Homemade Gift Baskets

I got this spacial order from my best friend who wanted to give several of my products in gift baskets. She wanted something which is premium and not like any others that are available on the market, so I designed and made these baskets especially for her.

It took several days for the preparations of these baskets. I had to go shopping for the baskets, the flowers, and the ribbons. It took another few days to put these baskets together. In the end I think these baskets looks very bright and cheerful just right for this festive season.

What do you think?

Cottage Pie Factory

Orders have been coming in non stop and different sizes of Cottage Pie have been running out the door. It feels like we are the factory producing Cottage Pie. Over 100 kg of potatoes have been mashed by HANDS!!! for these orders.

I also offer a personal size that comes in a box which makes a perfect small gift!!!

New Year's Gift - Salad Dressings

Salad dressing make a great gift for this holiday season.

Our Salad dressing come in 3 different types:

1. Spicy Red Wine Vinaigrette


2. House Dressing


3. Japanese Dressing

These 3 bottles come in our beautiful gift basket.

New Year's Gifts - Cottage Pie

Cottage Pie also makes a great gift for any occasions.

Cottage Pie comes in a foil tray with plastic lid with 2 different sizes:

For 5-6 serving, the tray comes in an elegant orange box.

For 10 serving, the tray comes in a basket with festive decorations.

Religious Ceremony (เลี้ยงพระ)

Today I got up at 4:00am to make this order for religious ceremony. The customer ordered this set of Thai food to offer to monks at the temple. The set consisted of Thai spicy pork salad (Yum Moo Yang), Green Chicken Curry (Kang Kaew Wan Gai), Stir Fried Chinese broccoli with Shitake Mushroom and Roast Pork (Ka Na Pad Hed Hom Moo Krob), Fried Fish with Spicy Sauce (Pla Tod Sam Rod), and Thai Dessert and Fresh Fruit. All the food were presented in plastic containers for easy transport and convenient when offered to monks.

Chicken Curry (Kang Karee Kai)

I love making all kinds of curry. It is very interesting how different herbs and spices come together to make various tastes and colors.

Meal Boxes

All these lunch boxes are for Kasikorn Bank. They had ordered Three Colors Vegetable Rice with Tuna, Fancy Pork Cake with Rice, and Devil's Spaghetti. Food come in a microwaveable box and I also provided fork, spoon, napkin, toothpick, and a candy which all come in a small bag just like on a plane.

Chicken in Yellow Rice (Kao Moke Gai)

This is a typical Muslim dish in Thailand which got it's root from Indian Chicken Biryani. It is fun and easy to make. This makes a great lunch dish.

Spaghetti with Green Chicken Curry

Normally Thai eat this curry with rice or Thai Rice noodles (Kanom Jeen). Kanom Jeen is made from fermented rice flour so, you can't keep it over night. It has to be consumed the same day. I was too lazy to go out and buy Kanom Jeen, so I use spaghetti instead which is similar in shape. It turned out very well, Italian noodle with Thai curry!!!

Chicken Massaman Curry

At a request of my mom, I made her a massaman curry for lunch today. She likes my massaman as she said chicken is tender and the meat just fall off the bone as you cut into it. My family love to have massaman with Roti (an Indian bread) which Thai have adapted into a Thai version of Roti. Massaman also goes well with bread which I also like.

Smoked Salmon Rice Paper Rolls

A traditional Vietnamese appetizer which usually make from shrimps. Smoked Salmon cucumber, carrots, and spring onions make a great combination. It went well with the spicy sweet and sour sauce which I made. I would recommend this dish for a person who is weight and health conscious.

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

A very dear friend who is blogs guru and the author of http://www.cup-cakerie.blogspot.com/ has asked me to make this dish. After reading a recipe book, I started making it but with my own homemade tomato sauce. The sauce just bubbling out when I baked it in the oven. It turned out to be creamy and very tasty.

Breaded Stuffed Chicken Breast

This is very similar to chicken Kiev which is a traditional Russian dish. I tried something different. I stuffed chicken breast with spinach, shitake mushroom, and cheese and served with my own version of a supreme sauce. When you cut the chicken the stuffing just burst out YUM!!!

Garlic and Pepper Lamb

Pan fried meat with lots of garlic and pepper, a traditional Thai dish that normally made from pork, chicken, or beef. I used lamb which made it a great fusion dish.

Baked Pork Chop with Chef's Own Stuffing Recipe

This was the most popular dish at the restaurant. Every table had to order one. The stuffing complimented the meat very well that there was no need for sauce or gravy.

Bangkok Dining & Entertainment magazine

Candle was in The Bangkok Dining and Entertainment magazine during 2007. This is what it said in the magazine.

"A resort like restaurant that makes you feel like dining at the spa. Candle is a two story Thai style house surrounded by a luscious garden and a big pond with elephants playfully shooting water at each other.

Owner/Chef Nujnoi Thongchua (Ning) has more than a decade of experience in international communications and a passion for cooking and decorating. She has a converted her home into an elegant and cozy restaurant with her own unique design. Admirers have come from far and wide to take in the sumptuous food and fused international comforts.

Candle come highly recommended for people who are looking for a relaxing, cozy place to wine and dine after long hours at work and lovers who wish to have an impressive romantic dinner. All of the recipes are of Nng's creation and blended to fit the fusion style making it a one of a kind in all of Thailand. Experience Western cooking with an Asian twists at Candle Restaurant. "

My Restaurant - Candle

Overview of the restaurant. I used to rent this house to expats for over 30 years before I turned it into a restaurant.

The inside of the restaurant. I did all the decorating myself. Candles were hanging down from the windows and napkins were folded into candle's shape. My mom gave the name "Candle" as she said let the Candle burns everlasting.

The outside patio with day and night view.

Catering

A close friend has asked me to cater for her son's birthday party. The theme was "Cars", the Disney cartoon which her son is really into right now. I decorated the buffet table and the centerpiece with Cars. I also made the food name cards from Cars characters to match with the theme. The baby was in love with it.

The guests were mostly adults, so the food was more for grown ups. I made variety food ranging from Cream of Shitake Mushroom Soup, Cottage Pie, Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni, Garlic and Pepper Lamb, Stir-Fried Snap Peas, Baby Corns, Carrots in Sesame Oil to Three Colors Vegetable Rice. I got lots of compliments, all the hard work I put into really paid off!!!

Pan Fried Snapper Fillet Coated with Black and White Sesame

In my earlier dish I created this sesame coating for tofu and it took me a while to see what else would go well with this coating. I created this dish for a friend who hate tofu and she really loved it.

Pasta with Black Pepper Sauce

I experiment these pasta dishes with my black pepper sauce which I normally serve with pan fried salmon steak. The sauce goes well with pork and seafood.

Cottage Pie (Pork)

This dish reminded of the time when I was in England This was served for lunch at our boarding school. I made this with pork instead of beef as many Thais do not eat beef. It was very juicy and all my friends loved it.

Tofu with Black and White Sesame

A Vegetarian dish, pan fried tofu with 2 tones sesame seeds serve with 3 colors vegetable rice and spicy shoyu sauce.

Fancy Pork Cake

I am sure you have had Fish Cake, Crab Cake or Shrimp Cake but how about Pork Cake! Fried minced Pork with Taro, a very soft and juicy texture.

Krapow Salmon

A tradition Thai dish with a twist. Fillet of Salmon fried with Thai Basil served with Jasmin rice.

Devil's Spaghetti

I created this recipe after one hungry night and nothing else in the fridge. Spicy fusion dish which pasta stir fried with Thai "Devil's"chili paste. An easy and simple dish that will satisfy your hunger!!

Abalone Mushroom Salad

An appetiser fit to be a light Main Course. Mushrooms cooked with onions, tossed with Balsamic Vinegar on a bed of greens.

Burgundy Beef Stew

This dish was inspired by my travels to south of France famed for its burgundy wines.

My special variation to the original French recipe is that I added a secret marinade to make the beef extra tender and tasty.

Teamed with delicious steamed summer vegetables and creamy mashed potatoes....This dish is a surefire hit at any dinner party!