A Fishy Tale

Over the weekend, I didn't manage to go to the FashBash, nor the On Pedder warehouse sale. I didn't lead the weekend of a fashionista, it was an auntie weekend for me....

Attended the 6th lesson of the Basic Cooking Course on Saturday, where we learnt some great ways to prepare the fish. First, we learnt how to fillet the fish. It took a bit of effort, but I somehow managed to fillet my very own garoupa for the first time!


Then, we learnt the art of making teriyaki sauce - not sure how I'm going to flambe this at home, without burning the cooker hood!


We tried our hands at shucking fresh oysters too - my very first one, after a LONG time - it was really hard. But the sweetness of success was so evident in the taste of the oyster thereafter!


After 3 hours, we've learnt how to make a seriously yummy Cod with Teriyaki Sauce, Deep Fried Fish in Beer Batter (with our very own tartare sauce) and a Prawn and Avocado Salad with Tomato-Basil Salsa. Would be really fun to do the cod and beer-battered fish and chips at home in the future - think The Boy would really enjoy them!






The auntie weekend continued with the acquisition of a 5-litre stock pot on Sunday, complete with steamer, at a super good deal lor!!! How cool is that?!

Jemej Cooks

We had my old friend SY and my sista over for dinner last evening. It's been a while since I've caught up with SY, so when she said "Can I bring a friend over?", I got suspicious and asked, "Boy ah?". Till they appeared at our door-step, she remained tight-lipped on who this friend was.

In anticipation of good company, including my sista coming all the way from the west to Pasir Ris (she calls it "World's End"), I decided to try out another of Jamie Oliver's recipes from "Jamie's Dinners - the essential family cookbook". It was another baked dish, a proven popular method of cooking adored by many, including Beanbean. I set about preparing at about 5-ish, so engrossed in the recipe that I didn't notice The Boy slipped up and took a shot of what he calls "Jaime Reading Jamie".


Soon, SY turned up with "friend" in tow. He was introduced simply as "Jeff". While he sat alone in the living room entertaining himself, SY accompanied me in the kitchen. The chicken was baking nicely in the oven by then, which I must admit I loved the smell that was coming out of it. As I was about to start cooking the aglio olio, we started talking about Jeff.

Me:: What does Jeff do?
SY:: He's a chef.
Me:: Wah, serious?! Then he should come in and help me cook this aglio olio.
SY:: But he doesn't really cook.
Me:: He's EXECUTIVE chef??
SY:: Ya.
Me:: Where? (I was getting really nervous already.)
SY:: Uh, ritz.
Me:: F*** nooooooo!!!!

I went hysterical. It's one thing to work with chefs, and sometimes get recipes from them. It's another to cook them a dinner by an amateur me lor!!!!!!! I got really nervous and self-conscious. I panicked. I got worried about how good is my chicken in the oven. All these while, SY was being very sweet. She said that's why she didn't want to say anything more about who this "friend" was, and that she would love anything I'm cooking for dinner tonight.

I popped my head out of the kitchen and grinned at Jeff, "Would you like to cook us some spaghetti?" He gamely took up the "challenge". I guess he was just "gravitating" towards his natural instincts. In my anxiety, I had forgotten about the garlic for the aglio olio. When he asked for it, I jumped into my role as "the assistant". But I cowered over the garlic and the chopping board, warning him not to see the way I chop my garlic. Can't let him see that I don't chop garlic like how Yan Can Cook does it on TV!

And of course, I had to take a shot of him in action, IN THE JEMEJ KITCHEN. My pans felt "christianed", as he tossed the spaghetti around over the stove - their bottoms getting scratched from the "professional act". The aglio olio was done in a few minutes, of which I learned a couple of tricks in the process. And I confirmed that chefs are definitely a lot more messier, handling the equipment around the kitchen.


We settled down to good food, wine and company soon after, but not without taking a few shots first.


And till I got the nod of approval from Jeff, exclamations of "It's really yummy" from SY and my sista, and my dear hubby polishing off the last bits of the chicken, I remained shy about my baked chicken.... I'll defnitely cook this one again though - it's a really nice (though strange sounding at first) combination of chicken stuffed with bananas (which lent a nice aroma), sweet corn and smoky bacon.

The Hardly Normal Experience with Ants

Made a trip to Harvey Norman yesterday, to look for a new kettle. I pointed to 2 different types of kettle - my previous plastic one and the sleek stainless steel one - and asked the salesman what's the difference?

Salesman: "The stainless steel one is better."
Silence.
Me: "Yah, how so?"
Salesman: "The plastic one, when use long time already, will become affected."
Me: "What you mean affected?"
Salesman: "That means not so good lor."
Me: "Not so good? Like what? You mean the plastic will melt??"
Salesman: "No lah, it will become affected."

Great, he wasn't answering my question at all. Or rather, he didn't know enough to sell his kettles. I told him about my ants' nest in the previous kettle plate, how I have a phobia already.

Salesman: "Wah. So far we have no such complaints. So far we have no customers who complain got ants in their kettle plates."

Ok, I was being lame. But I had to share my experience, in case there are similar cases around. Glad that I was a "one-of", I succumbed to sleekness and design, and opted for this new addition to our Jemej home. I'm loving it!


While I was there, chanced upon this ultra-chic, beauty of a retro refrigerator. Not available yet in Singapore... that's it. My next kitchen concept will be in RED!!!

Polling; put the kettle on...

Time to get a new kettle. Was telling my colleagues about the horror story of the ants and they told me that this happened because the ants like to "取暖". (Did I get my "qu" right?) But, won't they get electrocuted by staying within the electrical base of the kettle?? Whole colony, you know? My current model, with the base:


So they said maybe I should look at other types of kettles that are directly hooked to the wire. But I thought this would be ley chey, must unplug to refill water, then plug in and boil.


Or perhaps the retro type that you put over the fire and boil? Whistler kettle???


That aside, should I opt for the stainless steel one instead? Cos the white one I have gets dirty, and there'll be dark stains at the base of the boiler after a while, presumably that of rust residue or whatever. I have to boil limes in it from time to time, to get rid of these grime.


While surfing the net for ideas, came across a couple of cool ones. This one:


"This Alessi Classic Kettle is undoubtably The 'Designer Kettle'. It was designed by Richard Sapper in 1982. The Magestic Kettle with singing whistle was inspired by the steamers and barges that ply the Rhine.

This water kettle is charaterized by the brass whistle which houses two pitch-pipes in the keys of E and B! The kettle boils, and as the steam passes through the whistle, it plays a Harmonica style alert.

Other features include a sprung mechanism to open the spout to fill or pour. The heavy weight Stainless Steel construction, with a sandwiched copper base, ensures good heat transmission and is perfect for use on Gas, Electric or Ceramic Hobs including Agas.

A Steel bottomed version - for induction type hobs is also available to order - 2 litre priced at £125."

And I always thought anything by Philippe Starck would be IT:


"Not all of Philippe Starck's designs were so successful. This kettle, launched in 1990, is the favorite design fiasco of Alessi CEO Alberto Alessi. The cone-shaped shaft pierces the body of the kettle, serving as both its handle and spout. The complex mechanism needed to redirect the steam proved unreliable, leading Alessi to pull it from the market in 1997. Says Alessi, "You shouldn't need an instruction manual to operate a kettle."

Gosh, it is not too difficult to use a kettle. But it sure ain't easy deciding which type to buy! I can't decide whether to keep to my current model type. What do you recommend?

Oops I Did It Again

I'm a sucker for cute gadgets. Whether I need them or not.

Just the other weekend, soon after my first discovery of Pantry Magic, I dragged The Boy down again to HV. The loot this time was more "controlled"....

There was this other baking recipe book which I thought was really great. When The Boy asked me how would I know whether these recipes will work, I pointed to the tagline on the cover that said "Over 200 recipes that can be trusted". Aiyoh, so simple to understand, how come he doesn't?

It's Magic

All kitchen fanatics / houseproud ladies / members of BMW Club, Pantry Magic was A-W-E-S-O-M-E. I felt like a kid in Disneyland. Brightly coloured kitchenware including the currently popular silicone bakeware, ceramic mixing bowls etc etc... I felt so inspired!!!

The first step I took, towards equipping the Jemej Kitchen with all things pretty. I'm sure the "professional chef" in me will soon emerge, fuelled by this wave of magic that is simply irresistible. And that was a week ago. Just received an email that they have new stocks coming in. I'm going down again VERY SOON. Now.... I need to get my hands on that mortar and pestle....


A certain food writer I was chatting with said, "You don't need to have a reason to get that sexy piece of kitchen equipment / ware...."