Gourmet Abu Dhabi: Part 2
The second part of my experience at the highly acclaimed event Gourmet Abu Dhabi (as so in foodie world), Paco Roncero's masterclass. This legendary Spanish, two Michelin Star chef has been on my radar after reading about Elaine's amazing dining experience with the olive oil maestro at Atlantic dining room. (you can read about it here!). Molecular gastronomy has always been a topic less trodden on for me since I unintentionally lean towards the more rustic traditional methods of culinary arts. However, an unexpected dinner with molecular gastronomist Pierre Gagnaire opened my doors to the arty yet scientific based cooking. I was hooked.
So what did the masterchef have installed for us this session? My eyes took a quick scan thru the recipes. Bleach, calcium gluconate, begonia flowers, algin (algae extract)and liquid nitrogen?!? Intriguing... yes. Go on... take a swim in the icy misty realms of liquid nitrogen. Be careful though, immediate freezing guaranteed. Ladies and gentlemen, we're talking about a perilous -182 degree solution over here. Raspberries turn to crisp bits after a quick dip in the stainless steel bowl, a milky turkey bacon cream sees the likes of a beautiful convex shaped bowl with a smooth dip of a ladle into its icy depths. The audience, captivated and amazed by the endless possibilities arising from such a simple setup, simply ooo-ed and ah-ed, clapping in delight.
Then Chef Paco Roncero pulled out all the stops with a quick flick of his wrists. dishing out a beautiful martini glass filled with iced yet creamy Pina Colada. My eyes nearly fell out of its sockets.
The rest of the class commenced at lightning pace, the use of copious amounts of algin was apparent in most of his dishes where he prefered the containment of generally liquid substances within a gelatinous wall, assuming a tricky and often misleading shape. It was almost like watching a magician at work, conjuring up the most beautiful dishes in the end as well. Garnished with dibbles and dabbles of sauce concentrates and littered with mini begonias; the final product was a work of art worth fighting over. Apologies for being unable to recall the exact ingredients listed in the dishes below, but I must say the green little nibblets are filled with the most gorgeous 3 cheese combination with a hint of fresh basil. Delightful to the max.
Taking my hats off to this culinary genius, my eyes now sparkle at the sound of molecular gastronomy. Now, anyone knows where can I get my hands on savoury candy floss? *pondering*
much better
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Stepped into the world of photoshop where errors made during a series of fumbles and heat-exhausted mind cropped shots can be remedied. Is it considering cheating? Well, I shrug that notion off. Meanwhile, learning curves are twitching up the ladder. So much to learn... so little time.
In the impending wait, here are some photos sans retouching. Candids and street shots from the more then willing family. Enjoy!
messy streets of Phuket. See a ba-pok? RUN!!!
Patong beach in broad daylight. Note the rows of beach chairs for lounging. Mind you, they don't come free.
Spa haven. Did 1 full-body scrub, 2 oil massages and 2 foot refloxology sessions in a span of a week. *ahhh*
Endless feasting on seafood at every meal. It's not really that funny after a week long of squid chomping, trust me, I'm prawn phobic now.
Para-sailing.
On our way to Phi Phi Island.
I don't recall the meaning of the pose we adopted but oh well, that's a group shot for you!
Awaiting sunset at the viewpoint. It only got better after scampering over the hill halfway during the sun's glorious decent to a different location with a MUCH better view.
Nutella Crepes. Had this 2 days in a row for dessert whilst stationed on the island. Any idea where do they sell this in Spore?
My mum with that classic 'lift spectacles, dip head' position when taking photographs.
My dad probably trying to get into the driver's good books with a pat on his back and a smirk 'you're a good man... so give us a good price.' speech. Yep. What's new?
My lil brother and younger cousin whom I adore so much.
Our pathetic little waterfall which I was so enthusiastic about. sigh..
Finally at the airport after a week long trip to sunny phuket. I enjoyed it thoroughly despite having the fight off the flu bugs halfway thru the trip. Thanks Dad for planning and organising and to the rest for being such fantastic travelling partners!
To my dearest family, this trip has made me realise how much at ease I am around you all. Being myself isn't much of a problem despite my adopting of this peculiar two-face thing-a-ma-gig when I'm amongst others. It would be what you call, comfortable love. I'll be lying if I said I won't miss you all so much whilst I'm away. Well, but according to my mantra, when there's a job to be done, it has to be done. So I'll hang in there till I next see you guys again! Hope that is soon...
Gourmet Abu Dhabi: Part 1
the view from our seats. Blocked off by the large cameras and consistent shifting of the lady photographer.
Chicken Popsicles served classic Bob Blumer style. Well, everything tastes better when it's on a stick, no?
Problems with the oven leading to a confused congregation. That's the problem you get with appliances that don't make any noise...
Fish Cakes with Pesto potato mash and beetroot infused mash. Loving the vivid colors.
And last but not least, french fries? nooo... desserts! toasted pound cake with raspberry coulis. Again, thumbs up for the wacky presentation.
Following the demonstration, I approached Bob with quivering hands. Whispering my well wishes, we parted ways, with a slight fleeting of my heart and a photo for keeps. Then I thought to myself, "I can't believe I just met Bob Blumer!". A slight delayed response with butterfly effects that lasted a pretty long time.
Food tastings in the hall outside. The psuedo 'french fries' were absolutely lip-smacking. The fish cake... I must say beared a strange resemblence to otah, even with a spicy kick to boot. All in all, masterclass with Bob Blumer was a treat for me, and I enjoyed every single moment of it as long as it lasted.
Next, stay tune for Paco Roncero's molecular gastronomy classes in the coming post!
TWD: revisted
First things first, here's a big apology to the TWD crew. I'm stained by a huge dabble of guilt having not doing my weekly baking challenges for quite some time. *groanz*. If you hear me out, I could probably churn out a long story about how being on overseas placement has deterred me from participating... but I guess that most of you won't be interested. So yeh, here's my recent revisit to TWD, a long awaited come back with the coco-nana cake as picked by Steph of Obsessed with Baking. Now who could resist freshly baked banana bread? no one. And chocolate? rhetorical question ain't it? Put them together, my mind immediately drifts to an unimaginable combustion of powerful elements, a bit like an atomic explosion, of sweet satisfactiory proportions of course.
And this story has a happy ending of course with a lovely cake from the oven that I devoured slowly over a course of a week(yes, it keeps well too!) The best part, the cake was moist, and filled with lovely bits of chocolate chips everywhere, this made such a glorious breakfast for me. yum. Thanks Steph for choosing this recipe!
Cocoa-nana Bread
Dorie Greenspan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter at room temp
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 1/2 cup store-bought chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and place it on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked on top of the other. (This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from over baking.)
Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for about a minute, until softened. Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes more. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. At this point, the batter may look a little curdled -- it's okay. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Still on low speed, add the buttermilk, mixing until it is incorporated. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Scrape the batter into the pan.
Bake for 30 minutes. Cover the bread loosely with a foil tent to keep the top from getting too dark, and continue to bake for another 40 to 45 minutes (total baking time is between 70 to 75 minutes) or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before running a knife around the edges of the bread and unmolding. Invert and cool to room temp right side up.
Travelling: Phuket
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travelling
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Laden with a muscous filled chest and some sluggish brain matter. Blame it on the jellyfish.
On retrospect, glad to be alive.
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