I was on a cooking spree yesterday... I started at 2 in the afternoon and was finally done at 10.15 (I was off running some errands from 4 - 6.30, but I still slogged in a hot kitchen for over 5 hours). I made a bread, nothing fancy just a standard French Loaf… which didn’t quite turn out right. I then decided to convert that bread into this amazing Garlic Cheese Bread which I'd read about on Pioneer Woman. I also made Prawns in Alfredo Sauce. I also made a small portion of veggie pasta for a vegetarian friend who decided to pop in unannounced. I was too tired to make dessert so I decided everyone would have to settle for some good old ice cream.
I started with the bread at 2in the afternoon. Bread takes a while to make what with having to rest the dough twice (That’s when I was running errands). I have decided against sharing my bread-making experience because it was a mini disaster. The bread was edible, but the crust was so hard that my mom's teeth actually started hurting after eating a couple pieces. I think I over-baked it. I have an oven that runs a little hotter than it should and I still haven't gotten my hands on an oven thermometer. Anyway lesson learnt, I should take all items out of the oven about 5 minutes before the original recipe says.
Moving on to my Prawns in Alfredo Sauce and its veggie version. It is composed of 4 parts the prawns, the veggies, the Alfredo sauce and of course the pasta. I'll present this step by step.
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| Prawns In The Marinade |
Step 1: Marinate the Prawns (Prawns are similar to
Shrimp – If your curious to know the difference
between them click here)
You will need:
250g Prawns
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Stir for about a minute and then add
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| Prawns Frying |
Worcestershire Sauce, salt and
pepper. Stir well to combine
(about another minute).
Turn off the
heat and stir in the prawns. Mix well
so that all the pieces are covered.
Marinate for about an hour.
Transfer the prawns alongwith the
marinade into a frying pan and fry.
Prawns usually take about 10
minutes to cook.
Step 2: Cooking the Vegetables
You will need:
1 large Red Bell Pepper, diced
1 large Yellow Bell Pepper, diced
100 grams Button Mushrooms, diced
a bunch of Spring Onions, diced (keep the onion and the greens separate)
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp Italian seasoning
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| Veggies Mix - How Colourful!! |
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Heat the oil in a saucepan on a medium flame (You
can use butter if you're feeling particularly naughty).
Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir it in for about a
minute. Add onions (from the spring onions) and fry
till they are translucent. It shouldn't take longer than
2 minutes. Add salt and pepper and the Italian
seasoning.
Add the diced bell peppers and stir so it gets coated
with oil and then mix in the mushrooms. Cook the
mixture till the moisture released by the mushrooms
reduces. Finally add the green part of the spring
onions, stir it in and turn off the burner. You're
Veggie component is ready
Remember, you can use whatever vegetables you like, make it your own.
Step 3: While your veggies are cooking, you
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| Assembled - Pasta & Veggie Mix |
should also cook your pasta.. Linguini would
be the best with this particular recipe.
Unfortunately I couldn't find any linguini at my
local store, all they had was macaroni and ziti.
So I went with Ziti. Boil 200g pasta in salted
boiling water for 8-10 minutes or follow the
instructions on the packaging.
Step 4: Making the Alfredo Sauce
You will need:
1 Tbsp Butter
200 ml cream
100 ml milk
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated
1 tsp Oregano/Parsley/Basil (I use Oregano because I love it)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
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| Final Assembly |
Melt butter in a pan and add milk and cream and
simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cheese and stir to
mix thoroughly. Season with the herb of your
choice, salt and pepper and your alfredo sauce
is ready to serve.
To Assemble:
Assemble the pasta as the 1st layer in your serving
dish, cover it with a layer of the cooked vegetables.
Place the fried shrimp over the vegetables and then
pour the alfredo sauce over it all. For the veggie
version, just leave the shrimp out.
Because my friend showed up unannounced and I had
to make an extra dish with the same amount of
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| Crusty Bread - Disastrous |
ingredients, I ended up with a little less alfredo than I needed. That is why the round dish looks a little
impoverished. But it tasted good anyway.
Finally I converted my warped French Loaf into a
GarlicCheese Bread. Of course, I find it totally
impossible to stick to a recipe so I had to make a
few changes. For starters, I left out the Monterey
Jack and Parmesan Cheeses and only used grated
Cheddar. I also left out the garlic. I added about
2 Tbsp mustard sauce because I looovvee it.
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| The Breads Been Saved |
Last night was a total gluttonous affair... We ate till
our jean buttons were about to pop. We were
sooo full that we had to skip dessert...Yes!! Now
you understand the gravity of the situation, don’t
you? But seriously, try both these recipes the next
time you want to have a luxurious meal and when
you have the time to prepare it. You will not regret
it. Both of these are winners, so long as you buy
the bread and not attempt to make it yourself.
