Shrimp & Cheese Croquette

A breaded rolls made of mashed potatoes, you could throw anything on your fridge to the batter, trust me anything would always be good in it. Smoked beef, ground meat, chopped vegetables, raisins, watever. I try to mix it with shrimp and cheese, and a pinch of celery. Ow ow... wat a unique & tasty combination!

SHRIMP & CHEESE CROQUETTE
By: Lia, Dapurgue
Ingredients:
750 gr skinned potato, deep fried & coarsely mashed
100 ml fresh cream
1/3 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp finely sliced celery or parsley
50-75 gr finely grated parmesan/edammer/gouda cheese
150 gr shelled shrimp, coarsely chopped
3 tbs butter
Oil for deepfrying
Coating:
Egg whites
Breadcrumb
Method:
Heat buter in a pan, saute shrimp until pink, season with salt and sugar.
In a large bowl combine mashed potatoes, sauted shrimp and all other ingredients, mix well & thoroughly. Shape into rolls or balls.
Dip each into egg whites, roll them out onto breadcrumb until evenly breaded, do this coating twice.
Freeze breaded rolls at least for thirty minutes then deep fry until golden brown.
Serve warm with your favourite condiments (tomato sauce, mayonnaise, sweet & sour chilli sauce, etc)


Indonesian Version

KROKET UDANG KEJU
By: Lia, Dapurgue
Bahan:
750 gr kentang kupas
100 ml krim kental
1/3 sdt garam /secukupnya
1 sdt gula pasir /secukupnya
1 sdt merica bubuk /secukupnya
1/2 sdt pala bubuk /secukupnya
2 sdt bawang putih bubuk
50-75 gr keju parmesan/edam/gouda parut halus (boleh ganti cheddar)
2 sdt irisan seledri (optional)
150 gr udang kupas, cincang kasar
3 sdm mentega
Coating:
Putih telur secukupnya
Breadcrumb secukupnya
Cara:
Goreng kentang hingga matang, panas2 lumatkan jangan terlalu halus (kalo ada pake piso pastry aja)
Panasin mentega, tumis udang hingga berubah warna, bumbui garam dan gula pasir.
Masukkan udang tumis, merica, pala, bawang putih bubuk, krim, keju, seledri ke dalam kentang, aduk rata sampai menyatu.
Bentuk bulat atau lonjong, celup putih telur dan gulingkan pada breadcrumb, ulangi sekali lagi.
Simpan di friser sekitar 30 menit, deepfry dengan api medium hingga luarnya kering golden brown.
Sajikan dengan pelengkap sesuai selera (mayones, saus tomat, sambal botol, sambal bangkok dll)

Alya's Kitchen on Miss Universe event in Surabaya

Another Breakthru of Alya's kitchen.
-click on the pictures fo detail image-

One day Lydia Santoso (an online buddy) dropped me an email, it was just a simple question, "Hi Lia, do you make cakes for order? I need many boxes on early August."
Then there I was, on a fantastic challange she offered me. She asked me to supply some snacks for a prestigious beauty event in Surabaya, sponsored by Shiseido (where Lydia works for), with a world famous sensational guest star: Riyo Mori, Miss Universe 2007...! Ommi.... :)
The first plan was a snack buffet with free flow coffee and tea. I hadnt had experience in professional buffet service, yet it challanged me to prepare an elegant buffet. I quickly looking for partners for coffee service and serving equipments including some waitress, and I got. I also had prepare the buffet scheme.
But the plan was changed due to room capacity limitation, they decided to order snack boxes instead of snack buffet. The next and BIG challange was: the box MUST be in red with unique and exclusive design. I took a long and almost neverending search to find the right box that suit to their criteria, the right red, right dimension, right material, right design, and right price :)) I contacted many printing services all over Surabaya, nearly hopeless since they ALL said that minimum orders for new design printing should be FIVE THOUSAND box-sheets! Yet the order was only 300 :(( They could make my order actually, but you know how much it would cost me, for making 350 sheets with the same machine and processing for five thousand sheets, the box price would be four or five times than normal price!
"Never give up, Baby uh yeah... you're a tough girl, and only the tough will going through" I keep singing it myself. Alhamdulillah, my toughness really found me the way. I got the perfect box with perfect price, a beautiful madame -Yovita- who owned a renowned printing business helped me to make the box. Believe me, she was soooo... gracious, she made the new print for TEN THOUSANDS only to fill my 350 boxes order...!! I could get the boxes with nomal price!! Subhanallah, it was really like a daydreaming. She told me that she could sell any beautiful design boxes easily, that was why she didnt cost me too much. See the boxes in the pictures, it's beautiful isn't it? It's deep red with gold ivy printed on top and gold strips on bottom.
Well back to the event. Lydia couldnt come to Surabaya as she was ill and took bedrest for a couple days in hospital :( (Hi Darling how are you, get well soon yah! Hope to see you again in more relax situation).

I dropped the boxes on 08AM (the snack was: Fruit Taart, Steamed Chocolate Cake with Cocoa Dusting, Strawberry Brownies, Smoked Beef Cup Bread and Cheese Cup Bread). Unfortunately, I couldn't meet the World-Famous Miss as her schedule was on the afternoon. Lydia said there would be some famous celebrities and press on the spot, but I couldn't stay any longer for some urgent reason.

Above of all, this event just made me learned some new experiences to make me bigger from my home-kitchen business :) I noted two things:
- learned to organize a professional buffet service
- new experience of being "tukang kardus" (box seller) hahahaha....!! surely I will make this as my new business ;)

And the greatest lesson I learned is: Don't Give Up...! You could do anyhing beyond your capability only if you wanted it really happened to you!

Special thanks to Lydia Santoso who has brought Alya's Kitchen to another milestone :)

___________________________________
Satu hari salah satu temen onlen gue, Lydia Santoso, ngirim imel singkat, "Lia, trima orderan kue? Aku perlu jumlah besar awal Agustus".
Jadilah, gue dapet tantangan fantastis dari Lydia. Dia nawarin gue menyuplai snack untuk satu acara prestisius yang diselenggarain Shiseido (kantor Lydia) dengan mengundang bintang tamu: Miss Universe 2007!! Ommigod...!
Rencana awal adalah snack buffet dengan konsep elegan lengkap dengan teh dan kopi. Gue belum ada experience untuk jasa buffet profesional (palingan buffet acara2 kantor/rumahan yang standar2 aja). gue segera cari partner termasuk penyedia layanan kopi free-flow (tau kan, yang pake tangki stenlis guede), alat2 serving dll. Gue juga nyiapin skema buffetnya tar mo gimana.
Tapi rencana ini terpaksa berubah karena keterbatasan kapasitas ruangan, jadinya pake snackbox aja. Snackbox pun bukannya tanpa tantangan, tantangan terbesar adalah: kotaknya HARUS warna merah dengan disain unik dan elegan. Gue berkelana seantero Surabaya cari percetakan yang bisa menyediakan box yang sesuai (sesuai jenis merahnya, dimensinya, ketebalan bahannya, disainnya, dan tentu aja sesuai harganya hehehe...).
Too bad, hampir semua percetakan di Sby menolak order gue dengan alasan minimum order adalah LIMARIBU lembar, sementara order gue cuma 350 lembar! Kalo mau sih bisa aja, tapi tentu harganya jadi sangat mahal bisa sampe 4-5 kali dari harga normal karena meski cuma bikin 350 lembar tapi mesin dan prosesnya adalah untuk kapasitas limaribu lembar. Rasanya nyaris hopeless deh... :(

"Never give up, Baby uh yeah... you're a tough girl, and only the tough will going through" gue nyanyi2 menghibur diri. Alhamdulillah akhirnya dapet jalan juga. Seorang Ibu cantik pemilik percetakan besar dan terkenal bersedia membantu gue bikin box yang gue maksud. Gue sangat terharu dengn Ibu Yovita yang sangat cantik ini, blio rela bikin SEPULUH RIBU lembar (ini angka mati blio untuk sekali cetak) hanya sekedar untuk melayani order gue yang cuma 350 doang. Ternyata, blio bilang ngga kesulitan menjual box2 dengan disain cantik jadi blio ngga keberatan dengan orderan gue (kebayang sih, customer blio nih katering2 besar di Sby, party organizer dan cake shop beken2 bahkan airlines juga). Jadi, meski cuma 350 lembar gue dapet harga normal loh...! Subhanallah, rasanya kayak mimpi gue bisa dapet box ini karena gue udah nyaris hopeless merasa smuanya gagal hanya karena gak nemu box yang tepat :D
Balik ke acara. Lydia ngga bisa dateng karna dia lagi sakit & opname di rumahsakit (Hai say, cepet sembuh ya... pengen ketemu kamu sambil nyantei2 gituh). Box dianter jam 8 pagi, isinya: Fruit Taart, Steamed Chocolate Cake, Strawberry Brownies, Smoked Beef Cup Bread dan Cheese Cup Bread. Sayang gue ada kepentingan lain yang urgent jadi gue gak sempet liyat si mbakyu Miss Universe 2007 (lha jadwalnya jam 12 siang jek!). Padahal Lydia bilang bakal ada bebrapa seleb dan banyak wartawan yang dateng *sapatau Alya's Kitchen dimuat di koran hahaha...*
Secara keseluruhan gue dapet beberapa pengalaman baru untuk perkembangan ome-kitchen business gue :D setidaknya ada dua hal:
- belajar mengorganisir professional buffet service
- pengalaman baru sebagai "Tukang Kardus" huahahahaha.... pasti nih gue jadiin bisnis baru gue ;)
Dan satu pelajaran paling berharga: Jangan Menyerah! Kita bisa melakukan apapun yang kita pikir diluar kapasitas kita, hanya bila kita benar2 menginginkannya terjadi!

Special thanks buat Lydia Santoso yang membawa Alya's Kitchen ke satu milestone baru :)

Banana Blossom in Coconut Milk

BANANA BLOSSOM IN COCONUT MILK
By: Lia, Dapurgue
Ingredients:
1 banana blossom*
600 ml coconut milk
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 bayleaves
Ground into a paste:
2 capsicum
6 shallots or 2 onions
3 cloves garlic
2 cm fresh galangal
1 cm lesser galangal or kaempferia galangal
5 candlenuts
2 roasted turmeric
Method:
Heat coconut milk, bayleaves and ground spices, stir occasionally until boiling.
Add in banana blossom, salt and sugar, simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, serve warm.

* To prepare banana blossom.
Remove dark outer petals to expose the pinkish bulb. Then cut lengthwise and chopped into thin slices. Cook in 500 ml boiling water for 5 minutes and drain. Repeat to boil with another 500 ml water for 3 minutes, drain. Banana blossom now is ready to be used.

Indonesian Version

LODEH JANTUNG PISANG
By: Lia, Dapurgue
Bahan:
1 buah jantung pisang siap olah*
600 ml santan (kekentalan sesuai selera)
2 sdt garam /secukupnya
1 sdt gula pasir /secukupnya
2 lembar daun salam
Bumbu Halus:
2 buah cabe merah
6 butir bawang merah
3 siung bawang putih
2 cm lengkuas muda
1 cm kencur
5 butir kemiri
2 sdt ketumbar sangrai
Cara:
Panaskan santan, daun salam dan bumbu sampai mendidih sambil diaduk2, masukin jantung pisang, garam dan gula. Masak dengan api kecil selama 15 menit.
Matikan api, sajikan hangat.
Note:
Pilih jantung pisang kepok atau batu, rasanya lebih lembut.
Kalo suka pedas bisa ditambah cabe rawit pada bumbu halus.
Enak juga bila dicampur ikan asap yang udah digoreng sebentar.

* Mengolah jantung pisang.
Kupas kelopak berwarna gelap hingga mencapai kelopak warna pink. Belah dan iris2, rebus dalam air mendidih selama 5 menit, tiriskan. Ulangi sekali lagi selama 3 menit, tiriskan lagi. Jantung pisang kini siap diolah.

Bakso, Indonesian Meatballs Soup

We Indonesian called this Bakso. It's a simple delicious side dish adopted from chinese dim sum, there's only meatballs within a clear stock, with a sprinkle of finely chopped spring onion -or sometimes celery- and crispy fried onion. It usually served with noodles, and will be more delightful with some "accessories" to enrich its appealing as steamed tofu, chopped vegetables, fried and steamed wontons.


INDONESIAN MEATBALL SOUP
By: Lia, Dapurgue
Ingredients:
250 gr beef chuck, coarsely chopped
35 gr tapioca starch
75 gr ice cubes
2 egg whites
¾ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbs crispy fried onion
750 ml water
Soup:
750 ml beef stock
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Complements:
Finely chopped spring onion
Crispy fried onion
Egg noodle or ramen (follow the instructions on the box)
Boiled chopped vegetables (pokchoy, chinese spinach etc), or
Shredded raw vegetables (carrot, lettuce, cabbage)
Hot chilli sauce
Method:
Mix all ingredients EXCEPT water. Process in food processor until well blended.
Let stand for an hour in feezer.
Heat water and bring to a full boil, turn off the heat.
Using two spoons, scope out the meat batter into balls and drop directly onto the hot water. Do this until all balls are done and popped out to the surface.
Turn on the heat and let it come to a full boil again. Remove from heat and drain the meatballs, set aside.
Now let's make the soup, start by bringing the beefstock to boil, add salt, pepper and garlic. Reduce the heat to simmer, cook for 15 minutes, remove from heat.
Place the meatballs, noodle, vegetables and clear soup in a bowl, sprinkle with spring onion and crispy fried onion. Serve warm with chilli sauce if you like it hot.


Indonesian Version

BAKSO SAPI ala LIA
By: Lia, Dapurgue
Bahan:
250 gr daging sapi bagian paha, iris kasar
35 gr tepung kanji
75 gr es batu, geprak
2 butir putih telur
¾ sdt baking powder
1 sdt garam
2 siung bawang putih
2 sdm bawang merah goreng
750 ml air
Kuah:
750 ml kaldu sapi + 1 sdt garam
½ sdt merica bubuk
3 siung bawang putih geprak

Pelengkap:
Mi telur, seduh hingga lunak, tiriskan
Sawi/pokchoy rebus
Daun bawang iris tipis
Bawang goreng
Sambal
Cara:
Aduk semua bahan (kecuali air) asal bercampur.
Giling semua jadi satu menggunakan chopper/food processor/blender/gilingan daging manual.
Istirahatkan 1 jam di kulkas/friser.
Didihkan air, matikan api. Sendokkan adonan bakso menjadi bola-bola ukuran sesuai selera, langsung masuk ke air panas tersebut.
Kerjakan hingga seluruh adonan habis dan bakso mengapung. Nyalakan api dan didihkan kembali, tiriskan bakso.
Buat kuahnya: didihkan kaldu, masukin bumbu dan kecilkan api, masak dalam kondisi tertutup selama 15 menit, angkat.
Sajikan bakso, kuah dan pelengkap dalam satu mangkuk dengan sambal terpisah.

New Sub

DapurGue punya sub-channel (halah bahasane...), isinya mengenai segala tulisan gue tentang dapur -di luar resep tentunya-. Ada tips & tricks, ulas bahan, ngoprek alat2 dapur dll yang gue tulis berdasarkan self-experience maupun observasi yang hasilnya gue simpulkan sendiri.
Jadi kalo ada yang ga cocok jangan protes ya! Hihihihihi....
Klik sini deh: Tips dan Trik dari Dapur Gue.
Moga manfaat :)

Ada yang cari aku?

Buat temen2 yang mencariku di milis NCC, mohon maaf beberapa minggu belakangan aku non-aktif karena:

1. Aku dapet pemberitahuan resmi bahwa statusku dibanned karena aku ada di recipient list suatu email pribadi seseorang (yang isinya banyak nama di list tersebut) yang dicurigai moderator berniat untuk merusak milis NCC. Sekali lagi, hanya karena aku ada di dalam recipient list, sama seperti aku sering ada di recipient list email2 spam gituhh… dari orang yang kukenal maupun tidak (banyakan gak kenal ya, namanya juga spam).

2. Hari ke-6 dapet pemberitahuan resmi lagi kalo aku dicabut dari status banned, dan diubah jadi Moderated. Jadi aku benar-benar dicurigai akan berbuat sesuatu, huahahahaha…

Well, sebenernya ngga terlalu masalah buatku, diijinkan masuk NCC ato enggak. Cuma yang bikin aku ngga abis pikir, hanya karena ada di recipient list dari seorang yang bernama Rahma Kartika (yang aku gak kenal siapa dia, gak perna punya urusan juga), aku mengalami hal ini. Dan aku diperlakukan seolah-olah aku akan berbuat onar disana, sehingga aku –dan banyak nama yang ada di recipient list- diawasi oleh moderator.

Jadi, sejak saat itu, aku memilih menjadi member pasif aja untuk meringankan beban kerja moderator yang ingin milisnya aman, jauh dari suara mengerikan -kayak aku- hihihih.... Eh ternyata enak juga ya jadi member pasif, nyanteiii.... kenapa gak dari dulu ya aku pasif disini :D

Sebenernya, kalo diinget2, mmm.... apa ya yang pernah kuposting disana sampe2 moderator harus mengawasi aku? Prasaan selama ini aku cuma posting resep, tips, diskas, poto2 loyang, info bahan, dll. Malahan tulisanku tentang coklat dimuat di Buku NCC loh...! Surprise bangeeeet...! Soale aku ngga tau apa2 tentang pemuatan tulisanku di buku komersil tersebut, bahkan sampe sekarang pun ngga ada yang mencoba membicarakan hal itu denganku, makanya ketika dilontarkan rencana pembuatan buku HMFF-2 yang luks itu aku memilih untuk menarik resepku hehehe... lha abisnya aku sendiri belum berniat cari profit dari tulisan/resepku sendiri kok ;) Aku sih belum berpikir untuk bertindak lebih jauh tentang tulisanku yang dicopy-paste tanpa ijin dariku itu, maksudku sampai saat ini. Kedepannya sih gimana ya... yah kupikirin nanti2 aja deh, tergantung mood aku :D

Oh ya, aku tetep rajin posting resep di milis-milis lain yang kuikutin kok meski jarang apdet blog. Sekarang, aku sedang menikmati bahagianya menjadi orang yang... diawasi. Hahahahaha....

Link yang senasib nih: http://keresahan5.blogspot.com/

Ikan Bakar Teluk Penyu

I was in Teluk Penyu Beach (Cilacap, south coast town nearby boundary of Central Java and West Java), taking pictures of sunrise and playing water, of course :D I and my only sister bought some fresh fishes, really fresh, as fresh as you can imagine ;) They just freshly hauled from a fisherman's fishing net! We then went home and enjoyed grilling the fishes and basting it often with soy sauce mixture. The flesh was soft and juicy, served with special sauce made from peanuts, shrimp paste and sweet soy sauce. Needless to say, it was the most delicious grilled fish I ever had!

IKAN BAKAR TELUK PENYU
Recipe by: my sister, Liana Dewi
Measurement and photo by: Lia, Dapurgue
Ingredients:
1 kg fresh fish, clean and make some diagonal scratches on both sides using sharp knife.
Ground into a paste:
4 cloves garlic
½ sdt ground pepper
3 cm fresh ginger
3 cm fresh turmeric
5 candlenuts
2 tsp salt
1 tbs lemon juice
Basting mixture:
50 gr margarine
75 ml sweet soy sauce
1 tbs lime juice
Complements:
Warm rice, raw vegetables, sambal kacang kecap (sweet soy sauce mixed with peanuts)
Method:
Marinate fish with ground spices, let it stand for 2 hours in chiller.
Brush out the basting mixture over both sides, grill and turn occasionaly, keep basting often during grilling until completely cooked or just up to your desired doneness.
Transfer to serving plate, give a final brush of basting mixture, serve immediately with complements.


PEANUTS AND SWEET SOY SAUCE
By: Lia, Dapurgue
Ingredients:
2 tbs shrimp paste
Bird eye chilli
3 cloves garlich, fried.
5 shallots (or half onion), fried.
150 ml sweet soy sauce
1 tbs lime juice
3 tbs roasted peanuts, ground
50 ml lukewarm water
Method:
Grind shrimp paste, chilli, garlic and shallots until smooth.
Stir in water and sweet soy sauce.
Add in ground peanut and lime juice, mix well and serve.

Indonesian Version
IKAN BAKAR TELUK PENYU
Resep: Liana Dewi (kk gue)
Takaran dan foto: Lia, Dapurgue
Bahan:
1 kg ikan segar, bersihkan dan sayat2 permukaannya menyerong
Bumbu halus:
4 siung bawang putih
½ sdt merica bubuk
3 cm jahe
3 cm kunyit
5 butir kemiri
2 sdt garam
1 sdm air jeruk nipis
Olesan:
50 gr margarin
75 ml kecap manis
1 sdm air jeruk limau
Pelengkap:
Nasi anget, lalapan, sambal kecap kacang
Cara:
Lumuri ikan dengan bumbu halus, diamkan di kulkas selama 2 jam.
Kuas permukaannya dengan bahan olesan, bakar diatas api sambil sering diolesin dan dibolak-balik agar matangnya merata.
Transfer ke piring saji, kuas dengan bahan olesan sekali lagi. Sajikan segera dengan pelengkap.

SAUS KECAP KACANG
By: Lia, Dapurgue
Bahan:
2 sdm petis udang
Cabe rawit secukupnya, goreng matang
3 siung bawang putih, goreng utuh matang
5 butir bawang merah, goreng utuh matang
150 ml kecap manis
1 sdm air jeruk limau
3 sdm kacang goreng, haluskan
50 ml air matang hangat
Cara:
Haluskan petis, cabe, bawang merah dan bawang putih.
Tuangi air, tambahkan kecap manis, aduk.
Masukin kacang goreng dan air jeruk limau, aduk rata, sajikan.