Carmencita Spices , Bertolli Tomato Paste and Home Grown Gourmet

March 03, 2009

Starting blog pages on my efforts and foray into 'gourmet' meals --- as I know and experience it in my everyday life ... actually my very own exploratory foray into the world of spices and herbs and cooking up my own dishes out of nowhere using ingredients I happen to buy from the supermarket ... I have this thought of trying out spices and herbs at least once ... So last Saturday I concocted this San Remo angel-hair pasta dish with Carmencita Zanzibar spiced chicken with Bertolli tomato sauce and Eden melted cheese and Nan said it was great .. Maybe I should have tried it too on my two cats for more validation. I'm not so particular on the specifics of measuring ingredients ... I'm more on the intuitive and experimental mode . Anyway the ingredients are , in the order of appearance in the pan or skillet. Timing is a deciding factor , so make your own schedule.

Olive oil ;

one garlic clove -- I'm big on garlic ,

one big white onion -- I was wondering if red would also do the trick;

Magnolia chicken breast fillet ;

Bertolli tomato sauce with lots of tomato bits ;

Carmencita Zanzibar - a strong , wonderfully heady mix of spices;

Carmencita Sea Salt and Herbs - a refreshing breezy mix of rock salt, rosemary, sage and basil ;

Eden Quick-melt cheese .

Work the magic in the skillet with the ingredients above . Crazy-cut the garlic and onions , cube or triangulate the chicken meat , sing while you pour in the tomato sauce, grin while you sprinkle in the Zanzibar and Sea Salt ... dance while the cheese is melting .. act out like the host of a cooking TV show, whatever, just don't burn it ..

Of course, the San Remo angel-hair pasta should be al dente. The best al dente so far I've come across is from 'The Old Spaghetti House' 's ( how's that for punctuation?) Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken. I read somewhere that cold water should be poured on the pasta right after taking it out of the fire . The remaining heat will cook it out of its perfect al dente state , if you don't ... sabi . I think that works.