Food is the soul that feeds the spirit!

Food is the soul that feeds the spirit!
Colors of green, red, yellow, purple....

Monday, April 9, 2012

New Adventures!

Ha! I did venture into some new dishes these past months. First up, a chicken fricasse with leeks, cream and white wine. And a basil and semi dried tomatoes pasta dish. Very simple but goes well with the heaviness of the other dishes. Made a greek salad as well..now I know why they dribble the feta cheese when ready to serve, and not toss it all up, which is what I did! The feta cheese became a bits of wet cheese and well, didn't look too presentable but Hashim loved it anyway.

I am going through bouts of despair at my job and sprinkling moments of joy, delight and hope of training to be a chef. Who cares about bloody expats and idiotic jobs for equally boring engineers. My company is  absolutely the most boring place to work for...uninspiring products, poor talent and atrocious processes. I might be better off slaving in a hot kitchen surrounded by the things that I love and find inspiration from... My soul breathe and live from any form of creative spirit, be it music, art, food, fashion. I often beat myself up as to why I am where I am. I hate it to the core and find no joy in what I am doing. On the other hand, beauty inspires me, uplifts my jaded spirit and provide endless possibilities in my mind. Beauty in the shape of a beautifully crafted dish, a symphony of tastes, a colourful and well tailored garment, a painting that evokes emotions...stuff like that makes me want to live and be alive.

Oh man. My only solace is to keep cooking...and doing little things to keep my spirits alive. I made a beouf bouguignon again but due to a lack of time in the oven (need 3 hrs!) and wrong type of stock (only Jones the Grocer...), it didn't turn out as thick and robust as I would like. But its time to move away from this dish as I made it so many times. Should try doing a coq au vin or a veal dish. Or maybe a roast lamb from the Cumulus cookbook. Its a beautiful cookbook with very elegant ingredients. Very refine dining at its best. Not sure if it should even be replicated at home! I can't emulate the physical experience to match the elegance of the dishes....

We will be having a seafood lunch this Sunday. Thanks to my colleague's recommendation of a seafood wholesaler in Woodlands. Three large mackerel for SGD10? Unbelievable. Bought mussels, cod and salmon to last us for months. I will be making a mussel with pasta and white wine sauce, grilled mackerel with tomatoes and capers and maybe a black sea bass stew. Can't wait for the weekend to come. I don't give a shit for my work!

Help, anyone wants to hire a amateur chef, waiter, maitre'd for the same salary? Who will be that crazy? I am praying for a sponsor to send me to chef school....:-O

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Slice That Became a Pie!

I need a weighing scale.

We had friends over for dinner and as usual, its a perfect opportunity to try my hand on a few new recipes. I always make it a point to plan dishes that compliment each other in tastes. It should not cause a cacophony of confusion in your taste buds but eases you on a sweet and slow journey of discovery. Good food must create a memory in your head. Whether its an explosion of richness or a wonderful balance of flavors, every dish should give you lasting impressions.

After flipping through four cookbooks, I decided on the following:

Pork ribs in red wine stew
Chicken fricasse with red cabbage
Grilled mackerel
Creamed spinach
Zucchini slice
Pasta in green olive sauce

Conclusion: Julia Child's recipes are for those who have an entire day to perfect one dish...:-) Her recipes are flawless but incredibly laborious!

I have never done the fricasse and zucchini slice before. The ficasse turned out very well. The dish was almost emptied out and the red cabbage has completely melted into a dark and rich mass of gooey goodness. The only mistake I made was the pan I used was not suitable for pan frying the chicken till it turns brown. Cheap Ikea stainless steel saucepan. The skin sticked to the bottom of the pan and never came off. Even after de-glazing with red wine and simmering for a while. It transformed into a burnt crust basically. The fault lies with the quality of the pan. I need a new 30 cm covered non-stick saucepan. TANGS, here I come.

Well, the zucchini slice was a bit of an interesting twist. Its meant to be a slice, like a stacked filo pastry. I made a mistake of not weighing out the flour and simply estimated. It wasn't enough and the slice collapsed into a moist pie, much like a shepered's pie. After 15 mins in the oven, it was not solidfying enough and was actually bubbling. Oh crap, I might have to forego that dish and not serve it out if it becomes a disaster. After 30 mins, it was cooked with a slight burnt crust on top. Hey. maybe it isn't so bad. Worse comes to worse, it will just be a normal pie. I added another 10 mins of cooking and when I took it out of the oven, it looks really nice, like a professional pie!

I served it out and believe it or not, everyone loves it. I couldn't believe my luck in turning a disaster into a triumph. Woo hoo, I should be more confident of myself going forward.

Food was emptied out. I was really happy. And my other half said I have progressed so much in my cooking skills I should seriously do something about it...

As always, thanks to my two sous chefs. Without their sweet little help, I wouldn't have been able to finish everything in time.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

A Living Room

Wow. Its been 4 months since I last blogged. It wasn't that my love for food has died. Maybe I was lazy? But one thing I have learnt for sure, is that food is meaningless if you are unhappy. The best food came out of chefs who are smiling. Your mood affects the outcome of your food. When you spirits are up and you are enjoying the cooking process, all the favours and portions will come together, like a well conducted symphony. I am sure you have never seen a cranky and grouchy conductor. A great conductor simply guide and glide with the music that comes from his effortless hands.

In these 4 months, I did make a few memorable dishes....pork ribs in red wine sauce, expanded my pasta repertoire to include mussels vongole, pasta with bread crumbs, anchovies and olives, black sea bass in tomatoes...all because of a brand new cookbook by Mario Batali! Yeah. His recipes are really simple and the results are always spectacular. And of course, I bought Marcella Harzan, a guru of Italian cooking. Her cookbooks are similar to Julia Child's - no pictures! But chokeful of detailed instructions and tips. I once made a potato soup from scratch and I know her recipes are fail proof.

We discovered a little bistro tucked away in Joo Chiat, which we passed by on numerous occasions because it didn't look unique or different from the tons of restaurants/eateries lining Joo Chiat. Well, due to recent physical inconvenience, we happened to walk into it one rainy afternoon. And we have been back ever since. They serve the best cheesecakes ever, yes, better than Cheesecake Cafe! Its creamy and delicious, with fresh spin on traditional flavours, including (burp) durian!

Their lunch and dinner menu impresses too. Had a pizza and pasta, plus beef stew one Suhday afternoon and the food was really good and affordable. They won't charge you Orchard Road prices. Pizza was thin and crispy with fresh toppings. The sausage and cream pasta was heavenly without being cloying. Beef stew was probably a Eastern European version with cabbage and spices. I expected a French version, since I could make one on my own. But it was a nice surprise. And ladies, they serve over 25 types of tea with exotic combinations like rasberry, hibiscus, cranberry, lemon, myrtle, echinecea, passionfruit, lavender etc. I have ordered a different tea every single time.

But the best part has yet to come - being in the restaurant is like being in your own living room. Cosy, comfortable with warm and personal service. Big day beds with lots of cushions and soft decor makes the place so inviting you really feel like falling asleep in. And you definitely do not want to leave. Cannice and her team have done a fantastic job in creating a little 'home' in Joo Chiat.

Chezcake Bistro it is. Check it out.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Pasta

Whoa, its been 3 months since I blogged....think I was busy with work, training for my half marathon. In between I did have some interesting adventures but all in all, quiet and unremarkable.

M has a passion for cooking, honed from her stint at Olio Dome where she was waitressing a long time back. Its nice to hang around with someone who loves food as much as I do. We have been comparing notes on Julia Child, complete with a trip to Tanglin supermarket. I wanted to show her where are all the fresh ingredients, as well as to convince her why its important to use only the best. One must pick up good habits when learning to cook and not go the lazy, shortcut way of using processed or packaged stuff. I hope she agrees... :-)

I got myself two Italian cookbooks. Well, I needed a fresh perspective with pasta. Quite sick of my usual recipe of sausages, bell peppers, or a simple mushroom, garlic and chili aglio olio. Mario Batali did not disappoint me! Am trying out a spaghetti with olives, anchovies and breadcrumbs, as well as a pork rib stew in tomatoes and red wine. The kitchen is smelling so good now!

Still sick from another bout of sinustis, taking anti biotics and generally no appetite. Hopefully tonights dinner will do some wonders as I missed my runs last week. What a bummer. I hate it, especially since I am running above target now. God, I would be so disappointed if I have to restart my training again.

Trick for priming the body for intensive training - vitc c, multivits, glucosamine and lots and lots of healthy food laden with protein.

Wish me luck.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Beouf Bouguignon

I did it! I finally made a dish out of Julia Child's cookbook and what a classic French dish this is! Yup, I did make some mistakes (hell, its the first time!), but it turned out amazing. I think I got it 80% right, which is not bad really.

All aspiring chefs be warned - French cooking is laborious. It took me 5 hours to put together 3 dishes: beouf bouguignon, gratin dauphinois (potato gratin) and a morroccan couscous. Her recipes are very precise and if you think some steps are illogical, you will realise later they are there for a reason. For example, she asked that beef cubes (rump steak cut) be cut into 2 inches size. I bought 880g of meat but was unsure it will feed two very hungry men, so I decided to cut them a little smaller. You are suppose to brown the meat cube by cube in the bacon fat. Eh I was my usual impatient self and made a mistake of shoving all the meat into the casserole. Well, as many experience chefs will tell you, it causes the meat juices to run and not all the meat was browned evenly. After 3 hrs of stewing in the oven at 190 degrees celsius, the meat is so soft it literally falls apart. So, had I cut them into 2 inches size and brown them evenly, it will not be so. It was kind of nice to eat broken pieces of beef but of course, it will be most ideal to serve them upright and complete.

When buying ingredients for this dish, follow exactly what she states. I bought a good bottle of South African cabernet sauvignon. It must be young, but as you know, Julia has expensive wine taste which I cannot afford - Bordeaux St Emillion..... Good beef stock from Jones the Grocer, french butter, chunck of bacon. The Le Creuset casserole was such a good investment. It browns meat to a nice crisp and holds heat evenly. And it cleans out easily!

The potato gratin was really easy to make. But I had to dry each slice of potato, just like the beef cubes. Layer and add cheese and butter. I grated two types of Swiss cheese - Gruyere and Edmenthal. Sprinkle salt and pepper, pour boiling milk over, stuff it into the oven at 220 degrees celsius and voila, its ready in 45 mins. Both dishes were so good it was cleaned out completely. I was complimented several times and that made me happy. What is most gratifying to know is that I can do a pressure test and get it about 80 - 90% right. Only chefs with talent could achieve that.  If you don't know what a pressure test is, you should watch the Masterchef and Junior Masterchef series. You are basically given an hour to follow a recipe and reproduce the dish in exactation.

Which recipe next? Fish? Chicken? Hmmmmm.....

I should seriously consider giving up my job. A years tuition at Culinary Institute of America costs USD200,000. Must buy lottery.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Daniel Boulud

OK I finally had a chance to dine in a restaurant helmed by a Michelin star chef. Singapore happen to have not one but four of such restaurants. Wolfgang Puck, Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon.

DB is easily the most affordable of the lot. At Wolfgang Puck, each dish starts at SGD100... Gulp. Dinner for two would mean almost SGD1,000. That's a bit insane don't you think? Now I understand why food afficiandos save up to eat at ridiculously priced but world's best restaurants. I can understand the orgasmic experience of dining in one of these but eh, I believe there is great food out there without paying through your nose.

We had two starters, two mains and cocktails. Bill came up to SGD230. That's not too bad. The oysters were a tad too small. Well its Singapore, not Florida! But it was fresh and pairs perfectly with two types of dipping sauces.

The platter of terrine, cured meat and toasted bread was really good. Terrine is very fresh and flavorful. The cured meats were excellent. And the breads? I must admit I love the sourdough...!

Next was the venison ragout with shell pasta and slow oven baked ocean trout. The ragout was a knockout - rich and robust with hints of red wine and herbs. The trout was soft and tender, atop a mix of pea mint and horseradish sauce.

The restaurant has three sittings and even at the second sitting, it was very busy. But it died down at around 8 pm and became enjoyable after that. Most diners order the signature DB burger, which we probably should. But why waste a nice dinner over a burger? And it was a birthday dinner.

I hope V enjoyed it. He is so fussy about food and critical of restaurants in Singapore. I have to agree with him. The best we have been is in HK. Impeccable service. And I mean absolutely flawless. Here they try but you know its never going to be amazing.

Bon appetit!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Crabs

I have not eaten crabs or have a decadent seafood meal for quite a while. Fate has it that I will get a chance to savour this delicacy, which I am not particularly crazy about. I am ambivalent about seafood, especially crabs, prawns, abalone, etc because I have a mild allergy to crustaceans. The allergy rears its ugly head as I get older. Maybe my body is getting cranky? So seafood does not feature much in my diet, except fish, although I seriously love prawn noodles and I know I can make a mean one. We eat lots of omega rich fish at home - salmon, sea bass, cod, mackerel...They are pricier than the usual fishes in the market but its very nutritious and delicious. You do not need alot of fancy work to prepare such fishes. A simple grill or pan fry with a squeeze of lemon juice will work.

So off we went to Mellben Seafood at Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 which I heard was famous for its crab bee hoon. Well, my knowledge of good eating places for crabs is limited to the one down the street I live - Eng Seng at Joo Chiat Place, and the ubiqutious No Signboard, Jumbo, Long Beach... Ang Mo Kio is really the boonies for me so I was looking forward to be surprised.

And I was more than surprised. To be honest, it was the best crab meal I have ever had. The crab stock that comes with the bee hoon is milky, robust and so flavourful! Its simply heaven! They serve the bee hoon in a bowl on the side, as well as an extra bowl of crab stock. This is in addition to the main course which is of course a mid size crab in a claypot filled to the brim with the same stuff. I am a Cantonese so when it comes to good soup, I can recognise one right away. And this is AWESOME! I was happily slurping and enjoying each mouthful. But the best has yet to come...

The butter crab is so divine.....silky smooth, creamy buttery sauce much like liquid gold! Its probably similar to a French butter sauce. Everyone at the table was lapping up every single drop with chunks of man tou. If they could lick off the plate, they would!

And the last dish was the perfect finish to a fine meal. Crabs crusted with salted egg yolk. It takes great skill to fry crabs with salted egg yolk as it can burn easily since there is no liquid to create a barrier. But the chef demonstrated such delicate skill - the crab was well coated and the crust was delicious, with a hint of honey to help caramelise and bind the salted egg yolk.

My head and palate were bursting with symphonies throughout the entire meal. Folks, its definitely worth a try. There are 7 of us, - three crab dishes plus four other main dishes comes up to SGD239. Good value for money!