awwesomepossum

layered cake and new cupcake flavours

2011-04-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

chocolate sundae cupcake with raspberry icing

strawberry sweetheart cupcake with choc icing

almond sugee cupcake with lilac rose icing

More closed-up shots and details of the new cupcake flavours I did for Emma's party.

And a the chocolate and strawberry layered cake. The greatest compliment came from the hubs who said the cross-section view of the cake looked like those American wedding cakes!

happy birthday emma

2011-04-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

Dear little Emma finally got to celebrate her 1st birthday today after the family, herself including, got hit by the pox. It was a purple and pink piglet theme party. And thanks to her lovely parents, my pals H & J, and their faith in me, I finally got to do my first cake and candy bar! After a breakbreaking Saturday of baking and decorating, I completed 72pcs of cupcakes in 3 flavours (choc-berry sweetheart, berry sundae and rose sugee) and a 3-layered choc and strawberry cake with choc frosting for this birthday girl to cut. I had heap-loads of fun conceptualising and doing the decor part of the cakes the most!

With help from the hubs, we managed to set up Emma's cake and candy bar. It was simply gratifying just to see the smiles and reactions from the adults. But even more so when I saw the looks on the kids faces the minute J said grab a bag and fill it with the sweets you like and the kids went wild! Ok enough said. Here's some shots from the day.

Happy Birthday Emma!

there's nothing better than...

2011-03-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

... a good piece of steak! Don't you agree? Here's what we had tonight, char-grilled steak with greek salad. Steak is seasoned simply with salt and pepper, then grilled to your preferred donenes. I prefer medium while the hubs like his medium-well. Greek salad is lettuce with olive oil, feta cheese, olives and splash of lemon juice. Yums!!

Medium done, nice and red :)

fluffy dreamy pancakes

2011-03-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to try my hands at making pancakes. So last Sunday when I asked the hubs what he wanted for brunch, he suggested pancakes! So here you go! Pancakes made from scratch and I have to say it is soooo easy that I'll never pick up a premix again! Here's the 3-steps recipe that you can try at home to jazz up your Sunday brunch at home. I made blueberry with orange zest pancakes. You can throw in any kind of fruits you have in your fridge to go with your pancakes.

Ingredients
375ml buttermilk
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 tbsp castor sugar
1 egg beaten
1 tbsp melted butter

Let's cook!
1. Sift flour into bowl, add sugar.
2. Pour some of the buttermilk in and whisk till smooth. Add in rest of buttermilk while continously whisking into a smooth batter. Add in egg and butter and whisk till blended well.
3. Add in blueberries and orange zest and mix well.
4. Heat pan with some butter pour enough batter and cook till bubble appear before flipping over.
5. Stack pancakes topped with a generous knob of butter and drizzle of maple syrup and tuck in!

We found this really cute little bottle of Japanese maple syrup which taste authentic enough just a tad runny. But the cutest thing is the lid! There is 2 openings, 1 for small drizzle and the other for more flow! Trust the Japanese to come up with such things!!

more colours to come

2011-03-16T01:44:00.000-07:00

I'm excitedly anticipating the arrival of these little babies!! I'm crazy about polka dots. It's unexplainable! But they just dress up my cupcakes in the way that brings a smile to my face haha! So anyway was a bit frustrated with the limited colours available (only orange and pink) at my usual supplies store and decided to search the world wide web for more options. And thanks to Ally (who's really good at surfing the web I must say), I found these babies in so many colours! My favourite is the blue, thus I order more blue haha! So friends who are having baby boys, you know who to order your 1st month cupcakes from yeah **big wink**!

awwesomepossum is listed!

2011-03-15T21:10:00.000-07:00

Yes I am listed! No not on the NY stock exchange haha! But here: http://www.dinnertool.com/page/friends. It's a cool website called Dinner Tool, where you can find lots of recipes as well as a tool to help you plan your weekly meals. Go check it out http://www.dinnertool.com/ :)

pretty little cupcakes

2011-03-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

Tell me, who out there does not go "oh so nice" when you see a pretty cupcake?! It may be the sweetest small cake you've ever eaten but the cute little thing never fails to attract us all isn't it? Cupcakes were one of the first things I tried when I started baking a year ago. I think I can finally say I have improved the looks of my cuppies by leaps and bounds haha! Here's 2 batches I made for a friend, V's sister's wedding this weekend.

Jafffa cupcake

Mocha cupcake

In case anyone's keen to order these little beauties, they are $1.80/pce. They are about 4.5cm. Min. Qty of 20pcs per flavour, a week in advance if possible.

Cupcake Flavours as follows:
- chocolate
- vanilla
- banana
- lemon
- coffee
- choco-nana (chocolate banana)
- jaffa (chocolate orange)
- strawberry swirl
- blueberry swirl
- sugee

Frosting flavours:
- chocolate
- vanilla
- peanut butter
- coffee
- almond
- rose

- frosting can be done in various colours in vanilla flavour

homemade hainanese chicken rice

2011-03-06T06:02:00.000-08:00

Recently I've developed this interest in local dishes. And after a recent visit to the good ol' Yet Con, I thought, there's no better dish to start with than our very own hainanese chicken rice! What goes into making that perfect succulent chicken and that all-so-fragrant rice? I started searching for recipes online and found one that seems easy enough but yet my discerning eye tells me it just might work with some modifications of course.

So off to the supermarket bright and early the hubs and I went today to buy a big fat sakura chicken* and rest of the ingredients to make our homemade chicken rice dinner. I have to say the result is more than satisfying! We don't usually eat rice for dinner, but yet we wiped out 2 cups of rice and 3/4 of the oh-so-juicy chicken! Guess there's nothing better than cooking your own chicken rice and eating it in the comforts of your own home hehe! Oh btw I didn't make the chilli sauce this time round but will want to try to make it the next time. But I did make the freshly grounded ginger sauce which to me is a must with chicken rice.

Ok here's the recipe. Do try it at home. I guarantee you it'll taste so much better than your $2 plate at the hawker centre!

What you need
For the chicken
1 whole chicken (1.5kg)
lots of salt
6" fresh ginger, sliced into 1/4" slices
3 stalks of spring onion, sliced into 3 sections
1 teaspoon sesame oil

For the rice
2 tbsp oil
5 cloves garlic, diced
2 tsp ground ginger
2 cups rice, washed and soaked in water for 10mins
2 - 2 1/2cups reserved chicken poaching broth
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp salt

Let's cook!
Chicken

1. First we must clean the chicken. Rub salt all over the chicken to get rid of any loose skin and dirt. Rinse off and pat both outside and in till very dry.
2. Season generously with salt outside and inside of the chicken. Then stuff the chicken with the ginger and sprint onion.
3. Place the chicken in a large stockpot and fill with cold water to cover by 1". Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn down to low to simmer for at least 30mins, or till chicken is cooked. To test if chicken is cooked, stick a chopstick under the leg and see if the juices run clear.
4. When chicken is cooked through, turn off heat, immediately remove the chicken and place into bath of ice water to cool. This will stop the chicken from cooking further, keep the meat soft and tender and give the skin a lovely firm texture. When the chicken is cooled, rub with sesame oil, chop up and place on serving plate.

Rice
5. To cook the rice, drain off the water from the rice. In a pan, heat up the oil and fry the ginger and garlic till your kitchen smells heavenly.
6. Add the rice and stir to cook for about 2mins. Add the sesame oil and mix well.
7. Transfer to rice cooker pot, add 2 1/2 cups reserved broth and salt and turn on cooker to cook rice.
8. Serve the chicken with the rice, garlic chilli sauce, freshly grounded ginger and heat up some broth for soup. Enjoy!

** Sakura chicken is available at NTUC. It is supposed to have no injections and is all natural. We try as much as possible to buy this chicken even though it's more expensive because it is indeed more succulent and fresher tasting. Btw, this is not a advertisement for sakura chicken haha!

my favourite meal of the day is...

2011-03-05T22:57:00.000-08:00

Breakfast!! Why I love breakfast you may ask. Reason is simple, it's the first meal of the day and if you eat well, you start your day well. But tell me who do not like breakfast food? Eggs, sausages, bacon, beans, cheese, bread...the list goes on. Let's just talk about eggs for awhile. There's just so many ways to cook them!

Here's some of my own concoction at home.

corned beef hash with eggs

scrambled eggs in croissant & fried bacon


eggs en cocotte (baked eggs with cheese and herbs)

omelette with sausage, luncheon meat & baked beans

And here are some of my favs at cafes and kopitams.

corned beef set at le bijoux

salami set at le bijoux

otah set at coffee & toast

pretty little things

2011-01-11T08:04:00.000-08:00

I really got a fetish for pretty mini food! Love to see many of them lined up neatly on a plate, almost too god to devour! As usual, this was my attempt to make some hors d'oeuvres for a Christmas get-together.

Somked salmon devil egg

Wasabi shrimp & crab cucumber cups

beef bouguignon

2011-01-11T00:33:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to make this for some time now, ever since I purchase the le cruset dutch oven pot. But it does take a loooooong time to cook and thus have been putting it off due to time. Anyhow, finally manage to find the time to cook this and the hubs and I swear it is soooo worth the amount of time slow stewing it! However, be warned that you will need to break the bank and part with some major capital M to purchase the pot in order to prepare this dish. I strongly believe it WILL make a huge difference in the flavours and taste. And no I'm not getting any commission from le cruset for this post (they should pay me tho yeah?). So per request from my friend S, whom have been warned that this is level 5.5/5 in my opinion. S, I think you just wait for the next time I make this and invite you over ok, pls do not go out and buy this pot just for this dish haha!

What you need (feeds 5-6, depending how much of a carnivorous you are)
- 150g bacon (optional)
- 1.4kg stewing beef cubes (rump or chuck)
- 1 sliced carrot
- 1 sliced celery
- 1 sliced onion
- 200g sliced mushroom
- 2 tsp plain flour
- 3 cups red wine, preferably a good Burgundy
- 2-3 cups beef stock
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 2 cloves mashed garlic
- few thyme springs
- 2 rosemary spring
- olive oil

Let's cook
(this is best done over 2 days, in my opinion, to allow the beef to soak up all the flavours)
1. Fry bacon with olive oil in dutch oven pot. While that's happening, coat beef cubes with flour. This helps dry them and aids browning.
2. Once bacon has produced good amount of fat, remove and sear beef cubes in batches, taking care not to overcrowd. Also ensure there is enough oil, if not meat will not form a nice crust and flour will stick to the base of the pot.
3. Remove meat and throw in the garlic, veges to brown. Then throw in the mushrooms and cook till they turned golden.
4. Remove veges to a separate bowl, return meat to the pot along with wine, stock and tomato paste. Ensure there's enough liquid to just about cover the meat.
5. Turn down flame to the smallest, cover and let it simmer for about an hour. If your liquid dries up, feel free to add more wine or stock or water.
6. After an hour, return the veges to the pot, cover and continue to stew for about 1-1 1/2 hours on smallest flame.
7. This is where I made my own variation to the recipe. After 1 1/2 hours, you will see that sauce is still very liquid/watery, don't panic. Switch off the flame and left it overnight in the pot on the stove top.
8. The next day, turn on the flame again at the smallest and continue to simmer for about 1 1/2-2 hours on the stove top. Do check in between to ensure that the liquid has not dried up. After simmering, you will notice that the sauce has thicken up quite a lot and the beef is fork-tender, then you are ready to serve!
9. If the sauce does not thicken, you can mix 1 tsp of butter with 1 tsp of flour to form a dough and whisk into the sauce at low heat till reach the desired thickness.
10. Serve with crusty bread or mash potatoes and the balance of your Burgundy, sit back and enjoy!

P/S: See there are 10 steps to this recipe, told you it's really not easy ahah! But if you are feeling adventurous you can try the original recipe from Julia Child herself at:
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/boeuf_bourguignon/
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=8222804

xmas baking frenzy

2011-01-10T23:55:00.000-08:00

How was your Xmas and New Year hols? My was a mad but enjoyable baking frenzy hehe! Here's the count over the break: 8 sugee cakes, 2 brownies, 2 blueberry cheesecakes, 2 lemon cheesecakes, 1 oreo cheesecake, 1 tiramisu, and 3 log cakes wahah! Here's some of the evidence.

migrating back to blogspot

2011-01-10T23:41:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! Sorry for the silence! It's been a year since I started this blog and am proud to say I have accumulated a cult following from my fellow foodie friends, whom been asking me why there is no recent blog posting haha! Reason is simply cos my iBook (yes you read right) has been rather cranky on me in Dec. But I don't blame him cos he's really really old and should retire. But last weekend when I just decided to get a new netbook, my dear ol' ibook decided to work again haha! Anyway long story short, will be updating more blog posts soon...but in the meantime, I have some major news to announce....

I'm migrating back to blogspot hahaha! Purely because it's easier to customize the layout and also it's cheaper if and when I decide to register my own domain haha! So this is my last post here on wordpress. Pls follow me as http://awwesomepossum.blogspot.com. Here's a sneak-preview. See you there soon and pls drop me your comments on my layout yeah :)

Cheesy cheesecake

2010-12-10T23:13:00.000-08:00

Another all-time favourite up for orders, Chessecakes! For now only available in one flavour - Blueberry Chessecake. I'm working on a Cheescake Brownie and maybe, just maybe Lemon Cheesecake with Oreo. So watch this space for more flavours to come.

Blueberry Cheesecake 8" (1kg) at $40. Plump blueberries set in gelatine set on light and smooth cream cheese with a tint of lemon, on a bed of densely packed crumbled digestives biscuits. This is a non-baked cake and chilling is a must.

For orders, pls email me at fyke134@yahoo.com.sg or call/text/whatsapp me at 98432932, a week in advance

christmas logs

2010-11-26T23:10:00.000-08:00

A must for Christmas, besides roast turkey, is definitely a log cake! I'm planning to do a Forest Noir Log for my own family dinner. It's the same as the one I did for my mother-in-law's birthday dinner early this year.

Christmas Forest Noir Log Cake 1kg (feeds 8-10pax) at $40. Separate brandied cherries at $10 per container. Decadent dark chocolate roll with brandied cherries cream center, coated with dark chocolate shavings - simply irresistible! Kids-friendly non-alcoholic version also available, with separate brandied cherries that can be used to served together with sliced cakes.

For orders, pls email me at fyke134@yahoo.com.sg or call/text/whatsapp me at 98432932, a week in advance

P/S: I promise as much as I want to put the cute santa, reindeers and sleigh, no cheesy xmas decor ok heh!

takeaway my tiramisu

2010-11-26T23:09:00.000-08:00

I had 2 orders for my Tiramisu this month, thanks to the support of my fabulous family and friends! What sets my Tiramisu apart is my mascarpone cheese is light and fluffy, containing only the best type of alcohol (and loads of it). Highly recommended for the alcoholics! Alcohol level can be adjusted accordingly. Pls state your preference when placing order.

Strawberry Tiramisu at $45 for 8" (1.2kg). Decadent fluffy layers of mascarpone cheese sandwiched between Grand Marnier soaked fingers and the freshest strawberries, topped with more strawberries and a dusting of rich Hersheys cocoa powder.

Classic Coffee Tiramisu at $40 for 8" (1.2kg). Decadent fluffy layers of mascarpone cheese sandwiched between Kaluha and fragrant espresso soaked fingers, topped with a dusting of rich Hersheys cocoa powder. Guaranteed to give you the kick you need!

Also available in petite cocktail size cups (3 x 2 x 2") at $2.50/cup for Strawberry Tiramisu and $2.00/cup for Coffee Tiramisu, minimum 24pcs per order.

This is the exact cups, comes with petite spoon. Ribbon colours can be customised but subject to stock availability.

Pls email me at fyke134@yahoo.com.sg or call/text/whatsapp at 98432932 for orders a week in advance pls :)

fancy a sugee

2010-11-26T23:06:00.000-08:00

For those who love the all-time favourite Eurasian Sugee Cake like me, it's so difficult to find a good one these days, isn't it? So I thought why not try baking it myself right? No harm trying, even if it sucks, I'm sure the hubs and I will eat it ourselves haha! Not to mention a couple of pals who are more-than-willing guinea pigs hehe! Anyhow, guess what? Success! According to most of my taste-tasters, it's moist on the inside and has the right texture of a sugee cake - yay! Oh it's also not too sweet, totally friendly for the health-conscious. I haven't figured out the marzipan and icing bit. So for now it's a "naked" cake and yesss I'm taking orders for Xmas!

Eurasian Sugee Cake, available in loaf or 6" (650g) at $20; or 8" (1kg) at $30. Rich and moist, yet light and buttery Sugee Cake filled with almond bits and fragrant rose essence, topped with almond slivers.

Also available in cupcake sizes of 5cm at $36 for 24pcs; or 6.5cm at $30 for 12pcs.

Loaves and round cakes come wrapped in silver foil, while cupcakes will be packed into white boxes. Both are then accentuated with festive red or brown ribbon bow, complete with a tag for your personalised message - the perfect gift for house parties this festive season!

For orders, pls email me at fyke134@yahoo.com.sg or call/text/whatsapp me at 98432932, a week in advance :)

Eggs en cocotte

2010-11-14T23:11:00.000-08:00

Eggs!! I love eggs in all forms except raw haha! There's nothing like Sunday brunch or bacon, toast and eggs! But cookings eggs is actually not as simple as cooking rice. It's all about timing!

Anyway, long story short, I tried this recipe for eggs en cocotte, which is French baked eggs and it's sooo good that I must share it.

What you need (feeds 2)
- 4 eggs
- some slices of ham
- any cheese (cheddar or blue cheese is good)
- 4 tsp cream
- butter
- pepper and dried Italian herbs

Let's cook
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Line 2 ramekins with butter.
3. Cut into ramekins diced ham, grated/lumps of cheese. Season with pepper and dried herbs.
4. Crack 2 eggs each into each ramekin very carefully without breaking yolks. Put 2 tsp of cream onto whites part.
5. Place ramekins in baking tray and fill up to halfway with water.
6. Bake for 10mins. Serve with fried bacon strips and buttered toast. Yums!

Croque monsieur

2010-11-14T23:08:00.000-08:00

What's fast to cook and good to eat? Nope not maggi mee haha! Homemade Croque monsieur!! Ok not exactly the way the French do it but hey whatever taste good will do rite!

What you need (feed 1)
- 2 types of cheese (can be sliced or grated)
- 2 slices of bread (any kind you like but best with soft kind)
- some shaved ham, the more the merrier
- mustard
- butter (salted)
- pepper

Let's cook
1. Place 2 slices of bread on plate and spread mustard on 1 side for both.
2. Put first type of cheese on 1 slice of bread, then the ham and finally the other cheese.
3. Crack some pepper (optional). Then place other slice of bread on top to sandwich.
4. Heat up a pan or griller but don't add oil.
5. Spread generous amount of butter on the top bread. Then place butter side down on pan. Use spatular to press sandwich down on pan.
6. Spread butter on other side of bread. Then flip sandwich over carefully and press down again.
7. Fry till golden brown. Cut into halves and serve hot with chips!

Chicken soup for the soul

2010-11-11T23:06:00.000-08:00

Another fast and easy, yet hearty recipe for weekday dinners. All it takes is chicken breast, carrots and corn to put a smile on your face :)

Creamy chicken & mushroom/corn soup

What you need (feeds 3)
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 packet brown mushroom, sliced
- 1 packet cream corn
- 1 tsp cream
- salt & pepper to taste

Let's cook!
1. Put first 3 ingredients in a deep pot, add water to cover the ingredients by double.
2. Cover and bring to boil. Then simmer at low fire about an hour.
3. When carrots are soft, remove chicken set aside.
4. Put carrots, mushroom and some of the broth into blender and lightly blend. Taking care not to over blend as you want some chunks of carrots and mushroom.
5. Pour back blended mix into pot. Add cream corn or cream but not both.
6. Shred chicken and add into soup. Serve hot with love.

Breaded baked fish with homemade tartar sauce

2010-11-11T23:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a recipe for quick and easy weekday dinners, by request of a girlfriend who's venturing into the kitchen. Good luck Annie and have fun cooking :)

Breaded Baked Fish/Pork/Chicken

What you need (feeds 2)
- 4 strips if frozen or fresh fish fillets
- 1 egg White
- 1 tsp plain flour
- some panko flakes (jap breadcrumbs)
- black pepper n salt

Let's cook!
1. Preheat oven to highest temp. Mine is 220 degrees.
2. Line in separate plates - flour, egg White, panko (seasoned with salt and pepper).
3. Pat dry fish fillets. Coat in flour dusting off excess flour. Then dip into egg White and finally panko.
4. Placed on grill lined with pan below. Drizzle some oil and place in oven for about 20mins or till golden brown.
5. Serve with homemade tartar sauce.

Homemade tartar sauce
- 2 tsp Mayo
- 1 big clove garlic, crushed
- lots of dill chips (pickle), diced
Mix all together and serve!

Same recipe can be used with chicken strips or thin pork fillets. Can either oven bake, shallow fry or deep fry. Here's a photo I shallow-fried with pork (katsu), served on a piece of toast with a sunny-side up yummy!

tiramisu-me

2010-10-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

I'm sure all of us have a love-hate relationship with tiramisu. It's too rich, yet you can't resist the soft creamy mascarpone cheese with caffeine/alcohol-soaked finger biscuits, sprinkled with cocoa powder....YUMS! Sadly I don't think I can really eat a whole piece without feeling "jelat" (meaning sick). Thus recently I saw in Delicious food mag (it's a UK mag) this recipe for mango-risu! Not only did it look lovely and delicious! However, cutting mangoes is something I really rather not do, so I thought I can do this recipe with strawberries instead. So I attempted it for a friend's birthday dinner recently, without much thought, jumped straight into it and here's what it looks like!

Lovely isn't it haha!

Cross-section view! How does it taste? Oh so light and yummy! Not "jelat" at all!!

berrie berrie nice cheesecake

2010-09-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

I've attempted to make no-bake cheesecake 2 times already and have failed at both attempts. Somehow there was something missing in those recipes I had and the cheesecake did not set. I have been pondering and researching about it for awhile and came across this recipe online. So the missing ingredient is....gelatine! Had a go at this new-found recipe and yay! Success!! I'm a happy camper! And it taste sooo good. I figured out the topping myself though. Am so proud of myself hehe! Here's the evidence...

crabcakes, fishcakes, not that kinda cakes

2010-09-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

This is by request of my friend San who tried my crabcakes and wants the recipe. These are probably the easiest things to make and freeze for weekday dinners. You can also do mini versions to impress your guests at dinner parties!

What you need
1 large potato
250gm frozen crabmeat, soaked in hot water for while OR
1 can tuna or salmon or any fish
seasoning: pepper, salt, mixed dried herbs
optional: some chopped parsley
1 egg
oil
panko flakes (japanese breadcrumbs) or any kinda breadcrums

Let's cook!
1. Skin and cut potato into quarters. Place in bowl, cover with water then microwave for about 11mins till soft.
2. Drain water from potato and mash it up.
3. Add crabmeat/fish, plus seasoning and chopped parsley. Mix it all together.
4. Crack the egg in a separate bowl, beat it then add half the egg into the crab/fish mix and mix well together.
5. Heat enough oil to shallow fry (about halfway up the cakes is fine).
6. Pour the panko onto a plate, roll crab/fish mix into balls (big or small) then lightly flatten them.
7. Dip the balls into the remaining egg lightly then coat with panko. Fry till golden brown, then flip over and fry the over side.
8. Drain and serve with homemade garlic aioli :) or make giant cakes and serve with side salad as a main.

These are wonderfully light and yummy! Somewhat like croquettes!

i heart canapés

2010-09-21T22:58:00.000-07:00

I really love canapés! Not so much to eat them but more for the presentation of many tiny little things arranged on a plate just look so nice! Yes I know it's crazy haha! So at any opportunity I get, I'll try my hands at making canapés. Honestly, mini stuff are not always easy to do as it's more time consuming. But it's worth all the effort when you guests go oohh and ahh over them hehe! Here's some I made for a recent dinner party at home. Aren't they the cutest??

Mini scallops on avocado corstini with bacon dust

Mini shrimps on avocado corstini with bacon dust

Mini crabcakes with aioli

week of tanks, planes, fireworks and flags

2010-08-12T00:50:00.000-07:00

It's our nation's birthday this week. But the only thing I appreciated outta the whole celebrations was the long weekend break hehe! Anyhow, since it's national day week, I decided to go Asian this week for dinner. Except for Tuesday, the rest of this week's dinners are Asian-inspired.

Monday - Red, White & Wow Fried Rice (in theme with this year's NDP)

Wednesday - Thai Grilled Chicken

spice up your weak-days — part 2

2010-08-11T00:49:00.000-07:00

A trick to preparing fast weekday dinners is pre-preparation. You can either prepare all the ingredients or pre-cook some stuff, so that day itself, all you have to do is simply put it into the oven or over the stove and dinner will be ready in a matter of minutes! Planning ahead is equally important as you can save money by buying ingredients that stretches your dollar, meaning to use the same ingredients for various dishes throughout the week. That way no food is wasted. Here's what we had last week.

Monday - Grilled Beef Sandwich with Carmelised Onions and Cheddar

Tuesday - Crispy Salmon with Potato Gratin

Wednesday - Baked Fish Pie

P/S: Drop me a note if you are keen to try out any of these dishes yeah.

spice up your weak-days — part 1

2010-08-11T00:45:00.000-07:00

Weekday dinners can be a chore if you have to eat out everyday. So why not prepare simple, easy to cook, yet yummy dinners to look forward to at the end of a hectic work day. As you all know I'm a sucker for food mags, especially Donna Hay. I can't believe I have so many mags and there are so many quick-fix dinner recipes in there waiting for me to try. So as of 2 weeks ago, I planned the week's menu in advance, went grocery shopping and whipped up exciting new dishes for our weekday dinners. Here's what we had 2 weeks ago.

Monday - Chicken Caesar Sandwich

Tuesday - Baked Pork Chops with Cheddar and Onions

Wednesday - Bacon and Crab Quiche

Forgot to mention no cooking on Thursdays cos' the hubs eats out with his soccer pals after his game, as well as Fridays as it's my day out with my pals :)

dessert fetish

2010-08-11T00:43:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been fascinated with desserts, despite the fact that I don't really like desserts. Don't you agree that desserts always look so pretty and enticingly delicious? I find myself attracted to good looking desserts, whether it is the actual thing or on covers of magazines.

At my last visit to Kino, I bought this new food mag called "Yummy" purely becos' it had this super pretty berry panacotta photo on the cover! Of course I just had to try my hands at it. It's not the easiest to make but it's oh-soooo pretty!! Won't your guests be impressed with you kitchen skills with this one?!

Another crowd-pleaser is of course chocolate based desserts. I tried this chocolate cherry fondant cake recipe from Donnay Hay's 50th anniversary issue for a dinner party lately. And oh it's such a rich soft choc bundle with cherries in the centre, served warm with vanilla ice cream and brandy-glazed* cherries and sauce. Mmmmmm.....

* There's a funny story behind this. Was about to make the brandy-glazed cherries when I realised that the bottle of brandy was missing from the liquor counter. "Where's the brandy" - I exclaimed! "Eh I finished it" - said the hubs sheepishly. So had to substitute with tia maria which was ok too :)

P/S: Watch this space for more desserts to come!

what do u wake up to?

2010-08-11T00:38:00.000-07:00

We are all aware that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Some days we wake up and feel like we can eat a cow but other days all you want is a slice of toast, muffin or bagel. Whatever it is, brekkie is my fav because it sets my mood for the rest of the day.

I made some banana muffins with toasted almonds once cos' we had quite a few over-ripe bananas sitting around and it was a waste to throw them away. So wahla turned them into yummy muffins for brekkie! And boy did the house smell soooo lovely that morning!

The all time fav choice of brekkie is the fry-up. The best remedy for a hang-over I'll say! The fry-up is the easiest to prepare. All you do is look into the fridge and throw whatever you can find into a frying pan, together with eggs of your choice. The hubs loves his eggs scrambled, while I prefer mine sunny-side up with the prefect runny yolk. Yums!!

So do share what do you wake up to? Any interesting breakfast recipes to share?

Here's the recipe for my banana muffins:

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
3 ripened mashed bananas
1/2 cup of almond flakes

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line 12 muffin tray with paper. Sieve flour, baking powder, soda and salt together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the butter, sugar, milk, egg and banana. Then stir in wet mixture into dry. Divide into 12 prepared muffin cups and top with almond flakes. Bake for about 20mins till stick comes out clean and enjoy!

sawadee burp

2010-06-16T00:29:00.000-07:00

I was getting a bit bored of cooking the same dishes night after night for dinner, so decided to explore other cuisines lately. One of our favourite cuisine is Thai. So naturally, I went head on looking up some easy to cook Thai food. This week, I tried Thai Grilled Chicken and Thai Lemongrass Mussels.

Both were "aroy" means delicious in Thai (something I picked up in my many travels to the land of smiles. But by special request and also just cause it is soooo bloody good, I'm going to share the recipe of the marinade for the Grilled Chicken. I downloaded the recipe from the internet but made some refinement on my own to make it more "Thai" :) It's so simple and tasty to perk up your weekday dinners. Do try it and let me know what your family think about it!

What you need (serves 2pax)

1/2 fresh chicken chopped into parts
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dark sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp sherry
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cracked black pepper
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp minced lemongrass
1 tbsp minced ginger

What to do

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and stir well to dissolve the sugar.
Throw the chicken parts and marinade into a plastic bag or ziplock bag, mix it around.
Throw it into the fridge to marinate at least 24 hours. Best for 48 hours :)
Take out from marinade place on grill skin side down at 220 degrees for 15mins. Then turn over and grill another 10-15mins or till skin is brown and the lovely aroma fills the house :)

of birthdays and breakfasts

2010-05-30T00:27:00.000-07:00

Two things that I love are birthdays and breakfasts. Birthdays simply cos we should celebrate the day we came into this world and are still alive and kicking! Breakfast cos it's the first meal of the day so we should make it the BEST meal.

So this long weekend was my mother-in-law's birthday. We hosted my in-laws together with my folks at our house. I whipped up a 3-course meal consisting of Creamy Asparagus Soup with Bacon and Cheese Scones, followed by Braised Lamb with Mash and wilted Baby Spinach. But the highlight of the night is dessert. I made a Forest Noir Swiss Roll served with brandy-soaked cherries! Was so happy that the roll was a success as this was the first time I did this by myself after my baking course. Shall let the photos speak for itself.

Now to breakfast. I've recently discovered a simple cheat's croque monsieur. It's really simple to make but oh so delicious! Here's the simple recipe so you can wake up to a satisfying brekkie too!

What you need

2 slices of thick soft bread
4 slices of ham
handful of grated cheese (any kind you fancy)
dijon mustard
butter

Let's cook

Heat a skillet pan over high heat
Spread the dijon mustard on 1-side of both slices
Top on 1 slice cheese, ham then cheese again
Cover with the other slice
Spread butter on both sides of bread and put onto hot skillet
Fry till brown and serve hot

baking 101

2010-05-30T00:24:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Roll (R): Chocolate Roll (L)

As you all know I recently went for a short baking course at Creative Culinaire. It was a basic class consisting of 4 classes, which I learnt to bake batter type cakes (butter) and chiffon type cakes.

Traditional Pandan Chiffon

Personally I prefer chiffon types as it is a lot lighter and uses no butter, so friendlier for the waistline too :)

And the last lesson we learnt how to dress the cake up. We also learnt how to make this interesting checkered-board style cake, which looks so pretty when sliced up.

Checkered Pandan Kaya

Traditional Black Forest

There's the intermediate course. No I'm not going for it now. Maybe later in the year perhaps. In the meantime, I'll be practicing more of these I've learnt.

migration

2010-05-29T23:53:00.000-07:00

I've decided to migrate to wordpress purely cos there is an app on iphone so i can blog on the go hehe! So pls follow me at http://awwesomepossum.wordpress.com :)

pardon my pandan

2010-05-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

Haven't had time to mention that I have been attending baking classes this month and am into my 3rd lesson already. Next week is my last class. Am feeling bit sad that it's ending as it has been really fun and a good escape from daily work routine. Anyway, by special request, here's the recipe for the ol'skool Pandan Chiffon Cake from lesson 2. Think this is a winner with most of us but let me warn you, our teacher said you need to bake a chiffon 800 times in order to perfect it *gasp*!! So good luck gals! Stuff you need Ingredients A

3 egg yolks (48g)
30g sugar
1/8 tsp salt
20g vegetable oil
36g coconut oil
54g cake flour
1/4 tsp pandan paste

Ingredients B

3 egg whites (120g)
40g sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Let's Bake!

Stir yolks, salt, sugar (A), coconut milk, corn oil & pandan paste with a hand whisk and mix till smooth.
Sieve the flour into the above mixture and mix till smooth.
Whisk egg whites till snowy then add cream of tartar and drizzle in sugar (B) in a steady gradual stream. Whisk till peak.
Fold meringue into flour mixture gently.
Pour mixture into a 6" tube pan then "bang" on table top few times to loosen air bubbles. Bake at 190 degres for about 30mins or until brown.
Invert cake in tin on cooling rack immediately when out of the oven. This is very important so as to avoid cake from sinking.
When cooled, remove from tin, slice and enjoy!

Btw interesting fact: a chiffon cake cannot be called a chiffon if it's not presented in it's traditional shape with a hole in the centre BUT you can bake this in any other type of pans though :)

weekend dinners

2010-05-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

Saturdays is chef's day off and we usually eat out. But last Sat, due to the unbearable heat, we came home early after a day at the Peranakan Museum, so I whipped up a Creamy Tomato Scallop & Prawns Pasta for our dinner. Ok I know this sounds weird but see I like tomato-based pasta and the hubs of course likes cream. So I thought why not combine the 2 and there you go...a new recipe!! I love Sundays! It's not just family day, it's also to complete my chores and whip up something special for dinner for us. Last week, a good pal of mine posted a yummy-licious shot of her Braised Lamb for dinner and she was kind enough to share her recipe. So I gave it a shot and boy were we pleasantly and happily surprised. It was yummy beyond words! The meat was so flavourful and it fell off the meat nicely! Thanks Siska! Bless your sweet soul for the yummers recipe! Will definitely be making this again soon! P/S: Siska babe, you know I still follow and make the potato salad recipe that you taught me when I was like 16! And it still rocks my world! Just made it again tonite...happy camper!!

mooore macaroons

2010-05-05T07:15:00.000-07:00

Pistachio & Raspberry Macaroons!! Rows of baked Pistachio shells just outta the oven

Pistachio filled with hazelnut

Raspberry filled with 4-berries jam

Made another 2 new batches of macaroons last weekend. Pistachio and Raspberry. My personal fav of the 2 is Raspberry as the sweetness of the shell is balanced off by the tarty 3-berries jam that I used for the filling. Had some feedback that the macaroons were too sweet. But I have news for you guys, 2 types of sugar goes into the making of the shell...so go figure! I guess that not only explains the sweetness but also the tiny size and prices of macaroons! It's meant to be savoured and not swallowed people! P/S: I just started my basis baking course at Creative Culinaire. No macaroons is not in the syllabus but it's definitely an eye-opener for me just from lesson 1. Looking forward to lesson 2 next week where we'll be learning to make chiffon cakes :)

holy macarons!

2010-04-18T03:34:00.000-07:00

I've always had a soft-spot for macarons and my fav is from Canele. It needs to be crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. It's not easy finding nice macarons, not forgetting the pricey tag attached to it. So on a Sunday like today, when all house-chores and done, I decided to experiment making my own macarons. Bought March issue of Delicious with this amazing macaron shot on it and a simple recipe so I tried my hands at it. Here's some shots to drool over.

Fresh outta the over

Mini chocolate macaron with hazelnut fillings

creamy asparagus soup

2010-03-20T03:31:00.000-07:00

Here's the recipe for creamy asparagus soup with char-grilled scallop (or prawn), special request by ambien. What you need (serves 6)

40g butter
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 bunches asparagus, trimmed & chopped
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
4 cups prawn/seafood stock
1/2 cup pouring cream
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
6 sea scallops or prawns
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon lemon juice
sea salt & cracked black pepper
shaved parmesan cheese to serve
cracked black pepper to serve

Let's cook!

Heat saucepan over high heat, add butter, onion and garlic and cook for 4-5mins till golden and tender
Add asparagus, lemon rind and pepper and cook for 2-3mins
Ass stock and bring to the boil
Reduce the heat and simmer for 12-15mins till asparagus is tender
Either use a hand-held blender or pour into a blender and blend till smooth
Pour back into pot and add cream and parmesan. Set aside and keep warm
Place scallops/prawns, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a bowl, toss to combine
Heat a char-grill pan over high heat and cook scallops/prawns for 3-4mins till cooked
Ladle soup into bowls and top with scallops/prawns and a piece of shaved parmesan. Enjoy!

surfin seafood tart

2010-03-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

Was at kino the other day browsing some food mags and saw this easy-peasy seafood tart recipe. Wanted to try it but didn't want to get that mag as there was nothing else worth buying for. So I copied it down on my phone, went down to Cold Storage, bought the ingredients, went home and tried it out with slight modification of my own. Boy was it surprisingly good!! So thought I'll share the recipe. XLB you might want to try this for your hubby hehe!

Assembled tarts waiting to go into the oven

What you need (makes 6)

20g unsalted butter
1/2 an onion, thinly sliced
4 bacon rashes, diced
12 prawns, chopped
140g crabmeat (i used frozen crabmeat)
1/2 cup cream
3 egg yolks
dashes of dried basil flakes
sprinkles of chilli flakes
salt & pepper
store-bought short crust pastry

Let's cook!

Preheat oven at 180 degrees
Melt butter, fry onion till soften with sprinkles of chilli flakes.
Fry bacon, then prawns, finally add in onion mix and crab. Season with pepper
Whisk cream, yolks, dried basil, zest in a jug. Season with salt & pepper
Line tart case with short crust pastry and use a fork to make some holes in the pastry for air to escape when baking
Spoon the crab mixture into the pastry tart, then pour egg mixture on top
Sprinkle some chilli flakes on top, then bake for 20-25mins
Stand for 10mins before removing from tin and serving

strawberry shortcake for another b-day gal

2010-03-14T01:57:00.000-08:00

Every year ambien and I will get a cake for each other on our bdays. This year, since I'm so into baking, I thought I'll try my hand and bake her a cake instead. So I bravely adventured into baking a strawberry cake (like the Japanese bakery style). After much research, I narrowed down to this recipe as it seemed easy enough to take on. However, I was quite a skeptic of the recipe as it did not require any butter nor baking powder. I wondered if it could rise. But anyhow, I gave it a shot and not only did it rise 2 times it's height, it was light, fluffy, yummy and full of flavour sponge cake! Slicing the cake into half wasn't easy but hey who can see if it's unevenly cut after it's dressed up with lovely strawberries! Here's the end result. Excuse the messy decor as I got bit tired and just wanted to get the strawberries on the cake, clean up and go to bed :) Here's the recipe by request of ambien and her mom. What you need for Vanilla Sponge Cake (for small cake)

4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
half of 1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites

Let's bake!

Preheat oven at 180 degrees. Line tin with baking paper
Whisk yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, milk, vanilla esence till smooth
Then whisk in sifted flour and salt into mixture till combined
In a separate bowl, whisk whites with pinch of salt at medium speed till soft peaks
Add in remaining sugar a little at a time, whisking at medium speed and continue to whisk till stiff and glossy peaks (about 2mins)
Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently
Bake for 25mins till cooked in centre. Cool in tin for about 10mins before inverting.

What you need for Vanilla Cream

3/4 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence

--> Whisk all 3 ingredients together till peak.
Let's assemble!

Cut cake into half
Spread cream on the half, arrange slices of strawberries on top of cream
Spread cream on bottom of the other half of cake, then place top half on top
Spread remaining cream on top of cake and arrange strawberries on top. Can arrange strawberries standing or any way you prefer, be creative!
Optional: spread cream on sides and arrange sliced almonds over. Dust icing sugar on top of strawberries before serving for dreamy effect and enjoy :)

celebrities-inspired dinner for a b-day gal

2010-03-14T01:38:00.000-08:00

Have MIA-ed from bloggin for awhile but have not stopped cooking. Last Sat, by requested of the b-day girl S, I whipped up a 3-course dinner that was inspired by 2 great chefs. Hmm actually I think it's 1 celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsey; while the other is my fav cooking author, Donna Hay. Enough of words, here's the evidence.

Starters: Creamy Asparagus Soup with Char-Grilled Sea Scallop

Mains: Mushroom Gratin Tenderloin with Herb Roasted Potatoes

Desserts: Chocolate Fondant Pudding served with Vanilla Ice-Cream

pastrami for my honey

2010-02-22T06:46:00.000-08:00

Mini pastrami & chedder cheese bun with dijon mustard takeaway for the hubs' lunch tomorrow. It's so cute I can't help but to share it here :) Packed in a small container with a lil' note to make lunch bit more fun...hopefully!

ooishi to hayashi

2010-02-22T06:31:00.000-08:00

I discovered this amazing Japanese invention called hayashi sauce in a cube at our local supermarket (Bishan NTUC). It looks and works the same way as the instant Japanese curry sauce cubes. But don't be deceive by this sauce as it can be used for many many dishes, besides as hayashi stew itself. It is has this rich beefy-stewy taste and these are some of the recipes I've created outta this instant sauce. It makes great gravy for bangers & mash! Added it into my lamb meatballs & sausage stew and not only it acts as a thickening agent, it gave the stew a rich beefy, three dimensional taste! So deelicious!!

Ooishi to hayashi nei!!

molten dinner with the Ngs

2010-02-19T08:22:00.000-08:00

The Ngs were in town for cny and requested for me to cook them dinner so how could I refuse right hehe! Had 2 hours to prepare dinner after work today and even I impress myself with a main of grilled chicken leg stuffed with roasted garlic and rosemary butter, served with potato and asparagus gratin. Was simply yummy altho I think the leg could be bigger hehe! Dessert was molten chocolate raspberry cake served with hagen daz vanilla ice cream. This was the first time I tried this Donny Hay recipe and I have to say it is really easy and pretty impressive! Best part of this dessert is you can prepare in advance and warm up in the microwave briefly before serving. Needless to say it was a hit with XLB and hubby hehe! Here's the recipe as requested by ambien. What you need (makes 6 delicious cakes)

1/4 cup plain flour, sifted
1/3 cup of icing sugar, sifted
3/4 cup of ground almonds
2 egg whites, beaten
80g butter, melted
100g dark choc + 60g dark raspberry choc, melted (or 160g dark choc)
6 small squares of raspberry choc (or dark choc)

Let's bake

Preheat oven at 150 degrees
If using electric mixer, mix sugar and butter first then slowly add in the egg whites, melted choc and dry ingredients and mix all together. Alternatively place all the in food processor and mix
Fill half of a 6-pce muffin tray with the mixture, place a choc square in the middle and top with rest of the mixture
Bake for 20-25 mins till cooked but still gooey in middle
Stand for 5 mins before turning over
Serve with vanilla ice cream and indulge!

P/S: baby D was so tired and outta action so no photos of him tonite...sigh...

pawn me a prawn toast

2010-02-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Tried this simple recipe from Marie Claire over the cny hols. I have to say was impressed at how pretty it look and yummy it taste. Food needs to be like this for me all the time hehe! Oh and again, simple to prepare as well. Here's my simplified version of the recipe. Ingredients

20 small prawns, shelled
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/3 teaspoon chilli flakes
soya sauce, pepper & dash of sesame oil for seasoning
slices of bread, trim off the crumbs and cut into 1/4s
1 egg beaten
mixture of black & white sesame seeds
oil for frying

Let's cook

Cut prawns into pieces and place in food processor with next 3 ingredients and blend into paste
Spread paste onto bread squares
Dip into egg, bread side first then prawn paste side
Dip prawn side into sesame seeds to coat
Shallow fry in hot oil prawn side down till golden brown then turn over
Remove from oil, drain and enjoy with Japanese mayo dip :)

corny but yummy beehoon

2010-02-18T07:43:00.000-08:00

This is my mom's recipe, which is our all-time fav and comfort food - corned beef beehoon. It's not some dish you can get at the local hawker centre as it is our family recipe. And it may sounds weird till you tried it. I have converted 2 friends and the hubs (of cos) to big fans of this dish and that says it all haha! Also it is so easy to prepare with less time slaving over the stove and more time to sit and enjoy it. You'll need 1 can of corned beef, 1 small cabbage, 1 pack of beehoon (I use brown rice beehoon which is 1/2 the size of the usual pack), diced garlic, pepper, chilli flakes and light soya sauce!

melt in your mouth not in your hands...jaffar cakes

2010-02-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

This cny, I decided to try this recipe of mini jaffar cupcakes consisting of dark chocolate, oj and marmalade. And oh I have to say it tasted ohhh sooo good!! Was super moist in the centre and not too sweet at the same time. This was definitely a hit with everyone! This is the larger version I did for dessert for Monday nite dinner with my in-laws and everyone loved it! Also baked a batch of mini blueberry and macadamia with lemon cream cheese cupcakes. Ain't they cute?

love was in the air

2010-02-18T07:22:00.000-08:00

What did you do for your love one this valentines day? I did what I do best...baked him a cake haha! Here it is. Blueberry and macadamia with lemon cream cheese frosting and fresh blueberries :)

sunday best

2010-02-08T06:40:00.000-08:00

I was totally ecstatic to land my hands on a box of giant scallops from Hokkaido that was on sale at NTUC and went trigger happy in the kitchen last Sunday! Treated the hubs and myself to Pan-seared Bacon-wrapped Scallops, served with Chilli Pasta. Words cannot describe how this taste but if I have to sum it up in one word it'll be amazing! The hubs took a peep while I was cooking and commented it looked so professional. He even suggested that I should take part in Masterchef if it ever comes to sg hehe! Ok enough of rattling here's the evidence. Scallops was pan-seared in butter with dash of olive oil, while pasta was boiling in another pot. Remove scallops when cooked, then stir fry some garlic, bacon and diced mushroom (or whatever ingredients you fancy) and the pasta in the scallop-jus with a dash of olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and dash of Italian herbs.

easy peasy weekday dinners

2010-02-08T05:56:00.000-08:00

Chasing-the-blues Beef Stew

I've been sooo busy with the big move that it's not fun at all. With the amount of stress that came along with it, cooking was hardly on my schedule. So what do we eat for dinner everyday you ask...here's a series of easy peasy dinners for busy folks like me :) Sorry too tired to jot down the recipes today but enjoy the pics yeah. On those days when you are really busy and craving for some fried stuff, my fav is frozen Tay's Chicken Karage and my trusty Heineken! Best part about Tay's is I heat it up in the oven and it's still super crispy hehe! Had this last Thursday at the height of my stressed week. Then there is some dishes you can prepare in advance, freeze it and reheat when wana eat. I call this "Chasing-the-blues Beef Stew". It is topped with thinly sliced potatoes instead of pastry and contains diced carrots, mushrooms, peas, canned tomatoes and thicken with Jap stew cube. Yummers and sure to get rid of all Monday blues!

things to stew about

2010-02-01T05:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry I have MIA from blogging for a week. Partly was recovering from bad stomach flu and another part is due to busy packing for my office move happening next week. With so much on my plate, I needed to find some time to cook. Well of course we still need to eat but there's always takeaway as most busy folks will opt for. But for me cooking is my way to de-stress, even it is a quick and simple dish. So I finally hit the kitchen yesterday to prepare dinner for tonite, after about a week away. Whipped up our all-time fav one-pot comfort meal - Spicy Sausage Stew or Soup as it is rather watered. This dish is great for all of us working wives. Cook it the day before, pop it into the fridge and re-heat when ready to devour! Ingredients (feeds 2 very hungry folks)

2 herb sausages
2 Italian sausages
2 medium potatoes, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
half onion, diced
1 can of Hunt's stewed tomato
half a glass of water
dash of mixed Italian herbs
1 teaspoon dry chilli flakes (I get mine from BKK, the best and most spicy)
salt & pepper

Method

Saute the onions in bit of olive oil in a medium stainless steel saucepan, add sausages and fry till semi cooked.
Pour in canned stewed tomato, stir awhile then add in potato and carrots and pour in water.
Season with Italian herbs and chilli flakes, cover and simmer on low fire for about half hour or till potato/carrots are soft...and you are done!
Transfer to a container, leave to cool then refrigerate. Re-heat when ready to enjoy!

raving about my ravioli

2010-01-23T22:06:00.000-08:00

So the hubs is suspected down with H1N1, unfortunately he came into contact with a student that is now in hospital with the virus. He's been down with fever since Friday and we can't go out as it is socially not the right thing to do. He's of course resting, sleeping most of the time and yes I am BORED to death haha! So what do I do...cook and blog! This is my attempt to make ravioli from scratch, ok not really. I cheated by using wanton skins instead of making the pasta dough. And dress it with creamy herb and bacon sauce. Was a big hit with the hubs. He said strangely it does not taste like Chinese wanton at all haha! Maybe it's the sauce...

Ingredients

Ravioli (makes 8 ravioli)

4 medium prawns, diced
20g crab meat
1 shitake mushroom, diced
1 teaspoon parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 teaspoon cream or ricotta cheese
Salt, pepper & dash of dried mixed herbs
16 ready-made wanton skins

Sauce

3 slices bacon, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic, diced
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoon parmesan cheese, finely grated
olive oil, salt, pepper & dried mixed herbs

Method

Make the ravioli by mixing the first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Lay out 8 wanton skins, spoon 1 teaspoon heap of the mix into the centre of the skin. Seal by lining with water and top with another skin.
Cook the ravioli in boiling salt water for about 8mins.
To make the sauce, saute the garlic and bacon in olive oil and turn off the fire.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cheese till blended. Season and add to the bacon and mix thoroughly. Make sure to do this off the fire or you'll get scrambled eggs ;)
Dish 4 ravioli onto a plate, spoon the sauce over top with freshly cracked black pepper and serve. Enjoy!

my own chow chow-der

2010-01-23T04:41:00.000-08:00

I'm very proud to say that I made this Seafood Chowder from scratch and it is more or less my own recipe as well. The hubs is down with fever today and don't really have an appetite. So I thought I'll make a tasty chowder for him. Was researching for a recipe and most of them I found either took too long or had too many ingredients. So I improvised and came up with my own and again we were both pleasantly surprised. This definitely wet the sick hubs' appetite and he slurped up every last drop of it! So I shall share the recipe of my simple Seafood Chowder recipe with you. Ingredients (serves 2)

50g frozen crab meat, defrosted
10-12pcs of medium prawns, peeled, de-veined and diced into small pieces (not too tiny tho)
2 slices of bacon, diced into small pieces
1 medium potato, diced into small cubes
1 carrot, diced into small cubes
1/2 onion, diced
1/8 bar of butter
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups prawn stock
2 tablespoon of pure cream
seasoning: salt, pepper & dash of dried mixed herbs

Method

Make the prawn stock. Submerge prawn heads in a pot of water, bring to boil then simmer for about 30mins.
In a separate pot, heat butter with a dash of oil (adding a dash of oil will ensure butter will not be burnt) and sauteed the onions till translucent. Then add bacon and fry for about 2mins.
Add in carrots and potatoes, stir and coat in the butter, onion, bacon mix. Then pour in the wine, bring to boil and simmer to reduce till about half of the liquid remains.
Now add in the prawn stock and seasoning. Bring to boil, then cover and simmer for about 15mins or till carrots and potatoes are soft but not mashy.
Add in the seafood and simmer for about 10mins. Stir in cream, thicken with bit of cornstarch (optional), dish into bowls and serve hot with freshly cracked black pepper. Enjoy!

here fishie fishie

2010-01-23T04:14:00.000-08:00

I'm sure all of us love our fish & chips but most of the time it's deep fried and oily, thus we avoid eating it unless and major craving hits. This week this recipe for oven-baked fish and chips kinda crossed my path twice so I just had to try it out. I went for the Parmesan-crumbled recipe and it was fantastic! Was pleasantly at how crispy the coating was despite not going anywhere near the pot of oil. Anyway, here's the recipe in case any of you have a craving and don't want the hassle of deep frying. Oh btw I didn't make the fries, it was frozen wedges which was heated in the oven too. But I made a wasabi mayo dip to go along with the fish.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 cup breadcrumbs (you can be creative with this, I used this nutty walnut bread)
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
some finely grated lemon rind
120g melted butter
4pcs of any skinless white fish fillets
1 beaten egg
plain flour for dusting
lemon wedges to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Place breadcrumbs, cheese, lemon rind and 80g of the butter in a bowl and mix well.
Dust the fish in the flour, dip in egg and press in breadcrumb mix.
Place fish on baking tray lined with non-stick paper and bake for 15mins or till golden brown. Serve with lemon wedges, ketchup and wasabi mayo. Enjoy!

under my paella, ella, ella...

2010-01-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

Watched this show on tv last xmas where celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey cooked a 3-course xmas special dinner. He made this seafood paella that looked soo yummy! The hubs then suggested I try to make this for our xmas eve dinner rather than the usual meats, since we'll be eating lots of it on xmas day. So I gave it a shot and despite not being able to find the right type of grain, I have to say the outcome was amazingly close to and even better than some of the ones we tried at some Spanish restaurants. Here's the simplified recipe. Ingredients

1 red pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic clove, chopped
400g paella rice (Arborio)
125ml dry white wine
1 teaspoon paprika
pinch of saffron thread
1 ltr veg stock
seafood selection of your choice - for me it was mussels, prawns, fish & scallops
1 lemon cut into wedges
olive oil
salt & pepper

Method

Heat oil in large pan, add onion, cook briefly.
Add pepper, garlic, season with salt and pepper, cook till soften.
Sprinkle paprika and saffron, add in rice and stir well so that each grain is well coated.
Add wine and allow to evaporate before pouring in the hot stock.
Cover with lid and leave to simmer for 20mins. Stir occasionally to prevent rice from sticking.
5 mins before end, add seafood, stir and replace lid.
Before serving, mix through and garnish with lemon wedges. Enjoy!

going bananas over piping

2010-01-17T01:53:00.000-08:00

Bought this 8-pce piping kit set yesterday and am super eager to try it out. Also picked up this 130 simple cupcake recipes book a couple of days ago. So guessed what I did today? Bake!!

So here's my blueberry & macadamia cupcake with lemon cream cheese frosting. Like the cutesy flower frosting? Not easy to do was tired after 5pcs and gave up :(

Here's a simpler version of the blueberry one.

This is banana cinnamon with nutella frosting.

According to my official test-tester, the hubs, both taste yums! The blueberry is light and refreshing with the lemon cream cheese, while the banana is moist on the inside and compliment the nutella. So what do you think? Can I start a cupcake business hehe!

grandma alice's cutlets

2010-01-14T06:24:00.000-08:00

This post is by special request from XLB. Grandma Alice is not my real grandma but my nanny when I was 4 till 7 yrs old. My bro and I are closer to her than our real grandparents. Grandma Alice is Eurasian, so needless to say she's a great cook and makes the best curry and stews. The 3 dishes I remember the most is her luncheon meat cutlets, this eggy prawn fritter and her famous bread & butter pudding. So one day I decided to try my hand in making her cutlets and rang her up for the recipe. I have to admit it's not easy to perfect it the way she does. As most of us know we usually dip the ball-mix into egg before frying it, as that helps hold the mix together and also gives that crispy outer layer. I tried it exactly according to her recipe and failed terribly, the whole thing fell apart when dropped into the oil. So I modified it slightly and here it goes.

Ingredients

1 can of luncheon meat
2 big potatoes
1/2 big onion
2 eggs
1 tablespoon plain flour
Pepper

Method

Boil the potatoes till soft, mash together with the luncheon meat.
Season with pepper, add flour, onion, 1 egg and mix well together.
Wet hands, scoop 1 flat tablespoon of the mix into palms, press and roll together quickly to form a ball and flatten it into a disc shape. Repeat with rest of mixture.
Heat oil in saucepan (I use saucepan so oil does not splatter everywhere). Make sure oil is hot enough, test by dipping a wooden chopstick in and if bubbles form around it means its hot.
Dip the cutlet balls into a bowl of beaten egg then shallow fry on one side first, then turn over to fry the other side till golden brown.
Drain on kitchen paper and serve with sweet Japanese mayonnaise. Enjoy :)

follow the shepard to the pie

2010-01-13T06:47:00.000-08:00

Ok sorry for my punny titles, I just can't help it haha! So here's last night's dinner - the every so comforting Shepard's Pie.

Here's my quick and easy recipe to whip up for weekday dinners.

Ingredients

300g minced beef/lamb
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
4-5 medium potatoes
2-3 tablespoon butter
grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese
dashes of worcestershire sauce
salt, pepper & dried mixed herbs

Method

Preheat oven at 200 degrees celsius.
Submerge the potatoes in a bowl of water and put in microwave on high for 8-10mins.
In the meantime, heat a pan with oil and sweat the onion till translucent then add the beef/lamb. Add the seasonings and carrots, then fry for about 5-6mins till meat is cooked or dark brown in colour.
Pierce potatoes with a fork to ensure they are soft in the centre. Drain and peel them, then mash and mix well with butter.
Assemble pie in a oven-proof dish. Dish the meat mixture into the base, then top with the mashed potatoes and flatten it out to a smooth top.
Sprinkle top of potato layer with generous portion of cheese, grate from fresh black pepper and place into oven for 25-30mins till cheese melts and bubbles.
Serve and enjoy :)

pasta al ferno

2010-01-12T05:44:00.000-08:00

I love cooking pasta at home because not only is it fast to cook and good to eat, you can also include any ingredients you love, not forgetting loads of it!! I've made so many different types of pasta before but two of our all-time fav has to be aglio olio and carbonara. I usually look into our fridge and throw whatever ingredients I can find together for a quick and satisfying meal. Here's an aglio olio one I whipped up recently.

Squid-ink aglio olio pasta with tiger prawns & bacon

Aglio olio is easy-peasy but getting the right texture and consistency for carbonara did take me a few tries to achieve perfection. Tried Jamie Oliver's recipe but found it rather watery. Then 2 days ago, I flipped through a new Donna Hay cookbook xmas pressie from Fifi, and came across a recipe for carbonara that uses only the yolk instead of the whole egg. Ahhh!! That make sense - egg white is watery! So I gave it a shot and here's the result. It taste so much more deeelicious than it looks, trust me!

Chilli pasta carbonara with italian sausages & bacon

Here's a lil' tip for cooking pasta: a must in your fridge for any successful homemade pasta dish - bacon and ready-diced garlic - and you're ready to go!

good things come in small packages

2010-01-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

So after the 1st successful bake-out and thanks to the encouragement from friends who had a bite of those cupcakes, I decided to bake again...yay! Was brain-storming flavours with the hubs one night and he came up with this one (all credit to him) - PB&J aka peanut butter & jam, which happens to be my fav sandwich btw. At the same time, I wanted to experiment making mini cupcakes. Love things in mini sizes. Somehow they just look so adorable and easy to pop into the mouth :) check it out, made a batch of big & minis and also tried pipping the frosting via a ziplock bag.

minis in the baking

mini strawberry & cream topped with mini hershey kisses

mini PB&J topped with vanilla frosting & jam centres

fern's strawberry & cream cupcake - artsy shots

fern's PB&J cupcake - artsy shots

cross-section view of PB&J - can you see the jam in the middle

just a couple of cupcakes

2010-01-11T07:59:00.000-08:00

I've always adored looking at the pretty cupcakes at bakeries however sadly most of them are pretty to look at but dry on the inside. So one day or night rather, I thought I'll give it a shot at baking my own cupcakes. Ok before I proceed any further I must confess that I suck at baking. I've tried my hand at baking cakes before and was never successful. I recall back in secondary school, the rock buns I made at home econs class was so hard that they failed to break into pieces when thrown against the wall (trust me my bro & I really tried it)! Thus, ever since I thought better stay far away from baking. But with my new-found confidence in the kitchen kicked, and majorly due to boredom at home alone one night, as well as pushed by the fantastic cupcake cover issue of a Donna Hay mag starring at me from the coffee table - I gave it a shot and viola!! Here's the pics from my 1st cupcake bake-out...

looking good...batch of "naked" strawberry cupcakes with chopped almonds strawberry & cream cupcake (cream cheese) - recipe thanks to porkonyourfork batch of "naked" nutella cupcakes nutella cupcakes with chocolate frosting, topped with half of a real cherry

the start of tasty things to come...

2010-01-11T00:13:00.001-08:00

So yet another new year is here and I was thinking what can I do to make this year different from the last one...hmm start a blog to document my newly-discovered passion for making yummilicous food!! Unfortunately, I suck at writing and with my lack of discipline (aka laziness), I know keeping up with it will be challenging. On the other hand, I seem to have started a cult-following from posting my food pics on facebook. So to these bunch of nice and ever-so-encouraging friends, I dedicate this photojournalistic blog - filled with lots of yummy photos, with minimal text! This way, it works out well for everyone. I don't have to write heaps yet get to share my culinary experiences with you, at the same time, brush up on my photography skills. And you my dearest friends can click, look, drool :) enjoy!