Korean Dessert - Soo Jeung Ga

Here's a sweet little dessert from Korea that's enough for the good ole USA's sweet tooth.
If you're a little health conscious, like so many Americans are becoming, you can whip up this little beauty without any refined, white sugars.

With so many American's facing health problems due to obesity, such as diabetes and sleep apnea we have to be more conscious about what we eat and what we consider healthy to eat. There was a time in America when Mom's homemade apple pies and cakes were a treat you got to eat once in a while or if you're lucky once a week on Sunday. Now mass produced candies and cakes are available almost everywhere you go. Some Americans are in a quagmire stuffing themselves with donuts, Twinkies, and Ring Dings for breakfast, lunch and dinner then washing it all down with a Dr. Pepper.

If you're reasonable with your diet, willing to try new things, and like sweets then this recipe is definitely for you: the American taste bud adventurer.

Soo Jeung Ga

2 quarts water

1/2 cup fresh ginger, sliced thin

3 cinnamon sticks

1 1/2 cups raw cane sugar

1 cup dried persimmons, sliced

1/2 cup pine nuts

In a pot, combine the water, ginger, and cinnamon and let simmer for 1/2 hour. Remove from heat and strain the liquid. Stir in the sugar and persimmons. Cool and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. Serve well chilled with one or two small ice cubes and a teaspoon of pine nuts floating in each cup.

Charles May is a Structural Engineer who loves Korean food. For more recipes visit his blog at [http://koreanrecipesandcooking.blogspot.com]

Visit : anolon professional 12 piece nonstick cookware set kitchenaid gourmet distinctions 16 1 2 inch

Spanish Christmas Recipes - Starter And Dessert

Two traditional Spanish Christmas recipes:

Starter

ALMOND SOUP

Normally served as a dessert in Castille all through the year. At Christmas, however, it is served as a first course for Christmas dinner with saffron. This spice has found it's perfect growing conditions in Spain, especially in La Mancha, where each autumn the saffron flowers are picked and in a traditional, process completely carried out by hand, the stigmas are toasted to produce the finest saffron in the world, known as Calidad Mancha.

1.25 litres (2 1/4pt) milk

75 g (3 oz) sugar

150 g (6 oz) powdered almonds or almond paste

2 tbsp fine fresh bread crumbs

2 cloves of garlic

Coarse salt

A few threads of saffron

A few sprigs of parsley

White peppercorns

200 ml (7 floz) olive oil

Garnish

12 small, very thin slices of bread, fried in olive oil

50 g (2 oz) toasted chopped almonds

Bring the milk to a boil.

In a mortar, mix together the coarse salt, saffron, pepper, garlic and parsley.

Mix the powdered almonds, sugar and the mixture from the mortar into the boiling milk.

Lower the heat and let cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes. Serve garnished with the slices of fried bread and the toasted chopped almonds.

Dessert

TOURON ICE CREAM

(ice cream made with two nougats) with chocolate sauce

Touron is a nougat of Arabic origin made with almonds and honey or sugar, without which it would just not be Christmas in Spain. There are innumerable variations - chocolate, coconut, praline, etc. - but the oldest and most authentic recipes are those for soft (Jijona) touron, made with ground almonds, or hard (Alicante) touron, made with whole almonds, or served as an ice cream, accompanied by chocolate sauce. The sauce is made not with butter but with olive oil, as it used to be made when cocoa was first brought to Spain from the Americas.

150 g (6 oz sugar)

4 tbsp water

6 egg yolks

150 g (6 oz) soft Jijona nougat

2 tbsp Malaga wine

200 ml (7 floz) liquid crème fraîche

3 egg whites

75 g (3 oz) hard Alicante nougat

Sauce

200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tbsp water

Roughly break up the Alicante nougat.

Butter a 500 ml (1 pt) soufflé dish.

Place a paper collar around the edge of the soufflé dish, letting it extend 5 cm (2") above the rim. Place in the freezer.

Prepare a light syrup with the water and sugar.

Beat the egg yolks and the warm syrup together in a blender.

Break up the Jijona nougat into the two tablespoons of wine. Beat the crème fraîche. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.

Carefully fold together, in the same order, all of the mixtures.

Sprinkle the soufflé mould with some of the Alicante nougat.

Pour in the prepared cream mixture.

Leave in the freezer for several hours, or overnight for best results.

After removing the mixture from the freezer, remove the paper, sprinkle with the remaining Alicante nougat and serve with the warm chocolate sauce.

To make the warm chocolate sauce

Place the chocolate and water in a bowl or double boiler and melt over a pan of simmering water.

Gradually mix in the oil, whisking constantly.

Enjoy!

For more Spanish recipes, click the link:

Traditional Spanish Christmas recipes

For more information about living in Spain plus thousands of properties for sale throughout Spain visit www.spanish-property-today.com

Related : kitchenaid 12 piece cookware set

Cupcake Frosting Recipes

Cupcakes and cakes are actually made from the same ingredients. If you have a favorite frosting recipe that tastes great on a cake, rest assured it will taste just as great on a cupcake.

Most frostings are Buttercream Frosting, unless it's on a cake from a bakery in one of the major grocery store chains. Buttercream Frosting is one of the easiest to make and as it's a base-type frosting it goes with almost any type of cupcake flavor.

Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening or lard
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
milk - added a tablespoon or two at a time until desired consistency is met

Makes: About 3 cups of icing

In large bowl, cream shortening/lard and butter with electric mixer, first on a low speed to blend then on a high speed to whip. Add vanilla while still blending. Add powdered sugar, slowly and one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. It is important to start on a lower speed and work your way up when using powdered or confectioner's sugar as it tends to go flying when immediately mixed on a high speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often with a spatula. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will seem dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed to blend, then at a high speed until fluffy. For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. If using stored frosting, be certain to mix again before use, as the shortening and butter will separate.

As Buttercream Frosting is a base frosting, a variety of additions and variations of this recipe are acceptable on all levels. The most basic change you can make is the color, simply by adding a food coloring. Another suggestion is to add melted baker's chocolate or unsweetened cocoa for a delicious chocolate frosting, though additional sugar or milk may be necessary if the consistency changes due to the addition.

Another popular frosting recipe is Cream Cheese Frosting, well-liked on Carrot Cake, Chocolate and Red Velvet cupcakes and cakes. Chocolate can be added to this recipe as well, to alter the flavor a bit and folding in some walnut crumbles will make this delicious frosting seem almost German in flavor.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Blend the cream cheese, butter and vanilla with a mixer until well combined and smooth. Slowly and a little at a time, add the powdered sugar, sifted after measuring, on a low speed until all sugar is added and there is no danger of flying out of the bowl when the mixer is on a high setting. Additional powdered sugar might be needed to achieve the desired consistency and sweetness level.

With these two basic recipes, the sky's the limit when it comes to icing cupcakes. A small amount of imagination and a desire to create are the only skills you need to make some tasty and attractive cupcakes, whether it's for a party or the family.

Lisa is an avid home cook who loves to share her favorite recipes with the rest of us. Find all her cupcake recipes at http://www.Cupcake-Creations.com. And be sure to try one of her delicious yet easy cupcake frosting recipes.

Visit : cuisinart multiclad unlimited 12 piece cookware anolon advanced 12 piece cookware set cuisinart chefs classic stainless 14 inch stir fry