Christmas Party at home ...Need help!!!
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Funz:
For the mushrooms, you will need baby portobellos and shredded mozzarella cheese, any maybe some chopped bacon bits. Place the mushrooms gill side up and put some cheese and bacon in them. Pop them in the oven and bake till the cheese melts. You can choose to bake a bit longer until the cheese turns slightly golden brown if you prefer.
Bacon wrapped baby asparagus/golden mushrooms. If using asparagus, just blanch it lightly in water. Cut into desired size, grab a few stalks and wrap the bacon round it. Fry it in a pan till the bacon is brown. No need to add any oil.
Cheese fondue. I will normally use shredded cheddar. Add some apple juice and zap it in the microwave to melt the cheese. Adjust the thickness according to your preference by adding more cheese or juice. You can use beer instead of apple juice but since kids are eating, apple juice will be a better choice. Use a fondue pot and light tealight candles under it to keep the cheese warm. Choose your fave veg to dip. Carrots, celery, cucumber, cooked broccoli or potato. You can have plain/herbed bread and nacho chips as well.
Potato salad, boil potato in a pot of water with some salt. Skin on or off, your choice. For dressing, you can choose, mayo/ranch/sour cream/yoghurt. Since you have bacon, you can brown some bacon and add to the salad along with some chopped spring onions, pepper & salt. But if you don't want everything to be so bacony, maybe you want to try adding tuna instead. Discard the oil or brine in the tuna, chop up some white onions, and spring onions, add a dash of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and toss. To make it interesting, add some green apples or you can add some wasabe in the dressing.
Mash potato. Get whole cloves of garlic, cut the whole cloves into halves. Pop them in the toaster/oven and let them roast till soft and brown. You can easily squeeze the garlic out from the peel once it is done. Boil the potatoes. Strain away the water once boiled. Add the garlic, salt, pepper & butter and mash until smooth.
Marinara sauce. Buy ready pasta sauce, I usually get Preggo's traditional sauce. Your choice of seafood. Mussels, clams, prawns, squid. Chop some garlic, and white onions, saute them till fragrant, add your seafood and fry till they are about 1/2 cooked. Add the pasta sauce and simmer until the seafood is cooked through, lastly add some chopped basil leaves and salt, pepper to taste. Boil some penne in salted water, when cooked, toss them in some olive oil. Guests just have to add the sauce to the pasta if they want. Or cut up some herbed bread for them to dip into the sauce.
I hope the above helps. I don't have exact measurements for everything as I cook using estimations and it really depends on taste preference. But these dishes are easy enough to handle with minimal fuss.
Wow....My cooking skill is almost zero. I am going to try to make these one by one before the big day.
Can i ask you for guidelines if i got stuck in the midst of cooking?
EA -
sparks:
Hi SparkI have ordered my roast chicken with vege from a groupon deal from Tenderfresh (paid $15.50 + $10 for delivery). I realised that our fav roast chicken from that Bishan stall at st 22 is a franchise of this brand. They do delivery on Xmas eve from 4-7pm & they have a turkey option too. The deal is over but you can try to call them to order if interested.
http://www.groupon.sg/deals/deals-near-me/Tenderfresh-Fried-BBQ-Chicken/716524512
Every year, I wld cook spaghetti & oxtail stew. But this year, I'm thinking of adding kuey pie tee for a little local flavour cos it's easy to make & my children love it! With my philips airfryer, I can make the fries & potato croquettes so easily. yum yum.
How do you keep the spaghetti warm. I tried spagehetti over normal dinner but after awhile and spaghetti will all stick together.
If i add sauce and leave it alone for 30 mins, it will be so cold and dry....and taste so terrible :faint:
How do you make the bolognese sauce and kuey pie tee?
EA -
Funz:
You are peranakan too? Yah our normal xmas fare is Buah Keluak, Chap Chye, Bakwan soup, Babi Ponteh, Devil's Curry, Sambal Prawns and loads of sambal belachan.[/quote]WOw....Funzslmkhoo:
[quote=\"Funz\"]Good point. I gave up on serving turkeys long time ago. Always end up with so much leftovers I don't know what to do with it. Not exactly a favourite of my guests either. And as my parents and relatives age, I realise I need to consider food that is not so rich for them.
I've only done turkey once and decided never again. There are all the tips for using leftovers eg. sandwiches, pies, fried rice, stews, soups etc, but since we don't really like turkey in the first place, it doesn't really help! We generally have ham and chicken instead, and my peranakan relatives insist on having spicy food anyway.
Your family is so lucky to have you....dinner doesn't sound boring like mine.
My hubby love spicy food....how do you make the Devil's curry, sambal prawns?
There is a saying....if you want to win a man....win his stomache. -
Temjin
If your oven is those built in type then should be big enough. Sorry haven’t ordered turkey for many years liao cos always can’t finish, so can’t help u on good caterers for the turkey.
Spicy food is the easiest! There are plenty of ready pastes from sambal to local curry to Thai curry and pineapple rice. I normally buy prima and home gourmet. Just follow the instructions at the back, very easy! For the coconut milk, I use ayam brand low fat coconut milk. Not as good as fresh, but its convenient and less fat -
Oh for cooked spaghetti, rinse with cold water then mix in a bit of olive oil then it won’t stick
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like what Dora1 has mentioned, I also add olive oil or pesto (which contains olive oil) to drained spaghetti to prevent them from sticking. Make sure you toss it thoroughly. Then you can just heat up the sauce before serving. I usually buy the pasta sauces from Italy (like Barilla or San Remo) to save time & peace of mind (sure taste good lah!)
If you want to try cooking your own sauce, I wld recommend my fav website for recipes: http://www.noobcook.com/easy-christmas-recipes/. I've tried her oven-cooked beef stew & my family love it. Her instructions are simple to follow & she gives good tips on cooking.
As for pie tee, I buy the cups but make the ingredients myself. Simply stir fry garlice with turnip, carrots & prawns (cooking time can vary from 5 min to 20 min if you like it softer). I like to ask my helper to cut the turnip into thin strips for the extra crunch, but you can grate it too for shortcut. Top with small bits of hardboil egg, cooked prawns or crab meat or just eat it plain!
Important thing is don't stress yourself too much & enjoy the festivity & good company. -
Potato salad, boil potato in a pot of water with some salt. Skin on or off, your choice. For dressing, you can choose, mayo/ranch/sour cream/yoghurt. Since you have bacon, you can brown some bacon and add to the salad along with some chopped spring onions, pepper & salt. But if you don’t want everything to be so balcony, maybe you want to try adding tuna instead. Discard the oil or brine in the tuna, chop up some white onions, and spring onions, add a dash of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and toss. To make it interesting, add some green apples or you can add some washable in the dressing.
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Funz:
Mash potato. Get whole cloves of garlic, cut the whole cloves into halves. Pop them in the toaster/oven and let them roast till soft and brown. You can easily squeeze the garlic out from the peel once it is done. Boil the potatoes. Strain away the water once boiled. Add the garlic, salt, pepper & butter and mash until smooth.
I want to make mash pototo myself this year. Is Russet potato suitable? Do you have a recipe for the sauce?
TIA -
Wow…the potato salad seems very delicious!!
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Hello Funz
I am going to try out the mushroom tomorrow. Do I need to brush butter or oil on the mushroom before putting into the oven?temjin68:
Funz:
For the mushrooms, you will need baby portobellos and shredded mozzarella cheese, any maybe some chopped bacon bits. Place the mushrooms gill side up and put some cheese and bacon in them. Pop them in the oven and bake till the cheese melts. You can choose to bake a bit longer until the cheese turns slightly golden brown if you prefer.
Bacon wrapped baby asparagus/golden mushrooms. If using asparagus, just blanch it lightly in water. Cut into desired size, grab a few stalks and wrap the bacon round it. Fry it in a pan till the bacon is brown. No need to add any oil.
Cheese fondue. I will normally use shredded cheddar. Add some apple juice and zap it in the microwave to melt the cheese. Adjust the thickness according to your preference by adding more cheese or juice. You can use beer instead of apple juice but since kids are eating, apple juice will be a better choice. Use a fondue pot and light tealight candles under it to keep the cheese warm. Choose your fave veg to dip. Carrots, celery, cucumber, cooked broccoli or potato. You can have plain/herbed bread and nacho chips as well.
Potato salad, boil potato in a pot of water with some salt. Skin on or off, your choice. For dressing, you can choose, mayo/ranch/sour cream/yoghurt. Since you have bacon, you can brown some bacon and add to the salad along with some chopped spring onions, pepper & salt. But if you don't want everything to be so bacony, maybe you want to try adding tuna instead. Discard the oil or brine in the tuna, chop up some white onions, and spring onions, add a dash of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and toss. To make it interesting, add some green apples or you can add some wasabe in the dressing.
Mash potato. Get whole cloves of garlic, cut the whole cloves into halves. Pop them in the toaster/oven and let them roast till soft and brown. You can easily squeeze the garlic out from the peel once it is done. Boil the potatoes. Strain away the water once boiled. Add the garlic, salt, pepper & butter and mash until smooth.
Marinara sauce. Buy ready pasta sauce, I usually get Preggo's traditional sauce. Your choice of seafood. Mussels, clams, prawns, squid. Chop some garlic, and white onions, saute them till fragrant, add your seafood and fry till they are about 1/2 cooked. Add the pasta sauce and simmer until the seafood is cooked through, lastly add some chopped basil leaves and salt, pepper to taste. Boil some penne in salted water, when cooked, toss them in some olive oil. Guests just have to add the sauce to the pasta if they want. Or cut up some herbed bread for them to dip into the sauce.
I hope the above helps. I don't have exact measurements for everything as I cook using estimations and it really depends on taste preference. But these dishes are easy enough to handle with minimal fuss.
Wow....My cooking skill is almost zero. I am going to try to make these one by one before the big day.
Can i ask you for guidelines if i got stuck in the midst of cooking?
EA
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