A First Attempt at Foie
July 23, 2008
Inspired by this episode of the F-Word, in which Ramsay does a quick tutorial on how to pan-sear foie gras, I decided give it a shot at home. After all, he boldly claims that searing foie gras is “easier than frying an egg.” (That, I can do). A quick trip to Culina on Orchard Boulevard, and I had myself a nice 600g worth of goose liver, which I learnt is less gamey and smoother than the more common duck liver. After allowing to thaw for about an hour, I sliced the liver along into pieces about 3/4 inches thick, wrapping the excess in individual plastic wrap to store away in the freezer for use on another occasion.
Hot pan and foie gras in hand, I quickly re-watched Ramsay’s tutorial and literally mimicked step-for-step: place foie gras on hot pan, wait for 2 minutes, flip, wait for 2 minutes, tilt pan and allow fat with foie gras to roll to the edge of the pan (to cook sides), flip, repeat. The process took about 8 minutes until I achieved a color I was happy with. A quick finger test to check it’s firmness, and it was off the pan and on the plate.
To accompany the foie gras, I caramelized some apples. To do this, thinly slice some apples, and throw onto a generously buttered pan on medium heat for 5 minutes, turning apples occasionally to brown both sides evenly. When apples are browned, add some brown sugar and a bit more butter, leave to reduce and caramelize further for another 5 minutes. I also made a simple salad of arugula, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and toasted almonds. Some fleur-de-sel salt on the side plus some dots of reduced balsamic vinegar…and my first attempt at foie gras was complete.
I busted out the 2004 Kyoho from the Leading Hotels event last week, a perfect wine to accompany the fatty, velvety texture of foie gras because it’s sweet, and buttery.
If you’re a lover of foie gras like I am but think the only time you can have it is at fancy Michelin-rated restaurants, think otherwise. Please try this at home, and feel free to share your results. Good luck!
Culina
21 Orchard Boulevard #01-23
Park House Singapore 248654
Tel: (65) 6735 8858
A Singaporean Pastime: Prawn Fishing
July 19, 2008
Looking for a fun, simple, and novel way of spending a lazy Saturday afternoon, a buddy and I decided to check out Hai Bin U Enterprise, a small prawn farm located in the Bedok Bishan neighborhood of Singapore that offers recreational prawn fishing. Between the two of us, we spent $50 Singapore dollars, the equivalent of about $35 US dollars, to fish our hearts content for 2 hours. Rods, bait, and a quick tutorial for prawn fishing virgins (the majority of us, I presume) are all provided.
While this might sound like the most random Saturday afternoon activity, you may be right. But if you remember that scene from Good Will Hunting, where Will suggests to catch up over some caramels because it’s as arbitrary as coffee, I think he has a point. In Singapore, why not catch up over prawn fishing? It’s a fun, simple, low-key way to pass some time and chit-chat with a friend while waiting for some tugs on your prawn fishing rod…which when happens, is a cheap thrill, but a thrill nonetheless!
2 hours later, while it was not exactly raining prawn, we headed home satisfied with our 500g worth of prawns. We were surprised by the sizes of some of the prawns, many of which had beautiful blue hues and massive pincers, which hurt!
We saw many people grilling their daily catch straight away, the smell was amazing and I bet they tasted great.
I definitely smell fresh prawn for dinner this Monday evening. Any recommendations?
Hai Bin U Enterprise
No. 603 Sin Ming Avenue
Singapore 575735
Pappa al Pomodoro, Straight from Tuscany
July 17, 2008
During a recent visit to Italy, my family had the pleasure of staying at Hotel Relais Borgo San Felice, a magnificent boutique located in the middle of the Tuscan wine country, about a 2 hour drive away from Firenze. Incidentally, this hotel is a Leading Hotel of the World member (see yesterday’s event), as well as part of the very exclusive Relais & Châteaux group.
During our stay, I was fortunate to partake in a hands-on cooking class lead by Chef de Cuisine Antonio Fallini, an accomplished chef who gave up his position as God at The Four Seasons Hotel in Toyko, as well as cooking for the rich and famous (he confessed to being a nervous wreck at the heels of preparing the late Princess Diana and Pavarotti’s meal) in order to take charge at San Felice.
I want to share a simple yet absolutely delicious dish from the lesson which even a mediocre cook such as myself was able to successfully reproduce at home…Papa al Pomodoro (you must clench your fingers together and waggle them in front of your mouth when you say it). Translated, it’s Bread & Tomato Soup. You cannot get any more simple and pure traditional Tuscan than this (photo credit, below, to seppysils).
Ingredients:
- 500g ripe tomatoes
- 2 silver onions
- 1 garlic
- 50g basil
- 500g tuscan stale bread
- 1 chili pepper
- Rock salt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 and 1/2 cup stock of choice: vegetable, beef, or chicken
- Finely dice silver onions, garlic, chili pepper, cut tomatoes into chunks, bread into crouton-like pieces.
- In olive oil, fry the above ingredients for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and broth, allow to simmer for 15 minutes, occasionally whisking.
- Add the stale bread, leave to soak up the moisture for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add salt to taste, top soup with olive oil, garnish with basil.
Leading Hotels of the World Event
July 16, 2008
The Leading Hotels of the World is an organization that represents approximately 450 of the world’s finest hotels and resorts around 80 countries. On a quarterly basis, they host a wine and dine event as a way to say thank-you, allow for networking, and market merchandise/property offered exclusively by some of their partnering organizations to their clients.
Their most recent event was held at Host (Clarke Quay, Singapore), essentially a large room equipped with bar, meeting-style dining table for up to 20, full-service kitchen, audio/visual equipment, all in a warm cherry-wood clad interior. This evening, we were treated to a tasting menu with wine pairings thoughtfully explained by David Coleman, managing director of Rubicon Reserve Wines.
While the meal was overall very good, the clear runaway winner was the main course: slow braised lamb on milk semolina cake with parsley salad. Braised for 4 days and supremely tender as a result, the pieces of lamb were literally falling off…all I had to do was gently pick up the pieces with my fork. David also paired this course wonderfully with a 2005 Tinazzi Numero 3 Opera (Italy), whose deeply rich and velvety tones melded beautifully with the fatty lamb.
If you are a fan of whites more to the sweet side, you will certainly love a bottle of Bella Ridge Estate Kyoho, 2004 (Australia). David explained that the just-right level of sweetness allows it to be served as both as an apperetif (sweets build appetite), or also a dessert wine. As the wine opened up, I loved it’s buttery texture. For under $50 a bottle, we quickly picked up half a case for our personal drinking pleasure! Friends, come over soon to try it out. The pairing was served alongside a simply pan-seared foie gras with truffles and caramelized pineapples. You can imagine, the sweet-savory combination was wonderful.
I have always been a fan of stinky cheese. In fact, the stinkier and moldier, the better. For our cheese course, we were served stilton blue cheese whipped together with honey. Definitely something to try at home, since the combination worked incredibly well. However, I found that the saltiness of the blue cheese absolutely drowned the 2005 Chateaux le Tetre Roteboeuf (France), pity, since I think the bottle goes for over $600!
Thanks to the Leading Hotels of the World group in Singapore for the invite and wonderful meal!
Chronicles of the Salmon Cornet, Part 2
July 15, 2008
Determined to bounce back from yesterday’s mishaps, I started the day by searching for some circular stencils to create cornet cones of even consistency. Unable to find them, I improvised by manually cutting circles from a $10 silicone sheet available at any decent kitchen store.
With the exception of cutting back on the butter by half, I stuck to yesterday’s recipe, this time using the home-made stencil. Provided you use quality ingredients, the salmon and crème fraîche part of the recipe was relatively straight forward and tasted good even during the first attempt–the trickiest part of it all was really the cones.
While far from perfect, the overall result was still very tasty and I was pleased I went through all the trouble to make them. For those of you who haven’t had the chance to try out the real thing, I strongly urge you give this recipe a try!
For my future reference, or if you are planning on making these for the first time and happen to stumble across this:
- Be cautious about baking the batter too long the first time around–they need to be soft enough to roll into cones without breaking.
- If you want the cones to be perfectly shaped and consistent, use a cone-shaped mold.
Chronicles of the Salmon Cornet, Part 1
July 14, 2008
Feeling inspired (which I discovered is a combination of being bored, hungry, and most importantly, unemployed), I decided to embark on a mission–reconstruct those divine little “salmon cornets” which alongside his “oysters & pearls,” have become Thomas Keller’s signature dish at The French Laundry and Per Se. Doing a quick search online, I quickly came across this article and promptly hit the grocery store to make sure I had all the ingredients. I learnt that making these babies is a two-step process that would span more than 1 day: first the cones, which are left to sit for up to 2 days to maximize flavor, then the salmon filling, which is best served fresh.
Above is my first attempt at the first step, and if you think the cornets look sad, it’s because they are. For those who wish to follow the above recipe, learn from my mistakes:
- Don’t try to be a hero as I did and not use a stencil to create the circular cornets. I skipped this part and paid the price: cornets much too thick and heavy, hence their old-lady-booby droopy sadness (if you catch my drift).
- Cut back on the butter, as these were much too oily. Even when left to cool and dry outside the oven, they did not turn crisp and flaky.
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