Seasaltwithfood

This is a delicious Spicy Lemon Chicken recipe. The amount of dried chilies and pepper suggested by the cookbook was too mild for my liking. So, before I marinated the chicken, I had to adjust the level of spiciness to my liking. The result was perfect, not overly spicy and it did not over power the chicken’s lemony taste. Recipe adapted from Patsy's Cookbook-Classic Italian Recipes Spicy Lemon Chicken (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 1 Chicken (about 3 to 3 ½ lbs), cut into 8 pieces ½ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice (from about 3 lemons) ¼ Cup Olive Oil 1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (I used 1 Tbsp) 1 tsp Coarsely Ground Fresh White Pepper (I used 2 tsp) 1 tsp Sea Salt Method Rinse the chicken pieces, pat dry, and place in a deep pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and white pepper. Mix well. Set aside and refrigerate ¼ Cup of the mixture, and pour the remainder over the chicken. Place the chicken in the refrigerator an

I like the combination of this Pasta E Ceci or Pasta And Chickpea soup. A bowl of this soup serves as a complete meal for me. Here, I served it for lunch with some crusty bread. Recipe adapted from Patsy's Cookbook-Classic Italian Recipes Pasta E Ceci-Pasta And Chickpea Soup (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 1/3 Cup Olive Oil 1 Medium Yellow Onion, diced 2 Stalks Celery, chopped 1 Small Carrot, chopped 2 Cloves Garlic, minced 1 14 oz Can Whole Plum Tomatoes, with juice 6 Cups Vegetable Broth of Water 1 15 oz Can Chickpeas, undrained ½ lb Fusilli or Ziti Pasta, cooked al dente Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste ¼ Cup Chopped Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley Method Heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium-high heat and sauté the onion, celery, and carrot, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes, or until onions are just translucent. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute, or until lightly golden. Coarsely chopped the tomatoes and add with their juice to the saucepan. Add

This is an elegant oven baked Portobello Tower appetizer. The Portobello mushrooms are simply mated with zucchini, eggplants, bell peppers, and a variety of cheese. Prepare the layered vegetables ahead of time and then pop them into the oven just before serving. Easy. Recipe adapted from Patsy's Cookbook-Classic Italian Recipes Portobello Tower (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 4 Large Portobello Mushrooms ½ Cup Olive Oil, plus more for coating pan Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste 1 Large Zucchini, sliced ¼ inch thick 2 Small Italian Eggplants ¼ lb Provolone, thinly sliced 1 Roasted Red Bell Pepper, quartered ¼ lb Mozzarella, thinly sliced Method Preheat the oven to 450˚F. Clean the mushrooms. Lightly coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan with olive oil. Place the mushrooms, cap side down, in the pan and bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and reserve. Don’t turn off the oven or clean the pan. Heat 1 to 2 Tbsp of ol

If clams are not what you had in mind, then try this scrumptious Mussels Arreganata or Orreganata. The mussels are topped with seasoned breadcrumbs and then broiled in the oven. Simply divine! Recipe adapted from Patsy's Cookbook-Classic Italian Recipes Mussels Arreganata-Orreganata (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 24 Mussels, washed and cleaned ¼ Tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper 1 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs (recipe below) ¼ Cup Olive Oil 2 Lemons, cut into wedges Method Preheat the boiler. Place the mussels in a large saucepan and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook over high heat for 10 minutes, or until mussels open. Discard those that have not opened. Transfer the mussels to a colander and rinse under cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Shuck the mussels, discard half the shells, and place the mussel meat in the remaining half shells. Season with pepper. Spoon the breadcrumbs on the mussels and smooth with the back of a spoon. Arrange the mussels in one

It’s going be an Italian food fest at seasaltwithfood! I have some real easy and yet delicious recipes that I’ll be sharing throughout this week. All the recipes are adapted from Patsy’s Cookbook . It consists of classic Italian recipes from a New York City landmark restaurant. I will start with Clams Posillipo recipe. It’s clam in light tomato sauce and served as an appetizer. Recipe adapted from Patsy's Cookbook-Classic Italian Recipes Clams Posillipo (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 32 Littleneck Clams 3 Tbsp Olive Oil 6 Garlic Cloves, halved 1 Small Yellow Onion, chopped (about ¼ cup) 1 28 oz Can Whole Plum Tomatoes, with juice Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste (optional) ¼ Cup Chopped Fresh Basil 1 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley, plus more for garnish Method Scrub the clam shells, rinse thoroughly in cold water, and place in a large pot. Add cold water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the shells open, about 5 minu

The second recipe is Praline Semifreddo adapted from Jamie Oliver’s earliest cookbook, The Naked Chef . Semifreddo (or half cold) class of semi frozen desserts are loved by folks all over the world and it’s certainly one of my all time favorites too. The best part about making Semifreddo is that you do not need an ice-cream maker to make this delicious treat. There is also no cooking involved, besides making the praline, which is not difficult at all. So, do try the recipe and I bet you will like it! Recipe adapted from The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver. Praline Semifreddo (Printable Recipe) Ingredients Paraline 11 oz Peeled Hazelnuts 1 Cup Sugar ¼ Cup Water Semifreddo 1 Vanilla Bean ¼ Sugar 4 Large Eggs, separated 2 Cups plus 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream Sea Salt Method Paraline: Roast the hazelnuts in the oven at 425˚F until golden (about 4 minutes). Put the sugar and water in a thick-bottomed pan and place on a medium-high heat. The mixture will start to bubble and then turn into a clear syrup.

This weekend, I will be sharing two recipes that I had adapted from Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks. The first recipe is an easy Sausage Pasta. The star of this dish is obviously the sausage. So, just get your favorite Italian sausages and make sure they are the best quality available. Recipe adapted from Cook with Jamie Sausage Pasta (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 2 Tbsp Fennel Seeds 2 Dried Red Chilies, crumbled Olive Oil 600g/1 lb 6 oz Good Quality Coarse Italian Sausages 1 Tbsp Dried Oregano A wineglass of White Wine Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon 500g/1 lb 2 oz Good Quality Fusilli or Tortiglioni Sea Salt to taste Some Freshly Ground Black Pepper A couple of knobs of Butter A handful of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, plus extra for serving A small bunch of Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley, leaves picked and chopped Method Bash up the fennel seeds and chilies in a pestle and mortar. Heat a splash of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Squeeze the meat out of the sausage skins and put into the pa

Not sure if you’ve noticed, but, I have been baking quite a lot lately, haven’t I? I guess it must be the cooler weather over here in Vancouver now. Guess I must be trying too hard to contain my soaring gas bill by using the oven to keep parts of my house warm, especially, the dining hall. No one is buying that excuse yet, not even my kids! :-) In any case, this is a lovely Chocolate Banana Cake that I baked a couple of days back. The cake is just delightful, smells great and it’s filled with chocolate and has that awesome crumbly texture. Yummy! Recipe adapted from Baking From my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan Chocolate Banana Cake (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour 1 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 1 ½ tsp Baking Powder ½ tsp Sea Salt ¼ tsp Baking Soda 1 Stick (8 Tbsp) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature ¾ Cup Sugar ½ Cup (packed) Light Brown Sugar 2 Large Eggs 2 Ripe Bananas, mashed ¾ Cup Buttermilk 3 oz Bittersweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped, or ½ cup store-b

These are Vietnamese Spring Rolls or aka Cha Gio. These deep-fried spring rolls are crispy and they are great appetizers. Simply wrap the spring rolls with some lettuce leaves, fresh herbs, and then dip-it lightly into the dipping sauce. Delicious!

For now, I think I might have found the perfect savory muffin. I love the combination of the cornmeal with chili powder, corn kernels, jalapeno pepper, red bell pepper, and some fresh chopped cilantro. This Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins recipe was adapted from one of my favorite baking book by Dorie Greenspan . Personally, I think everyone that is into baking should get her book. I have tried many recipes from her book and they have all turned out great every time! Recipe adapted from Baking From my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan Savory Corn And Pepper Muffins (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour 1 Cup Yellow Cornmeal, preferably stone-ground 3 Tbsp Sugar 1 Tbsp Baking Powder 1 ½ tsp Chili Powder, or more to taste 1 tsp Sea Salt ½ tsp Baking Soda ¼ tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper 1 Cup Buttermilk 1 Stick (8 Tbsp) Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled 1 Large Egg Yolk ¼ Cup Corn Kernels (add up to 3 Tbsp more if you’d like)-fresh, frozen or canned (in which case, they

I made this Shepherd’s Pie using the recipe from The Dean & Deluca’s cookbook . However, I made a couple of substitutions to their recipe. For instance, I used beef instead of lamb, and I also used green peas as opposed to corn. This is another great comfort food and it’s so easy to prepare. Recipe adapted from The Dean & Deluca Cookbook Shepherd's Pie-Cottage Pie (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 2 Large Baking Potatoes (450 g), peeled ½ Cup Milk ½ Stick (1/4 Cup) Butter 1 ½ tsp Sea Salt 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic 450 g Ground Beef 1 tsp Dried Oregano 1 ½ tsp Dried Parsley 1 ½ Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce 4 tsp Flour ½ Cup Minced Onion ½ Cup Diced Carrot ¼ Cup White Wine ½ Cup Beef Stock 1 Cup Green Peas Method Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil, and cook potatoes for about 40 minutes, until cooked through. Drain potatoes and place in a bowl. Mash them with the milk and 2 Tbsp of the butter. Season the potatoes with ½ tsp of the s

This is Ondeh Ondeh with Sweet Potatoes, a popular tea-time snack in Malaysia. There are two varieties of this snack. One made completely with glutinous rice, which I had posted earlier and you can find the recipe here . Whilst the other recipe is made with a mixture of sweet potatoes and glutinous rice flour, which is what I am posting here today. In any case, if you plan to make this delicious snack, do adjust the flour according to the sweet potatoes’ texture. Some tubers’ might have very soft or fibrous flesh. Add more flour if it’s too soft, of course. Just remember that the dough is supposed to be very soft and slightly sticky. So, have fun making them.

Up to making some snacks or “kuih” with sweet potatoes? This is a Fried Sweet Potato Balls recipe. They’re made of deep orange color sweet potato together with glutinous rice flour, sugar, and some grated coconut. Gently roll the mixture and fry until golden brown. They’ll be crunchy on the outside whilst remaining soft and chewy on the inside. Do try this easy recipe and if deep fry is not for you, do come back tomorrow for another interesting recipe with sweet potatoes.

Here is the second cupcakes recipe. This is Magnolia’s Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream icing. I really like the chocolate cake by itself. It's packed with chocolate and buttermilk, a perfect combination. Recipe adapted from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook Magnolia’s Chocolate Cupcakes (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour 1 tsp Baking Soda 1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened 1 Cup Sugar 1 Cup Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar 4 Large Eggs, at room temperature 6 Oz Unsweetened Chocolate, melted 1 Cup Buttermilk 1 tsp Vanilla Extract Vanilla Buttercream Icing Method Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until wel

Couple of days ago, my daughter insisted on baking some cupcakes for her friend's birthday. So, we chose two recipes from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook . Magnolia Bakery will sound familiar to some of you as it's frequently featured along the Hermes Birkin and Jimmy Choo's shoes on Sex and The City. :-) Anyway, today I am posting a recipe for Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Butter cream. The cupcakes were really good; but, the icing was a bit too sweet for me. I know they are meant to be sweet and I am sure all the sweet tooth out there would love it. Recipe adapted from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 1 ½ Cups Self Rising Flour 1 ¼ Cups All-Purpose Flour 1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened 2 Cups Sugar 4 Large Eggs, at room temperature 1 Cup Milk 1 tsp Vanilla Extract Vanilla Buttercream Icing 1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened 6-8 Cups Confectioners’ Sugar ½ Cup Milk 2 tsp V