September 5, 2009

Almost Perfect Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry muffins may seem simple to bake, but it is not easy to get a really tasty one. They sometimes end up too dense, too floury, or just…. not right. After trying and adapting a couple of recipes from books, I finally stumbled upon what I think, is the best blueberry muffin recipe I’ve come across to date. The muffins are slightly crumbly, just the right density, crisp top, buttery flavour and chock full of blueberries. Perfect for breakfast and tea.

blueberr

Almost Perfect Blueberry Muffins
 
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Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 10 ounces all purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 7 ounces sugar
  • 2 ounces butter, melted
  • 10 ounces sour cream
  • 8 ounces fresh blueberries
Instructions
  1. Preheat an oven to 275 degrees celsius. Grease a muffin tray or use muffin paper cups.
  2. Sift flour with baking powder. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl till combined.
  3. Whisk egg in a second bowl till light coloured, about 20 seconds. Add sugar and whisk vigorously till thick and homogenous, about 30 sec.
  4. Add melted butter in two additions, whisking to combine after each addition.
  5. Add sour cream in two additions, whisking just to combine.
  6. Add blueberries to the flour mixture and toss to combine.
  7. Add sour cream mixture to flour mixture and fold with a spatula till the batter comes together.
  8. Make sure blueberries are evenly distributed. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick.
  9. /4 fill each muffin cup with batter.
  10. Bake for 30 minutes or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Notes
Adapted from "The New Best Recipe"

 

Filed Under: Breads, Muffins and Scones, Vegetables and Fruit Tagged With: , Leave a Comment
September 1, 2009

Introducing… Pane’s Pizza

J and I decided to try out the new pizzeria – Pane’s Pizza, near our house today. He went down to buy some while I prepared some soup for us. I wasn’t expecting much from a neighbourhood pizzeria actually; I was just looking to fill my hungry tummy. J came back rather excitedly, however, and started to rave about the pizzeria (before we even started eating). He spoke of how they used top quality ingredients, such as mozarella cheese and parma ham imported from Italy. In fact, the staff shaved the leg of parma ham in front of him. He bought a 10-inch pizza – Pane’s Pizza, their specialty for $17. It was basically fresh buffalo mozzarella, basil and Italian Parma ham topped on a tomato based crust. The crust was thin and slightly crispy, unlike the bready ones that most pizzerias here serve. We really enjoyed it.

pane

J also bought a small rectangular slice of Pepperoni pizza to try. That too, was delicious. The pepperoni and cheese was topped over a flavourful tomato based crust. The crust was more crispy that the earlier pizza that we tried.

pane2

Address: Blk 164 Bukit Batok Street 11, #01-152 (Near the market, beside Guardian Pharmacy)

Filed Under: Food reviews 3 Comments
August 28, 2009

Home-styled Surf and Turf

My brother-in-law returned from Sydney last week and brought home with him three large flash-boiled lobsters. Seeing that they were fresh and ready for the grill, my sister-in-laws decided to have a surf and turf dinner last week. They cut up the striploin they had purchased from Euraco into thick slabs of steaks. The marbling effect of those steaks were fantastic, and those steaks were simply mouth-watering delicious. It was tender and soft, with just the right amount of fat. We only barely seasoned the meat with some freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt and yet they tasted unbelievable.

rawbeef

With the steaks grilling, we turned our attention to the lobsters. They looked juicy and succulent, all ready to be eaten. A lovely orange red with succulent white flesh spilling out of them, they were almost picture perfect. Well, maybe food perfect.

lobster1

lobster2

When they emerged from the grill, we were not disappointed. The meat was thick and oozing with natural sweetness. And oh, the lobster roe? It was fragrant and had the most complex flavour. This was the way fresh seafood should be eaten. With little or no seasoning, one could almost taste the ocean.

grilledlo

lobroe Home-styled surf and turf. Don’t you wish you were there?

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August 22, 2009

A date with Banana Cake

I love banana cake. I love the fragrance of the banana, seeping out through moist, loose cake crumbs, and the flavour oozing out with every bite. Unfortunately, most recipes are either too dense, or too dry. That is until I came across a recipe for banana cake on Chubby Hubby’s blog. That recipe has since been the one that I use faithfully. One of the most important ingredients of banana cake is of course, the bananas. Using the right bananas is paramount to success. For me, the riper, the better. My hubby however, loves to throw away over-riped bananas. He claims that they’re rotten and fit for the trash, even though I argue that they’d be perfect for banana cakes. A couple of days ago, he threw away another bunch that I had been reserving for banana cakes. I was livid. Thankfully, he bought another bunch of bananas (fairly ripe already) the next day, and yesterday, I decided that they were ready.

banana cak

Filed Under: Baking and Cooking Tagged With: , 1 Comment
August 22, 2009

Dinner for two

Hubby decided to do us the honours of cooking dinner two days ago. The resolve was to use up some of the food items in the refrigerator. I had a craving for mushroom soup and seeing that we had some sour cream left in the fridge, J proceeded to whip up a delicious Hungarian mushroom soup. The soup is rather thick and creamy, with a tinge of sweetness from the sauteed onions that he had added into the soup. He usually adds a dash of paprika to the soup, but that day, he didn’t.

mushroom sou

Seeing that we still had plenty of sausages left, and some Hokkaido frozen scallops, he decided that an aglio olio was in place. Even though, in his rush to serve dinner, he had forgotten to add the salt, the saltiness of the sausage, together with a sprinkling of freshly ground parmesan cheese more than made up for the taste. All in all, it was a very satisfying, home-cooked meal.

agli

Filed Under: Baking and Cooking 1 Comment
August 20, 2009

Dining at Kome Japanese Dining

I had wanted to try this place out after hearing some raving reviews from one of my colleagues. Since it was mom’s birthday, coupled with the fact that she loves Japanese food, what better place to go?

We went for their Ala Carte Buffet, which comes with free-flow of drinks. The main highlight for us that it was free flow of sashimi as well. Yes… free flow. And the variety was truly worth the value of the buffet. They served up the typical Salmon sashimi, but also served Hamachi (yellow-tail), Tai (Sea bream), Tako (Octopus) and Ama Ebi (sweet prawn). The sashimi was fresh and sweet. It was truly mouth-watering.

tako sashim

sashim

We tried their tempura, which was lovely as the prawns used were very fresh, and also their grilled Sanma Shio. The fish was grilled to perfection, with just a pinch of salt so that one can taste its natural sweetness. J couldn’t stop raving about this.

sanm

Their softshell crab was a tat bit puny though, but still delicious. We tried a variety of sushi and handrolls, and were impressed with their california maki and unagi handroll. Personally though, I would give their chawanmushi a skip. When dinner’s almost done, we washed everything down with a serving of their clear and tangy teapot soup. Dessert was homemade macha ice-cream and grape sorbet.

A truly contenting meal.

Location: Keppel Club, Level 1
Price: $38++ for non members
Buffet availability: Saturday and Sunday (Lunch and dinner), Monday (Dinner only)

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August 20, 2009

Pan-seared scallops with Mushrooms and Asparagus Puree

I made this dish for dinner when mom came over on the eve of National Day. It was a recipe adapted from Thomas Keller’s “The French Laundry Cookbook”. Soft and tender pan-seared scallops accompanied by mushrooms and asparagus puree. This dish has a myriad of interesting flavours and textures. Everything turned out really tasty and mom raved about it. Dinner was completed with a serving of homemade passion fruit ice-cream with dark chocolate ganache.

scallops

Pan-seared scallops with Mushrooms and Asparagus Puree
 
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 10 stalks of asparagus
  • ¾ cup chicken stock
  • 6-8 brown button mushrooms, chopped into cubes
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 small sprig of thyme
  • 2 cloves of garlic, meshed and finely chopped
  • ½ tablespoon chopped shallots
  • 1 tablespoon cubed tomatoes
  • 8 medium sized scallops
  • Canola oil
  • white pepper and sea salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Trim away the bottom ⅓ of the asparagus. Cut 1.5 inch long tips from the spears and reserve the stalks.
  2. Blanch the tips in boiling water till just tender and remove to an ice-water bath. Blanch the stalks in boiling water till fully cooked and remove to an ice-water bath.
  3. Puree the stalks in a blender with just enough stock for them to turn. Alternatively, use a hand-held blender.
  4. Pour the puree into a fine sieve and allow to stand for 5 to 10 min to allow the excess liquids to drain. Set aside.
  5. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a saute pan. When hot, add mushrooms, thyme and garlic. Add the shallot and cook for another minute or so. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
  6. Warm the asparagus tips with the tomatoes and 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat. In a small saucepan, warm the asparagus puree and whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Season both with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
  7. In a skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Dry the scallops and season with salt, place them on the pan. Cook the scallops for only a minute or so on each side, or until they're golden browned. Do not overcook them or they'll become tough and stringy.
  8. To serve, place a spoonful of puree on each plate. Centre a spoonful of mushroom mixture over it and top with the scallops. Arrange the asparagus tips and tomatoes over the scallops.

 

Filed Under: Baking and Cooking, Meats and Seafood, Vegetables and Fruit Tagged With: , , Leave a Comment
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