Shrimp and Scallops with White Wine, Garlic and Butter Sauce

I got this idea a while back when there was left over Chadonnay, Garlic butter/spread and shrimp at a friends BBQ. I improvised by using the pan that belonged to the chalet. It was a hit. After that, I get requests to do this at a bbq, but now I bring my own pan, herbs etc...

Shrimp and Scallops with White Wine, Garlic and Butter Sauce

 Here is what I did for my most recent rendition at home.

300 grams tiger prawns - peeled and deveined
6 scallops

4 cloves garlic - sliced
2 sprigs of thyme
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock (optional)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. In a saute pan, heat some cooking oil over a medium heat. When oil is heated, add in the shrimp and scallops and fry for about 20 seconds each side. Remove them from the pan and set aside.

2. Add the garlic into the pan and cook for about 1 minute, till they just start to brown on the edges.(Add a little more oil if pan is too dry)

3. At this point add in the wine and deglaze the pan. (Using a spatula something similar, scrape the brown bits off the base of the pan) Allow to simmer for about 1 minute and then add the chicken stock. Simmer for another 2 minutes over low heat, or so, allow the liquid to reduce by about 1/3.

4. Then add butter and thyme. Mix well and simmer for another minute.

5. Add in the shrimp and scallops, turn off the heat and mix well. Serve in the deep sided dish.

Recommend to serve with crusty bread, to mop up the sauce.

Its actually very easy to do. Just have to watch out, not to over cook the seafood.

Enjoy!

Tagliatelle with Meatballs and Tomato Sauce

Gotta love meatballs with pasta. They freeze well, so you can make them beforehand.

Beef Meatballs

 I like to make larger quantities of the meatballs and sauce and keep them for later use.

Here is what I used to serve 4:

For the meatballs
500gms minced beef
1 yellow onion - finely diced
5 cloves garlic - finely diced
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/4 milk

For the tomato sauce
400 gms diced tomatoes (about 1 can)
1 can tomato puree
1 yellow onion - diced
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Rest of the stuff
350 grams of dried tagliatelle (or your favourite pasta)
Handful of fresh basil for garnish - roughly chopped

Homemade Burger with Portobello and Bacon

Burger with Portobello, Bacon and Rocket

I'm back from Reservist In Camp Training. Finally! Hence the lack of posts over the past few weeks.
I had a hankering for a burger... So this is what I did...

Ingredients for 4 burgers:

For the Patties
700 grams minced beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 yellow onion - diced
4 tablespoons tomato ketchup
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons Worcester sauce
1 teaspoon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Other Stuff:
1 cup rocket or lettuce
150 grams Portobello mushrooms - sliced
2-3 shallots - chopped
8 pieces bacon rashers
4 slices cheese (I used cheddar but you can use your favorite kind)
4 store bought burger buns (I like to use those by "Swiss bake" from cold storage)
Butter for spreading on the buns.

Thai style Crispy Pork Lettuce wraps.

This dish is inspired by what I saw on Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery course.

Thai style Crispy Pork Lettuce Wraps with chilli Corriander dressing

Here is what you'll need

For the mince stirfry:
300 Grams minced pork
4-6 garlic cloves - chopped
2 stalks spring onion - sliced
juice of half a large lime
lime zest
drizzle of Thai fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
cooking oil for frying
1-2 stalks of large chillies - sliced
1 bunch Baby romaine lettuce

For the dressing:
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon light soya sauce
2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar (regular sugar works too)
Juice of the other half of the lime
1 bunch coriander - roughly chopped
1 stalk of large chilli - sliced

Tiger Shrimp Tagliatelle

I was thinking, bacon works with shrimp, bacon works with asparagus, why not put all 3 in a pasta dish? So I went out and got some shrimp, bacon and asparagus and made dinner for 2 =).

Tiger Shrimp Tagliatelle

We enjoyed the end result. This works with almost any store bought pasta. I just happened to have some tagliatelle at home.

Here's what you'll need to serve 2:

180 grams Tagliatelle
300-350 grams Tiger Prawns (I used king tiger prawns.) - shelled, keep the heads aside
2-3 rashers streaky bacon
150 grams asparagus - cut into 1 inch lengths, separate the tips from the rest.
2 cups chicken stock (you can use water if not available)
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves - sliced
1 sprig of thyme - leaves only
Parsley for garnish

Bacon & Egg Breakfast Ciabatta Sandwich

I found some Ciabatta bread in the supermarket one day, thought I'd try a breakfast sandwich. It was rather satisfying and most importantly, a joy to eat.

The Breakfast Ciabatta

Here’s what you’ll need for 4 sandwiches

For the spread:

4-5 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 cloves garlic - Finely minced or grated into a mince

1 stalk spring onion - finely chopped.

 Salt and pepper to taste

The rest of the stuff:

4 Ciabatta Buns (Or you can get a whole loaf and cut it up)

4 eggs - Beaten

8 rashers of streaky bacon - Cooked on a fry pan or in the oven till cripsy

4 sliced of cheddar cheese (halved, so that they fit better)

1 tomato – sliced

½ red onion, sliced

Handful of rocket

Steps:

1. In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic and spring onion. Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Cut the Ciabatta across lengthwise and lightly toast the Ciabatta in an oven or on a pan and set aside.

3. Heat a frying pan over medium low heat with some oil/butter. Scramble eggs in the pan. When eggs are one, dish eggs into a bowl/plate and aside.

4. Spread the mayo mix onto the cut sides of the buns.

5. Now for the assembly. For each sandwich, place in this order (I find it more stable in this order). 2 rashers of bacon, 1 halved cheese slices, couple spoonfuls of scramble egg, tomatoes, onion, rocket, and the other half of the bun.

6. Enjoy! 

Who needs Egg McMuffins anymore? Who am I kidding, I'll probably still grab a McMuffin every now and then.

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)