martes, 27 de abril de 2010

Basic Tomato Sauce with a Twist






I thought I'd add a recipe for those of
you who are just starting your experimental journey of cooking or for those who would just like to try something different to what you are used to! One of the best, easiest, fastest and most economical meals that you can prepare is a basic tomato sauce to have over the pasta or raviolis of your choice. Here is what you need:

-1 big onion diced
-4-6 pieces of garlic depending on your preference
-2 fresh whole diced tomatoes
-1 big can of whole peeled or crushed tomatoes*
-2 cans of tomato sauce (or 1 can of tomato paste, add a can of water)*
-a green pepper (you can add red too!)
-half a cup of red wine
-2 bay leaves
-a teaspoon of dried or fresh basil
-a teaspoon of dried or fresh oregano
-a teaspoon of dried or fresh parsley
-black pepper and salt to taste
-2 tablespoons of olive oil
-Parmesan cheese

The Twist:
-2 carrots diced
-a zucchini/courgette diced

*You can also use 2 cans of crushed tomato and only 1 can of tomato sauce/tomato paste, but you may have to add a spoon of sugar or honey to the sauce so that it's sweet enough.

Pour olive oil into a large pot and saute the onions and carrots on medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Add the peppers, zucchini and fresh tomatoes and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the garlic and sprinkle with salt. Add the herbs, bay leaves and stir. Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce and mix. Allow to cook for several minutes. Add half a cup of wine (as you can see in the picture, I had to add open a good bottle of wine for this sauce) and stir. Allow to evaporate a little and then add more salt and black pepper.

Be very careful with the hot sauce because it will jump out at you and stain your lovely clothes with red spots and worse still, it burns the skin really badly. ( My father likes to use the top of the pot as a shield whilst stirring the sauce, you can try this too!) Cover the sauce, leaving a small slit to allow the sauce to evaporate the excess juices and reduce slowly. Let it simmer on low for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the vegetables don't stick to the bottom of the pot. When done, serve over pasta or raviolis. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil to add an extra special taste. Enjoy!

domingo, 18 de abril de 2010

Mexican Langostines





As most good recipes, this one just happened! I was having my girlfriend Suzana over for lunch. We were having rice and beans tacos with spinach, tomatoes, melted cheese and hot sauce. It occured to me that a nice appetizer was in order. So I ran to the grocery store and bought a box of raw langostines. And I got to creating...

You need:
-12-18 unpeeled langostines
-1 small french onion
-3 pieces of garlic
-two spoons of olive oil
-a whole dry chili pepper
-a half a shot of good rum (if you haven't got rum use whisky or bourbon)
-coarse salt
-paprika
-cumin

In a clay pot, or thick pan, add the olive oil and heat on a medium flame. Pour in the diced onion and dry whole chili pepper and saute for several minutes. Add the sliced garlic and whole langostines. Stir for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle a spoonful of paprika and a spoonful of cumin. *Turn off the exhaust fan* very important, pour in the rum and light on fire. Stir until the fire dies naturally. Sprinkle coarse salt on top and when the langostines have turned a nice orange they are done. Serve in clay pot still sizzling and enjoy! This is yummy fun food. There is no need for eating politely, feel free too eat it with your hands and make sure to get some onions and garlic in with the peeled langostine bite!

Enjoy and keep experimenting in the kitchen!

sábado, 17 de abril de 2010

Coming Soon...


Mexican Langostines...

viernes, 9 de abril de 2010

The Final Product





Here are some pics of the cheesecake...it doesn't look at good as it tasted! But believe me it's YUM!!!

Easter Cheesecake










I have to say first of all that I am not a sweets person. My friends would even say that I have a low tolerance for sweets! But, there are a few that I do love. Here is my Easter Cheesecake. I made it on Easter Sunday in honour of the holiday. There was no basket full of goodies, but my friend came over and we had some nice Leek and Mushroom Risotto and for dessert, Easter Cheesecake. It's a LOT easier than you think so try it!

Here are the ingredients...here we don't have sour cream so I used 2 Greek yogurts and a lemon as a substitute, 5-6 tablespoons of white sugar, a spoonful of vanilla extract, 5 eggs, 3 cream cheese packages (the generic stuff is just as good as Philadelphia!). Mix the ingredients in a blender of Cuisinart. Put to the side. To make the base, mix some graham crackers, or I used digestive cookies with some cinnamon, and butter. Mix and keep adding ingredients until you get a malleable mixture. Press it to the bottom of a cheesecake pan, making sure to go up the sides a little to prevent leakage.

Place the cheesecake pan on a cookie tray, or something similar because there will be some minor butter leakage during the baking process. Pour the filling into the graham cracker lined cheesecake pan.

Preheat the oven to 200 C or 392 F. When the oven is ready place the cheesecake pan in the oven and bake at 175C or 347 F for about 50 minutes, or until you can stick a toothpick in and it comes out dry.

When done, decorate with freshly cut strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or open a jar of yummy marmalade as I did here! You could also just serve as is!

It's guaranteed to be delicious!

Enjoy and keep baking!!!

martes, 6 de abril de 2010

Coming Soon....


EASTER CHEESECAKE!!!!!