Thursday, September 30, 2010

Coconut Key Lime Cupcakes



I was in the mood for really good cupcakes. I so love coconut cake and it takes a lot of work. So I decided to shorten the process. I am sharing the recipe I use to make really good coconut cupcakes. And to sweeten the process, I decided to use some key lime pie filling. Sorry the pictures don't do them justice. I had to use my phone camera since the batteries were gone out of my camera.

Coconut Cupcakes

2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup key lime pie filling
extra coconut for topping
3-minute Frosting

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Cream together the butter and sugar. Mix on high speed for 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mix well between each egg. Add coconut extract. Sift together flour with baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with the coconut milk. Beginning and ending with the coconut milk. Mix on high speed for 3 minutes. Scoop into muffin pans lined with paper liners. Bake at 350F degrees for 18 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let cool in pan for 2 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely on wire rack. Scoop out centers of cupcakes. I use an apple corer to remove the center of the cupcakes. Pipe pie filling into the hole in the center of each cupcake. Top with frosting.

3 Minute Frosting

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp corn syrup
1/3 cup water
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon coconut extract
Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a mixer. Beat at high speed until soft peaks form. In a saucepan, combine sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Slowly add the sugar syrup to the eggs, mixing at high speed. Beat for 3 minutes on HIGH. Immediately pipe onto cupcakes and top with coconut.

Monday, September 27, 2010

My Thai Food Party=Food+Friends+Fun






Thai Bananas in Coconut Milk and Tapioca (Che Chuoi)
4 servings
2 cups water
1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk
½ cup sugar
¼ cup uncooked small pearl tapioca
½ teaspoon salt
2 large ripe bananas, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
Bring water and coconut milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in sugar, tapioca, and salt. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in bananas. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 15 minutes. Serve warm or chill 3 hours. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.

Coconut Rice
¼ cup oil
1 onion, diced
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 2 inch pieces
4 cups jasmine rice
5 cups water
1 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk
14 ounces chicken broth
½ cup lightly toasted coconut, optional
In a large frying pan, sauté the onion in the oil for 3 to 5 minutes. Add rice and lemongrass and cook for about two minutes, until rice is toasted, stirring frequently and adding more oil if needed. Carefully add water to rice. Allow to boil before reducing heat and covering. Continue to stir occasionally for about 15 minutes. Add coconut milk and cook 10-15 minutes, until rice is cooked through. Remove lemongrass stalks. Top with toasted coconut flakes, if desired.


Thai Red Curry
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
½ cup chicken stock
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 pound peeled shrimp, tails on
3 cups cut vegetables (bell pepper, onions, carrots, sugar snap peas)
2 tbsp julienne-cut fresh basil
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add curry paste, stir fry 1 to 1 1.2 minutes. Add coconut milk and chicken stock, bring to simmer on medium high heat. Stir in brown sugar and fish sauce until well blended. Add meat and vegetables, simmer 5 to 7 minutes or until meat is cooked through and vegetables are tender-crisp. Remove from heat and stir in fresh basil.

Thai Chicken Chilies and Basil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon thinly sliced Thai Chili
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil
Heat the oil in a large wok on medium-high heat. Add garlic, chili; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add chicken, water, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar; stir fry 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Stir in basil and garnish with additional chili slices and fresh or deep fried basil leaves. Serve immediately.


Beef Satay
8 ounces beef sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
bamboo skewers
3 cloves garlic
½ cup coconut milk
2 tbsp green curry paste
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
peanut satay sauce

Thread meat onto skewers . place in a baking dish. Place garlic, coconut milk, curry paste and fish sauce in blender, cover. Puree until smooth. Pour marinade over skewers. Cover. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Remove skewers from marinade. Discard remaining marinade. Broil or grill skewers 2 to 3 minutes per side or until meat is lightly browned and cooked through. Serve skewers with peanut satay sauce.

Traditional Pad Thai Noodles
7 ounces stir fry rice noodles
1/3 cup tamarind
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp paprika
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
½ pound shrimp
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup bean sprouts
¼ cup coarsely chopped unsalted peanuts
chopped fresh cilantro
lime wedges
bring pot of water to boil. Add rice noodles, cook 3 to 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water, drain well. Set aside. Mix tamarind juice, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and paprika in small bowl. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add garlic; stir fry 30 seconds until fragrant; scramble until set. Stir in rice noodles and tamarind mixture; stir fry 1 minute or until heated through. Place noodle mixture on serving platter. Sprinkle with bean sprouts, peanuts and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Friday, September 24, 2010

House Party Thai Kitchen


Thai Kitchen House Party is tomorrow. We are going to have a really good time cooking some really good food. I have to go pick up some flowers today and some fresh mango's as the commissary has much of nothing still. After almost two years of renovations you would think they would purvey much better quality fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead new display features with the same old quality. My soapbox is now put away.

I have about 10 confirmed people coming. Last minute preparation to get more rsvp's in. Even if they drop in, there will be lots of food. The photo is of all the really good food items that www.houseparty.com sent courtesy of Thai Kitchen. We will be cooking and tasting about 5 different dishes and two desserts and two beverages. I so love to cook. I have been busy in the past several weeks getting ready to teach art at school. Now that all the credentials are in the right place, I hope to blog more often. Check back in the next day or two and you will be able to see what we did at the Thai This Thai Kichen House Party.