then the shredded radish.

Season with the seasoning ingredients.

Pour the flour mixture into the pan. Cook until the mixture thickens.

Place the thick batter into the greased pan prepared earlier.

Steam at high fire for 1 hour.

Set aside. Slice when turnip cake is cool.

Cake can be served as is or pan fried and best eaten with chilly sauce.


Serves

Cabbage Rolls

The cabbage keeps so well in the fridge that it will always be cooked only when all other greens are consumed. When a cabbage dish is served, my daughter would comment - 'so, we need to buy greens tomorrow?' This is one way to cook the cabbage.



Ingredients:

200g chicken fillet/pork
4 Chinese dry mushrooms - soaked
25g carrot
8 cabbage leaves
1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
egg white from one egg
A little pepper

-

Method:

Mince chicken fillet/pork, dice Chinese dry mushrooms and chop fine the carrot .

Rinse cabbage, trim the stem and blanch until tender.

Chop the stem finely

Mix chicken/pork with vegetables, season and mix well to make the filling.

Fill each cabbage leaf with enough filling, and roll up.

Pour Chicken stock over rolls and steam for 15 minutes.

Serves

Homemade Salted Eggs II

Thank you Angie from Scheiderchen.de for showing how to make salted eggs without using brine. It is so convenient and easy. The eggs turned just as good as the convention way. I will start a batch every other two weeks so i will have salted eggs ready for eating all the time.

Ingredients:

9 chicken eggs
table salt
wine(i use shao xing)
one 1/2 gallon ziploc bag

Method:

Dip egg into wine until well coated, then roll it over the salt.

Put egg into ziploc bag.

Repeat the precedure with the other eight eggs.

Close ziploc bag and eggs to mature for 20 - 30 days. Eggs can be ready by 20 days but perhaps i have coated with less salt, i had to wait a few days before they are ready)

To look at pictures, check http://schneiderchen.de/forum/viewtopic.php?t=82&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=c12bda833d806dad713284ca2e2db6ba



Serves

Smiling Steamed Cakes

I cannot make Fatt Koh smiles. Why????? Renee said that i make sad cakes because i was sad. Attempt after attempt, with all sorts of recipe, blaming on everything that i can think off, still not smiling. Now, finally, had success, it's smiling but it is not Fatt Koh. It is actually sponge cake. I like this better because it has eggs and of course more nutricious than plain Fatt Koh and Renee will eat them.


Ingredients:

125 gm unbleached all purpose flour
25 gm corn flour/wheat starch
125 gm sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
100 ml carbonated soda(i use sprite)
1 tsp ovalette

Method:

Bring water in steamer to high boil.

Put in the egg tart moulds on the steamer to heat up the moulds(i put in 6 moulds in a 10 inch steamer)

Whisk all the ingredients at high speed until fluffy.

Add in flavoring and color and mix thoroughly.

When moulds are heated, place in papercups(use the new ones) and using a 1 1/2 oz ice cream scoop, scoop in the batter(it has to be 1 1/2 ozs) (if the mould size is different, make sure the batter is 90% full)

Close lid and steam for 15 minutes on high heat.(use a piece of cloth large enough to tie up the lid of steamer - to prevent condensation and drippings)

After 15 minutes, remove lid and you can't help but smile along with the 6 cakes smiling at you.

Enjoy


Serves