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Cranachan Is...
2008-05-17 12:15:00 ... Another Scottish dessert. Traditionally served during harvest time in summer but now can be found everywhere, it is made from a mixture of whipped cream (lots of it), whiskey, honey and fresh raspberries topped with toasted oatmeal. The dessert is very light, not too sweet, beautiful to serve, easy to make, and a mixture of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries may be used, all to good effect, as you don't necessarily have to stick to raspberries. A traditional way to serve cranachan is to bring dishes of each ingredient to the table, so that each person can assemble their dessert to taste. Tall glasses are also a typical presentation (from Wikipedia).This is the type of dessert that even an amateur can make. If you make a mistake in the mixture, just pour some more whiskey and you'll be fine.I pinched the recipe from Undiscovered Scotland, and here it is:Ingredients (serves two):»Approx 300g/10½oz raspberries (strawberries can also be used).» 280ml/10 floz/...
By: Finally Woken
Domestic God(dess)
2008-05-14 08:58:00 Cooking is something - I can say this with confident - that many Indonesians don't master. Generally we are spoiled rotten by our family who can afford maids (or sometimes maid and cook), and by the widely available good and cheap food on every corner in Indonesia. Because of this, some people never visit their own kitchen, or have more than one (one for display, one for pantry, and one for the maids who do all the cooking and where the real work presents. Seriously, this is true), or live merely by eating out or deliveries. It makes sense, anyway, that if you only need to pay USD 20.00 for a delicious main course in 5-star hotels, or much less in nice restaurants, why bother to cook?Since Indonesians are spoiled all the way, it's no wonder that few of us understand which knife to use for cutting meat and which one is for veggies. Horrible stories like burned toast or even burned boiled water, lack of kettle usage ability, and so on, becomes a constant joke in the country and abr...
By: Finally Woken
TV Episode of the Day: KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL
2008-04-26 07:48:00 TV Show: KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL Episode: “French Fight” (S01E04) Synopsis: When another chef steals a recipe from Jack, war erupts between their two restaurants; Mimi finds herself sleeping with the enemy, and Jim becomes a casualty. (Source: hulu.com) Why we like it: I really loved Kitchen Confidential, it made me laugh so much, and I am still upset that ...
By: Daemon's TV
Haggis, Black Pudding, White Pudding
2008-04-08 09:34:00 Haggis, a traditional Scottish dish, is - according to Wikipedia - made of the following ingredients: sheep's heart, liver and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for about three hours. Today the dish is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach. MacSween (picture, right) sells cooked haggis, and we only need to remove it from the outer plastic bag, wrap in foil and re-heat it.Traditionally served with neeps and tatties (cooked turnips and potatoes), haggis is always present on Burns Supper, when Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns, is commemorated. In Jakarta, you can find it in St. Andrews Ball. I can't remember seeing it in Highland Gathering, but check the chief's tent, probably they have it. Or try to make it using BBC recipe. We had our haggis at Marriott Dalmahoy last weekend for breakfast (!) and it was superb.Black pudding is a sausage made by cooking blood (usually fro...
By: Finally Woken
Tunnock's Teacake and Tablet
2008-03-28 21:45:00 I blame Scotland for my weight gain. This country seems to have endless collection of sweets and savouries, and none of them are healthy! It seems that all sin ingredients are mixed together to create devilish, high calorie deserts. I thought STP and deep fried Mars bar are the only bad sweets, but everyday I find new things. I met my first Tunnock's Teacake on last Good Friday. Without a shame, I scoffed down 3 pieces in front of everyone. The teacake, which is made by the company which has been around since 1890 (!), consists of a small round shortbread biscuit covered with a half-dome of a whipped egg white concoction similar to marshmallow. This is then encased in a thin layer of milk or plain chocolate and wrapped in a distinctive red and silver foil paper for the more popular milk chocolate variety, with blue and gold wrapping for the plain. It's crunchy on the outside, and very soft on the inside. A perfect companion for afternoon tea, especially like last week when the ...
By: Finally Woken
Table Manners - Eating Without Prejudice (?)
2008-03-25 15:42:00 In Indonesia, when we go to restaurants, there are no other way to grab waiter's attention but calling {this can go from mbak (sister) or ibu (ma'am), to unnecessary flirtatious remarks like sayang (darling) or cantik (gorgeous)}, waving (hand or napkin), or - these are extremely rude manners - whistling, clapping and flicking your fingers.I am told that in UK you should not do anything but engaging eye contacts (and souls, perhaps), until they realize that your plate is empty and you are ready for your second course. Rather than eye movements, any gestures will be considered rude. No calling "xcuse me!", no frantic waving, and don't you dare to whistle, clap or flick your fingers if you want to be ignored for the rest of the night, or worse, have your soup tasted like feet because probably someone dropped his shoes accidentally into it. So imagine that you're extremely thirsty and longing to have your glassed refilled, and you desperately are staring to those busy waiters, hop...
By: Finally Woken
Shortbread, Oatcake, and Rowie
2008-03-03 17:58:00 Shortbread is a Scottish-origin biscuit which is made from white sugar, a lot of butter, and plain white flour. These sweet cookies are usually served with tea (hot tea, I may have to add, since for Asians tea sometimes is served cold) in the afternoon, or for a snack.Due to its popular demand, shortbread is also made in other countries like Denmark and Sweden, but of course the Scottish version is the most popular one.Walkers Shortbread Ltd is Scotland's largest shortbread exporter, and thank to them, you could find these cookies in Jakarta, at least I've seen them displayed in Sogo supermarket. Dean's is also another nice brand. But of course the best shortbread I've ever tasted would be Stuart's grandma's homemade ones!Oatcakes are made almost entirely of oats and make the perfect accompaniment to soups, meat and fish dishes. They are also can be served as snacks, paired with butter, cheese, continental cold cuts or pâté as well as marmalade, honey and preserves. Both Walke...
By: Finally Woken
Animal Cruelty on Lobster
2008-02-28 09:01:00 We went to The Prime Cuts last night with another couple, and the restaurant specialties are steak and lobster. Nearby the maître d' stand there was a big tank parading huge, healthy lobsters (thank God they did not show live cows too). I asked one of the staffs when we were collecting our coats back, if the lobster are for a show or they actually use (cook) them. She said that they do use the lobster in the tank if someone orders it. But the patrons are not allowed to pick the lobster by themselves.Why?Because it's considered as an animal cruelty.So you can order the lobster, but you can't point one of the inhabitants in the tank and tell the chef that you specifically want that lobster on the left corner because it looks fresher and bigger than the others!This triggered my curiosity so I went for a research and found that scientific evidence showing lobsters feel extreme levels of pain when cooked to death, and there has been big debates about the most humane way to kill them. ...
By: Finally Woken
Irn Bru
2008-02-25 14:33:00 Scottish people are very proud of everything they have, so imagine when I tell them that Irn Bru tastes like Fanta Orange to me!Irn Bru (pronounced iron brew) is carbonated soda drink, made by A.G. Barr plc, a soft drink manufacturer from Glasgow.clipped from en.wikipedia.orgIrn-Bru is famous for its eccentric bright orange colour (something it shares only with the glucose drink Lucozade). The formula for Irn-Bru is a closely guarded trade secret, known only by two of Barr's board members, with a written copy held in a Swiss bank-vault.[1] As of 1999 it contained 0.002% of ammonium ferric citrate, sugar, 32 flavouring agents (including caffeinequinine) and colouring (E110, E124). It is advertised as having a slight citrus flavour, but many have differing opinions of the exact taste of Irn-Bru. One of the key ingredients is said to be barley while another rumour holds that seaweed is a major contributor to the taste. and The drink has been the most popular drink in Scotland, outsell...
By: Finally Woken
Deep Fried Mars Bar
2008-02-09 15:01:00 Yes, people. Scottish food are not particularly, ideally, healthy. I have mentioned about sticky toffee pudding (STP) in my previous post, a delicious desert which consists of moist sponge cake, dates, and toffee sauce, usually served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.Another Scottish desert, deep fried mars bar, is also delicious and super unhealthy. I briefly mentioned it in my previous post, Things That We Thought Are Normal, but I think this particular dish deserves its own review.clipped from en.wikipedia.orgA deep-fried Mars Bar is an ordinary Mars Bar fried in a type of batter used in the British Islesblack and white pudding, sausage, and often haggis. The Mars Bar is typically chilled before use to prevent it from melting into the frying fat, though a cold Mars Bar can fracture when heated.Imagine an ordinary Mars Bar chocolate, tossed in a bowl full of batter, then have it deep fried, just like KFC. The batter is crisp, and it keeps all the juicy caramel sauce intact....
By: Finally Woken
Kitchen Confidential
2008-01-18 23:06:00 Kitchen Confidential - CookingKitchen Confidential - Episode 6 - Bunny Test ClipsMario Cooks!Michael Vartan on Kitchen ConfidentialKitchen Confidential Season1 EP03kitchen confidentialThai Kitchen ConfidentialA Kitchen Confidential RevelryOwain Yeoman describes his new show The NineNaked Chef's Kitchen ConfidentialTessie Santiago-Kitchen Confidential32Gether 4Ever Teaser TrailerWhere are they Now
TV on DVD: KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL
2007-08-26 00:48:00 I just finished rewatching the whole series of KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL, and let me tell you, this show is hilarious. I cannot believe this show was cancelled, I really feel like it wasn’t given enough time to find its audience. I am so sad that there isn’t any episodes left for me to watch. I ...
By: Daemon's TV
TV on DVD: KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL
2007-06-22 14:36:00 What do you get when you mix together Darren Star, a winning concept and one of the most likable casts on television? If your answer was an obvious and generic cooking metaphor, you’re not far off. But if you also thought to yourself ‘hmmm, Darren Star equals hit show’ perhaps you should be running a web site called theTVaddict.com. That said, the TV Addict would like to thank Bradley Cooper, Darren Star and the entire staff of Nolita for helping him get through a difficult week. Yup, apparently there is one advantage to being so sick you can’t sleep through the night. You get to watch almost an entire series on DVD — in this case, FOX’s brilliant but cancelled series KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL. In case you missed it — and odds are you did considering FOX gave this series a mere four episodes before yanking it off their schedule — KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL (based on the real life Anthony Bourdain memoir) revolves around Jack Bourdain (Bradley Cooper, ALIAS)...
By: the TV addict
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