Thursday, November 20, 2008
Cooking Adventures
I am ultra intrigued - once again - by food and the kitchen.
In fact, I have been stealing, reading and trying out various recipes DURING this exam period. I think I spent more time reading cookbooks, googling for recipes and watching programs like Take Home Chef, Jamie at Home, Nigella Bites and Get Toasted than reading my notes and textbooks. Terrible.
It doesn't help that there was a Borders sale, and I finally managed to get myself a copy of Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential - something I've been wanting for ages but thought it's over priced. Once I start reading, I couldn't stop, so you know how distracting - or perhaps even destructive - this can be when I'm supposed to be studying.
And like I said, I didn't stop at marvelling over the various recipes. I made some stuff, with moderate success (in my very modest opinion; meaning I think I did quite well in my HONEST opinion).
So, 2 days before my first paper, I spent a considerable amount of my precious revision time fumbling through the dry goods cabinet in the kitchen, trying to assemble ingredients for the Roasted Curry Yogurt Cauliflower. I found everything... almost... except the Greek yogurt that was required. Happily, though, there was sour cream in the fridge. So I thought, this could be a decent substitute. Sour cream is just a bit thicker, what can be wrong?
It was not the best decision I've made in my life.
I forgot that I was going to roast the cauliflower with the yogurt/sour cream. Meaning moister will be removed further, and it is very wrong to use sour cream in place of yogurt. Okay, I was smart enough to add a bit of water to the cream mixture, but still, not enough to keep the dish moist.
The outcome: a decent tasting dish that is a bit too dry. But it wasn't my fault that there wasn't yogurt to be found at home.
Anyway I think the recipe is quite dumb to suggest roasting as the cooking method. It's time consuming and it dries up the dish too much. I would try cooking it over the stove next time. Genius.
Next, a more impressive feat: Kiwi Clafouti!!!
Omg when I saw Eric Ripert making the raspberry version on the net, I went crazy. It's such a pretty yet down-to-earth and fuss free dessert! I couldn't resist it!
So that night, which is just a day after Media Law and 2 days before the Pop Cine paper, I made Kiwi Clafouti based on Ripert's recipe.
Okay, this time, I couldn't find half-and-half and raspberries at home. Cleverly, I replaced the required amount of half-and-half with 6.25% melted butter and 93.75% milk. Raspberries were replaced by a roughly chopped kiwi.
And boy, the clafouti ROSE, and it was GOOD.
The only thing was that the color of the kiwi didn't make the clafouti look as pretty. Red berries will look alot prettier embedded in the yellow custard.
I will try making some scones and butternut muffins over the weekend. And if I can find cod or salmon at the supermarket, I will put my family at risk by insisting on preparing dinner on Monday night.
unclaimedpropertyofthecounts
3:54 PM
Cooking Adventures
I am ultra intrigued - once again - by food and the kitchen.
In fact, I have been stealing, reading and trying out various recipes DURING this exam period. I think I spent more time reading cookbooks, googling for recipes and watching programs like Take Home Chef, Jamie at Home, Nigella Bites and Get Toasted than reading my notes and textbooks. Terrible.
It doesn't help that there was a Borders sale, and I finally managed to get myself a copy of Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential - something I've been wanting for ages but thought it's over priced. Once I start reading, I couldn't stop, so you know how distracting - or perhaps even destructive - this can be when I'm supposed to be studying.
And like I said, I didn't stop at marvelling over the various recipes. I made some stuff, with moderate success (in my very modest opinion; meaning I think I did quite well in my HONEST opinion).
So, 2 days before my first paper, I spent a considerable amount of my precious revision time fumbling through the dry goods cabinet in the kitchen, trying to assemble ingredients for the Roasted Curry Yogurt Cauliflower. I found everything... almost... except the Greek yogurt that was required. Happily, though, there was sour cream in the fridge. So I thought, this could be a decent substitute. Sour cream is just a bit thicker, what can be wrong?
It was not the best decision I've made in my life.
I forgot that I was going to roast the cauliflower with the yogurt/sour cream. Meaning moister will be removed further, and it is very wrong to use sour cream in place of yogurt. Okay, I was smart enough to add a bit of water to the cream mixture, but still, not enough to keep the dish moist.
The outcome: a decent tasting dish that is a bit too dry. But it wasn't my fault that there wasn't yogurt to be found at home.
Anyway I think the recipe is quite dumb to suggest roasting as the cooking method. It's time consuming and it dries up the dish too much. I would try cooking it over the stove next time. Genius.
Next, a more impressive feat: Kiwi Clafouti!!!
Omg when I saw Eric Ripert making the raspberry version on the net, I went crazy. It's such a pretty yet down-to-earth and fuss free dessert! I couldn't resist it!
So that night, which is just a day after Media Law and 2 days before the Pop Cine paper, I made Kiwi Clafouti based on Ripert's recipe.
Okay, this time, I couldn't find half-and-half and raspberries at home. Cleverly, I replaced the required amount of half-and-half with 6.25% melted butter and 93.75% milk. Raspberries were replaced by a roughly chopped kiwi.
And boy, the clafouti ROSE, and it was GOOD.
The only thing was that the color of the kiwi didn't make the clafouti look as pretty. Red berries will look alot prettier embedded in the yellow custard.
I will try making some scones and butternut muffins over the weekend. And if I can find cod or salmon at the supermarket, I will put my family at risk by insisting on preparing dinner on Monday night.
unclaimedpropertyofthecounts
3:54 PM