Cooking Lab - Bacon and Melted Cheese Bruschetta with Cucumber & Wilted Spinach

Dining - Freycinet Marine Farm (生蠔農場) @ Coles Bay

Do I need to say more?... Ah yes, these are oysters with smoked salmon & Brie cheese!!! The smoked oyster soup is quite decent too! 😊

來這就一定要吃比報紙更便宜的新鮮大生蠔。這裡零污染的水質清淨所以能育出肥大生蠔。

在開車的沿途中就看到指標一直指向這。當然堅持要進來吃吃。只能說價錢太公道了，味道太棒了。順便再打包半打外帶。心𥚃是幸福滿滿了

價錢實惠又新鮮肥美的生蠔！

Oysters with smoked salmon, Brie and chives $15.00/1/2 dozen

Special - Hot smoked oyster soup & roll $10.00

Cooking Lab - Caesar Salad with Grilled Lemongrass Chicken

Published Recipe: Deluxe Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Caesar Salad

Over the weekend, I created a luxurious version of the classic caesar salad, flavoured with grilled lemon-grass chicken, Italian Grana Padano and a rich creamy dressing.


(c) GMV - Got My Vote!

This is an easy, vibrant salad recipe that will impress your guests and it's one of my favorite salads. 

Ingredients:

- 2 baby cos lettuce 
- 300g lemongrass chicken 
- 100g Cherry tomato 
- 50g Anchovy 
- 150g Ham off the bone 
- 2 slices Italian bruschetta bread 
- 6 tablespoon caesar dressing 
- 50g Italian Grana Padano cheese 
- 50g shaved Parmesan cheese 
- 2 eggs 
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 
- Salt and pepper 

Method:

1. Wash and rinse the baby cos lettuce and set aside.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

3. Bring a pot of water to boil, add a pinch of salt and the eggs and cook for 5 - 7 minutes.

4. Remove the eggs from the water and let them cool off.

5. Combine extra virgin olive oil with some salt.

6. Brush the oil evenly on the bruschetta breads.

7. Bake for 5 minutes until golden. Slice the breads into crouton cubes.

8. Grill the lemongrass chicken for 5 minutes. De-bone and set aside.

9. Use the residual heat, toast the leg ham and the anchovy lightly. (This will enhance the flavour significantly)

10. Tear the baby cos lettuce into bite-size pieces and add them to a large bowl. Add half the caesar dressing, add in the cherry tomato and the remaining dressing. Toss well to combine.

11. Place the warm grilled chicken strips on the salad.

12. Scatter the golden croutons and the baked ham all over. 

13. Shave the Grana Padano cheese with a peeler.

14. Sprinkle the cheeses on top and season with black pepper.

15. Half the eggs and place on the salad.

16. Garnish with anchovy on top.

17. Serve warm and straight away.

Wow, doesn't it look feastive already?

Enjoy this amazing salad! :)

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Event - Melbourne Cup Lunch

Cooking Lab - Chili Chicken Pizza w Roasted Vegetables

If you like thin crust pizza, you'll love this super easy Lavash flatbread pizza. 

For this recipe, I am using the lavash bread as a pizza base with chili chicken breast ham and various chargrilled vegetables and some freshly shaved pamesan cheese. Together, I serve this pizza with a handful of mixed fresh salad. Drizzle some lemon juice and there you have it. A wonderful rustic dinner within 30 minutes. 


(c) GMV - Got My Vote!

I highly recommend lavash. It is a tasty Middle Eastern flatbread, it is very soft and bakes up deliciously in the oven.

Ingredients:

- 1 lavash bread 
- 100g chili chicken ham 
- 100g cherry tomato 
- 100g chargrilled capsicum 
- 100g chargrilled artichoke 
- 100g baby brocolini 
- 100g fresh snow pea sprouts 
- 50g fresh rocket 
- 50g fresh baby spinach 
- 4 tablespoon truffle mushroom sauce 
- 100g shaved parmesan cheese 
- 2 tablespoon light extra virgin olive oil 
- Sea salt and black pepper 

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Drizzle some light olive oil on the broccolini and cherry tomato. Bake for 5-8 minutes or until tender.

3. Season lightly with salt.

4. Place the lavash on a pizza tray.

5. Generously spread the truffle mushroom pesto sauce on top.

6. Overlap the chili chicken ham slices.

7. Top with chargrilled capsicums.

8. Then add the roasted cherry tomato and the marinated chargrilled artichokes.

9. Finally top with roasted broccolini stems.

10. Drizzle light olive oil on top.

11. Bake in the oven for 5-8 minutes.

12. Remove from oven.

13. Sprinkle the shaved Parmesan cheese all over.

14. Garnish generously with fresh snow pea sprouts, rocket and baby spinach on top.

Note: The salad will soak up any excess oil or grease. 

15. Season lightly with salt and black pepper.

16. Slice and serve it hot.

17. Recommended to drizzle some lemon juice to add a zingy sensation.

It is seriously delicious. It is crunchy with a tiny hint of chili, coupled with all the chargrilled veggie and the tangy lemon juice, it is just a flavour bomb. You won't stop eating. 

Perfect with a nice glass of white.

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Event - 2014 Good Food & Wine Show @ Olympic Park (澳洲雪梨2014美食美酒展)

Sydney becomes the centre of the food & wine universe!

27-29/6 我們參加了雪梨美食美酒展。一到場地就看到「熱鬧滾滾」擁擠的狀況。這𥚃頭可有近百家的廠商和攤位。

整個展區非常的大，但條條有序的規劃出各別的美食主題。每位工作人員都非常熱情，攤攤都免費的請大家試吃，試喝。大方又有誠意。

我們從頭吃喝到尾，又吃又有拿。吃喝到最後，大家都很亢奮呢！

CupCake Decorating: 
夢幻粉紅小熊杯子蛋糕

Do you want to know the trade secret to cook authentic Italian pasta? Ever wondered why restaurant pasta have that little edge over your home-cooked pasta? 

Secured a spot in the Barilla's cooking school! It's like a mini Masterchef platform - light, heat and action! An very interactive experience and a very fun one too!

I attended Casa Barilla's hands-on Cooking School and Italian executive chef - Andre personally taught & demonstrated the tricks to recreate the perfect Italian pasta at home. 

It is the difference that makes the difference. 

Today we are making Barilla's Casarecce Pasta with Italian Sausage, Pan-roasted Winter Vegetables in Ricotta Sauce & Salted Ricotta.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups pasta 
- 300g ricotta sauce 
- 1 large Italian sausage 
- 1/4 French onion 
- 1/4 leek 
- 100g pumpkin 
- 50g parsnip 
- 1 cup baby spinach salad 
- 50g salted ricotta or Parmesan cheese 
- 50ml extra virgin olive oil 
- Salt and pepper 

For those who could not personally attend the class, here are my notes which can be applied to any pasta recipes :)

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, bring plenty of salted water to the boil.

Tip: the ideal ratio is approx 7g of salt to 1L of water.

2. Add pasta to the boiling water and give it a nice stir. Let it cook for approx 8 minutes (or according to the packet instruction).

Tip: Do not add olive oil to the boiling water. (Apparently some people do that).

3. Dice the onion, pumpkin, parsnip and leek.

4. Heat some olive oil in a hot fry pan.

5. Add onion and leeks and cook for 2-3 minutes.

6. Add in the pumpkin and parsnip and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

7. Season with salt and pepper.

Tip: when the mixture looks dry, add some of the pasta's salted boiled water to the frypan.

8. Let the vegetables simmer for another minute or two.

9. Remove the skin from the Italian sausage.

10. Diced the sausage into small pieces.

11. Add the sausage pieces into the frypan.

12. Cook through the sausages before adding the ricotta sauce.

13. Let the sauce simmer for 3 minutes.

14. Drain the pasta from the pot and add into the frypan.

Tip: the pasta should be just a little under al-dente, as cooking in the frypan will achieve that perfect al-dente taste.

Tip: al-dente pasta should have a firm chewy texture when bite into it. Over-cooked pasta is bad for digestive system as people will overeat too quickly.

15. Add half of the grated salted ricotta to the pasta.

16. Cease fire.

17. Toss in the baby spinach salad.

Tip: the residual heat will blend the cheese, spinach nicely with the pasta.

18. Serve immediately with more grated salted ricotta on top.

Tip: Add a drizzle of premium extra virgin olive oil on top for the perfect Italian pasta finish.

 
   The Barilla show-bag! I've got a very cute pasta tin and a Barilla apron!

Got a Barilla show bag & apron + a bowl of my freshly-cooked 'Italian' pasta.

There are so much good food & wine to sample - You won't find any starving children here. We are determined to graze from one stall to next ... 

Having heaps of fun making our own Little Bear fondant cupcake!

誰說來美食展只是吃喝？今天我們也來大顯身手來做個手工奢華風時尚小熊杯子蛋糕！

付$5材料費，我們就在這玩了一個下午。超喜歡這種無止境的創意空間和做完後的專屬感。整整的幸福滋味。

帶這經典又充滿童話氣息的小熊杯子蛋糕去品酒，反而讓工作人員愛上它!

This little bear attract more attention than we expected. A very worthy experience~