More flatbread

This time, did it on a non stick, round, oven safe skillet. More convenient and more pleasing shape.

I said this is similar to French bread dough but I'm wrong. There's a little bit of sugar in it, and this seems to make a lot of difference to the internal softness of the bread.

Turkish bread

The dough is similar to baguette dough.

I proofed it 7 hours overnight in wine cooler. Seems to work, so can have fresh baked bread in the morning in future.

Actually can try a slightly longer proofing.

Hard boiled eggs with liquid center

This method appears to work. Might even want to try a 6.5 minute boil for even more tender result.

1. Bring a pot of water to a furious boil.
2. Insert egg or eggs (but not too many to cool the boil down) into water. I used 60g eggs.
3. Keep water at a rolling boil for 7 minutes.
4. At a about the 4 minute mark, tap each egg in the pot just enough to crack the shell very slightly (or take the egg out and drop it on the countertop and put it back)
5. At the 7 minute mark, take eggs out and plunge into ice cold water for about a minute.
6. Peel.

Point 4 is about making the egg easier to peel smoothly. The original advice was to tap the egg before  putting it into the water, but I found that it caused leak of egg albumin and if you tapped too much, the heat gets inside the egg and cooks the yolk. Much better to wait until some solid egg white has formed, then to tap the egg - this causes hot water to seep into the crack and cause the shell to separate a little.

First attempt at hot smoked salmon

Can be improved. Logging attempt here.

1. Dry brine salmon overnight. Then wash and dry and leave it in the fridge for a few hours.
2. Light some hickory chips in a metal container. Then place in a wok.
3. Put the salmon on a up turned metal plate (next time use a grate) and place it in wok above chips.
4. Cover wok. Seal edges with wet towels.
5. Turn heat on high till air temp inside wok is about 70-80C
6. Smoke till inside of fish is 57C. Take out and immediately refrigerate.

Result. Salmon is lightly smoked and flesh is just right. Think the cooking method is about right, but I used too little smoke. Tastes nice however. It is possible more smoking is not indicated. Will try again next time.

I used the flaked flesh in a salad with Creme Faiche for the dressing. Not liking it too much - I think I prefer vinegrette. I shall try that next time.

In summary, next time, more smoke, vinegrette as dressing. I may also add sliced beets for the fresh taste and texture.

After note: this much salmon is about good for light lunch for 2. Or starter portion for 6-8.

Ricotta gnudi

No pics - forgot to take. I did ricotta gnudi as per this link https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/pillowy-ricotta-gnocchi-gnudi-with-sage-brown-butter-sauce

But I did not do the sauce. Mine was simpler. After cooking in water, toss in extra virgin olive oil. Then put in the button of each bowl, sprinkle grated Parmesan over, followed by a poached egg. Then sprinkle salt and pepper. I think fairly nice and can repeat.

Portion wise, 330g ricotta, 3 egg yolks and 165g AP flour makes enough for 9 starter portions. I probably want to add more salt next time.

The 330g ricotta was made from about 2 litres of milk, 600ml butter milk, some cream.

Almost round the world dinner

From top left, a short of Spanish tapas inspired dish (beans and chorizo) - quite nice. A basic soft white loaf originally from chefsteps USA. A typical Italian dish with interlaced mozzarelle, tomato slices and basil who's name escapes me at the moment. Last, stir fried broccoli with garlic and abalone sauce.

The bean and chorizo dish is worth repeating. Quite nice.
1. Cut into pieces and brown the chorizo sausage (this one was spicier than usual).
2. Take out sausage.
3. Saute half an onion + a pinch of dried fennel seeds.
4. Add garlic and add back sausages and a bit of butter. Fry a bit more.
5. Add heinz baked beans (I used 3/4 of the can for 2 sausages).
6. Add a bit of water or white wine. Add thyme. Bring to boil. Then simmer for a while until slightly reduced.
7. Add a bit of cream, stir it in thoroughly and simmer a bit more.

Phoon Huat discovery and beetroot rice

Just discovered that Phoon Huat has a branch in Clementi that sells delicatessen stuff and so cheap! I bought 2 bone in pork chops ($22+ a kilo), and 2 Australian sirloin steaks (also in the 20+ range). Also got myself a jar of duck fat ($8.9), and a small container of burrata cheese (forgot the price but I remember very reasonable). The pork chops and the burrata was used in this meal.

I also experimented with a new dish. Rice cooked in beetroot juice and a little butter. Unfortunately, instead of juicing, I tried a short cut of blending the beetroot, but that leaves a bunch of vegetable crud on the rice which is unsightly. Also because dinner was delayed, I stuck the rice in a warm turned off oven to keep - it dried out the rice. But when I tried the rice fresh from the steamer it was pretty good. I'll repeat this again using pure beet juice done with the slow juicer.