Champagne Sir? - Day 1, Singapore

Note: A will be guest blogging occasionally on our long trip. Here is his first post! 

From Singapore 7-31 “Champagne, sir?”

Well, if that isn’t an auspicious start to a vacation I don’t know what is. After nearly 3 months of daily attempts to use miles to get an upgrade on our tickets to Singapore, it finally worked…the day before we were leaving. No, scratch that – the day we left. See, the only way it was all going to work is actually if we left the prior evening; so, we did. Fortunately, I am an organizational freak (and that is putting it mildly), so we were essentially all packed, both of us had been working late every night that week to make sure that things were taken care of and in the end, it all paid off as I stretched my legs out for the long, but now business-class flight to Singapore. Finally, all of my travel for work really, really paid off in these free tickets!

After what was surely the best flight to Asia that Jen or I had ever had – full of sleep, great food, movies, etc., we arrived at 6:30am on the 31^st in Singapore rested and ready to rock and roll. We are, indeed, a bit intense and we do not, even had we been flying coach, ever sleep when we get in from these flights. It is very much our strategy to hit to the ground running. Singapore airport was every bit as efficient as you would expect it to be – from landing to sitting in a taxi, including immigration, customs, getting our bag and hitting an ATM, was only 30 minutes. The US could learn a lot from that.

I have come to a conclusion in my first Singaporean day – the taxi drivers here are the best in the world. They speak English, have meters and take tremendous pride in their honesty (big change from say Bangkok or KL), are still relatively cheap, are super-friendly and, despite all of the above, still drive like maniacs. I love it.

Once we arrived at the hotel – the new St. Regis just off Orchard Road, where, again, all that travel for work was paying off in a completely free stay, we were awed. The hotel really was brand new and it was gleaming. Service was excellent and they had our room ready despite our arrival at 7:30am. We settled in and were out by 9am.

We wandered around Orchard Road for a bit, learning the area but really looking for a Dim Sum place that had been recommended for breakfast. After a 15 minute walk or so, we arrived – and it was closed, opening at 11:30. Second conclusion of the day – Singapore is a late place. This was breakfast, after all, that we were looking for.

From Singapore 7-31

So, plan B – we were off to Little India. I didn’t expect much and was really pleasantly surprised. The shop houses were very colorful and there definitely wasn’t the sense that this was still the same old Singapore. It was beautiful and just a touch gritty, but all in a good way. After wandering by some temples and walking a bunch of the streets and alleys, we arrived at the Tekka Center Hawker Center. This is what we had been waiting for – the first foray into famed Singapore street food. Jen is not exactly the world’s biggest fan of Indian food so we had to keep things pretty moderate. Nonetheless, she was willing to give it a shot – hence the Chicken Biryani photo below. It was great – sweet and spicy, the perfect mid-morning snack.

From Singapore 7-31

From Singapore 7-31

We continued to wander Little India, stopping in at Singapore’s old spice mill on Cuff St. I had noted in my guidebook that they said you couldn’t miss the place because you could smell the curry for a block as you walked up. They were right. It was extremely strong – strong to the point that when I walked in the store to buy some curry for my mother-in-law I literally could not breathe. I waited 5 minutes to effect the transaction, but I was not a happy camper. I have no idea what that curry is going to do to our luggage.

We next meandered over to the Arab Quarter where we walked along its clean streets and looked into all the refurbished shop houses. It was even more colorful than Little India, but was far more sterile and thus missing some of the charm. We next walked through the Bugis Street market catching whiff after ever-so-powerful whiff of durian. Oh, it was awful. I think it best if I don’t even continue to talk about it as it is turning my stomach now just to think about it.

From Singapore 7-31

Oddly enough, since we didn’t really know anyone in Singapore, we were meeting one of my best friends from high school for drinks at Raffles and lunch. He was randomly passing through with his roommate back in Dublin on a trip around Malaysia and then on to Australia so it was a pretty awesome coincidence. While we waited for him, I knew that one of Singapore’s best tailors, Jack’s Custom Tailors, was located nearby and I desperately needed a few new suits and Jen wanted some dresses made. We stopped in there, got what we needed and then got measured up and went on to meet my friend. There really is nothing like a bespoke suit, so I am pretty excited for those when they’re done in a few weeks.

So now the big question – is a Singapore Sling really worth it? The answer is simple – No. They are terrible. First off, due to all of the ridiculous hullaballoo, purchasing the drink requires you to take out a second mortgage on your home. S$ 24 for one of those things! Secondly, there is no alcohol in them – it is like drinking bad fruit punch. We were really disappointed. Fortunately, we were with good company and were busy laughing it off and talking about all of their and our Asian adventures. The hotel was certainly beautiful and, I guess then, at a minimum, you can say it was a pretty fantastic setting.

From Singapore 7-31

We then headed off to the Albert Hawker Center for lunch. Some HK fried noodles and ginger fried pork and rice later, we were very, very happy. I got to tell you, these Hawker stalls are the only way to go. With all of the shopping, beautiful hotels and other such finery that Singapore has to offer, it can be a mighty expensive place. But, with these hawker stalls, you know that there is always that one opportunity to save some money and eat better food than you could anywhere else. The stuff is just awesome. We’d also go to Newton Circus Hawker Center for dinner later that night (for Beef and Chicken Satay and some seafood dried noodles), and, then, all of Jen and I’s meals all day cost less than $15 for both of us. Awesome!

From Singapore 7-31

From Singapore 7-31

My friend was then off for sunny Sydney, so we parted ways and headed back to our hotel. We were getting exhausted and it had been a long day. That said, though, we actually had another social engagement. One of Jen’s friend’s from high school was living here now and we were excited for her to show us around bit. At this point, as you can imagine in Singapore’s heat, Jen and I had walked about 15 miles since the morning and were a bit, shall we say, grungy. Imagine our surprise when Jen’s friend called and said – “hey, we’re going somewhere a bit fancy that may have a dress code – you should get dressed up a bit.” Well, please also bear in mind that we are spending the rest of the trip hiking around with tribes in the jungle, so we really didn’t have a lot to wear. We managed to get our only finery and we headed off to Asia Bar on the 70^th (no, that is not a typo) floor of the Swissotel. From there, sweeping views of the entire city surrounded you. It was really something. Better still, we arrived before sunset and were able to see the magical transformation of Singapore by day to Singapore by night. We were also, strangely enough, able to witness the Singaporean army practice for their National Day celebrations in a week (we were informed that they had already been practicing for over a month, complete with fireworks shows... and then the day of the show, you can't even watch it live! Everyone watches it on TV from their homes! Only in Asia). We’ll miss the actual festivities so it was interesting to watch the army parades and parachuters drops from the sky.

We were teetering on the edge of exhaustion and at about 7:30pm finally had to call the quits. We parted ways with Jen’s friend who will see on our way back through, headed over to Newton Circus for some quick dinner and then back to the hotel for bed sweet bed. I am writing this at 4:30am, so clearly not quite over the jet lag yet, though I presume that will pass soon enough.

It was an awesome first day. Singapore was certainly impressive and we can’t wait to come back in a few days. Now it is off to Manila in just a few hours. 

Polenta Cake with Buttermilk Ice Cream

So, I am managing to squeeze one more post in before A and I embark on the big adventure. This post is particularly important for reasons completely unrelated to our trip... it is the first time in awhile that I have successfully gotten away with ignoring the dessert ban.

It was a Friday afternoon; I had just finished my work for the day and was flipping through an issue of Bon Appetit to find some inspiration for dinner when I came across a recipe for polenta cake with plums and buttermilk icing. A quick scan of the recipe indicated that I had all the ingredients on hand and might actually be able to whip up an entire dessert before A called to check in. I had to do it. I had nearly a quart of whipping cream and buttermilk spoiling in the fridge - what a great way to knock them down... and polenta cake isn't super sweet so maybe A won't even notice I have made dessert. No plums on hand, so the pound of strawberries in the fridge would have to do. Voila, a frosty interpretation of strawberry shortcake!

All of the prep for the cake was finished in about 15-20 minutes, including measuring ingredients. It really does not get easier than that. 50 minutes in the oven... and then 15 more minutes of prep work to prepare the buttermilk custard for the ice cream... To serve I cut a thick slice of cake, garnished it with quartered strawberries and then topped it with two spoons of ice cream. That was all it took to have fresh, summery baked goods that are magazine worthy on hand all weekend.

The pound cake was dense and moist with a unique texture due to the polenta. At the same time, it was not overly sweet making it perfect for breakfast. Yes, for three days in a row I ate cake and ice cream for breakfast. My mother would probably be horrified. It was good.

Buttermilk ice cream is a little funny because the buttermilk gives it a tart flavor that is not particularly appealing on its own. Pairing the ice cream with something is the best way to enjoy it. After we had finished the cake, A and I ate the rest of the ice cream paired with fresh fruit such as strawberries. The ice cream is so easy to make that it would be great to have on hand through the summer for when you are craving a cold sweet treat.

So now we are sitting at JFK airport in the "oasis lounge" awaiting our departure. With a stroke of luck, we were able to move our flights up a day and minimize the number of connections. Let's just say it was a scramble to make the flight - I ended up needing to cancel my last meetings of the day and leave the office early so that I could dash home and tend to laundry, old food in the fridge, the trash, kill my sourdough starter (I nearly shed a tear, but who was going to feed the beast for the rest of the summer while I was away) and all of the other glamorous chores that must be done before you close up your house for a month.

Next stop - Singapore!

Recipes for the cake and ice cream below!

4th of July Barbecue Menu: Burgers and Beans!

Uh... so... July 4th was about two weeks ago. This post is a little late. It has been hot. I have been lazy. Maybe I am just still full and working through a food coma.

I don't know if our menu this time around was super easy, or if A and I are just getting really good at cooking for groups. Enough of our menu lent itself to advance prep that the day of the event we had very little to do. Honestly, I think that is the only way to go if you want to avoid being exhausted already when the guests arrive.

This year, we opted for a theme of classic-ish American dishes. After all, it is 4th of July. 

Menu

Gazpacho Salsa

Bubbamus

Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta Salad

Grilled corn on the cob

Baked Beans

Bacon Cheeseburgers with Chipotle Chiles in Adobo Sauce on Homemade Buns

Homemade Spicy Ketchup

Strawberry and White Chocolate Macarons

Blueberry Pie

Red Velvet Cupcakes

For beverages we just had beer, and lots of it. Despite the heat, we opted to avoid frosty fruity beverages with hard liquor. A's college roommates were visiting and I wanted to avoid  broken furniture and mayhem in my apartment.

Here are 10 things I learned from this barbecue: 

1. Blueberry pie is best served full size. While the mini-pies were nice in theory, it is impossible to get something that gooey out of a mold in one piece. As such, I had to serve the pies in the mold which made them difficult to eat. Though they tasted good, few were willing to go through the effort to consume them. I had a lot left over. Next year, I will be serving standard slices if I make this recipe again. 

2. When making salsa, cut the vegetables very small. Similar to the blueberry pies, our salsa tasted good but was difficult to eat. Using a dice that was too large made it difficult to scoop the salsa up with a chip. 

3. Pureed dips, like our bubbamus are easy to eat and therefore get devoured. Bubbamus is our attempt at making baba ganoush. For some reason it always comes out tasting like hummus, so we have renamed it bubbamus.

4. High quality beef can make the difference between a good burger and a great burger. Thank you Dickson's Farm Stand.  Maybe there is something to be said for all of this grass fed slow food nonsense. 

5. Homemade buns are a piece of cake if you do a little bit of planning, and they taste way better than store bought. For my buns, I made the dough the day before and allowed it to rise in the refrigerator overnight. The day of the barbecue, I pulled the dough out in the morning to let it warm up, shaped the buns, and after a brief period of proofing, stuck them in the oven. If you have an open kitchen, this could be a fun activity for any guests that show up super early to "help out" (read start drinking early!). 

6. Shucking your corn the day before can lead to dried out ears, even if it is wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. 

7. I really love pasta salad - especially when it has lots of garlic and extra virgin olive oil on it.

8. Apparently chipotle peppers in adobo sauce make everything taste better. We added them to the burgers, the homemade ketchup and the beans. It gives off a subtle heat that sneaks up on you. I'm sure if that A might have tried to sneak them into the salsa, pasta salad, and even the cupcakes if I had stopped paying attention. 

9. Beans are the ultimate accompaniment at any barbecue. They can be made up to a month ahead of time and then frozen in freezer bags. We cooked ours completely and then stuck them in the freezer weeks ahead of the party. The night before, we removed them from the freezer to thaw, and then warmed them up in the oven for a bit before serving. They can be served room temperature, so you can even warm them up earlier in the day if you think you might need oven space later. 

10. Red velvet cupcakes are a real crowd pleaser, and patriotic too! Can't beat red white and blue on the fourth of July. 

This might be my last food post before this morphs into a travel blog for a month, though I am hoping I can squeeze one more in before August. A and I are heading out on our big annual vacation in less than two weeks. This year's vacation is to be the vacation of vacations - 5 weeks and 5 countries. We will be making stops in Singapore, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Malaysian Borneo and Indonesia. Needless to say, I don't expect to do any baking while I am gone! For friends and family, we will try to keep this space updated with info and photos of what we see while we are away, and more importantly, what we eat! 

Recipe for my red velvet cupcakes and hamburger buns after the jump!

Vanilla Macarons with White Chocolate Strawberry Ganache

Home - finally - and not going anywhere for at least a few weeks now. Between personal travel and business travel, I feel like I have not been home in ages. Summer is my favorite season, and I like to spend as much of it at home as possible, enjoying the flowers and pleasant weather in my garden. May and June flew by in a whirlwind of travel and we will be away for all of August, leaving me with just the month of July to savor the season. Even July is feeling a bit rushed to me. 

For the fourth, A's college roommates are descending on our apartment for barbecue and booze. I do always love to entertain, but with the past weekend spent in Oregon, almost all of the preparation had to be squeezed in this week after work. Fortunately, excursions to Sam's, Whole Foods and Chelsea Market for provisions are complete and the cooking has started. With the blueberry pies done a few weeks ago, macarons were in order. Red velvet cupcakes prepared the day of will complete the dessert trio. 

Now that I am consistently turning out perfect shells, I view each batch of macarons as an opportunity to try out new ingredients and combinations. Early on, I decided to make some sort of strawberry macaron to keep with the theme of seasonal ingredients and red white and blue desserts. In the end, I opted for a vanilla bean shell with a white chocolate and strawberry ganache filling. In my head, I had hoped that the filling would be a deeper shade of red, but pink is close enough, right? 

I made enough macs so that A and I would have a few to sample before the party. I mean, we need to make sure they taste okay! In review, I would give them three out of four stars. The shells might have been the best tasting shells I have ever made - sweet like a fancy, yet delicate vanilla wafer. The filling was good but not great, as I felt that the strawberry flavor should have been a little stronger. To be fair, A loved them, and I know that I can be a little over-critical of my own cooking. If I make these again I think I might try to find a strawberry flavored liquor to add to the ganache. 

At a minimum, I am just relieved that most of it is done with a day or so still to spare. All that's left to make are the red velvet cupcakes... and I guess the rest of the meal, though I have left A in charge of all things savory. Burgers are the husband's job! Stay tuned for the full 4th of July update and my almost fool-proof recipe for red velvet cupcakes! 

Recipes...

White Chocolate Strawberry Ganache

310 grams white chocolate

150 mL cream

1/4 cup strawberry jam

Splash of almond extract

Chop the white chocolate into smallish pieces and place in a bowl. In a small saucepan, mix the cream and strawberry jam together over medium high heat. The cream and jam should blend completely and come to a boil. Add a splash of almond extract and allow it to boil for a few seconds, then pour it through a fine mesh sieve into the white chocolate. The sieve will strain out any strawberry solids from the jam. Use a wooden spoon to stir the cream mixture into the white chocolate until the mixture is completely smooth. Continue to stir slowly for a VERY long time... probably more than an hour! You need to keep stirring as the mixture gradually cools and thickens to a consistency where it can be piped. Once the mixture reaches room temperature, you can use the refrigerator to help it along, by chilling it for 5-7 minute increments and stirring it in between. I don't recommend putting it into the refrigerator when it is still warm as this can cause the ganache to set improperly. 

Once the ganache is thick enough to pipe (it holds it shape when you allow it to drop off the spatula), put it into a piping bag and fill your macarons!

Vanilla Bean Macarons

Adapted from Pierre Herme's basic recipe for macaron shells

yield: approximately 36 gerbet

150 grams almond meal

150 grams powdered sugar

87 grams egg white

10 grams vanilla extract

Seeds from one vanilla bean

250 grams powdered sugar

67 grams egg white

62 grams water

Follow the prep instructions here, and use vanilla extract instead of orange extract and add the vanilla bean seeds to the almond meal/powdered sugar mix before adding the egg white.