The Skeptical Optimist

Thanks for all your entries for last week’s contest… this week we tackle Seared Cod Fish with Soy Vinaigrette and vegetables – here are the ingredients for this wonderful light and flavourful dish.

Here are the ingredients:

-Cod Fish fillet

Vinaigrette:
- cherry tomatoes
- butter
- garlic
- shallots
- ginger
- soy sauce

Vegetables
-olive oil
- garlic
- pak choy
- shiitake mushrooms
- asparagus

Happy cooking!

Tags: frugal gourmet

Thanks to everyone who has submitted a recipe for Frugal Gourmet. There are some really talented cooks and food photographers out there!

Apologies for not updating my blog to reflect last week’s recipe, I was on holiday in Western Australia…. My family and I flew to Perth and then drove south to Margaret River, but I’ll save that for my next blog entry.

Anyway, down to business… here is the recipe for this week’s very yummy dish: Pork Chop in a Milanese style with San Marzano Tomato Salad. Now remember this is *Frugal* Gourmet, so please feel free to substitute with more affordable ingredients, and who knows you could stand to win a voucher for 2 for Sunday Brunch at One-Ninety at the Four Seasons Singapore.

Ingredients:
Salad:
Tomatoes
Shallots
Parsley
Red wine vinegar & Olive oil

Pork chop:
Pork chop
Grated Parmesan cheese
Egg wash
Bread crumbs
Salt & Pepper.

The salad is pretty much self-explanatory, but for the pork chop just remember that this is the order you have to use to bread the chops: salt and pepper first, then cheese, then egg wash, then bread crumbs. Chef Bruno says to remember to firmly press in the bread crumbs in this last stage so they do not fall off when you shallow fry them in olive oil.

I do really wish we could post the video up here, but there are some copyright issues with the channel that we need to sort out first! I’m looking forward though to seeing more emails… just send them to ptm@channelnewsasia.com. What are you waiting for?? Roll up your sleeves and get cooking!

Anyway, I’ve gotten a few requests for last week’s recipe for French toast with berries compote as well:

Compote:
Sugar
Lemon juice
Assorted berries

French toast:
2 slices Whole loaf white bread
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
Maple syrup to taste.

Tags: frugal gourmet

I’ve just started a new segment on Primetime Morning called Frugal Gourmet. This was partly inspired by the economic recession and also by my love for a good homecooked meal. For this series we are working with the lovely chefs over at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore… I know you must be thinking what a luxury hotel has to do with being frugal – but really, the best way to get the most out of simple ingredients is to pick up some good techniques from trained chefs.

Working with Bruno and Stefano from the Four Seasons, you really get little useful tips like proper knife work with vegetables or what the correct temperature is for cooking delicate fish. Plus, even though they are usually stressed out guys running a tight ship in the One-Ninety restaurant kitchen, they’re really quite friendly and fun to work with!

Anyway, this series will be a 9 parter, that runs every Wednesday at about 7.20am and 8.20am – we’ve already gone through 2 recipes: Egg White Frittata and Bircher Muesli. What’s also exciting is that we’re running a cooking contest in conjunction with the series and the prizes are dining vouchers at the Four Seasons. So if you’re frugal … you get to enjoy a little luxury after that.

If you want to take part this week: here are the ingredients for the muesli:

1 cup rolled oats
1 green apple, grated
golden raisins
yoghurt
milk

All you need to do is take a picture of your creation and send an email to ptm@channelnewsasia.com – and you could be on your way to a high tea at the Four Seasons! yum!

Tags: frugal gourmet