Sugar Cookie Icing

Ingredients

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons milk (water for icing to keep out for days)
  
• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

1. In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
2. Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

yield: Makes 4 main-course servings

active time: 40 min

total time: 4 1/2 hr

Ingredients

• 5 cups water
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup Chinese rice wine or medium-dry Sherry
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 (1-inch) cube peeled fresh ginger, smashed
• 1 bunch scallions, white parts smashed with flat side of a large knife and green parts chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 10 fresh cilantro stems plus 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro sprigs
• 2 (2-inch-long) pieces Asian dried tangerine peel*
• 4 whole star anise
• 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• 2lbs Beef shank or stew beef
  
• 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 ounces)
• 10 ounces dried Chinese wheat noodles* or linguine
• 1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts
• 4 tablespoons Chinese pickled mustard greens**
• 1 (4-inch-long) fresh red chile (optional), thinly sliced

Preparation

Bring water, soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar, ginger, white parts of scallion, garlic, cilantro stems, tangerine peel, star anise, and red pepper flakes to a boil in a 5- to 6-quart pot, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add short ribs and gently simmer, covered, turning occasionally, until meat is very tender but not falling apart, 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours. Let meat stand in cooking liquid, uncovered, 1 hour.

Transfer meat to a cutting board with tongs and discard bones and membranes, then cut meat across the grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices. 3Pour beef broth through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a bowl and discard solids. Skim fat from cooking liquid and transfer liquid to a 3-quart saucepan. Add chicken broth and meat and reheat soup over moderately low heat.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in a 6- to 8-quart pot of (unsalted) boiling water until tender, about 7 minutes (14 to 15 minutes for linguine). Drain noodles well in a colander and divide among 4 large soup bowls.

Ladle broth over noodles and top with meat, scallion greens, bean sprouts, pickled mustard greens, cilantro sprigs, and red chile (if using).

Adapted from: www.epicurious.com

Southern-Style Chicken and Dumplings

Serves 6 to 8

For the chicken
1 large fryer chicken, neck and gizzards removed
1 onion, cut in half and peeled
3 carrots, cut into large pieces
3 stalks of celery, cut into large pieces
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

For the dumplings
3 cups White Lily all-purpose flour or cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon table salt
4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (orig recipe calls for shortening)
1 cup milk (or just enough to make the dough stick together)

For the chicken
Place the chicken, onions, carrots, and celery in a large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so water maintains a gentle simmer. Cook chicken for approximately 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through (approximately165 degrees).

Once chicken is cooked, remove from the broth and allow to cool. Remove chicken from the bone and shred into medium-sized pieces, discarding bones and skin for another use. Pour the chicken broth through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheese cloth, discarding vegetables. Reserve 6 cups of the broth for the dumplings (the rest can be used for another time).

For the dumplings
Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with fingertips until it resembles small peas. Add milk -- 1/4 cup at a time -- and stir until a ball of dough just begins to form, being careful not to over-mix. Roll out the dough onto floured surface, about ¼ inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut dough into rectangles or squares. Place strips on wax paper and allow to harden up a little, approximately 30 minutes.

Over medium-low heat, bring broth to a gentle simmer and drop in dumplings. Cover and allow to cook for 6-7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add chicken. Allow to cook until thickened, approximately 15-20 minutes, or longer. Season generously with salt and pepper.

From: Adapted from www.thekitchn.com

Kabuli Naan

Ingredients:

Naan -

• Sugar - 1 teaspoon
• Yeast (Khameer)- 1 teaspoon
• White flour (Maida) - 4C
  
• Salt to taste (1 tsp)
  
• Nigella seed (Kalaunji) - 1 teaspoon
• Curd (yogurt) - 1/2 cup
• Butter - 2 tablesoon
• Warm water - 3/4 cup

Filling:

• Almonds (Badam) - 1/4 cup ground
• Cashews (Kaju) - 1/4 cup ground
• Raisins (Kishmish) - 1/4 cup chopped
• Sugar (Chini) - 1 teaspoon
• Powdered milk - 1 tablespoon

• Butter - 2 tablespoon

Method for Kabuli Naan :

• Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water and keep aside for 10 minutes.
• Sift flour , salt and add nigella seeds ,then add yoghurt, ghee and yeast mixture.
• Knead well until it forms a smooth dough and coat it with little oil .
• Cover with damp tea-towel or cloth and keep aside to ferment for 2-3 hours.
• When the dough is doubled in size, knead it again and divide into around 8 equal portions.
• Flatten and put one teaspoon of the stuffing in the center,close the edges and roll into pear shape.
• Garnish with some more almonds, cashew nuts and raisins .
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and bake all the naans for 10 mins.
• Brush with butter and enjoy with vegetable curries or any kind of meat preparation.

Adapted from: http://www.indian-food-recipe.com