Dominoes

I have been noodling with different ideas for my end-of-the-year post for about a week or so now. I bandied about the idea of a 2011 ‘round-up’ and even started that one – I got two paragraphs in and everything. I guess I abandoned it when I realized 2011 has been a year I have been kind of ambivalent about. I mean, it has been quite a year. A year that feels like a minute. But, without trying to sound maudlin, a year I’m perfectly fine with passing into a new one.

Admittedly, I am tremendously excited about 2012. But I ought not get my panties in a bunch about a year that has not yet begun.

2011 has had a lot of beauty, don’t get me wrong. It has just been very Big. I have seen some friends go away and come back, seen some friendships become incredibly fueled and intense in both good and bad ways, seen some go away never to return again and I feel I have been strengthening my relationship with my mom. I have eaten a mountain of amazing food, drunk vats of delicious wine, added a beautifully intense Chihuahua to my family, danced in closed restaurants with random people until four o’clock in the morning, traveled through Europe with friends and family; at times cried myself to sleep on the couch but at times also wanted to spin around on top of a mountain singing with joy.

But I’ve wanted something that hasn’t been there. Something I have been missing for some time. Something I didn’t even realize I forgot what it felt like. Until I felt it. Again. And, as a result, right this minute, as 2011 is about to slide into 2012, I am so very full and warm and fuzzy and happy. But I did just eat a pile of carnitas/asparagus/bacon/potato hash with two fried eggs on top.

The past couple of days I have thinking a lot about dominoes. It clearly began on Christmas Eve. Fred and I made dinner. We roasted a turkey, stuffed with Meyer lemon, covered in a weave of bacon and served with a sherry-pan gravy, a burrata and beet salad, roasted parsnips and my Brussels sprouts with toasted hazelnuts in a sage-brown butter. We also riffed on a recipe I had seen in Bon Appetît a few months back called ‘domino potatoes’. I had been wanting to prepare it since I first saw it, so I was excited. It’s a beautiful dish.

But then I started thinking about dominoes and moreover, tesselation, in general. In the area of math, the word domino often refers to any rectangle formed from joining two congruent squares edge to edge. To go in a bit further, tessellation is the process of creating a two-dimensional plane using the repetition of a geometric shape with no overlaps and no gaps. Generalizations to higher dimensions are also possible. Think M. C. Escher.

One use of dominoes is standing them on end in long lines so that when the first tile is toppled, it topples the second, which topples the third, etc., resulting in all of the tiles falling. By analogy, the phenomenon of small events causing similar events leading to eventual catastrophe is called the domino effect.

Well, over the past month, I have been toppling and my walls have been falling. There have been moments where I have feared the possibility of eventual (or immediate) catastrophe. I guess is big part of me still harbors that fear. But I have simultaneously felt a form of tessellation has occurred – its as though a plane with no overlaps or gaps has been created. With two congruent squares, edge to edge, a rectangle has been formed and, as a result, higher dimensions are now possible.

And this, my friends, is one of the primary reasons I am so very much looking into that which the possibility of 2012 holds. Right now, it seems infinite.

I wish each and every one of you a beautiful and inspired 2012...

Roasted Domino Potatoes

Serves 8

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided

3 1/2 pounds Idaho potatoes (4-6 large)

1 tablespoon chopped, fresh rosemary

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

24 (about) fresh or dried bay leaves

Kosher salt and fleur de sel

Fresh cracked pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°. Brush a 13x9x2" baking dish or cast-iron griddle with 2 Tbsp. butter. Peel potatoes and trim ends (do not rinse). Trim all 4 sides of potatoes to form a rectangle. Using a mandoline, cut potatoes crosswise into 1/8" slices, keeping slices in stacks as best you can.

Re-form slices from each potato into a stack. Place in prepared dish, fanning apart slightly like a deck of cards. Insert bay leaves and garlic between potato slices at even intervals. Season with rosemary,salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining 4 Tbsp. butter.

Bake potatoes, rotating the dish halfway through cooking, until the edges are crisp and golden and the centers are tender, about 1 hour. Sprinkle with fleur de sel.

Printable recipe

One year ago: Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Garlic and Celery Leaves

To years ago: 2009: The Year of the Food Truck

Happy New Year!

Yep, again!

My favorite kitchen tools of 2011

I kind of meant to do a whole series of my favorites from 2011 - but I ran out of time! Anyway, some of my favorite tools this year:


Tovolo Better Batter Tool

This looks so strange, and possibly useless, but it's actually really convenient! I love it for stirring together things like pancake batter, or lightly beating a few eggs. Great! I had a friend buy it for me at Sur La Table, I don't know of any international source.


CrockPot

I'm so glad crock-pots finally made it to Sweden! I love mine, and I can't wait to use it much more. I need to get more organized though and plan ahead - this fall has been bad for cooking, in general. I've had a lot of other things on my mind...


Cake lifter from Nordic Ware.

Man, this is good. It's the solution to many broken cake layers and tarts. I love it.


Sil-Pin rolling pin

This looks so useless - but it really isn't. It's a tiny rolling pin for those of you who are, like me, pastry challenged. I can't roll out pastry to save my life, so I usually just press the dough into my tart tin - but with this little buddy, I can roll it out while inside the tin! It works surprisingly well.


Dualit toaster

And I have to mention my glossy red toaster, with extra wide slots to fit bagels. Awesome.



And an honorable mention to my all time favorite: my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer. It's served me for many years now, and I never want to be without it. It did suffer a small injury this year - the meatal band around the head fell off and I can't get it back on, but as it doesn't seem to affect performance in any way... I don't mind so much.

2012 Food & Dining Trends

In no particular order, here are my predictions with a tiny sprinkling of wishful thinking...

Yes, please!


More transparency and labeling in the food system
Have you been to a supermarket lately? All the seafood is now labeled so you know where it comes from and whether or not it is farmed and if color is added. That is amazing considering that not long ago seafood had barely any labeling at all, but it's just the beginning. I believe consumers will demand labels on produce and meat too. Food contamination and security issues are only a few of the issues driving this trend.




Foraging, hunting and wild food
Wild and foraged ingredients are showing up on more and more menus and there are classes and books to help you learn about this return to a more primal way of eating. The poster boy for this trend is Hank Shaw. The poster Girl? Georgia Pellegrini!

Local culture on the plate
Rene Redzepi the chef at NOMA, (the world's number one restaurant according to one survey) has inspired countless chefs and delighted diners. He uses local ingredients to create a unique cuisine that is a reflection of a singular time and place. This is where high end dining is going. Something that can only be found in one spot is the ultimate in exclusivity.

Honey
The world's first sweetener and a product from bees who we are dependent upon for pollination of fruits and vegetables from avocados to watermelon. Bees have already been in the news because of colony collapse but I think their honey will get some more attention soon too, now that the scandal of widespread bogus honey has been revealed. Honey is an unrefined sugar and a true expression of flora. Trying and learning about honey is as exciting and never ending as learning about wine or coffee.




Digital cookbooks
Epicurious is leading the way here with ecookbooks, offering a variety of best selling cookbooks you can now save to your "recipe box." Since we are already using our computers in the kitchen and to look for recipes, this makes a lot of sense. It makes finding, sharing and using recipes much easier.

Lamb, goat, rabbit and bison
I'm sorry to disappoint any vegan activists, but it's just not likely that Americans are going to give up eating meat. However I do believe they are going to think about sustainability and start making more informed choices. Goat is the most popular meat in the world, we already love goat cheese, the meat can't be far behind. Likewise lamb, rabbit and bison represent more sustainable and ecologically friendly choices than industrially raised pork, beef or chicken.








Chia
I'm seeing chia everywhere. It's a fascinating seed, considered a superfood by some, loaded with vitamins and minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, protein and fiber. It creates an amazing gel like texture but can also be used like a grain in baked goods. I hope chefs are as inspired to play with it as I am.

Chefs doing good
As we get more and more tired of the endless self promotion associated with celebrity chefs (not to mention some food bloggers) I think chef charities will gain in visibility as a way of chefs getting limelight, but for all the right reasons. Great examples include the Mario Batali Foundation, Jamie Oliver Foundation which includes Fifteen and the Ministry of Food, and Rachael Ray's Yum-o!

Handmade sodas
More and more restaurants are offering housemade soda as a non-alcoholic option. Sophisticated and not overly sweet, I expect we will see a lot more of them. Some good local ones try include Jesse Friedman's seasonal offerings from SodaCraft.

Deli
Perhaps the David Sax book Save the Deli led to a resurgence in interest in Jewish delicatessen food. While LA style Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen failed to knock my socks off, the excitement over their pop-ups indicates a real desire for it. I do believe good deli is on it's way. Perhaps it's the new charcuterie?

Lower alcohol wines
I think this year in Napa might be the turning point. It was a cooler than normal growing season and vintners found that lower brix in this year's vintage meant an opportunity to craft more elegant and lower alcohol wines. We will see how consumers react. But I hope they can learn to appreciate something beyond the big fruit bombs Napa has become known for producing.

Small plate breakfasts
Ok I admit it, this is wishful thinking. But a girl can dream can't she? After having the most spectacular brunch ever at Michael's Genuine in Miami, I just hope this idea catches on. Imagine instead of a big stack of pancakes, just one. Plus a single egg benedict, and a house made pop tart? Heaven.

The other Mediterranean
Perhaps I am just inspired by my trip to Morocco, but I can't help think that Moroccan, Egyptian, Tunisian, Algerian, Lebanese and Turkish food will be on the rise. They are part of the Mediterranean but often get overlooked in favor of French, Italian and Spanish cuisine. Think of them as the new frontier. At very least, recently released cookbooks by Mourad Lalou and Paula Wolfert will fuel the interest in Moroccan flavors.


No thanks, I've had enough


Bacon
When bacon made it's way into lip balm, I think it jumped the shark. It's not that bacon will ever go away, but I think we are ready for something else. Kale perhaps?

"Farm-to-table" "natural" and "artisanal"
They have all become virtually meaningless. When is food not farm to table? When it's factory to table? Natural has no legal meaning and once Round Table Pizza used the word artisan to boost sales, we knew it was over.

Celebrity chefs
Perhaps it all started with that iconic Gourmet magazine cover of chefs as rock stars. But enough is enough. The endless self-promotion has gotten tiresome. So have celebrity chef feuds.

Agave syrup
I never really understood the hype. This may be a marginally better type of sugar, but it's still sugar. It lacks the depth of molasses, sorghum or honey. There are some benefits, but they aren't enough to convince me to use it.

Mexican coke
Admit it, hipsters drink it because they think it's cool. Gimme a break. It's not cool. It's sugar water for chrissake. Hopefully this is the year they will stop paying $5 a bottle for it.

So what do you think the trends will be? Share your thoughts in the comments!

New Year’s Day Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing – Good Luck with That!

This spinach salad with black-eyed peas is a twist on one of my favorite American culinary traditions; the custom of serving beans and greens on New Year's Day. Supposedly eating "poor" on New Year’s Day brings much wealth and good luck throughout the year.

The greens, usually braised with ham or sausage, represents paper money, and the beans, usually black-eyed peas, symbolize coins. Here, we’re presenting those ingredients in salad form, which is a great delivery system for our hot bacon dressing– the true star in this video.

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is, “Eat more bacon,” then here’s another delicious way to work it into your diet. This peppery, sweet and tangy sauce is fast to make, and shines on other things besides wealth-generating spinach salads.

Wouldn’t this be great in a warm potato and mushroom salad, as well as a sauce for a grilled chicken breast or pork chop? What about spooned over poached eggs, or slathered on sweet potato fries? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

If making and eating this salad on January 1st doesn’t really bring you prosperity in 2012, it will certainly bring you some tasty memories, and other pleasures money can’t buy. Happy New Year, and enjoy!

Hot Bacon Dressing Ingredients: (makes about 1 1/3 cup – or 6 servings)

1/2 pound bacon, sliced and cooked in 1/4 cup vegetable oil (reserve bacon pieces and bacon fat drippings)

1/2 cup minced onions

2 cloves minced garlic

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar, or to taste
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/3 cup of the bacon fat drippings

1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp cold water

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne to taste

For 6 Spinach Salads:

1 pound baby spinach, washed and dried

12 white button mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes

1 (15-oz) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

Tal Bagels

Hi.  Sorry I've been missing.  I'm in New York, having a religious experience.  At St. Pat's??  No, no, noooo you silly bird.  At Tal Bagels.

Everything Bagel.  Cream Cheese.  Whitefish Spread.  OH MY GOD.

Oh and Egg Salad on the side.  

How many bagels is too many bagels?  Gonna find out...

Antoinette ... Queen of France ... King of the hill of Parisien Patisserie?

Chef Pang Kok Keong, the man behind the Canelé Pâtisserie of the Les Amis Group, is known to perfect the art of enticing the Sweet Tooths in Singapore. He went on to start his own business venture, the Sugar Daddy Group, leveraging on the success of his sweet art. Antoinette, the Parisien style patisserie, named after the last Queen of France, was never without a queue ever since it opened it's doors. 

The Antoinette, at Penhas Road, was full house and had a queue even at 3.30pm on a Thursday afternoon when I visited. When you step into Antoinette, you would be impressed by the the ambience. The chandeliers, the lighting, the cushioned Parisien chairs all blend in to create the mood of what's close to a real Parisien Patisserie. 

Antoinette's Breakfast - Your choice of eggs with grilled bacon and sausage, Pain de Mie toast, basket of  viennoiseries and orange juice/coffee/hot chocolate

Like a wave that has hit our food scene, there has to be All-Day-Breakfast menu. Singaporeans seemed to like to eat the 'Ang Mo' breakfast at all times of the day. Wild Honey has All-Day-Breakfast and is a hit, so is Antoinette. We actually just wanted a cake and some coffee but ended up ordering this breakfast set to share as we saw folks at neighboring tables enjoying the juicy sausages. True enough, the sausages were great. The sunny-side-up was not as runny as I liked though.

The Viennoiseries that was part of the break fast set included mini size Brioche topped with sugar bits, a Chocolate Croissant and a Butter Croissant.

Violette - Violet Flower Cake, Raspberry Marmalade, Violet Flower Cream, Kirsch
I liked it that it has a rich but not overly sweet creamy taste.

If indulging in French cakes and pastries in a Parisien style cafe is what you enjoy, Antoinette is the place to visit. One thing to note is that the wait staff seemed to perform their services only as a mere function without blending in as part of the 'chi-chi-ness' of dining in a Parisien Pâtisserie. The experience would be top notched if service here is in tune with the mood and setting of the Pâtisserie. It gives me the feeling that rolling in the dough is more important than to maintain quality of experience and class. However, apart from the service, this place is the closest you can get for a Parisien Pâtisserie experience in Singapore. Is it the King of the Hill in the Parisien Pâtisserie experience? You be the judge.

30 Penhas Road

Singapore

Tel : +65 6293 3121

Opening Hours :

Mon~ Thu 11am~10pm

Fri and eve of public holidays 11am~11pm

Sat 10am~11pm

Sun and public holidays 10am~10pm

Antoinette Website

Tilapia Couscous Salad

Holy cow, what in the heck happened? I blink my eyes and practically a month goes by without a post. I blame the holidays. I also blame an awkward month of not quite knowing how to eat. Overall I think I did pretty well making it through the majority of the month without going crazy. I even hit my lowest weight so far (122 lbs!).

But then Christmas came...as well as cheese, and sugar and things wrapped in puff pastries. Needless to say, I definitely enjoyed myself, and I have a slightly expanded waistline to testify of this fact. No fretting though. Christmas only comes once a year and I have an entire year to make up for it, which I am more than looking forward to.



So to kick off our healthy eating for the New Year, I have a delicious and clean recipe for you. I wasn't sure if I was going to post this one because I'm not a fan of the bland, colorless picture. However, sometimes you have to forgive ugly food and have faith that it's still going to be a winner. This is as easy to make as it is delicious. It's also so bright and fresh, you'll feel healthier for having eaten it.



Tilapia and Couscous Salad
From The Best of Clean Eating

Ingredients

1 cup dry whole-grain coucous
olive oil cooking spray
1/2 lb tilapia fillets (4 small or 2 large, I used a bit more for protein) skin and bones removed
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
zest and juice of 1 lime
zest and juice of half lemon
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoon dried parsley
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Cook couscous according to package directions.

Heat a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over high heat for one minute. Spritz with cooking spray and reduce heat to medium-high. Place tilapia in skillet and cook for two minutes per side. Remove tilapia and let cool for five minutes before flaking with fork.

In a large bowl, combine couscous, tilapia, carrots, celery, onion and bell pepper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together lime zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, Dijon mustard, oil, garlic and parsley. Season with salt and black pepper. Pour dressing over tilapia-couscous mixture and stir until well combined. Garnish with additional parsley, if desired. Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator, covered, for up to one day.

Serves 6: 1 serving is 1 cup

Per Serving: 154cal, 3.5g fat, 21g carb, 4g fiber, 3g sugar, 11g protein

How was everyone's holidays? Any plans for the New Year?

Maggi Curry Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Pan fried Chicken

I love Maggi Curry Instant Noodles and I love my spaghetti Aglio Olio. Hmm what if I mix them together? Result : LOVE IT.

Ingredients : 2 servings
1) 1 packet of seasoning mix from Maggi Curry instant noodles.
2) 2 pieces chicken thigh, deboned and skin on.
3) Spaghetti
4) 3 cloves of garlic, minced
5) fresh basil chopped up

Method
1) Use 1/2 packet of the of the Maggi curry mix to spread is evenly over the chicken thighs. Leave it for 1 hour to marinate.
2) Fry the chicken thigh skin down first on medium heat until the chicken skin turns golden brown. Turnover and then switch to low heat for another 5 minutes. Leave the chicken aside to cool down and drain it's oil
3)Leave the chicken oil and juice in the pan to use for tossing the spaghetti later,
4) Boil water to cook spaghetti add enough salt and taste it. When the water is as salty as how you'll like your soup to be, this is salty enough. Put in the dried spaghetti and cook it till al dente. For the Barilla spaghetti that I used, it takes about 8 minutes to get it al dente.
5) Drain the the water from the spaghetti and leave it aside.
6) With the oil in the frying pan from frying the chicken fry the garlic at medium heat until the oil sputter. Quicky add 1/2 packet of the remaining Maggi curry mix and stir uniformly. Turn of the fire and toss the spaghetti.
7) Plate the spaghetti and sprinkle some chopped basil.
8) When the chicken is cooled down. Chop it into slices and plate it with the spaghetti.

A 'Stay-at-Home' Husband's brunch - Pan fried sausages, baked potatoes, croissant with sunny side up

Maison Kayser Petit Croissant spread with Elle & Vire French Butter
with Baked Russett Potatoes

It's Day 2 of being a mandatory 'Stay-at-Home' Husband. Not by choice but because my company have this habit of an undemocratic forced leave between X'mas and New Year and HY still need to head back to office.  I was a bit unaccustomed to the fact that I'm grounded in Singapore. For the last 10 years, I would make full use of this 'forced' leave. HY and I would be away on some 'exotic escapade', like my sis with two kids would begrudgingly put it. This year, we are grounded for the right reasons. HY's not able to fly as our little PengYu is in it's third trimester. I am exhilarated by just spending time putting my ear on HY's tummy, talking to the little one as he responds by punching and kicking like a little Thai boxer. For our little Thai boxer, it's time to pack away our back packs, hiking boots and winter wear for a while. For those who's gloating about us being grounded in Singapore, I can only tell you, "It's OK, we've been there, done that." and we're happily preparing to get on with the next phase of our lives. ;-)

After sending HY to her office, I packed our 'Sundown Marathon' recycling bag, which we use as groceries bag, and drove to our local NTUC to buy some ingredients for chicken curry that I'm going to cook this evening. Ambience at Marine Parade NTUC on a Tuesday morning is vastly different from the weekends. During the weekends, a cacophony of background noise created by the occasional collision of groceries trolleys amidst human banter is the norm. This Tuesday morning, even the squeaking of the trolley wheels became obvious. I can also tell from smelling the air in this Tuesday morning's NTUC that the concept of a 'Stay-at-Home' Husband didn't cling with our Singapore culture. The only guys in the supermarket were retired uncles tailing a few steps behind their wives and of course, just ME. It took a mere 15 minutes to amass all the ingredients, pay for the purchases and that include driving home and reaching my door step.

The idyllic morning pace and the mood set by the overast sky seemed to supersede the catalytic effects of coffee. Most importantly, I was bothered by the fact that I bought a pack of 5 Russett potatoes at $1.50. That was a couple too many for my chicken curry but I didn't want to pay more for each potato by buying lesser than 5. Moreover, I was also peeved with the idea of keeping 2 potatoes on my kitchen top, telling myself to cook them soon but only to procrastinate and leave them just to grow eyes. So, I canned the idea of a brunch-out and decided to create my 'Stay-at-Home' Husband's Brunch so that I can use up the excess potatoes.

The 'Stay-at-Home Husband' Brunch - Seng Choon First Born Eggs for the Sunny-side-ups,  Maison Kayser Petit Croissant with unsalted Elle & Vire French Butter, Oven Baked Russett Potatoes, Bratwurst and Bockwurst from Culina with Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard. I forgot my greens. There were some lettuce in my fridge #$%#@.

Ingredients

1) 2 eggs. I used Seng Choon First Born Eggs. They are smaller and supposedly low in cholesterol.

2) 2 Russett Potatoes Peeled and diced into cubes.

3) 1 Bratwurst and 1 Bockwurst chopped up.

4) 2 Pettit Croissant. Maison Kayser's croissant are made with cultured butter and had a rich buttery fragrance.

5) 20g of butter. To go with my croisant. Elle & Vire French Butter had a very nice flavor that I love.

6) 1 spoonful of Dijon Mustard. For dipping the sausages.

Method

1) Place potatoes inside an aluminium foil dish that was oiled with some olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Spray olive oil over the potatoes with an oil mister. ( I use an oil mister so that the potatoes that I get is not too greasy) Leave it in the oven for about 20 minutes at 250 deg C until the potatoes are slightly browned.

2) When the potatoes are going to ready in 10 minutes time, start to pan fry the bratwurst and bockwurst in a little olive oil. Sprinkle some salt and blacker pepper. Stir fry till they are browned. Plate them.

3) Fry 2 sunny-side-ups. I can do it in one go as I use first born eggs which are smaller in size. Plate them.

4) Right after the sausages and the eggs are done, the potatoes should be on time to be out of the oven. Plate them.

5) Plate the croissant and then cut a slab of butter.

6) Place Dijon mustard beside sausages.

Roast Tenderloin of Beef with Porcini-Shallot-Tarragon Pan Sauce – It’s the Heat and the Humidity!

This New Year’s Eve splurge special is dedicated to all of you who’ve used the cost as the excuse for not doing a beef tenderloin, when the real reason is the intense fear of screwing up such an expensive cut of meat.

The thought of paying all that money for such a luxury item, only to have it end up a dry, overcooked platter of corn-fed humiliation, is just too much to take. Well, I have some very good news. Using these very simple techniques, anyone can achieve a perfectly pink and juicy roast.

One secret is the slow oven, which allows for a gentle roasting, and produces an even, rosy hue throughout the muscle. The other trick is roasting the beef on top of the pan sauce, which not only flavors the meat, but also humidifies the oven for a moist, aromatic cooking environment. 

Of course, both of those are dependent on you being able to give this a serious sear before it goes in the oven, but I have complete confidence in you.

This particular cut of beef is extremely tender, but very lean, and so cooking it beyond medium-rare is not recommended. If you like your beef medium-well and beyond, you are completely wasting your money on one of these beauties. I’m usually not that militant about having to eat steaks medium-rare, but this time I really must insist.

Anyway, if you follow these pretty basic steps, and are in possession of a quality, digital meat thermometer, there is no reason why you can’t get the same results you see here. By the way, the roughly 15 minutes per pound roasting time is just a ballpark, so be sure to start checking the temp early, so you can catch it at the perfect doneness. I hope you give it a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 6):

2 1/2 to 3 lb beef tenderloin roast

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided

1/2 cup sliced shallots

1/4 cup tarragon white wine vinegar, or plain white wine vinegar

1 cup veal stock or chicken broth
1/4 cup cream

1/3 cup dried porcini mushrooms, soaked and diced

1/2 cup liquid from porcini mushrooms, more if needed

1 tbsp minced fresh tarragon

Wild Honey @ Scotts Square ... the place is simply like bees attracted to honey

It's really nice to take it slow, wake up late and have breakfast at 2pm. Yes, breakfast at 2pm and they serve them all day at Wild Honey. How wrong can I be when I thought that I'll have some quiet chill time at Wild Honey. The honey here's definitely attracting us bees.

Wild Mocha Dolce - Espresso, Chocolate, honey and milk

This is as happy a drink can be like the coffee etching suggested. It's hot chocolate and coffee blended into one. A sweet happy drink indeed.

Wild Honey European Breakfast - Eggs Benedict with two perfectly poached eggs, sauteed mushrooms, Italian prosciutto and homemade Hollandaise sauce on signature brioche.
The brioche wasn't light and fluffy so that it can hold the egg and prosciutto without creating a dent but was easy enough to tear apart so that I can dip it into the perfectly runny egg yolk. It seemed that Hollandaise sauce was purposely made less savory so that it didn't mask the flavors of the prosciutto. Terribly yummilicious!

6 Scott's Road
3rd floor Scott's Square
Singapore
Tel : +65 6636 1816


Opening Hours : 
Mon~Fri 9am ~ 10.30pm
Sat~Sun 8am ~ 10.30pm


Wild Honey Website

Filet Mignon

I'm on an airplane right now but I'm talking to you BECAUSE IT'S THE FUTURE.  I wonder what 2012 will bring?  Probably flying mini vans.  Just mini vans.  Anyway where are my manners HOW WAS YOUR CHRISTMAS?  I think in the future of 2012 I'm going to yell a lot via the caps lock button.  SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN.

Well, with a new year comes a lot of "I'm going to diet and work out yeah sure I am" resolutions.  That means, you have about a week to eat what you want.  Like Filet Mignon marinated in Guinness beer, soy sauce and worchestire sauce.  Do it.  Or better yet ladies, get the man in your life to do it for you.      

Crock-Pot Beef Stew

So how about something other than holiday food? I know I'm pretty much done with christmas food by now, and I definitely don't want to see more candy.. for a while. (I still have a recipe or two to post, though.)

I look through my new cookbooks that Santa brought, trying to come up with a menu for New Year's Eve as well as something for our annual 13-course dinner... nothing set yet, so I'll have to keep looking! Meanwhile, I let the crock-pot do some work.

Crock-Pot Beef Stew
750 g stewing beef, in large dice
140 g bacon, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
150 g mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 leek, thinly sliced
10 shallots, peeled
4 carrots, sliced into coins
1 beef stock cube
150 ml porter beer (or another dark, flavorful beer)
350 ml red wine
butter or oil for frying
rice and smetana or crème fraîche for serving

Start by browning the meat, bacon, garlic and mushrooms, and add to your crock-pot. Add leeks, shallots, carrots, the stock cube, porter and red wine. Let the pot cook for 8 hours on low.

Serve with rice and a dollop of smetana or crème fraîche.

Recipe in Swedish:
Köttgryta i Crock-Pot

Wonderful Room ... Woobar ... W Hotel Taipei

Enter W Hotel Taipei .....

The first floor was a spacious lobby with an exclusive entrance into Hankyu's shopping mall. At one corner (not in view), is the concierge counter with the 'Whatever' sign. So 'Whatever' you want, they'll try to bring it to you. Hotel guest can sit around to wait for their pick-up while admiring the visual art hanging from the ceiling ....

... as well as on the wall as you step inside the hotel. Here's a little guy having fun with the motion sensitive wall display that reacts to movements. 

Taking the lift up to the 10 floor, the lift door opened up into a space strewn with art pieces. Right at the far end where sunlight penetrates, you'll see the pride of Taipei .......

.... Taipei 10. No wonder I see folks lingering around this 'crack in the wall' and snapping away.

Inside our 'Wonderful Room', there's a King-sized bed, JBL iPod dock ...

... Bose sound system, LED TV .... 

... Tea and coffee and other miscellaneous ingeniously hidden in the to polished white cabinets

... Toiletries from Bliss ....

... Chic open bath room.

The comfy day bed that I got stuck to ....

.... while drinking my milk .....

... and enjoying this Taipei city view.

On the 10th floor of the W Hotel and right beside reception, there's the cool and stylish Woobar.

... Here's it. Cool and stylish right.

It's the latest place to see and be seen. Rumours that who's who of the Taiwanese entertainment scene can be spotted here occasionally.

It's cool to chill out in Woobar ....

As cool as the infinity pool that's right in front of Woo bar.

With so many eyes staring, better look good to step in .....

Fan out the Woobar's drinks list ...

I was sipping my lychee martini with the glass pre-chilled.

Definitely egging you to order by the bottle.

Free WiFi at the Woobar and W Hotel lobby is an essential to let everyone on FB knows we're enjoying ourselves at W Hotel.