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January 26 SushiI have always loved Sushi and now I've been taught how to make it myself. How it started was that Torsten, my boss, was racking his brain for a good company present for Christmas. So much so that he started to ask the rest of us individually what we thought would be a good present from Venture Cup. Eventually one of our ideas stuck in his head and we each got a Sushi Kit for Christmas. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that we made use of it. David, Louise and I gathered at Torsten's place (Steffen had to look after his new born child) where he showed us how to prepare it all. So I was given the task of cooking the rice (since I eat it regularly and can make it without a rice cooker) while Torsten sliced up the raw salmon and tuna and David and Louise cut up the avocado, cucumber and sweet peppers (roasted in the oven, peel off the burnt skin and slice into thin strips). Once everything was ready, we had two mats where we could take turns and compare our sushi making skills while sipping warm sake. We made Maki, Nigiri and Torsten made a hand roll (ice-cream cone shape) while David made an inside-out roll. It was a great night with the work people where we didn't really talk about work (which is rare since whenever we go for a beer we always talk about work.. what we could do better, what needs to change, what our ideas are etc...).
The next step was for me to venture out and try to repeat the night at an "old" interns gather. So at Carolina + Søren's place, Sebastian, Kreta, Juan José and his friend Kasper and I basically did the same thing (except for the sweet pepper, I tried carrots instead ... bit weird but it was okay). The great thing about this night was it was a sort of reunion of the old generation of Interns. We're the only ones left (Laurence is studying in Spain, Rafael is back in Brasil, SeeWei back in the finance world of Singapore, etc...), plus I haven't seen most of these people for awhile.. probably since New Years Eve (in Sebastian's case before Christmas). So it was great to catch up and share stories and with the ever entertaining Juan José present, a laugh wasn't that far away.
(I forgot to bring my camera  which means no pics for you!)September 11 Rice.... in a bag!!!My brother told me about this.... but still... its kinda weird when you cook rice... in a bag!! The bag is the same bag (i think) that's used for cereals. It has small holes in it... and you just cook the rice in some water... drain it and then cut open the bag.. and presto you have rice.
Anyways... talked to my family for the first time since i've arrived... and they've been asking me about how i've been coping and whether i've been cooking myself or buying food (i'm not known for my culinary abilities). But i've been doing ok!!! I've been making very easy and simple dishes... like fried rice (cooked from a bag... still can't get over it), pasta with pasta sauces and salami and instant noodles (with corn, tuna and hard boiled egg)... and eating out Sharwarmas/Kebabs = ) or eating at Peter's (home made pizza, pasta salad, fried rice).
So, so far i'm goinng pretty well... better then my experience with mixing left over Taco meat and pasta...... let's not go there hahahahahhaa August 11 Would you like wine with that?Okay... now that we know a bit about wine and how to drink it, what wine goes with what food?
Most of us go by the rule "red wine with red meat, white wine with fish" Though others say to "drink whatever wine you like with whatever you want to eat - there are no wrong combinations". The book says that its somewhere in between the two.
They suggest:
Matchiing WeightsThe wines you choose to complement each dish must match the weight and texture of the food, neither overpowering the other. A steak wouldn't match a light-bodied wine so a full bodied and flavoured Shiraz would make a much more even match.
Making AdjustmentsThe way food is prepared determines the intensity of its flavour, from steamed or poached to fried or baked. As cooking methods differ, the food's intensity changes, and so too does the need to match it with a bolder, fuller-bodied wine. The length of time something is cooked will also influence what wine would go well with it. For example, a steak cooked rare goes best with a young red wine while a more mature red wine would go well with a steak cooked done.
You also need to make adjustments based on the sauce used. Pasta, for example, is all about the sauce (you don't really think about the shape of the pasta as much as you do the sauce). Obviously a pesto based sauce will go with a light-bodied wine while a bolognese witha full-bodied wine. Marinara is more suited to a medium-bodied wine.
Mirror and ContrastWines can boost the flavour of a meal by mirroring its complexity: the simpler the meal, the simpler the wine. Furthermore, the aroma and flavour profiles that I posted earlier will help you identify matching wines to different styles and sauces. For example, a fruity Riesling might go well with a dish with chutney.
You can also use wine to contrast the food. For example, take fish and chips... some people prefer to dip the chips in mayonnaise while others enjoy contrasting saltiness with sweet by dipping the chips in tomato sauce. So you could use a sweet wine to combat the taste of a salty dish.
Conclusion...To be honest, even after reading the book, i still have no idea!!! What I suggest is to try it all out!! You and I now know what wine is supposed to smell like and we know how to taste wine but in terms of matching it with food? Experiment!! When i've been out and had a glass of wine, i've thought about what food would go well with this wine. So hopefully over time, i'll become better and more natural in my ability to pick the right wine.
For now...
Cheers
 Vivi August 09 The art of Wine Tasting
The authors of the book i mentioned before suggest the following “Four-Step Programme for Enjoyable Wine Tasting”
See
Check for clarity. Is it bright and clear or dull and hazy? If its dull and hazy, the wine might be off. Are there bits of cork? Bubbles where there shouldn’t be any?
You can swirl your glass to see the streams that run down the side, which is referred to as “legs”. Wines with more alcohol tend to have more “legs”.
You can also note the colours or “hues” which you should expect to see in a wine:
White Wines – Green, Lemon, Straw, Gold, Amber Red Wines – Purple, Ruby, Cherry, Garnet, Brick, Mahogany Rosé Wines – Blue pink, Orange pink, Salmon
You can use the hues as an indication of the wine’s age. White wines gain colour as they age (from green to amber) while red wines lose colour (from purple to mahogany). Fuller-bodied and warmer climate vineyard wines are deeper coloured while cool climate regions have lighter-coloured wines.
Sniff
Tasting the wine, believe it or not, is all in your sense of smell. Why? Because your tongue is capable of differentiating only four tastes (sweet, sour, bitter and salty) whereas your nose is sesitive to over 10,000!.
So swirl the wine in the glass, just like you’ve seen the pros do it, and take a quick sniff once its settled. What you smell, is the aroma associated with the grapes. So if you smell strawberries, its not because there’s strawberries in the wine but more the aroma. What you smell is also personal, because the wine will trigger certain memories.
Use the previous post to see if what you smell is similar to what is listed.
Sip
Take a sip and try to hold it in your mouth for a few seconds. What level of sweetness (on the tip of your tongue) or bitterness (back of your tongue) or sourness (side of your tongue) or saltiness (inbewteen the tip and side of your tongue) do you detect?
Spit or Swallow
If you’re on a winery tour, you probably should spit it out so that you don’t get too drunk tasting wine. If you’re at your friends place... its probably not good thing to spit it out!!
Now put all your senses together
Finish – is the lingering impression a wine leaves long after you have swallowed it. Short (a few seconds), Medium (10sec) and Long (15sec); anything more than that, then the wine has overstayed its welcome.
Balance – describes the harmony between acidity, sugar, alcohol, tannins, flavour, aroma etc
So now you can decide if you like it or not? Is it good value? Is it suitable as a present? August 08 The condensed idiots guide to wineOkay... if you read this and think that i know a lot about wine... well you're wrong. I got it all from a book Leo lent me. For those playing at home: Richard Kitowski & Jocelyn Klemm "The Basic Basics Wine Handbook" Disclaimer: If anything sounds intelligent, its from the book!!
So lets start....
White Wine
Red Wine
If anyone is interested, Alvin sent me a PDF file on Wine Tasting that he was given as part of his job, so i could send it to you. Next, the art of wine tasting....
Vivi A Wine OdysseyIt all started with Huy (my brother) telling me that in Denmark, you go to a lot of parties where most drink wine. So i don't want to look like an idiot and not know anything other than the fact that there is white wine and there is also red wine!!!
Well actually it started before this. I've always liked wine but didn't know anything about it. As a famiily, we used to go on wine tours with a huge group of family friends. Then i watched a movie called "French Kiss" which stars Kevin Kline and Meg Ryan. Its a movie about Kleine's dream of starting up his own winery/vineyard, something that i'd love to do if i ever win tattslotto or somehow save up enough. The plan is have my winery as my parent's retreat when they retire..... although there is a retirement village across from where i live ... hmmmmm ... hehehehe
Anyways, I talked about this with Leo the next time we went to Coco Lounge in Glenny. He said that he read a book on wine and that maybe we should have a wine and cheese night? So the next Friday night, we had a Wine and Cheese Night to further my education. We were all expected to bring either a bottle of wine or some cheese. Because Huy came along, we bought both. It was a great night!!! Though at first we all stood around and didn't know what to do. Huy and Leo knew more about wine then we did so we followed their lead... swirling our glasses, givint it a quick sniff and taking a sip. Huy goes "Can you smell the cinnamon?", to which Garth goes "yeah i can!!".... and though my plan was to not look like an idiot... i joked "yeah i can really smell the red wine"
So thus my Wine Odyssey has begun. Everytime i've been out now, i've had a glass of wine. Leo lent me his book which i dutifully read. I'll be posting up what i learnt from the book so that i'll always have a reference and for those that don't want to look like an idiot.... too late!! hahaha nah you can read it and say things like "I detect strawberries on the nose"... which is a nicer way of saying you smell strawberries!!!
Cheers
Vivi |
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