whine & dine

I just made my first cafe latte. Double shot of espresso, steamed milk, and topped with foam. *does a jig.

I also burnt the palm of my right hand while trying to clean the milk-steamer-nozzle, so the pace of the cooking has slowed – and this, coupled with the running-out-of-gas incident last night, is causing me to wonder if I’ll get dinner on the table in time for tonight. Oh well! Time to go make my truffle sabayon.

This seems to be the common trait amongst my friends, all of whom are suddenly offering to drive me around, rent DVDs, buy beer/wine/drinks, lend me software installation discs for the new computer all for one common thing in return – that I cook for them.

I suppose I’m rather flattered that they all think so highly of my food – one friend has even appointed herself Official Leftovers Bin, i.e. after any time I entertain, if there are any leftovers that will keep in the fridge for a day or two, just call her and she’ll come “help us rid our fridge of the leftovers”. It’s just slightly disturbing since it kinda feels like I’ve suddenly befriended a legion of starving refugees. Keep reading →

My new 17″ MacBook Pro is here. :) This is about as close as I’m ever going to get to the sensation of being a proud new parent. Ridiculous grin on my face and supreme over-protectiveness of my new baby. Woe betide anyone who threatens to inflict harm on her. Especially considering how big a fuss I had to kick up to ensure she came to me in perfect condition.

I’m still trying to think of a name for this new addition to the happy geeky family, and I actually also never got round to naming my 30D. Nor my 1V. Nor the Pentax ME or Fujica AX-3, for that matter. Oh! I didn’t even name my latest iPod!

Perhaps I should just give up on this naming thing. Haha. Oh well. Named or not, you know I love each one of you ridiculously.

And no, I’m not chucking the 12″ PowerBook out just ‘cos I have an MBP! But if anyone wants to buy her from me and will promise to give her a good retirement home, I just might consider that. (Also the bunny wants to have a laptop in the living room so we can surf and watch TV at the same time. I’m not sure why exactly she seems to think that any of the other two laptops aren’t portable but I’m not complaining if I get to keep dana.)

&t

Apparently, there’s been a sudden dearth of I went to XYZ restaurant and it was AWESOME-esque posts, and I guess as most of you can gather, I’ve been doing a lot more cooking now that we’ve moved out of the rabbit hutch and into a bear cave with a grown up kitchen. Tonight we had another friend and her partner over for dinner, and I’m feeling quite proud of myself for two reasons: 1) I managed to make a mushroom gravy (I won’t call it mushroom juice anymore okayyyy) that I actually liked! Hooray! And, 2) I MADE CRÈME BRULÉE. Keep reading →

So I called a number of Cold Storage outlets to check if they have vanilla pods and either duck or goose fat (all for upcoming dinner parties), and these are the conversations that ensued.

Cold Storage Gourmet (at Guthrie House)

me: Hi, do you sell vanilla pods?
woman: Huh? What pork?
me: No, PODS. P-O-D-S. Vanilla PODS.
woman: How you spiao again? P-O-D-E-S?
me: No, P for Paraguay, O for Orange, D for Denmark, S for Singapore. PODS.
woman: Oh. Uh, wait I check.

I get put on hold.
woman: Hallo? We have no stock. Anything else?
me: Yeah. Do you sell duck or goose fat?
woman: Oh, we don’t stock that sorry.

Cold Storage King Albert Park

me: Hi, do you sell vanilla pods?
woman: Huh? Ver-nee-rah pots?
me: No, vanilla PODS. P-O-D-S. Like vanilla beans?
woman: Oh. What section one is that?
me: Er, I guess baking section? Or like spices? Seasoning maybe?
woman: Oh. Wait I check.

I’m put on hold again for fucking ever.
woman: Hallo sorry no stock. Anything else?
me: Yeah, do you sell duck or goose fat?
woman: Oh. What section one is that?
me: Er, well, it’s usually sold canned or bottled. So, maybe canned food or something? Or maybe in the deli section?
woman: Oh. Wait I transfer you.

I’m put on hold again.
man: Hi, you’re looking for goose fat is it?
me: Yes. Do you sell it?
man: You mean goose fat, as in foie gras?
me: No! I mean goose FAT. Not the liver!
man: Oh. Wait I check.
I’m on hold for AT LEAST 10 minutes.
man: Hi, sorry, we don’t even sell any fresh ducks or gooses we only sell the frozen ones so sorry we don’t sell the fat.
me: Uh. Ooookay nevermind thanks bye.

I mean DUDE you think I want to buy the RAW fat?! I want to buy the RENDERED fat. Like in a TIN. And it’s GEESE.

Edit: HOOORAYYYY JELITA HAS VANILLA BEANS!