Matthew's Birthday Salad "XXIII"

Acciughe con Peperoni e noci

A last minute decision to add a lil something to the party. This is a salad of eggs, rockets, grilled peppers, walnuts and anchovies which i made it in zero time.

The biggest obstacle hands down was blackening the peppers fully over a gas stove and removing the skins. Then my undies and clothes had to be removed too.

Um, i had different sides of opinions for this one. The typical Singaporeans think this is more suitable for a panda but the other wide minded people remained speechless while nodding their heads, so i guess it really depends what kinda person are you to enjoy the things you eat i think.

I had a missing entry last week, blame it all on the army marathon. Really tired this week after a series of missions but more cooking to come at the end of sept.

Gotta hurry to the next post cya in abit

Steak Tagliata "XXII"

I watched a couple of Jamie Oliver's podcasts and got almost immediately inspired to cook steak. I made Steak Tagliata, a mountain of sliced juicy tender steak over a bed of rockets and topped shavings of parmesan. Really tasty, really flavorful, really good. The best thing about the Tagliata is that it was surprisingly easy to make.

First you need to get your steak, a good steak. Um.. a sirloin, fillet or ribeye if your feelin wealthy. Now salt your steak all over and get a griddle pan or a charcoal grill really hot. Drip in a couple teaspoons of EVOO into the pan or smear around the steak if gonna BBQ. Now sizzle steak for about 1-2mins a side for rare, 2-4mins a side for medium, 4-6mins for well.

Take it out of the pan and slice them into 1cm thick pieces. Grab a plate, scatter the rockets, lay the steak, drizzle about 2 tsps of balsamico aceto, some evoo and pepper then shave some parmesan on top of it.

Have fun.

Bruschetta con insalata di pomodori "XXI"

I should have the recipe for this already at my fingertips. Yes i still have, but today i tried using some perfectly ripe organic cherry tomatoes. They were very sweet, juicy and absolutely in season, very very very. Sweet. Felt like eating a prune.

It was also a big mistake.

The sweetness owned the aceto balsamico, basil and garlic but my super EVOO stood strong. It was bad, i think.

Its all good, we learn something new everyday.

Spaghetti in Meat Ragu "XX"

I thought it was time to put everything i've learnt for the past months to good use. Today, i am creating my very own recipe and i have high hopes about it. I've always believed that the french method of simmering stocks and sauces will get the best out of them. Therefore, i will incorporate french and italian cooking techniques to the Ragu, which is a stew-like sauce that is produced by simmering a variety of sauteed vegetables and/or meat with stock, consomme, wine, tomatoes and/or anything else you would deem compatible, for a long period of time.

I simmered a mixture of root vegetables and fresh pork with lots of tomatoes and a broth i painstakingly made all day for 3 good hours.

At first when it had just started simmering, ragu tasted only average but after 3 hours it became unbelievable. It was fantastic especially without the help of cookbooks :) Great success!
After 2 hours

Grilled Italian Sirloin Skewers with Roasted Potatoes "XIX"

Tzigonie con Patate Arrosto

TRUST me, this tastes nothing like a satay.

The dish is originated from a well known trattoria somewhere in Italy where the cows are fat and the herbs are fresh.

The flavours went BOOM BOOM BOOM for this one, some serious bovine lovin' you get. You have to use good quality sirloin though and good fresh rosemary.

And there is nothing better than roasted potatoes to accompany grilled meat. Especially if you cook your potatoes in duck fat and breadcrumbs.

Good shit.

The French Affair

Vol au Vent with Brown Chicken-Garlic Jus and Chicken Fricassee "F1"

Today's french class was an eye opener, i thought i had never tasted a sauce so simple but in-depth before.

It was far more interesting than what i've anticipated, especially when the instructor is a Master Chef and a GlobalChef award recipient.

This is Master Chef Christophe Megel, executive chef of Ritz Carlton, Singapore.


When most people look at a Vol au Vent they feel that the most tedious part is making that wall of mysterious-looking crust.

In actual fact, the puff pastry only takes 20-30mins to complete. And the sauce, a whopping 3 hours.

I was intrigued by the way Chef Megel was searing the chicken carcasses and garlic bulbs. They were over a large burning pan of smokin hot oil but strangely, it was taking its own sweet time to caramelize. 30 mins later he tactically added ladles of stock and butter and explains how the emulsion of the sauce was taking place. Clear to the human senses, the clear broth turned brown immediately and crazy aromas just filled the kitchen. Outta this world.
Shortly after, I began making a roux and then added some veggies and veggy-stock poached chicken dices in. Even without seasoning, it tasted marvelous and the aroma was unbelievable.
Everything took 4 solid hours to complete and then the Vol au Vent was served piping hot. Hell, it was worth every second of that prep time. All plates were licked clean and the class, deeply satisfied.



This was so good, it got me inspired to try a brown jus risotto, which i really just might.

Until next time, have a good Saturday.

Asparagus with poached eggs "XVIII"

Asparagi con Uova

This has got to be the "tricksiest" dish of the month.

The big problem was the rescue procedure- getting the eggs out of boiling water without turning the whole pot of water into a murky yellow swamp. It is a pain in the ass, especially changing and reboiling water each time the yolk breached the water.

It was kinda fun initially, but after 30 good mins, even with a slotted spoon and a load of TLC, it dosen't guarantee you a perfect poach.

Just as i was about to give up, a sudden surge of brilliance jolted the nerves in my failing taurine-defficiencied mind; went to my room, got on the keyboard and hit google.com.

Apparently, chefs add about a tablespoon of vinegar into the water when boiling to hold the shape of the egg. Sounds weird and i couldn't really think of a scientific reason for this, but it sure worked like a charm.

Yea and this dish is really good.