Tag: food

For New Year’s Eve dinner, Lawrence, Elwyna, Michelle, and I tried our collective hands at our version of a recipe from QEFTSG.

1 chicken
1 lemon*, quartered and zested
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus several sprigs for stuffing and garnishing
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, quartered

Preheat pot with pot holder inside. The pot holder is to keep the chicken from getting in contact with the heat directly.

Mix lemon zest, chopped rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic. Dump half inside chicken along with lemon and some  sprigs of rosemary.

Add olive oil into bowl and mix. Massage all over the outside of chicken.
Wrap chicken in foil and throw in some onions.

Put in pre-heated pot and roast for as long as necessary

*We actually used some weird citrus since no lemon was available. Bad idea. It resulted in a weird bitter after-taste.

Michelle and I have been planning to cook a pack of tortellini we bought at Santi’s a few weeks back. Tonight, we finally cooked it and topped it with ragu based on Mario Batali’s recipe.

1 pack tortellini
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 carrot, finely diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 rib celery, finely diced
1 clove garlic, sliced
¼ kilo pork, ground
¼ kilo beef, ground
1 can pureed tomato
1 can peeled tomato
1 cup red wine
1 cup milk
salt and ground black pepper
cheese, for grating

In pot, boil water. Once boiling, add tortellini and let cook for 10 minutes or so. Drain and put in a plate.

In a pan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, celery, and garlic and sweat over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent and soft but not browned, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the beef and pork over high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking together until browned. Add the tomato, milk, and wine and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from the heat.

Pour sauce over tortellini and top with grated cheese.

Michelle wanted me to try this viand which used to be available at Something Fishy.

Kani sticks
Bacon
Oyster Sauce

Cut kani sticks to around 4-6 inches long. Wrap with bacon. If you’re having a hard time with the bacon unraveling, pin with barbecue sticks or toothpicks. Fry untill golden brown. Coat with a bit of oyster sauce and serve.

I promised Michelle to cook something I know, so here it is finally. Based on the recipe from the QIFTSG book.

Couscous
Chicken broth cube
Thyme

Asparagus
Olive Oil
Vinegar
Sugar

Scallops
Salt
Ground Pepper
Olive Oil
Butter
Chopped Parsley
Lemon

In pot, boil 2 cups of water. Add chicken cube (and thyme if dry). Let it boil. Add couscous (and thyme if fresh). Remove from heat, cover lid, and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.

In pan, heat some olive oil. Add asparagus tips. Remove asparagus while still tender. Add balsamic vinegar and sugar to the pan. Thicken slightly. Put back asparagus.

If you’re using frozen scallops, defrost well. Dry thoroughly with tissue paper. Season with salt and pepper. In pan, heat some olive oil. Add butter. Sear the scallops around 3-5  minutes per side till brown crust appears. Transfer the scallops to plate. Add more butter, lemon juice, and chopped parsley. Swirl a bit and pour onto scallops.