Asparagus and Mushroom Rigatoni Recipe

Jive Kitchen is back with a simple and healthy pasta from Runner's World. We cooked this pasta, replacing several stuff to clear our kitchen, most notable one is Rigatoni with Spaghetti.

Realizing that Asparagus and Shitake mushroom is the key ingredients, we tried to keep both in the dishes. Lucky for us that Sogo Food Hall sell both stuff with a good quality.

Another ingredients that we replace is Parsley with Italian Herbs, and Parmigiano Reggiano with Parmesan. While Sogo sell a good quality of Parsley, we don't want to buy bunch of it and ended up with using 1-2 stalk for decoration. Besides, we love the taste of Italian herb in the final result.

Quoting the recipe author about this dishes: "You get all the carbs without the cream or butter." Get the full recipe and instruction from Runner's World

Sausage & Zucchini Carbonara from Jamie Oliver

This dish is one of our real use of ipad in the kitchen. We got the recipe from Jamie Oliver ipad apps. The apps was pretty great. In addition to the recipe, we also got the step-by-step instruction, complete with photo.

As how the real Carbonara was made, the egg was cooked by putting the boiled pasta to egg mixture, cooking the egg while the pasta cools down. The recipe cleverly use Italian Sausage for the meatball. It was a perfect choice and much simpler, rather than making meatballs from minced meat.

The result is the rich flavor of Carbonara sauce, topped with meaty meatballs and crunchy zucchini. Add some grated parmesan and some Italian herbs for more flavor

Aglio Olio, the Honest Pasta

With simply garlic and chili, Aglio e Olio is the most simply honest pasta have ever invented. Don't be fooled, however. With only 2 main ingredients, only a skillful chef can prepare a decent one.

Pasta need to be perfectly al dente, chili and garlic need to be fresh, as no cream and tomato to shield the taste. Add generous Olive Oil, and drizzle bit of Italian herbs and pepper. And you will have a perfect dishes of Aglio e Olio, if you hit it right.

Meatlovers can add slices of Cervelat. The peppery taste of Cervelat would perfectly complement the strong taste of Aglio Olio.

Want to make one? Follow the recipe here: http://www.malaysiabest.net/2006/04/04/recipe-spaghetti-aglio-olio-with-portobello/. The recipe highlight the most important thing that I always overlook: To put generous amount of Olive Oil.

Next time I'm going to put in white wine, and see if the taste match.

Brunch at Olio

In case you are wondering, yes, I'm back to Olio. For a different time of day though. In my last visit, I was tempted with their breakfast menu, so I'm back on Saturday morning for Breakfast.

The shop has jsut opened when I came in, around 10:30 am. There are 3 breakfast menu set, called Set 1, Set 2 and Set 3. It is actually same menu, though, with different content. Set 1 is toast bread or plain croissant, jam, and a cup of coffee or tea. Set 2 is Set 1 plus selection of egg and toppings, and Set 3 is Set 2 plus a glass of orange juice.

I ordered Breakfast Set 3 with toasted bread (they ran out of croissant), omelet with cheese, mushroom, sausage and beef bacon, and a cup of coffee. I certainly wished that they have the morning newspaper, or maybe I'm just to ignorant, because I end up with my laptop.


Overall it was a good brunch. The juice is cold and refreshing, although they would better use a fresh one. The bread was perfectly toasted, crunchy outside, with soft inner part, perfectly eaten with honey jam. The omelet is moist, with enough mushroom and sausage. But somehow I can't trace the taste of the cheese. Coffee served is Americano, made from Espresso.

And they would definitely better if they have more selection of breakfast, and smoking-free area.

A Fair Pasta Lunch at Olio

In a sunny Saturday, 2pm in the evening, we were forced for a very late lunch. I turned my car into the parking space of Plaza Kuningan, where Olio rstaurant located. It is a small restaurant, conveniently located in the office building, and always hard to find empty table during weekdays lunch time. But on the weekend way after lunch time, we're the only patron.

There are one reason why we end up at this deserted restaurant: They served the most reasonably priced homemade pasta in town.

The menu contains vast selection of pasta, from standard Spaghetti Bolognese, to the complex Gamberoni Grigliati Con Spaghetti All' Alio e Olio. Creative patron could improvise, to mix certain their favorite pasta, with any sauce available plus selection of beef, sausage or seafood toppings. Some selection of Italian antipasti and soups are also available. But beware, they don't serve pizza.


We ordered Zuppa di Fungi and Caesar Salad to start with, and 2 pasta course. The soup was excellent, thick, creamy, with decent aroma and texture of the mushroom. Unfortunately, the salad is nothing to tell about.


Our 2 pasta dishes was served with matching tomato-based and cream-based sauce. My lasagna is topped with fresh tomato, cooked and moist, and leaving me wondering on how to made one. My last experience with fresh tomato left me with dry tomato and very moist pizza dough in the oven. Refreshing is better word than sour to describe the taste of the sauce.



A word of caution though, once you taste the cream-based ravioli, never go back to tomato. The thick heavy cream sauce make the tomato sauce sour. It is a perfect cream though, especially combined with spinach ravioli. Eat the ravioli in whole, and on the first bite, the spinach will burst with the cream sauce, filling in your mouth, triggering an exquisite sensation.


I drink my cup of Capucino, just to make sure I didn't fall asleep after such relaxing lunch. We were slightly distracted with the smoke coming from the cigarette of a lady behind us. It certainly would be worse during crowded weekdays lunch time, so it would be better to eat on the weekend, when you can have the restaurant all by yourself.

Our bill came with less than Rp. 200.000, a fair price to pay for such great lunch.

Olio Cafe Italiano
Plaza Kuningan South Tower
Phone: +62 (21) 5206654

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel

I'm fall in love with it. Pretzel has been around for very long time, some say from 600 AD. What was a reward to children for their prayer has become fancy food, sold at the stall in shopping mall. The taste has been varied as well, from standard cinnamon sugar to Parmesan cheese.

It didn't look difficult to make, so with Pizza dough experience on my belt, I start working on Pretzel dough. Problem come when I feel that the dough didn't raise as expected. Either I didn't give it enough time, or I'm kneading too much. I was left with slightly tough dough.

Nevermind, I thought, dividing the dough into 4 batches, each for 4 pieces. The more I rolled and knotted, the better it is. For the last batch, I manage to make a bigger knot, good enough for a nice looking Pretzel.

I went with standard topping, cinnamon plus sugar, and salt. My suspicious came into reality when the pretzel didn't raise in the oven. It didn't taste that bad, although a little bit tough. The cinnamon mix very well with the sugar, sweet enough with the pretzel.

I have told few things to improve on the look, hopefully it wouldbe better next time.

Comfort Lasagna

I used to cook bolognaise sphagetti in my school years. The recipe taken from my cousin, adopted Indonesian version of bolognaise sauce : tangy, slightly sweet and cheesy. Seeing lasagna sheet on supermarket rack always encourage me to think if someday i will have the time and passion to cook this dish. One day i hook on San Remo Instant Lasagna and read recipe behind the pack. The ingredients quite similar to bolognaise sauce but the most important thing is you can use lasagna sheet without boiling first like usual. I said to myself the recipe worth trying as it sound quite impressive. Few times trying this at home, the recipe never fails. So here’s San Remo version of lasagna with little modification :

Instant Lasagna with Meat Sauce
Serves 5

•250g San Remo Instant Lasagna

Meat Sauce
•3 tablespoon olive/vegetable oil
•1 medium onion, finely chopped
•1 clove garlic, crushed
•500g beef mince
•400 gr canned tomato
•100 ml tomato sauce/ketchup
•4 fresh medium tomato, chopped
•2 cups chicken stock
•2 pack (150 gr) champignon mushroom
•100 gr cheddar cheese, shredded
•Oregano, dried bay leaf, salt, pepper and pinch of nutmeg

Cheese Sauce
•2 tablespoons butter
•2 tablespoons plain flour
•2 cups milk
•Salt, pepper
•125g mozzarella cheese (cubed or grated)

Meat Sauce
Heat oil in a medium saucepan, add garlic and onion until soft cook. Add mince and cook stirring, until brown. Add mushroom and stir in chopped tomato, tomato sauce and tomato paste follow with chicken stock. Put few bay leaf and season with crushed oregano. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and shredded cheese. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cheese Sauce
Melt butter in medium saucepan, stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes over gentle heat. Remove from heat and gradually stir in milk. Return to heat and stir until thick and smooth. Season with salt and pepper, add mozzarella and stir over low heat until cheese melts.

Lasagna
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Pour 125ml meat sauce into base of lightly greased baking dish. Alternate layers of lasagna, meat and cheese sauces, ending with cheese sauce layer. Sprinkle top with grated parmesan cheese if desired. Bake in oven for 35 - 40 minutes. (Test by pricking with fork) Let stand 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Happy baking! I wonder if Garfield is around the town...

*San Remo website : http://www.sanremo.com.au

A Tavola : A Journey Through The Year

“It must be Monday. It’s cold, it’s dreary, it’s raining, even inside the house.” (*)

Sound of heavy rain splashing through my foggy-damp window office that afternoon, picturing complete moaning Monday. Few days back, we made appointment to meet this day after his two weeks business trip but still arguing for comfy place to talk, laugh and serve good food for sure. I was not craving for something like i used to, so i throw the sizzling ball to him. On surge, he reminds that we have not tried any Italian food recently. I quickly search my database trying to zoom any worth Italian restaurant nearby.

This small restaurant has draw our curiosity lately for their almost invisible existence over years. Fonts on billboard somehow gave the impression of cozy interior shop rather than Italian restaurant and gourmet. We did some ‘googling’ and fortunately found dedicated website of their own. The products list seems quite promising : they sell particular cold cuts, pasta, cheese and spices. However the menu likely to be more simple and sounds homey : from spinach ravioli to salami and cheese, from Lavazza espresso to limoncello. Few comments and review mentioned of soothing ambience and great taste, but we also find one review explaining the food was not as great as expected. Well, in the end noone will get hurts either if we decide to try, so there we off to that evening.


The narrow space won’t fit many tables as they have to share room with cold display cabinet and cashier. Except for hanging LED on clear glass panel and front door, lighting was so intensely warm with lesser downlights and candles on every table. The ambience reflects of homey bistro, added with brown square pattern tablecloth. Seems only two persons available to serve and explained while we discussed the menu, but their attentive service should received compliment. I ordered Dolce Vita platter for small bites as prosciutto had raised my appetite, while he chose mushroom soup and gnocchi with cheese cream. I was torn between another pasta or grilled side for main course and finally made my decision to Saltimbocca, meaty veal served with zucchini, pasta and carrot.


Cracked wooden chopping board looks appealing with sliced of dried red meat with white fat layer upper and diced grana pradano cheese served with green olive and balsamic dip. I haven’t taste prosciutto previously, no relate comments would available but the texture was too dry and off putting, i thought. Not to mention annoying lingering salty taste even after few bites of foccacia bread. Grainy grana padano cheese tastes almost similar, only left itchy trace around my tongue like i used to have when taken pineapple too much. Is it the real taste as it should or there were something improper with their storage? I should answer the question next with another trial, i guess.

Another dishes still far from expectation : Zuppa al Funghi, the mushroom soup, somehow tastes heavy. Blended mushroom and cream were stand alone and resemble slight uncomfortable earthy tone. It was not that terrible, but compare to another we found nothing special with this soup. Now we started to lower our expectation for upcoming course. My grilled veal cutlets has brown spots and well done tone color on surface, i sighed aloud inside my brain and prepare for the less. Minimalist taste were translated precisely : lost of juicy texture, absence of flavor and seasoning between salty and meaty, definitely one turn off main course.

His gnocchi was better, at least. Creamy gorgonzola sauce act nicer with home made gnocchi in three colors and potatoes but gnocchi texture were overcooked it feels so mushy. Our favorite restaurant did better execution on this kind of pasta. Taking pictures and enjoy the ambience brings another amusement to the ‘minimalist’ food session. He still offering dessert, but considering the previous session I’d better thought of moving somewhere else. I still feel sorry for this place, not because of my high expectation but this kind of restaurant should develop better taste, and they can work it out if they willing to. Everything mostly in proper, except the oppressive taste. And perhaps they forgot this is the important one.

We continued the night by having martini and margarita here. Only to have small celebration this year, smiling and greeting each other in the end of the night by saying, “Happy Anniversary”

Feb 2009, (*) quote from Garfield

A Tavola
Jl. Kemang Selatan Raya no.125
Jakarta Selatan
Ph & Fax: +62 21 71793580

January 1, 2009

I have planned to cook for the New Year since November 2008, but can't decide of what to cook. Turns out that last minute planning is still the best.

Our first dish is Baked Corn Fusili, decided on December 31st noon. The frozen Smoked Turkey would be a good substitute for smoke beef in the original recipe. Alas, the corn in the fridge was expired, so I have to omit the corn this time.

We had a good time and long night on New Year Eve. When we woke up on January 1st, it is well beyond breakfast time. Thankfully we have canned red bean, bread and streaky bacon in hand. Few minutes later French Toast and Red Bean is served on our plate.

With egg and smoke ham, we prepare our final dish that noon: Ham Omelette. Fried with bit of Onion, the Omelette completes our first meal of the year.

Now Tossing: Pizza Dough

Today is the new milestone of my pizza chef career. This evening, I made several successful pizza dough toss for the first time. It flew up in the air, circles, and landed on my palm. This Youtube Video gave the inspiration on how to learn to toss pizza. And to avoid waste pizza landing on the floor, I practice by tossing a small bath towel :D.

While it is pretty easy to learn the technique of pizza tossing from the video, and using towel as a safe learning tool, making a good pizza dough that is toss-able will test your patience. It is a matter of making the right dough, that elastic enough, thus would not tear when it lands on your hands. Experience will tell you the right mix of water and flour. And if you have to error, error on the wetter side, because the mix will dry up during the kneading process.

This is the dough that marks my new milestone. It was only 1/3 of its size when I finish kneading it last night. The tile under the plastic container is 30x30cm.


The tossed pizza dough soon become 3 nice pan of pizza: The Quattro Formaggi, Sweet Corn, and Cocktail sausage pizza.

This is the recipe I follow for the dough, thanks to Rosa for allowing me to repost her recipe. A little bit modified based on my experience.

~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar - FOR GF use agave syrup
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl
   
2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water slowly and mix well (with hand) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water. If you are in doubt, error to the wetter side.
   
3. Once it is well mixed, start kneading. Pull the dough and fold, repeat until the dough springy, elastic, and less sticky
   
4. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.
5. Split the dough into 6 pieces. Gently round each piece into a ball.
6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.
7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days. Take it out from freezer the morning you want to make the pizza, and let it rest for couple of hours before start tossing it
   
8. NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil (a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

Blue Cheese, Salami & Pepperoni

We still remember the taste of Blue Cheese in the Quattro Formaggi of Warung Italia. The pungent distinctive flavor of Blue Cheese, when mixed with other cheese and proper pizza dough taste heaven. I was prepared to make a Quattro Formaggi, when I found only 3 kind of cheese in the fridge. Insisting on having Blue Cheese on top of a pizza, I made a Triple Formaggi instead. Some trapped air pocket screw the appearance of the pizza, but didn't not affect the taste. Complemented with the slight salty taste of cheddar, the cheese mix is excellent.

The 2nd pan of pizza is requested by Kiko: Salami pizza. The salami wrinkle a little bit when baked - there should be a better way to bake a salami pizza

And the final pan of pizza was decorated with round of Pepperoni. Among all pizza topping I've used, I'm still impressed with the salty taste of pepperoni, which has become my favorite pizza topping.

Photo of our pizza can be found at http://www.pbase.com/bennyc/pizza_venture

The 6th Pizza

The recipe for the pizza dough called for 6 servings, and last weekend, we only baked 5 pizzas. If you ever wonder what happen to the 6th, I just baked it this evening. I made a progress in so-called my pizza chef career: This time no rolling pin used :D. Although.... I stretch the dough a little bit too thin in some part that, it tears when I tried to move it from the pan.


The Pepperoni is a little bit burnt, thanks to the dead clock in my dining room that screw my baking time. The combination of Mozzarella, Gruyere, and Cheddar should gave a good taste, if mixed with proper portion. The Gruyere gave a slight cow taste, cheddar gave the salty, and the mozzarella bind them all. The mushroom is unnecessary, it ruins the whole appearance of the pizza.

Next time... I'll toss the pizza dough....

Pizza Weekend

In our last trip to Bali, we fell in love with Warung Italia. As the name said, it is an Italian restaurant, serving pasta, pizza and other Italian dishes. It is the pizzas that impress us, with its flaky crusty and delicious cheese. Not only the taste, but also the fancy of the chef preparing the pizza crust; He tossed the round pizza dough up in the air. Obsessed with the taste and the fancy, I pledge myself to made one.

It does not take long to find the recipe from Rosa of Daring Bakers. I went shopping, went home with high spirit, which diminished once I started making the dough. The dough, which will be the base of the pizza, is the key thing that can make or break a pizza. It looks too wet, yet I’m not confident enough to add more flour. So with hesitant, I split the dough into 6, cover it in olive oil, and put it in the fridge, while crossing my finger. I even asked Kiko to cross her finger too.

So there come the moment of truth, after a slight sleepless night of having 6 wasted pizza doughs. I pulled one of the dough and start stretching it, hoping that I can toss it like the fancy chef at Bali did. My first attempt failed, second attempt failed, third attempt, the dough fell into the floor. I gave up and use the rolling pin instead.

We arrange the topping of our first pizza: tomato paste, pepperoni, bell pepper, mozzarella and bacon bits. We throw the pizza into the pre-heated oven, waiting anxiously while looking through the oven. Fifteen minutes later, we feel a slight hope as we saw the sizzling mozzarella. Well, at least the topping is delicious enough.


Our first slice and bite certainly cheer us and remove all doubt. While not comparable to the pizza in Bali, the dough is certainly better than edible. It is excellent, especially for our first attempt. We are anxious and immediately start the 2nd pan, and get even better result with flatter pizza dough.

At the end of the day, we are eating the 3rd pan of pizza, and the next day, I complete our weekend pizza venture with 2 more pans, for a total of 5 pans of pizzas. Most of the pan won’t last for more than 30 minutes.

Farfalle with Prosciutto and Parmesan

This simple pasta dish makes the most of two of Italy’s most famous ingredients – prosciutto, a salt cured ham, and the rich, grainy parmesan. As both of these ingredients are salty, particular care should be taken when seasoning this dish.

Yes, it is a simple dish, and offers impressive combination between rich creme fraiche and flavor of parmesan, so why not dare to try? If you lack of prosciutto, try streaky bacon and smoked ham for substitution.

I have practice this recipe few weeks ago to explore the taste and share a good lunch (although the zabaglione recipe failed, sorry Scal). Rather than liquid cooking cream used for carbonara or alfredo sauce, cream fraiche gives lighter after taste. Pick some rich or fresh starters like bruschetta with parma ham, chorizo tapas, or tomato and balsamic salad.


Prep time 20 min
Cooking time 20 min
Serves 2 – 3
(Recipe in half, original was doubled)

3 tbsp olive oil
200 gr farfalle (pasta bows)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
100 gr mushroom buttons (champignon will be fine), thinly sliced
1 large zucchini (courgettes), cut into batons
1 clove garlic, chopped
75-100 gr prosciutto (I used streaky bacon+smoked ham), cut into strips
150 ml crème fraiche
50 gr parmesan, grated
Fresh basil leaves, to garnish

1. Bring a large pan two-thirds full of water to boil. Add a good pinch of salt and add farfalle to the bubbling water. Stir with a fork and cook according to manufacturer’s instructions until the pasta is al-dente. Pour immediately into a colander then refresh under plenty of cold running water. Leave to drain until needed.

2. Heat a pan over high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, mushroom, zucchini, and fry for about 2 minutes, or until the vegetables are lightly coloured. Reduce the heat, add the prosciutto strips and fry for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the crème fraiche and heat the mixture for another 1-2 minutes. Stir in the grated parmesan and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3. Add the pasta to the pan, stir to combine and cook briefly to ensure the pasta is heated through. Serve immediately with the fresh basil leaves sprinkled over the pasta.

Happy meal, everyone :)

Raise and Fall: Lusciously Classic Italian Tiramisu

Hello, I’m back now. And pleased to report no such satisfaction rebound once you complete the lesson you have started. All the hassles began with Le Cordon Blue recipe book series when we were looking for simply pasta and suddenly hooked on this tiramisu picture. How could you not fall for quick preparation time, and all you have to do is mixing, dipping, and chilling. So simple, eh? You bet, but there are always tricky step on every recipes.

On 1st attempt we mixed the whipped cream for quite a long time without really understanding the meaning of “stiff peaks”. There goes the blow out, cream separated into water and the whole mixture become crumbly. Oh well, no further choice, we’d have to taste it anyway since making a new one was far beyond expectations. Few hours chilling, and we scoop our spoon onto. Hmm, the taste was less awful than its appearance. Coffee, kahlua, sugar, cheese and broken cream were blended together.

On 2nd attempt, fear of another failure, I tried to beat the cream carefully and still have no idea of stiff peaks forming. Only when the cream began to rise I stopped the mixer and start fold the mixture at once. The result? It became very soft even after chilling. A big grin decorated our faces, now we have tiramisu ice cream instead the real one. Oh, who cares, the taste was still finger lickin’ good anyway.

The 3rd revenge took place last couple week after long pause. Still unsatisfied and wondering how to deal with “stiff peaks” after googling on trial and error suggestion from many recipes tested. Differences between raise and fall were as thin as hair. You just have to managed your eyes and dip your finger into the cream to make sure the stiff peaks have forming. And, your experience never lied then.

Now we have passed the exam and happy with the results. This classic recipe was definitely superior and indulged everyone, and we still promise to make another tiramisu. For our pleasures, or never ending satisfaction to create a good and fancy one.

Classic Italian Tiramisu
(From Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection: Italian)

Layer of sponge biscuits soaked in coffee and kahlua, rich mascarpone cream and a generous dusting of cocoa powder have contributed to the enormous success of this dessert today

Prep time 35 min + chilling
Total cooking time : nil
Serves 4-6

3 egg yolks
120 gr (4 oz) caster sugar
180 gr (5 ¾ oz) mascarpone
300 ml (10 fl oz) cream, for whipping
3 tbsp kahlua
500 ml (16 fl 0z) strong coffee (espresso required), cooled
36 sponge finger biscuits
cocoa powder, for dusting

1. Beat the egg yolks with sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is light. Add the mascarpone and mix well. Beat the cream into stiff peaks and gently fold into mascarpone mixture, then spread a thin layer of the mascarpone cream over the base of a deep 35 cm (14 inch) oval dish.

2. Add kahlua to the coffee. Dip the sponge fingers into the coffee, soaking them well. Depending on the freshness of the biscuits they may require more or less soaking, but be careful not too oversoak. Arrange a layer of sponge fingers close together in the dish – you may need to break them to fit the shape of your dish. Cover with another layer of the mascarpone cream, then another layer of sponge fingers, arranging them in the opposite direction to the first layer. Repeat the layers finishing with mascarpone cream. Smooth the top and keep chilled until ready to serve. Generously dust with cocoa powder just before sevring. Tiramisu is best made several hours in advance so that the flavours have time to blend before serving.



Our tips:

1. The recipe measurement was proven, so better stick to the recipe in details.
2. The whipped cream must be cold enough when mixed to avoid splitting. Better chilled first, but not frozen.
3. Be very careful when whipping the cream and forming “stiff peaks”. You just have to learn to notice, dip your finger to taste it. When you beat too much the cream will split into water and cream.
4. Some recipes would suggest non dairy cream or powder one for anti failure potion.
5. Do not tempted to use instant coffee. Have an extra worth miles by using fine espresso.
6. Do not dip the sponge finger too long otherwise your mixture will be very watery.
7. We use around 24 sponge fingers for the whole recipes.
8. Better serve the tiramisu next day ahead or at least chilled for 12hrs to acquire better taste.
9. Classic tiramisu usually served in glass, or thin dish. If you expect to make the fancy one like those pattiseries used to, search another recipe using gelatin for hardener.

Enjoy your luscious tiramisu!

Baked Corn Fusili Pasta

I'm scratching my head this morning trying to understand this recipe. One question left unanswered is, how can they made the fusili stick together when baked? Traditional macaroni schotel use egg yolk as the binding agent. Other use mozzarella. Counting on faith, I scramble around the rack in Sogo Food Hall and Farmers Market for the ingredients. Here it goes.....

• 200 gr Macaroni Elbow (I replaced this with Fusili)
• 1 Onion
• 2 tbsp Frying Oil
• 2 medium sized corn, boiled
• 100 gr Cheddar Cheese, cut into small cube (shredded might be better, so it mix better with the rest of the ingredients)
• 200 ml Plain Yoghurt
• 50 ml Thick Cream
• 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
• 150 gr Smoke Beef, cut into small square
  
• 2 tbsp Parsley
• 2 clove of Garlic
• Salt and pepper

Sautéing Corn Cheese Sauce

1. Sauté the garlic, then onion, and smoke beef until sizzle. Pour in cream, yoghurt, corn and season with Italian Seasoning. Cook under low flame until boiled.
2. Put in cheddar cheese (This is where I think my mistake was. I should wait until the cheddar melt, so that it can bind the fusili when baked)

Baking The Pasta

1. Boil the fusili until al dente
2. Arrange the macaroni (or fusili) in a baking pan, 2-3 cm thick. Then pour the corn cheese sauce on top. Sprinkle the parsley
3. Put the pan into pre-heated oven (200 Celcius) until it dries
4. Share the results with the whole family

Pizza Craving

Who can resist yummy and crisp Italian pizza ? Definitely not us. Craving for weeks, we spend the lovely friday evening in a breezy charm three storey restaurant with fainted light accent. Looks tender and inviting, no need to stay neatly. If 6 o'clock been too early for dinner, antipasti should warming up the belly while taking pictures and nibbling some sticks might prevent us from being cranky. People come and go, -couples and groups- all looks happy. The waiters been good, no annoying behaviour even if we stayed for 3 hours and more.

Baked portobello mushroom served naked, and so did the taste. Here is the recipe we've tried from Jamie's kitchen :

• Rub your big portobello mushroom (whole parts) with pinch of salt first (don't be too much, except you want to throw the mushroom to bins) then olive oil (anykind)
• Put them aside, upside down. Put the cheddar first, topped with mozzarella cheese (make sure the cheese covers mushroom upper part).
• Baked for 10 mins on pre-heated oven (or toaster oven) @ 200 C until the mozza melted with visible brown spot.
  
• Served. (That easy, eh? :p)

I did not taste the black pepper coffee, but my mint granita was hellish. Like drinking antitussive syrup, ewhhh.. Lemon squash served as a repair then. Sticks, baguettes, and small size bruschetta are free teaser, while the spinach soup was not as tasty as expected. Savoury asparagus crepes served with, umm rich bechamel cheese sauce? (cmiiw). Looks nice, acceptable taste but nothing impressive.

Capriciossa pizza came with layers of ham, sausages, black olives, topped with cheese. Almost full stomach, we enjoyed the thin crisp pizza while browsing old pics. Nights drawn, some were having celebration. Lingering vodka chocolate closed our dinner perfectly.

Trattoria

Ristorante al Italiano

Plaza Pd Indah 2 Blok BA 25-26

(021) 750 0959