Oh hai u gaiz! Before we officially start the weekend, I thought to share with you some pictures of this week’s nomz. If you’ve read posts from this blog before, you’ve probably seen me whining about my lack of skills in the kitchen (see disaster here). Fast forward to my stint in France, where burning the kitchen down couldnt be an option. I’ve been forced to find a way to feed myself without heading to the nearest fastfood joint.

The first couple of weeks were terrible. I had no choice but to nom on burnt chicken nuggets, half-cooked eggs, salty spaghetti, and tasteless adobo. Today, I can proudly say that my kitchen skills have vastly improved. What? You don’t believe me? Here’s proof:

Proof #1- Golden Fried Chicken

Everyone told me that fried chicken is the easiest to start with and I have absolutely no idea why. My first attempt to cook some had me chucking half a chicken into the trash bin because the chicken ended up burned in spots and undercooked in other places. Several attemps later, I still couldn’t get it right. But because fried chicken has always been my comfort food, failing the first few times didn’t faze me.

Look at this photo of a beautiful basket of fried fowl from my latest attempt. The skin turned out light, crispy and golden brown, the meat was tender and at the same time juicy, and the was chicken throroughly cooked with absolutely no bloody joints (I hate it when that happens). To achieve that, I baked the chicken in an oven for a good 15-20 minutes at 200°C before coating it in light flour seasoned with some salt & pepper and then deep frying it for 10-15 minutes. That turned out pretty great. I chose to pair the dish with a side of kropek to give it a more Asian feel.

Proof #2- Baked Fish Pesto and Creamy Spaghetti Al Pesto

Although it looks like someone got sick all over my plate, this combo tasted pretty good. There was a tad too much pesto on this dish but my excuse is that I’ve to make use of what’s available everytime I cook and all I had then was a ton of pesto.

The chunk of fish fillet in pesto sauce was the easiest to cook. Baked for only 20 minutes, the fish came out soft and tasty as expected. The classic spaghetti al pesto is easy to make. Made sure the pasta was cooked al dente and I added a little cream with the pesto sauce for it to be tastier.  The carrots were boiled for only 10 minutes and sliced into thin sticks (took the picture before slicing). See how my cooking has improved? This is almost a fancy dish and I made it!

Proof #3: Carbonara Ravioli with Broccoli

Remembering how this dish tastes like makes me want to make some more this week. The cheese and basil ravioli was bought from the nearest grocery and all I had to worry about was the sauce. I had some cream left over from the last dish so I thought to make carbonara instead of the usual tomato based ones.

For the sauce, I sliced up some ham into cubes and fried it in olive oil before adding the cream, water, salt and pepper in the mix. While waiting for the sauce to cook, I boiled a little water to cook the ravioli. A short while later, I mixed the sauce and the noodles and let it sit under low heat for a few minutes. Quick and easy AND delicious. As the side, I used some steamed and lightly salted broccoli. Oha, am I a better cook or what?

If you wanna know the detailed recipes (just in case you were curious and you’re also a noob cook like me), just ask me for it. I’d be most willing to share them. These homecooked meals are very simple to make and delicious.

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bacontunamelt

Mel is a developer by day, a couch potato by night, and a bacon lover at all times. She likes good noms, cute puppies, the color orange, and all things bacon. You may contact her at admin@bacontunamelt.com or anywhere via this blog.

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