Spaghetti with garlic bread

Yes, ladies & gentlemen...this is the easiest food that everyone could make and it's great for party. For those of you who like to try the recipe...again bear-in-mind that I made this for around 15 people. So, please do adjust the recipe as you wish.

Ingredients:

2.5 kg ground beef

3 tbs butter or margarine

3 large onions - diced

3 garlic - fine chopped and separate some for garlic bread

2 tbs butter or margarine

2 can of button mushroom - sliced

2 tomates - diced

3 can of tomato paste (I prefer Del Monte rather than Heinzt)

100 ml of tomato sauce

1000 ml water

Salt, pepper and sugar to taste

How to:

• Melt butter in frying pans. Add-in ground beef and saute it until turn color. Add in a little bit of salt and pepper in it. Set aside.
• In a large pot, melt butter. Add-in diced onions and garlic and saute it until brown. Add-in the fried ground beef and keep stir fry it.
• Pour the tomato paste and tomato sauce into the pot. Add water in it. Keep stirring it until almost boil.
• Put the sliced mushroom and diced tomatoes in it. Add sugar, pepper and salt. Taste it.
• If you want to make it thicker, just keep on stirring until its boil. Cover the lid and keeps it boil for another 5-10 minutes.

As for garlic bread, just mixed butter with chopped garlic. Slab it over the bread and bake it until crispy and turns gold. Enjoy...!!!

Bird's Nest Ice aka Es Sarang Burung!!!

I think this is the easiest kind of dessert that everyone could make. Yet, it is so good...especially to drink during the hot weather (well, actually any cold dessert will do as well).

Anyway, I found it's a perfect solution for those in my office who didn't or consume alcohol-based dessert. Please do bear in mind, I made this for around 15 people.

Here's the how-to....

Ingredients:

2 package of jelly powder (around 14 gr) - any color will do

250 gr of sugar - feel free to adjust

1800 ml of water

Lychee or longan

Cocopandan or Rose syrup (I liked Marjan brand)

• Dissolve jelly powder and sugar into water. Keep stirring until it's boiled. Pour it into mould. Refrigerate until hard.
• When it's hard, cut into rectangle. Grate until resemble of fine string.
• Mixed syrup with water. Add in jelly string and longan
• Serve cold

I found it's better to use small grate because it will make the string look more delicate and resemble to real bird's nest. Also, when I went to spupermarket to buy ingredients, I found that they sell this egg-like jelly. It's really cute and it's goes well with the theme.

Amarula Cheesecake

One day, I saw this bottle in the office drinking shelves. It read Amarula Cream. Now, that's strange...why do the office wants to keep a bottle of cream? I read it more...then it's said that it is a cream liqueur. Ahhh, now it makes sense. Apparently, Amarula is made from exotic Marula fruit from Africa. It really trigger me to try. Taste like Kahlua or Baileys Irish Cream but creamier. Hmm, I wonder what can I make with this stuff. Well, Sandra's bachelorette party is just round the corner. What could be more perfect to serve a liqueur dessert to this kind of party?

After asking Mia's permission... I decided to mixed this liqueur with chocolate cheesecake. And it's turn out really-really great. Perfect for a party!!!

Ingredients:

Base:

250 gr biscuit (Marie Regal or any chocolate biscuit will work) - crushed

125 gr unsalted butter - melted

3 tbs Amarula Cream

Mixed all the ingredient above. Press mixture evenly over base of 20cm spring form tin. Cover and refrigerate

for 30 minutes or until firm.

Filling:

3 tbs gelatin

100 ml water

250 gr cream cheese

100 gr sugar

500 ml heavy cream - whipped until soft peak form

50 gr dark cooking chocolate - melted

3 tbs Amarula Cream

2 tsp Rhum (I add this because I think it's not Rhumy enough, teheehee...)

1 tsp lemon juice (if you like)

• Mixed gelatin with water in a small bowl. Stand bowl in small saucepan of simmering water. Stir until gelatin dissolves and clear. Set aside to let it cool.
• Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Gradually, add lemon juice, Amarula and rhum. Mixed well. Fold in the whipped cream, melted dcc and followed by gelatin mixture. Mixed it well again.
• Spoon mixture over the base. Cover and refrigerate it at least 8 hours.
• Serve and enjoy!!!

Based on last experience, it's better to refrigerate it rather than put it in the freezer. The base is easier to cut, hehehe... :) I think this kind of dessert will be great if served with black coffee or plain tea. Bitterness meet with sweetness in your mouth...hmm....

Donat Mini

Bahan:

800 gr Tepung terigu protein tinggi (Cakra)

120 gr gula pasir

1/2 sdt baking powder

11 gr ragi instant (1 bks Fermipan)

4 buah telur

360 ml susu cair

100 gr mentega

1 sdt garam

Mentega, abon sapi, selai buah (any flavors will do), gula halus.

Cara:

1. Campur tepung terigu, gula pasir, baking powder dan ragi instant. Aduk rata.
2. Buat lubang di tengah adonan. Masukkan telur dan aduk adonan. Tuangi susu sedikit demi sedikit sambil terus mengadon. Uleni terus hingga kalis (+/- 30 menit).
3. Masukkan mentega dan garam, terus uleni hingga elastis (+/- 15-20 menit).
4. Tutup adonan dengan lap lembab. Biarkan 15 menit hingga mengembang.
5. Bagi adonan menjadi masing-masing 20 gr. Bulatkan dan pipihkan jika suka. Taruh di atas loyang atau piring yang sudah ditaburi tepung terigu. Ingat, jangan taruh terlalu berdekatan agar tidak saling menempel saat proses pengembangan.
6. Tutup adonan dengan lap lembab. Biarkan 30 menit hingga mengembang.
7. Goreng dengan minyak yang sudah dipanaskan dengan api kecil. Tiriskan.
8. Tusuk donat dengan sumpit. Isi dengan selai buah atau olesi dengan mentega lalu taburi abon. Sajikan.

Note:

1. Kalis = tidak menempel/lengket di tangan dan mengkilat
2. Untuk topping atau isi dalam, be creative.... Bisa pakai coklat yang dilelehkan, spikel, freah fruit. Just go crazy.. :)

Donat..oh..donat!!!

Dari kemaren-kemaren penasaran banget pengen bikin donat mini. Kayaknya kok enak dan tidak enek (rhyming kan....). Browsing resep, dikomporin orang kantor, beli bahan...akhirnya hari ini semangat bikin donat. Pertamanya rencana mau bikin donat kentang. Acara dimulai dengan pilih kentang, timbang-timbang, rebus, dihalusin. Hmm, kok dikit yah? Coba ditimbang. Alamak....kok kurang dari resep yang diharuskan. Duh, kalo cuma ngerebus kentang 1 biji lagi males banget. Akhirnya ganti haluan, bikin donatnya gak usah pake kentang. Campur semua bahan, terus semua jurus mengadon dan mengulen dikeluarin. Mulai dari jurus pijat suami, creambath, cuci baju sampe ala tukang bikin mie dikeluarin. Duh, mulai pegal en keringatan. Pertama agak skeptis, ini kapan kalisnya, yah? Tapi lama-lama kok mulai menunjukkan perubahan. Horeee...sukses.... Lalu setelah didiemin biar mengembang, mulai dibentuk. Pas proses pengembangan kedua udah mulai senyum-senyum. Duh, senangnya. Tapiiiii..........ternyata adonan bulatannya agak nempel di loyang. Jadi pas mau digoreng, bentuknya kalo kata orang Jawa "pating kelitat-kelitut". Yah, yang penting rasa, hahaha. Terus terbirit-birit ke kantor (untung deket). Puas...anak2 doyan (tapi mereka memang pemakan segala, kok). Liat aja muka-mukanya, hahahaha...............


Note:
Thanks buat Dian yang udah repot-repot bawa kamera en Respati yang motretin, yah. Ayo tebak...mana yang kokinya????