Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

Crust
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Filling
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 F. Combine flour and salt in large bowl; cut in shortening with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumb. Mix in enough cold water with fork until flour is moistened. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a ball; flatten slightly. Wrap in ball in plastic food wrap; refrigerate.

Roll out remaining ball of dough on lightly floured surface into 11 inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough into ungreased 9 inch pie plate; unfold dough, pressing firmly against bottom and  sides. Trim crust to 1/2 inch from edge of pan; set aside.

In 2 quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened. Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon into crust lined pie plate.

Roll out refrigerated ball of dough on lightly floured surface into 11 inch circle. Gently fold dough into quarters. Place dough over filling; unfold. Trim, seal and crimp or flute edges.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover edge of crust with strips of foil to prevent excessive browing. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Cantaloupe and Sago in Coconut Milk

Ingredients:

1/2 cantaloupe
1/2 cup sago (soak for half an hour)
2 cups water added to half cup thick coconut milk
2 tablespoon sugar (or according to taste)
pinch of salt

Directions:

Put the soaked sago into a pot of water (about 4 cups) and boil until the sago turns trasnparents. Under a cold running tap, pour the sago into a fine mesh sieve and use your fingers to swirl the sago around a few minutes. Pour the sago in a bowl and set aside.

In a pot, add the coconut milk, water, salt and sugar. Under low heat, bring to a boil. Turn off the flame when you see at least 2 bubbles. (Do not boil the coconut milk too long because it will curdle and not look smooth.) Add the sago and stir a bit. Leave it to cool before refrigerating.

Put a few spoonful of the cantaloupe mixture into a dessert bowl, spoon the coconut milk with the sago over the fruit and serve cold.

Honey Walnut Banana Bread

Ingredients:

3 ripe/over ripe bananas, mashed up
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar ( you may use less sugar, the cake was a bit too sweet for my taste)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs (room temperature)
1/4 baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup of flour
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl, add the mashed bananas, butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon powder and salt.

Mix all the ingredients together, till it's all combined. Don't worry if there's a few banana lumps here and there.

Add the flour and mix it together. You can just hand mix it.

Add 3/4 cup of chopped walnut and fold in with a spatula or wooden spoon. Don't over beat the batter after adding the flour, to keep this bread moist and crumbly.

Pour the batter into a loaf tin and sprinkle the left over nuts over the top.

Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes. Check with a tooth pick to see if the bread is done. If the toothpick comes out clean after poking it through the center of the cake, it's done.

Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut in half
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoon white wine

Directions:

1. Rinse chicken halves, and pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken cut side down in a baking dish.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, soy sauce, grated ginger and garlic. Mix well, and pour mixture over chicken. Cover and refrigerated for at least 3 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).

4. Bake chicken uncovered in the preheated oven for i hour, basting frequently. Test for doneness, making sure there is no pink left in the meat. Let cool slightly, then cut into smaller pieces to serve.

Recipe by allrecipes.com

Tapioca Steamed Layered Cake ( "Banh da lon" in Vietnamese)

Ingredients:

2 cups tapioca starch
1/2 cup rice flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 can coconut milk (13 oz) + 1/2 cup water
1 cup cooked yellow split mung beans (soaked for 1 hour & steam until cooked, 30 minutes)


Directions:


Boil the 1/2 cup water and add the sugar until dissolved. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the rice flour and tapioca starch.

Add the coconut + water mixture to the flour mixture. Stir.

Add the water/sugar syrup to the mixture.

Divide the mixture into 2 parts.

Yellow layer - add the mung beans and mixture to a food processor. Blend until smooth. Sift the mixture to remove the lumps. Add yellow food color.

Green layer - add food color and mix.

Place a metal container in a steam pot. Add one layer of green. When solid, add yellow layer. Continue until all layers are finished.

Once cool, cut the tapioca cake. When it's warm, it is really sticky and get more firm once cooled.

Recipe by: Annie Vang

Cheddar Zucchini Drop Biscuits

Ingredients:

3/4 cup zucchini, shredded
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (divided into 1 tsp and 1/2 tsp)
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold and diced
1 cup buttermilk
freshly grated black pepper (optional)

Directions:

Place the shredded zucchini in a small colander, add the 1/2 tsp of salt, and allow to drain for about thirty minutes. You can add a small weight on top of the zucchini to help drain out as much of the water as possible.

Postion an oven rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 450 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon liners.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the chilled butter, and using either your hands or a pastry blender, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until crumbs the size of small peas form.

Add the buttermilk, zucchini, and cheddar cheese into the batter, mixing until just combined and the batter is moistened. Drop the batter onto the prepared baking sheets by the tablespoonful, and space them evenly apart (they won't spread during baking). Sprinkle a little black pepper onto the tops of the biscuits if desired.

Bake the biscuits until the tops are golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Allow the biscuits to cool slightly, and serve warm.

Cranberry Pistachio Shortbreads

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup (135 g) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (130 g) dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

Direction:

In a large bowl whisk the flour with the salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth (about 1 - 2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until smooth and creamy (about 3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Fold in the chopped pistachios and dried cranberries. (Make sure that the nuts and cranberries are evenly distributed throughout the dough.)

Divide the dough in half. Place each half of dough on the center of a 14 inch (35 cm) length of parchment or wax paper. Smooth and shape the dough into an evenly shaped rectangle that is about 10 inches (25 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Then thoroughly wrap the shaped logs in the parchment or wax paper, twists the ends of the paper to seal the logs, and place in the refrigerator o chill for at leas two hours, or up to three days. (The logs can also be frozen for about two months. If freezing, it is best to defrost the logs in the refrigerator overnight before slicing and baking.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degree C) with the rack in the center of he oven. Line two baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a thin bladed knife, slice the logs into 1/4 to 1/2 inches (.5 o 1 cm) thick cookies. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.


Recipe by: Joy of Baking