Saturday cook-outs in 2007

There were so many gastronomic memories in 2007...it would be a shame not to capture and chronicle the sessions when a bunch of folks with a mutual love of food bonded over cooking and baking. Who could forget those fantastic feasts that we enjoyed in the lovely home of our gracious hostess, the budding cook.

So before we embark on more culinary capers in 2008, here's a look back on the gastro-events that took place in a little nook of Shah Alam.

Thanks to...
~ the cooks who happily shared cooking tips, hints and signature dishes
~ those who may not have been so culinary-inclined but never failed to bring the wine
~ Kakak who chopped, peeled, cut, diced and then cleaned away all evidence of the cooking and feasting at the end of the day
~ the budding cook and the man of the house who always warmly welcomed us to their home

Here's to the everyone in the cook-out posse...may we have many more feasts in 2008!

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Cook-out #1 - Desserts download - the art of the apple pie

My mother's dutch-style apple pie has won many fans over the years...and it was time to pass on the knowledge to the budding cook and start her off on a beautiful culinary journey.



the assembled apple pie ready for the oven












the baked apple pie

There was a scrumptious Anglo-Italian Trifle but we missed snapping a photo of it :-(

…but it looked like this (and it tasted heavenly…hic hic)

Thank you Nigella!

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Cook-out #2 - the Oink Oink adventure

Honestly, we started out not knowing quite what to do with the 2kg slab of pork-belly but with some creative mish-mash of herbs + garlic, a hastily made bed of leeks + onions, the deft use of baker's twine (generously donated by the guys at Mr Ho's) and a few hours of oven time, we turned out a rather fabulous meal enjoyed by all.

The roast pork belly with roast pineapple slices
...served with roast corn-on-the-cob and a wonderful potato salad
Rounding things off to a sweet end...barbecued pineapple slices with Kahlua chocolate sauce (alas the fruity skewers disappeared so fast, leaving no models for the camera) and this chocolate raspberry pavlova

A lesson learnt in oven-utilisation. For budding cooks out there...DON'T try to do a roast AND a pavlova for the same meal as both demand long periods in the oven.

Calling all Pavlova lovers - here's how you can create your own chocolate-y pavlova heaven.

Thank you again Nigella!!

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Cook-out #3 - going Brazilian!

For the next gastronomic experience, we went down to Rio and created a "feijoada" that forms part of a traditional weekend lunch in Brazil a la "Sunday roast" (which most of us would be more familiar with in the English context).

The original feijoada is a stew of beans with various beef and pork parts, and is served with side dishes as seen here
(look at the food, not the men)

Here's our version using pig's trotters, black haricot beans, pinto beans and a big splash of Barcadi (instead of cachaca) with side dishes of wilted greens with garlic & a refreshing orange onion coriander salad

grilled pork ribs

For the curious amongst you…here’s how we got spurred to attempt cooking some South American cuisine and how you can do your own Pigging Out in Rio

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Cook-out #4 - Pasta escapade

For this gastro-event, we dabbled with seafood and mastered a familiar favourite, Pasta Vongole

...and baked a thai-style marinated fish in a banana-leaf parcel
potato avocado alfalfa sprout salad
~ I can't remember what we had for dessert!! Can anyone from the cook-out posse recall or have any photos?

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Cook-out #5 - Paella Paella!

After previous dabblings with roasts, seafood and pasta, we travelled down the Mediterranean route and whipped up a couple of paella variations. In honour of the occasion, the (now accomplished) budding cook armed herself with a proper paella pan, which suggests that more paella days are to come.

We started off with an appetiser of grilled Portobello mushrooms stuffed with chopped tomatoes & cheese (deftly whipped up by a talented member of the cook-out posse who also does fabulous things with flowers)


The main course was a huge seafood paella with the works - prawns, clams, mussels - and then garnished with a sunny spray of lemon wedges


We also made a rustic paella with spicy sausages, green peppers and garnished with wilted spinach


Being inspired by the film, Ratatouille (anyone can cook!), we rustled up this hearty vegetable casserole


Dessert was a repeat performance of the chocolate pavlova...it's become a firm favourite of the cook-out posse. This time, we used kiwifruit, blueberries, raspberries and mini strawberries as the colourful topping.

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Cook-out #6 - The dry-run for Christmas

Christmas 2007 was fast approaching and our (post-beach relaxed) budding cook was in search of a plan for her annual festive party. After her success last year she was, once again, out to wow her family with dishes from her expanding culinary repertoire.

As always, we sought the wisdom of the Domestic Goddess who came to the rescue with Nigella's Christmas Bites, and after some consideration of the dish-combinations, we adapted the 2007 Christmas menu as follows:

Hot Spiced Prawns
Rudolph Pie (Christmas Shepherd's Pie)
Garden Salad with Rocket and Pomegranate rubies
Cranberry-Orange and Almond Pudding

~ Pics to follow...