Simple Breakfast - Mini Cheesy Bites

It's my favorite time of the week again, weekend!! Waking up later than my usual weekdays, such a bliss to be able to sleep in for a little longer, not having to go through all the hassle competing with time to get my ass to the office...

Don't you agree?

Morning is when i feel hungriest throughout the day, so this morning, it's no difference. Just a few days ago, i came across this post on my Facebook wall of pictures on creative food hack with just a few simple basic ingredients. I find it fascinating and so easy, and i decided to try it today~

These are the 3 main ingredients to make the Mini Cheesey Bites.

It will only take you about 5 minutes to prep, and 5 minutes to cook. Pretty much anyone can do it, as simple as ABC~

Ingredients:

(Makes 8 bites)

• 4 slices of White Sandwich Bread
• 1 Egg
• 2 slices of Cheese
• 1 tablespoon of Butter, to grease the pan

Of course, you can add other ingredients to spice up the bites! You can add a bit of sugar and some spices into the egg, or whip in a small amount of milk.

Instructions:

   1.   Cut away the sides of the Bread.

   2.   Place a slice of cheese on top of a piece of the bread, and place another slice of bread on top of            the cheese.

   

   3.   Slice the stacks into 4 equal pieces, now they're bite size!

   4.   Beat the egg. At this step, you can add in the extra flavor you want for your Mini Cheesy Bites.

         You can add sugar, pinch of salt, pepper, small amount of milk, paprika, etc. to give this treat an          extra Wow-Factor to it.

I only added milk into my egg

   5.   Heat the pan with medium heat and grease it with butter.

   6.   Dip the sandwich stacks into the egg mixture, make sure the mixture covers all sides of the                  sandwich.

   7.   Cook it with the heated pan, until golden brown on each side.

   8.   Place them on the plate when ready.

Mini Cheesey Bites

See, EASY, isn't it? Look at the melted cheese! Nom nom nom~ These may be small little babies, but they're quite filling, but not quite to the level of being bloated. Your tummy will feel just right and hungry again in time for lunch!

C'mon~ Go ahead, give it a try!

Chocolate Brownies with Nutella & Peanut Butter Topping

WARNING! SINFUL TREATS ALERTS!

For those who are watching on their diet, I'd suggest you DO NOT continue reading this! I'm serious!

As for the brave ones, PROCEED to scroll down, you're in for an indulging Treat!

Team Black & White

This is such a long overdue post. Few weeks ago, I had some alone time at home with my pampered little black & white pet schnauzer, Oreo!
Anyway, I didn't feel like heading out on Saturday, so I scoured through my kitchen for something that I can put together and make myself a meal to fill my stomach for the day.

Then, i came across 2 jars of Nutella & 1 jar of Chunky Peanut Butter! So, i thought to myself, "Why waste these amazing God-sent yummies?! Why not whip something up out of them?" And Voilà! Brownies would definitely go well with these 2 babies!

I'm pretty sure everyone loves Brownies. It's a great sweet moist chocolate-y treat for any occasions to share with your friends and families, or you could just keep them all to yourself! Imagine those crusty top when you take your first bite, followed by the wonderfully moist texture melting in your mouth~ Drooling yet? Now, try incorporating that imagination with the warm fudgy combination of heavenly hazelnut and chocolate spread, together with the nutty flavor and the small crunch of the peanut butter...Now that's one hell of a reason for you to make one of these for yourself!

"Nutella trumps Peanut Butter any day!", they said.

 I'd say, "Together, they're unstoppable!"
So, get your oven ready and your tummy ready, we're going to war!

Ingredients:

• 175g unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup good quality dark chocolate
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup brewed coffee (optional)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup Nutella & 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (ratio wise, you can actually mix on your own liking)
• Chopped Walnuts/ Hazelnuts
• Cookie & Cream Ice Cream (optional, or any other ice cream flavor depending on your own preference)

NOTE:

For the chocolate ingredients, i chose to use good quality ones, because these are the main factor that determines the taste outcome of the Brownies, so you'd want to the same too! For the dark chocolate, i used 80% noir dark chocolate imported from Belgium, which i bought from the Bakery. It's okay if you use different ones as to mine, i'm sure your local Bakery shopkeeper will offer you something awesome too! As for my cocoa powder, i used Van Houten Soluble Cocoa Powder. It's great because it's suitable for baking and drinking! You can whip up your own cocoa drink with it too, how convenient!
As for the brewed coffee, of course you can leave this out. However, the coffee actually gives you a richer and amazing flavor to the Brownies. Don't be worried about the coffee overpowering the chocolate-y flavor that you put so much effort in your chocolate ingredients, because the coffee actually enhance the indulgence more!
On top of that, I used chunky peanut butter rather than the smooth ones, because i want the topping to have a tat bits of that nutty crunch to the Brownie top!

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a double boiler. Alternatively, if you don't have a double boiler, what i do is melt them in a pot over a pan of simmering water. Stir constantly (you don't want the mixture to burn underneath) until smooth and well-combined; then leave to cool for 5 minutes.
3. At the meantime, sift the flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa powder together.
4. Add the coffee to the chocolate mixture and stir.
5. Then, whisk the eggs. Add the chocolate mixture (a little bit at a time) to the eggs and whisk.
6. Add the Vanilla Essence and mix. Pour in the flour mixture and sugar, stir well to combine.
7. Stir in the chopped nuts.
8. Line a square baking tin with baking paper, with an extra 1cm on the sides, so that it's easier for you to remove the Brownies later on.
9. Pour the batter into the baking tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
10. Now you wait, it's kind of a torture because that rich warm aroma of the Brownies, struggling to hush out from the oven! The smell is tempting, that you can't help yourself to take a peek into the oven~
11. When it's ready, take it out from the oven and let it cool for a bit. The texture is supposed to look like a thin crusty top, but squidgy and soft at the bottom. When you remove the Brownies and place it on a flat surface tray (I did not place it on a cooling rack because I don't want to ruin the Brownies), the top might crack up a bit. Bear in mind, it's normal! DO NOT pop the Brownies back into the oven! I know you might be thinking it's not ready yet, but trust me, it's perfect, it's supposed to be of that gooey texture.
12. While waiting for the Brownies to cool, pop in the Nutella & Peanut Butter together in a microwaveable bowl and microwave it with Medium heat in about 20 - 30 seconds intervals, until you achieve a runny texture. Stir to combine.
13. Drop the Nutella mixture in blobs around the Brownie's surface, and spread it evenly covering the whole top of the Brownies. Be careful, as the Brownie is quite delicate.
14. When the Brownies are at room temperature, refrigerate for a few hours. Be patient, great things take time...
15. When the Brownies are cold, by then you should have that dense, soft and squidgy consistency, which makes it easier for you to cut them into square pieces.

I know, i know...You must be thinking, "Brownies are supposed to be hot!"

What I did was, I took 1 piece of it, place it on a microwavable plate, and reheat it for about 1 minute, and Ta-daah! Warm Brownies~~

Compliment the Brownie with a scoop of Ice Cream, drizzle it with a little bit of Warm Nutella sauce, garnish it with a few slices of strawberries if you want, the list goes on! Be creative~

I take about 1 tablespoon of Nutella and mix it with a bit of warm milk and microwave it for awhile, and stir it. If the mixture became clumpy and not as runny as it should've been, add in a bit more warm milk and start stirring.



The End Result! Such Sinful Treats!

Top it with some Ice Cream

 

Loving it yet? Because I certainly do...so do my family, colleagues and friends!

As what one of my friend told me,

" It's like heaven! Much better than sex!"

Even my picky and with high standard taste bud boyfriend said it was nice, but he did complain about the topping being too sweet for his liking. Like I've stated on top at the list of ingredients, proportionate the amount of Nutella & Peanut Butter to your preference. If it's too sweet, i'd suggest, melt some dark chocolate and stir it in together with your Nutella mixture, the bitterness in dark chocolate will balance off the sweetness.

Of course, I am very much flattered with all the compliments i've get for the Brownies!  But what really makes me happy and warms my heart, was to see people that I love enjoyed what I put my heart and effort to make... I hope this post brings the same to you! ♥♥

Nostalgie Cafe

NOSTALGIE CAFE

Beautiful weather with a warming sunshine after a little drizzle of rain, it's a perfect day to head out.

Weekend is usually the time i look forward to every week, guess that's normal for a typical office lady like myself. With all the hassle in the office and the horrible traffic going on everyday, a lazy and relaxing weekend sounds reasonable...Perhaps with someone I love?

I believe everyone has their way of enjoying life. Well, for me, guess i'd say i find comfort of living from dining, making moments with my family & friends the time of my life, collecting memories along the way.

This weekend, i went to Nostalgie Cafe for lunch with my bestie, Vera. The word "Nostalgie" is defined as "nostalgia" in French, which refers to memories of yesteryear. Just as the name of the cafe sounds, the place does give a nostalgic ambient. It is not like any ordinary cafe, this place is beautifully furnished with antiques. Those who appreciates the heritage would definitely love this place, with the "nyonya" alike interior decorating. Being there, it almost felt like i'm in another era, in a different world. I especially love the fact that this place is not too crowded with people, giving it an extra edge as a pleasant place to chill.

The cafe is located at one of Penang's heritage area - Stewart Lane. It has a selection of indoor seating area, as well as outdoor seating area. Apparently, Nostalgie also operates as boutique hotel, but i am not too sure if they already started that facility.

Indoor Seating Area (view from our seat)

They have a couch with coffee tables in the outdoor seating area, towards the end of the building, along with a small garden. A perfect place to hang out, escape the fast-paced world for a little while. Overall, i'd say great environment!

Outside Seating Area

It's funny that the cafe's name is in French, but they actually serves Italian food. Doesn't really matter, the food are fantastic, the quality is up to par as most of the food are home-made, hence the waiting time for the food to be served may be slightly long. But trust me, it was definitely worth the wait. Based on my dining experience there, the service was very good indeed. However, to find parking around that area could be quite a pain in the ass. But again, definitely worth the trouble.

Ice Lemon Tea
(RM7.00)

With the warm weather, a refreshing glass of ice lemon tea would be lovely! The ice lemon tea was served with slices of lemon. The taste of the lemon tea was well balanced, it wasn't too sweet, the taste and aroma of the tea was still maintained, blended together with the natural sourish taste of the lemon.

Vera & I waiting for our food

Girls, of course we took pictures while waiting! What do you expect right?

Moving on to the food shall we?
By the way, all food and beverage here are subject to 10% government tax.

Pesto Pasta with Chicken Parmesan
(RM 26.00)

I craved for pasta since god knows when, so we ordered Pesto with Chicken Parmesan. A petite girl like me, don't exactly have a very big appetite, usually i can't finish my food, but i hate to see food goes to waste as well. So, Vera & I ordered one Entree to share. Problem solved!

The texture of the penne was Al dente (firm but not hard), it was cooked to perfection. The pesto sauce was well made with the right amount of basil and olive oil, adding a little flavor with the accompaniment of cherry tomatoes and olives. If you prefer a little more flavor, try adding few drops of Tobasco to the pasta. Can't help to applause the chef for paying attention to all the small little details to the dish. It was well presented, not only did the basil bring out the aromatic flavor to the pasta, it also gave a tinge of color to the dish. The red cherry tomatoes, not only stood out, it was also juicy, bursting out sweet and slightly sour juice at one bite. I'm personally a tomato-lover, so the cherry tomatoes in this dish definitely deserve a few extra points from me!

This dish comes along with Chicken Parmesan. It is deep-fried chicken thigh battered with their own special recipe, topped with melted parmesan cheese. The boneless chicken was not only easy to be eaten, it was lip smacking good and utterly satisfying. Crispy on the outside (not to the point where the crisp was hard and dry), tender on the inside. From the texture of the chicken, it is obvious that it wasn't pre-cooked, then reheated over the orders, it was definitely freshly cooked.

You know how some dishes, when they mix two different things together, they just don't go along well, that it felt like they're separative and just don't belong? Well, for this dish, the impression that it gave me was the pasta and the chicken parmesan compliment each other, very great combination.

Not to forget, for pesto pasta, you actually have a selection of accompanying it with Chicken Parmesan or with Prawns. While all pasta dishes, there's a choice of pasta, spaghetti, linguine and penne.

Walnuts and Pecan Brownies with Ice Cream
(RM 13.00)

Yet again, girls...Suckers for desserts! I don't particularly like sweet food, but this is simply one guilty indulgence that i love! Absolutely stunning, why? First of all, the brownies was hot and the ice cream was cold. Put both together in your mouth, the combination gives you that overwhelming satisfactory. If you watched the cartoon Ratatouille, you'd understand, the sparks that the fireworks create...The brownies gave me exactly that kind of feeling. The thickly-sliced brownies and the chocolate sauce were not overly sweetened, in fact it's a little bitter, like dark chocolate. The buttery taste of the walnuts and the crunchy texture of the pecans, the hot and soft brownies, along with the ice cream melting in your mouth, sounds tempting and indulging, isn't it?

Overall, it was a very awesome dining experience for us. Not only we were able to catch up under a soothing environment with slow jazzy and occasionally classic music, the food was great with a reasonable price, it was a contenting quality time spent. Will i still come back to this place? Well, isn't the answer obvious? Of course i will!

Ratings:

Food        : ★★★★

Service     : ★★★★★

Ambiance : ★★★★

Price        : ★★★

Additional Information:

Address : 34, Stewart Lane, 10200 Penang.

Business Hour : 11am to 9pm, Closed every Tuesday

Contact Number : 04- 2610977

Email Address : nostalgie.penang@gmail.com

Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nostalgie-Cafe/112380018872414?fref=ts