The Week I Was Spoiled With Food (Part I)

Indulgence is definitely the theme for this week.

So it all started on Saturday with a cosy dinner for five. I've been having a recent odd craving for salmon, so I persuaded my friends to stay in on a Saturday evening to whip up a satisfying meal of our own.

On Our Stay-In Saturday Night Menu

~ Caprese Salad ~

Thyme-Infused Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Buffalo Mozzarella

- Whole Filet of Salmon -

Roasted Asparagus

Dill-Butter Sauce

~ Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables ~

Garlic & Rosemary Butter

Sweet Potatoes, Butternut Squash, Fingerling Potatoes

~ Cheese, Fruit & Nut Platter ~

Gruyere Cheese

Fresh Fruit

Ghirardelli Chocolate

Oh by the way, we ended it with some chocolate brownies too.
Talk about being stuffed. And this is just the beginning.

Sunday was sublime. We drove to Philadelphia to watch John Mayer live.

Definitely worth the 4-hour drive there and back (and arriving home only on Monday morning at 430am). Love his guitar skills, love his guitars, love him. I told my Dad about it, and he basically thinks John Mayer is the younger version of Eric Clapton. Yea-ah, Agreed. By the way, I totally took my hat of to Ethel who had class at 8:40 that morning (!!)

So moving on, the new week greeted me with a sumptuous 4-course dinner at the all new Taste of Thai Express. We had a pleasant visit from the people in the Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU), who flew over 10,000 miles across the Atlantic ocean and brought along with them none other than the highly entertaining Guest-of-Honor Hossan Leong - all in the name of building stronger bonds with Singaporean communities abroad. The event definitely exceeded my expectations (honestly, they weren't that high to begin with). I thoroughly enjoyed the food; I had fried ice-cream for dessert! Finally, a dish that reminds me of happy days back home. It wasn't outstanding, I have to admit, and nothing close to the real McCoy - fried durian ice-cream at the New Majestic Restaurant, a definite "die-die-must-try!" on any foodie's list.

I ended up having a fantastic conversation with Avinash, Ming and one of the OSU representatives: From National Service and un-men armies... to immigration laws and the possibility of raking up dual citizenships - Certainly not in the near future, I must say.

Wednesday was Ling's 21st, and I baked birthday cupcakes - a choice of vanilla or chocolate! Blanketed those babies with some freshly whipped frosting, and topped off with a marshmallow and Ferrero Rocher for some added sweetness.

Though everyone enjoyed them, I thought the chocolate cupcakes could have been a tad bit more chocolatey. Lesson Learnt: Stop being lazy and melt real chocolate! I thought I could get away with an easy recipe that only called for cocoa powder to give it that chocolatey flavor...

...The Verdict: Nothing beats real chocolate chocolate cupcakes.

And as for tonight's gourmandizing episode, I was spoiled by a fabulous food and wine dinner pairing by the Johnson School Wine Club. A decadent 6-course meal accompanied with fine wines from Castello Banfi. The Best pairing of the night?

Dark Chocolate Tart

Strawberries, Aceto Balsamico di Modena

accompanied with Rosa Regale

The B.E.S.T. Ever

Breakfast In a Cup

So last night Shihao and I had ambitious plans to wake up at eight this morning to enjoy a bit of a weekend breakfast before heading for our first pottery class at 10am.

Well, I did wake up this morning. To my Dad calling me on my cell phone. At 1130am.

Darn it again.

And why wouldn't I be surprised that my dear roommate slept past his part of the commitment too..? After all, he stayed up till the wee hours playing Defense of the Ancients (while I devoured food blog after food blog - you won't believe how many amazing foodie writers there are online!). And our sumptuous Japanese feast at Plum Tree earlier that evening didn't help alleviate the snooze factor either. And here's a glimpse of what we relished in...

So yes, we both missed our little American breakfast and pottery class lesson we were so keen on attending: He wants to make a coffee mug for his dad, and I intend to mould a pie dish for myself. As such, I ended up whipping up a batch of Maple Cupcakes to bring a bit of that relaxing weekend spirit to make up for the breakfast we never had.

They came out paler than I expected - but I guess that's where the maple glaze comes in (though I did add some maple syrup to the batter as well). And I actually think the pale quality does give those fluffy sponges a seemingly feminine beauty, especially against the pastel-colored cupcake holders. I gave some to Jacqueline, my dear neighbor living below me, who greeted me blearily in her PJs. And the UPS delivery guy came with Shihao's order of wines (a whole crate!), which thoroughly made our day - so I gave Mr. UPS-guy a cake as well. And I think that little breakfast in a cup made his day too.

The rest would probably go Philicia, Deb and Dave, who are coming over later. We're all heading to Ithaca's Chili Cookout Fest (yay!), then Wegmans after to grab some fresh ingredients to whip up a cosy dinner for five. P.S. - I'm craving for a poached salmon.

Sweet, sweet weekend people!

Fancying Cupcakes With Your Glass of Chianti?

This evening was our first wine tasting session of the semester, and so, I decided to whip up some of Nigella's banana, cranberry and chocolate chip cupcakes to usher in this final 6 months of spring in Ithaca.

Well, then again, you can just say it's just an excuse for me to satisfy my cuisson cravings.

Nonetheless, the crimson-studded medallions came out rather decent and were a hit with my friends at the wine session. I was initially worried that they would be inedible just because the oven in my apartment didn't seem to be working as efficiently as I hope it would. The original recipe called for a baking time of 20 minutes (till amber golden and springy on the top) at a moderate 350-degree oven, but it took more than double the time to get these miniature sweet sponges to the required texture.

Faulty ovens aside, what I love so much about this cupcake recipe is the fact that I can do it without the use of a mixer - which is awesome since I don't own one in my college apartment. I know - a definite pâtisserie sacrilege! But on the bright side, it brings challenge and sparks creativity in my recipe searching sessions - plus, I'm graduating in 3 months time, so I deem it to be a slightly unworthy investment that I believe I can live without for the time being. Alright, let's move on to the recipe.

BANANA, CHERRY & WHITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Nigella Lawson, How To Be A Domestic Goddess

The Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 ripe bananas
• 4 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons dried cherries, chopped
• 2 ounces white chocolate, chopped, or chips
• 12-cup muffin pan with paper baking cups

The Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then, off the heat, add the sugar, vanilla, and soft bananas, mashing them with a fork in the pan.
3. Stir in the sour cream and the eggs and - still using your fork or a wooden spoon if you prefer - beat to mix. Add the baking soda and the baking powder, and stir in as well, then finally stir in the flour, cherries, and chocolate.
4. When the mixture's just blended, divide among the 12 muffin cups and cook for 20 minutes or until golden and springy on top.
5. Remove the cupcakes in their paper cups to a wire rack and leave till cool.

Max actually recommended that I throw in some walnuts or pecans into the batter, and I actually think he's right on that. Those fruity-chocolatey sponges are actually good the way they are, but embellishing it with some nutty crunchiness may just boost its sugar ratings up a notch.

I thoroughly enjoyed my intimate wine evening - it's just so wonderful to immerse myself amongst fabulously talented people who are undeniably passionate about food and wine. I'm making a resolution to whip up sugary treats for our future wine sessions - a perfect excuse for me to satisfy my whimsical confectionary wishes and temporarily neglect that never-ending pile of assignments due the following week...

And I Can Almost Hear The Choirs Of Angels Singing...

I've always had a soft spot for pastry. Since young, I would find myself fascinated by the nimble hands of bakers and pastry artists sculpting beautiful little pieces of edible art, then line them all up like pretty maids in a row on those sturdy wooden shelves, and just letting me admire them sitting there, glowing and gleaming in their shiny fruity glaze under the amber hues of the display lights.

And after watching Julie & Julia on the plane back from New York City, I'm inspired to do the same as Julie did. So here I am, creating my very own virtual canvas where I can paint my culinary creativity, make my imagination tangible, and share with the world this loving relationship I have with pastry.

Let's get the basics down first:

I call the kitchen I work in my pastry lab.
I'm superbly inspired by Nigella Lawson. She is such a beautiful woman that brings so much love and passion to food - it's highly infectious.
I'm born and bred in Singapore, but am presently attending college in New York.
And today is a special day. It's my dad's birthday! Plus, it's Christmas time, so I've been going crazy in my pastry lab whipping up sugary treats over and over again. I find it immensely liberating to just totter about the kitchen and dabble in some culinary treats and tricks - as amateur as they may often be but nonetheless still exceedingly enjoyable.

I find it a necessity to bake a sugary treat whenever I'm meeting friends - and that happens a lot over Christmas time. Let's see, so far I've made little cherry chocolate cupcakes, cranberry banana and white chocolate muffins, almond biscuits, granny boyd's biscuits, classic chocolate muffins and brownies, sugar cookies, panna cotta with cherry compote...

My mom is yelling at me for making her gain a kilogram ever since I returned home for the winter break (which was just last Tuesday).

Nevertheless, Christmas morning without a sugary treat is like eating a bagel without cream cheese. So I woke up yesterday morning and whipped up some classic Grand Marnier-infused dark chocolate muffins with my special chocolate peanut butter swirl chips and shimmering gold dust. Watching those golden powdery gems fall against the dark brown chocolate mounds reminds me of Nigella doing the same on her Christmas fruit cake...

"...And you can almost hear the choirs of angels singing..."

Have yourself a merry little Christmas and a wonderful New Year!