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...

potato salad

here's the thing, potato salads doesnt have to be made up of potatoes only.

assuming that you're not providing this to a vegetarian party, this recipe is the ideal thing to bring to a port luck. easy to make and guranteed to taste good.

1. peel the skin off 3 large potatoes and give it a good rinse. cut them into large bite sized chunks and place them in a pot and fill it with water enough to cover over the potatoes. add 1 heap tsp of salt to the water. place the pot on the stove and bring it to boil. then, lower the heat and let it simmer for 12 minutes or until the the potato is cooked. (test by poking a fork or satay stick into the potatoes. it should penetrate it with ease). once cooked, drain the water off and let it cool.

2. in another pot of boiling water, cook 3 whole sausages for 3 minutes. remove the sausages and let cool. in the same pot of boiling water, cook 5 crab fillament sticks for 1 minute, remove and let cool. cut the sausages into little coin shaped pieces and the crab fillament sticks in approximately the same size.

3. (shortened instructions: boil 2 eggs (hardboiled), let cool, remove the shells, and cut them into rough chunks.)
place 2 eggs (room temperature. if you store your eggs in the fridge, it's advisable to let it cool to room temperature before cooking) in a pot with water enough to cover over the eggs. place the pot over medium heat and stir the eggs continuously until the water boils and cook for another 3 minutes, all the while stirring the eggs. remove the eggs and let cool. remove the shells from the egg and cut them into rough chunks.

4. in a large container, mix the potatoes, sausages, crab fillament sticks, eggs, with a pinch of salt, generous dashes of black pepper, 3 heap tbsp of mayonnaise, 2 heap tbsp of coleslaw sauce, 1 whole stalk (or more) of spring onion. cover and keep in the refrigerator until ready to be served.

serves 4-5 as side dishes. garnish with more fresh spring onion.

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(*the tedious job of constant stirring is to ensure that the yolk remains in the center of the egg, preventing it from overcooking on one side. overcooked hard boiled egg has a layer of greenish grey colour around the yellows. it's still edible, but if you taste it carefully, that part has a slightly sourish taste.)

(*if you like your yolk to be still a little runny in the middle (not recommended in this recipe), cover egg with water, bring to boil, continue to boil for another minute, remove from heat and let sit for another 2 minutes in hot water before removing the egg, all the while stirring the egg)

cranberry lust

thought this up as i was clearing up after the margaritas. there was half a can of bitter lemon left and i was gonna store it in the fridge when lo and behold, a big packet of dried cranberries staring back at me... ::lightbulb above my head lighted up::

1/2 tsp dried cranberries
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp grenadine syrup
1 tbsp brandy
bitter lemon, to top up

place the cranberries in the bottom of a martini glass. place 3 to 4 ice cubes above the cranberries. add the lemon juice and then the grenadine syrup, which should mix together to form the first layer. then slowly pour in the brandy and gently top up with the bitter lemon. this should give it a gradual blend of colors from blood red, golden to clear liquid at the top. garnish with a paper umbrella or skewer a few cranberries (fresh or dry would do, or strawberry) together on a toothpick.

it tasted real good, and the color is a luscious red. this is a great party drink, especially if it's a hawaian or red themed party. this layering style of serving is only suitable when you're serving a small group of friends. if you're catering to a large bunch of people, throw 1/2 measure of lemon juice and grenadine syrup, and 1 measure of brandy into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. shake well and strain into martini glasses prefilled with 1/2 tsp of cranberries each and top up with chilled bitter lemon.

if you can get your hands on some fresh cranberry juice, all the better. use it to replace the bitter lemon.

* it's almost impossible to find dried cranberries in malaysia, so try and get frozen ones. as far as i know, it's available at section 14 pj's cold storage. you can try looking for it at the bangsar village grocer or other supermarkets around bangsar.

* garnish using something with a toothpick so that your guests can eat the dried cranberries at the bottom

* sprite & 7-up (or any other brands of lemonade) can usually replace bitter lemon but the drink will be slightly sweeter.

* it's a good way to get rid of the tonnes of VSOPs and XOs we've accumulated over so many CNY

* for something fancier, tint your ice cubes red. in a jug of water, add in a few drops of red food coloring, stir and pour it into the ice tray. for added effect, add a a small piece of frozen cranberry into each cube before refrigerating.