A New Project...

I started blogging eight years ago, in 2009.  I just turned twenty-one, and I wanted to be a better cook; and the blog is a mean of documenting my learning experience. In my first year of blogging, I set myself a challenge and I cooked my way through Jamie Oliver's My Guide to Making You A Better Cook cookbook. It was a wonderful learning experience and a year I’ll never forget.

It was then when I learn how to make homemade pasta, roast the most wonderful pork belly with my favourite braised red cabbage accompaniment, and I learn to prepare live lobsters and crabs.

I know I've been terrible at blogging. Not that I've stopped cooking, baking and eating at home entirely; you know, that's not true if you follow my Instagram (@michael_toa). But I do want to make a commitment to come back and share more of my learning experience with all of you. 

Through this blog, new friendships are made with so many around the world. I’ve gotten opportunities to work with brands and products I adore. And this blog also contributed to how I got to where I am now.

So, with that in mind, I am starting a new project! I have decided to bake my way through Dorie Greenspan’s Dorie’s Cookies. I love this book the first time I saw it and was very happy when…  let’s call this person M (like M in James Bond), for a bit of mystery (and we’ll talk more about M if you’d like in the coming posts) … M gave it to me as a Christmas present.

With over 160 mouth-watering cookie recipes both sweet and savoury (I am already loving the Cocktail Cookie section) to traybakes, marshmallows and ice-creams I look forward to baking and eating all of them; as well as few friends who gladly volunteered to tasting all of them.

I am very excited and I look forward to sharing my experience with all of you.

x,

Michael

Marmite Sausage Rolls

Hello lovely readers! Hope all of you are doing well and are enjoying the festive season. Less than a week to Christmas now... is everyone excited?!

I had a little time after doing some Christmas shopping (still not done yet... yikes!) and I made these Marmite sausage rolls for tea. They are so easy to make; especially that I'm using store-bought puff pastry. If you make them into mini sausage rolls, they also make great nibble-y party food.

I completely understand that the world is divided into two kinds of people. Those who love Marmite (Me!) and those who can't stand it. However, I'd still encourage those who are not keen on Marmite to try these as well. The flavour of Marmite here isn't as obvious as let's say, if you're having it on toast. But it really boost the meatiness of the sausage meat, giving it that savoury umami flavour.

To begin, in a saute pan over medium heat, heat a little olive oil and thrown in one finely chopped medium sized onion. Season with salt and pepper. The salt will help to prevent the onions from burning, Cook the onions for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until they are nicely brown. Then add in the garlic and stir for a couple of minutes and set aside to cool slightly.

In another bowl, add the sausage meat. I bought regular sausages and squeeze them out of its casings. Then add in the slightly cooled onion mix with a pinch of red pepper flakes for some heat and fragrant fresh thyme leaves.

Then, pour in the beautiful, dark and glossy Marmite... hmmm... 

And some delicious mature cheddar cheese... now, we're really talking! Season with salt and pepper to taste. Go easy with the salt though. There's already salt in the onions, Marmite is salty as well as the cheese. Give this a good mix.

The assembly itself couldn't be easier. Not only my puff pastry is store bought, but it's also ready-rolled which means I don't have to do anything to it. 

Cut each sheet of the puff pastry into four rectangles and put the filling on the centre of each one. Be as generous as you like, but just make sure you are able to fold it nicely later. Brush the sides with beaten egg and fold into a sausage roll. To secure the edges, I use a fork and press all the sides and prick the top several times. This will ensure the steam from inside is able to escape.

Brush the top again with egg wash and I sprinkle some coarse black pepper and more fresh thyme leaves. When all of them are assembled, bake in a pr-heated 180 C oven for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Let the sausage rolls rest for 10 minutes and you know exactly what to do next...

Happy holidays everyone!

x
MT

Marmite Sausage Rolls
Recipe by Michael Toa
Makes 12 large sausage rolls

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or grated
Olive oil, regular not extra virgin
450 gr good quality sausage meat
a pinch of red pepper flakes
4 sprigs of fresh thyme, plus more for sprinkling
1 tablespoon of Marmite
75 gr mature cheddar, cut into small cubes
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 sheets of store-bought puff pastry

Grilled Lime and Coriander Chicken Thighs

At the moment, if I had to choose my favourite herb, and I can only choose one, it would be fresh coriander (or cilantro, for my State side readers). I just adore it's grassy freshness. It's utterly delicious. But funny thing, when I was little, I hated it for some reasons. I guess our palate changes with time.

I felt like something light and fresh for lunch today and I prepared this quick and tasty little dish. It doesn't take long time to marinate; otherwise, the acid from the lime juice will start to cook the chicken. Two hours maximum, I reckon. I prepped this in the morning after gym. I got on with regular house chores and by the time I finished, the chickens are ready for the hot grill.

The chicken would go nicely with crunchy salad on the side and flatbread, or perhaps nutty brown rice. But I wanted something heartier, so I opted with Nigella Lawson's Mock Mash from Nigellissima. No potatoes are harmed in the making of this mash. Instead, it's made of semolina. It takes minutes to prepare and definitely takes a lot less effort than making the real mash potatoes.

Grilled Lime and Coriander Chicken Thighs
Serves 2

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 small clove of garlic, finely minced or grated
Zest and juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoon olive oil, regular not extra virgin
Salt and white pepper to taste

A small handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients (minus the fresh coriander) together and give it a good mix. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for a couple of hours or so in the fridge.

Take out the chicken and let it come back to almost room temperature before grilling. In the meantime, heat up the grill.

Grill the chicken for around 8 minutes per side or until cooked. Cooking time varies depending on the size of your chicken thighs. Serve with vessel of your choice, and top with chopped fresh coriander and more limes to squeeze over.  

Chicken Thighs in Cream Sauce with Paprika and Mushrooms

I know, I know, I haven't posted in ages and I ran out of excuses... But I want to thank all the readers for the continuous support to this blog; and to new subscribers to my YouTube channel, a very warm welcome. 

I cooked this meal the other night, it was oh-so-good, it'd be very selfish of me not to share it with all of you.  This is the sort of cooking that's relaxing (especially with a glass of wine in hand), not at all demanding and with ingredients you might already have on hand.

I've mentioned this many times before; but I use chicken thighs here because I think they have more flavour compare to breast meat, and they are more economical. So, it's a win-win in my book. But of course, if you prefer white meat, do what pleases you. 

The thighs here are skinless, but I keep the bone-in because I think it adds to the flavour, and also I like to nibble on the bones. Anybody else? Just me? 

Moving on... If there's one cooking task, I don't really enjoy, it is searing. But it is important. The caramelisation builds the flavour and it gives beautiful colour too, to the chicken. Otherwise, the chicken looks kinda dull. So, please don't skip this part.

I hope you give this a go and have a delicious day everyone! Until next time....

Chicken Thighs in Cream Sauce with Paprika and Mushrooms

Serves 4

8 chicken thighs (bone-in/boneless, skinless)

Olive oil, regular not extra-virgin

2 medium sized onions. thickly sliced into half moons

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon caster sugar

300 ml double cream

250 gr white/brown mushrooms, sliced

Butter

A small handful of flat-leaf parsley

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Heat a pan that comes with a lid with a little olive oil. Season the chicken thighs all over with salt and black pepper. Sear the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. If your pan, isn't big enough, you should do this in batches. Otherwise the chicken will just braise and you won't get the beautiful caramelised colour. Set the chicken aside on a platter.

Using the same pan, saute the onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Cook for few minutes, scraping the delicious brown bits from the chicken, until the onions are translucent and lightly browned.

Add the garlic, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, sugar and give everything a stir.  Pour in the double cream and put the chicken (and all the juices that's been accumulated on the plate) back in the pan. Stir, put the lid on and let it simmer for fifteen minutes. Time to top up your glass, I say.

On another pan, heat up some butter and cook the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. I cook the mushrooms separately, so they get a beautiful colour. Vanity.

Then add the mushrooms to the chicken, along with a handful of roughly chopped flat-leat parsley. Stir and taste to adjust the seasonings.

I serve this with a side of brown rice and edamame beans, and more vino. Enjoy! 

Earl Grey Traybake

Greed is often a great source of inspiration. For example, this afternoon when I not only want a cup of tea to sip during my afternoon of Netflix and chill, but also want to be able to eat eat too; I then came up with this Earl Grey traybake idea. I love Earl Grey with its bergamot orange aroma. It is my everyday, anytime tea, but if it not your cup of tea, I don't see why you can't use other kind if you want to.

I adore cakes made with ground almonds. I love its nutty flavour and tender, crumbly texture. Also, not that I have celiac disease or lactose intolerant, but this traybake is gluten-free and dairy-free!  

Earl Grey Traybake
Makes 16 slices

150 ml olive oil, regular not extra-virgin
250 gr caster sugar
3 eggs
2 bags of Earl Grey tea
150 gr ground almonds
50 gr semolina
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
Zest of 1 orange

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F and grease and line a 20 cm square baking tin with baking parchment.

Using a pestle and mortar, or in a mini food processor, crush 50 gr of the sugar with the tea leaves leaves until a fine powder texture forms.

For ease I use a freestanding mixer, but do use a hand mixer or even you can do this by hand if you want to. But anyway, in a bowl of a freestanding mixer, add the tea mix with the rest of the sugar, olive oil, vanilla and the eggs. Mix with a paddle attachment until you have an aerated, thickened cream.

In a separate bowl, measure and combine the ground almonds, semolina and baking powder. Slowly tip in the dry ingredients to the wet.

Add the zest of an orange and stir with a spatula. Pour the batter to the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the sides are set and a cake tester (I always use a stick of spaghetti) come up clean. 

Let the cake cool for slightly before slicing and dust with a little powder sugar is you wish.