Dee's Delectable delights

Shark's Tale

2012-02-12T13:12:00.000+10:30

From this during the day

To this for dinner.

Yup, its shark.

Chris Jarmer's Sticky Balsamic Vinegar

2012-01-25T21:30:00.001+10:30

L was over a few weeks ago and prepared a salad using this dressing.

Chris Jarmer's Sticky Balsamic Vinegar

It was so good, I must get one for the house! It had the prefect tangy taste I like in a vinaigrette. You can find it in David Jones for around AUS $ 15 for a 375ml bottle.

Lindor chocolates

2012-01-20T14:17:00.003+10:30

Part of my Christmas gift...yummmmm

Coke cans in OZ

2012-01-15T14:44:00.001+10:30

Neat, eh?

In the Philippines, it would be PARE!

Buko Juice

2012-01-02T16:25:00.000+10:30

Buko (coconut) juice

Today is a nice day for one of these........

Swiss chocolates

2011-12-31T11:15:00.000+10:30

Frey Swiss Chocolates from Switzerland. My friend Thea brought me some from her recent trip!

Christmas Lunch 2011

2011-12-29T21:48:00.000+10:30

This year was my first official Christmas celebrations with the family here in Australia. And check out what we had for Christmas lunch.

Shrimp cocktail

Salad platter

Meat platter

The pudding with brandy custard

Prize from the pudding.

A little bubbly

New year at Manila Hotel

2011-12-26T14:59:00.000+10:30

No plans for the new year and stuck in Manila? Well, fear not! Maila Hotel has the perfect NYE celeb for you!

Manila Hotel is throwing a grand Dinner and Dance Party on December 31, 2011 as we welcome the New Year. With a crossover buffet featuring Cafe Ilang-Ilang, Champagne Room, Mabuhay Palace, Taproom and Lobby Lounge and live entertainment from Filipinas Band, this is one big party you should not miss!

Dinner: 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Party starts at 9:00 PM
Inclusive of sparkling wine for the midnight toast
P 3,000 ++*
For inquiries and reservations, please call +63527 9469.

*Prices are subject to 10% service charge and applicable local taxes.

Potato cheese sticks

2011-12-17T14:07:00.000+10:30

I just read the book "Julie and Julia" by Julie Powell

and like most people who have read it, I got inspired to try out some of the recipes myself.

Well, one recipe in particular - Potato Cheese Sticks.

The recipe: Bouchées Parmentier au Fromage (potato cheese sticks)
½ lb. baking potatoes (2 medium potatoes)
1 cup sifted AP flour
1 stick softened butter
1 egg
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
⅛ tsp white pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne
pepper Salt, to taste
Yields: 60 pieces

Peel and quarter the potatoes. Boil in salted water until tender.

Drain, then put through a ricer. You should have about 1 cup. Stir the potatoes over moderate heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan for 2-3 minutes until they form a light film on the bottom of the pan, indicating most of their moisture has been evaporated. Beat the flour into the potatoes, then the butter by fractions, then the egg, cheese, and seasonings. Taste and adjust seasoning. Preheat oven to 425. Either butter 2 baking sheets or cover them with parchment paper. With a fluted pastry tube ¼ inch in diameter, squeeze the mixture into 2½-inch lngths spaced ½-inch apart onto the baking sheets. Bake both sheets at the same time for about 15 minutes, or until the sticks are lightly browned.

While waiting for the sticks to bake, I couldn't help myselp-- I kept checking it every 2 minutes. Is the oven hot enough? Is it browning too slow? Too fast? Why does it look the same after 45(!!) minutes!!!

Arg, I should've realise it earlier........... the recipe called for a 425 F oven. We use Celsius. I didn't check the proper conversion. I asked S who told me to put the oven to 160C. I should've checked!!!

After 15 minutes, they were still as soft as they were when I first put them in the oven. And 45 minutes more in the oven did not help. As I said, I should've checked. The oven should be arounf 220C. So okay, technically it IS S's fault but I should keep a little blame on myself.

So being someone who will eat absolutely ANYTHING, S resumed cooking them on the stove in a little olive oil and promptly ate them. At least there's an audience for my experiments! Albeit for now, failed experiment!

Honeycomb: first attempt

2011-12-13T21:00:00.000+10:30

S was craving for Honeycomb so we found a recipe in M's vast library of cookbooks.

Our ingredients for this deceivingly easy recipe.

I researched a bit for suggestions as we did not have any golden syrup on hand and most agreed honey would be the next best thing and would work equally as good. I might beg to disagree The end result

Does not even resemble a honeycomb. Trying to figure out where we went wrong- didn't boil the mixture enough, not enough bicarb of soda?

Word of the Day for Sunday, December 11, 2011

2011-12-12T10:42:00.001+10:30

Word of the Day for Sunday, December 11, 2011

à la mode \ah luh MOHD\, adjective:
1. In or according to the fashion.
2. Cookery. A.(Of pie or other dessert) Served with a portion of ice cream, often as a topping: apple pie à la mode. B.(Of beef) Larded and braised or stewed with vegetables, herbs, etc., and served with a rich brown gravy.

I do not yet know what is the fashion in England, but naturally if you assure me it is not à la mode, I won't have a lover. Can I have a house in town?
-- Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

However that may be, Wilhelm was undeniably à la mode; the greatest ladies in England would beseech and entreat of him to write but one line in their albums...
-- Hamilton Murray, Falkenburg: A Tale of the Rhine

À la mode literally means “of the fashion” in French. (The sense of a scoop of ice cream on top of pie arose in 1903 in America.)

From Dictionary.com

Midnight snack - biscuits

2011-12-10T14:57:00.001+10:30

Sometimes, I get a craving and my tummy growls for more sustenance. But still trying to be healthy, here's hoping!

We had biscuit with a little butter and tomato, topped off with some freshly ground black pepper.

My tummy says thanks!

Nachos night

2011-12-09T17:33:00.000+10:30

We used Dorito's (any flavor will do), Dorito's Salsa Mild and Shredded cheddar cheese then baked in the oven.

I should've added my jalapeno's!!

Thai Chicken

2011-11-28T19:56:00.000+10:30

Our should I say, our version of Thai chicken. We got a free sauce to cook with and voila, here goes our experiment. And of all things I forgot to take a picture of it before I threw it out!

The ingredients included: Coconut milk and leeks

The leeks cut into 1 inch pieces and 1 medium Onion cut length wise

Chicken
The sauce sachet sauteed in oil

Added the chicken in the sauce and the onions after Then the spring onions
Served with rice

Moroccan calamari in tomato sauce

2011-11-25T13:02:00.000+10:30

As S keeps catching squid, we decided now might be right time to try some squid recipes. S found a recipe for Moroccan calamari in tomato sauce

Ingredients all lined up

1 pound of calamari (squid) - cut into rings
2 tomatoes - peeled and pureed

1/2 onion - chopped
1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley
1 can of tomato sauce (8 oz)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
2 teaspoons of paprika

calamari (squid) that was cut into rings
2 tomatoes we pureed in the blender

Add the olive oil, tomatoes, onion, parsley, salt, pepper, and paprika in your cooking pan. Cover the cooking pan and let all the ingredients cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.
After few minutes, add the calamari to the sauce. Cover your pan and let the calamari cook for 45 minutes - 1 hour. Stir from time to time.

We used Basmati rice which I rinsed around 3 times in cold water then boiled stove top with a little salt and oil
For more Moroccan recipe ideas, check out Cooking with Alia.

Nigella Lawson's "How to Eat"

2011-11-18T12:20:00.000+10:30

Reading this morsel of a cook book, Nigella Lawson's "How to Eat".

It is not your regular cookbook with recipes laid out in every page. Instead, Nigella talks about what the dish is about, how to prepare, how to develop and what it evokes. And of course, as the title suggests, how to eat.

Something to chew on. (forgive the pun!)

Breaded Tommy and garden salad lunch

2011-11-12T15:14:00.000+10:30

Or should I say Brunch?

Slept in after feeding the dogs this morning and woke up at a respectable weekend time - 1130a.m. I couldn't think about cereal at this time so S decided to cook the batch of Tommy GG caught off the jetty yesterday. We decided on a simple breaded fish and salad.

For the coating, we used, flour, eggs and bread crumbs. For the breadcrumbs we just used store bought as we didn't have the time, recipe or energy to make our own though I'm sure it would be easier than it sounds. Or maybe it IS as easy as it sounds.

Our breading production line

All breaded and ready to fryThe trick for not getting all the breading on your fingers is to use one hand for the wet - egg batter and the other for the dry - flour and breadcrumbs

Fry until golden brown.

We had a discussion about this with S's brother DO on how to properly fry fish. I said flesh down while he said skin down. You be the judge.

For the simple salad, we had lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and beets drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

Simple lunch for a lazy Saturday at home

Romulo cafe despedida

2011-11-11T16:18:00.000+10:30

My friends threw me a surprise despedida (going away party) before I left at Romulo Cafe in Quezon City. I rarely go beyond my comfort zone so this was my first time here.

Like regular restaurants that serve Filipino dishes, the food comes in family style. So we all agreed to try their best sellers

Tito Greg's Kare Kare
We all agreed that to make a good kare-kare, you need good bagoong to go with it or else the dish fails. And Romulo cafe had good bagoong. Enough said.
Crispy Pata
This is a Filipino dish made from deep fried pig leg.

Pomelo Salad
The Flying Tilapia
We were all so intrigued by the name and expected the fish to be laying flat on the plate but this blew our minds!

Tilapia is a common fresh water fish in the Philippines.

Romulo Cafe is located at 32 Scout Tuason corner Dr. Lazcano, Tomas Morato, Quezon City. It's quite out of the way but definitely worth a trip. You can call for reservations at telephone: +632 332-7275.

DEKA Makati

2011-11-09T12:03:00.000+10:30

I have lived in my current residence for about 2 years now and in the street opposite to mine is this Thai restaurant called Deka. And in my 2 years, I have never gotten the chance to eat there and before my big move, I decided to have dinner there with my friend from work.

The milk iced tea we both got

From my friends Thai Bagoong rice meat dish (no pic of the actual bagoong rice)
Bagoong is a fish sauce made with salted fish or shrimp.
My green chicken curry
Satay which we shared. Satay is a skewered meat either pork, beef or lamb etc. and usually served with peanut sauce
The outdoor eating area
Portions were skimpy for the price ( we got the solo meals which cost Php150 =around Aus$3). Maybe we should check out the portions meant for sharing. And the taste was okay not bad for a neighborhood thai place.

Terms from Recipetips.

Barnacle Bill fish and chips

2011-11-07T10:50:00.000+10:30

Was so hungry but too lazy to get dressed up for a night out so we decided to get take away from Barnacle Bill, known for their fish and chips.
The exterior with the Barnacle Bill mascot

Fish and chips with shrimp, squid and coleslaw.

Check out the Barnacle bill website for more details.

Namanama in Eastwood

2011-11-04T09:50:00.000+10:30

I recently trekked all the way to Quezon City via C5 to Eastwood for a medical errrmmm vanity procedure to be done. We arrived at 11am on the dot, talked to the doc, given anesthesia and was told to have lunch while the anesthesia does it job.
Walking around the mall, we chose Namanama

Aries chose the Hawaiian Chicken

While I HAD to try their version of Chicken Marsala

For the price, the food portions was plentiful, the taste almost but not quite, the service okay and over all, we left the Namanama with our tummy's full and that was just how I like it.

Food word for the day

2011-11-02T12:07:00.001+10:30

aioli \ahy-OH-lee\, noun:

A sauce made of oil and eggs, usually flavored with garlic, from the Provence region of France.

He said he was treating. There was roast artichoke topped with a sort of sly aioli. Mutton stuffed with foie gras, double chocolate rum cake. Seven kinds of cheese.
-- David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest

A beef sirloin is good, too, slightly charred on the outside and reddish pink in the middle, nicely peppered, with mustard aioli.
-- Garrison Keillor, Love Me

Aioli comes from the Provençal word for garlic, ai and the Latin word for oil, oli.

From Dictionary.com

Honey Eggs Benedict

2011-10-20T12:12:00.000+10:30

With H on the gourmet roll, this is what she made for us for breakfast, Eggs Benedict.

Eggs Benedict recipe

Ingredients (For 4 people)

* 4 fresh English muffins
* 8 rashers of back bacon
* 8 eggs
* 1 tsp of white vinegar
* 4 egg yolks
* 2 tbsp of lemon juice
* 9 oz (255 g) of butter
* pinch of cayenne pepper
* salt and pepper

To make a simple Hollandaise sauce:

1. Place the 4 egg yolks, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and the salt and pepper into a fairly large saucepan and with a hand whisk, whisk all the ingredients until they have blended together.
2. Cut the butter into small chunks and add to the saucepan.
3. Turn the heat on the cooker to medium and begin to whisk the ingredients. As the butter melts, make sure that you blend it thoroughly into the egg yolks. Continue to whisk vigorously until all of the butter has blended into the eggs.
4. If the sauce begins to separate, add 2 tsp of water to the sauce mixture and whisk briskly until the mixture has combined together to form a creamy sauce.
5. Once all of the butter has melted and a sauce has been formed, continue whisking until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency.
6. Add more salt and pepper if required.
7. Remove from the heat and keep the sauce warm before serving for up to 30 minutes.

Once the Hollandaise sauce has been prepared and set to one side, you can concentrate on the other ingredients.

The next step is to prepare the eggs and the ham, if possible simultaneously.

1. Preheat the grill to a moderate heat and cut the bacon or ham into circles that will just cover the base of the muffin.
2. At the same time start to poach the eggs (see our section on: How to poach an egg).
3. Place the bacon or ham under the grill and cook on both sides until browned. Keep warm if the eggs are still cooking.
4. When the eggs and the bacon are almost ready, tear the muffins in half with your hands, taking care to break them evenly and place them in the toaster or under the grill.
5. When the muffins have been lightly toasted, butter them generously and place in the middle of a warmed plate.
6. Remove the bacon from the grill and sit one circular piece on top of each half muffin.
7. Arrange the drained and trimmed poached egg on top of the bacon or ham and finally spoon the warmed Hollandaise sauce over the egg.
8. Serve immediately.

Recipe from Help with cooking

Pizza hut lunch

2011-10-18T15:42:00.000+10:30

One of my comfort food is pizza. As one may notice, when I like a food group, i like it in any variant. Pizza is no exception. So to treat myself, again, I got the 2 pizzas for Php55 (around Aus$1.20) from Pizza Hut for lunch.

Two pizzas of the same flavor for only Php55. They also have a combo meal where you can get 2 pizzas with a drink for less than 100 pesos.You can find it at any Pizza Hut stores in malls nationwide.

Becky's kitchen

2011-10-18T15:35:00.000+10:30

I love chocolate...chocolate fudge, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, chocolate cake, chocolate with nuts, without nuts, with fruit...the list can go on and on.....

And here's a chocolate treat I cannot resist

From Becky's Kitchen, Singalong

1601 P. Ocampo cor. Bautista St. Singalong

Manila, Metro Manila

Philippines

(02) 525- 1648