Potato Salad

Everybody needs at least one good recipe for potato salad, you can't survive the summer without! Lucky me, I've got three great recipes, an "unhealthy-but-sooo-good" one, a "healthy-but-also-almost-the-best" one, and the recipe I'm giving you today (the "definitely-not-the-average-salad"). And easy does it, cook, chop and mix!
Make this a couple of hours before dinner, keep it in the fridge and I promise you this recipe is gonna be a keeper for the rest of this summer!

Usually I don't measure the ingredients, and it's not that important in this salad. A little more or less, it still will taste yummylicious, so that's good news for the uncertain cooks among us!

The only thing that is important, is your choice of potatoes. Choose potatoes that will stay firm after cooking. Boil them, with the skin on, for 25 minutes and let them cool. It's easier to peel them when they have cooled off. A trick I use is an old, clean, towel. Rub the potato and the skin will go off easy and the potatoe won't break or fall apart. Cut them into not too small cubes.
In the meantime, boil 2 eggs for 10 minutes and let them cool.

In a bowl mix half a cup of sour cream with 4 tablespoons of the best olive oil you can get, one garlic (use a garlic press), some pepper and salt and give it a few stirs, just enough to get a smooth dressing.

Then it's time to chop chop!

What do you need:

green olives, capers, shallot, another clove of garlic, fire roasted red bell pepper, parsley and the boiled eggs.

Mix all the ingredients, put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours and here is the result:

When it's dinner time, put some meat on the grill like skewered beef (recipe will follow this week so stay tuned!), steak or whatever you're in the mood for and dinner is ready!

Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

Don't you like blueberries?? Well I do, and it's the season (here in my little country) so you got to enjoy them while it lasts! I've read that these treats of nature are very healthy and are also called "superfood": a food that can increase the body's natural ability to heal! So that's very good news, and therefore I'm giving you this recipe. Ah, who am I kidding, it's just a good excuse to have another muffin!!

It's a recipe coming from my baking "bible" Baking From My Home To Yours written by Dorie Greenspan. Oh I've made so many recipes from that book and it's super, really! Muffins, cookies, pies and more tempting recipes you can ever imagine! Buy it!

what are the ingredients:

grated zest and juice of 1 orange

buttermilk

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons honey

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour (sometimes I take 1 cup flour and 1 cup corn flour! yummy...)

2,5 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

and yes, here they are:

1 cup blueberries

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Pour the orange juice in a measuring bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Wisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

Take a large bowl and rub the sugar an orange zest together, with your fingertips.

Whisk in flour, baking power, baking soda and salt. Add the orange juice and buttermilk and whisk gently but quickly, just to blend. Add the blueberries and stir a few times.

Divide the lumpy batter among the muffin pans or molds.

Bake them for about 20-25 minutes, these took me 22 minutes, the last time 25 minutes. Keep checking!

Let them cool for 5 minutes and remove them from the pans of molds.

As you can see, they didn't rise very much this time, but they we're still fabulous!

Want one?? You better hurry then!! Or make them yourself, there's no excuse why you shouldn't! Doctor's order!

Enjoy!

Surf and Turf Extra

Years ago I had a recipe almost like this, and I loved it! Some weeks ago I came across that same old recipe and was so happy, so I made it the same day. Guess what....it wasn't as good anymore as I thought. In fact, it was one big disappointment.

But, but, but, a miracle happend, yeah well almost....

In a magazine I found a recipe that had the puree as described below plus the beef, and then I knew, this has to be IT!

And there it was, a mixture of two recipes and a little extra. The extra is, yes of course, the tequila.

I used a red chili pepper, including the seeds, so it has a kick, but you can discard the seeds if it's too much for your taste.

Ingredients:

1 red chili pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

olive oil

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

1 lime

about 7 oz raw large shrimps, peeled and cleaned

2 beef tenderloins

4 oz feta, cut in cubes

tequila

Use a mortar and pestle to make a puree of the chili and bell pepper, add some olive oil, the cilantro and the juice of half a lime. As you can see I didn't pureed it all, I like some chunks of the bell pepper in it.

The tenderloins got a rub with the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Cajun Foreplay Spice Rub (yes I used it again, and I love it!!) and some olive oil. I grilled the meat on the stove, in a cast iron grillpan, but you can do this, of course, also on the grill. Grill them for 5 minutes, then wrap them in aluminium foil and let them rest while you prepare the rest.

In the meantime heat a wok and start heating the pepper puree. Keep the heat high and keep stirring! Add the shrimps, and keep stirring! Add a splash (don't be shy...) of tequila and the feta cheese.

This all should take no longer than 5 minutes.

Unwrap the meat (yeah, really, makes dinner taste much better...) and slice the meat. Serve it with the shrimps and some bread.

I can't describe how it tastes, but trust me, you're gonna luvvv this dish!!!

Last but certainly not the least, uncork a bottle of Shiraz Rosé to complete your meal!

Enjoy!

Lasagne alla Bolognese

Andiamo! Today it´s time for a great italian dish, Lasagne (plural for lasagna) alle Bolognese! Too bad I don´t make it too often, actually I can´t even remember the last time I made it, so then you know it´s really time! There are many recipes for lasagne, but I like the combination of Bolognese and Napoletana, which has a bit more heat and cheese, and you can never have enough cheese!

What you need to make this great dish:
olive oil
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
half a pound of minced meat 
half a cup dry white wine
1 large bottle of passata (tomatosauce)
lasagne sheets
bechamel sauce, recipe below
2 cups parmesan cheese, grated
1 ball of mozzarella cheese (preferably made of water buffalo milk), sliced

Heat some olive oil in a large pan, and cook carrots and onion for 5 minutes, medium heat. Add the garlic and chili flakes and cook this 2 minutes. Add the minced meat and cook 10 minutes.

Then you can add the wine, and let this cook for 5 minutes on high heat. Add the tomatosauce and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat to low, and let it simmer for 30 minutes.

In the meantime you can prepare the bechamelsauce: melt 3 tablespoons of  butter and stir in 1/4 cup of flour, add 2 cups of milk and keep stirring until it comes to a boil. Add some salt, one bay leaf and some nutmeg. Let this simmer for 20 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Now it´s time to put it all together. In a large ovendish you make layers: sauce, sheets, sauce, bechamel, parmesan cheese, sauce, sheets, etc. Always end with a thick layer of bechamel sauce. On top of this comes the mozzarella and some more parmesan cheese.

Put the dish in the oven, and after 30 minutes it´s ready!!

I served some fresh fava beans (it´s the season!) with it, mixed with slices of italian prosciutto, extra virgin olive oil and savory.

And what´s a great meal without wine.....choose an italian red wine like a Sangiovese or a Montepulciano.

Enjoy!

Nectarine Chutney

I was planning to grill some chicken breasts but wanted to try a new recipe. Wandered through some of my cookbooks, I found something special: peach-pecan chutney! And since it´s summer that means an overload on peaches and nectarines! At the moment I only had nectarines, so I decided to use those. Next time I´ll use white peaches, those are really delicious!

For the chicken, I wanted to try something that would give the chicken a little more action (at least that´s what was mentioned on the jar), so I marinated the chicken breasts a few hours in olive oil and 2 tablespoons of Cajun Foreplay rub from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. 

In the meantime, it was time to make the chutney. I found this recipe in the book `Sauces, Rubs and Marinades` written by Steven Raichlen. Then I found out I didn´t had all the ingredients, so I had to twist it a little.

The ingredients:

5 ripe nectarines

1 cinnamon stick

half a teaspoon of ground allspice

4 cloves

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 dried red pepper (I used a dried and smoked one), finely chopped

fresh ginger, a slice, about half an inch, finely chopped

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

1/4 cup vinegar or cider vinegar  (I used rice vinegar)

1/4 cup dark brown sugar (not packed)

First you have to transfer the nectarines to a pan of boiling water, for about half a minute. That makes it easier to remove the skins. Then cut them into pieces.

Now all the ingredients go in a pan and you bring it to a simmer. Reduce the heat and let it boil softly for 10 minutes. After that it´s time to taste the chutney (be careful! HOT!) and maybe you have to add extra sugar of vinegar to get the right taste, the chutney should have a sweet-sour taste.

Transfer to a bowl and let it cool to room temperature.

To give the chicken breasts an extra smokey flavour, I decided to add some peach wood chunks, from Baxters Original. I grilled them indirect until the internal temp was 170F / 73C.  Also had some some potatoes and zucchini with italian herbs on the grill. 

When everything is ready, serve it with the Nectarine Chutney, and it could look like this:

And it was yummylicious!!!  I will make this definitely more often. The chicken was really tasty and juicy, the chutney delicious, the side dishes matched perfect. What more can you ask for....

Oh some wine maybe? I would say a dry and mild white wine will certainly match great!

Enjoy!

Summer Salad

This recipe is a real killer salad! Matches with a lot of food, I´ve tried grilled chicken and fried fish so far. Two totally different tastes, and both were great! The idea for this salad came from a recipe for a salsa, that I´ve read in the Bon Appetit Magazine. As with all salads, don´t prepare it too long in advance, mix it all together 5 minutes before dinner is served, and you´ll not only have a great tasting salad, but also a good looking one!

What do you need for this:

3 nectarines

4 or 5 of the best tomatoes you can get

a big slice of Greek feta

1 tablespoon of dried chili flakes

1 scallion, only the green part

1 avocado

arugula

olive oil

salt - pepper

cider vinegar

Cut the nectarines, tomatoes, feta and avocado into cubes, not too small. Finely mince the scallion. Mix this and sprinkle with the chili flakes. 

Make a dressing of 4 parts olive oil and 1 part vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix the arugula with the nectarines, tomatoes, feta, avocado and scallion, and pour the dressing over the salad.

You want to know what wine paires well with this salad? Try a Shiraz Rosé, I´ve had one from South Africa and it was fabulous!!

Enjoy!

Thanks!

Just want to say Thank You to my friends for all the lovely support of last week !!

I´ll be back soon with new recipes!!