Evaluation Two, Home-style Italian

Now that things are gradually getting back in shape, I have found time on a Friday evening to keep my tasting dinners going. That is with the help of two of my long time, almost blood related(ok, not really) and obviously food-loving friends.


Van and Vig

Van is the ex-navy lady specialist who didn't hesitate to give a full forced, body battering slap to my sorry ass when I once refused to leave a club because I had too much to drink. Also, she has a secret recipe for a sambal paste that is potent enough to raise the dead and it is something I strongly believe everyone should experience at least once in a lifetime. Lawfully inseparable to her is Vig, my partner in crime during the days working at a nightclub, mocking losers and getting stupidly delirious together when the booze is free. Vig is heavily traumatized by the pasta in Singapore, which is totally understandable, and therefore he won't be commenting on any of the pasta dishes.

They are testing three rustic home-style dishes, the very basics of the Italian cuisine, to see if my months of trial and errors has come to any good.



This is my take on a Pomodoro Bruschetta. I used a softer bread and an additional element to the tomato marinate. Topped with rocket leaves and shaved pecorino.

Van: 9/10. "Deliciously fresh. I'm not big with raw vegetables but this is really good. Although I must say I'd still prefer the crunchy type of bread."
Vig: 8/10. "This is a must have starter for any Italian restaurant, but I wished the portions were smaller. Keep the bread soft, it works."



Spaghetti Meatball. I screwed up one this one when I left the pasta too long to cook and it became a little under al dente. I was quite reluctant to serve it out but they insisted so here are the comments anyway.

Van: 8/10. "This meatball is satisfyingly light! Ones outside are too heavy."
Vig did not have any pasta, ate all the meatballs and the extra ones instead.


Adapted from Chef John's recipe at foodwishes.blogspot.com, this is the famous Chicken Parmesan. I made this because I was craving for some fried chicken but I got too full at the end to enjoy.

Van: 8/10 "Nice sauce. I'm happy with this."
Vig: 7/10 "CHEESY CHICKEN DELIGHT, now where's the beer?"

If you think you've a good palate and got what it takes to give a good critique, contact me at the side bar on the left and we might arrange something. See ya soon.

What happens if chicken soup don't work anymore?

I'm down with a nasty cold again and nothing makes me feel better like piping hot and sour Italian stew down my tummy. My blurry mind will then rejuvenate and my frigid appetite will revitalize. A feeling like this can only be subtly compared to that of being captivated in the midst of a three second orgasm or receiving a two minute blow job.

A good stew when I am sick is like a small miracle, some like good old chicken soup, but it comes to a point when you grow tired of that shit because you have been subconsciously having it in your sauces, risotto, pasta, etc all the time. Try the stew, you will regret nothing. Maybe it's just me but I think a stew gets ten times better when you can scoop up tiny little bits of starch(rice, couscous, risoni, etc.) to munch on. I know, I'm being a big baby but I can bet you a bunch of people out there will secretly agree with me behind their computer screens. Thanks, I know I'm right.

The following stew is very good for you.

Sicilian Calamari Stew with Okra and Olio Santa
serves 2

200g Calamari, cleaned and sliced
6 Medium Okras, top removed, sliced on bias
400g Canned Diced Tomatoes
2 Garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tbsp Capers
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1 cup Couscous, Rice or Risoni
Scallions for garnish
EVOO
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Olio Santo or Chili Oil

- In a medium saucepan, saute garlic and Okras with a touch of EVOO until garlic turns golden brown. Season.
- Add tomatoes, capers, oregano and bring to boil. Simmer 10 mins.
- Add couscous and calamari. Simmer further 10 mins.
- Season and serve with Olio Santo and Scallions. Great with bread.

Trattoria Project Revamps!

I hope you like the new design. Because I do. Check back for more high quality posts later this week. Cheers :)

This is how breakfast-in-bed should look like.

It should also be messy and soul satisfying. It should make her hungry for some more. Breakfast-in-bed must be done fast. Don't have her waiting too long. Because when she comes to the kitchen it's breakfast-in-bed no more! Do it in ten minutes, love is in the air chemistry is smooth, you hit her buttons right, your competency sparkles her eyes, she gets to work on time. Fifteen minutes, you're trying she apprehends, you receive her benefit of doubt. Sixty minutes, you're trying too hard, game over, she thinks she slept with a loser who had never done breakfast-in-bed before but you got laid so you win anyhow.

Scrambled eggs and sausages maybe a good bet, but it is cliche. How about toast and butter? It shows how boring you are. Express fast food delivery? Great but transfer the food to the plates fast and don't make a sound, open the door before delivery guy hits the doorbell, fry some water in your pan to sound like you're busy. Too much trouble. Sod it, tell her you can't cook and it's not a big deal. It is not a big deal. Unless you're wanting to impress to go further. Then this is what you could do:

Breakfast in Bed - 8-10mins

Ingredients - 1 Egg, bunch of Salad Leaves(I used rockets, what's new), Fresh Mushrooms(Shittake in picture), 4 Bacon Strips, 2 slices of Bread, EVOO, Salt & Pepper.
Optional: Truffle Oil, Thyme Leaves.

0-30 secs: Get pan hot. Get your ingredients ready.
30secs-1min: Sear bacon strips in hot pan. Put bread in toaster.
1-4mins: Get a separate pan hot, add a touch of oil and fry an egg. Season egg. Take it out when it's cooked, set aside. Flip bacon when underside turns crispy brown. Remove bread from toaster and spread thinly with butter if preferred.
4-6mins: Using remaining oil from the pan you cooked the egg, saute mushrooms with a whole crushed clove of garlic and with thyme leaves. Saute for about 1 min on high heat, season and set aside discarding the garlic. Remove bacon(it should be crispy by now) and set aside on paper towels.
6-10mins: Put toast on the middle of a plate. Lay egg on top. Scatter with salad leaves, mushrooms and bacon. Drizzle with truffle oil. Good to go.

If this is too difficult, then wait for my upcoming quickie posts for more super fast recipes.

This is my day

The KaoHsiung trip is history. I came back together with nasty food experiences and heightened blood sugar levels. It's a wonder the entire country isn't diabetic because of the dominating presence of sugar in nearly every meal they eat. Even the Sashimi platter I had was drizzled with some honey soy, and it was also utterly disgusting. The beef Cappaccio had an appalling sweet vinaigrette and a packet of fries was seasoned with sugar. It's enough to make any pastry chef quit their job.

And if that's bad enough, they've got an unbelievably persistent bunch of people too. When I was strolling down the food department in a shopping district, I felt like I got stuck in some stock market instead. Food sellers from all corners will consistently insist that you sample their most amazing product. If you walk away, they'll go great lengths to make sure their voices would be loud enough to reach your ears. And when you finally decide to sample their product and not buy it because it tastes like shit, they'll give a look on the face like you had just spent their entire life savings on visor hats and fancy stickers and like you had just castrated their favorite pet.

I don't know about you, but nothing starts my day like a plate of good pasta. Especially when my palates are heavily traumatized by shitty food. Good pasta doesn't mean jarred Prego sauce with minced pork and canned mushrooms. Good pasta means a burst of mind blowing flavors with a good hint of wheat in the mouth. It's quite sad actually, most Singaporeans perceive pasta as TV dinner or fast food because good pastas are always outrageously priced. (at least SGD$10 for a decent aglio olio - pasta, garlic and olive oil. And no, not the one from Pasta Mania.) No one pays for something that already has a bad stigma.

Quite recently, I stumbled across one of the most amazing Italian cookbooks I've ever seen in a book store. I know I'm a little late but it's the Babbo cookbook by Mario Batali. There was only one left on the shelf and on it is a price tag that would instantly induce a terrible itch to the back of anyone's head upon sight. $82.92. Being the impulsive brat that I am, I bought it immediately because I thought that such books are hard to come by.

I tried the Pasta Amatriciana recipe two times today, one straight from the book the other with a little tweaking. I won't tell you which is better because I'm not shameless. For the record, both were bursting with flavors and are absolutely delicious so try the recipe if you haven't already know what good pasta tastes like. But due to copyright laws I'll show you my version of the recipe.

Spaghettoni All'Amatriciana
adapted from the Babbo cookbook
Serves 4

200g Pancetta or Good Quality Bacon, sliced
3 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
1 Red Onion, diced
1.5 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1.5 cups Basic Tomato Sauce
400g Spaghettoni Pasta
a handful Italian Parsley, chopped
2 tsp Light Cream or Creme Faiche
Fleur de Sel
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

1. Boil water with salt in a pot.

2. Render bacon fat in saute pan until most of the fat is out. Remove bacon and set aside on paper towels. Reserve fat in pan.

3. Saute onions in bacon fat until translucent. Add garlic, reserved bacon and red pepper, saute until garlic turns lightly brown.

4. Season, add tomato sauce and simmer.

5. Cook pasta according to packet instructions in boiling salted water until al dente. Add to simmering sauce.

6. Add parsley and toss pasta. Serve.

Fit for the King ..or the Bin?

Grilled Chicken with Capers on Wilted Spinach and Citrus Vinaigrette


Flank Steak, Sun Dried Tomato and Piman Pepper Sandwich

These are my lab test versions of the Chicken Piccata and Skirt Steak Sandwich respectively. I know, I must be a genius right? No, you're not right. Looks are deceiving. One of them is perfectly fit for the bin. Which is it? Can you differentiate the shit from the sublime? Think about it.

If you thought the steak sandwich was the flop and the chicken was fit for a king, then the king must be eating from his bin. That lovely acidic sauce from a Chicken Piccata seems to only go well when the chicken is crumbed and fried. Having the lemony acid on a grilled chicken was the culinary equivalent to a plate pasta with commercial strawberry sauce. I thought I'd refined the Chicken Piccata, but nothing went right. Every remote trace of deliciousness from the Piccata have vanquished after a crashing failure and can't be located because they got stranded somewhere far away on a mysterious island. A Chicken Fiasco.

Steak sandwich, orgasmic. The Japanese Piman peppers were experimented in hopes that its delicate and sweet flavor would contrast with the grainy and bold texture of the flank steak. It worked. And with the slight tartness from the sun dried tomato, it turns out to be better than I had expected it. It will probably be on the menu so I can't show you the recipe.

See you in a month.

Insalata Toscana

A handful of wild rockets. Herb-poached Italian potatoes. Freshly cut Roma tomatoes. Salted capers and shallots. Drizzle of red wine vinaigrette and Tuscan fruity olive oil. Fleur de Sel and freshly cracked black peppercorns. Very delicious indeed.

There is nothing amazing about the Italian cuisine without the simple, unpretentious and ass-kicking peasant style cooking. If you haven't already know, that is exactly what the Trattoria Project is all about.

Before I venture out for another awe-inspiring month in Taiwan, I made it a point to comfort my palates with as much Italian food as I can. That being said, I hope you'd find Insalata Toscana as pleasurable and comforting as it is to me.

Insalata Toscana
serves 4


350g slab of Roast Beef, diced
4 medium Potatoes, diced
3 large Sage leaves
3 medium Roma tomatoes, diced
3 small Shallots, chopped
1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 Tbsp Salted Capers
Handful of Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
Handful of Rockets
EVOO
Fleur de Sel
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

Boil potatoes in salted boiling water, sage leaves and some EVOO until al dente. Drain and set aside. Whisk EVOO, vinegar, crushed pepper, fleur de sel and pepper. Combine everything, toss and season. Enjoy.