The Last "Supper"

 Who will make it as the 1st Masterchef Malaysia? Are you rooting for Ezani the dentist or Wahidan the gardener? Tune in Astro 104 for the result tonite peeps!

The Trotting Gourmand In The Press

Remember that I flew to Los Angeles to meet Bob Blumer, the celebrity chef? Well, finally wrote about the experience. And my piece (a 1-page-spread!) was published in The Star recently on Christmas Day. Here you go dear readers - the link to the online version. Surreal Meal With Bob Blumer

Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it :) xoxo

Gooey Caramel - Nigella Style!

Really wanna get hold of this Stylist-December Issue with Nigella Lawson on the cover. Yupp, that's her dripping with gooey caramel and closing her heavily-made eyes. Mamma mia, anyone in the UK can help me get this? Thanks in advance! xoxo

Holy Guacamole (!) - The Blogger MasterChef Finale

Holy guacamole (!) - the very first thing I said when I saw two ripe avocadoes in the mystery box for the Invention Test at the finale! Am not quite a fan of this fruit. Wait! Is it a fruit or a vege huh? Haha. The only thing I've made with avocadoes was guacamole, in an attempt to copy Nigella Lawson's "Roquemole" - a roquefort-based guacamole. Roquefort is sheep's milk blue cheese and I ended up throwing the whole bowl I made because it was just too strong to my liking!

We were given 2 minutes to pick 10 things from the pantry upon checking the stuff in the mystery box. I simply grabbed bread, mushrooms, lemons, shallots, garlic etc. not knowing what to make. The only thing I thought of that time was to use the avocadoes shells and stuff them with errrr, stuff?

When I finally had some inkling of what to do later, I ended up making antipasti. Called my creation - Quattro Avocado Antipasti - 4 types of dips stuffed in the avocadoes shells and served with canapes. Tadaaaa! Was given pretty good reviews by the judges, but no, I didn't win the contest. But to be in Malaysia's top 10 list, was just priceless! A damn good and fun experience for a pretend chef like me! Thanks Astro & Nuffnang for organising this. Till next year? Haha, I sure gotta cook more at home, buy more cook books, watch more cooking shows and enroll in cooking classes ay?

The Finale

Big day today! Masterchef Blogger finale. I just hope that I'll survive the day and won't end up making a fool out of myself in the public! For those of you who wish to support us the finalists, come and join the fun at SACC Mall, Shah Alam @ 12.30 pm! Come one, come all!

The Dish That Got Me Through

Believe it or not, I made it to the finals guys! Yupp, for the Masterchef Malaysia BLOGGERS Challenge. Didn't believe it myself! There were prawns, pineapples, egg, flour and spices in the mystery box and I ended up making what I call Spicy Tropical Shrimp Lollies (after sweating profusely not knowing what to make!) Anyway, here's the pic of the dish that got me through. Wish me luck for the finals this week! xoxo

A Nervous Wreck

OMG! OMG!

Peeps, got chosen to proceed to the semi-final stage of the MasterChef Malaysia Blogger Contest organised by Nuffnang and Astro! (Wrote about it in my previous entry) Attending a real cook-off tomoro. My heart's palpitating right now. Am such a nervous wreck! Wish me luck peeps!

xoxo


- Jabberholic babbles from her iPhone

MasterChef : A Little Secret Wish

I think I was a chef in my previous life! Haha!

When I am in control of the TV remote at home, everyone else will have no choice but to watch all the food related shows with me. When no one is looking, I weep with joy over how brilliant and skilful the Junior MasterChefs are on TV. When I am alone at home, I will host my own cooking show in the kitchen – Yes! Call me crazy but I will suddenly turn into this TV chef and start to verbalise every action I make, sometimes pretending that I am in the MasterChef’s Mystery Box or Pressure Test challenges. Haha! When I crave for something sweet, I have no qualm walking in the rain to go to the nearby shop when I run out of raspberries and cream to make that panna cotta and raspberry coulis I saw they made in MasterChef Masterclass. When I travel, I am constantly on the look out for must-try eateries. Oh, I love everything about food and psst! psst! I am secretly dreaming of becoming a MasterChef (and now hoping to become Malaysia's first Blogger MasterChef!). I spend a big percentage of my pay-check on cook books. I spend my spare time experimenting recipes and my food testers are people around me; family and friends. It is always a delight when they give good words about the stuff I whip up for them. (Though I hope they’re not just being nice) ;)

One thing I love making all the time is something I call Crunchy Cone Salad, a recreation of a favourite salad of mine from a California-based restaurant, but with a twist! The twist lies in the presentation, which is something I nabbed from the celeb chef Bob Blumer (whom I’ve met and lucky to be friends with now ;) ) Name dropping huh? Haha. Ok, back to the recipe. Usually, you will eat the wontons out of the crispy, crunchy salad. But now you get to eat the salad of out the crispy, crunchy wonton. Wanna know how you can make this?

What do you need?

Salad dressing

• 1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
  
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salad and cone

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1-2 boneless skinless chicken breast(s)
• A pinch of salt
• 1 1/4 cups peanut oil
• 9-10 wonton pastry wrappers
• 2 cups sliced and finely grated romaine lettuce
• 2 cups sliced and finely grated red cabbage
  
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted cashews
• 1/3 cup chopped canned mandarin slices
• 2 onions
• Paper cones or use card boards to make your own 9-12 cones of 4-5 inches diameter

How ?

• Season chicken breast with salt. Cook chicken with 1 tablespoon of peanut oil for about 5 minutes per side. Reserve the cooked chicken aside.

• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• In a bowl, set out peanut oil along with a pastry brush. Brush both sides of each wrapper with peanut oil.
• If you do not have with you ready-made cones, make yours with card boards. Simply cut circles out of the card board and fold them into cones.

• Wrap 1 wrapper around each cone and press seams together. Then set out the cones on a baking sheet.

• Bake for 5 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. When cones cool, pull them off the cones and reserve.

• Dice chicken finely. Reserve.
• Whisk together peanut butter, vinegar, honey, water and soy sauce.
• Stir in sugar, salt and cayenne pepper.
• Add oil and continue whisking until smooth.
• Drizzle the dressing on the salad.

• Assemble salad in the wonton cones. Top with sliced chicken and mandarin slices. Walla! They're now ready to be served.

Isn’t this a more fun way to serve your salad? Well, you can put virtually anything in the cones though. Imagine your curry puff fillings served in these cones or even your popiah. What else? The sky is the limit when making these!

People say everything good is free, but I’d say everything good is fried! Haha. Still on the topic of wontons, I have another recipe to share. Choc Wontons (Thanks Bob Blumer!). Deep fried wonton skins filled with dollops of peanut butter, slices of ripe bananas and chocolate. There are certain foods that make my eyes grow large and the corners of my mouth go up. Any recipe mentioning of these ingredients goes right into my “to cook” list. So, these babies are what I’ve been making every time guests come for tea. Wanna know what they taste like? Imagine this, when you bite the crispy wonton, the peanut butter, banana and chocolate just ooze out where you get to savour the sweetness of the banana and gooey chocolate with a hint of saltiness from the peanut butter. Isn’t that just divine? The recipe as follows :

What do you need?

• 15-20 wonton pastry wrappers
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 4 bananas, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch-thick slices
• 15-20 chocolate balls or bar segments
• Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
• Peanut oil for deep frying

How?

• Place a slice of banana onto the centre of a piece of wonton wrapper.
• Place 1 teaspoon of peanut butter on the banana and top with chocolate.

• Wet your finger with water and trace the wonton wrapper around the ingredients.Pinch and seal wrapper around the ingredients tightly.

• Pour oil into a pot. When oil is ready, fry the wontons for about 1 minute or until wonton wrappers are golden brown.
• Remove and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Dust with powdered sugar. Let cool before serving.

I first served these babies at a potluck, and guess what went missing from the plate in a blink of an eye? (Refer to the white container in the photo). Hehe.

Easy peasy right? Not only these are pleasing to the eyes, but they would tickle your taste buds with fancy. Simple recipes infused with wow! factors – these are what you call MasterChef worthy huh? ;) Speaking of which, it is now official that the reality show will be shown on TV in less than a month. Yeay! The cooking reality show which does not require viewers votes are now breaking viewership records in US and Australia (remember MasterChef Australia? MasterChef USA?) Associated with big names such as Gordon Ramsay and Gary Mehigan, MasterChef is a success because not only is food something everyone is very passionate about but the show is only opened to amateur home cooks and it is an avenue to turn home cook hopefuls into culinary stars. Now Malaysians who love cooking but never had a chance to really showcase their skills and be appreciated, get the opportunity! Guess who have been announced as the MasterChef Malaysia judges? Our own big guns in the industry, of course - Chef Riz, Chef Jo, Chef Zubir, Chef Yahaya and Priya Menon!

Yupp, you got that right, MasterChef-Malaysian style! So if you fancy some cooking throwdown the Malaysian way, do block your diary. Details as follows:

• Launch date : 22nd October 2011
• Show times : Starting from 22nd October 2011, every Saturday – Wednesday, 9pm. Master Class will be on every Friday, 9.00pm.
• Program channel – Astro Ria (Channel 104)

To find out more about the show, you can also check out :

• Official Site URL – http://www.astro.com.my/MasterChef/
• Facebook Page Link- http://www.facebook.com/MasterChefMalaysia
• Twitter Link– www.twitter.com/MasterChefMY

So, are you ready for the MasterChef phenomenon to take over the country soon? My junior chefs and I are definitely are!

The Little Chefs

Let me let you on a little secret - I get very emotional when i watch the Junior Masterchef (Australia) show. I find myself always trying very hard to hide my face when I start to cry with joy over how brilliant and skillful the kids are. Don't you think they are amazing? There's this one segment of the show called the mystery box challenge when these kids would have to come up with dishes from the given raw materials and ingredients. They are simply genius, knowing what to cook and always whipping up impressive looking gourmet dishes at the end. The way these kids describe how a dish tastes like is unbelievable too. Not only they are great cooks but great food critics as well. The confidence they exude at such young age is simply incredible.

I don't have any favourite contender on the show because I simply believe each and every one of them is equally super talented. I refuse to google to find out who has emerged as the champion, too. Biar suspense sikit. Do you guys watch this show? I keep telling Mr Hubs that if ever we are blessed with mini 'us', I definitely will train at least one of them to be my little chef, my own junior masterchef ;)

Experience of a Lifetime

Wonder why my last few posts were centred around TLC and Bob Blumer? Hehe. That was because I had recently won the grand prize for the "Experience of a Lifetime" contest organised by the channel itself!! For those who are clueless about TLC, perhaps you may remember Discovery Travel & Living Channel? The channel had recently rebranded itself and now known as TLC (Travel & Living Channel). Oh yeah, for those in Malaysia with Astro, it's on channel 707 ;)

Still can't believe this big win! Never knew the one week plus I spent in coming up with the answers to the contest's questions could lead me to this. Fyi, the contest requires subscribers to look out for 3 'passwords' aired randomly on TLC programmes and answer an open-ended question on why does one wanna meet the celeb of his/her choice.

Lost? Ok, rewind, rewind..

When the rebranding exercise of TLC took place in September recently, the channel launched the "Experience of a Lifetime" contest, giving fans all across Asia the chance to meet one of TLC's programme hosts. Fans get to pick one of TLC experiences and the grand prize winner will be selected for one - either to New Jersey to sample Cake Boss’ Buddy Valastro’s delicious creations at his bakery, enjoy a home-cooked feast with Surreal Gourmet’s Bob Blumer at his home in Hollywood, sip tea with Bobby Chinn in the Middle East or join host Janet Hsieh in her show Fun Taiwan. So me, being a Bob Blumer fan from his Surreal Gourmet days, I had no problem in choosing whom I wanna meet ;)

When the telephone call came from TLC Asia office recently, I was utterly shocked! I was at home at that time, alone. I was in total disbelief, even after hanging up. Only when the reality sank in, I jumped and screamed like a mad woman and started dialling Mr Hubs and families to share with them the grrrreat news. Never did I imagine, selected as the grand prize winner when I submitted my entry earlier. I knew how slim a chance I had at that time, knowing TLC in Asia is watched by millions of subscribers in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Hong Kong!

The prize? With all expense paid, I will be flying to LA in Q1 next year, with a partner (Mr Hubs of course!) to meet Bob and dine in his Hollywood home. TLC-Bob Blumer-LA-Hollywood? It sure feels surreal! A million thanks to TLC! A foodie and a traveller like me is truly overjoyed to have the chance to taste a little bit of the vicarious world of TLC! One thing for sure, life is anything but ordinary with TLC!

Blumer Who?

Everybody knows Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver and Anthony Bourdain. The hot TV domestic goddess, the naked chef and the sarcastic touring cook would normally be how people around me describe these celebrity chefs respectively. But mention Bob Blumer, I get blank stares. Well, at least from people who do not switch to the cook shows on TV.

I am a fan of Bob Blumer! It was love at first sight when I saw him on TLC, which was formerly known as Discovery Travel & Living Channel (on Astro's 707). Have you guys seen that guy with the tornado hairdo (or Marge Simpson's ?) cooking and touring in in the toaster mobile? The programme is called Surreal Gourmet and it centres around Bob cooking and hosting dinner parties over 30 states in that creatively designed mobile. The food were prepared and presented in ways that were anything but ordinary. Imagine, poaching salmon in dishwasher, cooking in the dark and making baseball-shaped shepherd's pie!

Blumer's latest show, which he hosts and co-created is called Glutton for Punishment. The series, now in its 4th season on TLC, is made up of food-related challenges. In each episode, he is given 5 days to become proficient in the episode's featured specialty. And then with his new acquired skills, he goes against the experts in the fields. He either ended up surprising the experts by acing the challenges or accepting defeat humbly. One thing I truly admire about Bob is the fact that how genuinely enthusiastic he is in all his shows and also that he is no cocky guy! In the recent episode, he challenged tea masters in a Kung Fu Tea Challenge in China.

The foodie, traveller and adrenaline junkie that I am is able to instantly connect to this great culinary adventurer's personality and out-of-this world shows. Oooh, I sure have an endless list of questions to ask him if I ever get to meet him in person! *hint! hint* TLC ;) Apart from having tried making some of his gourmet looking and delicious but easy recipes, I have also recently redesigned my small kitchen without having to renovate and spending a cent! Check out the featured video on his webbie http://www.bobblumer.com/ for his 10 DIY practical kitchen design tips. Blumer is certainly one heck of an imaginative culinary personality. I look forward to more extreme epicurean quests, engaging stories and practical tips from him. Tune in to Glutton For Punishment on TLC on Wednesdays at 9.30pm. Repeats on Thursdays (3.30am, 8.30am & 3.30pm) and Sundays (11.10am). M'sian time ya ;) He'll be attempting to eat 40 feet (!) of raw nettles and mastering the art of sushi making in the coming episodes. Enjoy!

Note : Pics googled

TLC

OMG! OMG! Am still shaking while writing this! Just received a great piece of news from my ever favourite channel on TV! Will surely blog more about this but one thing for sure, TLC rocks!

- Jabberholic babbles from her iPhone

One Chic Mama

When I first heard about Growns Ups, the thing that drove me to watch it recently was the fact that it's starred by the comedy heroes like Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and Kevin James. Half an hour into the movie, I could see that it was very "Adam Sandler'ish". (Well, he's the producer anyway!) But what made me glued to the screen was this one ravishing Latina mama, Salma Hayek. Am not a big fan of hers but in this movie, playing as a fashion designer, she definitely brought the chic factor onto the screen. And she's half the size of what I used to see her in 30 Rock and Ugly Betty! Check these pics (googled) from the movie as well as from the cover of June 2010 InStyle Mag. Hotness, ay?

p/s : I read that her beauty secrets include juice cleansing diet and eating insects ( e.g. ants (!??!!) dipped in guacamole (!!)

Note to self : Stick her photos onto the fridge door, so that you won't open it ever again (!!) Haha!

Blood, Sweat and Takeaways

Ever looked at the food that you're eating and wondered how they landed on your table? Who were the people involved in harvesting the raw material? Who reared the chickens? Who planted the rice? Who fished and gutted the tuna?

After watching the reality TV show on AFC - Blood, Sweat and Takeways, I now developed a habit of thinking and visualising about the processes and efforts involved in obtaining the end products that I eat. This certainly to an extent makes me appreciate my food more now ;) The show is about a group of so-called spoiled food junkies from Britan sent to this part of the world (Indonesia & Thailand) to discover the truth about their fast food faves. They had to live in dismayed condition, worked for long hours and earned cheap rates, just like the real local workers. They were tasked to work at every stage of the production process and learned how to grow, rear, harvest, process the food. Watching the pain that they went through and realising that each person only earned approximately RM10 each day really served as an eye opener to how hard and difficult all the farmers in kampung halaman had to membanting tulang under the hot sun.

I think they're showing the season finale next week. In my humble opinion, the show is really a breath of fresh air after all the E! productions ;) Do try to watch it ;) You'll be moved..

Adam's First Break.....

...into advertising world. Here' my darling nephew, who just turned one, in his first tv ad currently aired on TV with his real mum and dad..How nice to have the family together in a tv ad ay? Proud of u guys..Hugs!

Waka-Waka

The decision to choose a Latina to sing a Cameroonian-inspired official anthem for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa had certainly sparked controversies. The South Africans have expressed their disappointment over the fact that Shakira was chosen instead of the country's own artist. However, there are still camps that seem to don't mind and think it's just plain silly to squabble over such matter. Hmmm...personally I think it's ok. After all, she's doing a collaboration with the local artists for the song anyway. The song - Waka-Waka means This Time For Africa. It may be a World Cup to be hosted by South Africa, but they have to be proud that they are bringing it for the world to enjoy. Plus, with all the stereotype over the country with the high crime rates, poor health conditions etc , South Africans have a lot to prove. Anyway, Shakira may be just a marketing ploy kan? Like they say, daya tarikan...Anyway, I love the song. Enjoy the clip ;)

Hope

There was definitely a big lump in my throat when I watched the season finale of Giuliana and Bill (G & B) last week..It was all from trying hard not to cry because I think the episode was pretty heartbreaking. Or it was just me being too sensitive and mushy?

After weeks of waiting whether G's preggers following the IUI procedure, the doctor broke the news that it was negative. G was seriously upset after trying to be so positive before that. Masa tulah I was like almost cried. G and B then went to another fertility doctor to find out more on IVF. The doc educated them about the success rates and the details of the procedure, which involves a lot of needles and sounds scary. They both then decided that it's a lot to think about, and they were going to get away to think things through. Both finally admitted that they're scared and unsure of IVF. G told B that she didn’t think she could put her body through that. It has been such an emotional rollercoaster them. That's where it ended. To be continued next season..

Hmmm..terbayang-bayang how it would be like for us nanti when Hubby and me embark on our IVF procedure.The needles, the side effects of all the injections. Imagine they said it's gonna be PMS and time it with 100! Frankenstein lah I jadinya! The hope, the anxiety etc.

I met up with my besties for dinner recently and I told them I seriously don't know how I should feel. Yes, I am hopeful that the IVF works and at the same time I can't deny that I could hear voices in my head saying that it could fail. Hubby consoled me that we know what the success rates are and semuanya is in the hands of the Almighty. But what is more important is that we try. And we are getting the blessings and support from our families. So, if you're 60 years old later and still childless, you won't regret it coz you've tried. Be hopeful but be prepared for the worst. But never, never admit defeat before you try cos you're already losing the battle even before it starts. Never stop amalan and berdoa. My besties even suggested that I read the book 'The Secret'. I've heard about how wonderful the book is but never felt the urge to pick it up in the bookstore. Maybe, I should buy it for my in-flight reading to South Africa nanti kan? What do you think?

A French Affair with Laura Calder

The first thing that came to my mind when I first saw Laura Calder this afternoon was, “Hey, she doesn’t look like how she looks like on TV!” And yes, she’s a lot taller than I expected and barely had make-up on. A natural beauty.

Laura has a great sense of humour and is a good storyteller. She shared a lot of stories; how she started learning to cook from the age of 5 by helping her mum in the kitchen. She is a big believer of home cooked food, that’s why she doesn’t feel right when people call her a chef, she prefers to be called a home cook coz it sounds fuzzier. She has no intention of opening her own restaurant, but she loves entertaining. When her schedule permits, she has at least 4 dinner parties every week! Of course she’s been serving French food in her dinner parties, and admitted that they were all simple recipes like the ones in her shows. She added that people get intimidated hearing about French food because the public has been bombarded with the images of how high end French food is but the truth is, like all home cooked food, French food is actually simple. It’s clear from the dishes that she prepared for us that she was right. Simple and hearty flavours are what she’s all about, and it is evident through her recipes.

Laura started with making, guess what? The apple tart, which recipe I shared with you guys few entries back. And yes, it was that simple and fast. After that she made asparagus with orange sauce and shallots and steak au poivre with potato gratin. Laura continued saying that she loves her steak rare, she normally leaves it for 10 minutes on the fire. She added that one of her friends loves it even ‘rarer’ coz she only cooks it for only 3 minutes. The room roared with laughter when she said “For her, if it ‘moos’, that’s perfect!”.

The good thing was that the chefs of Berjaya University College of Hospitality (where the demo was held i.e. 14^th floor of East Tower of Berjaya Times Square) had also helped to prepare the dishes back stage and we were told that they skipped the wine from the recipes ;) That’s very good, that shows AFC is sensitive towards their Muslim fans kan? Will share the recipes of the dishes she ‘demo’ed in coming entries.

The dishes were lovely. Again, hard to believe that French food is so simple to make, but Laura stressed that it is a cuisine that is evolving. French women work, and are increasingly leaning towards quick and easy ways to cook delicious dishes. I wouldn’t mind having these kinda food every week!

After the demo, she came forward and answered questions. Answering on how she keeps herself slim, she said “Ohhh..don’t come near me, I’m not that slim!” while trying to pinch an imaginary love handle on herself! She continued that the thing to do is try to keep your raw materials as fresh and as organic as possible and avoid processed food. “Basically cook your food yourself. That way, you know what goes into your food. Spend time cooking for your families. Don’t chase your kids away when they wanna play in the kitchen and cook with you. That’s how you spend time with them”. So true, huh?

The afternoon continued with autograph signing and photograph session. Laura is indeed a lovely person. Less sexier than how she is portrayed on TV, I would say. She told us she doesn’t like to watch herself on TV. Oh yeah, the kitchen where she shoots her shows from is not hers, it’s her producer’s. One more thing, Anis Nabilah (from Icip-Icip) arrived to meet Laura at the end of the session. Comel and friendly! I sempat tukar business cards with her lagi!

Well, it was a fun afternoon! Lets look forward for more no-hassle French food recipes on AFC. French Food at Home Season 3 shows on AFC Monday-Friday at 9pm. Happy cooking ladies!

Batwings..No More!

Heard about Tracy Anderson, the fitness guru to hotties like Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Shakira etc. while watching E! News few days back..Totally loved the feature on the arms exercise she particularly designed for Gwyneth during her training for Iron Man 2. Didn't know that character like Pepper Potts was also put through hours and hours of punishing, grueling workouts to get super fit. After all, bukan ke Gwyneth is like totally stick-thin already? Anyway, I googled Tracy and wallah, stumbled upon this video which I think is rather unique and pretty fun to follow. This is the arms workout to target and banish that batwings. You knowlah, when you start hitting 30s, mulalah you'll blame gravity as the enemy to everything perky and firm kan? So, when you feel like gravity's pulling and sagging you down, perhaps these Tracy's arms series might just save your day ;)

Note to self : Cari her cardio and lower body workouts pulak..

The French Taste

Just a quick update. Have finally bought tix for Laura Calder's cooking demo this Sat! Watch out for my update on the event :) Any of you readers going too?