the best of two pie worlds

Pumpkin Pecan Pie

recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

makes one 9 inch pie

INGREDIENTS

1 unbaked frozen 9-10” pie crust (Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee)
egg wash (1 egg yolk + cream)

Pumpkin Filling:

1 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup milk

2 eggs

1 can 15 oz 100% pure pumpkin puree

Pecan Topping:

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp maple syrup or honey

Garnish:

sea salt

freshly whipped cream

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C or 180C Fan).

2. Pre-bake pie crust with pie weights for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, remove weights and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin filling ingredients and whisk until smooth. Don’t vigorously beat or over mix. This will create air bubbles which will cause the filling to rise like a soufflé in the oven.

4. Pour filling into pie crust. Brush edges with egg wash. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the centre is still a little wobbly (to prevent the filling from over baking and cracking). Use a pie shield if the edges brown too quickly.

5. While the pie is baking, make the pecan topping. In a small bowl, add pecans and brown sugar. Use a fork to mix and drizzle in the maple syrup. Remove the hot pie from the oven and gently spread the topping on top.

6. Return the pie to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Cover edge of crust with pie shield to prevent over browning.

7. When done remove pie from the oven and cool on wire rack for 3-4 hours. Pie can be stored covered at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator up to 2 days.

8. Serve at room temp with a sprinkle of sea salt and freshly whipped cream.

TIP:
- You can pre-bake the pie crust 3 days ahead of time. Cool and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

summer protein salad

Chicken Shrimp Halloumi Salad

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

2 cooked chicken breasts, sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

12 large raw shrimp marinated with 1 tsp mix of smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper

1 brick of halloumi cheese

1/2 kabocha pumpkin, 1/4 inch sliced

3 cups baby spinach

2 cups chopped romaine

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch chunks

1/2 cup cooked farro, quinoa or brown rice

1/4 cup pesto 

4 tbsp sunflower seeds

METHOD:
1. In a large non-stick pan, heat olive oil over medium high and cook marinated shrimp for 1-2 minutes per side until done. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. In the same pan, add the brick of halloumi. Leave undisturbed for 1-2 minutes until golden. Gently flip and repeat on the other side. Transfer to a cutting board and once cool, slice the cheese in to 1/2 inch wide pieces.

3. Steam or grill the pumpkin slices until tender. Set aside.

4. In a large serving bowl, add spinach, romaine, cucumber and farro or other grain of your choice.

5. Top with chicken breast, shrimp, halloumi and pumpkin slices.

6. Drizzle pesto over top, sprinkle with sunflower seeds and serve!

homemade pesto

Pesto
makes about 2 cups

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3-4 garlic cloves
10-12 cups fresh basil leaves (about 3 bunches)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

METHOD:
1. Add pine nuts, Parmesan and garlic to a food processor. Pulse until finely ground, about 1 minute.

2. Add basil and salt. Slowly drizzle olive oil while pulsing until almost smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Adjust seasoning as desired.

3. Use immediately or store in a clean air tight glass container in the fridge up to 7 days. If storing, top pesto with a 1/2 inch of olive oil to prevent browning before securing the container with a lid.

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Linguine Pesto
serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup homemade pesto
2 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
1 500g (1 lbs) package of dried linguine
1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid
coarse salt and pepper
grated Parmesan cheese for serving

METHOD:
1. In a large serving bowl, add pesto and butter. Set aside.

2. Cook linguine according to package directions until al dente.

3. Transfer pasta to serving bowl and add pasta cooking liquid. Toss vigorously with tongs, adding more liquid if needed. Taste and season as desired. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan on the side.

A pan of brownies

Fudgy Nutty Brownies
recipe adapted from Olivia the Pig
makes one 9 inch square pan of brownies

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup sugar
8 oz (226g) unsweetened baking chocolate, 100% cacao
2 sticks (1 cup or 226g) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
3/4 cups chopped hazelnuts or nuts of your choice (optional)

Optional Topping:
1/2 cup melted chocolate or Nutella
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts or nuts of your choice

METHOD:
1. Preheat your oven to 350F (177C). Grease a 9 inch square baking pan.

2. Add sugar to a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

3. In a medium heat proof bowl, melt chocolate and butter in a microwave or over a bain marie.

4. Pour chocolate mixture over sugar and mix until sugar has completely dissolved. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Fold in flour in two parts. Mix in 3/4 cup of nuts if using.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until just set. Run a knife along the edge of the pan and set over a wire rack to cool.

6. If adding the topping, drizzle melted chocolate or spread a thin layer of Nutella over brownie and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of hazelnuts. Cool brownie for an hour at room temp before placing in the fridge.

7. Chill brownie for another hour before cutting into squares. Serve cool or at room temperature. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.

wings and chestnuts

Chestnuts are one of our favourite nuts and we'll always order it if we see it on the menu. It's usually an ingredient in Chinese desserts, but we love it in savoury dishes. Here's a comforting dish for the winter cold.

Braised Chicken with Chestnuts

serves 4 as part of a main course
Recipe adapted from Post Magazine (January 22, 2012), South China Morning Post.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs chicken parts, drumettes and/or middle joint wings

1 inch piece of ginger, sliced thinly

1 cup chestnuts, halved and  roasted
1/2 cup green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces plus more for garnish

1 cup chicken broth

Marinade:

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp salt

few dashes ground white pepper

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

1 tsp olive oil

METHOD:

1. In a large shallow bowl, add chicken, ginger and marinade ingredients. Mix well and let marinate in the fridge for 2+ hours.

2. In an Dutch oven or other shallow enamel pot, add chicken including the marinade, chestnuts, green onions and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, stirring consistently to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom, and then lower heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

3. Sauce should lightly coat the chicken, stir in more broth if it's too thick. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Garnish with remaining green onion or chopped cilantro (optional).

jam with tea

These cookies are incredibly delicious, addictive and great with afternoon tea. Easy and simple, especially if you have little ones in your household. This is a great rainy day activity, with little mess and clean-up.

Jam Cookies

recipe adapted from the BBC GoodFood

makes 3 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1 and 1/3 cups (200g) self-raising flour

1/2 cup (100g) superfine or caster sugar

7 tbsp or 3.5 oz (100g) cold butter

1 egg, beaten

4 tbsp jam of your choice (I use whatever's in my fridge and this time there was strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and orange marmalade. You can also substitute in chocolate chips, peanut butter, dried fruit or nuts)

METHOD:

1. Heat oven to 350 F (170 C).

2. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and butter together until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. You can also do this by hand in a large bowl with 2 knives. 

3. Mix in lightly beaten egg to form a stiff dough.

4. Shape the dough into a tube, about 1.5 inch (3 cm) in diameter. Wrap in parchment paper and freeze for 20-30 mins. 

5. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick slices and place on a lined baking sheet. Leave space between the cookies as they will expand, almost double in size, when baking.

6. Make a small indentation in the middle of each slice with the end of a wooden spoon (little kids can use their fingers) and drop a tsp of jam (or topping of your choice) in the centre. 

7. Bake for 10-12 mins until slightly risen and just golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Cookies will keep up to 1 week in an airtight container or freeze up to 1 month.

2014 and the year of the horse

It's a new year and also the year of the horse! We're back with some seasonal fruit from down under:

Australian lychees - sweet, juicy, and a smaller pit than their grown in China counterparts.

 Tasmanian cherries.

 Big, ripe and sweet Australian mangoes.

Is there anything better than waking up to the smell of freshly baked bread? We love love love our new breadmaker! And we love experimenting with different flours and ingredients...

...of course sometimes those experiments don't turn out so well. This was suppose to be pumpkin coconut bread.

Attempt number 2 yielded much better results.

This Honey Oat and Cranberry one is fast becoming a favourite in our household. The recipe makes a 1 lbs loaf. Set your breadmaker to the regular setting with a light crust. Ingredients must be added in the following order:
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp water
1 1/4 cups bread flour
1/2 cup whole meal bread flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp dry milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup pecan pieces

US Barron Point oysters are at the peak of their season now. Have these giant oysters raw or lightly steamed and topped with minced garlic, green onions, cilantro, sizzling vegetable oil and light sodium soya sauce.

Our langoustines were featured in the January 23rd issue of SCMP's 48 hours magazine.

New comer on the restaurant scene Fish & Meat, serves them grilled and lightly dressed to bring out their natural sweetness and flavour.

holiday food

Lots of celebrations this month and we start off with The Peninsula Hotel's 85th Anniversary. An all night party with fabulous food, drink and edible displays.

Black garlic has been making some headlines promoting many health benefits.

We get our hands on some and enjoy the rich balsamic-like flavour it adds to our dishes. Using grass-fed French butter, cream and a mix of fresh shitake and oyster mushrooms, we add the black garlic to our pasta.

For Christmas dinner we get a case of fresh parsnips from the US. We serve them Nigella Lawson's glazed with maple syrup.

Also on the menu is a ginger and apricot glazed ham and New York Magazine's Cauliflower and Gruyere Macaroni Gratin.

Christmas wouldn't be the glutinous holiday it is without all the baked treats. Check out this very moist and delicious recipe for Guiness Gingerbread Cake. And using US sourced dried cranberries, almonds and pecans we make...lots of holiday cookies!

What to do when you get a 11 pound box of cherries?

 The answer is Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Cherry Trifle!

nuts grow on trees

Summer break and we're off to California to check out some fruit orchards and farms. On our way, we see many almond and pistachio orchards.

Although we know that almonds and pistachios are tree nuts, it never really occurred to us that they actually grow on trees like fruit.

But they do and it was really interesting and cool to see.