Christmas Dinner 2007

My hub invited his secondary school buddies and their wives to our house for a Christmas Dinner.

I thought it was going to be an easy affair since we bought the so-called ready-made turkey/pork ribs/ham from NTUC and would be using disposable plates and cutlery. But I was oh, so wrong. :P There were certainly much more preparation work than just that.

Just the food alone took me nearly 2 hours to prepare. >_<"

Ham: To make it look presentable, I had to slice the ham into equal thickness. However, it wasn't easy to do so.

Pork Ribs: Cutting this into pieces was easier than it seems. I had all the pork ribs cut into sections in a jiffy. :)

Turkey: Then we need to stuff the turkey with the necessary ingredients (aka good stuff), namely Gourmet sauce and waterchestnut stuffing (that has to be steamed for 15 minutes before it can be put 'in place'). See, I used plastic gloves in the preparation of my food. Hygienic hor? ;)





We roasted the turkey in Healsio for a good 30 minutes. My good ol' Healsio.



Beef: The meat was really tough. It was like sawing a piece of wood. My dearest hub was so worried that I will cut myself as I was using so much strength. I kept telling him I wouldn't. I don't know if it was self-fulfilling prophecy or what, but I did poke myself on the hand in my haste to cut that piece of meat into half. :P

This was followed by the roasting of the ham, pork ribs and beef for 8 minutes each. The end products...

Roasted Turkey

The torn skin is such an eyesore, isn't it? My hub wanted to stuff ALL the waterchestnut stuffings and the gourmet sauce given to us into the turkey and in the process of doing so, tore the skin apart. *shakes head*



This is embarrassing, but I have never tasted a roasted turkey before. Thus, I was really looking forward to have a slice of it this Christmas dinner.

I was a little disappointed. It tasted like chicken and the meat was a tad too dry and bland for my liking. What's more the 'ho leow' (good stuff) didn't seem to have any effect in enhancing the flavour of the meat. I had to add tomato sauce to it. Maybe the part my hub has cut for me, just wasn't the 'right' part?

Ham

Pretty standard. It tasted very nice when it was just taken off the oven but it didn't taste as nice after it has turned cold.



Pork Ribs

I thought that was pretty nice and savoury. However, it was rather difficult to handle it as we were using plastic forks and knives! :P



One of the girls commented that it was a guys' gathering as there were no vegetables around. I didn't realised that until she mentioned it. I told my hub that this is just like the 'Carnivore' dinner we had in Vivocity and he agreed. hee!

Beef

I overcooked it. I guess this kind of 'habit' was inherited from my mother. My mother is someone who would rather overcook than risk letting us eat something that is not fully cooked. His poor friends have to spend minutes just to chew on that bite-sized meat. I was so paiseh on this. :P



I did not take the beef (as usual) nor the sauce, but the latter looks absolutely tasty.



Assorted sushis from Sakae



From the empty space (the size of a sushi), It seems as though I have popped a sushi into my mouth while preparing the food, huh? But nah... I didn't take much from this plate of sushis. In fact, I only had one! The star shaped egg. :P

Just the above orders from NTUC costs $155. We ordered 2 medium pizzas from Canadian 2-for-1, some tidbits, drinks and a bottle of wine. That sums up to more than $200!

We were so busy over this seemingly simple dinner, but I guess it was really worth it because my hub said he really enjoys going through the planning, purchasing and preparation (3 Ps!) with me. I thought that was rather sweet of him to say that. :)

I am also glad to be able to co-host this get-together to give his friends a simple, but enjoyable dinner. Now, that's the spirit of Christmas eh?

Merry Christmas, Everyone! :)

Mee Sua Soup

My hub can only afford to take PM leave to go out with me as he has many things to clear at work. -.-

I was lazy to walk down to the hawker to buy breakfast, so I decided to cook this for myself. :)



Ingredients

• 1 bundle of mee sua
• 5 small pieces of mock meat
• 2 mushrooms (cut into strips)
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp of oil
• 2 cups of hot water

Seasonings

• 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp concentrated chicken stock
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• dash of pepper

Method

1) Add mushroom and mock meat to heated oil
2) Add oyster sauce and stir fry
3) Set the mushroom and mock meat aside
4) Fry egg and return mushroom and mock meat to the wok
5) Add hot water and concentrated chicken stock
6) Add Mee Sua and stir for 30 seconds
7) Add light soy sauce and salt to taste
8) Before turning off the fire, add sesame oil and pepper
9) Best served with fried shallots (I added it after taking the photo)

It turned out pretty tasty, even though I did not follow any particular recipe. ;)

Baby Kailan with Mushrooms

Nothing beats seeing him finish all the food that I have prepared for him. It really warms my heart to know that I am able to whip up a meal that he truly enjoys, after he had a long and hard day at work. I guess this is the contentment and joy shared by many housewives or working wives like me, who cooks. :)

He particularly liked this kailan dish that I have cooked. For someone who hardly take mushrooms, he surprised me by finishing all the mushrooms I have left for him. I felt so handsomely rewarded. Well, spiritually. :P



Ingredients

• Baby Kailan
• 2 Mushrooms (soaked and cut into strips)
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Seasonings

• 3/4 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 cup of water (from the soaking of the mushrooms)
• 1/2 tbsp cooking wine

Method

1) Stir minced garlic in heated oil for 30 seconds
2) Add mushroom and oyster sauce
3) Add water and simmer for 1 minute
4) Add baby kailan and stir briefly
5) Add soy sauce and cooking wine
6) Add cornstarch solution (optional)

Fried Rice with Pork Cutlet

Both of us had our own appointments on Monday and that means that I will only need to cook once this week. My hub tried to make keep things simple for me and suggested having a one-dish meal - Fried Rice. He didn't want the vegetarian version I have cooked for him before as he wanted some real meat in it.

Before he carried on with his next sentence, I knew that he wanted to ask for Pork cutlet. Somehow, he just loves the pork cutlet that I have made. Feeling that this combination would turn out quite heaty, I suggested adding a vegetable dish to 'balance' the meal.

So it turned out that I still have to cook 3 dishes. *pengz* So much for keeping the meal 'easy and simple'. >_<"



Click here for pork cutlet recipe.

Ingredients

• Steamed Rice (1 cup of uncooked rice)
• Mixed vegetables (carrot/pea/corn)
• 2 eggs (beaten and with 1 tbsp of light soy sauce and a dash of pepper added)
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Seasonings

• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• a pinch of salt
• a dash of pepper

Method

1) Add mixed vegetables to 1tbsp of heated oil
2) Add a pinch of salt and stir-fry
3) Set aside the mixed vegetables in the wok and add another tbsp of oil
4) Fry the egg
5) Before the egg is fully cooked, add the steamed rice to the mixture
6) Add the light soy sauce and stir until the colour is evenly distributed.
7) Sprinkle a dash of pepper over before serving

Oh, on a side note, I managed to fry rice without any burnt marks at the bottom of the wok today. It was so easy to manage the rice this time round, even though I cooked the rice on the spot (and not left overnight in the fridge).

I guess it has got something to do with keeping the fire to the minimal and letting it slowly and evenly heat up the rest of the wok. The salesman's comments on the nature of the wok suddenly start to make sense to me. After 1 year plus. :P

Almond Jelly with Longan

My recent craze is Almond Jelly. I simply love the smell of it... *sniff sniff* ^_^



Ingredients

• 2 cups of water
• 2/3 cup of evaporated milk
• 5 tbsp sugar (yes, quite a lot ya? Now we know how much sugar intake we are consuming from desserts... :P)
• 2 tsp Agar Agar powder
• 1 tsp almond essence
• 1 can of longan

Method

1) Mix everything together and bring to a boil
2) Cool it and put it in the fridge for the mixture to solidify
3) Serve with longan

Tofu Soup with Bean Sprouts and Meatballs

This is supposed to be a Tofu Soup with minced pork balls and salted vegetables. I couldn't get salted vegetables, somehow. My meatballs are expiring this week, so I had to make adjustments to the soup. My hub is one fussy pot especially when it comes to soup, so when he said that the soup is not bad, I just had to document it down! :D



Ingredients

• 300g tofu
• 6 meatballs
• 1/2 carrot sliced (all sank to the bottom of the bowl :P)
• 1/2 cup beans sprouts
• 5 cups of chicken stock*

Seasonings

• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt to taste
• a dash of pepper

Method

1) Boil the chicken stock
2) Add carrot and meatbals
3) Add tofu and beans sprouts
4) Once ingredients are cooked, add the seasonings

* I used the unwanted skin and bones from the chicken breast of another dish to prepare the stock. No food wastage and you get a more flavourful soup. I kept in the fridge overnight and when I took it out, the fats from the soup solidifies, making it very easy for me to remove it. Health prevails! :)

Chye Sim

I got this recipe from a blog. I find the taste quite okay, but my hub begged to differ. And this means that I will only post the photo for my records... At least it looks pretty decent on photo, yes? :)

Bean Sprouts with carrots and mock meat

I crave for the Taiwan breakfast I had a few weeks back. Congee and beansprouts. Healthy, simple and yet tasty.




Ingredients

• 1 cup Bean sprouts
• 1/2 carrot cut into strips
• 6 pieces of mock meat
• 1 tbsp oil

Seasonings

• 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
• 30 ml water
• salt to taste

Method
1) Heat oil
2) Add carrot strips and stir-fry till moderately soft
3) Add mock meat and stir-fry till cooked
4) Add bean sprouts
5) Add water
6) Season with light soy sauce and salt


I have really enjoyed eating this dish I have cooked today. And yes, I had it with congee... :)