​Where should I start? Meatballs, as simple as it is, it's one of those dishes that I have a love-hate relationship with. 

I tried to make meatballs possibly two times and both were not good ones. Consistency was good but the seasoning part is where I always make a mistake. Unfortunately, meatballs, like burger patties, you won't really know if you did the seasoning right, until it's cooked. I guess you can still salvaged it but for avid cooks like me, that's just masking the error. At the end of the day, it still means the seasoning was not done right.

This time around, I was able to do it right, well at least half way. I tell you why it was half way. I bought a ready-to-cook Italian sausage. Just because in Dubai, Italian ground sausage somehow is not easy to find. I had to improvised. That being said, it still means I had to play around with the seasoning because the Italian sausage that I got is already seasoned and I have to mix it with an unseasoned ground beef. So it was still a success, albeit half way.

Tip 1: This is exactly how my meaty meat sauce was done, without the meat since this has meatballs
Tip 2: If you have a sauce that your family particularly like, you can just add the meatballs part to up the ante
Tip 3: Get your kiddos involved. Sure there will be funny shapes, it won't be uniform but you and they will have fun.

Ingredients for the meatballs:
3 slices white bread, crusts removed and diced
2/3 cup cold water
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ready to cook Spicy Italian Sausage (taken out from casings)
1/4 cup grated parmegiano regiano
6 cloves garlic, minced finely
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 tablespoons white sugar (depending on your preference)
1 large egg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour to dredge meatballs
Light olive oil to saute

Ingredients for the sauce
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium green capsicum, diced
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
​1 tbsp Italian Seasoning (ready made or make your own)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp sugar (to cut the acidity, especially good with young eaters, but if they are very much into the authentic Italian sauce, no need to add sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water

Instruction for the meatballs:
​1. Place bread pieces in a small bowl, add cold water and soak for at least 5 minutes then mashed with fork
2. In large mixing bowl, add beef, pork sausage, parmegiano regiano, garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, egg and mashed bread. Mix until well combined.
3. Form into 1 inch meatballs (about half a scoop of ice cream), but if you want big meatballs, oh please go big by all means!
4. Dredge/roll meatballs in flour, dust off excess flour
5. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 3-4 tablespoons olive oil.
6. Add meatballs in batches without crowding the pan. Saute until brown on all sides (turn every minute). Don't worry about not cooking the them through, it will be cooked fully when it's added to the sauce.
7. Set aside

At this point, if you followed the size of my meatballs, it should actually be cooked through by this time. The one you should worry about are your kids stealing them before you are able to make the sauce. 

Instruction for the sauce:
1. In the same pan, saute onion and capsicum in butter and oil, until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 more seconds.
3. Add tomato paste, sauce and stewed tomatoes, seasonings and water.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes. 
5. Add the meatballs
6. ​Simmer for another 15 minutes.

I have to confess, because I made small meatballs, I did not add them all into the sauce (thinking I will make more sauce later on). The problem with that was, my kids ate the ones not in the sauce when I went to work. Apparently, according to my nanny, they ate it with rice and were even fighting over it. 

That for me is a clear translation of success.

Happy Eating!!!

I love burgers... who doesn't right?

I'll eat any priced burger, from MickeyD's to gourmet... I love 'em. I mean yes, MickeyD's tastes like a monotonous cardboard paper but i still eat them as if it's the yummiest food of all and it's the end of the world tomorrow.

Don't be fooled though. I actually have a pretty good palate but there is something so addictive (at least to me) about junk food. Not sure if it's the french fries that comes with every meal that makes me come back at least once a month (I'm trying to be modest here... gimme a break!). Or, it's my kids' once a month treat to a happy meal (again, this is me finding an excuse for MickeyD's trip).

As you know, I'm also a huge fan of Shake Shack and their witchcraft brews. Dining there is an indulgence I really must have every so often.

So you see, burgers is somewhat an addiction. I should probably come up with a group... I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I swear I've eaten burgers from different places, from the cheapest (talk about Burger Machine! that's to anyone who knows about it), to the random food chains that has response time like a 911 call to the really expensive ones and I mean expensive. I feel like, in addition to my quest to find the best joints for beef carpaccio...  the hunt for the juicy burgers in town is piggy-backing on my carpaccio journey. 

It's also just in the last five years that I began to understand that burgers or beef are best served medium rare (or if you can stomach it, rare!) The science behind the overheating of these precious jewels make muscles constrict, thereby makes them tougher. Oh boohoo! I won't bore you with the theoretical background of parts and cooking methods... let's go back to the essence of this whole musing, Burger at its best.

Well, fine, I'm sure I can still outdo myself... knowing my appetite for beating my own record. But for now, this recipe will give you a layer after layer of taste that is simply comforting without that big hoo-ha and sweat and not to mention the gajillions of ingredients that comfort mood normally requires.

So here it goes... get your pen and paper, boys and girls ... I can see you're not moving... yes... you can do that too... saving this page into your favourites for easy browsing.. of course that's a much better option,,, you tech-savvy-you!

 I have to warn you, the procedure is so complex that you're gonna need to be uber smart like me to make it... like seriously...

This is my brother's nanny's dish which our nanny most prolly modified to our tastebuds. Soooo delish, especially with steamed white rice.

My kids and their nanny went to my brother's house and so it's just me and hubby and in as much as I love hubby so much, I couldn't cook as flamboyant as I want to since today is one of those days that I'm down with a really bad flu. Mind you, I rarely have flu. Twice a year is my quota, knock on wood.

I'm so happy with how I managed to cook this dish that though can't taste much, I eat a lot!

This dish is so simple, it's a matter of cooking the beef tender and having the sauce balance.

Ingredients:
500 grams beef rib-eye
tenderiser powder
1 tablespoon lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
knob of butter
1 medium size green capsicum / bell pepper, cut in strips
1 medium white onion, sliced
1/2 cup oyster sauce
3/4 cup to 1 cup water
Mushroom slices, optional

Directions:

Massage the beef with tenderiser powder, cover with cling film and pound slightly. Slice into strips and squeeze about a tablespoon of lemon juice. Toss to make sure that all the pieces are well marinated. Set it aside for 15 minutes. This process will help tenderize your beef completely.

Heat olive oil with a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over high heat. Add onions. Once onions are soft, add beef strips. Stir after 30 seconds and let it simmer for 2 minutes.

Set the meat aside in a serving bowl along with onions and bell pepper. Simmer the sauce in the pan for another 3 minutes.

Pour the sauce on meat and serve. Enjoy!

FV48-05-0111

It's been an overcast and rainy weather the whole week,,, it's the perfect time for a really good soup. I am not armed with many soup. I only know how to make chicken sopas and cooks the one from a packet! I know pathetic,,, but I'm getting there.

Got this really great soup from one of my books and it is indeed hearty.

Tip 1: Make sure you cut all the ingredients all at the same size for even cooking
Tip 2: If you don't have a home made beef broth, you can always use the beef broth cubes
Tip 3: Degrease the soup for better presentation, unlike me, I just served it as is as I was hungry!
Tip 4: Mirepoix is a combination of equal parts, onion, celery and carrot

Took me 30 minutes 

Ingredients:
45 grams of butter
375 grams, mirepoix*, small dice
2 cloves, garlic cloves, chopped
1 liter beef broth
125 grams beef, small dice
Bouquet Garni:
   1 Bay leaf
   1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
   1/2 teaspoon crushed peppercorns
   8 parsley stems
100 grams tomato concasse
75 grams potato, small dice
100 grams corn kernels, fresh, frozen or canned
Salt and pepper

Makes 1.25 liters
Serves 4

In a soup pot, sweat the mirepoix in butter until tender.

Add garlic and saute lightly.

Add the beef broth or stock and the diced beef; bring to a simmer. Add the bouquet garni. Skim or degrease as necessary.

Simmer until the beef and vegetables are tender, approximately 30 minutes.

Add the tomato concassee, corn and potatoes, simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve piping hot!

-AcousticChef.... cookin' one tune at a time!

FV32-05-1110

I was hungry, it's late and we don't have dinner yet... that's my concern one night. I already had the rib eye steak at room temperature but I didn't feel like having the usual rib eye steak with mushroom gravy. First, I was bored and second, I wasn't inspired enough to whip out a steak, my hubby was not around, steak is something he loves to chomp on.

Not really had any plans but in the end I thought of a great idea for the ingredients that I have... my inspiration? Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.. He goes to the most outrageous food joints in the US and it's amazing how hungry you'll be for those mouth-watering food.

Tip 1: Use meat tenderiser powder if you think you need it.
Tip 2: Use cling wrap on top of the steak before pounding your meat senseless so you'll have less mess after 

INGREDIENTS:
Kraft cheese, single/individual packet
2 portions of rib-eye (approx 500 grams)
1 box of button mushroom, sliced
1 1/2 medium sized red onion, sliced
1/2 cup pancetta
Mini - baguette

This took me 45 minutes

Rub your steak with meat tenderiser powder, then pound each part until they've thinned a little.

Leave the meat for 30 minutes on the side. 

In the meantime, prep the rest by sweating your pancetta to the point where its crispy enough. Drop in the mushroom and saute until it's cooked. Add the onion to the pan until it's cooked and translucent. Set aside.

On the same pan, pan sear the steak until cooked, a little pink on the inside.

Rest the steak for 5-10 minutes before slicing it.

Once rested, slice the steak against the grain and on 45-degree angle.

Return the steak and pancetta mixture to the pan and stir fry a little. If you like your meat a medium rare, then take it off the pan straight away. If you want it done, then take it off when the pink's gone.

Slice your baguette and pan-grill them, sliced side face down on the grill. Once you have good marks, spread one side with good mayonnaise, top with steak slices then finish off with a slice of cheese. Place the other half baquette on top and toast it panini style until the cheese begins to melt or put it in the oven to melt the cheese.

Serve your steak sandwiches with dijon mustard on the side. You can dip whatever steak that falls off your bread.

Serve this with fries or potato wedges or a green salad of your choice. An ice cold cola doesn't hurt either.

By the way, I ate left overs of these steak the following day and boy-oh-boy! It's as good as the night it's cooked. Yum-my!

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FV08-06-0910

I love pasta. I love everything about it. Pasta dishes rarely disappoints me, so it's a staple in my top 3 back-up food whenever we dine out.

I don't regard pasta the same way if I have to cook it at home though. Unless it's Macaroni and Cheese or Spaghetti Bolognese, I'll pass. Needless to say, baking Lasagna gives me chills.

I always have this worrying visual in my head whenever I think of baking lasagna,,, a huge baking dish that tastes awful and it was either going down the trash or I'm sitting on the kitchen floor, eating it all by myself because no one else will touch it. 

So, yes, I finally faced my fears and I'm quite happy to report that my first lasagna was a success. Only a small piece was left and got rave reviews. They said it's moist, not too salty, not too cheesy, the flavours didn't compete with each other, it was just perfect!

Tip 1: If you're using no-cook lasagna sheet (I used Barilla), don't leave it as is but also don't boil it, because it's thinner than normal sheets. Soak the sheets in pre-boiled hot water with 2 tablespoons butter for 10 minutes. Drain, pat dry and set aside. 
Tip 2: Make extra sauce if you want your lasagna with sauce on it.
Tip 3: Adjust the amount of dried pepper flakes as you wish.
Tip 4: Lasagna can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with cling film and keep it in the fridge.

This took me an hour and a half to bake... yes, yes, you'll take maybe an hour.

INGREDIENTS for Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped peeled carrots
2 tablespoons minced garlic
450 grams ounces lean ground beef
30-ounce crushed tomatoes with added puree
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried pepper flakes

INGREDIENTS for Lasagna
15 lasagna sheets/pasta
850 grams ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
2 large eggs, beaten
4 3/4 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Serves 6-8 hearty portions

Directions For Sauce:
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and garlic; saute until softened, about 12 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until flavors blend and sauce measures about 6 cups, stirring occassionally, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Cool.

Directions For Lasagna:
Preheat oven to 350F. Soak no-cook lasagna sheets in a pre-boiled water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Mix ricotta and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese in bowl. Mix in spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in eggs.

Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of 13x9x3-inch glass baking dish. Place 5 noodles over sauce, overlapping to fit. Spread half of ricotta-spinach mixture evenly over pasta. Sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella cheese evenly over ricotta-spinach mixture. Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce over cheese spreading with spatula to cover (careful, sauce will be thick). Repeat layering with 5 noodles, remaining ricotta-spinach mixture, 2 cups mozzarella and 1 1/2 cups sauce. Arrange remaining 5 noodles over sauce. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese evenly over lasagna. (May refrigerate at this stage)

Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake lasagna for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, about 10 more minutes. Let lasagna stand 15 minutes before serving.

Serve this with Garlic Toast on the side, Tabasco sauce and extra Parmesan cheese and let your guests enjoy!

Acoustic Chef, cookin’ one tune at a time!

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