Pancake Mix Cookies

One day after dinner at Nana’s house, everyone was craving sweets.  I looked in the pantry, no baking powder.  Right then, an idea came to me.  Pancake mix has everything a cookie needs.  This is how this cookie was discovered.  Oh, and after everybody ate the whole basket of cookies in 2 minutes, I realized that I had forgotten to mix in the eggs, but it works!!!

Ingredients

Butter                           ½ cup

Powdered sugar            ¼ cup

Pancake mix               1 ½ cups

Mini chocolate chips      ¼ cup

Pecan, broken                ¼ cup

Directions:

1. Cream butter and powder sugar in a mixing bowl. 

2. Using a rubber spatula, fold the pancake mix into the butter mixture, do not overmix. 

3. Add the mini chocolate chips and broken pecans, mix a bit, then form little balls with hands, place onto parchment paper lined baking sheets, bake at 350°F/180°C for about 9 minutes, then turn the baking sheet around, bake an additional 2 minutes.

4. Place the cookies onto wired rack to cool. 

Serving: 12

* PS. Cookies varied depending on the types and brands of pancake mixes.  It also matter how the butter is creamed.  It doesn’t really make a difference here because we have cookie monsters in the house!!!

Pineapple Cheeseburger

Last week, when everyone was hanging out near the kitchen and garage in the front yard, a guy with a refrigerated delivery truck came to the house and asked if we’d be interested in buying some frozen packed beef.  In the end, we bought $150 worth of all kinds of different meat, a big box full.  There were fillet mignon wrapped in bacon, hanger steak, carne asada, teriyaki marinade beef…etc.  One of them was steak hamburger patties.  Okay, let’s make some burgers!!! Fried eggs and grilled pineapple are traditional ingredients to put into a burger.  Here is my favorite way to eat a burger!!

A Ingredients

Hamburger pattie                     4 pieces

Cheese                                      4 slices

Canned sliced pineapple           4 slices

Hamburger buns                        4 pieces

Lettuce                                      4 slices

Tomato slices                            4 slices

Fried eggs                                  4 pieces

B Ingredients

Mayonnaise             to taste

Ketchup                  to taste                                                *my burger assembly station!!!

1. Grill the hamburger meat in a skillet until desired state, place a slice of cheese onto the meat when flipped to cook the second side, to let the cheese melt. 

2. Grill the pineapple slices in the same skillet until caramelized a bit on both sides. 

3. Separate the burger buns and toast in a toaster a bit, spread with mayonnaise and ketchup, then place a piece of lettuce, tomato slice, hamburger meat with cheese, grilled pineapple, and fried egg, replace the top, serve hot with some fries or onion straws. 

Serving: 4

*Double Bacon cheeseburger!!!

Almond Milk Bake

I noticed there is lots of almond milk for sale in the super markets lately.  Unfortunately, those store-bought almond milk tastes nothing like this one here.  It’s sweet, thick, and creamy,  and the puff pastry makes the elegant touch.  Almond has the medicinal value of soothing the throat.  This almond milk is the perfect drink in this annoying allergy season!!!

A Ingredients

Ginkgo nuts                            1 package

Water                                      1 cup

Sugar                                      3 tablespoon

B Ingredients

Almond milk powder               6 tablespoon

Dry milk powder                      3 tablespoon

Sugar                                         1 tablespoon

Water                                        2 cups

C Ingredients

Puff pastry, cut out          2 pieces

Egg                                 1 piece

Water                             1 tablespoon

Sliced almond                 1 tablespoon

Directions:

1. Put all A ingredients in a small soup pot, bring to a boil and turn the heat down to low, cook about 10 minutes, drain and set aside. 

2. Preheat oven to 400°F. Bring B ingredients in a small sauce pan to a boil, add the Ginkgo nuts, cook an additional 2-3 minutes. 

3. Beat the C ingredient egg and water together to create an egg wash.  Pour the almond milk into soup bowl, brush the egg wash onto the rims of the soup bowls, place the puff pastry cut out onto the soup bowl, brush more egg wash onto the puff pastry, sprinkle with sliced almond. 

4. Bake at a 400°F oven for about 14-15 minutes, serve hot. 

Servings: 2

Tropical Scones

Scones are very versatile.  One can add almost anything to create flavor and texture.  This tropical fruit scone is flaky and delicious with a hint of apricot, pineapple, peach, and papaya.  It’s the tropics in a bit!!

A Ingredients

All-purpose                 230 g      

Baking powder               2 teaspoons           

Kosher salt                     ½ teaspoon

Sugar                               2 tablespoon

B Ingredients

Orange zest                                              1 orange (med.)

Unsalted butter, cubed                            ½ cup       

Tropical dried fruits, soaked, drained     ½ cup

Buttermilk                                             2/3 cup

C Ingredients

Buttermilk                         2 tablespoon

Raw sugar                         2 tablespoons

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Sift A Ingredients into a mixing bowl, mix in the orange zest, then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembled bread crumbs.  . The smallest crumbs should be the size of a sweet pea，stir in the dried fruits. 

2. Pour 2/3 cup buttermilk into the dry ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula until all loose powders are incorporated.  Do not over mix. 

3. Put the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball.  Pat the dough down into a thin disk, fold the thin disk in half, pat down some more.  Using a small biscuit cutter, cut the disk into 36 rounds.  Set the scones on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and brush the top with C buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar. 

4. Bake at 425°F for 9-11 minutes until golden brown. 

Serving: 3 dozen

Lemony Fish Steak

This is probably one of the quickest dinners one can prepare.  Place the frozen fish steak package in the frig to thaw when you leave for work in the morning, it’s the perfect hardness when you get home.  But as far as fish goes, I still prefer fresh, non-frozen kinds.  Bought this one at Trader Joe’s frozen food section, wasn’t impressed. 

A Ingredients

Fish steaks              2 pieces

Salt and pepper         to taste

B Ingredients

Butter                    ¼ cup

Lemon zest             1 teaspoon

Minced parsley       1 tablespoon

Lemon pepper         1 teaspoon

C Ingredients

Spaghetti, cooked                   2 cups

Whipping cream                     2 tablespoon

Parmesan cheese, grated          2 tablespoon

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Sprinkle with salt and pepper onto the fish steak, let sit 10 minutes.

2. Mix all B ingredients in a small mixing bowl, spread onto fish steak, both sides.

3. Heat up a skillet, cook the fish steaks until golden, then turn the other side, around 5-10 minutes each side, depend on the thickness of the fish steak.

4. Using a spatula, scoop out the fish steaks onto dinner plates, add all C ingredients into the same skillet, stir to blend, serve hot. 

Servings: 2

White Chocolate Macadamia Nuts Cookies

The trick for more 3D cookies was to pile in more macadamia nuts. 

My godmother, Michelle travels to Hawaii once a year and she always brings back these coconut macadamia nut chocolates for me and a big bag of genuine macadamia nuts from the islands.  For some reason, these nuts taste a lot better than the mainland macadamia nuts.  Seriously, these cookies are divine!!!

Ingredients

Unsalted butter                  ½ cup

Sugar                                  ½ cup

Egg                                      1 piece

Vanilla Extract                    1 teaspoon

All-purpose flour             1 ¼ cups

Baking Soda                       ½ teaspoon

Salt                                      ½ teaspoon

White Chocolate Chips        1 cup

Macadamia Nuts               1-2 cups

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugar in a electric mixer until combined, add egg and vanilla extract, proceed until blended.  Add sifted flour, baking soda, and salt.  Gently fold until mixed in, then fold in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
2. Drop teaspoon size balls of batter onto a baking sheet, bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes, let cool 5 minutes and transfer to wired rack.

Servings: 3 dozens. 

Pasta Monte Carlo

My good friend Raquel and I helped clean an old lady’s house the day before Mother’s day this year.  Well, she took her out to perm her hair for 4 hours; I stayed and cleaned.  Jason, the old lady’s grandson, is a good friend of mine.  We call this old lady, Nana, we are officially her adopted grand daughters.  After a whole day of sorting and cleaning, Nana was grateful to have her bedroom back, neat and clean.  Jason took us out to an Italian dinner at a restaurant.  Their food was so good.  This is my version of their Pasta Monte Carlo.

Ingredients

Ground beef               ½ lb

Ground pork               ½ lb

Pesto                            1 cup

Thai basil leaves         ½ cup

Salt and pepper            to taste

Pasta, cooked              to taste

Red chili flakes            to taste

1. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a frying pan, add the ground pork and beef to cook, try to break up the bigger pieces and mix the two kinds of meat, around 3-4 minutes.  Pick up the pan and pour the excess oil out, then add the pesto sauce and Thai basil leaves to blend along with salt and pepper, place the lid on for a couple of minutes to marry all the flavors together.

2. Pour the meat sauce onto cooked pasta, sprinkle with red chili flakes and parmesan cheese, or like me, Pecorino Ramono. 

Serving: 4

Mung Bean Pastry

Mung bean paste has been used in dessert making for centuries.  We here in the US aren’t very familiar with it.  This is a great starter for any parties. 

I made this dessert from memory.  My family used to like this Chinese buffet restaurant in our city.  My father loved this mung bean pastry, only available during lunch hours.  He used to clear the whole tray of it once they come out.  We sadly discovered that they no longer had this dish after ownership changed.  So here it is, I’m glad to have been able to please my father with his good old favorites!!

A Ingredients

Mung bean, de-skinned       250 g

White sesame oil                   10 g

Peanut oil                               30 g

Sugar                                    190 g

1. Soak the mung bean in water for 90 minutes, drain, steam for around 15-20 minutes until the beans are tender. 

2. Heat the white sesame oil and peanut oil in a frying pan, add the steamed mung bean and sugar to pan, stir to blend until the mixture resemble a paste, can be made into a ball. 

B Ingredients

Puff pastry sheets, thawed        2 sheet

Egg                                          1 piece

Water                                       1 tablespoon

Black sesame                           1 teaspoon

1. Preheat oven 400°F. Beat the egg and water in B ingredients to make an egg wash. 

2. Cut each puff pastry sheet into 9 equal squares, place a long piece of mung bean paste. Using fingers, pick up the two corners and fold in the center, place onto baking sheet, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with black sesame. 

3. Bake in the oven for 13 minutes, turn the baking pan around, bake an additional 3-4 minutes until golden brown.  Place onto wired rack to cool.

Serving: 18

Steak au Poivre Quiches

This recipe has been brewing in my mind for quite some time.  How can I make ordinary quiches look pretty and taste delicious? Add steak au poivre to it was the answer.  It was an instant hit at my English afternoon tea party.  Plus, this dish looked awesome on my three tier tea towers.  

A Ingredients

Butter                          1 cup

Cream cheese              6 oz

All purpose flour         2 cups

B Ingredients

Eggs                        3 pieces

Half & half              1 cup

Salt                          ¼ teaspoon

C Ingredients

Rib eye steak                              1 piece

Salt                                                to taste

Black pepper, coarse grind        1 tablespoon

Olive Oil                                    1 tablespoon

Directions

1. Preheat oven 375°F. Place all A ingredients into a bowl, using a pastry cutter, cut all ingredients together.  Using your hands to form a ball, then punch down and roll out with a rolling pin, around ½ inch thick, then cut out rounds with a cookie cutter and line a mini muffin baking pan with the round dough. 

2. Mix B Ingredients in a bowl, pour into the dough cups, bake at 375°F for 18 minutes or until golden. 

3. Meanwhile, prepare the steak.  Sprinkle the steak with salt and pepper, let sit a few minutes, then heat up the olive oil in a griddle and cook until medium.  Remove from pan and let rest for about 10 minutes before cutting into cubes, reserve pan juice.

4. Place 3-4 cubes of steak onto the baked quiches, drizzle with pan juice, if the juice is too thin, can cook a bit longer to reduce. 

Servings: 12