Alton Brown's Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

I did not plan to post this on my blog until I saw the result, then I regretted I did not make any step by step pictures during the process, that's so typical me!!

But anyway, I'll definitely keep this recipe for future reference since my family love it so much. But for now I have lots of BIG sizes rolls that we have to finish.
YES! this recipe makes 12 BIG sizes of rolls, I have 3 boys but my 2 older sons who are 9 and 6 could not finish 1 piece, is that BIG! even me can hardly finished it :P the only person who can finish 1 piece is my dear hubby ... lol.
So next time I make it, I'll divided into 2 batches, bake one batch and freeze one up for some other time.

OVERNIGHT CINNAMON ROLLS
Alton Brown - Food Network

Ingredients

Dough:

• 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 large whole egg, room temperature
• 2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
• 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted, approximately 6 tablespoons
• 6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
• 20 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 cups, plus additional for dusting
• 1 package instant dry yeast, approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• Vegetable oil or cooking spray

Filling:

• 8 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 cup packed
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 3/4-ounce unsalted butter, melted, approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons

Icing:

• 2 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened, approximately 1/4 cup
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 5 1/2 ounces powdered sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

Directions

For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

Mantou (Chinese Steamed Buns)

I've always been wanting to make Chinese steamed bun from scratch since long long time ago, but never push or challenge myself to do it, until today!! this is my first attempt and I succeeded!! I was so happy I did a happy dance right after :P

My family love love love Chinese steam buns stuffed with chicken. I always bought the frozen one from Asian market, and it cost about $4 for like 10 small pieces. It's very convenience but now I know how to make the fresh one from scratch I don't think I'd ever buy the frozen one anymore!

I always thought its so complicated to make Mantou, but today I found out its quite simple and very easy! WOW did I just said easy??

Okay enough talking, let me share the recipe including some pictures and let you decide how easy it is.

MANTOU - Chinese Steamed Buns

(Makes 8 big sizes of mantou)

Recipe is adopted from : http://almostbourdain.blogspot.com/

INGREDIENTS :

7 gr dried yeast (1 sachet)

260 ml lukewarm water 

25 gr sugar

500 gr flour (I am using unbleached all purpose flour)

1 tbsp oil (original recipe 1 tsp)

METHOD :

Dissolve the dried yeast in the water, then put together with all the rest of ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Using dough hook turn the mixer in a low speed and mix it for about 10 minutes.

Take the dough out and let it rest in a slightly floured surface of cutting board

Flatten the dough with rolling pin and make a rectangular shape, then make a three-fold like pictured below :

Flatten the dough again to approximately 45 cm by 25 rectangular shape, then using a pastry brush slightly brush the surface with water.

Then roll out the dough tightly by the length side to form a log like this :

Cut the dough into 8 pieces 

Prepare 8 square pieces of parchment paper, a bit larger than the bun 

Lay each bun on top of square parchment paper

Prepare the steamer pot and lay the buns inside the steamer, but do not turn the stove on. Cover the pot and let them rest and rise for about 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes :

(It really enlarging, I ended up steam it in 2 batches)

Steam the buns until cooked for about 20 minutes :

Ready to serve.

You can deep fry the buns and serve it with some condense milk but my family love to have it with some chicken stuffed inside, like I have posted some time ago HERE

The cool thing about this is that you can freeze up the leftovers and just simply steam it whenever you want to. Mater of fact I am making more batches tomorrow and will freeze it so I wont buy frozen mantou anymore!!

(TIPS) Vanilla Flavored Sugar

This is not really a recipe, but I love this idea so much that I'd love to share it with you.
I knew this long time ago from a dear friend of mine who live in Canada, during a 1 week visit we were enjoying lots of cup a teas, and I love the sugar she served the tea with, I instantly scented vanilla in it. It wasn't too overwhelming but just enough to flavor the tea we enjoyed.
Then I asked her what kind of sugar she uses, she said it's just a regular sugar but she put a couple of vanilla pods in it, when the sugar is finished she just simply added more into the jar.

I remember I couldn't wait to go home to make own vanilla sugar right away! which I really DID!
And I was thinking this is such a great idea, not only good for tea but also coffee, chai, latte etc, it can also be used for cookies, cakes or whatever sweet dish that needed sweet vanilla favor like flan, creme brulee etc.

I love vanilla beans so much, I use it a lot! one pod can go along the way. I'd rather use vanilla beans over vanilla essence. So after taking its magical seeds off of the pods, I save the skin and just simply put them inside my vanilla sugar jar. Love it!!!

So there you go folks, home made vanilla flavored sugar!

Chicken Ragout Puff Pastry

I was actually going to make some chicken risoles to bring to the potluck, but was running out of time, and thanks GOD I kept some store bought puff pastry in the freezer, it really coming handy! and it can either be used for a sweet or savory dish, LOVE IT!!

So what I did was layered the ragout in a cookie sheet evenly then topped it off with puff pastry, bake it in 360F oven halfway then cut it into mini squares then bake it again until done.

CHICKEN RAGOUT PUFF PASTRY

INGREDIENTS :

1 package of puff pastry

2 pcs of chicken breast, boil until cook and shredded or you can use ground chicken.

1 big size of yellow onion, finely chopped

5 cloves of garlic, minced

5 celery stalks, chopped

2 - 3 pcs of carrots cut into little cubes 

1 cup of peas (you can use frozen peas and carrots)

3/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup of flour 

Salt and white pepper to taste

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3 tbsp cooking oil

1 egg mixed with 2 tbsp of milk for egg wash 

METHOD :

Heat the cooking oil then saute garlic and onion until fragrant. Add the shredded chicken, carrots, peas and celery, stir until mixed.

Cook the chicken until done if using ground chicken then add all the vegetables in.

Pour in the milk, keep stirring and add salt, pepper and nutmeg.

When it's boiling add in the flour and stir quickly to make sure everything is well mixed. Remove from the heat  and transfer it into a cookie sheet that layered with parchment paper.

Using spatula spread it all the mixture evenly

Then layer the puff pastry on top of the mixture then brush it with some egg wash

Bake it in 360F oven for about 15 minutes 

Take it out and cut it into little squares (so it would be much easier to cut later when it's done) 

Bake it again for another 15 minutes or until the puff are golden brown

Let it cool and ready to serve

Chili

Winter is almost here, or has been here :P ... it's time to cook some hearty and comforting dish like chili.
Every Monday this month my boys having ski lessons up at Mt. Baker, and this year is different because hubby take them  both up there.
Last Monday I made a large pot of chili to welcome them home, and Oh Boy!! they love it so much! after skiing all day long who wouldn't want to come home to a warm and hearty chili!!

I checked some website for the recipe and got really interested to try THIS ONE but I adjusted the spiciness to be mild for my boys, and I use only seeded jalapeno, Anaheim and sweet bell peppers. It came out so good!!
I started the chili in the morning and let it simmer during the day until the boys comes home early evening, the longer you cook it the better the flavor.

My family is not a huge fan of corn bread, so serve it with just plain crackers.

BEEF CHILI

INGREDIENTS :

• 2 lbs. lean ground beef (substitute any meat you like)
• 2 medium yellow onions – chopped
• 1 bulb garlic – finely diced (yep, the entire thing)
• 1 green bell pepper – chopped
• 1 poblano pepper – finely diced
• 1 anaheim pepper – finely diced
• 1 cubanelle pepper – finely diced
• 1 hungarian pepper – finely diced
• 2 serrano peppers – very finely diced (seeded for milder)
• 2 jalepeno peppers – very finely diced (seeded for milder)
• 2 quarts canned crushed tomatoes (substitute 2 – 28oz. cans if store bought diced) – including any juice
• 2 cans dark red kidney beans (15oz.)
• 1 can black beans (15oz.)
• 1 can corn (15oz.) or about 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 can tomato paste (6oz.)
• 2 tsp red pepper sauce (I use Cholula) --> I skipped it

Note :

"If you can’t find the exact peppers mentioned above don’t worry, the key is a large variety – any variety – just be sure to incorporate a mixture of mild and hot peppers according to your palette – your research will be rewarded.

Spices

• 2 Tbsp sweet paprika
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 3 1⁄2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp thyme leaves
• 1 tsp oregano leaves
• 1 tsp baking cocoa
• 1 pinch saffron (Don’t overdo it, use about 15 flakes – this is the secret ingredient!)

METHOD :

1) Brown ground beef in the large stock pot you’ll cook the chili in. Drain if desired, but I don’t. Toss in onions and garlic and cook with beef for 5 minutes. Add all the peppers and cook an additional 5 minutes until peppers are soft.
2) Stir in remaining ingredients except tomato paste and beans. Heat to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer. Continue simmering for 15 minutes.
3) Add tomato paste and stir until completely combined. Stir in the beans and corn. Cover and continue simmering for 1 hour, stirring occasionally covering and uncovering until it reaches desired thickness. Serve in a bowl with your favorite chili fixings.

Chicken Bitterballen

This is my first time making bitterballen, I think bitterballen commonly using ground beef but I use ground chicken and I added some diced carrots.
Bitterballen is Dutch delicacy but very popular in Indonesia, it's similar to croquettes but different in shape and unlike croquettes bitterballen do not use potato. It's pretty simple to make, if you plan to have a party you can do all the preps day ahead and fry them on the D day.

BITTERBALLEN

Ingredients :

2 tbsp olive oil
250 gr ground chicken
1 big size of finely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic
150 gr diced carrots
50 gr celery stalks (finely chopped) or 2 tbs finely sliced fresh parsley
350 ml milk
150 gr flour
salt, sugar, pepper to taste
1/4 tsp nutmeg
100 gr breadcrumbs (I use Italian seasoning breadcrumbs)
2 egg and 2tbsp milk for egg wash
cooking oil for frying

METHOD :
Heat the olive oil and saute garlic and onion until fragrant then add ground chicken, cook until the chicken is done.
Add in some carrot and celery, keep stirring.
Add salt, sugar, pepper and nutmeg.
Pour in some milk and keep stirring until the milk is boiling, then add the flour in, keep stirring to make sure everything is well mixed together and no more liquid.
Set aside and let it cool or put it in the fridge overnight.
When it's cool the mixture is getting harden and is easy to shape, use ice cream scooper to help making all the balls uniform, but re-shape it again with your hands to make sure each ball is firm. This is important, you do not want extra oil absorbing into the balls during the frying process.
Drop each ball into the breadcrumbs then to the egg wash mixture then back to the breadcrumbs again.
Deep fry them until golden brown and crispy.
Ready to serve with your favorite sauce, I love to enjoy it with honey mustard or chili sauce.

Steamed bun stuffed with chicken

I've been craving for this chinese style steamed bun a.k.a mantau for long a while, but never challenge my self to make it. And I was so glad to found out that our local Asian market carry the frozen plain mantau.
So all I have to do is just to make some filling for stuffing then steam the bun. It's very easy to make and my boys are all love it!!
I used the recipe from my virtual friend Cie Ine : http://elkaje.multiply.com/recipes/item/119/MANTOU_ISI_AYAM

Ingredients :

5 pcs plain Chinese steam bun (mantau)

Fillings :

125 gr ground chicken
25 ml white egg
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp fried garlic
1 tbsp thinly sliced green onion (I was out of green onion so I used onion powder)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp thick sweet soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Method :


Mixed all the fillings ingredient together until mixed.
Slice the bun but not completely all the way, just like a hot dog bun.
Then stuffed the fillings inside
Steam it until done, and ready to serve with chili sauce. It would be great for brunch or you can pack it for lunch.

K e l e p o n

I still have some leftovers of grated coconut from making PUTRI AYU the other day, and I do not like wasting :P so I decided to make some kelepon today for the boys to snack on after school.
I hope they'll like it ^__^

Kelepon is a traditional Indonesian snack made from glutenous rice flour filled with palm/arenga sugar, boil it, then rolled it into steamed grated coconut. It's really simple to make, I think almost every Indonesian know how.
Normally if the recipe calls from pandan flavor, I always use instant pandan paste, but this time I have canned pandan extracts handy, so I use that instead. And I could not be more happier with the result! I love love love the final color. The green is more natural and I love it!! ..... it really reminds me of home!!
Next time I'll use canned pandan extracts if I can, since I know in some recipes you have to stick with pandan paste.

K E L E P O N

INGREDIENTS :
200 ml pandan extract water (about 1/2 can)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lime stone paste water (diluted a small amount of lime stone paste with 1 tsp lukewarm water)

250 gr glutenous rice flour
100 gr palm sugar/arenga sugar --> shredded (do not substitute with brown sugar)
250 gr grated coconut
1/2 tsp salt
Pandanus leaves (optional)

METHOD :

Mixed grated coconut with 1/2 of salt and pandanus leaves, then steam it until done, or you can put it in a microwave, covered and set on high for 1 minute. Set aside

In the mean time, heat the pandan extracts until warm (do not boil it), add 1/2 of salt and 1 tsp of lime stone paste. Mix it well, then add the glutinous rice flour into it. Use your hand mix it well and knead it until ready to be shaped.

Take a small amount of dough, flatten it, then put a little of palm sugar in the center.

Using your hand, shape the dough into like a small balls, about 2 cm of diameter.

Then boil it in a hot boiling water until done, about 5 minutes.

When it's done, roll the balls into prepared grated coconut.

Ready to serve ^__^

Enjoy it!!

Putri Ayu

Putri Ayu means beautiful princes, some people also call it putu ayu.
This sweet traditional Indonesian dish will always be my favorite. Back then when I was a kid I always loved when my mom took me to the traditional market, and she gave me some treats if I behaved, and putri ayu is the one I always picked along with carabikang (another Indonesian treats I haven't try to make my self yet).

PUTRI AYU

INGREDIENTS :


Toppings :
160 fresh grated coconut
1 tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt

Cake batter :
5 eggs
200 gr sugar
200 gr all purpose flour
150 ml coconut milk
vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Pandan paste

METHOD :

1. Mix together grated coconut milk, corn starch and sugar, then steam it until done for about 5 minutes, or you can put it in microwave and set on high for 1 minute covered.
2. Prepare the molds and spray it with cooking oil such spam to avoid sticking, then put some prepared coconut about 1/3 or the mold or as you wish and pat it with finger tip.
3. Mix together eggs and sugar and set the mixer in high speed, mix it until the egg becoming pale and the sugar is dissolved. Add in the coconut milk and pandan paste and mix it for a little while, then turn off the mixer.
4. Mix together flour, salt and vanilla (I use the powder kind) and add it into the batter. Use spatula to stir and make sure there are no clumps in the batter.
5. Pour the batter into the molds already has layer of prepared grated coconut.
6. Steam it until done for about 15 minutes.

Mini Chicken Spring Rolls

As I mentioned on my previous post that I am planning to bring some Indonesian treats for Dylan's classmates, so today is the day ...
This morning I was so nervous because the treats I made are very time consuming, I prepared as much as I can a night before, but everything need to be fresh, so I did my best to prepare what I can and do the rests in the morning.
But thanks GOD everything went well today. Almost all the kids love the mini spring rolls and the other treats too. So I thought I should post the recipe here for future reference :P

But before I start with the recipe, let me share this tray of treats I brought to school :

The trims on the edges were supposed to be made out of banana leaves, but I can only get frozen banana leaves here so I thought I can replace it with some wrapping tissue, it ain't too bad huh? ...
Inside the tray are mini spring rolls, kue lumpur and putri ayu. Will post the recipe of putri ayu soon.

So here's the recipe for mini spring rolls :

MINI CHICKEN SPRING ROLLS

INGREDIENTS :
50 pcs small sizes spring roll skins (lumpia skins) sold at most Asian market at the frozen section
250 gr shredded carrot and cabbage
25 gr dried shrimp, soak it in a hot water then grind (optional) --> I substitute it with 1/2 tsp of fish sauce.
250 gr ground chicken
125 cc chicken broth or water
100 gr rice vermicelli,  soak it in hot water
2tbs vegetable or cooking oil and a lot more for final frying
1 egg
1/4 tsp white pepper
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
5 cloves of shallots (3 pcs if the sizes are big, or 1 whole regular onion) finely chopped

METHOD :
Heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil and saute garlic and onion until fragrant. Add ground chicken and dried shrimp, keep stirring to make sure the chicken is not clumpy.
Add shredded carrot and cabbage and keep stirring
Pour in the chicken broth and the rest of seasonings. Let it boil then add the vermicelli, stir again.
Lastly add the egg and make sure everything is well mixed and no more liquid. Remove from heat, set aside and let it cool.
Prepare one sheet of the spring roll skin, spoon a small amount of filling mixture in the center then fold it like an envelope, seal the edges with egg white.
Deep fry until golden brown, ready to serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Kue Lumpur

It's been a long while since my last post. But I wont bore you with some excuses ... LOL

Okay, tomorrow is Dylan's birthday and I'd love to bring some Indonesian sweet treats to his class on Monday, so today I need to practice some recipes. And I choose KUE LUMPUR among hundreds of yummy Indonesian sweet treats simply because it's my favorite, it's not too sweet and I just love its texture. I hope the kids will love it too...*I am crossing my fingers*

KUE LUMPUR literary means mud cake, but don't get confuse or mixed up with American mud cake. It's totally different.
Kue lumpur has a texture similar to pancake, tastes like in between pancake and custard with a hint of coconut flavor plus raisins. You can choose raisins for the topping, young coconut flesh or any of your favorite sweet toppings.

KUE LUMPUR
Indonesian mud cake

INGREDIENTS :
75 gr margarine
250 ml light coconut milk + 500 ml thick coconut milk *
175 gr all purpose flour
125 gr sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
5 egg + 1 yolk (whisked)
Raisins for toppings

* since I used 400 ml canned coconut milk, what I did was taking 100ml of the coconut milk and diluted it with 150 water. And I added 200ml of water and mixed it to the remaining 300ml so that would make 500ml.

METHOD :
1. Heat the margarine and 250 ml light coconut milk and sugar until margarine melted and boiled, add salt and vanilla. Then add shifted flour and quickly mix with wooden spatula until it gets really well mixed.

2. Turn the stove off and remove from the heat. Gradually add some egg and 500 ml coconut milk and keep stirring until well blended and the texture is smooth and silky. I strained the mixture using a very fine strainer to make sure there are no clumps.

3. Heat the pan on top of the stove and brush it off with some margarine to avoid sticking. Pour the mixture for about 3/4 of each cup, cover and let it cook halfway. Add some raisins then cover it again and cook it until done.

4. Using a small heat proof spatula gently remove kue lumpur from the pan and ready to serve, it's good with cup a tea for morning or early evening snack.

Salted Egg

Still about egg!! this time is Salted Egg. I made this long time ago but never had a chance to post it here.

I often craving for salted egg especially when I made some Rawon (Indonesian style beef stew), but the salted  egg I got from Asian grocery is so much different from Indonesian one, I do not like the taste and its texture, it's way way too salty for me.
Commonly salted egg is made using duck egg, but since I do not have duck eggs here I used chicken egg instead. I raised some chicken at the back yard and I was so excited when I found out one of the chicken is giving me a light blue egg, just exactly the same color with duck egg's shell.

To make salted egg, normally we use some kind a sand mixed with lots and lots of salt. Then we cover the egg and let it sit for days up to a week or so, after that then it can be harvested.
The most commons way to cook it is to boil it, but I you can also mix it with nasi goreng or even some other dishes just to give an extra savory and salt flavors.

Since I do not have and do not dare to use any available sands here, I use water instead. Actually I knew this technique from a good friend of mine, at first I was kind a reluctant to try, but I did it anyway. The result was so good and I honestly think the taste is so much better compared to the one I got from Asian Market.

SALTED EGG (Telur Asin)
1 dozen of chicken egg (preferably duck eggs)
2 cups of salt (or more)
2 litters of water

Method : 
Mix the water with salt until dissolve, soak the eggs and make sure the water covers it. Use a small plate or any other object and put on top of the eggs so it can be covered by salted water. Put aside for up to 1 week (I some times do more than that). Do not worry the salt will protect the eggs from getting rotten.
After 1 week try to boil one of the eggs, if you satisfied with the saltiness you can harvest it all, if you think it is not salted enough then let it sit in the salted water for another week until ready to be harvested.

Marbled Egg

Marbled egg is called Pindang Telor by Indonesian, if I am not mistaken, I think this is one of the Chinese influenced dish enjoys by many Indonesian. The Chinese version however is quite different because they are using a completely different spice and herbs. The only similarity is its cooking technique.
This kind of egg is very commons to cook on a special occasions or celebrations as a side dish. Back home my mom still making this if they have something to celebrate or we call it SYUKURAN (a special occasion of thanking God for all His Blessing by inviting people to enjoy some traditional dishes). And afterward they usually going home with a box of rice and so many side dishes, and this kind of egg is one of them.

Traditionally to cook this egg you'd need lots of red onion's skins and guava leaves to add some unique colors. But since I am lack of the guava leaves I am using teabag instead, works great!!
I enjoy this egg with some rice porridge or some Nasi Uduk (Indonesian Fragrant Rice).

MARBLED EGG (Pindang Telor)

1 dozen of eggs (or more)
Red onion's skins (as much as you have)
5 cloves of unpeeled garlic (whacked)
1 bay leaf
2 big slices of galanga
1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Method :

Boil the eggs with all of the other ingredients until the egg is cooked, turn the heat off, set aside and let it cool. Crack the egg shells but do not peel it, just enough so the juice can get trough and give its marbled pattern and color.
Reboil for another hour or so until the colors turned much darker. Set aside and let it cool, ready to serve.

I also put this egg in my son's bento, you can check it out here.

Apple-Strawberry Buckle

BUCKLE is a tender yellow cake with a fruit and streusel topping.
I adopted the recipe from the "Fine Cooking Annual" book. The original version is Apricot-Raspberry Buckle. But since I still have some strawberry left I better use it before it goes bad. I also use some diced apples that I sauted with some butter, fresh vanilla bean, cinnamon and sugar. Smells amazing!!
When hubby came home yesterday I asked him to taste it, and he just could not stop ...he even skip dinner. Need I say more??

APPLE-STRAWBERRY BUCKLE
Recipe adopted from the Fine Cooking Anual, modified by ME.
Serves eight to ten.

INGREDIENTS :

For the Streusel :
1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar (I use cane sugar)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Fresh vanilla seeds from 1 bean (then I use the bean string to saute the apple)
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small piecies

For the cake :
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar (I use cane sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I use vanilla beans)
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
3 large eggs
3/4 pound apple (diced, sauted for 5 minutes with 1 tsp of butter, 1 tbsp of sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and vanilla beans)
2 cups of fresh ripen strawberries

METHOD

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 370F, butter a 9 inch square pan.

Make the streusel :
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cold butter and cut it in with a pastry blender or two table knifes until the butter pieces resemble small peas. Refrigerated until needed.

Make the cake :
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl
With a hand or electric mixer (use the paddle attachment) beat the butter on a medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and the extracts. Beat for 1 minute. Gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar while beating on medium speed. Stop and use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl and batter. Beat on a medium high speed until pale and slightly fluffy (the sugar will not be dissolved), about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing it until the batter is smooth each time.
Stop and scrape the bowl and the beater. On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated.
The batter will be thick. Add half of the apples and half of the strawberries to the batter and fold them in gently with a large rubber spatula. Some of the strawberries will be break when baked, the pinkish cast will disappear.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan and distribute the remaining fruit evenly on top. Sprinkle the streusel over the fruit. bake until the cake springs back in the center when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.
Let the cake cool in its pan on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.