A new feature on this site: make-it-yourself recipes for things you ordinarily wouldn’t! And I’m starting things off with one of the most daunting make it yourself things of all: fettucine.

I realize it’s daunting because I resisted making pasta at home for a long, long time. Why bother, when there was so much good, dried pasta around? Pasta made by machine, so every strand was perfect? Pastas made by real Italians, who would certainly know more than I on the subject?

Here’s why to bother: because homemade pasta rocks. That’s not an overstatement- if you’ve never tried freshly made pasta, your head will explode from how deliciously different it is from the dried, packaged stuff.

And you know something else? I don’t even own a pasta machine. Just a good old rolling pin.

Ingredients:
300g semolina flour
3 whole eggs
a pinch of salt
1000ml or one liter of water

Mound the flour on a flat, clean surface. I use a large wooden chopping board.

Make a well in the pile of flour with a spoon or your hand. Afterwards, pour the eggs into the well and use a fork to mix. Add the salt.

Knead the mixture to make the dough… until it is smooth and firm. When done, cover with cling wrap until you ready to work with it. At this point, I usually stick it in the fridge to give it some time to rest and chill.

When you’re ready, roll it out thinly, and slice into fettucine strips.

This pasta takes about two minutes to cook, and it is heavenly.

I’m a little embarrassed that it’s taken me this long to perfect the hard boiled egg. There’s the expression “she can’t even boil an egg”- but I promise you that before today, I have been able to boil an egg- just not a perfect one.

Before today, I tried everything. I added vinegar to the water to prevent the whites from oozing out of the cracks in the shells (and I always, always seemed to have cracked shells!) I added salt to the water to make it easier to peel them. I tried keeping the water on a low simmer before lowering the eggs in. And it was always a hit and miss- some eggs were better than others, some almost perfect… but I never had a day when all the eggs were perfectly hard-boiled, and easy to peel. Until today.

So here’s what I did: I placed the eggs in an unheated saucepan, covered them with cold water, put the saucepan on the stove and turned the heat on to medium-high. Then I waited.

As soon as it started boiling (and I’m talking a good, rolling boil here), I switched the heat off, set my kitchen timer to ten minutes, and went to check Facebook.

After ten minutes, I drained the eggs from the water, and dumped about two cups of ice on them. This gave them a good shock. After they were all nice and shocked and quite cool, I peeled them. When you peel them this way, they are perfect. The peel, membrane and all, comes right off- and you are left with perfectly boiled, shiny egg, with a very moist, creamy yolk within. You’re welcome.

Here it is, fresh from the oven this morning! Apple Crumble~~~

The APPLE CRUMBLE PIE recipe is from All recipe.com, a great website for great baking recipes! Enjoy!

It’s no secret that, as a semi-professional baker, I don’t mind spending hours in the kitchen experimenting with all sorts of sweet treats. From perfecting a plain cheesecake to developing sugar-free desserts, I never shy away from long, sometimes tedious recipes.

Once in a while, though, I just want something good and sweet and quick, something that’ll make the house smell like cinnamon, and be heavenly with a cup of coffee. These churros are just that. Fried batter rolled in sugar- how much simpler can you get?

Yes, you have to deep-fry them. If you have a deep fryer, all the better, but I’ve never needed one, and I swear that these churros are easy to make- as long as you’re careful, and take the usual precautions when deep frying.

Cinnamon Churros

A cup of water
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 whole eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

First, mix the white sugar and cinnamon in a dish. Set this aside. Then, start your oil: in a deep frying pan, heat about two inches of oil to 375 degrees.

In a separate pan, mix together the water, brown sugar, salt and butter, and bring to a boil- you want everything melted, but watch it, you’re not making caramel here. Turn off the heat, and add the flour, stirring it well into the mixture. Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure not to cook the eggs (add them slowly), and stirring well until good and blended.

Prepare a piping bag with a large star tip (or a sturdy freezer bag with one of the corners cut off). This is how you’ll pipe your churros- place your batter into it now. When your oil is hot enough, pipe some of the dough into it, around four to five inches long. Be careful not to burn yourself.

Now work quickly. You should be able to do four or five churros at once- they only need around two minutes in the oil… remove them when they’re golden brown to a plate covered with paper towels. While they’re still warm, roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture until well coated.

Serve immediately with some good hot chocolate (the thicker the better), or a cup of dark-roast coffee.

I won’t pretend these are anything but delicious and fun- and decidedly not healthy- cookies. I’m always amazed, though, at how happy these cookies make people. I’m happy when I make them, happy when I eat them, and whenever I’ve gifted them to anyone, they can’t hide the happiness on their faces either.

It must be the colored sugar? Which I make myself, by the way- it’s ridiculously simple- just add a few drops of your favorite food coloring to a little tupperware or sealed ziploc bag of sugar (try to get the larger crystals, if you can) and shake shake shake. I’m particular to pink.

And the cookies? Couldn’t be easier- and absolutely delicious:

Happy-making Sugar Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (or 1 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk or buttermilk. I interchange this with no problems.
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough
Colored sugar crystals

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. In the bowl of your mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light in color- around 3 minutes. Add egg and milk and beat to combine.

With mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture, and beat until incorporated. Do not overbeat. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Take your chilled dough and roll it out using powdered sugar to keep it from sticking. Cut into shapes. If you don’t want to roll it out, roll it into a cylinder and slice rounds from it. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, just until cookies are beginning to brown around the edges.

While still hot, sprinkle with colored sugar. Smile and enjoy.

If you clicked through here expecting to see a photo of a big guy with uber muscles- well, that’ll work too. But if you’re looking for the best kitchen gadget that’ll open any and all jars in your life- look no further. The Lids Off Jar Opener from Black & Decker is small but powerful, and works with everything from your baby’s Gerber jars to your favorite flavor of Ragu.

It’s really simple to use: lift the handle and place your jar on the turntable. Lower the upper bit to rest on top of the jar, and press the on/off button. And that’s it! There aren’t many kitchen gadgets I swoon over- indeed, I think most kitchens have too many gadgets- but this one, I love.

I love brunch. Having breakfast food in an al fresco setting, with natural lighting and warmth, glass of chilled white wine, good friends with endless chat and no busy schedule to follow, would be most brilliant and make me a very happy girl.

Recently, I went to Graze for brunch. The restaurant, set in a colonial bungalow house, made me feel like I was invited to someone’s house - cosy and comfortable. Besides, the service was good and nothing to complain about. Definitely a place to return again and again.

Baked omelette with smoked salmon, roasted tomato, mushrooms and fried potato (S$17)

Waffles with nutella icecream and strawberries ($13)

If you are not a breakfast fan, there is regular food served as well, starting from 12pm. Where is your favourite place for brunch?

Graze
4 Rochester Park
Tel: 6775-9000

Klee is this little bar located in the slightly off the beaten track location of Portsdown Road. A couple of colleagues swear by the fresh fruit cocktails there and recommended me to visit their favourite bar.

What makes Klee so special is its sushi-bar style setting. I loved the contrast between good and bad, the innocent pine wood counter top and the alcohol display right behind. The bar chairs are an eccentric mix of different chairs, adding to the charm.

Of all the drinks I had that night, my favourites were the pear martini and the kiwi martini. A close third was the cantaloupe martini. It was interesting to see my drink being made from scratch too. The rest of the drinks were okay, but not particularly memorable. But I remember the two cute bartenders though

Klee has a policy of not serving their cocktails outside on the veranda. Before you head there, be sure to make a reservation lest you get disappointed.

Klee
5B Portsdown Road
#01-04 Wessex Estate
Closed Sundays
Tel: 6479 6911

Once in a while, the ladies who keep me sane at work would cast their boyfriends aside and indulge in a day of eating and shopping together. We went to Fiftythree for lunch, first time for all of us.

Fancy potato chips served on a platter of charcoal was our amuse bouche of sort.

Following shortly was a little gunny sack bag containing the exact number of mini bread rolls as there were folks on the table. There were heated ball bearings at the bottom of the sack, keeping the rolls warm. Now, I am all for the novel idea and presentation effects but the bun, oh do I think it sucked. It had a too hard crust, a too dense innard and too salty in general. No amounts of good butter could save it.

The appetizer was chilled cherry tomato and watermelon, with horseradish, and mozzarella foam. This dish, I’m guessing, was trying to get this interplay going between temperature, texture, and flavour. If so, I think the idea was a great one but the execution fell short. I found the horseradish too dominating and the dish could do better without. That, plus the heavy cream sauce lining the bottom of the plate was quite redundant too.

The main course was barramundi with pear and blackcurrent jam. This was more palatable and the fish was fresh. The sweet jams surprising went well with the fish and the bits of fried shallots added delicious enthic flavours.

Dessert was apple risotto with rosemary foam and struesel of sorts. There was no rice in this dessert. The apple was chopped and diced finely to resemble risotto. Served warm, the cinnamon notes harmonized with the scent of rosemary pretty well, if not unusual. My palate could not decide if I was having a savoury or sweet course. Interesting dish that was easy to eat but I would not order it again.

Fiftythree remains an interesting place to visit once in a blue moon because I truly was not really impressed enough to come back again anytime soon.

Fiftythree
53 Armenian Street
Tel: 6334 5535
Lunch: Tues - Sat
Dinner: Mon - Sat

There are days you just don’t feel like cooking. Days when all you want to do is curl up on the couch and watch old episodes of Star Trek on DVD. On days like these, one is grateful to have a husband who not only can cook, but can cook really, really well. And when one of the things he cooks is deliciously spicy chili con carne… well, life is not just good, it’s awesome.

The Husband’s Spicy Chili Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 (16 oz) can red kidney beans, undrained
1 (16 oz) can white beans, undrained
1 (16 oz) can tomato puree
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons spanish paprika
2 large fresh tomatoes, chopped

First, brown the beef lightly in some olive oil, making sure to stir so it crumbles. Drain about half the fat of this away, but not all of it. Yummy, yummy fat.

Add bell pepper, onion, celery, kidney beans, white beans, tomato puree, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, mustard, oregano, paprika and tomatoes.

Simmer for 25 minutes. Do not overcook… you want the celery to stay a bit crisp.

Sometimes, when he’s feeling particularly spicy, he throws in some dried red chilis (those small, hot ones). It’s all a question of whether you like it hot- or whether you can handle it.

I like to sprinkle mine with a healthy serving of grated Monterey Jack cheese…. mmm.