Pasta in Alfredo Sauce

Hello Whimsical Readers,

F~ Fancy some pasta but too lazy to leave home? Here's something for you, Pasta in Mushroom Alfredo Sauce. A simple, creamy dish with mushroom, lovely for a cold evening on the couch.

Pasta in Mushroom Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients: Serves 4
375 grams Pasta
250 grams Mushroom (sliced)
1 Medium Yellow Onion (finely chopped)
2 Tsp Garlic (finely chopped)
2-3 Tbsp Cooking Oil
150ml Cream
Basil
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Method:
1. Cook your Pasta in a pot of boiling water that has been added with a tsp of salt for flavour according to your pasta instructions. Once they're cooked, keep them warm aside for later. Don't forget to toss them well in some Olive Oil so that they don't stick to each other.

2. In a heated pan of Cooking Oil, throw in the Garlic and Onion and sweat them slightly before adding in the Mushroom.

3. The trick to get evenly browned Mushrooms are you need to have enough surface area in your pan because you want to have the Mushrooms spread out on the pan instead of piling them up. This also quickens the cooking process. This should take around 3-5 minutes or more depending on your flame control.

4. Proceed to turning your flame to a medium before adding in the Cream and then bringing it up to a slow boil. If you prefer your sauce to be more runny, you can opt to add and 1/2 cup of cold water mixed with 1-2 tsp of flour. This is make the sauce more liquid. You can also use this method if you find your sauce becoming to too thick.

5. Season it well with some Fresh Basil if not dried basil works well too. Not forgetting Salt & Pepper to taste.

6. Dish out the Mushroom Sauce onto the Paste and add a fresh Basil leaf for garnish. Serve hot.


And there you have it, simple great flavours. Enjoy~



Yours truly,
The Whimsical Buddies

Carbonara

Hello there Whimsical Readers,

I'm the other half of the Whimsical Buddies! J~ This is my first time blogging! So do excuse my English.

I have been traveling around for the past two months from Melbourne City to ChristChurch. New Zealand definitely is a new experience for me, I got there right after the earthquake. Isn't it exciting? I stayed over at the Brownie's house, Lyttelton. Uncle Martin is a British Man, and his beloved wife, Kim is from Malaysia. Uncle Martin was kind enough to cook english breakfast for me every morning, british lunch and sometimes Mediterranean Dinner. Not to worry, I jotted down most of the recipes!

When I was in Melbourne, everyone was crazy about Master Chef (season 2), I was curious why is it a hit in Australia? So I watched it myself, and indeed the show was truly inspiring! I was so inspired by the contestants, especially Alvin from Malaysia! Do visit the website (www.masterchef.com.au) they are screening Master Chef (junior) in Australia right now. My brother Angus and I will never miss the show. We'll grab our food ready and wait right in front of the TV before the show starts.

Ok back to business, I would like to share one my favorite italian dish to the whimsical readers today, and that would be the famous Fettucini Carbonara. It's simple and easy.

Carbonara Fettucini

Ingredients: Serves 2
Fettucini
100gm Salted Butter
1/2 Cup of Full Cream
10 Fresh Cherry Tomatoes (slice into half)
4 Rashers of Streaky Bacon
70gm of Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Lemon
Salt and Pepper
50gm Broccoli

Method:
1. Heat up the sauce pan in medium heat, add the Butter, once the Butter is melted, pour in the Full Cream immediately, before the butter evaporates.
2. Cut the Lemon into half and squeeze it all into the sauce pan. Give it a stir for about 10 minutes.
3. Slice all Cherry Tomatoes into half (optional), personally I like it that way because of the sweet taste coming out from the seeds. Pop everything into the sauce pan.
4. Add the Parmesan Cheese into the sauce pan and give it a stir for about 5 minutes, season with Salt and Pepper to taste. Leave it to simmer low heat.
5. Meanwhile, cook the Pasta in a pot of boiling water, add some Olive Oil if you wish, as soon as the Pasta is tender, drain it.
6. Repeat the same thing with the Broccoli; cook in boiling water but for only 1-2 minutes and then drain it.
7. Fry the bacons in low heat till it is brown and crispy or leave it soft and tender, however you want your Bacon to be. Chop them into chunks.
8. Add in the Fettucini onto a warm plate, followed by the sauce, then the Bacons, sprinkle some Parmesan Cheese, and lastly garnish with Broccoli.

Hope you enjoy the Carbonara. By the way, it goes perfect with a glass of white wine.


Yours Truly,
The Whimsical Buddies