Merry Christmas!

*picture taken from HERE

Merry Christmas!

*picture taken from HERE

Christmas 2014 (Part Five): The Feast!

From top (clockwise):

Salted, butter giant prawns, The Feast, baked butter corn, stir fried broccoli with carrots and baby corn, fu chok and bitter gourd chicken soup, the prawns, baked potatoes, char siew pork, Empress chicken & turkey (which was bought).

I didn't have any turkey.

Christmas 2014 (Part Four): Death By Chocolate

Ingredients:

A. For the cake:

1. 200gm of good quality dark chocolate
2. 200gm butter (softened at room temperature)
3. 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
4. 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
5. 3 eggs (room temperature)
6. 1 1/2 cups of organic self-raising flour
7. 2 tablespoons of good quality cocoa
8. 1/2 cup of full-cream milk

B. For the icing:

1. 200gm of good quality dark chocolate
2. 1 cup of whipped cream

C. For decoraton:

1. Chocolate curls or shavings

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1. Place the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl. You can either place the bowl over a steaming saucepan filled with boiling water or a microwave. Once it has melted, set it aside to cool.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.

3. Add the eegs, one at a time while stirring continuously.

4. Add in the melted chocolate. Mix well.

5. Sift the flour and cocoa together into a bowl.

6. Add half the flour/cocoa mixture and fold it into the mixture.

7. Add half the milk and stir gently.

8. Add the remaining flour mixture. Fold again.

9. Add the remaining milk and stir gently again.

10. Preheat oven at 160C.

11. Line a spring cake pan with baking paper.

12. Pour the mixture into the baking pan.

13. Place the baking pan onto a larger baking tray. Fill half of that tray with water.

14. Bake for approximately an hour.

15. Once it is done, allow it to cool.

16. Remove the cake from the spring pan and place on serving dish.

17. Make the chocolate icing. Melt the chocolate as in point 1. Then beat the whipping cream until it has thickened.

18. Mix the melted chocolate with the whipping cream.

19. Spread the mixture all over the cake generously.

20. Place the whipping cream into a plastic bag and turn into a pipe to make swirls decoration on the cake.

21. You can use a peel to make chocolate curls as decorations too.

22. Chill in the fridge before serving.

Bon appétit!


P.S.: I did not eat this cake either.

Christmas 2014 (Part Three): Empress Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 1 whole free-range chicken (with skin) - rubbed thoroughly with salt (and grounded pepper IF you can tolerate)
2. Sea-salt
3. Black pepper (*Optional)

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1. 2 to 3 weeks prior to the Christmas, buy a whole free-range chicken, fresh from the market.

2. Wash it thoroughly upon reaching home.

3. Then rub salt (and pepper if you are able to consume it). Use the salt liberally.

4. Then wrap it up and keep it in the freezer.

5. Two days or a day prior to the time you want to cook it, take it out from the freezer and defrost it in the fridge.

6. Fill a large pot with enough water to soak the chicken in it.

7. Boil the whole chicken for about 40 minutes.

8. Take the whole chicken out and drain the water from the chicken.

9. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

10. Preheat oven at 230C.

11. Bake the whole chicken for approximately 50 minutes.

12. Place the whole chicken on a serving dish.

Bon appétit!

Christmas 2014 (Part Two): Classic Vanilla Pudding

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups of milk
2. 1/4 cup of sugar
3. 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
4. A dash of sea-salt
5. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
6. 1 tablespoon of butter

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1. Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a separate bowl.

2. Heat the milk in a medium sized saucepan or pot over medium heat.

3. Do not allow it to boil!

4. Once you see bubbles form at the edges, turn the fire to small and slowly add the combined ingredients in the bowl (in point 1) while stirring continuously.

5. Continue to stir until mixture thickens.

6. Turn off the heat.

7. Add the vanilla and butter and stir until well blended.

8. Pour into small cups or serving dishes.

9. Place in the fridge to chill before serving.

Bon appétit!

Christmas 2014 (Part One): Classic Cheese Cake

Ingredients:

1. 900gm of cream cheese (room temperature)
2. 1/2 cup of sugar
3. 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
4. 4 eggs (room temperature)
5. Grated lemon zest (1 whole lemon)
6. Lemon juice (1 whole lemon)

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1. In a large mixing bowl, add the softened cheese and sugar. Mix until both ingredients are blended and well mixed.

2. Add the vanilla essence and mix again.

3. Then add the grated lemon zest and lemon juice and mix until the mixture has softened.

4. Add the eggs one at a time while continue mixing.

5. Preheat oven at 160C.

6. Line a spring cake pan with baking paper.

7. Pour the mixture into the pan.

8. Place the spring cake pan on a larger baking tray. Fill that tray with water (about half-way of the baking tray).

9. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours.

10. Allow to cool.

11. Place the cake in the fridge to chill before serving.

Bon appétit!

PS: I did not eat any of this cake.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

This tree is probably about 25 years old. It belongs to my parents. Some of the decorations are as old as I am or maybe even older. And this is Joel's first time putting up a Christmas tree.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Merry Christmas 2013!

To all my fellow bloggers, friends and family, I wish you a very Merry Christmas! May your lives be filled with love, peace, joy, health and wealth!

And may my butt be well forever, to warrant to never have another surgery all the days of my life!

Selamat Hari Natal!

That's Merry Christmas in Bahasa Malaysia.

To all who followed my blog for this past one year, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous, Pain-Free & Sick-Free 2013!