Support your local business If you ever have the pleasure of visiting Edinburgh, do yourself a favor and stop in at The Grain Store for a nice meal out in the old town. Great food prepared elegantly for a reasonable price and with friendly service to boot, this restaurant remains a favorite with my…
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Grilled Thai Pork Jowl / Pork Neck
Pork Shoulder, Belly or Jowl? Which part of the pig is the most flavorful? Well, pork shoulder is always a tasty treat either slow-cooked in a ragu or stir-fried with mushrooms. It provides just the right amount of hearty meat to fat ratio that makes it oh so delicious. Then again, you can’t forget about…
The Tastiest Chicken Tenders
My favorite comfort food Chicken tenders are my weak spot when it comes to food. I simply can’t resist them. As a child, they were my favorite and even now as an adult, I still crave that long chunk of chicken heavily coated in crispy batter and dunked in a creamy ranch sauce. The only…
Lemon Pepper Calamari with a Lemon and Thyme Aioli
I dream of calamari. Crispy, tender, salty calamari with a dipping sauce I could pour all of my troubles into. Pair it with a pitcher of quality margaritas and it’s a delicious happy hour fantasy. I don’t know why I always picture this scenario alone. Probably because I would enjoy the solitude but…
Beer Beef Brisket
The genius of slow cooking beef brisket in beer. Slow cooking a chunk of beef brisket in beer for hours is a great idea. Some could say, a ‘genius’ idea as it tenderizes the meat while enhancing the brisket’s natural flavor making it taste oh so beefy. Add to this fact that this is…
Confit Pork Belly roasted Thai Chili Paste, Garlic and Ginger
If you are what you eat, than I am a mess of pork belly. This fatty pork remains my Achilles heal of food weaknesses. Granted I don’t eat it as much as I want but, when I do, it has to be cooked to perfection. Now, in my humble opinion, no (vast)…
Spicy Salted Fried Chicken with Scallions
When it comes to food, my weakness will always be fried chicken and I have been lucky enough to travel the world sampling each culture’s tasty version of the fried bird. So you can imagine my delight when I visited a local Thai and Vietnamese restaurant here in Malaysia and came across this concoction….
Karaage Chicken
I first learned how to make karaage (kara a gee) chicken in a Japanese cooking class whilst living in Beijing. That was where I learned that coating things in cornstarch and frying until crispy was inspired by Chinese cooking to which I say, thank you China. For me, karaage chicken is…
Chicken Ravioli with a Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Cooking is as much about the mistakes as it is the successes. Believe me, I have learned the hard way, especially when it comes to making ravioli. The first time I tried to make homemade ravioli, the dough was too thick and not cooked through and contained a filling that was…
Salmon en Croute
It may have a fancy French name, but this dish is all British. Salmon en croute dates back to the 18th century when everywhere in Europe it was all the rage to cover things in dough and speak French. Considering how much the British love things delivered in pastry, this makes perfect…
Chicken Enchiladas
Enchiladas…gooey, cheesey, spicy and warm enchiladas. The thought of it makes your mouth water and puts a little spring in your step. You might even say to yourself, ‘Tonight, I’m making a big ol’ plate of enchiladas for dinner. Let’s get some beer to go with it, why not? Diet starts tomorrow!‘….
Steak and Ale Pie
Steak and ale pie might seem like one of those dishes that you can only get in a pub somewhere in Yorkshire with a side of mashed potatoes, green peas and a decent mug of lager or two. Where else could people master such a flaky crust, luscious gravy and tender…
The Perfect Roast Chicken
The perfect roasted chicken is a thing of beauty but very difficult to come by. Up until 5 years ago, I avoided anything roasted, always fearful of the dry, squeaky meat. Then I started experimenting and researching just how to get the perfect roast and thankfully I’ve never looked back. Now…
Piri Piri Chicken Thighs
The inspiration Before I met my husband and before I moved to Malaysia, I was completely unaware of what “Nando’s” chicken was and never heard of the term Piri Piri chicken. He explained to me that it was a spicy Portuguese chicken joint popular in the UK. Chicken? Spicy? YES, PLEASE! Keep it moist…
Hoki poached in Thai yellow curry with bell peppers and potatoes
You can’t go wrong with a curry Hoki, known as blue grenadier or blue hake, is a delicate and slightly sweet white fish with a medium flake. When it comes to cooking this delicious fish, my all-time favorite method of cooking it is to poach it in a spicy broth. Since I live in the…