Text 23617, 138 rader
Skriven 2015-02-02 19:12:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: things to eat 146
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 NB>> The nouveau riche have a lot to answer for...  ;0
 ML> For sure, but on the other hand some very delicious things
 ML> have more than a toe dipped in the ocean of ostentation.
 NB> Ok, I'll give you that, too... I suppose some things had to turn out
 NB> pretty nice...  ;)

Nouveau riche doesn't necessarily mean palate-dead, and
expensive doesn't mean bad. After all, hearts just as pure
and fair may beat in Belgrave Square as in the lowly air of
Seven Dials!

 NB>> Did you have other congenial company to help with that bottle...? 
 ML> Some executive of Delta Airlines, a dude.
 NB> Was this trip a frequent flyers one...?

Yep. Interesting history to this one. There used to be
destinations that were favorably priced, I suspect because
the local government partially subsidized airfares in a
loss-leaderish way. Long ago, Hawaii was one such; and
15-20 years ago Singapore: I figure the Lee government gave
the companies a favorable deal, and airfares were reasonable.
You could get an upgradeable round trip for 700-ish, for which
you'd get 20000 miles, or 3.5c a mile, which were then valued
at 1.5 to 2c a mile on the market. And real frequent fliers
got double miles, so as you can see the net travel cost was
negligible. So back in the '90s I started visiting long-
neglected friends and places in southeast Asia for what
amounted to next to nothing! Well, there grew up a frequent
flier affinity group called Flyertalk that stumbled upon this
very anomaly, and 13 years ago started organizing a weekend
every year dedicated to exploiting it. It's since become a
tradition, though the economic justification has faded to
nothing - the Singapore economy has become one of the
strongest in the world (as I've been describing to Ruth), the
airfares and hotel and food costs have increased beyond
inflation, and there's been a gradual devaluation of program
miles to close to 1c. Now it's more seeing people whom one
has seen every year or two for over a decade and thawing out
for a week. I talked with the organizer (the 4th such in 13
years) about maybe moving the event to a more cost-effective
venue next year.

 ML> Annie (among others) goes, ugh, that's gross. Sometimes,
 ML> of course, it is gross.
 NB> Maybe they'd figured that by now you would have tried everything
 NB> already and be ready to settle back into their comfort zones...  And
 NB> just because it's gross doesn't make it non-tasty...  ;)

In fact.
 
 NB>> Can't say as I blame you much for feeling put out about that...
 NB>> especially when you were someplace where the food was part of
 NB>> the charm... ;)
 ML> But the thing I most regret not experiencing was that
 ML> KFC Double Down Dog. 
 NB> Well... that's not available here, either... ;)

It's being test marketed only in the Philippines, and I was
there when it was there. What a missed opportunity.

 ML> Lilli gave me some to taste, and I enjoyed it, even if
 ML> I left half her gift on the plate.
 NB> Maybe they start out with better chickens to begin with...?

I'm pretty certain that is the main explanation. I don't
know what the southeast Asian equivalent of Tyson is, but
the locally-sourced certainly is tastier.

 NB>> So the above would translate into, say, 5 tsps minced garlic, so far
 NB>> as quantity produced is concerned... and if one didn't like garlic so
 NB>> much, one might just use less anyway...  ;)  I've decided I like garlic
 NB>> pretty well... apparently better than Richard does, as he sometimes
 NB>> makes comments... ;)
 ML> More or less, depending on just how much you like garlic.
 NB> I still think that there should be a "standard" size garlic clove at
 NB> least for comparison

As I said, a teaspoon is about average. The Internet says
stuff like 4 to 7 grams, and as a teaspoon holds about 5 mL
at 1 g/mL, that's right in line.

 NB> Onions, one can specify small, medium, large

Those terms conjure up something in my mind, but what you
may imagine might not be quite what I'd imagine. To me,
these mean 1/2 lb, 3/4-1 lb, and bigger. But then I like
onions, too.

Sausage lasagne
categories: Singaporean, Italian, English, pasta, main
servings: 6 to 8

250 g lasagna noodles
2 c marinara sauce
8 lg sausages, casings removed, diced 1 cm cubes - (I used the
- spicy chorizo and beddar cheddar Johnsonville varieties)
1 c grated cheddar
- (I used a mix of colby, sharp and mild cheddar)
1/2 c grated mozzarella
h - Bechamel Sauce
2 oz butter
1/4 c plain flour
1 c milk
Salt to taste

To make the bechamel, boil milk in 1 pot. In a separate pot,
melt the butter until shimmery. Turn fire to very low, add
in flour and whisk till smooth. Turn off heat, add in hot
milk and whisk till smooth. Set aside.

Fry sausages till just cooked. Set aside.

Start assembling the lasagna. First schmear 6 Tb marinara
sauce at bottom of baking tray. Layer with 1 row of lasagna
noodles, it's okay to overlap the noodles a little.

Layer with 3 Tb marinara sauce, 3 Tb bechamel, 1/3 of the
sausages and grated cheddar.

Repeat layering twice, and finish at the top with lasagna
noodles, 6 Tb marinara sauce and grated mozzarella. Bake
at 180C for 25 min, covered with foil, and then another
25 min uncovered at 170C until top layer is golden brown.

Rest 5 min out of the oven before serving.

If not eating right away, don't take off the foil, but
take the tray out from the oven and store in freezer for
use up to a week. To eat, defrost it in the morning
before you go to work by transferring it to the fridge,
and when you get home, heat it up for 10 min at 190C
covered with foil and 15 min uncovered.

thehungrybunnie.blogspot.sg

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