Cocktail: Robin's Creamy Blue Coffee Lagoon

Hi guys.. Are you a fan of cocktail? i have my own recipe for a creamy and coffee cocktail.. i have tried it before, really nice coffee and chocolaty taste with blue colour on the bottom.. What a nice cocktail.. :D

Ingredients:
- 40 mls of cream
- 10 mls of white creme de cacao
- 10 mls of kahlua
- 10 mls of blue curacao

Equipment:
- ice blocks
- cocktail shaker
- alcohol measurement
- cocktail strainer

Glassware: champagne saucer or Manhattan glass

Method:
- Put all the ingredients into the cocktail shaker glass except the blue curacao (always put the cheaper ingredients first)
- shake it, put into the glass
-the last trick is, measure the blue curacao and pour just into the middle of the glass. Hold for a while and the blue colour will go down into the bottom part of the glass..

ENJOY GUYS! ;)

Spanish Paella

Have you heard about paella (spanish people call it paeja)? if you don't know about paella, it is a spanish type of risotto with seafood inside. It is really nice with fresh ingredients and right method of cooking. so.. enjoy the recipe of paella..

Ingredients • 3 skinless/boneless chicken thighs, halfed • 3/4 lb chorizo, sliced on the diagonal • 1/2 lb shrimp (16-20 ct), peeled/deveined • 1/2 lb clams, live, scrubbed clean • 1/2 lb mussels, live, scrubbed clean • 2 1/2 cup short-grain rice • 7-oz jar queen Spanish olives, stuffed • 1 TBSP large capers, drained • 8-oz bottle of clam juice • 1/2 tsp saffron • 1 TBSP vegetable oil • 3 1/2 cup boiling water, ready to use Sofrito (reserve 1 1/2 cups) • 2 tsp achiote paste • 1/2 yellow onion • 2 TBSP double concentrate tomato paste • 1 roma tomato • 1 cup fresh cilantro, rough chopped • 1 cup fresh culantro, rough chopped • 1 large tomatillo, or 3 small • 1/2 small green bell pepper • 1/2 small red bell pepper • 6 cloves garlic • 1 jalapeno • 2 tsp salt • 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper Brine (optional) • 6 cups cold water • 1/3 cup salt Serve With • fresh chopped cilantro • lemon wedge for each person

Directions

1. This step optional: In a large non-reactive container with lid, like a glass jar, mix salt into cold water and dissolve completely to make brine. Submerge chicken into brine. Cover with lid. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Combine all sofrito ingredients in a food processor to make a thick cooking base.
3. Boil water. Keep covered and ready to use.
4. In a paella pan (or another over-safe, flat-bottom pan with lid), brown chorizo over medium high heat. You won't need oil. The chorizo will render its own fat. After browning, remove chorizo into separate bowl and set aside.
5. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry. Brown chicken in same pan. (You may need a little vegetable oil depending on how much fat was rendered from the chorizo.) Remove and set aside.
6. Preheat oven to 375° F.
7. Keeping pan juices, add rice. Turn heat up to high. Stir constantly to get rice evenly coated (3-5 minutes). This act roasts the rice to give it more flavor. Add 1 1/2 cups of the sofrito, olives, capers, and saffron. Stir well. Add boiling water and clam juice. Stir to combine. Cover on low heat. Bring to simmer. Uncover.
8. Add chicken and chorizo back into pan, nestling the pieces into the rice. Cover. Using pot holders, transfer covered paella pan into pre-heated oven. Bake on lower middle oven rack for 20 minutes.
9. Then, bring pan out onto stovetop under low heat and nestle clams and mussels into rice. Cover and bring to simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover and add shrimp on top. Cover. (The clams and mussels take longer to cook. If you add shrimp at the same time, the shrimp will be overcooked.) Cook just until shrimp is evenly pink, opaque, and curled and clams and mussels have opened, releasing their juices. (This is where a clear glass lid is helpful so you can see through to check on the shellfish without having to uncover the lid, thereby releasing all the steam.)
10. Serve immediately with fresh chopped cilantro and a wedge of lemon for each person to dress their own plate. Goes great with calamari, sofrito potatoes, and sangria. Enjoy!

source: http://howtomakepaella.com/

Basic Sauce: Home Made Hollandaise Sauce

Nice, creamy sauce.. Perfect for your breakfast with sunny side up eggs, bacon, toasted bread and some sauteed mushroom.. :D yum!!! Ok, now, this sauce is based on egg to thickened the sauce. That's why you have to be careful, don't Fck'd Up your sauce into a scramble egg :p

all right guys, this is the ingredients:

7oz salted butter

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon fine grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

If you have unsalted butter, you can add a ¼ teaspoon salt to the sauce.You should not need to add any salt if the butter is salted but check the seasoning at the end anyway

Technique for hollandaise

First, we need to melt the butter. This needs to be done five minutes or so ahead of time so that the milk solids can sink to the bottom. This is important for when we whisk in the butter as it allows us to control the consistency of the sauce.

Place a large pot filled to a third with water on to boil. Choose a stainless steel mixing bowl that sits on top of the pot but does not touch the water and place the egg yolks, lemon juice, zest and vinegar into the mixing bowl.

Turn the heat down to just under a simmer, this is the ideal heat and won't cook the yolks too fast. Sit the bowl over the water and gently whisk the yolk mixture in the bowl over the water and they will slowly start to heat and increase in volume.

Don't forget the purpose of the whisking is not to aerate the mixture so much as to avoid the yolks catching and also ensuring even thickening. You will notice the yolk mixture becomes a little thicker on the bottom and around the edges. Keep a towel around the outside of the bowl so that you can remove it from the heat if it starts to form lumps from heating to fast.

Keep the yolk mixture moving constantly by whisking continuously. You will notice the bubbles that form will get smaller and smaller and soon become the larger part of the yolk mix as the runny yolk cooks. The only thing that is important to remember at this stage is that if it starts to catch, lift the bowl above the pot to slow down the heating. In around five to ten minutes, the yolk mixture should be holding it's shape like a soft whipped cream and the texture should be as smooth. This means the yolks are cooked but not to the point of being scrambled and you have made yourself what is called in French cooking a "sabayon".

Sabayon can also be made with yolks and sugar. This is the base for many well-known recipes like parfait and semi fredo (parfait with a fair amount of alcohol like tequila added and served semi frozen). Often this technique is also used as a base for decadent cake baking.

Next comes the whisking in of the butter, make sure the butter is boiling hot. Place the sabayon bowl onto a damp cloth so it won't spin while you whisk. While whisking fast slowly pour on the butter keeping a steady stream of butter but keep the stream as thin as possible.

Don't add more butter than you can whisk in, if the sabayon is overloaded it will split the mixture (be patient especially if you are a beginner). At first, the whisking is quite easy but as the butter is slowly incorporated, it becomes a little tougher. Add the butter slower at this stage to compensate.

As you near the milk solids, be at your most diligent not to add too much as the hollandaise is more likely to split at this stage, then slowly pour in the milk solids while still whisking, this will loosen the hollandaise and set the consistency. Usually adding all the milk solids is the correct amount of moisture that the hollandaise needs, but it can be too much so add slowly in case you don't want the hollandaise to be that thin.

Alternatively, if you have added all the milk solids and it is still thicker than you would like, add a little boiling water to compensate. Variation can occur due to the size of the eggs. Check the seasoning, transfer to a small stainless steel bowl and cover with cling film. Keep in a warm place until serving time. You can make the hollandaise up to two hours safely before you need it.

If the butter has been added too fast and has split slightly, you can use a blender to blitz the emulsion and save it. Please remember to keep the sauce warm, if it cools too much the butter will start to set and you guessed it "split", the most dreaded of all kitchen terms to a chef.

Different Flavours for Hollandaise

Lime hollandaise

Exchange the lemon zest and juice for lime zest and juice in the basic recipe. Like lemon hollandaise, serve with any kind of seafood or fresh water fish and crustacean.

Basil Hollandaise

Add chopped basil to the finished hollandaise, perfect in spring with new season asparagus and a great sauce for vegetables.

Béarnaise sauce

Exchange the lemon juice for strong tarragon vinegar and omit the lemon zest. Add chopped fresh tarragon, chervil and parsley at the end season well with freshly milled black pepper. If you don't have all those herbs, just use one preferably tarragon. The best red meat sauce ever!

source: http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/hollandaise_sauce.htm

Recipe: New York Cheese Cake

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 15 graham crackers, crushed
• 30 g butter, melted
• 896 g cream cheese
• 300 g white sugar
• 180 ml milk
• 4 eggs
• 230 g sour cream
• 15 ml vanilla extract
• 30 g all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until serving.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chantals-New-York-Cheesecake/Detail.aspx

Recipes: Basic Scones

Ingredients

• plain flour, for dusting
• 3 cups self-raising flour
• 80g butter, cubed
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups milk
• jam and whipped cream, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly dust a flat baking tray with plain flour. Sift self-raising flour into a large bowl.
2. Using your fingertips, rub butter into flour until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Make a well in the centre. Add 1 cup of milk. Mix with a flat-bladed knife until mixture forms a soft dough, adding more milk if required. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until smooth (don't knead dough too much or scones will be tough).
4. Pat dough into a 2cm-thick round. Using a 5cm (diameter) round cutter, cut out 12 rounds. Press dough together and cut out remaining 4 rounds. Place scones onto prepared baking tray, 1cm apart. Sprinkle tops with a little plain flour. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and well risen. Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm with jam and cream.

Source: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/8163/basic+scones

Gordon Ramsay Recipe: Classic Indian Chicken Tikka Masala

Do you want to bring a curry smell in your dining room? Try the classic curry chicken tikka masala recipe from the finest chef Gordon Ramsay.

Ingredients

• Groundnut oil
• 1 large onion, peeled
• 2 fresh green chillies
• 1" piece of ginger, peeled
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp soft brown sugar
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 4 boneless chicken breasts (approx 150g each), cubed
• 10 dried curry leaves
• 4-6 tbsp natural yoghurt
• Handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

For the steamed rice

• 400g basmati rice, rinsed
• 600ml cold water
• Salt and pepper
• 3 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 2 star anise

Method: How to make chicken tikka masala

1. Heat two tablespoons of groundnut oil in a pan. Slice the onion and fry in the oil. Meanwhile, deseed and chop the chilli, chop the ginger and add to the hot pan, crush in the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes to soften.

2. Add the chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala and sugar and cook for 1-2 minutes. Next, add the tomato puree and chopped tomatoes to the pan and allow them to cook for a further few minutes.

3. Transfer the sauce to a food processor and blend until smooth.

4. Add a tablespoon of fresh groundnut oil into the pan and fry the chicken pieces until lightly coloured. Pour in the blended sauce and add the curry leaves. Simmer gently for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

5. Place the rice in a saucepan, add the cold water and season with salt and pepper. Lightly crush the cardamom pods with your fingers and add to the pan with the star anise. Cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the rice to steam for a further 5 minutes. Remove the cardamom and star anise. Fluff up the rice with a fork and set aside.

6. Stir in the yoghurt to the chicken curry along with half the chopped coriander. Serve with the steamed rice and garnish with the remaining coriander.

Ferran Adria Recipe:Toasted Spaghetti with Clams

Ferran Adrià credits the idea for this dish to one of his acolytes, Moreno Cedroni, the hyper-creative Italian chef at La Madonnina del Pescatore in Italy’s Marzocca di Senigallia. The method is very similar to risotto, but spaghetti fills in for the arborio rice: Adrià toasts it in a pan with a little oil, then adds hot clam juice until the pasta is fully cooked and loaded with briny flavor.

Ingredients

1. 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2. 3/4 pound spaghetti, broken into 2-inch lengths
3. 2 garlic cloves, minced
4. Crushed red pepper
5. 3 cups bottled clam broth
6. 1 cup water
7. 3 dozen littleneck clams, rinsed
8. 1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley

Method

1. In a large deep skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the spaghetti and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and a large pinch of crushed red pepper and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the clam broth and water and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and cook over moderate heat until the pasta is barely al dente, about 8 minutes. Nestle the clams into the pasta, cover and cook until the pasta is al dente and the clams open, about 7 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water if the pasta is too dry. Stir in the parsley and serve.

Source: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/toasted-spaghetti-with-clams

Top 10: The Hottest Chef Alive

As glamorous as rock stars (and sometimes just as difficult), the 10 chefs here are the superstars of the food world

The chefs we celebrate on these pages are hot from toque to toe. Sure, some of them play the part: they strut around in cool clothes, throw fits, attract groupies, pen books and preach their food gospel on TV. But they didn't make our top-10 list simply for their swagger on the culinary catwalk. With postmodern vision and breathtaking technique, these mavericks are paving the way to the next millennium. They're so much in demand that we were lucky to catch up with them at all, and when we finally managed to get their attention, well, they boasted, they joked, they sulked, they sighed and they flared like steaks on a grill. The next time you travel, check out their food--your meal is guaranteed to be hot.

Here are the top 10 Chef alive:

- Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Restaurant:
JoJo, Vong, Jean Georges, Mercer Kitchen, Spice Market, Perry Street, Matsugen (New York City), Prime Steakhouse (Las Vegas), Vong's Thai Kitchen (Chicago), Chambers Kitchen (Minneapolis), Market (Paris), Cafe Martinique, Dune (Bahamas), V, Rama (London), Jean-Georges (Shanghai), Lagoon (Bora Bora)

- Elena Arzak Espina
Restaurant: Restaurante Arzak, San Sebastian (Head Chef)

- Cheong Liew
Restaurant: The Grange Restaurant

- Marc Veyrat
Restaurant: Auberge de l'Eridan in Veyrier-du-Lac, near Annecy, France

- Pierre Gagnaire
Restaurant: Le restaurant de Pierre Gagnaire

- Susur Lee
Restaurant: Lee, Toronto, Canada, Thompson LEE Hotel, New York City, New York

- Gordon Ramsay
Restaurant:
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
Boxwood Café
Maze
Pétrus
Banquette
Verre
Gordon Ramsay au Trianon Palace, Versailles
Gordon Ramsay at Conrad Tokyo
Gordon Ramsay at Powerscourt
Cerise by Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay at The London
La Noisette
The Narrow
The Devonshire
Plane Food at Heathrow Airport T5

- Ferran Adrià
Restaurant: El Bulli (The Best Restaurant in The World)

- Gianfranco Vissani
Restaurant: Vissani Restaurant, Italy

- Marco Pierre White
Restaurant:
Belvedere
Drones
L'Escargot
Parisienne Chophouse
Maison Novelli
Mirabelle
Quo Vadis

Source: http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/the-hottest-chefs-alive

Recipe: Tetsuya's Signature Dish

Confit of Petuna Ocean Trout Served with Konbu and Fennel

This is the Signature Dish of Chef Tetsuya Wakuda, you can find it if you eat in his restaurant for a degustation meals.

350g ocean trout, filleted
100ml grapeseed oil
80ml olive oil
¹/₂ tablespoon ground coriander
¹/₂ teaspoon white pepper
10 whole leaves basil
3 stalks thyme
¹/₂ teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 small carrots, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped chives
4 tablespoons konbu (dried seaweed), chopped
¹/₂ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons ocean trout caviar

350g ocean trout, filleted
100ml grapeseed oil
80ml olive oil
¹/₂ tablespoon ground coriander
¹/₂ teaspoon white pepper
10 whole leaves basil
3 stalks thyme
¹/₂ teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 small carrots, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped chives
4 tablespoons konbu (dried seaweed), chopped
¹/₂ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons ocean trout caviar

Fennel salad
¹/₄ bulb fennel, shaved
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper
¹/₂ teaspoon lemon-scented oil

Parsley oil
Leaves from ¹/₄ bunch Italian parsley
100ml olive oil or grapeseed oil
¹/₂ tablespoon salted capers, rinsed and drained

Skin the trout and cut crosswise into 70-80g pieces - they should weigh no more than 100g. Immerse the trout in grapeseed oil and olive oil with the coriander, pepper, basil, thyme and garlic. Cover and allow to marinate for a few hours in the fridge.

To cook the fish, first preheat the oven to the absolutely lowest setting possible. Take the fish out of the oil and allow to come to room temperature.

Chop celery and carrots and place on a baking tray. Put the trout on top and place in the oven. Cook with the door open. Paint the surface every few minutes with the marinade. Cook for seven to eight minutes depending on the size of the fish. Lift out of the tray and allow to come to room temperature.

To make the parsley oil, puree the parsley with the olive oil in a blender. Add the capers and blend. Slice the fennel. Toss with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and lemon-scented oil. Sprinkle the top of the fish with chopped chives, konbu and salt. Place fennel salad on the plate. Put the trout on top and drizzle parsley oil all around. Dot caviar at regular intervals.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/confit-of-petuna-ocean-trout-with-fennel-salad-529642.html

Biography of Tetsuya Wakuda

Tetsuya Wakuda grew up in the Japanese town of Hamamatsu until at the age of twenty-two, armed with his only piece of information about Australia (that there were lots of koalas and kangaroos around) and having only a limited grasp of English, he decided to travel to Australia. This same thirst for new experiences is reflected still in Tetsuya’s approach to food.

Arriving in Sydney in 1982 with nothing more than a small suitcase and a love of food, Tetsuya landed his first job as a kitchenhand at Fishwives in Surry Hills. A year later he was introduced to Sydney chef Tony Bilson, who was looking for a Japanese cook to make sushi. It was there at Tony’s kitchen at Kinsela’s Tetsuya realised that he wanted to cook, and that he could indeed cook very well. Here also he learnt the classical French technique which forms part of his style today.

"I made a lot of things up along the way, and luckily for me, people like the way it tasted."

Tetsuya left Kinsela’s in 1983 and in partnership with the head waiter opened Ultimo’s, where he quickly learnt the responsibility of running his own business. His own restaurant, Tetsuya’s, opened in 1989 as a tiny shopfront in the Sydney suburb of Rozelle and was booked out with daily waiting lists.

In November 2000, Tetsuya relocated his restaurant from Rozelle to 529 Kent Street, Sydney and since then has evolved his style and reputation to become one of Australia’s, if not the world’s, most renowned chefs.

"Tetsuya is part of an elite group of international chefs that has influenced other chefs through their personal styles and unique approaches to food. His culinary philosophy centres on pure, clean flavours that are decisive, yet completely refined. His amazing technique, Asian heritage, sincere humility, worldwide travels and insatiable curiosity combine to create incredible, soulful dishes that exude passion in every bite." Charlie Trotter.

Source: http://www.tetsuyas.com/page/about_tetsuya.html