Cookout! and other late posts.

This is a retrospective post on 2 events: making bread & butter pudding and our last cookout.

Bread and Butter:

The original recipe was for 6, but i did a half-recipe as a tester, and split it into 4 ramekins. This was the last ramekin! I think the pointy-tipped presentation is a winner, and the crunch when you bite into it is a delightful textural contrast to the rich, soft custard. The marmalade glaze could've been done better though, but i didnt' have my blowtorch with me. Next time i'll use better quality marmalade, and caramelise it into a crust.

Cookout!

Wang has already taken it upon himself to post pictures of my kitchen, so i'll not describe that. The cookout was totally impromptu - Wang was to come over to take photos of the pudding, and i decided an hour before that to try out a recipe that has been sitting in my mind for ages.

Pork belly in 3 different ways!

First, i cut the pork belly into thick slices. I was going to cut it into thin slices after that, but the plan backfired - it's near impossible to cut thawed meat properly (with my limited skills). After that, i soaked the meat in brine (salt, brown sugar, pepper, cumin, cinnamon). The brine was a success - the meat was soft, moist and flavourful.

After that, i planned to sear it, and make an apple sauce to go with it. There's something about rich, fatty pork and tart, sweet apples that is really good. Anyway, at this point in time, Chin arrived, to show the newbies how it's done.

First, he caramelised the apples on high heat, then he added more butter and sugar. He asked for cream, but all i had was milk. As a substitute, he used more butter and milk. The end product:

Sweet, tart rich goodness, without the heaviness!

The first slice of pork belly was cut into strips and panfried. The pan was degreased and a red-wine sauce made with the fond. Good stuff.

The second slice I browned off, and sauted. The apple sauce was drizzled over, and we fussed about presentation for ages.

The first plate:

Plain and unappealing.

This just wouldn't do. Chin rearranged the plate, and squared off the piece of pork. Second plate:

More colour and variety.

Just for kicks, we did it a third way:

A more conventional plating.

We agreed though, that the dish needs more colour and more vibrancy. There were a lot of yellows and browns, and not enough variation in colour to make it very appealing to eat. Texture-wise, the crunch of the bed of raw apples was a nice contrast to the chewy, moist pork, and the soft sweetness of the caramelised apples. The basil was sadly non-functional though.

The last piece of pork will stew in obscurity, for there are no pictures, and no more mention will be made of it.



Until next time,
T.