Monthly Archives: April 2020

At RealGM, a look at why skill set is more important that college stats when it comes to evaluating big men.

Hi! Hello there! How are you? I hope you are holding up ok.

I have been keeping a secret, and I’ve been nervous to share this news with you because wow the world feels upside-down right now, but I guess now is as good of a time as any to tell you: I WROTE AND PHOTOGRAPHED A NEW BOOK! It’s called SNACKING CAKES and it will be published by Clarkson Potter this October if all goes according to plan.

Phew.

Snacking Cakes is full of one-bowl cake recipes that you can make with minimal ingredients, some simple tools (no electric mixers necessary!), and an 8×8 (or 9-inch round!) pan. There are 50 recipes, but they all sneakily have flavor and pan variations making the true count of recipes much higher than that. It’s got it all from bright citrusy cakes to rich chocolatey ones, and everything in between. There is truly something for everyone and they are the kind of cakes you can make any day of the week. That beauty on the cover is a Cocoa Yogurt Cake that comes together so quickly, and lasts for days on the counter. You can top it with a glaze too, but only if you feel like it. This one is vanilla bean, but there are lots and lots to choose from.

I know I haven’t checked in here in a long while and the truth is I took the summer off of blogging to work on some photography projects, and teach at my beloved Melisses. Then, the minute those projects were wrapping up I found myself writing this VERY FUN book full of TRULY EASY, very SNACKABLE CAKE recipes for any occasion…like moving into a new apartment or a low key birthday or making it through work on a Monday. I kinda wish I could just send it to all of you right now because I know you are all baking at home a lot more than usual and I’d love to share these recipes with you. Alas, that isn’t the way that book publishing works.

I’ll be back soon with more info, but if you’d like to and can swing a preorder (please do, this is such a weird time to be publishing a book!) there’s a link over in the sidebar. Take care of yourselves and others out there.

xx

Add a little fun to your cookie baking with these Sprinkle Crinkle Cookies! Crinkle cookies are such a fun cookie to make. Don’t you just love all those cracks and crevices? And giving them a good roll in confectioners’ sugar really shows off that texture. These Sprinkle Crinkle Cookies begin with a really simple vanilla […]

The post Sprinkle Crinkle Cookies appeared first on Bake or Break.

This is my first attempt at Mille Feuille Nabe, a Japanese hot pot that is made with layers of Chinese cabbage and pork belly slices.

This hot pot is called mille feuille nabe as is is arranged with many layers of cabbage and pork slices which resembles the classic French pastry, mille feuille (also known as Napoleon). Mille feuille means ‘a thousand leaves’ so this dish is called 千层白菜猪肉锅 in Chinese which literately means “a thousand layers cabbage and pork hot pot”.

Besides Chinese cabbage, perilla leaves are also used to form the layers. Since perilla leaves are not readily available at our local wet markets (and they are rather expensive), I substitute with romaine lettuce. The hot pot looks so pretty with the layers of cabbage and the different types of mushrooms.

I made the stock from scratch but it can be replaced with store-bought vegetable or chicken stock. The layers are made by stacking layers of cabbage leaves, romaine lettuce and pork slices on top of one another. The stack is then cut into a few sections and packed in a circular manner in the pot. Most recipes will call for layering the bottom of the pot with bean sprouts, but I used the leftover cabbage leaves and mushrooms instead.

The vegetables reduced quite a fair bit after it is being cooked.

The dish is usually served with shabu shabu dipping sauce such as sesame sauce or ponzu sauce. However, we find that it is already very tasty without the sauce. It is a light and yet delicious one pot meal with all the flavours from the vegetables and mushrooms. Everyone enjoyed the huge hot pot and the four of us managed to finished it with only some leftover soup. I cooked udon with the leftover soup for my lunch the next day. Although the pot looks rather complicated with the layers of ingredients, it is actually very easy to prepare. This will be another one of our regular meals especially on a cool or rainy evening 🙂

Mille Feuille Nabe

Ingredients:

1 head of Chinese cabbage (also called napa cabbage)
1 head of romaine lettuce
400g thinly sliced pork belly (for sabu sabu)
1 pack (100g) Bunashimeji mushrooms or white shimeji mushrooms
1 pack (200g) Enoki mushrooms
3 shiitake mushrooms (I used fresh shiitake mushrooms)
some carrot slices cut into flower shape (optional)

for the stock:
10 large dried anchovy (remove the guts)

3 stems of the shiitake mushrooms
1 small size yellow onion (remove skin and cut into half)
6 cups water
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 teaspoon salt

Method:

• To make the stock: place ingredients (except soya sauce and salt) for the stock in a pot and bring it to a boil. Once it starts to boil, remove the kombu and discard. Reduce heat and leave to simmer for about 30mins. Season with soya sauce and salt. Strain the stock and leave aside.
• Wash and drain Chinese cabbage leaves, and romaine lettuce leaves, set aside.
• Wash and drain shiitake, bunashimeji and enoki mushrooms.
• To assemble the mille feuille stacks: Lay a cabbage leaf then lay a romaine lettuce leaf on top, followed by 3 slices of pork belly. Repeat with cabbage, romaine lettuce, pork belly for another 3 layers. Finally, top it with a cabbage leaf. There should be 4 layers of cabbage–romaine lettuce–pork belly, with the bottom and top most as cabbage leaves. (Note: for smaller romaine lettuce leaves, use 2 leaves for each layer instead of one.)
• Repeat the above to make a total of 3 stacks. (Note: for a small pot, 2 stacks should probably be enough).
• Cut the left over cabbage leaves and romaine lettuce into big chunks.
• Layer the bottom of a large pot (I used a 5 litre pot, 26cm in diameter) with the cabbage  and romaine lettuce chunks, followed by the bunashimeji and enoki mushrooms. Reserve one bunch each of the bunashimeji and enoki mushrooms.
• Cut each of the mille feuille stack into 3 or  4 sections (about 5cm each section).
• Arrange the sections, cut-side up, starting from the edge of the pot working towards the centre. Fill the centre with the shiitake mushrooms and the bunch of reserved bunashimeji and enoki mushrooms. Top with sliced carrots (optional).
• Pour the stock into the pot. Cover and bring it to a boil. Remove cover and leave to simmer for about 10 minutes or until the ingredients are fully cooked. Serve with shabu shabu dipping sauce such as sesame sauce or ponzu sauce.

Note: depending on the size of the pot, the amount of ingredients especially the cabbage, romaine lettuce and pork slices may vary.

I love to make birthday cakes for my friends, and at one point last year I became obsessed with making chocolate sculptures to decorate my birthday cakes with! I had seen it all over Instagram and fell in love with the way they added such artistry to cakes, in such a free-form and abstract way. 

The first of many chocolate sculpture cakes that I ended up making throughout the year, this

Pardon the less than satisfactory image quality in this post as the pictures were taken with my mobile phone. I have no plans to blog about this dish, but since it turned out really good, I thought I should capture my moment of glory and leave a trace in this humble blog 😉

During this one week school holidays, I decided to try my hands at preparing this tze-char style or Chinese style Mee Goreng as it is one of my children’s favourite. Although I can prepare stir fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli) with ease, I have big problems when it comes to stir frying noodles…be it egg noodles or those thick yellow noodles. My stir fried noodles usually end up tasting very dry and over cooked.

Thanks to the video from makansutra, I am able to pin down the mistake I made when I cooked yellow noodles. The trick is to add splashes of stock or water while tossing and stir frying the noodles. In the past, I would stir fry the ingredients first then add the noodles followed by lots of water to prevent the noodles from getting dry. Allowing the noodles to ‘boil’ in the liquid and also the longer cooking time for the liquid to dry up could probably be the reasons why the noodles became too soft and over cooked.

This is the first time I could prepare a nice plate of mee goreng which is not dry and tastes so delicious. The noodles is not too soft and doesn’t clump or stick together in lumps. I have included the recipe below for my own reference. If you feel like giving this a try do note that it may not suit everyone’s taste buds, do adjust the ingredients especially the seasoning sauce according to individual preference.

Chinese style Mee Goreng

Ingredients:
(serves 3~4)

300g prawns
1 small yellow onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6~8 leaves of cabbage, chopped
300g yellow noodles
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups bean sprouts
1 big fish cake, sliced
1 tomato, cut into wedges
1 cup prawn stock or water
2 tablespoons cooking oil
a few calamansi lime for garnish

seasoning sauce:
5 tablespoons tomato ketchup sauce
2 teaspoons sambal chili or chili sauce (I used Huy Fong brand Sambal Oelek )
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soya sauce
1 teaspoon dark soya sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

Method:

• Remove heads, shells and devein the prawns. Rinse and set aside.
• Rinse the prawn heads and shells. Place in a saucepan and add enough water to just cover the shells. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer for about 15 mins. Strain and reserve 1 cup of the stock, set aside.
• Mix all ingredients of the seasoning sauce in a bowl, set aside.
• In a wok on medium-high heat, sauté the sliced onions and chopped garlic with 1 tablespoon of oil till fragrant. Add the cabbage and stir fry till softened. Dish up and set aside.
• Add 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok and add in the noodles. Toss and stir, then add a few tablespoons of the prawn stocks at a time to the noodles and continue to toss and stir over medium-high heat. (Note: I used about 1/2 cup of the stock)
• Push noodles to the side of the wok and add the eggs, scramble the eggs and toss with the noodles.
• Add in the bean sprouts, toss well.
• Add in the the cooked cabbage, fish cake slices, prawns and tomato wedges.
• Add the seasoning sauce, stir fry till the prawns are cooked through. Add more stock, a few tablespoons at a time, if the noodles dry up. 
• Dish up and garnish with lime or calamansi.

Apart from the six months that I spent semi-living in the Westin Jersey City last year and my three years at university, I’ve only ever lived in London. Even when I was at university, I was only a 45 minute train journey away and our terms were so short that I spent less than half the year away from home.

I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to pick up your life and move across the world but Jodi did just that four years ago when she moved from Canada to the French Alps. And now, she’s moving home with her husband Matt to start the next stage of their life together and so myself and some other blogging friends are throwing them a virtual welcome home party filled, as is only fitting, with all things maple syrup!

When trying to decide what to make for this #welcomehomehhk shindig, it seemed only natural to combine the best of Canada and France with these buckwheat madeleines. There’s a little maple syrup in the cakes themselves and then they’re dipped in a ridiculously sweet but rather delicious maple glaze. Some chopped hazelnuts bring a touch of balance and a welcome crunch.

For more maple syrup goodness, check out the other contributions from some of my favourite bloggers. Huge thanks to Shelley for organising the fun and, of course, a huge welcome home to Jodi and Matt!

Sevengrams: Maple Oat Whoope Pies // Faring Well: Maple Crumb Donuts // Warm Vanilla Sugar: Maple Pecan Apple Crumble // Gratitude & Greens: Maple Tempeh Sandwiches // Sobremesa: Maple Miso Roasted Vegetable & Quinoa Bowl

buckwheat + maple syrup madeleines {gluten free}

Yield: Makes 15 Madeleines

The buckwheat makes these slight heartier / heavier than traditional madeleines but I think that works well with the maple and the spice. If you’re so inclined, you can use cinnamon rather than ginger in these.

Ingredients

For the madeleines:
• 90g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 60g (1/2 cup) buckwheat flour
• 35g (1/4 cup rice flour
• 1 tablespoon corn flour / corn starch
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 70g (1/3 cup plus a little extra for luck) demerara sugar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the glaze:
• 115g (1 cup) icing sugar
• 3 – 4 teaspoons maple syrup
• A splash of milk (optional)
• Chopped hazelnuts, to decorate

Instructions

1. Place the butter in a small pan. Cook over a medium-low heat until the butter starts to bubble and turns golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool a little; you want the butter warm but not hot.
2. In one bowl, lightly whisk together the flours, ginger, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, maple syrup and vanilla until lightly and frothy. Add the dry ingredients and gently whisk until just combined. Finally, whisk the butter into the batter. Decant into a piping bag or freezer bag and chill for at least an hour or overnight .
3. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven 190C/375F (fan) and lightly grease a madeleine tray – either metal or silicone. Pipe the batter into the holes until they’re about 3/4 full and bake for 10 – 12 minutes until risen and golden brown.
4. Remove from the tin, leave to cool for a few minutes while you make the glaze by whisking together the sugar and maple syrup (I’m all about the health right now…). If you need to thin it out, use a splash of milk. Dip the madeleines in the glaze and scatter with chopped hazelnuts. They’re best served on the day that they’re made. If you’re not going to glaze them, they can be revived in a warm oven if they get a little stale.

Notes

Adapted from these spiced vanilla madeleines.

3.1

http://londonbakes.com/2015/09/maple-syrup-madeleines.html

This Sour Cream Chicken is made with a sour cream sauce smothered over chicken breasts, topped with Parmesan cheese and baked in the oven!. It’s an incredibly easy weeknight recipe ready for the oven in less than 5 minutes!

I am late to the party for so many things. Recently, I’ve discovered Game of Thrones and I am officially hooked and incapable of doing much else until I finish one more episode of Season 1 and finish all of Season 2. I even went so far as to bring my iPad to the gym today and watched an episode while I ran on the treadmill.

While on my iPad, I also found a recipe similar to this one on from The Enchanted Cook (I am sure that you have seen it floating around Pinterest).

But I do not eat mayo, so I made mine with sour cream and added fresh herbs, garlic, and lemon zest. I have made this chicken so many times in the last few months.

It is ridiculously easy, and while not the most attractive recipe that I make, it tastes amazing. Everyone at my table loves this chicken recipe and it is a keeper.

Ingredients

The ingredients for this baked chicken recipe include boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sour cream, garlic, lemon zest, Borsari salt, chives, parsley, panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.

Sour Cream. Full-fat sour cream works best for a creamy consistency. Plus, low-fat sour cream includes added sugar and preservatives we don’t really need in our diet.

Borsari Salt. Bosari’s Original Seasoning is the secret ingredient that makes this chicken casserole so special. Bosari’s is pure sea salt infused with fresh basil, rosemary, garlic, black pepper and nutmeg. It’s incredibly versatile and I love it in this simple chicken dish.

Look for Bosari Salt in the spice aisle of your local supermarket or purchase it online. If you don’t have Bosari salt, simply use salt and pepper as noted in the recipe card. A few pinches of dried herbs or grates of fresh nutmeg never hurt either!

How To Make // The Steps

This sour cream chicken comes together in a few easy steps. It takes 5 minutes to prep the marinade, then the oven does the rest. A chicken dinner ready in 30 minutes!

1. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Mix together sour cream, garlic, lemon zest, salt, pepper, chives, and parsley in a small bowl.
2. Mix the panko crumbs into the sour cream mixture.
3. Spread the sour cream over the top of the chicken breasts.
4. Cover with Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through, and the cheese is golden brown.

Why This Smothered Cheesy Sour Cream Chicken Is So Good?

• Full-fat sour cream not only tastes better, but it keeps the chicken super moist.
• Bosari salt adds balanced flavor and cuts down on the ingredients list for an incredibly tasty meal!
• Parmesan cheese creates a cheesy, crunchy, golden-brown crust!

Variations

• If you’re not a fan of sour cream, sub in an equal amount of mayo or Greek yogurt.
• The seasoning is completely versatile. I love using Bosari seasoning salt since all the flavorings are included, but if not in your pantry, simply add 1-2 teaspoons of any dried herb of your choosing such as basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano or Italian seasoning.
• Replace the panko breadcrumbs with an equal amount of crushed Ritz crackers for a salty, buttery crunch.

Serving Suggestions

This simple chicken dish requires nothing more than a side of veggies or a simple salad.

I also love pairing it with baked potatoes with garlic herb sour cream (double the sour cream!), mashed potatoes, rice, pasta or egg noodles for those weekdays when I feel like having more carbs – especially after long runs on the treadmill!

More Chicken Recipes //

• Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili with Blue Cheese Sour Cream
• Oven-Fried Chicken
• Chicken with Boursin Mushroom Sauce
• Baked Balsamic Chicken
• Honey Garlic Balsamic Chicken
• Green Chile Rice and Chicken Skillet Dinner
• Sheet Pan BBQ Chicken Pizza
• Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

Originally published in February 2013, updated April 2020 with updated images and updated recipe card.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to know how it goes! Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, too!

Sour Cream Chicken

Yield:
serves 4 to 6

Prep Time:
10 minutes

Cook Time:
20 minutes

Total Time:
30 minutes

This Sour Cream Chicken is an easy weeknight chicken recipe. Chicken is smothered in a sour cream sauce, topped with Parmesan cheese and baked in the oven!

Print

Ingredients

• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons Borsari salt (or 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper)
• 1 Tablespoon chopped chives
• 2 Tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup panko crumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Mix together sour cream, garlic, lemon zest, salt, pepper, chives, and parsley in a small bowl. Mix the panko crumbs into the sour cream mixture.
2. Spread the sour cream over the top of the chicken breasts. Cover with Parmesan cheese. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through, and the cheese is golden brown.

Notes

Replace the panko breadcrumbs with an equal amount of crushed Ritz crackers for a salty, buttery crunch.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4

Serving Size: 1

Amount Per Serving:

Calories: 520Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 198mgSodium: 1535mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 63g

All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only.

The post Sour Cream Chicken appeared first on Baked Bree.

Nate and Danny discuss The Last Dance from 2 different perspectives, Nate from having lived in Chicago during the dynasty and Danny with fresh eyes. We hit on the craziness of Jerry Krause, Scottie Pippen’s grievances, and why the whole narrative of Michael Jordan’s competitiveness may have been a little simplistic.

Then a review of Landmark Sports’ performance, representing James Harden, Eric Gordon, and others. 

Note that COVID Daily News is now a separate pod. Please subscribe to that show on its own feed via Apple, Spotify or RSS Feed, or by searching “Nate Duncan” in your podcast player.

You can subscribe by searching “Dunc’d On” on your favorite podcast player.  And if you like this pod and want additional bonus content, please subscribe to support Nate and Danny at Patreon.com/DuncanLeroux.  Merchandise available at NateDuncanNBA.com, sponsors list also available at NateDuncanNBA.com.

With Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA and Danny Leroux @DannyLeroux). 

Jalen Green, who is almost universally regarded as a top-three prospect in the class of 2020, announced Thursday that he’ll be skipping college and instead plans on playing in the G League next season (whenever next season arrives). He’ll be paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $500,000 to do so. It’s the most aggressive move the NBA has made to entice highly ranked prospects to skip college, or other professional opportunities, and stay in the States on the way to ideally becoming an NBA player. Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander lay out their opinions on what this decision means and why it’s far from doomsday for college hoops.

Eye on College Basketball’ is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox and wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Follow our hosts on Twitter: @GaryParrishCBS, @MattNorlander

For more college basketball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/

To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/

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