Tuesday, August 30, 2011

August Pig Out Party

It's my favourite potluck party time again! Once again, it is a gathering with fellow food bloggers, most of whom I have met up with from previous bloggers meetups. 

This August POP (Pig Out Party) was initiated by Eelin and Jane. Food-wise, there seemed to be more sweet goods this time round. As with any potluck party, a must bring along item would be extra food containers, for there would always be excess food leftover from the the party. 


Deciding to venture out of my comfort zone, I volunteered to bring a savoury item along in addition to a Devil's Food Cake. This savoury item is none other than salsa, which is foolproof enough to be prepared by anyone without much culinary experience. Simply dice the require ingredients and flavour with a bit of salt and pepper. Voila! The dish is complete. Because of the tangy nature of the salsa, it helps to boost one's appetite and is an ideal choice for parties and potluck. 

Without much further adieu, lets take a look at the gorgeous spread of mouth-watering food. Pardon me if some pictures are badly taken. I was in a hurry to get my mouth working on the food than be concentrating on taking good photos, hence some pictures are not well-focused. 


Red velvet cakes by Cathy from Cathy's Joy


Portugese egg tarts by Jane from Passionate about Baking


Durian puffs by Jane from Passionate about Baking


Green tea almond blondies by Doris from Tested and Tasted


Pizza by Bee Bee from Honey Bee Sweets


Fried fritters by Josephine from Sugar & Everything Nice


Madeleines by Jess from Jess Kitchen


Chocolate friands by Jess Jess Kitchen


Chocolate meringue cake by Doris from Tested and Tasted


Tau suan by Esther from Baking on Cloud 9


Salsa (to go along with chips) prepared by me.


Devil's Food Cake prepared by me. The frosting did not turn out smooth as I has overbeaten the frosting since I was making it in a rush. 

The food items above are incomplete, as I have missed out on some of them, namely:

I can never have enough of potlucks like this. Am looking forward to the next one already,which I do so after every potluck. Hopefully, it need not be a long wait till the next one comes along.

Salsa (recipe adapted from the internet)
Serving size: 7-8 persons
Taste and texture : Tangy, slightly spicy and refreshing due to presence of mint.
Equipment and materials:
  • Knife
  • Fork

Ingredients:
  • 1 can 14.5 ounce diced tomatoes. 
  • 2 jalapenos, seeds removed and finely diced. (I used pickled jalapenos)
  • 1/2 green onion, finely diced
  • 4-5 sprigs mint, coarsely shredded using hands
  • 1 tbs lemon juice
  • a bit of salt to taste
  • a bit of black pepper to taste 
  • 1/2 clove garlic, finely diced

Making the Salsa:

Preparing tomatoes - Drain the tomatoes well and reserve some of the liquid. (I squeezed the tomatoes lightly to remove the juices). Dice the tomatoes finely. 

Mix all ingredients together - In a medium bowl, mix diced tomatoes, jalapenos, green onion, mint, garlic and lemon juice. Mix well with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a little of the drained liquid if desired to moisten the mixture. Chill salsa before serving. 

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Getting busy....

This post is taking me what seems like forever to get it up....

These days, life have been rather hectic, so much that I am sparing less attention to blogging and baking. As much as I love to, I feel like having a good rest or catching up with friends on my off days. At the moment, I am trying to find a balance between work and play. All work and no play makes Bakertan a dull boy. I need to live my life properly and do the things I want to do and enjoy doing. Having said that, time management is important, which I a subject I am need to work hard on.


Despite the busy schedule, I managed to bake a New York Cheesecake for a potluck party (about a month back). Talking about potlucks, they never fail to excite me. Potlucks are great opportunities for one to turn to their trusty recipes. Alternatively, if one is feeling adventurous, he/she could try whipping up a dish that is different from the norm. 


This particular cheesecake recipe hails from the baking goddess Dorie Greenspan. The result is a dense but slightly airy cheesecake (I baked mine about 40 minutes longer than recommended). I like my cheesecakes to be really dense and thick, hence it is a habit of mine to extend the baking time by another 30 minutes or so each time I bake a cheesecake. Flavour-wise, it is addictive to the palate with the highly successful combination of cream cheese, sour cream and vanilla. 


New York Cheesecake 
Serving size: 12 slices
Taste and texture: Dense, creamy but slightly airy. 

recipe can be found here

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