Dischi Volanti with Shitakei and Fresh Basil in Basic Italian Tomato Sauce

I know what you guys are thinking out there, what a long name for this beauty huh? As of now, my brain's kinda dead from last's night long hours of journal reading therefore, naming the dish right now isn't the best time. Despite the partial brain dead i'm experiencing right now, i'm pretty focus especially when i have something cooking on the stove! All this while i've been a linguine person. and as of late, i find myself liking short pasta more, perhaps its easier to work with and i don't need a big pot to boil my pasta! Also i love experimenting with different shapes of pasta. This is my first time cooking with dischi volanti and it seems like i've already put it in my list of favourite pasta.

INGREDIENTS
* 411g diced tomatoes
* 2 cloves garlic. minced
* 2 medium red onions, chopped
* 8 fresh shitakei mushrooms
* Handful of chopped fresh basil
* Salt and black pepper to taste
* Some brown sugar
* Dischi volanti for two.

Method:
1) You can work on the sauce and the pasta simultaneously if you've more than a stove to work on, otherwise you can prepare the sauce then proceed with the pasta.
2) Cook the pasta according to the package direction or about 10-12minutes. Add some salt and a drop or two of olive oil.
3) Heat your pan with some olive oil and add minced garlic and when it turns golden, add your sliced shitakei mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.
4) Next, add your chopped onions and stir further until it turns translucent.
5) Introduce your diced tomatoes into the pan and stir further and let it simmer.
6) You can season with salt and pepper after you've added the diced tomatoes or you can do it when your sauce is almost done.
7) Sugar is optional. Do add in if you want to cut down the sourish tomato taste.
8) Add in your chopped basil and stir.
9) Add in water or vegetable broth if it starts to dry.
10) Again season with salt and pepper if you didn't when you added your diced tomatoes.
11) Taste from time to time and add what is necessary , salt/pepper/sugar.
12) Remove your pasta from the boiling water when its done and add it to your pan of sauce and stir to combine thoroughly and serve.
13) You can garnish with some torn fresh basil and coarse black pepper or some finely chopped basil with grated parmesan cheese.

Note:
Add in more ground black pepper if you like a spicy after taste in your mouth. I surely did for my pasta sauce.

The red onions used in this recipe is to add sweetnees to the sauce. You can also use yellow onions but do sure to replace the water with vegetable broth for more flavour.

You can also add the chopped basil shortly after you've added your diced tomatoes. Do break up your diced tomatoes with your spatula while cooking.

San Bei Ji ( 3 Cups Chicken )

Despite the name 3 cups chicken, literally translated from San Bei Ji, instead of using a full cup of each ingredients, i've modified the portion. I was first introduced to this dish when i was having dinner with a friend at a Kocha Taiwanese restaurant. That was my first time having it, i like the combination and the aromatic thai basil in this dish , therefore i was looking around and i even asked a Taiwanese friend for the recipe. Too bad she didnt have it but lucky me i found a few versions of the recipe over the net. I like this particular recipe the best.

INGREDIENTS

* 1 whole chicken

* 2 cups basil leaves

* 1/3 cup sesame oil

* Half a bulb garlic

* 10 slices ginger

* 2 chillies

* 3 tbsp brown sugar

* 1/3 cup light soy sauce

* 1/3 cup rice wine (Shao Hsing Hua Tiau)

Method:

1) Crush/roughly pound half bulb of the garlic, cut the chillies diagonally into a thick strip and set aside.

2) Heat the wok/non stick pan and pour 1/3 cup of sesame oil into the wok and add the chopped chicken pieces and stir fry until its bout 1/2 or 3/4 cook. Drain and set aside.

3) With the sesame oil in the wok, add in the crushed garlic and sliced ginger and stir fry till fragrant.

4) Add the cut chillies and give it a quick stir and add in the chicken and stir for a while.

5) Add in the rice wine and the light soy sauce and let it simmer.

6) Lastly add in the basil and sugar and let it simmer.

Note:

Its important to use thai basil for the sweet basil available will not give this dish that particular taste and aroma.

Quesadilla

Ah..finally i've got my fav quesadilla up here! My first time takin pic of it. All this while i'd prepare it for the family but never once get down to takin pics of it. Its funny how i can jst have it at any time of the day. I've had it for breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea , dinner and even a supper snack! I guess i can make do with this my whole life. Its been a while since i make this and today's quesadilla was jst so good cuz there's so much for the filling! I've prepared some black pepper and spicy mince for the fillin and also i managed to get basil last night! For the wrap, i got the traditional and the potato tortilla, wanted to get the wholemeal but i doubt my mom n bro's up for it.

These are the one with the meat filling in it. In this pic, i've prepared both the black pepper mince and the spicy mince filling for the photo takin session. Basically you can have your fav fillin in this wrap , you can even have tuna, bacon or roast chicken in it!

For the filling, i've chopped romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes, black pepper/spicy mince and cheese! You can use parmesan or a mixture of the cheese. I used cheddar cheese for all the quesadillas i made. i jst love the combination of cheddar and tortilla. I'm also a big fan of basil so there you have it i used a lil of the chopped basil as the decorative item.

To make this its really simple, all you need is a non-stick pan, your fav tortilla wrap and fillings. Place the tortilla on the non-stick pan and heat it over a very low fire, while you're at it, arrange your fav fillings on one side of the tortilla. First i arranged the tomato slices then some chopped romaine lettuce then the stir-fried mince and covered it up with cheese. When you can see bubble formin on the tortilla then its time to cover up the side with the ingredients on. Leave for a few seconds then flip to another side and then its ready to be served. Pay attention of the fire for you dont wanna end up gettin ur tortilla burnt.

Next, its my turn to savour my version of the quesadilla. Both my mom n bro love the meat version better. They dont fancy the smell and taste of basil so i've got all the chopped basil for myself. So wht i've got in the wrap are : slices of tomatoes, romaine lettuce, chopped basil and cheese. If you like , u can put a lil butter or marjerin before placin the tortilla on the non-stick pan. For those who loves garlic, you can also get the garlic tortilla to go with any of your fav fillings.