Nutella Mousse

Assalamualaikum!!

Last week was my CRAZY BAKING WEEK!

On Sunday, I baked some sweet and spicy chicken and also a strawberry and blackberry pavlova for a potluck.

We had a birthday gathering for two of our friends last Friday and I baked TWO cakes for that event! For the cakes I had to make 1 chocolate cake, 1 Oreo cheesecake, 2 layers of brownies, chocolate sugar cookies AND Nutella mousse. CrayZay! but still, I challenged myself now didn't I?

Last night I baked the remaining cookies and  this morning crumbed some of the extra cake to make chocolate cake truffles for the Activities Night. PHEW.

Now I finally have time to sit down and share some fattening recipes. Now now...Who doesn't like whipping cream? Who doesn’t like Nutella? Who doesn't like whipping cream and Nutella combined? Whoever answers "no" to all three questions need to reevaluate his/her life. They must be unhappy people because the recipe that I'm going to share with you would make people fall in love with you or if they already have, they'll love you even more. Aww. So have YOU ever heard of Nutella mousse before? If you have not, then let me tell you...It’s easy, it’s delicious, the possibilities are endless and you need only TWO ingredients. Repeat after me...TWO...Now ask yourself, what is stopping you?I'm expecting you to crave for some Nutella Mousse once you've reached my name at the bottom of this post. So here goes...

Nutella MousseFor 2 

2 cups of whipping cream

1/2 -2/3 cup of Nutella

1. Fill a bowl with whipping cream and Nutella
2. Using an electric mixer, whip the mixture until it thickens. If you wish for it to be sweeter, add more Nutella.
3. Mix until stiff peak forms.
4. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours

Initially the recipe calls for 1 cup of Nutella, and that was EXTREMELY sweet for me. Bleargh. This mousse is definitely different from other mousses as it is not as thick and rich which is a plus in my opinion. You could serve it with chocolate biscuits, or sliced strawberries. You could even put it in a jar and gift it to others.

The ingredients..

You could put it in a jar with a ribbon around it...

with perhaps.....layers of crushed chocolate cookies?

Or make it lovelier, with heart shape cookies...

So again, what’s stopping you?

Take care!Wasalam.

Till then,

Love,

Sofhan Hasni.

All about challenges

Assalamualaikum

Guess what? I reached my 100^th post! Alhamdulillah. Who knew I’d manage to stay disciplined?

Throughout the year, it always warmed  my heart when people tell me they've tried the recipes that I posted. Some are altered some are copied directly. Heartwarming indeed.

We’re almost a month in 2013 and I should say life is going well so far Alhamdulillah. This year, along with my list of resolutions, I decided that this year would be a  “Challenge Myself” year for me. Here are the things that I have challenged myself with

I have always been insecure or scared of so many things. One of the things that I wasn't sure that I wanted to do again, ever, was skiing. I’m scared of heights and speed. I was sooo scared last year when I went skiing for the first time. Even the second time I went earlier this year. You should have seen my friends coaxing me trying to make me ski down the slope. But I did it. The next day (it was a weekend ski trip), I tried other green circle (beginners) slopes and moved on to the blue square  (intermediate) slopes. Once I let go of my fear, it was AMAZING. I felt revitalized, free and light as air. It felt great! So the next ski trip which would be in March, I’m challenging myself to go down the Black Diamond (advanced). Wish me luck!:)

The second challenge is Kick Boxing. I am such a lazy person when it comes to exercising. I thought paying for the gym membership would eventually make me go to the gym but NOOOOO. I’m still a lazy bum. But this year, my friend and I decided to take up kick boxing. Which IS GREAT! Not only I get to learn funky self defense moves but it’s also a great workout. Not to mention a hot instructor teaching us twice a week. Hah*drool*!(Hi mom!).

I have a major issue with speaking in public. Which is weird. I mean, even when I need to introduce myself. I know my name, I know myself better than anyone else, what’s up with that right? I tried the exercise that Amy Cuddy taught in her TedTalk and to be honest, I wasn’t sure if it’s really working on me. My friend said it worked for her. I’ll try again some other time. Anyways, I decided to recite a poem that I wrote a while ago (read it here) and again, it feels good. Not only that I get to express myself, but I get to do something that I’m scared of.

 Alhamdulillah for the strength, the opportunity and the courage. *pat on the back*

What’s next?

Wasalam

Till then,

Love,

Sofhan Hasni

Banoffee Pie

Assalamualaikum

The first week of each semester would be one of the craziest times for everybody. Buying/selling textbook online, lining up in the bookstore, fighting over spots in class, being disappointed with “interesting” courses taught by uber boring professors who talks to the blackboard or even plain confused with which courses to take. Breathe...

It’s so cold in Montreal. I have yet to remind myself to wear gloves everytime I leave the house. It is usually -10 and below. Today is -20ish.Brrr… Temperature fluctuations are something we learn to expect while living in Montreal. You know what this means….SLUSHIES on the road, SLUSHIES on the stairs, SLUSHIES on your pants, SLUSHIES everywhere. I’m wearing my winterboots and STILL have problem walking up the hill. The hike up to McIntyre building is incredibly dangerous. Walking like a penguin would be a good option to avoid from slipping and breaking your hips. So flattering and attractive. NOT.

Enough about the cold weather, let’s move along to something more exciting shall we?

Let’s talk about Banoffee Pies. Banoffee pies are basically pies with either graham cracker crust or flour based crust topped with a layer of creamy caramel, sliced bananas and topped with a generous amount of whipped cream. Even the word Divine would not do any justice to this dessert. Last time I made it was with my sister a few years back. I remember that we were so excited that she even bought canned caramel and brought it back to Malaysia. We were extremely determined and driven when it comes to food.

A month or two back, my other sister made Jamie Oliver’s version of Banoffe Pie and forwarded the recipe to me. Like any other normal dessert junkie, I made one myself. Especially when the grocery decided to have sale on whipped cream. It’s a calling I tell ya…

A calling that is worth answering…every single bite was a taste of heaven. Yes..I am fasting while writing this post.=)

Original recipe from here.

Banoffee Pie

1 store bought graham cracker crust

3 ½ - 4 bananas

100 ml milk

4 tablespoon sugar

300 ml cream

1 tablespoon coffee

Chocolate chips or shaved chocolate for topping (optional)

1. In a bowl, place 3 peeled bananas with the milk and mash until well combined
2. In a pan over high heat melt the caster sugar. Don’t stir it, just gently tilt as it melts and darkens in colour
3. Add the banana milk mixture to the toffee and stir until well incorporated
4. Pour into the pie crust and freeze for 20 minutes (in this -20 degrees and below weather, you could simply put on your windowsill =P)
5. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Using a spatula/spoon, fold in the coffee.
6. Slice the remaining banana.
7. Take out the frozen pie crust and arrange the sliced banana on top of the toffee mixture.
8. Cover the whole pie with the whipped cream.
9. Garnish with shaved chocolate or chocolate chips

One of my first ever kitchen adventure was when I was 17. I tried making kuih raya. In the recipe book it says coffee, and guess what I did? I put coffee POWDER instead of the drinking coffee. My poor friend had to eat some and the rest was thrown out! bleargh. So yes people, when a recipe says coffee…it means the coffee MIXTURE that you drink for breakfast not coffee POWDER.

Store bought crust.Too lazy to make my own...

This is how thick the snow is on my balcony!

Bananas......

Whipped Cream...

Chocolate bits.....

Bliss 

 Banoffee pie is extremely delicious AND filling. Because of its sweetness and creaminess, you can get sick of it really quickly. Not me though.=) The function of the coffee mixture is to give the whipped cream an extra kick.

Talking about kicks, Trish and I enrolled ourselves in a kickboxing class. Twice a week. Stairs are my enemies now. My thigh HURTS!Rawr.

 

Stay warm Montrealites!

Wasalam

Till then,

Love,

Sofhan Hasni. 

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Mushroom Sauce

Assalamualaikum

Winter break is coming to an end! Although I was a bit upset with the change of plans however, it might be for the best Insha’Allah. Nonetheless I had fun during this break. I had a chance to experiment a bit in the kitchen which is always a plus. Also, my sewing machine finally got to see the sunlight after being in its box for months!

Munie’s visit was a blast! We tried food at places we never tried before, we made our (mine at least) first snow man and danced to country music on New Year’s Eve. That definitely made up my cancelled trips!=)

Even before she came, I asked her if she had any food requests. One thing I know for sure, my friends could eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. So I decided awhile ago that I would make her Chicken Cordon Bleu.  But in my case it wasn't THE perfect Cordon Blue. Why? Because this clumsy cat lady forgot/decided not to get chicken slices when she was at the grocery store. =.=’ Why oh Why?! But still, it was a delicious meal! Instead of using Swiss cheese, I decided to get smoke Gouda cheese. It’s delicious I tell ya. A great choice indeed. Try putting it on a piece of toast and top it with slices of apples. Good-Golly! It makes a great Grilled Apple Cheese Sandwich too!*drools* As usual, food always excites me .Moving on…

For the Chicken Cordon Blue, I mixed and matched different recipes depending on the ingredients I had on hand and the techniques that I preferred. The only thing that wasn't working for me was the baking time. Mine was slightly dry. Also, instead of buying breadcrumbs; I decided to make my own which, in my opinion, tasted soo much better compared to the ones sold in the grocery store.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

For 2

2 chicken breasts, butterfly cut

A few slices of cheese of your choice, I used smoked Gouda

1/2 -3/4 cup of breadcrumbs

1/2 cup of flour

1 egg, beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 tablespoon of butter

Oil 

Dried parsley (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degree Fahrenheit
2. To prep the chicken, wash it thoroughly, butterfly it. On a sturdy surface, place the chicken and cover it with plastic. Using a meat pounder (in my case, a heavy rolling pin) , pound them until they are about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in width.
3. Spray an oven safe dish with oil and put aside.
4. Have the breadcrumbs, flour and beaten egg ready.
5. Spread the chicken breast on a clean surface, season generously with salt, pepper and  garlic powder.
6. Put the cheese slices (also cooked meat slices if you have any) on top of the seasonings.
7. Roll the chicken tightly and neatly and secure the roll with a toothpick
8. Cover the rolled chicken with flour, then egg and lastly the breadcrumbs.
9. Garnish with some dried parsley.
10. Place the chicken breasts on the baking dish. Spray some more oil and dollop some butter on top of each piece.
11. Bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes.

The baking time really depends on the thickness of the chicken breast. Since mine was overcooked and a bit dry (I baked it for 35 minutes), I decided to make mushroom sauce as well.=)

Mushroom Sauce

1/4 cup of sliced mushroom

1 tablespoon of butter

1 tablespoon of flour

1/2 cup of milk

Salt and pepper to taste

1. On a medium heat, melt butter and sauté the mushrooms until they soften.
2. Add flour and mix until a paste forms.
3. Mix in the milk, salt and pepper. Continue mixing until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. (1-3 minutes)

 

 

 Who knew?!It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Definitely worth a try! Go ahead and WOW someone. Oh! If you were wondering, I served this dish with garlic mashed potatoes on the side. Munie sure liked it, I’m sure you’ll too!=)

Classes start in 2 days time. I.AM.NOT.READY! rawr.

Whoever said that they love winter and the snow, perhaps have never set foot on North America during snow storms. Like really. Like whatever.*flips hijab*

Till then, Wasalam,

Love,

Sofhan Hasni