Tuna Pasta

Simple and delicious!

-chop onion,garlic and peppers
-cook and drain pasta.add olive oil,toss and leave aside
-in pan,heat oil,then throw in onion,garlic,peppers,salt and pepper.cook for 2/3 mins
-add tuna.season with dried herbs (and maybe some tabasco!)

Toss with pasta and serve !

Enjoy ^_^

Cotelette a la Milanese

I had this last night at a restaurant and found it absofreakinglutely delicious!

Start by getting your pasta going.
Then get your veal ready.

Take your fine veal cutlet and pass it through some flour, then dip in some eggs + salt + pepper mixture, and then through some breadcrumbs.

Heat up some olive oil and butter until it starts smoking up a bit, then brown your veal on each side 3-4minutes.

Now we'll make the butter-lemon sauce that will go over your veal.
Simple... melt butter, add some lemon and a dash of salt. If you have any white wine, I'd highly recommend it! Be sure to add some parsley at the end.

For your pasta sauce, keep it simple... maybe an alfredo sauce, and the flavors from the veal sauce will balance out nicely.

Delicious.

Go impress someone.

Spaghetti with Spicy Sausage

Ultimate yummiliciousness.

While your spaghetti is cooking, cut up some onions and sweet peppers. Caramelize them for a bit (that means let them cook in olive oil until they get tender and sweet) and then add your spicy sausage.

Now the fun part about the sausage is you get to take it out of the wrapping it comes in! Yes, slightly gross, but kinda fun.Think of it as play-dough.

merguez sausage

Throw in the sausage into the frying pan and let it brown with the onions and peppers. Add some salt and pepper. Once they're browned, add some cooking cream and let it thicken.

Adjust salt and pepper to taste. I added a little bit of tabasco at the end because.. well.. come on, everything tastes better with tabasco !

Go impress someone.

Mini Pizzas

These make awesome appetizers.

Cut up some baguette bread (or whatever you have, baguette just looks fancier) and add some tomato sauce on top.

Brown some ground beef and caramelize some onions. Add them on top of the bread and top off with some cheese.

In the oven they go for a few minutes, and voila!

Chinese Meatballs

These are easy to make an also serve as a stress reliever !

In a bowl mix some ground meat (beef, turkey or pork - I used beef), ground ginger, coriander, onions, soy sauce, oyster sauce, 1 egg, and a dash of pepper. The exact amounts will have to be up to you on this one, just remember how strong all the ingredients you are using are !

Pound the mix like there's no tomorrow (maybe think of an ex?) until it's sticky and you can make meatballs. If you have a deep fryer, this is the right time to use it. If you're like me and don't have one, use a pan with a lot of oil... in the worst of cases, they'll look like really fat patties.

 

meatballs

Now you can accompany this with cabbage soup or won ton... or really whatever else you want, the possibilities are endless !

I decided to make some rice with snowpeas and sesame. Again, if your resources allow you to get a hold of sticky rice or even jasmin rice, just your luck. 

I gave "sticky rice" my own spin: 5 minute rice (which comes out literally sticky!), a little garlic, ginger and salt. I let the snowpeas cook with it.

 

 

rice with snowpeas and sesame

 

At the end, garnish with a little extra sesame... and... enjoy !

 

 

 

 

Bread Pudding

This was purely an experiment... feel free to make it your experiment too.

Layer some pieces of bread in a baking pan and drizzle some melted butter over it (about a teaspoon)
What kind of bread you ask? It doesn't really matter.
I say the more eccentric you get, the better! Walnut bread, cinnamon raisin bread, even banana bread will do. Cooking is an art, but it isn't science... so be creative. You can't go wrong.

Mix together in a bowl an egg, about 1/3 cup milk (or cream), cinnamon, and vanilla extract. If you used regular bread like I did, this is another chance to get creative. Throw in some pecans, raisins or apple slices.

 

in the oven it goes...

 
 

out of the oven it comes !

Enjoy.

Pan-Seared Lamb with Mashed Potatoes

ok so I have to admit I semi-cheated on this one.
I was too lazy to make potatoes, so I made those pre-packaged potatoes mixes... however, I added my own spin to it by adding some garlic, butter and parsley !

So that one's covered...

Now for the lamb.

Braise the lamb with some olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and garlic.
Brown it on both sides and put it in the oven for about 7 mins (I'm saying 7 because I like mine medium-rare)

 

lamb in the oven

If you have some greens, I say go for it. Carrots, broccoli, asparagus... all will do.

At least it will look pretty and colorful (although the idea is that you get some protein from it too)

aaaand you're ready to go!

Tip of the Day: The Secret Behind Onions

Ever wonder why onions taste so good when you go to restaurants, but when you make them at home the taste is so strong you can't even enjoy ?

Here's why...

The secret is to run the onions through warm water. This will take off some of the pungent smell and taste !

 

3-5 minutes under warm water will do the trick

Now when you add them to a pizza, for example... they will be absolutely delicious !!

et.. voila.

 

Garlic Bread

I feel like I didn't give garlic bread the attention it deserved the first time around, so I decided to give it another go.

I used the same topping as the Agneau aux Framboises recipe I posted up earlier: I mixed some butter, basil paste, crushed garlic, parmesan cheese and a little dash of salt and spread it over the bread. And this time, I used baguette bread !!!

Deliciousness at its best... this is what I ended up with:

Coq au Vin with Fettuccini Alfredo

Coq au vin. Yes, that's right... chicken and vino !!
Now there are several coq-au-vin recipes out there, some fancier than others... I suppose to that I can really only say pick the one you can follow.

For mine I used garlic, onions, mushrooms, wine (dry), a little chicken stock and some thyme. Once your chicken has browned a little no both sides, do the mixaroo and let it reduce. The chicken will cook with the steam, so it will come out delicious and moist!

 

coq-au-vin

Meanwhile start up your pasta. 

Once it's done, add some heavy cream, a little minced garlic, parsley (if you have some) and parmesan cheese. At the very end add some butter... the flavors will mix like they're h-e-a-v-e-n !

 

 

Brownies with Raspberry Coulis

I love chocolate.

I could pretty much end the post at that lol...

OK. So brownies. I would bother trying to give you a recipe for it, but I am fully aware that not everyone has the means or the talent to make a brownie from scratch. So there's two options: you can try this recipe, or go buy one of those Betty Crocker mixes. This is about affordability... and those BC Brownies aren't half bad anyway!

my brownie mix!

Once you have your mix ready, put it in a buttered (let me make myself clear, buttered!) tray. I just bought one of those disposable aluminum ones at the market... they're cheap and you can reuse them if you want too.

 

hopefully yours won't look as sloppy, but I forgot to butter my tray...

Let your brownies for about 30 minutes @ 400 degrees. I'd check them at about 20 minutes just in case, not all ovens are the same.

Meanwhile, melt some butter in a pan and add some jam, or raspberry sauce, or fresh raspberries and jam... whatever you have. The important thing here is to have something fruity. Be creative !!! 

I used some frozen strawberries and butter with a little lime juice... let it reduce for a bit, and voila !

 

Tiny Tuna Melts with Ginger-Lime Mayonnaise

I love tuna. Not only is it awesomely delicious, but full of protein.
One of my favorite things as a kid was my dad's tuna melts... so I decided to make some today, and kicked it up a notch with some ginger-lime mayo.

In a bowl, mix in some tuna, chopped onions, mayo, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. I threw in a little squeeze of lime.. because.. might as well, right? If you have any breadcrumbs, throw them in, it'll help the tuna melt brown nicely.

 

the mix

Now the fun part begins... 

Time to get dirty !!!! 

Get in there and make some nuggets !

Now if you want, you can just make one really huge tuna melt... but where's the fun in that.

Carefully place them in a pan with hot oil.

Side Note: If you have a deep fryer, this is when you use it!

 
 

i obviously do not own a deep fryer...

While your tuna melts deep fry, mix in a bowl some mayo, ginger, lime, salt and pepper.

et... Voila!

 

Tip of the Day : Aceto Balsamico

The most important rule of the kitchen is know your condiments.
Don't just know them, make love to them.
Once you're best friends and lovers, you'll realize the world of possibilities that just opened up in your cooking.

We'll start with aceto balsamico - or like you know it, balsamic vinegar.

A little history... yes, you guessed it ! It's from Italy !
It is a reduction of cooked grapes... there is no actual vinegar involved.

Why it's so awesome?
Because you can use it for everything.
Making a salad? Dressing? Dip? Marinade?
Use some balsamic vinegar.
Having some antipasto?
Use some balsamic vinegar.
Having dessert?
Use some cream and a little balsamic vinegar.
Cooking fish? meat? eggs?
Yup.. that's right... Use some balsamic vinegar !

 

My trusty little aceto balsamico

Now just because it is awesome, doesn't mean you have to overdo it.

Balsamic vinegar is extremely strong, so be careful. Always start with a tiny little bit and increase from there.

If you want to start experimenting, feel free to try other kinds of balsamic vinegars, like raspberry. 

You can't go wrong !!

Roasted Herbed Chicken and Potatoes

I know, it's Valentine's Day.
By all means, this is not a Valentine's Day recipe, I just happened to post it today.
However, it you want to make it, or add a little amour to the mix, feel free to do so... or you can take your top off. Or you pants. Or everything. (I don't judge!)

Moving on now...

Today we're making chicken. I've realized after several times in the kitchen how hard it is to get real good tasting chicken... there really is a whole art to it.

If you're making this, defrost your chicken early in the morning.
I will repeat myself, early in the AM.
If you are like me and started a little late, defrost it in some hot water. Please, do not but it in the defrost option in your microwave, it will just cook it to death.

 

 defrost chicken in hot water

Now the trick to a good oven roasted chicken is to keep it moist. That's right, I said moist !  

I made a little rub-a-dub-dub with butter, oregano, basil, rosemary, a little garlic and salt. Before putting it in the oven, I drizzled some chicken broth over it. I know... all those years you wondered why your mother even had it in the chicken - this is why! If you're making a whole chicken, you may have to check on it constantly and make sure it doesn't go dry.

chicken broth + oven = moist chicken

Moist chicken !!!

Now keep in mind chicken takes a while to cook... so feel free to open a bottle of wine. I prefer a good Côte du Rhone - $12 of delicious wine.

Before your chicken is done, cut up some potatoes and place them in a pan with hot olive oil.

A few minutes before they're done (you will see them brown), add some minced garlic to the mix. Remember, garlic will burn very quickly, so be careful. Don't say I didn't warn you.

If you have any veggies you can grill up that would be good too... asparagus, zucchini, carrots... take your pic. It will at least make your plate look that much prettier!

 

patates

This whole thing will take about 40 minutes, but it's worth the wait.

I had it with a little honey mustard on the side. (If you don't have any, go to McDonald's ... shhhh)

Enjoy!

Garlic Bread, Agneau aux Framboises + Whipped Cream and Strawberries

Dated: Feb 12, 2010

My first go.
This one was inspired by my mother's Canard Aux Framboises - needless to say, I had no duck.

I started with some garlic bread. Why? Because I'm Italian, and there's nothing in this world better than garlic bread. Now I had no baguette bread - if you can, get some. I mixed some butter, basil paste, crushed garlic and a little dash of salt and spread it over the bread. Into the oven those puppies went (try not to burn, yeah?)

 

When they are ready, they'll look something like this

 

  

If you want to make things more interesting, open a bottle of wine. 

Try not to get drunk, that would be disastrous.

Now cut up some onions (one of those cute little yellowy ones, they're not as strong as the white ones), heat up some olive oil in a pan and throw them in with some crushed garlic.
Side Note: yes, there is quite a bit of garlic on this one, but unless you're Edward Cullen it won't kill you. To make things easier on you, get some of that minced garlic in a jar. It will come in handy in the future.

Once they get all nice and golden - and golden does not mean brown! - throw in the sweet stuff. Now there are several ways to do this. If you can afford to get some raspberry vinegar and fresh raspberries go with that. I used some raspberry sauce (yes, I am aware I said don't earlier, but that's all I had) with balsamic vinegar and a little bit of wine. Turn the heat down and let the sauce reduce (that's fancy talk for "thicken")

 

The Sauce

In the meantime, brown your agneau - that's lamb - on both sides for a few minutes and then stick it in the oven. Make sure you pat dry your meat, otherwise it won't brown properly.

I give it about 10 minutes or so depending on how thick your meat is. I like mine medium rare... This part is really just a waiting game. 

The Meat

 Now if you want you can cook up some rice or potatoes to go with this. I decided to do some rice (yes, with garlic, a la peruvienne!) 

And voila...

 

  

And now... dessert !

I made some whipped cream.

How? Well you pour some cream into a bowl, tip it over to the side, and whisk until it becomes... what do you know, whipped cream!

I am plenty aware that the whipped cream wasn't ready, but I was tempted to have some!

And there you go! Agneau aux Framboises with garlic bread and strawberries with whipped cream for dinner.

Go impress someone.

A Cooking Adventure

Fine dining is expensive, especially for students and new graduates.

Upon having some free time on my hands, I decided to start cooking some fine meals (and by fine, I just mean an actual meal that doesn't consist of McDonald's nuggets) and documenting my findings.

Some fails, some successes.. Either way, I'll have to eat it !