Dulce de Leche Macadamia Nut cheesecake

Got hit by the sweet tooth today... I look in my fridge and pantry and seem to find all the ingredients to make a yummy cheesecake, except that I only have 2 Philadelphia cream cheese sticks instead of 3 as required by the recipe... Oh well, I'll make do with whatever's available.
So here's the modified recipe...

For the Crust:

• 1-3/4 cups Graham Cracker crumbs
• 1 tablespoon sugar (I use Stevia as subsitute)
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

For the Filling:

• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar (I use Stevia as substitute)
• 3 tablespoons 2% milk
• 1-1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 can (about 6 oz) dulce de leche
• 1 cup Macadamia nuts

 

Directions

• Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan. In a large bowl, combine the Graham cracker crumbs, sugar,  and butter. Press onto the bottom and 2 in. up the sides of prepared pan.
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the milk, flour and vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour into crust.
• Pour dulce de leche into a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at 50% power until softened. Drop dulce de leche by tablespoonfuls over batter; cut through batter with a knife to swirl. Evenly sprinkle the Macadamia nuts.
• Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull.
• Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour long
• Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan. Yield: 10-12 servings.

Stewed Duck Noodle Soup

For Christmas I hinted to my family that any kitchen appliance would be warmly welcome...
Actually I ended up getting more golf accessories - no complaints there - but I did get this wonderful pressure cooker which also doubles up as crockpot and saute pan...

Today, I'm trying out my new pressure cooker. First I marinade the duck legs with some soy sauce, then I fry them in a little hot oil just to brown the skin. The duck legs are placed inside the pressure cooker and I fill with water to cover them. Then I add a couple of star anises, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 pcs of licorice root, 2 pinches of tangerine peel, 1 clove, 1 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine, 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce,  1/2 teaspoon of salt, 3 pieces of palm sugar, fresh shitake mushrooms. I carefully close the pressure cooker cover and turn the valve, and set on high pressure for 30 mn.

Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan I boil some water, then add fresh egg noodles and washed vegetable (such as Chinese spinach or Chinese broccoli) and blanch for about 10 seconds. Then I drain both the noodles and vegetable and rinse with cold water, and arrange them in soup bowls.

When time is up, I release the steam from the pressure cooker before opening it, I taste the broth and adjust the seasoning, and it's just perfect!  I arrange the tender stewed duck leg on the bed of noodles and vegetable, add the hot soup, and sprinkle with spring onions... A perfect and satisfying dish for winter!

Christmas Eve Dinner

As usual, our family gathers at my home for the Christmas Eve dinner...
To start, I have prepared some appetizers: baked Cranberry Brie, Spinach & Artichoke baked toasts, Bacon & Mushroom rolls to enjoy with drinks.
The first course is Seared Scallops and Tiger Prawns served on a bed of kataifi
The main course is Beef Wellington with Asparagus Gratin and baked sweet potatoes.
It was a beautiful dinner, filled with joy, love and great food...

Christmas Cookies

Every year I bake a storm...
There's joy in giving home-made Christmas cookies to family, friends and neighbors...
I like to try new recipes... this year I made for the first time the chocolate gingerbread men, cranberry flavored palmiers, Macadamia nut & oatmeal cookies, caramel almond cookies... but there are always a couple of old time favorites like the buttery cappucino swirls and the Florentine cookies with dried apricots, mangoes and almond slivers...

Usually the cookies don't last long at our home, and this year's no exception...

Roasted Deboned Duck Stuffed with Sticky Rice

First, my sister taught me how to debone a chicken, (warning: this is not for squirmish people). Once I get the hang of it, I graduated to deboning a duck which is much harder and time consuming, in my humble opinion.

For the stuffing, I use about 4 cups of sticky rice, 3 pan fried and sliced Chinese sausages, sliced sauteed shitake mushrooms, and mix everything together and season with some Maggi sauce. Lastly, I add a cup of frozen edamame beans, and mix well. The edamame beans add some green color and crunch to the stuffing.

I carefully scoop the stuffing into the deboned duck until filled up, then I saw the duck opening together (using a light brown thread to match the color of the roasted skin), then I truss it with kitchen thread, tucking the wing tips and legs neatly under. Then I rub the duck skin with dark soy sauce, and put it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F, and roast for about an hour and half. When ready to serve, I remove the trussing.

This dish is pretty labor intensive but is a real delicacy, and can be served warm or at room temperature. It's delicious and rich on its own, or you can add a dipping sauce. I prepared mine with plum sauce and soy sauce, and added some chopped cucumbers for crunch and minced coriander leaves.

Fresh Fish Springrolls with tamarind dipping sauce

This is a deliciously fresh dish to serve as appetizer... The rolls are made with fish fillets (I use halibut) flavored with fish sauce, sugar, turmeric and panfried with minced shallots. When the fish is cooked, I let it cool to room temperature and roll it with rice vermicelli, mint, basil leaves, coriander and lettuce, in rice wrappers.
The rolls are served with a dipping sauce made with tamarind juice, fish sauce, palm sugar and chopped chili.

Stewed Abalone served with chicken broth

I found some nice frozen abalones at the market and decided to make a soup. After rinsing and cleaning about 10 pieces of abalone, I put them in the slow cooker with a whole chicken, a piece of Virginia ham, a few slices of ginger, Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce and about 5 cups of water. After about 10 hours of slow cooking, I removed the abalones, and sliced them. To serve, I put the abalone pieces in a shot glass, and fill with the hot broth... It's a combination of delicate and complex layers of tastes...