Cavalock and The Meringue Formulation

Making meringues is probably the easiest thing to bake. Anyone can do it and you really can't go wrong. Did it before and the results were pretty good so when I saw a book just on making meringues at Kinokuniya last week, I immediately grabbed it! Besides it's their 20% off weekend.

Now this is a crazy ass book. I mean, there are all kinds of weird meringue recipes here. Garlic meringue minarets with beetroot borscht, meringue sushi and Mexican meringue chili chips are just some of the more lip-smacking, eye-popping ones.

Anyway, decided to try the conservative cover recipe chocolate swirl meringues.

You got your eggs, sugar and a half bar of Verona dark chocolate. Well, after the above pix was taken, I started doing my stuff, the phone rang, bake, wash, clean and I forgot to take any more pix until I popped them in the oven below. :P

Fortunately everything turned out good. Light crunchy exterior with a chewy yummy inside.

Next time I'm doing it, I'll use less sugar as the dark choc is already quite sweet. Like I said before, am not a big fan of dark choc but this looked simple and quick enough to do in half an afternoon plus them swirls looked damn arty to me.

Chocolate Swirl Meringues

Quick rundown of the recipe from the book, this is freakin' easy, you are gonna need 3 egg whites, 150g of caster sugar ad 140g of dark chocolate. I know there are 4 eggs in the above pix but I only used 3.

Preheat the oven to 90ºC. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Melt the dark chocolate over a pan of simmering water.

Whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk on medium speed, for about a minute. Then increase the speed till soft peaks begin to form. Still whisking, start adding the sugar a few spoonfuls at a time. Keep whisking till the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is stiff and shiny.

Now that's all the regular meringue making part, here's the unique chocolate part. Gently pour the melted choc into the mixture and with only one or two folding motions, fold the choc into the mixture. DO NOT mix it up otherwise you ain't gonna get them cool swirling patterns.

Spoon on to the baking sheet, making cloud shapes about 10cm round. Put them into the oven for about one and a half hours or until the meringues are dry to the touch but have not changed color.

Let them all cool completely before removing them from the baking parchment. They should keep in an airtight container for 3 days.

Cavalock and The French Connection

Not bad, two memorable Saturday nite dinners in a row. Last nite was at Cocotte restaurant at Wanderlust Hotel, charming little French joint in a very colorful neighborhood.

Started the nite with some mushroom soup with truffle oil. Very rich and smooth, no mushroom chucks here, although I was hopping the soup of the day would be soupe de poissons, something I had a lifetime ago while on an assignment in Cannes, north of France.

Two mains came next. A very tender and delicious Boeuf Bourguignon, 'grass fed beef marinated overnight and braised in red wine, served with sauteed mushrooms, pearl onions and roasted baby potatoes.'

Followed by a creamy and flavorful serving of Roast Pork Collar, 'cooked in a creamy Dijon mustard sauce. Served with brussel sprouts amandi ne and sauteed forest mushrooms.' I actually preferred this to the beef, the taste is something new to me and the different textures all make this winner.

And finally dessert, Basque Cake with dark chocolate filling and Creme Brulee. Not a fan of dark choc so the cake wasn't really my kinda dessert. But we are talking bout real rich dark choc here, so order this only if you are into that.

Now let me just 'go off' a little on something here, just a very short rumbling. My iPad has been a godsend ever since I got it last year. I watch and read stuff on it everyday, and before someone yells 'pirate!', let me just say that I PAY for all of them. I ain't no pirate.

Although as to how I feel towards piracy, well, let's just say I am more in NYT best-selling author Neil Gaiman's camp where he comments about Internet piracy "it's people lending books." Exactly! I have borrowed hundreds of graphic novels from our National Library and read about a dozen new ones every week on the iPad, what's the difference? I sure don't see any. In both cases, an individual pays for one and then allows others to read it for free.

Award-winning graphic novel editor and writer Mark Waid has this to say when asked about creative folks who complained about being 'robbed'.

I get emails and message board posts and tweets from fans who are like, I didn't even know Boom comics existed because my mom and pop comic store that's a hundred miles away from me only buys the top 100 comic books. But I found Irredeemable or Incorruptible online, and now I want to buy the trade paperback. That is a valuable market. That's not a lost sale to me.

Moreover, this is something that drives me insane when we talk about how illegal downloading is the enemy of all things good and noble and pure. The thing I didn't say during that speech because I knew I had lost the audience, but that I really wanted say was, look. I understand if I say, "people want to download our work," your kneejerk response is going to be "then pay me for it." Everybody wants to be paid for their work, if for no other reason than so they can keep doing it. But for the love of God, give me 1/16 of a second between saying that and your kneejerk reponse to take in and revel in the fact that people all over the world are hungrily downloading our stuff because they have a hunger for it and they want it. I wanted to say, I guarantee you that down the street, at the poetry convention, no one is giving this speech. No one is talking about illegal downloading because no one downloads poetry.

You can read his entire interview here.

What's more, you can catch the latest episode of Top Chef All-Stars plus a whole bunch of sitcoms and crime dramas a few hours after they are shown in the US, it's amazing! Nothing wrong with that. The shows will be shown on TV eventually and I'm sure the people watching them are already paying for their cable.

Cavalock and The Milk Tooth Extraction

Gosh, this is like my first proper sit-down meal in a decent restaurant in over a month. So there I was at the very popular Artichoke. Don't ever come here on a Saturday nite without a reservation. Yup, it's that good. A big thank you to M and Epicurative for their wonderful recommendations, be sure to check out their blogs for some really mouthwatering food pix.

Everything was as good as can be. From the hummus to the grilled haloumi cheese to the whole cooked chicken, it was all perfect. The dessert date pudding was so yummy, we ordered two! I'll let the pix do the talking.

Well, this weekend was also my first back to the ol' Orchard Road shopping belt. Saw lots of new DC Comics action figures but here's something that really caught my eye at Daiso. Now if only I still had my giant wisdom tooth....<^;^>

Cavalock and The Sausage Utilization

GONG XI FA CAI! HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!

Have a great Year of the Rabbit everybody. Well, still not much new stuff but I managed to spot some interesting additions in town.

Now instead of having fries WITH your burger, MOS Burger lets you have them IN your burger! And no, I haven't tried it yet. :P

Boston lobsters are now available at your NTUC Finest.

Very, very tempting sausages! Kurobuta pork and wagyu beef sausages! Yes, I saw them at Meidi-Ya. So what's the best way to prepare them? In a hotdog bun?

Well, looks like Wagyu beef bangers are more popular than Kurobuta!

Cavalock and The Meidi-Ya Multiplication

I know I said this before, that I started this blog to write bout the things that make me happy, happy stuff that I like, from food to collectibles. Well, I know my mom would definitely want me to continue writing cos it's something I like. But some days it gets hard not cos I don't like to write it's just hard when I feel sad. But she would want me to be strong and living my life fully is the best thing I can do for her.

So there I was, back at Meidi-Ya supermarket and looking at what's new. Well, I haven't been to anywhere new or fancy to eat, just not in the mood. And no, I ain't a spokesman for the place either. They just seem to have cool stuff that I don't see in other supermarkets.

Limited edition beer, 'nuff said.

Kosher cheese. Not something you would expect to find in a Japanese supermarket.

A couple days after I took this pix, they were almost all gone! And these are in the cold section.

All the way from the U.K., Skinny Cow milk mixes!

Finally, giant crab parts from Japan for only S$128! These guys were bout a foot long.

Cavalock and The Tiger Mom Complex

There's this new 'game' I like to play. Whenever I'm alone in the kitchen whipping up something new, I like to pretend I'm on Top Chef, the TV reality show. I'll try to cook a dish or a full meal as fast as I can. And yah, I get a kick outta it. Hey, when you are alone in the kitchen, you try to have as much fun as you can.

What you got here is a simple but yummy hot lunch for one, all done in a little more than half hour. Corn beef with shallots, boiled asparagus and rice.

One little mistake I made was cooking the corn beef for too short a time. I used to have corn beef quite often when I was a kid but not for some time now, so I figured I'll do something bout it. They started turning little too mushy, I got kinda worried so I tried some and they tasted damn good so I stopped cooking it.

Later I found out that I should have cooked it longer, the corn beef would have been dryer like the way I had it when I was a kid. But it all turned out rather good, the shallots added that extra crunch to the corn beef, the boiled asparagus was simple and nice, with just some salt in the water.

Now I'm sure most people here have already read or heard of the Tiger Mom article in WSJ and the subsequent fallout, controversy, hoohaa or whatever you wanna call it. As expected, you got folks who agree with Amy Chua, excuse me, Prof. Amy Chua, and you got folks who don't. And for those who don't, I'd like to say ... WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO CRITICIZE SOMEONE'S PARENTING AS HORRIBLE JUST BECAUSE IT DOESN'T FIT INTO YOUR PRECONCEIVED VALUES OF WESTERN PARENTING?

Ok, now that I got that out of the way, I suppose someone reading this would probably wonder if I was brought up by a Tiger Mom. Well, my mom's the best and greatest mom in the world and well, she did do some of those things that the Professor did. I did live through some of those 'child-rearing techniques'.

Let's see, I was made to take piano lessons cos every other kid in the neighborhood was either on the violin or the piano. Hated it but had to grin and bear it for like an eternity.

Was constantly compared to other neighborhood kids bout how they could boil an egg or cook instant noodles at an early age.

My mom did tell me that I was picked up from a dumpster as a baby or was she threatening to leave me in the dumpster if I was bad? I forget. Heh!

Was never the top student in anything. So you can guess how that turned out in the Cavalock household. <^;^>

Oh, the list goes on! But I don't mind it at all. Now as I look back, I know she did everything for me cos she loves me. I don't think I would change a thing. Also, don't forget to read this other take on the whole thing, it's funny and true on so many levels too.

Cavalock and The Miracle Mussels

Man, some days I really amaze myself. I been dying to whip up my own mussels meal ever since my London trip and then there was the visit to the local Brussels Sprouts. So when I started having more free time and doing my own stuff, I figured it's also about time I finally tried doing the mussels thing. Well OK, having a new saucepan in the kitchen also helped nudge me in the right direction. ;)

And how did it turn out? Damn! It was waaaay better than I expected it to be! I didn't follow any exact recipe. I just copied the technique, the ingredients were my own ...er...selection.

After getting rid of the mussels that were already opened and cleaning up the rest, there really wasn't much of the original 500g left, so I added in bout half dozen prawns. My little variation also used shallots instead of chives. The only thing that I think I did wrong was not chopping up the garlic really fine. I just smashed them with my blade.

The other secret ingredient was Japanese sake! I know some places use beer or whiskey, I figured why not sake then? I got a big bottle sitting in the fridge for like ages, yah, I was afraid that it could have gone bad or something but it didn't! Hah!

After adding like three big splashes of sake into the saucepan, I then toss in them mussels and prawns. Now I'm at that stage where I don't do no exact measurements no more, cos that's how I roll! (negative and negative and negative and positive equals negative, rite?)

Next comes the cream. I found this at a Cold Storage, I don't think FairPrice has it. Anyway, this is great and once again I just poured like a quarter of a cup in there. Then I turned up the heat for like three minutes. Once it starts bubbling, turn off it off, your kitchen ought to smell really, really good now.

The flavors were all there and the broth was fantastic, I think the cream made a huge difference. I almost cleaned it up with my multigrain buns. Everything was perfect, I was at first so afraid that the mussels would be bad or the sake would be bad, but it all turned out better than fine. I was thinking what made it taste so good, the sake? The cream? Good mussels? I dunno.

The whole thing took less than a half hour to prepare and I dare say it tasted better than the ones I had Brussels Sprouts but definitely not as good as the ones in the London. <^;^>

Cavalock and The New Year Champagne Lunch

Am I too late?!?

Well, Happy New Year!

2011 got off to a yummy start with lunch at Por Kee Eating House. It's apparently a pretty popular joint although it's my first time there. Situated almost in the middle of a Tiong Bahru carpark, it's a rather little nondescript zi char restaurant.

It's got all the usual dishes you would expect from a zi char but what you want, I mean really, really want is the 'champagne pork ribs', that's what it says on the menu. Geddit, champagne = new year?

Now I seriously doubt if there's any champagne in the preparation since I can't taste any booze but damn, the ribs are just heavenly. Tender with a sweet flavor that just leaves you begging for another piece. The ribs are served individually, one big chunk per small plate. Trust me, you would wanna order more than one plate.

Other stuff we ordered were like the asparagus, venison, steamed fish (don't ask me what kind) and of cos cereal prawns, all decent dishes but nothing compares to the ribs.

After lunch, we finally made it to the new and popular cafe 40 Hands, that's around a couple blocks from Por Kee. I have heard a lot of good things about it especially their flat white. So was it worth braving the afternoon storm for it? Yah, by that time, I was so wet and desperate for a cup of hot beverage, I would have settled for almost anything.

A very welcome cup of flat white although I would have preferred it to be freakin' hot, not lukewarm. Plus the orange Jaffa Swirl cake is very good too.

Cavalock and The Post Boxing Day Post

Post Boxing Day saw me meeting up with ex-colleagues in the media industry. Dinner was back at Food for Thought, next to the Singapore Art Museum. I was the only one who had the Garlic Prawns Linguine and I liked it. The prawns were cooked just right and not too garlicky. But not everyone enjoyed their food, the risotto didn't score very high marks that nite.

I know, the brown pasta doesn't look very appealing but it tastes way better than it looks. Anyway, as expected the conversation always veers towards who's cheating or sleeping with who, yes folks, the local media and advertising industry is that dirty.

Thought I'll just do a quick pictorial rundown on some new goodies in the apartment the day after Christmas. :)

Cavalock and The Christmas Day Post

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!

Geez, I thought that since I stopped doing a regular 9-to-5 gig, I would have more free time to do my own stuff but that sure as hell ain't the case.

I have been pretty busy this last couple of weeks, maybe I bit off more than I can chew by taking on too many projects, maybe it's the holiday season and everyone wants their stuff done first, or maybe I just suck at time management. Yah, I think it's the latter. I really suck at managing my time. Oh, and I blame my iPad too for all those magazine and TV show downloads. Hah!

Anyway I finally found time to check out Food For Thought, next to the Singapore Art Museum. Had the banana and walnut pancakes, with the oh-so-heavenly gula melaka. And of cos, a cup of flat white.

Had all the guys over at my place for an early Christmas dinner last week. I bought more stuff from the supermarket instead of making some of my own like I did before, cos I don't think I have time to make enough for like eight or nine of us. Well, there were some homemade Christmas gifts for them, hope they like it. ;)

And this is what they got for me for Christmas! The giant-sized Marvel Universe Galactus figure (with Silver Surfer)! I was totally not expecting this! You can't find this baby in any of the departmental stores here, you can only get it at one them specialist toy stores here.

Hope to get in some year-end posts this week before the new year! Look out for them or it!