A. It is so satisfying to be self-sufficient, to conjure a restaurant dish and then be able to reproduce it at home.
B. The huge satisfaction I have derived is because (1) the dishes below are comfort food and (2) for some of these dishes, I thought I wouldn’t be able to make them at home but lo and behold.
Portuguese Sauce with Cod on rice
– source: Lady and Pups
– this is one of NPY’s favourite dishes to order at a Hong Kong-style cafe so I really wanted to try my hand at it (when I remembered about it)
– I didn’t bother making fried rice as a base… too much work!
Rice cooker Mac ‘n’ Cheese
– source: The Washington Post
– I love “repurposing” one of my staple cooking appliances beyond its usual capacity
– other mac ‘n’ cheese I’ve made has turn out a bit gross – watery – this was easy, clean and delicious
Cheesecake
– source: All Recipes
– I usually think “cheesecake requires food processor” as that is how my mother made cheesecake and my immersion blender is basically a food processor
– as a “proof of concept” I only bought one brick of cream cheese and that makes six mini cheesecake in size large muffin liners – which is adequate
Waffled French toast
– source: Will It Waffle?
– my French toast in the past has been disappointing but waffling it made the actual cooking process foolproof for the likes of me
Tea latte
– NPY doesn’t want me to microwave milk and I surely dislike cleaning a pot after boiling milk in it and why aren’t we using our Nespresso milk aerator/frother?
Butter chicken
– source: Foodess
– butter chicken I’ve made in the past tasted too healthy, too far from “restaurant” (or food stall) but this recipe hit the nail on the head with canned diced tomatoes and blending it partway through, I think
Shake ‘n’ Bake Southern Fried Chicken
– I’ve never before used Shake ‘n’ Bake and I mean-spiritedly made fun of MIL when NPY said he had it when he was younger
– as NPY said, when you have this blend of seasoning and delicious (dark meat) cuts of chicken, it’s bound to be tasty and doesn’t even have to be fried!
– yes, NPY did jokingly suggest that I make waffles to go with it but we don’t really enjoy the sweet glaze that is standard for “chicken & waffles”
