Prawns, Tomato and Fresh Basil Pasta

Weeee!!! Prawns. Get the biggest size that can fit your budget! It's like eating a big gem when not overcooked. The crunch just makes you smile! It's my favorite meat on pasta. So i cooked a 7 hour brisket and of course a prawn dish to make me even happier! Beef for Steve, Prawns for me! But since it was so good, Steve ate a good number of prawn pieces too! hahah! <3

Ingredients:
12 pcs.   Large Prawns
4 tbsp    Olive oil
1 tbsp    Garlic (minced)
1 can (14 oz)    Diced tomatoes in Juice
36 pcs    Cherry Tomatoes (cut into halves)
1 cup     Grated Mozarella
200 grams Linguine
1 1/2 cup  fresh basil (cut into small pieces)
Rock Salt and Ground Pepper

Procedure:
1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente.  Drain and retain the pasta in the pot. Set aside. (Do remember to put in some salt and oil into the water before putting in the pasta)
2. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper.
3. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over high heat. Saute the garlic until just brown. Add the shrimp until opaque on all sides, about 3 minutes (make sure not to overcook). Remove the shrimp into a plate or bowl. Set aside. (retain the oil and the garlic in the pan.)
4. To make the sauce: To the same skillet, add the diced tomatoes with its juice. Add the mozarella and 2 cups water and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat and simmer until the tomatoes have softened. This will take about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
6. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the cherry tomatoes, basil and prawns.
7. Pour the sauce into the pasta and toss. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Garnish with basil on top and Serve!

Yummy!!! <3

7 hour Tomato Brisket

Oh! Lovely Sunday. Cooking my second meal since i got married (which has been a month now --- time flies by so fast). Waking up on a sunday to roast my 7 hour tomato brisket was amazingly easy. I guess it's just plain excitement that woke me up at 5 am to get ready for lunch! :)

Ingredients:

2 kilos  Beef Brisket (all fats removed) or Kenchi (I'd recommend this if it's available)
24 oz   Hunts Tomato Ketchup
2 pcs   White Onion (minced)
1/2 cup Fresh parsley leaves
2 tsps   Onion Powder
2 tsps   Turmeric Powder
2 tsp     Rock Salt
6 tsp    White Sugar
1/2 tsp  Ground Pepper
1 cup    Water

Procedure
1. Preheat over to 275 degrees fahrenheit
2. Place the brisket or kenchi in an oven safe pan (make sure it has good allowance for possible overflow of sauce)
3. Combine the white onion, parsley, onion powder, turmeric powder rock salt, white sugar, ground pepper in a bowl. Mix well together with the ketchup and 1 cup water until well combined.
4. Pour the sauce all over the brisket and turn upside down to coat the other side.
5. Cover with foil and roast in the oven for 7 hours.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and test the meat to make sure it is fork tender.
7. Slice the brisket into thin strips and put it in a pan. Make sure to slice it against the grain.
8. Get some of the sauce from the dish just enough to cover the meat on the pan.
9. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
10. Line the meat in serving plate, pour in some sauce and garnish with Parsley and Serve Hot & Tender!

Weee... so happy Steve loved the dish. I just think the dish would be perfect with kenchi. No fat and would be so nice to roast and i can just imagine the tenderness of the meat i could have achieved. Perfect with the tangy tomato sauce ... which i think can be a pasta sauce already! :)

Serves 12

Stewed Chicken and Shiitake Mushrooms with Fresh Tomatoes

Simple joys of home cooking ♥ After months of pondering when will be next time i'll be able to cook again. Here it is. The first recipe i cooked from my bunch of cookbooks which  i decided to bring with me when i got married. They were the best stuffs i brought with me ;)

Ingredients:

1.3 kg     Whole chicken, chopped into small pieces (i.e. one leg can be cut into 2 pieces)
1    pc     red onion, sliced
10 pcs    shiitake mushrooms, cut into halves
4 pcs       fresh tomatoes, cut into quarters
3/4 cups green peas
1/2 cup   flour

1/2 tsp   salt
Pinch of pepper

2 tbsp     del monte tomato paste
1 tbsp     rice wine
3 tsp       light soy sauce
3 cups    water
1 tsp       salt
1/2 tsp   sugar

Procedure
1. Mix chicken pieces with 1/2 tsp salt and pinch of pepper. Set aside for 5 minutes. Coat with 1/2 cup of flour.
2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil or any cooking oil and fry chicken until browned. Remove. Add onion and mushrooms into the pan and stir fry until fragrant. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and stir evenly.
3. Add wine, soy sauce, and water, bring to a boil. Add chicken and season with salt and sugar.
4. Simmer for 45 minutes. Add green peas and cook for awhile.
5. Adjust seasoning and serve hot with rice.

Enjoy your dinner as we enjoy ours ;)

Strawberry & Onion Marmalade Beef Tapas

Wow! Just got a little bored at home, opened the freezer and the ref and found a new treasure dish. I had a bottle of Onion Balsamic Marmalade by Whisk (which i got as a treat from my friend Cheryl) , Strawberry Jam and freshly bought beef cuts!

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo  Beef Sirloin, thinly sliced
5 tbsp    Onion Balsamic Marmalade by Whisk
5 tbsp    Strawberry Jam
2 Tbsp   Sesame Oil
3 Tbsp   Olive Oil
Procedure:
1. In a bowl, mix together the beef sirloin, onion balsamic marmalade, strawberry jam and sesame oil. Marinate for atleast 12 hours.
2. In a pan, place 2 cups of water to boil.
3. Add the marinated beef and let the water evaporate in medium-high heat.
4, When the water has completely evaporated, add 3 Tbsp of olive oil and pan-fry the tapa until done.
5. To Serve: Rice + Fried Eggs (cooked to your liking) + Strawberry & Onion Marmalade Beef Tapas!

Just perfect for that craving tooth - something meaty and sweet! Sweet and Simple! Enjoy! :)

Vanilla Cheesecake

I love Williams-Sonoma Cookbooks! I've done several of their recipes and they turn out to be real fine dishes. As requested by our house mate, she wants DESSERTS. I'm really not a fan of baking since it requires a lot of mixing and chances of success in letting the dough rise is quite a challenge for newbies, but YES! I say YES to trying to bake a simple dessert, Cheesecake inspired by The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: The Essential Recipe Collection for Today's Home Cook! Lovely and Yummy! Pure Cream Cheese, Wow! Ingredients really makes a lot of difference. Find and use the best ingredients and you're on your way to success! :) Enjoy this One!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup  Graham Crackers
1 1/4 cup  Sugar plus 3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp      Cinnamon
1/4 cup     Unsalted Butter
1 kg          Cream Cheese, at room temperature
2 tbsp       All-Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp      Salt
1/2 cup     Sour Cream
1 tbsp       Vanilla Extract
3 pcs         Large Eggs

Procedure:
1. Pound the Graham crackers to crumbs. (you can put it in a plastic and pound it with anything solid until it turns into smooth crumbs)
2. Preheat the oven to 400F (200 C). Lightly grease a 10 inch cheesecake / springform pan. In a bowl, mix together the graham cracker, 3 tbsp sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter.
3. Stir until the mixture until the crumbs are evenly moist.
4. Pour into the sprinform pan and press evenly unto the bottom and to the sides of the pan.
5. Bake the crust until lightly golden for about 10 mins. Let cool on a rack and reduce the oven temperature to 300F (150C)
6. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, flour and salt until smooth.
7. Add the sugar, sour cream and vanilla and continue to mix until well blended and add the eggs one at a time.
8. Pour into the crust.
9. Bake the cheesecake for about 70 mins until the edges are slightly puffed but the center still jiggles when shaken. Let cool in a rack at room temperature and refrigerate overnight or until chilled.
10. To serve, unclasp and remove the pan sides then run along a thin spatula between the pan bottom and the crust and carefully slide the cake to a serving plate. Slice and Serve!!! :)

Procedure with Photos:
1. Pound the Graham crackers to crumbs. (you can put it in a plastic and pound it with anything solid until it turns into smooth crumbs)

2. Preheat the oven to 400F (200 C). Lightly grease a 10 inch cheesecake / springform pan. In a bowl, mix together the graham cracker, 3 tbsp sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter.

3. Stir until the mixture until the crumbs are evenly moist.

4. Pour into the springform pan and press evenly unto the bottom and to the sides of the pan.

5. Bake the crust until lightly golden for about 10 mins. Let cool on a rack and reduce the oven temperature to 300F (150C)
6. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, flour and salt until smooth.
 7. Add the sugar, sour cream and vanilla and continue to mix until well blended and add the eggs one at a time.

 

8. Pour into the crust.

9. Bake the cheesecake for about 70 mins until the edges are slightly puffed but the center still jiggles when shaken. Let cool in a rack at room temperature and refrigerate overnight or until chilled.

10. To serve, unclasp and remove the pan sides then run along a thin spatula between the pan bottom and the crust and carefully slide the cake to a serving plate. Slice and Serve!!! :)

What do you think of these photos? :)

 

 

Pesco Basil Pasta

Whoopsieee! I have a lunch meeting in a bit and I want to prepare something healthy on my own but I still have work to finish... So think think. Make use of my fresh ingredients available here in the kitchen that's quick and easy to prepare and voila! Here goes our Pesco Basil Pasta!

Ingredients

150 grams         Tagliatelle or Fettucine

250 grams         Dory fish fillet (diced into ¾ x ¾ inch)

250 ml               Tomato Basil Sauce (Cirio) – available in Santis Delicatessen

2 tbsp                Olive oil

1 tbsp                Garlic (minced)

2 tbsp                Basil Leaves (chiffonade)

1/2 tbsp             Cream cheese (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan (to Garnish)

Procedure

1.       Boil water and put salt and oil. Throw in Pasta for 10-12 minutes or until al dente.

2.       In a pan, sauté garlic in olive oil.

3.       Sauté fish fillet very quickly and place in the tomato basil sauce.

4.       Put in  basil leaves and cream cheese

5.       Season with salt and pepper

6.       Potion the pasta into individual plate and top with sauce and garnish with parmesan!

7.       Voila! Quick ‘n Nice Fresh Pasta to Serve and Enjoy! 

Serves 2-3

Tips:

Check out this site to learn how to do the basil leaves’ ‘chiffonade’:  

http://veganyumyum.com/2007/01/how-to-chiffonade-basil/

Baked Soju Basil Chicken

Happy Valor Day! Spending the day with the family at home with just a few options on the freezer to cook since we'll only do market day by tomorrow. So, i've got a whole chicken and was wondering what i can do with it. Thought of doing a home-made baked chicken and browsed through some option from my cook book. I got to a chinese recipe but the recipe needed white wine and green onions... but I dont have them on the shelf! Luckily, I have soju - which might give me a new flavor! and I can make some use of all the basil plants we have here so i got some basil leaves (really fresh - straight from the plant box). If you want to grow your own basil leaves, I just asked my first root of basil from the market - the market guy happily gave me some basil roots when I asked and now I have lots of them here at home! Maybe I can share you some also! So, here's to our BAKED SOJU BASIL CHICKEN! Cheers! ... a perfect dish to celebrate valor day!

Ingredients

1 pc          whole chicken (1.2 - 1.5 kilos)

Seasonings:
3 tbsp      fresh basil leaves (chopped)
3 slices     ginger (minced)
2 tbsp      soju (korean distilled beverage)
1 tbsp      salt
1 tbsp      black peppercons
1 tbsp      olive oil

Procedure:
1.) Clean chicken thoroughly, rinse several times and then wipe/pat it dry. Pierce the thick part of chicken with a fork, such as legs and breast.
2.) Mix together the seasoning (chopped fresh basil leaves, minced ginger, soju, salt, black peppercorns and olive oil)
3.) Rub the seasoning all over the chicken and marinate for 6 hours. Stuff the seasoning into the belly cavity.
4.) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius, place chicken on a tray and cover with foil. Put to oven and bake for 30 mins, then turn the chicken over and bake for another 30 mins. Increase the temperature to 250 degrees celsius and place the chicken with breast side up brushed with some olive oil to color the chicken) and bake for another 15-20 minutes.
5.) Garnish with some fresh basil leaves and Serve!

Cheers and Enjoy! :)


Procedure w/ Photos:

1.) Clean chicken thoroughly, rinse several times and then wipe/pat it dry. Pierce the thick part of chicken with a fork, such as legs and breast.

2.) Mix together the seasoning (chopped fresh basil leaves, minced ginger, soju, salt, black peppercorns and olive oil)

3.) Rub the seasoning all over the chicken and marinate for 6 hours. Stuff the seasoning into the belly cavity.

4.) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius, place chicken on a tray and cover with foil. Put to oven and bake for 30 mins, then turn the chicken over and bake for another 30 mins. Increase the temperature to 250 degrees celsius and place the chicken with breast side up brushed with some olive oil to color the chicken) and bake for another 15-20 minutes.

5.) Garnish with some fresh basil leaves and Serve!

You can opt to drink the rest of your soju bottle with this now!

Cheers and Enjoy! :)