White Chocolate and Whopper Blondies

Mmmm.... my sweet tooth kicked in this afternoon and since I had some white chocolate and some Robin's Egg candies from Easter I decided to use them up to make a tasty blondie treat. I'm sure you could use macadamia nuts too and make a yummy white-chocolate + macadamia nut bar, but since my sis is allergic to tree nuts I opted against it. The blondies were really good; not too sweet and not too cakey. Although I would probably have baked them a little less, so they'd be a bit more moist... but I had gotten distracted from my baking because my sister's needed to be picked up from school. Oh well, I'll probably whip these up again soon.


White Chocolate Whopper Blondies

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 bar of your favorite white chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup Whopper candies (I used Robin's Egg Whoppers), crushed

Method:
1. Cream together the butter and brown sugar
2. Add eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture and continue mixing.
3. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix until just combined.
5. Fold in the chopped chocolate and the Whopper candies.
6. Pour mixture into a 9x9 baking pan and bake at 350degrees for 30-35minutes, until just set and still moist.
7. Slice and serve!

Spiced Steak

For lack of a better title for this recipe I've just decided to call it spiced steak. The fusion of flavors in this dish make it impossible for me to pinpoint what type of cuisine it is; some-what Indian inspired, some-what Mediterranean, and somewhat Szechuan inspired... well, whatever it is... it's sure tasty.

Spiced Steak (for one)

Ingredients:
- 1 piece of outside round steak
- 2 gloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp of your favorite chili paste (I used a hot-pot soup chili paste)
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp red cooking wine
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp canola oil

Method:
1. Create marinating sauce by combining the garlic, chili paste, cumin, coriander, soy sauce, cooking wine and vinegar.
2. Rub the steak with salt and pepper and then place in a bowl with the marinade. Coat the steak with the sauce and allow to sit for at least 1 hour; or overnight is possible.
3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
4. Heat the oil in an oven-proof pan. Once oil has reached appropriate temperature, place steak in the pan and sear on either side for about 30 seconds.
4. Pour in the remaining marinade and place pan in the oven to finish cooking the steak (~10minutes for a nice medium). Just before serving, slice the meat on an angle and against the grain.
5. Serve with rice, salad, potatoes, fries or whatever else you enjoy!

Since I did most of the prep for this the night before, it was really simple to finish off this dish for a nice and easy lunch. I served mine with a simple salad and some oven-baked fries, and the dish was perfect. I might try this recipe with another cut of beef next time; while the outside round was relatively flavorful, the lack of marbling within the meat made it slightly tough to carve (hence the reason I pre-cut the meat before serving)... well, maybe next time when I can afford a prime-cut of beef I'll whip up this recipe once more ^__^