Spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and chili flakes

When I was thinking what to cook for lunch that is super easy and yummy, this pops up in my mind. Just a simple and classic Italian pasta dish with garlic, olive oil and chili flakes. Added some dried garlic flakes for extra crunch. Cooked in 10 minutes and served with the left over chicken and avocado from last night.

Mayonnaise Parmesan crusted chicken

When I found this recipe, I was ecstatic coz I love mayonnaise and parmesan. And even better, this recipe only has 4 ingredients and cooks in oven for 20 minutes. This would be the perfect lazy meal to do after a long day of work.

I seasoned the chicken a bit before adding the mayonnaise and parmesan cheese. I made a summer salad with avocado, cherry tomatoes, mango, capsicum and salmon roe to eat the chicken with. It added extra flavors and texture to the dish. The chicken was quite moist and tender, however the mayonnaise flavor is not sharp after baking. So I suggest to serve with some extra mayonnaise or aioli.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast (400g)

1/4 cup Mayonnaise

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 tsp bread crumbs

pinch of garlic salt & fresh ground black pepper

1 garlic cloves, minced

4 pcs lettuce

Directions

1. Place mayo and cheese in a small bowl and mix.
2. Lay chicken breasts on baking sheet, season with garlic salt, pepper and garlic cloves. Spread the mayo mixture evenly on top of the chicken.
3. Evenly sprinkle bread crumbs atop each.
4. Place in pre-heated oven at 220C and bake for 20 minutes. Tops will be slightly browned. 
5. Put chicken on lettuce and serve with salad and mayonnaise/aioli.

Adapted from 

http://www.hellmanns.com/recipes/detail/8366/1/parmesan-crusted-chicken

Stir fry squid with celery, cherry tomatoes and baby spinach

Hubby is not home for dinner tonight. So it's the best time to cook something super simple that I love and he hates. Squid is another seafood that I like, especially the nice aroma when you cook it with butter and garlic. I just took whatever available in the fridge to stir fry the squid with.

Serves 1

Ingredients

2 squids

baby spinach

2 stalks of celery

2 cherry tomatoes, halved

pinch of chili flakes

1/2 tsp butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

pinch of garlic salt & fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp salmon roe

1 tbsp coriander, chopped

Seared salmon with salmon roe and vegetables

Salmon is the fish I like the most, be it cooked or sashimi. I used to cook a lot of salmon steak coz it seems much easier to get it cooked perfectly with the even thickness throughout the cut and it is relatively thin compared to salmon fillet. Not until recently that I have tried to cook with salmon fillet, I realized it is actually a nicer cut and boneless. No more salmon steak from now on haha. It's a little bit tricky to cook a fillet perfectly but it tastes divine if you got it right.
With a fresh salmon fillet, you just have to lightly season it before you pan sear and it will be beautiful.
This is a very simple recipe that I recommend you to try if you want a light meal with no meat. It took me less than half an hour to prepare and cook everything.
Most recipes would suggest pan sear the fillet for 3 minutes on one side then 2-3 minutes on the other side. I tried it but it just didn't work (burned on the outside and undercooked inside). So I would suggest to pan sear it and then cook in the oven for a bit. The fillet is cooked to perfection. Super tender and moist.

Serves 1

Ingredients
0.3kg fresh Atlantic salmon fillet
1/2 box of salmon roe
3 cherry tomatoes, some halved, some left whole
1/2 capsicum (or yellow bell pepper), long sliced
baby spinach
2 tsp butter (1 tsp for vegetables, 1 tsp for salmon)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (1 tbsp for vegetables, 1 tbsp for salmon)
1 clove garlic, minced
slice of lemon for garnish or lemon juice (optional)
pinch of coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper (for salmon)
pinch of garlic salt (for vegetables)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Marinate the salmon with coarse salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper for 15 mintues.
2. Melt 1 teaspoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in medium skillet. Add the garlic and cook for 10 seconds. Add cherry tomatoes and capsicum. Sauté for 1 minute. Add spinach and wilt, 10 seconds. Toss in a pinch of garlic salt. Set aside. 
3. Heat the remaining butter and oil on skillet, medium-high heat. Once melted, add the salmon fillet (skin down) and sear one side for 1-2 minutes. Carefully flip the salmon with tongs and cook the other side for 1 minute.
4. Put salmon on tinfoil in preheated oven 180C for 3 minutes. 
5. Serve salmon fillet over spinach, capsicum, cherry tomatoes and lemon. Add the salmon roe on salmon fillet and vegetables.
6. Perfect to eat with my special aioli (see recipe on http://ayucookalicious.blogspot.hk/2012/07/cajun-chicken-sandwich-with-aioli.html)

Stir fry knife-shredded noodle with black pepper beef

The feature of this dish is the knife-shredded noodle (刀削麫) handmade from Taiwan. The noodle got cute curly edges and awesome texture. It is very smooth and al-dente, which is perfect for stir-fry. If you can't find this particular type of noodle, you can always substitute with flat rice noodles, or even spaghetti. If you feel like cooking a very simple and tasty meal in less than 15 minutes, check out this recipe.

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 rolls of knife-shredded noodles

1/2 lb beef, small cubes

6 asparagus, cut into sticks

1 yellow bell pepper, long sliced

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup coriander, chopped

pinch of garlic salt & fresh ground black pepper

2 tbsp black pepper sauce

Directions

1. Marinate the beef with garlic salt and black pepper for about 15 minutes.
2. Cut the yellow bell pepper and asparagus, chop the coriander.
3. Cook the noodles in hot pot water for about 10 minutes. Drain the water and set aside.
4. Heat the oil in medium skillet with medium high heat. Put in the garlic and cook for 10 seconds. Add the beef and stir fry for about 1-2 minutes or until they are almost cooked. Add the bell pepper and asparagus in the pan and toss it for 30 seconds.
5. Add the noodles and black pepper sauce in the pan and stir well.
6. Serve the noodle with coriander.

Cajun chicken sandwich with aioli

I have cooked a lot of chicken recently. Tonight, I decided to make something that I know hubby would love . Spicy chicken and runny egg on a crunchy toast ! What's not to love ?

The hero of the dish is the aioli I made . It's got the subtle kick to compliment the spicy chicken flavor . Hubby loved it and he added loads on the veggies so he didn't taste anything but the aioli ! (He's an absolute meat lover and can't bear to eat the veggies by itself) . I ended up making an extra portion of aioli for him and he devoured it with my other half chicken breast ! ! 

For him

For her

Serves: 2

Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied
2 tbsp cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch of garlic salt
pinch of black pepper
4 tomato slices
4 lettuce leaves
6 zucchini slices
2 eggs
4 bread slices (highly recommend the 5pcs English bread bought from Citisuper. Extra crusty and fluffy)
4 mozzarella cheese slices
fresh coriander for garnish

Aioli
3 tbsp mayonnaise (Kewpie is the best)
1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced and made into a paste with the side of your knife
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch of chili flakes

Directions

1. Butterfly the chicken breasts and keep the edge intact.
2. Mix cajun seasoning, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic salt and black pepper. Marinate the chicken for at least one hour in the fridge. Take it out to get it to room temperature before cooking.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add some olive oil. Cook the chicken on each side for about 2mins.
4. Put the chicken in pre-heated oven at 200C for 4mins.
5. While the chicken is cooking in the oven, combine the mayo, olive oil, garlic, cayenne pepper and chili flakes.
6. Remove chicken from oven and wrap it in tinfoil to keep warm.
7. Toast the bread until golden brown and add mozzarella cheese on it and toast until it's melted.
8. Fry the eggs for about 1 min so the yolks are still runny.
9. Add tomato, lettuce, zucchini, egg and chicken on the sandwich and slather the aioli on the chicken.

Seared scallops with parmesan risotto

I love seafood and scallop is one of my favorites. Too bad hubby doesn't like scallops, so I had these all by myself :)

Chocolate cream cheese cupcakes with choco chips & chocolate ganache frosting

I haven't baked for awhile coz I don't really have a sweet tooth and that the possibility to fail if you don't follow the recipe perfectly puts me off a bit . But today I'm in the mood of taking a baking challenge . I miss that heavenly aroma filled in your house during baking . Out of all desserts , I think chocolate cake is my favorite . So I tried this chocolate cupcakes recipe .

This cupcake recipe seemed fairly easy to follow but I dare not to have any expectation after the last traumatic cupcake baking experience . The result of the chocolate cake totally surprised me ! It tasted so good and everyone who tried it actually loved it . It made me very happy that I could share this chocolate delight with 7 family and friends .

Yield 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Van Houten cocoa powder)

• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 90g butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tbsp
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup milk, at room temperature
• 85g cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp mini semisweet chocolate chips  (I used Hershey's)
• Ganache frosting, recipe follows

Directions:

1. Place rack at the bottom of oven and preheat to 180C. Line cupcake baking pan with 12 cupcake liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, set aside.
3. Using a mixer, cream the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until pale yellow, about 1 minute. Add the egg and stir until just combined. Gently add half of the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. Mix in the milk. Add the remaining flour mixture and stir until combined. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 2 tablespoons sugar, and vanilla. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Fill prepared cupcake liners with enough chocolate batter to just cover the bottom. Add a dollop of the cream cheese filling to each, then top with remaining chocolate batter (cream cheese filling should not be visible). *I suggest you make a bit extra cream cheese filling if you love more coz the portion in the recipe is not much.
6. Bake for 20minutes. Let cupcakes stand in the pan for 3 minutes and then remove and allow to cool completely on a rack.
7. Dip each cupcake into the ganache, forming an even layer of frosting. Add a chocolate chip on the centre of each cupcake for decoration. Place in the refrigerator to set, about 15 minutes.

Ganache frosting

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

Place a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water, and whisk together the chocolate and heavy cream. Continue whisking until chocolate is melted and the mixture is thick, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

Adapted from:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mary-nolan/chocolate-cheesecake-cupcakes-with-ganache-frosting-recipe/index.html

• 
  
• 
  

Ketchup-honey glazed pork loin with salad