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Sometimes No Just Means Not Now…Strawberry and Watermelon Cake

December 2, 2010 by trissalicious

Strawberry and Watermelon Cake

Strawberry and Watermelon Cake

When I was a kid I wanted to be a gymnast.  I remember watching a movie on Romanian Nadia Comaneci and how she scored a perfect 10 on the uneven bars in the 1976 Olympics and thought to myself that I was born to be a gymnast. 

So my best friend and I started teaching ourselves cartwheels, back bends and once even decided to create our own  dismount station on the side of my brother’s bed so we could practice somersaults (I shrudder at the thought of our bravery then!).  During long car trips my Dad would play classical music and I would close my eyes and pretend to do a floor routine to the music of Mozart and Tchaikovsky.

So the logical thing to do was ask my parents permission to take proper gymnastic  lessons – and I was devastated when they said no. I am assuming they thought it was too dangerous.  Maybe they thought I wasn’t ready… maybe, they weren’t ready.  I brooded over what to do next for months.  Finally, I decided to write them what I thought was a tear jerker of a letter asking them to reconsider their decision.  And what a letter it was.  I’m pretty sure the phrases “this is my dream” and “please, please, please” came up many times.  The next day, they relented.

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The Cooking Basics: Savoury Cakes (Bacon, Carrot and Cheese Cake)

November 30, 2010 by trissalicious

Bacon, Carrot and Cheese Cake

Bacon, Carrot and Cheese Cake

On my last trip to New York I stumbled upon a book called Cakes and Loaves by Ilona Chovancova.  It’s been seven months since I managed to use a recipe from it!  I remembered the other day that the book had a basic savoury cake recipe that I wanted to share for The Cooking Basics series.   This is a fantastic and delicious basic recipe from which you can vary ingredients depending on what you feel like eating, what’s available or what’s in season.   Making the cake is effortless – no need for multiple bowls, no need for a mixer (a grater and wooden spoon will do) and I promise it would probably take you less than ten minutes to put together.  These cakes can be eaten any time of the day – great for breakfast on the go, for lunch, an afternoon snack or even a light dinner with a salad.

Some tips should you choose to make your own savoury cake:

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Posted in Bake | Tagged , , , , , , , | 42 Comments »

Dare Me! Sepia Restaurant’s Mango Weiss Bar

November 28, 2010 by trissalicious

Mango Weiss Bar

Mango Weiss Bar

Sometimes I think I am in over my head asking chefs for their recipes.  Last week I had a dream that I asked Gordon Ramsay for his Caesar Salad recipe and he screamed at me.  He said there was no way he was going to give it to me and I should just wait for the release of his next book where I could find it!  I swear, I woke up in a sweat and my heart racing.

Howard from Eat Show and Tell and another friend had Dared Me to get  Sepia‘s famous Mango and Vanilla Weiss Bar and so I approached the restaurant for the recipe.  I made contact with Vicki Wild not only who manages the front of house but is also partner to Head Chef, Martin Benn.  I thought, if anyone could charm Chef Benn into parting with such a coveted recipe, it would be her.  And luckily, Vicki Wild is much more charming and accommodating than Gordon Ramsay.

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Quite Possibly The World’s Best Trissalicious Pistachio Cookies

November 24, 2010 by trissalicious

Italian Pistachio Cookies

Trissalicious Pistachio Cookies

I first tasted pistachio cookies in Italy, about  two years ago.  My husband and I were searching for Il Gelato di San Crispino that was supposed to serve Rome’s best gelato when we chanced upon a little bakery selling these bright green chewy balls of pistachio cookies that were called Bocconcini al Pistacchio di Bronte.  The gelato store was set aside for another day.  Instead, we bought two cookies each (At 3.80 EURO each they were expensive!) and went to Sant’ Eustachio for a caffe and devoured the little gluten-free Italian pistachio cookies.

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Fettuccine alla Carbonara & Book Review of Family Italian by John Lanzafame (and Mum)

November 23, 2010 by trissalicious

Fettuccine alla Carbonara (Recipe from Family Italian)

Fettuccine alla Carbonara (Recipe from Family Italian)

When I was a child, I dreamt of being adopted by an Italian family.  I loved their accents, the way they sounded like they were shouting at everything when in fact they were carrying on a normal conversation, I loved how they always called me Bella and of course, their food.

Fast forward to my first year of high school where I spent the summer travelling around Europe with my family.  Italy was my favourite of the ten countries we visited that summer, and this time I had dreams of marrying a vespa driving, cappucino drinking, dark eyed Italian as my ticket to that Italian family.

Through the years, I figured the only way to get my Italian family was to amass an unusually large number of Italian cookbooks.  So when I told my husband that I had a copy of John Lanzafame’s Family Italian cookbook to review, he said what any practical husband would say “Don’t you have enough Italian cookbooks already?!”

So here in my hands was an Italian cookbook from that Italian family I never had but always dreamed of having.

So to answer my husband’s question whether I have enough Italian cookbooks?  There’s always room for one more, especially when it’s inspired by Mum’s cooking.

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Philippine Style Stuffed Crab (Rellenong Alimasag) for Kulinarya Cooking Club

November 21, 2010 by trissalicious

Relleno Alimasag (Philippine Style Stuffed Crab)

Relleno Alimasag (Philippine Style Stuffed Crab)

One of the greatest food writers in the Philippines was a lady by the name of Doreen Fernandez.  When I was in the Philippines I took for granted her contributions to our cuisine and so I rarely paid any attention to her works which was a pity since I have been crazy looking for some of her books which are almost impossible to find.  Last month in Melbourne I went to a store called Books For Cooks where tucked in a corner was one of Doreen’s books.  I couldn’t believe my luck!  The book is called Palayok (a type of native cooking pot) and while not a recipe book, is filled with valuable information on what and how our cuisine has come to where it is today.  The chapter I’m reading now for instance, is on the Spanish influences on food.

This influence is  of course inevitable considering we were a colony from 1521 to 1898 (I tell everyone we were colonized for around 300 years, but now I realize it’s 377!).  The first Spanish settlers were officials and their families then later on, friars.   Ingredients in the Spanish kitchen often make an appearance in our food like chorizo (sausages) and jamon (ham). Another example, is in our cooking methods.  To saute in the Philippines is called “gisa” from the Spanish word guisar.

Another cooking process commonly used in the Philippines, is called relleno which means to stuff.  With some types of relleno, the Spanish influence is much clearer, for example,  rellenong manok (stuffed chicken) will typically be stuffed with pork, chorizo and ham.  Other relleno has been adapted to the produce more easily available in the Philippines, for example, rellenong bangus or stuffed milkfish (milkfish is very accessible in the Philippines).

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Coconut Custard (Kaya Jam)

November 16, 2010 by trissalicious

Coconut Custard Jam

Coconut Custard Jam on toast with butter

“Are you trying to kill me?” My husband asked as I put a plate infront of him.

“Ha!  Not yet.” I told him.  “I have get some life insurance on you first!”

The reason for his outburst was because infront of him was this toast, slathered with a caramelized coconut custard and a considerable amount of sliced butter.  I had been finding ways to use up my twenty egg yolks from my last macaron class and had started with making pasta with six egg yolks.  Then I made some portuguese custard tarts (another four there) and used up six to make some ice cream.  All this time my husband was the lucky recipient of all the egg yolk laden dishes.

So down to four egg yolks I decided to make some Coconut Custard (Kaya Jam).  I learned about a recipe from Amy Beh which I had seen floating around the internet and was keen to try.  I must confess that I used the thermomix to make this as I have no patience to continuously stir for more than an hour which is what the recipe requires.  I used the first two egg yolks for the first test batch where I followed Amy’s recipe but thought the resulting custard wasn’t caramelized enough for my liking.  The next batch I caramelized the sugar and poured hot coconut milk into the caramel creating a darker and richer base for the custard.  The result was what I was hoping for – my husband enjoyed it and mentioned that it tasted like latik which is a  highly addictive Filipino fried coconut milk curd.

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Posted in Cook, Thermomix | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 40 Comments »

Missing…Chorizo Croquetas

November 14, 2010 by trissalicious

Chorizo Croquetas

Chorizo Croquetas

The other day, as I do every morning, I took my two labradors for a walk. Nothing out of the ordinary except I had overslept and had less time to walk them and get ready for work. I knew I had to rush. So we went to a park that was 10 minutes away and I let them loose thinking I would let them spend a good ten minutes chasing each other and sniffing other dogs. This took longer than I expected because the little one, Bizou, decided to forage for breakfast which meant I had to spend an extra ten minutes chasing her and trying to get her to stop.

As we made our way home I saw a man stading infront of his truck. He must have been in his twenties, and I suspect he was in the construction business because he was wearing a fluorescent yellow safety jacket, worn boots and had a rugged look about him. As we walked towards him I saw him look at them and his face broke into a wide grin and then he looked at me and said “Can I pat them?”.

He kneeled down and my dogs made a dash for him. He started patting them and then Baci, flirt that she is, lay on her back as if to ask for a tummy rub, which made him smile and happily oblige.

“You have a labrador too?” I asked him.

“Had,” he replied. “She died early this year. She was fifteen.” Then I saw him close his eyes and give each dog a big hug.

I was in a hurry and had an early morning meeting that I didn’t want to be late for… but at that moment none of that was important.

“There’s a park across the road, I was going to take them there for a little run. Did you want to come along for a few minutes?” I asked.

What mattered was that I felt like I was giving him a few moments with his dog back.

There are times in our lives when we have the opportunity to help someone relive a certain moment, it’s wonderful when we can oblige. Whether it’s spending an extra few minutes with them… or even cooking a dish that brings back the memory.

Which is why I made these Chorizo Croquetas the other day.

But I’ll save that story for another time.

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The Emperor of All Sauces: XO Sauce

November 10, 2010 by trissalicious

XO Sauce

XO Sauce

Hong Kong ranks up there among my favourite cities.    I love it’s vibrance, diversity and the fact that I can indulge in two of my favourite hobbies when I’m there.  Food and shopping.  I love that the malls close at 10 pm and that they take their sales very seriously (nothing perks me up more than a sign saying 70% off!).  It’s not unheard of to spend the whole day shopping at a mall and then at night, despite the aching feet, we continue on to the night markets.  Of course there’s also the food.  On my last trip there with my Mom, sisters and aunt, indulged in dim sum, peking duck and roast goose in between marathon shopping.

I’m sure though that Hong Kong isn’t for everyone.  Some may complain about the pollution or the cramped living spaces.  I know for certain my husband doesn’t get the same thrill when setting foot in a new mall and he makes numerous excuses when I ask him to come shopping with me.

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Movida’s Braised Beef Cheek in Pedro Ximenez on Cauliflower Puree

November 8, 2010 by trissalicious

Braised Beef Cheeks with Pedro Ximenez Sherry and Cauliflower Puree

Braised Beef Cheeks with Pedro Ximenez Sherry and Cauliflower Puree

Patience has never been my strong point.  When I want things done, I want it straight away and a few years ago I realized my husband just doesn’t work on the same time zone as I do.

Every Monday night I used to ask “Can you take the trash out?”

“Yes.”  He would reply.

Five minutes later he still hadn’t done so.  “I thought you were going to take the trash out?” I would remind him.

Finally, one day, fed up with my nagging he said “When I say I’ll take out the trash, I’ll take it out when I want to, if you can’t wait, then take the trash out yourself.”

Hmph!  Since then, I haven’t bugged him about the trash (well, or any other house chores really) because given a choice between doing it myself or having him do it “on his own time”, I’d rather wait.

On my recent Melbourne trip I was pleased to discover that Movida was a few steps away from my hotel.  I managed to sneak in a lunch and had (among other things) the slowly braised beef cheek (Carrillera De Buey).  What can I say?  Here was a well-marbled piece of meat, covered in a sticky, glossy Pedro Ximenez Sherry sauce and served with the creamiest cauliflower puree.

When I got back to Sydney I raved about the dish to my husband and I promised to make it for him after I found the recipe in the Movida Rustica cookbook.

For a number of days he’d ask “When am I going to try the Movida beef cheeks?”

“Soon.”  I said.

The other day he said “Are you ever going to make the beef cheeks?  I’m beginning to doubt that I’ll ever get to taste them!”

Here was my chance.

“When I say that I’m going to make the beef cheeks, I’ll make it when I want to.  If you can’t wait, then make the beef cheeks yourself!”

Hmph!

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Posted in Book Reviews, Cook, Eat | Tagged , , , , , , | 57 Comments »

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