Sausage Pasta with Fennel and Chili

This is one of my favourite pasta dishes. It's bursting with so many different flavours. There's the anise you get from the fennel, heat from the chili flakes, sweetness from the cherry tomatoes, and the caramelization from the sausage. All these beautiful flavours are brought together into one dish with a touch of cream and then garnished with parsley. You can use pretty much any kind of pasta with this dish, but I recommend penne, fusilli, or shells so you get maximum sauce with each mouthful. I've made this many times and I think this is my yummiest version yet!

 What you'll need: fresh sausages, pasta (I ended up using mini shells instead of this one pictured here because Boyfriend said it looked like maggots...), parsley, cherry tomatoes

 What you'll need: fennel seeds, black pepper, oregano, chili flakes

Bash up the chili flakes and fennel seeds to release their flavours

Squeeze the sausages out of their skins and break them up in the pan.

Keep frying and breaking the meat up until it resembles mince.

Add the bashed-up fennel seeds and chili flakes and cook on a medium heat until the meat becomes crisp, golden brown and slightly caramelized. Take your time with this step. It is essential that the sausage is browned nicely (not burnt!) and has rendered most of its oil. That's how the deep flavours develop.

Add in cherry tomatoes, cooked pasta and a touch of cream. Mix until the sauce has thickened and coats the pasta evenly.

Garnish with chopped parsley.

Sausage Pasta with Fennel and Chili

For 2

Ingredients

1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 fresh Italian sausages
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup cream
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
150g pasta
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped

Method

1. Bash up the fennel seeds and the chili flakes in a pestle and mortar or in a seed grinder.
2. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat. Squeeze the meat out of the sausage skins onto the pan, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
3. Fry for a few minutes until the meat starts to colour and the fat has rendered slightly. Break up the meat more until it resembles minced meat.
4. Add the fennel seeds and chili and cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes until the meat becomes crisp, golden brown and slightly caramelized.
5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. When done, drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water.
6. Add in the oregano into the sausage, and pour in the white wine. Allow it to reduce a little.
7. Add the halved tomatoes and cream and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften, around 2 minutes. Season.
8. Add the cooked pasta and toss with the sausage mixture until the sauce has coated the pasta evenly. Add the reserved pasta water to loosened up the sauce if needed.
9. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's Proper Bloke's Sausage Fusilli

Creamy Crab Rigatoni

This is a simple yet decadent weeknight pasta dish that takes less than 30 minutes to make. I loved the chunks of creamy crab meat hiding inside the mezzi rigatoni (short rigatoni). However I must apologize for the quality of these photos. I left my camera at a friend's place so I had to use my phone. I tried my best to tinker with the editing on iPhoto, but the photos don't do this dish justice.

 Cook the garlic on low heat until fragrant.

Stir in the crab meat.

 If you don't want to, you don't have to peel them. But if you want a smoother sauce without bits of tomato skin floating around in it, it only takes a few minutes to do this step. I scored an X on top of each tomato and blanched them in boiling water for 30 seconds before peeling.

Add the stock and simmer on low heat until the tomatoes are soft.

After 15 minutes of simmering, the tomatoes have disintegrated into the sauce.

 Add the cream. Simmer for another minute.

 Add the cooked pasta and mix well. Turn up the heat to medium high to reduce and thicken the sauce.

Plate it up and add some shaved Pecorino. The salty cheese adds a nice sharpness. 

Recipe - adapted from here

For 2

Ingredients

150g tubular pasta, preferably rigatoni or penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can crab meat, around 150g
2 tomatoes, skins removed, roughly chopped
1 cup fish stock
100 ml cream
Salt
Pecorino, optional

Method

1. To remove the skins of the tomatoes, score an X on top of each tomato and blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds. Peel back the skins when cool enough to handle.
2. Heat olive oil in pan and added the minced garlic. Cook on low.
3. When the garlic is fragrant, stir in the crab meat. Season with a pinch of salt.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and stock. Simmer on low heat until the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
5. While the tomatoes are simmering, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain the pasta when it is one minute shy of al dente.
6. When the tomatoes are soft, add the cream and simmer for another minute.
7. Add the pasta and mix well. Turn up the heat to medium high to thicken and reduce the sauce.
8. Shave some Pecorino on top before serving, or alternatively, add chopped parsley.

Hong Kong - Manzo Italian Steak House

I had dinner with 3 of my classmates one weeknight, and I suggested we try Jamie's Italian. I told them it would probably be an hour wait only if we went at 6:30pm. I was so confident we could get a table if we went "early" that I didn't make any back-up reservations. We arrived at Midtown Plaza 2 in Causeway Bay at 6:25pm and there was already a queue (apparently people starting lining up at 5:30pm). And it wasn't even the queue for a table. It was the queue to get a ticket to queue for a table! We were told by the dude giving out tickets that it would probably be a 3 hour wait in total. I love Jamie but it seemed excessive to wait that long, especially since he wasn't even physically there. Guess I will go when the hype has died down a bit. We went up to three other restaurants in the same building but there were no more walk-in seats available anywhere. Defeated, we headed to Times Square. Fiona suggested Manzo. We arrived before 7 pm and were the first ones there. The decor was casual, with wood furniture and white walls. I had never eaten at Manzo before, so I did a quick search online and found that it is part of the Dining Concepts group (of Bistecca, Lupa, Bombay Dreams and the anticipated Bread Street by Gordon Ramsey). 

Cold Cut Platter ($198 for 3 kinds): We picked (L-R) Bresaola Air Cured Beef, Speck Smoked Proscuitto and Finocchiona Fennel Salami. My favourite was the salami, which had the perfect balance between fat and meat, and a delightful hint of fennel. The bresaola was a bit on the chewy side and the prosciutto lacked in pork flavour. The portion size was reasonable.

 

Grilled Thick Cut Bacon with Salsa Verde ($108): The bacon was sizzling hot when it arrived. The salsa verde (green sauce which includes parsley, garlic, vinegar, olive oil) was tangy and refreshing, which was nice against the fatty caramelised bacon. Interesting combination overall.

Spaghetti with Sauteed Shrimps and Green Peas ($188): I liked how the pasta was served in a cute pan. It made it easy to share the dish. The spaghetti was al dente and tossed in a lemon-garlic-butter sauce. The shrimps were sweet and the frisee kept the dish light and fresh with its bitter notes. We all enjoyed this dish.

Bucatini with Crab Meat, Spicy Tomato sauce and Basil ($198): This was not as good as the previous pasta. There was too much pasta and not enough sauce, therefore the dish was under-seasoned. The tomato sauce wasn't spicy, nor did I taste the crab meat. However, I liked how the basil brightened up the dish.

"Guanciale" Braised Beef Cheek in Red Wine with Stewed Vegetables ($228): I should've taken a better photo of the beef! It was so tender that you could eat it even if you had no teeth. The beef soaked up all the robust flavours of the red wine and vegetables. There were hints of rosemary and black peppercorn. The vegetables were soft and added sweetness to the dish.

Tiramisu Cake with Almond Gelato ($68): Hong Kong style tiramisu made without the strong coffee liquor (or maybe there was liquor but I didn't taste any) paired with almond gelato. The cake was alright, but could've been more moist. The gelato was creamy and rich, but I didn’t think it paired well with the tiramisu. Lemon Meringue with Honey Gelato ($68): Yum! This was delicious. The pie had just the right balance of sweetness and tartness. The lemon curd was silky smooth and the crust was buttery. It could've been more crisp though. I liked the generous helping of meringue on top and the sweet honey drizzle. The honey gelato went well with the lemon, but in my opinion the pie was fine on its own.

Verdict: Decent and hearty dishes. The meat dishes were definitely better than the pasta dishes. In hindsight, I should've tried their steak given that it was a "steak house".

Manzo Italian Steak House
Address: Shop 1104, 11/F, Times Square, 1 Matheson St, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Phone: 2735-3980
Website: http://www.diningconcepts.com/manzo/index.php

A Healthy Breakfast

I don't want to sound like a huge cliche but yes, breakfast IS the most important meal! It really helps kick start your metabolism and you will feel less tired and less likely to over eat during the day. We never ate "proper" breakfast food at home until a few years ago. I have fond memories of frosted Pop Tarts, Cap'n Crunch and Cinnamon Toast Crunch (fave!). Three years ago, Mama Bear started going to a personal trainer who was also a certified nutritionist. He set up a meal plan for her which included fresh berries and oatmeal for breakfast. He also suggested that she snack on cherry tomatoes, avocado and nuts throughout the day. Since then, our kitchen has been stocked with only healthy food items. No chips, no peanut butter, nothing. It was tough at first, but we finally caught onto Mama Bear's healthy eating habits. Recently I've been switching between having a sandwich and oatmeal with berries for breakfast. 

Here is one of my favorite breakfast combos: smoked salmon with avocado, cherry tomatoes and Greek yogurt on toasted sour dough. These things taste so good together! And you get vitamins and antioxidants from the tomatoes, Omega-3s from the avocado and salmon, and probiotics from the yogurt. You'll never want to eat plain ham and cheese again.

Recipe

For 1

Ingredients

1 thick slice of sourdough, toasted
1 slice smoked salmon
1/2 small avocado
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
Freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons low-fat or non-fat Greek yogurt

Method

1. Lay the salmon on the sourdough. No butter or mayo needed!
2. Using a teaspoon, scoop out the avocado into chunks.
3. Add the yogurt and cherry tomatoes.
4. Finish with black pepper.

Hong Kong - The Penthouse by Harlan Goldstein

It has been a very eventful week for an unemployed person like me. I attended a friend's beautiful wedding, went hiking, and made a few dishes for my blog. Before I tell you about this amazing dinner I had, I want to let you know that I've moved some food-related posts from my old blog to this one. Here are the links!

Reviews:

Vancouver: Burgoo, Rodney's Oyster House

Los Angeles: Apple Pan, Umami Burger

Recipe: Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries with Crushed Macarons

They are restaurant reviews and recipes from when I was living in Vancouver. Enjoy!

Now back to the dinner I had over the weekend. Friday night was date night, so naturally, I got to pick where we would be having dinner. Midtown Plaza II opened recently across Times Square in Hong Kong, housing many new restaurants and office spaces. Harlan Goldstein's two new restaurants Sushi To and Penthouse by HG were situated on the top 2 floors of the building. Jamie's Italian will be opening soon in the same building. I've heard great things about Penthouse, so I called to make a reservation 4 days ahead and was told that only the 9:30pm slot was available. We arrived at 8:45pm hoping to grab drinks at the bar and were pleasantly surprised to find out that our table was ready. The first thing I noticed was the gorgeous view of Victoria Harbour and the high-rise buildings with neon-lights across the water. Nothing beats the Hong Kong skyline at night. The restaurant was mainly bathed in dark colors but had spots of light directly over the area of the place mats on your table. It was as if they designed it on purpose so we could take well-lit photos of our food! Everything was delicious. The one thing I didn't like was how the servers seemed to be were rushing us. They whisked away my dish right after I had put the last bite into my mouth. I wasn't even done chewing. After we were done with our main courses, our server took away our dishes and immediately put the dessert menu on the table without saying a word. Other than that, I had an enjoyable time at Penthouse.

Bread and pesto: I have mentioned how much I liked the pesto at Harlan's other restaurant Gold before, and this was no different. Fresh and tangy. Scooped up all of it with the warm crusty bread.

Grilled Italian Baby Squid with Chorizo, Haricot Beans & Saffron Aioli: The buttery grilled squid was cooked to perfection. The red sauce reminded me of a Mediterranean stew with the beans and chorizo. It was sweet, a bit tangy, and slightly spicy. The delicious aioli brightened up the hearty dish. Wish they gave us more aioli!

Spanish Red Prawn Spaghetti In My Secret Sauce: This was my favorite dish of the night. The fragrant umami sauce came from using a copious amount of toasted Sakura shrimp, which was a nice refreshing take on the red prawn pasta that is common nowadays on the menu of Hong Kong restaurants. The two huge prawns on top of the homemade al dente spaghetti were cooked just right and the juices from the heads blended perfectly into the sauce. The sauce was slightly spicy and the flavour lingered. It went really well with our wine. I liked how the ratio of sauce and patio was very balanced. The sauce coated every strand of pasta and it was almost like a lo mein (Chinese noodles stirred with a sauce).

Spanish Duroc Pork Ribs Bomba Rice with Chorizo and Piquillo Peppers: This was delicious. Each grain of Bomba rice had absorbed all the beautiful flavors of the broth (I think there was saffron and pimenton in it). The pork ribs had a nice caramelised crust and the meat was falling off the bone. However there was a thick layer of fat under the crust which was just a mouthful of oil. Loved how the fragrant chorizo and piquillo peppers seasoned the dish with their strong distinct taste. I also liked the crunch from the green beans and the crispy rice on the bottom of the dish.

Tater Tots with Blue Cheese Dip: I love tater tots. Ate them all the time growing up. These tots were perfectly fried and not greasy at all. The blue cheese was mild but didn't taste like the gloopy kind from a bottle. There were at least 25 tots per portion and sadly we couldn't eat them all. If you are going with a group, please order these! You will not be disappointed. I also dipped them in the aioli that came with the bomba rice. Delicious.

Verdict: Very pleased with the food. Looking forward to my next visit to try their mac & cheese and steak!

The Penthouse by Harlan Goldstein
Address: 30/F, Midtown, 1 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay
Phone: 2970 0828
Website: www.penthouse-dining.com

Grilled Sardines and Tuscan Bread Salad Part 2

This is the perfect summer salad and a great accompaniment to the grilled sardines. Panzanella is a Tuscan salad made with crusty bread and tomatoes. The addition of feta and roasted red peppers gives it a Mediterranean flair. The original recipe called for anchovies in the dressing, but I didn't have any on hand so I just added a tiny bit of sea salt. The dressing came out perfect. I really liked this salad because it was super easy to make and very delicious. The sweet cherry tomatoes went well with the fragrant basil/balsamic dressing, and the creamy tangy feta was a boost of flavour. The only thing I didn't like was how the toasted ciabatta absorbed the sauce quickly and became soggy. When I make this salad again, I will be sure to add the ciabatta last. Enjoy!

Oops the pancetta was for the sardines, but here are the main components for this salad: feta, roasted red peppers, capers, cherry tomatoes and ciabatta. 

Blend together a clove of garlic, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, spring onion, basil and 3-4 cherry tomatoes. The original recipe used 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, but it was such a waste of the beautiful tomatoes, so I used only 3. It was enough to create a dressing-like consistency. 

I followed the original recipe and added the toasted ciabatta before the tomatoes. The bread absorbed a lot of the sauce and became soggy real fast. I have altered the recipe below to reflect this.

Recipe - adapted from Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals 

For 2

Ingredients

½ small ciabatta loaf

1 clove garlic

extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 cups mixed color cherry tomatoes, halved

½ bunch spring onion, ends trimmed

½ bunch fresh basil

1 tablespoon capers

1 cup jarred roasted red peppers, cut into 1-inch chunks

Handful feta cheese

Method

1. Cut the ciabatta into 1 inch thick slices and toast them on both sides on a pan.
2. Peel the garlic and put into a blender or food processor with 1 tablespoon olive oil, balsamic, 3-4 cherry tomatoes, spring onions and basil. Blend until it becomes smooth. Pour into a large serving bowl.
3. Halve the remaining tomatoes and add to the bowl, along with the capers and peppers. Toss.
4. Tear the toasted ciabatta into thumb-sized pieces into the bowl and toss once only to coat. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil to finish.
5. Garnish with torn basil leaves and feta.
6. Serve immediately with the grilled sardines.

New York - Clinton Street Baking Company

Good morning New York! What an incredible view to wake up to every morning. It was our second day in the city and we were still jet-lagged because of the 12-hour time difference between Hong Kong and New York. We woke up around 7 am and couldn't go back to sleep, so we went for a jog in Central Park. By the time we were done, it was pretty much dinner time back home, so a big breakfast was in order (the only thing I like about jet lag!). My guru-for-all-things-food Laubaby blogged about Clinton Street Baking Co. before and it was exactly what we wanted - eggs, grease and pancakes. 

We arrived 30 minutes before opening time, and there were already at least twenty people in line. Five minutes before they opened for service, a woman came out to take down our names and the number of people in each party. After that, we were promptly seated. Apparently we were the last ones to get seated and the rest had to wait another hour! Sooo glad we came early!

Wild Maine Blueberry Pancakes with Warm Maple Butter sauce: These pancakes were by far the best pancakes I've ever had. You can also pick banana walnut or chocolate chunk, but blueberry is the one that everyone orders. The pancakes were slightly crispy on the outside and super fluffy on the inside. The blueberry topping wasn't too sweet, which I liked. And that maple butter! Oh em gee it was so delicious. I love the combination of sweet and salty, and this really hit the spot. The sauce is really rich though, so I recommend dipping instead of pouring the sauce over the pancakes.

So fluffy and moist!

I ordered the Southern Breakfast: Two eggs, sugar-cured bacon, cheese grits and fried green tomatoes. The crispy bacon was my favorite. Sweet and salty! The green tomatoes were delicious too. They were coated in seasoned breadcrumbs and deep fried. The grits were okay, but overpowered the bacon and tomatoes. It kind of tasted like cheesy polenta, which I felt didn't go well with the other items.

He ordered the Country Breakfast: 3 eggs, hash, buttermilk biscuit and Heritage maple cured ham. This was pretty standard diner fare. The ham looked dry but it was surprisingly juicy and sweet with a hint of smokiness. I didn't try the biscuit but the boyfriend said it was buttery and flaky.

Verdict: Come for the pancakes! And come early.