With this book, recreate Singapore Airlines’ gourmet fare in your kitchen – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

‘Above & Beyond’ is a compilation of 50 signature dishes from the airline’s Michelin-starred chefs

“SINCE 1998, flag carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) has served up gourmet fare by its very own pool of food experts, which includes the likes of three Michelin-starred chefs Georges Blanc and Gordon Ramsay.

The longtime team-up has yielded “Above & Beyond: A Collection of Recipes from the Singapore Airlines International Culinary Panel.” It’s a compilation of 50 signature dishes from the chefs whose stated goal is to create a diverse, palate-pleasing selection of food fit for consumption miles aboveground.”

With this book, recreate Singapore Airlines’ gourmet fare in your kitchen – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

 

And here is the link to the book http://bit.ly/dMWBgc

Frosted Marsh

Coming back from getting the newspaper this morning I came upon the marsh with frost. This is over on Parade Road.

I have taken pictures of this marsh before, usually in the Spring after it has been beaten down during the long winter, and as things are coming back to life.

It looked interesting to me this morning, beiges, white and silver.  There is beauty at anytime of the year.  You just have to look for it.

Pretzel Turtles

Today is the first Saturday that I don’t have to do an Open House, for SouthWoods.  I have had a list of things that I need to do, since much had been put off as my Saturdays and Sundays were consumed by hosting people as they strolled through the models at SouthWoods.

On one of my trips through the kitchen I had to ask Alex, “what’cha making?”  Turns out she was making a very simple, and very delicious batch of Pretzel Turtles.  A gift one of her pupils had given her last year at Christmas time.

Ingredients are:

• Mini pretzels (you can open the bag from the top)
• Rollos
• Pecans

Put the pretzels on a lined cookie sheet.  Put the flat side up and then place a Rollo candy in the middle of each pretzel.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for three to four minutes. Take out of the oven just when the Rollos begin to melt.  Press into the center of the melted/soft chocolate a pecan.

I’m not a big chocolate guy…these are great.

A perfect addition to your selection of knives

I have discovered the pleasures of a Sandwich Knife.

Its wide spatula like blade makes for perfect spreading of butter, jam, mayo etc.   Of course, before you spread you’ve got to get “it” out of the jar, and again this wide blade shines…making the job easy.

This particular knife also has a serrated edge, which allows for convenient cutting of your super sandwich. Once you use this little beauty, you’ll wonder how you got along with the narrow blade of a typical kitchen knife.

Made in Germany by Friedr. Dick, which has been making knives since the 1700’s.

Available at: Will’s Cutting Boards

Artichokes in Maine

We recently went up Booth Bay, Maine’s destination spot: Coastal Botanical Gardens of Maine.  Simply a beautiful spot to wander, and one of those places that one could go back to several times a year to view the changes of Nature.

I must be dumb, as I always thought Artichokes were a “California Thing,” but here they were in this lovely spot.

They are definitely part of the thistle family, less the needles.

Cutting Boards to Complement Your Kitchen’s Decor

You have probably read all about cross contamination of cutting boards.  Obviously, it is critically important to do keep our boards clean so we don’t cross contaminate.

Another real plus for colored cutting boards, is that they can be used to complement you kitchen’s decor.  Pick a color to blend, accentuate, or to complement.

The boards pictured are 12-3/4″ wide x 20-3/4″ long x 3/4″ thick, with a with a juice grove one side, plan surface other side.  Because this board has no feet, it is reversible, which helps in minimizing cross contamination, and it also doubles the life of the board since one has two sides on which to work.

For more information and pricing please go to:  Will’s Cutting Boards

Preps for Easter Brunch

Bloody Marys….I came downstairs with another recipe, for yet another Bloody Mary concoction.  Alex, brought sense to my life by simply saying, “Willis, why don’t you use the one in your book?”

First of all the “the book” is a compostions book, that I stash away recipes that work.

Second, here’s the Bloody Mary mix that Alex seems to endorse.

16 oz Vodka

48 oz V8 Juice

8 tsp horseradish

4  tsp fresh lime juice

32 dashes Tabasco Sauce (I cut back to about 16, and let people spice up their own.)

32 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Pepper

1/2 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp salt

Enjoy…and Happy Easter to All

Greatest Tool for My Kitchen

I just got done cleaning up the kitchen this morning after cooking a full Monty breakfast.

I used my cast iron skillet, which cleaned up easily.  When I got to an old Teflon, non-stick skillet it had a tough backed on crust in spots…that’s when I reached for the kitchen drawer and pulled on this bright non-marring scraper…presto it was clean, and I didn’t scratch the Teflon.

Next, I moved onto the microwave….opps…that Lasagna I reheated last night seemed to have left some cheese on the deck…baked on cheese?  You got it.  The Pink Scrapper….

It can be found at:  http://tinyurl.com/c26o66

Keep It Simple

With our technology capabilities and the need to cut costs (people?), it seems that many companies are sacrificing service.

On a daily basis I dial companies for a product and all too frequently I discover

– An automated phone answering service that puts sales last as a menu option.

– Receive a so called greeting telling me to leave a message and they’ll get back to me.

– Been told that they (customer service reps) are all in a meeting.

In all cases I “want to buy something”…and I can only think that “no wonder they are probably reporting sales are off.

It’s so simple….

• Allow a human being to answer the phone.
• Answer the phone within three rings…all of the time
• Everyone is in sales….so anyone can answer the phone and take a message or an order.
• Call people back promptly

Responsible Customer Service

They want your business.  They want your money, but they don’t care about you.  How many times do you experienced this?

Alex and I wanted to go to the movies on Christmas afternoon, so I went to the computer and reviewed the offerings in local theaters.  Found one that had a couple of movies that we were interested in…so off we went.

Got there, and thought “oh, boy” we’re going to have the theater to ourselves, as we looked at only a few cars in the parking lot.  What we discovered was that the place was closed.  Doors locked, lights on, and no sign in the door explaining what was going on.  Of course we left, and found another movie theater that was open, and quiet busy.

Yesterday, we decided that we really wanted to see ‘Marley and Me’…you probably have to be a Lab owner to truly appreciate this movie…so we went.  You guessed it the only place that it was showing was at the theater that was locked up the day before….yesterday they were open and the parking lot was full….packed.  I haven’t seen a movie theater that full for years.

The nightmare of the day was getting out of this theater’s parking lot…a traffic mess and a true hazard.  It took twenty minutes to get out to the highway, and then one had to risk, life, limb and auto damage to get out into traffic.  No traffic light and no one directing traffic anywhere.

We won’t be going back, no matter what is playing there. (Cinemagic in Hooksett)