Chicken in Cheap Wine: Coq Au Vin

Ever since I received a dutch (French, pardon) oven for Christmas, I've been wanting to make as many stews as I can, just so it gives me an excuse to use my beloved Staub. It is after all called a cocotte and what else better to make in it than a traditional French dish.


I was hunting high and low just the other day for a bottle of burgundy. Alton Brown suggests a good bottle of pinot noir while Nigel Slater says a beaujolais will do just fine. Seeing as this is my first time making coq au vin, I wanted to keep the cost below $20 for the whole meal. That meant putting aside the $25 of Willamette Valley 2006 Pinot Noir and using a relatively cheapo bottle of wine.


"Blasphemous!", the gourmet cook pooh-poohs. Well, guess what you rotten snooty connoiseur of fine foods. I went out and got THE CHEAPEST JUG of burgundy you will ever find in this lifetime. I settled for a bottle of Carlo Rossi Burgundy that is made from an undefined grape varietal and was aged in Tupperware cases down in Grandma Rossi's basement. The chicken I think, turned out surprisingly marvelous. I would however, not recommend drinking the wine. You would probably want to just feed it to the drain pipes and pull out that bottle of expensive pinot. You know what they say about "never cook with wine you won't drink?", well PISH TO THAT.

By the way, I've modified the recipe to suit regular tender, free range chicken bought in the comfort of your pretentious co-op. Unless you have a shotgun in hand and a taste for wild fowl, it won't take you hours to make this recipe.


Coq Au Vin
Adapted from Alton Brown and Nigel Slater
Serves 4

6 chicken drumsticks
4 chicken thighs
15 red pearl onions
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
2 medium carrots
5 slices uncured bacon
10 oz brown mushrooms, sliced (about 1 cup)
8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
6 cups red wine (pinot noir or beaujolais)
3 cloves garlic, smashed
Salt and Pepper

Cut off the ends of the pearl onions. Bring a saucepan of water to boil and add in the onions. Boil the onions for one minute and remove from the water. Leave to cool. When the onions have cooled, peel off the outer skin and set aside.

Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Add the chopped carrot, celery, thyme, bay leaves, onion and garlic into a 5 -6 quart dutch oven.

In a large saute pan, add one tablespoon of water and the bacon. Fry the bacon until all the water has evaporated and the bacon is golden in colour, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon, leaving the lard in the pan.

In the same saute pan, fry the pearl onions whole until brown, about 8 - 10 minutes. Sprinkle a little salt over the onions. Remove onions and set aside with the bacon. Again, in the same pan, fry the chicken pieces until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Place the fried chicken into the dutch oven.

In the same saute pan, fry the mushrooms for about 8 minutes until the mushrooms are browned and the juices are evaporated. Set the mushroom aside with the onions and bacon.

Deglaze the saute pan with one cup of wine. Pour the wine into the chicken in the dutch oven. Add in the remaining wine and chicken stock into the dutch oven.

Braise the chicken in the oven at 325°F for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

After braising, remove the chicken, vegetables and all the herbs from the stock in the dutch oven and set aside. Discard the herbs.

Bring the stock in the dutch oven to a boil until it reduced by half, this should take about 10 - 15 minutes. Add in the onions, bacon and mushroom and allow it to heat through for about 5 minutes. Add in the chicken and vegetables and simmer for another 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Turn heat off and serve with bread, egg noodles or potatoes and a side of salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

*Note: Alton Brown marinades the chicken in the wine stock overnight. This works if you're using a really old bird or rooster and the meat needs to be braised for a long time. I find that a waste of time if you're using regular chicken; it makes the wine flavour overwhelming and the chicken meat too soft. Braising or over and hour would suffice to infuse the chicken with a subtle wine flavouring and leave the chicken on the bone.
*Note: Because the bacon is already slightly salty, watch it when seasoning with salt.

Char Kway Teow

On some days, the Malaysian side of me kicks in and I find myself craving some hawker-style food that involves lots of oil, pork lard and piping-hot stir-fries. As much as I think the Malay Satay Hut is a saving grace to all the forlorn Malaysians in Washington, I sometimes don't think paying $10 for a plate of noodles is justified.

Char kway teow is basically just fried rice noodles, Malaysian style. The three main ingredients in any good char kway teow are chinese sausages, prawns and especially fresh bean sprouts. It's super easy to make, provided you're not afraid to use the highest heat setting on your stove, and make sure everything is prepared beforehand so that you can chuck things in to the wok at rapid-fire speed.


My mum's trick to bringing out the flavour of any fried noodle dish is to add a little pork lard, so I'm using this method here. You can omit this and just add vegetable oil, but I guarantee you won't regret trying out what a little piece of bacon can do!

Char Kway Teow
Serves 4

12 oz. flat rice noodles (fresh or dried)
2 slices bacon or pork belly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 link chinese sausage, sliced thinly on the diagonal
20 medium-sized fresh shrimp (31-40 ct)
4 cups bean sprouts
3 stalks scallions
1 tsp chili paste (sambal olek) or 2 tsps if you like it spicier
1/2 tsp salt

Sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
4 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp white pepper

If using dried noodles, soak in boiling water for 10 minutes. Bring entire pot of noodles to a boil for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and leave the noodles in the pot until al dente. Drain and rinse well with cold water.

Heat a wok or cast iron skillet on medium heat. Fry the bacon until crispy and the lard starts to melt in the pan.

At this point, you want to do everything in rapid succession.

Turn the heat up to high. Add in the chinese sausages. Fry for 1 minute until fragrant. Add in the garlic, prawns and salt. Fry for about 2 minutes until the prawns are no longer pink.

Add in the noodles, chili paste and sauce mixture. Fry for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Push the noodles aside and break in the eggs at the empty side of the wok. Quickly scramble the eggs and combine it with noodles. Mix everything together and fry for another 3 minutes until the noodles are slightly charred.

Add in the bean sprouts and scallions. Turn the heat off. Give the noodles a quick stir, flip to combine all ingredients and serve immediately.

The 'I Love Sunday' Post

Aaaah, Sundays... I always wake up feeling nice and contented with warm, toasty toes (but then I go to bed on Sunday night all depressed because it will be Monday when I open my eyes, bleurgh). I wake up to a tremendous-sized breakfast while I read the paper, followed by a nice long walk with the dog. Then, late in the afternoon, in this dreary, north-facing apartment of mine, I snuggle under the blankets with a good book and a glass of wine whilst listening to the latest (illegal) music downloads in the background, over the din of dripping rain. Aaaah, Sundays.


I spent all of last night dreaming about a crème fraîche recipe I saw on Tartelette. My weak spots are, in no particular order, tomatoes, parmesan, Daniel Kessler of Interpol, coffee, beer and crème fraîche. Helen on Tartelette has such amazing photos that I'm almost magically transported back to holidays in Paris where I grew chubby on baguettes, cheese and all sorts of pretty pastries.


I made her banana tatin verrines recipe this morning, but instead of using a full amount of crème fraîche, I used half greek yogurt and half crème fraîche just so I can feel less guilty about indulging.


I'm posting the recipe to serve one person, since I am spending Sunday alone today, but make sure you head over to Tartelette for the original recipe and more glorious dessert drama.

Banana Tatin Verrines
From Tartelette

2 tablespoons greek yogurt
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
1 tablespoons water
1 tablespoons butter
1 bananas, cut into thick slices
Crumble topping (recipe follows)

Spoon the yogurt and crème fraîche into a glass.

In a large skillet set over medium high heat, cook the sugar with the water until it caramelizes to a golden caramel. Turn the heat down to medium and add the butter. Let it melt before adding the bananas. Let them cook in the caramel for a couple of minutes until soft and caramelized. Remove from the heat and wait a couple of minutes before spooning the banana mixture over the yogurt mix. Top with the crumble and serve.


For the crumble topping:
2 tablespoons cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoons cold butter
1 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat your oven to 350F.
In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour. Add the butter cut in small pieces, the ginger and mix with your fingertips until you get a mixture that ressembles coarse crumbs. Spread the mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

Looking for a new camera?

This is for all you foodies who like pretty pictures:

I've been dying to get a Nikon D60 for ages - I think it's one of the best cameras out there for the price. I spend almost everyday diligently scouring the web for the best deal and... I found a superbly amazing deal on Costco.com (Of course!). The deal beats ANYTHING I've seen in a long time.

Note: In parentheses is the price of the item found on Amazon

It includes the camera body and of course the default 18-35mm VR lens ($519.98), but this deal on Costco also comes with:

55-200mm zoom Nikkor Lens ($189.50)
1GB SD card ($25)
A carry bag ($44.98)

The Costco price is basically the same except they give you $150 off and when you add it to the cart, they take another $50 off - so the whole damn thing is... $649.99.

Go score yourself one. If you're not a Costco member, you should beg/borrow/steal to get one.

Stuffed Chicken for New Year's

For some reason, I never understand why people find such happiness fussing over the New Year's. It's another year, it's getting older, being slower and growing grey hairs. It's not a very happy moment for me, really. One of the good things though, is that I get an excuse to pig out and enjoy copious amounts of alcohol. Except that because I'm ONE year older, my liver is starting to shrivel to the size of a sorrel mushroom and I can't seem to hold my liquor that well anymore.


Which is why I'm spending the night in. Some Amanda alone time with a glass of wine, some Robert Downey Jr. and trying to stop my dog from invading the rubbish bin. I probably won't stay awake till 12am considering the fact that I've had quite a lot of green tea ice cream and a humongous glass of Riesling, but Happy New Year's all the same! I'll be sitting here with my swansong to 2008, typing a recipe that incorporates all my favourite ingredients and listening to The Walkmen sing 'In The New Year'. Tonight I made chicken stuffed with thyme, goat cheese, crème fraîche and prosciutto (those are the things I ALWAYS have in my fridge) and served with an apple, spinach and raisin salad.


There's really nothing else I would rather have. Except maybe a slice of chocolate cake... Happy 2009! Whee!

Goat Cheese and Thyme Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Serves 2

1 piece chicken skinless and boneless chicken breast
2 tablespoons goat cheese (room temperature)
1 tablespoon crème fraîche
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 slices good quality prosciutto
Fresh black pepper and pinch of salt

In a medium bowl, mix together the goat cheese, crème fraîche, thyme, pepper and salt together.

Make a slit lengthwise in the side of the chicken. Stuff it with the cheese mixture. Prick the surface of the chicken all over with a fork then wrap the chicken with the slices of prosciutto.

Heat a non-stick pan with one tablespoon of olive oil. Sear the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side on medium heat until it is no longer pink and the prosciutto is crispy. Turn the heat up to high for about a minute to reduce any of the juices in the pan. Slice the chicken width-wise and serve with the cheese reduction from the pan.

A date with my cappucino maker

I'm pretty glad the end of the year is coming. There'll be no major celebration for me (the other half is away in blistery Minnesota with the blokes) - just a good night in with the dog and a movie that hopefully doesn't involve love triangles or bad Al Pacino acting. Or decapitated bodies. A nice French movie, perhaps. Or Iron Man. Either way works.


Over Christmas my mum got me the glass Bialetti Mukka Express from Williams-Sonoma. It's a really pretty contraption, but I haven't had quite the Victrola experience with it yet. It bubbles my milk rapidly, then the froth dies away in a very disturbing way. It's like cappucino maker rabies. The video on the Williams-Sonoma website is a fake, I swear. Look at that man and his perfectly frothed cup of cappucino - I want to stab him with my faulty pressure valve...

One of the good things that came out of a half-arsed cappucino maker though, is my desire to be all faux Italian-suave. I made a batch of white-chocolate hazelnut and cranberries biscotti that I conjured from scratch. And while roasting hazelnuts is single-handedly the worse experience rubbing nuts (ahem!) you will ever have, it's well worth it since roasting brings out the smoky and earthy flavour of the nuts.


White chocolate is in itself a little sweet, so I was careful to use less sugar than normal. I know chocolate-connoisseurs will pooh-pooh at the idea of anything less than 65% cacao,but white chocolate really goes well with the hazelnuts and a cup of flat white coffee.

Oh, and while you're at it figuring out the calorie content of my biscotti, have an oogly-eyed moment at my very mischievious and rascally dachshund. He's one of those dogs that "counter-surf" acrobatically and eat chocolate.



White-chocolate, hazelnut and cranberries Biscotti
Makes about 36 biscotti

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon amaretto
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chunks
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (roasted and skinned, see below)

Heat oven to 275°F and slowly roast shelled raw hazelnuts for about 15 - 20 minutes until the skins start to the flake and the nuts are browned. Remove nuts and place them on a kitchen towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and twist them tightly over the nuts. Allow the nuts to steam for 10 minutes, rubbing the occasionally to remove the skin. After 10 minutes, with the kitchen towel, rub the nuts in between you hands until almost all the skin is removed. Set aside to cool then roughly chop the cooled nuts in a food processor.

Bring the oven temperature up to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

In a medium bowl, combing the flour, baking powder, salt, nuts, chocolate and cranberries.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla and amaretto. Slowly add in the flour mixture bit by bit until a dough forms. The dough will be stiff.

Divide the dough into two balls. For each ball, transfer to baking sheet and using a rolling motion, extend the dough into a 12-inch log. Flatten the log into 7/8-inch thickness. You will have two loaves of dough measuring 12-inches long and 7/8-inches thick.

Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes until the logs are risen and just beginning to brown. The logs will be slightly soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 20 minutes. This will allow the chocolate to set and make cutting easier.

Bring oven temperature down to 325°F.

Using a serrated knife, cut the baked logs diagonally into 1/2 inch widths. Place on baking sheet and toast each side of the biscotti for about 5 - 7 minutes until brown.

Cool completely on wire racks.

Holiday Baking Part 2: Orange Sable Cookies

The usual driving time from Seattle to Portland is on average 3 and the half hours. Today, it took us almost 8 hours. We almost skidded off the road and into an oncoming truck. It was NOT the best experience. The sound of tires grating over ice is possibly one of the scariest things you will ever encounter on solid land.

Anyway, we came home after the ordeal to a marvelous bowl of stew, some home made bread and lots of Christmas cookies. This recipe comes from Martha Stewart and is a citrus-y take on traditional sable cookies. It's super easy to make and goes well with a hot cup of orange pekoe tea.


Have a safe and Merry Christmas!

Orange Sable Cookies
From Martha Stewart Living
Makes 5 dozen

1 1/4 cups whole blanched almonds
1 cup confectioners' sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons finely grated orange zest (2 to 3 oranges)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sanding or granulated sugar, for rolling

Place almonds and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Process until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal; set aside.

Place butter and zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. On low, add almond mixture; beat until combined, 10 to 15 seconds. Add egg and orange juice; combine. Add flour; combine.

Place two 12-by-16-inch pieces of parchment on a clean work surface. Divide dough in half. Form a rough log with each half; place on parchment. Fold parchment over dough; use a ruler to roll and press dough into 1 1/2-inch-diameter logs. Wrap. Chill for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Spread sanding sugar in a baking pan. Unwrap logs; roll in sugar to coat. Cut into scant 1/4-inch-thick rounds; place on sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake until edges turn golden, about 15 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Holiday Baking Part 1: Linzer Cookies

First off, let me apologize for the lack of posts of late - I haven't entirely given up on cooking, I've just been having my term finals, been in San Francisco for a conference and chilling out (literally) in front of the heater and drinking hot cocoa. It's been snowing here for the past couple of days, and in Seattle, anything below 38F is considered madness.

When it's snowing, there's always the danger of ballooning up to 300 pounds because
a)You can never (or don't ever want to) leave the house
b)You're hungry ALL the time
c)You get addicted to hot chocolate and marshmallows with a dollop of creme fraiche


I decided to put to use my time moping around the house by doing some holiday baking. I trudged out last night in the snow to haul back one pound of blanched almonds since both cookies I've decided to make this year are based around almonds.

The first of the baking craze is the Austrian favourite - linzer cookies. I've been wanting to make these cute little things since I picked up a linzer cookie cutter set from Crate and Barrel just for the heck of wasting some hard-earned money. I used my favourite Bonne Maman raspberry preserves, but you can also use any other kind of good quality fruit preserves (a good alternative would be Stonewall Kitchen's Cranberry Orange Marmalade for a festive twist).


Linzer Cookies
Makes 30 2" sandwiches
Adapted from Joy of Baking, Tuesdays with Dorie and Barefoot Contessa

1 cup blanched or sliced almonds, toasted and ground
2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks
Zest of 1 lemon
Confectioners' (Icing or Powdered) Sugar for dusting
1/2 cup Raspberry Preserves

Toast the almonds (or pecans) on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven for about 8-10 minutes (or until lightly browned and fragrant). Once the nuts have cooled, place in a food processor and process with 1/4 cup of the sugar from the recipe until finely ground. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy (approximately 3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract, egg yolks, and lemon zest. Beat in the ground nuts. Add the flour mixture beating just until incorporated. Divide the dough in half and shape into two rectangles about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick. Wrap the two rectangles of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least one hour and up to several days).

Preheat oven to 350°F and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Remove one rectangle of dough from the refrigerator. (Amanda's note, the dough will be crumbly, it would work better if you leave it out at room temperature for 10 minutes). On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch (1 cm) thick. Using a 2 to 3 inch (5 to 7.5 cm) cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.) cut out the dough. Place the cookies about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter (3/4 - 1 inch (2.54 cm)) to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. (You will be sandwiching two cookies together and there will be a small 'window or cut out' in the top cookie so you can see the jam underneath.)

Re-roll any scraps and cut out the cookies. Remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator and roll and cut out the rest of the cookies. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes or until they are very lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

To Assemble Cookies: Place the cookies with the cut-outs on a wire rack and lightly dust the tops with the confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar.

On the bottom surface of the full cookie (top of cookie will face out) spread with about a 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together, making sure not to smug the confectioners' sugar. Using a small spoon, fill the cut-out with a little more jam.

Heads up: Apartment Therapy Giveaways

This is just a quick post to let U.S. residents know that Apartment Therapy is doing a series of really great giveaways for the holiday season.

This is where it's at. Have fun!

P/S: Crazy holiday baking in pipeline, including linzer cookies and lots of chocolatey fun.

The Thanksgiving blubber riddance: Salade Niçoise

Hello! I hope your Thanksgiving was as enjoyable as mine. We had an 18lb. turkey which we ate for three straight meals and a gigantic bowl of the best mashed potatoes I've ever had that does not involve dairy. Hurrah! Heading back from Portland to Seattle, I swear my seat belt buckle was almost breaking under my gargantuan mashed potato, pumpkin pie, turkey stuffed self.

While in Portland, I manage to score a copy of Williams-Sonoma's "Savoring Provence" from Borders for almost 75% off. I love French food, and I think it's my New Year's resolution to try every single thing from that book, including frog legs, rabbit saddles and baby fish.


My first choice from the book is the Niçoise salad which basically just translates to a salad from Nice. As always, Niçoise salads MUST have green beans, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, eggs, anchovies and olives. The recipe called for artichoke hearts but I skipped it because we don't live in an artichoke friendly household.

Salade Niçoise
Serves 4
(Adapted from Williams-Sonoma's cooking series:'Savoring Provence')

4 small new potatoes, unpeeled
20 baby green beans, trimmed
1 can tuna chunk in olive oil
1 head or 1 bag baby romain lettuce
10 small cherry tomatoes (or 2 large roma tomatoes)
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
8 slices olive oil packed anchovy fillets, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup Nicoise or kalamata olives
1 tablespoon capers
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered lengthwise

Vinaigrette
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
2 cloves garlic, minced fine
1 small shallot, minced fine
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook potatoes until tender, about 10 - 15 minutes. Drain, and set under running water until cool. Cut into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Blanch the green beans in a pot of salted water for 2-3 minutes. Drain, and set under running water until cool.

Drain the tuna and separate into large flakes. Make the vinaigrette by whisking the vinaigrette ingredients together in a bowl.

Line a large salad bowl with lettuce leaves. Lightly toss the remaining ingredients except for the eggs in a separate bowl with the vinaigrette. Spoon over the lettuce and arrange the quartered hard-boiled eggs on top.

The fastest and easiest and moistest chocolate cake you will ever bake

Confessions of a girl who oft-denies her feminine side: I don't like cake. I'm not a cake person. I like the idea of the gratification that cake brings, but after a bite of chocolate, cheese, berries or whatever the heck is in those things, I feel like throwing up and go into anaphylactic shock (literally). I've made a couple of cakes on this blog, but mostly those were pretty healthy, involved minimal use of butter and were ready in 45 minutes flat.


I recently bought a Food & Wine cookbook from 1998 at Half-Price Books for $2. I don't do Gourmet or Bon Appetit subscriptions. I'm cheap like that. In the Food and Wine book was a recipe for a mix-in-the-pan chocolate cake. I was semi-thinking: How good can a chocolate cake that didn't involve a mixer be? Wouldn't that just taste like brownies (which I find marvelously gross)?

I decided to try it anyway because a) I didn't get cake for my birthday (I'm anti-cake like that) b) I have a potluck tomorrow for someone's birthday, the cake would be my contribution. And also, lately, I've been craving chocolate so much. I blame that both on Ina Garten and leftover Halloween-goodies, and oh, on the economy, on General Motors, on my thesis advisor, on Eric Cantor and change we may never believe in.


Have a go at this chocolate cake that is so easy, it's laughable. To make it more elegant, you can (and should) bake it in a round cake pan - the recipe will yield two round 8" cakes. Otherwise if you're like me, this recipe will yield a moist, soft and supremely chocolatey 8" square cake, dripping with chocolate glaze and sparkling with chopped walnuts.

Fast and Easy Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Food and Wine, 1998

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 lb unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 cup very hot water
1 cup low fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line an 8-inch square cake pan with parchment paper.

In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Whisk in the eggs, butter, hot water and vanilla. Then whisk in the yogurt. Mix together with a rubber spatula and pour in to the prepared pan until it is half filled. (Note: Do not overfill or you cake will resemble a chocolate volcano!) . Bake for 40 minutes at 350°F until a thin knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out gently on a wire rack and cool completely. Top with chocolate glaze and chopped walnuts.


Chocolate frosting
4 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Melt the chocolate and butter in double boiler. Gently pour over the prepared cake, starting from the middle of the cake and letting the glaze drip over the sides. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Chana Dhal (Indian Lentils)

News alert: Dogs aren't really that cute. Especially if they're rascally dachshunds that have learned to jump up on your garbage bin and crawl across the counter to munch on half a pack of raw chorizo. They are NOT cute that way.

Indian food is one of the three staple cuisines I grew up with in Malaysia. Weekends were usually spend watching live football (to be incorrectly termed: Soccer) broadcasts at 3am whilst chomping on a traditional roadside Indian dish of dhal and 'roti'. That was of course, complemented by mugs and mugs of milky tea that were guaranteed to give you a tummy-ache hours later.


For some reason, the change of season has brought back rather strong urges for both football and dhal with 'roti'. I recently found out that the Seattle Sounders FC have signed on my once-upon-a-time favourite Arsenal player Freddie Ljungberg as the distinguished player for the club. So I figure I'll get an early headstart on the food part of the soccer night outs.

Dhal is usually made with ghee, a kind of shortening. I used vegetable buillion cubes and a small amount of vegetable oil instead to make this a healthy dish that you can serve with some store bought naan and a cup of milky chai. It works wonderful on a cold day, and lends a subtle spicyness to offset the chill factor.

Chana Dhal (Indian Lentils)
Serves 4

1 1/2 cups yellow split peas
3 cups water
2 big green chilis (Serrano or Hot Cherry works fine)
1 large tomato, cubed
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
4 slices fresh ginger
2 tsp Garam Masala
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp black mustard seed
1/2 cube vegetable buillion
Pinch of Red pepper flakes
Handful fresh parsley leaves
Salt to taste

Note: If your lentils are still tough, and you would like it to be softer - add in 1 heap teaspoon of baking powder. Likewise, you can use an immersion blender to pulse the lentils.

Soak the lentils in 4 cups of water for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

In a big pot, bring the lentils, water and a teaspoon of salt to a boil. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, uncover and stir in the Garam Masala and curry powder. Let the pot remain simmering, uncovered.

In a separate frying pan, heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil and fry the garlic, onions, ginger, tomatoes, chili and black mustard seeds until fragrant, about 7 minutes.

Stir in the fried tomato mixture, red pepper flakes and vegetable buillion cube into the lentils and let it simmer for another 5 minutes until the lentils are thick. Remove the sliced ginger. Season with salt to taste. Serve garnish with parsley leaves.

Cranberry and Orange Scones

On most days when I go to the gym, I try to veer attention away from my strenuous plodding by either watching something depressing and funny (MSNBC!) or ridiculous and delicious (Food Network!). My secret is always to head to the gym at about 1.30pm to catch Giada, Barefoot Contessa, then Chris Matthews on Hardball. I like Giada because she is very well-endowed and has really pretty things - like plates. And she doesn't annoy me as much as say... Rachael Ray does. Ina Garten I watch mostly because she whacks a pack of a fat into EVERY single thing she cooks. I like that she doesn't care if she's chubby or that she has a chubby hubby. They're my favourite chubby couple. And Chris Matthews... oh, I watch him because he's mean, mean-spirited and funny.


Well, this morning, being a bank holiday and all, I decided to try out something I saw on 'Barefoot Contessa' a few weeks ago. It involves a shitload of butter and an insane amount of dairy (heavy cream! eggs!) and just seemed like the perfect breakfast to offset what Northwesterners complain most about (the rain) and to satisfy my lust for all things pretty.


I modified Ina Garten's recipe a little - first off by making 6 scones instead of a whopping 16 scones, using less butter, and discarding the frosting and egg wash. So instead of one scone that will set you back by 600+ calories, have fun with one scone that is roughly 220 calories. I know the prissy foodies will pooh-pooh at the idea of "counting calories" but I really want to be able to leave the gym the moment 30-Minute Meals comes on.

Cranberry and Orange Scones
Adapted from Ina Garten's 'Barefoot Contessa'
Makes 6 scones

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated white sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
3/4 stick (6 tbsp) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup low fat milk (or soy milk)
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the milk and cranberries until dough forms.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn't stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.

Bake for 15 - 18 minutes until the scones are light brown. The scones will be firm to the touch.

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Eggs, Spinach and Roasted Peppers

The election, school, the dog, dog training, rain, Farmer's Markets... those are the reasons I have been absent from the blogosphere for so long. My nights these days are mostly filled with having lots of quick-fixes like pasta, pasta, more pasta and (horrors!) Sushi-land. Yes, sushi on a conveyor belt for $1.50 a plate. In lieu of the crazy week(s) that was/were and also for my birthday, we went out for a wonderful, romantic (albeit expensive) dinner at a French, fine-dining establishment called Crush. And yes, it is one of those pretentious, one-word restaurants that are patrolled by gay waiters with frou-frou decor and "May I help you wipe down the lobster spill on your shirt?" attitude. I had a good time inspite of that, mostly because the food was good. We started off with the Hudson Valley Seared Foie Gras steak, then I had the Roasted Hawaiian Mero Sea Bass and finished off with the most delectable serving of Chocolate Mousse and Caramelized Bananas. I think the one reason that place was so expensive was because they used truffles in EVERY SINGLE THING. Hello, truffle laces, truffle oil, truffle shavings, truffle soaked meat...


I finally had time this morning to make us a decent sit-down breakfast, spurred on by my craving for Portobello Mushrooms. This is a take on a recipe in Bon Appetit that I've tried to recreate following my pretentious gourmet outing at Crush. And isn't Konosur the ideal name for a my very own pretentious one-word restaurant?

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Eggs, Spinach and Roasted Peppers
Serves 2

2 large portabello mushrooms
4 organic, free-range eggs
2 cups spinach
1/4 chopped Spanish onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup sliced roasted red pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Heat the grill. Drizzle olive oil over both sides of the mushrooms, sprinkle the thyme over, season with salt and pepper and grill for 15 minutes until the mushrooms are soft, about 15 minutes, turning once.

In a skillet, heat 1 tsp olive oil and saute the onions and garlic for about 2 minutes, and add in the spinach. Toss until the spinach are wilted, about 5 minutes. Divide on to two plates.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy and season with salt and pepper and half the parsley. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a skillet (you can use the same one you did for your spinach), pour in the eggs and gently scramble the eggs over medium heat until the eggs are cooked. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over.

On the bed of wilted spinach, arrange one mushroom cap on top with the smooth edge facing down. Spoon the eggs on top of the mushroom, top with roasted peppers and garnish with remaining parsley. Repeat for the other mushroom.

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

Hello! I hope your Halloween went well - I think Halloween is the one day in the year girls are allowed to dress up skankily and not be called out for me. Luckily for me too, since over the weekend, I dressed up in a failed attempt at being Sarah Palin with a sticker stuck on my chest that said "MAVERICK". I ended up looking like a school girl and a nerd (which I am).

Anyhoo. I think the disasterous, half-arsed attempt at Nailin' Paylin (heh heh heh) was offset by some really good pumpkin spice cookies which I spent so much time decorating that by the time I was done, it was too dark out to even take any good photos. I made cookies in the shape of pumpkins, ghosts, cats and bats. I think the ghosts turned out really cute and I used chocolate frosting to make the cats and bats black.


This recipe is a combination of basic sugar cookies (from Martha Stewart.com) laced with brandy and pumpkin spice. You should save this for next Halloween, or use it with your Thanksgiving cookie cutters.

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies
Makes about 15 cookies with a large cookie cutter or 20 with a small one

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons brandy
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and spices in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; add dry ingredients, and mix until incorporated. With mixer running, add egg, brandy (or milk), and vanilla; mix until incorporated.

Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (I skipped this step and it turned out fine).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes, and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between. Leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.