Nostalgia

Lately, I have been dreaming of and thinking of the UK and occasionally Europe. Missing those carefree student days, reminiscing about the past, the things me and my bunch of friends would do and oh yes....the cooking.

I wonder if nostalgia is a sign of age...hmmm....or maybe it is just me missing the freedom....likely to be both *grins*

All my cooking skills were honed during my university days in the UK. Some times my mom wonders if I am there to study or to cook as each summer I will lug back with me dried shrimps, kuching laksa paste and curry powder. So I have been thinking, better jot down my recipes before I forget (I probably have forgotten some bits already...almost a decade ago you know!!!) Since the festive season is approaching, you can try out these farily easy and homey styled food.

Bon Appetit!

Grilled Lamb Chops
6-8 pieces of lamb chops/steaks
1 small bottle of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce (yes all of it)
freshly ground black pepper
2-3tbsp rosemary (fresh is best, dried will do)
dash of hua tiao jiu (or any chinese cooking wine)

Marinate the lamb chops with all the above ingredients for at least 2-3hours. Better if overnight. Grill in a preheated over of 200C for about 20-25minutes. It depends on how you like your meat done and the thickness of your chops/steaks.
For the herbs, rosemary goes best with lamb. But if you like something else, by all means. A closer alternative can be thyme, oregano or mixed italian herbs.
For the meat, you can substitue with beef if preferred. Goes well with potatoes or mash and a fruity, zesty salad. Balance out the savouriness with something tangy and sweet.

Baked Mushrooms with Garlic Herb Butter

Garlic herb Butter
50 -100gm butter
minced garlic (if you like a strong garlic taste, use more)
any dried or fresh herb of choice, chopped
salt and black pepper to taste (if using salted butter, no need to add extra salt)

Mix the ingredients together and spoon into cavity of white button mushrooms/brown mushrooms/portobello mushrooms. Bake for about 10-15minutes at 200C or till mushrooms turn a darker brown. The butter would have melted and soaked into the mushrooms.

Baked Salmon in White Wine

For each salmon steak, you will need
4-5 tbsp white wine
a few springs of fresh dill or about 1-2 tbsp of dried dill
salt
black pepper
grated lemon zest

Wrap each steak with the ingredients in aluminium foil to make little parcels and bake for about 10-12min at 200C. Do not over-cook salmon as the flesh will be tough.
If you are cooking for kids and want to obmit the white, not a problem. Squeeze a few drops of kemon juice if desired or just do without.

If you like a rich sauce to go with the salmon, save the juices from the baked fish, add a spoonful of butter, milk and plain flour and boil in a saucepan till sauce thickens. Stir continously. Add more milk to thin the sauce if desired. Season to taste. And voila, you have salmon with white wine and dill sauce.