History:
We learnt about this drink from an old-time JC friend, Xiaoyan, while in Edinburgh. Sparkling (tap) lemonade is not easily available in Singapore, so we did some adjustments to the recipe - it still turned out fine!

Ingredients:
Martini Bianco - 25ml
Bickford's Lemon Barley Cordial - 50ml
Schweppes Soda Water - 150ml
Ice

Method:
Mix and drink!


*****

Some variants of the above recipe -

Instead of using a cordial-based lemonade, a sparkling lemonade made by Schweppes (not their Bitter Lemon drink) most-accurately reproduces the drink they serve in Scotland.

I've also tried to use Sanpellegrino's Limonata, which was EXCELLENT. It ended up being an exotic, utterly-complex cocktail with various shades of citrus especially in the aftertaste.

Posted by R. at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

History:
Just a last-minute omega-3 food, which yx and I presented to her housemates in Madison. It started off with XT's great attempts at pan-frying salmon with lemon, and I experimented with some honey. Surprisingly, the mellow sweetness of honey flushes well with the wild, fierce flavour and sweetness of good salmon.

Ingredients:

• Salmon fillets, with skin if possible. Scale the fish first!
• 1 lemon
• Wild honey - use only those that are semi-solid/solid at room temperature, not the liquid ones spiked with molasses.
• Cooking wine/Chinese cooking wine
• Olive oil (do not use extra virgin!)
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh dill - salmon's never complete without this!
• Light soy sauce
• Salt and pepper
• Butter

Method:

• First, coat the salmon with rock salt for 5-10 minutes, then wash away.
• Marinate the salmon fillets with the juice of 1 lemon, a teaspoon or 2 of honey, olive oil, 1 tablespoon of wine, roughly-chopped dill, 2 tablespoons light soy, pepper and a pinch of salt. Leave to stand for at least 10 minutes - about 30 minutes would be excellent.
• Lightly grease a frying pan, and melt a little bit of butter and some olive oil under medium heat.
• Sear the salmon fillet on the side without skin first, until 40% of its thickness turns a bright pink.
• Flip over, skin-side down, and until most of it turns pink. The trick to cooking the perfect salmon is never to cook until the flesh flakes off - once that happens, you're screwed. So slightly undercook it at first - the residual heat most often does the rest of the job, leaving a nice juicy interior.
• For a bit of extra crunch, lightly smear the skin-side with a layer of eggwash, then powder ever so lightly with flour before pan-frying.
• Serve with a drizzle of liquid honey over the salmon, a sprig of dill as top-garnish, and a slice of lemon by the side.
• For presentation freaks like me, an easy sauce can be made to lay as the base of your serving plate. After the salmon's been cooked, leave aside for a moment (do not place on serving plate yet). Add a quarter cup of boiling water to the pan in which the fish was fried, let boil and pulverise any residual fish crumbles in the pan. Reduce to 3/4 volume, add a pinch of cornflour to thicken, 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce, a splash of worchestershire sauce and a pinch of sugar. Ladle on to an empty plate till you cover an area just slightly larger than the fillet itself. Then present in the usual manner above.

Posted by R. at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

History:
I can't remember exactly the occasion for which I made this soup, but I do remember that my dad stole a staggering 1/3 of that huge pot BEFORE I had finished cooking it. Must have been good.

Ingredients:

• Oxtails - try to get the skinny ones with less fat on them. They're tastier.
• Cubed beef to add more punch
• Dried bay leaves
• Bouquet garni
• Butter
• Dried oregano
• Meat tenderiser - you can use pineapple juice, young papaya leaves or commercial tenderisers. Tough oxtails are unpalatable, trust me.
• Various vegetables that keep their form when cooked. My favourites are yellow squash (adds a fresh splash of colour), zucchini, carrots and celery (can be substituted by fennel, although fennel's a bit too sharp for my liking).
• White button mushrooms, if desired. Slice thinly.
• A father that doesn't steal unfinished masterpieces. =p

Method:

• Quickly tenderise the oxtails for the desired amount of time.
• Heat a pan under moderate heat, put in a small slice of butter, and quickly sear the oxtails and cubed beef till they're brown to seal the meat. If mushrooms are used, this is a good time to fry them as well, till just soft.
• Prepare a slow-cooker at low heat, add boiling water and bouquet garni. Allow to steep for 5-10 minutes, add 1-2 bay leaves and oregano, and add beef and oxtails (and mushrooms). Allow to cook really slowly. I like to leave them to stew overnight, to really bring out the beefy flavour. *Caution* Do not add salt if there is a risk of people who steal food ;) The best deterrent around. Otherwise, a pinch of salt will be excellent.
• Next day, add more boiling water if the soup is too strongly-flavoured. If not, dice up the vegetables and add to the soup, and boil briskly till soft. Just use a bit of common sense - indestructable ones like carrots first, of course.
• Add salt and pepper to taste, remove bouquet garni and bay leaves.
• Garnish with fresh herbs, present and serve.

Posted by R. at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

History:
Ah, just a little treat for Brownie when he was ill one day (diarrhoea actually - it was an attempt to get him to drink more fluids). But still, this is an invigorating and strangely tranquil kind of dish to nourish the lonely soul.

Ingredients:

• Chicken breast, unskinned - size of 2 fists
• Salt

Yeah, that's all. Now, the method:

• Thinly slice the chicken breast, and toss with skin into a pot of boiling water. Boil for as long as you like, typically at least 30 minutes.
• Serve hot with a pinch of salt and some of the chicken.

Posted by R. at 3:13 PM | Permalink | Comments