Brunswick Stew - A Southern Classic Presented by Daring Cooks

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf's Den . She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.

Now what is a Brunswick Stew (that's me asking myself)? According to Wikipedia, Brunswick Stew essentially resembles a very thick vegetable soup with meat. The key distinguishing factor between soup and Brunswick stew is the consistency. Brunswick stew must be thick; otherwise, it would be vegetable soup with meat added. Most variations have more meat and vegetables than liquid. It further adds that recipes for Brunswick stew vary greatly but it is usually a tomato-based stew containing various types of lima beans/butter beans, corn, okra, and other vegetables, and one or more types of meat. The authentic Brunswick Stew uses squirrel or rabbit meat, but in today's terms chicken, pork, and beef are probably the most common types of meats used.

According to one story, Brunswick stew was named for Brunswick County, Virginia. Apparently, in 1828, Dr. Creed Haskins of the Virginia state legislature asked for a special squirrel stew from "Uncle Jimmy" Matthews to feed people attending a political rally. Brunswick, Georgia residents claim their stew is the original. It's just as likely the stew -- or at least a very similar version -- was created much earlier. With the original ingredients of game (usually squirrel) and corn, and long simmering over an open fire, it's typical of early native dishes.

I can honestly say I had no clue what to expect from this recipe at all. I've had stews before but one such as this, NO! From what I had read in the Daring Cooks forum, the stew should be so thick that a wooden spoon could stick up straight if it was stuck in the middle of the pot. The stew was very flavourful and robust. In fact it tasted even better the next day but I think I'll be sticking with stews I'm more familiar with.










Brunswick Stew
Serves 5 - 6
Recipe Adapted from "The Williamsburg Cookbook"

Ingredients:

1 medium sized chicken (about 1.5kg or slightly more)
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tbsp bacon bits (fried until crispy, keep 2 Tbsp of the oil)
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1 medium tomato, remove the seeds/pulp and cut into 1" cubes
1 cup broad beans (I couldn't find lima beans)
2 medium potatoes, diced into 1" cubes
1 can corn kennels
1/2 cup baby carrots, cut into 1" length
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 dried bay leaves
2 tsp fresh taraggon
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1) Cut chicken into pieces, remove the skin. Blanch the chicken pieces in a pot of boiling water for about 2 minutes to remove some of the scum.

2)Throw away the water and rinse the chicken quickly. Add 2 quarts of water into the pot. Throw in the bay leaves. Simmer the chicken until the meat can be easily removed from the bones - this should take about 1 1/2 hours (or slightly less).

3) Once chicken is soft, take out from the pot and debone it. Shred the chicken meat and set aside.

4) Add all the raw vegetables to broth and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are cooked.

5) Finally add in the shredded chicken, taraggon, seasoning and bacon oil. Simmer for about 2 minutes and your stew is done.

Pad Thai Goong

When it comes to cooking Thai food at home, I guess my repetoire is kind of limited. So far it's been tomyam and green or red curries. So it must have been coincidence when we had Thai food for dinner a couple of weeks back that I decided I would try my hand at making pad thai. I've seen on cooking programs how easy it is to make this dish and the important ingredient is the tamarind sauce. A few helpful hints I had discovered is never to cook large batches of this noodle. Also do not cook the noodles for too long otherwise it becomes soggy. And make sure that your heat is on medium high. If it's your first time making pad thai, a good source for reference would be Chez Pim's "Pad Thai for Beginners .



Phad Thai Goong
Recipe Adapted from "Lemongrass and Sweet Basil" by Khamtane Signavong
Serves 4

Ingredients:

200g medium rice stick noodles
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 tsp dried shrimps
12 medium-sized prawns
3 eggs, lightly beaten
4 Tbsp cubed firm tofu (beancurd)
4 Tbsp pickled radish
80g beansprout, extra 20g for garnishing
12 chinese chives, chopped into 3" lengths
2 Tbsp ground roasted peanuts (extra for garnish)
1 large lime, quartered, for garnishing

For the Tamarind Sauce:

4 Tbsp palm sugar
4 Tbsp fish sauce
4 Tbsp tamarind juice
2 tsp chilli powder, or to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Microwave for about 1 to 2 min to dissolve the palm sugar.

Method:

1) Soak the rice noodles in warm water for 15 mins, then remove and drain.

2) Half all the ingredients to cook the noodles in 2 batches.

3) Heat the oil in a work, add the dried shrimps and cook until golden brown. Add the king prawns and stir until cooked, about 1 1/2 mins.

3) Then add the tofu, pickled radish and tamarind sauce. Push the noodles to one side and pour in the egg. Once the egg is half cooked, break it up and add it to the noodles. Add in the beansprout and stir well until the noodles are almost cooked.

4) Add in the chives and stir quickly. Dish out the noodles on a plate. Garnish with raw beansprout, ground toasted peanuts, a tsp of chilli powder, a tsp of sugar and a quarter lime.

Strawberry Custard Shortbread Tart

I really could not help myself and I do apologize for posting yet another strawberry tart recipe in less than a month. But who can say no to such juicy, red strawberries which were on sale. I bought two punnets over the weekend, without much thought on what I would do with them first.

Conveniently though I already had a frozen, unbaked tart shell in the freezer (which I think had been there for quite a while now). I decided I would do something simple, so simple that I resorted to using instant custard filing for the tart filing. Usually I would make my own pastry cream, but heh if "short-cuts" taste equally as good and really saves you a heck of a time, I say why not!





Strawberry Custard Shortbread Tart

For the Shortbread Pastry
Makes enough for three 9" tart

Ingredients:

300g unsalted butter, softened
60g granulated sugar
125g confectioners' or icing sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
560g cake flour
** Make the tart shell a day ahead

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 325F or 160C.

2) In the mixing bowl of a food processor, cream the butter. Mix in the granulated sugar, the confectioners' sugar and salt.

3) Add the eggs, one by one. Pour in the flour and mix thoroughly. Form the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

4) Roll out the dough into a round shape, about 1/4" thick. Line the baking pan with the shortbread pastry and blind-bake for 25 mins. Remove the parchment and bake the tart for another 5 - 8 mins until it is golden brown.

5) Remove from oven and let it cool completely before adding in the filing.

To Assemble the Tart:

1) Using 1 packet of instant custard mix, prepare as per instruction. The cooked custard should be about 600ml, sufficient to fill a 9" tart pan. Sieve the cooked custard into a bowl and place a clingfilm directly onto the surface of the custard. This will prevent a skin from forming. Leave to cool slightly before pouring it into the baked tart shell.

2) Place the filled custard tart into the refrigerator and let it set for about 2 hours.

2) Use about 2 punnets of ripe strawberries for decoration. Just before serving, decorate surface of tart with either whole or sliced strawberries. For added colour, sprinkle tart with some fresh mint leaves.

Hippo in a Spa

It has been a while since I have made a fondant cake. I guess it's purely due to lack of time over the weekends. Any way I told myself that over last weekend I would get down to doing one. This particular fondant design comes directly from Fun & Original Character Cakes by Maisie Parrish . I loved the design and thought it was so totally fun to make this cake.

The cake itself which consisted of a three layer 6" fudgy chocolate cake was baked last Thursday night. Also I made some home-made marshmallow fondant on Friday night and stored it in an airtight container. My other half had to work on Saturday (he usually doesn't have to) so it was good that I had the whole apartment to myself to tackle this project. I decided to set up my work-bench in the living cum dining room, putting out my the tools and other items I would have needed - the reason for this is because my kitchen is really small and does not have enough counter-top space. In situations like this I would usually try not to make too much of a mess when working with fondant and icing sugar otherwise the pesky ants will be swarming over everything in the apartment. The weather last Saturday was kinda humid too and I thus ended up turning on the air-conditioner (hmm .... a little bit of luxury once in a while) whilst working. In total this project took me about 5 hours to complete. And this included trimming and crumb coating the cake with white chocolate buttercream. You can image how excited I was when the whole cake came together. I was thoroughly, thoroughly pleased with the end result.

Anyway it's a long weekend here in Singapore and probably in your own country as well. So I wish you and your family a great weekend, Happy Easter and a good week ahead.





Fudgy Chocolate Cake
Recipe Adapted from "Quick Mix Cakes"

Ingredients:

185g unsalted butter, chopped at room temperature
280g castor sugar (reduced from original recipe)
3 eggs
225g self-raising flour
60g cocoa powder
1 Tbsp of instant coffee powder dissolved in 250ml hot water. Leave aside to cool completely

Method:

1) Grease a deep 23cm round cake pan, line base and side with baking paper

2) Combine all ingredients in a mixer bowl. Beat on low speed until ingredients are combined. Then beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth and changed in colour (about 3 - 4 minutes).

3) Spread mixture into prepared pan and bake in 180C for about 45 - 50 minutes. Check and if still moist in the center,bake for another 5 - 10 minutes.

4) Stand for 5 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool.

5) Frost with your favourite frosting once cake is totally cool.

Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage) Fried Rice

Chinese fried rice has to be everyone's favourite and it certainly is on our menu. I made sure I cooked extra white rice the night before and kept the left over in the fridge. That's because I already had the intention of making fried rice for our Sunday dinner. I would usually cook fried rice a few hours before actual dinner time and then warm it up in the microwave. That way I'm done with most of the washing up and have a more relaxed Sunday evening.

There are so many versions of fried rice and I think every country in Asia probably has it's own local version. Thailand has it's pineapple fried rice, Hong Kong has the salted fish fried rice and of course Indonesia has it's "Indonesian nasi goreng". I'm not sure what version this particular one is but I usually add whatever I have handy into my fried rice. This time round I used some lap cheong which I had in my freezer. Gosh I do believe they have been inside there for at least 4 months now. Quick tip, it's always best to use overnight rice when making fried rice.



Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage) Fried Rice
(Serves 3 - 4)

Ingredients:

4 cups overnight rice
1 1/2 Tbsp soya sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp white pepper powder
3 pieces of lap cheong, sliced thinly
10 medium size prawns, shelled, deveined and sliced in half, lengthwise
1 cup frozen peas
8 shitake mushroom, diced into cubes
4 Tbsp cooking oil
1 medium onion (diced)
3 eggs, lightly beaten, season with a dash of soya sauce and white pepper
Chinese cilantro for garnish

Method:

1) Heat up a wok (or a deep frying pan) with 2 Tbsp oil. Add the egg all at once and swirl it around. Leave to set around the edges and then break it up into pieces. Cook until lightly brown and set aside.

2) Add the remaining 2 Tbsp of oil to the wok. Add the lap cheong and fry on medium fire until fragrant and some oil comes out from the sausages. Then add in the diced onion and fry about 2 minutes.

3) Add the prawns, peas and mushroom and fry until about 80% cooked.

4) Then add in all the rice. Add in the seasoning and fry the rice for another 2 minutes. Finally add in the cooked egg and fry for another minute. Taste and add more seasoning if required.

5) Serve the fried rice warm with some chopped chinese coriander and fried shallots.

White and Dark Chocolate Jaffa Swirl Cake

I think I practically grew up on marble cake and love a good one at that. I don't often make it so when I happened to come across this particular recipe from a borrowed library book, I knew I had to get my ingredients out. The thought of adding white chocolate and dark chocolate into a cake batter sounded so tempting. This was definitely a double dose of chocolate fix and if you love cakes of this sort, who in the right mind could say no!

I would usually half most of my recipes especially if what I'm baking is for the first time. However this time I went ahead with a full size cake simply because it called for a bundt pan. If I had a smaller size pan, I probably would have halfed it but no regrets though. The cake came out deliciously moist and flavourful. I could taste the intensity of the chocolate with each and every bite. I took most of the cake to office and shared it around. It certainly got the thumbs up all around. Who says using a food processor can't give you a great cake. By the way if you are planning to get a cake/dessert book, I highly recommend Mix & Bake by Belinda Jeffrey . It has some really great recipes which I have already tried out and will post at a later stage.



White and Dark Chocolate Jaffa Swirl Cake
Recipe from “Mix and Bake” by Belinda Jeffery
Serves 12 – 16

Ingredients:

55g good quality white chocolate
55g good quality dark chocolate
290g unsalted butter, chopped at room temperature
2 ½ cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
4 eggs
1 ½ cups castor sugar
1 cup buttermilk *
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp finely grated orange zest
Chocolate ganache for topping

* If you don’t have buttermilk, use 1 cup full cream milk and add in 1 Tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice. Leave stand for 15 minutes before using it.

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 180C. Butter and flour a bundt cake pan.

2) Put the white chocolate and dark chocolate in separate microwave-proof bowls. Pour 20g of butter into each of the bowl. Microwave at intervals of 15 seconds until the chocolate is melted. Remove from microwave and stir the chocolate and butter together until mixed. Set the bowls aside to cool.

3) Put the flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a bowl. Use a whisk to mix well.

4) Add the eggs and sugar into a food processor and whiz for 1 minute. Add the remaining butter chunks into the egg mixture and process for another minute.

5) Pour in the buttermilk and vanilla extract, and process for 15 seconds.

6) Pour in the flour mixture and blend it with a few quick pulses. Scrap the bowl at least once in between pulses to make sure that the mixture is fully blended.

7) Transfer the batter equally into 2 bowls.

8) In 1 bowl add in the melted dark chocolate and using a spatula, mix to incorporate together.

9) In the 2nd bowl, add the melted white chocolate, zest and using a spatula, mix to incorporate together.

10) Pour half of the white chocolate batter into the bundt, top it with the half of the dark chocolate batter.

11) Finish it off with another layer of white chocolate batter and top it with the remaining half of the dark chocolate batter.

12) Using a thin sharp knife, run it through the batter in a petal or figure 8 motion. This will give it a swirl shape but don’t over-do it as the batters will then blend together.

13) Bake for about 45 – 50 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache:
(Makes 1 ¾ cups)

Ingredients:

250g good quality chocolate, cut into small cubes
125g butter
50 ml water

1) Put chocolate, butter and water into a medium-sized saucepan over low heat. Let the chocolate and butter melt stirring the mixture frequently, until the ganache is smooth. Do not let the mixture get too hot and boil as it will turn grainy and oily.

2) Once it is silky smooth, take it off the heat. Let it cool until it’s barely warm and of a thick pouring consistency before using it.

3) Any left over can be stored into an airtight container, seal it tightly and leave in the fridge. When ready to use, gently warm it over very low heat, let it cool to the right consistency.

Pickled Fish

I have not made this particular pickle for ever so long. So it was that I decided to make a few bottles to take home with me to Kuala Lumpur during the Chinese New Year. (Okay, this is an extremely, extremely belated post).

Pickles such as this is very common in Malaysian Nyonya households. My grandmother used to pickle onions and also stuff chillies with raw papaya strips. I love both these dishes and it is so hard to find this now. The commercially made versions somehow do not come up to par at all. As with most nyonya recipes, they tend to be a bit tedious to make but the end result is delicious. This pickle fish dish is best eaten after about a week to allow it's flavours to develop. However do not keep too long after that or else the taste of the vinegar mixture changes somewhat.



Pickled Fish
Recipe from "Traditional Malaysian Cuisine"

Ingredients:

500g fillet of fish (eg mackeral), cut into 3" size
2 cm piece of fresh tumeric, sliced into 5 pieces
1/4 cup garlic cloves
150g fresh young ginger sliced finely
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
4 fresh red and green chillies, washed, sliced in half and dried in the sun (for about 2 hours. Then slice the chillies and set aside.
18 Tbsp sugar (adjust according to taste)
1/4 cup rice vinegar or white vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil

Method:

1) Heat the oil and fry the finely sliced giner until brown. Remove from oil and drain well.

2) Fry the garlic, drain and keep aside.

3) Using the same oil, fry the tumeric slices until the oil turns yellow and then remove. Strain the oil and leave it to cool.

4) Heat some oil and fry the fish until it is cooked. Leave to cool.

5) In a bowl mix the sugar and the vinegar together. Stir until the the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Prepare the Pickle:

1) In a dry jar sprinkle a layer of sesame. Top it with a layer of fried ginger, garlic and chillies.

2) Spread the fish slices on top. Add in a few Tbsp of the tumeric oil and vinegar/sugar mixture.

3) Repeat steps (1) and (2) until all the ingredients have been used.

4) Cover the jar tightly, place in the fridge and leave it for one week. Best consumed within a week after this.

5) Serve at room temperature as an accompaniment to steamed rice.