Chocolate & Banana Crepes

From Food Magazine.



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CHOCOLATE & BANANA CREAPES



Preparation time: 10 minutes

Makes 6 servings



Ingredients



1 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsps confectioner's sugar

1 cup milk mixed with 1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp vegetable oil

Dash of salt

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and let rest for 10 mins. In a non-stick 8-inch diameter pan, over low heat, pour a ladle of the batter on to the pan. Tilt pan to spread batter as thinly as possible, covering the surface of the pan. Cook for a minute or two. Gently lift and turn over to cook the other side. Transfer to a plate. Spread choco spread with spatula and top with sliced bananas. Fold and serve warm.

Seafood Spaghettini

Again, I don't remember where I got this recipe. Maybe from Food Magazine or Good Housekeeping?

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SEAFOOD SPAGHETTI

Preparation Time : 20 minutes
Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

1 kilo halaan (clams)
1 head garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp chili flakes
1 pack spaghettini

1. In a large saucepot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 slivers of garlic. Add the clams, cover and cook just until clams open, almost 3 minutes. Transfer clams into a bowl. Reserve clam juice in separate bowl.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions.

3. In large pan over medium heat, saute sliced garlic in olive oil until light golden. Add chili flakes and clam juice. Toss in spaghettini and clams. Season to taste. Serve hot.

Note: Clams should be coooked on the same day they are bought. If you want to store them, cook until step 1 then refrigerate. Use within the day.

Presto Pesto

I'm sure I got this recipe from one of my sister-in-law's magazines while I was staying there. Found it in one of my notepads.


PRESTO PESTO

Preparation time - 35 minutes . Makes 6 Servings


3/4 Kilo thin spaghetti
1 large bunch fresh basil
1 small clove garlic
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil
salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 cups cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
200g fresh mozzarella cheese cut into 3/4 inch cubes


* Cook spaghetti according to package directions

* Meanwhile, reserve 12 small basil leaves for garnish. From remaining basil, remove enough leaves to equal 2 cups firmly packed. In food processor, with knife blade attached, process basil leaves, garlic, 1/4 cup oil and 1/2 tsp salt until pureed, stopping processor and scraping bowl occasionally. Add parmesan; pulse to combine. Set aside.

* In bowl, mix tomatoes, vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon pepper with remaining 1tbsp oil and 1/4 tsp salt. Gently stir in mozzarella.

* Drain spaghetti, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Place spaghetti and reserved cooking water to saucepot; add pesto and toss well to coat pasta. Spoon spaghetti mixture into large bowl. Top with tomato mozzarella.

No-Sweat Ribs With All The Trimmings

I love spareribs so much that I can eat it every day. One day, when I have my own kitchen, I'll make sure that I get to cook this dish.

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Ingredients

1 slab pork baby back ribs (about 2 kilos)

For the marinade:
1 439-gram can pineapple chunks
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried rosemary leaves
1 head garlic, minced
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

For the gravy:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
2 cups drippings (from the cooked ribs)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

For garnishing:
1/4 cup butter pineapple chunks
1 cup sliced bell peppers
1 1/2 cups peaches, drained and sliced into chunks

Procedure

Wash ribs and pat dry.

Marinade : Into a bowl, drain pineapple chunks and reserve the syrup for the marinade. Set aside the pineapple chunks for garnishing. Combine the syrup, soy sauce, olive oil, rosemary leaves, garlic, sugar and salt and pepper.

Marinate pork in the mixure. Cover the dish with cling wrap. Leave at room temperature for one hour then chill overnight in the refrigerator.

When ready to cook, preheat oven for 12-20 minutes.

Roast ribs together with the marinade, allocating 30 minutes for every half kilo of pork. Transfer the roast pork to the grill of a barbegue pit and reserve the drippings. Grill for a few minutes to imporve aroma and to add grill marks.

Strain the dripings and measure for the gravy. You should have two cups. If not enough, add water to make two cups.

Gravy: In a saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in flour and mix well with a wire whisk. Pour in the drippings and stir continuously until it begins to thicken. Season with Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, salt and pepper.

Garnish: In a frying pan, melt the butter. Add remaining ingredients and saute until the bell peppers are crisp-tender.

To assemble: Surround roast with the sauteed mixture. Serve the gravy separately.

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Source: Food Magazine. December 2007 Issue

Pasta in Olive Pesto

This is one recipe that I've tried and I'm proud to say that it was praised...by toddlers!

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Ingredients

8-10 cups water for boiling pasta
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 large cloves garlic
2 cups pitted green olives, drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 410-gram can diced tomatoes, flavoured with garlic, basil and oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 500-gram pack spaghetti or fettuccine

Procedure

Cook pasta as directed on the packaging.

In a saucepan, heat olive oil and garlic over medium heat to gently cook garlic to a light golden color, about three to five minutes. Remove garlic from the oil and reserve both garlic and oil.

In a blender or food processor, combine olives, the cooked garlic and half of the reserved olive oil. Blend or process until olives and garlic are finely diced but not pureed.

Transfer to a serving bowl. Add remaining olive oil, Parmesan cheese and tomatoes. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until blended. Set aside.

Serve pasta with prepared olive oil pesto. Or use olive pesto as a spread or dip for toasted bread.

Makes 2 cups.


* Recipe from Food Magazine. November 2007.

Butterscotch Crunch

From the box of my Jewel-Osco Corn Flakes. Kept the recipe before I threw away the box.

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Ingredients :

1 cup (6oz) butterscotch flavored chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups corn flakes cereal
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening

Procedure :

Butter 8-inch square baking pan. Melt butterscotch chips and peanut butter in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Remove from heat. Gradually add cereal, stirring gently until all pieces are evenly coated. Press into prepared pan. Melt chocolate chips and shortening in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Drizzle over cereal mixture. Chill 1 hour. Cut into squares. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Fish Barbeque Marinade

Got this from a recipe website. I'm not sure which one. Probably Foodnetwork's site. Was able to try this when we were in the States.

Anyway, here are the ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp Chopped Scallions
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1/3 Cup Catsup
2 Tbsp Orange Juice
1/8 Tsp Oregano
1/4 TSp Pepper

There. I've tried this with different kinds of fish but it worked pretty well with sliced tuna.