Kiwi and Chocolate Tea Cake

I got the basic tea cake recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini and used Kiwis instead of the suggested pear because we bought italian-grown kiwis from Trader Joe's and they are too sour for my liking. Also added a dash of choc chips upon J's request which is great because they really balanced the tartness of the kiwis.

This is a delicious light cake, we ate half of it before it is New Year's countdown, which was why I baked the cake in the first place.

My new toy!

John Lewis French cast iron cookware
Round casserole 22 cm/3 litre
Blue enamel

Suitable for hobs, ovens and grills
Double enamelled for durability
Energy efficient heat distribution
Guaranteed for 10 years
Freezer and dishwasher sage
Oven safe up to 200 degrees

This is my only purchase from the Boxing Day sales but I am ridiculously ecstatic about it! I have always wanted a Dutch oven but I have been daunted by the price tag. However, it's now mine because of a 60% discount! For the first time in 10 years, I am actually in love with the Boxing Day sales!

I think my first dish with the pot will be a beef stew

Roasted trout wrapped with parma ham

Ingredients

2 trout fillets
three slices of parma ham
400g of cherry tomatoes
dill

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Season the fish with sea salt and black pepper

Place one fillet in an ovenproof dish and drizzle olive oil over it. Cover with the second fillet. Lay the ham over the fish overlapping the slices to cover the fish in an even layer. Tuck the ends of the ham under the fish.



Add the cherry tomatoes. Drizzle the tomatoes and ham with olive oil and season lightly. Roast for 20 minutes until the tomatoes are lightly coloured and the fish is cooked through.




Another ridiculously easy recipe to cook fish. I love how the taste of the fish blends in with the sharpness of the parma ham and the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes as it bursts in your mouth. Not to mention, the sea salt that's sealed between the ham and the fish. Serve with warm foccacia and it's an excellent Sunday lunch

Madrid chicken

Ingredients:

1 orange
Olive oil
4 chicken breasts (skin and excess fat removed)
2 chorizo sausages cut into 1cm slices
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup homemade tomato sauce
12 olives
parsley to garnish

Using a vegetable peeler, carefully cut 4 thin strips of orange rind. remove the peel and pith from the orange and segment the flesh

Heat the oil in a saucepan and brown and chicken and chorizo slices, in batches if necessary. Add the stock, tomato sauce and orange rind. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer covered for 25 minutes.

Remove the lid, turn the chicken over and continue to simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and the sauce reduced. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir through the olives and orange segment. Garnish with extra olives and parsley.

This is another of those recipes that you don't mind trying out because it seems interesting. (ref: pork and apple braise) However, the taste is again something you just can't put your finger on. I guess it's the odd mixture of oranges, olives, tomatoes and chorizo that makes this dish so... i don't know... different?

Smoked haddock chowder

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
2 potatoes, scrubbed and sliced
500ml vegetable stock
2 smoked haddock fillet, about 100g each and cut into chunks
1 can of creamed corn
milk, to taste
handful of parsley, chopped

Put the onion and potatoes into a large pan. Pour over the vegetable stock and simmer for 6-8 minutes until the potatoes are soft, but still have a slight bite. Add the chunks of smoked haddock. Tip in the creamed corn and add a little milk.

Gently simmer for 5-7 minutes until the haddock is cooked. Sprinkle over the parsley and serve.

Because I have half a celeriac left over from yesterday's lunch, I decided to pop it into my chowder (I don't like wasting food) and I read from wikipedia that its good in soups. It turn out pretty alright actually, nice balance with the rest of the vegetables in my chowder. That said, I think I used too little smoked haddock and way too much vegetables (healthy though, until I remembered that fish is healthy too). Have to remember to increase the amount if I am using celeriac again.

Smoked salmon and celeriac bake

Ingredients:

Juice of 1 lemon
1 small celeriac
2 medium baking potatoes
250g of sliced smoked salmon
dill
1 onion, finely sliced
cream

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Pour the lemon juice into a large bowl. Peel and quarter the celeriac, cut into slices and toss into the lemon juice. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes and toss with the celeriac.



Layer the celeriac, potatoes and salmon in a large ovenproof dish, sprinkling dill, onion and cream over each layer, together with salt and black pepper. There should be around 3 layers of vegetables with 2 layers of salmon, onion and dill. Finish with the remaining cream.



Cover the dish with foil , place on a baking tray and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 30-40 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the top is golden. Cool slighly before serving.

This is apparently Sweden-inspired and it reminds me of this potato dish I had in Brussels in the Christmas food market a year ago. It's quite a nice light dish for Christmas lunch, and the celeriac goes very well with the salmon. For those who don't know what celeriac is, (I didn't know until today), this is what it looks like:




From wikipedia:

Celeriac (Apium graveolens Rapaceum Group) is also known as 'celery root,' 'turnip-rooted celery' or 'knob celery'. It is a kind of celery, grown as a root vegetable for its large and well-developed taproot rather than for its stem and leaves. The taproot is typically used when it is about 10–12 cm in diameter; about the size of a large potato. Unlike other root vegetables, which store a large amount of starch, celery root is only about 5-6% starch by weight.
Celeriac may be used raw or cooked. It has a tough, furrowed, outer surface which is usually sliced off before use because it is too rough to peel. Celeriac has a celery flavour, and is often used as a flavouring in soups and stews; it can also be used on its own, usually mashed, or used in casseroles, gratins and baked dishes.


I don't really think it tastes like celery, for me the closest parallel is fennel but it is an excellent complement to the fish, as it tastes slightly sour which balances the strong flavours of the smoked salmon. This is a good party dish i think.

Oh btw I am using the new roasting tins i bought from Robert Dyas. It's just 5 pounds for two of such roasting tins. I wanted a bigger one because I thought my cooking was restricted by the size of my pryrex dish

Broccoli and stilton soup

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ onion, sliced
30g/1oz butter
1 handful grated potato
290ml/½ pint vegetable stock
½ head broccoli, chopped
75g/3oz stilton, cubed
85ml/3fl oz double cream
1 tsp thyme, chopped


Method
1. Sauté the garlic and onion in the butter and oil for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the potato and stock and simmer for 7-8 minutes until the potato is tender.
3. Add all the other ingredients and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
4. Blend the soup in a food processor.
5. Pour into a bowl and serve.

This is the starter to my main for my christmas eve dinner. this is one of my all time favourite soups, i don't even recall when i started liking it. I might have put in too much stilton though, next time I am cooking this, i have to remember to reduce the amount. Not too sure when that next time is though as I have 4 portions of it my freezer. I am such a squirrel

Marinated lamb with rosemary / Roasted rosemary potatoes / Grilled tomatoes

Marinated lamb with rosemary

Ingredients

4 large lamb leg steaks
2 tbsp of chopped rosemary
2 cloves of garlic

Put the lamb in a shallow, non-metallic dish. Mix 3 tbsp of olive oil with the rosemary and some salt and pepper. Pour over the lamb and turn to coat in the marinade. Cover and chill for up to 8 hours

Heat oil in frying pan. Fry the lamb for 5-6 minutes on each side, until slightly pink in the centre. Add the marinade and cook for 1-2 minutes until warmed through. Serve

Roasted rosemary potatoes

Ingredients

1/3 cup of extra virgin oil
750g floury potatoes, cut into 4 cm cubes
long sprig of rosemary
sea salt

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Pour the oil into a shallow baking tray. Toss the potato into the casserole. turning to coat thoroughly in oil, then spread out so that the pieces aren't touching. Scatter the rosemary leaves over the potatoes

Roast for 30 minutes, then turn and sprinkle generously with sea salt. Return to the oven and roast for another 30-40 minutes, or until crisp and golden

Grilled tomatoes

Ingredients

Cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp of chopped parsley

Place the tomatoes on a baking tray. Add the garlic, olive oil and parsley and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Put the tomatoes under the grill and cook for 6 minutes.


This is my christmas eve dinner, simple home cooking.

(Fake) Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:

6 large chicken thighs, skin on
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 tbsp curry powder
350g easy cook long-grain rice
700ml chicken stock,
250g frozen peas

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the chicken thighs, skin side down, for 8-10 minutes until the skin is crispy and golden. Tip in the onion and continue to cook for 5 minutes until the onion softens. Sprinkle in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute more, then stir in the rice and pour over the stock. Bring the stock to the boil.

Cover the pan and bake for 30 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked. Stir in the peas and leave the rice to stand for a few minutes before serving.

This is obviously a bastardisation of the original chicken biryani, but it still tastes good and to me, that's all that matters! (cf: lainey) I used basmati rice instead of long-grain rice and that meant a longer baking time, probably around 50 minutes.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

What is more heartwarming than a tangy and spiced butternut squash soup? A curried version! I love this - this is great for winter, maybe the former is better for autumn.
I've adapted this recipe from a slew of recipes I found online.

Ingredients
4 teaspoon of butter
1 butternut squash
2 apples - 1 granny smith, 1 red
1/2 cup of apple cider (you can substitute with apple juice if you can't find apple cider I guess)
3 cups of chicken broth
1 super large onions (or 2 small ones, hee)
3 teaspoons of curry powder
salt and pepper

Steps
1. Cut squash into half, scrape away fibers and seeds, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and roast in oven for 30 minutes. spoon out the squash (removing the skin would now be easy).

2. melt butter in saucepan, add onions and curry powder and cook on low heat until onions are tender.

3. Add apples and half the chicken broth. Simmer till apples are tender.

4. Add squash and apple cider. Simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Leave to cool before blending in food processor (or hand blender). Use remaining chicken broth to play around with the consistency of the soup. For me, I didn't have to use any additional broth at all!

6. Bring to a simmer again in saucepan and add salt and pepper to taste.

YUMS YUMS YUMS!

Jeff's score : 8/10

Summer pork and potatoes

Ingredients:

750g potatoes, scrubbed and sliced
500g vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced
leaves of 3-4 rosemary sprigs, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 pork chops

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Drizzle a little olive oil over the base of a shallow ovenproof dish that is wide enough to take the chops in one layer. Arrange rows of potatoes and tomatoes across the dish, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go and sprinkling with half the rosemary and all the garlic.

Drizzle more olive oil over the vegetables and bake for 30 minutes, then sit the pork on top, season and sprinkle with the remaining rosemary. Return to the oven for 35-45 minutes, until the pork and potatoes are tender.

As lainey kindly pointed out, in her infinite wisdom, it's winter in England and yet i am eating Summer Pork. Well, all i can say is, I DON'T NAME THE RECIPES!

Oh, and i know what's the first thing my mom is going to ask me when she sees this recipe: Did I eat all the fat on the pork chops?

Pork and apple braise

Ingredients

500g pork tenderloin
1 tbsp plain flour seasoned
1 onion chopped
1 Cox's apple, cored and cut into thin wedges, skin on
300ml chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley

Cut the pork crossways into 2cm slices and coat in the seasoned flour. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the pork in small batches, then remove and set aside.

Fry the onion in the remaining oil until soft and golden brown. Add the apply and fry until it has slightly caramelised. Slowly stir in the stock, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan

Return the pork to the pan and add the bay leaves and mustard. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes. Stir in the parsley and season to taste.

There are some dishes that I just can't figure out. This is one of them. I think it's just so different from the food I am used to all my life; I am just not used to the taste. It's not bitter or sour or bland; it's just different.

Salmon and Leek Quiche

We are going to Yas's and Marb's family friend's place for Christmas dinner and it would be nice to contribute something. I thought a quiche would be a sturdy dish that can withstand the journey on public transportation to wherever we are going. I got this recipe off my new favourite food blog - Chocolate and Zucchini (thanks to Y). It's easy to make and very delicious indeed! But I'm glad we did a trial run because I didn't season it enough.

Score by jeff: 7/10 (more salt and pepper needed)

Nietize says it looks like a pizza, so here's a pic of the cross section, together with a salad. It needs to be thicker, more filling.

Tuna souffle

This is my first time with this recipe and I honestly didn't expect anything to happen, i.e. the souffle to rise and puff. I was staring at it through the oven glass initially. I went to check something on the internet. I came back and I was astonished to find that it was actually rising. The recipe involves mixing 25g of bread crumbs, 60 ml cream and 1 tsp of snipped fresh chives and letting it stand for 2 minutes. Add in 50g canned tuna (drained and finely flaked), 1/4 tsp of lemon juice and 1 egg, lightly beaten. Mix well, season and pour it into the ramekin dish. Cook for 20-30 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees till the souffle is golden and well puffed. I am really really happy with this dish. By the way, this recipe is for 1 portion, do your maths

Oden (The Tokyo 7-11 version)

Last year, I had to go to Japan for work. To get to the hotel in Hayama, Kanagawa, I had to take the commuter train from Narita airport. I was tired, hungry and had lost my luggage (found it though). So imagine my devastation when the little inn told me that their restaurant was closed for the night. I called my best friend in Singapore (she had spent 2 years in Japan teaching) and she said, "Oh! Go to 7-11 and get some Oden."

So I did. And it was so comforting for a tired, cold soul.

And so I tried to recreate it today despite the lack of several ingredients. I call it the 7-11 version because my friend, Y, who worked in Japan for 1 year, said that there must be fish paste in Oden.

So this is really a simple version and not orthodox, but the broth does taste like the real thing

Broth:
- 3 tbspn of mirin
- 2 tspn of sugar
- 6 cups of water/chicken broth (i don't have so I added the chicken broth cube)
- 3 tbspoon of soysauce
- 1/2 tspn of sesame oil
- 2 tbspn of sake (i didn't have so i used white wine)

Oden ingredients:
- lotus root
-daikon
-fried tofu skin
-shitake mushrooms
-carrots
-boiled eggs

You should add fishpaste, cake or balls because Y says that makes it oden :p

Bring the broth mixture to a boil before adding the ingredients. Simmer for 1 hr and serve hot and comforting!

Score by Jeff: 8/10

Pea and bacon soup

Ingredients

900g frozen peas
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrot, finely chopped
3 slices of smoked bacon, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
vegetable stock

Fry the bacon until crispy and brown, set aside.
Add the vegetables (except for the peas) and cook gently till soft
Add the peas and cook for 2 minutes
Add vegetable stock, bring to the boil, and simmer for 1 hour.
Puree the mixture and serve with a egg on top and some mint. Sprinkle the bacon over it

This is my improved and extravagant version of a pea soup recipe in this new cookbook I have. To be honest, it tastes like a "posh" version of mushy peas, and if you like mushy peas like I do, you will love this soup. Now all I need to do is learn how to make a "posh" version of fish and chips to go with this soup...

Pork stroganov

Ingredients

4 pork fillets, cut into strips
1 large onion, thinly sliced,
225g mushrooms sliced
300ml sour cream

Heat oil in large frying pan and cook the onion slowly until soft but not coloured.

Add the mushrooms and cook until golden brown. Remove the vegetables from the pan and keep warm.

Increase the heat, and fry the pork very quickly in small batches until lightly coloured.

Return all the pork and vegetables to the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the sour cream and bring to the boil.

This is a classic Russian dish usually made with fillet of beef but i have modified the recipe by using pork and adding peas (to increase the amount of vegetables). Also, I am not too sure whether I am supposed to eat this with pasta...I think traditionally, stroganov is eaten with rice.

I seem to have gone against all orthodoxy with this recipe

Turnip Gratin

This is off Pioneer Woman's site. So you can get the recipe here. It's really heartwarming and filling! I'm always looking for new vegetables to cook because frankly, I'm sick of broccoli, spinach, rocket, cabbage, bak choy AND repeat...

I greatly reduced the amount of butter and cheese used here because I was feeling guilty but I believe if you put as much as Pioneer Woman postulates, it might be absolutely delicious but decadent. Also to note to spread the cheese, garlic and salt evenly, I kinda only focused on the middle part of the pan, so the middle part was a lot more delicious than the outer circle.

Oh and I didn't use Gruyere but Mozarella and Mexican cheese blend from Trader Joe's (which is a blend of a myraid of very tasty cheese).

Also, I peeled the top of my finger off while peeling turnips in a hurry, so Jeff continued by helping with the slicing and chopping of the garlic. Unfortunately, I believe there might be some of my blood in the turnips. Just a wee drop or two. :p

Jeff also rates this 8/10. I donno whether to believe him anymore. :p

p/s: Are the photos better? Jeff took them with his DSLR. YAY!

Mushroom Soup (without the sherry)

Oh how wonderful to finally be able to drink mushroom soup in the land of clam chowder. I took the recipe below and made it without Sherry (donno where to find) and it still tastes fine, heartwarming and nice! And so simple to make!

Jeff's rating: 8/10 (he says sea salt is crucial)

Beef and Bean Hotpot

From GoodFood magazine, 101 One-Pot Dishes

750g of minced beef
1 beef stock cube
2 large onions
450g carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
1.25 g potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 cans of baked beans
Tabasco sauce
parsley

Heat a large non-stick pan, add the beef and fry over a medium high heat until browned, stirring often and breaking up any lumps with a spoon. Crumble in the stock cube and mix well.

Add the vegetables, stir to mix with the beef and pour in enough boiling water to cover. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and stir well. Cover the pan and simmer gently for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Tip in the baked beans, sprinkle with tobasco sauce to taste, Stir well an heat through. Taste for seasoning and sprinkle with the parsley.

This is the perfect winter comfort food, warm, peppery and extremely easy to cook. I have three portions in the freezer now, along with the many packets of food I have squirrelled away for winter.

Sausage and leek hash

From GoodFood magazine, 101 One Pot dishes

2 tbsp olive oil
6 plump sausages
6 potatoes, thinly sliced
350g thinly sliced leeks
1 tbsp creamed horseradish sauce
100g mature grated cheddar

Heat half of the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan. Add the sausages and fry gently for 8-10 minutes until well browned. Remove the sausages, then slice them on the diagonal and set aside.

Turn the heat to medium and add the remaining oil. Add the potatoes and leeks and give everything a good stir. Cook until the potatoes and leeks are tender and beginning to brown, turning them over from time to time. It should take 15-20 minutes.

Toss the sausages back in along with the horseradish, to taste, and heat through for a further 2-3 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, sprinkle in the cheese, season well and stir gently to combine

I added one more step to the recipe which I thought completed it, as well as to ensure that the potatoes and sausages are completely cooked. I popped into my toaster oven for 30 minutes. I really like this dish as the horseradish sauce gives it a distinctive taste. It is also essential that good quality sausages are used, mine is Tesco Finest! pork and leek sausages.

Mushroom soup

Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook

Ingredients

6 tbsp/75 g butter
1 small onion, thinly sliced
12 ounces/340 g button mushrooms
4 cups/900 ml light chicken stock or broth
1 sprig of flat parsley
Salt and pepper
2 ounces/56 ml high-quality sherry (don't use the cheap grocery-store variety; it's salty and unappetizing and will ruin your soup)

Method

In the medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons/28 g of the butter over medium heat and add the onion. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent, then add the mushrooms and the remaining butter. Let the mixture sweat for about 8 minutes, taking care that the onion doesn't take on any brown color. Stir in the chicken stock and the parsley and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour.

After an hour, remove the parsley and discard. Let the soup cool for a few minutes, then transfer to the blender and carefully blend at high speed until smooth. Do I have to remind you to do this in stages, with the blender's lid firmly held down, and with the weight of your body keeping that thing from flying off and allowing boiling hot mushroom purée to erupt all over your kitchen?

When blended, return the mix to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and bring up to a simmer again. Add the sherry, mix well, and serve immediately.

Improvisation
To astound your guests with a Wild Mushroom Soup, simply replace some of those button mushrooms with a few dried cèpes or morels, which have been soaked until soft, drained, and squeezed. Not too many; the dried mushrooms will have a much stronger taste, and you don't want to overwhelm the soup. Pan sear, on high heat, a single small, pretty, fresh chanterelle or morel for each portion, and then slice into a cute fan and float on top in each bowl.

And if you really want to ratchet your soup into pretentious (but delicious), drizzle a few tiny drops of truffle oil over the surface just before serving. Why the hell not? Everybody else is doing it.


I first learnt about Anthony Bourdain from the book:"Kitchen Confidential" which describes how he came to be a chef in New York and now a celebrity chef making his rounds on TV. It was a most fascinating book, which as was said by one of the reviewers, makes Jamie Oliver seem like a choir boy. I strongly recommend that anyone with any interest in cooking or food in general read that book.

I went to Borders after that to check out his cookbook and the one I found was his Les Halles cookbook, recipes during his stint at Les Halles restuarant in NY. Most of his recipes required expensive ingredients which befits the status of Les Halles, I guess but I managed to find one that was cheap and incredibly easy to make: Mushroom soup. I love the fact that it's healthy too. Aside from the butter which you can substitute with olive oil (i guess), there's nothing fattening or unhealthy in the ingredients, in particular, no cream needed.

Cranberry Walnut Loaf

The cranberries craze continue...with bad photo from iphone because I can't find my memory card...

Cranberry, Oatmeal and Choc Chip Cookies!

Steamed Butter Fish

Asian supermarket rocks.
Zipcar rocks.

Steamed fish super rocks!

Avocado Penne with Walnuts

I was trying to do something with the super-ripe avocados we have at home weeks ago. Jeff hates it, I find it quite intriguing and I really don't mind eating it again. It's just something I cooked up on my own imagination, no recipe or anything.

Oven-baked chicken with garden vegetables

Jeff cooked dinner.

Yay! He cooks! I can sleep! :)

It's pretty good. yums.

Autumn Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

The moment I've waited for had arrived. I've finally made angmoh soup! And my favourite comfort soup of all! Squash soup! I've been intending to make squash soup for the longest time, but drinking the nice tangy one at Gore's speech really propelled me into action. The secret to the tang, I found out, was a nice green granny smith apple. So yums! I'm very proud of it! And J's v proud of it!

To make soup:
Sautee butternut squash, carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic with some olive oil. Add chicken broth and apple (please make sure apple to squash ratio is 1:3) and boil till squash is soft. Puree and bring to a simmer again, add nutmeg and cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste.

I'm try to avoid dairy in cooking because of over-enthusiastic eating of yoghurt and cheese in the morning and I'm glad to say that it turns out fantastic without cream or milk.

I read that roasting the vegetables before cooking them gives a nice roasted taste to it, but J was cleaning the oven when I was making soup and I didn't want to disturb his "cleaning" process. Instead I sauteed the vegetables nice and golden brown. I think I will try the roasted version next week. Yeapp with Whole Foods selling butternut squash at 39 cents/lb, I will be making loads of squash related meals! hahaha
Score:
J- 8/10
Me- 8/10

Baked potato soup

4 maris piper potatoes, cleaned
butter or margarine
1/2 onion, chopped
4-5 sticks of celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp of flour
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups milk

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, diced ham or crumbled bacon, chives or scallions, Tabasco sauce, croutons

Quarter the potatoes and roast them in the oven at 200 degrees for 1 1/2 hours with 1 tbsp butter. Set aside to cool slightly. Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium-high heat and add onion and celery. Cook 6-7 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add flour and stir several minutes to make a thickened roux. Gradually stir in milk and broth. Add roasted potatoes to soup and mash. Cook soup on medium to bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper (to taste). Serve alone or topped with anything that sounds good to you.



I am quite impressed with the soup; it tastes like the soup from Tony Romas (i haven't tried the soup from there but i think it tastes like it). It's very American (or at least i think it's very American).

Pioneer Woman's Crispy Yoghurt Chicken

fresh out of the oven - so much meat!! totally destroyed our vegetarian sunday


served with pasta and fresh lettuce with self-created cream cheese and yoghure dressing

I've been eying this recipe for some time now, just never had the impetus to go cook it. The thing about feeling blue for lainey is that I usually want to cook a new dish or bake some sweets to feel better. So I got my ass out to make this for dinner. It turned out better than I expected. J likes it more than I did (too much meat!) which is a good sign that it is successful by my standards. Because, hey, what's more important than keeping the man happy through his stomach? ;)

Here's the original recipe - except that I used basil instead of parsley cuz I don't like parsley.

J's rating: 9/10
my rating: 6/10

Mediterranean Chicken (Elaine's version)

Loved Shwang's version when he cooked it for us back in Singapore that I tried to duplicate it, except that I don't have onions, sundried tomatoes or celery at home. So my vegetables are....tomatoes, carrots, zucchini and red pepper. I think it's quite good!

Yumz - great dish to dazzle people at dinner parties!

Jeff says - 7/10, needs less olive oil and more sea salt (I blame Shwang for bad instructions on the salt:p)

Roast Chicken Thigh with Seasonal Vegetables (aka whatever vegetables I found in the fridge)

I improvised a recipe I found on the net (sorry I lost the page) and got this dish instead.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
Marinade
Honey
Paprika
Chopped garlic
salt
pepper
half a lemon juice
extra virgin olive oil

Chicken thighs

carrots
mushrooms
cherry tomatoes

Cooking Method:
Mix the marinade together and rub chicken thighs with marinade. Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes or more.
Place chicken thighs on baking dish, arrange vegetables on the side, drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top and put in over to roast at 350 farenheit for about 40 minutes, basting continuously.

Jeff and I quite liked it though he suggested putting some chopped chillis for the extra kick...what a Singaporean idea!

Prawn thermidor

Roast Chicken Penne with lemon sauce

Mr Shwang encouraged me to use lemon juice on my pasta. I had feared that it would give a sour taste, instead, it's a nice refreshing twang! Very nice.

Recipe is easy:

1) Fry garlic in olive oil, add mushrooms, cook till mushrooms sweat (JO's term)
2) Add store-bought shredded roast chicken, chopped tomatoes, chopped chilli padi
3) Add salt, pepper to taste. Add juice of 1 lemon.
4) Add penne and fry till pasta is coated with taste.

I was lazy to cook spaghetti so I used penne instead. Don't be lazy, I bet this will taste much better with spaghetti. Stick to tomato based sauces for penne.

:D

Pork chops with mustard and tomato sauce

I still remember hating mustard when I was young, I didn't like it on my burgers but again, as always, after making a dish with mustard in it, I started loving it. Maybe its because its dijon mustard and not American mustard. I am not too sure. Anyway, for this, pan fry pork chops (seasoned with salt and pepper) with butter till they are brown on both sides. Remove from the pan. Add white wine and boil till the alcohol is almost all evaporated. Add cream and tomato puree and simmer for a while. Return the pork to the pan and simmer till the meat is cooked. Add peeled and diced tomatoes, dijon mustard and tarragon Heat thoroughly and serve.

Stuffed chicken breast wrapped in sage and parma ham

From Gordon Ramsay's Healthy Appetite.

Ingredients

chicken breasts
sage leaves
5 heaped tbsp ricotta or feta cheese
parma ham slices
thyme sprigs

Cut a deep slit along one side of each chicken breast, without slicing right through, then open it out like a book. On a clean chopping board, finely chop 4 sage leaves, then mix into the ricotta and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Lay two parma ham slices on the board, overlapping them slightly. Put a sage leave in the middle and lay an open chicken breast on top. Spoon a quarter of the ricotta mixture onto the middle of the chicken, then fold the sides together again, to enclose the filling. Now wrap the Parma ham slices around the stuffed chicken breast. Wrap in cling film. Repeat with the rest of the chicken breasts and chill for 1-2 hours to firm up slightly.



Heat the oven to 180 degrees and place a roasting pan in the oven to heat up. Heat a heavy-based frying pan and add the olive oil. When hot, fry the Parma-wrapped chicken, in batches, if necessary, for 2 minutes on each side until browned. Lay a few thyme sprigs on each chicken breast, then place in the hot roasting pan. Cook in the oven for 12-15 minutes, depending on size



Rest the chicken, covered with foil, in a warm place for 5-10 minutes. Serve

Hunter's stew

From Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Italy

Ingredients

1 chicken (4 1/2 pounds), cut into 8 pieces, or one 4 1/2-pound package chicken parts
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, 1 crushed, 2 sliced
1/2 bottle (750 ml) Chianti
All-purpose flour, for dusting
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 anchovy fillets
1/2 cup green or black olives, pitted
2 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes, crushed gently

1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and place in a large bowl. Add bay leaves, rosemary, and crushed clove of garlic; pour over wine. Let marinate for at least an hour, in the refrigerator, but preferably overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Drain chicken, reserving the marinade, and pat dry with paper towels. Coat chicken pieces with flour; shaking off any excess. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown, 5 minutes per side. Remove with a slotted spoon; set aside.

3. Reduce heat to medium and add the sliced garlic. Cook gently until golden brown, then add the anchovies, olives, tomatoes, and chicken pieces with their reserved marinade. Bring to a boil, and cover. Transfer to oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours.

4. Skim off any fat from the surface of the sauce, and discard. Season with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaves and rosemary before serving.

Prawn and parsley (spring onions) frittata

From Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Italy
Ingredients

6 large eggs
a handful of fresh parsley leaves,finely chopped
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/4 of a lemon
1 heaped tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese
180g fresh peeled prawns
a good knob of butter
oilive oil
1/2 a dried red chilli, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper, then add the parsley, lemon zest and juice, and the parmesan. Roughly chop half the prawns, leaving the rest whole, and add all of them to the bowl. In a small heavy non-stick ovenproof pan, heat the butter with a good splash of oil until it begins to foam, then add all the egg mixture. Slowly move a spoon around the eggs for about a minute on a medium heat then put the pan into the oven. Cook for 4-5 minutes till slightly golden. Sprinkle over the chilli and serve.

Mushroom Aglio Olio

I know it's darn simple to make, but I'm very very very pleased with my Mushroom Aglio Olio. :D

I promise I will cook more challenging stuff when 1) Jeff comes back 2) I become less busy with classes.

Baked pasta with tomatoes and mozzarella

From Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Italy

Ingredients:

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1 white onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 or 2 dried red chilies, crumbled
1/5 kg/3-1/4 lb ripe tomatoes or 3 (400 g) cans of good quality plum tomatoes
a large handful of fresh basil leaves
1 T red wine vinegar (optional)
400 g/14 oz dried orecchiette (little ears) or other similar pasta
4 big handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 -150 g balls of fresh mozzarella

Preheat your oven to 400F and pit a large pot of salted water on to boil.

To an appropriately sized pan add a couple of glugs of good quality extra virgin olive oil, your onion, and chili and slowly saute for about 10 minutes on a medium to low heat until softened but without any colour.

If you're using fresh tomatoes, remove the core with the tip of a small knife, plunge them into the boiling water for about 40 seconds until their skins start to come away, then remove with a slotted spoon or sieve and remove then pan from the heat. Put the tomatoes into a bowl and run cold water over them, then slide the skins off, squeeze out the pips and roughly chop.

Add your fresh or tinned tomatoes to the onion and garlic, with a small glass of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Now put the tomatoes through a food processor or liquidizer to make a loose sauce.

Tear your basil leaves into the sauce and correct the seasoning with salt, pepper and a little swig of red wine vinegar.

When the liquidized sauce tastes perfect, bring the water back to a boil. Add the orecchiette to the water and cook according to the packet directions, then drain and toss with half of the tomato sauce and a handful of Parmesan.

Get yourself an appropriately sized baking dish, pan or earthenware dish and rub it with a little oil. Layer a little pasta in the tray, followed by some tomato sauce, and a handful of grated Parmesan and 1 sliced-up mozzarella ball, then repeat the layers until you've used all the ingredients, ending with a good layer of cheese on top.



Pop it into the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden, crisp and bubbling.

Italians seem happy to eat this dish at room temperature or quite cold, but I (Jamie Oliver) prefers to eat it hot.