Pasta, roast chicken or sandwich Every time I ask for ideas of what to have for dinner, my husband replies with 3 options: pasta, roast chicken or sandwiches. Now, I like sandwiches as much as the next person but when I ask for ideas, I want inspiration. BUT there is only…
Category: Mains
Confit Pork Belly roasted Thai Chili Paste, Garlic and Ginger
If you are what you eat, than I am a mess of pork belly. This fatty pork remains my Achilles heal of food weaknesses. Granted I don’t eat it as much as I want but, when I do, it has to be cooked to perfection. Now, in my humble opinion, no (vast)…
Baked Ham and Cheese Pasta Rolls
The dish These ham and cheese pasta rolls are made by stuffing pasta with cheese and slices of ham then rolled up, sliced and baked in a white wine and thyme sauce. I began by kneading the pasta dough by hand, rolled it out by hand, smothered it in a creamy béchamel sauce,…
Lamb and Butter Bean Stew
The stew This lamb and butter bean stew is inspired by Yemini cuisine. Lamb, vegetables and butter beans are cooked in a lightly spicy tomato broth. Humble ingredients like butter beans, potatoes, tomatoes, carrot and celery are stewed in the most vibrant combination of spices and juicy lamb. The end result puts all of my other…
Spicy Salted Fried Chicken with Scallions
When it comes to food, my weakness will always be fried chicken and I have been lucky enough to travel the world sampling each culture’s tasty version of the fried bird. So you can imagine my delight when I visited a local Thai and Vietnamese restaurant here in Malaysia and came across this concoction….
Beef Stroganoff
Beef Stroganoff is one of those dishes that remind me of my childhood. The tender beef, the succulent mushrooms all in a creamy sauce over a pile of egg noodles. The only problem with trying to recreate it now is that my mother…
Pasta Primavera
Springtime is here! In Italian, Primavera means springtime. Springtime with its awakening gardens and brighter days. So it makes sense that a pasta primavera be filled with all the garden has to offer. A colorful rainbow of fresh vegetables and mushrooms. Now if I am going to toss all those lovely fresh vegetables together with…
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Things I remember about my Ukranian grandmother: Her Brooklyn accent whenever I talked to her on the phone. She was a big believer of soaking her poultry in brine before cooking. AND 3. Her stuffed cabbage rolls recipe. What was her secret for delicious stuffed cabbage rolls? Sad to say, I…
Lentil Cakes with Lemon Yogurt dressing over cucumber and tomato salad
These lentil cakes are crispy on the outside but soft and savory on the inside. They are delicious wrapped up in a tortilla or fluffy naan bread for a little sandwich or paired with fresh cucumber, tomato, a drizzle of lemon and garlic yogurt sauce and a dab of chili…
Pineapple Soy Chicken
For me as a kid, nothing was as big of a bummer as being served Hawaiian pizza. This was a time in my life when I keep the sweet and savory completely separate. To quote my father, “Leave the fruit in the bowl”. So I did just that and painstakingly removed all…
Salmon Cakes made from Leftover Salmon Trimmings
I love salmon cakes. For Christmas breakfast, I make salmon cakes topped with sliced avocado, a poached egg and a drizzle of Hollandaise sauce. On a weekday night, I throw together salmon cakes drizzled with parsley sauce served alongside crispy potatoes and steamed veg. There’s no wrong time. Now, as much as I…
Karaage Chicken
I first learned how to make karaage (kara a gee) chicken in a Japanese cooking class whilst living in Beijing. That was where I learned that coating things in cornstarch and frying until crispy was inspired by Chinese cooking to which I say, thank you China. For me, karaage chicken is…
Foolproof Cheesy Carbonara
When I’m feeling particularly hedonistic, I find myself time and time again throwing together pasta carbonara for a decadent meal. One day I found myself in the midst of putting it all together when I discovered that there just wasn’t enough Parmesan cheese to make it to my liking. Still, the bacon was…
Bean and Cheese Crispy Burritos
I have fond childhood memories of my mother going to Taco Time and coming back with crispy burritos for my brother, sister and I. Long and crispy and wrapped in that crispy paper bag with unsealed open ends on both sides…I can hear myself crunching into it now. Recently I…
Pork and Shrimp Wontons
Before I had my beautiful daughter, life was carefree! Sure, I’ll have another beer. Why not stay out late on a Saturday night? Hey, let’s go away for the weekend! I had so many opportunities to spend my extra money and extra time. Especially when I became sick. If I felt ill,…
Pork Loin Roasted with Bacon, Apple and Sage
How much do I love this recipe? Let me count the ways… I love how easy it is to put together. Cut up the apples and onions, place them around a pork loin coated in cider and sage, wrap in bacon and roast until juicy and tender. Make an amazing sauce…
Lemongrass Chicken Stir-fry
I could go on and on about how salty, sweet, crunchy, satisfying and generally great this lemongrass chicken stir-fry can be in a long story. Or I can just get down to the reasons why I love this recipe so much: It’s easy It’s quick It’s healthy It’s cheap to make…
Chicken Ravioli with a Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Cooking is as much about the mistakes as it is the successes. Believe me, I have learned the hard way, especially when it comes to making ravioli. The first time I tried to make homemade ravioli, the dough was too thick and not cooked through and contained a filling that was…
Croque Monsieur
The French do many things well when it comes to food, but they are not particularly creative when it comes to sandwich making as can be seen in the croque monsieur. You likely won’t find new and innovative ingredients between 2 pieces of bread but you will find quality. The bread is…
Zha Jiang Mian (Chinese noodles made with soybean paste)
Zha Jiang Mian translates to “fried noodle sauce” meaning that you must ‘fry’ or simmer the sauce and add it to the noodles later, almost like a Chinese version of spaghetti with marinara sauce. Although this dish is typically made with minced meat, I prefer the vegetarian version…