Baking from a May 2008 Gourmet magazine recipe:



More pictures and recipe here.

And yes, it's SO delicious!  If you have a biological cheese quota like I do, you'll love it!  :-)  It's made with havarti and mozzarella cheese, and the dough has a nice consistency.

Happy Friday everyone!

I adore this dish because it turned out beautifully the first time I tried this recipe. I used 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper for the chile flakes and that provided just the right amount of spiciness heat without being too much for those of us who don't like spicy foods. I was nervous about using tomato paste since the first (and only time) I had tried tomato paste before, I thought it had tasted funny. But nope. That must've been user error the other time. This time...this time I got to enjoy a beautiful blend of flavors. It was also my first time cooking with fennel. So perhaps the newness of that anise flavoring added to my enjoyment.

My boyfriend Brian arrived home with another foodie friend in tow just as I was finishing preparing dinner. As we carried all the food to the living room to eat, the lights went out. Our third roommate whipped out a bunch of candles. I opened a bottle of Montepulciano that I had been waiting for someone to drink with me since neither Brian nor our roommate drinks alcohol. This was the first multi-course meal I'd ever planned for a small group. We had prosciutto-wrapped melon for an appetizer and Brian set up a cheese plate for dessert. I was very pleased to have good friends over for good food and I sat in the candlelight, very content.

My friend and I made a batch of "Out of the Pantry Chili and Rice". We used lean ground beef, onions, garlic, zucchini, roasted tomatoes and four kinds of canned beans.



( Finished )

 

I am a huge fan of Krispy Kreme Donuts…. I think they are little pieces of heaven.Unfortunately, Krispy Kreme isn't in Singapore, so to satisfy my occassional craving, I have been working on a donut recipe….I wanted something different. I wanted a little asian twist to it…give it a little something extra.

I have come up with these little babies…it has a matcha glaze to it, and I must say they are pretty good! 

Click here for the recipe and step by step pictures

I've been waiting a long time to post this recipe. The first time I made it I photographed the results but then never got around to writing down the recipe. I made them again last night and this time I remember what I did. So, here we go:



This recipe is adapted from More From Magnolia: Recipes from the World Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen, but I tried to healthy it up a little bit by eliminating the shortening, using 1/2 whole wheat flour and subbing 1/2 of the refined sugar with raw sugar. Richard's trying to avoid sweets and stuff this but I always want to share my food with him, so I try my best to make him feel less guilty about eating it.

( another photo and recipe under here. )

To see more of my food photography, visit my website: Robin Sharp Photograhy

It's a Mario Batali recipe, it contains insane amounts of chocolate, butter, and cream, and it tastes even better than it looks.

I know this totally isn't the season for these, but I've had this idea in my head for forever, and I wanted to try it out. This is the first time I've actually kind of experimented with flavor and made almost my own recipe.

( larger pictures + recipe )

 A summer salad! Posted just in time for the sky to darken, oh dear. Think I've jinxed the weather?

Recipe and more photos here. ^__^

I've been dying to try quinoa for the longest time. I found a recipe for a cold quinoa salad and decided I would give it a shot. It came out AMAZING. I apologize for crap quality pics.

( Recipe and pics )

Yes, I realize I should pick better backdrops than my sink and microwave for my photography, but last night it was 'take a picture before it gets cold.


Pear and apple crumble. 

There is leftovers of this in my fridge.  I think I must go eat them now.

(crossposted to my journal)

The dessert special at the restaurant this week:


Vanilla bean panna cotta, berry coulis, bittersweet chocolate crown. 

In a departure from the rich desserts I've been doing lately, I decided to take things in the opposite direction - and take advantage of the awesome strawberries available around here - with a seemingly light Italian custard.  I say "seemingly" because, while the dessert is smooth on the tongue and doesn't weigh you down, it's nothing more than heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla.  Light in taste, not in calories!

( Recipe )


Also - I got a new camera this week.  I replaced my ~6 year old 3.1mp HP Photosmart (which was a perfectly decent camera, it was just old) with a snappy Canon A720 IS.  What a difference!  After a couple days of playing with it, I really think this is a spectacular camera with plenty of bells and whistles for a decent price.  I took advantage of some downtime at the restaurant to snap some random photos - for practice with the new toy, ya know!  Ahhh, I love being surrounded by food!  =D

( Several more photos )

Chocolate Chip Victoria Sponge Buns



( Two More & Info )

So, In the coming week, I will be endeavoring to prepare a feast for a group of family and friends. This feast has been labeled the "Porkstravaganza." The reason for this is that I will be using pork in some capacity in every course. So far, I have hors d'ouevres, a soup, and an entree, but I'm still searching for a salad and a dessert. I don't want to make some obnoxious ham salad, so I think I'm looking more for perhaps a dressing that somehow incorporates pork (pancettsa, maybe?).

Also, a pork based dessert. I got the recipe for the chocolate chip/bacon cookies, but I want a backup. It can be anything. Anything at all, I just need ideas and recipes.

And rest assured, there will be a multitude of photos of the process and the finished products.