Bolognese Sauce

27 May 2007

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Butter
Half onion, chopped finely
1 celery stalk, chopped finely
1 carrot, chopped finely
1 sprig fresh rosemary (the dry ones don't quite add the freshness)
150g minced pork
150g minced beef
3/4 cup white wine
2 cups canned tomato puree (some brands require extra sugar as they maybe abit sour)
1 tablespoon chilli powder
5 basil leaves

1. In a hot saucepan melt butter with the olive oil, and add carrots, onions, celery, and chili powder. Cook the ingredients on medium heat until they are soft. Add sprig of rosemary.

2. Add minced beef and pork and cook until golden brown. Remove rosemary sprig and add white wine. Let reduce.

3. Add puree tomatoes and simmer on low heat for 1 hour. Add basil leaves and salt to season. Serve on top of choice of pasta with liberal amounts of cheese on top.


This sauce isn't an original and it comes from David Rocco (check out www.davidrocco.com) but I really like it and it turns out so well and is so easy to make, that I hope it can convince everyone that there's nothing tough about making great tasting, healthy authentic Italian food, even as simple as a classic bolognese. It can be paired with any type of pasta, but of course spaghetti lets you twirl it up your fork. I've modified it abit to make it easier so please enjoy!

Buffets Galore

4th March 2007

The buffet club had a real enjoyable outing to Honjin Japanese Restaurant at Chow House, 140 Robinson Road. The prices were reasonable due to the 1 for 1 offer and the quality was above average. Service was prompt and the staff were polite and cheerful. Amongst the 8 of us, we polished away 35 Kani Temakis and 36 Tempura Prawns. The buffet array was not as wide as other restaurants, but the well-cooked food made up for the less choice. I'd strongly reccommend Honjin, and the softshell crab, the sashimi and the garlic beef. The paper steamboat was nothing special and the yakitori also left abit to be desired. Otherwise, this buffet club outing was very throughly satisfying. 3.5 stars out of 5.

I must be crazy to have my second buffet in two days but the occasion was too good to pass up. To celebrate my results in the recent GCE A Levels, I decided to treat my family to dinner at Fullerton Hotel. The Town Restaurant international buffet features a wide range of food from seafood to French desserts. The Chinese New Year special however, proved to be more a money making scheme than anything really substantial. Still, my family enjoyed the fresh seafood. Prawns and oysters were fresh and the smoked salmon was perfect. I was disappointed however, with the scallops and the crayfish which did not taste as fresh. Another demerit of the dinner was the poor representation of Chinese food and the main course spread was far below expectations and could easily be bettered by Mandarin hotel's Triple 3 restaurant.

The dessert spread was amazing however. The French cakes were delectable treats and the Mixed Berry Crumble drizzled with a rich vanilla sauce was delicious. One item that stood out for me for the Grand Marnier Chocolate Soup served in espresso cups. The rich taste of the Grand Marnier was complement by the white chocolate and almond flakes. The dessert selection indeed is one of the best I've encountered so far and made up for the lacklustre main course spread.

The highlight of the night perhaps was the fireworks from the Chinese New Year celebrations going on at the River Hongbao. The maitre'd was quick to announce the fireworks display to the patrons and even directed them out to the terrace to view the display. Watching fireworks there with my family was the most beautiful thing. It really topped up a truly wonderful night. The Fullerton is a beautiful hotel set alongside the beautiful riverside and is a great dining experience. I'd still reccommend the buffet dinner at Town, which is priced at $48+++ on regular days which is a much better bargain than with the Chinese New Year extravagance.

Apple Cherry Apricot and Almond Loaf

26th February 2007

½ cup oats
275ml milk
1½ plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
70g dried apples
½ cup chopped almonds
100g dried cherries
1 egg, whisked
1/3 cup honey
½ cup brown sugar

1. Soak the ½ cup of oats in the milk for at least ten minutes so the oats can soak up the milk
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and add to this the dried apple, chopped almonds and dried cherries. Add the whisked egg to bind the mixture together.
3. Add the honey and brown sugar and mix lightly before add the oat and milk mixture then mix again to combine well into a batter. Take care not to mix too much if not the batter will become heavy.
4. Line a medium sized bread tin with baking paper and pour batter in, smooth surface to ensure even baking then bake for about 40 minutes or until set at 180˚C.

This bread is so simple to make and what better way to start a day than with a fragrant, fresh loaf of bread! It doesn't even require yeast for troublesome rising or a cumbersome breadmaker. This is really such a no-brainer that I have little much to add, except that with regards the wetness of the batter, one should be flexible enough to gauge when to add more flour or add less milk so the batter is not too wet. Remember this is bread, not a cake: the batter should be sticky yet wet enough to move easily. Credits go to Bill Granger for some pictures and the basic recipe which i improvised and tweaked. I hope the easiness of this recipe will encourage some of you to try it out. Do let me know how your loaf turns out! I'd suggest serving this with some great cream cheese or butter.

Easy Bread & Butter Pudding

25th February 2007

10 slices bread, crust removed
Butter for spreading
Your choice of marmalade/nutella/good fruit preserve
3 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sugar for sprinkling
Cinnamon and nutmeg powder for dusting

1. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees celcus. Spread one side of 5 bread slices with butter and the remaining 5 with th spread of your choice as indicated above.
2. Sandwich the bread together, one buttered side with one spread with the other spread. Cut each sandwich into 3 slices.
3. Place these strips into a 4 cup capacity ovenproof dish (if you should prefer smaller serving portions, split them equally in whatever other dish available) in a rough criss-cross pattern.
4. Place milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and whisk to combine, then pour this mixture all over strips of bread in the bowl. Do not be alarmed if the mixture appears too much for much of it will be soaked into the bread in time. If the dish is filled to capacity, wait awhile then top up with remaining liquid.
5. Sprinkle the extra sugar over the top and dust with cinnamon and nutmeg (not too much since it may overwhelm the taste) and place dish in a baking tray filled up with enough hot water to come halfway up the side of your dish.
6. Bake for 1h 5 min till the pudding is set and serve warm with custard or icecream.

I have not many tips to add other than this is really simple and it'll be the best way to impress a date or guests. Just remember presentation is the key so for an extra wow, plate up portions of steaming hot pudding drizzled with custard and dust with chocolate powder for an extra chocolately taste. Enjoy!

Trip to Adelaide

24th February 2007

This post isn't about something new, for I came back from Adelaide quite a while back but i just didn't have the time nor the patience to write about it. I regret that I did not have any pictures of the super food that I ate in Adelaide. While the temperature was searing hot (41 degrees), I must say looking at the fresh produce at Central Market and having great meals did make up for the sweltering temperatures. We seemed to eat a great excess of Italian food which while was very good, did weigh in very heavily on the palate after awhile. Wine country in South Australia is the Barossa Valley, a beautiful area of sprawling vineyards and other farms, home to the famous Maggie Beer Farm and the Wolf Blass Winery and of course, the Jacobs Creek Estates (which no doubt will excite many a Singaporean). The only difference between Barossa and France was probably the temperature, the price of the wine and the absence of snooty French men. Still remarkably enjoyable I should add. Adelaide probably isn't the most thrilling place to have a holiday, but it does provide some solace from life and was most refreshing in many ways.

These chocolate chip cookies were made some time back and enjoyed with a glass of fresh milk. I find that sometimes its ok to add more chocolate chips into the cookies and when they clump together, some melt to produce nice chewy moist bits within the cookies itself. These weren't as soft as the Triple Chocolate Chip cookies that I usually make, but I felt there was no harm in having a few crunchy cookies here and there. These are perfect for making in large batches then storing in any place for easy access when working or when the hunger gnaws at you. I think I'm going to try to make a souffle soon but expect an easy Bread and Butter Pudding recipe soon!

Molten Lava Cakes

23rd February 2007

These cakes were made for a Singles Dinner on Valentines Day this year. I hoped that the chocolate indulgence would perhaps help everyone momentarily forget that they were still single! That aside these cakes proved rather easy to make and perhaps the most difficult part of the recipe was finding the ramekins to bake the cakes in! Pantry Magic down at Chip Bee Gardens did have a nice range of porcelain ribbed ramekins of perfect size. These however, were out of stock and I had no choice but to purchase the remaining three. The story went that their ramekins were so popular since no where else sold them and everyone had been coming in to grab themselves a few. Cheats! Haha for I found more at Sia Huat at Temple Street. That shop is a heaven for bakeware/cookware and prices are reasonable too.

6 ounces squares bittersweet chocolate
2 ounces squares semisweet chocolate
10 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Kahlua

1. Grease 6 ramekins. Melt the chocolates and butter over a waterbath.
2. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and Kahlua.
3. Divide the batter evenly among the ramekins. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes at 218˚C
4. The edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.

I served my cakes with regular Vanilla ice-cream and a strawberry on top. I had orignally planned to make a strawberry coulis to drizzle over the ice-cream but I ran out of time. Other ways of serving the cake could be simply flavoured whipped cream and strawberries. A variation to the regular strawberry could be strawberries stewed in balsamic vinegar for a nice tangy flavour, champagne soaked mixed berries. I reccommend that these cakes be served with fruit that gives a bit of sourness and crunch to balance out the otherwise heavy and sweet cake. Serve these cakes immediately after cooking otherwise the inside may continue to cook and you'd be left with little 'lava'. Be careful not to set the temperature too high as well, if not the cake may begin to burn on the top or worse still, may burst.

facelift

As you can see, reconstruction of my blog is underway and I hope to make it look real spiffy. So here it comes! Expect the rest in a few days.