Lavender Shortbread and Some Changes...

Before I got my hands on some very fragrant lavender that Heather sent me, I’d keep coming across a bunch of recipes that I thought would be perfect if only I had some lavender. I must have been longing for lavender so much that I found it in my blogging by mail package. Now I was faced with a new problem – I’ve only 10g of lavender, so I must make something absolutely worthwhile!

With the cookie craze that has enveloped the blogosphere, I pulled out my cookie book and stumble upon a lovely French shortbread recipe. I changed a couple of things and ended up with a flaky, crunchy shortbread - served it with fresh strawberries for a delicious late afternoon snack.

Lavender Shortbread
Yield: 16
Adapted from: The Little Big Cookies Book

1 cup / 150g flour
2tbsp cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp lavender (I used dried)
¼ cup / 50g sugar
½ cup / 125g butter
½ tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325F/170C and lightly grease a 9 inch springform pan.
2. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt and stir in the lavender.
3. Toss in cubes of chilled butter and blend together until they look like crumbs. (I made it this way as opposed to creaming butter and sugar together).
4. Place the crumbs into the pan and press down with the hands or a potato masher.
5. Now is when you can shape the edges with a pattern of your choice and pierce the dough uniformly to prevent it rising when it’s baking.
6. With a knife, make 16 wedges, so that it’ll be easier to have 16 distinct pieces after it’s done baking.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until slightly golden.
8. Cut pieces when it’s still warm along the lines that were made earlier.
9. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Next time around, I’d probably bake it for 5-7 minutes less than the prescribed 25 minutes to have softer shortbread. And then drizzle it with white chocolate.

On another note, and something I’m very excited about, today is when I’m changing quite a bit about my blog – making it more in line with my personality and trying to have a unified identity across the blogosphere. From Ambrosia, the blog will now be The Purple Foodie – purple as you already know is my favourite colour. And more importantly because now I’ve got my own domain name for this blog- purplefoodie.com! I was going back and forth with changing the identity since the blog has been titled Ambrosia for over a year – but I was really itching for a more personal identity and my own domain name (okay, you probably can’t see it now but that’s because my buddy who helped with the DNS business has set a round about forward as blogspot was giving me some errors, but when you enter purplefoodie.com you land up here! ) :D – I know I sound quite juvenile, but I’m really excited!

You can keep your links and feeds if you like since this blog can still be accessible at the old address of purplefoods.blogspot.com with the same content on it, though I would suggest that you folks resubscribe and update your bookmarks.

Oh and what a pleasant coincidence – The first day of The Purple Foodie starts with Lavender shortbread!

* * * * * *

This shortbread is off to Susan at Food Blogga for her Eat Christmas Cookies Event. You could hop over to view what the others have been baking.

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Creamy Oreo Pie...Again!

When more posts fill up the space, it’s only natural for the older one’s to sit in the archive until someone really digs deep. But when something is as good as the Creamy Oreo Pie, I just had to post about it again. 

I’d like to think of this creamy oreo pie as a no-bake cheesecake. A crumbly oreo crust and ooey-goooey-creamy-cheesy filling. And I’m not exaggerating. There is nothing that matches up to this, especially if you are an Oreo lover. Nothing. In fact, you will wonder how Oreos could possibly be THIS good when whipped up with cream and cheese. This is a fool proof recipe that I’ve tried several times and you just can’t mess it up! Once you’ve tried it, you’re going to keep coming back to it. 

And you thought you had to work hard for the perfect dessert?

Personally, this is not something I want to eat with all the chatter over a dinner table but something I want to experience in my own company. Just me and the creamy oreo pie – one tiny bite at a time; savouring the sweet, creamy filling against the crisp, crumbly crust - Nirvana. Sis, take a cue – after this is the best time for you to ask me for my Tommy Hilfiger tote or Charles and Keith pumps. You will always get an affirmative reply.

The Creamy Oreo Pie Recipe

 

Now that you’ve made you're a positively rich and decadent dessert, you need to enjoy this without any distractions. Cut yourself a slice and pick your favourite spot. With each bite, feel the textures. Feel the taste. Feel the opulence.

I made the pie and hid it at the back of the fridge to keep my grandmum from offering  it to relatives who drop in. And that's how I enjoyed it for the next couple of days, once slice at a time.

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Three Pepper Spaghetti Carbonara

I've got to admit, I have a fear of raw eggs. Actually, fear is an understatement; it’s more like paranoia. And that it why it took me a lot of reading up to finally make some Spaghetti Carbonara. Right now Carbonara veterans and lovers probably think I’m crazy, and will tell me that the eggs get cooked in the heat from the spaghetti. Thinking rationally – Duh, of course it would! However, to me it just didn’t *feel* right. That was until the day I made some Spaghetti Carbonara of my own.

After hearing good things about this dish and sneaking a bite from a friend’s place at a restaurant, I thought it was high time I gave it a shot. And once I did, I realised how very simple it is to prepare and yet so delicious. Given the time spent in preparing it, the returns are HUGE!

I set out to make spaghetti with a mix of black peppercorn, pink peppercorn (yes, PINK!) and Sichuan peppercorns, which my friend got me all the way from McLeod Ganj!



Spaghetti Carbonara
Yield : 2 servings

250g spaghetti
Water for boiling the spaghetti
Salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
100g bacon, cubed -I used chicken bacon for that's my only option.
2 raw egg*, beaten
2 tbsp mixed peppers (pink peppercorn, black peppercorn, Sichuan peppercorn), ground together
50g Parmesan/Grana Padano or any hard cheese, grated
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
Salt

* A lot of the recipes call for yolks only, I almost always end up throwing away the white, so I thought I 'd rather use up the entire thing - a good decision!

1. 1. Bring the water to the boil. Add the salt and drop the dried spaghetti. Cook according to package instructions / al dente. While the pasta boils, continue with the next step.
   Deviating here a bit, but do you add oil to your pasta water? I used to but now I don’t. For if the oil floats on top then how will it ever keep the pasta from sticking?
   
2. In a Ducth oven (more space to toss the pasta, therefore more convenient) heat the olive oil and add the minced garlic. Let it soften a bit. Add the chopped onions and continue to sauté until it has softened. Add the cubes of bacon and let it cook until it's golden on the edges and the onions are pink. Do not let the onions brown.
   
3. Drain the pasta and toss it into the Dutch oven. Mix well to coat evenly with the onions and olive oil. If at all the pasta looks dry, add a splash of extra virgin olive oil to it. Turn off the heat. Now what’s left is the addition of eggs.
   Tip: Add the salt and the peppers to beaten eggs for it to spread evenly. However, keep in mind that both, the bacon and cheese will add a touch of salt.
   What I was thinking in my head at this point: Would the eggs cook? Would I be having spaghetti with a raw egg sauce? *eek*
   
4. Now is when you add the beaten eggs. And with all your might just STIR, STIR, STIR. And stir a bit more. And a bit more. Okay, you’re done. :)
   
5. Next, add the grated cheese and cover it for a minute or so for all the beautiful fragrances to sit together.
   
6. Sprinkle over some cilantro, more pepper and cheese and serve. Yum yum yum!
   Tip: If you think you’re behind time with the sautéing, and the pasta is almost (almost, and not completely) done, turn off the head and let it sit in water. Drain it when required so the spaghetti is still hot.
   

This was delicious. How can I be absolutely sure? Fussy little sister wiped the plate clean. Well almost.

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