The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewed about 120,000 times in 2012. If it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Celebrations, Congratulations, Champagne wishes galore
Finally that special day, you’ve been waiting for
Birthday wishes, hugs and kisses, gifts especially for you
Just once a year this day we cheer and raise a glass to you.
21 again. How do you do it?
You certainly have a secret
I wish I knew it
Then I could (look as young) as you
Have (energy and vitality) too
Let’s raise a glass to you dear Judy
Bottoms up! Here’s to a Birthday Cheer!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDY AND WISH YOU MANY MORE!
Now, how better to celebrate your birthday with this show-stopping cheesecake, each slice dazzled with fun, festive chocolate and jelly bean toppings.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups Cracker Crumbs
1/3 cup butter (at room temperature)
3 pkg. (200 gms each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
For the White Chocolate Sauce:
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups chopped white chocolate
2 tsps. Brandy
Coloured Jelly Beans for decoration/toppings
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix cracker crumbs and butter and press onto bottom of 13×9-inch spring form pan.
Beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla with a hand beater. Add eggs one by one and mix until blended. Pour over crust.
Bake 30 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours.
To make White Chocolate Brandy Sauce:
Place 1 cup heavy cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Watch carefully so it doesn’t boil over. Pour hot cream over 2 cups of finely chopped white chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon until melted. Add brandy and continue stirring until incorporated. Pour over chilled cheesecake.
Decorate with coloured Jelly Beans to make a colourful cake apt for the festive season.
We are also introducing, “Bring on the Traveller in You”. Our first trek takes you to the ‘House of the Rising Sun’ by yours truly, Judith Serrao. For your quick reference click on this link: http://trecktales.wordpress.com/
Here’s an invitation to all of you, to use this opportunity to showcase your travel and what you found unique about them on our travel blog. Be one of the first to tell people what is different and how you enjoyed a place.
We want to thank all of you for the love, support and encouragement that we have received over the past two years. Some stats (rounded), just by way of quantifying two years of blogging:
295 posts
1045 comments
166,776 views
busiest day – 766 views, February 23, 2012
busiest month – 10997 views, December, 2011
average views per day,in 2010 = 42; in 2011 = 187; in 2012 = 398
(corporate speak – year on year growth!!)
all-time top 5 posts (descending order) – Falooda, Chicken and Vegetable Wraps, Chilled Strawberry Cheesecake, Thai Grilled Fish Fillet
You are very important to us, and we care about what you would like to see on these blogs. We are all ears to receive acknowledgements, comments, critique, brickbats, etc. We are hopeful for a little more interaction in the future.
Thank you all!
Ingredients:
Crust:
2 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (unsalted) butter or margarine, melted
Filling:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened (preferably Philadelphia Cheese)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
Dash of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
Sauce:
2 cups frozen blueberries
2-4 Tbsp sugar depending on the sweetness of your berries (I used 2)
1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp water
Method:
1. For the Crust: Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter, press into buttered 8 inch springform cake tin to form crust on bottom and sides.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add in lemon juice, 1/2 cup sugar, milk, salt and vanilla.
3. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour filling into crust.
4. Bake at 160 C for 35 minutes or until set.
5. Allow to cool to room temperature, and chill for 5 hours or more before serving.
6. For the Sauce: Place blueberries and sugar in a pan and heat until the blueberries release their juices. Combine cornstarch, juice, and water in a small bowl. Stir together until smooth.
Add the mixture to the pan and stir to mix completely. Bring mixture to boil for a few minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.
7.When the cake is set, carefully remove the cake and slide onto a plate. Spoon the syrupy berries on top.
Happy Birthday Judy, on this beautiful day,
There’s so many things, We just want to say,
You inspire many, with your thoughts and actions,
We’re all so grateful, for your calm reactions.
Happy Birthday on this beautiful day,
You’ve always been there, for everyone’s birthday,
Kindness and thoughtfulness is your forte,
Our love for you, we wish to convey.
Happy Birthday on this beautiful day,
We wish you the best, for a beautiful day,
Hope you enjoy it, from beginning till end,
Here’s a hug and kiss, We at BOTCIY send.
The Egyptian Umm Ali is a delicious dessert, which utilizes many exotic ingredients and assorted nuts, and what better dessert could we dedicate to our exotic Queen of ‘Bring On The Chef In You’. Thanks Judy for all your efforts, in raising our blog to heights we never anticipated, for all your enthusiasm and passion in finding the apt dish for our food blog. Without your zeal, we could not have received such rave reviews. Wishing you a very Happy Birthday and many more to come from all of us at ‘Bring On The Chef In You’
Ingredients
• 1 (17.25 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 5 cups milk
• 1¼ cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts
• 1/4 cup sweetened, flaked coconut
• ½ cup double cream
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Unroll the puff pastry sheets, and place flat on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until puffed and golden brown.
2. Break the puff pastry into pieces, and place in a large bowl. Add the raisins, almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, ¼ cup sugar and coconut, and toss to distribute. Pour into a 9×13 inch glass baking dish, and spread evenly.
3. Pour the milk into a saucepan, and stir in ½ cup sugar and vanilla. Heat until hot but not quite boiling. Pour over the mixture in the baking dish.
4. Beat the double cream with the remaining ½ cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread evenly over nut mixture in dish.
5. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve warm.
PS : For a quick dessert, you can use honey coated Cornflakes instead of Puff Pastry and follow the recipe as above.
Brazo de Mercedes is referred to as jelly roll made of soft meringue with golden yellow custard filling. This heavenly cake is an all-time favorite in the Philippines.
What I like most about this cake is the sponge like texture of the meringue that literally melts in the mouth. The light flavor of the meringue is balanced by the flavor of the rich custard filling. Believe me! This is truly amazing!
Most of you might be thinking that this rolled cake is hard to create; you might be surprised how easy it is to make your own Brazo de Mercedes after reading this post.
Ingredients:
10 large raw eggs, yolks and whites separated
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons Confectioners sugar
14 ounces condensed milk
Cooking procedure:
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ cup buttermilk
1/3 cup butter or shortening, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
Topping:
¼ cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Method:Heat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Grease the bottom of a 9-inch square pan with shortening or butter.
In a large bowl, Beat eggs lightly, stir in, the rest of the ingredients with a whisk just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spread batter in pan.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Generously pierce hot cake with fork. Brush or drizzle 1/4 cup melted butter over hot cake. In small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle over hot cake. Serve warm.
Method :
Spread on a Cream cracker, granules of cottage cheese and pour honey over it.
Believe me you, it is yummy as it looks.
Kraft Jocca Cottage Cheese is a cottage cheese granule-shaped by Kraft. You buy this little box and you get this kind of “cream” (it’s actually thicker than a cream) made of all those granules and it’s fresh.
Happy Birthday Judy, The Stuffed Lobster is our gift to you, for being a wonderful friend, ever the enthusiastic, motivating us to try new recipes, being there for us. We wish you have a fabulous day today and fantastic year ahead. With love, Joyce and Sylvia
INGREDIENTS :
4 medium Lobsters
1 cup Yogurt
1 inch piece Ginger
5-6 cloves Garlic
1 Egg yolk
2 tablespoons Fresh cream
2 teaspoons Carom seeds (ajwain)
1/2 teaspoon White pepper powder
2 teaspoons Red chilli powder
2 teaspoons Cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
2 tablespoons Gram flour (besan)
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons Butter
1/2 teaspoon Chaat masala (optional)
1 Tomato
A few sprigs of fresh coriander leaves
METHOD :
Remove shells, wash and boil them for a few minutes. The colour will have turned to rich orange red.
Clean and de-vein lobsters, cut them into bite pieces, then wash them thoroughly. Tie yogurt in a muslin cloth and hang it for half an hour to drain out the whey. This should preferably be hung in the refrigerator. Grind ginger and garlic to a fine paste. Transfer the hung yogurt into a bowl, add egg yolk and whisk well to blend. Add ginger garlic paste, fresh cream, carom seeds crushed, white pepper powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, besan, lemon juice and salt. Mix well and coat the lobsters uniformly with the yogurt mixture. Keep aside to marinate, preferably in the refrigerator for two to three hours.
Heat butter in a pan and add the marinated lobsters. Stir fry for 1 min and cook on medium heat for about five to six minutes turning them occasionally.
Take the lobster shell and slit them lengthwise in the middle. Stuff the cooked lobster and sprinkle chaat over it, garnish it with fresh tomatoes and coriander leaves and serve hot with lemon wedges and mint chutney.
Ingredients :
Guavas 12-14 nos.
Sugar (weigh the pulp and equal measure)
Salt a pinch
5 Limes
125 gms Butter
1 cup Water
Preparation :
Steam for 8-10 minutes or until soft, a dozen big guavas cut in fours, along with a cup of water.
Cool and scoop out the seeds and discard them.
Pulp the guava along with the water in a blender.
Measure a kg of the pulp & take equal quantity of sugar.
(To get a kg of the pulp u’ll need approx 12-14 slightly big guavas).
Put the pulp in a thick-bottomed vessel along with the equal quantity of sugar, juice of 5 limes and a pinch of salt.
Boil the mixture on a slow flame stirring every now and then to prevent it from sticking to the base.
When nearly thick, add 125 gm of butter.
Increase the heat and boil, stirring vigorously – till it comes away from the sides of the vessel and forms a mass.
To test if done, drop a little bit of the mixture into a bowl of water. If the water remains clear without turning cloudy and mixture forms a soft ball when rolled, the guava cheese is done. Quickly pour the mixture into a greased shallow tray. Spread evenly. Cool and cut into shapes.
