Penne with Cauliflower Ragu

  

  
Spanish men live with their mothers until they marry.  Italians do this too, and maybe the French, but I don't really know about the French.  Spanish men, and I'm talking full grown men in their 20's, macho by day, who come whom to mama at night, live with their mothers until they find a new mother in their wife.  This is not to say that they are mama's boys.  That is an American phrase, appropriately reflecting American men who are mere actual reflections of their mothers.  No, a Spanish man who lives with his mother is not a reflection of his mother.  He is a man that loves his mother, with all his heart and soul.  Perhaps, in America, the best example of this is a father who loves his children with all his heart and soul.  That does not make him weak, or a woman, or a child.  He is a man.  A man who knows how to love, and he gives that love to his sons.  Completely, wholely, proudly.  No, not proudly, because pride is a reflection of how you feel in the presence or thought of others.  He loves them totally whether others are watching or not.
What does this have to do with cauliflower ragu?  One of my proudest (yes, that word, pride)moments as a cook came when I hosted a dinner party for parents of a classmate of my son's.  The father was from Spain.  To honor him and my appreciation for things Spanish, I prepared dishes of Spain: pork, potatoes, and Coliflor con Ajos y Pimenton (Cauliflower with Garlic and Paprika).  The cauliflower dish was that ideal blend of roasted savoriness.  That  taste you get when you combine garlic and onion, pine nuts and oil and heat.  The magic of caramelization, smokiness, nuttiness and roasted goodness.  At the end of the evening, when he was at the door on his way out, he of course thanked me as any polite guest would do.  But then he blessed me, not really, but in his words gave me the highest praise I can imagine, saying, "I am going to tell my mother about this meal."  Can there really be higher praise for food?  
So, is this that recipe?  No, not this time.  You will have to wait for that.  The recipe below is from Mario Batali's new Molto Gusto cookbook.  Don't get me wrong, his Pennette with Cauliflower Ragu tastes good, and my kids actually ate it.  Although, they will eat anything with enough oil, cheese and butter in it.  Which, I guess explains the difference between this recipe and that.  In the Italian way, Mario has us make the ragu, and then like a risotto, add butter and cheese at the end.  That may be fine for short-grained rice, but Mario, why did you have us simmer the cauliflower leaves for 20 minutes in advance?  Any delicateness in that flavor is overcome by the oil, butter and cheese.  Add bread crumbs and you have everyone's favorite casserole.  And on that basis, I offer this recipe.  It is good.  You will enjoy it.  But the Cauliflower con Ajos that Franco's mother would appreciate, that will be for another time.
    
Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 tbsp butter
1 lb penne
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp dried rosemary (or 1 tsp fresh)
    
Directions:
Cut the cauliflower in half.  Cut off the leaves and reserve.  Cut around the core, cutting off the florets.  Separate the florets and cut into bite size pieces.  Cut the core into large chunks.  Combine the core, onion, garlic and leaves with salt to taste in a large pot over medium heat.  Stir and cook for about 3 minutes.  Reduce the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.  
Add the cauliflower florets, red pepper flakes, and 1 cup of water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the penne, 12 minutes or until al dente.  After the cauliflower has cooked, remove the core chunks and the leaves so that only the florets remain.  Add the butter and stir to melt.  Reserve 1 cup of the pasta liquid and then drain the pasta.  Add the cauliflower ragu to the drained pasta and stir to mix.  Add some of the cooking liquid if desired to loosen the sauce.  Stir in the cheese, bread crumbs and rosemary.  Season to taste.  Serve.
    

Cheese and Chilli Chicken with Chips

Yesterday, I realised that it had been quite a while since I had featured chicken on this blog. Although the chicken pieces which I used in this dish had been purchased for an entirely different dish and project, I decided that it was more important to put this apparent neglect right. After all, chicken is of course a hugely popular cooking ingredient and one which many people enjoy.

The chips which I have served with this cheese and chilli chicken are prepared in exactly the same way as I have featured them before on this blog many times. The precise instructions can be found or revisited by clicking here before going any further.



Cheese and Chilli Chicken Ingredients (Per Person)

1/2lb chicken breast fillet (chopped in to 1" cubes)
3oz cheddar cheese (grated)
1 small red chilli pepper (finely chopped - seeds in or out depending upon preference)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tbsp sunflower oil for frying

Method

Important note: It is immediately before stir frying the chicken that the chips should be put in for their second frying.

The overhead grill should be put on to preheat to maximum. The wok should be brought up to a very high heat and the sunflower oil added to heat through. It should be noted that normally when I am stir frying chicken, I will, "Velvet," it beforehand. This is a procedure used by the Chinese to protect the chicken during cooking and ensure it does not overcook on the outside while remaining raw on the inside. On this occasion, however, I wanted the chicken to be slightly browned and crisped on the outside, so omitted the procedure altogether.



The chicken pieces should then be stir fried for a couple of minutes on maximum heat, until cooked through and slightly browned on the outside. They should be seasoned with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. It is important to then remove them from the wok, drain them and dry them carefully with some kitchen towel, before placing them as shown in a small ovenproof dish.



The chilli pieces should be stirred through the cheese and the mixture used to evenly cover the chicken. A little extra black pepper can be added at this stage, if desired. The dish should then be placed under the hot grill until the cheese melts and begins to bubble.

The meal can be plated up either by simply serving the chicken in its cooking dish as shown below, or sliding it out of same as shown at the top of this post.

bahagia bila org syg kita sbb diri kita

salam. good evening ppl of the earth ;) oh tidak. malam ni selepas berbuka, sy masih belum tidur. sy nyalakan lilin kegemaran sy dalam bilik. menanti seseorg. tp hari sudah larut, lilin makin malap. sudah 1:43am. i love 14. i love 3. conclusion, i love 143. well, rasanya esok mesti tidur mati.

by the way. i'm expecting a simple, short post.

i often asked all of the ppl i met. the love one. families. friends. histories. love. well, not that often. at least once, i will asked. just, i wanna explore myself deeper.

"why do u love me?"

and ... i will never forget some of those answers. it makes me stronger. thank you ;)

- no specific reason for loving you. *sobbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb* ;')

- there is some thing special about u. u look comfortable in front of me.

- quiet at first, and u turn to be a non stop excited talkative girl. that u make me excited too.

- u got ur point of view. some sounds mad & awkward, but that is who u r.

- down to earth, and laugh a lot. cry a lot too.

- u have a lot of bad habits. u realized that, and u know u did try to change.

- love to talk alone. smile for a simple silly reason. talk when u needed.

- silence when u're mad. crying doesn't mean u sad. perhaps u were angry, disappointed.

- being fair to everyone & everything.

that's a part of it. ada masa sy menangis, sy menangis je dpn org ramai ;P ada masa sy clumsy, sy nak terjatuh, atau terjatuhkan brg depan org ramai. bila sy teruja, sy TERjerit dpn org ramai. bila sy jalan, sy jalan langkah besar dgn kepala menunduk. atau terus ke depan, tak pandang kanan-kiri. bila jatuh tangga, gelak kuat2 lepas tu sambil menangis. bila sy marah, kdgn sy terlalu ikot emosi, org lain kena tempias. pernah di-sound sbb kelakuan buruk, kasar. tahu sy salah wlpun sy diam. uhuu~

bila ada org tnya soalan bodoh, suka tarik muka. diam terus atau bg jwpan bodoh jgk. HAHA. bila tak dpt apa sy nak, sy mengalah wlpun sedeyh sikit. tp sy kene belajar tak semua kita nak kita akan dpt. sy bwk kereta, selalunya sy kurang sabar. kalau ada org mcm haremmm, sy akan berckp sorang dlm kereta. org pandang sy pelik, sy cakap sorang2 'ape? ade buat slh dgn kaw ke?' kalau mood baik, sy senyum. lepas tu org ingt sy kenal die. eh eh. senyum pun salah. ishh.. bila sy ssh hati ke, senang hati ke, sy sukeeeee makan! ngee =D

sy kurang sgt keyakinan diri. sangat kurang. ada faedahnya sy masuk dunia penyiaran. nak tak nak terpaksa temubual org, terpaksa call org, terpaksa tahan sindiran & herdikan org. ;) kalau mama suruh sy call siapa2 utk bertanya apa2 pun rasa berat. haih~ sbb itu bila ada org puji ckp sy cantik atau comel, atau apa2 lah, sy selalu nafikan. mybe org tu tpu atau ckp bnde btol pd pandangan die org, tp sy rasa cam perli. huhu. tah, sy bkn tak bersyukur, cuma sy sedar diri sy mcm mane je. sampai org fed up dgn sy. tskkk. maaf.

ok sudah panjang. cuma nak ckp, nampak tak kuasa menjadi diri sendiri??? ramai org yg sayang sgt dkt kita tuh sbb diri kita. yg buruk mereka tegur, tp mereka tak pedulikan keburukan kita & terima kita seadanya. org yg betul2 syg kita, org yg berani tegur kesalahan & keburukan kita utk kebaikan kita. org yg syg kita betul2 jgk, tahu bila kita jd diri sendiri. oleh itu, jadilah diri sendiri! =) terima kasih utk semua yg syg diri sy!