more of Italy

Where to go next?

Rome.

Tuscany.

It really is as beautiful as they say.

Another sausage and ham producer.

 Best part of the day; sampling!

near Verona

Viewing and eating our way through Italy. This is the beautiful city of Verona.

The balcony that inspired Shakespeare.

We visit a cheese producer.

Each one weighs over 60 lbs, watch how fast the handler splits it apart.

We also pay a visit to a sausage producer.

wild salmon

Have you ever tried wild salmon? We got a whole wild sockeye salmon from Copper River.

We find the wild kind much leaner and is deeper red in colour than its farmed counterpart.

Grilled simply and topped with a citrus ginger marmalade. Served with quinoa red and brown rice and on a bed of arugula topped with toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

choppin' broccolini

Australian broccolini is delicious just blanched and lightly seasoned on its own . Or try it in a stir-fry with your favourite meat or seafood. We find the flavour milder than regular broccoli and the kids like that the stem is tender too.

Shrimp and Broccolini Stir-fry
serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients:
1 lbs shrimp, shelled and de-veined
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallot, chopped

1 bunch broccolini, cut in half

coarse salt

Sauce:
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp water

Method:
1. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.

2. Marinate shrimp with cornstarch and salt.

3. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and blanch broccolini for 1 minute. Drain and set aside.

4. Heat oil in a wok or large saute pan on medium high. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add shrimp and cook a minute on each side or until they turn opaque. Add broccolini and sauce, stir until bubbly. Serve with steamed rice.

stuffed shells

Stuffed shells with Italian sausage and leeks. Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Crab-Stuffed Shells with Peas and Leeks.

Lamb rack from Colorado. A little over done.

Lesson learned; take it out 10 minutes earlier. It obviously continued cooking while resting.

smells like the ocean

We got a really fresh shipment of mussels from the US. They already smelled like the ocean, but we gave them a scrub in a salt water bath anyhow.

Mussels 2 ways; with shallots, garlic, parsley and white wine.

And then with Chorizio.

A new item this year are raw Alaskan King Crab legs. Previously they always arrived cooked and frozen, but this time they were whole and raw. They also smelled like the ocean. Each leg, about the length of our arms, had to be cut up in several pieces in order to fit in our steamer pot.

And after 10 minutes in the pot, they turned a beautiful bright orange colour. We served them with lemon wedges and melted butter, but they were really delicious as is.

korean bbq at home

Last month a good friend of ours welcomed us into her home and treated us with homemade Korean BBQ. It was so fresh and delicious that everyone gluttonously overate and had to be rolled out at the end of the evening. We definitely weren't leaving that night without the recipe for the beef short ribs.

Korean Beef Short Ribs (kalbi or galbi)

serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

4 lbs beef short ribs

1 head Romaine or butter lettuce, washed and leaves kept whole

1 cucumber, julienned

Marinade:

1 cup soy sauce

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 Asian pear, peeled and grated (can substitute any other pear)

1 onion, grated

6-8 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp Mirin or other sweet rice wine

METHOD:

1. Combine and mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a large glass measuring cup. Use half the amount of water if using low sodium soy sauce.

2. Place the beef in a large shallow casserole dish. Pour the marinade over and make sure to coat each piece evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.

3. Grill on the BBQ, under the broiler, or in a large frying pan to desired doneness. Remove the beef to a serving plate and let rest 5 minutes.

4. Serve with lettuce, cucumber, steamed rice, Kimchi and various Korean side dishes (available from Korean grocery stores) as desired.

jam with tea

These cookies are incredibly delicious, addictive and great with afternoon tea. Easy and simple, especially if you have little ones in your household. This is a great rainy day activity, with little mess and clean-up.

Jam Cookies

recipe adapted from the BBC GoodFood

makes 3 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1 and 1/3 cups (200g) self-raising flour

1/2 cup (100g) superfine or caster sugar

7 tbsp or 3.5 oz (100g) cold butter

1 egg, beaten

4 tbsp jam of your choice (I use whatever's in my fridge and this time there was strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and orange marmalade. You can also substitute in chocolate chips, peanut butter, dried fruit or nuts)

METHOD:

1. Heat oven to 350 F (170 C).

2. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and butter together until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. You can also do this by hand in a large bowl with 2 knives. 

3. Mix in lightly beaten egg to form a stiff dough.

4. Shape the dough into a tube, about 1.5 inch (3 cm) in diameter. Wrap in parchment paper and freeze for 20-30 mins. 

5. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick slices and place on a lined baking sheet. Leave space between the cookies as they will expand, almost double in size, when baking.

6. Make a small indentation in the middle of each slice with the end of a wooden spoon (little kids can use their fingers) and drop a tsp of jam (or topping of your choice) in the centre. 

7. Bake for 10-12 mins until slightly risen and just golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Cookies will keep up to 1 week in an airtight container or freeze up to 1 month.

wrap it with your hands

During the winter in HK, it's considerably less humid and cold compared to the summer season. Taking advantage of the drier weather, we like to work with dough and make things that are warm and comforting. Here's a relatively simple (and soothing if you like working methodically with your hands) recipe for our favourite homemade dumplings.

Pork and Vegetable Dumplings

makes about 10 dozen

INGREDIENTS:

2 catty fresh round dumpling wrappers (about 120 pieces)

1 lbs minced pork

1 cup minced organic baby bok choy

1/2 cup minced Shitake mushrooms (re-hydrate the dried variety)

Marinade:

1 tbsp canola oil

4 tsp corn starch

4 tsp sugar

4 tbsp low sodium soya sauce

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp shao xing rice wine

Dipping Sauce:

1 tbsp red or black vinegar

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 minced thai chili or 1/2 tsp chili paste

METHOD:

1. In a large bowl, make the dumpling filling by combining the pork, vegetables and marinade. Use a large fork and mix well until you have a smooth paste. You can make this up to 4 hours before using, just cover with plastic wrap and keep chilled in the fridge.

2. Have a small bowl of water ready on the side. Lay out your wrappers on a clean surface and put a heaping teaspoon of filling in the centre of each one.

3. Fold each wrapper into a half circle and use a couple of dabs of water to seal it. With the flat side of the half-moon dumpling facing upwards, take another dab of water and pinch the 2 corners together so that your dumplings look like this (kind of like a large tortellini):

I find the fresh wrappers purchased from the local wet markets in HK less prone to drying out and are much more pliable than the commercial store bought ones. However if you find the wrappers or dumplings starting to dry out, just cover with a clean moist cloth until you're ready to cook or store them.

4. Bring a pot of water to a roiling boil and cook the dumplings for 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce. When the dumplings are done, scoop them into a shallow bowl and top with  a bit of chopped green onion or cilantro (optional). Serve with the dipping sauce.

You can store the uncooked dumplings in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days or freeze up to 1 month. Just remember to lay them flat in a single layer so that they won't stick together. Frozen dumplings don't need to be defrosted before cooking. Just drop them frozen into a pot of boiling water for 8-10 minutes.

2014 and the year of the horse

It's a new year and also the year of the horse! We're back with some seasonal fruit from down under:

Australian lychees - sweet, juicy, and a smaller pit than their grown in China counterparts.

 Tasmanian cherries.

 Big, ripe and sweet Australian mangoes.

Is there anything better than waking up to the smell of freshly baked bread? We love love love our new breadmaker! And we love experimenting with different flours and ingredients...

...of course sometimes those experiments don't turn out so well. This was suppose to be pumpkin coconut bread.

Attempt number 2 yielded much better results.

This Honey Oat and Cranberry one is fast becoming a favourite in our household. The recipe makes a 1 lbs loaf. Set your breadmaker to the regular setting with a light crust. Ingredients must be added in the following order:
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp water
1 1/4 cups bread flour
1/2 cup whole meal bread flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp dry milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup pecan pieces

US Barron Point oysters are at the peak of their season now. Have these giant oysters raw or lightly steamed and topped with minced garlic, green onions, cilantro, sizzling vegetable oil and light sodium soya sauce.

Our langoustines were featured in the January 23rd issue of SCMP's 48 hours magazine.

New comer on the restaurant scene Fish & Meat, serves them grilled and lightly dressed to bring out their natural sweetness and flavour.

holiday food

Lots of celebrations this month and we start off with The Peninsula Hotel's 85th Anniversary. An all night party with fabulous food, drink and edible displays.

Black garlic has been making some headlines promoting many health benefits.

We get our hands on some and enjoy the rich balsamic-like flavour it adds to our dishes. Using grass-fed French butter, cream and a mix of fresh shitake and oyster mushrooms, we add the black garlic to our pasta.

For Christmas dinner we get a case of fresh parsnips from the US. We serve them Nigella Lawson's glazed with maple syrup.

Also on the menu is a ginger and apricot glazed ham and New York Magazine's Cauliflower and Gruyere Macaroni Gratin.

Christmas wouldn't be the glutinous holiday it is without all the baked treats. Check out this very moist and delicious recipe for Guiness Gingerbread Cake. And using US sourced dried cranberries, almonds and pecans we make...lots of holiday cookies!

What to do when you get a 11 pound box of cherries?

 The answer is Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Cherry Trifle!