Caesar Salad And Anchovies

I love the taste of Caesar salad with chicken. The fresh lettuce, grilled chicken strips and the cheesy taste.

I looked around for its recipe and found a few on Martha Stewart's website. I took one and tried it and found that it is quite easy to make. It tastes nice and I've made it a few times since; this is how:

Croutons:
6 slices bread; cut into 3/4inch cubes
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic (I grate my garlic. I think that's easier..)
1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced (you can omit this if you dont have it)
Salt to taste

2 cloves garlic (finely grated)
2 large egg yolks (you can subsitute with 1 tablespoon mayonnaise if you'd prefer)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 - 5 anchovies (ie 1 small flat can) - mash to a paste
2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 heads romaine lettuce, washed and dried thoroughly and torn into 2inch pieces
Grated Pamesan cheese (to taste)

Croutons : Toss bread cubes with all other ingredients in a bowl. Toast in 350 degrees oven till lightly brown.

Stir egg yolks, Dijon mustard, anchovies and garlic together in a bowl. Add lemon juice, salt & pepper. Slowly stir in olive oil till dressing is creamy.

Add lettuce to the bowl and toss thoroughly. Stir in grated parmesan cheese. Sprinkle croutons on top of salad. Serve topped with Parmesan shavings.

That's it. I like my salad with chicken - so what I do is I grill / bake a couple of chicken breasts, slice them thinly and add to the salad with the lettuce.

While making the salad I discovered what anchovies tastes like - it tastes quite strong but not that bad actually.

Fresh anchovies are gutted (the Italians pulled the head off together with the stomach etc etc - I watched that on David Rocco's Dolce Vita) - and then preserved in layers of sea salt for three months. They are then packed with olive oil.

Although they are actually our bilis, they dont taste anything like bilis that we know and the price - mama mia, I cant believe bilis could be that expensive. I'm thinking of omitting the anchovies in my salad the next time..

Nevertheless, you must try this.

(ps - the gambar is from Martha Stewart although how I wish it were from my own camera err..handphone)

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Somewhere To Eat

I was at Mali's corner when I saw I girl from the office. Since she seemed engrossed with her friend (of the opposite sex, of course) I pretended I didnt notice her.

Now Mali's corner is a gerai that sells nasi lemak with hot-from-the-kuali ayam goreng and the best-of-the best kuay teow. Everything is self-served and the queue could be intolerable at times. Maybe because it is located just outside Kolej TAR and there are lots of hungry students around..

But the clientele varies actually, from parents with children and people after work and also teenagers. Seem like it is also popular with students from UIA and other colleges within the vicinity too.

I asked the girl from the office, the next day, where she stays expecting her to say Gombak / Keramat / Wangsa Maju / kawasan yang sama waktu dengannya. But she said, PJ. Oh, I said, ada hal dekat area tu ke smalam? She said no, we were just there to eat.

Oh, okay.. I didnt know Mali's that popular.. So maybe if you are in the area next time you can stop at Mali's and have a nasi lemak / kuay teow or two.. They are open from late afternoon to maybe about 3 in the morning.

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Delicious Scones

We girls went for tea last Fri - the best scones I had so far are at Delicious, located in Bangsar Village (new wing). Dont go to the outlet at the old wing - the scones are harder and you have to self serve there.

You should try these scones - with creme fraiche (as Jamie would say) and preserves, they are yummm..

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My Mum's Acar Limau

There are things that I dont fancy except when cooked by my mum especially dodol, wajik and acar limau. Who else cooks better than mum, right? Considering that my mum doesnt cook much anymore, I suppose I will not be eating these food anymore..

Anyway, I was at my niece's Mas engagement do last weekend when my sis-in-law asked me how to make mum's acar limau. I said I havent tried it although I do have the instructions. Apparently she had asked my mum about it and mum said, tanya Azah - dia dah pernah buat. Now, when mum said something like that, it means dia dah cerita habis dah lah resipi tu and she is not going to repeat the same thing to anyone else..

Uh-oh, that put me into a panic mode. Once I got home I searched for the recipe I had written which was narrated by my mum (she has it memorised so I cant copy it from anywhere..) I cant remember where I put it (cant remember when I asked mum about it either!) I said a long prayer when I found it..

So last weekend I tried to make the acar limau and my cheerleaders at home told me they like the acar. I suppose I need more impartial tasters and put the acar under more stringent tests. I should send samples to my sisters.

.

So maybe my mum's acar limau tradition will continue on after all.

These are the basic ingredients..

.. and the ready made mum's acar limau .. personally I thought it was yummy too.

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