Shrimp capaccino with lemongrass
Currently working on shrimp capaccino with lemongrass, infused with Ginger liqueur and coriander seeds.
Hi, my name is Reggie.
I have a fitness and nutrition blog: www.sweatyguineapig.com.
I also have a website that features easy exercise movements: www.everydaysweat.com
And I have recently launched iFS - Integrated Food Solutions: www.eatifs.com
Congeeeee!
Since we have some leftover risotto rice, I am making congee for our staff during downtime! (result will be posted)
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Thanksgiving in Brooklyn
I spent this year's Thanksgiving with my beloved friends, Peter and Melanie, and her parents. I was grateful to see and hang out with them for the night. Melanie took charge of the kitchen and roasted a bird, which was beautiful and delicious. She also roasted some beets and dress them with dill, balsamic vinegar and goat cheese. Last but not least, she made fantastic stuffing, which I could not stop eating (I also made a stuffing omelette this morning!). I made Brussels sprouts and blini, which was eaten with Melanie's homemade cranberry sauce. Our dinner was simple, yet captured all the essence of a Thanksgiving meal - great food with closest friends and family!
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Basic Pickling
We serve housemade pickles in our restaurant as one of the antipasti. We pickle with Champagne vinegar. As a cheaper alternative, I chose white wine vinegar to pickle on my own. The formula for pickling is more or less the same...2 parts of vinegar, 1 part of water, with 1 to 1 ratio of salt and sugar. To boost the flavor, I add my own version of spice blend, which consists of cinnamon, star anise, cloves, black peppercorn, allspice, coriander seeds, and garlic (ok...the last item is not a type of spice).
I brought the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to boil, and then poured the liquid over the cukes and spices. To ensure the ingredient, cukes in this case, fully submerged in the vinegar mixture, I put a piece of cling film on top of the vegetable and weighed it down with a plastic container. The cukes will be ready for use in few hours.
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Garganelli
Although making garganelli is a laborious task, I somehow find it very therapeutic. I enjoy making a nice and firm semolina dough and rolling each pasta sheet into tubes. We serve our garganelli with a rich Bolognese sauce, and then garnish with grated Parmesan and brunoise of chives.
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Daunting Prep List
I am usually by myself in the kitchen on Sunday. Since the restaurant has gotten busier in the last few weeks, we go through a lot of stocks, produce, pasta, etc weekly. Therefore, I use my Sunday, which is usually less busy, to prep as much as I can for the upcoming week. The prep list was indeed daunting yesterday...which included making garganelli, gnocchi, and pizza (our special thin crust pizza), roasting squash, blanching Brussels sprouts, making vegetables stock, and chopping vegetables. I spent nearly 6 hours preping for the above items while going through orders of food during service hour. Cheers to a happy ending!
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On my way home
After a busy Saturday dinner service, I could not have appreciated my peaceful walk to my apartment in Brooklyn more than anything else.
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Searching for perfection: Risotto
There are a few dishes that I make regularly and always seek for perfection (eg. scrambled eggs, Julia Child's fluffy omelette, Malaysian curry, bulgogi, etc), and I have made a fair amount of risotto whenever I crave homemade Italian meal. Although risotto seems boring and straight forward, the steps that it takes to make a perfect risotto, or at least tasty, are quite patience-demanding. If done right...the result is quite rewarding.
My personal preference for a vibrant risotto dish is done al dente, with a little bit of bite for the grains, but not sticking to your teeth. When I make my risotto, homemade chicken stock is a must. Without a rich and nice homemade stock, risotto tastes like piss...and I mean it. I have worked on risotto for many months...I am still inconsistent with my result. In my perect world, the risotto would be al dente and engulfed with nice seasonal vegetable sauce, and then topped with a nicely cooked protein item. Please check the progress I have made in the last few months...I end this entry with a Risotto with Minty Pea Puree and Curry Scallop (the last photo).
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iFS Summer Highlight
Before summer ends...here are some iFS highlight for the month of August (I slacked off in taking pictures in July...)
Pictures in order:1) Pulled Pork Banh Mi: pickled carrots and daikon, cilantry, aioli
2) Leg of Lamb Sandwich: dill yogurt sauce, iceberg lettuce, hummus
3) Roasted Pork Sandwich: pickled red cabbage, roasted jalapeno, aioli
4) iFS Smoked Salmon (home-smoked salmon would be a nice entry next time): mayonnaise, sourcream, friseeEnjoy!Although iFS has temporarily closed, I am always looking for new ingredients (or exotic recipes) for making tasty sandwiches. Please feel free to suggest any ingredients that you'd like me to try. My kitchen is my laboratory as well as yours!
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