[Recipe Try-outs] Pancake No. 1

I'm proud to announce I have found the ultimate pancake recipe for me!

Initiall I got the Streusel Pancake recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod blog, but as this recipe calls for Buttermilk (which would've been easy to trick but, it is still not the same thing.), I figured I just use other basic pancake recipe. Which is not that easy to find..
Making ancakes is simple, but I just know how usually the simplest recipes mean it requires greater details on its contributing factors.
In my case, to make it fluffy is the greatest quest, and streusels are just an added bonus because   I'm a big fan of brown sugar and caramel, so this is just perfect for me. ;)

Dry Ingredients :
1 1/2 cup flour
3tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp baking powder
2 Eggs
1 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup melted Butter

Glaze :
1 Cup Icing sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp milk

Haagen-Dazs, Grand Indonesia

My last experience with the American ice cream brand is well over 10 years ago. At that time, the menu was a lot different (despite the classics), and there wasn’t as many of their shops all around town.  They even had one called Ketan Cooler (!) which my Dad loved so much. Probably the only kind of ice cream that he liked, as it involved black glutinuous rice with 2 scoop of vanilla ice cream, and (I THINK) some sort of coconut milk themed sauce. (to not to say sweet santan sauce). So this time, I revisited the freebie.
Here’s what we ordered:

2 Scoops of Ice Cream with Crepe, Caramel Sauce and Sliced Fruits
So I have been comparing crepes all over town (the proper one), so I wanted to find out what’s Haagen-Dazs’, supposedly an expert in desserts, version is like. So I took the Create option of mixing 2 scoops of ice cream (Raspberry Sorbet and Strawberry Cheesecake) with some crepe, sliced fruits and caramel sauce.

Raspberry Sorbet, Strawberry Ice Cream with Crepe and Caramel Sauce

MS Cupcake Recipe Try-outs : Peanut Butter-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

This is the first cupcake recipe I tried from the Martha Stewart book, and to be honest, I picked this recipe just because we had peanut butter.

Most of recipes in this book requires ingredients, which I wouldn't say exotic, but they sort of are for us living in Asia. Or at least, such a luxury.  Something so ridiculously basic for american as blueberry, would be ridiculously expensive to buy here.
And what a blueberry cupcake be without blueberries?
And if you've tried baking (fail or not, :D) , you'd know just a small difference of consistency and ingredients, go a long long way.
But it should never stop you from trying it out, and this one proves to be a jackpot.
IT DOES mainly call for peanut butter..

 

out of the oven

PB, inside and out!

Here's the recipe (slightly simplified):

Peanut Butter-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes 

Ingredients

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

4 oz (100 gr) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 oz (50 gr) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped 

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Peanut Butter filling

4 tbsp (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

stir together all ingredients until smooth. use immediately 

Directions: 

1. preheat oven to 160°C (325°F). line standard muffin tin with paper cups

2. whisk together flour, baking powder, salt. 

3. Melt butter and chocolates in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted. Then remove from heat, and let cool slightly. 

4. Whisk sugar into cooled chocolate mixture. Add eggs, and whisk until mixture is smooth, stir in vanilla. 

5. Add flour mixture; stir until well incorporated 

6. Spoon 2 tablespoon of chocolate batter into each lined cup, followed by 1 tablespoon peanut butter filling. Repeat with another tablespoon of batter, and top with 1 teaspoon filling. 

Swirl top of cupcake batter and filling with a wooden skewer or toothpick

7. Bake, rotating tin halfway, until a cake tester inserted in centers come out with only a few moist crumbs attached (40 minutes). not too long, or it will dry out! 

8. Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes. 

Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers. 

[Resep] Lasagna Bayam

Jadiiii teman- temaaan, lasagna ini diselang selaing tiga macam lapisan: 

1.  Bechamel Putih,

 2. Meat Sauce (atau bisa diganti dagingnya dengan jamur/wortel kalau mau tanpa daging), dan 

3. lapisan bayam. 

Tentu, kalau mau salah 2 aja juga nggak papa, jadi gak usah pake lapisan hijaunya. 

note: kadang-kadang, keju mozarella juga ikut diselang-seling, supaya lebih padat bernutrisi!  (dan kalau memang lagi punya banyak sekali keju mozarella)

Wings and Carrots Night, Wings Dome (Cilandak Town Square)

Two-sauce Wings for Two

My Plate of Carrots crunch crunh crunch

Surprisingly good. My wings came in two different sauces, one was original sweetish barbecue and the other one was butter sumthing. (sorry, this was a while ago :p) 

Good mainly because I think I was not expecting much. 

service was slow, price to food ratio was 8/10 but price to food AND service ration would be a 6/10. 

The raw carrots that came with my wings was a real good touch to the palette. 

made it a refreshing cut, away from the 'ole combination of fries and what not. 

(we did order onion rings still, tho :D) 

They charged me Rp. 8,000 ,- for the extra carrots I ordered (which took, as I pointed out, a whiiiiiiilleeeee to serve) 

Verdict: I'd come again for the food, not for the feel-free-to-smoke area that is all over the restaurant area. (and all over citos, actually.) Then again, I'll make that: I'll come again, ONLY IF I can't help but not avoid the smokers hell-hole that is Cilandak Town Square

The First Mangga Besar Encounter

 Yesterday afternoon, me and some friends decided to meet up and (for me, personally) to finally face the challenge of reaching the renowned Sate Domba Afrika by the Museum Textile of Jakarta. 

A few years ago, I have tried try to look for the--now seem-- mythical domba meat join, and miserably failed.

 My undisputedly low level of experience and knowledge of that certain part of town had me giving up so easily the first time I got stuck in Petamburan area.

 By the time it was no longer logical to be referred to as lunch time, I was still beating in the bush of where I was even at.

 Added with people's note of "don't go there after 1 p.m, usually they're out already", I submit to my limp Central-Jakarta-savvy-ness and retreated. 

So yesteday, when Ester told us we should meet up and try it out, I was psyched and drooling a little. 

I have tried the knock-off brand Domba Afrika in some forgetable mall not long after i failed even reaching the place, and even that was really good. 

So from that point on, I vow to try the real Domba at least once, WITH SOMEONE THAT HAS ACTUALLY BEEN THERE. (Check) 

Much to my conclusion that my fate with theDomba place is probably cursed, they are apparently closed on sundays. 

I was already in stuck behind what seemed to look like an endless supply of mikrolets in front of Tanah Abang train station, when the girls (including Ester) told me the news. 

(I should give a tremendous thumbs up to apple devices' GPS, without which I would never reach that train station--Despite the inevitable stale ending of my Tanah Abang adventure.)

Tania advised we should shift our culinary adventure somewhere else close, like Kota. *shudder* I'm sorry I can't help but shudder a little. 

It still sounds so far, despite having spent most of my childhood a few neighborhoods away. 

So we headed to Mangga Besar, to be exact.  Another alien terrain for me, Mangga Besar is an inherent part of kota that actually still passes for Central Jakarta.

Putri had to make sure it's (semi) street food restaurants that we try out. 

So Tania, being the 'local' of kota amongst us (judged by the proximity of where she lives, generally) advised a Bakmi Kepiting on a particular intersection. 

The Bakmi Kepiting is side by side with a Kwetiaw Place, named Kwetiaw Perempatan Mangga Besar. 

We sit in the Kwetiaw place instead because it looks roomier and Tania said we could just order from next door and eat it together there. 

This is what I call semi street food, where it just basically feels like eating in someone's garage. No AC, no frills, chairs, table and you (most of the time) can see your food being prepared. 

So here's the Bakmi Kepiting :

Bakmi Kepiting Mangga Besar

For 22.000 you get the 'biasa' version, which means not so much crab meat on top. 

I got the 'special' one, for 33.000, gives you a pretty good chunks of crab meat. (although not THAT much of a significant difference)

This was good, if you do like crab, and sea produce.  Noodles were thinner than usual, good portioned, and not your usual side street noodles (obviously), broth was mediocre. 

A little disappointed with this one, or maybe I'm essentially not into Bakmi Kepiting in general. 
I give it 7 out of 10 for noodles. 

Because they made me have it 'to go', just because I eat it next door.(why don't you guys get along really?)

and because they only gave us two pockets of the plain spicy orange chili sauces, while I did need more kecap asin, and a great dollop of pickles they did not come with (that I ended up stole from the kwetiaw place). 

I also ordered a portion of kwetiaw goreng sapi to go for my dad. 

Sorry no photo was taken of this :| 

It was really good actually. Despite being really dark in color, it wasn't as sweet as my Jawa tongue is used to, but I still liked it. 

Good amount of meat chunks and some other parts like babat and kikil, (tripe, etc) so if you're still pink and squeamish to the dark side of Indonesian food, you wouldn't be a big fan of it. Though I'm sure you can make a request to the cook cooking your kwetiaw. 

8 out of 10 for the kwetiaw Mangga Besar 

I'll try take more pictures next time. :) 

Cheers!  

It's sumthin sumthin special to cook week ! :D

Today i feel like cooking something excessively gooey, caramel-y, gunky, and giggly fun-filled carb exploshun. :D
soo.. I'm thinking to make this  . I know it doesn't fit the caramel-y description but I did stumble across that on foodgawker and and and chocolate chip cookie is good, cheese cake is good (for you that like 'em, I personally don't really. But if I love you, I'd make em anytime for you :D) so, Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars?? Gooooooodd!! :9



So, might need to get a pack of cream cheese for that on my way home, and some chicken breasts. and maybe some parmesan. To hell with my diet.

Cheers. :)
D.