Lasagne

Ingredients:

Bolognese Sauce:
250g minced beef
250 minced pork
carrot x 1, finely diced
onion x 1, finely diced
garlic x 3, pressed
4-6 fresh plum tomatoes cut into cubes OR use 2-3 cans of plum tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine
tomtao puree x 1-2tbsp
Bay leaf x 1-2pc

How to Make:
1. Heat a big saucepan with olive oil and add onion and garlic.
2. Once fragrant, add minced beef and pork and stir fried until all quite cooked.
3. Then add the wine and tomato puree.
4. Then add the carrots and the tomatoes and stir and mix well.
5. Season with sugar, salt and pepper, then add the bay leaf and cover the pot with a lid and simmer for 2 hrs, stirring from time to time.


White Sauce:
60g butter
2-3 tbsp of plain white flour
400-500ml milk
2-3tbsp grated parmesan cheese

How to Make:
1. Melt butter in a small pan on medium heat. Stir in flour and mix with a whisk until it forms a paste.
2. Add milk little by little and keep stirring with the whisk until sauce thickens.
3. Lastly add the parmesan cheese and remove from heat.


Lasagne:
Bolognese Sauce - as above
White Sauce - as above
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Fresh Morzarella cheese thinly sliced
Lasagne Sheets

How to Make:
1. Preheat oven to 200'C.
2. Coat bottom of baking tray with the white sauce, then the bolognese sauce,
3. Then add 1 layer of the lasagne sheets.
4. Then add the grated parmesan cheese and the morzarella cheese.
5 Then repeat steps 2 to 4 for a few times.
6. Last top layer will be the lasage sheet with white sauce on top, add parmesan cheese.
7. Baked in top 1/3 level in the oven for 30min or until top layer is bubbly hot!

Enjoy!

Italian Minestrone

Ingredients:

Soup Base:
Old Chicken x 1
Ham Hock x 2-3pc
Carrot x 1
onion x 1
celery x 1/2

How to Make:
1. The night before you cook the soup, prepare the soup base.
2. Blanch washed chicken for 20 min and remove.
3. Blanch washed ham hock for 20min and remove.
4. Add chicken, ham hock, carrot, onion and celery in a big pot, covered with water and boil. After boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook for 3 hrs.
5. Remove all ingredients, store soup in fridge overnite.


Pesto Sauce:
2tbsp pine kennels
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp salt
80g basil leaves (stalks removed)
200ml extra virgin olive oil
2tbsp freshly grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

How to Make:
just add all the above to a mortar and grind to a paste. If you have a blender, even easier, mix everything in the blender and blend until it becomes a smooth paste. Add more basil or oil as you think fit.


Minestrone:
Carrot x 3 - cubes
Zuccini x 3 - cubes
Potato x 3 - cubes
Canneli beans (1/2 cup - soak overnite and blanch for 30min)
Bertoli beans (1/2 cup - soak overnite and blanch for 30 min)
Savoy cabbage - sliced

How to Make:
1. Take out soup base and skim the fat on top.
2. Reheat soup base, once boiled, add the carrot, zuccini, potato, beans and boil in medium heat for 1.5hrs.
3. Then add the savoy cabbage and keep cooking for another 30min. Check taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to your liking.
4. Lastly, add pesto sauce, mix well and serve.

* some might prefer to add some grated parmesan cheese on top.

Enjoy!

Roast Bresse Chicken

* this is adapted from the demonstration by Heston Blumenthal at his TV show "How to cook like Heston". A magical way to cook a tender and juicy chicken indeed but must be patient with the time involved!

Ingredients:
Bresse Chicken x 1 (pre-order at City Super or Great to ensure you;ll get one! they come in chilled.)
Lemon x 1
Fresh thyme x 1 big bunch
Butter
Honey

How to Make:
1. The night before you roast this chicken, you have to brine this chicken. Prepare 2 litres of water with 120g of salt. Boil until salt all dissolved. Then cool down.

2. Wash chicken and its cavity.

3. Soak chicken in the cooled down salt water and place in fridge overnight.

4. On the day of roasting, take out chicken and rinse and wipe dry. Stand at room temperature for an hour.

5. Preheat oven to 90'C.

6. Rest1/2 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature until soft.

7. Rinse the wipe dry the thyme. Cut lemon in 4 pc. Stuffed the chicken's cavity with the lemon and the thyme.

8. Massage and rub chicken skin with the soft butter all over.

9. Place chicken in a baking traying with the chicken stand and roast in oven for 45min.

10. Increase temperature to 150'C for another 45min.

11. After 1.5 hr of roasting, take out chicken and check if temperature of chicken breast reaches approx 60-70'C. If so, let it rest at room temperature for 30min. and in the meantime, adjust oven temperature to 250'C.

12. After resting, brush honey all over chicken skin and place chicken back to the hot oven and roast for the last 15min.

Carve the chicken and you'll notice how tender and juicy the chicken is! you dont really need any sauce or gravy to go with it. But in case you do want some, just deglaze the pan (already filled with melted butter and the chicken oil) with some white wine and you;ll have the chicken gravy!

Enjoy with your favourite glass of white wine!

Chicken a la King

Ingredients:
Chicken Thigh x 6 pc
Garlic x 3 pc - pressed
Onion x 1 - cut into quarters
Green Pepper x 1/4 - small squares
Red Pepper x 1/4 - small squares
Button Mushrooms - 8-10pc - quarters
Whipping Cream
Chicken Stock
Plain Flour
Rice

How to Make:
1. Cut chicken into small cubes and marinate like normal (i.e. light soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, cornflour) around 30min before cooking.

2. Heat a pan with olive oil, then pan fried the pressed garlic and onion till fragrant. Remove them to a dish.

3. Add chicken thighs to the same pan, dont stir too much. Once one side is browned and cooked, turn the chicken and after a while, stir fried them and add back the onion and garlic, then add 1-2 tablespoons of flour to the mixture (spoon by spoon until evenly mixed). Keep stir frying.

4. Add the green and red pepper and the mushrooms and mix them well with the chicken.

5. Add the chicken stock until the mixture is completely covered under the stock, then add the whipping cream until you think the "creaminess" of the sauce is to your liking.

6. Then adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding flour (spoons by spoons) and keep mixing and stir frying until well combined.

7. Check seasoning by adding salt and black pepper.

Best served with white rice! Enjoy and am sure your guests will have a feeling of "幸福"！

CNY Salad

* This is what i called the "lo hei" salad, sounds good for CNY indeed, especially when i use 8 ingredients, the number representing fortunes in chinese!
** easy to make, just need time and patience to prepare all 8 ingredients in advance.

Ingredients:

1. Canned abalone ( i used the 1 can 1 abalone type as the abalone is big enough to cut out longer slices. Boil the whole can in hot water for 4-6 hours)

2. chicken slices (steam chicken and shred into slices by hand after cool down)

3. Prawns (cook in hot water, then remove shells and heads and cut into half from back from prawn)

4. Eggs - mix eggs in bowl, then add to hot pan like omelette, when brown, turn over to other side and cook until brown, Take out and cool down, then cut into slices.

5. Bean curd stick - blanch in hot water for 5 min then cut into slices after cool down

6. Carrots - cut them into slices then blanch in hot water for 3-4 minutes.

7. Cucumber - cut them into slices.

8. Ham - cut them into slices.

How to Make:
1. after preparing the above ingredients and have them chill in fridge for a while, line up in a big dish as shown above.

2. When ready to serve and eat, spoon the salad dressing you like all over and then mix well with fork or chopsticks, For myself, i think japanese sesame salad tasting goes well!

This salad represents some good fortune and luck. It is completely without any salt! you can replace any ingredients with anything else you like eg. ham to lettuce slices!

Enjoy!

BBQ Pork

Ingredient:

Spanish pork (梅头）(* best to reserve this part in advance from butcher like City Super)
BBQ pork sauce
Rose Wine (玫瑰露酒）
Malted Candy (麦芽糖)

How to Make:

1. The night before dinner, wash and wipe dry the pork. Cut them into the right size, like stripes.

2. Mix a whole bottle of BBQ Pork sauce with 1-2tbsp rose wine. Place the cut pork in a tray and add the sauce mixture all over to marinate it. Best to wear a glove and then massage each pork with the sauce mixture to ensure each and every part of the pork are covered with the marinate sauce. Lay the pork flat in the tray and cover with cling film, then leave it in the fridge overnite,

3. 1 hr before roasting take out pork from fridge and leave it at room temperate.

4. Preheat oven to 230'C.

5. Rub marinate all over pork one more time, then place then flat on a baking tray lined with foil.

6. Roast one side at 230'C for 10 minutes, then turn over pork and roast at same temperature for 10 min.

7. Then turn over pork again for roast for 20 min - remember to brush all marinate left in pan and tray all over pork.

8. Then turn over pork again for roast for another 20 min

9. Lastly, mix the malted candy with some hot water to soften it, then brush it on top of pork and roast for 5-8min, Then turn over pork brush malted candy again and roast for another 5-8min. (* if you think it is not brown enough, you can turn up the temperature in the last 5 min)

10. Take out pork and cut into slices to your desired size and spoon juice on tray on top of the BBQ pork dish.

Enjoy with a bowl of rice! :)

Pear and Chocolate Cheescake

* recipe adopted from Gordon Ramsay's "Christmas with Gordon"

Ingredients:

Poached Pears
2 large pears
50g caster sugar
100ml water
1 vanilla pod

Base:
150g digestive biscuits
50g unslated butter
2 tbsp Nutella spread

Filling:
300g Philadelphia cheese
125g caster sugar
100ml whipping cream
3 tbsp amaretto liquer
100g amaretti biscuits - lightly crushed
To decorate:
120g good quality dark chocolate
icing sugar, to dust

How to Make:

1. Prepare the poach pear first as the poached pears need to be cooled down before further use. Peel, quarter and core the pears, then cut into 1cm dice.

2. Dissolve sugar in the water in a small saucepan over low heat.

3. Split the vanilla pod, scrape the seeds into a bowl for later use. Add the pod (with seeds already discarded) into the above saucepan and simmer with the syrup for a few minutes to infuse.

4. Add the diced pears and poach gently for about 3 minutes. Drain and leave the pears to cool. (once they are no longer hot, i suggest to further cool down in the fridge).

5. For the cheesecake base, crush all digestive biscuits in a zip lock bag using a roller pin lined with a cloth on top until they become fine crumbs. Melt the butter in a small pan and stir in the Nutella spread. Mix the biscuits crumbs with the butter nutella mixture and spread evenly over the base of a 23-24cm springform cake tin, press down lightly. Chill this cake base in tin for at least 20 minutes in frdige until set.

6. For the filling, mix the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla seeds together using an electric whisk until well blended. Add the whipping cream and the liquer and mix well. Fold in the crushed amaretti biscuits and the poached pears (which are cool already) and mix well.

7. Pour the cheese mixture onto the cake tin over the digestive biscuits base and level the surface. Chill for 30 min to 1 hr until set.

8. For the decoration, grate the bitter chocolate using a potato grater, then spread them on top of cake, then finish by dusting some icing sugar on top.

** this cheesecake recipe is unlike my traditional cheesecake recipe as the filling is quite soft and runny. But it does have a very nice taste and fragrance of pears and almonds!

** if you are using japanese pears, i suggest you to poach the pears without any sugar as they should be sweet enough themselves!

Enjoy!

Chocolate chips cookies

* Recipe adopted from Heston Blumenthal's "Heston Blumenthal At Home"

Ingredients: (Makes around 40pc of cookies with approx 1.5" to 2")

For the golden syrup chocolate chips
20g Golden Syrup
140g Whipping Cream
125 Dark chocokate, broken into small pieces (min 60% cocoa)
pinch of salt

For the cookie dough
440g Plain flour
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp instant coffee powder
230g cold unsalted butter, cubed
520g Caster Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Paste

How to Make: 


Choc chips:
1. Put the syrup and cream into a saucepan and place over medium heat, Bring to simmer.

2. In the meantime, melt chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

3. When the cream is simmering, remove pan from heat, stir in the salt and add to the melted chocolate a third at a time, making sure the cream is thoroughly incorporated after each addition. Allow to cool slightly.

4. Pour the chocolate mixture onto baking paper-lined baking tray and allow to stand in room temperature for 1 hr, then place in freezer for 2 hr or unti frozen.

5. Remove from freezer and allow to stand for 5 min at room temperature, the cut into small cubes with a sharp knife. Keep in freezer until ready to use.


Cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 190'C.

2. Sift the flour, bicarboate of soda, baking powder, salt and coffee powder into a bowl and set aside.

3. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed unto mixture becomes light and fluffy (approx 5 min).

4. Reduce speed to low and add eggs, one at a time, and continue to mix until well incorporated, then add vanilla paste, followed by flour mixture, a spoonful at a time,

5. Mix for another 3-5 min until the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated and a dough is formed. Then add the choc chips and mix for a further 30 seconds.

6. Using a teaspoon, spoon the dough in the baking tray lined with baking paper, making sure to leave some space between each spoons of dough. You will need to bake a few times as one tray not enough to spoon all dough!

7. Bake in oven for 8-10min or until golden brown. Remove cookies from tray and leave them at a cooking rack to cool down. Then keep them in airtight container.


** If you are lazy to do the golden syrup choc chips, you can replace them with the ready made baking choc chips, then it will somehow affect the overall texture of your cookies. The one made with the golden syrup choc chips have a texture of soft and chewy while the one with ready made choc chips crispy and crunchy.

Enjoy with a cup of your favourite tea! 

Sautern Fruits Jelly

* Receipe adopted from Michel Roux's The Collection

Ingredients: (makes 4 cups)

Jelly:
1 medium orange
1 pink grapefruit
2 sheets of gelatine
375ml Sauterns (with a sautern quality that you love to drink yourself!)

Candied Lemon Zest:
1 lemon
50g caster sugar

How to Make:

Jelly:

1. With a very sharp knofe, remove the peel and pith from the orange and grappefruit and gently release the segments. Cut each segments into 3-4 pc. Drain the juice and keep them refrigerated until use.

2. Soften the gelatine sheets in a tray with cold water for 5 min.

3. Warm 50ml Sautern in a small pan, then take off heat. Once the gelatine sheet is softened, squeeze out excess water and stir sheets into the warm Sautern to dissolve. Leave for around 5-10 min, then stir in the rest of the Sauterns.

4. Pour them into a bowl, placed a large bowl of iced water underneath to cool, giving a quick stir every 2-3 min.

5. As soon as the wine starts to thicken (at least 15min in HK winter times!), pour it into chilled glasses. Working quickley, push the organge and grapefruit into the semi-set wine, using the point of a knife to sink the pieces to different depths, so they appear to be floating.

6. Refrigerate for at least 2 hrs.

7. Before serving, decorate the top with the candied lemon zest.

Candied Lemon Zest:

1. Peel the zest from lemon and cut into long fine julienne.

2. Pour 50ml water and the sugar in a small pan, dissolve over medium heat and bring to boil. Lower the heat, add the lemon zest and simmer gently for 6-8min to candy.

3. Drain off the syrup and lay the candied lemon out on a baking paper, so they dont stick together.

Enjoy - for adults only!

Burgundy Beef

* receipe combining methods from Paul Bocuse and Joel Robuchon

Ingredients:

2.5 pounds (1kg) blade of beef (or rump steak) cut into 3 big chunks
125g panacetta cubes
4 carrots - cut into medium size cubes
1 onions - cut into medium size squares
garlic - a few pc mashed
1 bag of pearl onions
Bouquet Garni (thyme, bay leaf, parsley tied together or inserted in a spice bag)
2-3 tbsp Juniper Berries
Parsley - minced for garnish
button mushrooms x 2 packs - cut into small cubes
tomato paste 2-3 tbsp
flour 2-3 tbsp
butter 1-2 tbsp
1 bottle of Pinot Noir (with a quality that you like to drink it!)
Beef Stock

How to Make:

1. Heat up a pot and add olive oil and a spoonful of butter. Then fry the garlic and onion until fragrant. Take these out of the pot.

2. Using the same pot, add some olive oil, then add the beef and make sure all side of the beef are browned. Then remove beef from pot and strained the oil from the beef.

3. Using the same pot, add some olive oil and stir-fried the carrots and pearl onions until soft, then add back the garlic and onion and the beef, then add the flour spoon by spoon until all absorbed, then the tomato paste, mix them well, then add the wine, (little by little), then beef broth until all ingredients are covered under the wine and broth. Lastly, add the bouquet garni and the juniper berries.

4. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmering heat and simmer for 1.5 hrs. Check from time to time to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom.

5. After 1.5 hrs of simmering, remove beef from pot and cut them into cubes.

6. Stir fried the bacon with the mushrooms, then add them together with the cubed beef back to the pot and continue simmer for the last 30-60min.

7. Check taste and season as per your taste with salt and pepper and even a little bit of sugar.

8. Put the stew in a ceramic type of dish or bowl which is warm and sprinkle with the minced parsley and serve!

Best to serve on a tray with some tea light candle on the bottom to keep the stew warm enough, And of course with some pasta and a glass of pinot noir!

Enjoy!

Cream of Chestnut

2019 version - garnished with pan fried chopped chestnuts & decorated with gold pieces from Kanazawa :)

Ingredients:

Italian or Japanese Chestnut (the former being more fragrant while the latter being sweeter, my personal opinion)

Chicken and Ham Stock **

Cream Fraiche

** For Vegetarian version, replace chicken stock with vegetable stock or plain water


How to Make:

1. Make the soup base 1 day ahead by using fresh old chicken + chinese ham or ham hock, 1 carrot, 1 celery and 1 onion. Blanche chicken/ham hock first, for chinese ham, blanche with some puer tea leaves. Place the blanche chicken and ham with the veg to a clean pot, cover everything with sufficient water. After boiling, reduce to medium heat and cook for approx 3 hrs.

2. Remove ingredients and once soup is cool, store at fridge overnite. Next day, you can eeasily skim off fat on top.

3. Remove skins from chestnut (which takes a really long time...), blanche until soft. Chop them into smaller pieces.

4. Add chestnuts to the soup base, bring to boil, then puree in the blender in a few batches.

5. Sieve the puree into a clean pot. Adjust consistency by keep some clean soup base. In case, the puree is too thick, you can adjust by adding some soup base to the puree soup.

6. Adjust seasoning and bring to boil again. Serve with a small spoonful of cream friache on top.

Enjoy the chestnuts when they are in the best form - in Autumn/Winter of course!

Pan Fried Scallops with Winter Black Truffles

Ingredients:

Fresh Sea Scallops from market (better to reserve the XL size one from your regular fishmongers in advance)
mash potato
cauliflower
winter black truffle
black truffle paste
black truffle olive oil


How to Make:
1. Pre-slice the black truffle and keep it in the fridge (best in your risotto container)>

2. Cauliflower - only pick the florets, blanche for 3-4 min with some salt. (best not to make them over soft but retain some crunchiness). Then drain the water.

3. Prepare the mash potato: peel skins off potato, boil them in water until soft (usually takes around 20-30min, remove water, put potato back to pot again, and then to medium heat to remove the last bit of water still inside the potato. Then mash them with a masher, adding salt, butter and milk until soft and creamy. Add a dash of black truffle olive oil too.

4. Quickly stir fried the blanched cauliflower with black truffle olive oil and 1-2 tbsp of black truffle paste.

5. Wash and wipe dry the scallops. Season them with salt. Heat up a frying pan, once hot, add some olive oil and add the scallops - each side for around 2min (without turning or stirring). Once browned, turn out to the other side.

6. Line the plate with mash potato, then the caulifower on top, then the scallops. Lastly, sprinkle the black truffle slices around the plate and serve.

Enjoy!

Roast Leg of Lamb

* reeipe adopted from Jane Hornby's "What to Cook and How to Cook it"

Serves 6-8 persons

Ingredients:
1 leg of lamb (approx 2kg)
10 cloves of garlic
handful of rosemary sprigs
carrots/ celery/onion
potatoes

Gravy:
100ml good red wine
500ml lamb/beef stock
1 tbsp redcurrant or raspberry jam

How to Make:

1. Preheat oven to 220;C.

2. Clean and dry the lamb leg. Poke around 20 holes on top of the leg with a sharp knife of around 1.5cm wide and 1.5cm deep. Poke a piece of garlic or a rosemary sprig in each of such holes. Then season well with salt and pepper.

3. Chop the celery, carrot and onion in big chunks and line them at the bottom of the baking tray. Sit the lamb on top of these vegetables, drizzle olive oil over the lamb and the vegetables and roast in the middle of the oven for 20 min.

4. Turn down oven to 190'C, pour 100ml of water over the lamb and roast for another 1 hour.

5. While the lamb is cooking, prepare the potatoes by adding mixing them with rosemary, salt and pepper and olive oil. (i prefer to use the ratte potatos from Frane and hence no need to remove skins. If you are using bigger size potatos, consider removing skin and cut into big chunks).

6. After the lamb has cooked for 1 hr at 190'C, put the potatoes into a tray on a shelf above the lamb. Cook the potato and the lamb for another 30min,

7. Take out lamb, turn the oven to 220'C to crisp up the potatoes for 5-10min. Transfer lamb leg to to a craving board and let it rest uncovered.

Gravy:
8. Sppon the excess fat from the roasting tray, then put the tray on the stove at medium heat. Add wine wine and stock, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the tray. Simmer until reduced by half and until gravy looks syrupy, then stir in the jam to make a glossy sauce. Season to taste.

Serve the lamb with the gravy and the vegetables and potatoes!

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

* receipe adopted from Gordon Ramsay's "Christmas with Gordon"

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Pureep
pumpkin - around 1.5kg
1 head of garlic - cut horizontally
Rosemay sprigs
olive oil, to drizzle

Soup:
800ml chicken ham stock **
1 onion, peeled and minced
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
30g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
100ml double cream
15g butter

** For Vegetarian version, replace chicken stock with vegetable stock


How to Make:
1. Preheat oven to 170'C.

2. Cut pumpkin into half horizontally, then remove all seeds. Score the flesh, season wtih salt & pepper, then rub with the garlic halves.

3. Lay rosemary sprigs and the garlic half in each of the pumpkin half. Drizzle with olive oil and place on baking trays and roast in oven for 1 hr or until tender.

4. You can test if pumpkin flesh is soft enough with poking a fork into it. Once tender enough, remove from oven. Reserve the garlic and throw away the rosemary. Scoop out all the pumpkin flesh and puree in a food processor. (if the food processor does not move, add a bit of the chicken stock to soften it).

5. For the soup, heat some olive oil in a large pot, then add the minced onion and cook them until soft and translucent. Scoop the flesh from the garlic halves and add to the pot. Then add the grated nutmeg and saute for 1-2min.

6. Stir in the pumpkin puree and grated parmesan cheese, then pour in the stock. Bring to boil, then lower to heat and simmer for 10-12 min Stir in the cream and butter and heat for 1 min,

7. In batches, laddle the soup to the blender and blend until smooth. Pour the blended soup to a clean pot. Reheat and serve, perhaps with a dash of cream or some shavings of Parmesan cheese on top.

Enjoy~

Dover Sole Meuniere

Ingredients:
Fresh Dover Sole
lemon
parsley-minced
butter
flour
salt/olive oil

How to Make:
1. I buy the Dover Sole (from France) from Great supermarket (must pre-order!) and you can ask them to remove the skin/scales/gills, etc. When you are ready to cook, wash them and dry them with kitchen napkin.

2. Season the sole with fine sea salt and little black pepper.

3. Coat them evenly with flour on both sides.

4. Heat up a flat frying pan, when the pan is hot, add olive oil and butter, shake off excess flour from fish and place fish at the pan for 3 min, then turn the fish to the other side and continue to fry for 3 min. ** Be patient and dont turn the fish from time to time, otherwise it wont brown as nicely as you wish to.

5. After both sides are done, remove the fish to a warm plate. Then pour away all the oil on the pan to the sink and clean the pan with some kitchen napkin. As the pan is still hot, there's no need to turn on heat again. Just melt some butter on the hot pan, then add the minced parsley. Once all butter melted, spoon over the fish. Then finish with a squeeze of lemon juice on top of fish and serve immediately.


Enjoy~

Pesto Sauce

* receipe adapted from "Two Greedy Italians" by Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo. This pesto sauce is really good and you can use it for pasta, bread, soup, almost anything!

Ingredients
2tbsp pine kennels
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp salt
80g basil leaves (stalks removed)
200ml extra virgin olive oil
2tbsp freshly grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

How to Make:
just add all the above to a mortar and grind to a paste. If you have a blender, even easier, mix everything in the blender and blend until it becomes a smooth paste. Add more basil or oil as you think fit.

Store in fridge for about a week.

Home made pasta - Ravioli with fresh porcini mushroom fillings

Pasta - Ravioli
Ingredients:
200g Italian 00 Flour
200g Semolina Flour
4 eggs (preferrably italian eggs)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2tsp salt

How to Make:
1. Beat the eggs in a bowl, then add the olive oil and salt and mix well.

2. Mix the 2 types of flour and place on the working table with a well in the middle.

3. Pour the beaten eggs into the "well" little by little, and using 2 fingers, try to stir and mix the eggs with the flour. It does not matter if the eggs are spilled out, just incorporate the flour and mix them well together, using your fingers.

4. Add the beaten eggs once the eggs already incorporated with the flour.

5. when all eggs are incorporated with the flour, then knead the dough with your knuckles and palm of your hand, until you can arrive at a round shape dough and when touch on top, you feel it bounces back a little.

6. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store in fridge for at least 3-4 hrs. Best overnite.

7. Take out the dough from the fridge and cut out a little bit, knead lightly with some 00 Flour, then gently make it a flatter shape and dust with flour - roll it out with the pasta rolling machine - this is for the purpose for cleaning the pasta machine. Throw away.

8. Cut out 1/4 from the dough, the rest put back at fridge until ready for the next roll.

9. Knead gently with some 00 Flour, then dust the surface with flour gently and roll in the pasta machine. after rolling it out at the largest dial for 3 times, fold it in the opposite direction and roll it again. 2-3 times from the largest dial to say the middle dial.

10. Dust the working surface with some 00 Flour and place the roll out pasta sheet on top, place the fillings you like on the sheet, dip your finger into a bowl of water and move your wet finger along the edge of the sheet, then stick 2 edges together and make your ravioli...
(sounds complicated, sorry)

11. Place each ravioli you made in a tray dusted with flour, then wrap with plastic wrap and store in fridge until ready to cook.

12. Boil a pot of water and add a little bit of sea salt, add the ravioli and cook for 5-6 mins. Drain and drizzle with some olive oil or your favourite sauce on top. or even White Truffles!

Porcini mushrooms fillings:
Ingredients:
Fresh Porcini Mushrooms (or any mushrooms you like)
onion - minced
italian parsley - minced
butter

How to Make:
1. wipe the fresh porcini mushrooms with a damp cloth, then with a kitchen napkin. Finely chopped the mushrooms.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan, then add the minced onion and stir fry until softened.
3. Add the mushrooms to the pan and continue to stir fry until fragrant and mushrooms softened.
4, Season with some salt and sugar, then add the minced parsley.
5. Remove them to a bowl and cool down before you can use them as fillings of the raviloi.
Enjoy~

Lobster Bisque

* receipe addapted from Michel Roux JR's "Le Gavroche Cookbook".

Ingredients:
Serves 10-12 persons

2 big lobster heads (the shells do not really add to the flavour. Most important will be the heads)
lobster meat from 1 lobster (you can keep the meat from the 2nd lobster in the freezer for next time use)
1 onion - minced
1 carrot - minced
2 stalks of celery - minced
2 tbsp olive oil
4 sprigs of italian parsley
1 sprig of thyme
2 large tomatoes - chopped into cubes
2 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp brandy
300ml dry white wine
2 lites fish stock (see below)
1 litres veal or chicken stock (see below)
butter
500ml double cream


Fish Stock
Ingredients:
1kg bones and heads from white fish (eg. sole, turbot, etc)
1 onion - roughly chopped
1 stick of celery - roughly chopped
60g butter
100ml dry white wine
2 litres water
6 parsley stalks
1 bay leaf

How to Make:
1. Remove any gills from the fish heads and thoroughly clean the fish heads and bones and drain.
2. Sweat the onion and celery with the butter in a deep saucepan in medium fire and when softened, add the fish heads and bones and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Pour in the wine, turn up heat and let the wine evaporate and reduce by half.
3. Add the water and herbs and bring to boil, skimming frequently. Lower the the heat to medium (but you still see bubbles in the middle) and cook uncovered for 1 hr.
4. Strain through a muslin-lined sieve and leave to cool.

Chicken Stock
You can use the ready made one but i prefer to make my own stock if this is a soup dish.
Ingredients:
1 old chicken with skin removed
1 carrot
1 onion
1/2 stick of celery

How to Make:
1. Blanch the chicken. Drain.
2. Put chicken, onion, carrot and celery in a deepsauce pan, add water, bring to boil, reduce to medium to medium-low heat and cook for 2 hrs.
3. Drain the ingredients and once the soup is cool down, you can skim the fat on top of this stock.

Lobster Bisque
How to Make:
1. Keep the meat from one lobster in the fridge for later use.

2. Clean the lobster heads and crush them with a rolling pin until they are well broken up.

3. Bring the fish stock and chicken stock to boil and keep them aside.

4. Sweat the onion, carrot, celery with olive oil in a large and deep saucepab. When the vegetables are lightly browned and softened, add the parsley and thyme, then the lobster heads, stirroing frequently so nothing sticks or burns for around 5 min.

5. When the bones are hot, add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and the cayenne pepper.

6. Pour in the brandy and stir well for 1-2min, then add the white wine and boil for at least 3 min.

7. Add the stocks (proportion of fish stock and chicken stock - 2:1), bring to boil and season lightly with sea salt. Simmer for 1 hr, stirring occassioally and skimming off scum that appears on surface.

8. Drain through a colander set over a large pot, pressing the bones well to extract all juices and flavour.

9. Then pass the soup one more time to another pot via a fine sieve. Bring to boil and reduce the soup by 1/3. Skim if necessary.

10. In the meantime, heat some butter in a frying pan, then add the lobser meats and stir fry until 80% done. Distribute the lobster meats to the soup bowls.

11. Just before you are ready to serve the soup, add the double cream, according to taste and boil for not more than 5 mins. Spoon to each bowl with the lobster meats and serve immediately. You can garnish by adding some minced parsley and cayenne pepper. You can also add a little cognac or Armagnac if your guests like this. Or perhaps froth with a hand blender for a cappuccino effect.

enjoy~~

Almond Cherry Muffins

* recipe adapted from "Tea with Bea"

Ingredients:
240g caster sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
150g all purpose flour + 1 tbsp for coating cherries
70g ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
3 eggs
130g greek yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp almond essence
80ml canola or sunflower oil
50g melted butter
cherries
flaked almonds

How to Make:
1. Preheat overn to 170'C.

2. Whiz sugar and lemon zest in electric mixer until sugar smells super lemony.

3. Add sifted flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt and mix well.

3. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, yogurt, vanilla and almond essence, then pour into the flour mixture and stir untik just combined and no traces of flour remain.

4. Fold in the oil and melted butter to the above mixture.

5. In another bowl, toss the cherries with flour, then fold into the muffin batter.

6. Spoon mixture into muffin cases and scatter almond flakes over the tops.

7. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30min until brown on top and a skewer inserted in the middle come out dry.

Served immediately and ENJOY with a cup of tea~

Almond Dessert Soup

* this recipe is from the aunt of my friend Helen. A wonderful receipe indeed.

Ingredients:
4 tael south almonds
1/2 tael north almonds
2 tbsp rice
4oz sugar (or rock sugar)
6 cups water
1 cup milk
3 egg white (optional)
** must have is a cloth bag (best to have this bag made with "dick kok leung" fabric)

How to Make:

1. Rinse almonds and soak them with 2 cups of hot water until soft.

2. Rinse rice and soak them with 1 cup of hot water until soft.

3. Pour almonds and the soaking water to blender and blend until all smooth - in a few batches.

4. Pour the almond mixture from blender through the cloth bag and squeeze out all almond juice to a pot - do it in a few batches.

5. Pour rice mixture to the blender and blend until all smooth. Add this rice mixture from blender to the same pot with the almond mixture through a few sieve.
6. Add 3 cups of water to the same pot and bring to boil.

7. Add milk and sugar to the pot and when bubbles form around the edges, turn to low heat and adjust tastings.

8. Add the egg whites to the pot, leave them inside the dessert soup for a short while, then use a whisk to break up the cooked egg whites. (if you whisk all egg whites first before you pour into the dessert soup, very likely you are not able to see and eat the egg whites as they should have mostly dissovled!)

enjoy~

Tiramisu

* receipe adopted from Antonio Carluccio's "Simple Cooking".
* a must try receipe which is easy and mouth-watering!


Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
vanilla esence
400g mascarphone cheese
80ml cream
milk
300ml expresso coffee
3-4tbsp Kahlua or Tia Maria
18 ladyfinger biscuits
cocoa powder

How to Make:
1. make the expresso coffee and let it cool down.

2. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks and 80g caster sguar and a few drops of vanilla essence together until smooth.

3. In a second larger bowl, mix the mascarpone cheese with the cream to make it thinner and smooth.

4. Pour the egg mixture to the cheese mixture and beat until all combined and mix well. Should the mixture be too dense and thick, then add a little bit of milk. If the mixture is too light, then add some more mascarphone cheese. Taste it and see if the mixture is tasty enough!

5. Mix coffee with your liquer and the remaining 20g caster sugar in a third bowl.

6. Lightly dip the ladyfinger biscuits with the coffee and line these bicuits on the bottom of the dessert container (a glass rectangular container or individual dessert bowls). Then add a layer of the cheese mixture, then sprinkle some cocoa powder on top. Then another layer of the biscuits dipped with coffee, then another layer of the mascarphone cheese, then cocoa powder, until all materials used up.

7. Cover and chill in fridge until ready to serve.

Best with a glass at Amaretto!

Enjoy!

Italian Meatballs with pasta

I watched a TV program at TLC with an Italian chef making these meatballs sauce, saying that this is the dish for almost all Italian families on Sunday lunch. Looks easy at TV and therefore tried to make one for Chung's family Sunday lunch too. At the end, it's all ok, just a bit of work to do! But worth trying.

Ingredients:

Braising Sauce:
Spare ribs
Beef ribs
Onion x 1 - minced
Garlic x 3 cloves - pressed
Fresh Tomatoes x 3 - de-skin and de-seed, then minced
Italian Tin Peeled Tomatoes x 2 to 3 cans
herbs you like - thymes or rosemary or both
Chicken Broth
salt and pepper and sugar

Meatballs:
Minced Beef x approx 200g
Minced Pork x approx 200g
Minced Chicken or Veal x approx 200g
fresh white bread x 1 pc soaked with water
breadcrumbs x 1 to 2 cups
1 to 2 eggs
garlic x 3-4 cloves - minced
italian parsley - minced
grated parmesan cheese

How to Make:

Braising Sauce
1. Wash and dry your pork ribs and beef ribs.

2. Then heat up a frying pan and pan fried the  ribs until evenly browned. Take out and drain the extra oil on kitchen towel.

3. Heat up another braising pot which can hold all your ribs. Pan fried the minced onion onion and garlic until fragrant, then add the tomatoes and the tin tomatoes and the ribs. Then add some water or chicken stock until all ribs are under the liquid. Add the herbs you like (thymes, rosemary, salt and pepper) in a herb bag and bring to boil. Then turn to medium to medium low heat. The pork ribs should be soft enough in 1.5 hr while the beef ribs in about 2 hrs. Check from time to time so that the meat still slings on to the bones but tender enough. Once the pork ribs are tender enough, remove them from the braising pot first to avoid over cooking.

4. If the ribs are fatty, there are bound to be oil. Best to remove it by skimming it after it cools down and you remove the meat but just the sauce remaining.

5. Season the braising sauce with salt, black pepper and sugar and adjust accordingly as per your taste.

Meatballs
1. Mix the 3 types of minced meat together and marinate with salt, pepper, sugar and corn flour.

2. Slightly soak 1 pc of white bread in water and use your hand to tear it into smaller pieces and add to the minced meat.

3. Add the minced garlic, 1 egg, minced parlsey and the breadcrumbs and use your hand to mix it all up, then lastly add the grated parmesan cheese.

4. If you feel the mixture is too dry, then add another egg. If you feel the mixture is too wet, add another spoonful of breadcrumbs until you feel the consistency of the mixture is balanced.

5. Then use a tablespoon to scoop out mixture and roll it between the palms of your hands until it becomes like a golf ball. Line them up in a plate and sprinkle with some cornflour on top.

6. Re-heat the braising sauce and keep it at low fire.

7. Heat up a frying pan, add olive oil enough to pan fried the meatballs. Pan-fried them in batches until golden in the outer surface, drain the oil in kitchen towel, then add these meatballs to the braising sauce for 30 -45min.

8. Best to prepare your favourite pasta separately. Sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on top.

Ready to serve, with a glass of Moscato perhaps!

Enjoy!

Chinese 1-2-3-4-5 Spareribs

This is a dish every chinese should know how to make and it's super easy to make too. Best to go with rice!

Ingredients:
Spareribs cut into 1.5" each
1tbsp - wine
2tbsp light soy sauce
2tbsp dark soy sauce
3tbsp brown vinegar
4tbsp sugar
5tbsp water

* depending on how many spareribs you have, if after placing all the above ingredients into a pot, it is not sufficient to cover all your spareribs, either add water to make sure all spareribs are just covered or double the above ingredients.

How to Make:

1. Wash the spareribs, drain and then blanch in hot water for 10 min. Remove from pot.

2. Add the spareribs to a new pot, then add the above ingredients and bring to a boil. Then turn to medium heat and braised for approx 30-45min. checking it from time to time to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom.

3. after approx 30-45min, check is spareribs are soft enough by poking a chopstick inside the meat. If sounds tender to you, then check taste of sauce and adjust to your likings (eg. if not sweet enough, then add a bit more sugarm if not sour enough, then add some vinegar, etc). 

3. When the meat and taste of sauce all ok, then check if sauce is thick enough to your likings. If not, then turn on the fire a bit more until sauce thickens.

Serve with hot rice and enjoy!

Pavlova with summer berries

* this receipe is adopted from Michel Roux "Eggs"

Ingredients:
4 eggs whites
125g caster sugar
125g icing sugar (sifted)
Whipping Cream (with 1 tbsp spoon of icing sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla essence)
Summer Berries or fruits of your choice (with some icing sugar to decorate)

How to make:
1. Preheat oven to 150'C.

2. Line a baking tray with a baking sheet and set aside.

3. Beat egg whites in a bowl until they form soft peaks.

4. Still whisking continuously, shower in the caster sugar, a little at a time, and continue to whisk until mixture is smooth and shiny and holds firm points on the whisk when you lift out of the mixture.

5. Shower in the sifted icing sugar and mix well with your electric mixer.

6. If you prefer 1 round shape as shown in photo, just gently pour the mixture to the baking tray with the help of a spatula, somehow it will be circular in shape. If you prefer to serve in single portions, then use a big spoon and spoon 4 - 6 round discs on the baking tray.

7. Cook in oven at 150'C for 30 min, then lower temperature to 120'C and cook for another 45 min. You can turn the tray (eg. the outer side turns towards the oven) when you lower the temperature so the whole meringue will be cooked more evenly.

8. Switch off oven and leave the pavlova inside the oven to cool down (around 6--8 hrs) or overnight. It should be soft in the centre and crispy on the outside, with the edges slightly cracked.

9. Clean and dry your fruits. Whish the cream with icing sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl until you see ribbons trails. Gently spoon the cream on top of the pavlova, then place the fruits on top, then sprinkle with icing sugar (via a sieve) to decorate.

Ready to serve!! perhaps with a moscato!

Enjoy~~