Live a Little Rich

The holiday season always brings out the best in luxurious eating in Laura's Kitchen! This season, lux dish of the year was a lunch entree of Pan Seared Duck, served with Foie Gras and Celery Root Puree, and garnished with Apricot Demi Glace and Apple Mint Jelly. Just to hit the nail right on the head, the entire dish was scented with truffle oil for that intoxicating aroma.



It was such a treat for all of us, and I personally made a comment about how disgusted I was by how rich the entire dish was. It's a good thing we only eat like this once a year. Gone are the days when Foie Gras was a weekly menu item! (Yes, it's true! For a stretch, sometimes even nightly...) But this made lunch so much more special knowing that it was a rare occasion for such exquisite ingredients.

I'm also past the point of doing individual platings - for such a small party, family style dining is far more intimate with everyone having to help themselves from the same plate. It's sort of a fine dining food meets casual eating concept, and I'm kind of enjoying it so far!

My recipes are typically easy to work with, and can be whipped up in no time at all, but I thought that for this holiday season, posting a fine food recipe would be fitting. One of my favorite side dishes to serve is the celery root puree. It's sort of like an upgrade to your regular potato puree (I remember when Potato Puree was all the rage, it was basically butter with some potato), but with that unique hint of celery flavor, and neutral flavored enough to pair with almost any entree. Mmmmm...

Celery root (celeriac) is kind of an ugly vegetable, and looks like a turnip that has overdosed on some radioactive soil, with dirt trapped between the crevices of knobs sticking out of the surface. Tiny roots are usually still attached to the whole bulb, making it seem like it has a life of it's own. Ew. However, unlike most root vegetables, celery root only contain 5-6% of starch, so it's also a healthier alternative to something like potato.


I wasn't kiding about it looking like a mutated turnip

It's sort of amazing how an ugly vegetable can bring out such delicious flavors after just a little processing - so here's the recipe. Let me know what you think!

Celery Root Puree
1 ea Medium Sized Celery Root (about the size of a large potato)
1 ea Medium Yukon Gold Potato
1/3 cup Heavy Cream
2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg

Salt and White Pepper to taste

1. Using a knife, cut around the celery root to remove the thick skin
2. Dice the celery root and set aside
3. Peel the Potato, and dice into cubes the same size as the celery root cuts
4. Bring a pot of water to boil, and salt well
5. Add the celery root and the potato and cook until potato is just done, about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the cut
6. Strain vegetables and place in food processor. Add cream
7. Puree until very smooth, then season with salt and pepper to taste, pulsing to incorporate flavor
8. Serve immediately, or leave to cool
9. To reheat, place puree in a metal bowl over a water bath, and gently warm

Know Good Gnocchi

I had a couple of friends over for dinner on Saturday, and in keeping with the pasta craze, I served up an awesome potato gnocchi gratin.

Cooking with gnocchi frustrates me - for most of my life, I could only ever use gnocchi if and only if I made it myself (kind of like the same gripe I have with make carbonara from dried pasta). And, of course, Gnocchi is such a pain to make, I don't ever want to bother with it.

Trader Joe's saved me quite recently though - now that they have one open at Town & Country, I've spent hours perusing through the aisles and shelves, and have found the perfect packaged gnocchi. It's imported from Italy, fresh, vacuum sealed, not doughy or chewy, and overall, just made quite well! On a funnier note, that one day I stopped at TJ's to buy a bottle of rum, I forgot my ID, got carded, and was refused the purchase. Well, if I were them, I would card me too.

Anyway, I decided that since I seldom make my own pasta anyway, why should gnocchi have a different standard anyway? So, I caved into buying one (two actually) of those TJ gnocchi packs.

I had some Cambazola (a triple cream blue cheese) in the fridge, and wanted to use it in the sauce, but thought that a blue cheese gnocchi would just be too boring. After all, they sell the same stuff in the frozen section at TJ's already! The perfect winter sauce for me is always a brown butter, and I didn't get to make any brown butter pastas this fall, so I thought it would be a perfect incorporation into this dish! And, you can't have brown butter without having sage - it's a classic pairing!

In the end, the sauce was a simple bechamel, laced with sage brown butter, and then spiced with cambazola for a the final kick! I stuck the whole gratin in the oven till the sauce started bubbling and the top got all crusty, and there we had the perfect winter side dish!



Here's the recipe:

Gnocchi Au Gratin with Sage Brown Butter & Blue Cheese
Serves 4

20 ea Sage leaves
8 Tbs Butter
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Lb Spinach
2 Tbs Flour
2 cups Milk
1 tsp Nutmeg, ground
0.5 cup Creamy blue cheese, like cambazola or gorgonzola
0.5 cup Bread crumbs
2 Tbs Oil
Salt to Taste
4 Servings Gnocchi, cooked

1 Melt the butter in a small sauce pan, until bubbling and just turning brown
2 Add the sage leaves and fry until crispy, remove with a slotted spoon and blot on paper towels. Salt
3 Remove 2 tablespoons of browned butter into a saucepan, and throw in the garlic and spinach
4 Saute until spinach cooks down and then remove from heat to reserve
5 Add the flour to the remaining browned butter and cook over low heat, whisking constantly
6 Once flour is cooked through (about 5 minutes), add the milk and whisk until sauce is smooth
7 Add the nutmeg, and season the salt, under-salting to compensate for the cheese
8 Cook the sauce for another 5-10 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in the cheese until everything is smooth
9 Crumble the fried sage leaves, and mix together with the breadcrumbs and oil
10 In an oven proof dish, toss the Gnocchi, blue cheese sauce and spinach together.
11 Top with generous sprinkles of sage breadcrumbs
12 Bake in the oven at 350F until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, about 20 minutes

Vongole on Steroids!

Following my attempt towards the 101 ways with Pasta, I stopped for clams and pappardelle at the market before heading home one evening. Unfortunately, it turned out that the pappa was not the right noodle for the dish, but it was a very good dish nonetheless. A thicker, rounder pasta like spaghetti or linguine would probably have worked out better, because thin pastas like pappa tend to absorb all the sauce. With a thin sauce like this one, you don't want to dry the dish out.

I usually go all out with my staple white wine & clam juice base plus a bunch of other stuff (recipe here), but I wanted this pasta to be ready in 20 minutes, and just plainly delicious. I could have gone with the classic vongole, but with the pancetta in my fridge, I thought I would just kick it up a notch, (as well as saving it from going bad)! Plus, I also made a quick green pea soup, and thought that a sprinkling of pancetta would go very well!

The result? And overwhelming medley of flavor - this is one dish that does not go by the nickname "Bland"! Because it's such a bold pasta with plenty of layers, this is not the clam pasta that goes with a crisp white wine! Serve with a nice pale ale, and all will be well!



Vongole on Steroids

5 cloves Garlic, thinly slices
2 oz Pancetta, diced
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 cup Crisp white wine, like a Sauvignon blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, (no chardonnay)
1 cup Chicken Stock
1/5 Lbs Clams, fresh
4 oz Baby Spinach Leaves
2 Tbs Butter, Cold
2 Tbs Parsley, Minced
2 ea Anchovy fillets, mashed

1/3 cup Grated hard cheese

Cooked Noodle Pasta for two - Linguine, Fettucine or Spaghetti works well

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed saute pan
2. Add the diced pancetta, and cook till nicely browned. Remove from pan and reserve
3. Add the garlic slivers to the pancetta drippings and saute until just cooked, but not browned
4. Add the White wine and Chicken stock, and bring to a boil
5. Reduce white wine mixture until about 1/3 cup
4. Add the clams and spinach to the liquid, and cover
5. Steam clams for about 5-7 minutes, or until the open up
6. Take the saute pan off the heat, and swirl in the cold butter, parsley and anchovies
7. Toss with pasta and cheese
8. Garnish with browned pancetta and serve immediately

Something Old, Something New

I'm on a pasta roll for sure.

Once of the best things about pasta is that you can toss it up with almost anything, and sometimes the best combinations are those that were "chapalang" thrown together from anything and everything in the fridge.

It's a great way to use leftovers too. I had to fix dinner quite quickly with just a stark supply of food, and came up with the following: Spinach, Cheese (Always have this in your fridge please), Garlic (this too), Anchovies, Fresh Fettucine, and Frozen Chicken

So my thoughts as follows: "hmm... all the necessary ingredients for Aglio Olio, except without the pepper flakes & pasta - but definitely some good flavor going on there with the garlic & anchovies." *Ding Ding! Eureka!

It was an easy decision - saute the spinach in the garlic and toss everything together like an Aglio Olio - then serve it with roast chicken, and it's a complete meal with the protein, carbs & veg! Turned out fantastic (why am I not surprised) so here's the recipe.

I've been having thoughts of publishing a book about 101 ways with pasta - what do you think? Am I up for the challenge?





Updated Aglio Olio

1 Bag Baby Spinach leaves
6 cloves Garlic, sliced thin
3 Tbs Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 ea Anchovy Fillets, chopped fine
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Noodle Pasta for 2

1. Cook the pasta and well salted boiling water, and drain well
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbs of olive in a saute pan
3. Gently cook the garlic slivers until they are slight translucent, but not brown
4. Add the spinach and cook to wilt
5. Toss the sauteed spinach and garlic with the anchovies, pasta, cheese and remaining olive oil
6. Serve immediately

Pretty Perfect Pancetta-Pea Pasta!

I had a craving for pancetta and peas (per my tweet about a week ago), and by chance had fallen upon some lovely pancetta from AG Ferrari!

It took me only 20 minutes to throw this together, and I think it qualifies as one of my signature pasta dishes now, along with Seafood & Carbonara, which has never failed to win praises :D

The traditional recipe isn't creamy like this, but I was in the mood for some comfort food, which in my mind equates to added lux (as in, more fat) - hence the addition of cream, & egg yolk.

The very last steps of the recipe are almost like a carbonara. Although there are not as many egg yolks, you will need to make sure that the pasta is hot enough to cook the yolks, but the sauce is not hot enough to curdle the yolks. To do this right, don't skip the tempering step (step 7), which heats the yolks slightly, so it doesn't shock when tossed with the pasta or sauce.

Also, I would recommend tossing the pasta with the sauce first, then pouring the yolk mixture over and re-tossing with parm.

You could use any kind of pasta, but I chose conchiglie (shells), because the bits of peas and pancetta fit nicely into their pockets. You can also substitute bacon for pancetta, but COME ON!

Enjoy!

Pancetta & Peas Pasta Recipe

1 cup Frozen Peas
4 oz Pancetta, diced
1/4 ea Yellow onion, brunoise
1 cup Chicken Stock
1 cup Heavy Cream
3 ea Egg Yolks
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

Pasta shells for two

1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta to al dente
2. Heat a heavy saucepan and fry the pancetta until crisp on the outside
3. Remove pancetta from pan and reserve
4. In rendered pancetta fat, add the yellow onion and saute till lightly browned and translucent
5. Add the heavy cream and chicken stock and bring to a boil
6. Reduce sauce until about 1/3 cup
7. Whisk the egg yolks until thick in a separate bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the reduced sauce, quickly whisking to prevent curdling
8. Add frozen peas to the cream sauce and cover until liquid comes to a boil again
9. Add the reserved pancetta and toss pasta into the saucepan coating with cream sauce
10. Add egg yolk mixture and cheese and toss until sauce thickens
11. Serve immediately

Chef Laura's Easy Entertaining Cooking Class!

One of my biggest passions in addition to cooking is teaching, and what better way to combine the two than to host a cooking class!

Because this was organized by SGConnect, I had little insight to the skill and interest levels of the participants. So, to keep things interesting, I opted for more unusual ingredients, but stuck with the simple technique.

We had the privilege of using Ben's & Unhui's kitchen in Oakland, and it is the perfect setting for a group class, with an island in the middle, and tons of space to walk around.

The class started with a little getting to know you session, with each group of 2 or 3 bidding for their project.



I had a ton of fun teaching the class, and I think everyone learned at least one thing!



Knife Skills - Small Dice, Batons, Mince



Boning & Butterflying a Whole Chicken



Sauce Making 101
Roasting Vegetables without a Grill
Folding & Whipping Techniques in Dessert Making

After about 1.5 hrs of hard core cooking and preparation, we had a short Plating & Presentation 101 session on how to make food look good, before partaking in the feast!




Crab Salad with Melon



Caramelized Garlic Roasted Chicken, with Heirloom Tomato Sauce



Creamy Parmigiana Polenta

Salsa Verde Salad with Buffalo Mozzarella



Peanut Butter & Banana Pie

This was a great idea to get to build connections with strangers or stronger bonds with your friends. There's something about preparing a meal together that draws people closer together, and afterwards, when you feast, you can really taste the fruit of your labor!



For a session like this, contact me at cheflaurafu@gmail.com

*Photos Courtesy of Mark Sin - More here

Life Lessons from the Perfect Meal

1. It's not about what you're eating, but who you're eating it with.

2. It doesn't have to be expensive - with some creativity, the simplest ingredients can form the most unique combination of flavors

3. A meal always requires some careful thought and planning - but not too much. Easy does it best.

4. It can't taste that bad if it was prepared with lots of love.

5. Don't be afraid of trying something new - you never know what you'll create

6. It's OK to make mistakes, or if the dish doesn't come out perfectly - it's knowing what to change for next time

7. Much like experiences, each course in the meal could be perfect in it's own right, but if consumed at the wrong time, or with a different pairing of flavors, would not achieve it's full potential.

8. Using what's in season and available makes the best meals - searching for resources you don't have is a waste of your time and energy that could be put into creating a better meal instead

9. It starts with good ingredients - no amount of seasoning or sauce can hide what's truly on the inside

10. Only the Chef knows how to pair the perfect wine for the perfect meal.

The search for the perfect wine is a complicated affair. It must complement all the courses in the meal, it must appeal to all the diners' palates, and it must be drinkable at the current moment in time. It is often a rare find, and sometimes can cost more than the perfect meal itself. To the lay person, the search for the perfect wine involves so much sacrifice (time, money, effort) that settling for a good wine is satisfactory. However, for the true connoisseur, it is worth giving up everything just to bring the perfect bottle to the table. After all, without the perfect meal, the perfect wine is merely a shadow of what it could become.

When life gives you vodka, make a sauce!

Every good cook needs to be able to make a good tomato based meat sauce. It's the base of many dishes - spaghetti, lasagna, chili, and even meat loaf, so the classic recipe needs to be extremely easy to put together, and made with ingredients that are always within pantry reach.

I've made numerous changes to the recipe over the years (check this one out from last year here), but the recipe will always have the following ingredients: A beef & pork mix (pork for texture and flavor), tomatoes (canned when you are in a pinch), tomato paste (not always bad for you), onions. The secret ingredient is always an alcohol, and I think this recipe tops the lot with the alcohol of choice - Vodka!

Here's the recipe!

Vodka Meat Ragu

2 lbs Pork & Beef, Hand Ground
1 lbs Mixed Tomatoes,diced, preferably Roma, cherry, sweet 100s
1 ea Carrot, Brunoise
1 ea Celery, Brunoise
1/4 ea Onion, Bruinoise
1 cup Vodka
2 tbs Tomato Paste
2 tbs Fresh Herb, minced - parsley, oregano, basil & thyme recommended
4 tbs Olive Oil

Salt, pepper & sugar to taste

1. Heat the oil in a heavy saute pan & brown meat, working in batches if necessary
2. Removed meat into a saucepot and add the tomato paste and cook for an additional 2 minutes
3. Add the tomatoes to the saucepot and leave to simmer
4. In the browned saute pan, add the onions to brown lightly, adding a little more oil if necessary
5. Add the carrots and celery and saute, then add the vodka to deglaze the pan, scraping up the brown bits
6. Keep the vodka mixture boiling until all the alcohol burns off - be careful, vapor might ignite, but it's nothing to worry about
7. Add the vodka liquid and vegtables into the saucepot with the meat, stir in the minced herb
8. Simmer until tomatoes cook down and sauce has a thick consistency
9. Season to taste with salt, pepper & sugar

Leave to cool, and best served after the sauce is left to sit for about 2 days in the fridge

Chef Laura's Makan Sutra

makan /mah-kahn, ˈmɑkɑn/ n. & v. [Mal. makan food, a meal; eat, consume] A n. Food, a meal. B v. Eat, have a meal.

su·tra \ˈsü-trə\ n. a precept summarizing Vedic teaching; also : a collection of these precepts

They say the best thing about Singapore is the food, and I agree.

The cuisine is so unique and the flavors are a reflection of the cultural melting pot this is Singaporean society. Because of that, it's difficult to replicate outside the region - here in the Bay Area, there are probably more Singaporean restaurants per sq ft than any other place outside of Singapore. However, none of them have effectively been able to transpose the same kind of authenticity to the food (yes, I can't even do it myself, even though I do a pretty good job).


Barbequed Pork Jerky, another thing you can't find here in the Bay area

So, because of the lack of availability of authentic Singaporean cuisine around, the cravings for the food set in, and when I do get a chance to visit Singapore, it's really a chance for me to play food catch up. There are so many things on the menu that it's difficult for me to satisfy every single desire, so I tend to just sample what I can. Plus, if you're familiar with the cuisine, you'll know that it's heavy on the carbs and saturated fat, and so, less is definitely more for the waistline!

On this recent trip, I was caught up with a bunch of other stuff, and although I barely had enough time for a meal a day, I did get some local favorites in:

First up, home made Mee Siam and Pohpiah at a Hari Raya Puasa party. Mee siam is made by stir frying rice vermicelli in a prawn and chili paste, and then served with a spicy and sour clear broth, and the recipe is almost a family secret. Pohpiah on the other hand is almost the chinese version of sushi, or vietnamese fresh spring rolls, except that the filling is mostly braised turnip with a variety of condiments ranging from boiled shrimp to bean sprouts and several other interesting sauces that I don't care to mention!


Plate of Mee Siam


Mee Siam Sauce


Mee Siam Condiments


Rolling the pohpiah


Pohpiah condiments

The Social Networking Forum Asia was held at the Hyatt Hotel, which has a pretty good restaurant on the ground floor. The Straits Kitchen serves up local favorites at exorbitant prices. I ordered Hokkien Mee, which is a favorite of mine, made by Wok Frying egg & rice noodles in a rich shrimp and pork stock, and a Teh Tarik, the local style tea, with condensed milk and "pulled" or drawn in the air to create froth. What normally would have cost me $5, came up to $30 - you pay that much extra to sit in air conditioning and use your laptop while having lunch :)


Hokkien Mee & Teh Tarik, with quite awesome chili sauce considering

I had the chance to go for supper twice - (which is almost considered a national sport), where we had Prata, (a local version of the croissant, except it's made with ghee, served with curry, and eaten mostly when drunk at 3am), and Hainanese Chicken Rice (do check out my post here), which is really one of the most quintessential dishes of Singaporean Cuisine.


Chicken served at room temperature, and with the bone still bloody - so it never dries out!


Sambal Kangkong - a local spinach stir fried with chili, and the clear chicken broth


Chicken Insides (Gizzard & Liver, a popular side dish, but apparently I'm the only one that eats it), and yellow chicken rice, a sign that it was cooked the authentic way - with chicken fat!

Sorry folks - due to being only half conscious on Friday night I forgot to take pictures of the Prata, but please google search it!

Ironic how I started and ended my culinary journey at Singapore's Changi Airport as well - the first lunch I had was at the Crystal Jade La Mien Xiao Long Bao restaurant at Terminal 3, where we had "Shanghainese" noodles, dumplings and other delicacies like stewed pork and drunken chicken. To send me off, we ate at the Soup Restaurant at Terminal 2 - it's local franchise that's extremely reliable, affordable, and always surprisingly consistent!


Dan Dan Noodles ( Peanut Sauce), Drunked Chicken & Pork Dumplings at Crystal Jade


Stewed Pork, Hand Pulled Noodles with Wontons


The famous Samsui Chicken at Soup Restaurant


L - R: Steamed minced pork with salted egg, Stir fried fish ($1 Special), and Stir fried sweet potato leaves

Amongst other things at the award winning Changi Airport, there is a Killiney Kopitiam (Cafe), one of the oldest and most legendary breakfast spots, that have like many other eateries, now branched out into franchising. We spent our last moments together around one last cup of Kopi (coffee or tea "Teh" with condensed milk), and munching on Kaya toast, an egg custard sandwich that I grew up around. It was a fitting end to the time I spent with family, but sweet enough to linger till I see them again.

Make it easy for yourself

Cooking for the masses is never easy. (Here we're referring to meals for 80-100, not the 25-50 parties that I do often) I learned how to do this well when I volunteered with the GRX kitchen in San Francisco, where we would cook a mini-supper for the congregation (about 100-120) after the evening service. Typically there would be 3 or 4 of us, and we'd have about 3 hours to prep and cook, which was a feat in itself. However, the biggest challenge was that I only had a budget for about $80-$100, and most often, I stuck to it pretty well!

This time, I cooked for the Menlo Park Pres Choir Welcome Dinner, and my main priorities were efficiency & quality! When cooking for such a large crowd, you need to be able to minimize the cooking on the extra day itself. This means that most things should be done ahead of time! For example, if you're serving a pasta, the pasta sauce needs to have been made two days in advance, to cook, cool, and store properly. Then, if you were serving a meat, letting it sit in a marinade usually works well to tenderize and impart good flavor, since, quite often the luxury of quick searing or slow braising is not there to give the meat it's best shot.

The same guidelines apply when you're throwing a dinner party. I always ask myself these two questions: What can be done ahead, and how can I showcase the food at it's best given the constraints?

I ended up serving a pasta with the Romesco sauce that I'm so fond of - to stretch it, I used half and half, and also added a good amount of roasted tomatoes from the garden. Chicken is always welcome at large dinners, since it agrees with everyone, and I chose to do roasted chicken thighs, which I was sure would hold their juices quite well. The recipe I used was the same one that I previously published for the roasted veggie salad, and can be found here. You don't need too much for the marinade, about 1/3 cup per 2 large chicken thighs.

I love pairing meats with stuff that's farmer's fresh, and figs are in season right now. So, I threw together a fig compote that accompanied the chicken for that extra special touch. It's super simple to make, and you can serve this alongside chicken, pork, and even cheese! Here's the recipe

Easy Fig Compote

Makes 2 cups

1 pt Fresh Figs, stemmed & chopped
1 cup Chicken Stock
1/4 ea Red Onion, diced
2 Tbs Olive Oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan, and sweat red onion until translucent
Add the figs, and saute for 1 minute before adding chicken stock
Bring to a boil, and simmer until compote thickens and liquid has mostly evaporated
Keep stirring the pot to prevent browning
Puree the mixture and leave to cool before storing in the fridge

Magical Mushroom Mystique

I absolutely love mushrooms, and think that one of the simplest, most luxurious food that you can have is creamy mushroom soup! Traditionally, as with most other foods, cooking a great mushroom soup requires time, patience, and multiple steps. However, there are times when the luxury of time or patience cannot be afforded, as with a small dinner party on a workday evening.

At times like those, it is necessary to take shortcuts, while still producing the best possible result that I would not be ashamed to serve on the table. Although I had to work quickly, it paid off, and we had mushroom soup on the table in 30 minutes!




Here's the recipe:

Creamy Mushroom Soup

1 lb Fresh Mushrooms, I like to use Crimini & Shitake for best flavor
2 ea Garlic Cloves, Smashed
2 sprigs Thyme
1/4 cup White Wine
2 cups Chicken Stock, or Veggie
2 cups Half & Half
3 Tbs Butter

Salt & pepper to taste

In a heavy saucepan, melt one tbs of butter
Add 1/3 of the mushrooms, one garlic clove, and 1 sprig thyme
Saute mushrooms until a deep brown, and cooked through
Repeat with the remaining 2 batches of mushrooms
Deglaze the pan with the white wine - that means addinfg the liquid and scraping up the brown bits over heat
Bring the pan juices, stock and mushrooms to a boil
Simmer for about 10 minutes
Puree the mushroom soup and add the half & half
Thin with water to desired consistency, then season with salt & pepper

How does your garden grow?

Our tomato vines are fruiting, and so we have an abundance of ripe, red, tomatoes on hand. Desperate to not let it go to waste, I decided to go with my famous roasted tomato and garlic bisque, which was perfect for the small dinner party that we had over the weekend.

I've made this soup a couple of times for events, and it's always performed so well, probably because it's one of the quintessential comfort food items.

I remember the first time I dreamed up the soup. It was in early fall one year, when Heirloom tomatoes were making an unusually long season after a hot summer. I also had just discovered the pleasures of roasted garlic, and was putting the delicious, creamy, caramelized stuff in almost everything. At the time, I was also suffering from what they call "bad kitchen syndrome", which meant that I had only a very tiny electric stove, which never got hot enough. Fortunately, the kitchen came with a little oven which worked quite well. So, to marry the three things together (Heirloom, Roasted Garlic & Oven), I chucked everything in the oven, and 45 minutes later, the perfect tomato soup!

You might not be able to get heirlooms all year round, but regular tomatoes work just as well, and when they come from your own garden - oh yum. Nothing beats that, except if it comes with a grilled cheese sandwich. Butter on both sides please :)

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Bisque

Makes two servings

1 ea Large Heirloom Tomato, or 8 oz equivalent
1/4 ea Yellow onion, preferably vidalia, chopped
1 head Garlic
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 cup Chicken Stock
1/2 cup Heavy Cream


Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375F
Slice the top of the garlic head and drizzle with 1 tbs olive oil
Wrap the garlic head with foil
Core the tomato/tomatoes and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet
Roast the tomatoes and the garlic for about 40 minutes or until the tomatoes are lightly charred on the outside
While the tomatoes and garlic are roasting, sweat the onions in the remaining olive oil and let the onions brown just very slightly
Squeeze the garlic pulp from the papery skin
Combine the roasted garlic, tomatoes, onions and chicken stock in a sauce pot
Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes
Puree soup, strain, then add the cream and simmer for another 10 minutes
Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately

Attempts to be a Rising TV Star

I hardly ever get a chance to cook Singaporean food because it's so damned tedious, and I have this urge to always make stuff from scratch. But, but, there are always exceptions to the rule. For instance, last Saturday, when I was given the chance to be on a Singaporean TV show (just after my birthday as well, so it could have been considered somewhat of a birthday present). The show was about Overseas Singaporean community getting their fix of Hawker Food, so it was inevitable that I had to make Singaporean Food.


The whole spread, mine is in the middle

The easiest thing I could think of is the quintessential Chicken Rice, which I knew would not take too much prep work, (as opposed to something like Hokkien Mee, which would render my house smelling like prawns for ever, and everyone knows I don't eat shrimp) and a Nonya Dessert that's somewhat a specialty and quite unique (you never see it in restaurants).

I hadn't done these two recipes in maybe about 3 years, so I was a bit nervous about the outcome, but really, I'm not sure why I worry so much. It was quite awesome, and many people asked for the recipes, so I'm posting it here. To save time and energy, I dumb everything down, but really, when chicken rice is so far away, you can't tell the difference. The "secret ingredient" is of course the rendered chicken fat - come on, it's only 2 tablespoons! But if you're squeamish about it, go ahead and use sesame oil instead.


Rendering Chicken Fat

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Serves 6

Chicken:
1 ea Chicken
1 oz Ginger
5 clove Garlic
2 bunches Green Onion
2 strips Pandan/Screwpine Leaves


Rice:
2 cups Thai Long Grain Rice
2 Tbs Rendered Chicken Fat
2 oz Shallot
2 oz Ginger
2 oz Garlic
2 bunches Green Onion
1 Tbs Salt
3 strips Pandan/Screwpine Leaves, Tied into a knot
2 cups Chicken Broth (from cooking the chicken)


1. Stuff the Chicken with the the rest of the ingredients
2. Bring a large pot of water (large enough to fit the chicken) to a boil
3. Put the chicken into the pot, breast side up and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until juices run clear at thighs when pierced
4. Remove the chicken from the pot, and leave to cool. If you're feeling adventurous, dunk the chicken in ice water to stop the cooking for the very authentic lukewarm feeling
5. Reserve the cooking liquid, and reduce to 2 cups for the rice
6. For the rice, process the shallot, ginger, garlic, green onion and salt to make a chicken rice paste - you can do this days ahead and store.
7. Heat the fat in a wok until smoking hot, the add the paste and stir fry until it's fragrant, but not browned
8. Add the rice to the wok and cook until the rice starts to turn opaque
9. Transfer the rice into another pot and add the chicken broth and Pandan Leaf Knot
10. Cover pot and as soon as liquid comes to a boil, turn down to a very gentle simmer for around 15 minutes
11. Fluff the rice, carve the chicken, and serve with the chili sauce (recipe below)


Chicken Rice Chili


4 oz Red Jalapenos or Fresh red chilis
1 oz Shallot
5 cloves Garlic
1 ea Lime Juice
1 cup Chicken Broth

Salt to Taste

1. Process the first 3 ingredients together
2. Add the liquids and simmer on the stove about 15 minutes
3. Season to taste

Happy Birthday Chef Laura!

To help celebrate my own birthday this year, I brought in cupcakes to the office!



I've always admitted to being a bad pastry chef, but every decent chef needs to have at least one cake on their repertoire. I thought up this recipe when I was dreaming about Kueh Lapis, which is a rich layered butter cake that I grew up cooking and eating. Kueh Lapis is the biggest time suck in culinary history - it involves baking each layer of batter individually, on top of the previous layer. I'm all about easy cooking and efficiency now, so Kueh Lapis never makes it to my menu, but I remembered a unique ingredient that added a very nice mellow, sweet flavor to the cake - condensed milk. Hence, the recipe name "Condensed Milk Cake"

The CM cake is also made in a very similar way to Kueh Lapis. The fat (butter, yolks & milk) is first creamed then combined with the flour. Then a meringue is folded in which makes it super fluffy. The cake is quite neutral flavored, so it pairs well with any kind of additional flavoring. This time, I used a Dulce de Leche frosting. The result is a cake that's a cross between a pound cake and a chiffon cake, with good structure, but not so heavy that it sinks into your stomach like the pound cake. it's delicious!



Here's the recipe:

4 ea Egg Whites
8 oz Sugar

8 oz Butter
6 ea Egg Yolks
1 can Condensed Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
4 oz Whole Milk

10 oz Cake Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder


Preheat the oven to 325F

Butter two 9" cake rounds
Whip the egg whites and sugar until stiff, set aside
Cream the butter, and add the yolks one at a time
Add the condensed milk and vanilla to the creamed mixture until just combined
Reduce speed to low and add the sifted ingredients and the whole milk alternatively in 3 batches
Fold in the meringue into the batter
Pour batter evenly into the two cake pans and bake for around 45 minutes
To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center, and if it comes out clean it's ready!

Frost the cake only when it's completely cool and store in the fridge.



For Dulce de Leche Frosting

1 lb Cream Cheese
1 can Dulche De Leche
3/4 cup Sugar


Whip cream cheese and sugar until fluffy
Add Dulche De Leche and combine

Jaffa to Jerusalem - Chef Laura in Israel Part 3

The oldest port in the world is under construction, but that didn't distract from the historic awe that I indulged myself in when I visited Jaffa. The old city is atop a hill and you get an awesome view of the harbor that brought in cedars from Lebanon for both the first and second temples of Jerusalem.




A great view of Tel Aviv from Jaffa



Modern Jaffa thrives on it's antiquity, with a quaint old town feel. Even the night street market reminds me of an old bazaar, completely different from contemporary Tel Aviv, which is just a 10 minute walk north. Street side stalls of shwarma, falafel and shish kebab abound, but we chose to visit Noa, a cute little Mediterranean bistro on a side alley. Noa is the little sister to Cordelia, the more famous and upmarket restaurant just around the corner, with the same chef, and from reviews, equally good.

They had a tasting menu going on with a couple of first courses to share, and then a main course each.







My dining partner was a great sport, and humored my appetite by allowing me to order an extra liver pate (which of course I absolutely love), even on severe warning from the waitress that it was a lot of food (rubbish!). The best plate was the sea bream carpaccio, which was thinly sliced (think Hirame), then dressed in olive oil, sea salt and chives. Super simple, super fresh, and super delicious.



As mentioned earlier the pate was fantastic, but what I really loved was the macerated raisins which became plump with a good dose of dessert wine, not unlike what I serve my foie gras with.



We tried the lamb kebabs which was stuffed with goat cheese, and a braised pork shank which had cooked for hours and was completely falling off the bone. The kebabs were a bit more unique, but the shank was a better dish. How can you go wrong with a good braising technique anyway, especially with all that good fat around the lean meat? Note to self - if you want to impress, braise.









After eating so well on Thursday night, by breakfast on Friday seemed comparatively blah - a Challah Egg Sandwich and mineral water, which I munched on while driving to Ein Gedi (I'm a safe driver, I swear!).



It wasn't a bad drive at all, in fact completely enjoyable, especially when I noticed the difference between the lush greenery on the West of Jerusalem, and then the acrid desert to the East. In the wilderness of Judea, I spotted a couple of very interesting things, included a decked out camel and goats on a hill.



My ears also kept popping as I drove further down the 400m towards the Dead Sea.





I arrived at Ein Gedi in the heat of the day, and I'm not sure what I was thinking (but the kiosk at the foot of the hike knows, trust me - they charge you 3X the price for water), but I took the hike up to Wadi David, cooling off in the freshwater pools along the way.





It amazed me to know that such beautiful oases could survive just a stone's throw away from the Dead Sea which can hold no life all (not known to man anyway).





After a float in the Dead Sea and a self-attending spa treatment by caking myself in the blackest of mud, my skin was ultra soft, and it was just in time for me to make the 45 minute drive further south to Ein Bokek, where I would spend the night.









This took me past Masada, unfortunately, I wasn't able to stop because it was just so damn hot (45C). I arrived just in time to take another dip in the salt pools which used to be part of the Dead Sea before it dried up and water had to be pumped in. Unlike the ultra-cool float at Ein Gedi, the water at Ein Bokek was like a hot tub - except that in mid afternoon, it was unbearably hot, so I headed back to my room to watch the sunset instead.



Fortunately, even on shabbat there was a great (relatively speaking) restaurant around the corner called Quattro, and I was able to escape the hotel buffet to have dinner there. The food was not bad, fried calamari and lamb kebabs again, served with a delicious eggplant mash.





For dessert, I had the Belgium waffle with ice cream and bananas, enough to feed another 3 more people and then some. I chatted with Maya, my friendly waitress, until she had to go back to work.



I woke up early the next morning (6am) to make the drive back to Jerusalem in time for the 9am tour. Conveniently enough, my GPS kept trying to take me into Jericho. It's a good thing I have a great sense of direction - for a girl anyway. Unfortunately, that was not enough to save me from Jerusalem, which is ridiculously complicated and has no city planning at all. I guess they didn't do that sort of thing 3000 years ago.





Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives


Mercy Gates

The day tour took us into Bethlehem, and to every single Jerusalem sight you can think of, including the Western Wall where I was yelled at for taking pictures on Shabbat.


The best picture I could get of the Western Wall


Incense at the Bazaar







Arab Sweets that I missed

Lunch was completely uneventful, and at the end of the day, all I wanted to do was... eat (no surprised there). After much trouble with trying to check in before sunset on a Saturday (that will teach me - next time just pick a name brand hotel, come on!), I headed out for dinner at a place which I was reassured several times that the food was very good.


Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Askadinya is on Shimon Ha Tsedek Street in East Jerusalem, tucked away in a remodeled 19th century house with limestone walls and arched doorways. I was on my own again when it came to dinner, and on recommendation, ordered the beef steak with a tasty green pepper and garlic dressing and sauteed baby potatoes and squash.


Actually my first steak in Israel

I was desperate to have some Arab sweets for dessert, which unfortunately they did not have, so I had to make do with the peanut mousse cake, topped with an Italian meringue (marshmallow), which was quite unique, and something that I will probably try to replicate.



I finished off the night having drinks at the Blue Hole, an Irish (I know huh?) Pub , which was busy till the wee small hours of the morn, evidence that the Nightlife also exists outside Tel Aviv.


A crazy Shisha shop round the corner form the Blue Hole

Sadly, this was the close of my weekend in Jerusalem, and I left for Tel Aviv on Sunday for the coup de grace - but that, as they say, is another post!