What would you do when you have promise to cook Kambing Kurma (Indian style mutton curry) for dinner but its one of those days when you are not in the mood for fiddly food preparation like peeling and chopping a big pile of shallot and garlic and ginger and onion and chilli? That person being me, I would find another curry that does not require peeling and chopping a big pile of shallot and garlic and ginger and onion and chilli.
More jelly, this time something savory. I have not make pig trotters in aspic for a long time. The Singaporean palate has changed and not many people appreciate this traditional dish. Add the fact that cooking aspic takes a lot of effort and time. It is not by surprising this dish has all but disappeared from hawker stalls and resturants here.
I have decided not to make the traditional Teo Chew style aspic which uses Chinese spices. Instead, I am going to do a fusion pig trotters in aspic by adding soy beans which is a Burmese variation and aspic stock using European herbs. Ok fine, I confess: I ran out of star anise and cloves and I need to use up the huge batch of parsley.
In celebration of the purchase of my new oven and the return of fresh chicken to Singapore, I cooked Nigella Lawson's unbelievable easy and very delicious Slow-Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chicken for dinner. I forgot to buy thyme so I used oregano in the dish and strewed chopped parsley. The chicken still taste great and I think therein lies the beauty of Nigella's cooking. She does not believe in following recipes slavishly thus her recipes tend to be forgiving in terms of measurements and ingredients. That suits me very well.
Oh oh, take a look at my new oven. Isn't it beautiful? See how spacious it is, the 10 inch pie dish looks so tiny inside the oven. Best of all, the oven heats up so quickly, no preheating is required.
Found a third cause for celebration when I took a sip of the Jacob's Creek 2003 Riesling which was used to cook the chicken. The wine is nicely balanced, tasting of ripe citrus and honey. Truly a value for money wine from Jacob's Creek which is known for its cheap, mass market varietals. I liked the Riesling so much we drank it for dinner with the chicken. It's a match made in culinary heaven, lemony chicken with lemony wine. I am going to stock up a few more bottles of the Riesling the next time I go to the supermarket, I read that it goes really well with seafood too.
This is the story about two bottles of Corona beer. They were once part of a six pack bought for a BBQ eons ago but while their pack mates had gone on to a better place, they were left languishing in a corner of the refrigerator.
I decided to put the beers out of their pathetic existence by using them to cook. I didn't want to do any deep frying so a beer batter is out. Finally, my search ended at all recipes which has an Italian sausage recipe using beer. I am no Italian food expert but apparently, sausage with peppers and onion is a classic combination and the traditional way is to fry the above mentioned ingredients with herbs and serve on Italian buns. Anyway, I thought the recipe is just what I am looking for. It's easy, fuss free cooking using only 1 pan and most importantly, I can use up the beer!
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