Small Lemon Pound Cake

Pound cake is traditionally made with equal amounts of butter, eggs, and flour. The typical pound cake is dense and dusted with powdered sugar or glaze. Over time, bakers will change the ingredients of pound cake. The variations of pound cake come from different countries.  The add-on ingredients into the pound cake will change the flavor and taste depending on the countries or bakers making pound cake .I posted a few recipes of pound cake before. However, I always find an easier way to bake because I am not a baker. If you are an amateur baker, you have come to the right place. This recipe is for a small pound cake that I created today. 

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

1 ½ cups self-rising flour

1 tsp zest of lemon

Wet ingredients:

1 stick of butter (softened to room temperature)

2 eggs room temperature

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar (your choice of sweetness taste)

Equipment : 8” x 4” loaf pan and piece of parchment paper to cover the bottom of the loaf pan

Use a small amount of soft butter to grease the pan.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine all the wet ingredients in a KitchenAid® mixer or blender to beat the wet ingredients for 5 minutes or until well combined and having a pale color.

Add the dry ingredients and turn the machine to slow to mix the flour, egg, and butter mixture until no traces of flour are seen.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes depending upon the temperature variations of each oven. You can check by using a toothpick inserted into the center which should come clean.

Tip; I use lemon zest and juice for this pound cake. You can add raisins, cranberries, blueberries, bananas, or any kind of flavor that you desire. 

Do not add more than a cup of fresh fruit or dry fruit for this size of pound cake.

Stuffed Chicken Wings

Chicken wings stuffed with meat is a dish that I really like. This was also a very popular appetizer dish of the "Vietnam Little Home  restaurant", which was my family’s restaurant in Chicago for more than 15 years. My mom created a recipe for this chicken wing dipping sauce that no one can replace, and she was very proud to keep it a secret even with me until she retired and closed the business. During the Little Home days, each time about 500 pieces of chicken wings were deboned. The time to remove the bones from the chicken wings is also a process that requires patience; otherwise, the chicken wings will be torn and not looking good. One time when I deboned a chicken wing, my thumb was cut very deeply. Lorin was a friend then and now, my husband, had to take me to the hospital to have this cut stitched up. It's still a scar on my thumb. It is a sweet memory every time I look at this scar. For this recipe, I'm not going to show you how to remove the bone from the wing because there are many details as well as the right knife to do the job. You should go to a trusted site on YouTube to learn how to debone chicken wings, it will be safer. My mother is almost 94 years old this year, so I just want to introduce a dish that my mother loved very much in the days when our restaurant was still open. I hope everyone will accept this dish with a simple recipe that I can remember so that it can be presented at your parties.

Ingredients:

10 chicken wings (skin on, washed, and deboned)

The fillings:

½ lb. of ground turkey, chicken, or pork

2 oz. of glass noodles, soaked for 15 minutes

4 wood ear mushrooms, soaked for 15 minutes

1 carrot, finely diced (about 1 cup)

1 cup cabbage, finely diced 

1/2 white onion, diced

2 garlic cloves,, minced

Seasoning:

1 tsp. salt, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, and fish sauce

For the breading:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup rice flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

Salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, and onion powder to taste

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

For the sauce:

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 shallots, minced

1/4 cup honey or sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

2 tbs oyster sauce

Others:

2 cups of vegetable oil for deep frying

Directions:

To make the fillings:

Chop the glass noodles and wood ear mushrooms after soaking them. In a medium bowl, combine all the filling ingredients and mix well . Adjust the seasonings for your taste. I use almost 1 tsp for each.

Stuff the filling inside each wing.

Bring a steamer to boil and steam the wings for 20 minutes. Afterwards, let wings cool completely.

While the wings are cooling, make the breading.

In one bowl, combine the flours and cornstarch together with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, onion powder.

Using another bowl, whisk to combine the eggs and milk.

After the wings are cooled off, roll each wing twice: first in the egg-milk mixture and then the flour mixture. Repeat the process until all the wings are well coated with the flour.

Bring the oil to 375° and fry the wings until golden brown. 

Serve with the dipping sauce.

To make the sauce:

In a sauté pan, add 1/4 cup oil and fry the garlic and shallots until fragrant. Add vinegar, hoisin sauce, ketchup. oyster sauce, and water. Bring to boil . Adjust the seasoning with honey or sugar to suit your taste. Cook the sauce for 10 minutes. When serving, add hot fresh chili or Sriracha hot sauce.

Turkey Meatballs

Actually, this is the recipe for beef balls that I use when eating with Vietnamese noodle soup called "pho”. However, I have been a vegetarian for a long time, and vegetarian pho is one of my favorite dishes. Sometimes when I eat vegan pho, I still want to add a few beef balls. It did give me a little guilty feeling because what makes me want to become a vegan is for health reasons and  beef is the first protein source that I had to let go. I know that I still have a long way to go to become a complete vegan. For that, I use turkey meat instead of beef.  I also use ground turkey meat that is sold at Costco or Sam’s Club. The traditional way to make beef balls gives the best texture and flavor. I am very happy with the result of the turkey meatballs because it I can get lovely and bouncy balls . This meatball is served with clear broth in addition to the meal, so today I will share this recipe and hope that you can be successful as well.

Ingredients:

 2 pounds of ground turkey

Liquid seasoning ingredients:

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil or grape seed oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp sugar 

1 tsp chicken powder

2 tsp baking powder

2 tbs potato starch

2 tsp minced garlic

Directions:

Place turkey in a medium size container with lid.

Combine the liquid seasoning ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Pour the liquid seasoning mixture into the ground turkey and mix until all the liquid is absorbed. Cover the lid and freeze the marinated turkey for 1 hour.

Place chilled turkey in a food processor and use the pause function to grind the meat for 10 minutes. Remove the meat and freeze again for 30 minutes. After the second time, repeat in the same manner and freeze again. After the third time, blend the meat until it is a sticky paste and not runny.

Shape into balls by using a small ice cream scoop or spoon. Use which way to make the balls that is easier for you. Bring a pot of water to boil and drop each ball into the boiling water. When the meatballs float on the surface it is done. Prepare a large bowl of cold water and scoop up the cooked balls and drop into the cold water. Drain well.

The meat balls are ready to serve.

Easy Asian Stir Fry Sauce

Stir-fried dishes are most popular in Asian cuisines. Making a stir-fried dish requires having a good stir fry sauce. Now most grocery stores sell already-made stir fry sauce with very famous brand names, such as Panda, Yan Can Cook, or other famous chefs. I love stir-fried dishes because they are easy to put together for a quick dinner with very few ingredients. I will share this easy recipe for making stir fry sauce at home, and most of the ingredients are already in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

 1/2 cup water 

2 tbs cornstarch

1 tbs mushroom seasoning or chicken powder

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tbs fish sauce

1/4 cup honey

2 tbs sesame oil

1/4 cup oyster sauce

2 tbs rice vinegar

1 tbs chilli flakes

2 tbs shaoxing cooking wine

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in a jar with lid and shake well. 

You also can put all the ingredients in a bowl and use a whisk to whisk until all is dissolved.

Place the jar sauce in the refrigerator. It will last for months.

Tips: omit the fish sauce and add 1 tsp salt for vegans. Also use mushroom sauce instead of oyster sauce.

Use brown or granulated sugar instead of honey.

Add minced garlic and minced fresh ginger for each stir-fried dish (about 1 tsp each).

Quick Cranberry Raisin Bread

After Thanksgiving, there will certainly be many ingredients left over to make dishes on this day. Cranberries are one of those ingredients because we sometimes tend to buy more cranberries than are needed for that day.  So this quick bread recipe is one of those recipes for a quick and delicious cranberry makeover. This is a super easy quick bread for breakfast or a snack for an afternoon tea party. This recipe uses most of the ingredients that remain in your kitchen and is so easy to follow, and the result will be a pleasure for novice bakers.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup brown or granular sugar

1 ½ cups of fresh cranberries, roughly chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

Wet ingredients:

1 egg

1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

3/4 cup butter milk or milk

1 tsp vanilla

Equipment:

8” x 8” loaf pan 

1 tsp soft butter (to grease the above pan)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Use soft butter to grease the loaf pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and whisk well.

In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and whisk well. You can use a hand-held beater to do this job.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the egg and milk mixture into the flour mixture. Use a spatula to mix the batter until well combined. Do not overmix the batter; stop when you can see no more traces of flour.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the test of a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Enjoy when it is still warm.