Tag Archives: white cucumber gazpacho

Valentine’s Dinner at Home on 14Feb2016

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valentine's day 2pax dinner

valentine’s day dinner at home

for this year’s valentine’s dinner, i had planned to do a small 2pax dinner for my wife on 14.2.2016. ^^

we usually do not go out on the actual day as most places ridiculously ex & quality of food & service not great vis a vis price.

this time, i got some IQF (individual quick freeze) frozen cooked lobsters from giant couple weeks before, so i would do a gordon ramsay grilled lobster. ^^

white cucumber gazpacho

white cucumber gazpacho

we started with a white cucumber gazpacho with croutons.

it was very good, wonderful refreshing flavour of cucumber tempered with yogurt, red wine vinegar & olive oil. croutons were ok very crispy & moderate cheesy.

prawn pasta iin pink sauce

prawn pasta in spicy tomato sauce

prawn pasta in spicy tomato sauce was very good. very tasty & wonderful tomato taste.

pasta spicy tomato sauce

pasta spicy tomato sauce

i used prawn stock, papa alfredo traditional italian pasta sauce & canned tomatoes, and reduced before tossing.

my gordon ramsay grilled lobster was the best.

i spooned the chilli garlic butter marinade over the lobster & left it in the fridge for 3hrs.

lobster was very flavourful with the chilli garlic butter, brandy flaming & hot grill.

gordon ramsay grilled lobster

gordon ramsay grilled lobster

lobster was very good really, meat was bouncy & very tasty, even though it could not compare with live lobsters.

gordon ramsay grilled lobster＋prawn pasta in pink sauce

gordon ramsay grilled lobster＋prawn pasta in pink sauce

the tangy tomato pasta complemented the lobster perfectly. ^^

australian wagyu ribeye

australian wagyu ribeye

my last course was the wagyu ribeye.

now i use the new method, rubbing the steak liberally with sea salt & pepper & placing in a 60degC oven for 2 hrs. that provided consistent medium rare interior & also did a bit of dry edging.

australian wagyu ribeye

australian wagyu ribeye

after that just 1 min each side on a very hot pan. it was such a flavourful steak.

the evening was one to savour, excellent food & wine & music, spending time together.

c.h.e.f andy

Red Tomato Gazpacho

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white cucumber & 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!

gazpacho in 2 styles

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

red tomato gazpacho

& so i googled online recipes. some i used & adapted-

gazpacho is 2 styles

gazpacho is 2 styles

& produced 2 gazpacho just like stellar’s – a red tomato gazpacho & a white cucumber gazpacho.

red tomato 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 : –

  1. place all ingredients (except baguette for croutons) in blender & blend till smooth. taste!
  2. put sliced baguette on a on-stick pan on low fire, added sea salt & some shaved parmesan.

White Cucumber Gazpacho – Soooo Delicious!

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white cucumber & red tomato gazpacho

white cucumber & red tomato gazpacho

gazpacho not my favourite & i hardly take gazpacho by choice.

gazpacho in 2 styles

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

white cucmber gazpacho

so i googled online recipes. some i used & adapted-

gazpacho is 2 styles

gazpacho is 2 styles

& produced 2 gazpacho just like stellar’s – a red tomato gazpacho & a white cucumber gazpacho.

white cucmber 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 : –

  1. place all ingredients (except baguette for croutons) in blender & blend till smooth. taste!
  2. put sliced baguette on a on-stick pan on low fire, added sea salt & some shaved parmesan.

Homegourmet Adventure 4-course Dinner on 15Nov2015

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had great fun discovery yesterday experimenting several “first” for a wonderful 4-course dinner on 15.11.2015. ^^

truly a homegourmet adventure. 🙂

all 4 dishes had some new elements-

  • prawn veloute was an accidental invention.
  • gazpacho was completely first attempt.
  • prawn capellini was a new preparation &
  • slow-braised pork collar was my second try on a new preparation

in a sense, my recent dinner at stellar at 1-altitude spurred my interest, not so much an inspiration (excepting the gazpacho at stellar which was really good!), as i thought the food was expensive & not value-for-money. i thought i could recreate something similar. ^^

first course was pan seared scallops in prawn vegetable veloute. 🙂

i did not do the pan-searing well this evening. still the scallops were very good, plump & tasty & very good texture, not really the standard of disgruntled chef’s 100gourmet scallops, nor the stellar’s scallops.

the prawn vegetable veloute though was an accidental discovery. it was just so good! ^^

intense yet very smooth, and very tasty, and just the right body & texture. this really is an excellent recipe & among the best soup i have made.

i would say for myself, though the scallop itself was not comparable to stellar’s, but the overall taste experience including the prawn veg veloute was better than stellar’s, but not comparable with disgruntled chef’s 100gourmet scallop dish (above photo).

my second dish was entirely new.

gazpacho not my favourite & i hardly take gazpacho by choice but stellar’s gazpacho was just so good!

so i googled online recipes & produced 2 gazpacho just like stellar’s – a red tomato gazpacho & a white cucumber gazpacho.

& the result of my first attempt was a really wonderful gazpacho. so refreshing, smooth, & you could really taste the coolness of the cucumber & also tangy tomatoes.

not quite the standard of stellar’s (above photo) for sure, but almost there.

prawn capellini was done alio olio style. i also did not have uni & ikura (nor mentaiko).

still my own prawn capellini was a very tasty pasta.

i guess nothing so unusual, and may not be better than my usual seafood alio olio, but it was a different & drier style, adding butter like for my mentaiko pasta or squid-ink pasta.

king crab uni & sakuri ebi capellini

stellar’s king crab uni & sakura ebi capellini

didn’t have the top ingredients of stellar’s king crab, uni, ikura & sakura ebi pasta (above photo).

but just the taste of the pasta alone, i think mine was just as good though differernt (w/o the unique salty uni & ikura flavours).

the slow braised pork collar in red wine sauce was my second attempt, it was as good as the first, and a really great recipe i created myself.

the pork was very flavourful & so tender yet not sinewy & falling apart like the usual braised meat texture.

i think this is really an excellent recipe. ^^

c.h.e.f andy