Wreath Cupcakes

Tearing the last leaf of the huge daily calender - if you are asian you will know what calender that is hanging in my kitchen and you should know me by now, that the kitchen would be the first place i will be when i come downstairs every morning,  made me realised that i had better bid you all 'Auld Lnag Syne". This  Scottish poem, thought to be composed by Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns in 1788, starts with this lyric  - Should old acquaintance be forgot,and never brought to mind ?  - Of course not, no good or bad acquintance should be forgotten.  Treasure the good ones and move on with the bad ones.  With this in mind, i wish you all 'Happy New Year".

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Ingredients and Method:

The cupcakes recipe is Here

The frosting is also There  or the Buttercream which is  Here
Green and red food colorings
Cherry/strawberry/raspberry jam
Glazed Red cherries
Christmas colors sprinkles

A silicone cupcake wreath mould

Serves

Steamed Fish

Cooking this dish is effortless, the only difficult part is to scale or like me, just remove the skin of the fish.  You can beat Rachael Ray hands down way for preparing your dinner before 30 minutes, if you serving this dish..  The plate of fish is left to steam on top of the rice, in the rice cooker,  as soon as there are no more bubbles on the surface of the rice.  Leave the plate of fish on top, close the lid and forget about it until you are ready to have dinner.  To complete your dinner menu,  a vegetable dish will be good.  Wash and cut up some leafy vegetables, arrange them on a plate and add in a couple of tablespoons of oil, zap in the microwave for 3 - 4 minutes.  Add in a tablespoon of oyster sauce before serving.  Two dishes down, now you need to balance your dinner nutritiously with a meat or tofu dish and a soup like egg drop, miso or hot and sour soup .  This is pretty much the daily action in my kitchen and sometimes when there is no more greens in the fridge, just serve 'kimchi'.

Ingredients:

1 piece of fish steak/fillet
1 stalk spring onions
1 heaped teaspoon of Ginger and garlic sauce
A dash of white pepper(optional)
Shredded spring onions for garnishing

Method:

Scale or remove the skin if you need to.

Put the stalk of spring onion on to a plate/dish that will fit your rice cooker and place fish steak/fillet on top. 

Top the fish steak/fillet with the ginger and garlic sauce and when there are no more bubbles on the rice, place prepared plate/dish on top of rice.  Close the rice cooker lid and forget about it until you are ready for dinner.

Sprinkle a dash of white pepper and garnish with shredded spring onions before serving

Serves

Ginger And Garlic Sauce

2009 is ending in three days time and i have made a promise of a good thing and i better keep my promise.  A promise is a promise and whether it is a good thing to others or not, it is a good thing to me, not in the healthy sense(i am not going into this subject about saturated fat - Eat you Die, you do not eat you die, so????) but good in the sense that it aids my cooking when time is the essence.  I love this sauce, a bottle of it is in the fridge, ready for Hainanese Chicken Rice and whatever dishes that have ginger and garlic in the recipe.  A tablespoon is surfficed for 3 cups of rice and 1 teaspoon will do for Steaming a piece of fish - 1/2 lb steak or fillet.

For Rendered Chicken Fat,  the fat on the chicken has to be accumulated and frozen everytime you cut up a whole chicken.  As soon as you have a sandwich bag full of chicken fat, it is time to render.  Put them in large corningware with a lid and microwave on high until the fat has rendered.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Rendered Chicken Fat
4 ozs/113 g ginger - peeled

5 ozs/150 gm garlic - peeled
6 tsp salt
6 tsp Knorrs Chicken Broth Mix/chicken granules/cubes

Method:

Using the food processor, process the ginger and garlic into a paste.

Pour into a large bowl which is microwave-safe, add in the rendered chicken fat and microwave on high for 3 minutes, one minute at a time and stir.

Add in salt and Knorrs Chicken Broth Mix.

Cool before bottling and keep in the fridge.

Serves

Berlinerkranzer

My inspiration to bake cookies this year came as i have a buddy who loves cookies and she came with her recipe books of cookies.  We decided to make these Norwegian wreath cookies aka Berlinerkranzer.   These are decorative holiday cookies adding quite a bright, colorful aromatic touch to your plate of cookies. They are delicious and buttery although we could not pronounced Berlinerkranzer and named it " funny sounding cookie".  Thank you Tien His for the recipe and i had a great fun baking with you.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup margarine or butter (softened)
3/4 cup shortening
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg white
2 tablespoons sugar
Red candied cherries
Green candied citron


Method:


Mix 1 cup sugar, the margarine/butter, shortening, orange peel and 2 eggs.

Stir in flour.

Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into ropes, about 6 inches long, and 1/4 inch in diameter. Form each rope into circle, crossing ends and tucking under. (This shaping method is easier than the traditional method of tying knots).

Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat egg white and 2 tablespoons sugar until foamy. Brush over tops of cookies.

For holly berries: press bits of red candied cherries on center of knot; add little jagged leaves cut from citron.

Bake until set but not brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Immediately remove from cookie sheet.


About 6 dozen cookies.

Serves

Pecan Balls

Cookies spread joy - they are a pleasure to bake, make your whole house smell great, and put smiles on the faces of people who are eating them.  I am still not used to making giant cookies which is a norm in coffee shops and bakeries here but had to make some large sugar cookies for Renee's school Bakesale - cos a cookie costed a quarter and if they were small, i felt like i had short-changed the kids.  Here are some pictures to share  and the recipe is here.

The recipe below is a favorite of Tien Hsi, a very dear relative, who will make these cookie for all the Christmases that i have been here.  She shared the recipe with me and i am sharing it with all of you.  Christmas is supposed to be a time of peace, love and goodwill to all. But with all the stress and commotion of the season, many of us end up feeling more like Mr. Scrooge than Santa Claus.













Ingredients:

1/2 lb butter
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 lb chopped pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp vanilla extract


Method:

Cream butter, add in sugar, flour, pecans and vanilla.

Chill overnight.

Shape about the size of a walnut and bake at 300f for 30 minutes.

Cool and roll in confectioner's sugar while slightly warm.

Do not grease cookie sheet.

Serves

White House Chocolate Chip Cookies

According to Roland Mesnier, The White House Pastry Chef, these cookies are the ones he baked on an almost daily basis at the White House. So, the President has been eating Chocolate Chip Cookies.  He uses Molasses to make these chocolate chip cookies chewy and it will remain so for more than a day.  It also gives them a more intense brown sugar flavor than Toll House-type cookies. He suggests to bake at 400f and it is for a reason - high heat browns the outside while keeping the inside moist and almost gooey.  Do not overbake or they will overbrown on the outside and dry out on the inside.

Ingredients:

3 cups plus 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup(2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups(one 12 ozs bag) chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until thoroughly combined.  Beat in the eggs, molasses, and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary.  Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated.  Then stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.  Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow the dough to chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400f.  Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat pads.

Drop heaping tablespoons or #40 ice cream scoops of the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets, flattening them slightly by hand.  (Balls of dough may be placed next to each other on parchment lined baking sheets, frozen, transferred to zipper-lock plastic freezer bags, and stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.  Place frozen cookies on prepared sheets as above, and defrost on the counter for 30 minutes before baking.)

Bake until just light golden, 8 - 10 muinutes.  Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before using a metal spatula to transfer them to a wire ract to cool completely.  Chocolate Chip Cookies will keep in an airthight container for 2 - 3 days.




Serves

Almond Crescents

These cookies are adapted from Dessert University  - Essential Lessons from White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier.  I have omitted the 1/2 cup sugar and the sweetness was just nice.

With these delicious crescents which are fitted for The President of The United States, I wish you all A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Ingredients:

8 ozs almond paste(a mixture of 50% sugar and 50% almonds)
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
3 large egg whites, 2 in one small bowl and 1 in another small bowl
3 tbsp chopped store-bought candied orange peel
2 1/2 cups sliced almonds
1/4 cup heavy syrup

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 f.  Line several baking sheets with parchment pape o9r Silpat pads.

Place the amond paste and 1/2 cup of the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on low speed until well combined.  With the mixer still on low, add the 2 egg whites, a little at a time so that no lumps form, and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Stir in the candied orange peel.(i did not use all the 2 egg whites as the dough was wet enough to be formed into a ball)

Sprinkle a work surface wi8th the remaining 2 tbsp sugar.  Place the remaining egg white in a cake pan or pie plate and lightly beat it with a fork.  Place the almonds in another cake pan or pie plate.

Roll scant tablespoonfuls of the batter into balls, or scoop them out with a #100 ice cream scoop.  Roll the balls first in the egg white and then in the almonds. Shape the coated cookies between your palms into 2- inch long logs and place them onthe prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 3/4 inch between cookies and bending the ends toweard each other slightly to form crescents. (Shaped cookies can be placed next to each other on parchment-lined baking sheets, frozen, transferred to zipper lock plastic freezer bags, and stored in the freeser for up to 1 month.  Defrost frozen cookie dough on the counter for 30 minutes before baking.

Bake until golden brown, 12 - 15 minutes.  Remove the cookies from the oven and lightly brush them with the Heavy Syrup.  ALet them cool completely on the baking sheets.  Almond Crescents will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 - 6 days.

Heavy Syrup

Makes 2 cups

1 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp corn syrup

Combine the water, sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.  Use immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Serves

Croissants

There are so many masters showing how to make croissants and i am overwhelmed but after spending hours reading and watching youtube, i think i am ready to make some.  I am not very happy with the appearance of my croissants as i think they looked like Mr. Crab.  I ate the ones i opened up for pictures and i could not stop eating them - they were light, crispy on the outside and the inside is soft and buttery, unlike the ones you get from the store which are all air.  I am glad, i followed the advice of a croissant master whose advice is - "You don't actually need to proof croissants very long. The longer you proof them the more air they take in and the weaker they'll taste. Try not proofing them and you'll be amazed at how much better they will taste. proofing is great if you're selling them - makes the buyer think he's getting more - all they're actaully getting is more air which robs them of intensity. Cheers from the croissant master."

Armed with the book - About Professional Baking - The essentials by Gail Sokol, i made croissants.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm(110f)
3 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 cups/10 ozs/285 g bread flour
2 cups/9 ozs/255 g all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups/12 ozs/340 g unsalted butter, cold but not hard(leave at room temp for 30 mins to soften slightly)


Method:

Croissant Base Dough

In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment on low speed, blend the honey, brown sugar, and lukewarm milk until well combined.

Sprinkle the yeast over the milk mixture and blend on low speed.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together both flours.  On low speed, add the flours, the vinegar, and the salt to the milk and yeast mixture.  Blend until a soft dough forms.  If the dough feels too sticky, add another 1/2 to 1 oz(15 - 30 g) all purpose flour.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth.  Do not overknead.  Using your hands, shape the dough into a rough rectangle about 1 - 2 inches(2.5 to 3 cm) thick.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it for about 30 minutes.

Preparing the Butter to be enclosed : 

Place a sheet of plastic wrap on a work surface and lay the butter in the center of it.  Place another piece of plastic wrap on top.

Hit the butter with a rolling pin until it softens.  Once it has softened a bit, roll the butter into a 6 - 12 inch(15 by 30 cm) rectangle.  Chill the butter while the dough is being rolled out.

Enclosing the butter:

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 10 bu 15 inch(25 by 37.5 cm) rectangle.  Peel one sheet of plastic off the butter and flip the butter onto the middle of the dough, lining up the butter with the dough so that the butter covers approximately two thirds the length of the dough.

Fold the unbuttered third of the dough up over the center.  Then fold the remaining buttered third over the top, just like a letter is folded.  Be sure to pull the edges of the dough being folded over so they match the edges of the dough underneath.  Press to make sure the edges are sealed.  If the edges do not eal, brush a small amount of water on the bottom layer to act as glue.

Completing One Three-fold or Letterfold Turn:

Rotate the dough 90 degrees so that when the dough is rolled out, the open ends become the short sides of the rectangle.  Again, roll out the dough to a 10 by 15 inch(25 by 37.5 cm) rectangle and fold it in thirds like a letter.  This completes one three-fold turn.  Using a pastry brush, brush off any excess flour.  Press one finger into the dough to show one turn has been completed.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it for 1 hour.  A marker can also be used to mark the plastic wrap to show the number of turns completed.

Repeat rolling, folding, and marking the dough with a finger to show the number of turns completed two more times for a total of 3 three-fold turns, chilling the dough in between each completed turn.  After three turns have been completed, wrap the dough twice in plastic wrap and chill it overnight in the refrigerator.  Because the yeast in the dough will cause it to expand overnight, be sure to wrap the dough securely.

The above makes one recipe of croissant dough, using one half in this recipe and reserving the other half for another use.

Rolling and cutting croissants:

On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into 12 by 16 inch(30 by 40 cm) rectangle.  The dough should be approximately 1/8 inch(3 mm) thick.  Brush off any excess flour and sqaure off the edges using a ruller and a pizza cutter.

Using a pizza cutter and a ruler, remeasure the length of the dough and cut it in half crosswise.  Do not separate the two halves.  Cut down the length of the entire rectangle, dividing it into thirds beginning at one of the short sides.  There shoud be a total of six(6) rectangles.

Separate the six rectangles and cut each one diagonally to form two triangles.  There should be total of 12 triangles.  If at any point in rolling the dough and it becomes too soft, gently place it on a sheet pan and chill it for 10 - 15 minutes.

Using the pizza cutter, make a small 1/2 inch(1.2 cm) slit at the base of each triangle.  Taking one triangle, gently roll over it with a rolling pin so its length is stretched about 50% longer than its original length.  Do not press down hard with the rolling pin or the layers will be flattened.  Using both hands, gently pull the base so that it widens out even more and begin to roll the triangle from the base, pulling the tip of the triangle to elongate it.  Roll it into a tight crescent shape, making sure that the tip of the triangle is tucked underneath the crescent so it will not unroll during baking.  Place the croissant on a parchment-lined sheet pan, curving the ends to resemble a crescent as it is placed on the baking sheet.  Repeat slitting, rolling and shaping the remaining chilled dough to make a total of 12 croissants, maintaining a space between each one.  Place the croissants in a proof box set at no highter than 85f(39c) for 1 hour until they appear spongy and puffed (i do not have a proof box so i left the sheet pan, covered on the kitchen counter).

Preheat the oven to 425f(219c).

Spritz the croissants lightly with water using a spray bottle before placing them in the oven(oops i forgot to do this).  Once the croissants are in the oven, reduce the temperature to 400f(205c).  Bake for 10 minutes and then rotate the pan and continue baking the croissants for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until they are golden brown.(i baked another 5 minutes only cos i was on convection).

Serves

Fish Congee/Yee Sang Chook

What do I eat for breakfast? This question arised in many a conversion with westerners.  Congee, of course, nothing beats a bowl of hot congee/chook on a cold winter's morning, besides warming the body, it takes the place of a beverage.  While we think of rice as belonging at the dinner table, in many parts of China and Asia, this nutritious staple is consumed three times daily, including for breakfast.

Nonetheless, there's more similarity between an asian and western breakfast than it would first appear. Many asians begin their day with a warm bowl of congee/chook, a watery rice gruel that bears marked resemblance to porridge.  Ah, porridge, for the longest ever, we in Malaysia, have associated the english term for congee/chook as porridge.  When my brother was hospitalized, we told our aussie sister-in-law to make him porridge and you guessed right - she made oatmeal porridge and then did we know that porridge and congee/chook are not the same.  To her, congee/chook is 'rice soup'.


Ingredients:  

For the congee/chook
1 cup jasmine rice
1/4 cup glutinous rice
1 tsp salt
1 small piece rock sugar
1 tbsp cooking oil.

Accompaniments:

1 lb fish fillet(any fish of your choice)
Fried Tung Fun
1 knob of ginger - peeled and juliened
Fried garlic
Spring onion/coriander - chopped
Soya sauce
Sesame oil
Pepper

Marinate for the fish fillet:

Shaoxing wine
Soya sauce
Sesame oil
White pepper
Ginger Juice


Method:

Put all the ingredients for the congee/chook in the pressure cooker and add enough water to come to half pot.  Close the lid and bring up the pressure to 15 lbs.  Pressurized for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat. Release pressure before opening lid.

Turn heat on again and using a wire whisk, stir and whisk vigorously until congee/chook has thickened. Add cold water as you whisked to the consistency you like.

Fried Tung Fun

Fish Fillet - sliced thinly

Juliened ginger

Marinate the sliced fish fillets

Put marinated fish fillets at the bottom of a large bowl and pour hot congee over them.  Top with all the accompaniments and enjoy.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

This hainanese chicken rice meal was eaten awhile ago and everytime i sat to write about it, my mind was blank and finger's frozen, fingers are on the keyboard but they were not moving.  It could be the cold that froze the fingers and i think the mind too. The fingers must have been saying - come on, i am ready but no text???????.  Hope i am thinking better this morning. 

Oh, i am supposed to write about Hainanese Chicken Rice - should i write about Hainanese, i think not cos this is a food blog and i am sure all would want to know about the chicken or the rice.  What so special about having a chicken meal nowadays, it is served practically daily but not so when i was growing up.  We only have chicken during festivals and a whole chicken would have to shared amongst our family of 3 adults and 7 children and festivals only come around 2 - 3 months apart.  The day of the festival, in the early morning, my mom would go to the wet market to get the chicken.  The chickens then were still very much alive and were housed in large bamboo baskets.  Mom had a friend, his name is Ah Kau(cantonese for dog or the number nine - we finally found out that he was the ninth in his family)who owned the chicken stall, as soon my  mom arrived, he would look into the baskets, looking for the fattest and most beautiful hen - no cockerel/rooster for the festivals.  He would reach for one and the first thing Uncle Ah Kau did was to feel the breast and commented that this was fat and meaty.  The next thing he would brush the feathers at the butt apart and showed to mom, i don't know what they were looking at but she nodded and seemed to agree with him.  I have now found out what they were looking at, the butt of course.  They were looking to see if the hen laid eggs before and that will show that it is too matured and the meat will not be as tender if it were to be prepared the one and only way/recipe - white steamed/poached.  We might not be given the priviledge of looking at the butt now in the supermarket but make sure that the chicken is 4 lbs/2 kg, then you can be assured of producing a very velvety, meaty chicken for Hainanese Chicken Rice.

This chicken rice meal we had for dinner was sponsored by my dear friend Ting Ting, who have a chicken coop enough to house more than 20 chickens.  She had reared them from chicks and now there are pullets, hens and roosters.  It is the roosters that get to be our dinners cos Ting Ting does not want to have anymore unpleasant complaints from her neighbor, she told her sons Hunter and August to observe the roosters and as soon as they start to crow, the rooster will be Ting Ting's dinner or her friends.

Below is good read and good to know:

Chick: A hatchling


Capon: A castrated male used for meat. (How much could that yield?) Yeem Kai

Pullet: A female chicken under one year old.

Hen: A female chicken over one year of age

Rooster: A male chicken over one year of age

I will not write about the rice now of which the preparation is also very important cos i am into something which i promise you will be a good thing.  Look for the good thing in my coming posts, pray that i don't get writer's block.

Ingredients:

Chicken - more than 4 lbs (if you are lucky, Ting Ting's rooster will crow)
Jasmine Rice
Sides - cucumber and tomatoes
Sauces - chopped garlic, special homemade chilly sauce, oyster sauce with fragrant oil or black sauce.

Method:

The way to prepare and recipe is here

Serves

Potato Top Pie

This is a casserole lined with cooked meat and vegetables, topped with mashed potatoes, and baked.  You guessed right, Black Friday's lunch, leftover turkey and vegetables and of course leftover mashed potatoes. I dressed it up with more mixed vegetables and to give it another level, some diced cooked Brats were added.  What a lovely way to present your leftovers?  Don't mentioned that they are leftovers and no one will know, cos the casserole  tasted so much better than it looked.

Ingredients

2 cups diced cooked turkey
2 cups diced cooked brats
1 onion chopped
1-2 cups mixed vegetables(leftover or otherwise)
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup stock/water
2 tbsp butter/cooking oil
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Leftover mashed potatoes or

1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
4 tbsp butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup milk/water/stock

1 egg for glazing

Method

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, start with cold water and boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 2 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick)/oil  in large frying pan.

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat .  Add in 1 tbsp flour and saute until cooked. If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put carrots in with the onions, then add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions and carrots, or if using leftovers - add every ingredients in including the cooked meats.  Add in 1/2 cup stock/water and cook until thickened.  Season accordingly and put into a baking dish..

4 Mash potatoes in bowl with 4 tbsps butter amd milk, season to taste.

5 Distribute mashed potatoes on top of cooked meat and vegetables.. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well. Glaze with beatened egg.
6 Cook in microwave oven  on high for 2 - 3 minutes until bubbling.

7. Broil for last few minutes to brown.

8 Serve hot..

Serves

Rustic Chicken Liver Pâté with Pistachios

 

With the leftover turkey and sides recycled, there is still the turkey livers to be made into something and found this recipe which is very interesting.  While classic pâtés are creamy smooth, this version is dubbed “rustic” because of the several added ingredients that give the pâté texture and crunch as well as a wonderful complexity of flavors. Everyone fell in love with this variation,  like as though Cupid had double shot his arrow..

Ingredients:

•3 Tbsp olive oil
•1 celery stalk, finely chopped
•2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
•8 oz chicken livers - cut into small slices
•1 tsp chopped fresh sage
•1/4 cup marsala (or sherry or Madeira)
•2 anchovy filets, drained and coarsely chopped
•1 Tbsp capers, drained
•1/4 cup shelled pistachios plus 2 Tbsp chopped for garnish
•Freshly ground pepper

Method:


1.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the celery and garlic and cook until fragrant.
2.Turn the flame up to high and add the chicken livers. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the livers are crisp outside but still a bit pink inside.

3.Stir in the sage and deglaze briefly with the marsala. Transfer all to the bowl of your food processor.

4.Add the anchovies, capers and whole pistachios. Process until fairly smooth, but not puréed. Taste and adjust the seasoning. The anchovies are salty enough that you should not need to add more salt.

5.Transfer to your serving dish and serve warm or at room temperature. Serve with thin slices of toasted baguette or crackers.  It can be dressed up by using it to fill individual endive leaves.

6. Garnish with the chopped pistachios.

Confession:

I did not have all the ingredients mentioned above so i have to improvise.  I used 1/2 tsp ground sage as i did not have fresh ones.  I had some Riesling leftover from Thanksgiving, so it was used instead of marsala  I thought i have a can of anchovy but after looking high and low and could not find it,  forget about looking, think fast - ok got it  - i used a tiny piece of salted threadfish in oil (malaysian salt fish/hum yee).  All these subs must be alright as not only me but everyone who tasted it, gave a thumb-up.

Serves