Mussels Marinara Pasta

Few things to sit back and laugh about.. 

When I first cooked this dish, it was OMG- Epic disaster because I overcooked the mussels leaving it tough and chewy. Somehow 8 min cook time doesn't sound right so I left it in the steamer to happily steam its way to ultimate rockness. 

Secondly, I took alot of photos from different angles but somehow this picture was too hilarious, I had to post it. Notice how the 2 mussels at each end look like "ears" to the pasta and also how widely open they are to resemble " mouths". It almost like saying Come Eat Me NOW! 

Salmon with a Cheesy Spinach topping and Pea Puree

Straying away from the sweeter side of life and moving on to the savoury: 

Another hectic week has passed. This time it was back to the books. My entire week was spent prepping for my French elementary exam. (OK, I may have exaggerated a little) so lets say maybe half the week or 2/7 of the week? 

Anyway on a happier note- I cooked salmon for dinner. Fish is like the best thing to eat for an everyday meal. You see: it is rich in protein, high in Omega 3 fatty acids, good for complexion, healthy, good for the memory and brain and to top it all- I am 100% and 1 in love with it. So if you see me ordering fish ( like 99% of the time that sometimes my friends mistake me for not eating meat) instead of chicken, beef, pork etcc it's not that I don't like meat, it's just that I prefer fish. 

I've watched way too much top chef seasons that one day it just got hold of me and I somehow decided to make a pea puree with something. Something like what?? was the question. How about fish.....

So here's a Pan seared Salmon with Cheesy Spinach and a pea puree underneath all that fat, juicy abundant goodness. 

Ingredients: 

Salmon

One salmon fillet ( Bought one first to test)

pepper and salt( to taste)

1) Heat a pan with olive oil till hot

2) Season fillet with pepper and salt on both sides

3) Sear salmon 2 min on each sides ( mine wasn't too thick but if you're using thicker salmon, maybe can fry 1 min longer)

4) Baked at 160 until cooked ( took me about 10 mins) 

Pea Puree

1 cup peas

2-3 tbsp ( or more) chicken stock

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp oil

salt (to taste)

1) Boil peas till cooked.

2) Put drained peas, chicken stock, garlic, oil and salt into food processor and process until smooth paste

3) Taste and add more salt/ chicken stock if desired

4) I passed the entire mixture through a mesh to get a smoother texture. 

Cheesy Spinach Topping

This was honestly the best part because I just mix everything according to how happy I was at that particular time.... That's the advantage of cooking over baking. You get to add, mix and add, mix. Everything is practically trial and error. Baking on the other hand is precise. You don't try to reduce something because it can severely alter how your final product would turn out. (Ehs, they have a formulae for calculating the proportions of one ingredient to another. They call this the baker's percentage) If you're interested you can go read up more on it. Wayne Gisslen- Professional Baking is a pretty comprehensive book which I would recommend.

-One portion of spinach 

-2 slices cheese ( cheddar and pepperyjack )

Cayenne pepper ( Optional but I added a little of this to give that little spice to the dish- what was lacking in the ordinary cheese.. Alternatively, you could buy those cheese with a little pepper/ spice if you prefer or just ignore that all if you don't like it spicy) 

-1-2 tbsp chicken stock

- 1 tbsp oil

1) Fry spinach with oil. Add chicken stock and let simmer a little till soft. 

2) Add in cheese ( I realise the more cheese you add, the nicer the taste haha so it's really up to you ) 

Layering: 

Pea puree on the bottom, half of the spinach went on top of it, followed by the salmon and then garnished with more spinach. You could serve with mash potatoes or whatever sides you fancy but I was in a hurry that day, so it was a pretty simple dish. 

What I would have done differently the next time: 

Omit the pea puree. It was good but somehow it didn't complement the entire dish. I suspect it was because of the threesome thing. In addition, cheesey spinach took away all the goodness that I was unable to solely enjoy the goodness of the pea puree ;[ 

But nevertheless, the family enjoyed it. ;)) YAYS.

Pizza Revelation

Say goodbye to instant noodles and junk food and waste that calorie on better food. Here comes the Good'Ol pasta and pizza revelation. I always feel that having those 2 in one seating is always a pleasure. I admit I wasn't really a big fan of pizza after those years when I started to lose all my baby fats haha.. Maybe psychological thinking played a part. It could be the case. But fact is, those thick crusted pizzas did not blow me away. Less is more and up till today, I still love those skinny pizzas. I'm in lurvee with them. 

Cooking for the family is always a joy. Though yes, getting hard fried on messing up the kitchen is another story. Here comes the birth of vodka and mushroom penne. Sorry I cheated. The Vodka sauce was imported from the states and surprisingly it managed to withstand the long hauled journey from west to east. It came out in one fine piece.. 

Vodka Penne with mushrooms

Ingredients:

- One bottle of Vodka pasta sauce

- Some white button mushrooms and portobello ( Um yums!. It makes sense now that I talked about mushrooms in my previous post) 

- Onions

-Penne

-chilli padi ( optional)

1)  Cook Penne in a pot of boiling water till al dente. Drain and set aside. Best to wash with cold water to stop the cooking process

2) Prepare the awesome sauce- First fry onions in some olive oil till soft. Toss in the mushrooms. Add the sauce

3) Scoop desired amount of sauce onto penne and sprinkle with your fav herb and black pepper.. Oh yes I forgot.. I added in some chilli padi to the sauce for extra OoHmmpp and to rise up the heat level. 

Forgive the ugly presentation and photos. We were ALL tooo hungry. 

Now comes the fun part. Decorating your own pizza! Decorating pizzas are a form of art. It's a time to get creative and creating that pizza you have been dreaming forever. Home made pizzas are great cuz you get to add in the desired ingredients in any amount that pleases you... It sure is satisfying.. TRUST ME! Ok I cheated again. The crust was pre bought from FHA. We had a ton of crust left from that exhibition and something needed to be done to it. 

First up: We had The classic hawaiian pizza- with a ton of ham and pineapples. 

The tough part about making your own pizza is the crust. Which is a major challenge to some cuz you don't want it too tough, too thick etccc but I skipped this whole step here. But next time, it'd better be the real deal. [ After those pre made crusts are finished ]. 

1) Sprinkle some olive oil onto the crust.

2) Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese 

3) Top with ham and pineapples

4) Finish with more cheese ( I basically covered the whole pizza with cheese). The cheesier the better don't cha agree. We mixed the cheese with cheddar cheese and peppery jack cheese ( for that tinge of kick to it)

5) Bake 15 min ( or until crust turns brown n cheese is melted) 260C.  

Second Pizzza of the day: BBQ Chicken and mushrooms ( I can never leave the mushrooms alone) 

-1 skinless chicken breast about 160g

-1/2 cup bbq sauce ( or more if you wish) 

-some red onion, sliced thinly

- olive oil

- mozzarella cheese

1) Season chicken with salt and coat chicken with  3 tbsps of bbq sauce and marinade 30 min. 

2) Heat oil in pan and cook until meat is tender 

3) cut chicken into small cubes and coat with extra 2 tbsp of bbq sauce. Set aside

4) Drizzle dough with olive oil. Spoon some bbq sauce over the dough and spread evenly. 

5) Add some cheese. Add diced chicken, onions, mushrooms. 

6) Sprinkle more cheese

7) Bake 15min at 260C. 

Third pizza: The one and only famous Salami Pizza. 

Steps are the same as the hawaiian pizza.Just that use salami instead of ham and ignore the pineapples and again a generous doze of cheese. For certain dishes like pizzas, you don't stinge on cheese. Ok from the picture, the salami is rather obscure, you know the reason... Ooopss maybe too much cheese? . Nah 

Last but not least.. Shrimp and red pepper pesto courtesy of Nick from Macheesmo  

Shrimp and Red Pepper Pesto Pizza
This is for one 12-15 inch pizza

- 1/2 pound large (16-20 count) shrimp, peeled, deveined, and halfed
- 1 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flake
- 1/4 medium onion, cut into thin strips
- 1/4 red pepper, seeded and cut into strips
- 2 Cups low-moisture mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil (I left this off because I didn’t have any. It was fine.)
- 2/3 Cup red pepper pesto

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto (Makes about 2 cups)– Clove garlic
- 1 jar (16 ounces) roasted red peppers [ I searched the entire country for roasted red peppers but I couldn't find this damn thing anywhere. Makes me so sad so I just bought my own red peppers and roasted them in the oven. I made sauce outta 2 whole peppers and Gosh it was way too much... One would have been just nice]  
- 3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan
- 1 Tablespoon fresh basil
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flakes

More detailed steps can be found from his site.

Overall verdict. Salami> Pesto with prawns> hawaiian > bbq chic. I really loved the red pepper prawn one cuz at least it tasted different from the usual. However nothing beats salami. Seriously nothing. It was a fun and memorable experience playing with food. YES I said it.. Playing with food... What my frens know me best for. My itchy hands. Middle of the pizza was a little soggy. Guess I was overly adventurous with the sauce. However the sides of the crust were perfect and crispy to the T.  Now, at least I'm more motivated to make my own pizza crust.Right now I'm craving for pepperoni's triple cheese pizza. THe last time we went there. Holy Molly, we ordered the XXXL and it was enough to fill a cow's stomach. 

Anyway,  tune in for more cheezy business! xoxo

Pan Seared Scallops

The week before Chinese New Year while we were out shopping at the supermart, we chanced upon a box of Hokkaido Scallops. They were HUGE and little on the expensive side but mummy bought them with the intention of cooking them for reunion. Scallops = juicy and yummy. I was pretty excited to try the air flown scallops with broccoli that day but they were more than a disappointment to many. It was hard and rubbery. Sort of reminded me of the small dried chinese scallops that were used to make soup stock! Dad said maybe it was the quality of the scallops but ain't Japan seafood suppose to be fresh? It was probably overcooked so I asked mummy how she cooked them.

First she steamed them and then fried them together with the Broccoli. The funny part was when she told me she fried them EVEN longer just to make sure they were cooked thoroughly. 

The internet is a great tool to explore the world of culinary magic. With so many videos, forums and comments by fellow food lovers, it is not hard to master one or two techniques. I've visited a million and one sites on scallops not just to learn the perfect way to cook them but also to admire and drool over those awefully mouthwatering pics. One thing I know for sure, it's NEVER ok to cook them for too long. So how do you get those fine burnt crispy top of the scallops. One of them is searing the scallops till they brown. 2 min on each side. The rest is making sure the pan is hot enough for searing and ensuring that the scallops are DRY before placing them into the pan =]]

I seared a couple of the remaining uncooked scallops. Had to thaw them in the refrigerator and at RT for a couple of min. only to find them in a puddle of water. Drying them on kitchen paper though helped to remove some of the water but it was still on the wetter side. I reckon that frozen ones do give out alot of moisture. Will probably try out with fresh scallops next time and let you guys know the outcome ;)

haha eggs are a very important part of my diet. One of the staples in my life. This time it's cooked with asparagus, lottss of onions, prawns and cheese.

Lastly on the menu : prawns and asparagus with flamin hot sambal blachan sauce.

The End.

Bon appetit

Singapore's signature chilli crabs

What better place to be eating chilli crabs and black pepper crabs- at the comfort of one's home! No noisy crowds, No perspiring. Plus it's affordable (minus the cleaning and preparation). Mummy wanted to cook crab specially before we all started sch so ta da. ONE WEEK before semester starts, mother and daughter were down at work. Daughter on the fried rice and mother on the crabs :))

Introducing Tom Yum Fried Rice:

Wanted something towards the spicy side as well as tom yummy so I just mixed some Tom Yum paste into the fried rice and it works wonders :D When I think of fried rice, BANG! I immediately remember those days at Annenberg where I used to fry rice with tons of chilli ( sauce, chilli flakes) after being severely deprived from chilli from a land of only ketchup and fast food.. One thing I love about fried rice is that it's so simple to whip up cuz you just dump basically everything together and fry. and if it doesn't taste good, just add a helll lot of chill or blachan to make up for the taste :) Eggs good too.

Ingredients ( rice) :

Rice of course (overnight or 2 days old) It needs to be dry!

Onions

Garlic ( I put alottt)

prawn ( de-shelled)

soya sauce and sugar (to taste)

eggs

char siu ( or you can put ham and bacon, which is outrageously yummy as well)

peas and carrots

Tom Yum Pasta

Pork floss (to garnish)

1 egg ( to garnish)

Steps:

1) Fry garlics and onions till little brown then add rice and fry till fragrant ( till you just could eat it plain and on its own). Set aside

2) Then fry prawn, char siu, peas and carrots till just cooked then add rice and fry fry fry again to get the nice reddish colour.

3)Add soya sauce , tom yum paste ( as much as you desire) to taste.

4)Add eggs and to incorporate evertthing together and there you go! A meal settled. Garnish with another fried egg cut into strips and pork floss :P:P:P

5) Pray that your guests will love it

Mummy's pepper crabs and chilli crabs. I can't explain how much I love her crabs. All I can say is that it's TERRIFICCCCC.