Spinach and Cheese Souffle

With Chinese New Year round the corner, we're all going to have a sugar-overload from the cookies and cakes. This made me decide to make a savoury souffle rather than a sweet one. I think my kids would love a chees-y type of souffle. After searching around, Ina Garten's Spinach and Cheese Souffle recipe seemed most promising. It's my first time making a souffle and it proved to be quick, easy and really delicious. 

This recipe produced a souffle which was light, fluffy and perfectly chees-y (the way my kids like it!). The pepper and nutmeg added a unique and distinctive aftertaste. This was a great recipe to hide vegetables in and get kids to have an extra dose of them.  

Souffles are probably one of the hardest type of dishes to photograph. Knowing that it is going to start collapsing the moment its out of the oven, I was armed with my camera at the oven door to capture the souffle in its most-puffed up glory. 

When I moved it to the balcony for the photography session, it started sinking...

And sinking... and then it became totally flat!

Nonetheless it was still beautifully light and fluffy inside.

With a wonderful melt-in-the-mouth type of texture. This souffle makes a great side dish at a more elaborate dinner or could be served as the main course alongside a salad. 

Spinach and Cheese Souffle

• Recipe from Food Network

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp (42 g) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the dish
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup scalded milk
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 extra-large egg yolks, room temperature
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese, lightly packed
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry (I used a small bunch of fresh spinach, blanched and squeezed dried)
• 5 extra-large egg whites, room temperature
• 1/8 tsp cream of tar tar

 Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter the inside of a 6 to 8-cup souffle dish (6 1/2 to 7 1/2 inches in diameter by 3 1/2 inches deep) and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the hot milk, the nutmeg, cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, until smooth and thick.
• Off the heat, while still hot, whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the Cheddar, 1/4 cup of Parmesan and the spinach and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
• Put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, on medium speed for 1 minute, then finally on high speed until they form firm, glossy peaks.
• Whisk one quarter of the egg whites into the cheese sauce to lighten and then fold in the rest. Pour into the souffle dish, then smooth the top. Draw a large circle on top with the spatula to help the souffle rise evenly, and place in the middle of the oven. Turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (don't peek!) until puffed and brown. Serve immediately.

I am submitting this to Bake-Along hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, Lena of Her Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids

This is for AlphaBakes hosted by The More than Occasional Baker and Caroline Makes.

Guinness Beef and Onion Pies

When I saw this Guinness Beef Pie recipe on the Masterchef website, I simply could not take my eyes off it. I surfed around for a while more, but I kept coming back to this one and I knew I had to try it. We do not eat much beef at home these days for health reasons (less red meat for hubby), but we can certainly indulge once in a while and this was a great recipe to indulge in.

This recipe is rather time consuming – it takes about an hour on the stove and then two hours in the oven – but it is so worth the effort and time. Slow roasting the beef in the oven produces a tender beef stew rich with the flavours of caramelised onions and Guinness Stout. I left the beef stew in the refrigerator overnight it became even more flavourful!

I did not make the pie crust in the recipe and used ready-made puff pastry for my pies. After waiting for so long, I could hardly bring myself to roll anymore dough. The flaky pastry went very well with the beef stew. There were some left overs which we had with rice.  I think it would also be great with bread or pasta. It was so good that I would certainly do this again whenever I want indulge.

Guinness Beef and Onion Pies (6 pies)* 

Adapted from recipe by Gary Mehigan for Masterchef

* According to the website, this recipe is for 6 pies. I only made half the recipe and that was enough for almost 8 small muffin-sized pies. I think the full recipe would fill at least 16 pies.

Ingredients

Beef and Onion Filling

• 100ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing (I cut down to about 20 ml)
• 5 onions, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 3 fresh bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 1.5kg trimmed chuck steak, cut into 5cm pieces
• Salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper
• 1 carrot, cut into large chunks
• 440ml can Guinness
• 1L home-made beef stock
• 1 egg, beaten
• Tomato sauce, to serve

Maggie Beer’s Sour-Cream Pastry (I used ready-made puff pastry)

• 200g chilled unsalted butter, chopped
• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• ½ cup sour cream

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced (200°C conventional).
2. For the pies, add 40ml olive oil to an enamelled cast-iron casserole, then add the onion, garlic and thyme and cook over low heat (use a simmer mat, if necessary) for 40 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. Increase the heat to medium-high, add bay leaves and cook until the onion is dark and caramelised. Add the flour and cook stirring often for 3-4 minutes.
3. Season the beef generously with salt flakes and ground white pepper. Heat remaining 60ml of the olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat, then cook the beef in 2 batches until well browned on all sides. Add the carrot and cook for 5-6 minutes or until golden. Add ¾ of the Guinness and cook for 5 minutes. Tip beef and Guinness into onions. Use remaining Guinness in can to deglaze the beef pan, scraping all the brown bits from the bottom, add to the onions.
4. Pour enough beef stock to cover the beef and vegetables and bring to the boil. Cover with a tight fitting lid, then transfer to the oven and cook for 2-2.5 hours or until tender. Leave to cool to room temperature. Remove the chunks of beef and carrot to a board and chop into 1cm pieces, then return them to the onion gravy. Refrigerate until cold.
5. Meanwhile, to make the sour cream pastry, place the butter and flour and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle or food processor, then blend until the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs. Gradually add the sour cream, mixing until the pastry just comes together. Shape into a disc, then wrap in plastic wrap then chill for at least 20 minutes.
6. Grease 6 holes of a muffin pan with a little olive oil. Roll out the pastry to 3-5mm thick, using a little extra flour for dusting. Cut out six rounds about 4cm bigger than the muffin holes for the pie bases and six rounds 2cm bigger than the muffin holes for the pie lids. Place a pie base in each hole, then press in in lightly with your fingers, and draw the pastry up the mould a little so the pastry is 1cm above the mould. Fill each hole with some of the beef mixture, brush edges with water, then top each with a pastry lid and crimp the edges to seal in the filling.
7. Brush the pastry tops with beaten egg, cut a small hole in the centre of each pie for steam to escape. Bake for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Turn out and serve with tomato sauce, if desired.

Lower-calorie Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Green Tea Cream

I have never heard of Whoopie Pies till recently when I started blogging and read about them from other food bloggers. Made up of two round mound-shaped pieces of cake with a sweet, creamy filling sandwiched between them, the Whoopie Pie is somewhat a cross between a cookie, pie, and cake.

According to food historians, Amish women would bake these desserts (known as hucklebucks, or creamy turtles at the time) and put them in farmers’ lunch pails or lunch boxes. When farmers would find the treats in their lunch, they would shout “Whoopie!” It is thought that the original Whoopie pies may have been made from cake batter leftovers.

I searched the web for a healthier version as I always try to cut down on fats and sugar when making desserts for my family. Here is a healthier version that uses wholemeal flour, mashed bananas and low-fat milk. I was a little worried about how this would turn out (as often times, bakes without butter/oil are rather dry and hard). However, these chocolate pies turned out to be delicious. It was very chocolate-y with a hint banana flavour. Though it has a slightly chewy texture, these Whoopie Pies were not dry at all. I actually thought this resembled brownies in many ways.

However, the cream turned out to be too sweet for my liking though. My kids were not fond of the cream either though they ate the chocolate pies with great relish (they got rid of the cream first). Overall, it is definitely a lovely treat!

Lower-calorie Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Green Tea Cream (makes 18 pies)
Recipe adapted from Glamour

Ingredients:

Cookie

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup mashed banana
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup cocoa
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda*
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar*
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

* replaced baking soda + cream of tartar with 1 3/4 tsp of baking powder

Filling

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup Neufchatel cream cheese
• 1/4 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 1/2 tsp of green tea powder (my own addition) – adjust according to your preference on how strong you like green tea flavour; and also on the fragrance of the green tea powder.

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Spray nonstick spray on cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl cream together sugar and banana. Add eggs, milk and vanilla. In a small bowl combine the cocoa, flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the liquids beating together until smooth.
4. Drop batter (about 2 tablespoons at a time) on to the cookie sheets to make 18 cookies (I pipped it on as its neater)
5. Bake 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. To make the filling, cream together the cheese and sugar add yogurt and green tea powder and continue to mix until well blended.
7. Assemble sandwiches by spreading the filling on the flat side of one cookie and topping with another pressing down to distribute filling evenly. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling (I pipped the cream on).
8. Wrap whoopie pies individually in plastic wrap or place them in a single layer on a platter as they will stick if stacked on top of each other.

Jamie Oliver’s Chicken Pot Pie

While searching around for a chicken pie recipe, I was thinking of making my own puff pastry – until I watched Jamie Oliver’s video where he said it was too much trouble making the many puff layers since ready-made  ones are just as good! So there went my inclination to even try. I’ll get round to make my own someday 

So here’s Jamie Oliver’s easy-peasy chicken pot pie (with store-bought puff pastry) which makes a yummy and fuss-free one dish meal. I sauteed the chicken and vegetables, covered it with the pastry and the oven did the rest of the work.  Jamie made his pie in a baking dish, but I thought individual servings in ramekins would be easier to serve.

I also made some small rectangular chicken pies (for lack of a better term) by cutting the puff pastry sheet into 8 x 12 cm rectangles, filling it with chicken and folding it up.

Note about puff pastry: Take it out of the freezer and defrost for about 1-2 minutes, then start working on it as quickly as you can.  Use a scissors or pizza cutter to cut it into the desired shape. When it gets too soft, it becomes sticky and very difficult to fold. If you are planning to use more than one piece of puff pastry, don’t take it out of the freezer all at once. Take out only the piece you plan to work on immediately. I love to bite into this chicken pie – look at those lovely crispy layers puff pastry covering a delicious creamy chicken filling.

Jamie Oliver Chicken Pot Pie (serves 4 – 6)

Ingredients

• 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• A pat of butter and some olive oil
• A bunch of scallions (I used leeks)
• 6 ounces button mushrooms (I used Shimeji mushrooms)
• 1 heaping tablespoon all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 teaspoons English mustard
• 1 generous tablespoon heavy cream (I used low fat sour cream)
• 1-1/4 cups organic chicken broth (300 ml)
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme (I used rosemary)
• 1/3 of a nutmeg for grating (or a few sprinkles of nutmeg powder)
• 1 large sheet of all-butter puff pastry (big enough for your baking tin)
• 1 egg (I glazed with milk)

Cooking the fillings:

• Turn oven to 200°C. Put a large pan on a medium heat & a medium saucepan on a low heat.
• Cut chicken into 1cm strips. In a saucepan of oil & butter, cook the chicken for 3 minutes.
• Throw in spring onions & mushrooms.
• Add heaped tbspn flour & stir.
• Add 2 tspns mustard, 1 heaped tbspn crème freche & 300ml chicken stock – stir.
• Stir in thyme, nutmeg, salt & pepper.

The puff pastry:

• Unroll sheet of puff pastry on to floured surface
• Pour chicken filling into baking dish.
• Cover with puff pastry. Score it with a knife.
• Brush a beaten egg over the top of the pie.
• Bake for 15 minutes till puff pastry is golden brown

Watercress and Capsicum Quiche

I’ve always wanted to bake a quiche but never got round to it because I thought it was rather unhealthy with a buttery crust and way too much cream and cheese – that was till I saw this healthier version. This recipe is  crust-less, uses low fat cottage cheese and absolutely easy to do. All I did was saute the fillings,  blend the rest of the ingredients, stir in the vegetables and cheese and it’s ready to bake!

The good thing about quiches is that you can use any kind of vegetable or meat. This is a vegetarian version with watercress and capsicum.  It was an absolutely delicious and guilt-free dinner and I would love to make it again with different combination of ingredients such as meat, sausages, mushrooms and spinach.

Watercress and Capsicum Quiche (9 inch round baking dish)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup – 2 cups filling of choice (sauteed veggies/meat) – I used 1 bunch of watercress leaves and 1 medium capsicum and made 1.5 cups of filling)
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup greek yogurt (or sour cream)
• 1 cup 1% cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Additional spices/herbs or choice, optional
• 2 cups grated cheese of choice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 165°C. Spray baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Allow the vegetable/meat fillings to cool after cooked.
3. Combine the eggs, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, flour, salt, and pepper, in a medium bowl. Stir together, or blend in food processor until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Pour the mixture into a bowl with the filling ingredients. Add 1/2 the cheese and mix. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and smooth out the top. Top with remaining cheese.
4. Bake until set, about 45 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven. It will be puffed up, but will fall slightly as it cools. Allow it to cool, then, refrigerate. Cut it into squares and serve with a pasta or side dish.