A bit of Magic in Your Cooking, with Chef Michael Elfwing of Senses

Last weekend I was invited to a cooking class held by Panasonic Cooking Magic with Chef Michael Elfwing of Senses, KL Hilton. The session was joined by 5 winners from the Panasonic Cooking Magic Workshop Facebook Contest, and we were promised an evening of showcase and good food.

Chef Elfwing – Panasonic Cooking Magic Ambassador

Chef Michael Elfwing is the Chef de Cuisine of Senses restaurant for the last 8 years and  contributed to the restaurant winning the prestigious 5-Star Diamond Awards as one of the Best Restaurants in the World and also the Hospitality Asia Award for Best Western Cuisine.

He is the Panasonic Cooking Magic ambassador, and Panasonic is also the main sponsors of MasterChef Malaysia.

Pineapple and Basil Bubbly – with Panasonic Juicer and Blender

First recipe of the evening was a simple Pineapple and Basil Bubbly.

Using Panasonic Blender & Juicer, extra the juice out of a fresh pineapple. Next, add 6-8 leaves of basil, 500 ml of ice cubes, 1/2 table spoon black pepper, and 300 ml sparkling water in the blender to mix it all up. And there you go, refreshing welcome drinks for half a dozen guests.

Sweet Corn & Basil Soup – using Panasonic Blender and Induction Cooker

First hot dish to be prepared was the Sweet Corn & Basil Soup. The ingredients are as follow (for 6 servings):

• 8 pc fresh sweet corn
• 2 pieces leek, stem sliced into 5mm thick slices
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 gloves garlic, chopped
• 30 gram basil
• 2 liter chicken stock
• 50 ml olive oil
• sea salt & white pepper

Ratatouille with Panasonic Microwave Oven, Steamer, and Pressure Cooker

The main dish was Ratatouille (just like the movie, I should try the recipe one of these days and then share it here) with a steamed French seabass on top.

This is a slightly more complicated recipe but can be prepared in just about half an hour or so with the help of Panasonic Microwave Oven and Pressure Cooker. The result was a beautiful dish that tasted as good as it looked. I enjoyed this very much.

The microwave oven – NN-SV30, is really impressive. You can use it  as a microwave, to grill, bake, and even steam. Who wants a dedicated oven that does nothing but baking?

Valrhona Guanaja Chocolate Fantasy – Panasonic Microwave Oven NN-SV30

For dessert, chef Michael prepared Valrhona Guanaja Chocolate Fantasy with Passion Fruit Parfait. The chocolate fantasy is made like a pudding and can be frozen uncooked and only defrosted and baked when needed. Check out the melted chocolate core, isn’t it enticing?

Chef Michael got extra help in making ice cream

Another recipe from Chef Michael that I want to share here is the Passion Fruit Parfait. Up till now I didn’t know that you could actually make this at home with nothing but a hand mixer and refrigerator.

Ingredients (for 12 portions):

• 6 egg yolks
• 100 gram sugar
• 400 gram whipping cream
• 6 egg whites
• 100 gram fresh passion fruit pulp (you can use other fruits if different taste is desired)

Method:

• Whip the cream to soft peaks using hand blender
• Whisk the egg yolks and 50g sugar until white using a hand blender, add passion fruit pulp to the egg mix
• Whisk the egg whites with 50g sugar until stiff peaks using a hand blender
• Fold the cream into egg yolk mix, and fold in the egg white last
• Pour in a mould and freeze overnight

Valrhona Guanaja Chocolate Fantasy

The parfait is best eaten within a few days since no artificial ingredients or preservatives is used, and they sure tasted delightful especially with the chocolate fantasy. Home made ice cream with melt in your mouth chocolate pudding sounds good to you?

KY with some of the stars of the show, chef Michael Elfwing and Panasonic kitchen appliances

After the cooking demonstration, we were treated dinner with the above dishes. It was a wonderful night and one that actually made me think about upgrading to the Panasonic Microwave Oven or maybe the Panasonic electric Pressure Cooker.

I do cook on a semi-regular basis and can really see the benefit of having good quality and safe to operate kitchen appliances. For example, my old school gas powered pressure cooker always have the risk of blowing up, but you can use this Panasonic unit in a set-and-forget way, and it even doubles as a slow cooker as well.

Overall it was a lovely evening. We not only got to have a great dinner, but I took home a few recipes to try as well, thank you Panasonic & Chef Michael!