Creamy Garlic Butter Mussels

Ingredients
750g Mussels in shells, debreaded and scrubbed
1 tablespoon Butter
1 small Onion, finely chopped
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
50ml White Wine
200ml Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
Salt and Ground Black Pepper
Toasted Bread (Brioche / Butterscotch / French)

Step 1: Soften the onion and garlic in the butter over medium to low heat.
Step 2: Add the thyme and wine, and increase the heat to high.
Step 3: Add the mussels, cover with the lid and steam for 6 to 10 minutes until the mussels have opened.
Step 4: Stir in the cream and chopped parsley, and season well.
Setp 5: Remove from the heat and serve with toasted Bread.

Give this recipe a try and hope you like it too.

Notes:
- Mussels quality matters, various brands mussels taste blend.

Click here for our blog page Cooking Recipes - Western Cuisine for more recipes. Hope you will be inspired~

Newbie Kitchen: A first-timer's attempt at Traditional Fettuccine Carbonara!

Welcome to our inaugural episode of Newbie Kitchen! In this series of videos we'll tackle a recipe or dish which we've never cooked before, purely with guidance from the almighty Internet! Today, we're trying out two different takes on the traditional way of making Carbonara - i.e. without any dairy. Let's see whether two total newbies can nail it on the first try!


List of Ingredients (for 1 portion):
→ 50-60g Guanciale (cured Italian pork jowl)
→ 30-40g Pecorino Romano (Italian sheep's milk cheese)
→ 60-70g Pasta (we used Fettuccine in this video)
→ 1-2 Egg Yolks
→ Black Pepper
→ Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Tips & Tricks for the Newbie Cook:

#1: You don't need Olive Oil - it depends how much oil your Guanciale (or Pancetta or Bacon) renders out into the pan.


#2: Know your pasta! We didn't know how long to cook this pasta so we just winged it (wang it?); it turned out slightly undercooked.


#3: Heat is not your friend (when blending in the egg yolks). Take your pan off the heat otherwise you risk scrambling the egg yolks instead.


Finished Product & Verdict:


It was pretty damn good! Although we're not exactly too sure how much of that success was down to dumb beginners' luck. Will have to find out later on when we try cooking this dish again with our leftover pork jowl and sheep's cheese, though.

If you enjoyed the video, and/or you'd like to share more tips & tricks, we'd absolutely love to hear from you: Leave us your comment below!

Pasta Exploration ::: Prefect Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe from Scratch

Been a fan of Carbonara, been buying the ready made sauce. However, since I started baking and using Thicken Cream for my bakes, here I am trying out Carbonara from scratch with the extra Thicken Cream I have in my fridge.


Serves 2 pax
Ingredients
1.5cm Angle Hair Spaghetti (x2 to x3)
2 L of Water
1 teaspoon of Salt

200ml Thicken Cream
2 Egg White
2 teaspoons of Garlic Powder
2 tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese
2 teaspoons of Herbs

8 slices of Bacon (cut up into 1cm slices)
50g sliced Mushrooms
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

2 Egg Yolk (Optional - Garnishing/serving for self mix)
chopped / dry Herbs (Garnishing)

Instructions

1. Cook pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.
2. Meanwhile, mix the Thicken Cream, Egg White, Garlic Powder, Parmesan Cheese gently with a fork until well combine.
3. Heat up a pan, cook Bacon stirring for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add Mushrooms and Olive Oil, stirring until the Bacon beginning to crisp, set pan aside.
5. Quickly add the Carbonara mixture and Herbs, bring it to a simmer.
6. Drain pasta, then return to pan, toss to combine. The heat from the pasta will cook the egg slightly and form a creamy sauce.
7. Serve immediately with extra parmesan, crushed Black Pepper, Herbs and top with an egg yolk.

Click here for our blog page Cooking Classes for more recipes. Hope you will be inspired~

Pasta Exploration ::: Tuna Aglio Olio

First Aglio Olio served to the picky Aglio Olio eater the deary. His comments over this dish is it only lack of fresh chili slices for the spicy kick.

Ingredients
1 can of Tuna in Water
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 cloves of sliced/crushed Garlic
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 sliced Chilli Padi
Sprinkle of Italian Herbs
1.5cm Angle Hair Spaghetti (x2 to x3)
2 L of Water
1 teaspoon of Salt

Step by Step
Step 1 Pour Water to boil over the stove with 1 teaspoon of Salt. If the water is boiling place in the pasta. (Cooking the pasta together with the Aglio Olio sauce.)
Step 2 Heat up a pan and add in the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, sliced/crushed Garlic and Cayenne Pepper. Stir fry until garlic is cooked.
Step 3 Toss in the cooked Angle Hair Spaghetti and a dash of salt to taste. Dish on a plate.
Step 4 Turn up the heat and pour the can of Tuna in Water in the same spaghetti pan. Simmer until all the water has evaporated.
Step 5 Dish on top of the Aglio Olio. Crush on some Black Pepper and sprinkle some Italian Herbs before serving.


Click here for our blog page Cooking Classes for more recipes. Hope you will be inspired~

Pasta Exploration ::: Black Pepper Roast Chicken Aglio Olio

Convenience of preparing a meal is now a very essential need. Roasting chicken is easy but takes time & effort and impossible to cook it on a weekday for working couples/parents. I bought a whole Black Pepper Roast Chicken from a supermarket split it up into 2 meals and this is one of the meal that have been prepared. On your weekend you can also Roast your Chicken and split it up into meals.

Ingredients
1 quarter Black Pepper Roasted Chicken
2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 clove of crushed Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Sprinkle of Italian Herbs
1.5cm Angle Hair Speghetti (for 1)
2 litre of Water
1 teaspoon of Salt

Step by Step
Step 1 Place the chicken in a 160°C oven to warm it up.
Step 2 Pour 2 litre of Water to boil over the stove with 1 teaspoon of Salt. If the water is boiled place in the pasta. (Cooking the pasta together with the Aglio Olio sauce.)
Step 3 Heat up a pan and add in the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, crushed Garlic and Cayenne Pepper. Stir fry until garlic is cooked.
Step 3 Toss in the cooked Angle Hair Speghetti and a dash of salt to taste.
Step 4 Dish on a plate. Crush on some Black Pepper and sprinkle some Italian Herbs before serving.


Click here for our blog page Cooking Classes for more recipes. Hope you will be inspired~

Pasta Exploration ::: Bacon Aglio Olio

Ingredients
2 sliced Streaky Bacon
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 clove of crushed Garlic
1/2 Cayenne Pepper
Sprinkle of Italian Herbs
1.5cm Angle Hair Speghetti (for 1)
2 litre of Water
1 teaspoon of Salt

Step by Step

Step 1 Pour 2 Litre of Water to boil over the stove with 1 teaspoon of Salt. If the water is boiled place in the pasta. (Cooking the pasta together with the Aglio Olio sauce.)

Step 2 Place the bacon in a non stick pan and cook it until it is lightly browned. (The bacon will turn out semi crispy after step 3 so don't worry.)

Step 3 Add in the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, crushed Garlic and Cayenne Pepper. Stir fry until garlic is cooked.

Step 3 Toss in the cooked Angle Hair Speghetti and a dash of salt to taste.

Step 4 Dish on a plate. Crush on some Black Pepper and sprinkle some Italian Herbs before serving.


Click here for our blog page Cooking Classes for more recipes. Hope you will be inspired~

Pasta Exploration I ::: Bolognese with Homemade Beef Meatballs with Fusilli

Offtopic: We are now on Twitter, so Follow Us on Twitter to get first-hand updates whenever we ... update!

Have you watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs? If you have not you better do! It rings a bell to make this dish......

Spaghetti Meatballs Bolognese is one of the most common popular dish. Our very first Pasta recipe sharing. Hope we can come up with more very soon.

Enjoy Cooking!



Beef Meatballs
500g of Minced Beef
Dash of Salt
Dash of Pepper
1 teaspoon of Corn flour
1/2 of Sesame Oil
Cooking oil

1. Mince Beef more to make it tender.
2. Place the minced beef in a bowl and add salt, pepper, corn flour and sesame oil.
3. Portion beef enough and roll it into balls about the size of 1.5cm round.
4. To stack up meatballs, sprinkle corn flour to make them not to stick them together too much.
5. Heat frying pan till hot and add cooking oil.
6. Place in beef balls and fry till brown, turn it to cook whole meatball.
7. Dish it to cool and absorb excess oil in kitchen tissue towel while you're cooking the rest of the beef meatballs.


Bolognese Sauce
1-2 cup of Bolognese Sauce from Prego Traditional Bottle

1. Heat pot and add in Bolognese sauce.
2. Let it boil, add in the cooked beef meatballs.
3. Simmer for another 2mins, and turn off the fire.


Pasta - Fusilli
5cups of Water
Salt
2 cups of Fusilli

1. Boil water with salt, and add in pasta.
2. Keep on boiling until pasta is Medium-Soft.
3. Use a big sifts to strain the water.
4. Add some Olive Oil so that it will be stick together.


TO SERVE:
1. Portion pasta in shallow plates.
2. Scoop Bolognese meatball sauce on top and it is ready to be served.
3. Top it with Cheddar Cheese.

Click here for our blog page Cooking Classes for more recipes. Hope you will be inspired~