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Friday, April 29, 2011

PICKLED MEATLOAF RECIPE

PICKLED MEATLOAF RECIPE

Ingredients

1 egg
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup dill pickle juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 slice bread, torn into small pieces
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped dill pickles
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 8x8 inch baking dish.

Beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the onion, pickle juice, salt, and pepper. Stir in the bread until soggy, then mix in the ground beef until evenly combined. Form into a loaf and place into the prepared pan. Stir together the chopped pickles, ketchup, water, sugar, and Worcestershire sauce; pour over the meatloaf.

Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

GRILLED CHICKEN THIGH RECIPE

GRILLED CHICKEN THIGH RECIPE

Ingredients

2 (6 ounce) containers plain yogurt
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground coriander
16 chicken thighs
olive oil spray


Directions

In a medium bowl, stir together yogurt, salt, pepper, cloves, and ginger. Mix in garlic, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and coriander. Set aside.

Rinse chicken under cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken, press air out of bag, and seal. Turn the bag over several times to distribute marinade. Place bag in a bowl, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight, turning bag occasionally.

Preheat an outdoor grill for direct medium heat. Remove chicken from bag, and discard marinade. With paper towels, wipe off excess marinade. Spray chicken pieces with olive oil spray.

Place chicken on the grill, and cook about 2 minutes. Turn, and cook 2 minutes more. Then arrange the chicken to receive indirect heat, and cook approximately 35 to 40 minutes, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F.

CHEF PREPARING FOR THE NEW RESTAURANT

My restaurant is already near its opening. Everything are already in place like the recipe for the week, equipments and the kitchen are all completed. I am just waiting for my chef friends to help me in the advertisement for the new resto. I already requested from the dean of the culinary school that I have to take at least 3 days leave from the cooking school and I am glad that my request was granted without any problem.

I would admit that I am good in cooking but not in the advertising side. Arabella, a good friend a and a chef assisted me well in the restaurant advertisements. We made streamers, posters, radio announcements and television appearances and even email direct marketing for the new restaurant. We have made a good effort here because many customers are calling already and asking about the dishes that we are about to prepare for the opening. I am excited and a little bit afraid. I know, a chef like me is already quaint with so many people but still nothing beats the first time. I just hope that my new customers would like the recipes that we have prepared in the opening day.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS WITH SHALLOTS RECIPE

ROASTED ASPARAGUS WITH SHALLOTS RECIPE

Ingredients

2 bunches fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
4 medium shallots, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Place the asparagus and shallots in a large bowl, and pour the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar over them. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat evenly. Spread the asparagus spears out in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender and bright green. Shake the pan about half way through to roll the spears over so they cook evenly. Remove from the oven, and drizzle the remaining vinegar over the asparagus. Toss lightly to coat, and serve immediately.

NEW RESTAURANT READY TO BE OPEN

My new restaurant is now ready to be at service in the coming days. The concept of having a branch of the restaurant was my husbands idea. Our old location of the main restaurant is already small for the functions that we are catering every week. The new branch of the restaurant is the best idea. The location is located just 20 meters away from the main restaurant. It is equipped with air conditioners, wi-fi and the place is French inspired.

The resturant logo has already been placed. It was created by web logo design and it is perfectly made for the restaurant. The branch of the restaurant has three regular chefs and 5 assistant inside the kitchen to make the cooking smoothly. The recipes that will be cooked in the restaurant has to pass by the head chef and that it me. The final business papers for the restaurant is already placed in the wall as recommend by the restaurant association in the city. Opening of the restaurant will be on Monday. I am already very excited about the opening.

GARLIC ASPARAGUS WITH EXTRA LIME RECIPE

GARLIC ASPARAGUS WITH EXTRA LIME RECIPE

Ingredients

1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium shallot, minced
1 bunch fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
1/4 lime, juiced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Melt butter with olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and shallots, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in asparagus spears; cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Squeeze lime over hot asparagus, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving plate, and garnish with lime wedges.

CHEF LEARNS A NEW THING

I am here in the province right for some cooking lessons for a bunch of students that are very interested to learn how to cook. These are not culinary students or Hotel and Restaurant management students who have a culinary as part of their curriculum. These are computer students just having fun. I already requested a leave from the culinary school for the day just to teach these students how to cook the right way.

Its a 4 hours ride just to go to the location where I am right now and it is very exciting for a chef like to me roam around the country not flying on airplanes but just on bus and public utility transport services. I have already prepared the recipes that I will be teaching to these students and they also a small surprise for me regarding my recipe website, this is a great exchange of ideas. As a chef managing a website, I really have to maximize the potential of my website by allowing ppc services on my website. Fascinating.

I was completely surprise with the idea of this in my recipe blog and I just completed the steps for the services. I am home bound now. The day was a complete, I was able to teach students on how to cook and they also taught me how to use the ppc services.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

EGG SALAD SANDWICH RECIPE

EGG SALAD SANDWICH RECIPE

Ingredients

8 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
1/4 cup chopped green onion
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions

Place egg in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop.

Place the chopped eggs in a bowl, and stir in the mayonnaise, mustard and green onion. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Stir and serve on your favorite bread or crackers.