A Pretend Chef

I usually serve these dishes along with the Balinese Tamarind Chicken (see my post from November 7, 2009 - http://apretendchef.blogspot.com/2009/10/balinese-tamarind-chicken-ayam-panggang.html ) and always with some jasmine or basmati rice. You can prepare the shredded chicken and salad dishes in advance, earlier on the day (refrigerating the chicken dish up until a 1/2 hour before serving). The satay beef dish is a recipe I picked up from a local restaurant that use to be situated down a side street in Seminyak in the 90's before it became the bustling tourist precinct it is today. I was able to talk the restaurant's owner, Enda, into letting me into his kitchen for 1-on-1 classes over a few days. The shredded Chicken and vegetable salad are both traditional Balinese dishes that were taught to me at the Hotel Tugu along with the Tamarind Chicken dish. The amount of chilli used in each dish is up to your personal taste. The amounts noted in these recipes are mild to hot, b

In my last recipe post, Vegetable and Risoni Soup, I listed one of the ingredients as a bouquet garni of parsley and basil. What I didn't explain was how you actually make a bouquet garni. Very silly of me, and a point that was kindly brought to my attention by Kim in Paris who has a website; http://www.easy-french-food.com/ Kim provides an excellent overview about what is a bouquet garni and how to make one. http://www.easy-french-food.com/bouquet-garni.html Enjoy!

It's not winter yet, however I've just returned to a cold wet Sydney after a week on Koh Samui in Thailand and it feels like winter. So what's one of the best things to eat on an unusually cool and wet Summer's night that feels like winter? A hearty, chunky bowl of Italian inspired soup. The great thing about this style of soup is you don't need to be exact. You can add various vegetables you happen to have sitting around in the fridge. I serve this sprinkled with some freshly grated parmesan and sometimes some chilli. It's also nice with some squeezed lemon juice over the top. Ingredients 1 medium sized onion, roughly chopped 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 1 carrot, peeled and diced 1 stalk of celery, de-strung and diced 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 large red chilli, halved and de-seeded 1 fresh bay leaf 3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks (good waxy potatoes that won't disintegrate such as desiree are perfect) 1 cup of p