Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese Sandwich

There are a lot of things I cant figure out. Read: There are a lot of things I havent taken the time to figure out.

I cant figure out dry-cleaning. I think it has something to do with folding clothes perfectly then covering them in plastic.

I cant figure out why people enjoy karaoke so much when its so clearly just the singing version of public speaking which makes is SO MUCH WORSE YOU GUYS!

I cant figure out why saying yes is easier than saying no. Actually I have figured that out. The face of disappointment is terrifying.

I cant figure out why Taylor Swifts We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together is sooooo dang singable. Help me.

There are a lot of things I CAN figure out namely: Shrimp and Grits and Potato Chip Sandwiches.

And while I still may stumble on the grammatical difference between laying and lying I know that at least at the very least, I can make an AMAZING (seriously) spicy grilled cheese sandwich. The rest I can Google. Amen.

I feel like I dont need to tell you how to make a grilled cheese sandwich. You know whats up.

You may not know that the addition of cream cheese and roasted jalapeno elevate this sandwich to heavenly levels.

Lets talk about these dang jalapenos. We cant just buy them from the store and go slicing them willy-nilly.

They need to be charred and have their skins removed. I do this over my gas burner.

The pepper is blistered and charred over an open flame. The broiler also works well for this treatment.

Ultimately, we want the whole pepper charred.

After the peppers are charred, they need to be steamed. I steamed my peppers in a small saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Just place the hot peppers in a regular old pot. No flame under the pot necessary. This will help loosen the skins. Its pepper skin science.

Peppers are peeled. I used the business-end of a knife to remove the skins . The less pepper spice we get on our hands the better. It stings.

Peeled peppers are sliced open and seeds are removed (ag! ain with a knife). Much of the unbearable heat of jalapeno peppers is in the seed.

After a coarse chopping of the charred, peeled, and de-seeded peppers we can get down to sandwich glory.

Lets use two different kinds of cheese for these sandwiches: cream cheese and Monterey Jack. Lets take inspiration from Jalapeno Poppers and just go for it!

Sandwiches are slathered lightly in butter, smeared with softened cream cheese, topped with roasted peppers, and then sprinkled with Monterey Jack cheese.

I really feel like I need to apologize. Its just too good. Gosh.

Sandwiches are ready for a hot pan. I prepared these sandwiches in a square oven pan just so that I could transfer them to a hot skillet. Lets melt these!

Creamy. Melty. Spicy. Beyond everythi! ng you t hought you knew about grilled cheese sandwiches.

I paired these with Bread and Butter Pickles and a Cola.

Its like a special occasion for my belly.

I take my food pictures in a super glamorous location right by my front door.

This is real life. Laundry detergent on the bookshelf.

This is also real life. Medium warm though pleasantly spicy grilled cheese sandwiches. On the couch. With a soda and pickles. And a cat thats watching, waiting, and begging.

Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

makes 2 sandwiches

Print this Recipe!

5 jalapeno peppers

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

4 slices bread

Lets first work with the jalapenos. Char jalapeno skins by placing them over a low open flame, and rotating them until blackened all around. You can also place jalapenos under the broiler and toast until blackened on all sides. Remove from the flame (or oven), and allow the peppers to steam. I placed my hot and blackened peppers in a small pot with the lid on. You can also loosely wrap the peppers in foil. After peppers have steamed for about 10 minutes, place on a clean work surface. Use the sharp edge of a knife to scrape the skin off the peppers. Once clean of skin, slice off the top, cup dow the center vertically, and! use the knife to scrape out the seeds. Coarsely chop and set aside.

I use a knife to peel and de-seed the jalapenos. Its best to touch the peppers as little as possible, or wear plastic gloves. http://joythebaker.com/2011/10/grilled-ham-cheese-pickle-and-potato-chip-sandwich/

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Flip the bread so the butter is facing down. Spread half of the cream cheese on two slices of the bread. Sprinkle diced jalapenos atop the cream cheese. Divide the shredded cheese atop the jalapenos and cream cheese. Top with remaining bread slice, butter side up.

Grill sandwiches in a non-stick saute pan over medium heat. Flip and cook until golden brown on each side. Slice in half and serve immediately.

Baking Sweet Memories

I love this time of year. When fall rolls around I get even more excited about baking than I do any other time of the year. Summer ends and the real baking begins.The last months of the year are full of special reasons to spend time with family, share smiles, and bake sweet memories.

One of my favorite baking memories is making pecan pies with my uncle. We make them every year around Christmas but I thought Id share the recipe with you again a little early this year. Its too good to wait until December.

My grandmother used to make these pecan pies. Her recipe made three perfect pies at a time. She made them every year for family and friends. She loved it. And when she became less able to keep up with the same quantity of pies she liked to make, my uncle Ronnie became the official pie maker. He doesnt bake and hes not really a dessert guy but he makes a mean pecan pie. Hes been making them now for well over a decade since my grandmother passed away. Hes continued making them every year for friends and family to carry on his Mamas tradition.And now I bake with him every year I can and if not I make sure to bake them in my own kitchen. Its our familys way of keeping her with us during the holidays.

And the pies are delicious too, so thats awesome.

Of course, I had to put my touch on them and make them mini. Major cute. But I still wrap them just like she did. Simple and sweet. I love these refrigerated and I eat them like a giant pecan pie cookie.

Heres the recipe! how my grandmother made it and heres a link to the original post with step-by-step photos demonstrated by my uncle and a little more about my grandmother.

Mamas Pecan Pies
Makes 3 pies or about 32 individual pies

16 oz. pecans
2 sticks margarine
16 oz. package light brown sugar
1 heaping tablespoon (serving tablespoon, not measuring spoon) self-rising flour
16 oz. bottle Karo light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
6 eggs
3 regular size (not deep dish) frozen pie crusts or make your own (enough for 3)

• Melt margarine in the microwave for about 2 minutes or until melted and set aside.
• Prepare your pecans. Remove any unwanted dark brown pieces from the pecan crevices and shake out pecan crumbs in a colander.
• Place brown sugar in a large bowl. Work out any lumps with the back of a spoon. If the brown sugar is too hard, you can loosen it up in the microwave. Heat it for a few seconds and it will be fine.
• Add a heaping serving tablespoon of self-rising flour and stir until the flour disappears into the brown sugar.
• Add the bottle of corn syrup. Then add 1 serving tablespoon of vanilla and stir until thoroughly combined.
• Add melted margarine. Fold carefully into the mixture so it doesnt splatter. Fold until the margarine is thoroughly worked in and disappears.
• In a separate bowl, crack open six eggs. Remove the roosters and loosely beat the eggs with your spoon.
• Fold the eggs into the pie mixture until they disappear.
• Add pecans and stir until completely coated.
• Remove three pie shells from the freezer at this point and check for cracks. (If you do have a crack, thaw and knead the crack together and refreeze.)
• Pour the mixture evenly into the three shells. Youll probably have a little bit leftover in the bowl. Tap tops with a spoon to check consistency and make sure there is the same amount in each pie. Redistribute pecan! s if nec essary to make equal.
• Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350. Cook pies until they swell and then fall. At that point they are done.
• Remove and cool for about three hours to set. Store on the counter or in the refrigerator depending on how you like your pie. Or eat right away and really warm the pie just wont hold its shape at this point but it will be amazing.
• For mini pies: chop pecans, use mini frozen pie shells, removing them from the freezer as needed and bake in three batches on a baking sheet for about 35 minutes each. Im guesstimating the time. Watch them and make sure they are done.

Enjoy!

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And now, Id love for you to share your favorite baking memory.

Holiday or any day.

You could be the lucky baker to win a KitchenAid Stand Mixer and a Williams-Sonoma Gift Card.

• Prize includes a KitchenAid Stand Mixer (valued at approximately $650) and a $200 Williams-Sonoma gift card. Approximate Retail Value: $850. Tasty!

• Giveaway runs from September 24, 2012 at 12:00 am ET through October 8, 2012 at 11:59 pm ET.

• One entry per person. You must live in the U.S. for this one (Im sorry my international friends) and be 18 or over, too to be eligible to win.

• Read the complete rules.

• To enter for a chance to win the mixer and gift card, just leave a comment on the website and share your favorite baking memory. And if you dont have one yet, the giveaway lasts long enough for you to bake one. : )

One winner will be chosen at random and announced during the week of October 8th in a follow up post here on the site.

• Note that it may take a few minutes for your comment to display.

Good luck guys and I cant wait to read your baking memories.

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This post is sponsored by Nestl Toll House Morsels, the perfect special ingredient for all of your familys favorite treats!

I cooked: Kuching tomato noodles - Keo Jiap Mee

I wanted to try cooking a noodle dish from Sarawak after successfully making 3 other dishes - Sarawak braised beef soup, stir fried manicai with eggs and umai scallops.

One of my aunts gave us a pack of wantan noodles that she deep fried. Perfect timing, since Kuching tomato noodles is a dish made using crispy egg noodles.I came across this recipe for Kuching tomato noodles, also known as keo jiap mee (keo jiap = tomato ketchup, mee = noodles in Hokkien) on3 Hungry Tummies.The Unc's friend from Kuching tells me that another popular version is using kway teow (flat rice noodles).

Kuching tomato noodles

Last week, I was watching Best In the World on 8TVand they were also showcasing Sarawak cuisine and one of the dishes was tomato noodles. A sign from above that I should make this, for sure! Tomato noodles is very often compared to wat tan hor () since both have a thickened sauce poured over the pre-fried noodles, the former with tomato sauce and wat tan hor with an eggy sauce.

The tomato noodles tastes lighter th! an wat t an hor and also very appetizing, thanks to the tomato sauce. This is another simple noodle dish, that most of us can prepare since the noodles are easily available in Malaysia. If you do not wish to deep fry the noodles, you can just lightly pan fry it with some oil. I used prawn and chicken strips, I think other popular additions in Kuching are crabsticks and squid. For the sauce, cornstarch is used to thicken it.

Kuching tomato noodles
Recipe adapted from 3 Hungry Tummies
Preparation time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4-5 slices of old ginger
1 tbsp cooking oil

8-10 king prawns, shelled and deveined

70g chicken breast, sliced thinly
1/4 tsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp sesame oil
A pinch of white pepper
1/2 tsp cornflour

4 stalks of choysum, cut into 2" lengths
2 stalks spring onion, cut into 2" lengths
a handful of sliced fish cakes (I omitted this)

2 dried egg noodles (approx. 100g - I used wantan noodles)

1 cup chicken stock
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp of light soy sauce (I omitted this since I found it salty enough)
White pepper, to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)
Corn flour solution for thickening (I used 1 tbsp cornflour diluted in some cold water)

Sliced red chilies in vinegar, to serve


1. Marinate chicken slices with a dash of light soy, sesame oil, white pepper and cornflour for about 2-3 minutes.

2. Boil the noodles until al dente, rinse with cold water and drain well. Either deep fry or pan fry the noodles, according to pre! ference. Place noodles in two separate plates.

3. Saute ginger and garlic with the cooking oil for 2 minutes until golden brown, then add in the chicken and cook for a minute.

4.Add choysum and prawn, cook for 30 seconds before adding thestock, tomato ketchup, oyster sauce and season with soy sauce and white pepper (to taste).

5. Thicken the sauce with the prepared corn floursolution.

6. Pour the sauce over the noodles and serve with some red chillies in vinegar.

I am submitting this dish to Malaysian Food Fest, Sarawak Month hosted by Sharon of Feats of Feasts.

Mustafa Jones: Southern BBQ culture in Taman Melawati

Day 4 Sg Pasu Homestay, Raub Pahang & National Elephant Conservation Centre, Kuala Gandah Malaysia Tourism Hunt 2012

Its Day 5 of the Malaysia Tourism Hunt 2012 and we are heading off from Kuantan to Kuala Terengganu for a food challenge first thing in the morning! Anything related to food is much welcomed and I sure love the east coast cuisine.

Heres a quick recap on what we did yesterday Day 4 ofthe Malaysia Tourism Hunt 2012. So far our schedule has been rather unforgiving. We finished late each night and we have to be up by 6am 7am each morning for breakfast. Flag off is 8am sharp and we were on the road most of the time traveling through highways and coastal roads to our destinations.

It was a chilly start to our day yesterday as it rained heavily on Fraser Hill. The air was brisk, chilly and oh-so-fresh! I breathe in as deeply as possible, almost as if in belief that it would clean my lungs!

Shahzan Inn serves decent and basic fare for breakfast with cereals, bread and spreads, an egg station as well as some local hot dishes. Nothing that makes you go for seconds, but providednecessary sustenance.

A quick check-out and we! gathere d to take a group picture in front of the iconic clock tower of Fraser Hill. Meanwhile, some of us grabbed the opportunity to snap some pictures among ourselves. Say hi to Ben from Beijing, China!

It rained again as we headed downhill towards thedistrict of Raub in the state of Pahang. In many rural areas in Malaysia, the locals provides homestay experience to both locals and international travelers. Do find out more here if youre interested >http://m.go2homestay.com/.

The journey towardsHomestay Sg Pasu was a long and tiring one via winding roads for almost 2 hours (maybe 200km?). I was the designated driver of the day and I wasnt sure if I would have felt sicker as a passenger or as a driver. The rain made half the distance slippery and I had to double up my concentration as an accident while in a convoy is not pretty. Like I said before, being prone to motion sickness is not fun.

A warm welcome by the local villagers and kids dressed in traditional attire pl! aying tr aditional musicinstruments gave us a rather cheery albeitloud welcome. We were escorted us into their community hall where some local culinary discoveries awaits.

Typically of Malaysian hospitality food and drinks were in abundance. Our local favourite the teh tarik (pulled tea) in a few variations as well as a kampung (village) dish called pecal was served. It was amusing watching the participants from China, Taiwan and India as they gamely sampled pecal. Pecal is basically a malay salad with raw local vegetables boiled and eaten with savoury peanut sauce. Ours that day had the addition of noodles.

BELOW: The women folks of the Homestay Sg Pasu dishing out plates of pecal to the hungry participants.

My plate! The green kuih (cake) at the top is kuih bakar a local Malay dessert and on the right is pulut tumbuk (something I myself gotacquaintedto for the 1st time). The pulut tumbuk is made with glutinous rice and eaten with dry grated coconut. Tumbuk here means punch in Malay,referringto the process of making the pulut which in Malay means glutinous rice cake.

For the benefit of our international guests a demonstration of pulut tumbuk was held. While tumbuk means punch, in this case it referred to the pounding process required to make the pulut tumbuk. This was done using a contraption that looked like a pestle and mortar combo. Darn, I forgotten to take a picture of it. Oops

Below: The end result soft sticky glutinous rice cake which is ready to be eaten once seasoned (mixed with coconut milk, salt etc) and steamed.

Speeches from both the organisers and tourism representative followed.

We occupied ourselves snapping some funny pictures. :P

After that break, we got sprung into action. 3 stations were set up for the participants on the shady fields of Kg Sungai Pasu Homestay. The first station was based on a traditional hunting spit weapon. In the olden days, hunters hunt using poisonous darts blown towards the target via a long wooden pipe. Our task that day was much easier as in comparison as our target was some static balloon barely 5 metres away.

A simple task yes, but essentially in theory only. A moderate amount of skill and technique were required to actually hit any balloons! Each balloon hit contributed points to the overall team score throughout the 6 days of Malaysian Tourism Hunt 2012.

Station number 2 requires the participation of2 out of the 4 team mates in each team. One throws the rattan ball; (commonly used in our traditional Malay soccer of sepak takraw) while the other juggles it in the air.
The challenge here is to keep the ball bouncing off your feet and in the air for as many counts as p! ossible while wearing the traditional Malay sarong. Sarong is a garment worn waist down for males and from under the armpits for females. The garment in this case was obviously to hamper your movements and thus making the task more challenging.

Heres a wanna sepak takraw player!

Lastly was the chicken hunt! Oh thats my specialty I tell ya. I caught a chicken in less than 2 secs and my team mate recorded it on video!

The task? 2 team mates goes into a cage and grab a chicken each as fast as they can. Points are only awarded when both team mates had completed the task. Video on the whole 6D5N Malaysia Tourism Hunt 2012 will be ready once I got back to KL! Stay tuned for it yea!

The blazing sun and humidity was tough for some of our international participants but everyone had a good time being silly and enjoyed the fun. No doubt the gamessuccessfullyfostered closer ties between the participants as well.

Lunch was served and all of us rested and watched the local cultural dance performances.

Our simple village meal freshwater fish in creamy curry, kerabu local fresh salad, fried spiced chicken and tangy mango salad.

We had 2 comedians from Japan for the hunt and both of them are, well, funny. Heres one of them on stage voluntarily dancing and emulating the dancers steps. The other participants got into rhythm and joined it too!

More will be in my video!

After a good laugh we thanked our hosts and drove for the next 1-2 hours (I lost track of time then) to theNational Elephant Conservation Centre, Kuala Gandah, Lanchang. Again this was somewhere I havent heard of before.

When we arrived there was a show was going on and we joined in to watch some cute antics by the tame elephants here.

At the end of the show papayas were distributed to the crowd to feed the elephants. Heres my team mate Faezahs expression after passing hers to the elephant. LOL!

Dont get us wrong. The elephants werent disgusting or anything. Its just that the end of the trunk that grabbed the papaya from her hands was really slimey!

My first experience with elephants was in Chiangmai. I rode on one over rivers and through jungle paths. That was unforgetable experience! I wasnt a blogger back then but I do have the pictures in my back-up disk!

Rides are available too at theNational Elephant Conservation Centre. Below are the stations where visitors queued to ride. Entry fees and rides are chargable.

Lastly we were ushered into an air conditioned hall for a short movie clip that depicts the current elephant relocation program in Malaysia. Logging and deforestation has driven most of them out from the wild into plantations and villages. In an effort to save them, relocation programs are in place to combat extinction. The short clip was informative and personally for me; rather heart-tugging.

It was sad to see the elephants plight; being sedated, sometimes detached from their herd and sent far away from their original homes.

Below: An elephant fossil.

This black and white mural is beautiful.

The journey then continues for another 2 hours drive to to Bukit Gambang Resort City, Kuantan. I handed the Proton Exoras keys to my team mate and knocked out cold on the back seat. The heat, the glare from the sun and the long day took its toil on me.

Food and refreshments and WIFI availability at the Bukit Gambang Resort City, Kuantan revived me. LOL!

We toured the theme park and though we were allowed to play in the waters, there wasnt much time before dinner to really enjoy the facilities. I went up to the room, ha! d a show er and rested instead.

Bukit Gambang Resort City has expanded since I was last here for Fireflys inaugural Kuantan flight trip. In addition to the water theme park, the safari park will be opening soon.

The Arabian Bay Resort is a newly completely wing entirely. During my previous Firefly trip we stayed at one of the blocks on the old wing.

The rooms are very much different in furnishings too.

The lobby is now even larger and better equipped to handle the crowd compared to their old lobby.

Dinner was supposed to be by the pool side but it rained so we ate in one of the function halls instead. Piping hot pots after a long day out in the sun and during cool rain was bliss!

Food was in abundance; 2 steamboats with clear and tom yam soup plus a buffet line of fried rice and more steamboat ingredients ensured all were well fed up and happy.

Ms. Karen (Marketing of BGRC) and the Director from Tourism Pahang gave us a quick run-down about Pahang,Bukit Gambang Resort City and its attractions.

I attempted to update my blog and edited pictures after dinner but the WIFI was facing some problems so I gave up and slept instead! Todays another long day and Ill be driving up Te! rengganu for lekor, the beach and more challenges!

Stay tuned to my blog andfollow me on twitter twitter.com/wackybeckyand my FB page -www.fb.com/RebeccaSawBlogwhere Ill be posting live whenever possible!

MORE:
Day 1 & 2 of Malaysia Tourism Hunt 2012 - checking in and meeting fellow participants!

Day 3 Pekan Kuala Kubu and Fraser Hill the start of the hunt!

Pictures in this post: