Tag: Cook

Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic

Sunday I have a family meal. We meet because my sister who lives all year abroad comes to visit us (I can’t wait). For this occasion I decided to cook French. I know that French cuisine has an image of refined and sometimes complicated cuisine, but I intend to counter this preconceived idea with this recipe.

Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic:

Ingredients :

  • A 1.5kg chicken bridle, gutted and of course plucked
  • 40 unpeeled garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon cider
  • 1 cup white wine (250ml)

Preparation :

  1. Place the grill at the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
  2. Place the chicken in a large casserole. Rub the chicken with the vinegar. Salt and pepper the inside and outside of the chicken. Let stand 15 minutes.
  3. Place the garlic cloves around the chicken and add the wine. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Remove the lid. Baste the chicken with the cooking juices. Continue cooking uncovered for 45 minutes or until the chair easily detaches from the bone and the chicken is golden brown. (If you don’t have much time, you can oil and butter a pressure cooker and cook your chicken in it for 15 minutes and it’s ready.)

Accompaniment :

Personally, I will serve my dish with slices of toasted country bread to spread on the cooked garlic, a green salad and mashed potatoes

I hope you enjoy this little recipe as much as we do! Take care of yourself and your loved ones and see you soon!

Marinated steak and its Polish beet accompaniment:

I share with you a long slice of life but if you are only interested in the recipe, you will easily find it in the middle of the text.

Théo and I were doing our shopping, bickering about a story of cereals… in short, he grabbed me in his arms and kissed me to retrieve his precious box when a lady appeared at the other end of the ray, her eyes were round like saucers. A little embarrassed, I moved away, pointing out to Theo that we were being watched.

Theo looked surprised as he turned around. I was surprised when the lady approached and took Theo in her arms.

It was Jenna, his mom. Normally she lives on the other side of town. She wanted to surprise him but seeing his apartment empty, she assumed he was at work. She had therefore wanted to do some shopping to make him eat for his return when she surprised us.

I offered to step aside so they could spend some time together but Jenna said “out of the question!”. That now that she had the reason why her son had been smiling stupidly for weeks, I wasn’t going to get away with it and then that it was time for me to taste Georgian hospitality by showing me her shopping, there had enough for a regiment. (Theo and Jenna are Georgian. They arrived in Denmark when Theo was 13).
Theo was embarrassed in turn, he, who always looks confident, I admit that it made me laugh to see him in this uncomfortable position.

In sign language he told me behind his mom’s back that he was sorry for what I was going to suffer… When Jenna surprised him gesticulating.

She asked me to tell her what he said behind her back. I could have lied and told her that he had just translated her speech for me, but I found it funnier to tell the truth. And then it’s not nice to lie!

Theo was horrified to see my little betrayal.

Jenna burst out laughing, saying:

“I really like her!”

I finally suggested that we go to my house, my kitchen being much better equipped than Theo’s, which was only composed of a microwave and a rusty gas stove.

Arrived at home Theo rushed to close the door of my room to hide the particularly unmade bed following our night… (this is another story that we will keep private!)

For the rest Jenna was obsessed with my kitchen. At first glance, she understood that I was a big fan of cooking a point that, I would quickly understand, we had in common.

We prepared prime ribs. I took care of marinating it and Jenna made us a side dish with beets.

Steak marinade:

Ingredients:

  • 125ml balsamic vinegar
  • 60ml soy sauce
  • 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
  • 2 tablespoons of honey
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 ts. onion powder
  • 1 ts Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:

Let them marinate for at least 2 hours (ideally they should be marinated for 24 hours.)

Buraczki zasmażane (I have no idea how it’s said, it’s Polish):

Ingredients:

  • 500g cooked beets
  • 2 tbs of butter
  • 2 tbs of flour
  • 1 tbs lemon juice or vinegar
  • 1 tbs of sugar
  • 125ml single cream (Jenna used heavy cream)
  • some dill

Preparation:

  1. Peel the beets and grate them with a small-hole grater.
  2. In a skillet, prepare the roux by melting the butter and sprinkling it with flour. Stir. Lightly brown. Add a glass of water and cook over low heat, stirring, until the preparation becomes thick and smooth.
  3. Then add the beets, lemon juice and sugar. Mix well and simmer for ten minutes.
  4. Just before serving, add the cream and mix well.
  5. a bit of dill to finish

According to Jenna, this Polish recipe is perfect with beef, lamb and game. Personally, I think I will serve it cold with summer barbecues.

We talked a lot, I had the right to lots of crisp anecdotes about Theo’s childhood and their life in Georgia.

She made us donuts at tea time and we drank jasmine tea all afternoon, it was so good! (I’ve never been to the toilet as much as that night >.<).

I think I clearly fell in love with Theo’s mother. I felt like she was reading me like an open book. She understood I’ve lost a parent just seeing me touching my neckless when she talk about Theo’s dad (it is a gift of my mom), she must be a wizard. I now know where her son’s generosity and kindness comes from.

The day was wonderful with Jenna but now I have a little pressure, I will now have to introduce Theo to dad so that we are even. Hope it goes well!

Daddy drop your shotgun!

Take care of yourself and your loved ones! see you soon!

A little brother, a boyfriend, firefighters and a gumbo recipe

(no it’s not the start of a bad joke)

Today I have several things to share with you!

I’ve been dating someone for a few weeks. His name is Theoden, he’s a firefighter, a rock enthusiast (yes, I’m crazy about a drummer, what a cliche!) and draws really well (he made me want to get back into it, maybe I’ll post something on which I am working on at the moment but it takes time).
We met when they needed an interpreter after finding a lost child who happened to be deaf. He was the only one in the barracks who didn’t try to flirt with me by flexing his muscles. ^^’
It was his humor that made me crack at first, but what made me want to go further is that he is deeply kind and very cultured.

His friends at the brigade learned that I love to cook and in a joking tone they challenged me to cook for them, challenge accepted!

To help me in my task I have my little brother Søren come for the weekend. I invited him for this “event” because I know that fire trucks fascinate all boys.

  • The first part of the challenge already comes from the choice of the recipe. Several times when I went to see Theo there (yes, I play taxi drivers, he doesn’t have his car license. He drives a motorcycle but this one is in the garage), I understood that in his team, the sun is starting to fail for some.
  • They are big guys who eat well, so we needed something that holds well.
  • I have a relatively tight budget given their number but I am used to cooking for not very expensive.

For these reasons, I decided to go with an exotic dish reminiscent of travel and the sun, a typical dish from New Orleans (I have wanted to cook Cajun since my grandmother made me reread the Mayfair saga Witches for our play. ^^’), the Gumbo. I chose a Chicken Gumbo because I was told to avoid seafood.

Gumbo recipe:

You need for 4 people:

  • 50g butter (or oil)
  • 50g flour
  • 2 smoked sausages (330 g)
  • 4 chicken breasts (600g)
  • 1 can of crushed tomatoes (optional)
  • 2 carrots (optional)
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 sprig of celery
  • 1 large white onion
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 tbsp Cajun spice blend (or 1 tbsp paprika + 1 tsp cayenne pepper powder + 1 tsp garlic powder + 1 pinch pepper)
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 liter of water
  • 250g long grain white rice

Achievement:

  1. Prepare a brown roux: In Louisiana they do it with oil instead. I didn’t have any on hand so I made it with butter. In a saucepan, melt the butter. When it is melted, add the flour and spices then mix. Cook, stirring all the time, until it turns brown. Book.
  2. Cut the smoked sausages into rounds. Heat a skillet and brown the sausages for about 3 minutes on each side. The idea is not to cook them but to lightly grill them.
  3. Meanwhile, cut the chicken breasts into cubes. When the sausage slices have grilled well, remove them from the pan and brown the diced chicken for 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Book.
  4. Split the peppers in half, remove the stem, ribs and seeds. Wash them and cut them. Peel and chop the onion. Wash the celery stalk and cut it into cubes, do the same with the carrots. Peel and press the garlic clove.
  5. Return the roux to the heat in a cast iron casserole dish. When it is hot, wet with the liter of water, little by little. Stir constantly and bring to a low boil. Then add the vegetables, the diced chicken and sausage.
  6. Cover and cook for 45 minutes over low heat and covered. At the end of this time, uncover and simmer for about twenty minutes uncovered.
    (For a shrimp or crayfish gumbo, omit the meat and poach them in the sauce 5 to 6 minutes before the end.)
  7. Meanwhile, prepare the rice by immersing it in a large volume of water. Let it cook for the time indicated on the package.

Serve in the same container the rice and the meat, and drizzle with broth.

We all had a great time and all the members of the team present surprised me by learning a few signs in sign language, with more or less talent, but it touched me a lot. I was invited to become their regular cook so maybe I will do it again!

At the end we showed Søren around the hangar, it didn’t last long then everyone had to leave for an intervention but I will never forget the stars in his eyes when they let him fly from one of the trucks.

My Theo hold a blog because of me! He talks about Rock music and his social impact to the world. There is olso some of his drawings, please take a look 😉 (there is a cartoony portrait of me! :D)

Drum&Draw

Take care of you and your loved one and see you later.

Romantic Dinner with Theo: Pisatachio-crusted Salmon recipe

I’ve been dating someone for a few weeks now, a firefighter! His name is Theo and I think I like him! It’s been a while since I’ve felt this close to a man and frankly it feels so good. He is hearing and knew nothing about the world of the deaf and yet he immediately made the effort to learn a few words in sign language and he shaved his beard when he learned that it was difficult for me to read on the lips of bearded people without me telling him. that and several other details mean yes okay, I think I like more a little more than good!!! We are taking a new step today, I invite him to dinner at home. I’m both impatient and stressed out at the same time, so I’m trying to calm myself down a bit by writing you a cooking article.

So tonight I have planned a pistachio-crusted salmon:

Ingredients (for two people):

  • 20cl + 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • ½ Lemon
  • Percil
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 salmon steaks (tuna is perfect for the recipe)
  • 100g pistachios
  • flower of salt
  • ½ tsp of pink berries

First step: making the marinade.

Mix the lemon juice, 20cl of olive oil, percil,1 tsp of cumin and 1 tsp of paprika. Marinate the fish for an hour

Second step: making a pistachio puree.

Mix half of the pistachios until you obtain a paste, make it more liquid with a tablespoon of oil. (if you add a little sugar you get a divine spread, better than nutella)
Cover the fish with the pistachio paste

Third and last step: making the crust.

Crush the last pistachios with a knife, add the rest of the cumin and paprika then the pink peppercorns and finally roll your salmon in this breadcrumb.
Add a little salt and bake for ten minutes at 200 degrees Celsius (392 farenheit)

For garnish :

I chose boiled potatoes and a tabbouleh salad with semolina, green beans, cucumber and cherry tomatoes.

Yes the quantities on my plate are rather meager but I would not want, by overeating, that the digestion would tire him a little too much for the rest of the evening…
Well I’m off I still have a lot of little things to prepare. >.<
Cross your fingers for me!

Take care of yourself and your loved ones and see you soon!

Carrot soup with curry and croutons / Mushroom soup and croque monsieur

It’s been a while since I posted cooking recipes and with this cold ambient I wanted to offer you some simple soup recipes to warm up.

Carrot soup with curry:

Ingredients for 4 persons:

  • 2 onions
  • 600g carrots
  • 1 tablespoon of curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1l of chicken or vegetable broth
  • 6 portions of laughing cow cheese
  • salt and pepper

Realisation:

  1. Fry the onions with the curry and cumin.
  2. Add the carrots cut into rounds then the broth and cook for 20 to 25 minutes
  3. Once the carrots are cooked, mix everything, add the cheese, salt and pepper

For the croutons:

  1. Slice your bread in dices.
  2. In a pan add some oil a smash garlic and some thyme.
  3. When the garlic is a bit brown throw the bread in the pan.
  4. when the bread is toasted scatter it over your bowl of soup

Mushroom soup and croque monsieur

Ingredients for 4 persons:

  • 2 shallots
  • 500g of mushrooms
  • 20/25cl of fresh cream
  • 1l of chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon of tarragon
  • salt an pepper
  • Some rocket leaves for decoration (optional)

Realisation:

  1. Fry the shallots
  2. Add mushrooms and cook until they are soft, add the broth and cook for 10 min
  3. Mix everything and add the tarragon, the salt an pepper.

Accompaniments

I let you 2 choices I like a lot with my mushroom soup:

Croques monsieur

A slice of cheese and a slice of ham between 2 slice of bread you toast on the oven until the bread is toasted

Ham toast

  1. put some olive oil on a pan and toast your bread in it.
  2. rub a clove of raw garlic on the toasted bread, emphasizing the crust.
  3. Spread the bread with walnut cheese (or fresh cheese if you are lacking)
  4. Added a slice of ham on top

Whether it’s one or the other, I really like to dip them in my soup like you can dip a slice of bread in your tea.

I hope you will like it!

Take care of yourself and you loved ones and see you soon!

My Christmas Menu

It’s been a while since I posted. I’ve been very busy with my work and I’m sorry but this week I’m going to try to make up for it by sharing my Christmas menu with you, hoping it can give you some ideas.

This years, I tried to make simple and relatively inexpensive recipes because I had the idea of organizing a meal for the children of the club who could not have had Christmas with the family but this year everyone was able to leave and that makes me very happy.

Starters / appetizers :

Chicken cucumber bites (45 bites) :

Preferably prepare the day before so that the chicken marinates well and assemble the bites the same day.

  • 2 Cucumbers
  • 2 or 3 chicken or turkey breasts (can be tuna)
  • 125g of yogurt
  • 1 to 2 drop of tabasco (optional)
  • A pinch of mustard
  • ½ lemon juice
  • ½ red onion
  • A bunch of chives
  • 4 to 5 chestnuts, crushed (remove it if you use tuna)
  • 40g of crushed hazelnuts
  • Paprika
  • Garlic
  • Salt pepper
  1. Mix the lemon, yogurt, chives, a pinch of mustard, and the finely chopped red onion.
  2. Prick the chicken breasts with garlic, salt them and cover them with paprika. Thoroughly cook the chicken until it can shred
  3. Mix the chicken with the yoghurt sauce, the chestnuts and the hazelnuts.
  4. The same day, cut the cucumber into slices, add the chicken mixture and finish if you want with a few sprigs of chives.

Mushroom stuffed smoked ham and parmesan :

  • Paris mushroom
  • Smoked ham
  • Parmesan cheese
  • A small piece of foie gras (optional)
  1. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and mix them with smoked ham and foie gras
  2. Fill the mushroom caps
  3. Sprinkle them with parmesan and bake them for about twenty minutes until the mushrooms brown.

Serve hot or cold.

Foie gras on French toast :

  • Slice of bread or brioche
  • Milk
  • Egg
  • Cinnamon
  • Butter
  • Raisin and/or dried apricot, diced
  • 2 tablespoons brandy
  1. Dip the raisins in cognac
  2. Mix egg and milk
  3. Soak the bread in the mixture
  4. Melt butter in the pan and cook the bread in it
  5. Sprinkle with cinnamon and some raisins
  6. Place a thin slice of foie gras on it.

Main course :

Tournedos honey and spices :

  • 4 tournedos (duck, beef or turkey)
  • 2 tbsp of mustard
  • 6 tbsp fresh cream
  • ½ tsp of 4 spice powder
  • 2 tbsp of honey
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Mix the cream, spices, mustard and honey, wrap in film and chill for 1 hour
  2. Turn on the oven at 60°c
  3. Start cooking the tournedos in a cold pan after salting and peppering them on each side for 6 to 7 minutes.
  4. Remove them to an oven dish and cover them with baking paper. Leave them in the oven for 15 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the spice-infused cream
  6. Let simmer to thicken the sauce.
  7. Serve the tournedos with the sauce.

Mashed potato and hazelnut :

  • 1kg boiled potato
  • 100g Hazelnuts
  • 25 cl Fresh cream
  • 1 tsp hazelnut or walnut oil
  • A finely chopped onion
  1. Mash the hot potatoes with a fork
  2. Add the fresh cream, crushed hazelnuts, hazelnut oil and onion and mix well.

Lamb’s lettuce salad, caramelized walnuts and grapes :

  • Nut
  • Chewed up
  • 1 tsp of sugar
  • Walnut vinegar
  • Raisin or fresh
  • Bread nuts
  • Avocado Dice
  • 1 Yogurt
  • 1 tbsp of mayonnaise
  1. Melt the sugar in a pan without stirring it, add the walnuts and coat them well.
  2. Mix yogurt and mayonnaise
  3. Wash the salad and mix it with the sauce, raisins and nuts.

Dessert :

My mom’s tangerine Christmas cake :

Finally, I offer you a recipe that is close to my heart because it was my mom who made me these little cakes during the holidays. I hope you like it as much as I do!

  • 300g Flour
  • 150g Butter
  • 150g Sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 0.5 packet of baking powder
  • 2 tbsp. rum
  • 1 tbsp. tangerine juice
  • The zest of 2 tangerines
  • Icing sugar for decoration
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
  2. Cream the butter, add the sugar then the whole eggs one by one and continue beating. Then add the sifted flour with the baking powder, the tangerine zest and juice and the rum. Mix well to obtain a homogeneous paste.
  3. Pour the batter into mini silicone kouglof moulds.
  4. Bake 20 min.
  5. Turn out onto a baking rack, let cool and serve dusted with icing sugar.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Take care of yourself and your loved one!

I wish you a Merry Christmas!

Chicken Avocado Burger

Today I went to a vernissage for the exhibition of the mother of one of my friends who is a painter. it’s a little stuffy and it’s not with petit fours that we eat so I made us burgers with what I had in the fridge and here is the result! These can also be eaten cold if you want to take them to work or for a picnic.

CHICKEN BURGER PATTIES:

  • 500g ground chicken (mince)
  • 250g panko breadcrumbs, 1 egg
  • 75g parmesan finely grated,
  • green onion finely sliced (~2 stems)
  • 2 garlic cloves minced,
  • 1/2 tsp dried sage,
  • 1/2 tsp salt and pepper , each

BURGERS:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil,
  • 4 soft burger buns or brioche buns,
  • 1 avocado (big!) (or 2 medium)
  • 60g /rocket / arugula or other lettuce,
  • 2 tomatoes sliced,
  • 4 slices Swiss cheese (or other cheese)
  • Mayonnaise, relish, ketchup or tomato sauce (to smear lid)

REALISATION:

  1. Mix Pattie ingredients in bowl, form 4 patties, 1.5cm / 3/5″ thick, slightly larger than the buns (shrinks slightly). If mixture is super sticky, either refrigerate mixture for 30 minutes, or wet hands or lightly spray hands with oil (I do this).
  2. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat, cook 2 min until deep golden, then flip. After 1 min, top with a piece of cheese and place lid on to melt.
  3. ASSEMBLE: Split buns and lightly toast, smoosh a generous amount of avo on bun base, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with Chicken Pattie, then rocket/arugula and tomato. Smear the top bun with mayonnaise (or relish, ketchup, other condiment of choice) and place lid on bun.

Devour and be happy!

Tuna Pasta Gratin

A simple and comforting recipe with the arrival of bad weather!

  • 350g of penne pasta (or other short pasta) – cook per packet minus 1 min
  • 40g of butter
  • 3 garlic cloves , finely minced
  • 4 tbsp of flour
  • 1 L of milk
  • 2 tsp Vegeta, or chicken or veg stock powder/granulated bouillon
  • 125g of parmesan , finely shredded
  • 1/2 tsp each mustard powder, onion and garlic powder
  • 400g canned tuna , preferably in oil, drained (sub salmon)
  • 400g canned corn , drained (or other veg)
  • CRUNCHY TOPPING – mix: 25g / 1.5 tbsp butter melted, 125g panko breadcrumbs, 75g cup parmesan finely grated, 1/4 tsp salt
  1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, cook for 30 sec.
  2. Add flour and stir into melted butter. While whisking, gradually pour in about 1/3 of the milk. Once the flour-butter mixture is incorporated into the milk, pour in remaining milk and whisk.
  3. Add Vegeta, mustard, onion and garlic powder, whisk. Whisk constantly to make sure the white sauce doesn’t catch on the base, 4 – 5 min until sauce thick enough that you can draw a path across the back of a spoon (see video). Stir in parmesan.
  4. Add tuna into pasta, flake into large chunks with fork, add corn, pour over sauce, then gently stir. Scrape into baking dish, top with Crunchy Topping.
  5. Bake 25 min until top is golden and edges are bubbling. Sprinkle with chives if desired then serve!

Take care of yourself and your loved ones. See you soon!

Chickpea Lamb Shawarma Soup | Serves 5

With the return of the cold and the arrival of autumn, soup season has come but as it is a little early to say goodbye to the sun, I offer you a soup that is full of it and which I am sure will stimulate you. the taste buds with its Middle Eastern accents.

INGREDIENTS

Spices:
2 tsp EACH cumin powder, coriander, paprika
1 tsp cardamon powder (can omit if you don’t have
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
Soup:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
500g / 1 lb lamb mince (ground lamb, or beef) (Note 1)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (about size of chickpeas)
600g / 21 oz canned chickpeas, drained (1.5 standard cans)
400g / 14oz can crushed tomato
3 cups / 750 ml chicken broth / stock
1 bunch spinach, roughly chopped (about 4 packed cups) (wilts a lot)
Garnishes:
Plain yoghurt (or sour cream), fresh coriander / cilantro

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 1 minute until starting to turn translucent.
  2. Add lamb and cook, breaking it up as you go. When it has mostly turned from pink to light brown, add spices.
  3. Cook for 1 minute, then add tomato paste and cook for another 1 minute. (It smells amazing!)
  4. Add carrots, chickpeas, tomato and broth. Stir and bring to simmer.
  5. Cover with lid, lower heat so it is bubbling energetically but not crazy rapidly. Cook for 10 minutes until carrot is tender but not super soft – I like it to have a bit of bite still, if you want super soft, keep cooking.
  6. Stir through spinach. Once wilted, adjust salt, pepper and spiciness (cayenne) to taste.
  7. Ladle into bowls, add a dollop of yogurt and a generous sprinkling of cilantro. Enjoy!

NOTES

  1. Beef is the next best sub. Chicken, turkey and veal an also be used.

Spinach Waffles

Last Friday I have friends came home to watch the latest Thor. For the evening I had made waffles with spinach and goat cheese to snack on in front of the screen. The movie was really bad but the waffles saved the evening!

INGREDIENTS (for 12 waffles) :

  • 340 g wheat flour T80 if change, then modulate the added milk
  • 200 ml oat milk vegetarian milk or not of your choice
  • 100g fresh spinach leaves
  • 4 eggs
  • 100 g log of goat’s cheese or other cheese
  • 70 g pine nuts or other nuts, almonds, hazelnuts…
  • 80 ml olive oil or butter
  • salt

INSTRUCTIONS :

  1. Mix in a container the flour with the milk, the eggs, the previously mixed pine nuts, the salt and finally the olive oil. Mix until you obtain a homogeneous preparation.
  2. Then add the pieces of goat cheese and the fresh spinach leaves as they are. Mix so that the waffle batter coats the cheese and spinach well.
  3. Then pour the equivalent of a good tablespoon into the waffle iron and so on until the preparation is used up.

Have a good meal!