Pandagrub Halloween Edition

I just love Halloween candy!  Today I made homemade Twix bars!  In Australia, they call this treat "caramel slice."  I just call them DELICIOUS.  There are 3 parts to this recipe: the shortbread crust, the caramel, and the chocolate.

 The panda in the picture above is named Orange.  Orange is going to help us with the twix bars today. The shortbread crust is just about to go into the oven.  While the shortbread is in the oven, you can start the caramel.

This is a picture of the caramel base:  sugar, corn syrup and water.  When the caramel is golden brown and bubbling like this, you are ready to add the condensed milk and heavy cream.

  Yum! Look how creamy the caramel is.

Pour the caramel over the baked shortbread and let set for 2 hours.

 After being set for 2 hours, pour the melted chocolate over shortbread and caramel.

 Orange thinks that these are better than regular twix bars.

Look at those layers of sweet goodness.

For the recipe for homemade Twix bars, please click here.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays!  Here's a picture of me in my homemade Halloween costume.  It is made from felt, foam poster board, yarn, and Sharpies.

Here are some photos of the pandas enjoying Halloween. 

 There's Orange with the doctor's mask. He is a pediatrician for Halloween.

These pandas are Pandino and Pesto. Pandino is an angel and Pesto is a pumpkin.

 Hua Mei and Bao Bao  are dressed up for Halloween too.  Hua Mei is a cow and Bao Bao is a black cat. 

Happy Halloween!

FLAN-tastic

Today is my uncle's birthday, and I am making a creamy caramel flan!  I added cream cheese so this flan is a little firmer than traditional flan which is a little jigglier.  I like both kinds!

 The panda in the picture above is named Dai-Dai.  The baby's name is Dai-Dai Junior. This is a picture of the ingredients that were used in the flan. We used eggs, cream cheese, sweet condensed milk, and evaporated milk for the custard.

We also need to make the caramel topping.  To make the caramel you must melt down sugar until it is a brown liquid. Make sure you stir the sugar continuously.  Dai-Dai is licking caramel off of the spoon.  Dai-Dai Junior can't eat caramel because he's still a baby.  Too bad for him.

            After pouring the caramel into a 9-inch glass pie plate, you pour the cream cheese mixture on top and bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes.  Once it comes out of the oven, let it cool on a wire rack for one hour.  After being refrigerated over night, take the flan out of the refrigerator, run a sharp knife around the edges.  Put your serving plate on top of the pie plate and gently flip it over.  THEN -- wait patiently (just a few minutes) until the caramel flan cleanly slides onto your serving dish.  Now -- the flan is finally ready to be eaten.  Look at that glossy caramel.  Dai-Dai can see his reflection!
                                                                          Yum!

                                               For the full recipe, please click here.

Homemade Nachos

This week on pandagrub I have prepared homemade nachos with guacamole, mango salsa, ground turkey, and cheese.

First, take a stack of corn tortillas and cut them into quarters.

The panda in the picture above is named Bao Bao.   After he cut up the corn tortillas, he brushed some vegetable oil on the tortillas.  You should also sprinkle a bit of salt on them.   Then you bake them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 8-10 minutes until they are golden brown.

 

This is how you can spruce up some store bought salsa : just cut up some fresh mango and add the mango to the salsa.

In the picture above  are the ingredients used to make the guacamole. These ingredients are tomatoes, lime juice, avocado, and scallions.  Mash up the avocados.  Cut a lime in half and squeeze in the juice into the mashed avocados.  The lime juice keeps the avocados from turning brown and adds a great citrus taste.  Cut up some tomatoes and scallions and add them to the avocados.  Sprinkle in some salt, too.

After placing the tortilla chips on a plate, we added some ground turkey (seasoned with salt, pepper, chili powder, and onions) and cheddar cheese.  We topped it off with our mango salsa and guacamole. Look at the finished product, yum!  Bao Bao, stop eating it all!

The perfect bite with a little bit of everything.

Spicy Double Fried Chicken

This week on pandagrub, I have prepared spicy double fried chicken.  The key to making this dish extra crispy is frying the chicken twice.

                                                                                     
The panda in the picture above is named Orange Chicken. The chicken is coated in a mixture of  1 cup of cornstarch, 1 beaten egg and 1 cup of water and then fried in oil.  This is what the chicken looks like after the first fry.

This what the chicken looks like after the second fry.












After the second fry, it's time to make the special spicy sauce -- Korean style!  You need 3 tablespoons of gochujang (Korean red pepper paste), 1/4 cup ketchup, the juice of one lemon, 2-3 tablespoons of sugar, and 3 tablespoons of water.  Mix it all up and cook it on the stovetop over medium heat for about five minutes until it looks like a glaze.  Orange Chicken (the panda) is here next to a mini tub of gochujang so you can see what it looks like.  You can get it any Asian market.   Once you finish cooking the sauce, just add the fried chicken to the sauce in the pot and stir gently!

This is what the finished product looks like. You can just add rice, salad, and a baked potato and you're good to go!

Yum!

For the full recipe, please click here. 

WHOOPIE! It's grilled cheese!

For today's Sunday menu, I have prepared grilled cheese two ways : traditional and Italian style. I have also prepared whoopie pies for dessert.

    This panda in the picture above is named Kippy. This panda is named that because I got Kippy when I made my first kip on the uneven bars at gymnastics.
    The traditional grilled cheese sandwich is made with white bread and cheddar cheese.  The Italian style sandwich is made with ciabatta bread, mozzarella cheese, fresh tomatoes, and tomato sauce.

Look at that gooey cheese... Yum!

These are the whoopie pies. Whoopie pies are mini chocolates cakes with marshmallow fluff inside.

Look at Kippy's cute little face........