Chicken & Pasta in Mango Cream Sauce

I had red meat overload around Christmas so I looked for a chicken and pasta recipe on line and found this at AllRecipes.com.  I love mango salsa with fish and pork and was curious at mango sauce for pasta.  This was the first time that I used mango sauce on pasta and what a pleasant surprise!  I love the creamy, delicate, fruity flavor blending with the mild spicy flavors of ginger and bell pepper.

I'd like to do this again using mango that is not quite ripe (but not green), and probably use more ginger, green & red bell peppers, garlic and onion.  This was a hit to my cousins who came by on New Year's Day.

 

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Monday Mellow Yellows 

Folded Pizza

Met a friend for brunch at a Yellow Cab near my place last week.  We wanted to try their breakfast offering.  I ordered the breakfast combo---My Size - Folded Pizza with Hungarian sausage and scrambled egg and Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta.  K had the Bacon and Mango Egg Breakfast. The folded pizza was actually too big for me, I only finished half.   

Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta has chicken strips, shiitake mushrooms and roasted peanuts, sauteed in a spicy oriental sauce and garnished with spring onions.  It's one of my favorite at Yellow Cab.

How's that for brunch?:p

Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta

 

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Mojos, Pizza & Pasta @ Shakey's

Mojos and Fried Chicken

S and I were in Glorietta recently to watch "The Mistress"---well, she wanted to see it, I was there for the mojos!  I have been craving for mojos and was pestering her that I needed to be fed first before going to the movies.  I didn't miss the chance of taking advantage of S's willingness to bribe me with food so I'd accompany her to watch her favorite love-team.:p

We shared everything here---although I ate most of the mojos.

Tropical Bacon Pizza

The pizza was a bit of a disappointment.  It wasn't as tasty as I imagined it to be.  I think it was the absence of bell pepper and onions.  The seafood marinara wasn't bad but it didn't excite my taste buds, either.

Seafood Marinara

Back to "The Mistress"...3 theaters in Glorietta were full when we got to the ticket counter.  We walked to Greenbelt 3, the theater showing "The Mistress" was also full.  Unbelievable!  I refused to walk to Greenbelt 1 anymore.  We ended up at Starbucks and S drowned her disappointment in coffee.:p  We finally watched the movie 3 days later.

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Food Friday

Linguine alle Vongole

Baba Ghanoush

I was in the mall again a couple of weeks ago for some errands and was in the look out for an ink-efficient printer.  I noticed Stavros, a Mediterranean bistro, and made a mental note to have dinner there after I finished my errands.  

I was the only customer when I got here around 7 pm, and the kitchen crew seemed happy to see me.   I was focused on hummus for my pita but they were fresh out of stock.  The lady at the counter suggested Baba Ghanoush instead---a Levantine dip of eggplant and tahini, mashed and mixed with olive oil and garlic.  I remember the eggplant dip/appetizer at Chateau 1778 that I have been trying to make at home but was never successful.

Anyway, I still prefer the eggplant appetizer at Chateau 1778 but this Baba Ghanoush was also tasty.  Eggplant is one of my least favorite vegetables that I'm always delighted when I encounter an interesting and flavorful eggplant dish.

I wanted something light for the main course, and decided on Linguine alle Vongole--a lighter pasta made with fresh clams, garlic, wine, parsley and olive oil.  This was scrumptious! 

Linguine alle Vongole

Footnote:  I returned to Stavros recently but it was no longer there.:(

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Seafood Marinara

I was caught between the rush hour traffic and a rainstorm recently near SM-Megamall after a meeting.  It's been a while since I was in Megamall, and I wanted to check out some restaurants that I haven't been to before.  I noticed the trendy look of Eat & Go at the Atrium and decided to try them.  But my choice was kinda boring...it's not bad, and good value for money---it's just that my "lazy girl" seafood marinara tastes better.:p

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Pesto Shrimp Pasta

This is something I made for Media Noche on New Year's eve---Pesto Shrimp Pasta paired with pesto bread.

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Shrimp Pasta

An outlaw's favorite---Billy the Kid's Shrimp Pasta at Texas Roadhouse Grill in High Street.

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Spaghetti Ai Tesori del Mare

@ mirandablue

My sister and I were supposed to watch a movie but the movie we wanted to see wasn't at the theaters anymore.  We ended up in Amici for dinner.  We shared a pizza [that I don't have a photo of] and a pasta dish, and she got a gelato shake (she needs the calories,  I don't!).  Spaghetti Ai Tesori del Mare is my usual order at Amici---it's olive oil-based, mildly spiced with chili oil, and has a mixture of shellfishes that I like, scallops, clams, mussels and prawns.  Delizioso!

@ mirandablue

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Spicy Garlic Shrimp Pasta

@ mirandablue

I had pasta overload this past week.  I don't know what came over me---it's probably hormonal.:p  One of the pasta dishes I had was this scrumptious spicy garlic shrimp pasta at Icings Cakes, Breads & Cafe in SM-Frontera Verde. Passed by this cafe countless of times---I thought they were only selling pastries.  Good thing they had their menu displayed by the door when I walked by and I was able to browse through it.  I must say, this was the best shrimp pasta I have in recent memory.  And you bet, I'll try to do this at home.:p

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Pasta a la Carbonara

@ mirandablue

 My version of spaghetti a la carbonara.  A simple pasta dish so easy to prepare with great basic ingredients of cream, bacon, ham, cheese, mushrooms and cream of mushroom (I skipped the eggs as requested by my mother).  I added the fresh basil in the sauce as an after-thought, the flavors blended well.

@ mirandablue

@ mirandablue

Sauté garlic and onions in olive oil, add bacon and cook until crisp, then add the diced ham.  Mix in the cream of mushroom  and the sliced mushrooms and bring to boil.  Add the all-purpose cream, salt and pepper to taste and Parmesan cheese.  If you prefer it with eggs (makes a richer dish), beat eggs in a bowl and drop your hot (newly boiled) pasta into the beaten eggs.  The heat of the pasta will cook the eggs.  A raw egg yolk can also be served on top of the carbonara sauce, and stirred into the pasta.

Pasta carbonara needs to be served hot, freshly cooked.  This makes a delightful Sunday afternoon merienda.

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To Burgoo or not to go--that is the question

Shrimp Popcorn Caesar

It's been a while since I dined at Burgoo. There's a branch near my office but there's another American chain that I prefer. A friend gifted me with a Burgoo discount card last Christmas and I forgot about it until last week. Using the discount card, I am entitled to a 50% discount for every P1000 food purchase, but only for dine-in, no take outs.:p

I enjoyed the Shrimp Popcorn Caesar--the lettuce was crisp but it's a bit short on shrimps. They should call it Caesar with shrimp popcorn. The Shrimp Arrabiata (yes, I was on a shrimp trip that day) is supposed to be one of their best-sellers but it was bland and uninspired. My taste buds were looking for the vodka sauce, the flavor of basil and chili--nada.

Maybe I should go back.:p

Shrimp Arrabiata

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Asparagus and Seafood Pasta

I do get tired of the ol' tomato-based pasta sauce, don't you? Everyone in my family loves pesto sauce, so I concocted this pasta dish for Media Noche. It's asparagus and seafood pasta with creamy asparagus pesto sauce---my first attempt, and it was a hit! Even my mother loved it---a miracle.:p

I'll do my best to give you a recipe here but not really good at ratio and proportions so I'll leave it all up to you.

Things you need:
Pasta
Shrimps
Clams
Fresh asparagus
Mushrooms (fresh or canned)
Fresh Basil
Roasted Pine nuts
Olive Oil
Garlic and Onions
All-purpose cream
Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Boil spaghetti until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Boil shrimps and clams with a pinch of salt. Shell shrimps, clams can be left with shells intact or take the meat out of the shell. Set aside.
3. Cut asparagus diagonally. Set aside fresh asparagus tips. Boil the remaining spears until tender.
4. Cut mushrooms and set aside.
3. In a food processor or blender, combine garlic, fresh basil, boiled asparagus spears, pine nuts, olive oil, grated Parmesan cheese, and all-purpose cream. Puree until a paste forms, and if too thick, thin it with a bit of boiled asparagus water. Add salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasoning.
4. In a skillet, saute garlic and onion in olive oil. Add shelled shrimps and clams, then mix in mushrooms and asparagus tips. Don't overcook asparagus tips, it should be bright green and crisp.
5. Pour in the pesto sauce from the food processor and mix well.
6. Serve with a dusting of Parmesan cheese, a light drizzle of olive oil, and garnish with asparagus tips.

I like my sauce a bit spicy so I added more garlic in the pesto sauce. If you prefer a vegetarian sauce, you can leave out the shrimps and clams. If you're counting calories, don't add the all-purpose cream, add a cup of olive oil instead. And if I were to critique this dish, I think it had too much basil. Go easy on the basil, the flavor can be a bit overwhelming. Oh, and it's not very photogenic...I was about to eat when I remember to take a photo.:p

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Lasang Pinoy: tomato

It's been awhile since I posted for LaPiS, my laptop is still out of commission and needs a new LCD. I'm using my sister's laptop in the meantime.

Here's a tomato-based pasta sauce that I concocted a few weekends ago for an afternoon snack. I made do with fusilli (or pasta twirls) and prepared the sauce in sauteed garlic and onions, ground beef, mushrooms, cream of mushroom, tomato sauce and Vienna sausage with lots of cheese, a dash of cayenne pepper and freshly grated black pepper.

It was a satisfying and filling merienda.

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Meatless Pasta

A meatless concoction at Cafe Georg---Mushroom Asparagus Pasta.  No, I'm not  going vegetarian, but with  only a few kinds of greens that I like, I always try to find ways to eat vegetables.   Fresh straw mushrooms, green asparagus and garlic olive oil with a hint of chili made this pasta hearty and healthy.  The pasta and vegetables were all cooked al dente---I loved the tender crispiness of asparagus and the mushrooms added a whole new dimension of flavor.  The dish was sprinkled with parmesan.

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