Best of The Best

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

LEMON AND COCONUT PUDDING

200 grams fine semolina / soogi
100 grams butter
100 grams sugar
A pinch of salt
2 eggs beaten well
4 tablespoons desiccated coconut
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons fresh lemon / lime juice.
1 cup fresh cream whipped with 2 teaspoons sugar
Sift the flour and baking powder together. Beat the butter and sugar together till fluffy. Add the eggs and lemon / lime juice and continue beating for a few minutes. Add the semolina / soogi, salt and desiccated coconut and mix well. Pour the mixture in a greased baking dish or bowl. Steam it for 15 to 20 minutes in a pressure cooker. Remove from the pressure cooker when the pressure dies down. When cold, turn over on a serving dish. Decorate with whipped cream

Easy Icelandic fish casserole Ofnsteiktur fiskur með lauk og osti

This is a simple, easy, nourishing dish.

400 g fish fillets (I use cod or haddock, but it would be good using flounder or sole), boned and skinned
1/2 tsp salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tbs bread crumbs
2 tbs cheese, grated
25 g butter

Cut the fish into chunks and arrange in a greased casserole. Add salt. Sprinkle chopped onion over the fish. Sprinkle bread crumbs and cheese on top, and dot with small pieces of butter. Bake at 175-200°C for 20-30 minutes. Serve with cooked potatoes and a salad.

Variation:
Put the salted fish in the casserole with the chopped onion and butter. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 175°C. In the meantime, mix together:

50 ml Cream
100 ml Milk
1 tbs Breadcrumbs
2 tbs grated cheese

Pour over the fish and continue baking for 15 minutes.

Note:
Can also be made in a microwave oven. Adjust cooking time accordingly.

convert measures

Monday, April 7, 2014

Deer Mushroom and Barley Soup

Download Printable Recipe (You will go to mediafire.com)

"The weather outside is frightful, But the weather is so delightful, And since weve no place to go..." Eat soup! Hmmm.... that didnt exactly rhyme. But there really is nothing more satisfying than enjoying a warm, savory bowl of soup during the Wintertime.

Instead of the traditional beef barley soup, we used ground venison. If youre looking to eat healthier, this is a great dish because it so low in fat and filled with tons of healthy goodies like carrots, onions, barley and mushrooms. But its also hearty. Potatoes will make anything hearty. This Deer, Mushroom and Barley Soup is very easy to make and sooo flavorful.

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

- 1 lb. ground venison

- 2 tbs. vegetable oil

- 1 onion, chopped

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 container (32 oz.) beef broth

- 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes

- 1 quart water

- 2 bay leaves

- 4 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch slices

- 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

- 2 cups of mushrooms, sliced

- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

- 1/2 tsp. dried basil

- 1/2 cup uncooked barley

- salt and pepper, to taste

- peas [optional-- just to spite Rick. I love you, Baby! ;-)]

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Brown ground venison with garlic and onion until meat is browned and onion is tender.

Dont break up the venison too much, leaving small chunks.

2. Add broth, tomatoes, water, bay leaves...

Carrots, potatoes...

And mushrooms.

3. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Add oregano, thyme, basil and barley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, add peas (optional), cover and simmer until vegetables are tender. About 30 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

TIP: If the soup is too loose for you, continue to cook uncovered to reduce broth.

Enjoy with some warm, fresh dinner rolls!

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Chao Shanghai Cai Stir fried Shanghai Bok Choi with garlic

There is some confusion about what to call various greens in the Chinese repertoire. Bok choi, means white vegetable in Cantonese, and generally refers to the larger white cabbages (pekinensis cultivar group) which in the West are recognized as napa cabbage; in Beijing, the mandarin equivalent is bai cai, and when in season, you’ll see enormous piles of these big cabbages on neighborhood streets, awaiting distribution to homes and restaurants for preserving, boiling and stir frying (The Beijing authorities nearly eliminated this "unsightly" practice during the 2008 Olympics). However, the popular name for the vegetable in this dish is Shanghai Bok Choi which is not even remotely large or entirely white. In fact, Chinese cooks enjoy the very small leaves of this cabbage, the smaller the better. Again, the preparation is extremely simple, featuring the superb texture and flavor of this delicious, healthy vegetable.

1 lb Shanghai bok choi, or Shanghai Choi, trimmed
3 med garlic cloves, minced
1/3 tsp kosher salt (or, if you prefer, 1 Tab light soy sauce)
2 – 3 Tab peanut oil
Sesame oil

Wash and thoroughly dry the cabbage. Trim the base from each cabbage head so that all of the leaves separate.

Prepare other ingredients.

Heat wok to medium, add peanut oil and when it is hot, toss in garlic. Stir fry quickly for 5 or 10 seconds, add Shanghai bok choi, stir fry for one minute or so and add salt (or soy if you prefer). Cover, turn heat down to low medium, and allow cabbage to steam in its own juices for 2 minutes or so, or until the leaves are limp and the stalks begin to shrink and soften. Adjust saltiness if necessary. Plate the Shanghai choi on a platter and garnish with sesame oil.

Book And Drinking And Eating And Gossiping Club

A long, long time ago, in like, 1996, Oprah launched her official Book Club, finally giving women the world over an acceptable excuse to gather to stuff their faces with tea sandwiches, get drunk off of wine and punch, and gossip about their husbands/boyfriends. And so, in something of an ode to Oprah, that’s exactly what I did with a few of my best lady friends this weekend.

{White flowers in the name of Daisy. I mean, I wanted daisies, but when they didnt have any, I just got these}

I was planning to re-read The Great Gatsby before seeing the remake ~~this Christmas~~ next summer(!!!!), so when we started talking about a book club selection, I was quick to force my preference upon my unsuspecting friends. I was surprised but entirely excited when they took the bait. So, we read the first half of the book and got together to chat about Nick’s reliability as a narrator, whether Gatsby really is who we think is, and what in the HELL is Daisy’s deal, even?!!? And then after those 5 minutes, we just got crunk, y’all.

The champagne punch I made was laughably easy to make and served with a pretty straw helped set the tone for what would inevitably morph from a classy gathering to a hot, hot mess.

In the vein of classy lady gatherings, I made two varieties of tea sandwiches: I bought chicken salad from Whole Foods because it’s really effing good but added red grapes to it because that’s how I like it and served it on thinly sliced wheat bread and I put a new twist on cucumber sandwiches by tossing diced mint and a pinch of salt into the cream cheese spread.

I don’t know about you, but in my opinion, you’re not having a party if you’re not serving/eating cheese. Cue these caprese bites drizzled with balsamic and brie and smoked gouda cheese plate!!

If dairy doesn’t get your digestive system working the right way, there was also a corn and black bean salad (recipe below) to amp up the gastrointestinal excitement!

And like, duh, there were definitely desserts! I made lemon cake pops (recipe coming tomorrow)…

…Laura brought these dark chocolate sea salt caramels…

…and Ashlee made some incredible mini desserts that I apparently was to inebriated to take pictures of—mango panna cotta and mini peanut butter pies!

I don’t care what Oprah says, book clubs have little to nothing to do with reading and far more to do with gluttony!

Black Bean and Corn Salad

2 cans black beans, drained
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
Juice from 1 lime
1 small shallot, diced
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
(you can also add tomato, bell pepper, avocado, red onion…it’s a very versatile recipe)

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until well incorporated (add more salt if need be). Cover and refrigerate for a at least 3 hours before serving to allow flavors to develop.

Do you have a book club? What are you reading?? What do you serve at your book club??

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Cast Iron Salmon – Searing Pleasure

There are many things I miss about the professional kitchen; the gambling, the inappropriate humor, the feats of strength – but none as much as the giant commercial exhaust fans. One reason is the salmon recipe you see here. Actually, I shouldnt really call it a recipe, its salt and salmon, but to do it correctly you have to sear the fish over very high heat to get a nice thin, crispy crust encasing a moist custardy center.

At home this is next to impossible – besides the huge, smoky, splattering mess, you really dont want to be "that neighbor." You know, the one whos place always smells like fried fish and steamed broccoli. This heavy metal backyard solution is as minimalist as it is effective. I love how a couple dozen hot coals under a thick cast iron pan turns simply salted salmon into something a little more remarkable.

Even if you dont get that perfect crust and moist center, at the very least your home wont smell like fish for a week. This is great to use for a seafood course after another protein has already been done on the grill. Just rake up the coals into a pile and get to searing. I served this with a dollop of tarragon aioli, which was fantastic. I hope you give it a try. Enjoy!

Egg Biryani with tangy twist

This is very simple and easy recipe, I made this for my hubbys lunch box. It is quick one pot meal. I love to have this any time. It is spicy and tangy biryani. Hope you will love it too!!!

Ingredients:
Eggs-2
Onions-chopped-1cup
Tomatos-chopped-1cup
Green peas-1/4cup
Green chilles 2
Mint leaves-1/4cup
Bay lef 1
cinnamon 1 inch stick
Cardamom 2 pods
chopped ciliantro 2t.s
Cumin seeds 1tbsp
Mustard seeds 1tbsp
Chana dal 1/4ts
Urad dal-1/4ts
Turmeric Pinch
Salt To taste
Chilli powder 1/2t.s
Coriander powder-1/2ts
Cumin powder-1/2ts
Garam masala-1/4ts (optional)
Red chilli 1tbsp
vegetable oil 2tbsp
Tamarind-lemon size

Method

Boil Eggs and remove shell, keep them aside.
Heat a thick bottom non stick pan and add 2ts of vegetable oil.
Add Cumin seeds + Mustard Seeds + Red chili + chana Dal + Urad dal and wait until they splutter.
Add cinnamon+cardamom+bayleaf+ onions + green chilies and saute until they get half cooked. Mean while soak tamarind in water.
Add tomatos and cook under medium flame until they get cooked completely.
Squeeze out tamarind water from the soaked tamarind and add this water to the cooking mixture.
Add all curry powders chili powder+salt+coriander powder+cumin powder+green peas+mint leaves and cook for 5min under medium flame.
Add water and bring to boil.
Add garam masala at the if you prefer it spicy.
Add rice and cook like a normal rice.
When the rice is about to cook take the boiled eggs and make slit with knife on the top and place them inside the rice and cook under low flame.
Finally garnish with cilantro.

Hope you like this onepot meal!!!!
cheers
DD