Homemade Food Event

During the last Sunday of January, i hosted a "Homemade Food Event"
Invited guests were advised to bring a dish, whether its a drink, appetizer, snack, dip, anything!
but it had to be HOMEMADE , & made by themselves.
& for those who didnt know how to cook, or just didnt have the time to make a dish,
they helped chip in a few $dollars to someone who was, just to be fair & to help out ~


Anyway, the event went pretty well, but i guess i  picked a bad weekend to host it,
it was the week before mid-terms & some of my friends pick sunday night as their "finish homework night".
But i didnt want to move it to another week because ive already had to postpone it twice.
So , the next time i host another Food Party, i shall pick an empty Saturday night ~


Back to the topic of food,
so since i was the host of this event, i felt i had to put a little more on the table.
i avoided main course meals, since majority of the guests were planning on brining heavier meals, such as Korean BBQ, Steak Kabobs, Pastas, etc.
So instead i made 2 snack appetizers, 1 drink, and 1 dessert.
Heres what i made :

Ingredients for My Mini Skewers

Recipe ;

- Toothpicks

- Mozzarella 

- Basil

- Salami (feel free to use any other dry meats)

- Baby Grape Tomatoes

Tomato, Basil, Salami & Mozzarella Skewer
i love these single appetizer bites!
simple to make, & super yummy.
combine them in whichever way you want,
i went with sort or a swirled-layered pattern ~

Spicy Potato Wedges (before the fryer)
these are actually small yellow spuds you can find at any
local grocery market.
ive noticed i  tend to find "mini food" alot cuter than
the normal sized foods you usually see everywhere else,
it also gives it a little more of a "special & personalized"
feel, haha.

Spicy Fried Potato Wedges
honesty, who DOESNT like potatoes ? especially if theyre
in fry form?!
these were absolutely delicious, straight out of the fryer.
spicy, crunchy, hot, starchy food of the Gods!

Recipe ;

- yellow mini potato spuds, sliced.

- cayenne pepper (add alot if u like it spicy!)

- parsley flakes

- garlic powder

- pepper

- salt

- dill

(sorry i have no measurements for the seasoning, its super

easy to just combine these spices according to preference.

but be sure to make enough of the spice mixture, since

you will need to coat the potatoes, twice.)

After you have prepared your seasoning, you add

your potato wedges & half the spice-mixture into a

large mixing bowl & toss them until theyre coated.

Drop them in the fryer until theyre golden brown.

As soon as theyre out of the fryer toss them back into the

bowl and sprinkle the spice mixture & toss again, until

fully coated.  Enjoy~

Preparing the Watermelon Citrus Drink
i used the watermelon shell as the punch bowl itself.
i cut off the top of it & also a thin slice of the bottom, so it
would be able to stand on its own.
be careful to NOT cut too deep into the flesh of the fruit,
or you will have leaking issues.

Hollowing Out
so as soon as i got it to stand, i started hollowing out
the fruit. Once again, be careful to NOT puncture through
the bottom of the fruit.

Finished Punch Bowl

Mixing & Blending Process
look how much fruit i got out of that melon !
okay, so during this process is where i added the other
citrus fruits into the bowl.

Recipe ;

- 1 Watermelon

- juice of 1 Grapefruit

- juice of 3 Oranges

- juice of 1 lemon

- Sugar (if needed to be sweeter)

- 2 liter Fruit Soda (i used pineapple)

puree the fruit mixture in your blender, fill the watermelon

halfway with the mixture, & fill it the rest of the way up

with the fruit soda. Save the remainder of the fruit mix in

the fridge for later, when the bowl needs to be refilled ~

Watermelon & Citrus Drink
i needed the extra sweetness from the sugar, since its the
middle of winter & watermelon isnt in season... hehe~

Baking Yellow Cupcakes (buns)
this was actually a cake mix, since  the grocery store
didnt have a very wide selection of cupcakes,
i had to gamble a bit with this, but luckily these worked
just the same!
these yellow ones will be used as the "buns" or our
AWESOME cupcake creation.
if youve never baked cupcakes before, BE SURE TO ONLY
FILL UP THE CUPS  2/3rds OF THE WAY.
they WILL expand !

Baking Chocolate Cupcakes (hamburger meat)
you wont need as many chocolate cupcakes as you did
for the yellow ones, since you will be slicing these
horizontally to use as the "meat" portion of
your cupcake burger.
(1 choco cup cake = about 3-4 slices)
so feel free to indulge on the left over chocolate cakes~
if youve never baked cupcakes before, BE SURE TO ONLY
FILL UP THE CUPS  2/3rds OF THE WAY.
they WILL expand !

Cutting the Cupcakes
okay, heres the hardest part of making your
burger cupcakes. The red portion are the parts that you
dont need. which is the center slice, & the edges of the
muffin top. (just cut along the black dotted lines.)
The easiest way to remove the edges is to remove the
middle piece first, then flip the top upside down &
cut off the edges while rotating the top.
(it`ll be easier to understand if you look at the finished
product.)
Be sure to cut off the edges of the chocolate cupcake too,
& a bit off the top, to flatten it, so that the top bun can rest
more easily on the chocolate cupcake "pattie" .
be sure to slice the whole chocolate cupcakes into
equal even/flat slices.

Cupcake Burger !
is this freaking adorable or what?!
haha, this was a big hit amongst my friends,
they loved it !
it fooled my parents & friends, they really believed it was a
mini burger , haha

Recipe ;

- Coconut Shavings

- Green, Red, & Yellow food coloring

- Sesame seeds

- Sliced yellow & chocolate cupcakes

- White Frosting (i made mine from scratch)

if you want the recipe for simple frosting, "click here"

For the "Lettuce" portion of your burger,  add a few drops

of green food coloring to shaved coconut & mix.

Divide your frosting into 2 bowl & add red food coloring

for the "Ketchup" & yellow to the other for the

"Cheese / Mustard" portion of your cupcake burger.

(i dont like having too much frosting on my cakes, so i

drizzled the frosting around the edges only)

Once youre done stacking the "burger" sprinkle a few

sesame seeds over the top & enjoy your creative desserts !

Bibim Gooksu ( Korean Mixed Noodles ) ;

I think this is my first korean food entry,
its a pretty simple dish, and its usually eaten during the summer time.
its a cold & spicy noodle dish. with requires no cooking at all !
(well.. except for cooking the noodles of course.)
----- - - -
This dish gains its spiciness from the " Gochujang " 
(Which is a korean fermented red chilli paste).
Its sure to make your mouth come alive with the tangy zest of vinegar,
& the pickled crunch of kimchi. 
the sesame oil & seeds will give a soft savory tingle,
and the satisfying crunch of the freshly cut vegetables, will add great
texture~

Bibim Guksu ( Korean Mixed Noodles) (Cold dish)
this dish manages to be spicy AND refreshing, odd isnt it ?
which makes it the perfect summer dish,
believe me, its delicious.

Recipe ;
- 1 pack of very thin korean wheat flour noodles (white)
(a pack should consists of many single portioned bundles)
- 2 tsp sesame oil

- 1 1/2 cup chopped Kimchi
(the fermented napa cabbage kind)

- 1 large cucumber (jullienne cut)

- 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce

Sauce ;

-  3 generous spoonfuls of the korean chili paste

- 2 tsp sesame seeds

- 3 tsp vinegar

- 2 tsp sugar

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl, &

set aside. Boil the noodles as directed on the package,
5 bundles of it should be enough to comfortably
* Serve 4 people. When noodles are ready, drain, &
arrange 1 servings worth on each plate. Add 1/4th
of all vegetables onto each plate, and add desired
sauce amount. (i recommend they should be saucey
as shown in the picture above) Drizzle a tiny amount
of sesame oil over the top, & mix !

Enjoyyy !

Rainbow Bread & Spinach Dip ;

Hmm.. not bad for my first time making bread.
it tasted like the inside of any regular loaf, without crust. haha
i just thought trying this out, would make for interesting touches for my
future bentos.
But if anyone has a good recipe for bread, id love to try it.
just contact me personally, or leave me a comment on here .
i loooovee asian bakery sweet breads,
i wonder if ill be able to find a good recipe for it..

Rainbow Bread

the most simple and basic bread, with a colorful twist.
great for sandwich subs, or just  toasted with garlic butter!

(see below)

and the great part is? since YOURE the one making the

bread, you can make it as thick or as thin as you want.

thicker for more plushy soft bread, or as thin as a crunchy

bread stick !

Recipe ;

- 1/14 cups warm water

- 1tbs sugar

- 1 tsp salt

- 3 1/2 cups flour

- 1 1/4 tsp yeast

in a large bowl, add in the warm water & sugar. once its

dissolved, add in yeast & let it sit for 10 mins. You should

be able to see the yeast start to grow. Then, add the flour &

salt, and mix thoroughly for a couple minutes, (it will help

reduce kneading time) continue to add flour by 1/2 cup

portions until the dough is smooth, & no longer sticky.

Once the dough is done, divide the dough into portions of

desired color (i used 3, so i cut mine into 3rds). i added

about 8 drops of food coloring to each dough ball ( red,

yellow, & blue) and kneaded until the colors were solid

through-out. (it might take a bit of man-power if you`re

planning to do this by hand). Then i rolled out my dough

into long ropes, and wetted the edges as i braided, so each

rope would stick. Once youre done, place the dough on a 

greased & floured baking sheet & let it sit for an hour

(more rising time will produce a lighter bread.)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F, and bake for about

25 mins. Bread should make a hallow sound when tapped

on bottom if done.

Dip & Rainbow Garlic Bread

yum yum, the recipe for the "4 Cheese Spicy Spinach Dip"
is below, but using your own garlic buttered bread to eat
with dip is amazing!

Recipe ;

- 1/2 stick butter

- 1 tbs garlic powder

- 1 tsp dill

combine all 3 ingredients, and spread over thin sliced,

toasted bread. (the thinner, the more "chip-like" it`ll be)

yum ! enjoy~

haha, had to ask for a hand model

"4 Cheese Spicy Spinach Dip"

so good ! warm, bubbly, gooey spinach cheese dip?
marvelous !

Recipe ;

- 8oz cream cheese (1 reg sized package)

- 3/4 tsp garlic powder

- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

- 3 tbs pepper jack cheese

- 2 tbs spicy red pepper, finely chopped (canned or jarred)

- 1/4 cup onions

- 1/2 package of frozen chopped spinach

- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

- pinch of cayenne pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 Degree F. Combine all the

ingredients into the cream cheese, one at a time, & add

mixture into a baking dish. Sprinkle the pinch of cayenne

pepper over the top, & add the grated cheddar as well.

*Serves 4

use Club Cracker or greek pita chips for dipping !

Accidental Teriyaki? ;

To be honest, i was trying to just marinate a fillet of chicken,
but it ended up tasting like spicy teriyaki instead.
it was still very yummy & i wouldnt mind making it again for a meal.
i didnt really take measurements with the "teriyaki sauce", i just kinda
added random ingredients from my fridge & spice cabinet, to combine
what seemed like a good mixture, according to my preference in sauces.

My "Teriyaki Sauce"

i just combined a whole bunch of random ingredients from

my fridge, things such as..

garlic, peppers, green onions, lemon, garlic powder, pepper,

balsamic vinegar, hot sauces, soy-sauce, ginger, honey.. etc.
basically suite the sauce according to what YOU like ~

i marinated the chicken for a good 40 - 60 mins

i cooked it in a pan half way, both sides,
& scored the chicken fillet for it to marinate quicker~

bake it the rest of the way through.

once its done, i let it sit for about 7 mins,  so the fillet can
recollect its juices. believe me, its worth the wait !

The end result is an amazingly juicy & soft fillet of chicken

i arranged the chicken on top of some rice, drizzled the
drippings on to my rice, and added a simple side salad~

the salad is yummy! its simply, chopped cabbage, a small
handful of baby grape tomatoes,  and a dressing made-of
mayo, ketchup, and sriracha sauce.
(similar to thousand island dressing, but with a spicy kick)