Cauliflower Mornay.

I love cauliflower and I love it done like this. It is very simple. The trick of course is to cook the cauliflower to the point where it will hold together and still be cooked throughout. The takes a bit of practice but a general rule is to cook it in plain boiling water with a little salt until just you can break off one of the buds. Then you plunge it into iced water to stop it from cooking. You keep the original cooking water warm and when you are ready to dress your cauliflower you heat it up in there.

Mornay sauce is just bechamel with Swiss cheese and a beaten egg yolk cooked over hot water as you would for a hollandaise sauce. You will find perfectly good recipes for this on the Internet but one little tip for your bechamel : add a bay leaf, a couple of cloves and some onion to it while it is cooking and make sure that it cooks for a good ten minutes on a slow heat.

Roasted Sturgeon Filet, Blackened Onions, Risotto And Guacamole.

This is a nice piece of sturgeon which is indigenous to this area along the Columbia River. It is marinated in citrus rind, garlic, red onion and olive oil for about an hour. Then it is roasted in a pan with some lemon and lime wedges and some garlic cloves and finally served over a red pepper risotto with onions that have been braised in much the same manner as the fish. Really good dish.

Simplicity Itself.

Roast Turkey Breast, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.

Chorizo Sausage With Root Vegetables And Rice, Fresh Tomato Sauce

This is a kind of makey up dish that I do from time to time. It is very tasty and very simple. There is no real recipe for it. All you really need is some sausage, in this case chorizo, whatever kinds of vegetables you have in the fridge and some rice.

To make it you cut the vegetables and sausages into large pieces. Put a little oil in the bottom of a saucepan. Add the vegetables and saute them really well, then add the sausages and a little tomato paste. Add ozs of rice to this mix and lots of chopped garlic and salt and pepper.

Add double the amount of liquid to rice and bring to the boil. Then lower the heat and let simmer on the stove until cooked. Most of the time you won't need a sauce with this but I added a tomato sauce because I like tomato sauce.

Correct seasoning and serve in a soup plate.

Roesti Potatoes With Zuricher

Roesti potatoes are known as hash browns in the United States. It is not the same thing however. Much care is taken over roesti in Germany compared to the hash browns here. You parboil the potatoes and let them cool. While they are cooling you cut a slice of smoked bacon into strips and you chop some onions. Let the bacon cook in the pan and add the onions cook until both are cooked. Grate the potato on the large side of the grater and add salt and pepper. I usually add a little garlic and chopped parsley at this stage. Cook until golden brown.

Pork or Veal Dish.,

400 grams of veal or pork, cut into even strips

300 grams of mushrooms

1 onion diced

Cup of white wine

½ cup of heavy cream

A little brown stock

Salt and pepper

Chopped parsley

Sear the meat in a little oil until it is brown

Add the chopped onion and then the white wine and reduce

until dry

Add the brown stock, cream and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are cooked and the sauce has thickened.

Add the chopped parsley, correct the seasoning a

and serve with the potatoes.

One Pot Boiled Dinner

I know I do this very often but this is the season for these types of dishes and this one never disappoints. Carrots, Zucchini, A whole potato, Celery, Cabbage, A whole onion, White turnips and Celery all slowly boiled together with beef ribs and breast of chicken. Served with a strong horseradich cream.

What could be better?

Baked Salmon And Cappellini Pasta

This is a cappellini ( angel hair )pasta in garlic cream sauce with a 5 ounce filet of baked salmon. The pasta has sauteed fresh artichokes, mushrooms asparagus and fresh tomato in it and the salmon has been baked in a medium oven with white wine, butter and salt and pepper.

To make the garlic cream sauce you chop up a shallot and put it into a saucepan. Add about 3/4 of a cup of white wine, a bay leaf a sprig of thyme and reduce to dry. Pull the pan away from the heat and add 2 cups of heavy cream and reduce by about a third. Add a good amount of chopped of garlic ( to taste ) and allow to cook until the garlic is infuse then season, pass through a fine strainer and put aside until the other ingredients are ready.

This sauce can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator.

Salmon Cake With Baked Potato Fries And Fresh Tartar Sauce

This is the salmon from the other day.

Fresh Artichoke And Chicken Tajine

Got some fresh artichoke for two for a dollar the other day. I know, I know, another tajine but it is one of my favorite dishes. \

Tagine (substitute chicken or fish)

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 pounds lamb meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

2 teaspoons paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or a couple of whole cloves

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

2 medium onions cut into 1-inch cubes

5 carrots, peeled, cut into fourths, then sliced lengthwise into thin strips

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

Zest from 1 lemon

1 (14.5 ounce) can homemade chicken broth or low-sodium canned broth (Use water instead)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Cinnamon stick

DIRECTIONS

Place the diced lamb in a bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and set aside. In a large resealable bag, toss together the paprika, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, salt, ginger, saffron, garlic powder, and coriander; mix well. Add the lamb to the bag, and toss around to coat well. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of the lamb, and brown well. Remove to a plate, and repeat with remaining lamb. Add onions and carrots to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh garlic and ginger; continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Return the lamb to the pot and stir in the lemon zest, chicken broth, tomato paste, and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender.

You can use any kind of root vegetable with this. You can also add dates or dried apricots

Tavuk Izgara: A Turkish Dish Of Yogurt Marinated Chicken

This is a really good dish. Marinating meat in yougurt is something that is done all over the middle. It is usually lamb that is marinated with yogurt and mint and grilled the next day on skewers.

I adapted this from a recipe I found.

10 ozs. Of breast or thigh of chicken per person

1 cup of plain yogurt

4 cloves of garlic

Tip of a teaspoon of ground cumin (to taste)

Chopped mint

Salt and pepper

½ lime

Mix the dry ingredients with the yogurt and add the garlic

Immerse the chicken into this mix

Cut the lime in slices and place on top.

Cover with plastic and marinate in the fridge overnight

Next day cut some sweet peppers and onions into largish chunks and cook in a little oil until tender. Leave to cool.

Skewer the meat alternately with the peppers and onions.

Cook the skewers in a pan or on the barbeque and serve on a rice pilaf.

Note:

The legs will take longer to cook than the breasts so use one or the other.

I added some curry powder to this rice pilaf and it went very well.

Fresh Salmon Heads And Backs

$3.00. The makings of about six fish cakes. Great deal.

These can be made with crab and usually are: however, if you find scraps of fish on sale you can easily make a few fish cakes cheaply.

Poach the bones or scraps and allow to cool. Then separate the bones from the meat. Flake the meat into a bowl and add a little mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. Add to this some white breadcrumbs to soak up the wetness from the mayonnaise. Some people add crushed graham crackers I believe. Season with salt and pepper and form into patties counting two per person.

This is a quick and easy method. You can also add chopped herbs or diced peppers to the mix. As long as they retain their shape and not get too moist you can add anything you want.

I serve these with a home made tartar sauce and some lemon with french fries and a little salad.

Poule Au Pot

This is an old traditional recipe in the way of ' pot au feu'. It means chicken in a pot and that is exactly what it is. This is a dish that starts off with all the basic ingredient: chicken/vegetables/root vegetables/herbs/water and ends up as a delicious dinner that is most appropriate for this time of the year.

I large chicken

I large onion, halved

3 leeks, washed , trimmed and split

2 carrots

fresh parlsey

celery hearts

bay leaf

baby carrots

bably turnips

black peppercorns

Thyme and bay leaf.

Put the chicken in a pot slightly larger than the size of the chicken. fill with water and add all the ingredients except the potatoes and root vegetables. Bring to boil quickly , then immediately reduce the heat, cover the pot and leave to simmer for about an hour depending on the size of the chicken.

Then add the root vegetables and the potatoes and cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

When done place chicken in the middle of a serving dish and surround with the vegetables. Add a little broth and sever.

This can be served with aioli or a strong horseradish sauce.

Chicken Breast Slow Braised In White Wine, Cream And Porcini Mushrooms .

This chicken breast is stuffed with feta cheese, sweet garlic and parsley. You do this by cutting a pocket in the breast and stuffing it with the mixture. Then you slowly saute it in oil and butter, than you add white wine and reduce with some chopped shallots. Add white wine, cream and a little chicken stock and slowly braise until done. Serve with noodles or rice pilaf.

Beef And Porter Stew, Carrot And Cheddar Crust.

This is very simple: Make a stew, any kind of stew. This one here is a beef and vegetable stew with a cup of porter in it while it is cooking. Make a puree of carrots and potatoes with twice the amount of carrots to potatoes and add any herb you have handy. When the stew is cooked let it cool a little and then put it into an earthenware dish or anything that is safe for the oven. Spread the carrot puree over the top with the aid of a palette knife and then sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of that. Put the whole thing in the oven until the cheese glazes and serve.

Stroganoff Of Beef, Butternut Squash And Sweet Peppers

Chili With Tossed Salad, Baked Potato And Guacamole

Chili recipe

6 strips of bacon

2lbs of boneless beef cubes

Kidney beans

1 can tomatoes cut up

1 finely chopped onion

Finely chopped onions

Diced carrots

Tomato paste

Finely chopped green bell pepper

Finely chopped celery

Chopped parsley

Minced garlic

Bay leaf

Chili powder

Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Fry bacon until crisp, add the beef and cook. Add all the vegetables and cook thoroughly. Add the tomato paste and cook thoroughly, until the tomato starts to color. Add a little flour and mix well. At this point add the garlic and the chili powder and the chopped tomatoes then add water and the beans. Bring to boil, season and allow to cook for a couple of hours.

The amounts here are purposely vague because everyone has a different idea of what hot is. The amount of chopped vegetables should be about 2/3 the volume of the meat but the seasoning ie. Chili powder/ garlic is strictly to taste. I like these things very hot so my seasoning would not do for everyone. Remember that you can always add chili powder but you can’t take it out. So go easy at first if you are not familiar with the product.

Risotto With Cauliflower And Spinach, Barbequed Chicken, Roasted Roma Tomatoes And Asparagus.

This was really good. So many flavors , so little time. This is a base of risotto with cauliflower folded into it. The chicken breast was barbecued in a medium oven with a few unpeeled garlic cloves. The tomatoes were drizzled with a little virgin olive oil and slow roasted in a slow oven for about an hour. The asparagus was blanched and then sauteed in a little butter and olive oil mix. Then the whole thing was assembled. There was no need for a sauce because all the elements were moist and succulent.