Curtis Stone - Deep Fried Aubergine And Mozzarella With Basil

I know you would think that I am obsessed with Curtis Stone since I have been talking non-stop of his great recipes the last few days. But the truth is I am obsessed with his style of cooking. Very creative, very adventurous  and a very gorgeous young chef .This is one simple and yet delicious snack or canapé from his book that has captivated my attention since the book arrived and last night I made them ...thus satiated my craving and stop the salivating. I get to savor the real thing instead of savoring the virtual ones :p 

'Cooking With Curtis Stone ' Landed Safely At My Doorstep :)))

Was I not happy when this book arrived at my doorstep a week ago...I got it for a song :) and guess what the recipes were really good and had me ogling at those beautiful pictures inside...I can't help it...I am a sucker for great food pictures :p and the pictures inside his book entranced me so much that I just had to share with you a few of the pictures from the book. A very good buy and it was worth waiting for it. BookXcess did a good job and their customer service is EXCELLENT ! Now the good new for me is that they will deliver books to home out of KL and I am so happy for once to be living out of KL :p I have nothing but praises for them and was I not HAPPY ??? I am !

Pasta Nite - Spaghetti Bolognese :)

I was busy with work again and thus too tired to cook anything elaborate so I told my people at home :p that I am just going to cook pasta for them and that they can have spaghetti bolognese my version for dinner. They love pasta so no problem for the two younger one but Daddy not too happy to have pasta for he is a  'rice pot' ( the canto way of saying someone who can't go without rice ) - must have rice for dinner :p but I managed to persuade him to have pasta telling him that I will make something extra ordinary for him...lol!  and that he will surely like it ...so I chopped up some fresh oregano and add in lots of ground black pepper . bread crumbs and garlic into the minced beef....yay ! truly a delicious and flavorful meatballs to go with the bolognese sauce. 

Curtis Stone - Crumbed Chicken Breasts Filled With Swiss Cheese

After looking through each and every one of Curtis Stone's  recipes in Relaxed Cooking With Curtis Stone, I  was impressed with his crumbed chicken breasts with cheese filling...gosh... it was as good as it looks in the picture shown in the book. I had to try this simple yet make me go wild chicken dish. I love his style of cooking...simple yet delicious...perfect for a working momsie like me who has no time to cook elaborate dishes :p  I love his books...haha I know I have said this many times...seriously his recipes are great!

Cheesy Crépes With Bacon Chips

Crépes are just  thin pancake wraps that you can either have it plain , drizzle with honey or pack it with your favourites - bacon, ham and cheese if you like something savoury or if you like have a sweet tooth , you can pack it with lots of fresh fruits of your choice and with a scoop of homemade ice cream...yumyumyummy.

Since the day I laid hands on the Curtis Stone - Relaxed Cooking With Curtis Stone  , I have been itching to try out some of his simple and delicious recipes. And I knew that I can't sleep without trying out his crépes recipe..thus I asked Piggy Josh this " hey , would you like crépes for supper ?  "  and he asked back " what kind of  crépes ? "   I showed him " this "  holding the Curtis Stone book and showed him the picture and he was sold ! LOL ! but the thing was I did not tell him only the crépes not the filling !  hahaha.............

Kalbi Ribs

The other day when I was in KL ,I bought this bottle of kalbi marinade from the Cold Storage ,The Gardens and truly it was delicious. After the Korean lunch at The Gardens, I was fascinated by their dishes and thus this bottle of kalbi marinade was all I needed to take home to Ipoh :)) And you can guess what I did with it...LOL! yup yup this deliciousness came about thanks to this bottle of marinade goodness :)) Lips-smacking Kalbi Ribs for the Piggies' dinner- made simple !

Chicken Feet Kerabu Thai Style

This is a thai style kerabu  - deboned chicken feet with mango and carrot strips with lots of onion rings and bird eye's chillies and seasoned with lime juice and sugar . The chicken feet are crunchy and springy at the same time....a delicacy in Thailand but it is also a delicacy in Malaysia. I bought this from a stall in the hawker center near Tesco Ipoh.  I wish I know how to debone the chicken feet :)  Truly appetizing and this is a light appetizer . When I am lazy to make my own salad...this will do :p   This is prepared by a Thai lady in her sixties and she makes hot and spicy Tom Yam Kung too and they taste just as good.  Now I know where to get my Thai food when I crave for it. 

mouth-watering chicken feet kerabu :)

Josh will never touch this...he finds the chicken feet very yucky but frankly

speaking it is not pleasant for the eyes but it is tasty for the palate!

Yum Yum YUmmy...........for me

but it may be a turn off for some of you...Piggy boy is one for sure :p

What about you.....adventurous enough to try this out ????

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Signature Food Court , Level 2, Suria KLCC

We were at  KLCC food Court for a late lunch after meeting up with Josh. There are quite a lot to choose from but we - Jo and myself opted for the Japanese set lunch. I took the Salmon Steak Teppan - regular set that comes with iced Ocha and Miso Soup. Jo had her Chicken Katsu Japanese Brown Curry . Josh ordered his usual Seafood Pasta from another stall. I forgot to take a picture of it coz I was busy eating and enjoying my salmon steak :p . I don't usually take food photos when I eat out  but because I wanted Josh to pose with my new cookbook , I might as well take the opportunity to snap  a few pics.

There is this controversial debate whether one should start shooting away when the food arrives, well actually it depends where I am and who I am  with. With my family, they know that it is a common thing for me to do unless I am with guests or at official functions. And I make sure the flash is not on and that it must be a quick one.  My faithful point and shoot cam is such a dear. I will set it to auto mode and off the flash so that it will not disturb other diners and make sure it is a fast one.  With the flash on, it is indeed quite irritating and more so when people are hungry and waiting to eat :pp  I am not on  food review but just for fun at times for my Piggies to see what I eat with their Dad :p

I can be quite weird though at times...I enjoy more taking my own cooked food.... I know my photography skill is rotten but I do want improvement in my going down hill age and I hope to be a better photographer even though I own a point and shoot digital camera - Canon PowerShot A550 and  live a life doing what I enjoy doing most and be happy with my family.  My blog was started JUST for my babies who were away at college and now IT IS still for them, though I have now cater for friends and many faithful readers who used to write to me telling me how much they love this blog of mine :)) Thank you so much for the support . And I hope to be able to continue baking and sharing my cooking experience with all of you. 

I will be starting another blog soon. It is still under construction . It will be just DESSERTS and nothing else LOL!  Hopefully I will be able to start that off. Okay , back to the japanese set lunch :)) 

my Salmon Steak Teppan set @ RM16.90

close-up of that piece of salmon steak

Jo's Chicken Katsu Japanese Brown Curry @ RM13.90

Jo likes this but I don't :p

this Miso soup , surprisingly tasted good :)) with lots of wakame in it




Bear with me if I am a little long winded this time LOL! age is catching up..going downhill :p




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Silky Tofu With Wakame Scallop And Minced Meat Topping

My family loves tofu cooked in any styles. Sometimes we go for something simple like steamed it and top it with just fried garlic , oil and soya sauce and at times stuff  it with minced meat and fish paste. Actually tofu is the easiest dish to serve for dinners especially for lazy  working people like ME  :p . But for this once I decided to try out something a bit more savory.  I collected a few ingredients that I think will be a great combo for the tofu topping....this is my own creation....lol!  and it turned out fantastic.  Everyone thought it was from one of those recipes I collected,  shhhh...better not tell them. Let them go on thinking or they won't eat  :p  I Just mix everything - dried scallop, wakame, fish paste, minced meat , and lots of wasabi powder into a paste and place them on top of the tofu , steamed it and make a sauce...that's it.... a wonderful steamed tofu with a topping that whets their appetite up lol!  This is the best tofu dish I have eaten so far. LOL! Self praise is no praise but do try this out. It is good! :))

BookXcess - I came, I Grab, I Bought ! - Guilty Guilty Guilty!!!

I am guilty again. Never put me in a book shop like BookXcess...I will go broke :p And I was up in KL with Jo to hand in some forms for her visas and with some extra time, we hopped onto the LRT to Taman Jaya and straight to AmCorps Mall - BookXcess and gosh all those cookbooks can really make me go gaga. I saw, I grab and I bought 2.  Told you I just can't resist a good cookbook.  Jo , of course is in heaven and I told her this " gal, grab what you want and don't browse...coz we have just an hour before we have to leave the place " 

And guess who is the one who don't want to leave the place.....

Crispy Pizza With Fresh Mushrooms Topping

I love pizzas...either crispy thin crust or the normal pan pizza which has a thicker crust, it doesn't matter. Most important is the toppings. I love toppings with lots of either fresh mushrooms or lots of bell peppers and bacons. I will sneak in pineapples cubes if there are any in the fridge :)) Fresh pinepple would be great if there is any but for this once I used can pineapples. I am very greedy, I would throw in lots of grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese...I love it gooey...the more gooey the better. And needless to say, Jo loves it most...she is a cheese gal...anything with lots of cheese will surely delights her :)) I made some crispy thin crust pizza last week for dinner and guess who squealed with delight...hahaha.....yeah Jo Jo Jo Jo.....

Easter Lunch @ Delicious Restaurant, Cowan Street

Last Sunday was Easter Sunday and after church service, about 40 people from the church went out to have easter lunch together at a new restaurant - Delicious Restaurant in Cowan Street. Just a simple lunch of 7 dishes plus a soup and dessert. If you ask my personal opinion, there's not much to shout about. Normal home cooked food. Once again , it is the fellowship that counts. My family enjoyed the fellowship and for me as long as someone else cooked the food and I am being served , I have nothing to complain. :p :P :)))

Sunflower Cookies

Ahhhh....so nice being able to bake again and I have been wanting to try this out since the day I bought the book. It is the CW Baking Cookbook by Alan Ooi...a book full of delicious Bread, Cake and Cookies recipes. This recipe book is for those who owned a CW Electronic Food Processor & Blender and a CW Space Oven Wok. I don't own one but I love the recipes so I bought the book !  See how crazy I can be. I have a weakness for beautiful food pictures but this recipe turns out to be great so I guess the rest will be good too.

A Hearty Korean Meal @ Ho Kyang, The Gardens

I made a short trip to KL with Piggy Jo last Wednesday and after she had her things done, we went to The Gardens to have our late lunch. And we both agreed in unison to have korean food lol! We both love korean food.  And Piggy Jo recommended me to have this Jing Eo Bokem that comes in a set with rice, soup and side condiments of kimchi and anchovies that looks great. Piggy Jo ordered her favourite Kimchi Jji Gae. She is a kimchi lover :p

Savoury Meat Patties

Meat patties can be prepared in many style...for me, I would preferred meat patties with lots of spring onions , dried breadcrumbs ( panko) , salted fish . The breadcrumbs makes the patties moist and the spring onions and salted fish give flavor to the patties. I like my meat patties to be savoury and tasty. Therefore most of the time I would prepare the patties this way. These can be served as finger food or you can shape them into meatballs and served them with your spaghetti bolognese. Wonderful accompaniment for rice dishes and pasta.