Three pretty good things: January 21

1. Les Misérables (the musical).

After growing almost 20 years older since discovering it for the first time, I will now call this my favorite musical. Yes, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera is hard to beat but Schönberg's music with Victor Hugo's story just wins out by a long distance for me. The daily human struggle between right and wrong in a society where it is no longer black and white, this transcends all races, cultures, social classes and time. Although Les Misérables means "The Miserable Ones", the story is not about hardship and injustice, but about hope, not giving up and fighting for what you believe in. I simply find it inspiring.

2. Getting onto the list of a patent inventorship.

After working on this project hard for 6 years, finally. I am glad. Thanks, team.

3. Home, at last.

This gives me millions of smiles, always.

Hiatus

Work and family will keep me away from this place again.

See you in a while.

Thanks for stopping by!

Bye Bye Petit Donkey

Our car of 15 years will retire in three days. It has given us good 10 years of solid service which we are very grateful.

Yes, we nicknamed our car. It's not the shiniest, fastest or quietest car on the street but Petit Donkey has taken us everywhere we wanted, even all the way up to the Lake District with the exhaust pipe broken off half way at Leeds. Oh, how fondly we will remember this episode (and of course Petit Donkey was nursed back to health afterwards).

Sadly the Vet has delivered to us the bad news after he did the final check-up on Petit Donkey. Petit Donkey is better going to a retirement home, we all thought.

Luckily, we found a Mini Ilama and will bring her home later this week. So long, Petit Donkey. Thank you for all your service. You will be missed.

Welcome to our life, Mini Ilama.

New Year's Eve for Two

Starter: Coquilles St-Jacques au Beurre Blanc

This is my first time making beurre blanc (literally white butter). Wow what a delicious sauce this is and perfect for seafood. I followed Hopkinson's recipe all the way right before adding the butter. I whisked in a mixture of single cream and butter, and adjusted the sauce amount just enough for two. Yes, I know sprinkling some chopped parsley on the final product would have been nice. The good thing is my next trial in this recipe will be soon!

Salad: Apple, beetroot and grapefruit salad

The salad is here to create an illusion of a balanced meal. 

Main: Bouef en croute (aka Beef Wellington)

Only three words: YUM YUM YUM!!!

I have become a faithful follower of Felicity Cloake's Guardian column. In every post, she features one dish and summarises her thoughts/experiences in trying a number of recipes she's come across. In the end, she presents her version of the featured dish, incorporating the elements she feels most complement to the dish. I found one of her comments quite useful on the protective layer for the beef before wrapping it with the puff pastry. In her experience, not only none of the protective layer worked (crepe or parma ham), but also it created an unnecessary distraction from the awesome beef. She wrote, "if the pastry is good and thin, buttery and rich, nothing is nicer than a meat-soaked crust". I admitted I had some doubts initially when I first read this. Once I bit into my meat-moistened crust, I was a believer. In fact, the button crust remains some of its crispiness and is not soggy. And you always have the top crust for your ultimate enjoyment.

I really enjoyed my cooking experiments this holiday. And now I have another year to look forward to.

Happy New Year to you all!

I wish you