A Picture of Blessedness - Kuppersbusch Kitchen and Giant Bananas

This is my friend's beautiful kitchen equipped with state-of-the-art Kuppersbusch ovens. I should say, this is only part of her kitchen. She is blessed with a showcase kitchen but alas, she hardly uses it! So this morning's mission was to show her how easy it is to make Jamie Oliver's baked chicken legs in her own oven. Her son in particular loved the recipe, and this is enough motivation for her to try to make it on her own the next time. Mission accomplished.

Very even heat distribution noticed in the browning of the chicken meat.

Look at this picture of summer! It even comes with a hot stone in front! I so want to get my hands on this to try some recipes!

 And what about this cute, sexy trolley induction grill. The top panel can be removed to serve directly on the table. How cool and awesome is that. It would be totally impressive to serve a chunk of Angus beef on this!

I was at the right time at the right place as they also harvested their giant bananas that morning, and she blessed me with some to go.

Bigger and chunkier than a cucumber!

Yellowing and browning after a few days, perfect for a snack or a bake!

A picture of abundance! This is the time to test Marcus Wareing's Banana Bread Pudding!

Classic French Chicken Liver Pate - another maiden

We took a week night out to visit our friend's bistro and catch up over a cider beer. K is passionate about experimenting with different recipes and for a whole hour, we talked only about food. Inspired by the chicken liver pate he served us, I immediately checked some classic recipes and wahla, here's another maiden dish by an extra virgin chef. Another easy one. Really.

Good idea to use different size dishes for different occasions.  I gave these away to many friends, my poor guinea pigs - they all politely accepted.

Butter will help coagulate the pate.

Choose a good cracker. Pay for it. Seen here is whole grain thin rye crisp bread with sourdough rye.

Ingredients
(You can half everything for lesser portion. They can keep for several weeks.)

1 kg chicken liver, trimmed of sinews and fats
3 blocks or 750g good quality butter, diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 large onion, or 3 small shallots, finely chopped
1 bunch fresh thyme leaves
3 Tbsp brandy
1 tsp grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
50g butter for topping

Method
1. Wash liver and gently pat dry with kitchen paper.
2. Melt 30g butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion/shallots and saute for about 5 minutes until softened but not brown.
3. Add liver and thyme and cook stirring frequently for 3-4 minutes. Liver should turn brown on the sides but keep the insides pink so they do not become rubbery.
4. Pour brandy and cook for another 10 seconds, then add remaining butter and nutmeg to the pan. (Remember to leave some butter for topping.)
5. Ensure all butter are softened, then puree the mixture in batches in a blender until smooth. Some restaurants sieve them for an even smoother texture but if you like it rustic like I do, the blender is adequate. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Spoon the pate into individual ramekins or small dishes. Melt butter reserved for topping and pour over the pate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Serve with crusty bread or hot toast. Or if you are on low carbo, serve with carrot and celery sticks. Remove from fridge 10-15 minutes prior to serving so it softens slightly. This helps remove the chill from the dish which deadens the flavours.

My first attempt and it was well received by a big group of friends. My mom who loves chicken liver, finds it repulsive though, LOL. Warning: it's heavy on butter, so go slow on this. But Julia Child also says, "With enough butter, anything is good."

By the way, do you know the difference between brandy and cognac? Well, I just learned that cognac is a type of brandy grown in the Cognac region in France. Duh.

Everyday Crispy Baked Chicken with Basil and Cherry Tomatoes

I have strongly recommended this Jamie Oliver recipe many times and I want to do so one more time.

Easy. Healthy. Tasty. Impressive. Practical. No exotic, expensive or inaccessible ingredients. Little preparation time. Only one dish to wash. It passes all these criteria with flying colours.

Five ingredients: Chicken legs (6-8), garlic (as much or as little as you like), cherry tomatoes (8), basil (a handful), fresh red chillies (2).
Preparation time: FIVE WHOLE MINUTES!
Marination time: Zero
Oven time: 90 minutes

1. Rub chicken skin on with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Cut cherry tomatoes into half.
3. Crush garlic with skin on. (No mincing needed)
4. Wash basil. Pluck leaves and cut stalk into small pieces.
5. Place everything in a dish to go into a preheated oven. Arrange chicken in one single layer. Tuck all other ingredients underneath or in between chicken. Give it 2-3 good lugs of quality extra virgin olive oil.
6. Bake for 90 minutes at 180C. No need to check, turn, baste. Just get yourself ready for dinner in 90 minutes.
7. Serve with salad or rice.

End result you're looking for:
- Chicken with crispy skin and meat so tender they fall off the bones.
- Garlic will not be pungent but soft to the bite, with texture like mashed potatoes.
- Tomatoes will be sweet and lip-smacking sticky.
- An added bonus is that the olive oil mixed with all the nutrients from the various ingredients becomes a gravy that my kids love to pour into their rice.
- If there are any leftovers, toss them with pasta the next day.

Tips:
- Select the fan circulation button on your oven.
- Don't turn the chicken or you'll lose the crisp on the skin.
- Don't be tempted to cut short the cooking time even though chicken is already cooked after 60 minutes. Slow cooking gives food more flavour.

See my first attempt in June 2011. 

My Maiden Paella

Learned it at lunch time and made it for dinner with friends.

Like salmon, Paella is pronounced without the L sound. Many foreigners believe this to be a Spanish national dish, but my Spaniard friends - no, not the late Mr Seabass - tell me it's in fact a regional dish, from Valencia on the east coast of Spain.

My chef friend learned this dish when he spent some time in a restaurant in Spain. Watch out, he is going to open his restaurant soon in Singapore! We thought we'd better catch him before he becomes famous, so he was over at my place this weekend to teach us how to cook paella.

The most expensive ingredient in paella is saffron, but if you omit this, you lose the authenticity, some golden yellow hue to the dish, and of course, it's antioxidant properties. And needless to say, you will need a paella pan to make this - it is traditionally round, shallow and made of polished steel with 2 handles. Chef taught us how to season the pan - er...what was it he said about treating it with oil and vinegar?!!

I have forgotten the taste of paella since my visit to Barcelona years ago. But what surprised me today was that the squids and mussels were not rubbery even though they was in the pan for a while. Overall, an interesting maiden attempt at a famous dish with somewhat relative success for a virgin chef. 

Here are some pictures from the cooking lesson as well as from my first attempt right after the lesson! Recipe and method at the bottom of this post.

Sweet paprika, saffron and short grain rice

Some kniving skills from chef

Many tips from him as we went along, including how NOT to cut your fingers!

Exuding aroma as it simmers away

The messier, the more authentic!

My version

Recipe
1 large onion, chopped or finely diced
5 Tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste
2 chopped green chillies (more kick if you don't deseed)
2 garlic cloves, minced

Chorizo or any meat (optional)

1 good pinch of saffron (about $10 for a good pinch)

Pulp from 2 large tomatoes, skinless
1/2 tsp sugar
11/2 tsp sweet paprika
2 cups short grain rice
3 cups stock (bring to boil before adding. Don't add cold stock from fridge)
1/2 cup white wine
Seafood: 200g white fish, 5 prawns, 10 mussels, 2 squids (choose your own favourites)

Method
1. Sweat onions in olive oil over low heat till translucent. Ensure no colouration, ie, don't wait till onions turn brown.
2. Add green chillies and salt.
3. Add garlic. No discolouration.
4. Add chorizo or meat if you prefer (optional)
5. Throw in the saffron. It needs time and heat to infuse. Sprinkle paprika.
6. Add tomato pulp and sugar. Cook till jammy consistency. Put to medium heat and let it evaporate.
7. Add seafood (in some parts of Spain, they add only fish and squid first, and the rest later).
8. Sprinkle sea salt. Add hot stock.
9. Add rice by scattering the grains all over the pan and in between seafood pieces.
10. Simmer for about 15 minutes (then add remaining seafood if you did not put all in at step 7). It is important NOT to stir the rice or seafood. Leave them to simmer as when you placed them in. Stirring will result in gooey paella. The result you're after is loose al dente grains, not starchy lumps.
11. Turn off heat, then rest and toss before serving. The messier, the more authentic.

A Baking Blast into the Past

I had the privilege to meet an elderly woman who learned to bake and cook since she was little from a Dutch lady living in Singapore in the 1950's. She showed me her recipe scrap book with its yellow tinge and brown spots. I was intrigued to see recipes that were type-written! How many of us have seen a typewriter much less use one? 

Funnily enough, just when I thought I would be spending the afternoon with her learning about how cakes were baked "the old school way", this amazing lady whipped out her iPhone and started telling me about a killer app called ScanPro which she highly recommends for scanning recipes. She says with a big smile, Now, I have my recipes everywhere I go. I don't need to carry this book with me anymore. 

She had three such recipe collection books but her daughter threw away two. Ignorant fool. I would have loved to inherit such a precious book. 

Old World Charm with New World Convenience

Look at the dates of her newspaper clippings. Where were you in 1974? Were you even born yet?

I flipped over some of her clippings. Look! Jurong Drive-in Cinema showing The Daring Dobermans. How I miss the drive-ins which form a big part of my childhood memories.

Petticoat Junction - oh, too cute!

What a blast into the past for me.