Recipe: Spaghetti with Bacon and Leeks (Ree Drummond)

Pasta is my go-to ingredient whenever I want a quick, easy lunch. Yesterday I just made pesto pasta in under 20 minutes, with the help of Baby D. On another occasion, I adapted one of Ree Drummond's pasta recipe to make lunch. Most of her pasta recipes are really easy but I chose this one in particular as I had bacon left in the fridge (substitute for the pancetta in the recipe) and I also grabbed some leeks on the way out of the wet market that morning.

Spaghetti with Bacon and Leeks

Hubby very kindly sacrificed 1/2 cup of white wine, for the sake of cooking this pasta for lunch. I quite enjoyed the pasta, it was similar to a carbonara, but without the raw egg. Rich and creamy, but personally I would prefer more bacon and leeks. We still think my mushroom pasta with truffle oil and poached egg is nicer.

This will be my last post for Cook Like a Star this month. Thanks to everyone who joined in, and to those who want to participate, you have until the end of the month to submit your Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman) recipes.

And by the way, winners for the giveaway has been drawn. Please check back at this post for results.

Spaghetti pasta with Pancetta and Leeks
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from Ree Drummond
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 3


Ingredients
250g spaghetti pasta
75g streaky bacon, sliced
3 leeks, thinly sliced
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup whipping cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

To garnish
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese


1. In a pot of salted water, cook pasta to al dente, according to pack instructions. Drain and set aside.

2. At the same time as cooking the pasta,  saute the chopped bacon for 3-4 minutes until it is crispy and brown in a frying pan. Then, add the leeks and butter and cook for 2 minutes, until it has softened.

3. Pour in wine, then cook for 1-2 minutes, until reduced. Reduce heat to low, then pour in the cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add pasta and toss, adding a little pasta water as necessary, and top with freshly grated Parmesan.

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I am submitting this to the "Cook Like Ree Drummond" event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake. To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from any Ree Drummond websites or cookbooks for the whole month of September 2013. You can link your posts at one of the host's pages.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in September 2013 - please do not link older posts.Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Mich of Piece of Cake and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:

KL Restaurant Week - Top Hat Restaurant, KL

A hidden gem in the heart of KL city...

We often drive through Jalan Conlay, just missing Jalan Stonor where Top Hat Restaurant is located. Top Hat Restaurant is one of many restaurants participating in the first KL Restaurant Week and I am so glad that this restaurant has finally come under our radar.

Top Hat has been named one of Malaysia's Best Restaurants for 11 times (from 2003-2012) by Malaysian Tatler. The restaurant has a classic, cosy ambience. It is led by Executive Chef Richard Moreira who draws on his Eurasian heritage to create a mix of Western and Malaysian dishes. We also had the pleasure of meeting the owner of the restaurant, Mrs Danker during lunch.

For KL Restaurant Week, they are offering a 3-course lunch menu for RM38 nett and 3-course dinner menu for RM78 nett. The dishes featured on KLRW menu are some of the signature dishes from their regular a la carte menu. From what we've tasted during our preview, I would say it is definitely great value for money. Food quality, taste and presentation are excellent. Mrs Danker tells us that everything is prepared from scratch in the kitchen, giving diners maximum pleasure from their dining experience here.

For both lunch and dinner, diners can choose either the Creamy Mushroom Soup with Truffle Oil or Signature Top Hats for their starters. Top Hats, also known as "pai tee" is Nyonya speciality snack with a crispy case made with flour and savoury vegetable (with/without seafood) filling. On their a la carte menu, they only serve vegetarian top hats but for KLRW, the top hats are also topped with some fresh scallops. We drizzled some of the homemade sweet and sour sauce over the top and took a bite. Crispy and warm, this was really delicious.

The mushroom soup was served in a petite cup, with truffle oil and black truffle shavings. As soon as we took our first mouthful, we could taste all the mushroom goodness that went into making this rich and creamy soup.

Signature Top Hats

Creamy mushroom soup with truffle oil

For KLRW lunch, you can choose between nyonya laksa or signature chicken and mushroom pie. The version here has a semi-rich coconut curry gravy, and is served with either yellow noodle or meehoon with prawn, chicken and bean sprouts. I love the gravy very much, which had a little lime added to it. This is actually Hubby's first encounter with laksa (despite watching me eat it all the time) and now he tells me he would love to eat it again.

The chicken and mushroom pie was also good, I especially love the homemade buttery puff pastry.  This is served with mashed potatoes and a side salad.

From the dinner menu, we tried the impressive Full Malaysian Platter which comes beautifully presented on a tray lined with banana leaf. This platter features Nasi Hujan Panas, Ayam Zuki, Rendang Daging, Sambal Udang Petai, Dalcha, and acar (Japanese cucumber, honey pineapple, red onion, coriander & lime juice). The rice was fluffy and well-spiced and all the other accompaniments were delicious.

For the dinner menu, you get to choose between the steamed ubi kayu (tapioca) topped with butterscotch and freshly grated coconut or a trio of Western desserts (Signature Tiramisu Cake, Creme Brulee and Chocolate Molten Lava). Please note that the portions illustrated are full portions and for the KLRW menu, they will be smaller since you will be served all three on a plate.

The butterscotch sauce is a really nice addition to this classic Asian dessert which enhances the flavour of the tapioca and pairs well with the grated coconut.

Steamed ubi kayu with butterscotch and freshly grated coconut

Out of the two desserts, we favour the Western dessert more. We especially loved the chocolate molten lava cake served with a delicious homemade orange ice cream and the creme brulee with a fruit coulis.

Chocolate molten lava cake

Creme brulee

Signature tiramisu cake

To read more about KL Restaurant Week, click here. To view Top Hat's KLRW menu, click here.

For bookings:
Each restaurant has set aside a limited number of seats offering Restaurant Week menus. Following the tradition of Restaurant Week, reservations can only be made online via http://www.klrestaurantweek.com/. A booking fee of RM2 per seat applies. Reservations will close on 29th September, so get booking now!

Just a reminder that I am running a giveaway here - the prize is 2 x RM100 KL Restaurant Week dining vouchers. Giveaway ends tomorrow at noon, so join now!

Location: Top Hat Restaurant, 3 Jalan Stonor, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2142 8611

GPS Coordinates: 3.151829, 101.717366

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