Brownie, cookie, brookie...crownie?

This post is for Liz, Roz and Jason - lover of Congo Bars.

I first discovered these brownie-cookie crosses when trawling the wonderful Bakerella's website. Apparently they are called Congo Bars...I don't know why. Either way, they are gorgeous, cakey, sticky, gooey goodness that feel like brownies but taste like cookies. 

Best thing about them? They are dead easy to make. Okay, not the best thing about them. But it definitely helps. 
 

The Recipe (the Bakerella website uses US cups, but I converted the measurements into grams for easier use).

300g plain flour
2.5 teaspoons of baking powder
Pinch of salt
150g softened butter
450g light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1 packet of semi-sweet chocolate chips

                                                                      The Ingredients...


First, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, then set it aside for later. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Sift your brown sugar into a bowl and then add in the softened butter (I find it easier to mix it in if it is cut into cubes).

                             This much brown sugar and butter can only be a good thing. Trust me.


Using the back of a wooden spoon, incorporate the butter into the sugar. This can take a while, but hey - at least you get a bit of an upper-body workout before you stuff yourself silly with brownie-cookie-like goodness. Once it is all mixed together, it should be about the same texture as wet sand.

                                                            Pretty much like this. Wet sand.

Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, fully mixing them into the butter-sand mixture each time until you get a smooth batter.

Once all the eggs have been incorporated, add about half of the packet of chocolate chips. You could add any other 'fillings' you like - nuts, toffees (chopped up chewy toffees work really well), M&Ms, chocolate chunks...whatever takes your fancy.

After you've added your fillings of choice, add your sifted flour, baking powder and salt and stir until well combined. You should get a thick, sticky batter.

                                                                Delicious batter-goodness :)

Coat a baking tray with either a little bit of butter or cooking spray. You could also line it with greaseproof baking paper if you prefer. Spread the batter evenly into the dish.

Bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is an even golden-brown colour. Try not to over-bake the bars. If the batter doesn't seem to be cooked enough yet but the top is getting too brown, cover the top with aluminium foil and continue to bake. The mixture is ready when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

                                                                      Fresh from the oven.


After making these a couple of times, I've learnt that it is actually better to leave them to cool and fim up a bit before eating them. ...Of course, piggy over here was a little impatient and decided to cut and eat them pretty much straight from the oven, hence why they look a little 'wet' in the photo. Ooops.

I do hope you try these as they really are a delicious, so-bad-for-you-they're-good kind of treat. And easy to make. So easy.

Ricotta Gnocchi.

This post is dedicated to my brother. The first time I attempted to make gnocchi was when he came to visit me at Uni once. He got bored and we decided to give gnocchi-making a go. The result wasn't too bad, although not quite the fluffy pillows of potato we were hoping for.

So, this weekend I decided to give gnocchi-making another go. After some research on the Internet, I figured it seemed fairly straight forward and decided to put together a recipe based on a couple that seemed good. I have to say, I think the results are pretty decent, producing rather light and fluffy little dumplings that held sauce well.

Right, let's begin. You'll need...

1.5 kg of Russet potatoes
2 cups of plain flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
125g ricotta
Pinch of salt and pepper


First, give your potatoes a good scrub and steam them (still in their skins) for about 40 minutes. They are ready when you're able to push a knife through them with just a little resistance, and they should be fully cooked through. You don't want them to be too soft, as you still need a little texture in your dumplings.

Most people seem to say that steaming or baking your potatoes is the best way to make sure you don't get too much moisture into your dough mixture. You really don't want too much moisture in your potatoes, or your dough will be too gummy.

Once your potatoes are cooked through, let them cool for a bit and then remove their skins (while they are still warm). When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, but still warm, grate them into a bowl. If you have a ricer, you could use this instead. You basically want to keep some air in the mixture, so you could mash them but it could produce a heavier gnocchi.

                                                            Bunch of grated potatoes. Yummy.

Add the lightly beaten egg and gently combine into the mixture, then stir in the ricotta until it is mixed through. Start to sieve the flour into the potato-mixture, drawing it into the potato bit by bit, until the ingredients have combined into a dough that doesn't stick to your fingers and can be easily drawn together into a large ball, like so...

                                                                        Ta-daaaa! Dough.

Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Try not to over-flour the surface, as you don't want to combine too much additional flour into the mixture, or it will make your gnocchi tough and doughy.

Cut the dough into six equal-sized sections.

                                                             Like a fluffy potato Stone Henge.

Take one of the sections and, using your fingers, start to roll the dough out into a 3/4 inch thick roll. Try to keep the roll the same thickness throughout. 

Start to cut the roll into inch-long pieces. 
 

                                                             Messy workspace? Me? Nooooo...

Without overworking the dough, shape your gnocchi pieces as you like them. At this point you could indent them with either a gnocchi-board or using the back tines of a fork. 

I'm not going to lie to you...I did attempt to indent them. I do not have a gnocchi-board. Apparently, I do not own appropriate forks for gnocchi-indenting (damn you, flat tines!). I kinda just ended up slightly squashing them... BUT, I did make adorable little pillows...see? 

                                                            Hello, fluffy little potato pillows!

As you make your gnocchi, place them on a plate or a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, like a little army of potato pillows...

                                                               They're coming to get you...

                                                          Gathering of potato dumplings...

Once you're done, step back and admire your handiwork. Go on. 

                                                                  Ta-daaaaa! Complete.

At this point, you can cover them with clingfilm and put them in the refrigerator until you need them. They should be eaten within 2-3 hours of them being made. You could also place them in a single layer on a baking tray and freeze them. Once they are individually frozen, pack them into individual batches and store in the freezer - they should keep for up to 2 months. 

To cook, bring a pan of salted water to a rolling boil and pop your gnocchi in. Once the gnocchi starts to float to the surface, let them cook for a further 30 seconds and then use a slotted spoon to pull them out. Be careful...don't take your eyes off them! They cook much faster than you think. 

Serve in a light sauce like a basil and tomato sauce with some freshly grated parmesan...: 

Or quickly sauteed in a brown butter and sage sauce with a bit of pecorino grated over it...: 

...Or whatever sauce you like! They would go nicely as a side accompaniment to some grilled meat, as an alternate to potatoes, or just slathered in pesto and parmesan. Yum. 

Anyway, hope you give these little treats a go - they are such a delicious, comforting meal.

Under the Sea.

First of all, apologies for the rather long delay in posting; work suddenly got really busy and it sort of just slipped my mind, even though I'd had this post sorted out quite a while ago. Let's get down to it...

Today I'm blogging about something very close to my heart. Rather, close to my belly (if that even makes sense...which I don't think it does). If I were told that I could only eat from one food group for the rest of my life, I'd probably choose seafood. To be honest, probably one of the best things about being back in Malaysia is the abundance of incredible seafood now available for me to gorge on.

Case and point - last week. With my father and sister back in town, we rounded up some family friends and went to check out a new seafood place that we'd heard of; South Sea Seafood Restaurant by the old airport. I know that not everyone reading this blog will be in Malaysia, but if you're ever here then definitely look this place up. It is more than worth the drive out to the near middle of nowhere.

                      The best photo I could get without standing in the middle of the road and getting run-over... 

So, we got out to the restaurant (and after trying to find a place to park in the Ferrari-filled parking lot...which made us wonder about how much this dinner was going to end up costing!) and headed inside to our table. The dining area itself was very open and airy, and it was totally packed, which bode well. I know a few people reading this will never have had the experience of eating seafood ‘Asian’/‘Malaysian’ style, which is quite a different experience than in Europe. 

In Malaysia, your seafood dining experience often starts with you selecting your seafood (live) from tanks, like so...

                                                   Can't you hear them all calling out to be eaten?

So, yeah- that’s some fresh seafood right there. You can quite literally stare your fish straight in the eye and decide then and there who your victim is going to be. I love it.

                                    A helpful little reminder in case you forgot quite how fresh the seafood was.

I just love taking a little wander around the tanks and having a look at what’s on offer. These places all usually have the staples of one or two types of crab, various fresh water and sea fish, a couple of lobsters, prawns, and various molluscs. We usually get the rather vaguely named ‘big meat crab’ which are always, well, rather big and meaty as their name would suggest. I haven’t a clue what they are more commonly known as, but they look like this:

                                          You look delicious. I'm going to eat you later. ALL OF YOU.

They also had these pretty little things which I believe they called Japanese Sea Snails. We didn’t actually have any of these, but I loved the colour of their shells and so had to take a picture anyway:

                                                             D'awww. Aren't they sweet?

Now, these little guys... I love them. The first time I had them was in Kuching, Sarawak (an Eastern Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, for those of you who haven’t heard of it) and when I asked what they were called, I was told a strange-sounding Malay name that I didn’t understand (and can’t remember) due to my poor grasp of the language. The blank and somewhat clueless look on my face clearly demonstrated how little that meant to me and so my dining companion swiftly translated it into an English equivalent, which was apparently “Monkeys’ Penis”. Yum.

I then discovered them again on a food show about Scotland, where they were referred to as "Scottish Razor Clams". Then I found them in La Boqueria in Barcelona and the amazing seafood restaurant we visited there (La Paradeta). Now I gather that they are called razor clams pretty much everywhere and so will refer to them as such (especially since I'd rather not go asking for Monkeys' Penises in restaurants). Despite their raised-eyebrow-inducing appearance and questionable name, we had to get some as I've found them rather hard to come by out here. 

                                          ...Not the prettiest things, but I promise you they taste great.


I realise this is beginning to turn into an introduction to strange creatures of the sea but I just couldn't help myself. Told you I love seafood...

                                                        These guys are called Mantis Prawns.

                                                                    Australian Lobster.


Right, now getting down to the Seafood Orgy... We ordered a fair few dishes, but the main focus of the meal was the crab, which they always bring at the end. For me at least, it's all about the crab and that usually just means I sit for half an hour picking at the plates that get brought to the table while jiggling about impatiently for The Main Event.

                                              At least I got to kick back and enjoy a coconut while I waited.

  
The food really was great, and we tried a couple of things that we don't usually order. My mother is actually allergic to most seafood, so this was probably more torturous for her than it was for me (I say probably, I mean definitely), but this time I impatiently jiggled in my seat through...

Stir-fried Dried Chilli Squid. Really gorgeous and sticky, but oh my God, so spicy... In the best way possible, of course.

                                                              Stir-fried Dried Chilli Squid.

We also had Butter Prawns which are quite a favourite of ours. They are basically prawns fried with a crispy, buttery coating with curry leaves. ...Yeah, not exactly health food but so good. Try not to think about your hips as you scoff them, but it's worth it.

Butter Prawns.

 
A colleague at work had suggested that I try Salted Egg Squid which, to the non-Asians out there, probably sounds rather less than appetising. To be honest, I'm not usually much of a Salted Egg person normally but I thought I'd give it a go anyway and I rather enjoyed it. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect but was quite delighted when this plate of yummy crunchy things arrived.

                                                                                  Salted Egg Squid.


Then we got to tuck in to my beloved razor clams. I've tried them grilled before, but this time we tried them stir-fried in oyster sauce, ginger and spring onions. They were really lovely and delicately flavoured - just right.

                                        Razor clams stir-fried in ginger, spring onions and oyster sauce.



And then...it was time. The Crab had landed. Of course, since the ordering was left to my dad, we were faced with 4 kilos of crab, but that was just fine. Bring it. 

We ordered Chilli Crab, which is a typically Malaysian dish. I know there's considerable debate over whether this is originally a Malaysian or Singaporean dish but, of course, I'd say it's Malaysian... For those who haven't tried it before, Chilli Crab is cooked in a sticky, sweet-sour and spicy sauce. It's all about the sauce. If it doesn't have a good sauce, then it just isn't worth it.

                                                                              Hello, my pretties...


The joy of Chilli Crab is cracking into the meat and scooping up the sauce as much as you can using whatever means you can. I am far from my most elegant when eating crab - it's hard to be delicate when you've descended into a seafood-frenzy and into an almost animalistic state of tearing apart a crab with your bare hands, shell-shards flying, sauce in your hair and with a table of horrified dining-companions wondering when the food-massacre will end. Ahem. Thankfully it was four years into our relationship before my boyfriend had to witness me eating crab. A whole crab. By myself. For lunch. Somewhere in the murky depths of a hard-drive in Scotland, there are terrifying, incriminating photographs of me tearing into a crab with shards of shell in my hair and all over my face. Not a photo of my finer moments, but definitely one of my happier moments.

                                               See the massive plate of crab? MINE. MY CRAB.


We chose to accompany our crab with these mantao buns, which are Chinese steamed buns. You also get them fried, but we figured we should go for the steamed ones to lessen the cholesterol hit of the Crab Orgy.

Eventually, after about two and a half hours of eating (and slowly realising that for the past hour, I was the only one in our party of nine actually still eating), we (I) managed to polish off the rest of the crab, leaving nothing but the shell. Despite the slight embarrassment of realising that for the last of hour of our meal, I was the only person happily chomping away as eight people sat and watched me stuff my face, it was an excellent meal. 


I'd definitely recommend the South Sea Seafood Restaurant to those in KL. It might be in a bit of a strange location, but once you find your way there it is definitely worth it. The Chilli Crab was one of the best that I've had in a long time, and they had razor clams.
 

                                                                          The Aftermath.

Anyway, I know this has been a rather long post but I hope you guys enjoyed it. Definitely going to try my best to get better at posting! I've got a few delicious things lined up for you guys...  :)