vodka melon punch!

my mom made a virgin melon punch for a party coz there were kids around. i've tweaked it up a bit for a more adult crowd and it tastes fantastic!

you need...
1 large ripe honeydew
1 extra large punch bowl
melon scoop
blender
3 litres ice-cream soda
1 1/2 cup vodka
1/2 cup cointreau
1/2 cup water

this is how you do it...
cut the honeydew in half, deseed it, and start making little round balls of honeydew with the melon scooper. you can drop the load of honeydew balls straight into the punch bowl. now, dig or cut out the leftover oddly shaped honeydew, cut it into pieces and place it in the blender. add the 1/2 cup water to the blender and process until smooth. pour the honeydew juice into the punch bowl, and wash the sides of the blender with a little more water to get all the juice out. now add in the ice-cream soda, vodka and cointreau. mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve. place a large block of ice in the punch bowl to keep the drink cool throughout the party.

* if you're feeling lazy or just dont have the time for melon scoopers, just cut the honeydew into 1cm cubes.
* add the juice of 1 lemon if you fancy it being less sweet.
* alternatively, you can use tequila instead of vodka.
* if you're out of cointreau, replace it with any other brands of triple sec.

Cheese Baked Lobster

for yoon chun...

Ingredients
2 lobster (1.5 pounds each)
1 cup milk
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp basil, finely chopped
2 tbsp soft butter
½ large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp rice wine
½ tbsp basil, finely chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
Serve with lemon wedges
Chili powder/paprika powder/finely chopped chili

Directions

1. To steam the lobster, bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil, add 1 tbsp of salt to the water. Place the lobsters in a pan, and place the pan (above the boiling water) within the pot. Cover and let boil. Steam for 10-12 minutes. Remove the pan from the steamer. Save the liquids left in the pan.

2. While the lobster is steaming, heat the milk in a small nonstick pot and bring it to boil. Once boiling, quickly reduce it to a simmer and stir in the cheddar and parmesan cheese until melted. Add the lemon juice and 1 tsp basil. Stir well and remove the pan from heat.

3. Place the steamed lobster on its back and firmly grasp its head. Using a chef’s knife (with a sharp tip), cut the lobster lengthwise from the abdomen (where the head and body connects) to the tail. Then rotate the lobster around and this time hold on to the tail and cut it lengthwise from the abdomen towards the head. You may want to remove the claws and legs ahead of cutting if you wish to serve it without them. You may also choose to discard the stomach sac and feather gills from the head, and the intestinal thread. (Some people enjoy the flavors of the stomach sacs). Please refer to this website for further pictorial instructions on how to cut and clean lobsters.

4. In a sauce pan, heat the butter and stir fry the onion and garlic until fragrant but not browned. Add in the reserved lobster liquids and rice wine. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and bring it to boil. Add ½ tbsp basil and removed from heat.

5. Arrange the lobsters shell side down on two oven-prove serving dishes. Spoon some of the lobster sauce on the flesh of each lobster. Then spoon generous amounts of the cheese sauce over the lobster. Sprinkle the top with some paprika powder/chili powder/chopped chili. Place in a preheated oven and bake on moderate heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with lemon wedges. Serves 2.

ham & mushroom carbonara pasta

my good friend kenneth requested to have another taste of my carbonara pasta before i fly off to the states so we were at bangkung park last night with jojo, sheila and josh, and this is what i served them...

heat 2 tbsp olive oil with 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet and leave it on medium heat. saute 1 roughly chopped large onion for 2 minutes. add 5 cloves of minced garlic and continue to saute for another minute or so until fragrant. add in 8 shitake mushrooms (thinly sliced), season with a pinch of salt and generous dashes of black pepper, and saute for 2 minutes. stir in 5 slices of ham (cut in cubes or strips) and fry for another minute. then pour in 750ml (or 3 cups) of whipping cream, season with salt to taste and slowly bring it to boil. let it simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in 1 tbsp of finely chopped basil. gently drizzle in 2 egg yolks (lightly beaten and mixed with 1 tsp water), stirring throughout the process. served warm over pasta (250 g) cooked as per packet instructions. serves 5 pax.

* even though i actually used angel hair pasta on this recipe, i recommend using fettucine (flat & thin), fusili (2 or 3 edged spiral) or penne (medium length tubes cut diagonally at both ends) pasta for better sauce retention and maximum flavor. these types of pasta are common enough to find at most supermarkets.

* how not to burn your butter when pan frying: 2 parts vegetable oil, 1 part butter. the butter is for flavoring only so you dont actually need too much of it.

* if you're using dried shitake mushrooms, soak them in warm water at least 4 hours ahead of cooking.

* i used EMBORG brand's UHT whipping cream for this recipe. if you are using ANCHOR brand's whipping cream, you can cut down the simmering time to just 2 minutes as anchor's cream is thicker in consistency.

* you can forgo the basil leaves if you cant get your hands on any. it's a pretty common herb, available in most major supermarkets (although giant is not exactly prompt in restocking their supplies) and at wet markets.

* try to avoid reheating the sauce after adding the egg. you dont want to compromise the smooth texture of the sauce and turn it lumpy.

tsemeiroquai, over and out...