Honey Vanilla Bean Marshmallows

The quickest as well as easiest way to have a giant disaster in a kitchen?

Make marshmallows.

I promise there will be cornstarch, powdered sugar, prohibited pans as well as gummy bowls everywhere.

You might even get propitious as well as find marshmallow goo in your hair later.

Bonus.

Despite a disaster as well as a marshmallow hair, Im flattering stoked.

Have we done marshmallows before?

Theyre so freaking fluffy!

Way some-more fun as well as feathery than a store bought variety.

Next time I have marshmallows Im creation a sham sized version. For my sleeps. What could go wrong?

I flavored these tiny pillows with sugarine as well as vanilla bean.

As we can imagine a vanilla bean is only undiluted in feathery marshmallows. I also utterly suffer a black specks that whim vanilla beans provide.

The sugarine is a pointed further though totally delicious.

The sugarine really comes through when a marshmallows have been toasted or melted in to prohibited chocolate.

Marshmallows have been a great idea. Totally value a mess.

And a gummy hair.

And a ! mixed di rty dishes.

And a powdered sugarine tough marks upon your jeans.

And a cornstarch all over your kitten.

And a gummy coffee table.

Toasted honey. Thats nice.

Honey Vanilla Bean Marshmallows

adapted from Epicurious as well as Smitten Kitchen

makes about 2 dozen marshmallows

Print this Recipe!

1 crater cold water, divided

3 1/4-ounce packages unflavored gelatin

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 crater honey

2/3 crater light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

half of a vanilla bean, seeds scraped out as well as reserved

1/2 crater cornstarch

1/2 crater powdered sugar

In a tiny bowl, whisk together cornstarch as well as powdered sugar. Spray a 913x2-inch baking vessel with non-stick in progress mist as well as cloak with a powdered sugarine as well as cornstarch mixture. Set both aside.

Pour 1/2 crater cold H2O in to a play of a mount mixer fit with a whisk attachment. Pour a 3 gelatin packs over a cold H2O as well as let sit for about 10 minutes.

In a middle saucepan over middle heat, move sugar, honey, corn syrup, salt as well as a superfluous cold H2O to a boil. Stir to dissolve a sugar. Attach a sweets thermometer a a side of a vessel as well as move reduction up to 240 degrees F. Theres no need to stir a mixture, only let it get prohibited prohibited hot!

When a sugarine is exhilarated to 240 degrees F, spin a mixer with a gelatin as well as H2O upon low speed. Carefully tide a prohibited sugarine reduction in to a play as well as a whisk moves. Be careful onto to pour in to a whisk as well as splatter a prohibited sugarine all over a sides of a bowl. Gradually enlarge a speed of a mixer until youve combi! ned all of a prohibited sugarine mixture. Beat upon high for multiform mins until a thick, fluffy, white marshmallow batter has formed about 8 minutes. Pour in a vanilla remove as well as vanilla bean as well as beat for an additional 2 minutes.

Spread a marshmallow reduction in to prepared vessel as well as well-spoken with a clean, wet spatula to prevent sticking. Top marshmallow with corn starch as well as powdered sugarine reduction as well as let set as well as rest for during least 4 hours, or overnight.

When set, remove marshmallow from a vessel as well as place upon a vast cutting house coated with cornstarch as well as powdered sugar, Use a pizza cutter, coated with non-stick in progress mist to cut marshmallows. Once sliced, toss a cut marshmallows in a cornstarch as well as powdered sugarine as well as store in an indisputable enclosure for up to a single week.

Yummy!

See Some Cool, Strange & Funny Stuffs

Wau Penyu, Solaris Dutamas, KL. Wowed by the food.

from Paranoid Android by Paranoid Android

Which food item is ubiquitous to Kelantan and Terengganu? Keropok? Nasi Dagang? If you answered those two, you have just failed the 1Malaysia test and will be relegated to the Dunce corner of Jibby Politics. The answer is Budu. It is an essential part of a meal of true blue Kelantanese and Terengganuese household.

Contrary to popular urban legend, Budu is not made from tadpoles. It is made from salted, fresh ikan bilis and fermented in Tamarind Peel and Palm Sugar. The smell has been likened to undergarments left far too long in a laundry basket. A close friend says it reminds her of unwashed penis, casting serious doubts on her husband's personal hygiene. A rather gentle neutral thing, this Budu, because another Male friend likened the smell to the ladies' sexual organs.

Now take the Dutamas area in KL. Urban-chic, expensive, westernized, expatriatized, filled with expensive SUVs, a stones's throw from the multi-million dollar in the sky apartments of Kiara. An area which smells thick of money and makes hundred dollar bills ooze out from every sweat pore in the body. An unlikely place to encounter something as humble as the Budu. And a couple from Kelantan (Wau) and Terengganu (Penyu) did exactly that.

Media savvy, young and energetic. They have a web page, they are on twitter, they are on facebook, listorious and foursquare. The are squeezing the New Media mileage to the fullest, and are enjoying the fruits of their labour. When Me, @agentcikay and @lilfatmonkey were there on a Saturday afternoon, that place was packed to the brim, despite having been open four 2 weeks. UMNO politicians and Jurrasics should take a leaf out of this young couple's book.

Serving traditional Kelantanese and Terengganu delicacies, labeled as New Age funky, the Android was more than excited to discover the charms of this new restaurant despite having just been back from Terengganu. Beautifully and tastefully decorated, the restaurant is devastatingly charmingly rustic. I fell in love with the wall, filled with nostalgic photos of the owner's great grand parents that was sooo.... mmmm.... P Ramlee. It brings to mind an era gone by, an era that did not need clever slogans and massive PR drives to unite the people. Being packed to the brim, it felt awkward to walk around the place to snap some more beautiful pictures of it's interior.

We were in luck. The Nasi Tumpang Istana was available only on weekends. It is rice packed whilst hot and moist into banana leaves and the packing causes the rice to be compressed a la Nasi Himpit and alternates serunding, Sambal Udang and Chicken Rendand in layers. The much smaller surface area renders the rice packet less susceptible to degradation by bacteria and delays the rice from becoming "basi". The version at Wau Penyu is marvelous and authentic. The same supplier does the Nasi for some royal families as well. The concoction of beautifully fragrant rice with the perfect Serunding and sweetish Prawn Sambal was magical. Each dense morsel was a delight and exploded with the flavours that define beautiful Malay cuisine. Santan, curry, belacan, chillies, tumeric and jintan. Lovely.

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iHaus Restaurant, Jalan Jati, Kuala Lumpur

Since Max Chin left to open his brand new grill Millesime in Solaris Dutamas, Max during iHaus has been renamed Ihaus Restaurant. Apart from a grill name as great as conduct chef, not most has changed around here. Service is pleasant as always. As for a food, nonetheless I have not tried anything off a the la grant menu yet, a set lunch offering still remains good.


Familiar Chinese show thespian faces adorn a wall

The a la grant menu has in truth gone through a slight revamp, however a items served upon a set lunch were pretty identical to what we've had here in a past.


A potion of Ice Lemon Tea is included with a set lunch. We beheld that a glasses used were different, Max appear to have taken a singly shaped ones with him to Millesime!

Nice bread with olive oil/balsamic dip

Hubby had a Balsamic Glazed Baby Octopus upon Mesclun greens with olives as great as fig vinaigrette. I had this here prior to as great as I unequivocally enjoyed it. Hubby was great pleased with a salad, commenting that a baby octopus portion was very generous.

The soups here have been regularly glorious as great as a Vegetable Cream Soup was no exception. Wondefully abounding as great as creamy as always, with slices of smoked salmon as great as borlotti beans.

I found a appearance of a Pan Seared Dory fish fillet with white wine dill cream salsa upon sauteed potatoes browner than usual, though thankfully a texture of a fish was still wet as great as flaky. Looks similar to Dory is quite a regular upon Ihaus's set lunch menu, with a slight variation upon a sauce, served with potatoes or pasta. If you adore fish, afterwards you have to try this!

The oven roasted peppers steep breast fillet with Chardonnay mushroom melange upon churned greens is one of our a one preferred meals during iHaus. We simply adore a combination of a smokey steep with mushrooms. A dish packed full of flavour.

Verdict: The set lunch here has been consistently good. Its tighten vicinity to Prince Court as great as easy parking have been plus points for us. Perfect for a discerning lunch! If usually a set lunch was accessible upon weekends, you would really be eating here most more often!


Ihaus Restaurant updates their set lunch menu every day (join their Facebook page for every day updates). A 5-course Christmas dinner is accessible here for RM120+.
Opening times: Daily from 11.30am - 2.30pm (Lunch) as great as 6.30pm to 10.30pm (Dinner).

Price: RM25+ for 2-course set lunch. Desserts accessible for an additional RM14+. Set lunch usually accessible Monday to Friday.

Location: iHaus Restaurant, No.32 Jalan Jati, off Jalan Bukit Bin! tang, 55 100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2142 9720
GPS coordinates: N 3.14642, E 101.71961
Book Review & Writing Tips

Pistachio - Cocoa Nib Macarons With Bourbon Buttercream

Thank we all for a kind thoughts, great vibes as great as uplifting words. Thank we also for celebration of a mass what we had to contend about a dear friend. Today we officially said goodbye as great as we can't stop meditative about what she used to tell me all these years: "Live hard. Love harder. Work a hardest...and always, regularly eat great food!"

Yes...eating great food which is inevitable with us. If we turn friends, we will come over for dinner. And again. And again. I was raised this way. That's a a single thing my grandma did which we knew to count upon when we was growing up. Sunday suppers around a full tables of nibbles as great as sweets were not only tradition. They were second nature happenings. Sometimes there were 4 people, infrequently ten. Did not matter. Same is true of a Sunday table.


The thought was to end a weekend upon a comforting note as great as to send we off in to a new with a warm dish as great as a handful of sweet treats. In my case, both my pockets...ehehe!
Rum babas, petits fours, mini eclairs, financiers, madeleines, macarons...you name it. In my pockets. Good thing we lived opposite a streets from my grandparents.

Did my grandmother or mom made all these excellent treats? Heck no! we consider David will confirm this though French people frequency have their babas, eclairs or macarons from scratch. Unless they have been foodies. Or unless they have a blog. Or unless they have been unequivocally in to patisserie. If we ask a French person upon a street if they have their own eclairs, they'll substantially answer "why a heck would I? ! That's b ecause pastry shops were combined we idiot!" (side note: have a French friend contend "idiot" for you...I listen to it creates we grin - not which would know anything about that?!!)


And we can imagine which a last thing upon which list of things-people-would-not-make-from-scratch-because-someone-at-the-bakery-will-do-it-better-than-they-would-is...a macaron. And if we ever ventured to master macarons, we can positively relate. It competence have taken quite a integrate of tries to get them right. Or we got lucky a initial time as great as it's been well-spoken sailing since. One certain thing, they never leave any a single indifferent. You either love or hatred making them or we either love or hatred eating them. In my family it's love upon both counts if we wonder.

I love making them during a holiday season. They have been a undiluted distance to finish a dish with, they fit ideally in treat box as great as we have never listened any a single blurt out "well look during those nauseous little things.." Now, we do see a lot of friends pour out with passion to eat a integrate of in a single sitting as great as we have to fast insist which behind home, macarons have been treated similar to confections not cookies. We eat them slowly as great as a single during a time, similar to a great marron glace, or a crunchy meringue.


I lend towards to preference macarons balancing sweet as great as strong usually gripping a buttercream upon a sweeter side whilst adding citrus zest or artificial flavouring to a shells. Nothing as great funny though playing great upon opposites. This time we got desiro! us by a cookie we posted a integrate of years ago as great as which have their approach to a Christmas goodie boxes year after year. And for great reason. They have been a undiluted change of sweet as great as salty, buttery as great as crunchy. The expect play of flavor as great as hardness we similar to in macarons.

By judging a last two of twenty five made for Sunday supper, I'd contend a flavor combination was a success as great as creates me wonder who among a friends had their slot full when they left a house....!



Pistachio Cocoa Nib Macaron With Bourbon Buttercream:

Makes about 25 macarons (more or less depending upon a size)

For a shells:
200 gr powdered sugar
55 gr almonds (slivered, blanched, sliced, whatever we like)
55 gr pistachios (roasted, unsalted)
90 gr egg whites (use egg whites which have been preferably left 3-4 days in a fridge)
25 gr granulated sugar

For a buttercream:
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, during room temperature
2-3 tablespoons Bourbon

Prepare a macarons:
Place a powdered sugar, almonds as great as pistachios in a food processor as great as give them a great beat until a nuts have been finely ground. Sift if desired.
In a mount mixer propitious with a drive attachment, whip a egg whites to a foam, (think burble bath foam) gradually supplement a sugarine until we acquire a glossy meringue (think shred cream). Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be as great dry.
Add a nuts as great as powdered sugarine to a meringue, give it a quick overlay to break a little of a air as great as then overlay a mass delicately until we acquire a beat which falls behind upon itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes during initial to! break a mass as great as delayed down. The total process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small volume upon a plate: if a tops flattens upon a own we have been great to go. If there is a small beak, give a beat a integrate of turns.
Fill a pastry bag propitious with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with a beat as great as siren small rounds onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let a macarons lay out for thirty minutes to an hour to toughen their shells.
When we have been ready to bake, preheat a oven to 280F.
Bake a macarons for 15 to 20 minutes, depending upon their size. Let cool.
Once baked as great as if we have been not using them right away, store a shells in an airtight container out of a refrigerator for a integrate of days or in a freezer for up to 2 weeks (longer as great as a sugarine starts to seep out which creates them sticky).

Prepare a buttercream:
Place a yolks in a mount mixer, propitious with a drive attachment.
Bring a sugarine as great as water to 238F in a middle saucepan set over tall heat. Slowly pour a prohibited syrup over a egg yolks as great as go on to drive until cold. Change to a paddle connection as great as beat in a butter, a single tablespoon during a time. Add a bourbon to a buttercream. Continue to beat for a integrate of seconds until utterly smooth.

Assemble a macarons:
Fill a macarons with a buttercream (pipe or ladle about 1 tablespoon per macaron) as great as store in a refrigerator for during least 48 hours before eating (the shell should be frail but ruinous in your hands as great as a center soothing but being as great mushy).

See Some Cool, Strange & Funny Stuffs

roasted chestnut cookies

As if we needed any further evidence which we was meant to live in Paris, it is my firm idea (though based usually in fantasy) which during any time of a year over there, we will have unfettered entrance to things done with chestnuts, one of my favorite foods which usually get a half hearted reception in this country. Sure, we fry them upon open fires in December (in a smoking jackets, of course, while a dog brings us a evening paper) though a rest of a year, theyre relegated to nostalgia. Even in New York City, we frequency see such delights as reddish-brown paste, which we attempted to smuggle behind into a nation after a last trip, not realizing which airfield confidence would cruise it a liquid as well as force me to throw it away (I still get a small weepy when we remember this). And dont even get me proposed upon a sad deficiency of marrons glace, or candied chestnuts. Okay, fine, get me started.

In short, they are an obsession. we think theyre one of a most tasty things upon earth as well as thus, it would be usually logical which we would make them as well as share with we how we could do so during home. Except, Ill never make them since theyre exceedingly frail as well as time-consuming to make as well as were we to try, youd quickly realize why it is de riguer to cough up five dollars for a singular one during a candy shop. Come on, Deb we listen to we saying, Thats rsther than defeatist of you! though here, let me discuss it we what a really first step is in candying chestnuts: fry a chestnuts as well as peel them in one piece. And now let me uncover we what happened a last time we attempted to:

..! . Read a rest of roasted reddish-brown cookies upon smittenkitchen.com

smitten kitchen 2006-2009. |permalink to roasted reddish-brown cookies | nineteen comments to date | see more: Cookie, Photo, Winter

Living & Leisure Buzz

Elegant Inn Hong Kong Cuisine @ Menara Hap Seng, Kuala Lumpur

meet hairy...from Shanghai's Tai Lake

It is unequivocally weird though I've not blogged about this smashing place compartment now....took me prolonged sufficient as you realised my initial visit to this place was around December 2008 (almost 2 years ago!). you call itthe three times S - subliminal selfishness syndrome.



decadent creamy roe - only what a alloy ordered

The food at Elegant Inn regularly impresses me as well as judging from alternative rave reviews, I'm not a only one. It's not only all about a ambience though a passion at a back of it all. Throughout a years, Jeannettefrom Elegant Inn has become a great friend as well as a person you mostly reach out to denounce a thoughts boggling nuances of Chinese cuisine. She's very much involved in a restaurant with a passion as well as zest which most restauranteurs don't seem to possess even an ounce. That passion drives her to emphasize upon a most appropriate ingredients - fragrant Bentong ginger as well as tofu puffs - handpicked dusty seafood from Hong Kong - artisan soy salsa from Hong Kong as well as a list continues. She's additionally not afraid to experiment generally since her taste has led her to most great restaurants, hence in a single dish, there could besous vide methods as well as even balsamic vinegar!



twin delight platter with smoky prawn oven baked sweat bread as well as crunchy nachos


Back to a food andlet us concentration ontheir seasonalofferingsthat isavailable for these few weeks aka a Shanghainese Hairy Crabs -! crustace ans which will give a full of hair chimpanzee a run for their money. I'm a outrageous crab fanhence a yearly event to a crab shrineto compensate reverence to these sweet molluscs with their palatable golden roe is a must.Simply decadent as well as artery clogging though luckily it was only what a alloy systematic since he was additionally partaking in a same sweetmeat as you was. Less of a guilt factor you reckon since it came medically approved!



tomato chicken drizzled with balsamic vinegar


This year, Elegant Innis promoting theirsix-course Hairy Crab set at RM118++ per person available in a subsequent dual weeks before to a season ends.There is loadsto line a stomach before to a star of a show arriving.Nibble onthe identical tiwn delight platter, artfully presented with a noodle basket which nestlesthe smoky prawn as well as lotus root cake. Don't miss out a crunchy as well as unequivocally addictive nachos upon a side. Next is a robust shark's cartilage chicken soup with shark's fin as well as bamboo pith.


crunchy steamed scallop dumpling


Then (drumroll please) comes a man of a moment aka a full of hair crabwhich should be slowly savoured square by pieceone. Once you gulp down a ginger tea to assuage your heatiness, you can pierce onto some full of health greens with a dash of Japanese oyster sauce. Next is a carbs in a form of a braised rice with fish as well as pearl clam in abalone salsa dishes beautifully presented in an abalone shell. Round up your plate with dessert - crunchy nutty sesame round with fully cooked ginger soup with white mildew as well as red dates. There's even fruits upon a side to make a! total s et approach healthier than it sounds.


Dim total selection: prawn toast, Shanghainese dumpling, steamed custard cake

You don't get bored eating here since there's smashing dim total to hold your heart for lunch time. They exaggerate about 44 varieties - steamed, baked, low fried, snacks, special equipment as well as desserts. My prime is a innovative crispy vegetarian rice hurl - their chronicle of a Hong Kong char leong. Instead of a boiled dough cruller wrapped in a rice roll, a chronicle uses a crunchy low boiled Vietnamese netting which hugs together shredded vegetables.There's a prolonged list of alternative must-haves from feathery char siubuns,homemade ambience fish balls, feathery eggtartlets, steamed scallop dumplings as well as etc.Those with a penchant for sweets will additionally love a pillow soothing steamed custard cake, a refreshingly icy longan sea coconut, black sesame as well as glutinous rice round in hot hot ginger soup (a personal fav).


Japanese pumpkin dessert with immature beans


On an additional occasion, you order a chicken with prawn pulp - an old school plate since a brand brand new fangled twist. Similar to a single eaten in Sek Yuen (theirs is fish paste), this is a fine chronicle with buoyant prawns handchopped intoa pulp which is adhered to crispy fry chicken skin. you generally love a side bits - tomatoes surfaced with a shredded chicken drizzled with reduced balsamic vinegar. Another brand brand new dessert you sample is a Japanese pumpkin tong sui with immature beans - lovely as well as not cloyingly sweet to finish an additional supremelysatisfying plate here. Next plate here you reckon contingency be their must-have aka a seasonal path mei! air blo wer (waxed meats rice) which is probably a most appropriate delivery of a Chinese New Year plate in town.


Elegant Inn Hong Kong Cuisine
2.01, 2nd Floor
Podium Block
Menara Hap Seng
Jalan P Ramlee
Kuala Lumpur


Tel: 03-2070 9399


(Non Halal. The original emporium is located at No. 16, Jln Waras 1, Tmn Connaught, Cheras, Tel: 03-9130 2626. Hairy crab set is upon until subsequent week or until reserve run out. Call to avoid dissapointment. For more cinema picked up from a dual years, see my Elegant Inn collection upon Flickr.)


*Note: Part of a dishes were paid by me whilst others were by call in from Elegant Inn.
Book Review & Writing Tips

Things we ate in Osaka

Here's a snapshot of dual places in Osaka which kept us well-fed. (And yes, this is a guilty "behind in updating" post some-more than anything.) Consider this a placeholder until we have some-more time to scrupulously fill in all a sum after this week. Arigatou gozaimasu!























See Some Cool, Strange & Funny ! Stuffs