Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Poached egg & pan-seared asparagus on pâté & toast


I bought a bunch of asparagus a few days ago. Fat, juicy, crunchy looking asparagus. But my cold have drenched me of my desire to cook & bake for the passed few days, so the lovely asparagus have just been laying there, staring at me everytime I opened the fridge.

They would have eventually started talking.

So I started obsessing over the thought of what I was going to make with them. Seriously, it haunted me for 2 days! I really didn't want to turn on the oven to make a quiche or a tart, it's too hot for that. Luckily, my brain still haven't given up on me after the extensive researching & planning for our Eastern Europe trip, I geared towards breakfast for dinner. Not very original, but still better than nothing!

Poached egg & pan-seared asparagus on pâté & toast
  • a bunch of asparagus, stemmed, washed & dried
  • a dash of olive oil
  • a couple teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
  • sea salt
  • an egg
  • some pâté (optional)
  • a slice of bread
  • black pepper
In a big bowl, marinade the asparagus in the olive oil & balsamic. Sprinkle the salt on top. Let them sit for a few minutes.

Heat a pan over medium high heat. Dump all the asparagus in, including the marinade. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the crunchiness of your choice . (I cooked mine for about 3 minutes because I don't like mushy vegetables)

Remove the cooked asparagus. Pour a few cups of water into the pan, but not to the rim. When the water starts simmering, crack the egg into a ladle, place the ladle into the pan and gently nudge the egg out (Gently so that the egg white doesn't run all over the place)

Mean while, toast your bread and spread some pâté onto it. Place some asparagus on top. At this point, the egg will be cooked, so remove it with a ladle that has holes in it so the water doesn't come with.

Place on top of everything else, crack some black pepper over it, and bite. Make sure you have a napkin ready for the dripping egg yolk.

Oh yeah...


Monday, June 22, 2009

Strawberry mousse cake with chocolate chip cookies bottom



Bleh! I've been nursing a cold for the passed week. You know, the slow torturous one that starts two weeks in advance, with muscle pain and headaches, then "BAM!" just like that, it hits, and you're completely thrown off balance.

Left with no energy & no appetite, I lost the desire to cook. I KNOW! It's soooo wrong!!! Everything tastes mediocre or yucky, so I haven't cooked or baked ANYTHING at all... except for birthday cakes. Ya, this is the third one in 7 days. LOL!!!! It was a friend's birthday dinner yesterday, and so I made what I was told to be his preference, Strawberry Mousse.

I didn't want to turn on the oven, so instead of making a cake base, I made it with crushed chocolate chip cookies & cream cheese. The rest is simply strawberries, cream, a bit of sugar and gelatin.

The base:
  • 16 chocolate chip cookies (I used the Compliments ones, but Chips Ahoy or anything similar is fine)
  • 1/2 block of cream cheese (4 oz)
Line bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan with
Crush the cookies in a big bowl. Soften cream cheese in the microwave for 1 minute on medium power. Mix cookies & cream cheese together, using your hands to mash them together well. Press in bottom of baking pan. Refrigerate.

The mousse:
(adapted from Joy of Baking Strawberry Charlotte)
  • 1 bag 600g frozen strawberries, no sugar added, thawed
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 pouches of Knox gelatin
  • 250 ml whipping cream

Puree the strawberries in a blender, add the sugar according to your taste. Reseve 1 cup in the fridge.

Sprinkle the gelatin over 1/2 cup of strawberry puree, let sit for a few minutes. Stir and microwave for 15 seconds or until the gelatin has dissolved. Add it to the rest of the puree and mix well.

Beat the cream with a mixer until soft peek form, then fold the puree into it and continue beating until stiff peak. Spread over the cookie base and refrigerate a few hours.

The glaze:
  • 1 cup of strawberry puree
  • 1.5 Tbsp of Knox gelatin
Sprinkle the gelatin on top of the puree and let it sit for a few minutes. Microwave for 15 seconds or until the gelatin has completely dissolved. Mix well and spread over the top of the mousse.

Decorate to your desire & enjoy! I am off rolling myself in the blankie & fry like an imperial roll... (Oh yeah... I'm s.l.o.w.l.y getting my appetite back)