Yummy Malaysiana: 12/17/11

Gougres

Gougres are my secret weapon this time of year. This means a bag in the freezer, always at the ready. I make the dough ahead of time (any afternoon I have a few extra minutes) then bake them straight from the freezer whenever I fancy. There is something irresistible about the way they explode in size. The way they bake into golden pom-poms of cheese-crusted magic. Like souffls, I think there is a perception that they're tricky to make. But, I promise, with a little practice (and know-how) you can have an impressive platter piled sky-high with puffery with next to no effort. I made this batch with ale, cheese, and fennel. I love the maltiness beer brings to the dough, set off by the bite of sharp cheddar cheese.

Gougeres

A couple things. There are a number of approaches people take when making gougres. I opt for the path resulting in the least amount of dishes and devices to wash after. Meaning, a one-pan method, stirring by hand. I don't bother with a mixer. And I push dollops of the dough onto parchment lined baking sheets from a spoon rather than piping from a bag.

This recipe calls for beer and milk as the liquids in the batter, but the direction you take the flavors is adaptable. You might trade out the beer for water, tea, or other flavorful liquid. I like a bit of milk in the batter, as I think it helps the dough bake into that lovely golden-brown color. Also, don't feel married to this combination of cheese and herb/spices, it's a favorite, but I certainly vary each batch based on what is on hand.

Gougeres

Important things you don't want to learn the hard way: be sure to use large eggs (not extra-large). Prep all your ingredients ahead of time. And one note related to baking, le! t the go ugres brown all the way, particularly up the sides, before pulling them from the oven. The resulting structure will prevent the tops caving.

Continue reading Gougres...

Bite-sized Baked Brie

My hair is straight today.

My hair is straight today only because a woman spent about two hours pulling, tugging, blowing, and spraying my hair into this state.

Its still curly on the bottom. Its also still frizzy on the top. It would appear as though the outside of my head is as stubborn as my inside brain. Stubborn!

I should just let my hair be how it lives. Curly with a charming hint of frizz. But sometimes you want a change. Sometimes you want to toss your bangs like the girls with the long straight hair. Whatever. Sometimes you want to bake your brie up into little bite-sized squares so you can eat too many of them without feeling like youre eating an entire round of brie. Again whatever.

Also its raining today. I dont even want to talk about the frizz this will induce. Im probably going to stay inside where the baked cheese is. Just so you know. Leave me be.

These bite-sized treats come together with puff pastry.

Its buttery. Its flaky and light. Its buttery.

Its totally buttery.

I cut t he sheet of puff pastry into 12 rectangles then each rectangle in half. That means 24 little rectangles that will make 12 little puffs.

That was math. Im totally sorry.

I brush half of the squares with egg wash, a little nibble of cheese (do not be afraid of the brie rind!), a touch of jam, and more puff pastry.

Its happening!

Yes. I put these little brie bites on sticks. I stuck a small popsicle stick half way up the puff pastry and then pressed it all together.

You dont need popsicle sticks. You totally dont. The sticks just make things more sticky.

Sweet little cheese pockets.

A lot of brie was eaten in the making of these pockets.

Egg washed and a sprinkling of salt.

Major magic.

Baked and puffed and sometimes they bleed jam and cheese. No biggie.

These bites are best served warm but I sure did eat several of them at room temperature. Delicious still.

Its warm cheese baked in buttery crust with sweet jam. If you need convincing I just I dunno.

Bite-sized Baked Brie

makes 24 squares

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed but still cold

1/2 wedge of brie, cold

1/3 cup cherry jam (or any flavor you fancy!)

1 large egg, beaten

splash of milk

All-butter, store bought puff pastry usually comes frozen and folded into thirds. Were going to use these folded thirds to our advantage. Cut the puff pastry into thirds along the creases. Cut each panel into four pieces. Theyll be 2 1/4-inch tall and 3-inches wide. One sheet of puff pastry will yield 12 rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half. Youll have 24 little rectangles that will create 12 little rectangle pockets.

Combine beaten egg and splash of milk. Brush 12 of the small rectangles with egg wash. If youd like to make brie bites on sticks, now is the time! Place a popsicle stick halfway up the puff pastry and press in gently. Place a small sliver of brie (rind and all) on top of the egg wash (and stick). Top with about 1/2 teaspoon of cherry jam. Take another square of puff pastry and press between your fingers to make the rectangle slightly bigger. Place puff pastry on top of the cheese and jam. Use a fork to press the edges together. The egg wash will act as a glue. Make sure to seal the edges well by crimping with the fork.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place prepared brie bites on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with a touch of coarsely ground sea salt. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Brie! bites a re best served warm, but are also delicious at room temperature.

Jelliriffic! Prize Presentation

Hi I'm back! Don't you just love this time of the year when everyone is in a holiday mood? The kids are on holidays and there's no school or tuition runs. Bliss. Lots of dinner parties and catching up with friends and family are in store from now until the coming Chinese New Year, which is on 23rd Jan. One of my nieces got married yesterday, the first in her generation, and I am hoping to eat some roasted suckling pig tomorrow night.

As you know, my whole family was in Kuala Lumpur for the Royal Selangor Jelliriffic! Challenge (see October posts) prize presentation 12th and 13th Dec. If I were to write about it, I'll need to do a whole week of posts but instead of that, I'll let the photos do the talking. The photos are from several sources because I made the most horrifying mistake of forgetting to load my camera with the battery that day and the RS' factory and head quarters were 20 minutes drive away from the hotel. Not far, when I think of it now, but with so many things going on, and seeing how the whole family (except Wey, who was sulking as usual and also down with flu) was enjoying the factory tour and everything, it was hard for me to insist that anyone go back to the hotel. I kick myself still, and I hope this is the last time I forget memory cards and camera battery. If any of you have any photos of the event, please send them to me.

We started the day with a tour of the Gallery, which houses beautiful RS products from the time RS was founded in 1885 to the latest collections. The Gallery brings you through the history of how tin and pewter developed into important business for the country, andalso tellsthe story of how the founder of RS, Yong Koon, grew a small business into the largest and best-known pewter company in the world. What amazes me is that RS is running stronger than ever under the management of the 4th generation, making RS the oldest privately owned company in Malaysia.
RS ' School of Hard Knocks was where we got to hammer pieces of pewter sheets into bowls to bring home. It was fun and we found pewter a very easy metal to work with because it is soft. The RS Visitor's Centerwasfilled with tourists and shoppers admiring the products for sale but we unfortunately we didn't have time for a visit. The Center is open to the public 9 am to 5 pm daily and is truly worth visiting.

The guests and press started arriving at 2 pm. After the prize presentation, 14 volunteers were asked to join Team Billy and Team Terri in making jellies (each team has 8 people making a jelly each) with the theme "Love, Life and Humour"--the tagline for the Nick Munro mould used for RS' yearly fund raising for the Breast Cancer Welfare Association. That was followed by Olympus' workshop on how to take photos of food using their new PEN Lite cameras. We were having such a fun time that nobody took much notice of the storm that was raging outside. The storm resulted in Jalan Tun Razak, a major road in the city, being flooded and impassable for a couple of hours.

It was an honor for me to be part of RS' yearly fund-raising drive for the Breast Cancer Welfare Association.The competition and prize giving programs were well planned and executed. Hats off to RS' management and staff.

Did you know that the little dents on RS hammered products are all hammered by hand, mostly by this lady who has worked in RS for over 40 years? I had a go at hammering and found that it was a difficult task because you have to hammer each dent twice at the same spot and with even pressure.

At RS' School Of Hard Knocks, we hammered our own pewter bowls from a thin sheet of pewter.Pewter is a soft metal made of tin, antimony and copper and has a low melting point of 250 C, which is why the Jelliriffic! moulds were not to be baked.

RS' cafe serves a large selection of dishes and desserts. The vertical surface of the counter is made of pewter tiles, giving a contemporary and classy look to the cafe.

Curry laksa was the special of the day and it was very good but I only ate half a bowl because I had put on too much weight in Singapore.

These delicious cakes (L to R: cheesecake, Guiness cake, tart and choc fudge cake) were all made by the gorgeous wife of RS' handsome GM. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of them but I was totally taken by this charming, easy-going and friendly couple who epitomizes RS' elegance and class.

This is a replica of the famous melon tea pot made by the founder of RS, Yong Koon. The original is displayed in RS' gallery and it just makes sense that Yong Koon became a tinsmith rather than a tin miner because he obviously was very artistic and skillful.

Here's evidence of what I've been accused of constantly--I laugh and gesture too much.

JellliesbyTeam Billyin the top and bottom rows across while jellies made by my team are in the middle rows. Nobody ate the jellies and I don't blame them.

With the beautiful RS ladies who organised the competition.

ABC @ The Troika

Acme Bar & Coffee: Chapter Five. You & me could write a bad gastromance.

Earlier entries on Acme: December 2, December 5, December 7 & December 15.

Focusing on Acme's Asian creations this time _ recipes familiar to Malaysians, but spruced up with special flourishes. For something that no street stall sells, get your gustatory juices going with gluey-sweet beef "hitam manis," bracketed with quinoa, green sambal & rice.

Wantonly wanting wontons: crisp golden triangles of dumplings _ swollen with shrimp paste, laced with lemongrass & lolling in coriander-&-chili sauce.

White laksa. Feels like a Kelantan-inspired version, flooded with mild-flavored shredded fish in the thickes! t, fresh est gravy conceivable.

Creamy Nyonya-style soul food, of which Aunty Mel of Simply Mel's might approve: a hillock of deep-fried garoupa, tender & boneless, canopied with comfortingly warm curry & vegetating amid a bumper crop of softly ripe tomatoes, chilies & eggplant.

Tom yam soup with shitake mushrooms, glass noodles & tempura prawns. Not as fiercely fiery or tortuously tart as most Thai broths. Personally, we prefer it this way.

Sambal hebi aglio olio spaghetti, with prawn sambal & olive oil. An anarchic mix of Malaysian & Italian sensibilities that gels more harmoniously than expected. Other similarly-themed pastas here include Seafood Rendang Fettuccine & Green Chili Pesto Fettuccine.

Grilled lamb shoulder with ABC's kitchen-made "kicap manis" marinade, peas & hand-cut fries. Sacrificial-sized slabs of savory-sugary meat, perfect for priapic appetites.

Roederer & Mozaik Rouge. Bubbly makes us turn red. OK, no, not really.

And with this, we wrap up our Acme 2011 Pentalogy. But we're really looking forward to returning next year, once the menu evolves further. Acme is here to stay, no doubt about it.