Guys,
If you have noticed it so far, all my recipes were leaning towards vegetarian style - no garlic, no meat, no seafood. I'm not a vegetarians, but my existing Food Critics are... So, there's no choice that I have to pleased them.
I think I have to start inviting some "meat-eaters", then I can practice on my meat-cooking skills.
Anyone...?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Ooohhh... Pasta Again...?!?!?
Yaaaa..... sorry but that was the menu for the dinner last night. Sounds so boring. Pasta and pasta again...?!?!?
Well but it's totally different from what I have cooked before, and maybe this is the first time I ever cooked it this style. So what is it?
1. Spinach Tagliatelle with Creamy Pesto Sauce
(spinach tagliatelle, whipping cream, white wine, fresh basil, peas, fresh mint, roasted pepper)
For the pesto sauce: fresh basil, salt, black pepper, roasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese, olive oil - all ingredients blended together
2. Enoki Mushroom Tempura
(fresh enoki, cold beer, white wine/ sake, salt, fresh parsley, cayenne pepper and oregano powder - optional)
The Spinach Tagliatelle turned out to be quite good. Very creamy, sure! But it didn't make you feel sick eating it. The fresh mint and the roasted pepper actually helped to neutralize the "milky" taste. Oh and of course the white wine did wonder too!
The Enoki Tempura was also really good. The only problem was with the salt. I wanted to sprinkle some salt on the mushroom instead of the batter, and that caused uneven saltiness. Apart from that, the batter was good. Crispy and puffy...!!! Mmmmm..... yummy =)
Well but it's totally different from what I have cooked before, and maybe this is the first time I ever cooked it this style. So what is it?
1. Spinach Tagliatelle with Creamy Pesto Sauce
(spinach tagliatelle, whipping cream, white wine, fresh basil, peas, fresh mint, roasted pepper)
For the pesto sauce: fresh basil, salt, black pepper, roasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese, olive oil - all ingredients blended together
 |
| From Kitchen Runaway |
2. Enoki Mushroom Tempura
(fresh enoki, cold beer, white wine/ sake, salt, fresh parsley, cayenne pepper and oregano powder - optional)
 |
| From Kitchen Runaway |
The Spinach Tagliatelle turned out to be quite good. Very creamy, sure! But it didn't make you feel sick eating it. The fresh mint and the roasted pepper actually helped to neutralize the "milky" taste. Oh and of course the white wine did wonder too!
The Enoki Tempura was also really good. The only problem was with the salt. I wanted to sprinkle some salt on the mushroom instead of the batter, and that caused uneven saltiness. Apart from that, the batter was good. Crispy and puffy...!!! Mmmmm..... yummy =)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Hollandaise Sauce
Ohh.... I hope the 30 eggs that I bought last weekend won't go bad so soon. I need to make some time to practice on my Hollandaise Egg Sauce..... It's really tricky.
The first time I tried, I forgot that I supposed to use purified butter instead of oil. No wonder the consistency was not right - too watery.
The first time I tried, I forgot that I supposed to use purified butter instead of oil. No wonder the consistency was not right - too watery.
Monday, March 1, 2010
A Quest for That Perfect Chawan Mushi
Chawan Mushi is the cool name for Japanese Egg Custard Dish, or just a normal Steam Egg Dish. It looks really simple to cook, but of course as expected it's quite tricky to make a delicious one!
My adorable niece, Fiona, "motivated" me to learn to make it. She is a pretty, cute and smart 4 y.o. girl of my eldest sister. She loves good food ever since she can take outside food! I know it and we all in the family know it that she can actually differentiate really good quality food from just a normal good ones (the bad ones don't count here). She would be able to finish the good ones, but not the opposites.
She loves Chawan Mushi from a nice but expensive Sushi restaurant in town. She often would say to us that she wants Chawan Mushi, whenever we ask her what she wants to eat. As young as 2 y.o., she didn't even mind to be left alone in that big restaurant, only accompanied by her baby sitter, to enjoy her favorite dish.
Last week, I promised myself that I must be able to make a good Chawan Mushi before my next visit to my hometown, and seeing her again.
So I used the same stock as I prepared for the Vegetable Tofu Nimono, water to dilute, good quality egg, sake, hon-mirin, salt, and soy sauce (preferably to use usukuchi soy sauce).
For the fillings, any kind like this is good: chicken meat, shrimps, shitake mushroom, kamaboko (Japanese steam minced-fish), ginnan (ginkgo seed), and parsley as the garnish.
Steam it at high heat for 1 minute, continued with very low heat for 10 minutes, and it's ready to serve.
My adorable niece, Fiona, "motivated" me to learn to make it. She is a pretty, cute and smart 4 y.o. girl of my eldest sister. She loves good food ever since she can take outside food! I know it and we all in the family know it that she can actually differentiate really good quality food from just a normal good ones (the bad ones don't count here). She would be able to finish the good ones, but not the opposites.
She loves Chawan Mushi from a nice but expensive Sushi restaurant in town. She often would say to us that she wants Chawan Mushi, whenever we ask her what she wants to eat. As young as 2 y.o., she didn't even mind to be left alone in that big restaurant, only accompanied by her baby sitter, to enjoy her favorite dish.
Last week, I promised myself that I must be able to make a good Chawan Mushi before my next visit to my hometown, and seeing her again.
So I used the same stock as I prepared for the Vegetable Tofu Nimono, water to dilute, good quality egg, sake, hon-mirin, salt, and soy sauce (preferably to use usukuchi soy sauce).
For the fillings, any kind like this is good: chicken meat, shrimps, shitake mushroom, kamaboko (Japanese steam minced-fish), ginnan (ginkgo seed), and parsley as the garnish.
Steam it at high heat for 1 minute, continued with very low heat for 10 minutes, and it's ready to serve.
The Japanese Kitchen
I tried this recipes on Saturday, March 27. Just wanted to get a different taste on the dining table, after focusing so much on the Western cuisines.
1. Vegetable Tofu Nimono
(carrot, boiled bamboo shoot, renkon (lotus root), satoimo potato (taro/ yam), shitake mushroom, ginkgo seed, parsley/ chinese celery)
For the stock: carrot, seaweed, fresh shitake mushroom, salt, sugar, sake and hon-mirin
2. Deep Fried Pumpkin with Honey Glaze
(fresh Australian pumpkin and honey)
For the drink? Ice green tea of course, with some slice of lemon. So refreshing!
This dietary contains a lot of fiber, which I think is really healthy for our digestion system. Because it also contains a lot of different type of vegetable, the soup is actually really nice and sweet.
I had some problem finding the stock, so I experimented through my own way. The proper stock will be "dashi stock", can be made fresh using kombu kelp and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), or buy the "granulated bonito dashi", mixed with water. I was trying to find it as the Market Place and some Cold Storage, but had no luck. Perhaps I should try the Cold Storage at Takashimaya or best try at the Daimaru.
1. Vegetable Tofu Nimono
(carrot, boiled bamboo shoot, renkon (lotus root), satoimo potato (taro/ yam), shitake mushroom, ginkgo seed, parsley/ chinese celery)
For the stock: carrot, seaweed, fresh shitake mushroom, salt, sugar, sake and hon-mirin
2. Deep Fried Pumpkin with Honey Glaze
(fresh Australian pumpkin and honey)
For the drink? Ice green tea of course, with some slice of lemon. So refreshing!
This dietary contains a lot of fiber, which I think is really healthy for our digestion system. Because it also contains a lot of different type of vegetable, the soup is actually really nice and sweet.
I had some problem finding the stock, so I experimented through my own way. The proper stock will be "dashi stock", can be made fresh using kombu kelp and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), or buy the "granulated bonito dashi", mixed with water. I was trying to find it as the Market Place and some Cold Storage, but had no luck. Perhaps I should try the Cold Storage at Takashimaya or best try at the Daimaru.
Asian Fusion Vegetarian Food
1. Mixed vegetables
(ginger, red & green chili, salt, soy sauce, sesame oil (optional), hon-mirin, seasonal vegetables)
2. Satoimo potato (taro/ yam) - based creamy corn soup
(satoimo potato, salt, sugar, readily prepared del monte creamy corn soup, parsley, butter)
3. Brown rice
(You've got to check it out from my "kitchen assistant" - the expert of beans & grains)
Honestly, it was a perfect brown rice. Nice composition and consistency. Keep it up, Girl =)
The creamy soup turned out to be really pleasant in taste and smell. Oh, I boiled the potato with some salt. After it was soft, transferred it into a blender to make it like a paste - not too thick and not too runny though. I also prefer it not to be too smooth. Later on, brought it back to the pan and added the creamy corn soup, salt and sugar to taste, parsley, and lastly the butter.
My Last Meal.... (for the month of February 2010)
It was a really bloody hot day. I came home late (I mean a bit late for my dinner cooking), after the whole day running errands. I hit Borders on my last stop before heading home. Disappointed as I couldn't find the book that I desperately want to read. It's "Becoming A Chef" by Andrew Dornenburg and his wife, Karen Page. It is reviewed as a must-read book for anyone who loves food. I do. I do love food.... good food. It is also recommended before anyone deciding to start or switch career in the culinary arts, be it as a chef, a nutritionist, a caterer, or other related profession.
Oh well..... I will talk more about the book after I get one.
Nevertheless, I came home excited to try the new beer batter recipe that I learn from my last cooking class. It was a bit hectic. I didn't feel all collected, so I was a little confuse to give instructions to my two very-supportive-kitchen-assistants. As a result, the food wasn't prepared and served in good order. We had the Aglio Olio done, and waited for some time before I could finally get the beer batter ready. Worst, we had the salad as the dessert. What?!?!?
1. Aglio Olio
(spinach tagliatelle pasta, black pepper, red chili, fresh rosemary, fresh basil, salt, olive oil)
2. Battered Enoki mushroom and fish (without the chip)
(self-raising flour, salt, cold beer)
3. Caesar Salad and Tomato Salsa Salad
(tomato salsa sauce - tomato (de-seed), red chili, fresh basil, salt, lemon, zest, olive oil)
(caesar sauce - elaborate next time when i try making it again)
That's the menu for Sunday, the last day of February 2010.
The Olio came out nice - not a surprised. I used fresh herbs and I think it smells really good. The battered Enoki mushroom and the fish turned out quite well, although it's not perfect. The real big problem was on the tomato salsa sauce for the salad. Oh myyyyy!!!! Terrible!!!
The battered mushroom was really puffy and crispy for the first few batch. It was yummy. However, the last batch of the mushroom and fish were slightly downgraded in terms of quality. Not sure why. I thought it was because of the bubbles from the beer had disappeared. If it was to be true, then how do actually the "fish & chip kiosks" keep their batter? Keep on making the fresh ones? I will need to try more I guess to find out the secret.
Arrggghhhh.... I don't really like to talk about the tomato salsa sauce. At first I thought I have lost my taste-sense. I kept on adding lemon juice and salt as I couldn't taste anything from the mixture. Well, of course later on I realized that I only tasted the olive oil, and of course it was bland. But.... but.... the diced tomato was really salty and sour. What a shame! I learnt my lesson though. The next time, I should have tasted everything, before adding in the olive oil. Let them sit for some time to infuse.
Ok, now back to my other work.
Oh well..... I will talk more about the book after I get one.
Nevertheless, I came home excited to try the new beer batter recipe that I learn from my last cooking class. It was a bit hectic. I didn't feel all collected, so I was a little confuse to give instructions to my two very-supportive-kitchen-assistants. As a result, the food wasn't prepared and served in good order. We had the Aglio Olio done, and waited for some time before I could finally get the beer batter ready. Worst, we had the salad as the dessert. What?!?!?
1. Aglio Olio
(spinach tagliatelle pasta, black pepper, red chili, fresh rosemary, fresh basil, salt, olive oil)
 |
| From Kitchen Runaway |
2. Battered Enoki mushroom and fish (without the chip)
(self-raising flour, salt, cold beer)
3. Caesar Salad and Tomato Salsa Salad
(tomato salsa sauce - tomato (de-seed), red chili, fresh basil, salt, lemon, zest, olive oil)
(caesar sauce - elaborate next time when i try making it again)
That's the menu for Sunday, the last day of February 2010.
The Olio came out nice - not a surprised. I used fresh herbs and I think it smells really good. The battered Enoki mushroom and the fish turned out quite well, although it's not perfect. The real big problem was on the tomato salsa sauce for the salad. Oh myyyyy!!!! Terrible!!!
The battered mushroom was really puffy and crispy for the first few batch. It was yummy. However, the last batch of the mushroom and fish were slightly downgraded in terms of quality. Not sure why. I thought it was because of the bubbles from the beer had disappeared. If it was to be true, then how do actually the "fish & chip kiosks" keep their batter? Keep on making the fresh ones? I will need to try more I guess to find out the secret.
Arrggghhhh.... I don't really like to talk about the tomato salsa sauce. At first I thought I have lost my taste-sense. I kept on adding lemon juice and salt as I couldn't taste anything from the mixture. Well, of course later on I realized that I only tasted the olive oil, and of course it was bland. But.... but.... the diced tomato was really salty and sour. What a shame! I learnt my lesson though. The next time, I should have tasted everything, before adding in the olive oil. Let them sit for some time to infuse.
Ok, now back to my other work.
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