Pasta Alfredo

All I can say is... I will definitely do this...

again...

and again...

and again...

Ingredients:

1/4 c butter

1 small can of sliced button mushroom

2 cups heavy cream

1 small can of cream of mushroom soup

1 scant cup pasta water

3/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

bacon bits

your choice of pasta

Procedure:

In a saucepan, melt butter. Saute the mushrooms.

The add heavy cream, cream of mushroom soup and pasta water. Mix well

Let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes

Turn off the heat and add the Parmesan cheese.

Pour sauce over pasta and sprinkle with bacon bits.

Enjoy!

Aikko

Spare Ribs Noodle Soup for the sick

Michael felt sick yesterday so I decided to make soup for him. A quick trip to Viet Wah and I settled on making a nilaga with misua with some modifications.

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs pork spare ribs
1 whole onion
whole peppercorn
button mushrooms (he doesn't like shitake mushrooms)
2 whole patola
wonton noodles
fish sauce
oyster sauce

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut spare ribs and put in pot of boiling water. Peel and roughly chop onions and drop in pot. Add peppercorns. Simmer for about an hour.
2. Once the meat is tender, add peeled and chopped patola and mushrooms. Season with a little oyster sauce and fish sauce.
3. Boil water in separate pot and drop in wonton noodles. Cook for 5 minutes, drain and put in serving bowl. Add the meat, vegetables, and broth. Serve.

Baked Porkchops

INGREDIENTS:

6 pork chops
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
2 egg, beaten
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup white wine

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste. Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl. Dredge the pork chops lightly in flour, dip in the egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs.
3. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned. Transfer the chops to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and cover with foil.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. While baking, combine the cream of mushroom soup, milk and white wine in a medium bowl.
5. After the pork chops have baked for an hour, cover them with the soup mixture. Replace foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Pork-Chops-I/Detail.aspx

Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo' Kho)

We love having hot Bo' Kho with crunchy French bread and so we decided to try making our own. I followed the recipe below precisely but noticed after it was done that it lacked seasoning so I added another teaspoon of the five spice powder and about 3 tablespoons of fish sauce. I also simmered it for an hour longer. That dried up the soup but made the meat super tender.

I think next time, I will try adding beef tendons and beef short ribs to make the soup more flavorful.

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless beef chuck, cut into 1.5 inch cube (weigh after trimming)
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 2 inch pieces and bruised
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or 1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lb carrot, peeled,cut into 1 inch chunks
2 star anise
3 cups water
Thai basil (optional)
cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix lemongrass, fish sauce, 5-spice powder, ginger, brown sugar and bay leaf, marinate the beef for 30 minutes.
2. Over high heat, heat oil in a heavy-bottemed 5-quart pot, sear the beef quickly then remove, reserve lemongrass and bay leaf for later use.
3. Reduce heat to medium, cook onions till translucent (5 minutes), then add tomato and cook with lid on for another 12-15 minutes.
4. If sauce is too thick, add a bit of water.
5. Add back the beef, lemongrass, bay leaf and star anise, cook uncovered for 5 minutes then add water.
6. Bring pot to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
7. Add carrots and simmer for another 45 minutes until beef and carrots are tender.
8. Remove bay leaf, lemongrass and star anise before serving with cilantro and Thai basil.
9. Taste great with steam rice or French bread.

Source: http://www.recipezaar.com/Vietnamese-Beef-Stew-Bo-Kho-108893

Barbecue Chicken Marinade

Lime Juice
Honey
Chili Oil
Parsley
Garlic
Salt
Pepper

Lemongrass Porkchops

I made this a few months ago and it was deelish! I used frozen chopped lemongrass and it worked pretty well. I also lightly fried the porkchops instead of grilling it.

Ingredients:

6 green onions (white and pale green parts only), chopped (about 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons chopped lemongrass*
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds boneless pork loin chops (each 1/3 to 1/2 ich thick)

Directions:

1. Mix first 6 ingredients and 2 tablespoons oil in 11x7-inch glass dish. Add pork chops to marinade, turn several times to coat evenly, then crowd together in single layer. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
2. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill rack with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Grill pork with marinade still clinging to meat until slightly charred and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Transfer pork to cutting board. Let rest 10 minutes.
Cut pork crosswise into 1/3-inch-wide strips.

Butternut Squash Soup

I made a few changes to this recipe based on the past reviews. I didn't removed the celery and potatoes and added 1 big sweet potato. I also added a pinch of curry powder. To make peeling the squash easier, I microwaved it for 5 mins in a plate with a little water.

The next time I make this, I will try replacing butter with olive oil and update this post.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.
2. Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Butternut-Squash-Soup-II/Detail.aspx?prop31=7