Posted in Cook, tagged berries, jelly, panna cotta, quay cookbook on September 27, 2010| 36 Comments »
Berry Jelly and Panna Cotta
Friday night I come home filled with excitement at the prospect of making some dishes from Peter Gilmore’s QUAY featuring dishes from his restaurant. After all, I’ve always wanted to make a three hat restaurant dish from home. I make a list of the recipes I am keen to make over the weekend. I have included two of his signature dishes, the Eight Textured Chocolate Cake and his Sea Pearls.
Posted in El Comedor, kulinarya cooking club, tagged crema catalana, custard, desserts, filipino, mangoes, natilla, spanish, thermomix on September 19, 2010| 55 Comments »
Mango Natilla
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but growing up, I certainly enjoyed the many perks of my family owning a Spanish restaurant. Probably top of the list was being able to order anything I wanted from the menu. With each visit I’d try to order a different dish for my main course but dessert would always stay the same.
I’d always have the Natilla. I loved the look burnt sugar topping provoking me to give it a good hard crack and then my spoon surrendering to the velvety custard and sponge finger mix beneath.
Posted in Cook, Eat, tagged armando percuoco, Buon Ricordo, fettuccine, truffled egg pasta on August 29, 2010| 55 Comments »
Truffled Egg Pasta
Let me start of by saying that this pasta dish is not for the faint hearted. Seriously. It has been said that if you do any research on coronary heart disease, you will find that the leading cause will be Armando Percuoco’s fettuccine al tartufovo (truffled egg pasta). Yes, okay, I know I exaggerate too much (and my husband will wholeheartedly agree with you on this one)…. but if you were going to die eating a pasta dish – you would want THIS ONE to take you down.
Why? The ingredient list reads like the top outlawed food for weight watchers – butter, cream, eggs, pasta and cheese.
But -it’s that heart stoppingly good. Really.
This dish originates from Armando Percuoco who owns Buon Ricordo. This is their signature dish and over 50% of people will order this dish at his restaurant.
I don’t care what anyone else says – this restaurant deserves its two hats!
Posted in Cook, kulinarya cooking club, tagged filipino food, lumpia, lumpiang hubad, philippine cuisine on August 22, 2010| 51 Comments »
Lumpiang Hubad
Who said Filipino food is unhealthy? If you haven’t already, hop on over to Tangled Noodle‘s site to read her essay on Filipino food. I couldn’t have written it better myself. In her post one of the things that Tracey mentions is that many people have a misconception that Filipino food is unhealthy. Yes, we love our pork (especially our deep fried pork), and our steaming bowls of white rice, but there’s also a number of deliciously healthy alternatives. One of them, is my dish for this month’s Kulinarya Cooking Club. Malou, from Skip to Malou and Cherrie from Sweet Cherrie Pie have brought us this month’s challenge. Lumpia refers to spring rolls and most of the ones I have tried have been filled with either pork and vegetables, or ubod (heart of palm). Most lumpia is either fried, or served fresh with a crepe like wrapper (check out Tangled Noodle’s post for this).
Posted in Cook, Thermomix, tagged dessert, frozen dessert, granita, sorbet, spice temple, thermomix, watermelon, watermelon and ginger granita on August 15, 2010| 51 Comments »
Watermelon and Ginger Granita
In the realm of shameless – this possibly sits in the top 10 for me.
This is not a story of how my husband proposed marriage . But this is a story of how I faked a proposal to get into one of Neil Perry’s restaurants.
A few weeks after his famed Spice Temple opened a work mate mentioned this restaurant and how difficult it was to get a booking. Apparently, all weekends were booked for the next three months.
“I bet you I can get a booking.” I said.
“Unless you know Neil Perry personally I don’t think you stand a chance.” he said.
So I called the restaurant.
“Hi, I’d like to make a booking for this Friday please.” I said.
“I’m sorry but we are fully booked.” said the receptionist.
“Yes but is there anyway you can make an exception? This is for a really important occasion.” I pleaded.
“No, I’d really like to accommodate you but we are full for Friday. If you’d like, I can put you on our wait list but there are 5 ahead of you.” she replied.
“But you don’t understand, my boyfriend asked me to make a booking at the restaurant of my choice. I think he is going to propose to me. I’m DESPERATE” I said.
“We get people asking for exceptions ALL the time.” she said, obviously unimpressed with my reasoning as to why I should get special treatment.
“No, no… you don’t understand.” I told her, “I am 35 years old. I am DESPERATE.” I repeated.
“Wait a minute.” She put me on hold. “Alright – we’ve got a table at 7 pm but we need it back by 9 pm.”
Can you imagine me trying to get my husband to agree to re-propose? Of course, there was NO WAY he’d say yes. The waitstaff of Spice Temple looked disappointed when we were being seated, I flashed my “engagement ring” and whispered that he had “surprised me by proposing” the night before.
Anyway, what was supposed to be a memorable night, then was doomed to become “just another dinner”, eventually became unforgettable because of this – fresh watermelon granita laced with a ginger syrup. It was a perfect ending to a delicious and very spicy meal (think Hot and Numbing Wagyu Beef or Stir Fried Prawns with Salted Eggs and Four Chillies).
I’ve never been able to bring myself to go back to Spice Temple after the “engagement episode” for fear they’d caught on to my shameless actions…
But I’ll always have their watermelon granita…
Watermelon and Ginger Sorbet
Watermelon Granita with Ginger Syrup
From Neil Perry’s Spice Temple
- 750 grams coarsely chopped fresh watermelon
- 60 grams white sugar
- 200 grams finely diced watermelon, to serve
- 100 grams white sugar
- 20 grams ginger, chopped
- Macerate the watermelon by combining the first lot of watermelon with the sugar and allow to stand for around 45 minutes. Process this in a food processor and then strain. Transfer to a 20 cm x 30 cm shallow metal tray and freeze, scraping occasionally with a fork until crystals form and the granita is frozen. This usually takes around 4 to 5 hours.
- For the ginger syrup, combine the sugar, ginger and 60 ml of water in a saucepan. Bring this to a boil and then remove it from the heat and allow to cool. Strain out the ginger.
- To serve, place some granita in a chilled class, add the diced watermelon and pour some ginger syrup over it.
Watermelon and Ginger Sorbet On the Thermomix
- Combine the ginger, 100 grams white sugar and 60 ml water in the thermomix. Heat at 100c for 5 minutes on speed 3. Remove from heat, strain the ginger and allow to stand until cool.
- Combine the watermelon and the sugar in the thermomix and process on speed 8 for 10 seconds. Pour the ginger syrup on to the watermelon. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze.
- When the watermelon cubes are frozen, process once more on the thermomix on speed 10 for around 20 seconds. Use the spatula to assist in the mixing of the sorbet. Top with the finely diced watermelon. Hint: If you want, use a fork to scrape on the sorbet until you get the granita like texture.
Watermelon and Ginger Sorbet
Posted in Cook, tagged korean style pork ribs, pork ribs on August 11, 2010| 46 Comments »
Pork Ribs Blog Monster Style
Since my parents are in town, the highlights have been the nightly chats about “what to eat for dinner” with my Mom, aka the Blog Monster. We’ll go over my cookbooks and magazines and make a list of things we want to try out. The frequency and speed at which we change our minds, and ultimately, the dinner’s menu, is ridiculous. The other night for instance, as I sat at the foot of her bed, we flicked through one of my “food inspiration” binders and decided that we were going to make pasta, then changed our mind when she wanted to make fish in coconut milk, and then we canned the fish and decided to go for this Korean Fried Chicken recipe that I had printed from the Saveur website.
I mentioned that I had heard many great things about this so called “other KFC” and had wanted to try this for a long time. The Blog Monster skimmed through the piece of paper, nodding her head once or twice, as if in agreement with the recipe. “Yes, this is what we’re having for dinner tomorrow” she said.
So I’m day dreaming about having Korean Fried Chicken the whole day and manage to actually leave the office earlier than usual in anticipation of that meal. I get home and am greeted by the familiar smell of garlic, ginger and chili wafting through the air.
I do a double take when I see her pan frying pork ribs… remember, the original recipe is for DEEP FRIED CHICKEN.
“Come and have a look,” says the Blog Monster. “I’ve made that Korean recipe we talked about.”
Mothers! 🙂
Anyway, recipe confusion aside, her rendition of Korean Fried Chicken (also known as The Blog Monster’s Pork Ribs) is excellent. Seriously. I had no intention of posting this given the bad evening light but I ran to the laundry room to take a few shots. I just had to share it with you. If you are so inclined (and I am sure I will one day finally get to it as well), the original Korean Fried Chicken is on the link above. In the meantime, try this one instead!
Blog Monster's Pork Ribs
Blog Monster’s Pork Ribs
Adapted from the Saveur website
- 5 cloves garlic
- 3 to 4 cm ginger, peeled
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons gojujang (Korean Chili Paste)
- 1 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 85 grams flour (2/3 cups)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1.5 kilos pork ribs
- Oil for pan frying
- Using a food processor, process the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, chilipaste, vinegar, sesame oil and brown sugar in a bowl.
- Add the eggs and place the pork ribs in the mixture. Allow to marinate for 2 hours
- Mix the flour and cornstarch together and dredge the marinated pork ribs in it.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat. Pan fry for around 3 to 5 minutes on each side until sticky, golden and slightly charred.
Posted in Bake, El Comedor, tagged mango cream pie on August 2, 2010| 14 Comments »
Mango Cream Pie
This week I’m tickled pink to tell you – I’m Guest Blogging on Asha’s fab blog – Fork Spoon Knife. To me, in the blogging cosmos, to be asked to do a guest post is one of the biggest forms of flattery – imagine, being asked to write a post on what these bloggers consider their personal journals – to me, it was like Asha gave me a pen and opened her diary and said “Go ahead, write something, join me as I chronicle my food journeys.”
Wow…
The icing on the cake (so to speak) was the fact that Asha’s asked me to to a guest post. You must know her right? She’s the one with the lovely pictures, magnetic personality (which shows in her writing), awesome recipes with wacky yet amazing flavour combinations (check out her post on the Rhubarb and Sage Shortbread)!
I knew I had to give her a really special recipe which is why I chose my Grandmother’s Mango Cream Pie. To find out why this recipe’s so special – please hop on to Asha’s site!
Posted in Cook, tagged baked prawns, ketchup, prawns, shrimp on June 16, 2010| 44 Comments »
Mum's Baked Prawns
I knew I was a bit of a condiment anomaly, and more so after reading Thomas Gladwell’s essay, The Ketchup Conundrum. Give me a plate of fries and I’ll always ask for some garlic mayonnaise over ketchup. Part of Gladwell’s essay explores why ketchup is so loved by everyone else. It’s because in one go, it hits all the all the fundamental tastes in the human palate. Sweet, sour, salty, bitter (I keep forgetting that one!) and of course, umami – where else can you find a condiment that, as Gladwell says, pushes all five of these primal buttons! So any foodie should love ketchup right? While I cringe at the thought of pouring ketchup over a finely grilled burger, or a lovely piece of steak – I do love my Mum’s Ketchup Baked Cheese Prawns. It’s so simple to prepare, take some prawns, and stuff it with a mixture of butter, cheese, mayonnaise and of course ketchup – then bake and you’re done! With some lovely crust bread or a bowl of steamed white rice, it hits all the flavour buttons I look for.
Posted in Cook, tagged beans, gourmet for a fiver, jason atherton, roast chicken on June 12, 2010| 53 Comments »
Roast Chicken with Butter Beans and Chorizo
I was once invited by a friend for dinner. She told me that she was going to make fabada, a spanish bean stew from Asturias. While the beans take center stage, the stew is taken a step further with the addition of chorizo, morcilla (blood sausage) and pork. She even boasted that her fabada was better than my Mom’s version.
“Wait a minute… are you telling my that YOUR fabada is BETTER than my Mom’s?” I asked her over the phone.
“Yes. Yes… you must come over to try it. I managed to get hold of a secret recipe from an aunt.” She replied.
Hmmm…. this I had to see.
Posted in Cook, tagged cafe moderne, paris, pistachio crusted fish on June 4, 2010| 57 Comments »
Pistachio Crusted Fish
“I.C.M.T.” I tell my husband as I tuck into my dish.
“Huh?” My husband is skeptical.
Flashback to a few months ago when we were having lunch at Cafe Moderne, a restaurant in Paris which came highly recommended by the hotel’s concierge. We had just spent a good couple of hours browsing through the nearby cookbook store, Librarie Gourmande, and I had just bought a ridiculously large amount of cookbooks (all in French of course, which I can’t speak nor understand) and we were hungry. The restaurant is located in the 1st arrodissement, very much in the middle of the business district. I look around the restaurant and it is filled with investment bankers in expensive business suits – definitely nothing like the quaint bistros we had been lunching in for most of our trip.
Our waiter encourages us to order the sea bass, the restaurant’s specialty. The fish is delicately crusted in pistachio crumbs, a hint of thyme, and garlic… I think.
So I say I.C.M.T. The acronym stands for I Can Make This. This is our “secret code” when something tastes so delicious that I need to make it at home. Is that weird? I think it is something I picked up from my Mom. Every time we eat out, we find ourselves “dissecting” the dish and thinking how we can re-create it at home.
And so here it is – the lovely pistachio crusted fish – I finally made it – and now… YCMIT! (ah – that is … You Can Make It Too!)
Pistachio Crusted Fish
Ingredients Serves 2
- 400 grams blue eye cod fillets, skinned and deboned
- 35 grams butter
- 75 grams pistachios
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 springs thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 egg white
- 4 slices lemon
- Preheat the oven to 180c (fan forced).
- Season the fillets with salt and pepper
- In a food processor or mortar and pestle, combine the pistachios, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and finely grind.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the pistachio mixture. Cook for around 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add the egg white and mix well.
- Coat the fillets in the pistachio mixture
- Place some lemon slices and thyme leaves in a oven proof dish and place the coated fillets on top.
- Bake the fillets for around 10 to 12 minutes until cooked through.
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