Cooking and Dinner Parties

Just arrived in Vietnam to start my new life ! Scary huh ?! Just a quick post to say I am going to also write a blog solely about life in Vietnam, the link is;

http://vietnamvision.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/good-morning-vietnam/

I have sourced out a cooking school here, and will report back to you.

I had a very nice cocktail last night, to celebrate my arrival in Da nang. It’s very simple, very tasty, and its called ‘I LOVE YOU’.

'I LOVE YOU'

The cocktail consists of Kahlua, Bailey’s, and Amaretto, this is shaken with ice to ensure it is super cold. Yum, I really enjoyed it

Tonight I have decided to do a Thai Curry for a friend we haven’t seen for a while. There will be three of us for dinner, and as usual I will cater for four, for that unexpected last-minute guest.

For starter I will make Fish Cakes, served with luscious sweet chilli sauce, coconut sorbet, a Penang Curry made with chicken, followed by dessert that I have not yet decided on.

I did a cooking course in Thailand last year, and now make my own Thai curry pastes, and chilli dressings. This process is really very easy. These pastes can stay in the fridge for weeks, and I normally have Thai green, Thai red, and Massaman curry pastes at the ready ! This is a major advantage, because when you do come to cook a curry it is a very quick and easy process, and the difference in taste is astounding !

Penang curry paste is just red paste, with added peanuts (chopped up). I like to buy my peanuts raw, and roast them myself. That is simply because I love to eat some of the peanuts warm ! Of course just buying a normal packet of roasted peanuts from a supermarket is fine.

Thai curry is a great all-rounder, because you can eat it in any season. The only downside to making the pastes here in Saudi, is AGAIN the ingredients !! Kaffir lime leaves are virtually non-existent unfortunately, this to me adds the missing flavour at the end, along with the aroma. So I find I use dried, which are also difficult to get hold of. Sweet basil, also not available, but I just use normal basil. Lemon grass is mostly available, and of course I WILL NOT  make a curry paste without it !!

Thai shallots are also not available, so I use baby red onions. Fortunately Chillies are plentiful Here is the recipe for Thai Green curry paste from Pum Thai cooking school Phuket Thailand ;

THAI GREEN CURRY PASTE

INGREDIENTS

Green chilies around 20

Lemon grass 3 tablespoons

Galangal 1 tablespoon

Kaffir Lime leaves (finely sliced) 3

Garlic chopped 2 tablespoons

Thai Shallot 3 tablespoons

Salt 1 teaspoon

Thai Sweet Basil 1 handful

Vegetable Oil 2 tablespoons

Method

Simply put all ingredients into pestle and mortar, and grind. Add the oil last so you don’t splash !

I normally blend mine, it depends what consistency you prefer.

Last night I decided to prepare Leek and Potato soup.

I have to say i’ve been really enjoying making soups recently, and depending on the availability of fresh produce here in saudi.

I found two rather nice looking Leeks in the local store, which inspired me to make the soup. I also had a few potatoes hanging around at home.

I chopped a couple of very nice shallots, which I brought back from Paris, and then chopped the rather handsome looking Leeks I put them in a frying pan with butter and let them sweat a while. I par boiled the potatoes for ten minutes or so in the meantime.

I added 1.5ltr (approx) of chicken stock to the Leeks and shallots, and around half a pint of milk, and then added the potatoes. I allowed the whole lot to simmer for sometime, until potatoes were lovely and soft. I then blitzed it with a hand blender. Eh Voila ! A very nice soup in no time at all.

I don’t tend to  add salt or pepper until the soup is made. It’s great to have a blank canvass and THEN add seasoning according to taste. Last night I added a small amount of ground black pepper and a few good pinches of sea salt. I served with warm crusty bread, and heaps of delicious french butter !

OK so yesterday I thought I would do something different with chicken, so I decided to poach it

NOW !  The problem with chickens in saudi is that they are sooooo small. They are the size of a baby chicken, and therefore when I do a roast I have to cook 2 or 3 depending on how many of us there are. So I browned a chicken, and popped it in a pan with Carrots, leaks, celery AND their leaves, parsley and stalks, water, salt and pepper. UNFORTUNATELY I could not add white wine, because this is a dry country !!   I cooked this on a low simmer for one hour, served it with rice, was very tasty.

I find myself constantly adapting recipes because I am normally missing one or two ingredients. Next week I am going to Paris for work, and I will go to the food market to see just what I can find. I am particularly looking for healthy fresh herbs, eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables.

To follow the poached chicken I made a strawberry crumble which was delicious !!   I had bought strawberries …. BUT,  as quite often here, they were not very nice, and quite sharp tasting. Simple solution …. I baked them in a crumble, adding a generous amount of sugar, and then some more sugar !!!!

Hi and Welcome

I just started this Blog today. I am very excited because up until now everything has been hand written in a note pad.

So here it is. I have many things to write about since I started my fascination with food, and learning to cook it. I have attended many cooking courses, and have learnt a lot from my boyfriend, who is a sensational cook !

I have learnt well, and have had several successful dinner parties recently. I have acquired a real thirst for knowledge, and wish to continue learning throughout my life and continued travels.

So enjoy this Blog, and make any comments or suggestions you may have

Thankyou

Toni