The Swedish West Coast, mid-spring 2010.

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Swedish west coast in mid-spring 2010, Sweden.

Swedish west coast in mid-spring.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

The weather in Sweden, one of the most discussed non-academic topics at work, where even so, we end up trying to theorize why it is that we’re so fascinated with talking about the weather.

Academics can’t help but even in their spare time, seek out truth, certainty and burn to create foundations for abstract concepts. The weather is something that completely escapes us. Even the met station gets their forecasts wrong, a lot, which leaves us at work grappling with it. Too funny to observe.

Swedish west coast in mid-spring 2010, sailboat, Sweden.

Sailboat.

Here are pictures from an clear skied mid-spring day along the Swedish west coast. It’s the time of year where layered clothing works best because it’s warm in the sun and cold in the shades, and a gust of wind can still run chilly. The day before these pictures were taken, rainy. The day after, rainy.
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Custard Egg Tarts with Puff Pastry

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Custard egg tarts, made with puff pastry.

Custard egg tarts, dusted with icing sugar on top.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl M. Cordeiro Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

A quick browse through my most recent posts will show that my latest baking projects have all revolved around puff pastry creations. And I still have a few more items of puff pastry that I’d like to try before putting aside this light but decadently butter filled pâte feuilletée to genuinely say that I’m sick of it.
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Western Swedish Academy of Gastronomy annual awards ceremony and gala dinner, 2010.

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An hors d'oeuvre of seafood served in a small can, Western Swedish Academy of Gastronomy awards ceremony, 2010.

Seafood in a fish canning tins.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl M. Cordeiro-Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

The 6th of May saw the Western Swedish Academy of Gastronomy give out its annual awards to outstanding individuals in the culinary field. And I couldn’t be more enthusiastic to have been part of this event, as the last time I was at the academy’s awards ceremony was in 2008.

The food this year was prepared by the Swedish Olympic culinary team and as with previous Chefs of previous years, the team had us guessing on what was served throughout the event, only to reveal towards the end, the true menu from hors d’oeuvres to wines that accompanied the main course and dessert.
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Louis Vuitton Suhali L’Impetueux in white

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Louis Vuitton suhali handbag in white, L'Impetueux.

Louis Vuitton suhali L’Impetueux in white.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl M. Cordeiro Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

In 2003, Louis Vuitton launched their Suhali range of bags, made with natural grained goatskins. Louis Vuitton bags are generally extremely structured, designed to keep their shape no matter the content (something I appreciate), and it’s no different with this range of bags, despite the suppleness of the material.

Louis Vuitton suhali goat grained leather, L'Impetueux in white, golden brass lock.

Golden brass lock.

The style of each of the bags in the Suhali range is designed to reflect the Traveller Trunk history that is iconic of Louis Vuitton. Most bags in this range have silver or gold hardware with s-locks, reminiscent of the tough trunks and suitcases that Vuitton began with making just before 1900s.
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A view of Shanghai

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Chopsticks, Shanghai, Kevin Dominic Cordeiro Photography

Photo © Kevin Dominic Cordeiro for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

The Shanghai Expo 2010 will open in just 3 days, running for 184 days (from 1 May to 31 October, 2010). When it comes to China, nothing is on a small scale these days if they can help it, just browsing the Events section of the Expo gives something to look forward to, from parades to song, dance, insights into the local food and culture.

The theme for this expo is “Better City, Better Life” and aims to bring awareness to and perhaps tackle the challenging issues that face global cities in the near future.

In this post, some pictures of Shanghai today, from food that includes century eggs to braised pork and chicken, to the clean modern lines of a hotel, a room on the 27th floor with a view over Shanghai.
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Variations of Curry Puff with puff pastry

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Curry puffs made with puff pastry 2, Singapore style.

Curry puff made with puff pastry, Singapore style.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl M. Cordeiro Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

It was the large, triangular, multi-layered flaky pastried curry puff that I had in mind when putting this together. The kind that was stacked warm and neat on a newspaper lined cardboard box that was carried for door to door sales, usually by an Indian man or his son, when I lived in the high-rised government built blocks in Bedok North, Singapore.

I was about five or six years old when the large curry puffs, too large for me to finish on my own actually, became one of my favourite things to eat, beating the smaller, more reasonably kid-sized, fried rounded and pinched tipped version of curry puffs.
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Breakfast danishes with puff pastry

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Raspberry danish pastry, dusted with icing sugar on top.

Raspberry danish pastry, dusted with icing sugar on top.
Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl M. Cordeiro Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

Some danish pastry adventures with the puff pastry that we made earlier.

Danish pastry with fresh raspberry filling.

I think the whole idea is to simply have the pastry become a container of sorts for whatever filling you wish you have in it. And making a little pastry box from the pastry is what we did, the first, adding fresh raspberries over a bed of sweetened vanilla cream. This was baked at 220C in the oven till the puff pastry was done. Once cooled, the raspberry danish was dusted with icing sugar before serving.
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Paisley

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro in purple paisley, Louis Vuitton L'Impetueux white Suhali

Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl M. Cordeiro Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

Paisley is not a common motif in my wardrobe, where it’s difficult to find a paisley print that doesn’t for example, overwhelm my frame. This casual weekend dress or sundress, from Marks & Spencer Limited Collection has a different sort of paisley print, more an over-sized print of it, a sprawling design that seems too large for even the dress to capture in full. It is also brightly coloured, something that contrasts to the pastels of paisley or the earthern tones of it on a lot more textiles. The deep magenta of the dress with contrasting blue-green of the paisley print is a nod to the Persian and Indian roots of this ancient design and the colourful textiles of the region.
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Crème caramel, made with the most basic of ingredients

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Crème caramel recept, French baked custard recipe

Crème caramel, with extra caramel on top.

Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl M. Cordeiro Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

I don’t remember when it was that I first tasted crème caramel, all I knew was that I loved it, and at the time thought I would also never be able to enjoy this dessert if I were not at a posh restaurant in Singapore ordering it off the menu.

The first time I made this dessert, I thought that there was no way at all that it would turn out right. The Swedish weather was cold, the caramel came out too sticky and too thick, it froze almost immediately upon touching the soufflé dish and I couldn’t wash the dish clean of the solidified caramel even with boiling water! Since the caramel was stuck to the dish, I went ahead with the custard on top of it and thought not to expect too much, writing it off as a failed project.
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Puff Pastry

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Video from Otago Polytechnic on how to make puff pastry.

How to make puff pastry was a complete mystery to me whilst growing up, even though it is one of the few things I’ve always enjoyed in a myriad of foods from the savoury to the sweet. Puff pastry beef pie and chicken pie popped into the microwave oven was something I quite often had for lunch after school in Singapore. In Sweden smördeg as it is called with fruit and custard, drizzled with icing sugar is a relish to have at breakfast or at tea time.

Puff pastry dough with a cross on top.

The base dough for puff pastry, marked with a cross on top, ready for rolling out.

Photo © Jan-Erik Nilsson and Cheryl M. Cordeiro Nilsson for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

As I’ve discovered what many others who make puff pastry have known, it takes more patience and time to make puff pastry than skill. Puff pastry has a much higher fat content than other types of pastries, using an alternating folding and rolling technique to create the layers of dough with air trapped between them. The pastry puffs up during the baking process and generally makes anything you serve on it / with it look fantastic!
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