Crème Brûlée and Announcement

Hi everyone. Just a little announcement that I've migrated my website to a new domain name www.tofoodwithlove.com. Any previous links from the old blogger website will be automatically redirected to the new one.

For those who absolutely love crème brulee (my favourite too!), here's a simple recipe that I've tried and tested, and you will never have to order crème brulee at the restaurant again :) Just make sure you have a blowtorch handy. Enjoy!

Crème Brûlée Recipe
Adapted from SBS

Ingredients

300 ml pure cream
200 ml milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways, seeds scraped
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup caster sugar
2-3 tbsp demerara or caster sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 160°C.

 

Place the cream, milk and vanilla seeds in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil and remove from heat.

 

Whisk together the yolks and caster sugar in a large bowl until just combined. Continue whisking while pouring the hot cream mixture over the top until combined. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve then pour into four 180 ml ramekins.

Cover with foil and bake the brûlées in a bain marie lined with a tea towel for 60 minutes or until set but with a slight wobble. Remove and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before refrigerating for 4 hours or until cold.

To serve, sprinkle each brûlée with Demerara/caster sugar and caramelise using a blowtorch. Serve immediately.
 

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Lipton High Tea @ Masterchef Dining and Bar (plus Lipton Pyramid Giveaway) - Closed

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang. So, here I am at my computer, typing away while enjoying a freshly brewed cup of Russian Earl Grey tea, compliments of Lipton. I attended the ‘High Tea Brewed By Lipton’ event on 8 September as an invited guest, held at the Masterchef Dining and Bar pop-up restaurant at First Fleet Park, Sydney. In celebrating the release of its new Lipton Pyramid tea range utilising an innovative, pyramid-shaped teabag, Lipton conducted a tea-tasting session, hosted by Lipton Master Tea Blender, Kurush Bharucha. The afternoon's menu featured an array of exquisitely crafted desserts and high tea classics, from Waldorf sandwiches to Vegemite Caramel Chocolate Cups (yes, Vegemite!). It was definitely one sweet afternoon! Read on and find out how you can sample these delicious teas with our giveaway.

 

Feast your eyes ....

 

Being a fan of the Masterchef series, I was really looking forward to dining at the pop-up restaurant. I felt like a kid going to the carnival for the first time. The hostess at the door showed us into the restaurant and led us up the stairs onto the second level of the room. I was pleasantly surprised that it was quite a small and private function. I brought Mr G along and we were seated at a quiet corner with a lounge chair, right next to the railings. It had a great bird's eye view of the entire room. I managed to snap some pictures of the kitchen below and admired the entire setup from floor to ceiling.

Kitchen and dining area

Moments later, Mr G turned to me and whispered "Look, there's Julia". I turned to look and there she was, making her entrance. I was kind of star-struck for a minute, and the initial thoughts running through my  head were "I have to get a picture with her". I was also thinking, how does someone like her who makes desserts everyday manage to stay so slim? If you've watched Masterchef 2012, you would remember Julia Taylor as the Dessert Queen, famous for her sweet creations, and more notably, her Melting Moments. I have made them countless times and have garnered quite a huge following for them at work. She stopped by at each table to chat with the guests, and I was thrilled to finally meet her in person. And I had a picture taken with her too! Meeting her was definitely one of the highlights for me.



Each table was laid out with 5 glasses and 5 different teabags on either side. In between sat a row of tiny porcelain dishes displaying the contents of each teabag under mini glass domes. I could see how the new pyramid shape allows the bag to hold larger leaves, real fruit pieces, petals and herbs. It also gives the tea more space to swirl around and release a fuller taste and aroma. In essence, it's like brewing with loose tea leaves, but with the convenience of a tea bag!

Green Gunpowder tea

There were five specialty blends of tea up for tasting, and Tea Master Kurush walked us through each one of them in detail:

- English Breakfast (lovely with a splash of milk)
- Russian Earl Grey (delicately flavoured black tea with orange and lemon peel and blue petals)
- Forest Fruits (black tea blended with a medley of berries - smells amazing)
- Fruit and Herbal Collection (black tea with berries and lemongrass)
- Green Gunpowder (a well-rounded green tea with natural pear flavour)

Lipton Master Tea Blender happily at work

Love the pretty colours

I enjoyed all the teas, with my favourite being Russian Earl Grey, which has an exquisite aroma of bergamot and citrus. I think it was Julia's favourite too, and reminded her of lemon myrtle. I did like the Green Gunpowder tea as well, which was smooth and delicate. The name "Gunpowder" is a description of the manufacturing process which rolls and twists the leaf until it looks like little balls of Gunpowder. One interesting tip I learnt from Tea Master Kurush (who has almost 30 years of tea-tasting experience under his belt) was that green tea is best brewed in water that is well below boiling temperature, and should be infused for only a short time for best results. At home, I usually have black tea with milk, as I sometimes find the tannins from the tea a little bitter without it. I was pleasantly surprised that with these Lipton pyramid teas, there wasn't the slightest hint of bitterness, even without milk.

With a splash of milk

Pretty blue petals in the Russian Earl Grey

After we were done with tea-tasting, it was time to indulge in some sweet treats (another highlight for me!). We each received a menu describing the food along with recommended tea pairings. I opted for the Green Gunpowder tea, which complemented everything really well. It also served as a great palate cleanser in between each of these sweet little bites, which all tasted divine. I only wish we had more time to slowly savour each one and try a few more of the teas.

The High Tea selection

Waldorf Sandwiches; Friands with tea-infused raisins; Adriano Zumbo's Passionfruit Tart;
Julia's Vegemite Caramel Chocolate Cups;
Zumbaron (macarons in flavours of Bread and butter pudding, Cherry Pie, Finger Bun)

Sink your teeth into one of these divine Zumbarons!

This was afternoon tea and dinner all in one for me!

Overall, we had a wonderful time learning about Lipton's process of tea selection and how tea is blended to create the very best experience for it consumers. We also enjoyed meeting and chatting with Julia and Kurush, and sampling some of Adriano Zumbo's famous and quirky creations. Before we left, they gave out gift bags containing a box of Russian Earl Grey and a variety of Lipton tea samples, which was a nice way to end a lovely Sunday afternoon.

Gift bag with lovely tea samples

The new Lipton Pyramid range consists of 16 different blends of tea that caters to all tea lovers out there. Some people love fruity-flavoured teas, some prefer theirs with a dash of milk, and others just want a caffeine-free tea for that last relaxing cuppa before bed. Whatever your preference is, I'm sure one of these tantalizing teas will entice your tastebuds!

Lipton Fruit Flavoured Black Teas - for those who want the flavour without the sugar or milk:

Forest Fruit, Peach and Mango, Passion Raspberry

Lipton Flavoured Green Teas - Ideal for those seeking the health benefits of green tea without the bitter taste, with refreshing flavours from fruits and herbs:

Intense Mint, Jasmine Petals, Mandarin Orange, Aromatic Lemon

Lipton Herb and Fruit Infusions - Caffeine-free, with strong flavours without sugar/milk; Calming and uplifting, refreshing and delicious:

Calming Chamomile, Uplifting Lemon Ginger, Refreshing Mint, Temptation Summer Fruits

Lipton Discovery Collection of Premium Teas - presented in a silk-like pyramid bag and delivers amazing flavours:

Mild Ceylon, English Breakfast, Green Gunpowder, Orange Jaipur, Russian Earl Grey

***************** ****************** *****************

**Lipton Pyramid Giveaway**

I have FIVE Lipton Pyramid sample packs to give away to five lucky winners!

To win, simply leave a comment on this post with your answer to the following question:

Which Lipton Tea flavour would you try first, and why?

 
This giveaway is open to Australian residents age 14 years and above. I will be choosing the FIVE most creative entries as winners. Each winner will receive a tea sample pack containing eight different flavours from the Lipton Pyramid range. 

So enter now and submit your entries by 5:00 pm AEDST on Friday, 27th September 2013. Terms and conditions apply.

Good luck everyone!



Julia Taylor and Kurush Bharucha

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Japanese-style Risotto with Roasted Eel

 

 

Risotto. It's not a dish that I would usually order at a restaurant, probably because the ones I've had in the past weren't all that great. I've had some which were delicious at the first few mouthfuls, and after a while they just got a little boring. After all, it's just spoonful after spoonful of the same thing. Up until recently, I've never attempted cooking risotto either. Everytime I hear the word "risotto", it conjures up images of Masterchef Australia, where George or Matt would give the "eyebrow" and the cynical look that says "Death dish. Don't even think about it". For that reason, risotto never had a place in my kitchen. Well, not until a few months ago when we brought the family to a fusion Japanese restaurant in Malaysia where the kids ordered this Unagi Risotto with soft boiled egg. It looked good, but before I could even have a whiff of it, the kids had polished off the whole dish within minutes. Without a doubt, it got four thumbs up from the hungry little monsters.

 

I was so inspired to replicate this at home that I decided it was time to stand up to the challenge and prove that this was no "death dish". Ahem! I tried two different methods of cooking - one by continuously stirring the risotto while slowly adding hot broth to the pan. The second was by simmering it gently in the pan, covered, until most of the stock has been absorbed before stirring it through at the end to release the starch from the rice. Both methods yielded pretty much the same results. I wasn't too fussed although I will probably stick to the former traditional method. I found that stirring butter through the risotto at the end helps to enhance the creaminess of the risotto. Either way, the risotto turned out great and I was quite pleased. I'm also a fan of Japanese grilled eel (unagi) and that with the sweet unagi glaze complemented the rice really well, along with the soft boiled egg (it was meant to be a 63 degree egg, but next time perhaps). Read on to get the recipe.

So tell me dear readers, do you have a "death dish" that you've never dared to attempt before, and why?

 

Japanese-style Risotto Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups dashi stock*
1-2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter (+ 1 tbsp extra)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup Arborio rice
2 tbsp cooking sake (Japanese rice wine)
1 tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce (or to taste)
1/4 cup green peas
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Garnish:
1 piece Japanese roasted eel, sliced into portions
2 tsp Tobiko  (flying fish roe)
Seaweed or wakame
Chopped spring onions
2 soft boiled eggs

* I used instant dashi granules to prepare the stock for convenience

Method

1. Bring the stock and mushroom just to the boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat and gently simmer.
2. Heat olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft and translucent but not coloured. Add garlic, followed by the rice. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until the grains appear slightly translucent.
3. Add the sake to the rice mixture and stir until absorbed. Add a ladleful (about 125ml/1/2 cup) of the simmering stock to the rice and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding the stock mixture, a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly and allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next ladleful, for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is tender yet firm to the bite. Halfway through, add soy sauce and peas. When finished cooking, the risotto will be slightly creamy, with a bit of liquid left, but not overly-watery. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Quickly mix through the remaining 1 tbsp butter, as this make it even more creamy (and delicious!). Cover with a lid and stand for 1-2 minutes. Lift the lid and stir through the risotto one more time. If it's too dry, add a bit of hot water/stock. Ladle the risotto onto serving plates. Garnish with roasted eel, tobiko, seaweed, spring onions and soft boiled eggs. Serve immediately and enjoy!

 

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Apple Frangipane Tart

 

So, I was telling my friend Samuel the other day that I made fish head curry three times in a row prior to posting the recipe for it last week. I explained that I couldn't get it to taste the way I wanted it to, and I couldn't possibly share a recipe for something I'm not happy with. I got it right on the third attempt though, after I figured out who the culprit was - it was the fish curry powder with the Candlenut! So I changed that, made my own curry paste and it turned out almost exactly like I wanted it to.

Some dishes are a little tricky to master especially when doing a copycat dish, and you just can't place your finger on the secret ingredient. I remember cooking Korean Fried Chicken at least five times before I was happy with the results. That included experimenting with various recipes for the dipping sauce until I finally achieved the right balance. There are also those dishes that are in WIP, for example, attempting to make laksa from scratch. I just couldn't get it right even after adding MSG (doesn't MSG usually solve everything?), and so I've put that on the backburner. In the meantime, I'm getting my laksa fix at Alice's Makan (which I went to today!), or some other decent laksa joint in Sydney. Uh-oh, have I digressed? Read on.

I made this heavenly (oh yeah!) apple frangipane tart last weekend, and for the record, this was my second attempt. The first time, I used Buttersnap cookies for the base, and I found it way too sweet, plus the added egg made the crust a little chewy and cakey. I was aiming for a light and crispy crust instead, and achieved that by using a basic shortcrust pastry with the addition of amaretti cookie crumbs. And it wasn't too sweet either as no sugar was used in the crust. There was already sweetness coming from the frangipane filling, complemented by the tartness of the apple slices. I was thrilled when I took the tart out of the oven, and it looked and smelt amazing, until....

My joy was short-lived. In my haste to remove the piping hot tart from the pan, Murphy's Law happened. The tart did a miraculous backflip onto the edge of the table, with half of it landing onto the chair. My heart just sank. Ouch. The photo above is what I managed to salvage from the table, which probably explains why it looks the way it does. It was a delicious tart nonetheless. Find the recipe after the jump.

This picture below is version 1.0 of the tart, where I used Buttersnap cookies for the base, hence the darker caramelized colour on the crust.

Here is the recipe for the best-ever apple frangipane tart. Best consumed within the next day. If refrigerated, reheat in the oven for a few minutes, and serve with whipped cream if desired.

Apple Frangipane Tart

Tart Crust:
1 1/4 cup plain flour
1.5 oz (40g) finely crushed Amaretti cookies
1/2 cup (125g) butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp iced water

Frangipane:
3.5 oz (100g) unsalted butter, softened
3 oz (85g) icing sugar
1 cup (100g) almond meal
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and quartered
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp apricot jam + 2 tsp hot water, microwaved for 20 seconds

Method

In a food processor, blitz the flour, Amaretti cookies and salt until well mixed. Add butter and pulse until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. With the motor running, slowly add the water until  the dough starts to come together. Press the dough between your fingers and if it sticks together, it's ready. Don't add too much water or else the dough will be too soft.

Turn the dough over to a lightly floured surface and gently knead until it form a smooth ball. Press into a disc and place it in a 9 inch fluted loose-bottom tart pan. Use your fingers to line the base and sides of the pan. Refrigerate it for 1 hour until it's firm. Then prick it all over with a fork.

Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Bake the tart crust in the middle rack for 15 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove and let it cool.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 190C (375F). Next, prepare the frangipane. Place the butter in a mixing bowl and stir with a spatula to soften it. Stir in the icing sugar, followed by the almond meal and mix well. Finally, add the vanilla and eggs and stir until evenly mixed through. Spread it evenly onto the base of the tart crust.

Slice the apples very thinly and arrange them over the frangipane filling. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake in the middle rack for 45 minutes until the apples start to lightly brown at the edges. Remove from oven and brush with apricot jam. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

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