Text 9003, 97 rader
Skriven 2014-01-21 07:03:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av RUTH HAFFLY
Ärende: up&down 85
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 ML> Yes, thanks for filling me in. I must have missed the original
 ML> (probably a hole in my head from the travel rather than a hole
 ML> in the feed), though I got the gist from subsequent conversations.
 RH> Jet lag can explain a lot, including the feeling you've got a hole in
 RH> your head.

I was once accused of being permanently jet-lagged. It's possible.
On this trip we've booked extra days between flights, many spent
in fancy hotels (helping the brain) that offer us periodic free
booze (hurting the brain). Yesterday our treat was a mojito and
three glasses of red wine for Lilli and a pina colada and a
couple beers for me; also a chicken fajita wrap, two sticks of
chicken satay, three pieces of crabstick sushi (dreadful), two
each shots of watermelon-ginger eye opener and orange-juice
marinated fruit, and two mini-slices of chocolate cake. All free
(or at least included with the heftyish room price).
 
 ML> That's what Annie said when she handed her recently fancy
 ML> 20.1 Megapixel thing to me. I'm still a little intimidated
 ML> by it.
 RH> And forgetting it doesn't make it easier to learn its use.
 
It does plain point-and-shoot pretty well, but I couldn't get
it to produce anything meaningful at the night market, which
I did remember to take it to.

 ML> I looked him up - his name is Yoshiro Nakamatsu, aka Dr. Nakamats,
 ML> and he's very amusing.
 RH> OK, I might check his photography out. See how many of the foods he's
 RH> photoed over the years we've actually tried. Might end up surprising
 RH> us how many or how few we're familiar with.

I haven't seen any of it in a long time, but he seems to
be well document on the Internet now.

Macaroni & cheese
cat: traditional, Singaporean, main, side
servings: 4 to 6

2 Tb salt
250 g dried elbow macaroni
100 g Ritz crackers
150 g sharp or mature Cheddar cheese
150 g Gruyere cheese
500 ml milk
50 g salted butter
50 g plain flour
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Opt - hopped chives, scallions or flat-leaf parsley
- for garnish

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. 

Bring a large pot of water to boil, add the salt
and then the dried macaroni. Cook for 2 min less
than the package recommended cooking time.

Place the crackers in a resealable plastic bag, seal
the bag. Using a rolling pin or the bottom of a sturdy
glass, bash the crackers as finely or coarsely as you
like. Pour the crumbs into a bowl and set aside.

Grate the cheeses using a coarse grater or a food
processor fitted with a grating or shredding disk.
Set aside in a bowl.

When the pasta is ready, drain in a colander.

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it is hot
but not boiling. Turn off the heat.

Place a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Melt
the butter and then add the flour. Whisk the flour
and butter together until it becomes a paste. Slowly
add in the hot milk, whisking thoroughly until it
becomes a smooth sauce. Add the cheese and continue
whisking until the cheese melts. If the mixture
becomes too thick, thin it out with extra hot milk,
1 Tb at a time. Turn off the heat.

Taste the cheese sauce and add salt if needed, and
pepper to taste. Pour the drained pasta into the
sauce and mix both well using a metal spoon.

Spoon the pasta into a medium ovenproof baking dish.
Sprinkle the cracker crumbs over the pasta. Place
in the oven and bake 20 to 30 min or until the
crumbs are brown.

Let pasta rest for 10 min, sprinkle chopped chives,
scallions or flat-leaf parsley if using. Serve.

Straits Times 1/19/2014

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