Pasta Aligue with Garlic Shrimps

FF was huffing and puffing as he finally  deposit that brick of a luggage I was traveling with  in Asia. I had it with me from the Philippines,  dragged it along in Singapore, then in Bali before finally  hauling it back to Germany.

What's in there anyway, stones? He asked, as the ugly blotches of red slowly creep back off this sweaty forehead. My usually uncomplaining husband , the forever gentleman, who tend  forget that I could twist and turn patients twice my size and height and but never let be lift anything heavier than a basket of sweets when where together, groaned in exhausted frustration . We've been travelling for 36 hours and both of us are beyond weary when we finally reached our doorstep.

 He exhausted  inquiry turned to disapproving scowl as I open my luggage , exposing kilos upon kilos groceries! Yup, I bought cans  of cheap sardines, bottles of spread ,tins of biscuits among other things , as if I'm off to barren Antarctic for the next  6 months. I admit, I got carried away with buying things  that would remind me of home.
We have enough foods in Germany, you know. He reminded me, barely containing his sarcasm , as I put my loot into the pantry.

I will make it up to you, I promised my husband. Today, I had the chance to do just that.
I cook that Aligue ( crab fat) in a bottle I bought from the Philippines. How can something so inexpensive end up this delicious? If only I knew, what fine treat this cheap bottle  would bring to our plate, I should have wipe that grocery shelve clean!

The simple dish was so delicious, it's worth the Hernia risk!

Pasta Aligue

300 g of shrimps, peeled and deveined
1 tsp cayenne pepper

4 cloves of garlic

olive oil for sautéing
1 large onion, finely diced
3 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 jar aligue sauce
300 ml shrimp or fish stock
200 ml cream
salt and pepper
handful chopped parsley
a pack of your favourite pasta, cooked

1. Season shrimp with sea salt,  let it rest for 5 minutes . Heat olive oil in the pan, add shrimps , garlic and cayenne pepper. Cook until it turns opaque, about 5 minutes or less

2. Transfer shrimps to a bowl, drizzle with lemon juice, season with more salt  if necessary, pepper and add chopped parsley. Set aside.

3. Using the same pan,   melt butter under medium heat. Saute onion until  soft and fragrant. Add flour. Deglaze with shrimp/fish stock. 

3.  Bring to a boil. Stir in aligue. Bring to a gentle simmer and add in cream. Season with salt and pepper.

 4. Cook pasta according to package's instruction. Toss over sauce until well combined.

Serve with garlic shrimps .

Peanut Butter stuffed Chocolate Cookies

Peanut Butter stuffed Chocolate Cookies

Grey.... Who doesn't know Christian,  fifty shades of trouble,  Grey?  He might me a fabric of somebody's imagination but he made women believe in fairytale and  SM   ! A billionaire who  might share Donald Trump's self confidence but not his  over inflated ego and hair issues.

But catching such man is like going out fishing for blue whale  in the pacific with a brittle twig. Probability of sighting one, 76%, catching however,  null. No flawless, killer bud and sexy eyes to bait the rod here. Not everybody is Anastasia Steel! I don't even blush! I turn green, when embarrassed!

Now,  since having my own Christian Grey is ruled out  , I'm going to settle for second best thing.

Just a sexy..

Peanut Butter stuffed chocolate cookies

Twice as rich

Peanut Butter stuffed chocolate cookies

It's soooo naughty , my mama will definitely disapprove.

Peanut Butter stuffed chocolate cookies

Ingredients:

115 g butter, at room temperature

100 g brown sugar

50 g granulated sugar

2 medium sized eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

160 g all purpose flour

50 g unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp. baking soda

1 pinch of salt

2 tbsp. cornstarch

100 g chocolate chips or chunks

1/2 cup peanut butter + 1/2 cup icing sugar, refrigerated overnight

1. Mix peanut butter and icing sugar well. Refrigerate for few hours until it hardens. Scoop 1 teaspoon of peanut butter and form into  balls. Pop peanut butter balls back in the fridge to keep its shape.

2. Cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, around 5 minutes.

2. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract.

3. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cornstarch.

4. Using a dough hook, mix dry ingredients and wet ingredient until well combined. Do not over beat. Fold in chocolate chips or chunks.

Transfer dough into a clean bowl, cover with a cling foil and refrigerate for hours or even overnight. Baking cold dough stops it from spreading and flattening when baking.

7. Scoop cookie dough into balls. Flatten and place  hardened peanut butter ball at the centre of each cookie dough.

8. Seal the sides of the dough and make sure that peanut butter is fully encased so it doesn't leak while baking. 

9. Bake in a preheated oven ( 180°c) for 8 to 9 minutes . Let cookies in the baking pan for 5 minutes before transferring unto the wire rack.

Aaaaaaaahhhhhh...

Eyes rolling at the back of my head, indecently  moaning , face exposing a myriad of blissful expression with a look that could probably rival Anastasias' when she's in a throng of  sexual euphorias. Sorry for the language, I'm currently in  a  midst of a major cookiegasm.

Do you want to share this 7th heaven? Give this recipe a try!

Easy Eggless Tiramisu

I enjoyed this particular dessert more than I expected. Ironic considering that I don't like coffee  or any alcoholic drinks and both are essential ingredients in this Italian sweet. The heat is also scorching in these past few weeks and although raw eggs add more taste and texture  in the whole recipe, omitting it was an easy decision . The dessert turned out all right, tasted quiet good actually  and without putting someone's digestive tract at risk.

Many Tiramisu recipes call for Masala ,  Baileys or  Amaretto . I am serving this dessert on my birthday and there are few kids around.  They might even enjoy coffee tinged desserts but serving them anything with alcohol is simply out of the question. I used amaretto syrup in this recipe, the non alcoholic one, making it as child friendly as it could be. 

Ingredients:

300 g mascarpone cheese

500 ml cream

5 tbsp. Amaretto syrup

6 tbsp. sugar

400 g lady finger biscuits

300 ml brewed coffee

100 g dark chocolate, shaved

70 g cocoa powder  

 1. Whisk mascarpone cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in Amaretto, Masala or Baileys if using. You can use vanilla extract as substitute .Whip together cream and sugar until soft peak is formed. Fold mascarpone and cream together until well combined.

 2. Put a spoonful of mixture on the serving dish. Spread evenly. This will make actually ''glue'' your biscuits to the serving dish.

 3. Dip lady finger in the coffee. Don't let it soak. A second or two is all you need. Since I don't drink coffee ,  I bought ready made brewed coffee from the groceries. Tseheee!

 4. Arrange coffee dipped ladyfingers onto your serving dish. Sprinkle 50 g of shaved chocolate and 1 tbsp. of cocoa over the lady fingers.

5. Spread 1/2 of mascarpone and cream mixture over it.

6. Prepare another layer of coffee dipped ladyfingers , cocoa and  shaved chocolate.

7. Spread the rest of the mascarpone and cream mixture. Dust with cocoa powder. Cover with cling foil and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. Let the flavours flirt  and  fornicate before digging in.