The Occasional Cook

Eggs Benedict

November 24, 2013 7shasha7

Today I tried making eggs Benedict for breakfast. I must say that the poached eggs were a disaster. I followed instructions to the T, followed the videos on YouTube halfway through, yet, the whites of the egg persisted in swirling all over the pot and making a big mess.

The hollandaise sauce saved the day. It was still delicious but I wished I could perfect the poached eggs. Anyway, this is a better deal than coffee bean’s eggs as each time I ordered them, the yolks always are hard.

The yolks were still runny.

On the toasted buttered English muffin, I placed crispy chewy fried turkey bacon and then the eggs topped with the hollandaise sauce.

I am so going to make this again when I have the craving for eggs.

food

An Arabic Affair

November 19, 2013November 24, 2013 7shasha7

Today marked the first of my food parties. The theme today was Arabic food. Every guest chipped in and we cooked together. That was the fun part.

One new dish I learnt to make is this Turkish carrot dip or salad. It’s very simple to make and reminded all of us of coleslaw.

Shredded carrots are slowly cooked in olive oil till just about cooked. After they are cooled, they are mixed into a yogurt spiced with garlic and salt. Leave in the fridge. The result is this beautiful bright coloured salad.

For the rice, we made saffron rice and we smoked the rice. I can’t so without smoked rice now and when the opportunity comes, I will post one on my easy ways of smoking rice.

Places

Fika – Swedish restaurant

November 10, 2013June 7, 2020 7shasha7

I’ve never shown food from eating places before but since this mommy has not been cooking for quite some time, I can afford to share what I ate. Besides, they might serve as an inspiration. Already I’m inspired to try and cook some of the dishes from fika’s exciting menu.

Today I tried three dishes. Out of the three, the best for me was the mushroom crepe. Yummy! The second dish was crayfish pasta. I didn’t care much for the sauce. Lastly was the Swedish meatballs. I definitely prefer this to IKEA’s halal meatballs. They were softer and the cream sauce was more authentic than the brown processed looking one at IKEA’s. The next time I eat here, I’ll be having creeps and their famous lingonberry cheesecake. Fika has been operating for years already yet today was the first time I tried their food. Talk about procrastination…

Salads and Vegetables

Kale

November 9, 2013 7shasha7

I bought kale last week. It’s expensive here in Singapore but considering I had a big bunch at around ten dollars, I am not complaining. There’s still some more waiting to be cooked.

This is stir fried kale with minced beef and abalone sauce. Kale, unlike our Asian green leafy vegetable, do not give out water. It also takes longer to cook. Add a wee bit of water when it gets too dry. Do not add salt. Kale is bitter but with the meat and sauce, they were delicious! Try some kale if you’ve not tried any before.

Bread and Batter, Cakes and Cookies, Desserts

Madeleines

November 3, 2013November 3, 2013 7shasha7

I made madeleines this morning. I had to do some research, watching YouTube videos and reading some other blog sites on this topic.

To summarise what I’ve learnt and today’s actual practice:

1. The longer the batter is chilled, the better the outcome will be
2. The tray moulds do matter. Metal non stick pans are way superior than those new age rubber moulds
3. Lemon zest MUST be added. It adds so much ooomph to the cakes.
4. Make batter one or even three days ahead as they do keep in the fridge and bake only when the guests have arrived as they are so quick to bake and taste best super fresh.

store batter in airtight container