The Nasi Lemak Adventure went to CountryPatch Cafe

A personal journey and my foodie adventure started a few weekends ago. The idea was to find the best Nasi Lemak dishes in Brunei.

Yesterday I went to CountryPatch at Kiulap. Easiest way to get there, use the road heading to Express at Kiulap. Its right behind it. If you still can't figure it out, look for Twelv Cafe, it's on the same building. If that fails and you own an iPhone and so happen to have the 'OhMyFood!' App, you can look it up there, just type 'Countrypatch'.

My wife and I used to go there often for the carrot cake or to settle a scone craving. To my surprise it has expanded, well kind of. The once open space is now closed with beautiful white panels and a sliding door and from the look of it can still be converted to an open space if the weather permits.

I remember @yasminpatera asked me about the NL there and to my recollection, CP only offers Chicken NL.

So come lunch time, my wife and I went there without making a reservation and was lucky enough to get a table for two. Place was packed so that is a great indication that business was going well.

The vintage walls and pictures have always impressed me about the place. A nice, small, cozy cafe with great food.

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First thing that stuck me was the menu. They had revamped the menu and I saw some very interesting sandwiches and pasta dishes. However my mission was to try their NL.

My wife settled for one of the sandwiches, unfortunately for me I had forgotten to note the name down. But it was a chicken sandwich with a balsamic vinegarette spread with grilled marinated chicken and fresh lettuce and a small helping of fries.

I remember trying out the NL before or I might have seen someone else order it.

At first glance the presentation had a striking resemblance to Sapphira's. But this one was on a smaller plate and it was very neat and well placed.

A pandan infused rice and topped with a sunny side up on one corner. The fried chicken thigh next to it and opposite the two were the sambal and the fried anchovies and peanuts. Looking at it, all I wanted to do was dig right it.

Verdict: You might be lucky. I was not very happy with my dish. It was rather unfortunate that the anchovies and peanuts were over fried and was very difficult to chew. The chicken too was over cooked, it was too dry and had a funny after taste. I did not lodge a complain to the waitress and perhaps I should have. I would like to point out here that my humble opinion should not discourage you from trying this dish. On the plus side, the sambal was very nice, but if you like it spicy this might not give you that extra 'kick'. The absence of any greens also disappointed me because I am after all paying $4.50 for this dish. A few slices of cucumber wouldn't hurt. Again, I would like to stress that you might have a better experience than me when you dine there. Also remember that this is of my own personal experience and am not trying to bad mouth the business. This is only an account of someone who wants to look for the best Nasi Lemak's in our beloved Brunei.

If it so happens that the owners of CountryPatch were to read this, I hope you do not take offense. I do love your establishment and I believe you serve one of the best Carrot Cakes in Brunei.

Food Trip in Thailand

Thai food is definitely one of my major weaknesses. The right mix of salty, sour and spicy flavors cooked with generous servings of meat and vegetables create an explosion of tastes that take any food lover to greater heights.

The unique and simply irresistible Thai cooking is so good it has become a global phenomenon. In any country you visit, chances are there's a Thai specialty restaurant just around the corner.

In college, there was a small Thai kitchen inside the UP campus run by a certain Mama-Thai and Papa-Thai. The food was so good and it was pretty cheap too, enough reason to have a strong following among students, rich kids and budget-conscious alike.

When our family moved to our new home in Malate in 2003, I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that there was a small but pretty expensive Thai restaurant called "Sala Thai" less than a block away, which caters mostly to rich patrons and tourists.

For years, that restaurant has been my favorite hangout whenever my mom decided to serve something I hate (I only eat chicken, pork, seafood and a few leaf veggies). The restaurant however, closed shop in 2008 as tourists visiting the Malate area dwindled. In fact, other popular pubs and bars in the area closed down soon after Sala Thai served its last meal.

You see, my love affair with Thai food has a long history.

That is why, on my first-ever visit to Thailand in 2009, I saw to it that I will indulge in the mouth-watering dishes that this country has to offer.

I consumed my fair share of pad thai served at 40 to 50 baht and of the mango and sticky rice that was so good, I ate three servings in one seating.

I also enjoyed the curry dishes, the prawns and the spicy chicken cuisines. At night, I decimated more than enough bottles of Chang beer, along with my staples Heineken and Carlsberg.

But while traditional Thai dishes certainly satisfied me, I was also up for some challenge.

Dared by some Belgian friends I met, I threw all my worries and munched a local delicacy, deep fried grasshoppers, which locals say actually served as aphrodisiac.

I was dared to try the worms and the larvae but these, I just couldn't take. Well, my Belgian acquaintances were more adventurous and finished entire servings of each delicacy.

Looking back, I can honestly say that such food trip was one of the highlights of my first Thailand trip. Although I felt weird towards some of dishes, I still savored the chance to enjoy some authentic Thai cooking.

And now that I am set to make yet another visit to this amazing country, I can't help but share these dishes that really made my maiden Thai adventure all the more memorable.

Exotic food in Thailand

These are fried edible insects. I haven't really dared tasting them but if you are up for a real food challenge, why not grab one of these exotic food?

Honeymoon Thailand

 

Ingredients of Thai Cuisine

The probably most noticable ingredient of Thai cooking is: chili. Even though it’s not an primary Thai ingredient – it has just been introduced to Thailand a incorporate of hundred years ago by Portugese traders who brought it from South America – it’s hard to imagine Thai cooking without chillis nowadays.

Fortunately for you, most Thai citizen nowadays know that Westerners prefer a milder taste and often have a hard time dealing with primary Thai spiciness and will get ready dishes “mai ped” (not spicy) if cooking for European or American visitors.

Coconut milk is other beloved ingredient. It’s being made by pressing with flesh of coconuts with water, and gives a meal a nice, mild, soft, round note that counterbalances the spiciness.

Lemongrass is also a generally used ingredient because it makes a dish taste pleasantly fresh. Separate sorts of herbs like Thai basilicum, ginger, galangal, tumeric and cilantro are also generally used. Note that in Thai cuisine, herbs are practically all the time used fresh, not dried. This is partly because fresh herbs tend to cool the body down in comparison to dried herbs, which often have “heating properties”.

Eating in Thailand: A Shared Experience

There is a positive incompatibility between the eating habits of Thai citizen and citizen from European or American descent. Western citizen tend to order isolate dishes, even when eating together. Thai citizen on the other hand order some dishes which will then be positioned in the middle of the table. Every person gets his own plate of rice, and then Every person eats from these foodladen plates. It is not tasteless to load your own food on your own table. Instead, you all the time take other spoonful from the shared plate, mix it with some rice, and eat it, and take other spoonful from the shared plates. Loading up food on your on plate is considered impolite for Thai people.

Vegetarian Food in Thailand?

Many citizen are under the impression that Thailand is a country where there are lots of vegetarians. However, this is not the case. Even most vegetarian dishes (like fried mixed vegetables) are ready with either fish sauce or oyster sauce (both of which are made from either fermented fish or oyster essence). If you characterize that you are vegetarian however, they will get ready vegetarian food for you, but you should then learn to characterize that in Thai before arriving in Thailand.

Beancurd is most often also just other condiment in a dish, and seldom the main ingredient. Even though it is generally used in Thailand, it most often is just added to a dish that contains meat for bigger variety.

Highlighting the Thai Fishery Industry "quality, variety, freshness" at THAIFEX - World of Food Asia 2011

The Thai fishery industry plays a significant role in the development of the Thai economy. Hundreds of thousands of people are employed in the Thai fishery industry which includes fish and food processing, cooling, freezing, packaging, ice making, shipping etc.

Thailand is one of the major seafood suppliers in the world today. Fishery products for export include fresh and frozen prawn (black tiger, white, pink, fresh water), processed shrimp (boiled, frozen breaded, stretched shrimp, and shrimp stick), squid, cuttlefish, fish filet, surimi and fish in the form of fresh, chilled frozen, and processed food.

Photos by Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA)

Over the years, Thai seafood has gradually gained worldwide recognition. And Thailand is now the largest exporter of shrimp, chilled fish, and prawns. The Thai seafood industry is one of the largest in the world in terms of production and trade. Thailand is the world’s number one exporter of canned tuna and shrimp products. The main export market is the United States, European countries, Japan, Korea and many other countries.

In 2010, exports of shrimp, squid, and fish yielded nearly 135 million baht (US$ 4.2 billion) with shrimp products being the largest contributor representing 70% at the total.

In conjunction with THAIFEX – World of Food Asia 2011, the Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA) will organize its own mini-exhibition called Thailand Frozen Food & Seafood Zone at the Challenger 1 Hall 1. This year there will be more than 40 suppliers occupying 224 booths.

This will further emphasize significant roles in the business that generates over 100 billion baht worth of export revenue for Thailand every year. The exhibition will highlight the reasons why frozen food products from Thailand are widely popular around the world.

An exceptional and initiative service, Business Matching, is also provided for international buyers who visit the fair and would like to meet exclusively with members of TFFA. Please click here if you are interested in business matching with Thai Frozen Food Association members. All you need to do is provide us with information about your requirements and we will provide you with this for free service. This is one-of-a-kind service for your sourcing of frozen seafood from Thailand.

About Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA)

Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA) is a private non-profit organization founded in 1968 under the Thai Trade Association Act. The original name was Thai Marine Products Association, then changed to Thai Fishery and Frozen Products Association in 1983 to cover the frozen products industry.

Finally, the present name of Thai Frozen Foods Association was adopted in 1994. The name clearly reflects the overall scenario of frozen products as food item, as well as expands the association’s supervisory role beyond marine products to cover many other food categories.

TFFA runs by Directors elected from its members to a 2 year-term. The main business of its members is processing and exporting frozen foods. TFFA derives its income from annual membership fee, as well as service provided such as sample analysis, arranging seminars, sales of forms and documents. It now has more than 213 member companies, with an office located at

Address
:
92/6 6th Floor, Sathornthani Building 2
North Sathorn Road, Silom,
Bangrak
, Bangkok 10500,
Thailand
Tel. ( 662 ) 235-5622-4, (662) 636-9001-6
Fax. ( 662 ) 235-5625
Website: www.thai-frozen.or.th E-mail: thai-frozen@thai-frozen.or.th

Thai sea food – Sea food restaurant in Thailand

Thailand is a country that covered by a long shoreline located in south East Asia. That’s why this country can get a lot of benefits from sea foods.

Sea food in Thailand can help to people in the local area and also can export to sell in the international market. They take those sea foods to steam, baked, curry, fried, stir, with soup. The way that Thai people prepare sea foods for their meal is quite different from other countries in the world because they like to use lots of herbs and spices which can get from the local farm.

Some sea foods are preserved by processing into salted fish. They can do it both in the farm and in the factory and then export to abroad such as United States.

There are two ways to breed Ikan bilis fish. First is to catch them from the wild seas and the second is to bred in fish farms. But mostly fresh wild fish are much more expensive and easy to sell to the market than those that bred in the farm. The fish need to breed and mangrove is the best natural place for their breeding.

The fishermen who can get lots of fish from their fishing are so enthusiasts proudly to bring their catches to home for their family and income. They can sell those fishes directly to the market with a reasonable price. During their fishing, they need boats to go out at night to where the fishes take place. There are so many people are doing this business for their family, hence the fishing industry has played main role for the income of country. And people can improve their standard living as well.Not only sea fish, but other crustaceans such as crabs and prawns are also popular resources for people in Thailand. They like to eat them for their daily meals. And others sea foods such as oysters, cuttlefish, squid, octopus mussels are very delicious for them.

When you visit Thailand, you can find seafoods restaurant in Thailand in many place. They served you lots of kind of seafoods as i describe above. So enjoy your time there and let’s test with those amazing test.

The Best Food for a Young Athlete

Here’s a revelation: eat the least processed food you can find.

Right, that’s not a revelation. You’ve heard it before but it’s not an easy thing to do when feeding the typical American teenage athlete. But it can be done, especially if you try to stick to the 80/20 rule that I’ll outline below.

There are a lot of different diets and recommendations around but the number of choices is very confusing, and frankly, I’m not sure all of them are safe for young athletes. What we’re trying to do with a young athlete is make them as healthy as possible to improve their sport performance -- but more importantly I believe that we can set them up with good habits for a lifetime of healthy eating.

What I’m talking about here is eating as close to natural and minimally processed foods as possible. Some nutritionists call this “eating close to the ground” and other call it “eating clean,” etc., and it means stepping back to the old days of eating the most nutrient-packed and least processed foods you can find.

It means shopping on the edges of the grocery store and not down the middle of the store in the pre-packaged frozen foods section. The nutrients, vitamins, and minerals found in natural foods will almost always lead to an improved health profile, improved performance, decreased body fat if the child is overweight, and increased energy levels.



Examples of good food choices for the young athlete
It’s hard shopping for young athletes because they can be pretty set in their ways and are heavily influenced by their friends -- who may be eating poorly. Here are just a few examples of what you should aim for in the food choices:



Fruits and Vegetables

• Apples, bananas, berries, kiwis, oranges
• Dried fruits as snacks
• 100 percent fruit smoothies from places like Jamba Juice
• Leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collard
• Beans and lentils
• Avocado



Meat, Fish, Nuts, and Dairy

• Lean meats: chicken, turkey, lean beef
• Fish: tuna, salmon
• Nuts: almonds, walnuts, macadamia, pecans, cashews
• Dairy: low fat milk, low fat yogurt, eggs



Bread, Cereal, and Grains

• Bread: 100% whole wheat or whole grain, rye, sourdough
• High fiber cereal such as Kashi or Cheerios.
• Oatmeal
• Couscous



Let’s get real, kids will be kids: the 80/20 rule

The guidelines above represent the ideal situations but the practical matter is that it’s impossible to have a young athlete follow these suggestions all the time. That’s where the 80/20 rule comes into play.

The 80/20 rule means that 80 percent of the time you stick with the healthy eating rules and 20 percent of the time you’re allowed to “cheat” and stray from the ideal. When one of your teammates has a birthday and cupcakes are the post-game “snack”-- go for it and enjoy it with your friends! Having a (very) occasional burger, fries, and soda? OK, then do the best you can with your other meals that week.

Be realistic and do the best you can, when you can. You’ll live a healthier life for the effort and it will allow you to perform at your best during games.

Advice to decide on the best pet food for your dog.

In making a choice on what to serve your pet dog, it’s important to choose the best brand among all the dog foods in the market, because your devoted dog deserves only the best dog food. You cannot be totally confident that the ingredients in most supermarket supplied dog foods are healthy for the dogs. The quality cannot be guaranteed because it’s been sitting on the shelves for a long time already. Therefore, the question for caring dog owners will be, what is the best brand of pet food and where is this available?

Always Get the Freshest
Dogs also need to be fed with recently made dog food, and so sensible per owners should put this in top priority. The best way to get fresh dog food is to obtain it directly from the company that makes it. Dr. G’s pet food provides you with some of the freshest and best dog food currently available on the market. You can be confident that the dog food is fresh when you consider that they only make it after you place your order. Delivery follows soon after. The reality with most dog foods in the supermarket is that you don’t actually know how long it’s been sitting on the shelf.
The very best Ingredients

To make sure that your favorite canine is getting the best dog food is by making sure it contains the best ingredients. what is the best dog food that you can feed to your dog?? The good news is that Dr. G’s pet foods for dogs is rich in all the essential nutrients that is best for all dogs. The contents of Dr. G’s holistic dog foods comprise of a mix of low-gluten whole grains, chicken protein, some fruits and also marine lipids. In order for your favorite pet to maintain a healthy lifestyle, the key ingredients that are needed in their food should contain amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and natural insulin. It must also have Omega 3 fatty acids to complete the essenti.

Basic safety in Manufacturing
When searching for the proper food for your dog it is critical to consider the safety of the food. The method of preparing the food is what Dr. G’s dog foods is best recognized for. The process in Dr. G’s pet foods is that it is dealt with and made right after the order and then it is quickly delivered right at your home, unlike the other dog foods that are made in bulk and are stored in the factories and supermarkets for long periods of time. Dr. G’s dog foods always prepare healthy foods for dogs because it does not contain any preservatives and harmful ingredients. The end product is a completely holistic dog food that is healthy with only natural ingredients. Through this you can be assured of your dog’s health and safety.

Who is the Man Responsible for Dr. G’s Pet Foods?
Dr. G’s dog foods is better among all the dog foods in the market because of the distinct reputation of the founder. The creator is Dr. Martin Glinsky who has degrees in pet nutrition and nutritional biochemistry. He initiated his own pet food company in 1980, in accordance with his knowledge of what types of nutrients animals need. His dog food has the best holistic components that cannot be found in any other dog food in the market. It incorporates only fresh ingredients in every batch made. All pet owners can certainly be guaranteed that they’re giving the best dog food to their pet with Dr. G’s dog foods.
Most of the dog foods located on the shelves in supermarkets are of course not fresh and even contain harmful ingredients, and yet this is what some pet owners feed their dogs everyday.. The best choice in providing fresh and quality dog food is to order online from Dr. G’s pet foods. Your pet dog deserves only the best, and with Dr.G’s Fresh Dog Food, you are guaranteed of quality everytime.

The Best Vegetarian Chili EVER!

Historically, my husband has always been a bit skeptical of vegetarian chilis. I think this is because he used to eat meat (he turned veggie at age 15) and probably never got used to the non-meat flavor in veggie chili. (I could probably ask him why he didn’t like it but it’s more fun for me to speculate on this blog hehe). Anyway – I recently came across a really flavorful veggie chili recipe on Kath Eats and convinced my husband to try it. It was a total SUCCESS! He LOVED the chili so much he went back for seconds  I made a few modifications to Kath’s recipe – but overall stayed pretty true to it because it was so good! Thanks Kath for a great recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 can Kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can Black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can Navy (or pinto) beans, drained and rinsed (I used pinto beans because I like them better)
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup frozen okra (I actually omitted this, and substituted 1 cup of chopped red pepper)
• 1/2 cup frozen lima beans (or canned) (I omitted this too, and substituted 1/2 cup chopped red onion)
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth) To keep it veggie friendly, I used veggie broth of course 
• 3 garlic cloves (I probably used closer to 4-5 to up the flavor)
• 1 heaping tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp Ghirardelli cocoa powder (unsweet) (This is totally the secret ingredient in the recipe! Makes the chili super smoky and gives it a wonderful flavor!)
• 2 sprinkles garlic powder (This ended up being about 1/2 tsp for me)
• 1 sprinkle cayenne pepper (This ended up being a little less than 1/4 tsp for me)
• 3-4 glugs Worcestershire sauce (Worcestershire sauce has anchovies in it, so I actually used soy sauce as a substitute and it worked great!)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• A few grinds of black pepper

Directions

1. Chop the garlic, onion, and red pepper. Saute lightly over medium high heat in 1-2 tsp olive oil
2. Add everything else into the pot! Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 min or longer as needed
4. Top with cheese, sour cream, and serve with tortilla chips!

Nutritionals

This makes 12 ladles of soup. Each ladle has ~135 calories; 8g protein; 8g fiber! Talk about a nutritional powerhouse in a one pot dish!

Pictures of the Ingredients I used…

The chili is almost done cooking…

Dinner is served!

Now topped with the cheese for the final touch – yummyyy 

This chili really was the best veggie version both me and my husband have ever had. It had a great smoky quality about it, was super hearty with all the beans and veggies, and was amazingly easy to make! Thanks again Kath, you saved Sunday night dinner for me!

Top 5 food blogs for parents

My Daddy Cooks  is a fabulous video blog made by Nick Coffer featuring his gorgeous toddler Archie. In it they  cook fresh, creative and varied food together on camera in their tiny kitchen. After adopting a “baby led weaning” approach to solids when Archie was 6 months old (no purées or mushes, just eating and enjoying the same food together round the table as a family), Archie loves food and cooking and these videos really show this. Nick has his own radio show now and his first book out on May 26th and was recently on the vanessa show…he is that good! he is also really clear and makes you feel you can cook too even with kids!

Annabel Karmel

At the moment Annabel’s blog is all about her new show Annabels Kitchen where she cooks with 2 madcap penguins and really engages kids with food. It’s been on CiTV if you missed it and there is a great book to go with it. My 3 year old keeps ‘reading’ it and showing me pictures of clown sandwiches and the like! Annabel Karmel know s a lot about baby, toddlers kids and food she is also the best selling parenting author int he UK. She gets that  kids like things to look good but that parents want good nutrition. Do take a look at her blog she often post recipes and ideas up hat may really inspire you.

 

Any Lane - Cooking, Cakes and Children

The wonderful Amy Lane has recently published her fabulous fiorst book The Baking Pocket Bible which is an absolutely brilliant resource for loads and loads of need to know baking ideas. A book to pass on indeed! She also writes a tremendous blog called Cooking Cakes and Children where she shares recipes and muses on cooking with kids. She also owns an online shop  called cake shop corner where she sells yummy cake balls! There is no end to this ladies talent …do check her out.

English Mum

English mum is a blog written by Becky, an absolute lover of food. She writes about markets, shares tons of gorgeous recipes, reviews cook books and just embraces and adores food stuff! She once wrote me an amazing post on The budget birthday cupcake

Every childs idea of heaven (oh and mine!) Do take a look at her wonderful blog.

Frugalicious Food

This fab blog is written by Jen (who also blogs about family life The Madhouse) and Cass (who blogs at The diary of a frugal family) about  frugal family life. Both women are absolutely comminted to providing healthy food for their children but are on strict budgets. Here they share lots of ideas around frugal and delicious food with recipes, mealplanners and reviews. Frugalicious Food is perfect for baby budgeters!

Well these are my top 5-  just to point you in a few different foodie directions. Of course this is just my view. Would you like to share your top foodie blog or share some info on yours?

The Sangria Cake, a DIY Desserts event, learning from your mistakes and a note about my Saveur’s Best Food Blog Nomination

Last month, at 18 Reasons (a non-profit organization dedicated to the building community through food) I co-hosted the DIY Desserts event with my friend Melanie. DIY Desserts is an evening where bakers from all walks of life (from fancy schmancy pros to down home beginners) bring a dessert that they made centering around themes. April’s theme was boozy desserts, like happy hour in baked good form. And boy were they awesome. My contribution: The Sangria Cake!

The evening wasn’t super crowded, but the people that showed up were all Quality (with a capital Q). My cohost Melanie showed up with mouthwater Mucho Margarita Cupcakes, that were vegan no less! Sweet, soft and ever so slightly tart, the cupcakes were a perfect way to start off the evening and get the juices flowing.

Heather of Souffle Days presented her gorgeous Bourbon Carmelized Pecan Tart. Every bite was sweet chewy nuttiness. I’m bummed that she’s moving to Prague in a month, because I’ve only just gotten to know her as she’s come to the past couple of DIY Desserts but I’m super excited for her and can’t wait to read about her new adventure on her blog.

Jo showed up with an awesome Bread Pudding with Brandy Sauce. I adore Jo and I adore bread pudding. So, clearly, I was going to adore her dessert. I took a big helping and then took an even bigger helping home, to enjoy afterwards.

But the most impressive dessert was brought by Joyce, who brought a Guiness Chocolate Cake with Jameson Ganache and Bailey’s Italian Meringue Buttercream. Rich, dense and beautifully decorated with gold luster dust and gold leaf, it was Joyce’s first time at the DIY Desserts and I can only hope she’ll come back.

As for my dessert, I’ll be honest with you. The cake I brought wasn’t my top form. An obviously first attempt at a new recipe I was developing, sadly the fruit that I lovingly layered in the batter, soaking in homemade sangria, all sunk to the bottom of the pan. It looked rather like a total hot mess when I unmolded my cake.

Whoa. Hello sinking fruit and cake stuck to my pan!

Luckily a lot of fruit and glaze help to rescue the way it looks

But I rescued it (somewhat), and made it presentable. And in the end the people at DIY Desserts and 18 Reasons were nothing but gracious about it. There were many things wrong with it, but Melanie ate a bite of it and then turned to me and proclaimed “It’s like rich people having brunch!”

Which, of course, made me love her all the more.

Note the awesome way I filled some of the "holes" of the cake with fruit, like that raspberry.

So here’s the thing. Not every dessert I make is perfect, gorgeous and stunning. Not every dessert is show stopping delicious. But, like most all food bloggers, I tend to self edit, putting on my blog my best desserts – it’s just human nature to do that. I so rarely show you the mistakes or the blunders. But they happen. Oh do they happen. And this cake wasn’t even close to the worst things that I have come out of my kitchen. But we all learn from our mistakes. We learn how to patch up a cake, cover it with fruit, glaze or powdered sugar or worse case scenario, we learn to love the fact that here in San Francisco we can compost – and send our mistakes back to the earth.

My friend Nina once looked at me in amazement when I told her that I make horrible things in the kitchen all the time. She didn’t believe me. But it happens. And all you can do it pick yourself up, shake the flour off your shirt and start again.

So I did. I knew I could do better.  I was going to a picnic this past weekend, so I radically revamped the recipe (and made it simpler in the meanwhile) hoping to nail it for this blog post. I brought it along with a few other desserts. And you know what? EVERYONE there proclaiming the cake a winner. Some people going so far to say it was the favorite of the three desserts I brought with me (don’t worry, the other two desserts, which had their fans, are going to be popping up on this blog too).

So I present to you my new and improved, blog worthy Sangria Cake. Just in time for Cinco de Mayo. Enjoy. My friends did. They demolished the cake by the end of the day.

DIY Desserts is moving to the first Thursday of the month at 18 Reasons. Please join us on Thursday, May 5th for our next event. Everyone is welcome. Bring a dessert around the theme of Mom’s Best, a nostalgic dessert that conjures up your mom (or dad, or grandpa or grandma) that sends you back to childhood with every bite. If you aren’t a baker, but love to eat, drop by and just partake of the goodies. We need eaters too!

Top 10 Easy Finger Foods

 

Got a crowd to feed, but don’t have the time to whip up complicated hors d’oeuvres? Some of the tastiest finger foods are also the easy finger foods.

It’s not how hard you work to make them, but how smart you are about pairing the right ingredients. So forget the complicated, multi-step appetizers and fall in love with these simple, but scrumptious, treats.

Here are my suggestions for the top ten easy finger foods:

10. Sliders

Proving that good things come in small packages, mini slider burgers are just as fun to make as they are to eat. You can make your own mini hamburger patties or buy them pre-made to really keep things simple. Little bison burgers give your cocktail party a high-end attitude. Grill your mini burgers on medium-high heat for two to three minutes a side and place on a platter. Set out mini buns (lots of bakeries off these now), along with an assortment of the usual condiments. If you want to get fancy you can offer a flavored mayonnaise or two. The really great things about sliders is they’re heartier than most finger foods, so two to three per person should be plenty.

9. Quesadillas

Keep them traditional with cheese, onions and chillies, or put a fruity twist on an old favorite by spreading the shells with cream cheese and filling them with thinly sliced apples, pears or other similar fruits. Once assembled, place the quesadilla in an oiled frying pan on medium-high heat and warm for three to four minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side. Cut the heated quesadilla into small, pie-shaped pieces and serve with either sour cream and salsa, or a caramel dipping sauce.

8. Cream cheese wontons

Sometimes the best easy finger foods are the ones that pair unlikely ingredients. In this case, wonton wrappers are filled with softened cream cheese and fried for a crispy, yet creamy, mouthful of bliss. Simply place a small dollop of the softened cream cheese onto the center of the wonton wrappers. Moisten your finger with water and run it along the edge of the wonton wrappers. Press firmly to close and pop those bundles of joy into a heated deep fryer. Remove when they turn golden brown and serve immediately.

7. Cucumber finger sandwiches

Finger sandwiches: who doesn’t love them? These are the original easy finger foods because absolutely no cooking is required. Just mix up 4 tbsp. of softened butter with some chopped dill, diced scallions and 1 tbsp. of prepared horseradish. Mix together thoroughly, and spread on four pieces of white bread (cut the crusts off first, if desired). Spread a layer of thinly sliced cucumbers over the butter mixture and cut into four equal sections. Top with a little garnish if you’re feeling fancy.

6. Easy bruschetta

With the help of your barbecue, this version of bruchetta is ready before you can say, well, “Where’s the bruchetta?” Heat your barbecue to medium heat. Meanwhile, cut a baguette in half, lengthwise, and spread store-bought pesto on both halves. Place both halves, crust side up, onto the grill. Let the bread grill for two minutes, then remove. Spread ricotta cheese over the grilled side of the bread and sprinkle with chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Serve hot and enjoy.

5. Stuffed cherry tomatoes

These little gems look impressive, but take very little effort to make. With a small pairing knife cut the tops off several cherry tomatoes and gently scoop out the seeds. In a small bowl mix together some ricotta cheese, finely chopped chives and a dash of salt and pepper. Fill each tomato with the ricotta mixture. You can serve them cold, by refrigerating them for at least half an hour before serving, or bake them for eight minutes at 350 F and serve them hot. Grow your own delicate cherry tomatoes and these will be a regular offering at your cocktail parties.

4. Date and prosciutto wraps

Tickle your taste buds with these savory, yet easy, finger foods. Take a dozen slices of prosciutto and spread a thin layer of mascarpone cheese onto the meat. Lay a single, fresh basil leaf, horizontally, across the top of each slice of prosciutto. On top of the basil lay a fresh, pitted date. Roll the prosciutto around the date until completely wrapped and slice the roll in half, vertically, to make two bite-sized rolls. The combination of sweet and savory will have your guests begging for more.

3. Star puffs

Here is an easy finger food that lets you be creative. You’ll need two sheets of puff pastry (the pre-rolled logs are the easiest to use) and a star-shaped cookie cutter. Lay out the puff pastry, while it’s still a bit cold, and cut as many star shapes as you can out of each sheet. Place the stars on a cookie sheet and top with whatever strikes your fancy. Grated parmesan cheese, garlic butter or dried herbs work well. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed up and the tops are slightly golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.

2. Chicken wings

If fussing with the preparation of little finger foods just really isn’t your thing, the tried and true chicken wing has got your back. This crowd favourite is as simple as placing store-bought wings on a baking sheet and baking them for 20 minutes at 425 F. If serving spicy chicken wings, serve with a blue cheese dressing as dip. If you went the sweet route instead, try a honey or citrus-based dip instead.

1. By the dozen

Sometimes the classics are the best. As long as there are no seafood allergies to worry about, why not try the king of all easy finger foods: oysters on the half shell. Sure, you’ve got to shuck them first, but once you get the hang of it even that’s fairly simple. To protect your hands wear heavy-duty kitchen gloves and use a small, sharp knife. Insert the tip of the knife into the shell, just beside the hinge. Now run the knife along the edge of the shell until you reach the other side of the hinge. Pry the shell open with the knife and remove the top shell, being careful not to spill the delicious liquid. Run your knife under the oyster to cut the connective tissue holding the oyster on the bottom shell. Lay your open oysters on a bed of crushed ice (a large platter or roasting pan works great) and set out a bottle of hot sauce and lots of lemon wedges.