Champagne Shrimp and Pasta

As Valentine's Day nearing and is about 2 days from now, I have lost my internet connection and didn't have the chance to post anything including this recipe that should have been posted 2 days early, but what's important no is this question, Have you found someone to go out with you 2 days from now? When i was on my 18, I prefer dating with someone I know. Someone special or friends or family on Valentines day, but I always forgot the most important fact about Valentines and how did it pop out of the calendar. 

The origin of this special holiday of hearts isn't really romantic at all. Saint Valentine is a roman priest who was persecuted at the church during his time because he performs wedding for soldiers who were forbidden to marry just because of the fact that soldiers who were not married can perform better that those who are married because they worry about their families if they die. He was imprisoned by the Roman Empire courtesy of Emperor Claudius the 2nd for performing marriage and was judged and stoned to death and it happened February the 14th. I didn't brought a lot of history on this article because this only part history blog and part food blog but, for a conclusion, saint Valentine did not forbid man to love as God didn't forbid as to love anyone who is someone special or someone important to us and cooking something special to our love ones this Valentine's day a yummylicious food is one way to show how important and how special they were. 

So, for this article, cooking a special shrimp pasta with a twist is definitely one way of showing how much you love them or how much you care for them. 

The main ingredients are:

8 ounces angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 cup champagne
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 6 to 8 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Meanwhile, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan. Cook and stir mushrooms in oil until tender. Remove mushrooms from pan, and set aside.

Combine shrimp, champagne, and salt in the frying pan, and cook over high heat. When liquid just begins to boil, remove shrimp from pan. Add shallots and tomatoes to champagne; boil until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 8 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cup cream; boil until slightly thick, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add shrimp and mushrooms to sauce, and heat through. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Toss hot, cooked pasta with remaining 1/4 cup cream and parsley. To serve, spoon shrimp with sauce over pasta, and top with Parmesan cheese.

Paella

I am so excited to introduce to you my featured dish on this article since it is one of my favorite and definitely an all time favorite of mine because it has a lot of ingredients in it. I am a meat lover, not all kinds of meat but don't get me wrong I also love eating vegetables but on this article, I will be featuring Paella. Paella which is originated in Albufera in Valencia, is discovered in the mid 19th century. During the Spanish colonization in Philippines, most of the Spanish had influenced Filipinos their culture including food and of course that includes this recipe.  Most of the non Spaniards thought that Paella is Spain's national food but actually they (Spanish) only recognize it as Valencian's regional dish.  This dish has a lot of versions too but the traditional Paella are composed of land meat that includes rabbit, chicken, land snail and duck but in this article we will be trying to cook a mixed Paella.

The ingredients are:

12 black mussels
125ml/4fl oz white wine
11⁄2 small red onions, chopped
125ml/4fl oz olive oil
1 small skinless chicken breast
fillet, cut into bite-size pieces
12 raw prawns, peeled and
deveined
100g/4oz cleaned squid rings
100g/4oz skinless cod fillet, cut
into bite-size cubes
1 rasher smoked back bacon,
finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, seeded and finely
chopped
1 tomato, peeled and chopped
75g/3oz chorizo, thinly sliced
pinch of cayenne pepper
200g/7oz long-grain rice
1⁄4 teaspoon saffron threads
500ml/18fl oz chicken stock
75g/3oz fresh peas
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh
flat-leaf parsley
salt and ground black pepper

The procedure:

Scrub the mussels with a stiff brush and pull out the hairy beards.
Discard any broken mussels or open ones that do not close when tapped
on the work surface.

Heat the wine and onion in a large pan. Add the mussels, cover and
gently shake the pan for 4–5 minutes over a high heat. After 3 minutes,
begin removing any opened mussels and set aside. At the end of
5 minutes, discard any unopened mussels. Reserve the cooking liquid.

Heat half the oil in a large frying pan. Pat the chicken dry with kitchen
paper, then cook for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the
pan and set aside. Add the prawns, squid and cod to the pan, and cook
for 1 minute. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the same pan. Add the bacon, garlic and red
pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the tomato, chorizo and cayenne.
Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the reserved cooking liquid, then
add the rice and mix well.

In a heavy saucepan, blend the saffron with the stock and mix well.
Bring slowly to the boil. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for
15 minutes, without stirring.

Put the peas, chicken, prawns, squid and cod on top of the rice. Using a
wooden spoon, push pieces into the rice, cover and cook over a low
heat for 10–15 minutes until the rice is tender and seafood cooked. Add
the mussels for the last 2 minutes to heat. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

Special chow mein

Chow mein is a dish from China as we all know that the main ingredients is noodles. This dish has different versions including, Yakisoba of Japan and Pancit from Philippines. The word Chow Mein or Chao Mian is actually 2 words, Chow means to fry and Mein means noodles so basically it is Fried Noodles. Cantonese style are usually boiled or soaked noodles then fried to crisp after they are wet cooked and then stir fried meats, sauce, and veggies on top of it. Here in Philippines, we call this Pancit and there are lots of version of this dish here like, Pancit Bihon, Pancit Canton, Pancit Palabok and so on. But in this article, I would like to introduce you my way of cooking this easy-to-cook dish in a special way.

We need ingredients like: 

50ml/2fl oz vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh root ginger
2 fresh red chillies, seeded and
chopped
1 skinless chicken breast fillet, thinly
sliced
16 raw tiger prawns, peeled and
deveined, with tails left intact
450g/1lb egg noodles
100g/4oz green beans
225g/8oz beansprouts
50g/2oz garlic chives
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

The procedure is:

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or large frying pan, and stir-fry the
garlic, ginger and chillies. Add the chicken, prawns and beans. Stir-fry
for 4–5 minutes over a high heat until the chicken and prawns are both
cooked. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Cook the egg noodles in a saucepan of slightly salted boiling water for
2–3 minutes until tender.

Heat the rest of the oil in the same wok used for the chicken and prawn
mixture. Add the beansprouts and garlic chives. Stir-fry for 1–2 minutes.
Add the noodles and toss to mix. Next, add the soy sauce and oyster
sauce, and season with salt and pepper.

Return the prawn mixture to the wok. Reheat and mix well with the
noodles. Stir in the sesame oil, and serve immediately.

Calamari

Calamari is a plural form, from Italian word Calamaro which means squid used as food. Fried Calamari is one of the most popular restaurant food, it can be finger food or starters/appetizers depends on how you treat it. Most of the people eating calamari have no idea that they are eating squid. Why? Not so long ago, I ordered on a restaurant a calamari. I was surprised when I got my food, it actually looks like some sort of onion rings and there is no tentacle in sight. I called the waiter and insist that I ordered a calamari and not onion rings and he said that it was really a calamari but without the tentacles. So, why do we need to know that calamari is squid? That's because compare to onion rings calamari has a low fat, high in protein and is excellent source of vitamin B12. It is very important that we need to know what we are eating, and if you agree with me why don't we try cooking one for ourselves today.

The ingredients that we will be needing are:

100g/4oz plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
175ml/6fl oz soda or sparkling
mineral water
600ml/1pt vegetable oil for
deep-frying
450g/1lb cleaned and prepared
squid, cut into rings

The procedure:

Sift the flour and salt together into a bowl. Add the eggs and half the soda or 
mineral water, and whisk together until smooth. Gradually whisk in the remaining 
soda water until the batter is smooth.

Fill a deep heavy saucepan about one-third full with oil. Heat the oil until a cube 
of bread browns in 30 seconds.

Dip the squid rings into the batter, a few at a time. Carefully drop into
the hot oil. Fry for 1–2 minutes until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen
paper, and serve immediately.

Enjoy! 

Fish fillets in wine sauce

Another source of Omega 3 is fish. In addition, eating fish is good for pregnancy since it aids healthy brain function and infant development of vision and nerves during pregnancy. It also decrease the risk of depression, ADHD, Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia and Diabetes. It may also prevent inflammation and reduce the risk of arthritis. Anyway, Fish fillet comes from a French word filet or filɛ meaning a thread or strip the flesh of a fish. On this article, we will be trying to cook Fish fillets in wine sauce but we will be needing some ingredients. 

The ingredients that we will be needing:

vegetable oil for deep-frying
900g/2lb sole fillets, cut into
5 x 2.5cm/2 x 1cm pieces
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons cornflour
For the sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons caster sugar
125ml/4fl oz dry white wine
50ml/2fl oz rice wine
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornflour
175ml/6fl oz fish stock

The method:

In a small deep heavy skillet or frying pan, heat the oil for deep-frying
over a medium heat. When the oil is hot, dip each piece of fish in the
egg whites, then dredge through the cornflour to coat thoroughly.

Deep-fry each piece of sole quickly to crisp the outside, about 1 minute
each. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen
paper. Continue until all the sole is fried.

For the sauce, heat the oil in a wok over a medium heat. Add the sugar,
white wine, rice wine and salt, stirring all the time.

Blend the cornflour and stock together, add to the wok and stir until the
sauce thickens. Carefully put the sole pieces in the wok, and turn them a
few times to coat. Serve hot.

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

We've cooked a lot of meat already and I think it's now time to try seafood recipes.  Why eat Seafood? Because seafood has lots of benefits for example, Crab - it is low in calories and also a good source of omega 3 which can improve memory and decrease the chances of heart attack and certain cancers. It is also a good source of vitamins A, C and B vitamins and minerals like Zinc and Copper. Yes, it does contains fat but  it is generally unsaturated fat which is considered heart healthy. There are lots of ways to cook a crab but in this article, we will try a very delicious and healthy dish together with mushrooms. 

What do we need:

1 1/2 cups Dungeness Crab body meat (gently squeeze out moisture)
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
6 tablespoons chopped celery
1/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper
Crab dressing (see instructions below)
30 medium size white mushrooms, cleaned with damp cloth

Hollandaise sauce, warm

Ingredients for Dressing:

In a mixing bowl combine the following with a whip:

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt (do not add if crab meat is already salty)

3 drops of Tabasco

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine crab, onions, celery and black pepper

Add only enough dressing to moisten well

Cover and refrigerate, unless serving immediately

To Finish and Serve:

Remove stems from mushrooms and fill with crab mixture

Place mushrooms in a baking pan

Bake in 400 degree oven until hot and mushrooms are soft (8-10 minutes)

Remove to serving platter and drizzle with warm Hollandaise sauce

Enjoy!