Month: December 2014

  • Home baked Cheesecake Challenge : 50th Flavour

    The idea of Challenging myself with different flavours of Cheesecake started Dec.25th of year 2013.

    my first attempt to make cheese cake
    my first attempt to make cheese cake

    January 15, 2014 was the day I uploaded my first Cheesecake

    happy Dulce de leche Cheesecake
    happy Dulce de leche Cheesecake

    and wallah! today is the day of the 50th Flavour. Shall I go for a bang! or shall I make a simple one?

    I choose a simple Berries Cheesecake!

    50th : Berries Cheesecake
    50th : Berries Cheesecake

    A simple one will be a cheesy one too! not too sweet and yet it is deliciously insane 🙂 The extended crust on the side makes it more crunchy but so creamy and soft inside.

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    I made another one, added more eggs into it, same taste only varies in texture!

    Christmas Cheesecake
    Christmas Cheesecake

    Weight versus experience?

    So what did I learned from this experience aside from gaining weight? 🙂 hahaha I know you gonna ask, did I put some weight? Oh well! I am happy that in one year I gained 3 kilo, not because I ate all the Cheesecakes but because I was lazy to do my routine exercise.

    Lessons Learned 🙂

    > eat anything but in small portions and don’t forget to exercise!

    > baking is not easy, I salute all the bakers,chefs and all in the culinary department! May you have good health and strength to feed us all 🙂

    > being passionate in what you do will lighten the load of doing it.

    > nothing is impossible if you put your mind and heart into it, but having said that..you really need to dig in into your last penny to buy the ingredients 🙂

    > lastly, as I gained weight, I also gained experience and I gained friends too ! not to mention I gained enemy too hahaha.. I ruined their diet!!

    Do’s and Don’ts of making cheesecakes?

    Well, I can’t say what works for me will work on you too but it’s fun to experiment and find your thing!

    * make do of what you have 🙂

    I’m still using my old oven with faded numbers of the temperature, it took me awhile to get the right temperature but I manage. And I am still using hand-held mixer, it works!

    *don’t mix too long

    the more you mix the more air get’s in ,which resulted to more bubbles in cheesecake.

    *bake one day ahead

    Chilling the baked cheesecake overnight will prevent further cracking as you remove it from the pan

    *always make an extra cupcake size for tasting

    I make sure I have extra butter to bake with the same recipe of the day so I know the taste.

    *gently and slowly

    have a lil’ patience, use water-bath to control the oven temperature, use your oven timer and don’t open the oven door now and then to check if it’s done! Sudden change of temperature will cause cracking of the cheesecake. When its wobbling at the middle, turn off the heat, leave the door slightly ajar and let it cool for an hour before removing it.

    What kind of Cheese I used?

    Philadelphia Cream Cheese
    Philadelphia Cream Cheese

    Though most of my recipes I used Philadelphia cream cheese, I also used Italian cheese like Mascaporne and Ricotta cheese. I also used the famous Kiri Cheese in KSA.

    Difference?

    Well, it all taste good, it varies in texture, i.e. Philadelphia Cream Cheese is more denser than Mascarpone or Ricotta Cheese. Kiri Cheese is also denser but it’s quite heavy compared to Philadelphia.

    Flour?

    I did use flour on some of my mini cheesecake especially when I use my cupcake pans. It gives more firmness and sturdiness on the cheesecake. If I don’t want to use flour, I add extra egg yolk to enhance the bind and velvety texture.

    Hmmm.. Ladies did I forget anything? Or maybe you can give some tips of yours, that I can follow the next time I make another flavour. huh? there’s next time?

    hahaha maybe, but I guess year 2015 will be a year of Beauty and Fashion 😉

    HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

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    Cheers,

    Jamilamimi

     

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  • Weekly Photo Challenge : Warmth

    Warmness of your smile brings joy to all!

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  • To you and yours..our Santa is made in Lebanon

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    Living in Jeddah for so many years, we got accustomed to not having our Christmas Eve like in Philippines. We tried to celebrate wherever and whenever we can. Last night was a blast! Our Santa is made directly from Lebanon 🙂

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    It’s nice being a kid ..sometimes 🙂

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    Merry Christmas Everyone!
    Merry Christmas Everyone!

    After all the photo shoot, I was so hungry and I forgot to take a photo of our dinner, but I manage to take my cheesecake for the Christmas 🙂

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    Palabok
    Palabok

    Our favourite dish from our very own Chef Kelly 🙂

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    Cute mat-mat, he was born in Jeddah, his first time to know Santa and got scared, however towards the end, he gave us awesome smile!

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    Our special guest, Nanay (mother of my Bff ), welcome to Jeddah!!

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    Thank you Santa Nabil, It was nice of you to make our Christmas this year a memorable one!

    Cheers,

    Jamilamimi

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  • Oh hello! KiNg CroC :-)

    King Croc at underwater zoo in Dubai, weighing 750 Kgs and about 5m in length, Wow!

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    hurray for 40 yrs old croc from Australia!

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    goofing around
    goofing around

    Dubai Aquarium and underwater Zoo features a 270 degree walk through tunnel , impressively clean and organised!

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    The aquarium and underwater zoo at Dubai mall, good place ! after walking through we went window shopping, had dinner and went back to the Hotel.

    Good night Dubai!

    Jamilamimi

     

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  • Weekly Photo Challenge: Yellow

     

    Yellow Tulips At Skagit Valley, Washington state USA

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  • Wordless Wednesday

    Burj Al Arab

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    Burj Al Arab At night
    Burj Al Arab At night

     

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  • The awkward moment of waiting for my date at the Emirate mall :-)

    Dubai day 4 –  The Miracle Garden of Dubai, is on my list to visit..imagine! 45 million flowers in 72000 sqm area in a desert?  who can’t be curious at that?

    not me! – kevin said, but if you want it’s ok for me, I’ll go with you.

    you’re right! I woke up early in the morning just to find him very sleepy and sluggish, well, probably he was not well yet.

    So, I decided to brave the road alone in a taxi to see the magic moment I was waiting for… huh! almost one hour drive .. only to found out ..CLOSED!! what? the website said , oh dear, what a day, no advance notice whatsoever…# %* #.

    Anyhow, it’s too early in the morning to ruin the day so, I decided to went straight to  Mall of the Emirates (Emirate mall).

    Wow!

    high ceiling
    high ceiling

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    A lot of international outlet and restaurant to choose from! and this also housed the first Middle East indoor ski, the Ski Dubai. I roamed around before calling my date that I gonna wait for him here.

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    Hmm let’s see if I can get some souvenirs from Dubai.

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    900 dirhams?
    900 dirham?

    Oh well, I can’t afford to spend any more dirham 🙂 Walking by myself, carrying a camera click..click.. touristic moment but not really fun doing it, so I decided to have  light breakfast and sipped Seattle’s best coffee and churros!

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    miandkevs

    and finally here he comes, my nomadic Chef Kevin..we went to bookstores, walk few more rounds before having lunch at Cheesecake factory and of course, movie date at reel Cinema.

    What movie?

    Big Hero 6 🙂

    Great time!! worth waiting for my date 🙂

    happiness 🙂 🙂

    Cheers,

    Jamilamimi

  • Wordless Wednesday

    Photo Credit: Kevin Suarez
    Photo Credit: My nomadic Chef Kevin
  • Dubai Food Trip with Chef Kevin – Galeries Lafayette (Day 3)

    Third day of the conference, my chef Kevin was still not feeling well so after I’m done, we went strolling along the Dubai mall.

    What a festive atmosphere in Lafayette Galleries!

    I wish Jeddah would have something like this too 🙂 probably,.. in many long years? well, not really sure 🙂

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    not only that..what about ham, pork and other foods ohh yes, we can’t have like this in Jeddah, not in million years!

    Actually, we would like to have a  hot Thai soup to soothe chef Kevin’s sore throat unluckily, we were not able to reserve, so we opted to just go for a fast-food at the terrace of Outback steak, the food was not that  great, so we just enjoyed looking at the Dubai fountain.

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    Not much to write though, we ended the night early for another day ahead.

    Cheers,

    Jamilamimi

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