Experimenting: Chocolate Pasta with Vanilla Sauce

I have some egg yolk leftover from making meringue. I was in dilemma as I didn't know what to do with them. I couldn't simply throw them away, could I?

So I decided to do a bit of experiment - Chocolate Pasta with Vanilla Sauce. It sounded delicious and they would be perfect with strawberries I had.

I measured 100g of flour, used 2 egg yolk and 50g of melted chocolate and combined them together until they became a dough (I knead them with hands). Then, I rolled them and cut them into strips. Next, I boiled the pasta for 5 minutes and let it cool. And ta-dah! They became chocolate pasta (or is it pasta chocolate? Pasta au chocolat sounds great too!). Served them with cold vanilla sauce and preferred fruits.

They would taste good if I rolled the pasta a bit more thinly... or perhaps boiled them for a bit more longer? It was a nice experimenting, though...

What would you do with leftover egg yolk?

Chicken Stew with Pasta

I made this chicken stew during my cousin's visit. I figured that my cousin's kids would love chicken stew with pasta and lots of cheese... And I'm a fan of dishes with cheeses myself. This dish is very easy to prepare and time saving. I love that ooey gooey, hot melting cheese on top of the chicken stew & pasta.

Chicken Stew with Pasta

1/2 chicken - cut into desired size

40g tomato puree

2 tbsp fresh grounded black pepper

1 inch fresh ginger

1 can tomato soup

1 medium onion - cut into wedges

1 medium carrot - cut into desired size

baby corn

2 medium tomato - cut into wedges

salt to taste

4 cups pasta - boiled, tossed

1/2 cup grated mozzarella

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/2 cup grated cheddar

1. Marinade chicken with tomato puree, black pepper and fresh ginger for 30 minutes.

2. Add in chicken into a soup pot over medium heat. Wait until the juice from chicken came out a little bit.

3. Add in tomato soup and cook for 15 minutes. Add in onion, carrot and baby corn.

4. When the stew is almost cooked, add in the tomatoes. Salt to taste.

5. To serve, add in pasta with stew. Then, sprinkle mozzarella, parmesan, and cheddar generously. Best served hot.

Clam anyone?

My mom bought some clam the other day, and I decided to cook them with spaghetti and a little bit of fresh chilies (I have never cook with clams!!). It looks a little bland, but I didn't mind because fresh clam taste amazing!

What would you cook if you had some clam? Please share with me your recipes or idea so that I know what would I cook the next time I have some clam with me :)

Grilled Sardine with Orange & Pasta Salad

I'm no expert on fish. To tell the truth, I rarely had any chance to clean any fish. In my memory, there were only once where I had to clean a fish which was during my basic western class (though, I did this with a friend). In fact, if they asked me to clean any fish during my final exam in Culinary study, I would fail miserably. I probably wouldn't be able to have my diploma, or my degree. It's not that I didn't know how to do it. It was just that, I never had much opportunity to do it (or, I seemed to be avoiding them).

I made this Grilled Sardine as part of a challenge for myself to clean a fish. The combination of sardine & orange is really refreshing.

Grilled Sardine with Orange & Pasta Salad (inspired from BBC Good Food)

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp orange zest

4 fresh sardine fillets

2 oranges

2 tsp orange juice

2 cups boiled Rotini Pasta (spiral)

1 cup spinach - washed, tossed

1/2 cup coriander leaves

1 shallot, thinly sliced

salt & pepper

1. Lightly slash the skin of sardine and marinade fillets with ground black pepper, orange zest and salt. Keep refrigerated for an hour.

2. Heat the grill.

3. Segment the orange. Peel away any white pith.

4. Grill sardine, skin side up until crisp and cooked through in about 5 minutes.

5. Toss in cooked rotini pasta with orange juice, segmented orange, shallot, coriander leaves and spinach.

6. Divide pasta between 2 plates, and top pasta with grilled sardines.

7. Ready to serve.

Eating Out: Capricciosa

Howdy~ I went to Capricciosa, Subang Parade (they had two other outlets: Pavillion, KL and Sunway Pyramid) to celebrate my and Tubbies' birthday a few weeks ago. And Aimi suggested us to visit Capricciosa in Subang Parade. Tubbies likes Pasta, and I didn't mind trying out a new restaurant. Plus, Capricciosa been spreading lots of mouth-watering pictures in their website!

The crowd was really good! We were greeted by a really friendly waitress as we stepped up at the entrance while studying their menus. They're promoted their fresh hand made pasta as one of their specialty and my friends decided to try them. You could see them preparing the pasta from the kitchen window too.

We had Capricciosa Pizza. Their specialty pizza, I guess (as the pizza had the same name as the restaurant). The crust was really good! Soft, and a bit crunchy on the edge. It was topped with beef bacon, beef papperoni, mushroom and bell papers. 

I decided to try their seafood risotto (I've never had any risotto before). It's made of tuna, calamari and mussels in tomato sauce. I have to say that it was a bit disappointing. It doesn't look appetizing, and the taste was bland. I think it's missing something.

Tubbies opt for fresh pasta: Fettuccine with Clams and Mussels. 

And Aimi had fresh pasta: Fettuccine with Salmon in Tomato Sauce.

I'm not sure about their pasta. It's a bit tough for my liking. Although Tubbies and Aimi ordered for different pasta, I couldn't help but to think that they both taste quite similar. How do I say this... Well, they both taste like parsley. Maybe they sprinkled too much chopped parsley on top? Their pasta taste a bit bland too. It would taste better with more seasoning, perhaps?

I tried their Italian Soda - Cranberry Breeze. It's made of cranberry syrup, lime juice and sprite. Not bad.

Aimi had their Italian Soda - Tropical Breeze. It's made of Creme de banana, pineapple, and coconut syrup with sprite.

Overall, I've got to say that I really like their Pizza crust. They're really delicious! I definitely going to order their pizza on my next visit. I'm not sure about the other food that we ordered though... Maybe I should try something else...

*Opinions based on author's personal taste and experiences.

More info:

Website

Aimi's Review - more review and pictures!

Creamy Kimchi Pasta

Some people went out looking for food when they're hungry. Most of the time, I would cook instead of going out to look for something to eat - and pasta is one of the dishes I love to make when I'm hungry. It's simple, easy and I could add anything into my pasta. I have a container of kimchi in my refrigerator, and I was thinking of making creamy kimchi pasta just for fun.

Creamy Kimchi Pasta

120g spaghetti

1/4 cup kimchi

50g cuttlefish

1tbsp gochujang

1/4 cup warm milk

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 small onion, chopped

oil

1 scallion

1. Boil the pasta as according to package instruction

2. Squeeze your kimchi until the juice came out. Then, chop them coarsely.

3. Heat oil in pan with medium heat. Saute onion until soften. Add in garlic and kimchi and saute until fragrant. Then, toss in cuttlefish.

4. Add in gochujang and warm milk and and stir until combined.

5. Serve immediately and garnish with scallion

Tips: When making kimchi pasta, you don't need to add in any salt because kimchi is already salty. But, you can add in some salt if you like your pasta saltier.

Pasta Primavera

This magazine cover was my final project for my food photography class. Edited with Picasa and Picnik :)

My brother asked me for some vegetarian recipes. He was disappointed when I updated with my Pan Fried Chicken recipes. I haven't got any pictures of any vegetarian dishes in stock, except this. I made this pasta during my food photography class. Pasta Primavera - it's a perfect dish for summer, don't you think? I've never attempt to make this at home - my little sister doesn't like vegetable, remember?

Pasta Primavera

1 carrot, peeled, and cut into strips

1 medium zucchini, sliced

1 onion, sliced

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (I like them charred)

250g  Pasta

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp Italian herbs

2 cloves garlic - minced

Oil

Salt and pepper

Grated parmesan, optional

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in your pasta and cook until they were al dante (cooked, but firm).

2. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Saute minced garlic first. Add the vegetables, stir to coat with oil. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring only occasionally, until vegetables are just cooked. 

3. Add some Italian herbs. Pour in tomato sauce and let it cook.

4. Once the pasta is ready drain the pasta and put it directly into the skillet with the vegetables. Adjust seasoning. Add more sauce if needed. Gently mix in the cherry tomatoes.

5. Serve with some freshly grated Parmesan, if you like.

Spaghetti Olio with Enoki Mushroom

I bought a few packets of Enoki mushrooms with absolutely no idea on how to cook them. I browsed on the net, and most of them said Enoki Mushroom would be great eaten raw. There are many recipes of Enoki being used in salads. There are some recipes where the mushroom was added a few second before the fire was turned off. So, I decided to try cooking the mushroom with spaghetti. 

I added in some dried chillies for spiciness, topped them with stripped seaweed, and sprinkled some generous amounts of Parmesan just before serving. Looking at the final product, I can't really differentiate the spaghetti and the mushrooms! I'm still looking for more recipes with Enoki. If you have some great idea on how to use them, please do not hesitate to share them with me :)

Baked Chicken and Basil Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce: trying to get my kid sister to eat her vegetable

I found this cute little pot of sweet basil on sale. I've been meaning to buy myself some herbs for my kitchen (okay, it was my mum's kitchen).

A few nights later, my mother asked me to make some spaghetti for dinner. And I think, this might be a great chance to use my herbs. So I make some Chicken and Basil Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce.

My kid sister loves cheese. And I love making her eat vegetables. So I add some sliced tomatoes, and sprinkle more basil on top.

Then, I sprinkle some Mozzarella and Parmesan on top, and bake them till they're golden. With the cheese sticking on to the tomatoes, it was hard for my sister to split those two. In the end, she had to eat those tomatoes (and managed to split some of them).

Fun Cutters!

I was feeling playful. So I took some carrots, and cut them into butterfly and love shape using the garden set bento cutters. Then, I sprinkled them on top of the Creamy Tomato Macaroni. Aren't they cute?

Baked Macaroni with Spinach Sauce: Trying to teach my kid sister to eat her vegetable

Baked Macaroni with Spinach Sauce

My mother was saying that I have always made the same pasta sauce. So, she bought me a book of 75 classic pasta sauce. While browsing through the book, I've found a recipe of Spinach Sauce! I thought that it would be a great dish to make my kid sister eat her vegetables again.

I boiled the macaroni, saute them with some garlic and chicken fillet, and pour them into the heatproof serving dish. Then, I pour over the sauce. The sauce is made of soft cheese (I used plain cream cheese),  milk and spinach.

To cover the spinach, I sprinkle some mozzarella and a little bit of parmesan. Then, I shove them into the oven over 180° C for 15 to 20 minutes.

The final product... absolutely no trace of the greens! My kid sister finished them all, and left none for me （￣へ￣）. But I guess, it's a good thing!

Eating Out: Mr. Tom Yam

 Mr. Tom Yam Fire Pot for 2 pax (RM 19.90++)

I have always been a fan of Tom Yam. They're (almost) everywhere in Malaysia. But, finding a good Tom Yam restaurant is not that easy. So, the last time my friends and I went to Sunway Giza and spotted Mr. Tom Yam, we decided to give it a try. Seeing that the restaurant been using Tom Yam as the restaurant name, we thought that the restaurant might serve one of the best Tom Yam in the city.

Sprite with Lime (RM 5.00++)

Oh, boy... we were wrong! The Tom Yam soup is not to what we've been expected. I think that the soup is not that spicy. (That's funny, as many bloggers been saying that their dishes are spicy. My spiciness level must be a bit too high, huh?) Slurping the soup straight from the pot is a bit upsetting as the soup is a little bit too salty. But once the soup is eaten with the fragrant steamed rice, it's alright.

Spicy Spaghetti with Seafood (RM 15.00++)

My friend ordered this Spicy Spaghetti with Seafood. Once delivered, we were wondering whether it is spaghetti or noodle. I mean, it sure did looked like stir fried noodle. My friend was so convinced that they used noodle until I took a bite and confirmed that they did used spaghetti. (￣▽￣)

Cute serviette!

*Sorry for that low quality image, and any grammar mistakes.
** Opinions based on author's personal taste and experiences.

Mr. Tom Yam

Sunway Giza, Block D,

G08&G09, No.2, Jalan PJU 5/14,

Kota Damansara

47820, P.J

Pork Free

Pasta Carbonara: Trying to teach my kid sister to eat her vegetable

My kid sister hates vegetables. In fact, the only vegetable she would eat is mushroom. So, the last time I made Pasta Carbonara for a friend, I was a bit surprised when my mother told me that she ate the carrots too (I usually put away some for my family). It must be the Parmesan!

Well, you see, when I was preparing the sauce, I noticed that the taste of the sausage is overpowering the Carbonara. I didn't like it. So, I put in a lot of Parmesan Cheese to cover the taste of sausage. It worked! Now, my kid sister is able to eat those carrots as the taste of those carrots has disappeared because of the Parmesan. (I'm not sure if that's a good thing, though...)

This time, I wanted to try and make her eat some of the broccoli, and put them in into the Pasta. It didn't work though... She removed the broccoli, and I had to finish them up for her. Oh well, I'll try to find some recipe where she would eat those vegetables... (I don't get it... Why do kids these days hates vegetables?)

Any recommended recipe, anyone?