CLASSIC summer combination: guacamole with chips and margaritas. My favorite things.
My roommate used to make margaritas without all the fuss of margarita mix. The key ingredient was frozen lime juice concentrate (limeade)!
RACHEL'S MARGARITAS
1 shot tequila
2/3 shot triple sec
a scoop or two of frozen limeade
fill with tonic water (or soda water)
Stir and add a fresh lime.
As for guacamole, easy and the most delicious thing ever!
GUACAMOLE
2 avacados, pitted and mashed
1 roma tomato, chopped finely
a bit of onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic
a dash of lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
spicyness to taste! (you can use dried cayenne pepper, a fresh hot pepper finely chopped, ground red pepper, etc--anything spicy!)
Mix everything well (food process if you like, but I like to leave it a bit chunky!)
And finally, my mom's famous salsa recipe. This salsa is a lot of work but it is the most delicious fresh salsa ever! Everyone who tastes it falls in love, trust me.
MOM'S SALSA
2 large tomatoes
1/2 large onion
1 jalapeno
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cilantro
1 T lime juice
2 T olive oil
1 T sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Chop everything very finely and mix well. This recipe is different every time we make it. You can substitute red onion, add cayenne peppers, add a dash of vinegar, substitute lemon juice for lime juice...experiment! And enjoy your summer!
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Shepherd's Pie from Holland
My boyfriend's dad is basically a locavore and tries to cook with seasonal food. He has made us this AMAZING Sheperd's Pie twice and I absolutely had to get the recipe. He kindly translated it from Dutch and sent it to me! It is more of a fall or winter meal, but good any time of the year, just cuz it's sooo delicious! I haven't tried to make it yet but I will soon...
AD'S SHEPERD'S PIE
1 kg mashed potato with 150 gram grated cheese in it
500 gram lamb meat (shepherd) / beef meat (cottage), cut fine
2 onions and garlic, as much as you prefer, chopped
1 kg mixed vegetables (leek, carrot, celery and white cabbage, all chopped); steamed or cooked
250 gram mushrooms, in slices
thyme, pepper, salt, 2 spoons of (sharp) mustard and Worcestershire sauce
sunflower oil
Method of preparation
1. Heat oil in the frying pan; fry the meat with the onions and garlic during 10 minutes.
2. Add the herbs/spices.
3. Add the vegetables and mix them with the meat and herbs/spices.
4. Grease a casserole pan with sunflower oil.
5. Put the vegetables and meat in the casserole and on the top the mashed potatoes
6. Put the casserole in the center of the oven, at 220 degree Celsius (430 fahrenheit), for 20-30 minutes; the mashed potatoes should color slightly brown.
You should definitely use really really spicy mustard. I would even venture to recommend a little bit of horseradish, because when Ad makes it, it has this very definite kick to it. SO GOOD.
Next time, more summer-y recipes...guacamole and margaritas!!
AD'S SHEPERD'S PIE
1 kg mashed potato with 150 gram grated cheese in it
500 gram lamb meat (shepherd) / beef meat (cottage), cut fine
2 onions and garlic, as much as you prefer, chopped
1 kg mixed vegetables (leek, carrot, celery and white cabbage, all chopped); steamed or cooked
250 gram mushrooms, in slices
thyme, pepper, salt, 2 spoons of (sharp) mustard and Worcestershire sauce
sunflower oil
Method of preparation
1. Heat oil in the frying pan; fry the meat with the onions and garlic during 10 minutes.
2. Add the herbs/spices.
3. Add the vegetables and mix them with the meat and herbs/spices.
4. Grease a casserole pan with sunflower oil.
5. Put the vegetables and meat in the casserole and on the top the mashed potatoes
6. Put the casserole in the center of the oven, at 220 degree Celsius (430 fahrenheit), for 20-30 minutes; the mashed potatoes should color slightly brown.
You should definitely use really really spicy mustard. I would even venture to recommend a little bit of horseradish, because when Ad makes it, it has this very definite kick to it. SO GOOD.
Next time, more summer-y recipes...guacamole and margaritas!!
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Heat wave hor d'oeuvres
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/17/heat-wave-central-us-_n_901170.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl2%7Csec1_lnk2%7C78391
HOLY HOTNESS!!! It was 92 degrees at our house today, with humidity so heavy I feel like I'm drowning when I step outside the front door. The sky was cloudy and there was stormy electricity in the air all day, but it's 11:30 pm and there seems to be no relief in sight. It's difficult to cook OR eat much in this heat, but my mama had the perfect solution: using only the toaster oven and grill, she made us a lovely, light and refreshing dinner.
PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED ASPARAGUS
Fresh asparagus
Prosciutto
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Coat the asparagus in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Wrap the slices of prosciutto around them, and grill on low heat for 5 minutes, or until the ends of the asparagus start to wilt.
FRESH BRUSCHETTA
3 parts tomatoes
1 part onions
Fresh basil
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
French bread (you can substitute thick crackers)
Parmesan cheese
Chop and mix well: tomatoes, onions, fresh basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Slice the french bread as thin as possible and toast on both sides. Pile as much of the tomato mixture as possible onto each slice of toasted bread, and sprinkle a bit of cheese on top. Toast again until the cheese melts.
Enjoyed best with a cold beer or iced tea in the shade! Stay cool!
HOLY HOTNESS!!! It was 92 degrees at our house today, with humidity so heavy I feel like I'm drowning when I step outside the front door. The sky was cloudy and there was stormy electricity in the air all day, but it's 11:30 pm and there seems to be no relief in sight. It's difficult to cook OR eat much in this heat, but my mama had the perfect solution: using only the toaster oven and grill, she made us a lovely, light and refreshing dinner.
PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED ASPARAGUS
Fresh asparagus
Prosciutto
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Coat the asparagus in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Wrap the slices of prosciutto around them, and grill on low heat for 5 minutes, or until the ends of the asparagus start to wilt.
FRESH BRUSCHETTA
3 parts tomatoes
1 part onions
Fresh basil
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
French bread (you can substitute thick crackers)
Parmesan cheese
Chop and mix well: tomatoes, onions, fresh basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Slice the french bread as thin as possible and toast on both sides. Pile as much of the tomato mixture as possible onto each slice of toasted bread, and sprinkle a bit of cheese on top. Toast again until the cheese melts.
Enjoyed best with a cold beer or iced tea in the shade! Stay cool!
Monday, 4 July 2011
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
At an Italian restaurant last November my boyfriend and I had a killer combo of creamy roasted red pepper soup and goat cheese salad. A couple months later, we decided to recreate the red pepper soup. The result was amazing and is a classic for us now.
ROASTED RED PEPPER SOUP
7 red peppers
2 onions, chopped
1 carrot, grated
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 liter boullion (chicken or vegetable)
Handful of fresh basil, chopped
150 ml creme fraiche (or heavy cream)
1. Cut the red peppers in half, deseed them and place them on a baking sheet, skin side up. Broil until the skin turns black, about 15 minutes. After they are cool enough to handle, peel the skin off and toss it. Set the peppers aside.
2. Fry the onion and carrot in olive oil over low heat until the carrot is soft (8-10 minutes). Add the garlic and tomatoes and saute for a couple more minutes.
3. Add the boullion, basil and peppers and bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
4. Blend it in the food processor or blender and return to stove over very low heat. Add the creme, mix well and warm the soup without allowing it to boil.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
ROASTED RED PEPPER SOUP
7 red peppers
2 onions, chopped
1 carrot, grated
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 liter boullion (chicken or vegetable)
Handful of fresh basil, chopped
150 ml creme fraiche (or heavy cream)
1. Cut the red peppers in half, deseed them and place them on a baking sheet, skin side up. Broil until the skin turns black, about 15 minutes. After they are cool enough to handle, peel the skin off and toss it. Set the peppers aside.
2. Fry the onion and carrot in olive oil over low heat until the carrot is soft (8-10 minutes). Add the garlic and tomatoes and saute for a couple more minutes.
3. Add the boullion, basil and peppers and bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
4. Blend it in the food processor or blender and return to stove over very low heat. Add the creme, mix well and warm the soup without allowing it to boil.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Monday, 27 June 2011
Grilling: Marinades, BBQ and dips, oh my!
So, I'm obsessed with food. It's no secret. I have been travelling for the past five months, and half of my pictures are of delicious local delicacies (ancient ruins and gorgeous churches be damned). When I go to a restaurant, I spend my time pondering which spice gave the chicken that kick or how they made the sauce SO creamy but not heavy.
I have learned a lot about cooking since living (more or less) on my own with a kitchen since September of last year. My "aha" moment occured last fall. My friend had given me a basil plant for a birthday present the previous summer. I LOVE pasta, but really...how much Prego red sauce with fresh basil can one college girl eat? I had no idea what do with all that basil. I Google'd recipes with basil and realized that pesto is made out of basil! WHO KNEW?! I went to the grocery store and carefully selected the required ingredients. I didn't have a food processor, so I hand-chopped the basil, walnuts, parmesan, and garlic and seasoned it with fresh ground pepper and olive oil. (Here's the recipe I used: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001570.html)
It was amazing. I ate that pesto with everything--grilled cheeses, pasta, crackers, baked tomatoes...I savored the taste of all those fresh, whole ingredients mixed together but still distinct. I loved how every time I made it, it tasted a bit different. I could change it easily by adding just a dash of red pepper or a bit of lime juice. I was amazed that I could make such delicious food.
Ever since then, I have been on a quest to learn to cook. Not just how to follow recipes, but how to cook from scratch. You can make almost anything yourself! I mostly made this blog because I've been trying out a ton of new things lately, and I want to remember them. The past four days, we have had barbecue, which means lots of marinade!
The one thing everyone should know about marinade is the main ingredients. As long as you have some sort of oil, some sort of acid (alcohol, wine, vinegar, citrus juice), and a good combination of spices, your marinade should work. The acid breaks down some chemical component of meat, allowing the oil and spices to permeate it. (If you're cooking tough meat, lots of acid will help soften it.) The following recipes encompass my experimentation with marinades!
Sunday, we cooked salmon. My boyfriend's roommate and I couldn't agree on which style would be better, so we tried them both. The boys preferred the first style, but I loved my sweet and tangy variety.
We cooked them each the same way: throw everything in an aluminum foil packet and cook on the grill for 8-10 minutes. Our grill was a little hotter than the recommended seafood/fish temperature, but they were still delicious.
Rowan's Salmon and Veggies
Salmon filets
assorted veggies (We used red & yellow peppers, onions, and potatoes. If you use potatoes, boil them a bit before. They cook a lot slower than the salmon and other veggies.)
dried chiles
garlic
pepper
salt
Before you close up the packet, drizzle olive oil on the veggies only.
Brown Sugar Sauce Salmon
Salmon filets
Brown Sugar Sauce:
1 part soy sauce
3 parts brown sugar
1+ part mustard
dash of vinegar
salt & pepper to to taste
Combine all on the stovetop until blended.
Marinate them for about an hour before you grill.
As for tonight, I also created some killer sauces.
Barbecue Sauce (used on chicken thighs)
1 part lemon juice
2 parts soy sauce
2 parts vinegar
3 parts ketchup
3 parts brown sugar
salt, chili powder or cayenne (anything spicy), mustard, and pepper to taste
Combine on the stovetop until all blended.
The ideal combination for me is a full flavor--with the right proportions, you can have a sauce that starts tangy, fades to sweet, and finishes spicy. SO SO YUMMY! Remember that the opposite tastes can work to cancel each other out. Too sweet--add more acid (vinegar or lemon). Too tangy--calm it with sugar. Just missing that kick--hot hot hot! Pepper or cayenne will always help.
There were also some tough pork chops to make delicious, and a simple marinade seemed the best bet.
All-Purpose Marinade
1 part olive oil
1 part vinegar
garlic, salt & pepper to taste
(Yup, that's it. Marinate and then grill. I made a fresh batch to baste them with while grilling, just in case, but it wasn't really necessary. However, make sure not to use the sauce that has touched the raw meat if you decide to baste.)
Finally, my boyfriend's sister Sabine makes an excellent white dip that goes with anything. We put it on bread, bratwurst, and cucumbers. It's really light but has a great flavor.
Sabine's Sauce
1 part mayo
1 part Greek yogurt
dash of mustard
dash of lemon juice
garlic & chives to taste
I'm a cooker, not a baker, so sorry about the super vague recipes! My technique usually involves mixing everything and tasting it approximately 15 times, while simultaneously adding microscopic amounts of spices, until I believe it's perfect.
Eet smakelijk!
I have learned a lot about cooking since living (more or less) on my own with a kitchen since September of last year. My "aha" moment occured last fall. My friend had given me a basil plant for a birthday present the previous summer. I LOVE pasta, but really...how much Prego red sauce with fresh basil can one college girl eat? I had no idea what do with all that basil. I Google'd recipes with basil and realized that pesto is made out of basil! WHO KNEW?! I went to the grocery store and carefully selected the required ingredients. I didn't have a food processor, so I hand-chopped the basil, walnuts, parmesan, and garlic and seasoned it with fresh ground pepper and olive oil. (Here's the recipe I used: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001570.html)
It was amazing. I ate that pesto with everything--grilled cheeses, pasta, crackers, baked tomatoes...I savored the taste of all those fresh, whole ingredients mixed together but still distinct. I loved how every time I made it, it tasted a bit different. I could change it easily by adding just a dash of red pepper or a bit of lime juice. I was amazed that I could make such delicious food.
Ever since then, I have been on a quest to learn to cook. Not just how to follow recipes, but how to cook from scratch. You can make almost anything yourself! I mostly made this blog because I've been trying out a ton of new things lately, and I want to remember them. The past four days, we have had barbecue, which means lots of marinade!
The one thing everyone should know about marinade is the main ingredients. As long as you have some sort of oil, some sort of acid (alcohol, wine, vinegar, citrus juice), and a good combination of spices, your marinade should work. The acid breaks down some chemical component of meat, allowing the oil and spices to permeate it. (If you're cooking tough meat, lots of acid will help soften it.) The following recipes encompass my experimentation with marinades!
Sunday, we cooked salmon. My boyfriend's roommate and I couldn't agree on which style would be better, so we tried them both. The boys preferred the first style, but I loved my sweet and tangy variety.
We cooked them each the same way: throw everything in an aluminum foil packet and cook on the grill for 8-10 minutes. Our grill was a little hotter than the recommended seafood/fish temperature, but they were still delicious.
Rowan's Salmon and Veggies
Salmon filets
assorted veggies (We used red & yellow peppers, onions, and potatoes. If you use potatoes, boil them a bit before. They cook a lot slower than the salmon and other veggies.)
dried chiles
garlic
pepper
salt
Before you close up the packet, drizzle olive oil on the veggies only.
Brown Sugar Sauce Salmon
Salmon filets
Brown Sugar Sauce:
1 part soy sauce
3 parts brown sugar
1+ part mustard
dash of vinegar
salt & pepper to to taste
Combine all on the stovetop until blended.
Marinate them for about an hour before you grill.
As for tonight, I also created some killer sauces.
Barbecue Sauce (used on chicken thighs)
1 part lemon juice
2 parts soy sauce
2 parts vinegar
3 parts ketchup
3 parts brown sugar
salt, chili powder or cayenne (anything spicy), mustard, and pepper to taste
Combine on the stovetop until all blended.
The ideal combination for me is a full flavor--with the right proportions, you can have a sauce that starts tangy, fades to sweet, and finishes spicy. SO SO YUMMY! Remember that the opposite tastes can work to cancel each other out. Too sweet--add more acid (vinegar or lemon). Too tangy--calm it with sugar. Just missing that kick--hot hot hot! Pepper or cayenne will always help.
There were also some tough pork chops to make delicious, and a simple marinade seemed the best bet.
All-Purpose Marinade
1 part olive oil
1 part vinegar
garlic, salt & pepper to taste
(Yup, that's it. Marinate and then grill. I made a fresh batch to baste them with while grilling, just in case, but it wasn't really necessary. However, make sure not to use the sauce that has touched the raw meat if you decide to baste.)
Finally, my boyfriend's sister Sabine makes an excellent white dip that goes with anything. We put it on bread, bratwurst, and cucumbers. It's really light but has a great flavor.
Sabine's Sauce
1 part mayo
1 part Greek yogurt
dash of mustard
dash of lemon juice
garlic & chives to taste
I'm a cooker, not a baker, so sorry about the super vague recipes! My technique usually involves mixing everything and tasting it approximately 15 times, while simultaneously adding microscopic amounts of spices, until I believe it's perfect.
Eet smakelijk!
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