Saturday 21 April 2012

The Devil Duck Eggs

NOTE: Duck Eggs not Salted Eggs. LOL! Well, I have to tell this because most people, especially Malay/Malaysian, they always associate duck eggs with salted eggs. Well, not all duck eggs are salted but salted eggs are definitely duck eggs. Hahahaha...

Ingredients:

6 Large size of duck eggs, preferably organic duck eggs
1/2 cup of boiled butter bean, cooled off
5 large slice of defrosted smoked salmon (if you don't have it fresh!)
2 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt & black pepper, to taste
Caviar (I'm using two colors)
Cherry tomatoes, sliced (not too thin)
Flat leaves (Italian) parsley

Methods:

1) Boiled the duck eggs - hard boiled, cooled off, peeled off & halved.
2) Take out the egg yolks and clean dry the yolk-case area.
3) Meanwhile waiting for the duck eggs to completely boiled or cooled off, you may put the butter bean, smoked salon, olive oil and salt & black pepper in a food processor and process all the ingredients until well-blended and smooth.
4) Place the mixture carefully into the cleaned yolk-case. Not too full, just a lil' bit above 3/4 full. 
5) Place 1 slice of sliced cheery tomato above the salmon mixture.
6) Carefully place the caviar (using end of teaspoon or tip of knife) on top of the sliced cherry tomato.
7) Add on the flat leave parsley as a finishing touch.



 

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Prawn Pasta Aglio Olio

Do you like your pasta to be dry and spicy yet tasty? Aglio olio is definitely an option for you. I called aglio olio pasta as "mee goreng barat" (western-style fried noodles). LOL! Seriously, it is not much difference to our local fried noodles just we don't use chili flakes. And for aglio olio, I like it with seafood rather than chicken or beef. So, let's go!


Ingredients:

2 plate of cooked, cooled-off spaghetti
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Olive Oil
4-6 large-size prawn
Chili flakes according to your spiciness-tolerance (LOL!)
Water
4-5 black olives, sliced
4-5 cherry tomato, halved
Salt & black pepper, to taste
Few of fresh basil leaves
1 Large pinch of English parsley, chopped
1 Large pinch of grated parmesan cheese

Methods:

1) In a frying pan, medium heat, saute garlic until it turn light brown.

2) Add chili flakes and prawns together with the garlic, stir fry till cook. Make sure prawns not over cooked! You don't wanna chew a rubber!

3) Add about 2-4 tablespoon of water followed by salt & pepper to taste, chopped English parsley and grated parmesan cheese.

4) Add the cooked, cooled-off spaghetti into the mixture and stir fry till well-mixed.

5) Before served, under low-heat, add fresh basil leaves, sliced black olives and halved cherry tomato and stir fry about 1 minutes.

6) Pour onto serving plate and you may garnish with extra chopped English parsley and parmesan cheese.


Monday 16 April 2012

Black Olives Farfalel in Tomato Basil Sauce

This is another pasta recipe using the home-made tomato basil sauce (recipe provided in previous posts). Very easy. Very simple. You also may add your favorite meat (chicken, beef, crab, prawn, cockles, mussels, etc) & other vegetables to suit your appetite.

Ingredients:

2 plate of cooked farfalel @ bow-tie pasta, cooled (you can use other type of pasta too)
2 clove garlic, chopped (you may use more than 2 if you like the garlic-ish taste & aroma)
Olive oil
1 small handful of sliced black olives or stuffed green olives, your choice
6 tablespoon of tomato basil sauce
Water (if the sauce is too thick for your liking)
1 tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon of chopped English parsley
Salt & black pepper, to taste
Garnishing: chopped English parsley, grated parmesan cheese, basil leaves

Methods:

1) Saute garlic in olive oil until sweat or lightly brown.

Note: At this point, you may add in your favorite seafood or other meat and vegetables. Stir fry till well-cooked.

2) At lower heat, add in the tomato basil sauce and keep stirring. If the tomato basil sauce look too thick, you may add water which I normally do.

3) Add in pinch of salt & black pepper to suit your taste follow by grated parmesan cheese and also chopped parsley. Stir well.

4) Add cooked & cooled farfalel into the pan and stir well at medium high heat.

5) Add the sliced black olives or stuffed green olive. At high heat, stir the pasta and olives until well-mixed for few seconds and then turn off the heat.

6) Place on 2 plates and garnish with chopped English parsley, parmesan cheese & fresh basil leaves.

Friday 13 April 2012

Vegetarian Penne Pesto

Using the home-made basil pesto (recipe provided in previous posts), trust me, you'll get the best pasta pesto ever! Doesn't matter seafood pasta or chicken pasta or vegetarian pasta or just the plain pasta pesto, you'll lovin' it. I'm lovin' it too! Here, I'm sharing with you vegetarian penne pesto.

Ingredients:

2 plate of cooked penne, cooled (you can use other type of pasta too)
2 clove garlic, chopped (you may use more than 2 if you like the garlic-ish taste & aroma)
Olive oil
1 handful of sliced button mushrooms
Other vegetables i.e. capsicum, egg plant, carrot, etc.
3 tablespoon of basil pesto
Water
Salt & black pepper, to taste
Garnishing: chopped English Parsley, grated parmesan cheese, basil leaves

Methods:

1) Saute garlic in olive oil until sweat or lightly brown.

Note: At this point, you may add in your favorite seafood (i.e cockles, mussels, crab meats) or cooked shredded chicken or raw diced chicken. Stir fry till well-cooked.

2) Add in sliced mushrooms and any other vegetables until soft.

3) At lower heat, add in the basil pesto and keep stirring. If the basil pesto look too thick, you may add water which I normally do.

4) Add in pinch of salt & black pepper to suit your taste.

5) Add cooked & cooled penne into the pan and stir well at medium high heat. 

6) Place on 2 plates and garnish with chopped English parsley, parmesan cheese. I like it with lots of parmesan chese! Love it! And fresh basil leaves, too!






Thursday 12 April 2012

Stove-baked Orange Sponge Cake

No oven? No problem! No parchment paper? No problem! No vanilla pod? No problem! No eggs? Yes problem... Hahahaha! Now I gonna share with you my mom's recipe of very simple orange sponge cake. I like so much when it still a lil' bit warm and eat it with a large scope of vanilla ice cream. Yummeh!!!


Ingredients:

5 eggs (med size)
1 cup of white sugar
3/4 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cup of flour
1 tablespoon of vanilla essence
1 tablespoon of orange flavored essence
1 orange, zest

Methods:

1) Dust the cake-pan with flour and heat it on the stove. You may grease the cake-pan with butter.

2) Using electric hand-mixer, beat the eggs until it light and fluffy.

3) In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until the mixture turning pale in color.

4) Add in orange zest, vanilla essence & orange-flavored essence.

5) Pour the eggs into the mixture and flour gradually. Using hand whisker, whisk slowly. Or fold.

6) Pour the cake mixture into the heated cake-pan and put it on the stove at low heat for about 45 minutes. You may check using skewer stick, too.

Done. How about that? Easy eh? Try it!





Tuesday 10 April 2012

Constructive Tomato Sauce

Nope. Not ketchup. This is a tomato sauce to be serves with pasta, as a pizza base, and many others. I don't like to buy a ready-to-use or ready-to-eat either in a bottle or can or packet because the taste is just not like something that I want. Plus, you can keep this tomato sauce up to 2 weeks if you keep in a chiller at a temperature of 1-5celcius or up to a month or two if you keep it in the freezer.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
5-7 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 large size red or yellow onion, diced
4 stalks of fresh rosemary
1handful of fresh basil leaves
1 can of 3kg tomato pulp pelati (I'm using San Paolina brand)
1 liter of water
2 teaspoon of Tabascco or birds chilli juice if you like it spicy - this is totally optional
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
White Pepper, to taste
Honey, to taste

Methods:

1) In a large stockpot, heat up the olive oil and saute garlic & onion until light brown. Add in 2 stalks of rosemary till you can smell the beautiful fragrance.

2) Pour in the tomato pulp pelati with 1 liter of water. Cook well under medium heat. Keep on stirring frequently so the bottom part will not burned. Let it simmer and then cool it off about 1-2 hours.

3) In a food processor, blend the cooled cooked tomato sauce 1 or 2 cups at a time, to the texture you desire. I preferred it a little bit coarse so I'd taste the tomato chunks. Place it in a new stockpot.

4) Under low heat, add in salt, black pepper, white pepper and honey to taste. Please add all the seasoning gradually, we don't want the sauce to be too salty or too spicy or too sweet.

4a) At this point you might probably want your sauce to be spicy, so you may add tabasco or birds chilli juice.

5) When it almost boil, add in the balance of the (2) rosemary and basil leaves. Switch off the heat and let it cool off completely before you keep it for future use. You may use it immediately, too!


Traditional Basil Pesto

Basil Pesto is commonly used on pasta, traditionally with Mandilli de Sæa, trofie or trenette. Potatoes and little green beans are also traditionally added to the dish, boiled in the same pot in which the pasta has been cooked. Pesto is sometimes served on sliced beef tomatoes and sliced boiled potatoes.


Ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnut, toasted
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 clove garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Methods:

1) In a food processor - blend basil leaves, garlic, nuts and cheese.

2) Gradually, slowly pour in olive oil whilst the mixture being process.

3) Add in salt & pepper to taste.

Done ;-)