inspire me
" You want to make it?" she asked, smiling at me knowingly. I grabbed the stainless steel shaker of sugar and waved it back and forth over the brulee, coating the top with a thin, even layer of sugar. I wiped the edge of the ramekin with my index finger to remove any excess sugar, the way Mika had shown me earlier, to prevent any sugar from burning on the ramekin's white edge, which would make it look sloppy. She nodded approvingly and handed me the tank of propane. With a click of my finger, the torch switched on, and it's blue flame came blistering out. It felt serious and a little bit dangerous. Trying to keep my trepidation hidden, I tentatively moved the flaming wand evenly over the sugar, gradually transforming the layer of white grains into a bubbling , deep brown sheet of caramel. I turned off the torch and looked hopefully at Mika.
"Perfect," she said, placing the creme brulee on the platter's empty corner. "It's ready."
excerpt taken from Spiced by Dalia Jurgensen
Spiced ain't exactly your run-of-the-mill food novel, in fact, it's almost like Bill Buford's Heat mixed in with Sex in the city. Despite the not so rave reviews, I did enjoy this book for one simple reason, it spoke of the life of a pastry chef. Not entirely all about the hard facts and techinques of mastering the plate, but of the immense prospects. From one woman's job trudge thru restaurant pastry chef to dessert menu consulatant to caterer to free-lancing in Martha Stewart's test kitchen, it was all an entanglement of adventures, some misguided nonetheless but ever still educational.
I was thrilled, enchanted and sometimes disturbed by the tossing memoir of Dalia's pursuit of her dreams to become a chef after abandoning her office career. Life as a pastry chef, though fabled to be sweet, on the contrary is a rather stressful affair. That, the truth and hard knocks of life I'm waiting to experience as my own personal opportunity rolls in...
Just when you think that it's impossible for your pot to hold excitement and fear at the same time, it runneth over...
Aside from my pot full of emotions regarding pastry, the week had been rather smooth flowing with highlights in a dramatic neon yellow by my my ride on the Singapore flyer and the twin's 50th Birthday celebration at the Screening Room.
Since I'm rather beat from all the crab guzzling action tonight ( no i don't eat crab really), I'm going to let the photos do the talking.
us on the Singapore flyer. oh yeh... the haze was such a spoiler. not forgetting the rude china couple and their inquisitive child who couldn't stop stepping on my toes.
one more time!
Preceeding birthday dinner held at the Screening Room @ Ann Siang. A happy birthday going out to my dearest mum and aunt... May both of you live thru many more joyous gatherings and birthdays!
the 'hip' roof top bar where we held our cake-cutting. All smiles everywhere...
Before I forget, I would like to post a major thanks to Sara, events manager for Screening Room for making all the arrangements and to the lovely staff for being so patient with our rowdy group! Your efforts are well appreciated!
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