Beef Soup with Chilies and Tamarind – Daging Balacan

This soup from timor in eastern Indonesia has a wodersweet-sour edge to it

 

Ingredients:
8 cups (2 liters) water
2 lbs (1 kg) top round or sweeting beef
3 tablespoons oil
5 shallots, peeled
1 teaspoon dried shrimp paste (trasi), dry roasted
2 tablespoons shaved palm sugar or dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon sweet Indonesian soy sauce (kecap manis)
2 tablespoon tamarind juice
1 teaspoons  salt
2 to 3 red finger-length chilies, deseeded and sliced into strips
2 spring onions, cut into short lengths
Cooking Direction:

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the beef, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the meat is half cooked, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Remove the beef from the stock and drain. Strain and reserve the stock
2. When cool enough to handle, cut the beef into cubes. Heat 2 tablespoons, of the oil over medium heat in a skillet and pan-fry the beef until cooked, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside
3. Grind the shallots, garlic, dried shrimp paste and sugar to a smooth paste in a mortar or blender, adding a little water if necessary to keep the mixture turning. Set aside
4. Heat the remaining oil in a wok over medium heat and stir-fry the ground paste until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes, add the beef cubes and sweet Indonesian paste, until the beef Is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Adjust the taste with more salt or tamarind juice as desired, stri in the sliced chilies and spring onions, and remove from the heat. Serve hot.

American Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 Pounds lean ground beef • 1 Onion, chopped • 2 Cloves garlic, minced • 1 tbsp Chopped fresh basil • 1 tsp Dried oregano • 2 tbsp Brown sugar • 1-1/2 tsp Salt • 1 (29 ounce) Can diced tomatoes • 2 (6 ounce) Cans tomato paste • 12 Dry lasagna noodles • 2 Eggs, beaten • 1 Pint part-skim ricotta cheese • 1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese • 2 tbsp Dried parsley • 1 tsp Salt • 1 Pound mozzarella cheese, shredded • 2 tsp Grated Parmesan cheese

How to make American Lasagna:

• In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef, onion and garlic; drain fat. • Mix in basil, oregano, brown sugar, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. • Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). • Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. • Add lasagna noodles, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, drain. • Lay noodles flat on towels, and blot dry. • In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, parsley and 1 tsp salt. • Layer 1/3 of the lasagna noodles in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. • Cover noodles with 1/2 ricotta mixture, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of the sauce. • Repeat. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. • Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over the top. • Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. • American Lasagna is ready.

Spaghetti Bolognaise

Ingredients:
- 250 gr spaghetti
- grated cheese to taste

For the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 75 g onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 250 gr minced beef
- 1 tsp (pressed) pepper powder
- 1 / 3 tsp nutmeg powder
- 1 tsp (pressed) oregano + basil powder
- 100 gr tomato sauce
- 50 g tomato paste
- 100 cc broth
- salt, to taste

Directions:

    1. Boil water, boil the spaghetti until cooked and quite soft.
    2. Remove and drain with a plus 1 tablespoon butter. Stir until well blended. Set aside
    3. Make the sauce: heat the butter, saute onion and garlic until fragrant.
       Enter the minced meat, stir until meat changes color.
    4. Add spices, seasonings, tomato sauce, tomato paste, broth, and salt to taste.
    5. Stir until the meat is cooked and the flavor to infuse.
    6. Serve spaghetti with meat sauce, then sprinkle with grated cheese.

PASTA PUTTANESCA

 

INGREDIENTS:
1/8-1/4 cup pancetta, finely diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
5-8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 large can (approx 35oz) whole peeled Italian tomatoes
1 dozen oil-cured black olives, pitted and chopped
3 anchovies, finely mashed (optional)
2 tabelspoons red wine vinegar
a pinch red hot pepper flakes
2 tablespoons each fresh basil and oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (save a little for sprinkling)
1 bay leaf
Romano or Parmesan cheese (for sprinkling)
1 lb pasta, cooked according to package directions
salt and pepper, to taste

INGREDIENTS:

1/8-1/4 cup pancetta, finely diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
5-8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 large can (approx 35oz) whole peeled Italian tomatoes
1 dozen oil-cured black olives, pitted and chopped
3 anchovies, finely mashed (optional)
2 tabelspoons red wine vinegar
a pinch red hot pepper flakes
2 tablespoons each fresh basil and oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (save a little for sprinkling)
1 bay leaf
Romano or Parmesan cheese (for sprinkling)
1 lb pasta, cooked according to package directions
salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Note: If you don’t have fresh herbs available, substitute 1/2 teaspoon each dry oregano and basil.

In a large skillet, sauté pancetta over low heat in olive oil until soft and translucent; bring heat up and allow to pancetta to brown slightly on edges.

Add garlic, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, parsley and olives. Mash the anchovies well into the oil, using the tines of a fork. Tip: You can do this with the garlic after it’s cooked, too, if you want to avoid having to mince them – just leave the cloves whole and mash them into the oil when they take on a little light coloring. Be careful not to let garlic brown or the oil with be bitter.

When garlic begins to take on the slightest color and herbs permeate the air, add the can of whole tomatoes (including the juice in the can). Submerge the bay leaf in the sauce.

Simmer over medium-low heat, with just the occasional lazy bubble surfacing for 20 minutes or so, until the sauce begins to thicken slightly. Stir in wine vinegar during final 10-15 minutes of cooking. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Meanwhile, as sauce simmers, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions and drain.

In a large bowl, combine pasta with enough sauce to coat. Add a little of the pasta cooking water if sauce is too thick, or a teaspoon of olive oil. Sprinkle pasta with a little fresh parsley and cheese before serving. (Remove bay leaf before serving).

Note: Always use a good quality wine vinegar, and don’t substitute white or cider vinegar, although good balsamic vinegar or a full bodied red wine can be used for variation.

Easy Lasagna

Easy Lasagna

This is a relatively easy version of a Southern Italian Style lasagna with ricotta cheese and mozzarella. You can make it even easier by using no-boil lasagna sheets and skipping the cooking the pasta step. Some people might turn their nose up at the idea of using the no-boil pasta, but not all shortcuts are bad, and I have found that they work just fine in this lasagna.

This is a relatively easy version of a Southern Italian Style lasagna with ricotta cheese and mozzarella. You can make it even easier by using no-boil lasagna sheets and skipping the cooking the pasta step. Some people might turn their nose up at the idea of using the no-boil pasta, but not all shortcuts are bad, and I have found that they work just fine in this lasagna.

Serves 8

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped fine
1-1/4 pound ground beef
1 pound ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
5 cups marinara sauce
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese
1 pound lasagna noodles

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat olive oil in a medium sautè pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent about 5 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until browned through about 10 minutes. Drain excess fat.
2. Place ricotta cheese and eggs in a bowl, and stir togetehr until well combined.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In 3 batches add the lasagna sheets to the boiling water and cook until just under al dente. Remove the noodles from the pot using a slotted spoon, place in a colander, rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and spread out on clean kitchen towels.
4. Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of a 13x9-inch glass baking dish. Cover with a layer of 3 to 4 lasagna noodles, overlaping slightly to fit. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on the noodles, top with 1/3 of the cooked ground beef. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella over the ground beef. Top with 1 cup of the marinara sauce, sprinkle 1/4 cup of parmaggiano-reggiano and top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Repeat this 2 more times. Cover the final layer of lasagna noodles with the remaining marinara sauce and sprinkle remaining cup of mozzarella on top.
5. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil, place in oven and cook for 60 minutes. Remove foil and cook until cheese is melted about 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and let sit 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Homemade Pizza Recipe

What to do when your 8-year old nephew comes to visit? Make pizza, of course! Well, not of course, actually. I didn’t think of it until we exhausted Sorry, Monopoly, and gin rummy. But it did turn out to be a brilliant idea as dad had just received a baking stone for Christmas, and my nephew Austin loves pizza. I told him if he helped me make it and didn’t make too many faces I would put him on my website and he would be famous. That seemed to get his attention. He thought the dough was “slimy and gross” but he loved picking his own toppings, and the finished product was “awesome”.

The following method I patched together from recipes in both Joy of Cooking and Cook’s Illustrated The Best Recipe. I made two batches of dough, four pizzas in all, with varied toppings. Next time I’ll be a bit more patient with stretching out the dough so I can get it even thinner. Look to the end of this post for some excellent links about pizza from other food bloggers.

Ingredients

Pizza Dough: Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (105?F-115?F)
• 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast (check the expiration date on the package)
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour (can use all-purpose but bread flour will give you a crisper crust)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Pizza Ingrediends :

• Olive oil
• Cornmeal (to slide the pizza onto the pizza stone)
• Tomato sauce
• Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, shredded
• Feta cheese
• Mushrooms, thinly sliced
• Bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, thinly sliced
• Italian sausage, cooked ahead
• Chopped fresh basil
• Pesto
• Pepperoni, thinly sliced
• Onions, thinly sliced
• Sliced ham

Special equipment needed

1. A pizza stone, highly recommended if you want your pizza dough to be crusty
2. A pizza peel or a flat baking sheet
3. A pizza wheel for cutting the pizza, not required, but easier to deal with than a knife

Method
Making the Pizza Dough

1 In the large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid), add the warm water. Sprinkle on the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes.

2 Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for about a minute. Remove the mixing paddle and replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don’t have a mixer, you can mix and knead by hand.

3 Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place (75-85?F) until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If you don’t have a warm spot in the house you can heat the oven to 150 degrees, and then turn off the oven. Place the bowl of dough in this warmed oven to rise.

At this point, if you want to make ahead, you can freeze the dough in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Preparing the Pizzas

1 Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 450?F for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.

2 Remove the plastic cover from the dough and punch the dough down so it deflates a bit. Divide the dough in half. Form two round balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover with plastic and let sit for 10 minutes.

3 Prepare your desired toppings. Note that you are not going to want to load up each pizza with a lot of toppings as the crust will end up not crisp that way. About a third a cup each of tomato sauce and cheese would be sufficient for one pizza. One to two mushrooms thinly sliced will cover a pizza.

4 Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a slightly floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter – 10 to 12 inches. Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. You can pinch the very edges if you want to form a lip.

5 Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings). Use your finger tips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let rest another 5 minutes.

Repeat with the second ball of dough.

6 Lightly sprinkle your pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) with corn meal. Transfer one prepared flattened dough to the pizza peel. If the dough has lost its shape in the transfer, lightly shape it to the desired dimensions.

7 Spoon on the tomato sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and place your desired toppings on the pizza.

8 Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone in the oven (watch your hands, the oven is hot!). Gently shake the peel to see if the dough will easily slide, if not, gently lift up the edges of the pizza and add a bit more cornmeal. Slide the pizza off of the peel and on to the baking stone in the oven. Bake pizza one at a time until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes. If you want, toward the end of the cooking time you can sprinkle on a little more cheese.

The Big CHOW

First introduced in 1968 by Jim Delligatti, a McDonald?s franchise owner in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, the Big Mac has forever changed the way Americans think about hamburgers?we now consume 550 million Big Macs annually. In honor of this American icon, we?ve included all the essential elements in our Big CHOW: two all-beef patties, American cheese, and, yes, even our own special sauce. Satisfy your next Mac attack at home.
INGREDIENTS

For the burger:

• 2 tablespoons Thousand Island Dressing
• 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
• 3 ounces lean ground beef
• 2 (4-inch) bottom halves of 2 sesame seed buns
• 1 (4-inch) top half of 1 sesame seed bun

To assemble:

• 1/4 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
• 1 slice American cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced sweet onion
• 4 (1/8-inch-thick) dill pickle slices

INSTRUCTIONS
For the burger:

1. In a small bowl, mix dressing with relish until evenly combined; set aside. Shape beef into 2 (4-inch-wide) patties (the patties will be very thin). Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Heat a griddle or a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add patties and press on them with a metal spatula to flatten. Cook until patties are almost done through and most of the red has turned to brown, about 4 minutes.
3. Flip patties and move to one side of the pan until second side is browned, about 1 minute more. Meanwhile, place bun halves cut side down on burger juices in the pan to lightly toast while burgers finish cooking.

To assemble:

1. Spread 1 tablespoon of the dressing mixture on 1 of the bottom bun halves, then top with 1/2 of the lettuce and cheese. Lay 1 burger patty on top of this.
2. Place remaining bottom bun on first burger patty, then spread remaining dressing mixture on the bun. Top dressing with onion and remaining lettuce. Finish off with pickle slices, remaining burger patty, and top half of the toasted bun.

Banana Pancakes Strawberry Sauce

Pancakes are delicious breakfast menu could be an alternative in the morning. One of them is Banana Pancakes Strawberry Sauce below. Pancakes and strawberry sauce can be prepared the day before and stored in the refrigerator. As for the custard filling, should be made now would be served. If the dough is less delicate pancakes, you can use a mixer and filter them. Well, here are step by step in making Pancakes Strawberry Banana Sauce.
Ingredients Recipes Pancake (pancakes) Banana Pancakes Strawberry Sauce:

    * 3 eggs, lightly beaten
    * 150 grams of wheat flour
    * 250 ml of liquid milk
    * 1 tablespoon melted butter
    * 4-5 old king banana, split lengthwise 2
    * Margarine to taste
    * Salt to taste
Recipe Ingredients spread (vla) Banana Pancakes Strawberry Sauce:

    * 100 ml of liquid milk
    * 50 grams sugar
    * 100 ml water
    * 2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
    * 1 tablespoon rhum (optional)
    * 1 / 4 teaspoon vanilla
Strawberry Sauce Recipe Ingredients Sauce Strawberry Banana Pancakes:

    * 4 tablespoons strawberry jam
    * 100 ml water
    * 100 grams sugar
    * 1 / 2 teaspoon strawberry Esen
    * 1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
How to Make Banana Pancakes Strawberry Sauce:

1. Pancakes: Mix all ingredients (except butter and banana), beat until smooth. Let stand 30 minutes.
2. Heat a nonstick omelet pan, basting with margarine thinly. Take 1 tablespoon vegetable flour batter and make  pancakes until both surfaces cooked, remove from heat.
3. Custard filling: Mix all ingredients (except rhum and vanilla) and stir well. Cook on low heat while stirring until dough is cooked and thick. Turn off heat, add the rhum and vanilla, mix well.
4. Strawberry sauce: Combine butter, water, and sugar, cook while stirring until boiling and sugar dissolves. Thicken with cornstarch solution, stir. Turn off heat, add Esen, mix well.
5. Prepare a piece of pancake, spread with custard filling, give the banana king, then roll. Place on a serving plate, flush with strawberry sauce. Serve.

Baked Lemon Chicken Recipe

Ingredients :

4	Spring chicken
2	Medium chopped onions
1	Spring onions, chopped
2	Red chilies, chopped
2 cloves	Garlic, crushed
1/4 cup	Peanut oil
1/4 cup	Lemon juice
4	Spring chicken

Method :

• Cut the chicken in half along the breast and backbone.
• Press down on each half to flatten it slightly.
• Combine the onion, spring onion, chili, garlic, oil and lemon juice in a food processor and process until smooth.
• Spoon the mixture over the chickens; cover and marinade for 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Preheat the oven to a moderate 180^oC.
• Using tongs, remove the chickens from the marinade, reserving the marinade.
• Place the chicken in a baking dish in a single layer.
• Bake for 40 minutes, or until cooked and browned, brushing occasionally with the marinade.
• Serve with rice or noodles, and a vegetable dish.

Source: indonesianrecipes.com

Spicey Beef in Coconut (Beef Rendang)

This is one of the most popular Indonesian dhises, which originated in Padang, West Sumatra, and features chucnks of beef stewed in coconut and spices.

 

Ingredients:
2 lbs (1 kg) top round or stewing beef
2 tablespoons oil
2 cup s (500 ml) coconut cream or 3 cups (750 ml) thick coconut milk
3 salam  leaves
3 kaffir lime leaves
3 fresh turmeric leaves (optional)
1 cinammon stick
2 tablespoons shaved palm sugar or dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
Crispy Fried Shallots (page 34), to garnish
Spice Paste
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
3 in (8 cm) fresh galangal, peeled and sliced
2 stalks lemongrass, thick bottom third only, outer layers discarded, inner part sliced
2 in (5 cm) fresh ginger, peeled ad sliced
6 to 8 red finger-length chilies, deseeded
12 shallots, peeled
10 cloves garlic, peeled
Cooking Direction:

1. Prepare the Crispy Fried Shallots (see our Pickles, Sambal and Dipping Sauces)
2. Cut the beef into bite-sized chunks and set aside
3. Make the spice paste by grinding all the ingredients very coarsely in a mortar or blender, adding a little coconut cream if necessary to keep the mixture turning
4. Heat the oil in a work high heat and stir-fry the Spice Paste until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the beef chunck and all the other ingredients, except the Creispy Fried Shallots, and bring to aboil, stirring constantly. Reduced the heat to medium and simmer uncovered for about 1 hour, then reduce the heat to low and continue simmering for 1 more hour, stirring from time to time until the meat is very tender and most of the liquid has evaroted. By this time, the oil will have separated from the milk. Continue to stir-fry the beef in this oil for about 25 minutes until it turns a dark brown color, ten remove from the heat.