Tag! I'm it!

This week I was tagged by my fellow blogger who writes Easily Good Eats and the very informative Three Cookies blog. Thanks for the tag!!! :) 

It seemed like a fun tag to do, and so here are my seven links!

1. My most beautiful post: Walnut Muffins with Coffee Glaze

Not only was this super delicious, this was also my first (and only) picture to be accepted by Tastespotting, Foodgawker and Tasteologie. I usually submit only to these three sites, and I think 3 for 3 makes it my most beautiful post. Or at least the post with the most beautiful picture. :)

2. My post popular post: Pomegranate Pound Cake

Just going by the number of comments, I guess this would be my most popular post. And it just goes to show that people really like girly, pink cakes more than they will admit. :)

3. My most controversial post: Lime & Pepper Cookies/Fudgy Bacon Brownies with Nutella

I guess don't have any posts that can be labelled controversial, but these were the two posts that got quite a few 'whaaaaat?!' comments because of the flavor combinations. Apparently not everyone enjoys meat in their brownies, or coarse pepper in their cookies. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!

4. My most helpful post: Homemade Boursin

Everyone loves copycat recipes. I got quite a few emails from people thanking me for this recipe. I guess everyone loves making a famous recipe at home, at a fraction of the price of the original. I know this is one of my favorite recipes too.

5. A post that was surprisingly successful: Pineapple Choux Fritters

While the sauce in this recipe blew me away, the fritters themselves, I thought, were burnt. We still ate the fritters, because I actually enjoy food that is slightly burnt. But this post almost never happened because of the blackened fritters. Surprisingly, it turns out a lot of people enjoy slightly burned food. I really did not expect so much positive feedback on this post! Thank you all! :)

6. The post that did not get the attention it deserved: Loaded Caramel Ice Cream

I am not kidding when I say that this is my favorite ice-cream flavor. Ever. It is a recipe for a creamy Salted Caramel Ice Cream, and the 'loaded' part is a chewy peanut butter-caramel ribbon and fudgy brownie chunks. I really am glad I got a chance to bring some attention back to this recipe.

7. The post I am most proud of: Filled Doughnuts

This was the hardest category to answer. To be very honest, I am proud of almost all the posts I have out there. But if I had to pick something that I would love to eat all the time, it would have to be these. The doughnut itself has a fabulous texture, and the creamy filling is delicious and made with real vanilla bean. I got a lot of rave reviews from people who tasted these doughnuts. 

This was really a fun tag to do!

Before I go any further, I also want to thank Manu of Manu's Menu for these wonderful awards. If you haven't ever visited Manu's site, then you've wasted enough time already. She is a fantastic cook, and awesome mom & wife, and a really wonderful person. Go visit her now! Thanks for the awards, Manu!

I am going to skip sharing 10 things about myself. I feel like this post is long enough already!

Now, I need to tag a five of my blogger friends for the tag. I also pass on these beautiful awards to them! Here they are, listed in alphabetical order, by blog name.

1. Lynne, of 365 days of baking

2. Kim, of Cravings of a Lunatic

3. Erin, of Dinners, Dishes & Desserts

4. Briarrose, of Flour Dusted

5. Jennifurla, of Indigo's Sugar Spectrum

TAG! You're it! I hope you will share your seven links, and then tag five of your blogger friends. I can't wait to see the posts you share!

I hope to get out a couple more posts this week, but forgive me if I don't. Apart from a crazy work-load this week, my little girl is also sick. I think I will probably take some time off blogging/commenting, till she is all better. I pray that it will be real soon!

Coconut Sesame Prawns

Before I get into my post, I would just like to share that I have been having a lot of trouble with my blog feed updating on Google Reader. Many of my readers have informed me that they have not been receiving updates. If you did not see this post updated in your reader, or if you have never had an update from my site, please subscribe via email (using the subscription form on the top right of this page) to know when a post is published. Alternatively, you could email me at foofoofoodie(at)gmail(dot)com and I will add you to the subscriber list. If you are already an email subscriber, you may receive another email (from Feedburner) asking you to confirm your subscription. Please re-confirm your subscription by clicking on the confirmation link. I am sorry for the inconvenience. I am just trying to get all this sorted out. 

My husband is a really nice person. He is very helpful, doesn't lose his temper easily, and is very patient with me. That's not easy! But this week he did something extra-nice! When the doorbell rang early one morning, I assumed it was going to be some salesperson I was going to have to turn away, but instead it was a flower delivery guy, with the biggest bunch of roses I've ever received - 50 long-stemmed red roses, peppered with delicate baby's breath. I couldn't believe my eyes. What a surprise! And when I asked my husband what the special occasion was, he just replied, "No reason. I just wanted to send you flowers." Wow! Blew me away! Thank you, babe! You're the best! :)

Another one of the highs of this week, was when some friends from church sent me a bagful of beautiful, fresh, HUGE prawns for me to cook with. And they cleaned the prawns for me, too! How sweet! :) Now prawns are not a common thing in our home. I am the only one who really eats prawns, and so in all the years we've been married (almost 8), I think I must have cooked prawns 4-5 times. The legend goes that when he was a child, someone told my husband that the tiny shrimp he was eating were actually over-sized worms, and that's why he doesn't eat prawns. At least that's what his mom told me. He insists however, that he once ate a prawn and found that the person who cooked it hadn't cleaned it well, and he could still see the 'poop-shoot'. He claims this was the reason he went off prawns. Both interesting theories, but the bottom line is - he doesn't know what he's missing! 

I love prawns and don't miss a chance to order a prawn dish when we're at a restaurant, but I rarely splurge on prawns, because I don't feel inspired to cook for myself. I really appreciated this kind, and generous gift of prawns! Made me smile.

With prawns these beautiful and large, I knew I wanted to fry some. These are flavors I love with shrimp and I  hope you enjoy this recipe!

Coconut-Sesame Prawns

Ingredients

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp rice flour

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 large egg

90ml milk

4 oz freshly grated coconut

3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1 pound, prawns (cleaned, shelled and butterflied)

Method

1. In a small bowl, combine the flours, pepper and salt.

2. In a medium bowl, beat together the egg, milk and sugar.

3. Stir in the flour mixture and beat vigorously till the batter is smooth and silky. Set aside for at least 20 minutes.

4. In a large shallow dish, combine the coconut and sesame and set aside.

5. Pick up one of the prawns. Holding it firmly by the tail, dip first in the batter. Shake off the excess batter, and the dip into the coconut mixture, pressing slightly so that the coconut adheres to the prawns. Set the prawn aside on a clean plate. Repeat one by one, with the remaining prawns. Let the prawns sit for at least 15 minutes before frying.

6. Deep fry the prawns in batches until golden brown. Make sure your oil is hot, and add as many prawns as you can in each batch, without overcrowding the oil. 

7. Serve hot, with wedges of lemon garnished with lots of fresh cilantro, with a dipping sauce of your choice.

I ate these prawns with a simple homemade sauce. I just combined 1/4 cup of mayonnaise with fresh lime juice, a few dashes of hot sauce, some de-seeded chopped fresh chilly and chopped cilantro. Everything was added to taste, and so I don't have a recipe for you. Just wing it. It will taste brilliant. I'm sure of it.

The flavors were brilliant. Think about it - coconut, sesame, lime, cilantro, chilly & prawns - how could that possibly taste bad. I really enjoyed eating this dish, but felt like quite a pig because I had no one to share it with. Don't worry. I didn't eat a whole pound of  prawns by myself. I used only 6 prawns to make a small batch for myself, for lunch. The rest of the prawns (another 8) have been refrigerated for later today. I plan to just pan-fry them with butter and garlic and eat like a little piggy again. 

Pineapple Choux Fritters w/ Ginger Honey Dipping Sauce

I love choux pastry. I've made my share of eclairs and profiteroles, but none since I started blogging. I should really get down to that soon. The other day, I felt like trying something new, and I came across 'Pineapple Choux Fritters'. It sounded very intriguing to me. And so I made these.

The fritters were just okay. I don't know if my deep-frying oil was too hot, but I had a lot of difficulty frying these little fritters. If I got them the right shade of golden brown, the inside was still gooey and raw. Only these slightly blackened, dark brown fritters were cooked all the way through. I didn't mind the little burnt black bits, because they added a nice flavor. I must mention that the fritters were not awful or bad. Just disappointing. The best part was the bursts of flavor from the tiny bits of pineapple in the dough.

But, this recipe has one winner. While the fritters themselves were just average, the dipping sauce - oh the dipping sauce was so good! I think I will be using this sauce for many other things. I imagine it would taste divine with a savory dish, too. Without doubt, the ginger-honey dipping sauce was the star of this recipe. I surprise myself by saying this, because I am not a huge fan of ginger. But this really, really works!

If 'Pineapple Choux Fritters' sounds as good to you as it does to me, I welcome you to play around with this recipe. And please, please let me know if you manage to make it taste divine.

Pineapple Choux Fritters
Ingredients
540g can of pineapple chunks in juice
4 tbsp butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
Zest of 1 orange

Method
1. Drain the pineapple pieces, and reserve 2/3 cup of the juice.
2. Check the pineapple pieces, and if there are any larger pieces, snip them into two using your kitchen scissors. Set aside
3. In a saucepan, pour in the 2/3 cup of the juice, and add in the butter.
4. Heat gently till the butter is dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring quickly to a boil.
5. As soon as starts to boil, take it off the heat, add all the flour and stir quickly until the mixture becomes a paste that leaves the sides of the saucepan.
6. Stop beating at this stage. Don't beat it too much or it will turn greasy.
7. Set aside to cool for 20 minutes
8. When cool, add in the eggs and orange rind and beat until the mixture is glossy.
9. Add the pineapple pieces and stir until just combined.
10. Heat your frying oil. If you are using an electric deep-fryer, heat your oil to 190/375.
11. Drop the batter using two teaspoons to shape into a rough quenelle shape.
12. Fry each batch for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Don't overcrowd the oil.
13. Drain on paper towels and serve with the ginger dipping sauce.

Ginger-Honey Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
1 tsp arrowroot (or cornflour)
3 tbsp honey
4 tbsp pineapple juice
1 tbsp fresh ginger juice, strained
3-4 tbsp of chopped, candied ginger

Method
1. In a small saucepan, mix the arrowroot with the pineapple juice to make a smooth paste.
2. Stir in the ginger juice, honey and candied ginger.
3. Cook over a low heat until the mixture thickens and the ginger pieces have turned slightly translucent.
4. Turn off the heat, transfer to a bowl to cool, and enjoy!

I have made several versions of baked choux pastry, but this was my first time frying them. I don't know if I will go down this path again, unless I find a highly-rated, mind-blowing-ly good recipe. Until then, I will continue making my profiteroles and chocolate eclairs the old fashioned way.

But I will keep making this sauce, and you should try it too. Trust me on this one. It is really a winner!