Greek Nachos

Ingrediants

Pita Chips/Feta Cheese/Monterey Jack Cheese/Kalamata olives /Cherry Tomatoes/Fire Roasted Red Peppers
Olive Oil/ Pepperoncini/fresh oregano garlic

Directions

Mix roasted red peppers with 1/2 tbsp olive oil, fresh oregano and garlic. Let sit in fridge for at least 30 minutes Heat oven to 350 degrees spread chips in a single layer and sprinkle on both cheeses. Place in oven for about 10 minutes until the cheeses melt. Then add the other toppings, then add the roasted pepper salsa on top and enjoy!

Moroccan Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

• 1 cup short grain white rice,
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 or 2 sticks of cinnamon
• 2 to 3 teaspoons orange flower water
• ground cinnamon or nutmeg for garnishing

Directions

Wash the rice in a large bowl filled with water, drain. Put the rice in a 3-quart (liter) or larger pot. Add water and salt, bring to a simmer. Cover the rice, and gently simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Be sure to keep the heat low, or the starch from the rice can boil over.When the water is absorbed, add the milk, butter, sugar and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, and then simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender and fully suspended in the milk. Discard the cinnamon stick, and add the orange flower water. Simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes. Move the rice to a serving casserole or individual serving bowls, and leave to set, 30 minutes or longer.

Serve warm or chilled, with a sprinkling of cinnamon or nutmeg as a garnish.

surreally extravagant - gala & dali

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I love these photos of them... make me think of the crazy '20s and the wildly beautiful coasts of Spain! Their romance was most unusual... only natural for such extraordinary individuals. There's no need for words about Dali and Gala, she was the perfect muse. She had a sensitivity for art and possessed an intellectual and physical beauty that didn't inspire just Dali... she was part of the surrealist group, most of which were in love with her.
It must be great to have a bunch of artists writing about you, painting your picture...
They seem like they had fun... which is what is all about, isn't it?

Buttered Ribeye with Pesto Pasta

Pauline is an extreme beef lover, so apart from the mirepoix beef stew, I came up with another relatively simple beef dish to appease her.

I personally prefer to make fresh pesto instead of using pre-made ones. In fact, making pesto is quite simple. In a blender, blitz a bunch of chopped basil leaves, pine nuts (or almonds if you have trouble getting pine nuts) and sunflower seeds and add enough olive oil as you blitz to make it a smooth sauce like texture. Set aside.

Cook some pasta of your choice.

For the beef, I prefer ribeye for this dish as it has enough fat and texture if cooked perfectly. Season it on both sides. In a pan, add olive oil, a clove of garlic and 2 sprigs of thyme.

Place the beef in the pan once it has been heated up sufficiently and let it cook for about 2 and half mins on one side (how long depends on the thickness of the beef) then turn over.

Add a knob of butter and base the beef continuously for another 2 and half mins or until the beef is about medium. Usually I will test the wellness of the meat by using a folk to gently poke the meat. When its rare, its harder to poke through and it feels hard to get to the center of the meat, and if its well done or over cooked, it feels tough all the way in to the meat. So medium is about half way in-between.

Once done, set aside for about 10 mins. Then use your sharpest knife to cut the beef into thin slices. You should see a nice pink texture in the center of the meat.

Toss the pasta in the pesto evenly and plate it in the center. Place the ribeye slices on top and garnish it with some finely chopped coriander.

Dining Out in the Lion City

Singapore Food Court

Again, I thought I'd take a break from the usual food stuff by just reflecting on some food thoughts, this time on dining out in Singapore.

Eating in Singapore is not so much different from other countries and cities, and yes, we have a multi-cultural food repertoire, and yes, we have a very cosmopolitan food scene that's most vibrant and happening.

And certainly, we have local dishes that has a unique place on the global food map. Talk about Chili crabs and chicken rice and even foreigners have no problem understanding, and very likely have tasted those dishes before.

But for locals that have lived here all of their lives, the typical meal in a day is often a hurried and bustling one, one where lunch hour is mostly consisting of taking 30 mins to buy, consume and off to the nearest coffee bar for the daily office gossip. Food, thus becomes, more a chore than a leisure activity.

Dinners are not that much different, as most working couples would 'tabao' (Chinese for takeaways) food for the nearby food courts or hawker centers. Not that it is necessarily negative or even bad, but often one would not really think of dinner or dining out as something more than filling one's stomachs on a weekday.

As for weekends, Singaporeans are often hampered by time and spending that time with family members that dinners on Sun and Sat are often cramped around local zhi char (fried food) restaurants or outlets, drowning down local fare of cereal prawns, fish head bee hoon and chilli crabs etc.

That leaves mostly the Gen Y crowd to really savor the gastronomical adventures of the latest and more happening food outlets in town and outside of town. Perhaps that explains why one local food expert told me recently that the easiest food to succeed is dim sum. Chances are if you are thinking of being the local Gordon Ramsay, you better look elsewhere.

But lest one gets despondent over trying something exciting and innovative, there are always bold and adventurous folks like Willin Low and his Wild Rocket and other interesting restaurants to provide some inspiration. And whilst I haven't been to WR, I would certainly make the trip in the very near future to give it a spin and hopefully, inspire my own culinary explorations in time to come.

This is the Silver Chef ... eating out tonight!

Coq Au Vin

Coq au vin is a very classic French dish where chicken drumsticks are literally bathed in hours in a rich wine stock and is absolutely gorgeous. It is just as absolutely tedious to prepare and make!

I typically use the largest chicken drumsticks that I can find for this particular dish. Season them well and lightly coat them with a layer of flour and seal it in a pan until they are lightly golden brown in color. Set aside.

For this dish, you can actually use your own combination of vegetables and ingredients to make up the delicious broth, but typically I would start to fry some chopped bacon (without oil as bacon will ooze oil as you cook).

Set aside the bacon but use the same pan as the bacon fat is just nice to cook the rest of the veggies. I would typically saute some mushrooms, carrots and leeks and set all of them aside. Once the sauteing part is done, take a large pot and fry some onions and garlic in some olive oil until the flavors are present.

Next add in the rest of the veggies and bacon and stir continuously. Add a generous amount of wine (half to a bottle) and lots of chicken broth or stock and bring all of them to a boil. Usually I would apportion equal portions of wine and chicken stock but you can vary depending on your taste.

Next add in the chicken drumsticks and bring it to a simmer. Add in some herbs, but I tend to prefer some bay leaves and thyme or rosemary and cover with a lid and let it cook at a low heat for at least 2 hours. Occasionally stir every 15 mins or so.

By then, the chicken meat should be literally falling off the bones and it is tender like melting in your mouth. The broth would also have reduced considerably to give it a more thick and sauce like texture and the flavors of the ingredients would have been thoroughly brought out through the slow cooking process.

About 15 mins before serving, add a nice knob of butter to give it some additional richness and texture. Serve with baguette or rice or cous cous.

Whiskey Salmon Linguine

Locally, we have this interesting dish called XO Bee Hoon, or sometimes another variation is Fish Head Bee Hoon. It's basically a milk based fish broth with sliced fish, or fish head pieces served with rice noodles and in the XO variant, a dash of brandy is added to give it an aromatic and sweet enhancement.

I decided to come up with a pasta variant over the weekend using salmon instead, among other minor changes.

To begin, fry some slices of ginger with minced garlic at high heat. Add in some chopped leeks as well. Splash some whiskey after a min or 2. Add chicken broth (you can use fish stock as well) and bring it to boil.

Separately, season some sliced salmon and lightly seal it in a pan and set aside. Once the broth is at a boil, add it in the salmon pieces and let it simmer for at least 20 mins.

Add some cream (milk is the traditional ingredient here but I prefer cream for the flavour) and bring it to a boil again. Add in some freshly cooked linguine to let it absorb the flavors of the broth. Just before serving, add another few dashes of whiskey to give it that sweet aroma and garnish it with some chopped coriander. It should give a similar yet somewhat unique twist from the classic XO bee hoon taste.

Eggplant Pesto Parmesan with Grilled Rottiserie Chicken

As August comes to a close, many of us are enjoying the harvest from our summer gardens.

My friend Janet gave me this lovely eggplant from her garden.

It's a Saturday night, and I wanted to make an easy, summery meal using the eggplant and the store-bought rotisserie chicken I had in the fridge.

 

My favorite way to cook one of these simple chickens in the summer is on the grill!

Delicious grilled flavor, crispy skin with no hassle, mess or clean-up.

Heat your grill to medium.

Turn the chicken over on the cutting board and using a large knife, cut through the ribs down the middle.

Pull the two sides apart and lay the chicken flat like this:

Place on hot grill, cut side down and shut the grill lid. Now, it's simply baking in a grill oven.

Just leave it while you prepare the eggplant.

Check every so often. If the skin looks crispy, lower the heat

Now make this delectable side dish:

Eggplant Pesto Parmesan

1 lg. eggplant sliced

Pesto (try my recipe for fresh pesto or buy a tub in the produce section by the refrigerator pastas)

Sm. jar of Ragu Spaghetti Sauce (I like extra chunky tomato, garlic and onion)

Shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

Kraft Parmesan Cheese (In the green canister)

Start by slicing the eggplant into half inch thick slices.

Brush each slice with olive oil on both sides.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour some Kraft Parmesan Cheese onto a plate.

Dredge each oiled slice through the cheese to coat both sides.

 

Heat a large fry pan to med/high. I don't add oil since the eggplant is already coated in olive oil.

Place the cheesy slices in the heated pan and cook until the cheese is golden and crispy.

Cover a large cookie sheet with foil and lightly spray with Pam or use no-stick foil.

Lay out the crispy slices and spread with Pesto.

Now add a spoonful of spaghetti sauce and spread over each slice.

Sprinkle each slice with shredded mozzarella cheese and broil until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

The grilled chicken and Eggplant Pesto Parmesan make a speedy and spectacular

summer supper.

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes are a long-standing family dinner favorite.

I remember my mother opening that can of pre-made Sloppy Joe stuff and

mixing it with ground beef for a quick dinner.

It tastes much better when you make it from scratch with fresh ingredients.

And, it's actually easy and quick to make.

My kids have an Aunt Jo Jo, so we call this recipe:

Sloppy Jo Jos

2 lbs. ground chuck

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1 lg. (29 oz.) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup catsup

2 TBS. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 TBS. red wine vinegar (apple cider and white will work, too,)

Start by browning the ground beef in a large pan. I use my Dutch oven.

While that's browning, chop the veggies.

When ground beef is browned, drain and rinse it to remove excess fat.

Return the meat to the pan and add the chopped veggies.

Cook until veggies are almost done.

While that's cooking, gather the rest of your ingredients.

When the onions are almost clear, remove the pan from the burner...lower the heat to low and

add the remaining ingredients to the meat mixture.

If you leave the pan on the burner, the tomato sauce will immediately start popping and splattering all over your stove and clothing.

 

Once you have added these ingredients, cover the pan and return to the burner to simmer for about ten minutes or until veggies are soft.

My brother-in-law, who just happens to be named JOE used to eat Sloppy Joes as a kid with

cole slaw on top, so that's how we eat it now.

Great with my easy homemade cole slaw recipe.

My family prefers to eat Sloppy Joes on a plate without the bun like this:

But you can eat it the traditional way on a bun..heaped with cole slaw on top of the meat.

This makes a hearty dinner for fall or winter.

Mix up a double batch ahead of time and reheat in your crock pot for a football party!

Cole Slaw

Most busy mothers buy the slaw sauce pre-made in a jar and mix it with the pre-shredded slaw cabbage.

That is quick and easy, but with a bit of extra effort you can make your

own cole slaw from scratch.

The fresh taste is worth the few extra steps!

Yummy Fresh Cole Slaw

1 bag of pre-shredded cole slaw mix from produce section

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tea. lemon juice

1-2 tea. sugar

2-3 splashes of Tabasco sauce

1 tea. apple cider vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1 tea. celery seed (found in spice/herb section)

Plop the mayonnaise and sour cream in a large mixing bowl.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the cole slaw mix and whisk together well.

Add the cole slaw mix and stir to coat evenly.

Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with pretty Paprika.

Tastes best after refrigerated for at least an hour.

Makes about four servings.

35mm

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beautiful photography by sylvain-emmanuel

folie a deux

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'I run away from reality. I always did...' he said to me.
I ran away from him last summer. I traded one illusion for another. Just a different sort of fairytale. When the magic faded I ran away again... Wanting to finally figure things out and 'get real'.
Why do we feel more alive when we're chasing a dream?

'Maybe it is crazy. But if we're in it together and we're happy, what else do we need?' he said to me.
I surrendered and we went to get ice-cream. The best ice-cream place in town. The menu was so long it could have given you a good read for days. So we smiled and just asked the waitress to recommend us something. She observed for two seconds our love-soaked gazes and she showed us page 36 in the menu, a feast of tropical flavours, an exquisitely baroque icy dessert called 'Folie a deux' !



Folie à deux (English pronunciation: /fɒˈli ə ˈduː/, from the French for "a madness shared by two") is a rare psychiatric syndrome in which symptoms of a delusional belief are transmitted from one individual to another, two people "morbidly predisposed" to delusional psychosis mutually trigger symptoms in each other.

But maybe falling in love is in a way a delusion shared by two.
Just like many other illusions we need to keep us going. We all like to escape reality, even for a little time, in books or films or peculiar hobbies. For some is just for fun, for others it's a necessity. I suppose the key is to balance fantasy and reality in a way that none overtakes the other.

Heavenly creatures is a film set in the 50's about two girls with an intense fantasy life, following a true story.





The film is very good at building the characters and truly makes you understand their justification for their acts. It is about escaping reality in a fantasy world in which they start believing so much that they would do anything to protect it.

pics source