Abundance in his grace

With the Christmas festivities coming to an end, I finally had the time clean up my cooking tools and leave my helper to wash up the oven. It has been a wonderful and blessed Christmas with family and friends. It was a time to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus, a time for fellowship with family and loved ones and of course singing traditional Christmas carols and exchanging gifts with one another. For me, nothing is more fulfilling than having family and friends sit around a table and enjoy the sumptuous food that has been prepared, having a good laugh at the year's events over a glass of wine or two. 

Instead of trying completely new recipes during this Christmas season, I focused on refining them so as not to make guinea pigs out of my guests! Wifey and I did try a couple of new recipes which I will share in subsequent entries but for now, let's just enjoy this season's Christmas food entries! We start off with Wifey's latest creations!

1. Smoked salmon, caviar with cream cheese & dill on toast

2. Mozzarella balls with cherry tomatoes in balsamic reduction

3. Christmas spread with friends - Brofeifei did the vongole, XO Wings and ribeye in béarnaise sauce . Yummy salad and sausages were brought in by our beloved friends!

4. Slow roasted pork crackling - this was so popular that I had to grab for my share of crackling! Recipe for this can be found in my earlier entry.

5. Christmas roasted chicken - Recipe for this succulent chicken can also be found in my earlier entry.

6. Penne arrabiata with homemade tomatoes basil sauce

7. Portobello mushrooms with chopped tomatoes & cheese

8. Orange & fennel salad with roasted walnuts - wifey's creation!

"And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others" - 2 Corinthians 9:8

It has been a great year of cooking for loved ones and there will be more exciting recipes to try next year. Until then, have a truly Happy New Year from Brofeifei!

Chilli crab linguine

As I continue my series of recipes that fuses the best of East and West, I cannot thank my wifey enough who has been my faithful guinea pig as I experimented with different versions of these recipes to get the balance of taste just right. Her feedback and plattte have been a great help to me! This recipe combines two of my favourite food; the all too famous Singaporean chilli crab and my favourite pasta, linguine! It is spicy, slurperlicious and brings out the best in Singaporean cuisine! it is very fast to make and takes about less than 30mins to spring out this dish. 

1. Cook linguine in pot of salted boiling water & olive oil for 10mins till al dente. Set aside
2. Add chopped shallots & white onions into hot pan of olive oil. Stir fry for 2-3mins
3. Add 1.5 spoonful of chilli crab paste & stir fry till fragrant for 2-3 mins
4. Add handful of crab meat and stir fry
5. Crack an egg to finish up the sauce & let it thicken to boil
6. Add pasta in and serve!

When stir frying the chilli crab paste, make sure you stir fry it till it makes you cough and tear a bit. This means that the spices in the paste are cooked properly and it is releasing it aromatic fragrance! Garnish the pasta with some sliced red chillis and spring onions and viola, you have a delicious dish that is perfect for a weekend lunch! Enjoy your weekend and TGIF! 

Prep time: 10mins     Cook time: 20mins     Level: Confirm can!

Abalone risotto with mushrooms

Risotto or some Singaporeans may call it as "ang moh mui fun" is an Italian classic that you are sure to find on the menu of any decent Italian restaurant. I have decided to put an Asian spin to it and create my own Abalone Risotto. Using a salvaged can of good quality whole abalone from the chinese new year festivities, I cooked this for wifey and myself as dinner. After this successful attempt of fusing the best of east and west, I think I shall continue my series of new recipes of the local take on western classics! Who wants to be my guinea pigs?!

1. Stir fry 2 shallots in hot pan of olive oil
2. Add handful of chopped white button mushrooms and cook till soft
3. Add 1 cup of short grain rice and stir for 2mins
4. Add 1 glass of white wine, abalone sauce from can and reduce
5. Add ladle after ladle of fish stock into rice slowly for the next 30mins
6. Allow rice to absorb stock before adding the next ladle
7. Cook till al dente and add sliced abalone
8. Serve with chopped chives and a fine glass of sauvignon blanc 

Prep time: 10mins     Cook time: 40mins     Level: Steady lah!

Spaghetti with shrimps, olives & capers

Just came back from one of my favourite places on earth and saw in real life one of marine world's most elusive animal; the hammerhead shark! What a privilege! Things from nature are always best when it is simple. Like good food, it is always best to let the fresh produce impress your family and friends. Most restaurants tend to over complicate a good plate of pasta; sometimes I guess to justify the hefty price tag for it. To me, a delicious plate of pasta is simply made with fresh produce, lightly seasoned and allows the ingredients to show their true worth. It is not complicated, very fresh and surprisingly easy to make. Just made this pasta for lunch and is one of my favourites when I just want a simple plate of home made goodness! 

1. Cook spaghetti in boling salted water & olive oil for 11mins till al dente
2. Saute chopped 1 garlic, 1/4 red onion, 1/4 chile & 3 anchovies for 2mins in hot pan of olive oil
3. Add sliced black olives, capers,  cherry tomatoes & shrimps
4. Season with salt & pepper. Stir for a few more mins. 
5. Toss with spaghetti and serve with chopped sweet basil
6. Drizzle with good quality olive oil & serve

Prep time: 15mins     Cook time: 15mins     Level: Confirm can!

Anchovy linguine with garlic & parsley

The finest pasta I have eaten is of course in Italy; in a small family owned restaurant in Cinque Terra, Monterosso al Mare. It was simply made with the freshest produce with nothing like posh lobsters or white truffles on the plate. Yet it remains the best pasta that I have ever tasted. Guess the best things in life are often the most simple and freshest! Just cooked this for Sunday lunch with the Wifey and it is a pasta made with simple produce, easy to make and really delicious.

1. Cook linguine in boling salted water with olive oil for 10min till al dente
2. Drain the pasta and set aside.
3. Put 2 garlic gloves, thinly sliced into hot pan of olive oil & fry till golden brown

4. Add chopped anchovies (80gm serves 2) into pan and stir

5. Season with pepper and add chopped italian parsley. No more SALT!

6. Add pasta, mix and serve with cherry tomatoes. 

Prep time: 10mins     Cook time: 20mins     Level: Confirm can!

For the anchovies, you can get the marinated ones from the deli at any civilised supermarkets. Buy about 40gm per person that you are serving for. Some of my friends had the unfortunate experience when I was over generous with the anchovies. :)