Friday, January 10, 2014

Curry Chicken

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
  • 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
  • salt to taste
  • 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • 3/4 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces, tomato paste, yogurt, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
  2. Remove bay leaf, and stir in lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes.

Chicken Curry Satay

  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken
  • 1 tablespoon curry
  • 2 cloves crushed garlic
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 2 stalks lemon grass

Instructions

  1. Trim any fat from the chicken & slice into 1 inch strips. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, add the curry, garlic, vegetable oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, and lemon grass.
  3. Place the chicken in the mixture and marinate for at least 2 hours, overnight is best.
  4. Preheat grill to medium & thread chicken onto skewers.
  5. Place on grill, away from direct flame to prevent marinade from burning.
  6. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
  7. Serve with your favorite sauce.

Monday, January 6, 2014

How to Make Fondant from Marshmallows

Recipe
16 ounce (450g) bag of mini marshmallows
2 tablespoons (30ml) water
2 pound (900g) bag of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon (5ml) flavoring, such as clear vanilla, peppermint, amaretto, orange essence, a twist of lemon, lavender
Liquid food coloring
Vegetable shortening

Rub shortening on a large cutting board, baking sheet, or whatever work surface you're planning to use when it's time to knead and roll out the fondant dough. This is a messy job, so you'll need a big surface.

Place the marshmallows in a big microwavable bowl. Use the largest one you have that fits in the microwave. Dump all of the marshmallows into the bowl, then pour the 2 tablespoons of water on top.

Microwave the marshmallows in 30-second increments. You want to completely melt the marshmallows, but do it slowly so they won't make a mess. Check the marshmallows every 30 seconds to monitor their state, and remove the bowl from the microwave when they're melted.

Stir in the powdered sugar. Pour half the bag of powdered sugar into the marshmallow mixture, and use the spoon to mix it in. Pour in more powdered sugar and keep stirring. The mixture will become very stiff, and eventually difficult to stir with the spoon. That's when you'll want to stop adding powdered sugar. You may not need the entire bag.

Kneading and Resting the Dough


  1. Stir in the flavoring and food coloring. Now's the time to add the extract and food
    coloring you wish to use. If you don't want the whole batch of fondant to be the same color,
    separate the dough into pieces before adding different food coloring to each.

    Knead the fondant dough. Tip it out onto your work surface. Lather your hands up with plenty of shortening. Start kneading the fondant dough as you would knead bread. Keep kneading until the dough is pliable and has the consistency of real fondant; you should be able to stretch it without it tearing. You'll need to knead for 8 to 10 minutes to achieve this.

    The dough may be very hot at first, so be careful when you first start kneading. Wait a minute or two if necessary so you won't burn yourself.

    Keep the shortening nearby so you can dip your fingers in as you go; you'll need a lot throughout the process.

    If the dough seems very dry, knead in another tablespoon of water to make it more elastic.

    Rest the fondant. Form the fondant into a ball. Coat it with a thin layer of vegetable shortening. Cover it with plastic wrap so it won't dry out. Place it in the refrigerator and let it rest overnight.

    Rolling and Using the Fondant


    Roll the fondant just before you're ready to use it. Unwrap the ball from the plastic wrap and place it on a greased work surface. Use a greased rolling pin to roll it out in to a flat, thin disc that exceeds the size of the cake you want to use it to dress.

    You can use cornstarch instead of shortening on your work surface to make sure the fondant doesn't stick.

    Rolling it to a thickness of 1/16 an inch is a good bet for most cake recipes.

    Lay the fondant over the cake. Lift it using the rolling pin, then carefully transfer it to the cake so that the center of the fondant disc rests in the middle of the cake. Drape the edges of the disc over the sides of the cake. Gently press it around the cake so it stays in place with no bumps or wrinkles.

    Don't stretch the fondant at this stage, or the cake will end up with wrinkles.

    If the fondant rips while it's being transferred, you can smooth it out by gently pressing the ripped edges together.

    Trim the fondant. Use a knife to trim the fondant from around the base of the cake. Lift the trimmings away.

    Finished

Marshmallow Fondant Recipe

Elizabeth Marek’s Fondant Recipe (LMF Fondant)

2 lbs sifted powdered sugar
1 lb mini marshmallows (hy-top, walmart brand or haribo brand if you can find it. Jet puff, kraft or marshmallow fluff will not work) Make sure you are using the 1lb bag or weighing out a whole pound from two bags. Not all bags are 1 lb.
3 Tablespoons water (use only two if it is very humid in your area)
1/2 cup Shortening (or trex)
1.25 lbs of Wilton fondant or any other brand pre-made fondant (if you buy the 5 lb box, use one half of one of the packages, if you buy the 1.5 lb box, use the whole package)
Extra powdered sugar for kneading

Tools:
Stand Mixer
Large plastic bowl
Spatula
Dough hook

Weigh and sift out 2lbs of powdered sugar and set aside. Melt down 1 lb of marshmallow in large plastic bowl. Start with 1 minute, then stir, then heat in 30 second intervals until well melted and puffy. After fully heated, without stirring, pour 3 Tablespoons of water over the marshmallows and use a spatula to release the marshmallow from the bowl, letting the water move under and between the marshmallow and the bowl. The idea is to get the marshmallow unstuck from the bowl and pour it into the mixing bowl, not to stir at this point. Add the shortening into the marshmallow and turn on mixer with dough hook attached. One cup at a time, add in about half the sifted powdered sugar. Let mixture stir until shortening and powdered sugar is fully incorporated and smooth. At this point, heat up the wilton fondant in the microwave for about 40 seconds or until softened. Add a couple more cups of powdered sugar to the mixture until it begins to release from the bowl (using a spatula to guide the mixture away from the bowl helps). Put a little shortening on your hands and pull the mixture off the hook and put the whole lump into the leftover powdered sugar in the bowl. Add the wilton and then knead inside the bowl, turning the mixture over and over itself until combined.

Store in a plastic ziplock bag or use roll out and use right away.

Melting marshmallow 

1min 30sec, 30sec, 30sec

Add 3 tbsp of water 

Add 1/2 cup shortening 

Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time while mixing 

heat up the wilton fondant in the microwave for about 40 seconds or until softened.