Saturday, 18 April 2020

Sweet & Sour Meatballs


Scrolling thru Facebook and I found this recipe.

Looks pretty easy to make.  This is also something that could be made in advance so that you can have this for lunch later on, while some of us are still working from home.

Ingredients

Meatballs
1 pound hamburger
2 eggs
1 cup panko or bread crumbs
1 small onion, minced or grated
1-2 garlic cloves (minced) or 1 Tbsp mixed spice with garlic
freshly ground pepper to taste

Sweet & Sour Sauce
½ cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup White Vinegar
1 cup Water or Pineapple Juice
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 tsp Soya Sauce
¼ cup ketchup

Stuff you will need

Mixing bowl
Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
Sauce pan
Whisk
Dutch oven or Slow Cooker

Directions

For the meatballs. Mix all ingredients with your hands. Form into meatballs, place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

For the sauce. Mix all ingredients for the sauce in the sauce pan. Then turn the burner to medium heat on the stove.  Heat till thick and bubbly.  Pour the sauce over cooked meatballs.

Add chunked green/red peppers, onions and pineapple as desired.

Bake at 350 for 30 mins until vegetables are tender in the Dutch Oven, or place in slow cooker on high for 2 hrs.

Serve over rice.

Comments and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome!

Sponge Toffee


Back on the internet again.

During the isolation for Covid-19, a lot of recipes are popping up on Facebook.  I can remember one evening when my father would have made this.  I was AMAZED that my father could cook this.


Ingredients

3 1/2 Cups of Sugar
1 1/2 Cups of Corn syrup
1 Cup of water
1 1/2 Tablespoon Honey
5 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar


Stuff you will need

Sauce Pan - minimum 4 quarts
Wooden Spoon
Lasagna Pan
Parchment paper
Crisco grease (lard)
Spatula
Candy Thermometer


Directions

Ahead of time.
Get the honey ready to go.
Mix the Baking Soda and Cream of Tartar
Grease the lasagna pan and line with parchment paper

Put in a pot, 4 quart size, NO smaller, in the following order:
Water
Sugar
Corn syrup

Do NOT stir or mix.

Put cooking thermometer in pot. ( one that goes to 150 degrees C. Or 300 F. ). When temperature reaches 284 F or 140 C, add the honey and mix in with the spatula.

When temperature reaches 300 F or 150 C, take off stove then sprinkle the Baking Soda & Cream of Tartar mixture on top then stir with the wooden spoon for about 30 Seconds. 

Pour into a lasagna pan, that was greased and lined with parchment paper. It is going to puff up.  

Leave to harden for about 1-2 hours.



PRO TIP
Smash up the Sponge Toffee into larger chunks and dip the Sponge Toffee into melted chocolate.  

The bigger pieces, this would be your poor man's Crunchie Bar.  But the really small pieces, it would be your poor man's Toblerone Bar.

Comments and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome.

Sunday, 5 April 2020

Dutch Oven Bread (Recipe #2)


OK, so were all stuck inside due to the Covid-19 virus and everyone seems to be baking and cooking up a storm.

I really do like sourdough bread, but who has the time (no pun intended) to make the starter and keep that going?

The other recipe I have, takes about 12 to 18 hours.  Yea, I can do that, BUT, why not have some bread while it's still breadfast?


Ingredients

1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 pack dry active yeast, about 2 1/4 teaspoons
4 cups flour + some for dusting
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Lukewarm water add a splash extra if needed
1 egg
1 tablespoon Olive Oil + for greasing


Stuff you will need

Kitchenaid stand mix with dough hook, or strong arms
Large mixing bowl


Directions

In a mixing bowl, stir yeast packet into a warm to touch milk and sugar, and allow yeast to bloom for about 5 minutes. When it starts to bubble and foam it means the yeast is active and ready to be used.


In your stand mixer, mix together flour and salt, then create a small well in the middle and pour in the milk and yeast mixture.


Mix one egg with warm water to warm up cold egg, and add to the flour.

Using your stand mixer, (or wooden spoon or spatula) start combining everything. Once combined, knead the dough, when it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl it is ready to rest. 


Knead for about 5 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour, a couple of tablespoons at a time and vice versa, add a splash more water if it’s too dry. Drizzle olive oil and tap/glaze all over the dough.


Cover the bowl with a large kitchen towel and let it rise until it doubles in size. It takes about 2 hours, sometimes less if the house is warmer.




Uncover the dough and give it a few pokes with your finger. If the dough has risen properly it should indent under the pressure of your fingers and slowly deflate.

Using your hand fold the dough. Light pressure-kneading. Add more flour until it comes together. Cover and let it rise for one more hour. You may leave it for up to 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 F

Once the dough has doubled in size one more time, knead it again just to shape it.

Line the dutch oven with wet parchment paper and place your dough in the middle. Sprinkle the top with a bit of flour and score lines on top. It’s not necessary but it looks better. 

As the bread bakes, it will expand and those scored lines will become more visible.


Bake for about 45 minutes, removing the lid completely for the last 10 minutes. This will allow the bread to get a deeper color and crispier.

Remove bread from a dutch oven, wrap it in the kitchen towel and let it cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Trust me on this one. If you cut it when the bread is hot it will become sticky inside so better wait for just a bit.



Pro Tips

You may skip the egg. 

You may use water instead of milk. 

The outcome of the bread depends on the water temperature, oven, flour, yeast even air. 

You may preheat your dutch oven or you can actually make it in the regular baking pan. You do not have to use parchment paper, substitute pam cooking spray. 

If you going to make a larger bread, add 6 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon Salt and enough liquid to make it wet enough. I would say about 2 1/2 cups. Everything else is the same.

Thin, or softer dough, in a warm kitchen, will rise in about 45 minutes, or less.

A firmer dough, with less moisture, will take longer to rise.

Comments and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome!