CHRISTMAS COOKIES PART 1

Christmas cookies Part 1; in this bloggie, I'll give you a simple recipe for some Tiny Tarts, a simple cookie for Xmas concoction. Ready? Here we go folks, my foodies.


1/2 cup softened unsalted real butter
1 pack of cream cheese
1 cup flour
1 whole large egg
3/4 cup of brown sugar to 1 cup
2 tbsp. of safflower oil
2/3 cup of chopped pecans or macadamia nuts


Preheat oven to about 325-350 degrees F


1. In a medium mixing bowl, add in the butter and cream cheese, and mix it together keeping it from melting totally. Slowly add in the flour and mix  it well.


2. Grease a 24 cup mini-muffin pan (see bottom), about 1 3/4 inch size, use the oil to grease it so the dough will not stick when it's baked. Spoon a tablespoon of the dough into it making sure that the dough is pressed gently on the bottom and side of each cup.


3. Make the filling by mixing the egg, sugar, and oil. and the chopped nuts.


4. Fill each cup with 1 teaspoon of the filling, and then bake it for about 30 minutes, remove and let it cool and a wire rack.

This is what a 24 mini-muffin pan looks like this is from www.lionsdeal.com and sells for around 10.79 it's nonstick.


Note: when making the dough fit inside the cup compartments, make a lip towards the sides so the filling stays inside if not your filling will ooze out towards the sides.

CHRISTMAS CAKES

Alright foodies, it's a few days before December 2011, so it's time for lots of baking, pies, cookies, and my favorite, Christmas cakes. Man there's nothing like eating a  Christmas cake that a friend baked. In fact, I know several of my foodie friends that can really kick fucking ass in the baking department, I'm not included in that department, I suck at baking really, though at times I can pull off a baking task which is rarely.


My friend Jaime Navarro is an excellent home baker, my niece Tamara same thing, it's the love they put into baking. So then what am I going to write about today as Christmas lurks a few weeks ahead? I'll be looking at some Christmas cakes, from today on until Christmas day, I'll be talking about Christmas cakes, and pies, and cookies, sharing what was shared to me. Here goes.


EGGNOG BUNDT CAKE WITH RUM FROSTING


1 box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1 cup eggnog
1 pack instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2  filtered water
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla


Frosting:
5 tbsp. rum
1 1/8 cup powdered sugar


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 deg.


Mix all of the cake mixture ingredients in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.


Prepare the bundt pan with nonstick spray.


Pour into pan, and bake for about 50 minutes. (Cool at least 20 minutes before removing from pan).


Make the frosting, add more rum if you want it thinner, then drizzle over the cake, then serve with a nice cup of hot coffee.




The pan you'll need looks like this, it's a deep pan, when you're done baking, you  flip it and the cake comes out with the rounded part as the top.

Okay, now you know what a bundt cake pan looks like, it's time you get off of your freeking ass and bake some serious ass Eggnog Bundt Cake w/ Rum Frosting. I may have some Hana Bay Rum around here somewhere, shit, what if I used beer?


Anyhow, Happy baking this Holiday season, and if you fuck up your cake who really gives a fuck? Happy Christmas and if you are Jewish, Happy Hanukkah. Ho Ho Ho, where's the Ho? Is she still on the street? Tell her to go wash up! 

In sun Fukuyama, wife of Alan Fukuyama was kind enough to be on the show, teaching us the finer points of making kim chee. Both In sun and Alan were on the set in Wahikui, and I had a great time, as Alan provided the play by play from behind the scenes, In sun demonstrated the real way to make this Korean staple. 


Growing up in Lahaina, kim chee was a staple in the fridge, next to the Best Foods Mayonnaise, and next to the tub of miso paste, most locals can relate. 


What In sun talked about was that the cabbage (close to 2 lbs Napa), had to be sliced down the center only a tad by the whitish part of the bottom of the cabbage, not all the way down. As Alan commented as his wife was plucking the cabbage apart, "You never slice it all the way, because for one thing, the leaves in the center gets messed up, when you pull it apart, you have more leaves to work with." Then she sliced the cabbage in quarters, and then into bite-sized pieces. Then she sprinkled some salt over the cabbage that was resting in the bowl, this had to sit overnight or longer, but she had one prepped for the taping.


After that she boiled some water with cornstarch to make something of a roux, or slurry, she got it over the heat and it got thicker, then she cooled it down considerably. After the thickened water cooled down, she added some garlic and ginger, and some chili powder (not the fine one), it had texture, and then some shrimp paste, and green onions, and some Hawaiian chili peppers. This technique she claims makes the sauce hotter. "When you heat up the peppers, it loses heat, you heat the water and thicken it first, then you add in the ingredients when it is cooled down." Alan explained,  "When we make chili pepper water, we never heat the chilis first, we add it in the water raw, it retains the heat longer. I learned that from a Japanese man."


Then she tossed the cabbage leaves together with the kim chee sauce, it was better than eating the bottled ones I buy at the supermarket, there's nothing like fresh kim chee, it was a great short segment that needs to be edited for Akaku TV and to be on YouTube, so I got some work to do. 
In sun and Alan Fukuyama on the set

COOKING FOR TAMA (YouTube)

RD Lick em Up! Our cooking show, not made for prime time, but we don't care really. This is part 1 of "Cooking for Tama" Tama is our families' Staffy, we cooked him a 12 oz. New York steak, and he mauled it in less than 30 seconds.

Our show is based on Ron (me) cooking, and Danny Agdeppa behind the camera and while he films, he commentates on what's happening. We also pick up on current events, and we try not to be so serious in the whole show. Mistakes are common, but that's the beauty of life, its imperfections.

Also will be doing more shows, will be on You Tube see (Chefboy Maui). And AKAKU Television Maui.

COOKING FOR TAMA (YouTube) Part 2

RD Lick em Up! Our cooking show is not made for prime time t.v., but we don't give a shit, part 2 of "Cooking For Tama" Our families' Staffy. We cooked a 12 oz. New York steak for him, and he mauled it in less than 30 seconds.

Our show is based on Danny Agdeppa behind the camera as camera man/ commentator, while Ron (me) is the front man playing the chef. Every episode is an experiment.

www.rdlickemup.wordpress.com

THE MAHALO GIVING BIRD

Thank You in Hawaiian, we say "Mahalo" (ma hah low)... Get it? In a week, it'll be Mahalogiving time, and well, most peeps will be roasting that bird also know as the turkey, the Tom, the bird. Some folks have some creative recipes for this bird. I've seen it done Chinese style, almost like Peking duck, I've seen it done somewhat Filipino/Spanish with the adobo flavors. Yes, I've seen it done with a teriyaki sauce too. Underground roasted, kalua. Deep Fried, oh this is really good deep fried, crispy on the outside, and juicy tender on the inside, man even the breast is juicy. But that good old traditional roasted turkey in the oven with the gravy made from the juices off the roasting pan, can't get better than that. There's nothing like it, some peeps will soak the turkey in a salted, herbed and spiced brine (not me though). Some peeps thaw it out early, fill a chest with ice, season it all over with seasonings, and let it just seep right into the body. My friend Uncle Al D, used to get lots of lemon grass, ginger, and garlic, with some soy sauce and soak the cavity of the bird with it. Then he'd go under the skin and put some Hawaiian salt, with pepper, and herbs, and tuck in nice and tight, lots of garlic too. He'd crank up the oven to super hot, place the bird in there, and let the bird get that crispy crust, then he'd foil it, turn the heat down to like right above 280 deg. and let it slow cook, always checking the birds internal temperature with his old culinary instant read thermometer, he'd pull it out at about 150 deg. f and let it rest on the counter, by the time people were ready to eat, it was fork tender. Also his stove was messed up, but he knew how to stroke that baby, I think now that stove is in the landfill. 


Happy Thanksgiving!

HOW TO USE TOFU FOR BREAKFAST

For those of you who think tofu is bland, think again, this is a simple recipe that is great for those of you trying to omit the meat out of your diets. Check out this list of ingredients, it's easy to purchase for I bet, you can buy these in your local supermarket.


And all you'll need is a non-stick pan, about a 10 inch pan will do, or a 12.


5 tbsp. of safflower oil
2 minced garlic
1 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika,1 block firm tofu 14 oz. Broken up into pieces. (organic)


1. Heat up the oil in pan over medium high heat, then add in the garlic, and ginger for a few seconds until the aroma is present, then add in the cumin and paprika, stir it  into the oil for a few seconds. Then add in the tofu, and stir around cooking for about 5 minutes until steaming.


2 tsp. turmeric
1 orange (squeezed of its juice)3
1 bay leaf broken
3 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp. ume vinegar
salt and pepper to taste


2. Add in the turmeric, stir until some color changes to yellowish, then add in the juice of one orange, stir for a minute, crack the bay leaf in half, add that in as well as the soy sauce, ume vinegar, stir for about a couple minutes, you'll smell the aroma which is cool and fresh.
Add in salt and pepper to taste.


Serve with toast or any starch you like.