3 For 4: A New Year's Dinner

It was a pleasure spending the Christmas & New Year holidays at my Granduncle's in Vancouver.

My first 2 months of school felt more college than culinary school. We attend a series of theory classes before hitting the kitchens so that means: all i've held so far is paper & pens. When i was asked to make dinner, i jumped at the chance.

One thing i enjoy about cooking overseas is the access to many wonderful ingredients. In my Product Knowledge class i learnt a horde about produce i've never spotted in Singapore, and right here in Canada my eyes can physically feast on them.

Cooking in Uncle Alvin's kitchen was another bonus. His fairly new kitchen is impressively equipped with a built-in oven, kitchen aid, ice cream maker, food processor, all-clad pans and the collection continues to build....

Using his Kitchen Aid icecream-mixer extension (a pretty cool gadget i'll love to have), i finally departed from hand-whisked icecream. I made a Candied Bacon Ice Cream that satisfied myself. The creaminess & texture was closest to commercial i've ever gotten... and it's base exudes a deep caramelized flavor entwining savory-sweet notes from the candied bacon. Bacon needs no further description mmmm.

Here's the theme-less menu for the evening:

"Spring"

Smoked Salmon & Crab Salad Roll, Cucumber Vichyssoise, mango

Handpicked blue-swimmer crabmeat is made into a creamy salad with colorful sweet peppers and enrobed in smoked sockeye salmon. To balance the richness, it is placed over chilled cucumber vichyssoise and fresh mango cubes. This is now one of my favorite compilations.

"Shoyu"

Asian-style Braised Short Ribs, Hoisin glaze, Steamed rice

Tapping back on oriental roots, I did an asian-style braised short ribs served with steamed rice. Glimpses of crushed garlic, ginger, lemongrass, green onion bottoms, crushed red peppers & many more enter a braising liquid that immersed the meat for 3 slow hours in the oven. Once tender, the liquid is extracted and reduced into a tasty hoisin glaze.

"Breakfast 2011"

Pancake-&-Butter Pudding, Candied Bacon ice cream, Maple-glazed Walnuts, Blueberries, Maple Sauce

Consider my first dessert of 2011 one of those ideas-gone-wild. Say goodbye to bread, hello to pancakes joining the pudding family. Into my Pancake-&-butter pudding i added frozen blueberries & chopped walnuts and baked the traditional B&B way. A drizzle of maple sauce, maple-glazed walnuts and candied bacon ice cream completes the breakfast platter.

Bonjour Appetit!

Now this is the real breakfast i made in Vancouver. Good ol' French Toasts.

Cooking is my #2 therapy, right after eating.

sorry for the yellowish photos, there's no Adobe Photoshop/proper white balance gadgets here with me in NY! and my SLR's been completely idling away... it really has.

"Catch"- It's about Salmon

Cooped in a pastry kitchen for the past 6 months, i was itching to work the pots and pans back at home again.

Cooking for the family is such a joy ♥

Salmon is one of my all-time favorites. Not only for its appealing orange & pleasurable oily character, it reigns in versatility too. Steamed, baked, seared, smoked, cured, raw... anything does it for me. Really. When salmon is at tiptop freshness, minimal preparation is required.

My simple menu is entitled "Catch".

unprofessional handwritten menu...

Focaccia, olive oil & balsamic vinegar

Because every step from Mise en place to cooking to plating to service is done by one little soul alone, it is always wise to provide warm bread to coax any growling tummies.

"Garden"

Sashimi, lime zest, white balsamic jelly, chocolate balsamic sauce, citrus mesclun, roseapple, caviar, crisp

I believe au naturel was the best way to begin. A slice of top-grade sashimi garnished with lime zest, a potent balsamic duo for acidity, roseapples for textural effect. We all agreed dollops of caviar won't hurt.

"Brulee"

Belly aburi, miso cream, truffle baby potatoes, avocado lemongrass pudding, chanterelle, yogurt

Blowtorches come in mad handy to flash-burn slices of belly flesh into heavenly aburi-ed morsels. I draped mine over miso cream & roasted truffle-fragranced potatoes, alongside a lovely avocado custard scented with calming lemongrass.

"Wild"

Capellini, truffle butter sauce, marinated salmon, ikura, toasted quinoa, yuzu sorbet

Get zany. Get wild. Get ready to experience how texture & temperature integrations can enhance pasta.

1) Taste the basic (bottom) pile

2) Approach the second with smoky toasted quinoa

3) Enjoy the third with quinoa crunch and refreshing kick of yuzu sorbet

elaine's crazy pasta

*just imagine*

"Violette"

confit of salmon, vanilla beans, beetroot veloute, yuzu foam, grapefruit, sea asparagus

A compilation of my faves: salmon, vanilla beans, beetroot, yuzu & grapefruit (:

The fish was marinated with lots of potent vanilla extract, steeped into Vpod-infused olive oil, then slow-cooked in very stingy oven heat for 45 minutes. Looking mi cuit, it flakes comfortably into warm veloute & yuzu scented foam. Sea asparagus lends a perfect salty touch.

Citrus sorbet

Palate-cleanser to rid any traces of lingering oil.

"Flora"

Strawberries, bitter jasmine panna cotta, strawberry yogurt icecream, balsamic glaze, caramelized nuts, chocolate pearls

I kept dessert extremely simple. With short planning time i had to prioritize (savories or dessert?) and i chose to focus on the former. I realized the difficulty in overseeing both aspects in such tight timing, so hey! that's what pastry chefs are for right? hehe ;)

Promise more efforts into dessert next time!

Dad's Favourite Things

Hit the pots and pans again for this special occasion. My menu-planning began a week ago but the eventual dishes were only finalized a day before. There's no designated cuisine here, its a convenient mix of everything to suit my theme: Dad's favourite things.

And thanks to a friend's kindness, i had the privilege to work with lavish add-ons like truffle oil & porcini mushrooms, and used a siphon for the first time in my life haha. Also attempted to inject more creativity this time and invested on pricier ingredients.. my apologies if i didn't do justice to any of them!

Photos are pretty lousy as well. The lighting in my house is hardly accentuating and i was clod between cooking on the spot, serving and snapping quick shots ):

enjoy...

Play, Redefined.

Bread

Homemade Parmesan, Sundried Tomato & Onion Roll

Amuse Bouche

Marinated Crab Salad, log of Earl Grey, lemon-infused evoo

ORANGE

Cream of Butternut Squash cappuccino, pumpkin seeds, parmesan stick

Hazelnut-crusted Scallop, lobster emulsion, caviar

Scallop & Avocado tartare, tobiko, chives

FRITTER

Breaded Button Mushroom Lollis, citrus aioli

FUNGHI

Chilled angel hair, porcini saute, black truffle oil

PESCE

Panseared Barramundi, bacon buerre blanc, medley of textures, saffron risotto

POMMES

Fine apple tart, cinnamon, vanilla icecream, crumble

this is my gift to dad. hope the family enjoyed their dinner.

Happy Father's Day!

Sweets for my Sweet

A Valentine's day dinner dedicated to my Mum & Dad.

Mum's a thrifty character. She is one person who would steer clear of festive menus at restaurants because those exorbitant 3-digit figures daunts her so badly.

That's mum we can't change,

But there was something i hoped i could do...

Warm Foccacia Bread
Extra virgin olive oil, sea salt & balsamic vinegar

♥

1st Entrée

Pan-Seared Scallops
With peppered tangerines, lemon cream, mesclun salad, French dressing

♥

2nd Entrée

Sea Scallops Fettuccine
Green spinach fettuccine in butter herb sauce, confit scallops, chilli flakes, diced strawberries, balsamic glaze

♥

Mains

Pan-Seared Red Snapper
Red Snapper fillet, wild garlic sauce, seasoned vegetable nibbles, roasted garlic baby potatoes

Mustard & Herb Pork Loin Chops
Oven-roasted marinated pork loins, deglazed pan gravy, mesclun salad, roasted garlic baby potatoes

♥

Dessert

Warm Chocolate Fondant
Molten dark chocolate centre, vanilla icecream, fresh berries

i'm praying, this devised meal would be a dinner to remember..