Bacon Chive Cheese Balls,Chicken, Corn and Tofu Soup,Pumpkin
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Bacon Chive Cheese Balls This is another version of the Brazilian cheese balls or “pão de queijo”, and of course has an Asian twist since glutinous flour is added to the tapioca flour in order to give a softer and slightly chewy texture. Since the combination of green onion or chives and bacon is so good in biscuits, I thought why not adding these into the original cheese balls…so this new version of pão de queijo was born. These little treats are great because they can be made in advance and kept frozen until you are ready to serve. Just pop these at a preheated oven and they are ready in no time. I have these (all kind of versions) in my freezer year around and some of our friends always request when they come to see us…and sometimes I have the feeling that they are visiting us so they can have some of these cheese balls. I made 3 kinds, plain, bacon and chive with bacon…so it is up to you…but I must admit that after tasting the chives with bacon, the plain ones tasted pretty plain. Ingredients: 4 cups tapioca flour 1 cup glutinous flour 6 eggs 2/3 cup vegetable oil (sunflower, canola or corn) 1 ½ cups water 1 ½ teaspoons salt 1 cup parmesan cheese 12 oz munster cheese (can be substituted by parmesan cheese) 1 small bunch chive chopped finely and sauté in ½ tablespoon oil until golden and fragrant. I used the ones that I have grown in pots, you can do that too, please check Growing Green Onions. 1/3 cup of bacon, finely chopped and fried until crispy. Drain the fat and patch the bacon bits in paper towel to remove the excess of fat. I used the homemadeBacon Bits. Method: In a small pan add water, oil and salt, bring to boil. In the mixer bowl add all the flours and carefully add boiling water to the mixture. Mix gently until most of the liquid is absorbed by the flour mix. Add one egg and some of the cheese, mix until the egg is incorporated to the dough, add another egg and more cheese. Repeat until all the egg and cheese are added to the dough. At this point you can make the plain cheese balls by using two spoons, dip the spoons in the water before scooping the dough. Use one spoon to scoop and the other one to push the dough on cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. To the 2/3 remaining dough add the bacon, mix well and scoop making into small balls. To the half remaining dough add the chives, mix and add scoop into small balls. Leave 1 ½ inch of space between the balls. When scooping the dough there is no need to make them a perfect, once in the oven the little balls will puff up and trust me they all will be rounded. Bake the cheese balls in a preheated oven at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes. To freeze the cheese balls… Place the cheese balls in the freezer and let them freeze for approximately 3 hours or until totally frozen. Remove from the cookie sheet and store in an airtight container or freezer plastic bags. When ready to bake, pop these cheese balls in a 350F preheated oven for approximately 30 to 35 minutes. For a crispy cheese balls, just increase the temperature to 400F for 5 more minutes. Serve hot or warm. If you enjoy this recipe you might want to try the Brazilian version or the simple Asian version. Did you know that pão de queijo in Brazil is a very popular for breakfast or as snack? As a matter of fact there is a very popular store called “Casa de Pão de Queijo” which translates into House of Cheese Bread, specializing with this cheese bread. Thanks for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful day! Chicken, Corn and Tofu Soup This is an Asian inspired chicken soup with corn and small chunks of tofu. The soup is hearty and sooth you during cold days. It sure makes a great meal. I have been battling a very bad flu/cold for almost two weeks…after lots of soup and tea, I feel much better although still not totally recovered. So this week I am sharing a soup recipe. This is a very simple and easy recipe…and it is great at anytime of the year, especially now that is cold, not that it is so cold here in California as compared to some places in US… This soup is a meal by itself…each and every spoonful of this soup you will taste the soft tofu, tender chicken with the crunchy corn, all together in a flavorful chicken broth and a touch of the sesame oil…yum! You can call this corn chowder with an Asian touch… By the way, for all my friends out there celebrating the passage of the lunar year…HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! Ingredients: 1 chicken bread cut into small cubes ½ tablespoon olive oil 1 ½ tablespoon corn starch 1 can of corn 2 cans chicken broth of your choice 1 small block of tofu, cut into small cubes 1 carrot cut into small cubes Salt and white pepper to taste 1 egg slightly beaten 1 tablespoon sesame oil Cilantro to garnish Method: Is a small bowl, place the chicken in cube, salt, pepper, olive oil and half of the corn starch. Mix until all the chicken is coated with the corn starch. Set aside. In a pan place the chicken broth and let it boil. Add the carrots, then the chicken. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, add the corn (drained) and the tofu. Let it boil. In the meantime dissolve the remaining cornstarch in ¼ cup water. Once the soup starts to boil, gently and with constant stirring add the cornstarch diluted in water. This with slightly thicken the soup. Let it boil. Add the beaten egg and mix gently after 30 seconds. Drizzle sesame oil, remove from the heat. Garnish with fresh cilantro and white pepper. Serve hot. I hope you enjoy this simple recipe…in case you want a more hearty soup you might want to check on Black Eyed Pea Soup recipe. Did you know that tofu was originated in China? Tofu has high content of protein and low calorie and fat, therefore considered as healthy food. Have a wonderful week and thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes! Pumpkin Sandwich Bread This is an Asian inspired recipe for sandwich bread using pumpkin puree. The bread is soft, pillowy and stays moist for many days because of the tangzhong method. Thank you all for the nice words of support on my first post as “Color Your Recipes”, you all have been very kind and encouraging…thank you! Before I share this post, as you might know Philippines was hit by a big typhoon Haiyan, and Tina fromPinay Cooking Corner is having a online bake sale to support the victims, please hop to her site for the details. Now to the post…I could not let this month flyaway without posting something with pumpkin…so here I am… This sandwich bread is so soft and cottony…delicious for any kind of sandwich, and because I did not add any spices the pumpkin puree just gives color to the bread which believe me it is very attractive…I don’t know if it is proper English to call a bread “attractive”… it is so good that I already baked 4 loaves of this bread. I use the water roux method to accomplish the Asian bread texture, because the pumpkin puree contains water I just added less water to the dough. You want the dough to be slightly sticky, so the “cottony” texture can be achieved. When baking sandwich bread, In this recipe I used my 1 lb Zojirushi bread machine and Pullman loaf pan. Before I go on with the recipe, the new issue toDesserts Magazine is out…and again it is free for a while…so if you are interested, check on the link, you might find something for your sweet tooth before membership is required in order to browse the magazine. Ingredients: Water Roux or Tangzhong 15 g bread flour 75 g water Main dough 150 g pumpkin puree 2½ cup bread flour 1 tablespoon sugar 2 tablespoon dry milk ½ teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon dry yeast ¼ cup water 1½ tablespoon butter Method: Water roux In a small pan, mix all the ingredients of water roux, place in a low heat and stir constantly until the temperature reach 65C (150F), or if you do not have a thermometer, cook until ripples form. Set aside to cool by covering with a plastic film. Dough In the bread machine bucket, add the water roux, and all the other ingredients, except for the butter. Turn the machine to knead mode until it forms soft dough, slightly sticky. Add more water of flour as needed since the content of water will vary between different pumpkin puree. Add the butter and let it knead until the butter incorporates to the dough. Remove the dough and place in a bowl by covering with a plastic film. Let both dough proof until the dough double to its original size. Knock back the dough and split into 4 balls and let it rest for 5 minutes on the counter. Flatten the ball and shape like a Swiss roll, flat again and roll it again like a Swiss roll.