The dishes for the party didn't really go too well. The preparations were the starting point. I thawed the ingredients 2 and a half hrs late, and this affected my cooking time, such that I was late for the party by half an hr. Thank goodness I had cut the ingredients the previous day.
The Squid didn't turn out as I expected, in its coating. Instead, the coating looked like grated ginger over the squid. It was soggy too, perhaps due to that fact that I squeezed too much lemon juice over it. The Ham was better and the Bacon was the best, thank God. I want to try the Squid out again. I believe I can do it in the proper way. This time, I will coat the squid one by one. In the future, I will drain the dishes first before serving. I couldn't do so due to lack of time.
I'm trying out Canapes next week, by topping tuna and chicken over buttered bread cuts, and covering them with grated morzarella cheese before toasting them. I hope they turn out well.
I made some bites for my choir mates. I coated mushroom balls in McCormick's Seasoning Mix and dried rosemary before pan-frying them. Then I garnished them with pineapple pieces. I got good reviews for it. :)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Starbucks' Gingerbread Men
Go buy one. It costs $2.90 each and has received rave reviews(alliteration!). It is of course available only for Christmas.
Craze for cooking
I borrowed 8 books on cooking from the library and boy, were they interesting. I perused them alongside recording some favoured recipes in my new recipe book. I had gotten the idea of starting one from Nigella Lawson who collates family recipes.
The books were on chicken dishes, Turkish food, easy dishes, Kylie Kwong's recipes, Buckingham Palace's food and recipes from the literary world.
Now I source for recipes that feature healthy and accessible ingredients, taking into account the fact that some cater to the non-local palate. I also choose those that I think my friends will like, since they are my guinea pigs almost all of the time. Heehee.
I am cooking 3 types of appetizers for a dinner party and hope all goes well. They are: Nigella's Salt and Pepper Squid, Ham-wrapped Pineapples and Minced Prawn wrapped in Bacon. It is rather daunting because the party consists of the family of my friends as well. I really hope they won't find my food tasteless or horrible.
The books were on chicken dishes, Turkish food, easy dishes, Kylie Kwong's recipes, Buckingham Palace's food and recipes from the literary world.
Now I source for recipes that feature healthy and accessible ingredients, taking into account the fact that some cater to the non-local palate. I also choose those that I think my friends will like, since they are my guinea pigs almost all of the time. Heehee.
I am cooking 3 types of appetizers for a dinner party and hope all goes well. They are: Nigella's Salt and Pepper Squid, Ham-wrapped Pineapples and Minced Prawn wrapped in Bacon. It is rather daunting because the party consists of the family of my friends as well. I really hope they won't find my food tasteless or horrible.
Buffets per se
Buffets can be attractive to the palate and the eyes, but if they serve the same type of food and are eaten on consecutive days, they can turn rather repulsive.
I had dinner buffets for about 2-3 consecutive days on my trip to Turkey. They served only Turkish food and though they were located at different hotels, they served basically the same type of food. It was worse when we had the buffets at the same hotel! Indeed, too much of a good thing can be bad.
Here is what Turkish food is about:
Bread is the main item in a Turkish meal. Borek is a special bread where thin sheets of dough are layered with cheese or meat mixes, folded or rolled and then baked or fried.
The typical Turkish meat item is Kebab. Sis kebabs are grilled pieces of skewered meat. Turkey abounds in 'Kebabci's that serve authentic grilled meat. The dish served is generally an 'Izgara' or a mixed grill dish consisting lamb chops, 'sis kebabs' and 'kofte'. 'Kofte' is ground meat mixed with spices, eggs and onions, shaped into balls and then fried or boiled.
Among vegetables, eggplants are a special favorite. Olive oil is generally used for cooking vegetables A special Turkish food item is 'Dolma'. Vegetables are stuffed with rice or spiced meat fillings and cooked in olive oil. 'Dolma' is eaten with yogurt sauce.
Another category of Turkish food is 'Meze' or dishes to accompany alcoholic drinks as a starter. Fete cheese with bread and cold vegetable dishes are generally served as meze. The meze items vary according to the course being served.
Fish is an important item of Turkish food especially in winter when the summer vegetables are scarce. Each dish of fish is accompanied by a particular type of vegetable.
I had dinner buffets for about 2-3 consecutive days on my trip to Turkey. They served only Turkish food and though they were located at different hotels, they served basically the same type of food. It was worse when we had the buffets at the same hotel! Indeed, too much of a good thing can be bad.
Here is what Turkish food is about:
Bread is the main item in a Turkish meal. Borek is a special bread where thin sheets of dough are layered with cheese or meat mixes, folded or rolled and then baked or fried.
The typical Turkish meat item is Kebab. Sis kebabs are grilled pieces of skewered meat. Turkey abounds in 'Kebabci's that serve authentic grilled meat. The dish served is generally an 'Izgara' or a mixed grill dish consisting lamb chops, 'sis kebabs' and 'kofte'. 'Kofte' is ground meat mixed with spices, eggs and onions, shaped into balls and then fried or boiled.
Among vegetables, eggplants are a special favorite. Olive oil is generally used for cooking vegetables A special Turkish food item is 'Dolma'. Vegetables are stuffed with rice or spiced meat fillings and cooked in olive oil. 'Dolma' is eaten with yogurt sauce.
Another category of Turkish food is 'Meze' or dishes to accompany alcoholic drinks as a starter. Fete cheese with bread and cold vegetable dishes are generally served as meze. The meze items vary according to the course being served.
Fish is an important item of Turkish food especially in winter when the summer vegetables are scarce. Each dish of fish is accompanied by a particular type of vegetable.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Hotel Buffets(2)
There's another one and it is better than Furama's spread. It costs $35 per person. UOB credit card holders get 30% off till the end of this year and Citibank credit card holders get 10% off. It is the spread at Traders' Hotel. The spread there is awesome and eye-popping!
I also went to the Italian buffet at Basilico located at Regent Hotel. It is really cheap at $36 too, when it has so many quality and authentic dishes. There is an offer of the fourth person getting a free buffet for a table of four guests. Even my dad, who doesn't like Italian food, found the buffet good, especially the desserts.
Allson Hotel has a Penang food buffet at $15.80 per person. Though there are no credit cards offering discounts for this buffet, I feel the price is reasonable enough. The buffet spread is good and the quality of food is rather authentic. I recommend the Silverfish Porridge, Fruit Rojak, Gado-gado, Char Kway Teow, Jelly and Ang Ku Kueh amongst other items.
I also went to the Italian buffet at Basilico located at Regent Hotel. It is really cheap at $36 too, when it has so many quality and authentic dishes. There is an offer of the fourth person getting a free buffet for a table of four guests. Even my dad, who doesn't like Italian food, found the buffet good, especially the desserts.
Allson Hotel has a Penang food buffet at $15.80 per person. Though there are no credit cards offering discounts for this buffet, I feel the price is reasonable enough. The buffet spread is good and the quality of food is rather authentic. I recommend the Silverfish Porridge, Fruit Rojak, Gado-gado, Char Kway Teow, Jelly and Ang Ku Kueh amongst other items.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Christmas - food!(2)
Marks and Spencers at Centrepoint has a food section which is the biggest out of the different outlets'. The items are more orderly in its arrangement, probably due to more space. There are wines and even frozen food. So many types of dishes can be seen in the latter part. Fish dishes and sauteed vegetables are some examples of the mind-boggling dishes sold. Now it has come out with its Christmas range too.
Cold Storage has come out with its usual food products but has added new ones too. Marketplace at Tanglin Mall has Cold Storage's items and more. I just went crazy admiring and relishing them.
Both supermarkets have products like cakes, chocs, puddings, biscuits and sweets. I couldn't resist buying 3 new ones. Hee hee.
Please, go down to Marketplace. It has the best range of all, especially since it caters to expatriates.
Cold Storage has come out with its usual food products but has added new ones too. Marketplace at Tanglin Mall has Cold Storage's items and more. I just went crazy admiring and relishing them.
Both supermarkets have products like cakes, chocs, puddings, biscuits and sweets. I couldn't resist buying 3 new ones. Hee hee.
Please, go down to Marketplace. It has the best range of all, especially since it caters to expatriates.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Macaroons - visual effect but bland taste
I have always admired the pretty macaroons I see in books or in the display cases at cafes. They come in the popular colours of pink and green; basically pastels. I got the chance to try them at a wedding reception and to my disappointment, they were tasteless and difficult to eat daintily as well. Yes, they were sweet and sticky but the blandness was evident. I shall learn not to judge by appearances the next time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)