Soto Ayam Ambengan

The first post of the year! 

It feels like that 2011 flew by us too quick. Not much has changed in our household. DH is still busy with his work as usual, I still (try to) keep the house organized, make sure that everybody's fed and demand my kids to do whatever they're suppose to do by instilling fears into their little heads (like that EVER works!).

Although on the other hand, I must say that 2011 was the year for growing. By that I mean that the children are growing up, DH and I are growing out. Big C is almost 13 years old has grown to be as tall as his Dad and 9 year old little C has outgrown most of his clothes. 

But, changes in body size aside, we went through the holiday break pretty much unscathed. Quiet Christmas at home, several play dates and sleepovers (for the kids and their friends), ski trip, Six Flags day and New Year's Eve dinner with family friends. That kept us busy enough. So it's suffice to say that I'm looking forward to a better, peaceful and happy year to come. 

To mark the beginning of the year, and to stray away a little bit from greasy and heavy holiday food, here is the recipe for Soto Ayam Ambengan (East Javanese Chicken Noodle Soup) that's perfect for a chilly winter night. It's fragrant, because it contains a lot of lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves, yet succulent and rich.

Ingredients:

• 50 grams small shrimp, sautéed
• 6 red shallots
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch fresh turmeric (or 1 teaspoon turmeric powder)
• 1 inch fresh galangal (or 1 teaspoon galangal powder)
• 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 inch fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 5 candle nuts (substitute with Macadamia nuts if candle nuts are not available)
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 whole medium-sized chicken
• 3 stalks of lemongrass, white parts only, bruised
• 5 kaffir lime leaves
• 2.5 liters of water or chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• salt to taste
• 200 grams white rice noodles
• 4 green onions, mince
• 3 tablespoons of minced celery leaves
• 5 hard boiled eggs, cut in segments

Optional:

• Lime juice
• Kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• Chili sauce 
• Poyah (grind shrimp crackers and fried garlic in a food processor until they turn into powder)

Directions:

• In a large pot, put together water/chicken stock, chicken, lemongrass, lime leaves, sugar and salt. Bring to boil and reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking until the chicken is cooked thoroughly. Remove chicken from the pot, cool down and shred the meat. Put aside.
• Using mortar and pestle, grind the first 9 ingredients until it forms smooth paste (or use food processor). Stir fry the paste in hot oil until fragrant, then transfer to the pot with the stock. Cook over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, separate noodles into bowls, top with shredded chicken, chopped green onion, celery and hard boiled egg. Ladle hot soup over the noodle. Serve with lime juice, kecap manis, chili sauce and poyah if desired.

Meringue Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup fine granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup confectioner sugar
• 5 drops food flavoring
• food coloring (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 225 F, place the rack in the center of the oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue to beat until the egg whites form soft peak. Add sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat on medium-high speed until the egg whites form stiff peak. Beat in food flavoring and coloring. 
• Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with appropriate tip. Pipe the 1 inch rounds of meringue in rows onto the parchment paper. Bake meringue in the oven for about 70-90 minutes. Turn off the oven, then leave the baking sheets inside the oven for several hours to overnight to dry the cookies.
• Store in airtight container.

Savory Cheese Sticks

Ingredients:

• 2 oz butter
• 2 oz vegetable shortening
• 8 oz all-purpose flour
• 2 oz sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated
• 2 oz parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg, separated
• Cold water, as needed
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 450 F. In a large mixing bowl (or food processor), mix flour, butter and shortening until crumbly. Add cheese and seasoning, then add egg yolk and cold water to form a dough. Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
• Using rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut into strips and transfer to greased baking pans. Brush with egg white and sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese onto them. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Gingerbread Cookies

Isn't this the time of the year? Time when the kitchen is buzzing with the sound of electric mixer, the clickety clank of baking pans and my own voice telling my kids to stop stealing cookies from the cooling racks. The time when the entire house smells like sweet gingerbread and cinnamon. The time for the Holidays.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup molasses
• 1 large egg

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, shift flour and add salt, baking soda and spices. Beat sugar and butter in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and molasses, mix well until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture into the batter, knead with hand if necessary. Divide the dough in half, wrap each with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 
• On a floured surface,  roll out the dough to the thickness of 1/4 inch. Cut into shapes using a cookie cutter. Transfer to baking sheet and bake for about 8-12 minutes per batch, until the cookies are done and turn golden around the edges. Remove cookies to the cooling rack. Wait until the cookies are completely cool before decorating with royal icing (if desired).

Salt Water Taffy

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons Glycerin
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 to 1 teaspoon flavoring
• Food coloring

Directions:

• Mix together sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Use wooden spoon to stir in corn syrup, glycerin, water, butter and salt. Place saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolve.
• Continue stirring until the mixture is boiling, then let cook, undisturbed until the temperature reach 270 degree F.Wash down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in warm water while the syrup cooks. Remove saucepan from the heat, add food coloring and flavoring. Stir gently and pour the syrup onto a greased marble slab or greased cookie sheet to cool.
• When the taffy is cool enough to handle, grease hands with oil or butter and pull the taffy until it's light in color and has a satiny gloss. Continue pulling for about 10 minutes. Roll the pulled taffy into a long rope, about 1/2-inch in diameter and cut it with greased scissor or knife into 1-inch long pieces. Let the pieces rest for 1/2 hour before wrapping them with wax paper and twisting the ends of the wrappers.