Beginner's Brisket

Easy to make from this recipe recommended by a friend. It was great to serve over rice or pasta.

Ingredients

Chuck roast or beef brisket - 3-4 lbs

White onion  - 1 large, chopped

Ketchup - 3/4 cup

Dry onion soup mix - 1 envelope (1oz) 

Olive oil - 1 TBSP

Water - 1/2 cup

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Spray the Dutch oven with olive oil and place the meat in the pan.

3. Combine the onions, ketchup, dry onion soup, and water together in a bowl and mix; then pour the mixture over the beef.

4. Cover the Dutch oven and bake until the beef reaches an internal temperature reaches 165-170F, about 2-2.5 hours.

5. Remove from the oven and let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes, before serve.

Peach Quick Bread

I received some organic peaches from friend's tree and found this recipe to try. Quick breads are bread recipes made without yeast, but this tasted more like a cake than bread. It was perfect to go with a cup of coffee.

Ingredients

[CRUMB TOPPING]
Light or dark brown sugar - 2 TBSP, packed
All-purpose flour - 3 TBSP
Ground cinnamon - 1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter - 2 TBSP, cold and cubed
[BREAD]

All-purpose flour - 2 cups
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Large Egg - 1, at room temperature
Granulated sugar - 3/4 cup
Vegetable oil - 1/3 cup 
Sour cream (or plain yogurt/Greek yogurt) - 1/2 cup, at room temperature

Whole milk, 1/2 cup, at room temperature

Pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Almond extract - 1/2 tsp (I did not put in for allergy reason)
[PEACH LAYER]

Peeled and chopped peaches - 1 and 1/2 cups, about 2 medium-large peaches, 3/4 inch pieces

Granulated sugar -1 TBSP
Ground cinnamon - 1/2 tsp

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
2. Crumb Topping: Make the crumb topping first. Mix the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together. Add the cold butter and using a pastry cutter or fork, cut butter into the brown sugar mixture until pea-size crumbles form. You can also use your hands to mix it together. Freeze until ready to use in step 5. (The colder it is, the less likely it will sink down into the bread and lose its crumbly texture.)
3. Bread: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and granulated sugar together until combined. Whisk in the oil, sour cream, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then whisk to completely combine. Avoid over-mixing. You will have about 3 cups of batter.
4. Peaches: Mix the peach layer ingredients together.
5. Pour/spread half of the batter into prepared loaf pan. Spoon/spread the peaches (and any juices) evenly on top. Carefully pour/spread remaining batter evenly on top. Using a knife, swirl the batter down the center of the loaf pan. Evenly sprinkle crumb topping on top.

6. Bake the bread for 60-65 minutes, covering loosely with foil about halfway through to prevent the top from over-browning. Poke the center of the bread with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. Cool bread completely in the pan set on a wire rack.

7. Once completely cooled, slice and serve. Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Baked and cooled bread freezes well up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Note:

You can do the same with apricot. First blanch the apricot in boiling water and then immerse in cold water so that it is easier to remove the skin. 

Homemade Tomato Soup

Roasted garden fresh tomatoes and fresh herbs create the perfect simple tomato soup.

Ingredients

Fresh ripe tomatoes - 3 pounds 
Garlic - 4 cloves, peeled

Onion - ½ , diced
Red bell pepper - ½ , diced

Olive oil - 2 TBSP
salt & pepper to taste
Dried basil - ½ tsp
Dried oregano - ½ tsp
Chicken broth - 2 cups
Fresh herbs - 2 TBSP, basil/parsley/oregano

Optional Garnish

Fresh basil & parsley

Parmesan cheese optional garnish
Heavy cream

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Wash and cut tomatoes.
3. Place tomatoes, garlic, onion, bell pepper, olive oil, salt, pepper and dried herbs on a large pan. Roast 25 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes. Turn oven to broil and broil 3-4 minutes or until some of the tomatoes get a little bit of char color on them.

4. Bring chicken broth to a boil, add tomatoes, and fresh herbs. Using a blender, blend mixture until smooth and creamy. 

5. (optional) Add some cream if the tomatoes are extra tart, most often nice ripe tomatoes won't require the cream. Taste the soup once blended and decide if you'd like to add the cream. Stir in a little at a time.

6. Top with parmesan cheese, croutons or a drizzle of heavy cream to serve.

Mango Lassi

Mango Lassi is a yogurt based mango milkshake or smoothie from India.

Ingredients

Plain yogurt - 1 cup
Mango pulp - 1 cup, from can or fresh mango
Milk - 1/2 cup (can add more milk or water to reach desired consistency)
Sugar - 1-2 tsp, or to taste
Optional - dash of ground cardamom
Optional - ice

Steps

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth, serve immediately!

Sunshine Citrus Cake

I made this 6" three layers Sunshine Citrus Cake for my birthday because of its bright name. The cake was not impressive, but the creamy whipped frosting was amazing.

Ingredients

[CAKE]

All purpose flour - 1 and 1/2 cups
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Unsalted butter - 1/2 cup, softened to room temperature
Granulated sugar - 1 cup
Citrus zest - 1 and 1/2 TBSP  (combination of lemon, orange, and lime or other)
Eggs - 2 large, at room temperature (I used egg replacer)
Pure vanilla extract - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Whole milk- 1/2 cup, at room temperature
Freshly squeezed citrus juice - 1/3 cup, (combination of lemon, orange, and lime or other)

[WHIPPED FROSTING]

Cream cheese - 6 ounces block, softened to room temperature
Confectioners’ sugar - 3/4 cup
Pure vanilla extract - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Heavy whipping cream - 1 and 1/2 cups, cold
optional: sliced citrus fruits or citrus twists to garnish
[LEMON CURD]

Previous made, 1 cup

Steps

Make the cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 

2. Grease three 6" cake pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the small cakes seamlessly release from the pans.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside. 

4. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula and then add the citrus zest. Beat on medium-high speed until combined and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. Add half of the flour mixture, half of the milk, and half of the citrus juice. Beat on low speed until mostly combined, and then add the remaining flour mixture, milk, and citrus juice. Beat on low speed until combined. Do not over-mix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no large lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick with some small lumps. You will have between 3.5 – 4 cups of batter.
5. Divide and pour batter evenly into cake pans. If batter appears to have bubbles, give the pans a light tap on the counter to pop them. Bake cakes for 18-21 minutes or until baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done.

6. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove cakes from the pans and set them on a wire rack to cool completely. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.

Make the whipped frosting

1. In stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed until creamy. 

2. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract, and then beat on medium speed until combined and completely smooth (absolutely no lumps), at least 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to smooth out. 

3. Turn the mixer to low speed and with the mixer running, carefully pour in the cream in a slow and steady stream. After all of the cream has been added, turn the mixer up to high speed and whip until thick and stiff peaks form, about 1-2 minutes. Do not walk away during this time and do not be concerned if your frosting takes longer to whip. You’re looking for a thick, airy consistency with stiff peaks. If your frosting appears soupy now or at any point you are working with it, it needs more whipping to introduce more air. If your frosting appears chunky or curdled, it’s over-whipped. To fix, stir 1 Tablespoon of heavy cream into the frosting by hand to smooth out again. You will have about 3.5 cups of frosting.

4. To make lemon curd frosting filling, spoon 1 cup of frosting into a separate bowl. Stir in 3 heaping Tablespoons of cooled lemon curd. This will be your filling for the cake. Enjoy remaining lemon curd drizzled on the cake slices or as a topping on other baked goods.

Assemble

1. If the cake layers aren’t flat on top, carefully and slowly level them off using a large serrated knife. 

2. Place 1 cake layer on your cake board. Evenly cover the top with 1/2 of the lemon curd frosting. Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with remaining lemon curd frosting (if you have extras, just use it on the exterior of the cake). Top with the third cake layer. Spread a very thin layer of regular whipped frosting on top and all around the sides of the cake to create a crumb coat. Refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes.
3. Add remaining frosting on chilled crumb-coated cake. Refrigerate the decorated cake uncovered for at least 30 minutes to help set the frosting.
4. After 30 minutes in the refrigerator, the decorated cake is fine to slice and serve or sit out at room temperature for a few hours. Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.

NY Mets Cake

This is a Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon and Blueberry Buttercream, and decorated with fondant baseball hat, mitten and bat.

[Blueberry Reduction]

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine 1 cup blueberries, 1 TBSP lemon juice, 1 TBSP water and 1 TBSP granulated sugar. Mash and stir for a minute then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until reduced by half then strain into a small bowl to chill.

[Blueberry Buttercream]

Use a stand mixer with paddle attachment to mix blueberry reduction from above into Swiss Meringue Buttercream, until you are satisfied with the color and taste.

[Lemon Buttercream]

Use a stand mixer with paddle attachment to mix Lemon Curd into Swiss Meringue Buttercream, until you are satisfied with the taste.

Lemon Chiffon Cake(柠檬戚风蛋糕)

I tweaked my normal chiffon cake recipe to add Lemon flavor. It turned out great.

Ingredients

Egg - 20 Large

Cake flour - 370 g (may need to adjust depends on the lemon juice amount)
Oil - 160g
Milk - 160g
Sugar - 240g for egg white
Sugar - 120g for egg yolk
Lemon - 2 (it creates about 2 TBSP zest and 100g juice)
* To make a 1/4 sheet 2 layer cake.

Steps

[Bake the Cake]

1. Preheat oven to 340°F.
2. Separate eggs into egg yolk and egg whites.

3. zest the lemons and squeeze out the lemon juice.
4. In a mixing bowl, beat egg yolk and sugar lightly; add oil, milk, lemon zest and juice; then sift in the cake flour, mix well.
5. In a clean mixing bowl, use electrical mixer to beat egg white and sugar at high speed to firm peak. Sugar for egg whites are added in 3 batches during the mixing process
6. Pour 1/3 of egg white mixture into egg yolk batter. Gently fold with a spatula to mix them well.
7. Pour the egg yolk batter into the egg white bowl in a thin stream. Gently fold the batter into the egg whites. 
8. Pour the cake batter to 1/2 sheet cake pan, lined with parchment paper. Hold the cake pan and bang the bottom on the table a couple of times to release large air bubbles from the batter.
9. Bake in oven for about 40-50 minutes or until a chopstick can be inserted and come out clean and the top of it springs back when lightly touched.
10. Take out the cake pan, and cool off on cake rake upside down. After the cake is cooled, use knife to loose the sides, and the cake should be able to fall out easily. Slice the cake by half to get two 1/4 sheet cakes. 

[Make Lemon Buttercream]

1. Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

2. Use a stand mixer with paddle attachment to mix Lemon Curd into the buttercream, until you are satisfied with the taste. 

[Assemble]

1. Use Lemon Buttercream as filling between two cake layers, and around the cake. 

2. Decorate and serve.