Tag: home-cooked food

A Come Back : Ragu

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I do apologise sincerely for my lack of posts since the end of last year. For those who don’t know, I was really busy with my wedding preparations and that’s really all I have been up to the past 3 months! and yes, I am married! (:

And after the wedding, it was our amazing honeymoon in Bali and then it was Chinese New Year. Not sure about you guys, but CNY is a time to just spend with family and feast! haha

Well. I am back! And for the first post of 2012, I am blogging about one of my favourite cuisines. Italian.

Who doesn’t like Italian? I love love love love pastas. Creamy, tomato-y, squid ink. You name it, I love it. haha. That’s how much I love pastas. A habit of mine (a good one I think!) is to try out some of the yummy dishes I had in restaurants/cafes. So far, I’ve tried making lasagne, gnocchi, risottos. One thing that I’ve always wanted to try is ragu.I remember watching the Italian Food Safari and said to myself “You really gotta try to make this one day”

Tonight was the night. I took out my “Simply Italian” cookbook bought by my mummy (underused in my opinion) and flipped through the book from the first page to the last and found a ragu recipe! So I decided to swing by Springvale Market after work & got the ingredients and whipped it up for dinner.

A keeper. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I could just eat the ragu without any pasta. The flavour was amazing. I use to think it’s like a bolognese. But it’s so much more. A pity I didn’t have time to cook it a little longer, I’m pretty sure it would taste even better when the meats have all broken down into the tomato base. mmm.

Ragu (adapted from Simply Italian by Sophie Braimbridge)

Ingredients :

60g butter

90g pancetta, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 celery, finely chopped

1 carrot, grated

250g minced beef

200g minced pork

200g chicken livers, trimmed and finely chopped

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

125ml milk

125ml dry white wine

250ml beef stock

400g tin chopped tomatoes

2 heap tbs tomato paste

salt and pepper

grated Parmesan, to serve

Steps :

1. Heat the butter in a heavy based saucepan and add the pancetta. Cook until lightly brown and add the onion, celery and carrot. Cook over moderate heat for about 8 mins or until soften, stirring from time to time.

2. Add the minced beef, pork and oregano to the saucepan. Season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.

3. Cook for about 5 mins, or until the meat has changed colour but not browned. Add the chicken liver and cook till it changes colour.

4. Stir in the milk and simmer for a couple of minutes. Pour in the wine and increase the heat and allow it to boil for 2-3 minutes or until the wine is absorbed. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and half of the stock, partially covering the pan and allow it to cook for a minimum of 1 hour (optimally, 3 hours). Add more stock as it is needed to keep the sauce moist.

6. To serve, cook pasta of your choice according to the package, drain and toss the pasta with the ragu sauce and serve with grate Parmesan.

ENJOY! (:

ps : store leftovers in the fridge up to 3 days or in the freezer for a month (:

Minced Pork with Thai Basil (pat Krapao Moo Sap)

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Thai food. Absolutely adore them. The spicy-ness, the tangy-ness.

There is something about the combination of sweet, sour and spicy. Especially on a cold day. The spicyness would definitely help warm your tummy up! (: I first had this at a small, authentic thai restaurant on Lygon Street called Ying Thai 2. Their food, is absolutely delicious! I remembered having this particular dish, and they having different level of spice. And being gungho. I decided to be brave and ordered the spiciest, level 3. It was soooo spicy but sooo good! The tummy suffered a little after that. Just a tad. But all was worth it. haha

But of course, I didn’t wanna put my stomach through the same thing again, so I reduced the spicyness when attempting to make it at home! A very good idea, by the way. (:

Minced Pork with Thai Basil and A Sunny Side Up

Ingredients :

1 tbs olive oil

450g mince/ground pork

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 chilli padi, deseed and chopped finely

yellow onion, halfed then finely sliced

1 tbs oyster sauce

1 tsp fish sauce, extra for fried egg

pinch of sugar

handful thai basil leaves

handful of dried shrimp, fried till crispy

Sunny-side-up egg (optional)

spring onion, finely chopped for garnish

Steps :

1. Heat a wok on medium to high heat and add the olive oil. Fry the garlic and chilli till fragrant (not brown) and add the ground pork. Fry till brown. Make sure there are no lumps.

2. Add the oyster sauce and fish sauce and fry for 5 minutes. Add the sugar, onion and basil leaves and fry for a further 5 minutes.

3. Top the mince with the crispy dried shrimp and garnish the sunny-side-up with the spring onion and a sprinkle of the fish sauce

4. Serve with steamed jasmine/long grain rice.

ENJOY! (:

ps : So please share with me what is the dish that you MUST ORDER when you’re at a thai restaurant?

Not Your Usual Lasagne.

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Who doesn’t like lasagne? The layers of rich meat sauce with cheese. Doesn’t just saying that line make you want to sink your teeth into it? It’s one of my source of comforts. Besides garlic mash, mac and cheese. haha okie. the list could go on. I think food, on the whole, is my comfort. hee.

When I was deciding what to cook for dinner, lasagne came straight to my mind. But I was hoping to cook something a bit healthier. so layers of vegetables was the only thing that I could think of! And as colourful as they can get! I think I got it all covered. Swede (yellow), eggplant (purple), zucchini (green) and the meat sauce (red/orange). I couldn’t help myself. (:

of course, I made a little bit of white sauce to combine all the veg together so that they could stay (kinda) in shape! Guilty! but SO GOOD! (:

Tomatoey goodness (: It was a big hit among the boys! They loved it. I know it looks heavy, but i only sprinkled a bit of mozzarella cheese on the top to melt under the grill for the last 5 mins before serving. It’s worth the extra calories, I say. haha

So here’s the recipe, a Food Made With Love original (:

Ingredients :

400g mince (beef or pork)

1 big onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbs olive oil

1 carrot, grated

1 green capsicum, finely diced

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

3 tbs tomato paste

1 can (400g) tinned chopped tomatoes

3 swedes, sliced thinly

1 large eggplant, sliced thinly

2 zucchini, sliced thinly

100g spinach

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the simple white sauce :

150ml milk

50g butter

3 tbs plain flour

50g parmesan

salt and pepper, to taste

grated mozzarella, to finish

Steps :

1. After slicing the eggplant, salt both sides and allow it to stand on a rack for 30 mins. Pat them dry and set them aside. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celcius.

2. Heat a frying pan with the olive oil, fry the onion and garlic till soft and fragrant. Add the carrot and capsicum and fry for a further 5 minutes.

3. Add the mince and fry till brown. Make sure there are no chunks. Add the tomato paste and dried herbs, stir till well combined. Add the chopped tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, stir and allow the liquid to reduce till almost totally dry.

4. In a baking dish, lay the eggplant at the bottom and top with the meat sauce. Top with a layer of spinach. Then layer the zucchini, another layer of eggplant and swede.

5. The white sauce : Melt the butter in a small pot over low-medium, add the flour and stir, allowing it to cook for 3 mins. Add the milk and using a whisk, make sure it is well combined and there are no lumps. Add the parmesan and stir until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper. If it is too thick, just add a bit more milk.

6. Pour the white sauce over the baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes. Take the baking dish out and top with mozzarella cheese and put it under a grill for 5 minutes or until golden brown!

SERVE and ENJOY! (:

What is your favourite comfort food of all time ?

Let’s Celebrate!

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There are many ways to celebrate but for this household, the way to celebrate is cooking up a good meal and enjoying it together! (:

And the things to celebrate about might be something as small as doing well for a piece of assignment; or as big as getting a job. But tonight, we celebrated 2 things : the start of my school holidays and the mr coming back to melbourne! hehe Actually I think it’s just an excuse for me to get back in the kitchen (my comfort zone) and cook up something yummy for everyone. (: And so I did!

Went to Footscray market this morning, without having a clue about what I wanted to cook for dinner. This often happens to me haha. Getting inspiration by walking up and down the meats and seafood aisle. and I saw these gorgeous osso buccos that I just had to get them.

These gorgeous things are huge! haha So I bought 2 big ones for the boys and 1 small for me! Personally, I love to cook this over a low heat for at least 2 hours, or until the meat falls off the bone. I think any longer than that, you would actually lose the marrow which the mr would be quite disappointed about. So I say, 2 hours tops!

Let’s do this!

Osso Bucco With Pasta (A Food Made With Love Original)

Ingredients :

3 beef/veal osso buccos

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, fine chopped

1 tbs plain flour, and extra to dust

1 tsp chilli powder

2 tbs tomato paste

1 can (400g) of tinned chopped tomatoes

2 cups beef stock

1/2 cup white wine

2 tsp dried mix herbs

4 tbs of olive oil, and extra to coat

salt and pepper, for seasoning and taste

Pasta, cooked according to the directions on the packet and drained

Steps :

1. Season the osso buccos with salt, pepper and chilli powder. Rub a bit of olive oil on the meat and coat with plain flour.

2. Heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a deep pan on medium-high heat and sear the meat for 2-3 minutes on each side till nice and brown. Take them off the heat, and set aside.

3. Heat the remaining 2 tbs of oil, and add the onion and garlic and cook till soft and fragrant. Add the carrots and celery and cook for a further 5 mins. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste and stir till well combined.

4. Add the flour and the mixed herbs and make sure you stir till there are no lumps. Add the tinned tomatoes and the wine and allow it to reduce by 1/4 before adding the beef stock. Bring to boil and reduce to low heat. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Place the osso buccos back into the pan and cover to allow it to simmer for 1 hour. Remove the cover and continue to cook it over low heat for another hour (uncovered). The meat should be falling off the bone at this point.

6. Remove the osso buccos and place the cooked pasta in the pan and toss it to coat.

7. Plate  it as you like it! I prefer to have my pasta at the bottom and finish the dish with the osso buccos on top! (: of course, don’t forget the thick yummy gravy!

ENJOY!

PS: Remember to cook this with enough time to spare, so that your family or loved ones wouldn’t have to wait too long for dinner!

Bon Appetite! (: My mr. enjoying the marrows. hee

So how do you celebrate with your loved ones and friends? SHARE please! Would love to hear about it!

A Keeper : Beef Stout Stew

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Remember the post I did a couple of days ago on Yorkshire pudding? I knew after posting that I had to post the recipe of my favourite stew to have the pud with. I’ve made a few stews but I feel that this one is definitely a keeper.

I don’t know if it’s the stout, but somehow. It does make the stew yummier. Might be in my head. haha (My Mr loves stout!) In saying that, I’m sure it will be fine if you leave the stout out and just use more stock. It’s just one of those stews that you can put all your favourite ingredients in it and it will turn out great! Although it takes a really long time to cook, it is crucial just so the flavours will develop and you will get the thick and lucious gravy! The waiting time is worth it!

There are many things you could have with a stew. Besides the yorkshire pudding, one of my other favourite sides to go with a stew is a good mash. I made parmesan mash with this beef stew. And it was P-E-R-F-E-C-T! (:

So what is the favourite thing you like to go with your stew? SHARE! (:

Beef Stout Stew (Serves 6 or freezes well)

Ingredients :

1.2kg gravy beef, cut into 3cm pieces (can use chuck as well)

1/4 cup plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

2 celery stalks, cut into chunks

3 carrots, cut into chunks

1 big onion, cut into wedges

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

6 small eschalots

8 mushrooms, cut into quarters

2 tbs tomato paste

2 cups beef stock

1 cup stout

2 bay leaves

Steps :

1. Lightly dust the meat with the flour, shake off and reserve the excess. Heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a casserole dish/claypot on medium-high heat and pan dry the beef in batches until browned all over. Remove and set aside.

2. Reduce heat to medium and heat the rest of the oil, adding the onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Cook, stirring for 3-4minutes until tender. Add the tomato paste and the rest of the flour and stir for a further minute.

3. Add the stout, beef stock and bay leaves and stir till well combined. Bring to a simmer, cover and allow it to cook over low heat for 1hr. (Stirring every half hour just to make sure nothing is stuck at the bottom)

4. Add the mushrooms and eschalots and cover and cook for a further 1 1/2hrs or until the meat is soft and tender and the sauce is rich and thick. (Stirring every 30mins)

Serve with a side of your choice! (: ENJOY!

For The Love of Italian Food

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Italian food is one of my favourite cuisines. I cannot have enough of it! Whether it comes in big portions at family restaurants or small portions at fine dining places, I love them all! It’s no secret one of my favourite kind of food to cook is italian. Especially pasta!

One of the staples in this household is spaghetti and meatballs. Another is spaghetti bolognese. Especially on days that I have work or uni. Just cause it’s so quick and easy to whip up and it’s always yummy! (: And thoroughly enjoyed by everyone! However, on days that I have time to just be in the kitchen and cook something I really love, one of the few things I end up making is risotto.

One of my all time favourite risotto is without a doubt mushroom risotto. Especially when there is porcini in it. The flavour would just be so intense. I could fall in love. (: and with a mixture of different kinds of mushrooms. Just talking about it puts a smile on my face!

So after weeks of work and a hectic week of rushing an assignment to meet a deadline. I finally got a chance to be in the kitchen and cook something I love without rushing. Having the time to myself just to enjoy the whole process. And gain some arm muscles, I must add, with all the stirring. haha.

Even though it takes a long time to get it to where it should be, and it takes a lot of strength to stir it continuously. And also alot of concentration to make sure it doesn’t dry out. But trust me, it will all be worth the time and effort. Every single spoonful will be worth it! (:

So here is the recipe I came up with on my own! An original! Whoopeedoo! hehe Always exciting to come up with my own recipe. Hope you all will enjoy it!

Seafood Risotto (A Food Made With Love Original)

Ingredients

150g aborio rice

4 cups stock (I used chicken stock)

1/2 cup white wine

550g seafood

1 big onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, diced

6 pieces of sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp hot paprika

1 tbs tomato paste

1 tbs yogurt (could use cream)

3 tbs olive oil

2 tbs parmesan cheese, extra to serve

25g butter

salt & pepper, to taste

Steps :

1. For the seafood: Heat 1 tbs of olive oil in a frying pan, and add 1 tbs of chopped onion and 1 tsp chopped garlic. Fry till fragrant. Add 1 tsp of chopped sundried tomatoes and fry for a couple more minutes.

2. Add the seafood and allow it to fry for 5 mins. Add the chilli powder and fry for another minute. Set a bit of the seafood aside to garnish.

3. For the risotto: Heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a deep frying pan, add the rest of the chopped onion, garlic and sundried tomatoes and fry till onion becomes translucent and is softened (about 5 mins). Add the rice and make sure the rice gets coated with the oil.

4. Pour the wine into the frying pan and stir until it has reduced to half. Add the chopped tomatoes and two ladles of stock and stir continuously until absorbed. Continue to add the stock (1 ladle at the time), stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked but still al dente. This should take about 20-25 minutes.

5. Stir in the seafood, paprika, tomato paste and yogurt and stir till well combined (Stir gently, so that the fish will not crumble. You want it to keep its shape!). Add the parmesan and butter into the risotto. Season to taste.

6. Divide into plates, lightly tap it to allow it to spread. Place the seafood that was set aside on top to garnish. Top with parmesan and serve.

ENJOY!

Yorkshire Puddings.

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This is no ordinary pudding. Not something sweet, in fact it’s savoury!

The first time I sunk my teeth into these beautiful puff was at Cafe Vue at Melbourne airport and they were a whole plate of deliciousness with waygu beef, mash and a thick and and luscious gravy. O-M-G!

So when I returned back from Singapore, I had to try making it. I was reading one of the older editions of the Delicious magazine and I found a perfect recipe that was as easy as mix-stir-pour-bake-VIOLA! So I couldn’t resist and had to make it. And it’s the cutest thing!

loved how they just pop up and have that beautiful golden brown. You kinda have to eat it as soon as it’s out of the oven (with caution not to burn urself!) cause it’s not as nice cold!

I cooked a stout beef stew to go with it and it was a match-made in heaven! (: And the tummies were happy and very satisfied.I reckon it will go well with any kind of stew that has thick and yummy gravy.

So give this easy treat a go when you’re thinking of making a stew! (: You’ll love it!

Easy Yorkshire Pudding (Adapted from Delicious Magazine)

Ingredients

1/2 cup canola oil

2/3 cup plain flour

Good pinch of salt

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

1 cup milk

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 200°C fan-forced (220°C conventional). Pour 1 tablespoon of oil in each of 12 holes of a cupcake baking tin. Out in the oven for 5 mins or until oil is hot.

2. Sift flour and salt into a bowl and combine. Add egg and egg yolk and use a balloon whisk to whisk until combined. Gradually add the milk in a thin, stead stream and whisk until smooth.

3. Pour batter into a jug and divide evenly among the cupcake holes, pouring the mixture carefully into the hot oil. Return tin to the oven and bake for 15-20mins or until puffed and golden brown. Serve warm!

ENJOY!

My Mr’s Special : Roasted Beef Ribs

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Ever had something that was so good, you had to try to make it at home?

We did. We had the best beef short ribs at Pancake On The Rocks in Sydney and we couldn’t stop talking about it. To the point where the mr had to go buy short ribs and make it back at home! (:

And boy did the mr do an awesome job! He made his own bbq sauce and the beef ribs were nice, succulent and yummy!

Doesn’t it look absolutely mouth-watering? hehe

The good thing about this recipe is you just need to make the marinade and allow it to take in all the yummy flavours; the bad thing is you would need to allow it to marinade for a whole day to get maximum flavour. so YOU GOTTA WAIT! haha as the saying goes “good thing comes to those who wait!“

And these babies would go well with anything and everything! You could cut it up and put it on pizzas (which is what we did the next day with the left overs), you could have it with salad, you could have it with chips. For that night, we had it with a side of salad, baked portobello mushrooms, and buns with homemade eggplant dip! (:

It was a super yummy and, not to mention, filling dinner! (: So here’s the recipe the mr adapted to create this yummos dinner! Give it a shot!

Ingredients (Adapted from Food.com)

1 (14 ounce) bottle ketchup1/2 cup honey3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce1 tablespoon Dijon mustard1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
3 finely chopped green onions1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1/2 teaspoon all spice1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 dash tabasco
2 kg meaty beef ribs (or short ribs)

Steps :

1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, except the beef, and adjust seasonings to taste (the sauce should have a good balance of sweet and savory flavors).
2. Place the ribs in a large bowl, and coat with the sauce.
3. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours or as long as 48 hours, turning the ribs every so often. (I would say the longer the better!)
4. Preheat the oven to 165°C. Drain the ribs (reserving the sauce), and place them in a large roasting pan, bone-side down.
5. Brush with sauce, and bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven, and turn the ribs over, brush with additional sauce, bake for another 30 minutes.
7. Turn one more time, brush with the remaining sauce, and bake for another 35-40 minutes, or until ribs are tender, basting every so often.
ENJOY!! (:
On a side note, since it is the mister who cooked this dish. I would like to congratulate him on making the Fresh Press page of WordPress! (: All your hard work has paid off sweetie! Keep up the good work! And for all you guys who would like to get more exercise tips, head over to his website and educate yourself! Exercise Yourself Healthy! WOO!

Winter Warmer

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So it’s the middle of winter. Rather  2 months into winter and besides these couple of days that have been all about sunshine and clear skies; the rest of the days include cold winds, cloudy skies and temperatures below 10 degrees! I’m never a winter person, more an autumn or spring person. There’s something about leaves falling from the trees and flowers blooming (opposite ends of the spectrum, I know) that puts a smile on my face.

So the only way to cheer me up during this gloomy winter is to cook something that would warm us up (with a little kick of spice) What do I have in mind? Fish stew! (: And it goes really well with … Garlic bread ! My favourite winter warmer at the moment. A one pot wonder too! No mess, no fuss! And pretty yummy if I could say so myself (:

Please pardon the lack in quality of my photos. Was too hungry and didn’t really adjust the lighting well enough! Plus the messy bowl. Goodness me!

So here’s the recipe, give it a shot and warm yourself up this winter! (:

Fish and Seafood Stew (A Food Made With Love Original)

1 leek, sliced thinly

4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly

1 onion, cut into wedges

1 carrot, cut into small cubes/pieces

3 red chillies, de-seeded and sliced thinly

2 tbs olive oil

1 tin chopped tomatoes

2 tbs tomato paste

1 tin tomato puree

2 tsp hot paprika

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic salt

2 fillets of basa, sliced into 1-inch pieces

300g marinara mix

50g spinach

750ml fish stock

100ml white wine

Steps :

1) In a large pot, heat the olive oil on a medium heat and add the leeks, garlic, onion, chilli and carrot and cook till soft and fragrant. (make sure the onion or garlic does not brown, just until the onion is translucent)

2) Add the hot paprika, chilli powder and garlic salt and stir to incorporate.

3) Add the dried oregano and allow mixture to cook for 5 minutes before adding the wine. Allow the wine to reduce by half before adding the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir it well and add the fish stock. Cover the pot and cook over low heat for 2 hours.

(note : you don’t have to cook for this long, if you want a quick meal, just allow it to cook for 30 mins before going on to the next step. If you have the time, allow it to cook for at least 2 hours or more for more flavour as well as a thicker stew)

4) Add the fish fillets and seafood 20 minutes before serving, and the spinach 10 minutes before serving.

5) Serve with a side of homemade garlic bread or white rice.

ENJOY !

Stay warm everyone ! (:

Fish Roulade

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On our recent trip to Costco, we found a good deal on fish! It’s $4 a kilo and sold in a 3kg box! (:

I know it seems a little crazy haha. But you see, we try to maximise our marketing money. So we tend to get the cheapest cut of meat which usually ends up being mince pork. haha So seafood is usually a rare treat! And since the mr needs to cut weight before his competition this Saturday, fish was a really good idea for our meals this week.

So one of the first things I decided to try was to do my own version of fish roulade! But just the simplest of roulades. haha Not sure if it should even be called that. I was trying to make it as healthy as possible. But I couldn’t resist putting a small slice of bacon, to add more flavour. Oops. haha

The subtle flavour of the fish, with the richness of the bacon and the texture of the crispy-ness of the fish was just perfect. Everything just went well with a side of salad and bread sticks covered with homemade eggplant dip! (:

healthy (most of it is! haha) and quick to cook ! You can have it from the oven to your plate in 20 mins ! Give it a try, and gain the goodness of eating fish too!

Fish Roulade (Makes 2)

2 slices of basa fillets

2 slices of streaky bacon

3 tbs bread crumbs

2 tbs dried herbs

2 tbs parmesan

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 small cubes of chilled butter

Salad, to serve

Avocado, slices (optional)

Steps :

1. Mix the bread crumbs, herbs, parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl and set a side.

2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Place a slice of bacon on top of the fish fillet and roll it tight. Do the same for the other fish fillet.

3. Roll the fish in the bread crumbs mixture. Place it on a roasting rack and place a cube of butter on each roulade.

4. Bake the fish roulade for 20 mins. Slice it into half diagonally and serve with the salad.

A quick and easy meal is served! ENJOY! (: