Savory Christmas/Holiday Pie

Have no clue what to make for your New Year Party? How about making this pie? I love making savory pie and this is an easy, quiche-like pie that I prepared for our Christmas. The colorful peppers and spring onions make this pie look really festive and Christmassy. This pie can also be made into bite size appetizer using mini-tart pan. Don’t worries about making it look perfect as this pie is supposed to be rustic looking ;)

Ingredients:

Shortcrust pastry – refer to the recipe here (you can use the store bought pastry)
3 links fresh chicken sausages
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
¼ grated parmesan cheese
3 eggs
¾ cup milk
2 leeks – wash and thinly sliced
¼ chopped red pepper
¼ chopped yellow pepper
2 spring onions - cut small
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Removed sausages from it casing. Heat up a frying pan and cook the sausages until lightly brown. Add in the leeks. Continue to cook until the leeks are lightly brown. Dish out and set aside.
2. Roll out the pastry and place it on a pie dish or small tart pans. Set it aside. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degree F.
3. Combined eggs, milk together. Beat well and add in the two cheeses, salt and pepper. (go easy on the salt as the cheeses might be salty) Mix well.
4. Place the sausage and leeks into the tart shell. Pour the egg mixture into the tart shell. Top it with yellow, red peppers and spring onions.
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Serve warm.

Wishing everyone a wonderful New Year! A year full with peace, joy, health and wealth.

Mongolian Beef

This is another Chinese American classic dish here in United State. I am not sure how the name of this dish come about as neither the ingredients nor preparation methods applied have anything in common with traditional Mongolian Cuisine. Mongolian beef consists of sliced beef coated with dark sweet sauce. The best part of this dish is you can tailor it to to suit your taste and you can even add some vegetables to it. I cut back on the sugar as I always find the one serve at the restaurant too sweet for my liking.

Ingredients:

½ pound of beef tenderloin or flank steak
1 medium size onions - quartered
2 stalk of green onions – cut into 1” length
1 small carrot – peels and thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 tsp of chopped ginger
2 tbsp of soy sauce
Dash of pepper
Some cornstarch – for coating

Sauce:

1 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of sweet dark soy sauce (kicap manis)
2 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of brown sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp sesame oil
½ cup water

1. Sliced beef across the grain into thin strips. Marinate it with 2 tbsp of soy sauce and dash of pepper for 30 minutes. Mix the sauce ingredients together and set it aside.
2. Heat up wok or non-stick pan add in about ½ cup of oil. Coat the beef with some cornstarch. When the oil is hot and ready add in the beef and fry until it changes color. This will take about 1-2 minutes. Remove the beef and drain on paper towel.
3. Remove the oil and leave about 2 tbsp of oil in the same wok for stir-frying. Add in the garlic and ginger. Stir-fry until fragrant and add in the onion and carrot. Stir-fry for a minute.
4. Add in the sauce and bring it up to a boil. Add in the beef and continue to stir until sauce reduce and thickens. Check seasonings and add in the spring onions.
5. Dish out and serve with warm rice.

Results of the Christmas Giveaway

I am sure you are eager to know the results of the Christmas Giveaway. I really appreciate your participation and kind comments as I never knew there are so many people reading my blog. It is really fun reading all your kind comments.

By using ‘Random Number Generator’ I type in number 1 to 146 (total comments) and let it drawn the winners.

The first winner is commenter No: 17 (Mangocheeks)




The second winner is commenter No: 51 (Sunshine)




The third winner is commenter No: 2 (Michelle)



Congratulations to the winners and I will email you soon for your address.

Chocolate Truffles

Here’s an easy Chocolate Truffles that we love and I know you will too. These bite size handmade truffles are rich, elegant and stylish. They are great as holiday gifts or even for parties. Instead of picking up a box of chocolate from the chocolate shop why not make it yourself. They are simply delicious and surprisingly easy to make. You can add any flavors to the chocolate from citrus peel, coffee, spices, vanilla or liqueur. While cocoa powder is the traditional used for coating, these truffles can also be coated in confectioners’ sugar, toasted and chopped nuts, shredded coconut or even shaved chocolate.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp of Bailey’s or any flavor you like
Toasted chopped nuts, cocoa power, chopped candies etc (for coating truffles)

1. Over medium heat brings the cream to a boil to boil. . Immediately pour hot cream over the chocolate and stir until smooth.
2. Stir in the Bailey’s. Refrigerate until chocolate mixture until it is firm enough to roll into balls. It might take2 hours.
3. Using a small melon baller or ice cream scoop, form 1” balls. Then place the truffle into the prepared coating. Move the truffle around to coat. Place the truffles in small paper cups and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.