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Minggu, 30 November 2008

A Port Primer

View from Taylor Fladgate
A few years ago I wrote a little guide to Portuguese wine. At the time I drank Ruby Port on occasion, but really didn't know anything about Portuguese table wines or Port. As part of my research I tried plenty of Portuguese table wines and found them to be tremendously accessible--inexpensive, distinctive and food friendly. Given the budget of the project I didn't get to try as much Port as I would have liked, but this year I got to try plenty including some at Taylor Fladgate's scenic tasting room, overlooking the Douro.

What is Port?
Port is a delicious treat. It's a fortified wine that can be served with cheese, fruit, nuts, cake or chocolate but frankly, it's wonderful on its own. It's also terrific for cooking and making sauces. Tawny Port, either chilled or at room temperature can be served as an aperitif or as a dessert wine. Because once opened, a bottle of Port keeps longer than a typical bottle of wine, it's a lasting luxury and makes a wonderful gift.

How is Port made?
Port is wine made of a blend of several different grapes, each adds aroma, color, body, flavor or a combination thereof. To be called Port, it must be made in Portugal, though there are "Port style" wines made in Australia and the US. Grapes are grown on the steep hillsides of the Douro region where narrow terraces are planted with vines. The fruit was traditionally crushed by foot, which is gentler and prevented the seeds from being crushed and making the wine too tannic or bitter.

A Short History of Port
Until the 1950’s the wine was transported via flat bottom boats across the Douro river to warehouses called lodges. Now the wine is blended and aged at the winery, but traditionally wine was fermented at the Port lodges in the upper Douro valley and then shipped to the cooler the city of Oporto for aging and blending before being exported. In some ways, Port is as much a British wine as it is Portuguese, the fortified style was intended to make it more stable so it could be easily shipped to England. By the eighteenth century the British established most of the famous Port brands that still exist today. Had it not been for high tariffs on French wine, Port as we know it, might not exist.

The port lexicon can be confusing, but here are the rudimentary basics you need to know plus some of my favorite picks in the Reserve and 10 and 20 year Tawny categories:

Ruby Port is indeed ruby red and the least expensive, fruity style. It is aged 2 to 3 years only.

Reserve Ports are non-vintage but aged up to 5 years in wood. They are young, sweet and fruity but more sophisticated than typical Ruby Ports. Many Port producers have special brand names for their Reserve Ports such as Graham's Six Grapes or Fonseca's Bin 27. Reserve Ports can be a great value, I particularly like the Smith Woodhouse Port Lodge Reserve (about $20), it's rich and smooth, with luscious ripe fruit and a very long finish. In the refrigerator once opened they will last from a couple of weeks up to 4 months.

Tawny Port is easy to identify because of its tawny color. It can be non-vintage, aged, or vintage also known as colheita. For a Port to be colheita it must be from a single year that is considered exceptional. Aged Tawny Port can be 10, 20, 30 or 40 years old. Dow's 10 year (about $30) has lovely toffee and cider notes, it's wonderful chilled. Taylor Fladgate 10 year (about $30) is exceptional with caramel and apricot aromas. I also like Graham's 20 year (about $50) which has notes of coffee, honey and toasted nuts. These wines have already been aged and are meant to be drunk right away, they will not continue to improve in the bottle. If kept in the refrigerator once opened they will keep several months up to one year.

Vintage Port spends 2 -3 years in wood and then is aged 10 - 30 years. Vintage Port is only about 1 - 2% of all Port and is limited to the best years that the Port producers (also called shippers) "declare."

Of course the best way to decide which Port you like is to try them. Each of the major Port producer has a different style. Top quality brands to try include Dow's, Fonseca, Graham's, Niepoort, Sandeman, Smith Woodhouse, Taylor Fladgate and Warre's.

Eng Kee 容记 .......... Fried Chicken Wings Expert




About 3.5 hours after my afternoon buffet with my munching mates, we are here in Commonwealth Crescent to satisfy my curiousity. I was puzzled the last time I was here and saw the line of people queuing for fried bee hoon with chicken wings and other processed food (Taiwanese sausage, luncheon meat, fish cake etc.) What's the draw! 

The line of people at Eng Kee 容记 .........


Here's what we had. Fried Bee Hoon, chicken wings, cabbage. I purposely left out the luncheon meat and wu xiang out of the picture. Nothing special ..........


So the highlight here is the FRIED CHICKEN WINGS! Looks ordinary, but it's good stuff. The kitchen just churn out the fried chicken non-stop. It’s common for every order to be 10 or more chicken wings. We had an order of 10 chicken wings too. Although we weren't too hungry after our afternoon tea buffet, we still managed to whack all 10 of the chicken wings .........



Cost : about S$5 per person.

Address : Blk 117, Commonwealth Crescent

Country : Singapore

Brasserie La Saveurs @ St. Regis .......... Afternoon Tea



I've met up with a few friends at Brasserie La Saveurs at St. Regis for a Saturday afternoon tea before doing some shopping in Orchard. La Saveurs has a comfortable and opulent setting. The ceiling is nicely decorated with colored glass of floral motifs that allow light to pass through. You'll not miss the few huge chandeliers on the ceiling. The ambience of the place is definitely fitting for a 6 star hotel.



There are not many people in La Saveur when we were there. However, I was disappointed in the service that was provided. For a 6 star hotel, the service staff were not attentive enough. We ordered 3 pots of different teas. One of the service staff actually used the same tea strainer to pour all our teas. If they were properly trained they will have poured the tea with the individual strainers that come with each pot. Hmmm...... I just let it go as we were quite done with the tea anyway. Somehow I felt that the service is not as good and passionate compared to my Ritz Carlton Chihuly lounge tea time experience.

However, the tea breads and minature pastries saved the day for La Saveur. They're quite good!

The St. Regis Afternoon Tea Menu consist of :

1) A Tier - Freshly baked scones with cream. Assorted Finger Sandwiches.

The freshly baked scones with cream was good ...........


The assorted sanwiches .........



2) A little Indulgence - Selection of Tea breads, Miniature Pastries and Assorted Fresh Fruits. 

This is the spread that made my day here. The creativity a good mix of fruits and sweet mousse  tickled my taste buds. I'll show you a few that I liked best ........



The strawberry tart ........



The raspberry tart with mini macarons ..........



The Assorted fruits shortbread ..........



The cookies with crispy corn flakes .........



3) Your Choice of One Hot Savory - You can choose one out of the four. Don't expect too much for this. The portion is mini (is there a smaller font for the word mini that I can use and you can still see?) .........

Quiche of the Day .........



Dim sum of the Day ..........



Curry Puff. I chose this one....... sssh don't tell any one but I think Old Chang Kee one is bigger and better ..........



There's also the chicken and beef satay that we did not order.

The following Shrimp Fried Rice is something out of the menu which we had ordered out of a little surge of gluttony from one of my munching mates. But there's no regret. It taste good!


For S$5 more you can have a glass of Rose Moet and Chandon champagne. 

Cost : S$45+++ without champagne (S$50+++ with a glass of Rose Moet and Chandon champagne)

Address : 29 Tanglin Road, The St. Regis

Country : Singapore

Sabtu, 29 November 2008

Black Forest Tart, and my first award!


I'm kind of excited about this, and I have to thank Priscilla, from Priscilla Bakes for this cute award! I strongly recommend her blog for any of you baking fans, she's got some great recipes, and beautiful pictures to go with them, so fun!


So, I'd like to pass this on to Rebecca's Sugarbliss etc blog, which is an awesome blog with very fun and creative ideas for you fellow bakers.


I'd also like to pass this one to Melanie, at My Kitchen Cafe (link on side). I check her blog regularly for fun and family friendly recipes, and I love it!

Okay, now for the food! I LOVE Christmas time because it means Christmas FOOD! There is nothing better then spending a cold afternoon in the kitchen baking goods while the rich aroma fills your home. Mmmm, magic!







This was my first holiday endeavor, which I made for my husband's birthday. He is a fan of anything chocolate, especially when it includes cherries. And I don't know what it is about tarts, but I really love them. They are a bit denser and more concentrated in flavor then a pie, and in a way they remind me of a big cookie! This was a lot of fun to make, and as you can see, it doesn't come out too hard on the eyes either!
If you haven't bought a tart pan yet, be sure to get one with a removable bottom, it will make your life so much easier! Also, if you ever have a pastry that requires this kind of topping that you drizzle, a little trick I discovered is to get a disposable pastry bag, which are really cheap at the craft store, or just a plastic bag, fill it with your topping, snip off the very tip and pipe it on. This way it comes out looking a lot more uniform and you don't run the risk of clumps.
Also, this tart will be the very best if served the day you make it.
Ingredients
1 -1/4 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cups butter melted
filling:
1/2 cup butter
6 squares (1 ounce each) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
2/3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cups all purpose flour
topping:
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
2 squares (1 ounce each) semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1 TB heavy whipping cream
Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine wafer crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a lightly greased 11-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate; stir until smooth. Cool for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until thickened, about 4 minutes. Blend in chocolate mixture. Add flour, mix well.
3. Pour into crust; spread evenly. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
4. Spread pie filling over the top. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate and cream. Microwave on high for 20-30 seconds or until chocolate is melted; stir until smooth. Cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over tart. Chill until set.
12 servings

Jumat, 28 November 2008








aaahhhhh...the THANKSIVING FEAST...

is this the perfect plate of homemade goodness or WHAT !!!...





perfect...inside and out is fully cooked and really moist...each slice has the right ratio of turkey to stuffing....a must in the thankgiving feast.....







so the cheeses cloth comes off to unviel a beautifully browned exterior....can't wait to see whats inside......






out of the oven at 155 degrees

waiting to reach 160-165 degrees

Masazushi 小尊政寿司 .......... Otaru-Hokkaido, Japan

Masazushi is one of the best sushi place if you're for one to whet your appetite. Service is tip top and you get your sushi prepare right in front of you by one of the sushi chef at the bar.

The photo below shows a piece of otoro Premium Tuna Sushi (about S$15 per piece) that my friend had ordered ...............



The photo above shows the Premium Tuna Sushi (about S$15 per piece) that my friend had ordered.

Sushi Chef, Shinya san is preparing our sushi for us ...............





Cost : about 6000 yen per person (if you just going for a touch and go)

Website : http://www.masazushi.co.jp/framepage1.htm

Good Food Secrets in Commonwealth Crescent 十六楼


Commonwealth Crescent is a little secluded area of older HDB flats. To some of the older generation Singaporeans, this place is known as "16 storeys", 十六楼, as it is populated with blocks of 16 storey HDB flats which marks an era of HDB public housing about 40 years ago. (for the nonSingaporeans, HDB is Housing Development Board). Although secluded, this little place has some good food "secrets". 

1) Two Chefs Eating Place 双厨菜馆 (Commonwealth Crescent, Blk 116)



"Chi Char" 煮 炒 is a colloqial terminology that literally means "Cook and Fried". It is a term used to describe a budget restaurant, usually of Cantonese origin. A "Chi Char" place is where families will gather for a good dinner and sparing the extra cost for ambience and service. It is also a place for takeaways. Although we're ging budget here, some Chi char place can really whip up a storm that will leave you salivating for more. 

Two Chefs Eating Place 双厨菜馆 is one of the eating place that can be categorized as a typical "Chi Char" 煮 炒 place. This "Chi Char" place that is already popular and it only became even more crowded after being featured as one of the best "Chi Char" place in the Sunday Times. 

Here's what I had for my weekday dinner with my wife.  The hor fun is quite normal but both my wife and I liked the salted fish fried rice 咸鱼炒饭 and the Honey Pork Rib 蜜汁排骨.

This is only a reconnaissance trip so we only ordered simple fare to fill the stomach. I'll reveal some of their more popular dishes after I'm going dinner this coming Sunday.

The salted fish fried rice 咸鱼炒饭 (S$3.50) with the thicker slices of salted fish strips ..........


Honey Pork Rib 蜜汁排骨 (S$8) with the big slices of fried shalots. The meat is tender and glazed with honey. The shalots makes this dish very tasty. This is not their popular dish and it is already so satisfying. I can't wait till this Sunday evening ........



2) Eng Kee 容记 (Commonwealth Crescent, Blk 117)



I'm wondering about the reason behind the long queue that the stall attracts. I took a closer look and found that they are actually selling fried bee hoon and normal fare (at least it looks normal to me) that compliments the bee hoon. There's fried chicken wings, Taiwanese sausages and so on. The stall has a Makansutra symbol that they print on their signboard. I'm really curious that the normal fare that they sell is able to attract such a line of people. I will find time to eat at this place some time in the near future.

Country : Singapore

Rabu, 26 November 2008

Thanksgiving table

On the eve of Thanksgiving I'm pretty sure you've already figured out what you are cooking or eating tomorrow, if you haven't, you could check out my post on Bay Area Bites with links to three "winning" recipes.

The reason I haven't been posting here very frequently is that I've been doing a lot of recipe development, 22 new recipes to be exact and before that I completed 30 more recipes for another client. I'm terribly sorry the recipes aren't available yet, because a number of them are really perfect for Thanksgiving and I plan on serving two of them tomorrow. I promise to share them as soon as I can.

In the meantime, here are links to two very useful "before and after" Thanksgiving links I think you'll enjoy:

Fine Cooking to the Rescue! Emergency Fixes for the Top Ten Thanksgiving Disasters

Gourmet's Delicious Uses for Leftover Turkey

Finally, don't forget! Come see me at the Union Square Williams-Sonoma store in San Francisco on Saturday from noon to 2 pm. I'll be signing my new book and sharing delicious samples.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Amy

Selasa, 25 November 2008

Meet me at Union Square?

New Flavors for Appetizers


This Saturday, November 29th I'll be at the Union Square Williams-Sonoma store signing my brand new cookbook, New Flavors for Appetizers and doing a little demo of a super easy recipe--three ingredients and no cooking!

The book features recipes that are organized seasonally and for the most part, take very little effort to make but use interesting and exciting ingredients. Since completing the book this Spring, I have revisited the recipes and made many of the appetizers time and again for parties and potlucks. I'd be more than happy to show you my favorites, tell you the stories behind the recipes and anything else you'd like to know about writing a cookbook.

Please do stop by the store anytime between noon and 2 pm and say hi!

cheers,

Amy

Book signing and demo
12 - 2 pm
Williams-Sonoma
340 Post St @ Stockton
San Francisco, CA


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Senin, 24 November 2008

Mexican Potato Casserole





I really love this dish, it's a fun lowfat spin on meat and potatoes that the kids devour. It's also very easy and very comforting. It have slightly adapted it from Weight Watchers, Simply the Best. You must try this casserole.

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
1/2 pound lean ground beef
2 green bell peppers seeded and chopped
8 scallions, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes with chiles (Rotelle)
1 TB chili powder
1 TB ground cumin
1 TB garlic powder (I use garlic salt, of course)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
2 large baking potatoes scrubbed and thinly sliced
3/4 cup nonfat cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Add the beef, bell peppers, and scallions; cook, stirring as needed, until the beef is browned and the vegetables are softened, 6-8 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt; cook, stirring as needed, until the flavors are blended, about 5 minutes.

4. Arrange alternate layers of the potatoes and beef mixture in the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes; uncover and sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Bake until the potatoes are cooked through and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes longer.

4 Servings
Points per serving 7
327 cal, 10g fat, 3g sat fat, 46mg chol, 386mg sod, 37g carb, 6g fib, 27g prot

Minggu, 23 November 2008

Cranberry Sauce

I don't have a picture of this just yet, but I will be sure to download it once I get it. I made this last year before I started food blogging, aka-before I started taking pictures of everything I made, Glenn rolls his eyes every time!

Even if you are a partial fan of cranberry sauce, you should really try making it home made, just once! It's delicious, beautiful, and you'll impress a your family and friends with a very simple recipe. You can make it a few days in advance since it has to chill anyway. This recipe makes enough to feed a large crowd, and it's great for leftovers too. Use it in your turkey sandwiches, or use it as a chutney by spreading it on top of a cracker with cream cheese, delicious!

Happy Holiday baking everyone!!


Ingredients

1 pound (4 cups) fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 whole orange, unpeeled, seeds removed, and chopped fine
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Sprinkle ground cinnamon

Directions

Wash cranberries and set aside.
Bring sugar and water to a boil. Add cranberries, oranges, and cloves. Simmer over a high flame, stirring frequently, until berries pop open. Add crushed pineapple, walnuts, and cinnamon, and blend. Cool and serve.

(Once cooled, it will have the thickness of jello. And if your frigde is already packed full, cover in plastic wrap and put on your porch. If it's as cold there as it is here in Philly, it will cool just fine!)

Test Kitchen Tales

I became a recipe developer by accident, and not by design. I posted some of my favorite recipes online and not long after I was contacted by various companies and publishers to help create recipes for them as well. It's been wonderful to do something I love and make a living at it.
test kitchen


My process is the same as it always was, I am inspired by any number of things, it could be the season, an ingredient, a place, even a memory. I do lots of research, reading recipes in cookbooks, on blogs, magazines, and even asking friends and family for help. I create an outline of what I intend to do and take it into the kitchen. I cook and take notes and then I taste. I also have an official taste tester, Lee. Between the two of us we discuss and dissect and I tweak the recipe to get it to the point that I am satisfied.
ingredients


While in New York last month I got to spend some time with recipe developers at Saveur, Everday Food and Gourmet. I saw their kitchens, tasted their food and chatted with them about how they get the job done. Some of the kitchens were large, some were small. All had cookbook shelves and counters for notetaking. Their process involved more group critiques than mine and I learned Gourmet recipes can take a month and a half to create! I have never gotten as much as a week per recipe from any of my clients.
Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez


Generally speaking, one thing I don't have to do is convince anyone about my recipes. Here's a kitchen story told to me by Gourmet test kitchen editor Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez. The staff at Gourmet was unconvinced of the value of pressure cookers. Only after making a certain recipe, without admitting the use of the pressure cooker, were they won over; that recipe is in this month's edition on page 98, it's for Tuscan Lamb Shanks with White Beans.
Tuscan Lamb Shanks with White Bean


After a quick browning of the meat and sauteing of the vegetables all the ingredients including unsoaked beans(!) are placed in the pressure cooker and 30 minutes later? Done! Having tasted it I can tell you it's a winner. So was this ridiculously good recipe for Banana Upside Down Cake, another clear favorite among attendees to the Gourmet Institute.

House @ Dempsey Hill ........... Brunch in the Barracks Cafe



I've written about House @ Dempsey Hill for their deserts and drinks. Apart from the creative deserts and drinks, they serve good Brunch too!. The creativity in the menu is thanks to Chef Ho who likes to mix and match different preparations to Western and Eastern dishes.
Inside House. You'll notice a young yuppy crowd ..........


All the chairs are different at different tables ..........


My gingerly peppermint tea ...........



Barracks Freeform eggs - Two eggs any style you want! Scrambled, Poached, Sunny-Side Up, served with Chipolata Sausages, Rose tomatoes and mushron ragout .......... My order was done with the Sunny-Side Up.



Old Fashion American Sliders - a pair of hotbuns. Mini burgers served with a mixture of sweet potato and truffle fries.


I like this sweet potato fries! The orange ones are the sweet potato fries with the regular fries.



Address : 8D Dempsey Road, Dempsey Hill

Tel : +65 6476 6050


Country : Singapore