Open Faced Ham and Cheese Sandwich with Mushrooms and Poached Egg

Made this a couple of weekends ago for breakkie. Its similar to the previous eggs benedict recipe. Differences are the addition of mushrooms on the ham & cheese and just plain bread instead of French toasts.

Poached eggs on Shooms and Ham & Cheese

This combo makes for a rich, hearty and earthy breakfast dish.

Here is what I used to serve 2

4 slices of bread
4 slices of ham (I used honey baked, you can use your preferred type)
4 slices of cheese (Cheddar was used here)
4 poached eggs (poached eggs video by an instructor from CIA)
150 - 200 grams white button mushrooms - sliced
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely sliced
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or replace with your favorite herb)
Oil for frying
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mushroom, Red Pepper and Spinach Fritatta

We really enjoyed the last time we had Fritatta at home, so I decided to do it again. This time changing around the ingredients I used a little. By the time I was done, I realized that I made a vegetarian Fritatta.

Mushroom, Red Pepper and Spinach Fritatta

Ingredients:
200 grams white button mushrooms - sliced
0.5 - 1 cup baby spinach
1 medium sized red pepper - diced
1 medium sized yellow/white onion - diced
150-200 grams cheddar cheese
6-7 eggs
50 grams mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 stalk spring onion - sliced (optional for garnish)

Potato, Leek and Bacon Hash with Pan Roased Asparagus.

This is one of my favorite hash brown recipes to make for breakfast. A great way to have bacon and eggs in the morning! 

Potato, Leek and Bacon Hash with Pan Roasted Asparagus, topped with poached egg

Here is what you'll need to serve 2.

For the hash:
200-300 grams russet potatoes - Sliced into discs or thin wedges.
About 1 cup sliced leek (White and light green parts only) I used about 2 leeks.
4-6 rashers of streaky bacon, cut into about 1 inch pieces.
Cooking oil for frying
Salt and pepper

For the Pan Roasted Asparagus.
About 200 grams Aparagus, washed and bases trimmed
2 teaspoons butter
2 sprigs of thyme
4 garlic cloves - sliced
Cooking oil for frying
Salt and pepper
2 x Poached egg

Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Bacon and Onion

This simple yet tasty dish is one of my favorites when home alone. Its a variation of the basic Aglio Olio (which basically means garlic oil). It may look plain, but its deceptively tasty. This dish can be done in like 20 minutes or less.

Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Bacon and Onion

The salty bacon, combined with the sweetness of the onion and garlicy aroma meld together into a very enjoyable flavor for the dish.

Here's what I used to make enough for 2

180 grams spaghetti
2-4 chilli padi (bird's eye chillies) sliced
5-6 rashers of streaky bacon (about 150 grams) cut into smaller pieces
5 cloves of garlic - sliced
1 yellow onion - sliced
Handful of rocket leaves or parsley for garnish.
1/2 cup chicken stock (optional - use the water from cooking the pasta if stock is not available)

Pan Seared Salmon with Mashed Peas

I was walking around Cold Storage, looking for something to cook dinner. The Salmon fillets look nice and I thought sure why not? I had half a pack of frozen peas that have been in the freezer for a while, so I thought I might as well use them. Peas and fish usually go well together. This brought me to my next thought "sauce". I decided on a simple white wine butter sauce. Then I thought, why not throw in some shrimp in the white wine butter sauce. So one thing led to another, which led to dinner being served :)

Pan Seared Salmon with mashed pea, white wine butter shrimp and double baked potatoes

Just gotta love the crispy salmon skin. Wifey thought it was good, so that's a win for me. :)

Here's what you'll need for a meal for 2:

2 Salmon fillets - about 180 grams each, de-boned

Mashed Peas:
200 grams peas (frozen will do fine)
1 yellow/white onion - diced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil

White wine butter shrimp.
100grams shrimp - shelled
2 cloves of garlic - sliced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1-2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 sprigs of thyme (leaves only)
salt and pepper to taste

Salmon Rillette

Inspired by something I saw on Food Network "Best thing I ever ate" segment. After seeing how it was described, I had to try it.

Salmon Rillettes on toasted Focaccia slices

A rillette is actually cooked meat in seasoned fat, which is then shredded to a consistency that is spreadable and almost paste-like. It is a very traditional method of preserving meats.

My resulting attempt was a creamy, rich, chunky and savory spread. Works great as a starter or appetizer. (Which is what we didn't do. We liked it so much, we ate it as a meal) I don't think mine is anywhere near Chef Keller's standard but it was enjoyable nonetheless. We had it with leftover Focaccia I baked the other time.

About 200-300 grams fresh salmon fillet
About 200 grams smoked salmon - cut into chunks
Salt and pepper
230 grams unsalted butter- softened at room temperature (1 pack)
1/2 cup shallots - finely chopped or minced
Juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chives - finely chopped (about 1 pack would do)

Rosemary Focaccia‏

Been wanting to try this for a while now. The fragrance of freshly baked bread and rosemary is awesome. I had bread flour, rosemary, yeast leftover from the recent pizza session, so I decided to try this.

Rosemary Focaccia‏

Here's what I used: (Adapted from Gordon Ramsay's recipe)

500g bread flour
1.5  tablespoon semolina
15 grams dried yeast
50ml olive oil, plus a little extra
2–3 rosemary sprigs, leaves only
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Thai Inspired Stir-fry Beef Noodle

Gotta love a plate of spicy fried noodles. Thought of this idea when I was thinking of a way to use the frozen steak left in the freezer.

Stir-fry Noodles with Beef - Thai style

It may be hard to tell but I actually used Angel Hair Pasta.

Here's what you'll need for my version of Thai Beef Noodle Stir-fry.

Marinated Beef:
250 grams sliced beef
2 teaspoons light soya sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornflour
Generous dash of ground black pepper

Stir-fry Sauce:
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil1 tablespoon light soya sauce
Juice from half a large lime (or 3-4 small ones)

The rest of the stuff:
180 grams Angel Hair Pasta (Cooked according to package instructions)
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 yellow onion - sliced
2 chilli padi (bird's eye chilli) - sliced
5 stalks of Khoo Chye - Cut into finger length strips
6-8 garlic cloves - sliced
Ground black pepper
2 eggs - beaten
2 eggs - sunny side-up (optional)

Oven Baked Breaded Chicken Thigh

I had a hankering for crispy fried chicken one evening, but deep frying at home is not very practical when it comes to oil usage and clean up effort.

Oven Baked Breaded Chicken Thigh with Potatoes and Red Peppers

So I did the next best thing, I used the oven to bake a couple of breaded chicken thighs. So I got my fried chicken fix without actually deep frying, awesome!

Here's what I used for a meal for 2

For the Chicken Thighs:
2 boneless chicken thighs
1.5 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (or dried herb of your choice)
Black pepper and Salt (about 2 teaspoons of each)
1 egg beaten

Tomato Rosemary Pizza

Pizza made at home. Simple and flavorful pizza I got from Gordon Ramsay's UCC. The fragrance of the rosemary just hits you when you open the oven doors. Really inviting you to just tear off a piece and bite into it.

Tomato Rosemary Pizza

The technique with this recipe calls for the pizza to be first cooked in a oven-proof frying pan and then placing it in the oven. This allows for the underside of the pizza to be well scorched (imitating the effect of those traditional wood ovens). You'll need a 26/28 cm oven proof frying pan.

Here's what you'll need for 4 pizzas:

For the pizza dough
15 grams yeast
500 grams bread flour
325 ml lukewarm water
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon caster sugar

Toppings
400 grams passata (tomato puree)
12 to 16 cherry tomatoes- halved (Or you can use large sliced tomatoes)
2 balls mozzarella cheese
About 8 sprigs of rosemary
Extra Virgin olive oil for drizzling.
Pepper for seasoning.

Choc Lava Cake

Alrighty, finally my first dessert post. I do not have a huge sweet tooth, but I do like a sweet treat every now and then.

This dessert was very much the after meal treat. Vanilla ice-cream mixed in with the gooey center was really a divine combination. My only gripe is that there isn't enough room on the surface of the cake for more ice-cream.

Choc Lava Cake Topped with Vanilla Ice-Cream

Here is what I used to make 3 cakes.
100grams dark chocolate chips. (60% cocoa)
1 tbsp unsalted butter + extra for brushing the ramekins
2 eggs, separated yolks and whites
70 grams caster sugar + extra for dusting the ramekins
Icing sugar for dusting the top (optional)