Fresh Mushrooms Pasta

Ingredients (for 6-8paxs):
Portobello Mushrooms x 6 pc (cut away the stem, wash and wipe dry and cut into thin slices)
Shitake Mushrooms x 6pc (cut away the stem, wash and wip dry and cut into thin slices)
Sliced Garlic x 1 bowl
Onion x 1 minced
Small Red Chilli x 4 - deseeds (if you dont want it too hot) and cut into thin strips
Italian Parsley - rinse, wipe dry and minced
Pasta of your choice (to me, the best pasta for this receipe will be the TartufLanghe No. 19 Tartfuo Tagliatelle - i.e. Tagliatelle with black summer truffle - they go really well with mushrooms!)

How to Make:
1. Follow your pasta instructions on how long to cook your pasta in boiling water with salt. After cooking, drain and return to the pasta pot with no water but still warm. Drizzle Olive oil to prevent the pasta sticking together.

2. Heat a pan big enough to hold all the pasta later with olive olive oil, the add minced onion. Stir fried until soft, then remove onion to a plate.

3. In the same pan, add more olive oil, then brown the garlic slices. Once the garlic slices are golden, add back the minced onion, then all the mushrooms and the chill. Once the mushrooms are all soft,season wtih salt and pepper and if a spicy taste is preferred, add a pinch of italian chilli powder too!

4. Pour over the pasta to the mushrooms pan, add the minced parsley and mix all well together and transfer to a pasta bowl/dish. Drizzle some olive oil on top and serve!

Enjoy~

Lobster Linguini

Ingredients:
Lobster x 1
Cherry Tomatoes
Can plum tomatoes
Sliced garlic
minced Italian Parsley
white wine x 1/2 cup

How to Make:
1. Blanch a fresh lobster in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain and after cool down, cut horizontally into half and remove meat from the shells and keep the head. Cut lobster meat into bite size.

2. Heat a pan with olive oil and add the sliced garlic until golden.

3. Add the lobster head and pan fried with the garlic for a while, then add  the white wine, then add the cherry tomatoes and the can tomatoes. Simmer the lobster head for 20-30min.

4. Remove lobster head, add the lobster meat to the pan and stir fry and mix well with the sauce.

5. Adjust taste with sugar, sea salt and pepper or even chilli powder if a spicy taste is required.

5. Add the minced parsley, mix well and and pour over to the cooked pasta and serve!

* you can also mix pasta with the sauce before serving.
* remember to drizzle olive oil on top before serving.
* some prefers to have some grated parmesan cheese on top too.

Enjoy!

Lasagne

Ingredients:

Bolognese Sauce:
250g minced beef
250 minced pork
carrot x 1, finely diced
onion x 1, finely diced
garlic x 3, pressed
4-6 fresh plum tomatoes cut into cubes OR use 2-3 cans of plum tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine
tomtao puree x 1-2tbsp
Bay leaf x 1-2pc

How to Make:
1. Heat a big saucepan with olive oil and add onion and garlic.
2. Once fragrant, add minced beef and pork and stir fried until all quite cooked.
3. Then add the wine and tomato puree.
4. Then add the carrots and the tomatoes and stir and mix well.
5. Season with sugar, salt and pepper, then add the bay leaf and cover the pot with a lid and simmer for 2 hrs, stirring from time to time.


White Sauce:
60g butter
2-3 tbsp of plain white flour
400-500ml milk
2-3tbsp grated parmesan cheese

How to Make:
1. Melt butter in a small pan on medium heat. Stir in flour and mix with a whisk until it forms a paste.
2. Add milk little by little and keep stirring with the whisk until sauce thickens.
3. Lastly add the parmesan cheese and remove from heat.


Lasagne:
Bolognese Sauce - as above
White Sauce - as above
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Fresh Morzarella cheese thinly sliced
Lasagne Sheets

How to Make:
1. Preheat oven to 200'C.
2. Coat bottom of baking tray with the white sauce, then the bolognese sauce,
3. Then add 1 layer of the lasagne sheets.
4. Then add the grated parmesan cheese and the morzarella cheese.
5 Then repeat steps 2 to 4 for a few times.
6. Last top layer will be the lasage sheet with white sauce on top, add parmesan cheese.
7. Baked in top 1/3 level in the oven for 30min or until top layer is bubbly hot!

Enjoy!

Italian Minestrone

Ingredients:

Soup Base:
Old Chicken x 1
Ham Hock x 2-3pc
Carrot x 1
onion x 1
celery x 1/2

How to Make:
1. The night before you cook the soup, prepare the soup base.
2. Blanch washed chicken for 20 min and remove.
3. Blanch washed ham hock for 20min and remove.
4. Add chicken, ham hock, carrot, onion and celery in a big pot, covered with water and boil. After boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook for 3 hrs.
5. Remove all ingredients, store soup in fridge overnite.


Pesto Sauce:
2tbsp pine kennels
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp salt
80g basil leaves (stalks removed)
200ml extra virgin olive oil
2tbsp freshly grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

How to Make:
just add all the above to a mortar and grind to a paste. If you have a blender, even easier, mix everything in the blender and blend until it becomes a smooth paste. Add more basil or oil as you think fit.


Minestrone:
Carrot x 3 - cubes
Zuccini x 3 - cubes
Potato x 3 - cubes
Canneli beans (1/2 cup - soak overnite and blanch for 30min)
Bertoli beans (1/2 cup - soak overnite and blanch for 30 min)
Savoy cabbage - sliced

How to Make:
1. Take out soup base and skim the fat on top.
2. Reheat soup base, once boiled, add the carrot, zuccini, potato, beans and boil in medium heat for 1.5hrs.
3. Then add the savoy cabbage and keep cooking for another 30min. Check taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to your liking.
4. Lastly, add pesto sauce, mix well and serve.

* some might prefer to add some grated parmesan cheese on top.

Enjoy!

Roast Bresse Chicken

* this is adapted from the demonstration by Heston Blumenthal at his TV show "How to cook like Heston". A magical way to cook a tender and juicy chicken indeed but must be patient with the time involved!

Ingredients:
Bresse Chicken x 1 (pre-order at City Super or Great to ensure you;ll get one! they come in chilled.)
Lemon x 1
Fresh thyme x 1 big bunch
Butter
Honey

How to Make:
1. The night before you roast this chicken, you have to brine this chicken. Prepare 2 litres of water with 120g of salt. Boil until salt all dissolved. Then cool down.

2. Wash chicken and its cavity.

3. Soak chicken in the cooled down salt water and place in fridge overnight.

4. On the day of roasting, take out chicken and rinse and wipe dry. Stand at room temperature for an hour.

5. Preheat oven to 90'C.

6. Rest1/2 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature until soft.

7. Rinse the wipe dry the thyme. Cut lemon in 4 pc. Stuffed the chicken's cavity with the lemon and the thyme.

8. Massage and rub chicken skin with the soft butter all over.

9. Place chicken in a baking traying with the chicken stand and roast in oven for 45min.

10. Increase temperature to 150'C for another 45min.

11. After 1.5 hr of roasting, take out chicken and check if temperature of chicken breast reaches approx 60-70'C. If so, let it rest at room temperature for 30min. and in the meantime, adjust oven temperature to 250'C.

12. After resting, brush honey all over chicken skin and place chicken back to the hot oven and roast for the last 15min.

Carve the chicken and you'll notice how tender and juicy the chicken is! you dont really need any sauce or gravy to go with it. But in case you do want some, just deglaze the pan (already filled with melted butter and the chicken oil) with some white wine and you;ll have the chicken gravy!

Enjoy with your favourite glass of white wine!

Chicken a la King

Ingredients:
Chicken Thigh x 6 pc
Garlic x 3 pc - pressed
Onion x 1 - cut into quarters
Green Pepper x 1/4 - small squares
Red Pepper x 1/4 - small squares
Button Mushrooms - 8-10pc - quarters
Whipping Cream
Chicken Stock
Plain Flour
Rice

How to Make:
1. Cut chicken into small cubes and marinate like normal (i.e. light soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, cornflour) around 30min before cooking.

2. Heat a pan with olive oil, then pan fried the pressed garlic and onion till fragrant. Remove them to a dish.

3. Add chicken thighs to the same pan, dont stir too much. Once one side is browned and cooked, turn the chicken and after a while, stir fried them and add back the onion and garlic, then add 1-2 tablespoons of flour to the mixture (spoon by spoon until evenly mixed). Keep stir frying.

4. Add the green and red pepper and the mushrooms and mix them well with the chicken.

5. Add the chicken stock until the mixture is completely covered under the stock, then add the whipping cream until you think the "creaminess" of the sauce is to your liking.

6. Then adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding flour (spoons by spoons) and keep mixing and stir frying until well combined.

7. Check seasoning by adding salt and black pepper.

Best served with white rice! Enjoy and am sure your guests will have a feeling of "幸福"！