Au gratin potatoes (french recipe)

What is Au gratin?

Gratin (French pronunciation: ​[ɡʁatɛ̃]) is a widespread culinary technique in food preparation in which an ingredient is topped with a browned crust, often using breadcrumbs, grated cheese, egg and/or butter. 

Gratin originated in French cuisine and is usually prepared in a shallow dish of some kind. A gratin is baked or cooked under an overhead grill or broiler to form a golden crust on top and is traditionally served in its baking dish.

Potato Au gratin has been one of the few dishes that I have mastered already. You would be surprise though how easy you could make this dish.. There are many ways on how to cook au gratin potatoes but this one is probably the easiest.

Easy recipe, easy to cook, easy and flexible ingredients and very french creamy yummy.



Let's start this..

You will need:

 POTATOES, big huge potatoes.

wash them and cut them like this. Or you could leave the skin if it's not too thick.

These guys over here: Salt and pepper, Cheddar cheese, Milk, Cream, Butter and Garlic.

Coat the baking dish with butter.

Place the first layer of the potatoes like this.

On a separate bowl mix together the cream, milk and flour (2tbsp or depends on you)

 add garlic. I'm not too much of a fan of garlic that's why I put just a little.

Add the salt and pepper and mix.

 Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture on your first layer.

Add another layer of potatoes and pour another part of the cream mixture.. 

Repeat these steps just like you're making a graham cake until no potatoes left, end with the cream mixture. 

Put it in the Pre heat oven for about 30-40minutes or until you see it bubbles.

Add the grated cheese on top and bake for another 5-10 minutes until golden brown.

 Allow it to cool down first for about 10-15 minutes or more before serving.

And chadaaaahh!! Look at these layers. ces't délicieux! enjoy. :)

P.S

You can pair this with ham, steak or any poultry.

I've paired this one with my mushroom gravy beef patties.

Will post the recipe soon! xx

Pan Fried Pasta Egg noodles. (A random recipe)

I guess I was just bored tonight.. or probably hungry. Maybe a little bit of both.. so I've decided to invent my own recipe for eggnoodle. haha I've been thinking of ways on how to use these egg noodles that we have at home, because my boyfriend bought a whole pack when I was sick and we only used some of them and we're still left with a lot.. so tonight I just pretended to myself that I am a super chef and cooked my own pacham (borrowed word from boyfriend) food haha.

I have no ingredients in mind so I just threw in whatever we have on the fridge. Like hotdogs, tapa, chicken strips with thyme, longganisa.. some onions (just a wee bit because I don't like it) and garlic.

I used 4 noodles. and cooked it for 3mins.

 I was actually thinking whether I'm gunna cook it as a panfried noodles or a buttery pasta.. So I just did both. haha I cooked everything in butter first. and I do believe that having a good quality of butter can get you a long way. ;)

 I cooked everything so its like an explosion of flavours. (Ratatouille moment) lol

then I stirred in the egg noodles.. and then I added one egg (plus salt and pepper to taste) and mixed everything.

Then the most exciting part.. PUTTING A LOT OF CHEESE!!! :D

I can honestly say that I did a great job. It turned out to be pretty yummy and different. I'm so proud of me. hihi Except that after pigging out at Wendy's with boyfie, I still had a dinner at home which is this.. so yup, I'm a totes fatass now. xxx

Conti's

Have you heard the news? The king is back! and he went straight to my school to see me. :)

Finally after being far apart from each other, I get to feel his very real presence again and make up for those times that we had to be apart. He's the sweetest and being with him today just reminded me of how much I wanna stay inlove with this man and how grateful I am for having an amazing boyfriend like him.

Anyways, we ate @ Conti's again with Pauline and Nico. Yeah and so we ordered....

Carbs.... 

Carbs....

The best mango bravo! I'm not even kidding. This is to die for!! xx

 and more carbs!

 But ofcourse I also ordered this delicious CRAB salad. :))

Anyways, I gotta doze off now and see my baby to church tomorrow! xx

Easy Tuna Corn Salad :)

Tuna corn salad, something I made when we went out for swimming! Very easy to do and yummy. :)

 What you need:

• whole corn
• tuna
• mayo lite
• salad macaroni (wheat)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

- Just cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Drain and mix with tuna and mayo, then add the corns (drained) and mix together. Enjoy!
You can also add some fresh lemon juice, basil leaves and Olive oil if you want. :)

Then partner it with Pink country time lemonade. Yummmmm. Perfect! :) xx

Home made crepe! :)

I made my own crepe early this morning as my brunch. I love crepes they are surprisingly easy to make and very delicious! :) Some would even add some Maple syrup or sprinkle with sugar on top, but since I am still on a diet and trying to eat moderately and less sugary, I did my own recipe without sugar. haha  

But by all means add a tbsp or two of sugar if you want.

 What you need:

• 1/2 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp of butter
• pinch of salt

- Just mix the flour and and eggs then slowly add the milk, butter and salt.
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium, coat with butter. Add and swirl the batter completely over the skillet. Cook until the crepe is slightly golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes.

The filling for crepe could be literally anything, the options are endless!! Mine, I did the peanut butter with banana crepe. It was delicious and very easy to make! :) The other crepe-- what I did was I spread some vanilla star margarine first and add some banana too and filled them with Twinkles Fruits. Yum!

P.S

I've been badly craving for some white puto like this, My mom was generous enough to buy me one! I think it's called Puto Pasig! I love it! xx

Marshmallow Mermaid Pie

  I just made my Marshmallow Mermaid Pie last night and I can say that it was divine!! Quite like a graham cake but it's different, I can't really pinpoint why but maybe because of the mallows. Anyhoo.. I saw this recipe from one of my fave movie "The waitress". But I used my own recipe here though.. haha I just followed my instinct, like a boss. lol

So here it is..

You need:

• One pack of White mallows
• Milk
• Cream (all purposed or whipping cream)
• 5 tbsp pf melted cold butter
• Graham crushed
• Dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup Toasted flaked coconut 
• Minnie mallows and some sprinkles
• Pie plate

The crust

1. Some butter preferably 5tbsp
2. Melt the butter through Microwave then cool down
3. Mix the coconut flaked and crushed graham
4. Combine the crumbs and butter with fork and press to bottom and sides of the pie plate. (leave on the fridge for atleast 30mins)

The cream

1.  Heat marshmallows and milk in a saucepan, stir constantly under low heat until smooth and melted (cool completely)
2. Beat the all purpose cream until stiff peaks form
3. Fold the marshmallow mixture into whipped cream
4. Add the grated chocolate

Lastly, spoon filling into cooled crust and top with mini marshmallows and some sprinkles! I've used my blue colored sugar though. :)

and now you can grab a slice and devoured into this girly sweet pie! :D

SODA CAKE!

SODA cake is one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever tried without having to worry about gaining weight! Yes, you heard that right! because instead of using the oil and eggs, we will substitute them with just ONE can of diet soda (preferably coke zero) and just 2 egg whites to make it fluffy.

What you need:

• 1 can of diet soda
• 2 egg whites
• 1 box of chocolate cake mix
• lite whipped cream

1. Ready the cake mix on the bowl, separate the egg whites and open the can of coke zero.
2. Pour the egg whites
3. Mix them
4. Pour the coke zero

Mix them well with a whisk or a hand mixer and bake them according to the box instructions or when the tooth pick comes out clean.

and voila!

You now have a moisty and delicious chocolate cake top with whipped cream and some sprinkles! ;)

P.S
I used this new cake mix I found :)

It's super yummy and moisty..
and maybe.. a little bit of too sweet.

But nonetheless,
I can say that this has to be one of the best cake mix that comes at a very affordable price! :)