Category Archives: RI FGS (For Goodness Sake) Charity Dinners
2nd RI FGS (For Goodness Sake) Charity Dinner Raised S$10,020 for HCA Hospice Care on 21Oct2016
which bali resort is this?
a group of RI friends have the idea that as we all have a good time coming together enjoying good food & company, making new memories together, maybe we can also do a charity fundraising while we are having our makan & chill get-together. ^^
we had a great fun time together that evening, and we raised S$16,948 for HCA Hospice Care.
hummus & breadstick
we decided to do this again at the same architect friend’s beautiful home, this time a sit down homecooked western dinner on 21.10.2016. ^^
the host provided some hummus & breadstick.
we gathered at the lounge looking into the tranquil koi pond, patio & swimming pool, sharing conversation & waiting for other friends to arrive.
for the food, the host have arranged for his helper to cook oxtail stew, a substantive main course.
i prepared the other dishes comprising a salad, 2 meat & a fish tapas, 2 pastas, a beef steak main course & tiramisu, a popular dessert among my friends.
2 friends came earlier to my place about 5.45pm to help transport the food/dishes over to our architect friend’s house.
we arrived in good time about 6.15pm. the helper’s oxtail stew was “brewing”, excellent aroma wafting in the kitchen.
i got the tapas dishes in the oven at 50degC to keep warm, salad & pastas ready for tossing when we starting dinner, & the ribeye steaks i would cook sometime into dinner.
#1 pumpkin tofu salad
we started dinner at 8pm when all the friends arrived.
my helper had prepared the tofu & pumpkin which i had added extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar & some honey earlier (ran out of agave nectar).
when serving i added some ready mix of olive oil, balsamic, seasalt to the mesclun vegetables, tossed & added to make the pumpkin tofu salad. (this to keep the mesclun fresh & not soggy).
it was an excellent salad!
#1 smoked duck to accompany the pumpkin tofu salad
i had wanted to smoke duck breast myself (my own tea smoked duck breast here!), but i could not get the ready duck breast from sheng shiong & did not want to debone a whole duck for the purpose.
i chanced upon a ready smoked duck breast at phoon huat in clementi, & it turned out the duck breast was very good!
#2 teriyaki miso pork belly (so-so today)
my teriyako miso belly pork was a bit underwhelming today.
taste was ok but did not stand out.
the nobu miso cod though was excellent.
everyone liked it. one friend declared it was his best dish for this evening’s dinner, and plans to cook the dish himself.
the gordon ramsay slow-braised crackling pork was tops this evening too.
my expert photographer friend was distracted this evening, focusing on some other subjects i think, haha!
the meat was very tender & flavourful, well braised, very tasty & still having the bite, not disintegrating! ^^
& the skin was very crispy, crackling.
many friends commented on the crackling skin. it was in the oven for 2 hrs to keep warm, and the skin remained crackling.
the alio olio pasta was very tasty & a friend declared that was his best dish for the evening.
it didn’t start off as alio olio, lol!^^
i bought 5 large squid (2.3kg) form chinatown the day before, and that was all the squid ink there was from the 5 squid.
so i decided to evolve the dish into alio olio, the easiest to make – just browned a whole bulb garlic, fried sliced chicken & prawns, then some diced scallops, tossed in the spaghetti when serving & garnish with thai sweet basil.
squid ink is very flavourful, so though this was not a squidink dish (my squidink pasta here!), the squid ink enhanced the taste of the alio olio pasta!
the second pasta i did was prawn pasta in pink (creamy tomatoes) sauce. a friend mentioned that this pasta was very good.
i like the tomatoes flavour, an excellent dish really, just tomato taste a bit more commonplace.
this was my best dish for the evening.
it was made the host’s helper. (i subsequently recreated this dish myself)
for me, the top 4 dishes were this oxtail stew, the sliced beef tagliata, nobu miso cod & the crackling belly pork.
as this dish was made by my friend’s helper rather than my own, i was more excited trying it.
everyone liked this dish…a friend said the beef was so tender…indeed excellent steak, tender, juicy, sweet! ^^
tagliata di manzo is a common steak dish served in italian restaurants. tagliata means cut, and manzo means beef, so just a sliced beef dish that is well plated with cherry tomatoes & rockets (i used mesclun this evening as i could not get rockets at giant the day before).
#9 tiramisu
& i made tiramisu, a dessert which all my friends liked.
2 friends had extra, extra helpings! 🙂
the host provided cut fruits – papaya & sweet rock melons, and also baluku.
such a pleasant bali dining environment
the bali setting was mesmerising, very calming, warm, welcoming, tranquil.
nice tableware
table was set by the helper. nice tableware.
nice tableware
nice tableware – placemat. 🙂
table set for 10pax dinner
tabel set for 10pax dinner
very enjoyable, relaxing dinner with good friends, long time pals from schooldays in RI from 1971, 45yrs ago.
we say we are all VSOP = very special old pals! ^^
bali retreat
bali retreat
everyone had a great time. memorable joyful evening.
after taking leave from the gracious host & getting home, got the whatsapp message from tai kor (big bro) that we collected $10,020 for HCA Hospice Care.
as we shared these 2 times we came together to organise the FGS Charity Dinners-
the dinner size, donations & amounts are not so important…just old friends having good fun together with the added opportunity to have the joy to make a donation if so wishes la….
c.h.e.f andy
Protected: 6pax Food Trial (In Preparation for Second RI FGS) on 23Aug2016
1st RI FGS (For Goodness Sake) Charity Dinner Raised S$16,948 for HCA Hospice on 20May2016
salad
a group of RI friends have the idea that as we all have a good time coming together enjoying the food & company, making new memories together, maybe we can also do a charity fundraising while we are having our makan & chill get-together. ^^
so on 3.12.2016, we got together at a friend’s place to try out the logistics.
there were 28pax. 3 of us did the cooking. it was a good practice too to help with the planning & food logistics, and of course also another good excuse for our usual makan & chill together.
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a lot more organisation had gone into it by the guys this time, and we also discovered that the generous host is a accomplished auctioneer & mob rouser.
he donated 4 macallan rare cask & 3 mac18, & got everyone into the mood. there were like 28 bids for the whisky & the auction closed with 2 equal winning bids at S$1,888 for 2 bottles for each group, so that was S$3,776 in total for the whisky.
a friend donated a book about hawker fares in singapore that went for S$188.
in total the 33pax dinner (about 27 attended inner, the others came to join drink after dinner) raised S$16,948 for HCA Hospice.
what is important is that everyone was in the mood of giving & feeling good about it. & in fact a lot of chat continues afterwards on whatsapp. people were feeling happy about the occasion, the time together & doing something for the needy, & wanting to do this again.
for me whether we had raised more or less is not as important as just spending time together & doing something meaningful together.
which bali resort is this?
this time we had it at another friend’s beautiful home, an architect, on 20.5.2016. ^^
some of us were there early, preparing salad & cutting fruits. i was reheating the curry dishes we shipped over & organising the dishes for dinner.
the vast kitchen looks out into nice greeneries, like in a nature reserve. 🙂
we were saying no need to go ubud la for retreat & relaxation…just come over here & cook…
3 of us did the cooking.
another friend brought the veg to make fresh salad (top photo). & couple other friends brought cut fruits & lots of apples (30).
mee siam
one friend did mee siam with prawns & fish cakes & fried tofu. 🙂
side dish
he made a very tasty side dish too with ikan bilis & tofu.
mutton stew + pilaf rice
another friend made mutton stew & pilaf rice. 🙂
mutton stew
he thought of doing mutton rendang. 🙂
i was doing a few curry dishes, so he settled on doing a stew.
pilaf rice
& nice long grain pilaf rice.
the host was doing some plain rice for the curries. so we reduced the amount of plain rice a bit, & started dinner off with the pilaf rice. still i think there was quite a bit of rice leftover.
i made 7 dishes + chocolate banana cake
i did 6 dishes (2 servings of fish head so 7 dishes) + a chocolate banana cake.
i chose curry because it was very easy to cook, and could feed many.
i figured that one dish of fish head (2 halves) was not enough for 27pax so i cooked 2 separate dishes of fish head.
the serving came with lots of veg – yellow onions, ocra, egg plants & tomatoes.
fish head was easy to cook as i used a ready curry paste – mak’s curry.
i did this couple times already & my friends all liked the curry.
so it’s just frying the rempah (curry paste), yellow onions, ocra, adding fish head & coating with rempah thoroughly, then adding egg plants, chicken (or fish) stock, coconut milk, cover & let it simmered for 10mins, then adding tomatoes.
& it’s done, that simple! 🙂
for nonya curry chicken, i used my own rempah instead of a ready paste.
i prefer to first debone the 2 chickens, and make a tasty stock using the chicken bones & carrots.
again cooking was very easy.
just fried rempah with star anise, cinnamon bark, clove & curry leaves, added chicken to coat with rempah thoroughly, then added coconut milk, chicken stock, covered & let simmer. i removed the chicken pieces after 5-6mins & cooked the wings for another 10mins.
one of the key consideration is logistic.
for curries, i cooked them in the morning so i had complete dishes & tasted them to know they were ok. then removed the fish head & chicken & let the curries cooled. then i transfered them to separate sealed plastic containers & stored in the fridge.
(basically difficult to transport a dish with liquid unless in properly sealed containers la…).
reheating was easy. the only consideration was that the fish head & curry chicken not be overcooked.
it may seem strange to choose curries with the hassle of transporting but they are easy to cook, can do in bulk & easily reheat to serve hot, and have wider appeal to diners c/w with other dishes.
kou rou 扣肉
i did a kou rou 扣肉.
among my own dishes this was most popular, & disappeared in double-quick time. & our friends who were early were taking this (to try haha!) before reheating & before dinner started. 🙂
this was done 4hrs in a 90degC oven to have a slow low-temperature gentle braise, then steamed in a steam oven for 1hr 15mins, so it was very tender, flavour-infused, but still have bite & texture, not falling apart.
chap chai
i did a chap chai to balance the curries.
chap chai
this again a very easy dish, just fry, stew cabbage, add stock, then add beancurd puffs (taupok) and add tanhoon when ready so tanhoon will cook in residual heat & not be overcooked. remember this has to be reheated later when serving.
sweat peas baby corns with prawns
someone commented maybe have more veg, so i reduced 1 meat (omitted the teriyaki sutchi fillet) & added 2 veg dishes.
sweat peas baby corns with prawns
the sweet peas baby corn with prawns was excellent when my helper made it for our home dinner.
this though was my first time cooking it. it turned out quite badly, i think the worst dish for the evening.
the ingredients were good. prawns were fresh, sweet peas & baby corns were always very tasty.
sweat peas baby corns with prawns
however i made a bad mistake of frying the prawns first in butter, like i do for pastas.
unlike double-cooked pork回锅肉, prawns cannot be fried & steamed. it destroyed the texture, so the prawns were no more bouncy but mushy like not-fresh prawns. & this especially so when the dish had to be covered with aluminium foil & kept in a 50degC oven for long periods to keep warm.
on hindsight it was better to serve the dish cold…
ocra in nonya sauce
i used a very nice tasty nonya sauce for the ocra.
ocra in nonya sauce
so this dish was real easy, just fry, make sure it was cooked right then add the nonya sauce at the end.
ocra in nonya sauce
ocra in nonya sauce
looking at the photos, the vibrant green went off quite a bit, though the dish still tasted very good.
on balance, it was better to serve the dish cold w/o additional treatment after cooking.
i made a chocolate banana cake.
this was quite popular. everyone liked it. ^^
it was my second time. the first time my OPS friends talked about awfully chocolate & their chocolate banana cakes. so i went to google & found a recipe & went to phoon huat to get a 9″ by 9″ cake tin to make the dish.
this time i got better quality bananas & also added more bananas. quite a good cake.
cut fruit stall
some friends prepared the cut fruits.
watermelon
watermelon from our regular watermelon supplier…
yellow watermelon
pineapples
mango & guava
& others, like pineapples, mangoes, guavas etc…
apples
one friend brought 30 apples. we all ate or brought home some…
it was a really good, fun dinner.
the host was assisted by another equal mob rouser, and our mabuk friends & others were all into the spirit of sharing, whisky & donations in equal parts.
bless them all good people! 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
Red Tomato Gazpacho
white cucumber & red tomato gazpacho
this a counterpoint to my white cucumber gazpacho. ^^
each gazpacho is delicious on its own, but they combine so beautifully, both aesthetics & also taste. shiok!
stellar at 1-altitude’s gazpacho in 2 styles
we went to stellar at 1-altitude for dinner on 9.11.2015.
other food so-so, but stellar’s gazpacho was just so good!
yes, i got inspired to try out the gazpacho at home. hehe! 🙂
red tomato gazpacho
& so i googled online recipes. some i used & adapted-
gazpacho is 2 styles
& produced 2 gazpacho just like stellar’s – a red tomato gazpacho & a white cucumber gazpacho.
red tomato gazpacho
for tomato gazpacho i used 4 large tomatoes, 1 large red pepper, 1/3 peeled japanese cucumber, 1/2 red onions, 1 clove garlic remove heart, 2.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1.5 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, 2tsp sea salt, 1 slice bread, 1 cup stock or water
& blend.
& i also did croutons like for the white gazpacho –
put sliced baguette on a on-stick pan on low fire, added sea salt & some shaved parmesan.
so easy to prepare!
& the result of my first attempt was a really delicious tomato gazpacho. not quite the standard of stellar’s for sure, but almost there.
we had this for our homegourmet adventure 4-course dinner on 15.11.2015.^^
so refreshing, smooth, & you could really taste the wonderful sweetness of the red pepper & tangy tomatoes, and the delicious combination of onions & other ingredients.
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients :-
- 4 large tomatoes
- 1 large red pepper
- 1/3 peeled japanese cucumber
- 1/2 red onions
- 1 clove garlic remove heart
- 2.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2tsp sea salt
- 1 slice bread
- 1 cup stock or water
- few slices of baguette
Directions : –
- place all ingredients (except baguette for croutons) in blender & blend till smooth. taste!
- put sliced baguette on a on-stick pan on low fire, added sea salt & some shaved parmesan.
White Cucumber Gazpacho – Soooo Delicious!
white cucumber & red tomato gazpacho
gazpacho not my favourite & i hardly take gazpacho by choice.
stellar at 1-altitude’s gazpacho in 2 styles
we went to stellar at 1-altitude for dinner on 9.11.2015.
other food so-so, but stellar’s gazpacho was just so good!
white cucmber gazpacho
so i googled online recipes. some i used & adapted-
gazpacho is 2 styles
& produced 2 gazpacho just like stellar’s – a red tomato gazpacho & a white cucumber gazpacho.
white cucmber gazpacho
for cucumber gazpacho i used 1.5 cucumbers, 1/2small yellow onions, 1 clove garlic (removed heart), 1x140ml plain yogurt, 1 slice bread, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 2tsp sugar, 1tsp sea salt, 1 cup vegetable stock & blend.
& i also did croutons for the first time!
i just put sliced baguette on a on-stick pan on low fire, added sea salt & some shaved parmesan.
so easy to prepare!
& the result of my first attempt was a really delicious gazpacho. not quite the standard of stellar’s for sure, but almost there.
we had this for our homegourmet adventure 4-course dinner on 15.11.2015.^^
so refreshing, smooth, & you could really taste the wonderful coolness of the cucumber, and the delicious combination of yogurt & onions & other ingredients.
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients :-
- 1.5 large cucumber (peeled & cut)
- 1/2 small yellow onions (cut)
- 1x140ml plain yogurt
- 1 clove garlic (remove heart)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 slice bread
- 1 cup stock or water
- few slices of baguette
Directions : –
- place all ingredients (except baguette for croutons) in blender & blend till smooth. taste!
- put sliced baguette on a on-stick pan on low fire, added sea salt & some shaved parmesan.
Cream of Carrot Soup
cream of carrot soup
was doing a 10-course vegetarian dinner for my niece’s birthday recently.
one of the dishes i prepared was a cream of carrot soup.
carrot coconut soup @ amsterdam
i am yet to try that. it is a bit adventurous with the coconut milk. i will try it one day before i serve it to my friends at dinner. 🙂
cream of carrot soup
i have done-
this was the very first time i did cream of carrot soup.
& it was excellent!^^
it was silky smooth & tasty, among the best soup i made.
cream of carrot soup
i added a lot of sliced/cut vegetables – 1 onion, 1 stalk leek, 1 red pepper, 2 carrots (plus some leftover stems from spinach). i fried them in butter till soft, added 2-3 cups of vegetable stock for vegetarian (or chicken stock) & boiled for further 20mins. then i used a blender to blend & added salt & pepper to taste.
when about to serve, i added 3 tablespoon thick cream, and i have some chopped basil from my garden.
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 2 carrots cut to small pieces
- 1 stalk leek (or celery) chopped
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 red pepper
- (i used some leftover spinach stems)
- 2-3 cups vegetable stock for vegetarian (or chicken stock)
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- salt & pepper to taste
- basil chopped
Directions:
- add a lot of sliced/cut vegetables – 1 onion, 1 stalk leek, 1 red pepper, 2 carrots (plus some leftover stems from spinach). fry them in butter till soft, added 2-3 cups of vegetable stock for vegetarian (or chicken stock) & boiled for further 20mins. then i used a blender to blend & added salt & pepper to taste.
- when about to serve, add 3 tablespoon thick cream, and some chopped basil from my garden.
Flamed Squid in Spinach Veloute
#6 flamed squid in spinach veloute
wife & i had a really good holiday in cornwall in may this year 2015. ^^
we had many good eats & 1 of them was at porthminster cafe at st ives.
st ives porthminster chef michael smith’s flamed squid
i saw the photos of flamed squid (above) at michael smith’s porthminster cafe at st ives. did not try the dish & cannot find the recipe on google. i guess the chef is not that famous. so i tried to recreate the dish w/o the recipe. 🙂
torch – present from a friend diner
my wife’s friend who came for dinner twice bought me a kitchen torch. that was more than a year ago. and i have never used it yet.
i tested it, pretty easy to use. 🙂
my first attempt was on 20.5.2015, experimenting some dishes for my anniversary dinner. ^^
i followed that up with the actual anniversary dinner & then the best one yet at a really fun 12pax homegourmet 12-course dinner this month on 5.8.2015.
flamed squid – learned to use the torch very first time
i cross cut (very closely) a large squid into 4 pieces (about 9cmx6cm), i flamed it on a frying pan. quite smooth going. i knew it was not sufficiently cooked. so i fried in butter over high heat. the key was not to overcook the squid or it would become tough & chewy.
#3 spinach veloute
for the sauce, again i created my own spinach sauce recipe. i used lots of vegetable to make it so very tasty.
flamed squid & spinach veloute
i fried in butter 1/2 onion, 1/2 stalk leek, 1 green pepper & a bunch of spinach leafs. then i placed them in a blender & added 2 tablespoon chicken stock & 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil & salt & pepper to taste.
flamed squid in spinach veloute
such a wonderful & tasty veloute complementing the flamed squid.
#6 flamed squid in spinach veloute
when serving i heat up the veloute, plated the sauce, added the flamed squid & topped with a coriander branch. 🙂
flamed squid in spinach veloute
flamed squid had excellent bbq flavours & looks, and was done just nice, not rubbery.
the veloute was really good. first class!
flamed squid in spinach veloute
tofu is not squid of course, but nice also, & the veloute is marvellous & the whole dish presentation just very charming. 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
Spanish Omelette – simple & great tapas!
spanish omelette
first made spanish omelette more than 2 years ago when i was doing the slow-braised spanish beef ribs, spanish seafood paella & a spanish seafood broth. ^^
it was pretty good, but i have not done it for a rather long time since.
recently i was doing a 10-course vegetarian dinner for 8pax at home my niece’s birthday, and decided to include spanish omelette when i was planning the 10 dishes. 🙂
spanish omelette
when i first made it, i looked at some internet recipes at the time, like the one here.
in any case it was just egg, onions & potatoes.
i sliced the 1/2 yellow onion & 1 .5 large potatoes. i fried in olive oil over medium to low heat the onions till softened & just starting to caramelise, and the potatoes till it breaks easily when pressed with the spatula (then it won’t be overcooked & mushy but still have the bite). i sprinkled sea salt on the pan. 🙂
i beat 2 eggs & added 2 teaspoon fish sauce (or light soy sauce if making vegetarian) & white pepper. then i added the potato & onions.
6″ omelette pan
i used a small 6″ omelette pan & added 1.5 tablespoon oil, & added in the the egg mixture when hot, & lowered fire to medium. i then flipped over a flat plate & eased the other side of the omelette back to the pan.
spanish omelette
it is really a very simple dish to make. ^^
and nice & tasty! one omelette was good for serving 8pax as a tapas item, and it’s easy to make another omelette if required. 🙂
spanish omelette
it was crispy outside, and very important, the potatoes were not mushy & had a good bite, & tasty with the onions & egg.
spanish omelette
a very easy to do dish that delivers great satisfaction! ^^
c.h.e.f andy
Gordon Ramsay’s Grilled Lobster with Bloody Mary Linguine
Gordon Ramsay grilled lobster with bloody mary linguine
saw Gordon Ramsay’s grilled lobster with bloody mary linguine a while back & wanted to try it out.
frozen cooked canadian lobster S$26.95 for 2x375g
i bought some frozen cooked canadian lobsters from cold storage earlier, S$26.95 for 2x375g lobsters.
i used 2 lobsters recently for a 4pax 6-course anniversary dinner for my wife & daughters. & had 2 more in the freezer, so decided to try out GR’s recipe today on 14.6.2015.^^
i followed the usual method cutting the lobster in 1/2 & shelling the pincers. they just looked great with the roe & tomalley (above photo).
lobster with chilli garlic butter
lobster with chilli garlic butter
i followed Gordon Ramsay’s preparation for the chilli garlic butter.
i cut 1 large chilli, added 3 cloves of chopped garlic, large pinch of sea salt, 1 tablespoon of dried parsley & ground them in a mortar, then added 40g of unsalted butter
then i spread the chilli garlic butter over the 1/2 lobsters & left in the fridge for 4hrs.
bloody mary sauce
for the bloody mary sauce –
i chopped a large red onion & fried in 2 tablespoon of oil, added 2 cloves of chopped garlic & fried till translucent & beginning to brown.
i added 1 teaspoon of sugar & just 1 teaspoon worcester sauce, & not being certain of the taste, i added 2 tablespoon flat oyster sauce instead. then i added 1 can (14oz) of cut tomatoes, & reduced the sauce (above photo)
grilled chilli garlic butter lobster
grilled chilli garlic butter lobster
when ready to serve, i used a heavy stainless steel pan (i recently switched over from non-stick coated pans to stainless steel pans for high heat cooking)-
added oil to give a thin coating, and waited for oil to begin to smoke under high heat.
then placed the 4 halves lobster, chilli buttered face on the hot pan, & grilled for 30secs.
then i added 3 tablespoon brandy & flamed the lobster (turning of the hob fan) to give nice liquor & grilled flavours.
bloody mary linguine
bloody mary linguine
for the bloody mary linguine,
i had earlier prepared the linguine al dente, drained the pasta in a colander & stopped the cooking with water & ice.
i heat up the bloody mary sauce & tossed the linguine, & then plated it as shown in Gordon Ramsay’s youtube video.
i also prepared the breadcrumbs with just 1 teaspoon olive oil & added some dried parsley, & had them sprinkled over the top of the pasta.
Gordon Ramsay grilled lobster with bloody mary linguine
& voila!
the lobster was very flavourful with the chilli garlic butter, brandy flaming & hot grill. 🙂
this time i made doubly sure that the lobster was not overcooked. it was very good really, quite bouncy & most importantly very tasty, of course not to be compared with live lobsters.
the bloody mary had excellent tomato taste. taste though was a bit complex, with nice stand-out, slightly tangy tomato taste. it was a very good tasting sauce. still, it was not (yet) my favourite. i was in 2 minds & decided to prepare a pink sauce (creamy tomatoes) which i knew would be very good in any case.
in the end, my wife & i decided we should try this new bloody mary sauce since i had already prepared it, rather than just stick to some old normal & comfort level with the pink sauce. haha!^^
it was a very enjoyable dinner. it was a first attempt, and i was able to reproduce the dish quite well, so it was a repeatable dish. 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
Tiramisu – A Charming Dessert
tiramisu – a charming dessert
my wife & i are not very dessert people. so i never thought i would get into cakes & baking etc. 🙂
i chanced on the chocolate lava cake early on. it was easy to make, had the wow factor and solve my problem of having to buy cakes or just eat fruits after my homecooked dinners which i started in mar2012. 🙂
after that i tried apple pie. it was pretty good or at least ok, but if i also had to make the dough which i did, it was quite a bit of trouble, so i made about 3 apple pies & gave it up.
after a very long break, like almost 2 years since my first lava cake (& i also stopped lava cake for 9 months having gotten tired of it after serving it for many homecooked dinners), i tried a jam crumb cake which was pretty good as well, though it had far less wow factor. then in may2014, after buying the tofu cheesecake from sun with moon wheelock for my domestic helper’s birthday, i again chanced on a tofu cheese cake. it was easy too like the lava cake, all you have to do was blend. 🙂
so tofu cheese cake went on for couple of months, & i made it again for a friend’s party this evening. anyhow i was inspired by 1 of my wife’s friend who did an awesome tiramisu.
after googling for the recipe including videos recipes, i did my no-bake tiramisu for the very first time, and it turned out wonderfully the first time, on 26.7.2014. i was happy enough with it to serve it to my friends at a 11pax lobster menu dinner on 30.7.2014 & everyone simply swore by it, and according to one, it now displaced my lava cake & tofu cheese cake as his favourite, but you know often times it’s just a change, something new for the time. 🙂
tiramisu – a charming dessert
it was a surprise to me but as it turned out, tiramisu was the easiest of all the desserts i have made. 🙂
i used 1/2 portion of the video recipe i saw here.
i separated the egg yolks & white of 3 eggs. my son had bought me a hand mixer from UK when he was back in dec2013 & i decided to use it for the first time.
whisking the eggs to soft peaks was a breeze. 🙂 i added 2 tablespoon sugar as i whisked to soft peaks, as chef john of food wishes.com called, the shaving cream consistency. haha! 🙂
i added 250g mascarpone cheese to the yolks & whisked to get the nice custard. then i folded the meringue in 2 batches into the custard. that’s done.
i put 200ml freshly grounded expresso from my coffee machine in a flat dish & added 1.2 tablespoon of brandy (otard), 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence & 1 teaspoon sugar.
then i took the savoiardi finger biscuits & dipped them lightly in the expresso & lined one layer on the glass dish. i added 1/2 the custard then another layer & the custard again. i finished off by dusting cocoa powder through a sieve & then using a large knife scrapped the chocolate flakes from the back of a chocolate bar & added to the cake. then i left it in the fridge overnight.
tiramisu
tiramisu
tiramisu
tiramisu
tiramisu – a charming dessert
well the result was nothing less than sensational, not too sweet, nice expresso & liquor, and marvellously consistent malleable textured cake. 🙂
i think i know what’s the next cake i will try to make – a banoffee cake!
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients –
- 250g mascarpone cheese
- 3 eggs separate into egg yolks & whites
- 16 finger savoiardi biscuits
- 200ml expresso
- 4 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- default 2 tablespoon brandy (sometimes i use 4 tbsp or 60ml for some of my friends who love more brandy, haha!)^^
Directions –
- separate the egg yolks & whites of 3 eggs.
- using a hand mixer, whisk the eggs to soft peaks. add 2 tablespoon sugar as you whisk to soft peaks, as chef john of food wishes.com called, the shaving cream consistency.
- add 250g mascarpone cheese to the yolks & whisk to get the nice custard. then fold the meringue in 2 batches into the custard.
- put 200ml freshly grounded expresso in a flat dish & add 1.5 tablespoon of brandy (otard), 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence & 1 teaspoon sugar.
- then take the savoiardi finger biscuits & dip them lightly in the expresso & line one layer on the glass dish. add1/2 the custard then another layer of finger biscuits & the custard again. finish off by dusting cocoa powder through a sieve & then using a large knife scrap chocolate flakes from the back of a chocolate bar & add to the cake. then i leave it in the fridge overnight.
Seafood Risotto Par Excellence
seafood risotto modelled after monterosso miky
i repeated my lake como, cinque terre, milan grand tour tasting menu for 11pax friends get-together on 30.7.2014.
while overall it was not as good as the last round, the seafood risotto though was outstanding. and so was the tiramisu. 🙂
seafood risotto modelled after monterosso miky
seafood risotto modelled after monterosso miky
i am very happy with this risotto. the key was the intense stock from prawn shells & heads. there was also the vegetable base from chopped carrots, celery, leeks, yellow onions & green pepper which i softened before adding 1.2 cups of rice. the vegetable sweetness balanced well the prawn stock sweetness. the aborio rice was done al dente by putting in a 210degC oven for 10 minutes, which took it to about 90% cooked.
the prawns & squids were pre-cooked, fried in butter.
the mussels & mango clams were cooked when serving the dish. i did them separately adding sliced ginger, chilli padi & orange peels. they took only few minutes. then the risotto was put on high fire with remaining stock added & just before serving the prawns, squids, mussels & mango clams were added, & cooked for 1 minute. 🙂
the risotto was so very tasty, almost dare i say as good as miky’s…almost but never quite…& the seafood were all so very fresh, tasty, done just right & not overcooked. 🙂
& my friend took such nice photos above as well!
c.h.e.f andy
Squid-ink Seafood Spaghetti
squid ink manila clams with squid spaghetti
reserved the squid-ink pouch in the freezer when i was cooking a grilled large squid. there was also a defrosted squid in the chiller & couple prawns which needed to be used before the head turned black, so decided to cook squid-ink pasta. this my first attempt. 🙂
squid-ink seafood linguine-added 24.10.2014
i used the squid-ink from 3 squids, from the large one & 2 medium ones.
squid-ink linguine with clams & squid – added 24.10.2014
squid ink manila clams with squid spaghetti
squid-ink linguine with clams & squid – added 24.10.2014
as usual i browned a whole bulb of garlic cloves in olive oil over low fire, and set aside. i seasoned the prawns & squid in 1 teaspoon fish sauce & white pepper. i added 2 teaspoon butter to the pan & turned to high fire till it just began to smoke, then i added the squid & prawns & cooked to about 90%. i removed the squid & prawns & added back the garlic olive oil & added 1 chopped chilli padi and the squid ink. then i added white wine & 1 teaspoon sugar & reduced.
meanwhile i boiled some spaghetti till just before specified time (just before al dente). i added back the squid & prawns & then the spaghetti, off the fire & tossed.
it was a really good squid-ink pasta, really tasty. i would say matching in taste the squid-ink pasta at al borgo. well almost la. haha! 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
Tofu Cheese Cake
tofu cheese cake
had an excellent birthday dinner at sun with moon @ wheelock for my domestic help on 16.5.2014 & bought back a tofu cheese cake as her birthday cake. 🙂
it was really good. we enjoyed it so much i decided to try making one myself.
i googled & found a very simple & truly wonderful no bake tofu cheese cake recipe. i had frequent homecooked dinner for friends & overly relied on my chocolate lava cake for dessert. i tried apple pie couple times & though it was ok there was no wow factor, nothing exciting. tofu cheese cake sounds exciting (at least to me & my children!) so i thought i would give it a try.
tofu cheese cake
tofu cheese cake
tofu cheese cake
tofu cheese cake
tofu cheese cake
tofu cheese cake
it was really a simple easy to make recipe & it turned out, well, ever so delicious & pretty too! 🙂
1 practical logistic problem was i could not find a 6″=15cm spring form cake pan with bottom release. anyway i did not know what it was until i googled. i found a 8in=20cm one at phoon huat at clementi avenue 3 costing S$7.90 so i bought it.
as the recipe was for the 15cm cake i basically doubled the recipe quantities.
go try yourself. enjoy!
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 105g digestive biscuits (7 pieces)
- 60g melted butter – i used unsalted
- 200g cream cheese (cut to 2cm pieces)
- 200g silken tofu (cut to 2cm pieces)
- 200g plain yogurt
- 100ml whipping cream
- 60g Sugar
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 3 tsp gelatin powder (15g)
- 50ml warm water
Directions:
- put a wax paper over the bottom then tighten the springform cake pan & ensure bottom is smooth.
- put digestive biscuits in ziploc bag & break & roll to powder. melt butter in microwave (40sec) & add to biscuits. mix well then empty into cake pan. spread evenly to form an uniform flat base. put in fridge.
- add plain yogurt, tofu, cream cheese, whipping cream, lemon juice & sugar to a blender, pulse & blend
- add 3 tsp gelatin powder to 50ml warm water & stir to dissolve completely. add to blender & blend.
- empty into the cake pan & place in fridge for 4hrs. when serving release the springform & remove from the bottom. voila!
Recipe = Nobu Miso Cod
Nobu miso cod – the usual lovely firm, bouncy, slightly oily cod texture & full of flavours
6feb2015 update (recipe at bottom updated accordingly –
subsequently i was lazy & just roast the cod in a roasting rack in 250degC oven for 12minutes and achieved the same results.
i also reduced the sugar to 1 tsp flat & the miso to 1 tbsp heap & marinated for 2 days instead 3days…
so proud of my Nobu miso cod! 🙂 successful at the very first attempt! wow! 🙂
my prize= the usual lovely firm, bouncy, slightly oily cod texture & full of flavours! 🙂
was planning a menu to cook for my wife for Mother’s Day…I now do a good pistachio crusted rack of lamb, slow-cooked Spanish beef ribs and pan-fried wagyu. but my wife is off lamb basically; slow-cooked, braised stuff never really up her alley; and while she is ok with pan-fried wagyu, it’s not something she’s into too much..so I was thinking what main course I could do..kurobuta was one which I started to do recently, pan-fried in a similar way as wagyu. I thought miso cod could be the other!
I found the Nobu miso cod recipe in a blog TastingMenu which I followed, and though I had some confidence the dish should turn out ok, one could never be too sure, and I was really quite elated that it did turn out so nicely! 🙂
I bought some frozen cod (<600g) from mmmm during their periodic promotion at S$41/kg. I later found that you could get cod fillet at Chinatown basement wet market for about same price S$40/kg (which I presumed was also cut from frozen whole cod).
I followed the miso marinate recipe (80gml mirin, 80ml sake, 3/4 cup miso paste, 3 heap tablespoon sugar). I boiled the saké and the mirin in a medium saucepan over high heat for 20 seconds to evaporate the alcohol, turned to low and added the miso paste, stirring to dissolve the miso completely, then turned to high again and added the sugar, stirring constantly so that the bottom of the pan didn’t burn. I then cooled down the marinate mix to room temperature.
600g cod fillets in miso marinate in ziplock bag
I placed the cod fillets in a ziplock bag & poured in the cooled marinate and left it in the fridge for 3 full days. turning over once in the morning & once in the evening to ensure all sides were fully coated.
miso cod – pretty light translucent yellow colour
After 3 days I removed the cod fillets from the miso marinate, patted dry with kitchen towels & placed the cod fillets on a rack over an aluminium foil lined baking tray. The miso cod is totally coated with a pretty light translucent yellow colour. 🙂
Nobu miso cod – the usual lovely firm, bouncy, slightly oily cod texture & full of flavours
I preheated the oven to 250degC on the circulation function, and put in the miso cod for 4 minutes. I then switched to the grill function at 210degC (the maximum for my oven for grill function) and roasted the cod for 3 minutes then turned over for another 4 minutes – a total cooking time of 11 minutes.
miso soup with shimeji mushrooms & garnished with scallions
and the used miso marinate? why discard it? it was full of flavours from the cod & miso. I cut & threw in 1 packet of 200g shimeji mushrooms from China (these were selling S$0.65 at Sheng Shiong!), added some chicken stock & water to taste and cut some stalks of scallions for garnishing. nice miso soup! 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 500g cod fillet
for miso marinade-
- 80ml mirin
- 80ml sake
- 1 tbsp heap miso paste
- 1 tbsp flat sugar
Directions:
- heat saké and the mirin to dissolve the miso and sugar, stirring constantly so that the bottom of the pan doesn’t burn. cool down marinade mix to room temperature.
- place cod fillets in a ziplock bag & pour in the cooled marinate and leave in chiller for 2days. turning over once in the morning & once in the evening to ensure all sides are fully coated.
-
remove cod fillets from miso marinade & place cod fillets on a roasting rack lined with aluminium foil at the bottom.
-
roast cod for in 250degC oven for 12mins..
Recipe = Pistachio Crusted Rack of Lamb
pistachio crusted rack of lamb
never cook lamb before. always had the impression that it was terribly hard! unlike a beef steak which you can just throw in the pan, lamb is like “who can cook lamb?” – unknown, undoable..
in fact, when eating out, I hardly ever order beef, since I can make a rather good steak myself with no effort & at fraction of the cost (just like I will only order squid-ink pasta since it is about the only pasta I don’t make myself); so its lamb or fish everytime (dining out) except at some famous grills, Japanese or fine dining restaurants..
I have a friend though always posting lamb pictures & obsessed with meat thermometers (which I now have 2 thanks to this friend for one, and still have not used any!) Well, I only started cooking much since March2012, so thermometers will have a future with me, I think..
so I gotten myself this packet of lamb, which contained 2 frenched lamb racks, and on the first occasion when enough guinea pigs volunteered to dine at my place, I gave it a go and cooked my first ever lamb rack. I always like Foodwishes.com Chef John’s cooking videos, and this pistachio crusted rack of lamb recipe is no exception. It is really very easy to make, much easier than the 2-hr slow-cooked Spanish beef ribs which requires preparations & cooking for the vegetable ratatouille for sauce & garnishing.
So I seasoned & browned the lamb rack, prepared the pistachio & the mix (add breadcrumbs, olive oil, melted butter) for the crust, rubbed dijon mustard on the lamb rack so that the pistachio crust sticked, and when my friends were here, while we were devouring the other dishes, I just put the lamb rack into a 210degC oven for 23minutes; and voila, I had a very impressive-looking & tasty pistachio crusted lamb which everyone really enjoyed! actually it was medium & I would have preferred medium rare, will try 21-22minutes next time.
pistachio crusted rack of lamb
pistachio crusted 1/2rack of lamb updated on 22.1.2015
Looks like I won’t be eating lamb anytime soon when dining out.
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 1 frenched lamb rack (standard 8 ribs, about 600g, good for 4)
- 1 cup of pistachios
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- sea salt & coarse black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
Directions:
- Prepare the lamb rack – cut/trim away the fat (to reduce the strong gamey taste/smell), cut about 2cm every 2 ribs w/o cutting into the loin (this for easy serving of the lamb rack afterwards), season with sea salt & coarse black pepper & pan seared including the ends over a very hot pan. put aside on an aluminium lined baking tray & reserve.
- Prepare the pistachio crust mix – cut about 1 cup of toasted pistachios into small bits. in a large bowl add 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon olive oil & 1 tablespoon melted butter, & mix.
- Cook the lamb – coat the lamb loin with 2 tablespoon of dijon mustard. This will enable the pistachio crust to stick. now coat the pistachio mix on the lamb to form a crust. Preheat oven to 210degC and place the lamb in the oven for 22minutes (or longer if you like it more done). serve
Tagliata di Manzo (Italian Sliced Beef) – Gordon Ramsay’s Pan Grill Method
tagliata di manzo (added on 7.11.2014)
I rarely order steak when I dine out these days (unless it is at some famous grill restaurant or fine dining) as I can buy very good meats at a meat grocer (eg mmmm) & cook them at home easily myself! It seems like steak is the easiest thing to cook when you have a good piece of meat & I sometimes wonder how many restaurants can do it so bad – mostly because done at the wrong temperature!
There seems to be very many approaches to cooking steak. For now, I find the GR (Gordon Ramsay) method of a chargrilled steak suits me fine (Heston Blumenthal use a very different method of flipping the meat every 15 seconds! ).
tagliata di manzo (USA grain fed ribeye & australian wagyu MBS 4/5)
pan-fried wagyu marbling score 6/7
Basically you need to have the meat at room temperature (means you take it out of the fridge for at least 1/2hr), lightly season with sea salt & coarse black pepper, grease a very hot skillet (I use the fat cut from the striploin or ribeye to grease the pan), and place the steaks on the the skillet w/o crowding, turn once, lightly touch the meat to feel for done-ness, add a small blob of butter to give it a nut brown finish, base the sauce over & let the steak soak in the flavour. You then turn off the fire & lift the steak off the pan to rest on a serving board & rest for 5minutes or longer to let the meat relax & redistribute the juices (please do see Heston Blumenthal’s very entertaining video here on the human press..lol.,to understand why). 🙂
panfried ribeye using GR (Gordon Ramsay) method
The ribeye in the top picture (& in the plated tagliata di manzo below) has been aged in the fridge for 48hrs. Aging is supposed to intensify the flavour & also tenderise the steak. There is a lot of literature on this. For now I do not find significant difference whether the meat is aged for 48hrs or not, and I am happy just having the steak w/o aging. My views may change later though if I know more!
tagliata di manzo (added on 7.11.2014)
tagliata di manzo (added on 7.11.2014)
For the tagliata (Italian sliced beef), we just need to plate it nicely with rockets & 1/2 cherry tomatoes lightly tossed with sea salt, extra virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar on a serving board, like so below.
c.h.e.f andy
Spanish Slow-cooked Beef Ribs
I had this really nice lunch at La Cicala with my son Wen Yu when he was back from UK for vacation in summer 2012. They have a S$25++pax lunch set that offers choice of 2 tapas+1main course+1 dessert – really great value. I had the Basque seafood stew as 1 tapas & the Spanish beef rib as the main, and enjoyed the lunch & companion of my son thoroughly. 🙂
I then googled and found this Spanish beef ribs recipe among others. I use Spanish chorizo that gives it a very nice flavour that for me enhances the beefy taste but also added Chinese sausage which for me added to the sweetness (some may not like this addition). The carrots, celery & yellow onions provide a very sweet vegetable broth as a counterpoint for the beefy dish, & the red peppers & tumeric (saffron is too expensive & troublesome to get for me) add to the vibrancy of the colours.
I bought chuck ribs from Giant usually during sales at S$1.49 per 100g (on one occasion just S$0.99 per 100g). A 1.2kg packet with 6 ribs costs around S$20 and serves 6 – in my case as I do many course and tapas items, it can serve 8).
Spanish slow-braised beef ribs (dish was inspired by La Cicala)
My son, though he likes my beef ribs, still prefers the La Cicala version which has beef broth instead of vegetable broth as the sauce base. I am happy with this vegetable broth version to balance the strong beefiness.
Spanish slow-braised beef ribs (dish was inspired by La Cicala)
Spanish slow-braised beef ribs (dish was inspired by La Cicala)
I had this for the 6.10.2012 dinner which by design coincided with Jeanette’s birthday celebration & the photo above was taken by Jeanette who loved the dish. I did this again for the “Best Of” dinner and all my friends (even Cheng Poon who generally avoided beef) loved it!
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 1.2kg chuck ribs
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled & diced
- 1 celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Spaish chorizo + 1 Chinese sausage, cut into 1 cm pieces
- 1 red pepper, cut into 2cm pieces
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 cup white wine
- 3 cups chicken stock
- sea salt & coarse black pepper to taste
Directions:
- Season chuck ribs with sea salt & coarse black pepper.
- Place in a baking tray & put in the oven preheated to 210degC (I use the grill function) 12 minutes on each side to brown.
- fry onion, carrot & celery in olive oil over high heat in a large wok until the vegetables softened.
- Add minced garlic & Spanish chorizo & Chinese sausage and cooked until they are nicely browned, around 5 minutes. Add the red peppers & flour and cooked for a few minutes.
- Add the white wine & reduced the liquid by 1/2. Add the chuck ribs. Turn to low heat and braised the ribs for 2hrs until the ribs are tender & falling off the bones. Season with sea salt to taste, portion the ribs & serve.
c.h.e.f 