Since it was Chris’ birthday last week (hence our Banyan Tree holiday in Sanya), I’d decided to make him dinner on his actual birthday. We normally don’t really cook now, because 1) ingredients end up more expensive than just eating in a restaurant and 2) no time/too lazy. I still bake, because I love it, but cooking dinner is just too difficult to schedule into our busy lifestyle.
Which was why Chris was excited when I announced that I was going to cook dinner 😛 All the better since he had conference calls until 8PM at night and so was coming home late from work. So I donned my (imaginary) apron and was a 1920’s housewife for the night 😉
I made a Truffle and chicken pasta, mainly because we had a jar of Tetsuya black truffles which we bought when we celebrated Dad’s birthday in Tetsuya. I LOVE this stuff. It’s the secret to happiness, I swear. Just add a teaspoon of this luscious stuff to mashed potatoes, or butter, or whatever, and it turns a regular dish into something amazing. This time, it was pasta. It’s just a simple chicken and mushroom pasta, but adding a dollop of truffle makes the taste explode and your tastebuds quiver.
Was going to make the cream sauce from scratch like I usually do, but this time I felt lazy and bought a jar sauce instead. I have to say, I’d never do that again. Making your own cream sauce is actually quite simple and is, by far, superior. It doesn’t have that strange salty/preservative flavour and I like having the leeway to tweak with the flavour. Besides, I consider it cheating to use pre-made seasonings and sauces.. real housewives don’t do that!
Still, turned out not bad and made it a cinch to cook up. We had a nice, quiet birthday dinner together followed by luscious Couleur Chocolat truffle chocolates from France!
All the ingredients I used
Diced onions, sliced chicken, mushrooms and parsley
All cooked in with a bottle of “sun-dried tomato alfredo” sauce and Emmental cheese,
then with a sprinkle of black truffles stirred in to give a burst of flavour.
Truffle & chicken pasta
Couleur Chocolat from France.. a little birthday present I got for Chris
On the downside, they’re $4 each (!!!!!!!) but they are oh-so-LUSCIOUS…
And over the weekend, we arranged to go out with our favourite Shanghai friends to celebrate Chris’ birthday together. Chris selected The Spot, a casual pub/restaurant along Tongren Lu that’s popular with the expat crowd. We’re particularly fond of it because prices are VERY reasonable and the service is always friendly. It’s a nice place to kick back and chill out with friends – we had a great time!
Some of the girls and I. Erm.. except I forgot to take photos
of the birthday boy himself! *facepalm*
Delicious chicken enchiladas
My steak with mushroom sauce, corn on the cob, roast potatoes, soup, and salad. YUM!
Washed down with 5 glasses of red wine.. haha..
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Wow, those chocolates are expensive. I recently paid $2 per chocolate and thought *that* was expensive.
I know :X But it’s a one-off.. dont think I’d spend that kinda money on truffles again, so i guess it’s ok for his bday!
*lol* my husband can probably relate to this post! we dun cook as often these days so every time i whip something up in the kitchen, it’s always two thumbs up! life can get too busy at times to cook!! =)
Wish I had more time.. I’d so cook more! 😛
Yes, there is nothing easier than a cream sauce. I also never know why people wouldn’t make their own cheese sauce – it’s soooo easy. I make an awesome one with aged white cheese and a dollop of mustard. It’s great over anything – pasta, cauliflower.
The trick is to never cook the cheese – only add it, grated, after you’ve take the roux off the heat and let it melt in. No stringiness, ever.
I’ve never had truffles and now I feel I should try them out at least once. I have no idea what they taste like. I’m thinking very pungent.
And that reminds me of one of the finest foodie films of all time that you will LOVE if you haven’t seen it. It’s a subtitled gem made in Denmark called “Babette’s Feast”. The story is about how a couple of pious, respectable spinsters come to employ a phenonmenal French chef and of the glorious supper she makes for them one night. Your mouth will water.
It features a truffle the size of your head (well, sort of)!
If you like the taste of mushrooms, you’ll like truffles. A very rich, strong flavour of mushrooms.. it is SO good :)~
is there like 24 piceses there? $50 for chocs! ahhh! ;p
Yeah about that! ARGH. but they are soooooo freakin’ good, and in such gorgeous flavours!
lol I totally use sauces in a jar. I just don’t have the desire or the time to do anything beyond that.
Heh I used to when I was in college.. then stopped for ages and made my own sauces. I actually found it really simple to and the taste was SO different, so now I find jar sauces a bit too sharp/weird for me! Though it’s good when I feel lazy and wanna be quicker 😛
Wow, those chocolates are expensive. I recently paid $2 per chocolate and thought *that* was expensive.
I know :X But it’s a one-off.. dont think I’d spend that kinda money on truffles again, so i guess it’s ok for his bday!
I actually love to cook but just hate to do all the wash up..even though we have a dishwasher, i still need to wash up those pots and pans! anyways I made chicken and mushroom risotto the other day ! 🙂 mm.. it was actually pretty good! 😀
hahah true! we just leave the dishes in the sink for the ayi to wash up… we’re lazy *ahem*
Ooo truffles go REALLY well stirred into risotto too :)~
*lol* my husband can probably relate to this post! we dun cook as often these days so every time i whip something up in the kitchen, it’s always two thumbs up! life can get too busy at times to cook!! =)
Wish I had more time.. I’d so cook more! 😛
Yes, there is nothing easier than a cream sauce. I also never know why people wouldn’t make their own cheese sauce – it’s soooo easy. I make an awesome one with aged white cheese and a dollop of mustard. It’s great over anything – pasta, cauliflower.
The trick is to never cook the cheese – only add it, grated, after you’ve take the roux off the heat and let it melt in. No stringiness, ever.
I’ve never had truffles and now I feel I should try them out at least once. I have no idea what they taste like. I’m thinking very pungent.
And that reminds me of one of the finest foodie films of all time that you will LOVE if you haven’t seen it. It’s a subtitled gem made in Denmark called “Babette’s Feast”. The story is about how a couple of pious, respectable spinsters come to employ a phenonmenal French chef and of the glorious supper she makes for them one night. Your mouth will water.
It features a truffle the size of your head (well, sort of)!
If you like the taste of mushrooms, you’ll like truffles. A very rich, strong flavour of mushrooms.. it is SO good :)~
Chris you lucky guy !
Heheh his birthday was totally food-centered 😉
is there like 24 piceses there? $50 for chocs! ahhh! ;p
Yeah about that! ARGH. but they are soooooo freakin’ good, and in such gorgeous flavours!
lol I totally use sauces in a jar. I just don’t have the desire or the time to do anything beyond that.
Heh I used to when I was in college.. then stopped for ages and made my own sauces. I actually found it really simple to and the taste was SO different, so now I find jar sauces a bit too sharp/weird for me! Though it’s good when I feel lazy and wanna be quicker 😛
I actually love to cook but just hate to do all the wash up..even though we have a dishwasher, i still need to wash up those pots and pans! anyways I made chicken and mushroom risotto the other day ! 🙂 mm.. it was actually pretty good! 😀
hahah true! we just leave the dishes in the sink for the ayi to wash up… we’re lazy *ahem*
Ooo truffles go REALLY well stirred into risotto too :)~
Chris you lucky guy !
Heheh his birthday was totally food-centered 😉