Olives & Cherry Tomatoes Fusilli

Good morning Sunday! What a sunny day to share a lunch, isn't it matey?

How is it going with me lately? I am in a bit of afloat and pending mind. Tomorrow or Tuesday perhaps, I'll be finally receiving the result of my visa for Italy. Oh dear GOD, I still hold on to your promise-- positive result, thy will be done! Non-refundable air ticket- check! Tuition fee full payment- check! Housing reservation payment- check! Outbound air ticket from Milan to London on December-check! But the feeling of twirling and kinda twisted at the moment is how I juggle my mind--just like my dear pasta called Fusilli.

This Fusilli pasta dish is also one of the dishes in my Geisha menu. Again not much people order for it maybe because of the unfamiliarity with the word Fusilli and mixed with my Aubergine Caviar Pate will definitely sound foreign to the local consumers. But then again few Westerners have sat down for this already and they dearly like it. I hope one will stumble on this dish and will get to order it at Geisha Cafe.

OLIVES & CHERRY TOMATOES FUSILLI

Ingredients:

• Aubergine Caviar (see my previous post for the recipe)
• Cherry tomatoes (sliced into halves)
• Green Olives ( sliced)
• Fusilli Pasta (boiled)
• Fresh Basil (chopped)
• Garlic
• Salt & Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Butter (of course)

Procedure:

Heat pan with butter and add a little olive oil. Saute garlic and avoid it turning into brown. Add Cherry Tomatoes then next will be olives. Saute for 3-5 minutes then add the Aubergine Caviar. Mix well along with the boiled Fusilli then have a dash of salt and pepper. If mixture gets dry add a good lug of olive oil then top it with the chopped basil and serve into a plate.

Buon Appetito Amici! :D

big hug,
joanie xxx

Fish in Ginger Teriyaki Sauce & Baked Carrots

Good day Mates, Happy Tuesday!!!

This fish recipe I have here today is among the sumptuous dishes I have in the menu at Geisha Cafe. This is very much underrated nor unnoticeable by most customers and they don't realize how good the combination of pan seared herbie Dory fish and creamy baked carrots. I always tell the waiters to push for the rarely sold dishes because customers may not know just by reading the title I did in the menu book. This is a bit complicated and delicate to do and has to be done properly to get all the flavors come all in together. Each glorious bite of this dish is composed of a meticulously done cooking procedure.

I just want to romanticize more of this dish by explaining how I did it and how I put all things together in one gorgeous plate like this. I wouldn't be able to give the recipe as I normally do it, but I will narrate it in a manner understandable to all foodies and will be appreciated by people who love to eat.

First of all I have to get a nice Dory fish and marinate it with lemon, herbs, salt & pepper. Put it in a fridge and start doing the carrots. Grate a few pieces of carrots, then put it in a bowl. Add chopped parsley, onions, eggs and cream. Season it with salt and pepper then get a rectangular or square baking dish and cover it with foil then bake it for 40 minutes to one hour. While baking it prepare a pan and drizzle it with a bit of olive oil and pan sear the marinated Dory fish. As you cook the fish ready your sauce by getting a small pan and stir fry ginger and leeks together then add the home made Teriyaki sauce. When everything is cook, plate it all together the way you see it in the visual. I guarantee that this food is so good.

I dedicate this lip-smacking dish to a French chef from Paris, Pierre!

big hug,
joanie xxx

Ablaze the beauty of LONDON!

This was my first London trip last October. Yes it's almost a year already since then and it's just now that I am alerted to post it. This week, I just received another UK visa and I am off to go to London again and some parts of UK to spend Christmas Holiday this coming December. Amidst all the riots and ablaze buildings, I was reminded that I haven't post the beauty of one of my favorite cities in the world that I finally conquered. The first two photos are the typical London tourist photos that I am pretty much sure that you've seen it a thousand or million times! I do have a lot of photos with Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Picadilly and the London eye. But I feel I'd like to share on my blog some photos I didn't put in my Facebook album. Some photos that is also about London that people should know...

Nice Tour Guide at Sandeman Tour at The Wellington Arch

Saatchi Gallery London

House where I stayed at Morpet Place, Victoria - London

Notting Hill at Portabello Market

Bricklane Gallery at Bricklane Road

Around Windsor Castle

The famous Stonehenge

Middle of nowhere between Stonehenge and Oxford

Double Decker Bus

Inside Old Spitalfields Market

Stumbled on students somewhere in Old Street, North London

Old Tom - Named after Tom Tower and the name of the bell

Inside Oxford University

The inspiration of Harry Potter's scar on the forehead

And the first thing I saw at China Town - London

Some of the photos are one or two hour drive outside London. The Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and Oxford University are worth to visit just give yourself more time. Don't squeeze them in one day like what I did. You will miss a lot opportunities. It's like you are shuffling from one place to another just to get a photo. Savor the moment because there's so much beauty that your eyes shoyld see. Anyways, all the loverly people of London and the rest of the world-- I'm so sleepy now and I must hit the sack.

Goodnight LOVE!!! :-)

big hug,
joanie xxx

Strawberry Fields Forever!

How is it going mates? My arvo is heaps busier compared to all Sundays I had :-)

So today, I miss blogging and I realized it's friggin' August already. How time flies so fast when you're busy and when you are preoccupied about accomplishing a lot of things in a small amount of time. Yes I am a great crammer. I thought I am prepared for all the things I have planned way back January, thinking everything is just like peanuts. I hope so... I have one month to deal with those things anyway. So veering away from those in the meantime, I just have to put here one of my favorite quotes which I tweaked a bit to fit in my favorite fruit and for my post for this evening.

" Life is like a basket of strawberries, you'll never know what you are getting until you taste it. Sometimes it's sour and sometimes sweet."

Since today is a busy day for me, I have a lot of random things to share that I was very happy to be busy about. Like my UK and ITALY visa are still a work in progress given the tight schedule but I am claiming everything will fall into place in no time. Next to that was the arrival of my Dad and sister here in Saigon to bring home some of my stuff. They brought home two giant boxes and 3 luggages. Only one luggage belongs to my Dad and sister and the rest are few of my bags, shoes, clothes and kitchen stuff. I played the role of a city tour guide for a couple of days and what I like the most was our lunch buffet at Hotel Sofitel. So yesterday morning my Dad & sister left Saigon and as for me, back to normal phasing.

Today, I miss The Artist Chef intimate dinner stint that I've been doing for more than two years in Manila. I only stopped when I left for Saigon on 2009. After that I had four special stints for special couples. All of those stints were done by requests. How I miss my sweet & thoughtful customers and the people who featured me. (from all mediums from TV, magazines and internet) There are still a lot of customers who write and book some reservation, I miss doing it and I realized how lucky those one hundred couples whom I spent time with and served sumptuous meals.

And also today I met Lyra (a writer by passion/business consultant at COWAN Design) who interviewed me for a magazine article. As I share her my life I was reminded that I am off to another journey pursuing another dream by obeying the desires of my heart. They are all about ART & FOOD. Those two basic and essential ingredients of my life. Like strawberries, I hope I'll pick more sweet ones in the coming days to come. Meanwhile I want to share you a special recipe that I really really like. This time inspired by Nigella Lawson :p

STRAWBERRY FRENCH TOAST DOUGHNUT

Ingredients:

• Fresh Strawberries
• Sliced Loaf Bread
• Eggs
• Milk
• Vanilla Syrup
• Icing Sugar
• Whip Cream
• Frying Oil
• Salt
• Butter (of course)

Procedure:

Beat eggs with milk and a pinch of salt. Add in some icing sugar and vanilla syrup and beat it again. Grab some sliced bread and soak it over the mixture. Heat pan with butter and mix with frying oil in medium temperature. Fry the soaked bread and flip until both sides are a bit golden brown. Get a blender or food processor and put some strawberries with icing sugar and pureed it together. Thinly slice few strawberries and place it on top of the bread. Pour or drizzle the pureed strawberries and top it with some whipping cream and serve. A must try this lip-smacking dish!

This post is for my Mom and Adrian's birthday...

Buon Compleanno to both of you!

big hug,
joanie xxx