Belgian Inspirations

The F1 Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend has inspired us to make Belgian themed desserts & drinks . . .

SmurfBerry Juice - Mix Blue Curacao, crushed ice and 7-Up (you can substitute with champagne if you're celebrating) in a jug; then pour into chilled shot glasses. Drop in several blueberries, then garnish with a couple blueberries speared onto a cocktail stick and balanced on the rim of each shot glass.

And for dessert, we have chocolate coated Belgian waffles with ice cream . . .

A most delicious way to enjoy an exciting race. Crunch a blueberry as you drink to experience a flavorful explosion in your mouth!

Live Jumbo Lobster

We were wondering through Central City in Surrey and came across Live Jumbo Lobsters on sale at the supermart. Picked up a four & a half pounder and headed home on the skytrain.

While organizing the ingredients & equipment, we let Lucas the lobster out of the bag to chill out in the kitchen sink.

Fun time's over, it's time to get down to business. Put the lobster in the freezer for half an hour to sleep. Take him from the freezer and turn him over onto a chopping block; cut right down the middle from head to tail. Kitchen shears are handy for cutting through the shell. De-vein, but keep the rest of the greenish/mustard coloured stuff around the head area (it's pretty tasty after cooking; discard only if you are really not into eating it); rinse with cool water, then detach the claws. If you're not up to cutting up & cleaning a lobster, get the market to do it for you.

We place the two large claws (notice they are different - the fatter one is a Crusher Claw, the slimmer one is a Pincher Claw) onto a baking tray, and the two body halves onto another tray. For the body half at the top, we spread on a butter, mustard, garlic & honey sauce; for the other, we use a black pepper sauce with onion bits. Place the tray with the claws below the other tray and Bake for 20 minutes, followed by Grill for 5 minutes.

To accompany our Jumbo Lobster, we tossed a salad and made toast to soak up the lobster gravy.

The claws were so tough I broke a knife trying to cut through them. Brought out the chisel & mallet to crack them open !
It was delicious, but we couldn't finish the whole lobster.

So we picked out the meat and made lobster rolls with the leftovers for lunch another day . . . a second tasty lobster meal . . . double delicious !

Mmmmmm . . . . .

Fried Dungeness Crab

Dungeness Crabs are a great Pacific NorthWest delicacy. You have most likely eaten them boiled, so I'll show you a much tastier way to prepare them - Fried Oriental Style.

First, pick an active live crab from the tank. If you're not up to cleaning it yourself, get the market to do it for you and go straight home & cook it as soon as possible. However, it's best if you do it yourself just before cooking . . .

Put the live crab in the freezer for at least half an hour to put it to sleep. Take it out of the freezer, turn it upside down on a chopping block and cut down the middle from mouth to tail without cutting through the top shell. Pull the two body halves from the shell. If you are not adventurous to eat the gills and guts, remove them; or you can leave a bit to try and see if you can acquire a taste for them. Break off the mouth and tail flaps, and trim off the claws at the end of each leg, then rinse with cool water. Detach the claws from the body and crack them a little to allow flavours to seep in when cooking. Cut the body halves once more into quarters.

Fry some smashed garlic and young ginger strips with three spoons of oil in a wok. Add the Dungeness Crab and stir fry for a minute, then toss in some oyster sauce, a few shakes of pepper, and a cup of chicken stock; stir well and cover the wok for five minutes. In the meantime, whip up an egg in a bowl with several spoons of water to thin it down a little; add some sesame oil and a pinch of salt to the mix for flavour.

Uncover the wok and slowly drizzle in the egg mixture while constantly stirring; this will thicken the crab sauce and add texture. After a few minutes, when the sauce has reduced to a nice thick constancy, the Dungeness Crab is ready to be served.

After you enjoy this dish, you can try other variations next time - for a spicy version, replace the oyster sauce with chilli paste. You can also do a black pepper version using black pepper sauce and chopped onions; use corn starch instead of the egg mix to thicken this sauce.

BBQ Cedar Plank Steelhead Trout

Found fresh Steelhead Trout fillets at Costco today, perfect for barbecuing.

Soak untreated Cedar planks in water for a couple hours or more.

Clean the Steelhead fillets with lemon & salt water and cut to size so that they will fit onto the Cedar planks later. Place skin side down onto trays and let rest in the fridge.
Mix your favorite herbs with extra virgin olive oil and a bit of butter & cracked pepper, spread evenly on top of the Steelhead before sprinkling on shredded Monterey Jack (or your favorite) cheese.

Drain the Cedar planks and foil the bottom for protection before placing on pre-heated BBQ grill.
After about 10 minutes, brush some oil onto the heated planks and transfer on the Steelhead fillets; close the BBQ grill and let it slow cook for about half an hour.

When ready, simply take the planks off the grill and serve for an eye catching presentation . . .

BC Spot Prawns & Mussels Spaghetti

Wild BC Spot Prawns are in season, so let's make some seafood pasta!

These are the largest species of shrimp caught in Canada's west coast waters, and are so named due to the distinctive white spots on its body; one just behind the head, and another close to its tail.

To go with our BC Spot Prawns, we found some live Mussels in the next tank, and picked up some spaghetti.

Rinse and clean the mussels to remove any sand or sediment before boiling with some salt for several minutes.
Remove the prawn heads and set aside; de-shell & de-vein the body.
Fry a generous portion of freshly chopped garlic and sliced onions in butter & olive oil, then add the prawn heads and stir fry for a couple minutes. Throw in the rest of the prawns and the boiled mussels that have opened; discard any mussels that have not opened after boiling. Sprinkle in black pepper, lemon juice, tarragon flakes, and finish with a splash or two of white wine.

Serve on top of a bed of freshly cooked spaghetti; or your favorite plate of pasta.
You can also modify the sauce to your liking - add ketchup or a can of tomatoes/tomato paste to make a red sauce; add cream and cheese or mushrooms for a white sauce.

Bon Appetit !

Canadian Rib Steak

The Canadian Superstore at Metrotown was having a sale on beef this afternoon. Their bone-in rib steaks were irresistible; this is the same premium cut used for great steak dishes like Cote de Boeuf and Prime Rib. We are going to have a feast this evening . . .

Let the steak warm up to room temperature, lightly season with freshly ground black pepper & sea salt, then pan fry with butter & olive oil on high heat for two minutes per side. Transfer the steak onto an oven pan that has been roasting potatoes with herbs, and let it finish cooking in the oven for about 10 minutes.

For a tasty sauce to accompany your steak, fry some garlic & onions and add the pan drippings along with half a cup of red wine. Reduce the mixture by about half on the stove before serving over the steak that has had some time to rest.

This thick hefty piece of steak was tender, juicy, and large enough for the two of us to slowly savour and enjoy . . . Mmmm . . .

Easy Wraps & Pizza

Here are some ideas when you need an easy & quick to prepare meal.

Wraps are versatile as you can put in just about anything to make up a delicious & nutritious meal. Try a tortilla with a bed of greens & avocado slices, topped with chicken breast and mushroom, onion & mustard sauce; roll it all up and lunch is ready within minutes.

How about one with fish? Start by pan frying salmon burgers, onions & mushrooms. Assemble the wrap with salad leaves, add on sliced pieces of salmon burger, tomatoes, and finish with the fried onions & mushrooms.

When you are not in a rush, but don't want to work too hard for your meal, try a pizza. For thin crispy crust, you can use a tortilla for the base; otherwise you can just use regular pizza base.

I tried something a bit more exotic the other day - Escargot Four Cheese Pizza. First, mix escargot with garlic herb butter and stuff into button mushrooms; bake for 10 minutes. Spread a thin layer of Four Cheese pasta sauce onto the tortilla or pizza base, then slice up the escargots & mushrooms and distribute evenly over the prepared base. Sprinkle some diced tomatoes and shredded cheese on top and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Not a lot of preparation required, and even had time to be a couch potato before dinner. Easy clean up afterwards as well, so all-in-all a lazy relaxed evening . . .

Sirloin Burger

As we get closer to Summer, burgers come to mind . . .

Just so happens, the supermart is having a sale on ground sirloin this week; $9 for a pack of about a kg and a bit.

Season our fresh sirloin with some herbs, pepper, and a splash of red wine. Form into burgers and let them sit in the freezer for about 20 minutes so they will hold their shape when cooking.

In the meantime, slice the burger bun and lightly toast. Slice up some onions & tomatoes; and rinse some salad greens.

Now pan fry the semi frozen burgers and the onion slices. To assemble, we put tomato slices on the bottom piece of the buns, slide on our sirloin burger, top with fried onion rings and grated old cheddar cheese. Squirt ketchup & mustard on the top slice of the buns and we're ready to serve with greens on the side.

A juicy tasty meal in anticipation of summer . . .

Salmon Soup For A Cold Wet Day

The rain clouds have rolled in overnight here in British Columbia, and the weather has turned colder; the rain is expected to last all day too.

Fortunately, we have just the recipe to keep warm - Salmon Head Miso Soup !

Soak a Salmon head that has been thoroughly cleaned in lemon & salt water for several minutes. While waiting for the Salmon, prepare the soup with two heap tablespoons of miso paste, crushed garlic and ginger, a bowl of chicken stock & a bowl of water.

When the soup comes to a full boil, gently add in the Salmon head and let it cook for five minutes before turning it over in the pot. Boil for another five minutes, then throw in some carrot slices to add color. Turn down the heat to let the soup simmer for at least 20 minutes in order to achieve a thick flavorful soup. Garnish with slices of spring onions.

Ahhh . . . warm & comfortable at last . . .

BBQ Pork Ribs & Giant Portabellos

There were buy one get one free pork ribs at the supermart today, and they looked mighty fine. So no prizes for guessing what's for dinner tonight . . .

Trim and clean the racks of ribs, then marinade with a mix of bbq sauce, chopped garlic, cracked black pepper & red wine. Let the racks soak in the flavors for at least half an hour or more in the fridge before oven grilling.

In the produce section of the supermart, we found giant Portabello mushrooms; the perfect match to go along with our grilled ribs. Just remove the stump in the middle, dice it up and mix with herbs and butter (or extra virgin olive oil for a healthier version). Stuff this mix back onto the massive Portabello and top off with your favorite cheeses. Oven grill together with the ribs.

To dress up the dinner plate, we served up half a rack of ribs topped with asparagus in olive oil and a couple button mushrooms that were all grilled along with the rest of the meal.
Enjoy . . .

Herb Chicken & Super Size Strawberries

Visiting the markets in search of fresh ingredients to prepare dinner, we find plump fresh chicken breasts on sale, and stumble upon the largest strawberries I've ever seen.

So it will be oven grilled herb chicken with rice tonight. After trimming and cleaning the chicken, marinade it with some herb butter, Italian herb mix & extra virgin olive oil, then place it on a grilling pan. Cut and mix some cabbage & carrots with chopped garlic, crushed pepper, salt and olive oil. Add it to the pan and stick it in the oven for about half an hour.

When done, pour out the pan drippings and use this chicken & vegetable juices to cook the rice; this will impart a nice chicken flavor to the rice.

For dessert, it's fresh jumbo strawberries with ice-cream and pieces of dark chocolate; yummy.

Canadian Pork Tenderloin

It's late spring, and we're in British Columbia, Canada. Discovering that the food here is mainly local produce, and really fresh, tasty and inexpensive.


Today, picked up whole pork tenderloins from the supermart, going at $11 per kilo. Cut them into inch & a half thick steaks and pan fried with a sprinkling of black pepper, sea salt & a dash of red wine.
Served them on top of pasta with carrots, mushrooms, onions and tomato-red wine sauce.

The pork was so tender that we did not even need knives; a gentle bite was all it took to release the juicy flavours as it melts in your mouth. A truly satisfying meal that's quick and easy to prepare !

Grilled Teriyaki Cod

Here’s an easy and healthy meal you can prepare quickly . . .

Get some Cod fillet (or any other fish you prefer) and marinade with teriyaki sauce (get the liquid version, not the thicker paste sauce) for 10 to 15 minutes.  Use a grill pan and grill your fish fillets about 2 minutes per side (longer if your fish fillets are thicker); a quick way to test is to use a skewer or fork to pierce the thickest part of your fish, if it goes thru easily without resistance the fish is cooked.

You can stir fry some greens and mushrooms to accompany your grilled fish. To dress up the plate, garnish with a stalk of chive, slice of lemon, sprinkle of chopped parsley and a strawberry.

It will taste as good as it looks!

Gourmet Venison Burger

Designing a burger always gets the creative juices flowing, so let's try something new today - Gourmet Venison Burger, a healthier lower fat alternative to the regular beef burger.  Now where do we start with this Xperiment ?

Let's begin with the meat - the heart of the burger.  I'll use a block of Venison Topside Steak; other cuts may also be used.  Half a kilogram or a pound of meat should make three to four burgers.  What shall we add to flavor our venison?  Here are some suggestions:  beer, BBQ sauce, chili, garlic, ginger, horseradish, ketchup, mushrooms, mustard, onions, oregano, salt, pepper, red wine, rosemary, thyme, whisky, worcestershire sauce.  What else can you think of that will go well with venison?

I'll start with garlic, mushrooms and onions.  Chop up several cloves of fresh garlic to make about a tablespoon; make more or less as you prefer.  For the mushrooms, I've selected baby portobellos for their meaty flavor and texture.  You may also use other types that are available.  To really boost the Gourmet factor, you can use Morels or Truffles when they are in season; in this case, best to use them as a sauce or condiment/garnish.  As for onions, I've picked a small yellow onion for its full flavor.  If you prefer a stronger bite, go for the red onions; for a milder flavor, try white onions.

After chopping up the garlic, mushrooms & onions, its time to prepare our venison.  First, cut up the block of venison into small pieces, then chop it up a bit more.  Mix in your garlic, mushrooms and onions.  Chop and mix for another round or two.  Next, I've decided to add some mustard, salt, freshly ground black pepper, red wine and rosemary; you can choose your favorite condiments to mix in.  To bind the burger mixture together, I have selected a tablespoon of grated Romano cheese for its sharp tangy flavor.  Other binders you can use are breadcrumbs or eggs.  Mix all the ingredients well and form into patties about half an inch high and as wide as the buns you intend to use.  Put your venison burger patties into the freezer for about half an hour to prevent them from breaking up when you cook them.  You can wrap them in plastic food wrap for easier handling if necessary.

Now to select some vegetables and go pick out your choice of bun.  How about some sweet romaine lettuce and juicy tomatoes?  In place of pickles, try a few slices of Kiwi fruit for a refreshing fruity flavor.  I've chosen a large focaccia bun from my local baker; what's your pick?  Slice the bun into two halves and toast them till lightly golden brown.

Its time to take out the grill pan for our burgers.    I'll use olive oil with a little butter and sesame oil, for aroma, on medium high heat.  Grill one side of the burger patty, then flip over; I like mine medium to medium-well.  Cook to whatever doneness you like; avoid well-done as this will surely reduce the burger to a dry hard mass.  While grilling, you may add some kick to your burger by flambé with brandy or whisky.

Assemble your burger by lining the bottom half of the toasted bun with the romaine lettuce, stack on your grilled venison burger, add some sauces or spreads if you like (I've used a bit of BBQ sauce), top with slices of kiwi fruit and tomatoes.  Wow, what a delicious sight!

Finally, the tasting . . .

On first bite of our Gourmet Venison Burger - its warm, tender & juicy, with robust flavor.  A hearty meal for the hungry!

As a healthier alternative to french fries, try some baked parsnips to accompany your tasty creation.

Have fun designing, Xperimenting and customizing your very own Gourmet Venison Burger !

Emu Lasagne

Yesterday, our friend's son was in a swimming meet at a pool very close to our place, so we invited the family over for lunch.

Several days earlier, I found out that a good meal for competitive swimmers would have lots of carbo, lean protein and vegetables. Thus the menu for Saturday's lunch was Emu & Vegetable Lasagne and Garlic Bread.

As I've already covered garlic bread in the last post, I'll focus on how to make the lasagne this time . . .

For those who might not know what Emu is, it's a large flightless bird that is found in Australia. It's meat is very lean, and looks similar to beef or venison. We were actually out shopping for venison the other day, and picked up a pack of emu by mistake and did not realize it till I inspected it in our freezer a few days later.

Instead of chopping up the meat, I decided to slice it up into short thin strips so that we will be able to chew into the Emu and enjoy it more when we eat the lasagne. Marinaded it with a generous amount of red wine, freshly ground black pepper and rosemary before cooking it with onions, garlic, half a bottle of cheese & mushroom pasta sauce and some milk.

For the vegetables, we used carrots, eggplant, mushrooms and tomatoes cooked in the other half bottle of pasta sauce, milk and some pepper & herbs.

We used Instant Lasagne sheets to help quickly assemble our meal in a large casserole dish. To make it easier to cut and shape the instant lasagne sheets, soak them in warm water for several minutes first.

Spread olive oil and a bit of butter on the base and sides of the dish and place a layer of lasagne sheets on the bottom, then pour in the emu and spread it out to form the next layer. Sprinkle a layer of shredded cheese over the emu before adding the second layer of lasagne sheets. Now pour in the vegetables and spread it out evenly; layer on the shredded cheese and place the final layer of lasagne sheets. Spread some butter over the top layer and spoon in a thin layer of milk to completely cover the surface of the lasagne sheets; sprinkle some herbs to top it off.

Bake it in the oven for 30 - 45 minutes; then let it stand for 15 minutes, and grill for 10 minutes to achieve a nice golden brown finish.

The Emu Lasagne went well, accompanied by a nice bottle of red wine - Chateauneuf du Pape 2007

Easy & Tasty Breakfast Ideas

Weekends are when I like to try and make a special breakfast to enjoy. So here's what I've come up with the last few weekends . . .

Salmon Cheese Wrap - Found open packets of wraps and smoked salmon in the fridge. Using these as the starting point, decided to select sliced cheese and lettuce to add to the mix. Start by warming a piece of wrap on a pan; flip it over and put bits of cheese on top, around the middle of the wrap. Finally, transfer onto a plate and top off with chopped lettuce and slices of salmon, in which ever order you like. If you don't have these exact ingredients, go ahead and modify the recipe by substituting with whatever vegetable and meat you have on hand.

Garlic Bread - Now here's a perennial favourite that you can customize to suit you own tastes. Simply mix your garlic butter spread with ingredients you like, select your preferred bread, spread and grill/toast. The pics above show two variations - on the left, I've mixed butter, finely chopped garlic, stone ground mustard seed paste, a bit of extra virgin olive oil and some tarragon flakes; spread onto slices of batard bread and toasted. For the version on the right, I've mixed butter, chopped garlic, parsley flakes, a bit of paprika powder and a dash of sesame seed oil; spread onto a halved baguette.
I like to use a small toaster oven as it does the job quickly and efficiently. As I prefer my garlic bread crispy and golden brown, I place the prepared slices face up into the oven toaster and set the timer for three minutes; after about 2 minutes, I monitor thru the glass window to watch when the garlic butter mix starts to sizzle and the bread starts to brown before turning the toaster oven off. For extra crispy all the way thru, you can even pre-toast the bread for about a minute before applying the garlic spread and toasting fully. Should you like your garlic bread with a soft center, then put two slices of bread together with the garlic spread in between to toast; this will achieve a crispy exterior with a soft center, just the way my wife likes it.

Chocolate on Toast - Another way to enjoy toast is with melted chocolate! Just take some of your favorite chocolate, toast it with the bread you like, then spread it after melting and allow to cool a little before enjoying this tasty breakfast. As usual, I toast my whole wheat slices for about a minute first, then flip it over and place chocolate pieces on top to toast for another minute in order to achieve a fully crunchy texture all the way thru the entire piece of toast. Pics show milk chocolate toast on the left, and dark chocolate on toast at right. My all time favourite is Cote d'Or Dessert Noir; what's the chocolate you love?

Omelettes - This regular breakfast favorite is easy to make, and you can add just about anything to eggs and make your very own one-of-a-kind omelette. Pic on left shows this creation with garlic, herbs, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes. A bit of sherry or red wine and black pepper in the egg mix will add extra flavour. Another one I often like to make is ham & cheese; slice ham into thin strips and fry with garlic or onions, then add beaten eggs, flip over when the bottom side is done and put bits of cheese (I like Swiss Emmental) onto half the omelette, then fold the other half onto it and allow the cheese to melt. I've also tried using bacon, beef, crab meat, prawns, sausage, scallops and other leftovers I've found in the fridge on various omelettes over the years and have yet to be disappointed, so go ahead and see what wonderful omelette creation you can come up with.

Enjoy your delicious weekend breakfast . . .  ; )

Pot – Luck !

Here's a one dish meal that's not difficult to prepare, and great for bringing to a gathering of friends & family . . .

I picked up some spice mix for Meat Masala at a local Indian grocery; it has cardamom, chilli, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, fenugreek seed, garlic, ginger, mace, nigella seed, nutmeg, paprika, salt, turmeric. You can get any similar mix at your local Asian store, or try to mix your own blend.

Cube some beef (or other meat you prefer) and marinade with red wine and some of the curry spice mix for at least an hour or more. Fry sliced red onions, chopped fresh garlic and grated young ginger with oil and butter in a large pot.  Next add the beef and stir fry for several minutes, then add more curry mix till it reaches the right amount of spiciness for your taste, and two cups of water. I've added potatoes, carrots and mushrooms; you can add other vegetables you like too. Cover the pot and let it cook for half an hour on low heat; stirring every 5 to 10 minutes to make sure the bottom of the pot does not burn.

It is ready to serve when the meat is tender. You can eat it on it's own, or serve with rice (Basmati is top grade Indian rice) or breads like naan, prata, roti, etc. I like to prepare this in advance, keep it in the fridge over night, and warm it up the next day for an even tastier curry after the sauce has had time to soak into the meat.

Valentine's Day Delights

Getting ready to celebrate Valentine's Day with the love of your life?  Instead of eating out at some restaurant with the crowds, how about an intimate & cozy dinner for two lovebirds in your own nest?  Then let this Xperiment assist you to prepare a memorable & delightful meal for the occasion.

First, select a theme to focus your creativity towards.  What theme fits in with Valentine's Day and with love & romance?  From the many possibilities, I will go with Hearts.  Now let's think Hearts, and also use some fresh seasonal ingredients to prepare our Valentine feast . . .

What ingredients can be shaped into a heart?  Any ideas come to mind; or are you puzzled?  Well, here's a little trick to help you along - whatever is oval in shape can be easily turned into a heart.  I'll use a cucumber to illustrate.  The first step is to cut diagonally and make oval slices.  Now cut each slice into two at an angle as shown, and flip the right half over to form a heart shape.  Now wasn't that really easy?  I'm sure you now see that many ingredients you like can be formed into a heart easily.

Shall we do a seafood pasta?  Imagine this - a bed of your favorite pasta, topped with fresh seafood of your choice shaped into little hearts!

Mussels are in season, and when opened, the shell forms a heart like or butterfly like shape.  Select small to medium sized live mussels.  Clean the un-opened mussels to remove any sand or sediment, then boil them in water with sea salt for several minutes.  When done, the shells will open up partially; if there are any that remain closed, discard them as they are not fresh.  Fish them out of the pot and set them aside for later use.

The second seafood I'll pick is shrimp, as two peeled shrimp with tails on will make a nice heart too.  Pick fresh medium sized shrimp.  Leave the shells on and give them a quick rinse.  Shrimp is best steamed, but you may boil them in a fresh pot of water with a bit of sea salt as well; do not over-cook.  Cooking shrimp with the shells on will help them retain a nice shape and texture.  Once done, set them aside with your mussels to cool.

Now choose your preferred pasta; I've selected Farfalle, or little bow ties.  Boil two servings of your pasta in water with a spoon of oil; if you had boiled your shrimp, you can use the same pot of water as this will add some shrimp flavor to your pasta.  Once cooked, drain and mix some olive oil with balsamic vinegar and toss into the pasta.

For the sauce, let's have something light and flavorful.  Juice half a lemon, chop up some fresh garlic, thinly slice some spring onions, and use a pair of scissors to cut sun dried tomatoes into short thin strips.  In a small pan, fry the chopped garlic with a liberal amount of olive oil and a dab of butter.  As the garlic sizzles, add some mixed herbs (get a pre-mixed pack from the market, or select from basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme, etc.), drop in the sun dried tomato strips, and stir in the lemon juice.  Finally, sprinkle in the sliced spring onions, give it one last stir and the sauce is done.

Instead of two separate plates, use a single large plate so that you and your sweetheart can share this meal; or better yet - feed each other.  Place your pasta onto the plate and spread it into a large flat circle.  Take the mussels and fully open them, taking care not to break the hinges.  Select the shells that form the best looking hearts and set aside.  Remove the flesh from the other shells and place one each onto the empty half of your selected shells.  Peel the shrimp, leaving the tails on; place two shrimp facing each other to form a heart.  Now form a ring of hearts with the mussels and shrimp on top of your pasta base.  I managed to find some egg shaped cherry tomatoes at the market; I slice them into half lengthwise to from ovals, then use our trick to turn them into little red hearts.  Three cherry tomato hearts go right in the center of the dish.  Finally, spoon your sauce into the mussel shells and in the middle of your shrimp hearts; drizzle the rest of the sauce all around the pasta.  Your delightful Valentine Hearts Seafood Pasta  is ready!

To accompany this pretty dish, let's serve Champagne.  Since tangerines are in season, why not juice up the flavor and create a unique tasting drink?  Remove the skin from several tangerine wedges, lightly crush them and drop into chilled Champagne flutes; top up with your favorite Champagne for a refreshing tangy flavored twist to straight Champagne.  You may of course substitute tangerines with any other fruit (use a blender for fruits with less juice) to build your very own special flavored Champagne.

Light the candles, put on some romantic music or a romantic movie, serve up your dinner, clink Champagne glasses  and toast with your sweetheart to the beginning of a blissful evening . . .

For the finale of your Valentine feast, how about fruit & chocolate fondue?

Pick up a selection of fresh fruits from your local market.  I managed to get tangerines, kiwi fruit imported from Italy, and strawberries flown in from Korea.

Gently melt some chocolate in a dish over a pot of simmering water.  Use my favorite dark dessert noir, or your chocolate of choice.  When completely melted, give it a stir.

Meanwhile, arrange peeled wedges of tangerine to form a large heart on your plate.  Fill in the heart with slices of kiwi fruit.  Cut and form the strawberries into small red hearts - for strawberries that are broader cut a "v" shape at the top to remove the stem and form the top of the heart; for slimmer strawberries, cut them in half then round off the tops and place the two halves side by side to form the heart.  Put your strawberry hearts on top of the kiwi slices to complete your work of art.  Place this in the chiller to cool for a while.

When ready, serve up your Fruity Sweet-Heart Chocolate Fondue and enjoy the rest of your enchanting Valentine's evening . . .

The Sandwich Challenge

Family friends were in town from Australia, so we organized a sandwich challenge at my sister's place to see who could make the best burger, hot dog, sandwich or sub.

Eight of us from 3 families were treated to five creations from 4 participants of the cook-off. Let me now share with you our wonderful experiences and the results of this challenge . . .

Honourable mention goes to the dual creations of Kong Bak Pau - a muffin with Chinese style roasted pork belly and cucumber, and Veggie Burger - homemade corn bread topped with whole mushroom stuffed with homemade salsa. The muffin would make for a hearty breakfast, while the veggie is an excellent appetizer.

The second runner-up is Pate de Otak - barbecued spicy fish paste with cheese spread and cucumber in a toasted hot dog bun. This tasty dog will be a mighty good breakfast !

First runner-up position was awarded to Blasphemy - Focaccia bread with maple-mustard beef and fried mushrooms, topped with Feta cheese. This good sized sandwich is full flavoured and will make a great main course or a big snack.

And the winner is . . . Mandarin Boat - a duck sub sandwich. Starting from the bottom-up, half a baguette is coated with garlic butter & toasted, on goes lettuce leaves , then a pan grilled patty of hand chopped duck breast with a bit of chicken leg, garlic, onions, pepper, hoisin sauce & red wine, and flambe with Absolute Mandarin vodka. The top half of the baguette is toasted and spread with a thin layer of marmalade (one of our visiting friends was able to pick out the taste of orange marmalade on his first taste of the sub; what a highly developed sense of taste he has !). Lettuce leaves are cut into sail shapes and attached with long wooden skewers to complete the look of an ancient boat. To accompany the Mandarin Boat, we have an escort longboat with peeled Korean tangerine wedges and pickled onions.

A New Format for a New Decade

Greetings and a Happy New Year 2011 to you !

As we start a new decade, I've decided to refresh my online presence and convert The Xperimental Chef's website into a blog; allowing a more free flowing format for easier reading and to take advantage of enhancements on Blogger.

For new readers/followers, I've replicated some key pages here to get you up to speed on the basics . . .

Begin with About The Xperimental Chef to learn how you can be a better gourmet cook.

Go on to Ethos and place yourself in the right mindset.

Then I'll start you off building a strong foundation with Secrets.

Thanks for your support, and have a delicious year ahead !