Out & About #687 | Weeks #42.5 + 43 Quarantine Update Feat. Chocolate and More Chocolate

1/10/2021

The new year starts with more food. More chocolate, more leftovers, and more cooking.

Weight gain is inevitable over the holiday season, and especially this one with majority of the population's relatively sedentary work-from-home lives. I started with leftover roll cake from NYE, which paired wonderfully with cold brew and cold frothed milk. It was no Irish Coffee, but a decent drink nonetheless.

Creations of the week (and a half) included:

1) Sablé Cookies w/ Chocolate Ganache

Cookie cravings rang loud and clear the moment the household was devoid of the dainty, buttery biscuits. Relishing in the orangecane's trademark Santa sugar cookie didn't help either. I consequently set out in the name of creation; running low on my preferred pick and with Président cultured butter on hand, the opportunity to attempt sablé was naturally declared.

Inspired by the admirable Sunday Baking, I followed the formula closely...until I forgot the vanilla. Its taste was subpar to the Lactania edition, but undeniably more buttery in terms of fragrance. While this may be owed to a horribly sticky dough (even after chilling!) and a perceptibly high amount of flour for dusting, the experience did not warrant the extra effort nor the steep premium. Conclusive findings aligned with Sunday in that cultured butter ought be used where possible, independent of brand and origin.

The original intention had been to populate the pieces with pandan and ube fillings, yet the plan had been scrapped when the mixtures failed to coagulate overnight. Melding chocolate couvertures and heavy cream to form a classic, tried-and-true chocolate ganache, I antsily began sandwiching the cookies as the mixture came to room temperature.

This impatience earned me relatively flat squares, leaving much flavour to be desired. Half of the cookies were assembled some few hours later, resulting in noticeably greater height and overall improved profile.

2) Nama Choco / 生チョコ

Influenced by the gradually descending Valentine's spirit filling the d̶e̶p̶a̶r̶t̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶r̶e̶ air (and with immense hatred towards overbearing soft centre truffles), the search began for a Nama Chocolate recipe - a cult favourite in Japan. The foundation was no more than a 2:1 ratio of chocolate and heavy cream, with the only downsides being mandatory refrigeration and inescapable breakouts.

3) Lemon-Rose Braised Chicken Drumsticks

It was an odd combination, even if I do say so myself. Seeing success in a soy-star anise braise, I opted to experiment with lemon and rose this time around. The juice of a shriveling lemon, rose cooking wine, dried rose buds, and even cinnamon sticks lent a lightly savoury tone with prominent citrusy kick. In the absence of dark soy sauce, light soy sauce was supplemented with an extra dash of sea salt; light brown sugar was supplemented with molasses.

4) Coconut Chili Basa Stew

Pictured while being consumed in conjunction with the above, the stewed basa dish materialized out of need to relieve the freezer of bulky packaging. Pan-fried scallions and a knobby nugget of ginger established a fiery framework, into which a pinch of chili powder, fennel seeds, and and heaping tablespoon of paprika were added. Coconut milk assisted in moderating the flames, though the broth was ultimately too gingery yet very anti-inflammatory.

5) Black Sesame Coconut Milk Jelly that oddly turned into a three-layer concoction

6) Assorted Fruit Jellies: Grape/Plum and Pineapple

Gelatin is an enabler if used well: the jellies were readily incorporated as toast and oatmeal toppings part of breakfast, and later enjoyed with carbonated water and fresh lime during snack time.

7) Banana Oat Muffins w/ Chocolate Ganache

I awoke to the thought of bruised bananas residing in my fruit drawer, and the unexecuted concept of molten lava cakes.

Being not the fondest of sickeningly sweet chocolate cakes, the ingredients on hand were adapted for the healthier, freezer-friendly bakery item of Banana Oat Muffins.

In retrospect, I ought to have filled my molds with less batter to start, thus enclosing the ganache filling within and out of reach of the oven's dehydrating rays of heat. It also wouldn't have hurt to be a bit more liberal with ganache - I had excess anyway. That said, I was quite delighted that these muffins materialized at all, given that intuition was the sole source of guidance in the face of a battery-deprived scale.
And yes, chill your muffin batter as you would oatmeal cookies. It prevents/lessens the impacts of overmixing.

8) Quiche

If there was ever a "Pantry Quiche", this would be it. The idea dawned up me as a fellow ahgase requested ideas to use up 10 eggs over 2 days. Outsourcing inspiration for such a versatile ingredient would have never crossed my mind - yet there I was, rummaging through my History tab for no-brainer, no-extra-grocery-trip recipes.

My rendition differed from the ones I had shared: on hand was leftover pie dough, half a "party-size" bag of shredded mozzarella, and a few cans of ready-to-eat luncheon meat. Eight eggs, a few splashes of cream, and salt and pepper formed the base of the "savoury custard", as denoted by Alex the French Guy. The common ingredient of ham was replaced with thinly sliced Holiday, and molded mozzarella (ick) was swapped for a roughly torn globs of cream cheese. A dusting of freshly chopped scallions topped off the pie.

Pre-baking temperatures were derived from SK, though I truly cannot comprehend the inevitable shrinkage of my dough. Chilled or frozen, the dreaded occurrence manages to take place each and every time. I even pre-baked this time! But alas, dampness could not be kept at bay. At the very least, I have confirmed that granulated sugar crystals are a viable alternative to beans and pie weights.

Other meals of the week were consistent with our customary takeout spread. Needless to say, Summit Garden was on the list.

< Pictured above and below:

Steamed Pork Patty with Salted Fish / 咸魚蒸肉餅
Soya Chicken (Half) / 油雞半隻
Fried Pork Loin with Peking Sauce / 京都肉排
Sweet & Sour Pork with Pineapple / 菠蘿咕嚕肉 >

Fried Pork Loin with Peking Sauce was the standout dish, satisfying the long-unsettled itch for Korean-style saucy fried chicken at a fraction of the price.

The reduction in open bulk barn locations had left gummy cravings hanging for quite some time. The duration of gummy-less munching was dreadful - dreadful to the point where I tapped "Check Out" on Walmart's grocery delivery promotion without a moment's hesitation.

A straightforward process inclusive of pre-arranged delivery slots, my order arrived intact and on time - a stress-free process, to say in the least. Majority of my items were pre-packaged, with six bananas constituting the sole produce order. It hadn't mattered tremendously that the gummy worms emerged unnecessarily firm; however, bruised bananas were definitely sufficient in prompting reconsideration of the service. Half of the purchased quantity could have salvaged, while the rest reluctantly discarded.

Issues with the McD's App - which still remain unresolved, if I may add, led to a McDouble Meal order through gritted teeth. Albeit tasty, the three-piece set induced a price steeper than any in-app Mobile Offer.