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What can I say, Fabio is quite a character! He was one of my favourite contestants in Top Chef and I think his Italian cooking series, Chow Ciao is a fun watch.
Fabio's interesting Drunken Red Spaghetti is definitely something I would love to try making (to make it kosher, subsitute pancetta with beef bacon).
Humour + excellent cooking skills = Fabio! Enjoy.
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I finally got around to organising my cookbook bookshelf. Now that they are all in order, I realise I don’t have enough. But, I can start with going through my recipe database and planning my next dinner for two!
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This is the easiest way to make juicy and tender chicken and because of that, I make it often. Usually with a lot of broccoli and potatoes. This time, however, I left out the potatoes. just carrots, bell pepper, spinach and broccoli (of course!). And this time, I wanted to have it with stuffing. My guest did not like the stuffing, but I did. It was a nice complement to the tasty, juicy chicken. Having this meal with a glass of red wine gives it the perfect finish. 1 package McCormick® Bag 'n Season® Chicken 2 1/2 pounds chicken parts 4 cups cut-up fresh vegetables 1 Preheat oven to 176°C. Arrange opened Cooking Bag in 13x9-inch baking pan or dish. Sprinkle Seasoning Mix evenly over chicken. 2 Place chicken in single layer in Bag. Add vegetables. Sprinkle any remaining seasoning over chicken and vegetables. Close Bag loosely with nylon tie. Cut 4 small holes in top of Bag to allow steam to escape. 3 Bake in lower half of oven 1 hour. Remove from oven. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut open Bag. Serve chicken and vegetables with pan juices. Serve with stuffing of your choice.
Michael learned this recipe from his Italian friend’s grandmother back when he was living in Australia... so, you know it is authentic cooking. He first made it for me years ago and only started to resume cooking it recently.
The last time he made the Bolognese was for my sister’s birthday bash and being the organiser of the party, I didn’t have the chance to taste it – partly because the pot was cleaned within the hour! The kids were having it as a dip with nachos. Tonight, we got to relive that experience. It is really an amazing dish!
I first became obsessed with making Pineapple Upside-Down Cake after watching an episode of Desperate Housewives. The cake Bree helped Garbrielle to make looked so, so tempting. But, of course, with work and all, I never found the time to try... that is until today.
But, as soon as I put the batter onto the pan, I had a feeling it was going to be horrible (no surprises there)... Then, 15 minutes into baking, the smell of caramalised pineapple was wafting delightfully through my 979 sq.ft. apartment and I thought, maybe it wouldn’t turn out so bad. Well, it turned out great! I give myself a pat on the back... and best of all, Michael said it was the best-ever dessert I have ever made!
¼ cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
9 slices pineapple in juice (from 14-oz can), drained
9 maraschino cherries without stems, if desired
1 1/3 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
1 egg
1 Heat oven to 177°C. In 9-inch square pan, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter. Arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar. Place cherry in centre of each pineapple slice.
2 In medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.
3 Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake a few minutes so brown sugar mixture can drizzle over cake; remove pan. Serve warm. Store cake loosely covered.
Making beef stew in slow cooker transforms chewy cuts of meat into melting tenderness... making beef stew using McCormick Slow Cookers Hearty Beef Stew Seasoning adds great flavours and not at all time consuming.
1 pack McCormick Seasoning
2 pounds beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
5 cups cut-up fresh vegetables, such as carrots, onions and potatoes
1 1/3 cups water
1 Place beef and vegetables in slow cooker.
2 Mix seasoning and water until blended. Pour over beef and vegetables; toss to coat well. Cover
3 Cook 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH. Stir before serving.
From what I know, Lizar is a Malay-Chinese woman who makes her own spice mix and sells them at the market. I was introduced to her products by a friend who was practically singing praises about her special mixes, so I thought I’d give it a try by making Curry Chicken.
But how does it differ from the regular ones found in supermarkets? For starters, her mixes do not have preservatives, so immediate use is encouraged. Otherwise, put them in a freezer and use within a month.
The other obvious difference is that it is far less oily, which makes eating the whole pot – if you can- an absolute delight. Needless to say, it was really tasty and very simple to make.
1 kg chicken drumstick
200ml water
200ml santan
Potatoes, quartered
Tomatoes, quatered
Brown rice
1 Add in Lizar Chilli Curry Spices Curry Chicken mix and fry until fragrant.
2 Add in remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
3 Serve hot over brown rice.
There are so many pre-marinated lambs around and our favourite is the Peppercorn Lamb from Carrefour. It’s spicy and flavourful. Cold Storage pre-marinated lamb is no different either... but, it cost a little bit more. When served with baked potato wedges and sweet corn, you’re sure to get a good Sunday night meal out of it.
4 slabs of pre-marinated lamb
1 tablespoon butter
½ bag of Simplot Spicy Potato Wedges
S&W Cream Style Corn
1 Preheat the grill to medium-high or 'sizzle' temperature. Melt butter.
2 Lay the lambs in the pan, pressing them down well. Cook for 2-3 minutes then turn on to the other side and cook for another 1-2 minutes, depending whether you like your steak rare or medium to well-done.
3 Meanwhile, bake potatoes based on instructions. Do the same for the corn.
4 To serve, remove the lambs from the grill to warmed plates and spoon over the corn.
On our recent trip to Bangkok– visiting my sister who had just moved from Hong Kong with her family – we were told by my father the best food in Thailand is served by street vendors. To prove his point, he took us to every side street to sample every possible dish available. Sometimes, we find ourselves in the outskirts.
There’s no denying that Bangkok is a haven for street food and we had a gastronomic adventure...
...including one night when my sister dished out scrumptious Lamb Shank with Couscous and made Kenboja Cake specially for me. The spread included Fried Chicken for the kids, Satay which my nephew, Seth, made in cooking class, seafood platter dipped in home-made spicy Thai sauce, Papaya Salad, Otak-Otak which we bought along the street and sweet Thai Pancake for dessert. I may have missed a couple or more dishes, but you get the idea.
In the end, it was a memorable dinner with good food, great company and an endless battle of one-line jokes between the boys and their grandfather.
Thanks to my father, Jim and the Lee family, we had a fantastic time in Bangkok... and plan to revisit next summer.
Look what I found: my recipe database – 70+ books and magazines + hundreds of tagged recipes... and that's not all of it. I have at least a dozen more new addition over the past six years.
Right now, the Kahlúa Chocolate Cheesecake (BBC GoodFood,October 2002) sounds good as a Merdeka dessert *big grin* Happy Merdeka, everyone!
