Pani Popo - Samoan Coconut Buns

For quite a few years, my mom has made the most incredible dinner rolls ever.  Honey rolls.  These rolls are frequently requested and loved by all who eat them.  These rolls are so good that I have incorporated them into my regular baking repertoire. However, pride goeth before the fall, as they say, and (sorry, Mom) but I think that the honey buns have fallen.  Not far, mind you, maybe to spot number two.  Right behind Pani Popo.  As soon as I saw the recipe, my first thought was that they are just like the honey rolls, except with coconut instead of honey, and since I am a lover of all things coconut, these shot right to the top of my "to bake" list (yes, I actually do have a list).


These rolls are light and tender, with a subtle hint of vanilla.  The coconut sauce is poured over the top of the rolls before baking, so when they come out of the oven there is a golden brown, thin skin of sticky glaze.  The first thing out of my mouth after I put these buns in my mouth?  "Can I be Samoan?"


Pani Popo - Samoan Coconut Buns
Recipe slightly adapted from KAF


Sweet Yeast Dough:
3/4 cup (6 ounces) lukewarm water
2 large eggs
4 Tablespoons (2 ounces) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounces) dry milk powder
1/4 cup (1 13/4 ounces) granulated sugar
3 1/2 (14 3/4 ounces) all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast


Coconut Sauce:
1 1/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
pinch of salt


Mix together the dough ingredients and knead together, either by hand, mixer, or bread machine.  The dough should form a soft, smooth ball, and may stick a bit to the bottom of the bowl.  Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise at room temperature until nearly doubled, about 1 hour.  While the dough rises, grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.


Gently deflate the dough and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface.  Divide the dough into 12 pieces, and form each piece into a ball.  Place the rolls in the pan, spacing them evenly so they are not touching.  Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 to 60 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 350F.


During the last 15 minutes of the rise time, make the coconut sauce.  Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook the sauce, stirring constantly, until thickened and just beginning to bubble.  Pour the warm sauce evenly over the risen buns and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the buns are golden brown.  Serve the buns warm from the pan, spooning the sauce onto the rolls.  Makes 12 buns.


Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Indian Rice Pudding

I have a tendency to force recipes to work for me, whether I have the proper ingredients or not. Some believe this is a form of culinary blasphemy and thus warrants confiscation of apron and knives, but it's worked out pretty well for me so far, as was the case with this recipe. I had extra coconut milk from the Mango Chicken Curry, extra evaporated milk from a previous project, and no idea what to do with either. This food network recipe seemed to be a promising starting point, so I ran with it. And ran. And continued running. Then cooked, tasted, and then ran some more until I came up with the following recipe. I made a double batch and took it to a work party, where it was a huge hit and several people asked for the recipe. A small word of caution: if you're not fond of cardamom, do not make this recipe. Or simply leave it out and increase the amount of cinnamon.

1 C Cooked Basmati Rice
1 C Milk
1/2 C Evaporated Milk
3/4 C Coconut Milk
1/4 C Splenda
1/4 tsp Cardamom
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/3 C Golden Raisins
1/4 C Coconut

In a large nonstick pan over medium heat, combine the cooked rice and milk. Heat until the mixture begins to boil. Decrease the heat to low and cook at a simmer until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently (about 5 minutes).

Increase heat to medium, add evaporated milk, coconut milk, splenda, and cardamom. Continue cooking until mixture again begins to thicken (about 5-10 minutes). Use a whisk to help prevent the cardamom from clumping. Once the mixture just begins to thicken, remove from the heat and stir in the raisins and coconut. Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes or a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surpface of the pudding. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Mahlzeit!
-Coriaunty

A Cheesy Obsession

This is (one of) my guilty pleasures. Yep. Cheese. But not just any cheese, my friends. I do not like the cheap-o Smith's or Macy's cheese, which is the consistency of warm playdough and tastes about the same. Nor do I like the processed plastic we fondly refer to as American Cheese. What I do like is the real stuff that is carried to me, straight from Wisconsin, in a cute little purse by a cute little Chemist Cuisinier, PhD. Those are the cheeses that please my palate. Apple & Cinnamon Cheddar is by far my favorite and has, in fact, inspired a few recipes. There's just something about apple, cinnamon, and aged cheddar that makes a perfect, albeit very different cheese. Other Wisconsin cheeses I've sampled include aged cheddar, maple syrup cheddar, baked cheese, and chocolate cheese. Rich and creamy, the chocolate cheese is one of the most interesting and delicious of the cheeses. It just weirds you out a little because you must remember you're eating cheese, not fudge. Added today to the "tasted" list is Blueberry Cheddar. To die for. As mentioned, these come from Wisconsin and are made by Brennan's. I must say, they do cheese the right way. I highly recommend you broaden your horizons and begin exploring the world of cheese. You'll thank (and curse) me for it later.

Scrambled Pancakes

This is the second recipe that I have tried from the Homestyle in a Hurry cookbook, and it was once again fabulous.  The title of this recipe sounds incredibly odd, but is pretty self explanatory.   Think pancake batter cooked like you would scrambled eggs.  The result?  Pancake nuggets, as my husband called them.  Verdict?  Delicious, clever, and out of the ordinary.  What makes them even better?  They are a perfect delivery vehicle for the amazing Honey Butter that has taken up residence in my refrigerator.

Scrambled Pancakes

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup milk

2 eggs, separated

2 Tablespoons butter

Maple Syrup (or honey butter for topping)

In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, milk, and egg yolks; set aside.  Ina separate bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until stiff.  Gently fold in the flour mixture.  melt butter in a 10 inch skillet and pour in all the batter.  Cook over medium-low heat while continuously folding over.  cook until golden.  Serve warm with syrup.  Serves 4.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Honey Butter

I received a new cookbook, Homestyle In A Hurry, for Mother's Day, and so far it is smashing success.  It is a compilation of favorite recipes sent in by people from all over.  I read through the cookbook (something that I always made fun of my mom for and swore that I would never do), and the recipes are very simple, yet look so delicious.  The first recipe that jumped out at me was this one, for honey butter.  By now, you all know that I love honey, and I suppose that butter isn't too far down the list either, so honey butter is something that I have a bit of a weakness for.  This particular recipe intrigued me because it adds marshmallow cream.  Sure enough, this honey butter is amazing.  I might have to hide it from myself.


Honey Butter


1 cup butter, softened
1 cup honey
1 7ounce jar marshmallow cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until completely blended.  Store in a covered bowl (I store it in a sealed Tupperware container in the refrigerator).  Makes about 3 cups.


Enjoy!  -Cardamommy

Mango Chicken Curry

You know the part in Ratatouille when Remy is teaching Emile about food and when he takes bites and then combines flavors, bursts of color, lines, and music band together to make a wonderful creation? Yeah there was definitely a lot of that going on here. Swirly and curly sweetness combines with splatters of spicy curry to create a perfectly balanced and complimentary combination of flavors that make up this mango chicken curry. The prominent figures are chicken, curry, and raisins, but if you pay close attention you can also detect the subtle coconut, ginger, and cumin. The mango and chicken chunks sometimes look similar, so it can be a surprise to discover what each forkful holds. This has definitely become my new favorite dish to eat and to prepare. Not only was it fun, it was not terribly complicated, and it produced delicious results. Every step of this recipe was enjoyable, and I was absolutely delighted with every bite.
Original recipe found here.

3 T (or more) Vegetable Oil
1 Large Onion
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
2 T Yellow Curry Powder
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 T Minced Ginger
2 Mangos, peeled and diced
2 T White Vinegar
1 1/4 C Water
1 1/4 lbs Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 C Golden Raisins
1/2 C Coconut Milk
Salt and pepper
Fresh Cilantro for Garnish

1. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and another tablespoon of oil. cook for a couple more minutes. Add curry powder and cumin and continue to cook for a few more minutes. The spices will absorb some of the oil, so if anything begins to stick too much to the bottom of the pan, add a little more oil. Add ginger and garlic. Cook for one minute more.

2. Add the vinegar, water, and 1/2 of the chopped mango to the pan. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat. Scoop the sauce into a blender. Puree the sauce, pulsing until smooth. return the sauce to the pan.

3. Add chicken pieces and raisins to the pan. Return to a low simmer. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Chicken should be just cooked through. Use a knife to cut open the largest piece to check.

4. Add remaining mango pieces to the pan. Stir in the coconut milk. Let cook at a very low temperature for another minute or two. Adjust seasonings. If it's a little too sweet, add a little more vinegar. If it's not sweet enough, add a dash of sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro. Serves 4.

Mahlzeit!
-Coriaunty

Ladybug Cupcakes

Deja Vu?  Didn't we just celebrate a birthday?  Don't worry, you aren't losing your mind.  This is "Me's Birsday" part 2.  This week my mom and sister are in town, so we are re-celebrating my hungry puppy's birthday.  Todays fabulousness?  Ladybugs!  There is a trend here, as my mom made a Ladybug quilt for my little hungry puppy.  I feel relatively safe telling you this, because although this blog is required reading for my hungry puppies, the birthday girl can't read yet.  Which means, if she finds out about the ladybug quilt, I will know that you told her!


Pressing on.  These cupcakes are so incredibly adorable that it should be a sin.  Maybe it would be if I told you how many of the decorations I sampled.  The green cupcake liners are a little bit hard to find in stores.  You can probably find them online, but I was lucky enough (actually my husband was) to find these in a little specialty cake decorating shop here in Fargo.  The actual ladybugs posed another slight problem.  I could not find a suitable "ladybug" that wouldn't outsize the actual cupcake.  After buying three different "ladybug" candidates, I decided to use doughnut holes cut in half.  Am I brilliant?  I like to think so.  Recipe adapted from here.


Ladybug Cupcakes


12 cupcakes baked in green cupcake liners


Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 cup (48 grams) shortening
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon French vanilla extract
2 to 3 Tablespoons buttermilk
Red food coloring
Green food coloring
2 to 4 Tablespoons cocoa powder or black cocoa powder 
(Or you can use 1 can vanilla frosting and 1/2 can of chocolate frosting, and color the vanilla red and green)


Decorations:
Green decorating sugar
Red decorating sugar
12 green gumdrops
White granulated sugar
 6 glazed doughnut holes, cut in half
24 brown mini M&Ms
1 Tablespoon chocolate sprinkles


First, prepare the frosting.  In a medium bowl, combine the butter and shortening, and beat with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined.  Add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, beating after each addition until all is incorporated.  Beat in the French vanilla extract and the buttermilk (starting with 2 Tablespoons, then adding more as needed for consistency).  Measure 1 cup (8 ounces) of frosting and place in a small bowl.  Repeat with another 1 cup of frosting in another small bowl.  You will have a bit of frosting left in the original bowl.  In the first small bowl, add the green food coloring and stir well. In the second small bowl, add the red food coloring and stir well.  In the original bowl, add the cocoa powder and stir well (you may need to add a touch more buttermilk if the frosting is too thick).  You should have one bowl of red frosting, one bowl of green frosting, and one bowl of chocolate frosting.


Spread the green frosting evenly on top of the cupcakes.  Pour the green decorating sugar into a small bowl, and roll the edges of each cupcake in the green sugar to coat.  On a piece of wax paper dusted with white granulated sugar, use a rolling pin to flatten the green gumdrops.  Use kitchen shears or a sharp knife to cut two leaf shapes out of each flattened gumdrop.  Place the leaves on one edge of a cupcake.  Repeat with remaining cupcakes.


To make the ladybugs, stick a fork into the flat half of a doughnut hole.  This will allow you to frost the doughnut completely without sticking your fingers in the frosting (trial and error, people).  With the red frosting, cover the rounded side of each doughnut hole.  Pour the red decorating sugar in a small bowl, then (with doughnut hole still on the fork), roll each frosted doughnut half in the red sugar to coat it completely.  Carefully place each sugar coated doughnut hole on each leaf cupcake.


Spoon the chocolate frosting into a small zip-lock bag, and cut a small corner off of the bag.  Pipe a line of chocolate frosting down the center of each red doughnut hole.  Pipe an oval  at the front of each red doughnut hole to make the ladybug's head.  Place two brown mini M&Ms on either side of the chocolate line, then place two chocolate sprinkles upright in the ladybug's head to make antennae.  Repeat with remaining cupcakes.  Have fun, be creative, and...


Enjoy!  -Cardamommy