Pear & Raisin Bread Pudding

I am such a fanatic fan of bread puddings. Previously made some minis but this time, I made a custardy one. Love it when it's time to scoop a serving out of the pan.

12 slices of white bread - cut into 1-inch squares
3 tbsp of butter - melted
1 cup of raisins
3 pears or granny smith apples - cored, cut into small chunks or sliced
3 cups of milk
1 cup of heavy cream
7 eggs
1 and 1/2 cup of sugar
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp of mixed spices of nutmeg and cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
some brown sugar for sprinkling

Arrange bread on a greased 9x13 pan. Alternate with an arrangement of pears/apples and raisins. In a big bowl, whisk eggs and sugar. Add milk and heavy cream. Add vanilla,spices, and salt. Whisk till frothy and pour into the pan through a sieve.Let the bread soak up the wet mixture for abt 5 mins. Sprinkle some brown sugar on top for a crusty caramel touch. Bake in a preheated 180 degrees oven for abt 1 hour, depending on yr oven, or until the custard is cooked. There's no need for a water bath.
Cool completely b4 serving with a dollop of ice cream.

Sweet Bun

It has been quite a while since I last thought of making some sweet buns. So, I told myself that I shall be making one to make my life complete..hehe..
Seriously, this is soft and fluffy..gobbled it up when it came out of the oven and had only these few to show...Thanks to mamafami,CMG and others,..I made this with a sweet ending..

A good base - the rest is up to your creativity and dangerous appetite..(wink)

Dough - (I adjusted a bit)

300g bread flour
100g hongkong flour
100g castor sugar
1 tbsp bread improver
1/4 tsp salt
11g instant yeast
1 egg - slightly beaten
180ml water

Mix the above till it forms an inital dough. I used the dough hook of my Kitchen Aid. To this, add

1 tbsp - softened butter
1 tbsp - vegetable shortening

Knead about 8 - 10 mins till it becomes a soft pliable dough. Rest for 10 mins, covered with kitchen towel. Next, shape into 40g balls.(Yes, I weighed them).
Do the works - filling, shaping and whatsoever at this stage. Then rest for abt 1 hr till it doubles in size. I added red bean paste (ready bought) into the balls, shape it nicely, brush the top with egg white and sprinkled some sesame seeds. Place your bread on greased pan.





Bake in a preheated 200 degrees oven for about 12 mins( it depends on your oven. Adjust if necessary). I brush mine with softened butter immediately after I took them out of the oven. Cool on rack.

Crusty Garlic Bread

Actually, made these to go along with the spaghetti. In the end, have to make more as they're being munched off the moment they leave the oven!

Use any crusty bread of yr choice and spread them with my garlic spread below..

125g salted butter - softened, not melted
pinch of salt
2 tbsp freshly ground garlic
1 tsp of mixed herbs (oregano,thyme,rosemary,dill..whatever)
dash of ground black pepper

Mix the above thoroughly. Spread on slices of french loaf . Sprinkle more dried oregano on top and toast them, buttered-side up, in a preheated 200 degree oven for abt 5 - 7 mins.
Serve hot.

Garlic Spring Onion Mini Loaf

Again, u may use your favourite bread dough, crusty or soft and top with the below. Bake at 190 degrees for 12 - 15 mins.

Topping

60g room-temperature butter
2 stalks of spring onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced finely
1 egg

Mix the above and spread on top of your proofed bun.

Chicken Mayo Bun

Again, use your favourite bread dough and fill it in.

Filling

250g chicken breast, boiled, cooled and shredded
1/2 cup mayo (add more if u want a wet texture)
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano

Bake likewise as in the Apple Cocoon.

Apple Cocoon

Why cocoon, you ask? Cuz it's shaped like a cocoon of a butterfly. You may use any kind of pastry or bread dough of your choice. Just fill it with a sweet apple pie filling (I used a combination of apple and pear) and get creative!

Filling

1 green cooking apple (peeled , cored, diced or sliced)
1 golden pear (peeled , cored, diced or sliced)
150g white or brown sugar
110ml water
1 tbsp lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
cornstarch solution (mix 2 tbsp of cornflour and 2 tbsp of water)

Cook all of the above except for cornstarc solution. When boiling, add solution. When thick, remove from fire and cool completely.

After filling your cocoon, proof for abt 1/2 hour, brush with egg wash and bake in a preheated 190 degrees oven for 12 - 15 mins.

Roti John

Hubby once said that if I were to sell this outside,I will rugi (not make money) as the bread is packed with the minced beef, compared to the ones they sold which looks more like roti telur(toast)...I say,..why scrimp?..Enjoy.



Pan fried minced beef. Eggs. Chillies. Spring onions and flat parsley. Sliced shallots.
Add all the ingredients together.Mix well. Season with a little salt and pepper. Spread onto halved baguettes or french bread and press onto a hot, lightly oiled girdle,mixture side down. Toast both sides for a crunchy texture.

Midnight Sandwich

Mmm....it was midnite, and were all craving for something..so, dug out what I had in the fridge, and came up with this. Not a healthy way to end your day, but hey!...we all do this at times, anyway...Enjoy!

FILLING

some hotdogs(or any other cold meat that u can find in yr fridge), fried and sliced
1/2 cup chilli sauce
1/4 cup mayo
sliced tomatoes
slices of cheese
some lettuce,washed

combine the chilli sauce and mayo and add in the sliced hotdogs.Toast your bread to a prefered crisp. Assemble yr sandwich with the rest of the ingredients and cut into a diagonal. Be sure to eat while your bread is still fresh from the oven/toast or u'll end up with a soggy sandwich.