Hosting Christmas Party this year? Try it with Perfect Italiano.

Every Christmas our family will have a Big Christmas Party. As far as I can remember, it's always been the 'whole clan' coming together in someone's house and everyone will bring a dish or two. We always host it at home because it's so much easier to host 15-20 persons in one of our homes. It's also cosier and everyone (including the kids) can show off their cooking skills!  Last year, the youngest in the clan prepared a simple dish - asparagus wrapped in bacon.  It tasted great!

I was recently given packs of Perfect Italiano Parmesan, Mozzarella and Perfect Bakes to try out some dishes based on the Perfect Italiano FoodFixesIn15 Festive Menu. We have prepared similar dishes at home but I want to test the recipes exactly and see how it comes out.

I tried out these two dishes:
Turkey and Mushroom Pasta Bake and Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Dish 1: Turkey and Mushroom Pasta Bake

You can view the FoodFixesIn15's video here:
http://perfectitaliano.com.sg/foodfixesin15-recipe/turkey-and-mushroom-pasta-bake

This is what I did:



Mise en place. You should always gather all your ingredients before you start, so you won't forget anything. Even experts forget, so lay it all out.

The Ingredients:
Perfect Italiano Perfect Bakes - 200 gm
Rigatoni or Penne Pasta - 400 gm
Turkey Ham or Breast, sliced thinly - 200 gm
Button Mushrooms, finely sliced - 100 gm
Sliced Onions - 50 gm
Sliced Garlic - 50 gm
Olive Oil - 3 tablespoon
Tomato Pasta Sauce - 500 ml
Cooking Cream - 150 ml
Chopped Italian Parsley - 1 tablespoon
Salt and Pepper - to taste.

You probably have some of the ingredients at home.  I only needed to get Turkey Slices, Button Mushrooms and Cooking Cream. I love mushrooms, so I used 200 gm instead. I also used Rosemary instead of Parsley.



Cook the pasta in salted water till al dente, then strain.
I usually set the timer, because I might just get distracted and forget.



While the pasta is cooking, I saute the onions and garlic with olive oil. When it's fragrant, I added the mushrooms and turkey.



After around 2-3 minutes, I added the tomato pasta sauce and the cooking cream.



A few stirs and it looks like this. Quite easy, isn't it?
Now wait for the timer to sound and strain your pasta.



When the pasta is ready, mixed it into the sauce.



Give it a good stir and turn off the fire.
Taste it and add salt and pepper accordingly.



Next, dish the pasta into an big enough oven proof plate.

Perfect Bakes is a new product that was just launched this month. It's a full flavoured Cheddar blend with some Mozzarella for stretch and Parmesan for bite.



Top up the dish with Perfect Italiano Perfect Bakes and wait for the magic to happen!

If you are serving this for Christmas, you can probably set it aside and only put it in the oven when your guests arrives.



Bake the pasta in a pre-heated oven.

Their recipe says it serves 4. If you serve this for Christmas, it can probably serve 8 people if you have many dishes to share.



Depending on your oven, the recipe says 20 minutes or until cheese melts to golden brown.
I took mine out after 12 minutes.



Sprinkle some herbs over it and serve.

Does it look easy? It took more than 15 seconds in the video, but I guess it's easy enough. I could even take photos while I cook. That's how easy it is.


Dish 2: Chicken Cordon Bleu

You can view the FoodFixesIn15's video here:
http://perfectitaliano.com.sg/foodfixesin15-recipe/chicken-cordon-bleu

Do you think this is hard to make? It's really quite easy!
Here's what I did after watching their video.



Mise en place.  I laid everything out so that I won't miss any ingredients.

The Ingredients:
Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Cheese  - 100 gm
Perfect Italiano Parmesan Cheese - 100 gm
Chicken breast - 4 pieces
Honey Baked Ham - 4 slices
Breadcrumbs - 300 gm
Flour - 200 gm
Beaten eggs - 2 pieces
Salt and pepper - to taste
Cooking Oil - for frying
Toothpicks



First, you need to prepare the chicken.Season the chicken and leave it for half an hour if you have the time. I did not and the folks at home said your chicken was not well seasoned. So if you have picky tongues at home, season it.

Then butterfly it. You might get stumped which side to cut. I paused a while too.  Slice through the curvy side, so the middle that is straight can open up.



The honey baked ham I bought from the supermarket deli was a huge piece, so I had to use a cup to cut it smaller and round. After making it smaller was I able to wrap the chicken around it.

Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Cheese is really stretchy. The cheese will ooze out when you cut the chicken once it is cooked.  It is also perfect on pizza if you love the super stretchy cheese.

Perfect Italiano Parmesan Cheese can be quite strong for some. It has been aged up to 18 months to give it a rich and bold flavour. If you don't like the strong flavour, use less of it. Use your nose to guide you.



The next step is to use the tooth picks and secure it.
This will take some time for your first piece and the next 3 pieces would be so much easier.

You can prepare this a day earlier and store it in the fridge. You don't want to be too busy on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. 



Dip the chicken in flour, then to the beaten eggs and then the bread crumbs.
This might get a little messy, your hands will get very sticky.  Have fun!



Next, heat up some oil for deep frying.
Deep fry in 170 C oil for around 15 minutes.

If you don't have a thermometer, use your agak-ration. Throw a few grains of bread crumbs in the oil and see if it fries it up nicely.



Fry away! Your kitchen might get a little oily, but it's going to be worth it.



Flip the chicken and fry the other side.
It's gonna be a tasty Christmas.

If you are not sure if you can manage a whole clan, maybe prepare it for yourself and your better half. You can halve the recipe and prepare 2 pieces. I suggest you do the full recipe and keep it as back up in case it does not turn out nice and you want to do another piece.



Pat dry the chicken on kitchen towels. It looks good, doesn't it?
The recipe is quite reliable as I did not have to do 'retakes'. It was my first try and it looked good.



Ahh.... The Perfect Italiano Chicken Cordon Bleu.
The photo tells it all doesn't it?


Here's my challenge to you to, after I have been challenged.
Try the full 5 course Festive Meal.
Visit http://perfectitaliano.com.sg/foodfixesin15 for the recipes and instructions.
I love the 15 second videos they have!

If you are on Instagram, you can follow the hashtag #perfectitalianosg and #foodfixesin15 to find out others who have taken the challenge.

Perfect Italiano Masterclass by Chef Lino Sauro

Just before my recent holidays to Europe I was invited to a Masterclass by Perfect Italiano with Chef Lino Sauto from Gattopardo. I always love to learn from the 'masters', so I gladly accepted the offer for the class. It's also partly to know what's behind this brand of cheese especially the Mozzarella that our family usually buy.


Have you seen this logo? The above is captured from their website, http://perfectitaliano.com.sg/ I am sure for those of you who do cook or even occasionally cook at home, you would have walk down the aisle of supermarkets and always wondered which cheese to buy. Thanks to the choice of words in their brands, somehow our family seems to buy this brand because it's the 'perfect' choice and it's Italian. 



I love walking along the various supermarket aisle, and the above was taken on 31 March. Look! It's on sale for those who want to try it!

If you are wondering, Perfect Italiano started in Australia in 1930 from Southern Italy. In 1922, Italian immigrant Natele Italiano arrived in Australia. Coming from a family that has history in cheese making, Natale started the Perfect Cheese Company.



After the class, all the participants were given these packs of a mix of Parmesan, Mozzarella and Pizza Plus to bring home and try them all.

We realised at home that we already have similar packs at home! The wife have tried to cook some dishes with it, you would already have seen me posting it on Instagram some weeks ago. Sis says she will try making desserts and cakes with it.



The masterclass was held at Palate Sensation in their wonderful kitchen. Something I love about these classes are the folks working there that prepares everything for you before you start, and cleaning up too after you finish. ;-)

Chef Lino was going to demonstrate 3 dishes that we all can easily whip up at home. Dishes with minimal cooking and preparation time and yet comes out so delicious.



1) Wonton Ravioli with Soya Marinated Prawns and Parmesan Fondue.

This first dish was very easy to make and it taste rather good too. Here's the recipe for those who are keen to try this at home.

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins  

Ingredients:
100g Perfect Italiano Parmesan Grated Cheese
100g Anchor unsalted butter
20 pcs wonton skin (square shaped)
20g light soya sauce
30g olive oil
2 garlic cloves
100g full cream milk
1 stalk of spring onion
20g white wine
10 pcs of tiger prawns

Preparation:




Step 1. Peel and marinate prawns with soya, garlic, olive oil and spring onion.




Step 2. Make Parmesan fondue by mixing Perfect Italiano Parmesan Grated Cheese, milk, butter and white wine.

Step 3. Warm up mixture in a bain-marie (many of us call it the double boiler) till creamy and season with white pepper.  

This is easy isn't it? Just melting it. You can taste the mixture and add more of the ingredients you like. It will then be your recipe!




Step 4. Fill wonton skin with prawns.

Use an egg wash to coat the entire piece of wonton. The sides where you will later fold it, you make sure there's egg on it to seal it up.



It's so simple isn't it?



Step 5. Cook it in boiling water for 3 minutes.



That is what our plate looks like. Just before we pour the cheeses fondue over it.  One of our wonton broke and a prawn escaped. Well, we can always use that as a garnish!  

I was partnering with Melissa from Melicacy which was also with me in the recent cooking competition.



Step 6. Pour the fondue over the wonton and topped it up with Perfect Italiano Parmesan Grated Cheese and spring onions.

Doesn't it look good? It's a mix of Oriental and Italian cuisine!



This is the version that was prepared by the Chef. If you want to make it more 'restaurant style' serving.


2) Rice Roll with Mozzarella Cheese and Salmon




This next dish is something we don't usually see put together this way! Sushi rolls with cheese in it and outside it!

Serves: 4 pax
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:
300g Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese
200g sushi rice
4 sheets of nori (seaweed)
150g cured/smoked salmon
100g cucumber (cut into strips)
50g rice vinegar
5g wasabi
200g mayonnaise



Chef Lino can prepare Japanese dishes too!
Maybe one day, we shall see some Italian-Japanese dish or two at Gattopardo!  

Preparation:




Step 1: Place a sheet of nori on the bamboo mat.
Step 2: Spread and flatten rice on top of nori.
Step 3: Lay down salmon, cucumber and Prefect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese in the middle. Step 4: Hold on to the ends of the bamboo mat and roll, making sure that the ingredients are held inside it.



Step 5: Remove bamboo mat and cut rice roll by one inch.




It's interesting isn't it? Cheese inside and ready to be put into the oven to melt!




You can be more creative and decorate it anyway you want.

I added bits of salmon and more cheese on top. I don't like it to be a whole big mess, so I had a small amount on top only.



Step 6: Warm up rice roll in an oven to melt Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese.
Simple isn't it?



This was my version. Served with mayonnaise that was mixed with wasabi.



Chef Lino's version. ;-)  


3) Deep fried Potato with Mozzarella Cheese (served with sweet and sour sauce)



Of the 3 dishes that was demonstrated, this was my favourite.
It's very delicious and not that difficult to make. It might look complicated from the ingredients list but it's easy!

The recipe is adapted from Chef Lino's mum's recipe. He has added more spices to make it more Asian for this masterclass.

The sweet and sour sauce is not the Chinese style sweet and sour sauce we are used to. It's a tomato based and it's like a light thinner version of pasta sauce.

Serves: 4 pax
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:
200g Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese
400g potatoes
50g corn starch
50g onion (chopped)
5g cinnamon
5g ground black pepper
5g curry powder
2 eggs
4 garlic cloves
30g lemongrass (minced)
20g shallots (minced)
300g Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)
Lemon zest
Oil to fry



Chef Lino half way through preparing the next dish, when suddenly someone asked him to pose for us! He gladly obliged!

Step 1: Shred potatoes in food processor and place in strainer. Sprinkle with salt, drain for 15 mins.



Step 2: Mix dry seasonings.
Step 3: Squeeze potatoes dry and place in mixing bowl.
Step 4: Add cornstarch and mix thoroughly. Add all remaining ingredients (except panko crumbs and oil) and mix well.



Step 5: Form the mixture into a ball and stuff in some Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese in the middle of the ball. Then coat it with panko all around.



Step 6: Heat oil in pan. Lower patties into oil and flatten patties with a spatula. Patries should be 2 inches across.
Step 7: Fry until crisp and golden on the bottom. Fry the other side.
Step 8: Drain and ready to serve.



This was Melissa and my creation. Looks good eh?
Make sure you sfuff just enough and not too much cheese in the patties. If not, it will overflow and explode while it's being fried!



This was the Chef's version. Looks like Melissa and I did quite a good job eh?
I am sure you all can replicate it at home too.

A special thanks to Perfect Italiano for the invite to the Masterclass and also giving us some supplies of Perfect Italiano cheese to try at home.