Dinner Rolls/ Buns

I just made these for the first time and they smell wonderful and turned out perfectly. This is a "no fail" recipe for some of the best tasting rolls I've ever baked. I intended to make a couple of batches, with egg wash and butter, but I forgot to do the egg wash, still, it came out perfect. In baking, I believe that practice makes it more perfect. Next time, I promise to show you better picture. Meanwhile, why not try this recipe for yourself and let me know, or better yet show me how it turned out for you.  

Dinner Rolls/ Buns Recipe

Courtesy of: Foodnetwork

Ingredients

Dough

1 cup warm homogenized milk (250 ml)
1/4 cup sugar (60 ml)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (60 ml)
1/2 tablespoon salt (7 ml)
3 cups all-purpose flour (750 ml)
1 egg
1 envelope (1/4-ounces) active dry yeast
flour, for bench flour

Assembly
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk (15 )
( I made 1 batch with egg wash and the other with butter)

Directions

Dough

In a small bowl, combine sugar with ½ cup warm milk and mix well. Add the yeast and stir. Let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes, until it foams.

In another bowl, combine the egg and remaining ½ cup warm milk and melted butter

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour and salt by hand. Add the yeast mixture and the egg mixture. With the stand mixer, start mixing the dough on low speed. Increase speed as flour is incorporated. Continue to mix until dough comes together. Increase machine speed, knead dough until it comes together.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 6 to 8 minutes, adding more flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Put the dough into a large oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave overnight in the fridge or alternatively let proof until doubled in a warm spot for 45 minutes.

Assembly

Punch down dough and turn it out onto a floured surface. Tear off pieces of the dough and form sixteen 1 ½-inch balls. Roll them onto a surface to make smooth. Place in a buttered 8 x 8 x 2-inch pan. Let rest, covered, in a warm spot, until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk to make an egg wash. Using a pastry brush, generously coat the top of the buns with the egg wash. Bake the dinner buns for about 13 to 15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Serve warm and pull apart at the table.

Yield: 16 servings
 

   

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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies ( The Best )

These are the best Oatmeal Cookies I have ever tried so far. I have baked them several times and they are always a hit. I brought these goodies on one of our weekend getaway to the Caribbean and OMG! my friends and family keep on asking for more cookies. They said they are absolutely delicious. This is really my go-to cookie recipe because it is super easy to make and it always comes out Oatmeal-a-licious! Ok, here's the deal, I honestly do not know who to credit for this recipe because it is one of those things where I wrote it in an Index Card and no reference where I copied it. But who ever is the original owner of this recipe... I thank you for sharing.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

¾ cup butter ( at room temperature)

1 cup sugar

1 egg ( room temperature)

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

pinch of nutmeg

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

½ cup raisins

Cooking Directions:

• Creme butter and sugar with electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, combine  flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
•  Start mixing with big spoon by hand the dry and wet ingredients.
• Add rolled oats 1 cup at a time. Add the raisins.
• Press balls about half inch on a prepared baking pan.
• Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes. Let it cool on a wire rack.
• Share and Enjoy!

            

Note: You should have a very thick and sticky mixture. If it is too sticky or wet, add little more flour. Make a small balls and place on a baking sheet. After cookie balls are on the baking sheet, with your wet hand, press the ball upto half and inch.

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Gallo Pinto ( Costa Rican Rice & Beans )

Gallo Pinto is considered the national dish of Costa Rica. Gallo Pinto is served all throughout Latin America, though each country names it differently. Cubans call it "Congris" and in some parts of Nicaragua it is called " arroz y frijoles"- meaning "rice with black beans".  I had a chance to taste this Authentic Costa Rican dish when we stayed on a very quaint B&B in El, Valle - one of the highlands of Panama. The owner of the B&B place is  a Costa Rican and he served this delicious and hearty breakfast. He said Gallo Pinto means " spotted rooster" , I was expecting a meat but I was amazed to learned that it was actually "meat-free". It is a very tasty rice dish with beans, herbs and spices. I highly recommend this for you to try, it is super easy to prepare. For Asians like me, the cooking technique is like cooking fried rice.  Only, the spices are different.

Gallo Pinto ( Costa Rican Rice & Beans ) Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup white  rice
½ vegetable or chicken broth or knorr cubes
1 cup of black beans
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon  ground coriander
2 dried ancho chilie peppers ( remove seeds or substitute with bell peppers)
1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
1 large onion (finely chopped)
3 cloves garlic ( minced)
1/3 cup cilantro ( finely chopped)
salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Direction:

The Beans

• Soak beans for 8 hours. Refrigerate.
• After soaking, change the water and add 6 cups of water and bring to simmer for around 90 minutes. Check water once in a while. Check beans for doneness. You can do this step on pressure cooker or crock pot.
• Reserve beans with some of the water.

The Rice

• Cook rice with the dissolve broth cubes. ( I used 1 part ratio for rice and cooked in a rice cooker)
•  Refrigerate the cooked rice overnight.

Gallo Pinto

• Heat pan with vegetable oil. When oil is hot, add onion. Sauté for 5 minutes or until onion turns translucent.
• Add garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander and bell peppers. Sauté for another minute. Add more vegetable oil if necessary.
• Add the cooked rice and stir fry for 1 minute, breaking up any chunks.
• Once all the rice change color, add the cooked beans, starting with 1 cup. Make sure the ratio of beans will not over power the rice. Add 2-3 tablespoon of the bean water. Combine the rice and beans evenly and cook until mixture is heated through.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro.
• For breakfast, serve this with scramble egg, fried plantains and chorizo.
• Enjoy and share!

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Basic Crepes Batter Recipe

These sublime crepes are guaranteed to please everyone! From this basic Crepe Recipe, you can create variations depending on what filling you would like that day. There is a lot to choose from, Chocolate or fruit jam , strawberry or banana or simply just ice-cream. The possibilities are limitless. You can stuff anything you want, depending how you want it , savory or sweet. Today, we focus on the Crepes Batter. The Crepes Batter Recipe is super easy--just a couple of seconds on the blender then few minutes of cook time! My husband and I love to have them during breakfast. It is fast and easy and it is the best Crepes we have ever had!

Crepes Batter Recipe

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1¼ cup whole milk
½ teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoon of melted butter
butter, for coating pan

Cooking Directions:

• In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking.
• Heat 2 teaspoon of butter in a small non-stick pan. Pour batter and swirl around to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove when cooked. Cover with paper towel.
• To serve, sprinkle each crepe with sugar or spread jelly or any filling of your choice, fold or roll up.
• Enjoy and Share!

Note:

For Savory Variation : Add ¼ chopped fresh herbs, spinach or sun-dried tomatotes to the batter mixture.
For Sweet Variation  : Add 2-½ tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoon of liqueur of your choice to the batter mixture.

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