EIGHT BRAID LOAF

A quick post.. today I decided to try this beautiful Eight Braid Loaf, I saw the recipe from a cooking forum I joined, completed with the tutorial how to braid, so this afternoon I gathered my gut and tried it out..  it's not perfect yet, as you can see the ropes weren't evenly rolled, but it's something I've never thought I'd be able doing it and I'm proud of myself.. I definitely will make it again.. I promise I'll be more patient in rolling and braiding it  :)

RISOLES

I was kind of busy today.. ran around doing errands, we went to the bank, library to borrow some books and bought some veggies on the way home, and spent lots of time in my kitchen... I cooked 2 different kinds of meal for our dinner, the main ingredient was shrimps, for me I cooked very spicy shrimps and for my hubby, I cooked Shrimps Fajita ( with store bought instant Fajita seasoning). While I was busy in my kitchen, he cleaned up our yard, the weather was a bit cooler now, it was still high 90'F though.. it's good to see a tidy backyard..

It's the 4th day of September, my niece's birthday is coming soon, like usual I like to send her some goodies, she likes my homemade foods, esp the layer cake, I might bake 1 for her this weekend,  I hate baking cake, but we'll see..

One of her favorites is Risoles, an Indonesian savory snacks.. it tastes good but a bit complicated to make, today I managed to make some, for her and for us as well (my hubby likes it too), and I'm going to share the recipe in this entry..

I made the filling yesterday and kept it in my refrigerator..

Let's start with the ingredients:

For the filling:
- 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 lbs of ground chicken (thigh meat)
- 1 lbs of frozen veggies (peas and carrots)
- 1 tsp of grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp of salt
- freshly ground blackpepper
- 1/2 cup of milk
- finely chopped green onion
- 1 tsp of flour
- 2 tbsp of butter

for the wrapper (crepes)
- 1 cup (loosely) of flour
- 250 to 300 ml milk
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tbsp of oil
- 1 tsp of salt

- for dipping:
- 2 eggs, beat well
- 2 cups of breadcrumb in a shallow bowl

Method:
- for the filling: heat butter in a pan, add in chopped onion, stir until softened, add ground chicken, stir until cooked
- then add in the frozen veggies, grated nutmeg, salt, peppers, stir until cooked, add the flour, stir quickly and add in milk, stir until thickened.. set aside and let it cool

- for the filling: mix flour, milk, and eggs until smooth, strain it if needed, add salt and oil, stir until well blended

- heat a nonstick pan, brush with oil, using a medium size soup ladle, carefully pour the egg batter in the hot pan, swirl it until it form a thin layer of crepe, cook with low heat, cook for 1 minute, when the edge is dry and can easily peel, carefully flip it, cook for a few second.. when it's done, put the hot crepe in a big plate, cover it with dam paper towel while continuing finishing the batter

- lay a piece of crepe, add 2 tbsp of the meat filling, roll tightly like wrapping egg roll, then secure it with  a mixture of 1 tsp flour and 1 tbsp water. Put it in a big container, cover with dam towel. Continue rolling all the crepes,

- dip the roll into the beaten eggs, then coat it with breadcrumb, make sure all the sides are well coated

- deep fry in a hot oil (medium heat), fry it until golden brown

my late night snacks :)

- serve it warm, with chili sauce.. my hubby prefers mustard or horseradish for the dipping sauce

for 8 to 10 rolls

The filling can be substituted with salami, cheese, and mayonnaise, and they call it American Risoles, I'm going to make some next time, I will update this entry with the pictures