This is a fun one for all you foodies out there! From time to time I have these 'I must make this' thoughts and unfortunatey I forget about them after a while. So I shall write them down, as my mini 'foodie goals' for the year.

Here goes! 

1. Cook a new dish every fortnight.

2. Make a croquembouche by the end of the year. It doesn't have to be massive, just a small tower would do, perhaps for a small party. I remember trying to make profiteroles when I was about 14 and failed. Let's hope there will be a bit of an improvement this time! (Yes it's all because of Masterchef Australia!)

3. Figure out a way to incorporate my brand spanking multi-purpose new food processor in my cooking routine as I'm been so used to cooking without one.

4. Make these Spiral Curry Puff. I already have a bit of difficulty understanding the process of making the spiral pastry, but I should give it a go anyway!

5. Get a grill pan. I want those beautiful char marks on my steaks and fish!

6. Cook fish more often and explore with different types of fish and different styles. (So far I've only been cooking with Salmon and Snapper, occasionally different white fish fillets) I never used to be a huge fan of fish however it's healthy and better for my cholesterol level!

So what are YOUR foodie resolutions?

Mrs Claus wishes you a Merry Naughty Xmas! Teehee.

I'm at work! Boo hoo! It sure feels weird working daytime after 7 night shifts. It also doesn't help when I spent the whole afternoon yesterday cooking and whole night partying! I think a zombie looks more alive than me. Haha. It was awesome seeing the familiar faces at Silk Road, beats staying at home anyway!

But Xmas eve dinner was awesome! I did the big bird again. I shall share some photos!

This bird is 4.6kg, so yes. We will be eating off it for the next few weeks! I used the Nigella Lawson recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/spiced-and-super-juicy-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html

For the sides I have Potato salad and a Spinach salad with warm bacon dressing:

Sexy?

I love the colour of this one. Recipe can be found here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/the-best-spinach-salad-ever/

Eggnog! I really have gone all out this year. Haha! It's really not good for the waistline!

And here's the treat!

My first attempt at Red Velvet Cupcakes and I tell you what: They freaking rock!

Food porn at its best! :P

I have forgotten where I've gotten the recipe from. But I will paste it here.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 pound cream cheese, softened

2 sticks butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups sifted icing sugar 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.

In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer.

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness.

Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy. And now you are ready to frost!

Try it, it's definitely better than the ones store bought.

And last but not least, for your extra viewing pleasure!

Enjoy your day, whether you are celebrating Xmas or not!

I look at the date of the last post, with mixed feelings. Where did all the time go? Has my life finally gotten the better of me? Or is it a good thing I am kept occupied to a point I could no longer sit down and blog?

You know, I could blame it on facebook. I no longer feel the need to share my recipes, my photos, or my videos on my blog since I would be duplicating the postings anyway. I could blame it for the crazy work schedules, no time for a social life, let alone this. I guess I just lost the drive.

Still, with the year 2009 drawing to a close, I should be doing the traditional resolution post. I shall, and before that perhaps squeeze in a post or two abuot what I have been up to. Or does anyone really care?

Paediatrics is a drainer. The roster at Dandenong hospital, is notoriously bad. We work on a 7 days on (sometimes 8 days) 7 off (sometimes only 5) basis generally, alternating day shifts and night shifts. The days shifts go up to 14 hours, the night shifts are 11 hours. And in between that we have oncall shifts, me being the unfortunate one has been called in more than once. The workload itself isn't bad though, except I often work alone, without much support, which is taxing in itself. I've already been sick once, and still hasn't fully recovered. I will be working on Xmas day, oncall Boxing day weekend, working New Year's eve as well as New Year's day. Goodbye social life! At least I could say at the end of the term that I've been there and done that! I can now cannulate babies, which is a new skill, amongst many others.

Oh, and the reason I'm blogging is that I'm at work. Night shift, that is. I probably wouldn't complain if I have some company when I'm at work, but alas it's not to be. It's a lonely business, I answer my page if there's any problems on the wards (problem patients, that is. And usually babies), and run to birth unit or the operating theatre if there's about to be a caesarean section or delivery of premature babies. I do resuscitation on babies if they don't cry at birth. Mostly it is quite rewarding though.

Speaking of which, let's share a picture of me in scrubs!

Likey the xmas scrub cap?

And although our scrubs resemble the ones in Grey's anatomy, you'll notice they are not nearly as fitted! Comfy though, good for sleep!

I'm taking advantage of the randomness of this post to tell you I miss being here:

A pub @ IFC Mall, Hong Kong. My trip was good, in fact awesome! Good food, even greater company, I gained a few pounds and plenty of cherishable memories. (Of course, the few extra pounds drops with the hectic workload)

I know I'm getting rusty at this. I have sooooo many recipes to share and have no idea where to start! Maybe I'll pick a top 10 or something.

I also finally got myself personalised number plate for my car, as an early Christmas present.

So if you see HOTDOC cruising around, you can say hi! :)

I shall end this post with a video of mine, that way in a wonderfully messy way it still sums up the many faces of Kelly Siew. haha!

Playing Lady Gaga's Speechless on piano

Visit http://www.youtube.com/kellychin61 for more videos and some of my original songs!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!