Jamie Oliver's Roast Poussin

I think I've found another dinner party favourite....for those of you who know me well, when I find a good recipe, I tend to cook the same thing over and over again, just like Ainsley Harriot's Finger Lickin' Cajun Chicken which I cooked at almost every dinner party a few years back (for a different group of people each time) until I exhausted that recipe and got caught out repeating the dish for the same group of people. So now I've come across J.Oliver's Roast Poussin recipe that's quite impressive, you wrap the poussin with streaky bacon and stuff it with fresh herbs and baby potatoes. I like poussin because it's a good size and you can serve one bird per person. Another nice canape that I've picked up over here is Filet Americain served on freshly sliced cucumbers. It's amazing how much raw beef (ready-to-eat) is sold in the supermarket delis in the Netherlands...carpaccio, steak tartare, filet americain...great for carnivores like Ces and myself.

How to behead a bottle of champagne

During our visit to Paris, we visited Paul's relatives, Aldo and Denise and had a lovely meal at their house. Our friend, Bronte, was invited to open the champagne, french style. One of Aldo's dinner party favourites is sabering, a dramatic way of uncorking a bottle of champagne. During Napoleon’s early-1800s heyday, the Hussars (French cavalry) celebrated victory with sabrage, the art of beheading a Champagne bottle with a saber. Rumors abound that the tradition began with the grand widow of bubbly, Madame Clicquot, who gave handsome mounted officers bottles of Veuve Clicquot. Inspired by thirst and the recent Reign of Terror, horseback soldiers drew sabers and decapitated their bottles like so many antirevolutionary traitors. The trick is to examine the bottle and find one of the two vertical seams running up the sides. The spot on the bottleneck where the seam meets the lower lip is the weak point, for which you’ll aim. When the bottle is struck perfectly, anticipate a breathless pause before the saber clang against glass gives way to a dramatic gush of fizz. Bronte struck the bottleneck perfectly and beheaded the champagne at his first attempt. Needless to say, I think he guzzled a few glasses of champagne after that, to recover from the nerves, stress and pressure he felt from having to open the champagne with a saber.

Cousins dinner at Kapitein Zeppo's

Photos taken a few weeks back in Amsterdam when my cousins, Kon, Syahiid and Shih Jun came to visit. We went to Kapitein Zeppo's for dinner, a cool little bar/restaurant with quirky decor near the Uni of Amsterdam.

Famous Dead People

We went to the Pere LaChaise cemetary in Paris last Sunday to visit the graves of the famous dead people buried there...James Morrison, Modigliani, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, to name a few. The photo with the large sculpture is Oscar Wilde's grave and the other is Edith Piaf's.

Bastille Day Celebrations in Paris

Paul, Bronte and I spent a 4 day long weekend in Paris and caught a glimpse of the Bastille Day Celebrations on 14 July. Much to our disappointment we had limited visibility of the fireworks celebration, as the 'best location to view the fireworks display' as recommended in the tourist magazine in our hotel ended up being a location where the view was mostly blocked by trees. Nevertheless, it was still great to absorb the atmosphere and buzz.

Canal Cruise and Music Concert

During summer, the canal boats in Den Bosch also have several musical concert events in the evenings. We went with a group of friends and my cousin Kon who was visiting, on a canal boat tour and spanish quartet performance. The concert was performed from a small podium jutting out of the canal, and there were only 5 boats allowed at each concert. Everyone remained on the boats as they listened to the music. It was a very intimate concert, and at the end of the performance, our canal boat drifted along its merry way...

The Bossche Bol

The Bossche Bol is the local speciality of 's-Hertogenbosch. It's filled with fresh cream then covered in choux pastry and chocolate. Although you can buy the bossche bol at most supermarkets, bakeries and food shops in Den Bosch, the locals only go to one speciality bakery in town to get it. It's seriously good!

Bill Granger's Friand Recipe

I know they look like muffins but they are raspberry friands. I couldn't find any friand trays at the shops so had to settle for a muffin tray. This afternoon, I tried out Bill Granger's friand receipe from his cookbook 'Simply Bill'. A friend, Indra, once said to me that friands are quite simple to make and failproof too...and now I can second that! They smell and taste delicious too. I think I will progress to cupcakes next. I have never baked a cupcake before...

Food Festival At Our Doorstep

The chitter chatter of people talking and laughing, wine glasses clinking, musicians entertaining the crowds, and the local restaurants and cafes proudly serving their dish of the day at their stall. It was an absolutely splendid food festival last weekend, downstairs from where we live. Here's a bird's eye view from our apartment. The festival started on Friday night and ended on Sunday. The local restaurants in our neighbourhood each had a stall, they served a different dish each day, and had to change stall position everyday as well. Needless to say, Paul and I, being big foodies, were there every night. Why cook when you have a food festival at your doorstep? My fave dishes were carpaccio of duck meat and duck liver, freshly shucked oysters with a balsamic vinaigrette, lamb teriyaki skewers (perfectly cooked and melted in my mouth) and Mexican meatballs with rice. Also, had a delicious dessert called Bossche Ijsbol. It was like a choc eclair with a massive ice cream ball inside, whipped cream, hot choc sauce poured on top and came with a shot of chilled port. I should have taken some photos of the food but I was too busy eating.