Thursday, March 29, 2012

Mrs Fields Super Fudge Brownies

Call it a divine moment.

A few weeks ago, I was craving for Mrs Fields brownies. When I was a teenager, I used to buy her cookies and brownies all the time. I would trot to the nearest Mrs Fields store after school to satisfy my sweet craving. Lately, I haven't seen any Mrs Fields stores around my area and thought perhaps, I would just have to wait till I return back to Singapore to have my brownie.

Shortly after that, my library had a book sale and lo and behold, they were selling her cookie book!! It features 100 recipes from her kitchen, including the double fudge brownies! Needless to say, I bought the book in a heartbeat!

I was happy to find out that her recipes are not very complicated. In fact, this super fudge brownie (above) is really easy. My only issue was that I used a smaller pan than what was stated, so my baking time took much longer than the original slated time. However, the result was SUPERB. It was not overly sweet, it was chewy, it was fudge-y, it was everything I wanted! =D

Super Fudge Brownies (from Mrs Fields Cookie Book)

Ingredients
6 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate (I used Ghiradelli's)
1 cup salted butter, softened (I used unsalted butter)
4 large eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup (6oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

Yields: 16 brownies, 2 inches square

Preheat oven to 300F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch baking pan.

Combine unsweetened baking chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until pieces are almost melted. Remove from heat and stir until smooth.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat eggs until light yellow in color - about 5 minutes. Add sugar and blend on low until thoroughly combined.

Add vanilla and melted chocolate to the egg and sugar mixture. Blend on low speed until smooth. Add the flour and mix thoroughly.

Pour batter into greased pan. Smooth surface with a spatula, and sprinkle uniformly with chocolate chips. Bake on the center rack of oven for 45-55 minutes. The batter should be set and a toothpick inserted in center should come out clean. Do not overbake.

Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cut and serve chilled.

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Sunday, March 18, 2012

Bibimbap

Beautiful array of colors. Nice to look at and good to eat!
Oh man, I can't believe how long it has been since my last blog entry! March has been one crazy month for me so sorry for the lag!

Even though I didn't update this blog, I have still been cooking and experimenting with different dishes so I do hope I will be able to share as much as possible with you guys! =) Recently, I've got my hands on Morimoto's (well known as the iron chef!) cookbook and have been really excited to try his recipes. In fact, right now, I am braising a large hunk of pork belly in the oven that is supposed to be a favorite in his restaurant. It is pretty time-consuming, taking about 2 days to complete the whole process so I hope it turns out well!

Today, I am going to share with you one of my favorite korean dishes of all time - Bibimbap! As you can see in the picture, I don't own a dolsot (stone-pot) so I just made a simple Bibimbap on a plate. Of course, if you have a stone-pot, feel free to use it. I love it when the stone-pot heats the rice at the base and you get those nice, crispy bits of rice at the end!

Before I list down the recipe, I must disclaim that this is a very simplified version of Bibimbap and I just did the dish according to my own taste. I wanted a very quick meal and used whatever I had in my pantry so this is not your traditional Bibimbap. But it still tasted really good! =D

Bibimbap
(serves 3)

1 cup of corn kernels (I used fresh corn, shaved from a cob)
1 cup of carrot, coarsely shredded
1 cup of cucumber, coarsely shredded
1/2 cup of minced meat (I used turkey)
6 to 8 large handfuls of fresh spinach (they will be cooked down by a lot)
3 eggs
1/2 tablespoon of korean bulgogi sauce
3 tablespoons of shredded nori (seaweed) 
3 portions of cooked short-grain rice
toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Bibimbap Sauce
3 tablespoon of gochujang (korean chilli paste)
1 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil, or to taste

In a bowl, mix the korean bulgogi sauce with the minced meat and set aside.

Stir-fry the corn, carrot, cucumber individually (in 3 separate batches) with a little oil over medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, wash the spinach, put it in a pot and cook over medium-high heat. Let it steam until softened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure the leaves are cooked evenly. Drain well and set aside.

Fry the three eggs sunny side up and set aside.

To make the sauce, mix the gochujang and sesame oil in a bowl. Adjust according to taste (ie: less sesame oil or more chilli paste).

On a plate, arrange the vegetables around the rice. Place the shredded nori in the centre. Top it off with an egg and garnish with the toasted sesame seeds.

To eat, mix one tablespoon of Bibimbap sauce with the plated rice and vegetables, making sure they are evenly coated. Break the yolk and mix it into the rice too. Enjoy! Best Blogger Tips