Moussaka version 2

Assalamualaikum and Good Day,

It's been a long time that I have last posted an entry in this blog. Sorry guys, I lost my camera and all of my latest baking project pictures, hwaaa!!

Therefore, as you might have noticed, there are no pictures whatsoever in this post.

Sigh.. :(

Anyway, on a positive note, referring to my last entry, I have done many more moussaka's after that. Even during Raya! It has been a great hit!

However, I changed the way I layer each item. Instead of starting with the meat dish, I started with the potatoes, then the brinjals, then the meat. Then start again with the potatoes, brinjals and meat. Lastly, top it up with the white sauce and cheese.

Yummylicious!

Try it. I'm sure you will not be disappointed!

Moussaka

Assalamualaikum and Hi everybody,

In today's entry, I would like to 'showcase' my latest baking project, which is, moussaka. Moussaka is a savory, casserole Greek dish. I found the recipe from from Min, bakingproject.com. You can find it here.


I reproduce the recipe here :

Oil
2 egg plants (the long type)
600 gm of potatoes

Beef layer
1 big onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
600 gm minced beef
400gm stewed tomato (in can) / fresh tomatoes
2 tablespoon of tomato puree
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
Italian herbs (in bottle) /or mixture of thyme and marjoram (I don't have these, so I use black pepper only)
Sugar, salt, white pepper to taste
Water

White sauce
600 ml full cream milk
60 gm butter
50 gm all purpose flour
salt and pepper

150 gm cheese – mixture of cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan or just use the cheese blend for Pizza. 

METHOD

First prepare the eggplant and potatoes.  Slice the eggplant to 1 cm thickness.  Peel the potatoes and and sliced them too (scalloped).  Fry both veggies in hot oil just till they are halfway done (you could also steam to reduce the oil content).   Set aside.To make the beef layer, sautéed the onion and garlic for 2 minutes.  Add the minced beef and fry till they are no more reddish in colour.  Then add the stewed tomatoes with all the juices and tomato puree.  Continue cooking till the beef is cooked.  Add some water if the sauce is too thick.  Lastly, add the oyster sauce, Italian herbs, sugar, salt and pepper.  Try to balance the taste to ensure it is not too sour.

The next step is making the white sauce or roux.  Heat the milk till it is warm (not boiling).  Melt the butter and and add the flour gradually.  Stir and let the flour cook for about 2 minutes.  Then slowly add the milk.  Keep stirring till you get a thick sauce, consistency similar to whipping cream.  Season with salt and pepper.


To assemble the dish, first oil a casserole.  Then pour a bit of the minced beef at the bottom.  Followed by the potatoes and egg plant.. repeat the layers.  Lastly, pour the white sauce on top, and sprinkle the cheese all over.  Bake at 180C for about 45 minutes.  You can increase the top temperature slightly to 200C for the last 10 minutes to ensure the cheese is all golden and nice.

Although it took quite a bit of preparation for this dish, I think it was worth my time and and effort because my family loved it! (Though I have to admit, the potatoes were quite hard. I need to improve it if I plan to bake it again next time :) )

So, here's the results:

View from top.

Another view of the moussaka.

From side.

The inside.

I brought it to my MIL's on the usual weekly visit and glad that the dish was devoured!

Thanks Min for introducing the dish to me!

My First Mini Cakes!

Assalamualaikum and Hi Everybody!

I am so excited! At last, I got the chance to unleash my (ahem) creativity on these mini cakes..

Thanks Inaz for this opportunity, although it did not turn out EXACTLY as you want :). Of course, I want to inject my own style, lor!

*in actual fact, I could not create the shade of green as in the given photo, so, I had to improvise!

 Here's the first of the cakes..

 A little close-up...

 All five of them mini cakes..

 View from top... In retrospect, I shouldn't have put them too far apart... Hmmm, I shouldn't have glued the doilies in the first place, I couldn't move them even if I want to! LOL!

Here's another close-up. Aren't they beautiful? I love the flowers, I think they call them daisies...

Happy Engagement Inaz dear! Semoga berkekalan!

I would also like to thank my baking buddies, Akmalazura and Daalia for their support and advise. Thanks a lot gals!

Cheesy Buttery Cake to welcome a new little bundle of joy

Assalamualaikum and Hi Everybody!

Last weekend, w were invited to a baby-welcoming party at Sri Gombak. Here was what I managed to prepare, in-between helping Little Chef Hasif on his Cupcake Project...

I forgot to take the cakes picture in its uncut form... oh well, better have something rather than nothing!

All nicely cut and neatly wrapped for the journey to Sri Gombak.

View from the side, before we wrap them..

Another view from the side, AFTER we wrapped them..

Okay, darlings.. please wipe out your drool.....

Hikhik..

Teaser: White. little flowers

Assalamualaikum and Good Day!

Here is one of the projects that I did during he weekend, together with my daughters. We had a fun time doing these little white flowers with fondant. I don't know what is its name, but as long as it is cute, sweet and pretty, it's enough for us.

They are sooo pretty... (if I may say so..hehe)

This is supposed to be a closed up look...

This is the beginning of a significant project, planned by middle of this week..

Please look out for more postings on this project...

HEHEHE..

Little Chef Hasif

Assalamualaikum and Good Day!

Nowadays, kids are so lucky. They got to do interesting projects for their homework. For example, Hasif, who is only on Year 2 (8 years old), had to bake cupcakes as one of his homework requirements. It is in his textbook! He simply dragged his mummy to the kitchen to help him bake the cupcakes!

I was pleasantly surprised that Hasif willingly did all the requirements, such as measuring the ingredients, whisking the eggs, whipping the butter and sugar and spooning the batter into the paper cups. I just need to help him a little, especially on the baking-in-the-oven job.

The recipe was very basic, but everyone praised Hasif's cupcakes as they were very good! (better than mummy's ones...).

Here is Hasif with his prized cupcakes, still hot from the oven..

I have to admit that he has what it takes to be a chef.. :)

Here's a closer look of them cupcakes. Aren't they a beauty? They tasted great too!

Mummy and her little son had a great time doing this project. It was a great bonding time!

Bravo Hasif! Looking forward to more tasty little cupcakes from you!

Happy Birthday Atok and Dalilah!

02 March 2013.

That's exactly the birthday date and at the request from Atok, we managed to book a table for 30 at Hadramawt, Jalan Ampang to celebrate the event.

Everybody of Atok's children, children-in-laws and grand-children managed to attend he event except for 4. We had a grand time eating and talking, just the family.

Since it was  birthday celebration, the restaurant gave us a cake! Yahoo! I don't have to bake a cake this time! Anyway, although this cake look beautiful, I prefer a homemade cake anytime..

The cake had some fruits on it, put together with some whipped cream and chocolate shaves.. I like!

The waitress had an 'accident' during handling, thus the smudged look at the side..

It's okay. as long as it stayed on the plate!

  

The birthday girl and 'boy', cutting the cake. 

The granddaughter and the grandfather having the same birth date...

Happy Birthday Darlings...
May Allah bless you both, Atok and Dalilah...

This and that...

Assalamualaikum and a big HI everybody!

It's been a loong time since I last updated this blog. I just caught up with a lot of things.. no excuse, actually. Just plain lazy, hahaha...

Let's see some of my projects, these are this year's projects, which I managed to catch on camera:

These are some durian crepes that my SIL taught. This was my second batch of crepes. 

Now that the durian season is over, I don't think I'll be doing it for a while :)...

Seems familiar? Yes, these are some sushi that I made. This was my second try. Special request from a special son :)...

See the trifles? I made this for my daughters birthday last month. My first try, hmmm, not too bad.. (in my opinion)...

Some fruit tarts for my cousin's wedding reception. It was a sort-of a last minute thing, and I wanted to do some cheese tarts but couldn't find Philadelphia cream cheese anywhere. So, I substituted with fruit tarts instead, since I have already bought the shells from Daalia's.

Here's the cute little fruit tarts in a box, ready to be transported to Sungai Buloh.

Expect more news from me in the next couple of days!

Bye for now!