Christmas potluck - Wasabi Potato Salad

A favorite recipe of mine 

Christmas potluck - salad

Happy Mothers' Day

Mothers' Day gathering. 

We bought the sweet sour pork, hae zho and braised beancurd/vege. 

And added on these from our kitchen :

- cold prawn cocktail salad

- omelette

- boiled Chye sim and roast pork to add on to the braised dish 

- steamed chicken contributed by mom!

- canned aloe Vera in honey

- durian puffs

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Cold prawn cocktail salad 

- mango

- red grapes

- nam shui pear

- Japanese mayo

- lettuce

- prawns

Temaki party.

Temaki home party of handrolls. 

Ushering in the new year. Also the Japanese new year. 

Old Longhouse Popiah

Shop is at Toa Payoh and they do deliveries. 

Take note that their original recipe does not use ground peanuts so if you like those, be sure to add them ($5!) to your delivery order.

Take note too that the beansprouts come raw so you need to blanch them in boiling water before you use them in your popiah. 

The crispy fish bits add that distinct crunch to the popiah. 

Their kueh pie tee shells are VERY fresh. 

Taiwan fruit beer

Sweet fruit beer. Newly arrived in Singapore. The mango flavour is nice.

Salmon roulade

 

 

serves 10

 

100g cream cheese

20ml fresh milk

salt

1 tsp lemon juice

300g smoked salmon, sliced

35g caviar (optional)

shallot, chopped

chive, chopped

2 hardboiled eggs, with yolk and white separated. Grate.

20pcs wafer crispbread

black pepper

corriander leaves for garnish

 

 

Combine cream cheese, milk, lemon juice, salt.

Spread cling film on clean table.

Lay salmon pieces till you form a 15cm square

Spread cheese on top of salmon. Roll up firmly. Tie both ends and chill for 30min-1 hr

Slice the roll into 2.5cm thick pieces.

Place on top of wafer crispbread.

Garnish - shallot, egg, corriander leaves, caviar.





Bacon rolls with scallop and prune

Scallops, 20 pc
Streaky bacon 20pcs
Prunes, 20 pcs
10 Cherry tomatoes, halved
Fresh thyme with stem, 20 pcs

Clean scallops. Remove tough muscle. Pat dry

Roll up scallop and prune in bacon

Use toothpick to secure

Grill on a hot pan. Without oil. Joint facing down to seal it

When done, remove toothpick. For garnish, stick thyme and cherry tomato atop.

Dry laksa (2)

Tried my hand at dry laksa today. For a potluck. Think I added a tad too much laksa leaves. I still prefer the laksa paste from woh hup.

I added milk for more moisture and taste.

Smoothie home delivery

Yummy flavours - mango, durian
and these are great ideas for potlucks or gatherings.

And they do deliveries, though I'm not sure if they cover all areas.

I heard you can call for orders and payment can be made via bank transfer.

http://www.mytampines.sg/buzz/must-try/171-must-try-food/3186-penang-a1-chendol--blk-822-tampines-street-81-01-190-


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Penang A1 Chendol
Block 822 Tampines Street 81 #01-190
Hp : 98519477, 92252252

Opening hours: Mon to Fri: 11.30am - 8.00pm, Sat, Sun & PH: 11.30am - 5.00pm

Fusili with walnut pesto

I've always loved pesto. My first taste of it was in Amsterdam (back in 1997!) where I was backpacking with 5 others, and we stayed at this B&B place. The owner 'kindly' offered 'homemade' dinner for us at a charge, and promised roast chicken. We think the roast chicken was bought from the supermarket. The rice he cooked was too wet and mushy, and he served the meal with pesto, and raw onions(?). But the pesto went really well with the hot steaming rice, and I've loved the taste since. However as some of you might know, bottled pesto is really pricey here, which is why I don't take it often. It is also pricey to make at home, considering that pine nuts and fresh basil leaves don't come cheap.

So I was glad to learn this walnut-based pesto recipe from a 'Healthy Cooking Class' conducted at my workplace sometime back. At least walnuts are cheaper. I tried the recipe out at home, with slight modifications.

Walnut Pesto (makes 2 cups)

• 1 cup walnuts, toasted
• 4 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated*
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil, or more if you like
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• salt & pepper to taste

1. Blend the walnuts, basil, cheese and garlic in a food processor, until finely chopped
2. Pour in chicken stock, and olice oil and blend to a smooth consistency
3. Add salt & pepper to taste
4. Yields 2 cup portions. 1 cup is sufficient for 2 persons. Store** the other portion in the fridge for another day(to use within the week***)

* I used Cheddar as I couldn't get Parmesan cheese. (please do not substitute with mozarella !)
**When storing in a glass bottle for use on another day, top off the pesto with a thin layer of olive oil to keep fresh
*** You can use Pesto over hot steaming rice - yummy !

Fusili Pasta with Walnut Pesto (2 servings)

• Fusili (200g), boiled for 8 mins or till al dente
• Thai baby asparagus (cut into sections, and blanched) (or broccoli, blanched first)
• Chicken breast meat#
• Plain Yogurt (1 cup) (optional but gives a yummier and creamier taste)

1. Warm the pesto in a pan (no need to add oil)
2. Add asparagus and pasta. Mix & combine well
3. Add salt & pepper to taste
4. Top off with chicken meat, and some grated cheese

# Season the meat with salt & pepper and cook till golden brown on a hot griddle or pan. When done, slice & set aside. Instead of chicken breast meat, I topped off my pasta with some roasted garlic teriyaki wings. A good delicious option would be roast chicken from the supermarket - just shred the meat and toss. 

Let's get started with toasted walnuts

Blending the pesto to a smooth paste

Homemade Pesto!

Ready to eat

Wasabi Potato Salad

Here's a recipe I adapted from My Little Cyberspot. It's simple, yet delicious. I did this for a Christmas potluck with some friends and kids, and I had promised to bring along some potato salad.

In went 3 medium-sized boiled potatoes, 8 prawns boiled and cut into chunky halves, 2 boiled eggs, Kewpie Japanese mayo (to taste), black pepper, chopped spring onions and about 1 finger length of Wasabi paste (I used the tube kind, thus the measurement in 'length'). I also added 1 Japanese cucumber chopped up into cubes for the c-c-c-c-runch. It was a nice combi of creaminess, spicy zing and sweetness. I think it still lacked some tartness, so I could perhaps add some chopped up gherkin-pickles next time.

Too much carbo right? And I must have my meat. So I panfried some fillet of chicken breast, marinated with teriyaki sauce. This was eaten alongside the potato salad.
Good good ... ^-^