BigBlogMeet, Cooking is Fun.

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Return of the blogmeet. This coming early February. Below are the details:

Date: 3rd or 10th of February (tbc)
Venue: Fasta Pasta, Ikano Power Senta (tbc)
Time: 15:00 - 18:00, please arrive earlier or on-time, else, Doc shall lay his wrath upon you
Price: RM20++ per person, advertising fees on my blog (for food and drinks lah doink)

So, if interested, please head over to Doc's site and register, further instructions will be available there. Else, if you're too lazy to even click on that link, leave your details here. I'll gladly assist you and its only for 1SGD.
---------- Announcement */

If you've been living out for long, I'm sure that once in a while, you'll get sick of your favourite Chicken Rice stall or that must-have daily dose of char kuey teow. Instead, you suddenly develop a craving for home-cooked food, be it as plain as a plate of white rice with stir fried vegetables or steam fish, because it has been a while since you last had some. It might also be due to the constant hair loss that you're experiencing lately, cause by truckload of MSGs daily. Then, you headed into the kitchen; a sense of guilt and regret for not helping your home's queen of kitchen, enveloped you. Back then, the only form of 'help' offered was finishing off the dishes. Absence make the heart grow fonder (applicable to food as well), things you once thought of as insignificant suddenly becomes top priority.

Anyway, E and I had one of those moments back then, and heck, we decided dining home, western style. First, some sirloins (it wasn't exactly sirloins, cause the cuts were thinner but I forgot the actual name, so I'll just use it), potatoes, baby carrots, cheese and black pepper sauce. Simple but sufficient, and I got a baguette too, just in case I'm not filled. Just so you know how absolutely, amazingly, unbelieveably, easy it is, here are the steps:

La Baguette or French Loaf (bought in Giant). Baguettes from Delifrance are quite good cause its crispy on the outside while soft and smooth on the inside.

Noobies guide to Black Pepper flavoured steak with side dishes by Jed, noob in kitchen

Ingredients
Sirloin steaks x any amount (used 6)
Potatoes x any amount (used 4)
Baby carrots x any amount (used a handful)
Black Pepper sauce x 1 jar (use as deemed suitable)
Cheese x any amount (used 4 slices)
Salt, Oil, and whatever other things that you think you need

The steaks
In case you don't/can't consume beef, use your choice of meat but some of the steps might not be applicable due to the difference in texture.
1. Defroze your meat, you can either use a microwave, or just soak it with water.
2. Marinate your meat with the black pepper sauce. For better effect, poke some holes on your meat with a fork before applying the sauce.
3. Leave your meat alone for some time, the longer, the better the flavour absorbed :: 2 hours for me, I'm hungry
4. Heat your pan, add some oil. You can also use butter for flavoring. Medium-Low fire will do but if you're uncertain, use low for better control.
5. Slide your meat in, depending on the size of pan, you can either go one or few at one go. Your choice.
On an unrelated note, do wear something when you're cooking. Once I did it topless, my nipple had an unforgettable experience.

I believe I can fry. Please pay attention when cooking, don't try this at home.

6. Flip the meat(s) once in a while, this to ensure both sides of your meat are cooked evenly. Its hard to estimate the cooking time since everyone has their own preference, mine took about 12-15 minutes.
7. Once cooked, place it aside and repeat steps 4-7 until everything is done. No gravy cause I was lazy, okeh?

The side dishes
Mashed potatoes with cheese
1. Clean your potatoes with water. Place them into a pot of water, add a pinch of salt and boil for about 20 minutes.
2. Peel off the skins, cut into slices. Place them into a container (with large opening) or a bowl.
3. Mash them, you can use a fork or something similar to it for this process.
4. Add a little warm water if you feel that its too dry (you can also use milk, but some may not like the taste).
5. Place a few slices of cheese on top of the mashed potato, put it in the microwave and heat em up. Medium heat 10 - 15 minutes should be enough to melt them.

Mashed potatoes with melted cheese as topping.

Baby carrots
1. Clean the carrots with water and place into pot, then add a pinch of sugar. Boil them for 15 minutes.

And there you have it, a home-cooked meal so simple that even a kitchen noob like me could do it, and the result was edible pretty good. So, if you're free and feel like having some home-cooked food, why not give it a try.

The final outcome.

Please don't hold me responsible should you suffer any traumatizing experience from trying to cook your own meal or from consuming your own cooked meal.

Credits to E.