Main masak-masak @ Junior Masterchef Australia

The 12 finalists. My favourites?...all of them but my top 7 favourite is Isabella, Sofia, Siena, Lucy, Cassidy, Pierre and Jack

Dah basik dah cerita tok tapi I still wanna blog about this. The season Finale was shown at 08:00pm on 24th April 2011 @711 channel over at Astro. I just watched in awe at 12 year old & 10 years old kids dishing up choux pastries and ***sigh***, both Jack and Isabella (the finalist) made me ashamed of my age. I tried my hand on the basic choux pastry and it was quite a nightmare!!! But watching them preparing the pastry, aiyayayayayya….me n my sister was gaping away………….When I was 12 the only thing that I could cook was rice, boiling water and fried eggs. Plus the fact that my mum just don’t trust me in the kitchen with her, she was quite an impatient in her younger days(I guess most mums are, huh?..), I also think that she rather have the kitchen to herself than shouting and screaming her head off telling me to how to cut this and how to do this and that . Oh well, …those were the days..can’t blame my mum either, my dad only wanted us to concentrate on our studies and not spending too much time in the kitchen. I remembered that both of them would say this:, Ësok2 bila dah dapat kerja bagus kelak baruk kau belajar masak. Masak ya bila2 jak boleh belajar…(skrip lebih kurang cam ya lah….)However, I still have my fair share of housechores but the kitchen was the last place for me …………………………………then

As a result of all that, I only started serious cooking when I was 28…..Bla, bla, bla, bla, bla…………………….that was history. Nowadays, I love to cook (but not a good cook yet ok)and am always excited to try out any new recipes that I fancy and blogwalking has certainly helped me a lot plus some helpful advices from my dear mum. Ät times, I think am a foodie and loves trying something new(though I would rather settled for simple dish like salted fish with sambal belacan or pusuk with shreds of onion, birds eye chillies, soy sauce and some kaffir lime juice, heaven!!!) . But somehow, I wish that I have a job like Anthony Bourdain ..***sigh*** minus the non-halal stuff plus other éxotic’ stuff…and yet I call myself a foodie…..ahaks….loba owh!!!! kekekekekekek…

[banyaknya selingan dan iklan owh, maka nak berchegita hal Junior Masterchef(JMC)]

Ok, ok, ok, here I go again, melelat bak kata urghang saghawak. Ok, take a look at this picture. This was one the two dishes that they had to prepare. See that?..Choux (pronounced as shoe) pastry…I had tried to make this twice and it was a total disaster….guess I’m gonna give that a try again after … …later2 la nak….kekekeke…

This pear perfection was in the pressure test.

Both Isabella and Jack did better than the chef himself as per the overall comments from the panel of judges.

This scallop was Isabella’s dish in the invention test. It's called Scallop with garlic custard, seaweed broth and a blood orange jelly. Just look at the vibrant, beautiful and colorful presentation. Looking at this, I don’t know about some of you but I definitely can guess that the cook is a girl indeed.

And this was Jack's invention. Tea-smoked Quail in Citrus Sauce

This won the judge's heart and they were impressed with this. Jack simply crusted the quail with tea..mmmm, wonder what the taste is like....

I am however fascinated with Pierre's invention in Episode 4. He came up with this dish

Name of dish is Lamb Wellington with Spinach and Mushroom Duxcell.

This was among a few that impressed the judges. Am clueless with this one, I was asking myself what is mushroom duxcell?...So I googled and here’s what Mr Wiki (Wikipedia)says: Duxelles is a finely chopped (minced) mixture of mushrooms or mushroom stems, onions, shallots and herbs sautéed in butter, and reduced to a paste (sometimes cream is used as well). It is a basic preparation used in stuffings and sauces (notably, beef Wellington), or as a garnish. Duxelles can also be filled into a pocket of raw pastry and baked as a savory tart (similar to a hand-held pie).
Duxelles is made with any cultivated or wild mushroom, depending on the recipe. Duxelles made with wild porcini mushrooms will be much stronger flavored than that made with white or brown mushrooms. Fresh mushrooms are usually used, however reconstituted dried varieties are used as well. If you want a stronger flavor, use a mixture of both, heavy on the common mushrooms.[citation needed]

Duxelles is said to have been created by the 17th-century French chef François Pierre La Varenne (1615–1678) and to have been named after his employer, Nicolas Chalon du Blé, marquis d'Uxelles, maréchal de France.
And the French prounounced Duxelles as Dooksell..ok, enough of French lesson...dah tauk apa Duxelle tek nak...ok lah ya....hehehe..

Am still not over the show yet but I certainly look forward to JMC 2011. Ok, that's for now.

oh, by the way..the look on Isabella's face when she was announced the winner.