Post #65

took friday off for a weekend getaway to the hunter valley!! and successfully lured the siblings to come with us ;p FUN!! wine cheese chocolate, here we come!!

ok, aside the wine, cheese and chocolate tasting, we actually COOKED on the one night we stayed!! we deliberately chose to stay at a villa so that we didnt have to venture out into the cold darkness looking for food. i made sure the villa has a kitchen so that we can do some really simple cooking and stay warm watching tv and playing board games! we decided on pizzas and baked mushrooms, as they're easy and fun to make! only to find that there's no oven in the villa...

now, time to test on cooking survival skills. i was totally defeated... then everyone started to release their utmost positive energy to make the cooking possible. and we ended up making pizzas on... frying pan, even the toppings, but separately cooked and then skilfully placed onto the pizza base!!



not gourmet, but it was good enough! and its wonderful how food can taste so much better when you're with ppl you love! :)

Post #64

hubby's back for a week and i can already tell the big diff. the home is dust free and the food in the fridge and pantry disappears rates faster!!

last night i used 2 whole hours to cook up a lasagne, a quick salad and a toast. ha, will no doubt fail big time if i'm a masterchef contestant!!

my v first attempt to make lasagne *if i can call it a lasagne...* - its free form, which, in essence, means that its messy. hehe. and of course, i used the leftover wonton sheets rather than lasagne pasta sheets :)


-Free form meatball lasagne-

the cooked wonton sheets were so freaky hot to fiddle with, i kept making jinxing noises as i stack up the lasagne, i'm sure hubby thought i was fighting with food, not cooking food.

inwards - stacks of pumpkin, zucchini, meatballs, bocconcini and parmesan with homemade tomato sauce and wonton sheets in between each layer.



the lasagne was sooo tasty, i'll definitely cook again. but i'll need to find a way to keep it hot without drying it out! maybe i wont spend so much time stacking it and will make even more free form next time! :)


-Smoked salmon with ricotta, creme fraiche + lemon olive oil on sourdough toast-


-Coleslaw-
i always use apple in mine! sweet~

Post #63

so what would happen if one type of starch meets another type of starch?! my immediate reaction was... hm... that cant be v good - way too much carb and way too filling!! but on second thought, it actually shouldnt be so terrifying, especially with this cold winter weather!

the starch combo i had in mind was pasta and potato, not in the form of gnocchi, but a slightly creamy crushed potato with orechhiette. and i liked the idea of using all creamy colours *matching the winter theme perhaps?!* so i chose cauliflower.


-Crushed potato and cauliflower orechhiette-

at first i thought the combo's too blend, but they worked surprisingly well. the clean sweetness of the cauliflower actually cuts through the earthy *but also heavy* potato. and the spiciness of the pepperoni and the chilli flakes gives it a good kick! :) only if i had used better quality pepperoni *i wont mention the brand!*... the skin was way too tough to chew by anyone's standard... might get some good chorizo instead next time.

Post #62

dinner for one.

its pretty hard to get me cooking when i'm just eating by myself, well... other than a quick noodle or a couscous or mum's pre-made wontons. but with my recent discovery of the smittenkitchen site, i was so tempted to try out one of the simple warm salad recipes!

thought i'd get some nice bread to go with the salad to make a decent dinner so i ventured to the central baking depot during lunchtime and got a beautiful loaf of hazelnut and saltana sourdough bread :)




-Warm butternut squash + chickpea salad with tahini dressing-



hm... not sure if i can call it tahini dressing, cos i used chinese sesame paste rather than tahini. wiki told me that tahini is basically a sesame paste, so i'm guessing that the chinese ones taste similar?! i added a good sprinkle of toasted hazelnut on top and it added a good crunch. the salad turned out quite nice, and i love that nutty and lemony dressing! only missing maybe some hot juicy lamb chops?? :p

Post #61

sis came over to be my guinea pig tonight :)

this time i got inspired by one of masterchef Marion's dishes - smoked salmon and creme fraiche tortellini - the one she cooked for the pasta invention test! but with my own little twist :)

i rarely make pasta with fillings, but whenever i do, i always cheat and use chinese wonton sheets! *hehe* not only am i lazy, but i also like how chinese wonton/dumpling sheets are comparatively thin and silky. and making fresh pasta is kinda beyond me... with the filling, i've varied Marion's recipe and used smoked salmon, potato mash, creme fraiche, ricotta, lemon zest, milk (just to loosen up the potato) and dill sprigs.

wrapping in action:


i had no time to get prawns for the dish, so i decided to cook up some braised leek to go with the tortellini. i tried to be v careful to retain the lovely shape of the leek cut diagonally when cooking in the pan *but i still had some burnt bits... =.=* adding a tiny splash of chicken stock and a small dollop of butter, cover the lid and let it slowly cook until tender, then finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.


-Smoked salmon + potato mash tortellini with braised leek-

and a close look at the filling:


loved loved loved the subtle lemon flavour in the filling!!! was a yum and refreshing dish! but not quite enough for dinner... so i whacked up a quick toast using the leftover mash mixture and smoked salmon.


-Smoked salmon, cherry tomato + creamy potato toast-

Post #60 - 22.06.2010

as the clock ticks to midnight, its officially hubby's birthday!!!

its another year where hubbys spending his special day by himself in wollongong >.< so i pre-made a tiny gift for him to take to the gong to unwrap on the day :)

this chocolate cake has now become one of my favourite cakes, and should (fingers crossed) be "tough" enough to survive a 1.5 hr road trip and a few days in the fridge. i'm making a one-serve version this time using ramekins.


my attempt to decorate the tiny cake, not much surface to work with!!! *haha* tiny teddies in choc mousse bath!!


carefully placed in plastic container:


with clear instructions that this can only be opened on 22.06.2010!! *keke*


and heres a spare cake that i cut up - flourless choc cake with a small dollop of strawberry jam topped with choc mousse:

-Flourless chocolate cake topped with chocolate mousse-

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR~! Hope you liked this little pressie! xx

ps. and thanks to sis, we discovered that the cake is also v nice eaten while hot, v light and airy, its almost like a souffle~!

Post #59

i used to make this all the time, but for some strange reason i havent made one for ages.. not till my dear Alice mama asked me to make it for her when she's in sydney and kept "reminding" me for the last 2 weeks!

i was going to try out a new recipe which uses a butter cake base in lieu of the sponge fingers, thought it'd be cool to make something different. then i found my new cooking enemy... butter cake. i was absolutely devastated, having made it twice and still not getting the fluffiness it should have. anyways... i'll definitely come back to it!!

but for my dear Alice mama, i stuck with the good old sponge fingers. hehe...


-Tiramisu-

hehe, the traditional one is always reliable and tastes yum~!