Eggnog / Poached Pears with Warm Chocolate Sauce / Brussels Sprouts & Grapes

Blog Post & Recipe: Homemade Eggnog

Every season I try to find an excuse to make a version of my grandmother’s simple eggnog recipe. This weekend, we had a small gathering to let kids run amuck and I treated myself and the other parents to the following variation

Blog Post & Recipe: To poach a pear

As poached pear recipes go, this one could be called plain: just pears, water, brown sugar (or golden caster sugar, if you have it), a vanilla bean, and lemon juice. But what I like about it is that you wind up with a poached pear that tastes intensely of pear. The end.

Blog Post & Recipe: Brussels Sprouts and Grapes: A Counterintuitive Holiday Recipe

Brussels sprouts and grapes? the host repeated, incredulous.

Yes, I said. It’s sweet and savory; the grapes release their delicious sugars as they cook, which in turn caramelize the sprouts. You can eat it hot, cold, or at room temperature. You can add anything to it, within reason: toasted walnuts, pine nuts, spicy pepitas, lardons, whole garlic cloves, fresh thyme or rosemary, sea salt. Or nothing at all, which is generally how I like it.

Roast Grapes / Sopa de Ajo {Garlic Soup} / Crispy Fried Tofu with Sweet Chile Sauce

Blog Post & Recipe: Roasted Grapes

Carefully toss grapes with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Roast for 10 minutes

Blog Post & Recipe: Sopa de Ajo {Garlic Soup}

Place oil, onion, and garlic in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for ~6 hours or until garlic is golden and tender.

Blog Post & Recipe: Crispy Fried Tofu with Sweet Chille Sauce

The Tofu is beautifully crispy, thanks to that crunchy coating ,before melting into your mouth with its softness. And that sauce, for all its simplicity, is extremely addictive. Sweet with a mild heat to it and plays a perfect partner to these cubed beauties.

Homemade XO Sauce / Homemade Verjuice / Lemon Fish

Blog Post & Recipe: Homemade XO Sauce [ via ]

Here is my homemade version that will set your tastebuds on fire.

Blog Post & Recipe: Homemade Fresh Verjuice

Verjuice is a green and sour juice made from unripe grapes. It is a fantastic alternative to lemon juice. Lemon is considered as the sole source of sour juices by many people, but it is not!

Blog Post & Recipe: Lemon Fish [Simple Home-Cook]

Long long time ago when I was working in Singapore, one of my roommates was a Teochiew lady from Penang. She liked to cook fish with plum sauce, very appetizing sweet and sour taste. Until now, I thought of her every time I cooked or ate something similar to that.

Stewed Red Cabbage with Prunes / Welsh Cakes / Endive Recipes

Blog Post & Recipe: Stewed red cabbage with prunes

The prunes add a sweetness, orange juice some freshness and a good balsamico a lovely tang.

Blog Post & Recipe: worth the wait: welsh cakes

I’ve updated the traditional recipe which calls for currents and candied peel for dried cranberries and fresh orange zest.

Blog Post & Recipes: In Season: Endives

Often cooked or simply tossed raw into a salad, it's high in vitamins A and K, and is a great source of fiber.

Endives, Apples, and Grapes ... Jambon-Wrapped Grilled Endive ... Endive and Chicory Salad with Grainy Mustard Vinaigrette ... Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Belgian Endive and Tomato Chile Jam ... Braised Endives with Haricots Verts ... Braised Shrimp and Creamy Endive ... Baked Belgian Endive with Pecorino and Walnuts ... Spinach and Endive Salad with Lemon-Ginger Dressing and Crisp Won Ton Strips ... Endive and Celery Salad with Fennel

Grape Focaccia with Rosemary / Peking Duck with Mandarin Pancakes & Plum Sauce / 3 Cold-Weather Meals

Blog Post & Recipe: grape focaccia with rosemary

(This is a tweaked version of a recipe I posted for the first time here.)

I couldn’t get enough of the sweet/salty/olive oil/grape/rosemary thing with the crisp edges

Recipe: Peking Duck with Mandarin Pancakes and Plum Sauce

Maltose syrup can be found in most Chinese supermarkets. If you can't find it, honey can be used in its place.

Article & Recipes: Cold weather comfort

I find that most wet meat dishes require the meat to be browned before adding the wet ingredients. I have sidestepped that process in today's dishes without compromising flavour.

Potato and chicken pie ... Beef casserole ... One pot beef and paprika casserole

Death Star Cookie / Green Grape Pie / Rice Pudding

Blog Post & Recipe: Death Star Cookie [via Boing Boing]

A special Star Wars memory for me was when my grandma made me a Death Star cookie!

Recipe: Recipe: Green Grape Pie

The tart green grapes are so full and juicy; they are like sour cherries or enormous blueberries in their texture.

Recipe: Culinary SOS: Rice pudding from the Lazy Ox Canteen

What immediately sets this rice pudding apart is its amazingly light and delicate texture. Make the pudding ahead of time and chill thoroughly, then fold in whipped cream at the last minute to give it that fluffy texture.

Lamb Meatballs & Collard Dolmades / Grape Focaccia / Chicken Meatballs

Recipe: Lamb Meatballs and Collard Dolmades

Combine bulgur with lamb, onion, garlic, cumin, mint, salt and pepper. Shape into 1-inch meatballs, handling mixture as little as possible.

Blog Post & Recipe: Grape Focaccia with Rosemary (+Autumn)

The sweet concord grape flavor is nicely balanced by the rosemary and sea salt. This would be great with some nice cheese and a glass of wine or as an afternoon snack with tea.

Blog Post & Recipe: baked chicken meatballs

Gourmet suggests you serve these with pepperonata, a marinated roasted red pepper antipasto. We enjoyed it, but don’t think it’s in any way mandatory to get the most out of your meatballs. One cooking note, should you choose to make it at home: I’d suggest roasting the peppers whole — rather than in strips — and peeling them before slicing them for the dish.