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Rabu, 31 Oktober 2012

Duck Leg Adobo – A Real Family Meal

If you’ve worked in restaurants before, you know that every night before service the staff sits down to what’s called the “family meal.” One of the younger cooks is usually charged with scraping together something filling and, more importantly, not expensive. It was during one of these meals that I first had adobo.

When I worked at the Carnelian Room in the late 80’s, much of the kitchen crew was Filipino, so chicken and pork adobo was a very common dinner. One of the dishwashers made a particularly great version, and I fell in love with the bold, simple flavors. I also remember being pretty annoyed that the dishwashers there were better cooks than I was at the time, but that’s another story.

Anyway, I happened to have some duck legs around last week, and all it took was a well-timed email wishing for adobo to inspire this video. I understand that most of you will not use duck for this, but if you do, be sure to save the fat.

Duck fat is prized by chefs, and more heart-healthy than people realize. It can be used for just about anything you’d normally fry in butter or vegetable oil. I roasted some Brussels spouts with mine, but it also will make just about the best homefries you’ve ever tasted.

Like I said in the video, no duck, no problem. If you can simmer it in a sauce, it will work in this recipe. Because of the high soy sauce content, be careful about over reducing, but other than that, not much can go wrong. This is cheap, easy, and very flavorful, which is why it makes for such a great “family meal.” Enjoy!


Ingredients for 6 duck legs:
6 duck legs (or about same amount of chicken or pork)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp reserved duck fat
1 large onion, sliced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup seasoned rice vinegar (if not seasoned, use a little sugar to taste)
1/2 cup soy sauce, or to taste (this is a fairly salty dish, so if you're not into that kind of thing, add less and adjust later)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp sambal chili sauce, or other hot pepper sauce to taste

Selasa, 30 Oktober 2012

The Revenge of the Homemade Ravioli


It’s this close to Halloween, the spookiest, scariest, fake-bloodiest night of the year (unless, of course, it gets trumped by a sad turn with the election next Tuesday). There will be lots of horror movies, trick-or-treaters, costumes, parties, candy and, in my house, ravioli. 

Boo!

The last time I made ravioli was two years ago, around this time. There were jack-o-lanterns glowing from the inside all around the house, a fire was burning in the fireplace, and twelve people sitting down to eat in my living room. And, among other things, I served them ravioli. More specifically I served them duck confit and pimiento mashed potato ravioli with braised chanterelle and lobster mushrooms. Sounds pretty fancy, right? My dad was in town at the same time we were hosting a Dinner at Eight, and so the menu was composed of the elements of all of his favorite foods, duck confit and pimiento mashed potatoes being a couple of said foods. The meal was very good and the evening was warm and festive. Or so I thought...

Are you scared, yet?


As I said, everyone seemed happy, elated even, with the meal and the evening. It seemed as though everyone had commendatory things to say about it. To my face. But then about a week or so later I read, in a public forum, that a guest and her date did not leave pleased. Some of what I read was fair enough and some was not.  Nature of the beast, I suppose, but it is exceedingly difficult not to take a sharp panning personally.

Now you’re scared, right?

I very rarely critique restaurants any more here and that is due, in large part, to this experience. So I asked myself, who am I to deign to review and criticize chefs and restaurant owners in a public forum? I am neither a Nobel Prize winning journalist - or hell, a journalist at all - nor an acclaimed food critic. And I do not visit an establishment three times with groups of people to sample as many menu items as possible and to check consistency prior to writing a post. What if I visited a place on an off night? We all have an off night, even the very best of us. Moving forth I decided to mention some restaurants here and there, but to be extremely cautious and thoughtful with any negativity.





What I did do following that review of, what was essentially, my style, my structure, my home, my peeps, my creative vision and my food, was make pasta over and over and over again. But not ravioli. Until last night. And it was insert expletive here awesome.


So, in some way, I triumphed. I knew that this ravioli would make even the toughest carbo-loading 'critic' warm and fuzzy inside, whether or not they aren’t a fan of toothy (read toothsome).

Yes, revenge is a dish best served cold. But this ravioli is not.


Mwahahaha... Happy Halloween!




Acorn Squash Ravioli with Sage Browned Butter


Serves 4 (Main Course) or 6 (Appetizer)


Pasta Dough and How Ravioli-ize It


I happen to have a pasta machine. If you don’t you can still make ravioli your just going to have to roll the pasta out with a rolling pin.

I have done this myself. It is a lot of work but it can be done. You just need to roll the dough out really thin. Do not roll the dough out too thin. The pasta will split when you are cooking it and most if not all of your filling will be floating in your pot of water.

I found that when making my ravioli it works much better if you roll out a piece of dough, fill and seal the ravioli and then start all over again. If you roll all your dough out you take the chance of your dough drying out too much and it will make it more difficult to work with and you’ll end up with a very tough pasta.

Remove your ball of dough from the bowl and knead all of the flour and crumbs in for a couple of turns. Now cut the dough in half. Then cut each half in 4 pieces. You will end up with eight balls of dough. Put all of the dough except for the piece you are working with back into the bowl and cover it with the towel.

Flatten your dough a bit and dust with flour. 

Now place the piece of dough on your clean and floured counter surface.

Using a spoon place a dollop of filling along your piece of dough in a straight line, leaving about an inch of space in between and on each end. Each dollop is a little bit less then a teaspoon of filling. You really have to play with your filling because each piece of dough is going to be a different size. No two pieces of pasta roll out the same width or length.

Have a small bowl of water on the counter and dip your finger in and run a damp bead of water down each edge of the pasta and between each spoon full of filling.

Now flip the dough from the back over your filling.

Run your finger between each pocket of filling to remove most of the air and cut each ravioli apart. Trim it up just to even the edges.

Run your fingers around the edge of the filling forcing the air out. Use a fork to seal the edges.

Homemade pasta cooks really fast, about 2 minutes. You will be able to judge whether your pasta is too thin or thick if you cook a few when you first get started. To cook the ravioli boil a pot of water and add ravioli. Gently boil until the ravioli float. Once they are floating the filling and pasta are cooked through. 


Ravioli Filling

1 acorn squash, diced and roasted*
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced 
2 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
1 tablespoon butter 
1 garlic clove, minced 
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese 
1/4 cup parmesan cheese 
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg  
1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar 
dash of red pepper flakes 
salt and pepper 
4 tablespoon butter 
2 teaspoon fresh sage

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. To get maximum flavor from the squash, peel the rind and dice into small cubes. Place the cubes on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 30-45 minutes until all sides are nicely caramelized. *Note: If you don't have the time (or patience) to peel the squash and cube it, you can alternatively follow this procedure: halve the squash. Place each half cut-side down on an oiled parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-45 minutes.

In the meantime, warm 1 tablespoon butter in a medium sauce pan. Saute the onions and 2 tablespoons chopped sage until the onions are transparent. Add garlic, salt, and pepper. Saute for one minute longer, then set aside.

When the squash is finished roasting, combine the squash, onion mixture, mascarpone cheese, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, sherry vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a food processor. Pulse until the texture is creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste


Sage Brown Butter
4 tablespoons butter
8 sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Melt butter in a 12 to 14-inch saute pan and continue cooking until golden brown color ("noisette") appears in the thinnest liquid of the butter. Add sage leaves and remove from heat. Add lemon zest and set aside. Add the cheese, spoon over ravioli and serve immediately.


One year ago: The Blue Goat
Two years ago: Pecan Shortbread
Three years ago: The Grilled Cheese Truck

Homemade 3 Musketeers Bars


I'm not even a huge fan of actual 3 Musketeers bars, but these are freaking wonderful.  They taste like chocolate mousse dipped in chocolate.  And like the Homemade Butterfingers, this recipe calls for 3 ingredients.  Three!  Semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and a tub of whipped topping.  Making candy at home has never been easier!  If you are on the East Coast and without power... a) please be safe and my thoughts are with you and b) both the Butterfingers and these bars require NO oven.  Err, but you would need a gas stove to melt the chocolate.  Oh and this one calls for an electric mixer, but I don't think that step is vital.  I think you can whip it thoroughly enough by hand.

I used this recipe.        


Feta-topped salmon


salmalax-fetaost

Amazing, amazing, amazing. (although not so pretty) I used the best salmon I could find, labeled "Salma", and that is SO good. Most people probably eat it raw, but since I'm wary of fishy-tasting fish.. I figured it'd be great to cook with as well.

You can add in all sorts of things for the topping. I just went with what I had. 

Feta-topped salmon
serves 4

4 portions of boneless, skinless salmon fillet- about 600 g
200 ml crème fraîche
150 g feta cheese
1-2 tbsp capers
4 sundried tomatoes
2 scallions
black pepper

Finely chop the capers, tomatoes and scallions. Mix with the cheese and crème fraîche, and season with black pepper. No need for salt. 

Place the salmon in an oven-proof dish (they should fit quite snugly) and cover with the topping. Bake at 200°C for 15-20 minutes. (Depending on how well-cooked you like your salmon, you could probably take it out even quicker, but I prefer mine to be pretty well done...) 

Senin, 29 Oktober 2012

Chipotle Bacon Pecan Caramel Apples...


there are no words to describe...

"A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS"


and YES...

BACON DOES MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER
especially when it's got a little kick of chipotle.


better late than never...i've been dreaming about this for weeks.
now it's crunch time and i found myself scrambling for these simple ingredients.
i would normally have gone with the old classic...individual wrapped Kraft Caramels.  i was willing to unwrap as many of those little suckers as possible...man, they are a pain.  i could not find them anywhere today...and i needed them TODAY.  i had a bee in my bonnet.  2 days 'til Halloween and i had to get this done.  i finally found some Werther's Chewy Caramels...a little bit more pricey...and individually wrapped of course, but like i said...i had to get it done...that bee was a buzzin' .

i thought the chews were the right texture, but i did find confirmation that they were right for the job at their website with helpful simple apple dipping instructions....found HERE.

here's what you need to go buy...NOW

4-5 granny smith apples
11-12 oz chewy caramels...Werther's or Kraft
lollipop sticks...wood popsicle sticks would have been better.
2 Tbsp cream.
1 lb. bacon...cooked extra crispy, chopped into small pieces.
i cooked a 12oz package and ran out after 4 apples....so sad.
ground chipotle powder and cinnamon...optional.
i sprinkled ground chipotle pepper and cinnamon on bacon 3/4 way through cooking in the oven
a handful of pecans, chopped...sweet & spicy pecans found at Trader Joes.
dark chocolate  for a nice drizzle?  or double dip ???...
DARN...i ran out of time...again......so sad


for clear cut easy caramel dipping instructions go to WERTHER'S CARAMELS or the KRAFT WEBSITE...

here is what i did...
wash apples...you might need to scrub them or wipe dry very well to remove any waxy coating.
pop clean apples in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
remove stem and push in stick.
prepare a flat surface with parchment that can fit in the fridge.
melt caramel and cream in the microwave on high, stirring frequently, for about 2-3 minutes (depending on microwave).
dip apple and let excess drip from the bottom.
roll in bacon and pecans.
WORK QUICKLY...the caramel sets fast and the bacon won't stick.  you might need to apply bacon and pecans in some missing areas.
quickly put the beautiful bacon pecan apples in the fridge on the parchment.  let set for at least 15 minutes.

NOTE...they should stay chilled until presenting them....
they will begin to sag from the weight of the POUND of BACON you have applied.


“Ultimate” Ranch Dressing – The Ultimate “Ultimate”

After five years, and a few thousand requests, I’m finally posting my “ultimate” ranch dressing recipe. What makes it the “ultimate?” Nothing, except that’s what I’m calling it, and in the world of dips and dressings, that makes it so. By the way, ignore those other roughly 65,000 “ultimate” recipes; this one is the actual “ultimate” ranch dressing.

It’s been ages since I made homemade ranch dressing, and I’d forgotten how much better it is than the bottled stuff. Don’t get me wrong; I like high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings, and preservatives as much as the next low-information voter, but this really is significantly more delicious.

As you’ll see, I used some crème fraiche (which we showed you how to make in this video), but relax, sour cream will work perfectly. However, I do believe the buttermilk is crucial. That some of my peers are calling their ranch dressings “ultimate” without using buttermilk, really makes me question their grasp of the word “ultimate.”

Anyway, hyperbole aside, this really is the best ranch dressing I’ve ever had, and I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for about 2 cups Ranch Dressing:
1 1/3 cup real mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream or crème fraiche
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
2 teaspoons sliced fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
2 drops Worcestershire sauce

View the complete recipe

Cooking with my Blog Friends

How are you east coasters doing so far?!  Right now my kids and I are hunkered down in the living room with flashlights strapped to our foreheads, waiting for the eye of the storm.  I've got a pile of blankets, a bunch of candles and two loaves of bread.  That's what they tell you to stock up on for huge tropical storms, right?  So far it's just pretty nasty and drizzly, and I'm hoping that it doesn't get worse than that.  Unfortunately, I think it's probably wishful thinking.

Speaking of storms, I've been a tornado in the kitchen lately.  My schedule has me at home a lot more, and to keep myself occupied, I've been tackling so many of the recipes all of you have been putting out.  Each and every one has been a complete hit in our home, and they are all perfect for fall, especially if you need something to distract you from oncoming hurricanes!

All of the pictures below belong to the blogger who posted them.  They are not mine.


Taste and Tell: Homemade Tator Tots (Perfect for your leftover mashed potatoes.)


















Mel's Kitchen Cafe:  Ultimate Beef Stroganoff (As you may have noticed, I've currently got a bit of a  crush on Mel's blog.  She can do no wrong!)
























Stay safe east coasters!  We'll get through this together!

Minggu, 28 Oktober 2012

Waffles in Footscray at Snow Tree

Is it a hairdresser?  Is it a chemist?  No - it's a cafe!!!

P1060132

Snow Tree is a totally awesome addition to Footscray.  Just opened in Leeds Street, this cute-as-a-button store serves six flavours of frozen yoghurt, waffles, espresso coffee and iced tea to the boppy strains of K-pop.

P1060128
Small frozen yoghurt, $4.50 and short black, $3.30

If you wept for Yoghurt House, weep no longer - Snow Tree serves frozen yoghurt in such varieties as mango, "fourberry" and our choice, pineapple and coconut.  Toppings (fresh fruit, M&Ms and more) are 50 cents each.  And I am thrilled to report that this short black was excellent, carefully extracted with no sugar required.  Great coffee and frozen yoghurt in Footscray - colour me happy!

P1060131
Snowtree Belgian waffle, $7.50

The lovely folks behind Snow Tree are Korean and there are a few unusual delicacies like bingsu (a "sundae" of red beans, ice, jelly and more, a bit like Korean ais kacang) and Korean rice and cinnamon drinks, as well as "pink lady" and "blue lady" iced tea.  We loved this house special, light-as-a-feather waffles with tasty, really fresh fruit, whipped cream and strawberry froyo.

P1060135

I am thrilled to the back teeth that such a unique little business has opened in the heart of Footscray.  And we *almost* have the late-night coffee shop we crave - they're open til 8 pm every night!

Snowtree  on Urbanspoon

Snow Tree
Shop 12/119 Hopkins Street, Footscray (entrance on Leeds Street)
Hours:  Daily 7.30am-8pm

PS:  A little something you may be interested in.  If you're not a hospo insider, the big names are: Peter Gunn of Attica, Anna Quayle of the Duchess of Spotswood, Lindsey Fush and Jeremy Shiell of the Royal Mail Hotel, Vanessa Mateus of Pope Joan, and James Kummrow, formerly of the Royal Mail and now of The Bank.  With such an impressive fixture, this will be a most delicious evening!  It's open to the hospitality industry and also the general public.



Sabtu, 27 Oktober 2012

The Swiss Bäcker ... A bread and pastry treat in Frankel Avenue

Our weekend breakfast ideas usually comes from HY for my mind gets clogged up every morning without coffee. She suggested The Swiss Bäcker on Frankel Avenue for a simple bread, pastry with coffee breakfast before we adjourned for our weekly groceries shopping. The artisanal bakery and gourmet cafe set itself alongside The Pepperoni. In the morning, Frankel Avenue was quiet and this made our breakfast all the more idyllic.

Here's my freshly baked Butter Croissant. Their version was very flaky and smell real good of buttery richness.

I always remember to ask for extra butter for my buttery croissant. I'm the dairy man! I feast on dairy produce!

Here's HY's Cinnamon bun that lets off the cinnamon flavor as we sink our teeth onto the softness of the bun.

We sat in the cafe beside where kids will love! Their own play corner.

As I  was at the counter ordering breakfast, I saw this Russian Stollen that enticed me to take home.

Here's the Russian Stollen which is brioche with raisins, cinnamon, almond paste and sprinkled with almond nuts. Had it with brewed coffee during tea time. Brewed coffee and the Russian Stollen were a formidable combination!

Here's how it looks on the inside.

97A Frankel Avenue
Singapore 458222
Tel : +65 6441 8766

Jumat, 26 Oktober 2012

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls – The Least Scary Halloween Treat, Ever!

When I was asked to join some of my fellow foodies on YouTube, to produce a video for a special seasonal playlist called “Halloween Sweet Treats,” I sat down and considered all the scary sweets recipes in my repertoire. After several minutes of deep thought, I realized I had nothing.

Not to sound like a curmudgeon, but sticking broken pretzels into a marshmallow and calling it a “scary spider,” just isn’t my thing. So, instead of trying to figure out how to make a chocolate truffle look like a bleeding eyeball, I made a batch of pumpkin cinnamon rolls. They may not be scary (what’s the opposite of scary?), but they are seasonal, and incredibly delicious.

I used to joke that when Halloween/Thanksgiving time rolls around, the only thing a chef has to do to make a recipe seasonal is to add some pumpkin to it. Chili with a spoon of pumpkin stirred in? Halloween chili! Dinner rolls with a spoon of pumpkin kneaded into the dough? Thanksgiving dinner rolls!

Well, that’s exactly what I did here, and while it may be formulaic, it also produced the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever tasted. One key is a nice soft, sticky dough. Be sure to only add enough flour so that the dough just barely pulls away from the side of the bowl as it kneads.

You can certainly embellish by adding some chopped walnuts or pecans to the cinnamon-sugar layer, but since I decided to garnish with pumpkin seeds, I went sans nuts. Anyway, despite not being very horrifying, these really would make a special treat at any Halloween party. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 16 Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls:
(I used a deep 13 x 9 baking dish)
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes

For the dough:
1 package of dry yeast
1/4 cup very warm water (about 100-105 degrees F.)
1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/4 cup heavy cream (can sub milk, but cream is better)
1 tsp fine salt
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger and 1/4 tsp allspice)
1 large egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 to 4 cups all purpose flour (divided), as needed 
 (add enough flour to mixer so that dough just barely pulls away from sides, and a very soft, slightly sticky dough is formed)
*knead for at least 6-7 minutes

For the filling:
5 tbsp melted butter, brushed on rolled dough
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

*For the glaze:
1/4 cup room temperature cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk, or as needed
1/4 tsp vanilla extract, optional
*adjust glaze by adding more powdered sugar or milk to achieve desired consistency
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds to garnish

Forbidden Rice Pudding

 

in  few words ?...

unique, exotic, satiating, DELICIOUS... and HEALTHY ?!!!

forbidden rice...

often served in south east Asia for breakfast this unique pudding can just as easily cover you for a surprisingly fabulous interesting dessert.
once upon a time this exotic looking grain was reserved for the emperors of Asia...also known as "The Emperor's Rice" it was forbidden to anyone else.  there are records of black rice being grown around 150 BC, and it is considered lucky as well as nutritious.

if you believe in the gods they say... seeing black rice is an indication that your day will be successful.

i'm all for that.  i'll be eating "Lucky Rice"  every day from here on out ! 


it's even being touted as one of the new super-foods

"this rice provides the richest nutritional value, providing a higher level of vitamins, minerals and fiber of any bran rice, as well as a comprehensive range of amino acids, proteins, vegetable fats and essential trace elements needed by the body." (more info like this found HERE and HERE)


FORBIDDEN RICE PUDDING

1 cup black rice
3 cups water
1/2 tsp salt (will be divided for rice and for pudding)
1/2 cup sugar...i used sug. substitute, Zsweet
1 (15oz.) can unsweetened coconut milk...i used "lite"
3-4 star anise
1 stick cinnamon

bring rice, 3 cups water and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a 3-4 quart heavy sauce pan.  then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered with a tight lid for 45 minutes...rice will be cooked but still a bit wet.
meanwhile, while that's cooking...heat the coconut milk in a small pot with 3 star anise and a small cinnamon stick.  bring it to almost boil, then turn it off and let the flavors steep.  lid on.
when rice is done, stir in the sugar, a scant 1/4 tsp of salt and the can (or 1 1/2 cups) coconut milk.  bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens and rice is tender, but still slightly chewy...about 30 minutes.
NOTE...this rice will not get as tender and mooshy as regular rice, but that's part of it's charm.
ALSO...i left in the star anise and cinnamon stick until it was all the way done then fished them out before serving.  do a taste test...you might want to remove them before making the pudding if it's strong enough for you...i like star anise.
serve as is or pour a little coconut milk over the top, as shown, for people to mix in as they choose.




Kamis, 25 Oktober 2012

麗都飯店 Lee Do Restaurant ... Cold Crab's the reason why we're here.

I was Ade's birthday dinner and it's almost a crabby one for the last 3 birthdays for members of Eat Eat Eat club. It was Ade's great idea that we do crab birthday meals this year. Jane's was at House of Seafood, mine in Roland Restaurant and Ade chose hers to be at 麗都飯店  Lee Do (Cold Crab) Restaurant. There are several cold crab restaurats like Li Gui at Mosque Street or the Singapura Restaurant. Non of us tried Lee Do before and so here we are. Service was really good. Our plates were replaced by clean ones between dishes. The following shows the dishes that just skimmed the surface of what we actually ate but are highlights of the dinner.

Lee Do's Cold Crab was the one reason that we're here. We pre-ordered the crabs which we start tearing apart when everyone arrived at the table. The crab was chilled which was probably why it accentuates the sweetness of the crab. The pincer was the easy for us to pick at the chunky meat ...

... but I thought that the best part was the body where the crab roe mingled with the meat. Apart from the extra effort needed to separate the soft shell from the meat, which was well worth the effort, the meat we found here was especially tender and sweet. The chilli sauce as a dip didn't add much to the experience but the black vinegar did enhanced the sweetness of the crab. Negative thoughts of cholesterol intake were cast aside. Tonight we feast.

Steamed Threadfin Tail had a special preserved soy bean sauce with a sourish ring to it. It was appetizing. I had loads of the sauce on my white rice.

丽都虾卷 Lee Do Prawn Rolls

丽都虾枣 Lee Do Ngoh Hiang


61 Ubi Avenue 2 #01-13
Automobile Megamart
Singapore 408898
Tel : +65 6742 2181