Tuesday, February 19, 2008

2008 Beginnings

Obviously, the mission for my blog needs to be changed...I've got pics of my awesome labor intensive malaysian beef rendang....granted it looks a bit soupier, the picture was taken before I let it simmer for another hour or so.
But regardless it looks awesome with that lemongrass and cinnamon stick poking out. Yes I know I'm proud...but this is my first homemade curry paste. Next thing was not actually made by me. J made me a carrot cake from scratch for my birthday :)
It was an awesome cake...had chunks of pineapple and walnuts, and the icing was not too sweet like the stuff you buy at the store bakery. Definitely the best carrot cake I've ever had.
Alrighty and lastly comes Valentine's Day. This year we stayed in and made dinner together. Despite me being grumpy it went well overall. I made Duck a la'Orange. First time making duck...I think it came out quite well, skin could have crispier though....needed to leave it under the broiler for a bit longer. Instead of the original recipe, i did make a spice rub to put on the duck...so it wasn't just sauce flavoring it. I think it had great depth of flavor...the sauce was incredible. There was the zest from one orange and the actual julienned skin of another...triple sec....and duck broth. I served it with a daikon carrot salad(which J actually ate despite the pungency). For dessert he made me a creme brulee...this one I can post pictures of, not the most gorgeous but tasted damn good! Lots of vanilla bean in it, was a different recipe than most. Everything was cooked in a double boiler as opposed to the water bath. So, I will end this post with some mouthwatering creme brulee pics.