Author Archives: MGG

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

Posted in Desserts/Baking, Other Desserts by

You won’t believe how good this tastes. For me, this homemade version even rivals Haagen-Dazs — I may never buy their Dulce de Leche again!

The trick here is the egg yolks. The flavor is fine without them, but you’ll end up with an ice cream that’s more ice than cream. The yolks make it smooth and give it a richer flavor.

The skim milk is only to save a bit of fat in such a rich recipe, but go ahead and use whole milk if you’d rather.

Makes about 4 cups

11 oz. skim milk
5.5 oz. heavy cream
13.4-oz. can dulce de leche (I used Nestle La Lechera)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 egg yolks

Combine the milk and cream in a large pot and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Remove from heat and whisk in the dulce de leche until dissolved. Add the vanilla and the egg yolks. Return to the stove and cook over medium-low heat for about five minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Pour the mixture into a bowl and place it in a larger bowl filled with ice water. Leave for 15-20 minutes until chilled, then pour into ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Note that it will not freeze all the way in the machine, but once it gets firmer, transfer it to a container and place in the freezer until fully frozen.

Curry Almond Chicken Rolls

Posted in Appetizers & Snacks, Leftover Ideas, Salads & Dressings by

Here’s a recipe I got years ago from Tea Leaves & Thyme, a tea parlor and antiques shop in Woodstock, Ga., north of Atlanta. These are meant to be served alongside tea or coffee, though they also make a nice hors d’oeuvre. (This is also an easy way to use leftover chicken.)

Chopping the chicken is the most time-consuming part. For the almonds, I recommend buying them already chopped rather than doing it yourself — though chopping them by hand will give you pieces in different sizes, which looks nice on the end result.

Makes about 50

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 Tbsp. orange marmalade
2 tsp. mild curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
3 Tbsp. minced celery
1 1/2 cups finely chopped almonds

Cut each chicken breast into several pieces, then boil for 10 minutes or so, until it is no longer pink in the center. Drain it, then chop the chicken into small dice.

In a bowl, combine cream cheese, marmalade, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in chicken and celery, then shape into 1-inch balls and roll in almonds.

Chill for at least an hour before serving.

Malaysian Rendang Curry with Tofu

Posted in Main Courses, Pasta & Rice Dishes, Vegetables by

This is a great curry dish similar to delicious takeout versions, with a curry paste made from scratch. Making this was also the first time I ever got the tofu right in a dish I cooked at home.

The recipe comes from a booklet I picked up at a supermarket in London (I’m pretty sure it was the John Lewis Food Hall on Oxford Street, where I shopped nearly every other day on the way home from work!). It was printed by a tofu company, and looking now on their website, I see they have lots of other good-looking recipes there. No doubt I’ll be trying those very soon, especially now that I know how to cook tofu.

Serves 4

300g (10.5 oz.) firm tofu
3 Tbsp. dessicated coconut
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 shallots, sliced
2 stalks lemongrass, peeled and sliced (or substitute 1 inch of lemongrass paste from a tube)
1 Tbsp. chili flakes
2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 can coconut milk
125 ml (1/2 cup) water
1 tsp. tamarind pulp, dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water (pulp available at Asian supermarkets)
1 Tbsp. Chinese five-spice powder
1/2 red pepper, diced
2 Tbsp. cilantro (fresh coriander), roughly chopped, plus extra for garnish

First, prepare the tofu. Rinse the block and wrap in a dishtowel, then place it on a plate with a cutting board on top. Put something heavy like a big cookbook on top to press out the water.

After about 10 minutes or so, unwrap the tofu and cut it into cubes. Heat a non-stick pan over medium to medium-high heat and fry the tofu pieces, turning often, until browned. Set aside.

Separately, heat a small, dry frying pan and add the coconut. Toast until lightly golden.

In a bowl, blend together the coconut, garlic, shallots, lemongrass, chili flakes, ginger, turmeric, salt, and sugar.

Heat a small amount of oil in a large pot or deep frying pan. Add the paste and stir for a few minutes until fragrant.

Add the coconut milk, water, tamarind water, and five-spice powder, then bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and stir for another five minutes, then add the tofu and red pepper. Continue to cook gently for another 10 minutes, then stir in the cilantro.

Serve atop steamed rice (jasmine or even basmati). Garnish with cilantro.

Banana Cookies

Posted in Cookies & Brownies & Bars, Desserts/Baking, Leftover Ideas by

Baking is by far the best way to use overripe bananas, especially because they mash so well. I always use them to make my tried and true banana bread, but this time I wanted something different, and I thought of banana cookies. I’d never heard of them before, but I was sure that’s what I wanted to make. Then I found a great recipe here. The writer says the recipe came from her grandmother and is more than 70 years old. Here is her recipe, slightly tweaked based on my baking this morning.


1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 1/2 bananas)
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup pecans, finely chopped (walnuts and chocolate chips are fine alternatives), plus extra whole pecans for topping

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas which in turn will give the cookies their lift and rise.

Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt, and spices and sift into the butter and banana mixture and mix until just combined.

Fold into the batter the pecans or chocolate chips if using. Drop in dollops onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Try to make the dollops as evenly round as possible. Press a pecan piece into the top of each one.

Bake for 11 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Sauteed Chicken Cutlets with Lemon Sauce

Posted in Poultry by

A gourmet-tasting recipe that’s easy to make, great for a weekday night or as an easy way to impress guests. It’s another old one from my cookbook that I’ve never made — I clipped it from the newspaper more than eight years ago. It originally called for turkey cutlets, but I made mine with chicken and served stuffing alongside it to soak up the sauce.

Serves 4 (or 3 hungry people)

16-20 oz. turkey cutlets, or chicken breast cut into wide strips
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium lemons
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley (I used dried parsley to save time)

Pound cutlets between plastic wrap/cling film to 1/4-inch thickness. Rub them with salt and pepper.

In a large nonstick pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot, then add the cutlets. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden. Transfer to platter and keep warm.

Thinly slice one lemon and place slices in a bowl. From the other lemon, grate 1/2 tsp. zest and squeeze two tablespoons juice, then add both to the bowl. Whisk the cornstarch in the broth, then add to the bowl along with the garlic.

Pour the bowl into the same pan the chicken was cooked in and boil for about 2 minutes until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the parsley.

To serve, lay chicken on a plate and pour the sauce on top, making sure to put some lemon slices on each plate as a garnish.

Meringue-topped Fruit Pots

Posted in Other Desserts by

This dessert is perfect to serve to guests. It’s beautiful and delicious, served warm from the oven, and it’s actually not as difficult as it seems.

It uses frozen raspberries, which lets you make this at any time of year, but you could certainly use fresh ones when they’re in season. Separately it calls for plums, but you could also use peaches or nectarines (which I did), or any other soft and juicy fruit.

As for the cookie crumbs, the recipe uses amaretti cookies, but I used Pepperidge Farm Bordeaux cookies and loved the taste. Ginger cookies or any other crispy, special-tasting cookies would work just as well.

If you’re serving this for guests, keep in mind that you can make the fruit in advance, but you must make the meringue just before serving.

This recipe comes from Waitrose, a very nice British supermarket chain where I used to love to shop. I actually remember picking up the recipe card in the checkout line at my favorite Finchley Road branch. It stayed loose in my cookbook until now.

Serves 6

150g (5.3 oz) golden caster sugar or light brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
10 plums, quartered and stones removed (if using peaches or nectarines, cut into eighths)
200g (7 oz.) frozen raspberries
8 amaretti biscuits, crushed
3 medium egg whites

Preheat the oven to 220C or 430F degrees. Place a third of the sugar and the cinnamon stick in a medium-sized saucepan with 150ml (half a cup) of water. Gently heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the plums to the pan, bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes, or until the plums have softened. Remove from the heat and stir in the frozen raspberries. Leave to stand for 5 minutes, then remove the cinnamon stick. Stop here if you make this ahead of time.

Divide the crushed biscuits among 6 small ramekins (in 200ml or 3/4 cup size), then spoon the stewed fruits over.

In a clean, dry bowl, whisk the egg whites to a stiff peak. Gradually whisk in the remaining sugar until you have a stiff, glossy meringue. Heap some meringue onto the top of each ramekin. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the meringue is golden. Serve immediately.

Wendy’s Chili

Posted in Soups & Chilis by

Whether or not this is authentic, it’s become my favorite chili, and the one I make over and over. I found the recipe years ago on a site that purportedly had the recipes for favorite restaurant dishes. Like I said, I’m not sure it’s the real thing, but it works for me every time.

Makes about 12 servings

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 lbs. ground (minced) turkey, lean if possible
14.5-oz. can tomato puree
14.5-oz. container tomato passata, like Pomi
29-oz. can kidney beans (with liquid)
29-oz. can pinto beans (with liquid)
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup diced green chili (or try 1/3 cup chopped jalapenos)
2-3 stalks celery, diced
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp. cumin powder
3 Tbsp. mild chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 cups water

Heat the oil and brown the ground turkey in a pan over medium heat.

As the turkey browns, put the remaining ingredients in a pot. Begin heating the pot to a simmer.

When the turkey is browned, drain off the fat and add the meat to the pot.

Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2-3 hours.

Sweet Peanut Butter Spread

Posted in Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast/Brunch by

Here’s a simple and delicious spread perfect for smearing on toast for breakfast or a snack. Just mix 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter with 1 Tbsp. agave syrup — that’s it!

The syrup makes the peanut butter even smoother and spreadable. And it’s made with GI-friendly ingredients, which means it won’t spike your blood sugar, especially if you use whole wheat, sugar-free bread.

Enjoy.

How to Cut Pineapple

Posted in Cooking Tips by

To cut a whole pineapple, cut off the top and bottom, then stand it upright on a cutting board. Use a chopping knife to cut off the skin in thick strips, starting at the top and going straight down. Continue doing this until all the skin has been taken off, and use a paring knife to cut out any prickly knobs that are left behind. Then, keeping the pineapple upright on the cutting board, use the knife to cut off sections, leaving the core intact (discard the core later). Lay the sections down on the cutting board and cut chunks as desired.

Freezing Chicken Breasts

Posted in Cooking Tips, Poultry by

I just read about a great way to freeze chicken breasts that makes it easier to defrost only the portion you want, rather than the whole pack. The idea is similar to freezing ice cubes in a tray, where you freeze them separately and then take out only the ones you want later. Thanks to The Arnette Table for the idea!

Here it is.