A Scientist in the Kitchen

I’ve always dreamed of having pasta with very large meatballs ever since I ate meatballs spaghetti in Sbarro. That was way back when I was a teen-age girl. Somehow, I only got to cooking large meatballs spaghetti during the holiday season last year. I forgot about it until I saw this picture so it is only now that I am writing about it.

Large Meatballs and Linguine Pasta

500g ground pork
500g ground beef
freshly ground pepper
salt to taste
2 tbsp of dried herbs (oregano, basil, thyme)
250 grams unooked linquine pasta
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large white onion, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup broth from cooking the pasta
1 can diced tomatoes
fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix first five ingredients together. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Divide meat mixture into four and shape into balls. Brown the meatballs in a pan. Place the meatballs in the side then add the garlic and onion to the pan. Saute till they are cooked but not browned. Mix in the meatballs. Add the wine and broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes before adding the tomatoes. Add the fresh basil, salt and pepper. Simmer everything till sauce is reduced. Add the cooked pasta, mix everything to coat pasta. Serve with cheese.

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Presto Pasta Nights is almost a year old. Thanks to Ruth for organizaing this event Ever wondered how a market looks like in other parts of the world? Check out “To market, to market”. Or you can share yours, too.

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Almost summer here, perfect for hiking up the mountain. Be great if I could get that Merrell shoes I’ve been eyeing for some time.

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The Noche Buena feast is my especialty. Often, I start thinking of what to serve on Christmas eve dinner as early as October. I start getting excited on what to cook, often influenced by what cooking show or recipe book I am into at the moment. Now, food blogging has added another dimension to my cooking, getting ideas on herbs and spices, dishes and presentation. Christmas eve dinner often would have roast chicken and noodles or pasta. Plus, tsokolate eh and some sweets which are mostly gifts from friends.

I am already busy in the morning of December 24, having decided what to cook for the Noche Buena feast and a light dinner before that.

This year, my sister and I decided to have roast chicken once again with yet another variation. Also the noodle is sotanghon with carrots and shiitake mushroom. What is special about the noodles is that we used a particular brand we could only get from Iligan City (a pasalubong from my uncle, Mom’s elder brother). And instead of store-bought chicken, we used native chicken which we raise in our backyard.

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Here’s the Christmas lunch version I blogged previously for the Waiting for Christmas food blogging event.

I basically followed the same recipe except that I added 1/2 cup of rice wine along with the oyster sauce. Oh, and also more Chinese celery!

I really like the combination of Italian sausage, pasta and red sauce. So when I made Italian sausages for the first time, I used part of it in making this really delicious pasta with Italian sausage.

Linguine pasta with homemade Italian sausage

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