Bon Appetite! (part 1)

Yes, I love home-cook, whatever it may be, I love them all!

On Saturday, I had the privilege to be invited by friends to their lovely homes for home-cook tasting. Afternoon was an European fare. Evening was authentic British delights.

My friends invited me to their son’s one year birthday brunch. After a shopping spree to get a gift for the birthday boy, I was on my way to the feast.

Arriving at the door step of my friends’ home, I could smell the aroma of bread, fresh from the oven. “Hey, Esther is here”, the baby’s Mum greeted me at the door. I was one of the early birds.

It was ciabattas that was dished out. Like a big fluffy pillow, soft and spongy, lazily lying on a wooden board, golden surface with a light sheen. My eyes followed through till I came to the table of a hearty fare. There were ratatouille, pizza, mash potato, chicken, quiche... “Chilli-corn is on the way”, the chef had a busy morning.

“Shall we begin?” I found a good seat by the table and helped myself to everything except for their “backup plan”. The ratatouille looked mellowed, but the bright capsicums added some life to the dish. The moment I tasted it, I knew I have under-estimated it... “Pardon me but you really tasted fantastic!!” This dish was prepared the night before, left in the fridge and was heated on that day. Every bit of the squash was full and rich in flavour. Soft but not marshy. The juice of every squash complimented one another. With merely a little herbs and salt, this mix of squash tasted sweet and juicy.

Next, I moved on to the chicken. I love the peppered aroma. I took a bite on its tenderness and realized the taste of ratatouille was so overwhelm, I could not sense the chicken! Perhaps the chicken needed more time to marinate? Or perhaps I should have started on the chicken first?

The ciabatta waited long. From a lazy big slap of pillow, it now turned into golden square blocks ready to be served. It was soft and smooth to touch. Smell of oven bread and a little herbs. I pinched the side and dipped it into tomato puree mix. Nice! Then I decided to do without the sauce. Nicer!! Its chewy and soft at the same time. Feel so homely at every bite!

The next wonderful discovery was the ham quiche. The huge indents on its edge of the crust, like huge finger prints, gave it away. It was easy to cut into triangles. The texture looked firm, like those of almond jelly, if you know what i mean. It has a rich flavour of egg and cheese. Some of the stripes of ham were slightly crisp which gave this quiche an additional credit. When I was done with it, I could not leave my eyes off the smaller quiches, I wanted to pack it home!

The drinks came as a pleasant surprise. The lemon-grass was crashed and squeezed, its juice was mixed with sweetening, added some crushed ice and water. It was totally delightful! Instant thirst quencher with a lovely fragrance. I had to have a few more cups in such a hot weather.

The rest of the dish was unforgettable. I had to remind myself not to hurt my belly since i have another feast in the evening.

“Thanks for your hospitality. I have to go to my friend’s house now”. I bid my friends farewell and head on to the Brits.

(About the ciabattas, the touch and smell of it is so heavenly you just wanted to lay your head on it like you would on a pillow! Yes, its THAT soft and fluffy! I would love to have one for myself, lying my head and chew on it at the same time!)