The Chicken Tells The Cheese …..

So, I was chatting on MSN with the best friend who just came back from a Turkey-Germany-Prague trip (which by the way, looks absolutely gorgeous from the photos). While waiting for her loooooooooooooooooooooooong storytelling in between her disconnection and office work, I thought I should make a quick food post.

It’s true that cooking is a form of therapy. When I want to think, I’ll choose elaborative recipes that require time and effort to prepare. But there are also times when I want nice food quickly. When I saw these two recipes last week (plus one of my own; one on TV and the other from an old magazine, I didn’t hesitate.

CHICKEN & CORIANDER DUMPLINGS
(makes 30 mini-dumplings)

1 bunch coriander (plus 2 coriander roots), washed and dried
500g chicken mince
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
400ml can coconut cream

1. Roughly chop coriander leaves and 2 of the roots. Blend in a food processor with mince, sauces and garlic until smooth.
2. With the motor running, add coconut cream through chute in a thin stream. Process until well combined.
3. Spoon mixture into greased mini-muffin tins. Bake in a preheat, moderate oven (180°C) for 25 to 30 minutes or until firm to the touch and pulling away from the sides of tin.

(from Super Food Ideas, October 2002)

SPINACH & MUSHROOM GNOCCHI

500g gnocchi
1 heapful of spinach
1 tablepoon of butter
1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
5 huge button mushrooms (or small ones. Not fuss about the amount. You can add as little or as much as you want. You can also substitute it with other mushrooms)

1. Prepared the gnocchi to the packet’s instruction. While the gnocchi is cooking, blanch the spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds. Set the spinach aside. Gnocchi shouldn’t take too long to cook so set it aside too.

2. Heat up the pan to a medium heat. Add the butter and oil into the pan. When the butter melts, add in the mushrooms and cook till slightly soft. Add the blanched spinach and stir well for a minute or two. Then add in the gnocchi and stir through. Season it to your liking with salt and pepper.

3. Serve it up with the chicken & coriande dumplings.

[Notes]
1. I had two muffin trays; a small one and a big one. I was lazy and decided to filled up the big tray. Not a good idea because the thicker it is, the longer it takes to cook. If you have mini trays, all is well. If you have a normal-sized tray, fill it halfway instead.
2. If you did what I’ve done and the chicken dumplings are not browning nicely when the time is up, give it another 10 minutes before assessing again. If it’s still not satisfying, remove the dumplings from the tray, put it on a tray with baking sheet or aluminium foil and continue baking it for another 8 to 10 minutes. Just continue checking on it to make sure it doesn’t dry out.
3. Try not to cook the gnocchi too early as it will ’starch up’ and make your gnocchi sticks together. If this happens, quickly runs it through, in a strainer, with boiling water a couple of minutes before you add into the pan with the mushroom and spinach.


CHEESE STICKS

2 frozen puff pastries
a heapful of cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese (or your favourite melting cheese)
2 pinches of salt

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Let the pastries thaw slightly in room temperature.
2. Separate your cheeses into two portions.
3. Put a pastry on a chopping board. Sprinkle a generous amount of the cheeses and a pinch of salt all over one side of the puff pastry.
4. Layer the second pastry on top of the cheese-filled pastry. Using a rolling pin, flatten the pastries to ensure that they stick together and don’t come off easily. Place the pastry onto a slightly greased tray.
5. Put the remaining cheeses and salt onto the top layer. Using a knife, gently cut into stick shapes. A slight indentation will do. You can cut through properly after it comes out from the oven anyway.
6. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until it’s golden.
7. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Cut into sticks if you haven’t already. Enjoy!

And in case you are wondering, the chicken tells the cheese, “stick it!”

20 Oct 2008 | Filed in food 

2 Responses to “The Chicken Tells The Cheese …..”

  1. TheChef on October 25th, 2008

    Oooh….food looks gorgeous!!! Especially the cheese sticks. So have you already compiled a thick wad of tried & true recipes by now?

  2. lisa lim on October 28th, 2008

    Haha, not yet, my dear. I dog-eared the magazines pages I saw and like. Does that count? hehe. You should be the one to publish a recipe book on all yummy desserts already!

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