CHIPS

CHIPS

Chips anyone?? Chips are the easiest appetizer to prepare huh.. just open up the pack and serve! tsk.. tsk... Yes! it is ready-made chips. I just love the way it was arranged and the vibrant colors. The sauce in the middle is mixture of mayonaise and ketchup. Posting this for the sake of "presentation" Whatelse could make the eyes eat before the mouths? It is absolutely the presentation!

SPRING ROLLS

Spring Rolls

Honestly, I did not make these.. Ordered from a favorite chinese restaurant called "OCEANS". Mixed vegetables and beef spring rolls. I love the presentation and this is one of my favorit food photos! Served during my farewell party way back in Abu Dhabi.

Onion Rings

Onion Rings

I have tried making onion rings before but ended with soft and very oily. Once I had tried very thick coating. But here is the perfect batter for that! I got this from my sister Dels before.

Ingredients:

Thinly sliced onions
Oil for frying

Batter:
½ Cup flour
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 beaten egg
¼ Cup water

extra cornstarch

Mix all the batter ingredients until smooth. Place extra cornstarch for coating in a separate plat. Dip each sliced onion into the batter and coat with extra cornstarch. Deep fry few at a time. Garnish with sauce and serve immediately while still crispy.

Crispy Kangkong

Crispy Kangkong

I’ve been wondering what could I have for the kangkong we have in our small garden. The helper usually takes it home coz I don’t know what to do with it. I remember once we went to a restaurant in Dumaguete and one of the appetizers they have is “crispy kangkong” I Used the same batter with my previous post for onion rings. The secret is.. serve immediately while still crispy!

Gidunggo (Flavored Oil)

Gidunggo (Flavored oil)

Thisi is exotic flavored oil smells devine with just the right amount of hotness of various chilli.. Just soft enough for everybody’s' taste!

Ingredients :

2 Cup Olive oil
3 grated Carrots
1 Piece red bell pepper
2 whole pieces star anise
6 cloves garlic
2 pcs. bay leaves
6 pcs. small red chilli
1 tablespoon whole black pepper
1 teaspoon whole white pepper

Procedure:

Heat olive oil in a pan and add carrots. Fry carrots until crisp and drain. Discard the crispy carrot and keep the oil. Put all of the other ingredients in a bottle and add the hot carrot oil. You may add various kinds of chilli according to your liking. Store in room temperature.

This oil is smells so great! You can use it to flavor the oil you are using for sautee or you may serve it directly to the table as an optional flavor. This really adds an appetizing taste to your dish, may it be sallad or meat. Anybody can just add the right amount of oil on their food while eating! which my husband loves to do... Actually I've learned this from my husband and modified a bit from his original gidunggo.. This is famous in Angolan cuisine. Enjoy!

 

Eggplant Bites

Eggplant Bites

This is very easy and quick to make appetizer.

How to:

Preheat oven to 180 0 C. Choose large eggplants and slice them into ½ inch thick. Pan fry with a bit of oil, don’t put too much oil as eggplant absorbs a lot of oil. You may use oil spray just to oil the pan without excess oil. Pan fry the eggplant until golden brown. Spread a heaping spoon of tomato sauce into each slice of eggplant and add Edam cheese on top and lots of parmesan cheese. Bake for 5 minutes and serve 1 slice each per person.

Tomato Rose

Tomato Rose

This lovely rose really really looks great!!! It really adds an appetizing sensation even by just looking at it as it sits nicely in center or maybe at the side of a dish plate!

So simple to make! With one fresh tomato, slowly peel off continuously starting from the top to bottom. The peeled tomato skin should be at least ½ inch wide and by the time you’ll reach the bottom, you will get a long twirling tomato skin. Now start working from one end, let the skin stand vertically, roll the skin carefully until you reach the end. Tuck the end at the bottom. You will get a LOVELY ROSE! Simple as that! You may use the flesh of the tomato for your sauce!

Appetizing Meat Cuts 'n Gravy

Appetizing Meat Cuts 'n Gravy

Ingredients:

Lean Beef cut into cubes
Chicken Breasts Cut into Cubes
Salt & Pepper
Bread Crumbs
Parsley (finely chopped)
Lemon Zest
Slightly beaten egg
Oil for deep frying

Gravy:
1 Cup Water
Chicken Cube/stock
2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
Salt
½ tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp. soy sauce


How to :

Season the meat with salt and pepper. Mix the bread crumbs with finely chopped parsley and lemon zest. Coat the meat with the bread crumb mixture by dipping into the egg then to the bread crumbs. Do the coating procedure twice each cube of meat to achieve a thicker coating and firm. Deep-fry and drain in kitchen towel. Serve with gravy.

How to make gravy:

Bring water to boil, add chicken stock, add ground pepper and salt, Add Cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken the sauce, stir vigorously until thick. Add 1 tsp. of soy sauce to have a richer color. Adjust the amount of pepper if u like it more spicy!

Lemon Basket

Lemon Basket


I intend to post this coz it really looks great on the table especially with sauce in it. It really makes the eyes eat first!

It is very simple to make! With one lemon, cut the bottom part just thin enough not to reach the flesh of the lemon; this will be the base of the basket. With a sharp knife, cut vertically until half way leaving ¼ inch from the center of the lemon top. Do the same on the opposite side. Cut horizontally until you reach the mark of the previous vertical cut and carefully remove the wedge shape of the lemon, doing the same on the other side. Now you got a basket form of lemon but with flesh inside. If you wish to put some sauce in it, remove the flesh carefully with small sharp knife to carve the edges and use a spoon to scoop the flesh inside.

Really looks nice with salads and the dipping sauce in it! I got this idea from a Canadian cook book which I think I should acknowledge here though I didn’t copy word for word but I did my own way as I did it! But I have the right to claim my Photos as my own! Just respecting Journalistic rights!!! Some bloggers are not acknowledging their sources which I find it a form of plagiarism if copied word for word!!!

Source : Australia Wide Cookbook, edition reprinted 1997,1998 by Ken Duncan Australia Wide Holdings Pty. Ltd.