HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Dinner for Mom

This year i was finally able to celebrate mother's day with my mum. She was really excited and so was i. So we prepared .. yes we.. my mother likes to poke her nose into everything... one of the reasons why she's so adorable.. well the storey bagan like this. We were lying beside each other and i suggested High Tea at the Good Wood Park .. but no... then i said Sakae Sushi.. hmm .. okay.. not too bad.. then i said i wouldn't mind cooking for her and making a mushroom soup.. her eyes lit up instantly .. my mom loves the comfort of a homemade soup and so it was settled brunch and dinner with one exception.. a Hyatt Cheesecake...

So i started planning my menu. Honestly i did not really have that much time with work and all.. architecture demands most of your time .. so i finally decided on of course the mushroom soup, a vegetable tart and grilled lamb for main course.

Mother's Day for my mom started on Saturday.. i brought her to a jewelery shop and got her some gold earring.. she loves them.. then we went to an Indian restaurant and had some Indian food (much to my dismay) but Mom wanted it so Mom's the word..

The very next day, on Mother's Day .. i got up early, cleaned the house.. blew some balloons and wrapped her present. Even dad got up and helped .. i know i have the sweetest dad .. darn Father's Day is coming up. So anyway.. i started preparing breakfast and realised .. that there was no coffee !! the one thing my mom can't live without .. so i quickly rushed to the store to get some (i personally don't drink coffee)

Breakfast/Brunch

She was supposed to sleep a little while longer but got up at around 9 ish.. so i give her a big kiss and blew bubbles as she walked out of the room.. then she put on her present and they looked really good on her !!! Okay breakfast/brunch was huge ... there were pancakes, maple syrup, homemade strawberry and vanilla syrup, scrambled eggs, baked beans, dark rye bread ( mom's fav), cream cheese, butter, kaya and an assortment of fruits, orange juice and coffee. Woah .. what a mouth full.. okay 'line' full.. so anyway by the time we finished we were SO STUFFED !!! No one did the dishes .. ha ha ha .. which is really rare in our household as dishes always get done promptly rain or shine.

So then me and mom cuddled on the sofa with Josh .. our two year old Jack Russell Terrier whose more like my youngest brother than a pet... and soon Mom dozed off.. phew my cue to dash to Hyatt with Dad to pick up her cake.. you see i told her that i was too late and couldn't make the order so she thought i was making another dessert.

Josh

Came back and she was still asleep .. giggles .. she deserves it honestly.. so then Dad left for a little while and i started on dinner. Did the dishes and prepared my workstation. My ! it was overwhelming.. it has been a long time since i cooked dinner like this and i felt really out of place.. cue to start cooking more... so soup was done but i screwed it up !!! Too much salt ... wanhhhh... that is one problem that sucks ... next time i am not salting the soup .. i'll let them do it.. okay then the pastry.. darn cases didn't puff up .. the lamb was decent and my sauce was excellent .. that's one thing i can do without screwing it .. a good sauce .. not the ones in the packet but one that uses the pan dripping and so on.

After dinner, we all sang a Mother's Day song and cut the cake. She loved it and although i know in my heart dinner was not all that great .. she valued my effort and all the love i put into it. Love you mom.. always !

The homemade mushroom soup

The vegetable tart with a poached egg and herb vinaigrette

Roast lamb with roasted vegetables and mash

Strawberry Cheesecake

Pierre Herme in Singapore

Me and the Pierre Herme

Yes yes yes .. i got to see Pierre Herme , the fourth generation pastry chef from France. W and i really wanted to attend his masterclass that took place when he visited Singapore. It was really crowded but he was so cute !!! in a cuddly sort of way. He showed us two desserts, one was a tomato and strawberry concoction called the Revelation and the other was called Tart Mogador. He is really bold with his flavours and is not afraid to experiment.

Tart Mogador

The first dessert he showed us was the Tart Mogador in which a biscuit case is filled with passion fruit infused chocolate ganache and topped with grilled pineapples and macarons. The chocolate was placed over a bain marie and once it all melted, passion fruit juice and many other ingredients were added. Then the pineapples were steeped in syrup and baked in the oven. The smell that was coming out of the kitchen was YUM ..

The Revelation

While those were cooking, he moved on to the tomato and strawberry dessert called the Revelation. What a strange combination don't you think. He first made a tomato and strawberry jelly. Then a custard with three different types of vanilla , one was from Madagascar.. whoo.. then he mixed them with mascarpone and gelatine and left that to set. He then layered the jelly and cusard and topped them with cut tomato and strawberry pieces and tomato infused puff pastry strips.

Someone made a comment about using tomatoes and Pierre replied that tomatoes and strawberries are so similar that he has made pasta with strawberries instead of tomatoes before. Wow .. wonder what that would taste like...

We got to taste his creations after the class ( of course ) and to be honest the revelation tasted like a really expensive and refined .. are you ready for this .. pineapple tart ! .. giggles.. i think there was too much pineapple so it was really overwhelming.

The other was really interesting, i have never tasted anything like that before. It was very foreign but very refreshing. Hmm .. now i really want to go to Pierre Herme's restaurant !!!

Les Macarons

Stack 'Em Up

It was one of those days when i decided to venture around Raffles City basement and what do i find ... Canele. It's a patisserie and they had a beautiful collection of macarons. I have been macaron crazy for the past week, trying to make them and reading about their history and dreaming about going to Laduree.. or Pierre Herme in France sigh.. so when i saw those colorful discs sitting in their glass thrones i just had to get them. I got one of everything they had, they must have had more in the morning but by the end of the day i think there were about seven or eight flavours left.

Quickly headed home carefully carrying my treasure and casting annoying glances at ignorant commuters that keep bumping my bag. Back home i put everything aside, took a large swig of water to prepare my mouth for the ecstasy that was beckoning.

Here are the flavours, i think...starting from the front moving into the background... Milk Chocolate, Violet, Rose, Coffee, Chocolate, Lemon, Salty Caramel ( MY FAVOURITE !!! )

Now put them in a row

The milk chocolate was good, it was delicious and it had ganache instead of the usual buttercream. Their macarons were not achingly sweet like mine, i really need to find an appropriate recipe. Anyhoo, i couldn't make out what the violet was .. it didn't taste much of lavender and i am pretty sure it is not yam .. probably came up with that because of the violet coloured yam ice cream sandwiched between wafers that we Singaporeans would have eaten during our youth.

The rose was nice with its raspberry jam filling. The coffee didn't really tickle my tongue because i don't drink coffee ... yes yes i am one of those proud wierdos' that don't drink coffee ... the chocolate .. well tasted like chocolate.. the lemon had lemon curd in it that my father did not enjoy.. or yes i shared the macarons with my family... then the beauty of them all.. the Salty Caramel... or my god it was SO SO SO GOOD ... i had never tasted them before and when i had them.. for some odd reason it brought back childhood memories.. i think food has never affected me like that before.. for those that watched the animated movie Ratatouille.. i felt exactly like the critique who was reminded of his childhood.. It was heaven... what a delight !