No Knead Beer Bread

I heard about the technique of making bread without kneading dough for quite some time. It is perfect for amateur bakers like me who always feel intimidated with the process of proofing yeast and kneading dough. One day I found this website: http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2011/12/no-knead-beer-bread-my-second-favorite.htmlchef John and his tutoring helped me to understand more about the concept of making this bread. Finally, I tried this recipe, and the bread turned out perfectly beautiful and delicious.

Ingredients:
For the sponge:
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup warm water (about 100 degrees)
For the dough
12 oz can of beer (your choice)
3 1/2 cups AP flour close to 4 cup or bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, stir yeast, water and flour to make sponge. Cover with kitchen towel for 30 minutes in warm spot.

After 30 minute, 12 oz can of beer, flour and salt. Use wooden spoon to stir flour mix well with sponge.

Wet the kitchen towel with warm water and cover the dough in warm place to rise for 2 hours.

After two hours, use a spatula to go around the bowl to deflate the air bubbles and transfer dough onto a floured surface.

 Prepare a large heavy baking sheet by sprinkling it with cornmeal.
Dust your hands with flour to start shaping the dough. Shape the dough into a round or oval mound.

Sprinkle flour on top of dough. Cover dough with dry towel in warm place for another 40 minutes to an hour or until double in size.

Preheat oven to 425° and place one cup of water in small loaf pan on the bottom of the oven to create steam while baking. Use a sharp razor slit open the dough in the center, which helps dough rise while baking.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool before serving.

Classic Pear Tart

This simple pear tart is easy to make from scratch and the taste is unbelievable. Your friends will believe that you spent all day preparing it.

Ingredients:

Tart dough:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole whear flour
2 tsp sugar
Pinch of salt
4 tbs butter cut into cubes and chilled
2 tbs butter milk
3 tbs cold water

For the filling:
3 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces
1 tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbs cornstarch
3 tbs brown sugar

Directions:
Prepare baking sheet by lining a 13" x 10" baking sheet with the same size of parchment paper.
Preheat oven set for 400°
To make dough:
In a food processor, place flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse a few times to mix. Add cold butter and press start for a few seconds and stop. Add cold liquid 1 tbs at a time and pulse. When dough looks coarsely milled, then remove the dough and place onto work surface. Gather dough and form dough into a ball. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

To make the filling:
In a big bowl, combine all the filling ingredients and mix well.

Assemble tart:
This is free from tart. Use a rolling pin to roll out dough into a round shape (about 9 inch in diameter).

 Transfer dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Pour the pear filling into the center of the dough.

Fold edges around to partly cover the filling.

The shape will be whatever your skill level and experience determines (an ugly or beautiful looking tart will still taste the same). Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 350° and continue baking the tart for 25 more minutes.
Remove tart and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Tuna Stew with Coconut Juice in Clay Pot

Clay pot cooking uses an old technique now being use all over the world and has a long history stretching back to the Roman Empire. The clay pot retains heat very well. Cooking food in a clay pot is another healthy and simple way to prepare a one-pot meal. So many Asian recipes are prepared in a clay pot. In Vietnam, a clay pot is commonly used to cook food. In Vietnamese, the clay pot is called "noi dat", which means a pot made from clay or dust; A famous recipe, Ca kho to, is fish cooked in a clay pot. Another recipe is chicken & rice cooked in a clay pot. Every cook's kitchen should have one or two different sizes of clay pot because so many recipes use it. I love using it to prepare fish because it will cook on low heat, so the fish will absorb favor slowly, and the result is fantastic.
Equipment:
2 small clay pots*

Ingredients:
Two 8 oz Tuna or Cat fish
2 tbs oil
1 cup fresh pineapple cut into chunks or 1 can of pineapple chunks
1 can fresh coconut juice
1 shallot, chopped
1 tsp mushroom seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp molasses

3 green onions, cut into 3-inch lengths

Directions:
To make stew sauce:
Heat oil in clay pot over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic, and cook for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add molasses. Stir for 1 minute.

 Pour into pot the coconut juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, mushroom seasoning, salt and black pepper. Bring this sauce to boil. You will not need all the stew sauce, so the leftover sauce can be saved for another time.
Place pineapple chunks onto the bottom of each clay pot, and then the fish.

Pour stew sauce into pot. Bring to boil. Cover and turn the heat to low.

 Cook fish for 1 hour or until all the cooking liquid evaporates. You may have to uncover the pot in the last 10 minutes to help the liquid evaporate more quickly. Throw in the green onions for the last few minutes. Serve with a bowl of steamed white rice.

* I use two clay pots because I like to serve each individual.

Chocolate-Capuchino Cupcakes

This cupcake recipe can easily be converted into a large coffee cake recipe by doubling or tripling the ingredients for a large party.
Ingredients:
1 cupcake mix
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs chia seeds gel
1 tsp vanilla

 Topping:
1/4 cup coconut flakes
2 tbs chopped nuts
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs melted butter
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1tsp instant coffee
1 tsp hot water

Directions:
Preheat oven set to 350°.
Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
In a small bowl, combine coconut flakes, nuts, sugar and melted butter.
Melt chocolate chips and instant coffee in microwave until the chocolate is melted. You might need 1 tsp of hot water to make chocolate completely melt and shiny.
In a mixing bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat egg, sugar, and chia seeds gel until fluffy. First add 1/3 of cake mix into the egg mixture, followed by 1/2 of the milk and then another 1/3 of the cake mix, followed by the other 1/2 of the milk, and ending with remaining 1/3 of cake mix. Use spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Pour batter 2/3 full into the cupcake liners. Pour the chocolate-espresso into the center of the cupcake batter. Use a toothpick to swirl the chocolate around for a marble effect.

 Top with coconut mixture on top. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Terriyaki Salmon in Foil

Cod, tuna or tilapia can be substituted for salmon in this recipe.
Ingredients: (makes 2 servings)
Two 6 oz salmon fillets
3 tbs teriyaki sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp grated, pared gingerroots
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup diced green bell peppers
1/4 cup sliced bok choy
2 green onions, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven set to 400°.
In a small bowl, combine teriyaki sauce,, oil, vinegar, ginger, salt. Mix well

Spray two 12-inch-long pieces of heavy-duty foil with nonstick cooking oil. Arrange the salmon in the center of the foil.

Top with the vegetables.

Pour the teriyaki sauce marinade over the fish.
Enclose the fish in foil (folding the edges to seal).

 Set enclosed fish packets directly onto rack in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.

To serve, carefully remove packets from grill and pierce top of each packet to release steam. Open packets and transfer salmon to serving plates. Top with any remaining liquid from foil packets.

Sweet Red Bean-Coconut Buns

Most of the Asian bakeries carry this snack. The filling can be different from the sweet that I have here to the savory like the steamed BBQ pork buns that are sold everywhere. This snack is quite simple to make as long as the basic dough is made using a bread machine, but the filling can be anything that you like.
Ingredients:
Japanese milk bread (follow the basic recipe posted on 02/24/2012)
1/2 lb red bean paste (posted on 12/16/2011) or store-bought
1 cup sweet shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
To make the filling:
Mix well the red bean paste with coconut and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Roll the red bean mixture into 12 small balls (each about 2 in. diameter).

At this point, the dough is already finished kneading, mixing, and rising. Roll dough out and divide into 12 equal portions.

For buns:
Use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough out into small circles.

Place the red bean filling onto the center of a dough circle.

Wrap a dough circle to enclose the filling.

Shape a dough circle by pleating and pinching the edges to form the bun.

Make the other buns in the same manner. Let the buns stand for 20 minutes; then steam them for 15 minutes.