Crepe Batter with Beer and Orange Juice

The other day, I made another batch of beef stew, this time using a cheaper cut of lamb meet. And the fact that I cooked it over low fire for at least 2 hours, the lamb meat was as tender as a tenderloin.

Anyhoo, I'm left with half bottle of beer, which I decided to turn it into crepe, instead of throwing it out like the first time. This is not recipe from my mom in law, since she uses beer and orange juice, I tried to emulate her. I promise I'll squeeze out the recipe from her next time I see her.

Crepe Batter with Beer and Orange Juice (makes about 17 crepes)

[ voila, thin crepe from scratch]

Ingredients:
* 3 eggs, whisked
* 1 cup beer
* 1 cup milk - 2 tbsp
* 2 tsbp orange juice
* 1 3/4 cup all purp. flour
* a pinch of salt
* 2 tbsp vegetable oil

How to:
* Mix the eggs, beer, milk and orange juice and slowly whisk in the flour till well incorporated. Add in the salt and oil, whisk some more.

* Let it sit on room temperature (covered with cling wrap to keep it hygienic) at least for 1 hour.

* Over medium fire, using non stick pan, pour enough batter to cover the entire pan. I used a soup spoon to manage the quantity. Try the first one, if it's too thick, add in more milk to thin it out.

One thing about making crepe is that the first few crepes will not have the right texture. Until the pan has the right temperature, even heat all over or until you have mastered the right batter quantity (not too thick, not too thin), your first few crepes will look awful. Keep going. In the meanwhile, spread some jam or nutella or simple some sugar on the first few ones and nibble away.

Oh btw, I don't know why but this batter doesn't yield a weak crepe that tears whenever you try to flip it. I like!

[ please ignore the dirty pot behind ]

Cassoulet, Canard et Carcassonne

Carcassonne is a beautiful medieval small town 30 mins driving off Toulouse. It's a nice idyllic place with a small castle and towers surrounding the town. H took me to this place two Christmases ago to taste cassoulet at its birth place (??). Looking back, I don't remember anything particularly special about the cassoulet there. But I do remember farting all the way to meet my in-laws to be. Not exactly the best first impression. Blame it on the nerves, blame it on the beans, but it's all H's fault, really. 

Anyway, today I decided to grease my way up to H's heart (so he'll loosen the wallet a little bit) with cassoulet and confit du canard. You can eat cassoulet on its own, you can eat confit du canard on its own, but the french knows the best way to eat them is to have both on the same plate. The way it's done by ma belle mere, the way it's done in Bourdain's Les Halles, the way it's done in Carcassonne. 

recipe coming up.. ! 

Mignon le porc a l'ail

I swear I spent a good few days to search for a recipe that won't alter the good pork shoulder I have. I do not want to waste this prime cut I have and mask the flavor with sauces. So I turn to Les Halles' classic, Mignon le pork a l'ail, which is basically roast pork with garlic. I served it over sauteed & roasted vegetables.

Original recipe is courtesy of Anthony Bourdain. It looks complicated, but trust me, it's easy and it'll be worth it!! Here's how I did mine over the weekend.

(note: the original cut of meat is tenderloins, but use what you have).

Mignon le porc a l'ail (serves 2)

Ingredients:
* 1 head garlic confit
* 300 gr pork shoulder
* 2 slices of bacon
* 1 tbsp OO
* 2 tbsp butter
* 2 shallots, thinly sliced
* 1/4 C white wine
* 1/2 C chicken stock
* 1 sprig parsley

How to:


* [Preparing the pork, a day before] Cut the pork the long way (horizontally) into half. Spread the mashed garlic confit on the lower half, top with bacon, another spread of garlic confit and place the other half-pork on top. Tie with kitchen string, equally throughout the tube. Refrigerate over night.

me and my "thin" bacon. You can do better.

* [Cooking the pork] Preheat oven to 180C. Remove the pork from fridge. In the saute pan, heat OO over high heat, add 1 tbsp of butter. Once the butter stops foaming, season the pork with S+P and add into the pan. Brown all sides. Place the meat onto roasting pan and finish cooking in oven for about 15 mins. Once done, set aside and keep the drippings.

* [Making the sauce] On a pan, add 1 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add shallots and cook till soft. Turn to high heat and add the wine, until it turns thick to a glaze consistency. Your home will smell heavenly by this time. Then stir in the chicken stock & any drippings from your roasted pork. Cook till it's reduced till half. Add the remaining butter, any left over garlic confit & parsley and whisk.

* [Plating] After you cut the kitchen thread, pour over the sauce on the pork before serving. It will keep the meat moist & flavourful. If you're serving it over a bed of roasted vegetables like I did, pour spoonfuls of sauce onto the pork, avoiding drenching the vegetables too much.

Note: you will have some left over sauces. Keep it for next time you roast your beef, pork, chicken.


Bon appetit, cherie. 

Veal Ragu with Polenta

Have I told you that Sunday is my most productive day? Yes? Well, I'm saying it again. I'm most hyper during the weekend. Particularly Sunday.

So when I saw a good beef and polenta, I know I gotta do this. Only to realize that my bife lombo is not beef, since it has a prefix of novilho. It's veal. That's my portuguese, I tell ya. Not surprising that the meat costs $12 usd for 300 gr!!

Recipe is taken from The Parsley Thief but halfway through, I realize I need to put the pan inside oven for 3 hours. Wot?!? (I hardly read recipes properly you see and this is my downfall). So here's my "version" instead, using the gems I found at Pretoria's supermarket (I LOVE PRETORIA!!)

My mise-en-place (for 2 pax)
* 300 gr Veal loin (or whatever meat/cut you fancy)
* 1 small onion, 3 small carrots diced, set aside
* 3 medium cloves of garlic, minced, set aside
* 2 anchovies, 1 tsp paprika paste, 1/2 tomatoes, mix and pound with your pestle & mortar
* 2 sun dried tomatoes, chopped finely. Add into the anchovies mixture
* 10 button mushroom, sliced and set aside
* 1 cup red wine, 1/2 tbsp dijon moutard, 1 bay leaf, 1 tbsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1 medium tomato diced, all mix in a medium bowl
* 1 cup chicken stock
* 2 tbsp olive oil

How to:
* Using your pressure cooker pot (uncovered), heat the oil and brown the veal on all sides (2 mins each sides, or more). Once it's brown, remove and add the carrot & onion mixture. Halfway through, add the minced garlic.
* After 2 mins, add the anchovies mixture. Mix well.
* Add back the veal, and add the red wine mixture & the chicken stock. Depending on your pot surface, you may need to add more. Add water if you're worried about the sodium.
* Cover the pot and cook for about 45 mins to 1 hr till the water almost dried up (left about 1 cup of coffee). Check every 15-20 mins, stir and taste. It took me 45 mins.
* Once the water has almost dried up, turn off the stove. Remove the meat & set aside.
* Using your food processor, remove the bay leaf and mashed the remaining pot contents to your desired smoothness. I prefer not too smooth.
* Once the meat is cool to handle, tear using your hand. But while waiting, prepare your polenta as per instruction.

And you're ready for a great lunch! :)

Garnish (or eat) with cilantro. I mean, loads of cilantro. I like :)

n.b. I bet it'd taste better with celery, but I didn't find it in supermarket.

The Quiche Post (Part II): The Filling

etes-vous pret? Allez-y! Mettez la musique.

Cream mixture: 
- 2 eggs & 1 egg yolk
- 200 ml cream 
Note: if you're stingy like me or simply worry about cholesterol, I use 2 eggs + 1 egg white (the one whose yolk is used for the dough). But be warned it wouldn't turn as yellow.


How to:
* Preheat oven to 200 degree and remove Pâte brisée from fridge. Wait for 5-10 minutes until dough becomes more malleable (else, you'll have to use brute force). 
* Lay the ball over your pyrex, using your palm, fingers and what have you to flatten them. Make sure it's equally thin everywhere. Use fork and poke through all surfaces, as to release air when it's baked in the oven. 
* Bake inside oven for a good 20 mins, or until semi-brown. Use your nose. When you smell butter, stand by and frequently check. Do not bake till done.


* While waiting, start preparing the filling. For this one, I use half a leek, red bell pepper, chicken leftover and cheddar. In the past, I have used bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, onion, corn, goat cheese, soft cheese, pecorino.. whatever I take on fancy & available inside my fridge. I stopped short of adding jicama (labusium). I almost did not. 
* After laying all your filling, mix the cream mixture in a bowl, then pour over. Sprinkle with salt & pepper, don't be shy. 
* Put back into oven, third rack, and bake for 30-40 mins. Again, use your nose. When you start smelling cheese, stand by. I tend to bake longer to create that golden cheese burnt. 


Et voila! Bon appetit, cherie. 

this is what happens when you skimp on the yolk, the cream is still white.

Don't forget to squeeze out a massage promise before serving this. I'm going to ask for salary increment. 

The Quiche Post (Part I) : Pâte brisée

One day not so long ago, when H & I were still getting to know each other, many of our activities together were spent in the kitchen. On saturday mornings, I would be working my ass off in gym while H sipped his cuppa coffee at Coffee Beans or Starbucks, waiting for me. We would then do groceries and rent movies before walking back to his fancy smanchy place to cook our lunch. It was H who taught me how to mince my onions, how to hold my knife when peeling carrot, how to make a decent vinaigrette, how to make simple 3-course meal.

Oh I've cooked before, but my first fancy meal cooking together with him was ricotta-stuffed roast tomatoes. I didn't mince the garlic fine enough that you can taste it when biting through the ricotta. I singled out the garlic and did not eat it, but finished it, H did. I knew it then and there, this boy is a keeper. We weren't holding hands yet even then.

So when I finally took over our kitchen, one of the first recipe he passed down to me was quiche. Tarte poireaux to be exact, Leek Quiche. He googled it from internet and showed me exactly how to do it. And today, I'm going to release it back into the big blue sea, the world wide web.

Don't be scared, making quiche is easy. There's plenty of room to cover your own mistakes and I love making quiche on the days I'm cleaning my own fridge. I dump things on it the way Papa Ron makes his meat lovers.

Pâte brisée, the dough
- 250 gr farine T55 (250 gr all purp. flour)
- 125 gr de beurre (125 gr butter) 
- 1 jaune d'oeuf (1 egg yolk)
- 6 cl d'eau froid (60 ml cold water)
- 1 grosse pincée de sel (1 big pinch of salt)

How to:
After you mix everything by your good hand, shape into a ball, put it back into the bowl you use, cover the bowl with cling wrap and put it into fridge for at least 30 mins. Voila! Step 1 is finished.

A personal note:
The well-known secret to a good pâte brisée is butter. You make sure the ratio of flour : butter is 2 : 1. For every 200 gr of flour, please dump 100 gr of butter. I try every so often to be stingy (I don't want H to have heart attack). But trust me, everybody can tell when you're stingy.

To this day, my mom is still shocked (perhaps with a tinge of sadness?) by my familiarity with the kitchen. Because unlike other little girls, I didn't learn cooking from my mother.

I learn it from my future husband.