Red Velvet Cake

Cake

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 Tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 56g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 eggs, room temperature and separated
• 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• liquid or gel red food coloring
  
• 1/2 cup milk + juice of 1/4 of a lemon, room temperature

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 225g cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 56g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons cream
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Gordon Ramsay Chez Moi - Pour Ma Famille

In celebration of Mother's Day and my dear Daddy's birthday...

I successfully brought my dear family the Ramsay experience!

 

All the prep work and rushing around the kitchen really did pay off though, my family seemed to have a wonderful time, tasting dishes that are not traditionally served elsewhere in Taiwan.

Even my brother, thought everything was quite tasty, he being probably the hardest to please.

The menu for the night!

Pan-seared Scallops with Crunchy Apple Salad

A fairly simple salad with chopped romaine and apple shreds. The lemon vinaigrette gives it a very light and fresh flavor while the apple really brings everything to a higher level.


Cream of Broccoli Topped with Walnuts & Parmesan Cheese

Gordon's amazing cream of broccoli recipe, which always gets so many compliments. The soup itself is so flavorful one would think that it contains several ingredients giving it several layers of flavor. Topped with walnuts and cheese, it gives the entire soup a different texture and taste.


Pork Chops with Sweet and Sour Peppers

Best pork chops I've made! This is my third try at Ramsay's signature pork chops. The secret this time is having the help from my experienced mother to choose the cuts wisely. Again, the peppers are to die for, such a play on your taste buds that even my mother, who's seldom fazed by anything was quite amazed. I threw the entree together by adding some lemon garlic beans and rosemary rice.


Cinnamon Banana Icecream

Okay, so this wasn't one of Gordon's recipes. Originally I was going to end with yet again, his lemon basil granita, however, I thought about my brother for the dessert. Therefore, I quickly whipped together a fast homemade frozen dessert, adding just a little bit of peanut butter for a nice kick.


Being able to present this 4 course menu was really a test to my abilities, prep, cook, and eventually get it onto a plate! I had so much fun and I'm not going to lie pressure while creating this menu and ultimately presenting it on the table. Hooray to my first Gordon Ramsay Chez Moi. There will definitely be more to come ;)

#14 Chili con carne

I've always loved the idea of chili since I absolutely adore tomato based sauce and baked beans... Mmmmm just the idea of leaves my mouth watering.

Grilled some leftover asparagus and carrots, threw together a quick mint corn salad...voila a delightful meal in minutes!

Loving the beautiful aroma coming out of my kitchen today :)


# 14 Chili con carne

Ingredients.

Minced Beef ......................32NT

1/2 Onion, garlic ................10NT

2 Tomatoes .......................13NT

Tomato paste ....................20NT

Kidney Beans ....................65NT

Vegetable stock

Chili powder, bay leaf, cinnamon, salt & pepper, italian spice

TOTAL: 150NT (for 4-5 meals)

My favorite way to eat Chili is obviously with rice, they just taste so damn good together. However, I decided to quickly make it into a "sloppy joe" for breakfast with corn salad. 

Still, I ended up with WAY more chili than I could handle, so I decided to feed both my roommate and one of my colleagues, great inexpensive way to give your friends a treat that they'll adore.

#13 Fillet of Beef with Gremolata

Tonight I have invited two of my dear colleagues over for dinner. That's right, more guinea pigs! Check out what's on tonight's three course menu:

Since are guests are not salad-lovers, I've decided to start out with a soup instead, going with yesterday's broccoli soup with a twist.

The total cost of this broccoli soup comes down to 92NT.


Greek Yogurt (the easy way)
2 cups of milk ................................38NT
1 cup of yogurt .............................27NT
TOTAL: 65NT


Give the milk a little heat, I usually blast it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. Be careful not to overheat it though. Then simply pour the yogurt into your milk and mix gently. Place in your electric rice cooker/steamer and cover. Have the setting on "preserve heat" and just let your mixture sit in there for about 2 hours before pulling the plug. Then simply let it rest overnight or up to 8 hours. Remember not to take the lid off during all this time. Finally, your yogurt should be quite firm. You may eat directly or store in the fridge for later (I would recommend to finish the yogurt in 2-3 days).

I think the best time to make yogurt would be right after dinner. With everything timed right, I would be able to pull the plug, go to bed, put it in the fridge in the morning, and come home to freshly made yogurt!


#13 Fillets of Beef with Gremolata

Ingredients.
4 Fillets of Beef ................................272NT
Thyme, rosemary, garlic .................3NT
Parsley, lemon, capers ....................20NT
Vegetable stock .............................20NT
Potato wedges ...............................33NT

Asparagus with Mint Yogurt
Asparagus ......................................65NT
1 cup Greek yogurt ........................65NT
Fresh Mint leaves
Salt & Pepper

Lemon juice

TOTAL: 570NT (feeds four)

#12 Broccoli Soup

I wanted to experiment and learn how to make a tasty "western" soup in order to complete a "set menu" should I ever want to invite guests over or make a full blown 3-5 course meal for my family. Since I'm on a Ramsay craze, I thought I might as well make a Ramsay inspired soup. In Ramsay's original soup, he finishes it off with walnuts and goat cheese, which instantly makes the soup look ridiculous expensive. Where am I to buy big slices of goat cheese without spending a fortune? And the last time I checked, I did NOT enjoy goat milk or it's products. So I'm going to opt for a friendly choice and top it off with sauteed wild mushrooms and bacon.

#12 Broccoli Soup

Ingredients.
1 Broccoli .............................................13NT
Mushrooms ..........................................10NT
Bacon
Water
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
TOTAL: 23NT

On the second thought, I'm going to try another variation since I have a piece of mozzarella and some walnuts, might as well experiment.

Doesn't it look beautiful? A dupe of Ramsay's gorgeous goat cheese serving.
The broccoli soup is absolutely delicious! It DOES taste like there's 20 different ingredients in it but in fact it's full on broccoli on broccoli. Never going to have trouble coming up with a western soup again! And surprisingly the cheese and walnuts blend in perfectly, although I've gotten good compliments for the mushroom and bacon combination as well. I think the broccoli soup base really invites many many different combinations and interpretations, well done Ramsay! Simple but delivered to perfection.

#11 Flatbreads with Lemon Thyme and Ricotta

For the longest time, I've been hearing about the health benefits of "cottage" and "ricotta" cheese as great sources of protein, easy to go snacks, and possible accelerator for weight loss.

However, for the life of me I have NEVER seen cottage cheese, this legendary super-cheese ANYWHERE in Taiwan. (And as for ricotta, it's insanely expensive and one can only find it at those fancy supermarkets at 101. As with most things that I cannot find, I began my quest of making it myself...To my great discovery...IT'S EASY!
Cottage Cheese 

Ingredients.
2 cups of Milk ..........................38NT
1 lemon (juice) ..........................9NT
Salt to taste
TOTAL: 47NT

Heat milk up to 50-60 degrees, turn off the heat before the milk boils!
Stir in the lemon juice and just let the pot sit for 30+minutes.

Place your cheese cloth over a large bowl. Pour the contents in your pot over your cheese cloth and squeeze squeeze squeeze! Soon you will be left with liquid whey and a ball of crumbly delicious cottage cheese!

Doesn't it look like a snowball? Mmmmmmmmmmmmm beautiful.

Ricotta Cheese

Ingredients.
Leftover whey

Boil and strain.

As a Taiwanese, how could we NOT love Scallion Pancakes?!
Chewy, flaky, and savory. One of my all-time favorite guilty pleasure. Served both in classy Chinese restaurant or simply in one of those food stalls right on the street - a classic night markets treat.

However, scallion pancakes are dubbed one of the most high-calorie snacks in Taiwan. Not only does the pastry itself contain a high amount of lard (to retain it's chewy flaky texture), more oil is used while frying, enhancing it's flavor and making it smell absolutely delightful, but quite detrimental to our health.

So when I came across Ramsay's leek flatbreads... I couldn't wait to try it. This recipe seems to be the IDEAL compromise. A much MUCH healthier version of our traditional snack.


#11 Quick Flatbreads with Lemon Thyme and Ricotta

Ingredients.
Green onions ..........................................20NT
All purpose multi-grain flour ....................10NT
Butter, olive oil ........................................5NT
Ricotta cheese ........................................24NT
1/2 Lemon  .............................................10NT
Warm Water
Thyme
TOTAL: 69NT

#10 Steak Tacos

Ramsay's daring twist on this Mexican street food. Japanese inspired with miso marinate, pickled veggies, and a mean wasabi sauce.

#10 Steak Tacos

Ingredients.
1 Sirloin Steak .........................30NT
2 Tortillas .................................10NT
Miso paste, rice vinegar ............3NT
Salt, pepper, chili. .....................3NT
Carrot, lettuce ..........................5NT
Sesame oil .................................1NT
TOTAL: 52NT

Below is the put together taco along with some quickly baked and grilled potato wedges.

At first when I tasted my sauce and marinade... I was quite skeptical of how all of it would taste together. But amazingly they work in a way I couldn't have imagined.

Since tortilla/taco shells are not something easily accessible in Taiwan I had to try to make my own. Except I got myself into a rather sticky situation and I didn't know what to do except to keep adding flour and kneading. Either I had too much flour or I over-kneaded my dough...my homemade multigrain tortillas turned out to be a bit harder than I wanted it. Got to look to Gordon as mentor again on making dough. It'll be better with experience I'm sure!