I’m always on the lookout for new recipes to try out online, especially those that are highly rated by other foodies who’ve had a go at them.

These 20 most popular recipes of 2007 from Bon Appétit are sure to be added to my recipe collection. I can’t wait to try out the Chocolate Panna Cotta Layer Cake! It looks absolutely scrumptious! *DROOL*

via Slashfood

I’ve never come across a muffin recipe that uses ricotta, but maybe that’s because I don’t bake that many muffins

This one’s from Taste.com.au, it uses strawberries, ricotta and cinnamon, a really lovely combination I reckon.

My muffins were a little chewier than expected, probably because I used low-fat ricotta and low-fat milk. Those of you trying this recipe out, please use full-fat ricotta. I think they will turn out even better than mine!

Head over to Taste.com.au for the full recipe!

I love cooking pasta for a weekday dinner. You can easily find recipes that take less than 30 minutes to prepare and cook. Perfect for days when you come home from work late but don’t feel like having take-outs.

I found this recipe from my favorite recipe source, Allrecipes.com. It’s got rave reviews, so I decided to give it a try.

I added a bit of milk to the recipe as I prefer my alfredo sauce slightly thinner. I’ve also added a couple of extra cloves of garlic to the sauce for a stronger garlic flavor and used Swiss Gruyere in place of Parmesan. Some reviewers recommended using Asiago cheese, I will try that out next time!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 cup of freshly grated Swiss Gruyere or Parmesan
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cream and simmer for 5 minutes, whisking gently.
3. Add cheese and milk, whisking quickly, heating through. Stir in parsley and serve over spaghetti.

Serves 2.

I think you would all agree that my recipe posts are missing some photos. I’m hoping that will change with my recently acquired Canon PowerShot SD870IS, which should make taking pictures of the food I cook less of a chore. One thing I would definitely need is some lessons on food photography.

I chanced upon Still Life With… while reading Slashfood. Photographer/writer Lara Ferroni posts some great stuff on how she captures the shots and the equipment she uses. Great for budding food photographers!

This recipe for spaghetti carbonara is one of the simplest around. It doesn’t use any cream or milk, so I was surprised how creamy and tasty it turned out. I found the recipe from the Barilla website, the addition of the asparagus is an idea I got from watching Jamie at Home.

Ingredients:

4 ounces (110g) of streaky bacon, cut into thin strips
a bunch of asparagus, chopped into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
7 ounces (200g) of spaghetti
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2/3 cups of freshly grated Romano cheese (works just as well with Parmesan)
freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt.
2. Stir-fry asparagus over medium heat with a little olive oil till slightly tender.
3. Cook bacon in pan over medium heat until golden brown and crisp, stirring frequently. Add olive oil.
4. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving a cup of the pasta water.
5. Add pasta and asparagus to the bacon mixture, season to taste with black pepper and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. If pasta becomes too dry add the reserved pasta water.
6. Turn off the heat. Add eggs, stirring constantly. The residual heat from the pasta will cook the eggs. Toss gently with cheese. Transfer to serving platter.

Serves 2.

For those of you who need coffee to kick start the mornings, this mug will help you to make the perfect brew every morning, even while you’re half-asleep.

The mugs have a color matching guide inside the mug, so depending on your preference, you can choose from Dark and Strong to Milky. There’s a version for tea too.

They are £7.50 (approximately $15) each and are available from SUCK UK.

If you can’t get enough of Hello Kitty, this is the right toaster for you! This pink and white toaster browns Hello Kitty’s face into every slice of bread.

The toaster features 7 shade settings and 4 toasting modes: bagel, defrost, reheat and cancel. Extra-wide slots let you warm thick slices, and a removable crumb tray makes cleanup easy.

It’s the perfect accompaniment to your Hello Kitty Waffle Maker if you’re a Kitty fan. If you’re not, don’t get freaked out.

This website is great for cooks like me who are looking to improve their skills in the kitchen. The site offers online instructional cooking videos that walk you step by step through each recipe.

New users can sign up for a free 30-day trial. You can invite friends to sign up with Rouxbe and each successful referral gives you an additional 10 days free. Annual Premium Membership is priced at $49 US per year, 15% of which goes into the Rouxbe for Life program to help children in developing countries that suffer from chronic hunger.

I’ve just signed up for the free trial, will keep you posted on how the site performs. But in the meantime, I think this site is definitely worth a try.

I’m a big fan of fried rice. If I could only eat one dish for the rest of my life, it would be fried rice.

This recipe satisfies my fried rice cravings and is really easy to make. Feel free to substitute the luncheon meat with shrimps or chicken for a healthier version.

Ingredients:

2 cups of rice, cooked and cooled
1 cup cabbage, julienned
1/2 cup luncheon meat, cubed into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 green onion

2-3 eggs, fried

5 cloves of garlic
3 shallots
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
5 small red chilli
1 chicken stock cube
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of sesame oil

1. Place garlic, shallots, ginger, chilli, chicken stock cube and salt in a mortar and pestle. Pound and grind till you get a paste. Add sesame oil and mix thoroughly. Alternatively, you use a food processor.
2. In a wok or non-stick pan, heat up the vegetable oil. Add the paste from Step 1 and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add luncheon meat and stir-fry for 3 minutes or so, till meat is done. Then add the cabbage and continue to cook, till cabbage has withered.
4. Turn off the fire. Add the cold rice in a mix thoroughly, then turn the heat back on. Stir-fry for a few more minutes, till rice is heated through. Stir in the green onions.
5. Serve the rice hot, topped with one fried egg each.

Serves 2-3.

This is something my Kanga could use. He tried to bring a banana to work one day, only to find it completely squashed in his bag by the time he got to work. Needless to say, he was pretty upset that he ended up with a big mess in his bag.Now, if only he had a Banana Guard

“The Banana Guard was specially designed to fit the vast majority of bananas. Its other features include multiple small perforations to facilitate ventilation thereby preventing premature ripening and a sturdy locking mechanism to keep the Banana Guard closed. The Banana Guard is of course dishwasher safe for easy cleaning.”