Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Bass fillets with mango, fresh chilli, olive oil and lime.

ingredients( 4 servings)

  • 320 gr bass fillet with no bones and skin
  • 8 tablespoons mango cut into small cubes
  • 4 teaspoon purple onion chopped
  • 4 teaspoon coriander leaves chopped
  • 4 teaspoon basil leaves chopped
  • 2 teaspoon fresh chilli chopped
  • 8 tablespoons olive oil
  • 12 tablespoons lime juice
  • salt and pepper

Cut fish fillets to small cubes. Mix gently all the ingredients. Put in goblet and serve immediately.


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Sunday, April 29, 2007

Cinnamon yeast cake


Here is my mother's recipe of cinnamon yeast cake which she used to bake for holidays.

ingredients


pastry:

  • 1/4 cup lukewarm water
  • 30 gr yeast
  • 1 cup milk
  • 120 gr butter
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 4 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 eggs
  • salt

filling:


  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 70 gr melted butter
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 80 gr chopped pecan nuts
Mix yeast and water and leave for 10-15 minutes. Bring to a boil milk in a small saucepan, remove from the heat, add butter, mix well and cool. In food processor ( helping with hook) combine 2 cups of flour, sugar, eggs and salt. Add the milk mixture and the yeast. Add remaining flour and mix for10-15 minutes at medium speed. Take medium size bowl, brush it with butter and place in to dough. Cover and let the dough rise till double in size. Hit gently with palm and knead dough a little on a floured place. Roll the dough out into rectangle of 20x40 cm and 1/2 cm thick and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Keep 1 cm edges without filling. Roll the dough into a 40 cm cylinder and cut 3.5 cm thick slices. Arrange the slices of cinnamon yeast cake not closely together in greased baking pan with the slices side up. Cover the pan with a towel and let rise for 20-30 minutes. Bake the cinnamon yeast cake in preheated oven for 40 minuted at medium heat (160 C). To be sure that the cake is ready take toothpick, pierce the cake and if it comes out clean your cinnamon yeast cake is ready. I hope you'll enjoy my mom's cinnamon cake.


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Monday, April 16, 2007

Pork with nuts and mint


This recipe I've found on cozypan.com blog. I modernized it a little and baked delicious pork with nuts and mint.

ingredients


400 gr pork
150 gr of cashew nuts (walnuts possibly also)
2 tablespoon fresh mint finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh coriander finely chopped
2 cm of ginger root grated
1 Chile pepper
3 tablespoons of peanut oil
2-3 tablespoons of soya sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar

4 cloves of garlic chopped
juice of one lemon

Preparation method exactly the same like on cozypan blog.


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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Lamb kebab with green tehina


ingredients:


1 kg lamb meat minced
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup parsley chopped
salt and pepper
a little anise flavored liquor
fresh rosemary stalks for skewers


tehina:


1 cup raw tehini
juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves crushed
few coriander leaves
a lot of parsley


Mix the meat with onion, parsley and spices. Add anise liquor and let stand a while. Form meat balls and insert on a straight rosemary stalk with top leaves were removed ( or if you don't have rosemary stalks take the regular skewers). Add to the kebab skewers cherry tomatoes. Grill or fry in a little oil in a heavy pan.
In food processor blend tehini, juice of lemon, garlic, coriander and parsley leaves and 1/2 cup of water. Blend till a thick tehini. Spread the tehini in the center of plate and put on the plate kebab skewers.


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Thursday, March 15, 2007

Meat and vegetables Italian Lasagna.




Here is my favorite dish which I love to cook and to eat. Italian lasagna with beef meat, beacon, grated Parmesan cheese, onion, celery root ,tomatoes, carrots, sauce bechamel (white sauce), garlic and lasagna noodles. When I don't have time I use ready lasagna noodles if not make a dough by myself.

Fresh, home-made pasta, pasta fresca, is typical of nothern Italy, European Union member. As early 1300 a Florentine cookbook made note of the first recipes for fresh pasta from wheat flour, eggs and salt. The speed and dexterity of the women making hat-shaped parcels from fresh pasta is unbelievable. They then fill them with various vegetable or meat sauces or with spinach or Ricotta cream cheese. No medding, christening or Christmas dinner is really an occasion without fresh, filled pasta parcels..Every town in Nothern Italy boasts its very own carefully preserved shapes and fillings. There nare more tham 110 different recipes for tortellini, and more than 50 recipes of lasagna.

Basic recipe for pasta fresca (fresh pasta dough):

ingredients
  • 500 g wheat flour
  • 5 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp salt
Sieve the flour onto the work surface. Make a well in the middle, break the eggs into it and add salt. Gradually work in the flour from the edges until a rough dough is produced. Knead the dough for 15 minutes by nahd until it is shiny and elastic. Wrap in hahdy wrap and leave to stand for 1 hour. Dust the work surface with flour and roll out the dough until it is very thin and cut into large equal-sized rectangles. Bring enough salted water with a little olive oil to the boil and boil the sheets of lasagna for 5 minutes. Carefully remove from the water and drain on kitchenroll.

Here is very Italian recipe of this delightful lasagna cozypan.com






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Sunday, March 11, 2007

How to choose fresh meat.




how to choose fresh meat

It is desirable to buy meat in clean and "crowded shop" which has been authorized by the veterinary inspector.

Be convinced that on the meat you buy there is a press of veterinary supervision with precise data of the manufacturer and mdg.date and expiry.

Chicken is a little bit pink but not red.

Beef and chicken should have a typical smell of fresh meat.

Beef should not be sticky.

The fresh beef has red color but without shine. If the piece of meat shines most likely that in it some chemicals have been added.

Dark edges on a piece of beef - the meat is dried.

The fresh beef should be elastic. If to press on it with fingers the finger sign should disappear at once.

The defrozen meat, passed off the fresh meat, very easy to distinguish: The defrozen meat always wet (fresh always dry). And besides that on the defrozen meat can be dark spots which can appear during frosting.


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Monday, February 26, 2007

Why to buy professional cook knives?

My friend Jon he is a chef in Italian restraint. He told me that 50 percent success in cooking (home cooking or professional) is sharp and very good knifes. Good knife costs more than 100 $ but we don't need knifes set for home cooking. It is enough one or two very good professional cook knifes. "Why to buy professional cook knives? They are so expensive" you'll ask. Because good professional cook knife is also called chef's knife is the versatile "workhorse" of knives for any types of cutting: meat with bones, herbs, fruits and vegetables. Try to cut tomato with ordinary knife and you'll see the difference. Made from the high carbon stainless steel and having forged construction expensive professional cook knife or any specific type of knife will serve you long. One more advantage is that it stays sharp longer. Keep your knife clean ( don't clean professional cook's knife in dishwasher they don't like it) and sharp and you'll enjoy cooking like me.


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