christmas dinner for teban gardens

made early 8pax christmas dinner for KF, A & their teban gardens colleagues R, MH & HW on 12.12.2018. ^^

Menu

1 pumpkin rocket salad
2 nobu miso cod
3 teriyaki salmon belly
4 chorizo prawns
5 ika sugatayaki (flamed whole squid)
6 Dubrovnik orange jam chicken
7 grilled vegetables
8 vongole linguine
9 tagliatelle fruiti mare
10 tiramisu

the last time i had dinner with KF and A was before their croatia trip and after ours on 14.5.2018.

that time we had croatia brodet (a fish stew) and grilled fish…this time i decided to do more tapas and pasta, since i just returned from amalfi coast family trip..haha!

pumpkin rocket salad

did my usual pumpkin rocket salad.

just baked pumpkin 20mins in 250degC oven, added sea salt, black pepper, olive oil & honey.

when serving added rockets and cherry tomatoes, sea salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar & honey (or agave nectar) to taste, an tossed.

teriyaki salmon belly & nobu miso cod2

teriyaki salmon belly & nobu miso cod2

teriyaki salmon belly

nobu miso cod

and the nobu miso cod, and teriyaki salmon belly.

nobu miso cod just marinade with 2 tbsp miso, 1/3cup mirin, 1/3cup sake, 1tbsp flat sugar, placed in double ziploc bag in chiller for 3 days. then dried with kitchen towels & grilled 15mins in 250degC oven.

teriyaki salmon belly marinade with 1tbsp miso, 1tbsp light soy sauce, 2tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp sake, 3cm chopped ginger, 5 cloves chopped garlic, placed in double ziploc bag in chiller for 3 days. then dried with kitchen towels & grilled 15mins in 250degC oven. served with dill from my garden.

both were excellent! this group of friends all preferred the salmon belly over cod.

Dubrovnik orange honey chicken (not the best this evening)

orange honey chicken (not the best this evening), slightly overdone so not as tender.

the best i did for wife’s friend on. that was “exquisite”, tender & tasty, as her friends noted.

chicken in orange juice marinade

deboned 1/2 chicken marinated in  fish sauce & white pepper and soaked in the juice of 2 oranges overnight in fridge. the pangrilled, then covered and cooked with orange juice, added jam. reduced the orange juice to serve as dip.

chorizo prawns

chorizo prawns was very good as usual. prawns succulent & tasty and the chorizo white wine sauce very flavourful.

chorizo and white wine sauce for chorizo prawns

the key as in many dishes was the sauce/stock.

i used very intense, tasty chicken stock (prepared with chicken bones, carrots, red onions, garlic, spring onions), fried chorizo, sweet basil, chilli padi, garlic, then chicken stock and white wine and reduced.

ika sugatayaki (flamed whole squid)

ika sugatayaki (flamed whole squid) is a ‘laku’ dish with my family and friends.

today it was a bit over done. ch helped to cut the squid for serving.

steamed whole squid for flaming afterwards

steamed squid >90% cooked, dried in fridge.

when serving, added sea salt, black pepper, drizzled with honey and olive oil, then flamed.

pangrilled red & yellow peppers and zucchini

oven grilled sweet corn, sweet potato and potatoes.

in addition to the pumpkin salad, i served 2 grilled vegetables. the peppers and zucchini i pan-grilled. just added butter, sea salt and pepper. can also tossed with a bit hoeny to finish. today i did not.

the sweet corn etc i grilled in 250degC oven for 1/2 hrs. added olive oil, sea salt and butter.

vegetables were all good.

seafood tagliatelle

white wine sauce for seafood tagliatelle

seafood tagliatelle

both the pasta this evening were excellent!

texture was important. i made my pasta more al dente after our recent amalfi coast trip. previously i did them al dente too, but the recent trip my family felt the pastas there in general evne more al dente than singapore.

and taste was the key. i had a very tasty white wine sauce using the usual browned whole garlic in live oil, fried with chilli padi & sweet basil, then added white wine & intense chicken stock & reduced.

when serving, added prawns, then squid (both seasoned with fish sauce and white pepper), then off fire and tossed pasta, added 1tbsp butter and tossed.

vongole linguine

vongole linguine

for vongole pasta, i do not use stock so as to have a purer taste of the sea. lol! dictated by children who are the best connoisseur of food and flavours.

just browned whole garlic cloves, chilli padi & sweet basil for aroma, then white wine and reduced, then the lala & covered till they open, then off fire and tossed.

voila!

tiramisu

did my usual tiramisu. i don’t do dessert much the last few years.

this container was not the usual i used, slightly bigger so needed maybe 25% more biscuits. i thought the tiramisu a bit dense than my usual, taste was still good, cake was still moist even if denser.

R didn’t like it because too much liquor. i used brandy (whatever i have). wife & i ok with it.

seafood tagliatelle

it was a great dinner with friends.

my RI friend KF and his church PPHBC started teban gardens community service centre in 2002 and these friends here have been serving the residents, and i cook a dish every friday breakfast when i can. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy