Chicken Rosemary Pasta

This dish will not require you any effort. Chicken Rosemary Pasta is a simple pasta that you can cook almost everyday. I cook this as my "pambaon” at work. Here are the ingredients that you need:

-chicken fillet

-rosemary

-tomato paste

-garlic

-salt and pepper

-spaghetti noodles (preferably whole wheat)

-olive oil

For the chicken:

• Marinade the chicken with calamansi (or lemon), salt, pepper and soy sauce.
• Fry the marinated chicken in low heat to keep the moisture inside. Set aside.

For the pasta:

• Cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain and set aside.
• Sauté the garlic in olive oil.
• Add the tomato paste once the garlic is almost golden brown
• Add a small amount of water to make the consistency of the paste even
• Add the rosemary
• Season with salt and pepper• Once the consistency is thick again put the pasta, add oil if you want
• Make sure that the pasta is evenly coated with the sauce
• Serve with chicken on top
• Or you can also cut the chicken fillet into strips, then before adding the pasta, add the chicken to the tomatoes sauce mixture

If available, I suggest you use fresh rosemary instead. You can also put some freshly squeezed lemon juice if you want a bit tangy taste. Sun dried tomatoes would also add up to the taste. Don't be afraid to experiment, that what makes your foodgy exciting.

Penne Aglio e Olio with Bangus Fillet

One of the simplest pasta dishes that I have cooked was Aglio e Olio. Basically, it’s just pasta, garlic and oil. Anyone can make some enhancement on the basic recipe depending on their taste as what Bellissimo did on their own version of this dish (check Bellissimo’s Aglio e Olio)

This recipe of Aglio e Olio is much closer to basic. The dish is so easy to prepare that you may want to cook this every day. Here are the ingredients that you need:

-Penne Pasta (preferably whole wheat)

-Garlic (finely chopped)

-Olive Oil (preferably extra virgin)

-Salt and pepper

-Bangus Fillet

-Garlic powder

-Cornstarch

• First, you need to cook the pasta until it is al dente. After cooking, drain and set aside.
• Now for the bangus fillet, you can use the one in can or if you want it fresh, get the belly part and be sure to take out the bone.
• Using the garlic powder and cornstarch, we will create a breading mix for the bangus fillet. You may add salt and pepper depending on your taste.
• After coating the bangus fillet with the breading, fry it until it is golden brown. Set aside.
• In a pan, put the olive oil then sauté the garlic. Put the cooked penne when the garlic is about to turn to a golden brown color.
• Once the penne is evenly coated with oil and garlic, take the pan out of the flame.
• Serve the pasta dish with bangus fillet on top.

You can also try chicken fillet if you don’t like fish. Enjoy your foodgy!

Sunset at Krocodile Grille

It was a Sunday when we went to Krocodile Grille at the Mall of Asia. It was raining that afternoon but we can still see the sunset, but not that apparent. Sa labas kami pumuwesto para al fresco dining at para makita din yung sunset. Yung table namin dun ay hugis crocodile, mataas yung upuan.

We ordered the usual Kare-kareng Gulay, Krispy Pata at ang di ko makakalimutang seafood speacial nila na Sumasagitsit na Seafood Halo-halo! Siyempre, di din mawawala ang bottomless iced tea.

While waiting, binigyan kami ng kropek para di kami mainip dahil 10-15 minutes pa kami maghihintay. Yung iced tea, instant powder mix lang yung ginamit nila.

Masarap yung Kare-kareng Gulay, kaso parang kulang sa peanut butter. Ayos din yung Krispy Pata, malaki yung servings at maraming laman. The best din yung sawsawan nito, gaya ng bagoong ng Kare-kare nila, tamang tama ang timpla.

Huling dumating yung Sumasagitsit na Seafood Halo-halo. Gaya ng pangalan nito, halo-halong seafood ito na ginisa sa tomatoe sauce. May bell pepper at onions din. Ayos naman ang pagkakaluto, malutong yung gulay. May prawns, tahong, pusit at fish fillet.

Everything was so ordinary, nothing was special sa place (well, except for the table na hugis crocodile at ang pangalan ng kanila speacialty "sumasagitsit"). Kwentuhan lang kami hanggang sa magdilim at tumila na ang ulan. If you happen to drop by the Mall of Asia, pass by the Krocodile Grill and enjoy the sunset with your friends.

Krocodile Grille is located at the Bay Area of the Mall of Asia.

Bellissimo's Linguine al Pollo e Prosciutto

Linguine al Pollo e Prosciutto of Bellissimo is a pasta dish that is almost the same as Pollo Alfredo (Chicken Alfredo). What makes this dish unique from the regular Alfredo pasta, aside from its name, are the prosciutto (Italian word for ham) and the linguine pasta (fettuccine is commonly used for Alfredo). Well, I think Bellissimo based this dish from Alfredo, making it unique by changing the name and putting extra ingredients.

I ordered this pasta in Bellissimo out of curiosity. Gusto ko malaman kung anong dish 'to kasi maganda yung pangalan. When it was served, medyo na disappoint ako dahil halos walang pinagkaiba sa Alfredo, maliban sa ham na nakahalo. Hindi ordinary ham yung nilagay nila. Matamis kasi yung normal Pinoy ham, maalat yung ginamit nila. Maybe it's an authentic Italian ham. Pero hindi namin naubos dahil maalat masyado yung lasa ng ham, nakakaumay.

If I will make some improvements on this pasta dish, I will make sure na di gaanong maalat yung ham. Tingin ko mas makadadagdag din ng texture sa dish kung lalagyan ng mushroom. Tapos, papalitan ko din ng pangalan, Pollo e Prosciutto Alfredo.

Bellissimo’s Aglio e Olio

Spaghetti Aglio Olio or simply Aglio e Olio, according to WIKIPEDIA, is a pasta dish that is said to be a traditional Italian cuisine. Aglio means garlic and olio means oil which, aside from the pasta (usually fettuccine), are the two basic ingredients of this dish.

Una kong na encounter ang Aglio e Olio noong kumain kami sa Bellissimo Ristorante sa Timog. Iba sa original recipe nito na garlic and oil lang ang gamit, ang Aglio e Oglio ng Belissimo ay may kasamang shrimps, clams at anchovies, spaghetti ang pasta na ginamit.

At first, mapapansin na kakaiba ang amoy nito dahil sa anchovies na parang bagoong isda (fish paste). Di din appetizing ang presentation na naka palibot sa pasta yung mga shells na may 2 shrimps sa ibabaw. But the taste makes a lot of difference from the way it looks.

Distinct pa rin ang lasa ng anchovies that go well the other seafoods. The pasta was al dente at hindi gaanong oily. Unlike the original recipe, napansin ko na wala gaanong garlic yung dish or baka naman na over power lang ng lasa ng anchovies ang garlic. Isa pa sa ikinagulat ko while eating the dish ay ang Parmesan cheese na masarap din pala sa sea food.

Mahilig talaga ako sa seafoods at maalat na pagkain kaya nagustuhan ko ang Aglio e Olio ng Bellissimo. Kung mahilig kayo sa seafoods, I will recommend this dish for you. Balak kong magluto ng sarili kong version nito pero siyempre I will modify it to my own taste. I am planning to put tahong instead of clams, bagoong isda or aligue (crab fat) instead of anchovies and bangus fillet instead of shrimps.

Bellissimo Ristorante

Birthday ng officemate ko when we went to Bellissimo Ristorante, a restaurant owned by Cesar Montano. Bellisimo is an Italian word for “very beautiful”, and obviously, they serve Italian cuisine.

Cozy and relaxing yung place. Para ka lang kumakain sa bahay. May mga paintings din sa walls na nadagdag ng drama at warmth sa overall ambiance ng place.

Nag-order kami ng Spaghetti Aglio Olio, Pasta Montano, Linguine al Pollo e Prosciutto, Supremo Pizza at ang kanilang house blend bottomless iced tea.

Habang hinihintay ang aming order, binigyan kami ng complimentary bread na may may dip na pesto at tomato sauce. Masarap yung bread dahil mainit init pa when they served it to us lalo na if you dip it sa pesto sauce. Para sumarap pa, ask for Parmesan cheese then mix it with the pesto sauce, perfect yung combination nun sa bread.

Nung dumating na yung food, napansin naming masyado marami for 6 persons ang aming order. Masarap naman lahat, lalo na yung pizza. Thin ang crust at malambot yung yung bread. Yun pasta, talagang nakakabusog. Panalo din yung house blend iced tea nila. Di ko alam kung paano nila ginawa pero feeling ko merong mango syrup na halo.

Check my succeeding blogs for the food that we've ordered. We really had a great foodgy at Bellissimo.

Bellissimo Ristorante is at 105 Unit E & F Scout Castor corner Tomas Morato, Quezon City. The restaurant is open from 11:00 AM to 12:00 MN on weekdays and up to 1:00 AM during weekends.