Pork Chops

Pork Chops with Apples and Mashruni Sauce

Get some fresh chops from the grocery store or a butcher.
Place two in a large zip lock bag - do not zip.

Beat the chops with a meat tenderizer of meat mallet so they become nice and soft and increase in surface area.
In a bowl - mix an egg, some milk, salt, pepper
On a large plate - spread some bread crumbs and some flower, add a bit of salt, some finely chopped fresh dill and parsley, add some garlic powder or onion powder if you wish

Dip the chop in the egg-milk mix (drench it)

Flip it around in the crumbs-flower mix
Place it on a pre-heated skillet with olive oil (I used sunflower oil - i like the taste better)

Golden brown it on one side for a few minutes on medium to low heat.
Now do the same to the other side.
Pork cooks fast so you only need about 7-10 minutes on each side.

Throw in a few slices of green Granny Smith apples
Cover and let sit on low heat for a few minutes.
The meat should be white and tender inside, and golden (not necessarily crispy) on the outside.

The Sauce:
Slice an onion and sautee on medium heat with butter and salt in a small pan.
Add one or two green onions (scallions), add some mushrooms (shiitake add the best flavor - dried shiitake are good for this).
Throw in some chopped dill and parsley, some spices and herbs
Salt, pepper.
When the butter is fully absorbed add about four tablespoons of soy sauce.

Let all that sautee and sizzle.
In a bowl mix some stock or broth (beef, chicken or veggie - your choice)
Add a tablespoon of mayonnaise, mix untill the liquid is white like milk.
Slowly add the mixture to the pan
It will take in the soy sauce and sauteed juices and turn brown.

Slowly keep adding the mixture.

Keep the sauce on low heat for a few more minutes.

Taste for salt and spice.

All together this is an amazing meal...its delicious, its juicy and soft and not very hard to make. Everybody loved it, the sauce turned out "magical" according to one guest.

Ribs!

BBQ Ribs made in your Oven

Easy and fast. So good.

Four Chinese style cut Pork Chops ( I got mine at the grocery store - they looked great, fresh, juicy, and it said "Chinese style cut" on the label)
I pre-heated a pan with some oil on it, some salt, and pepper.
Placed the fresh ribs in the pan and lightly toasted them on each side for about a minute.
Now the whole thing goes in the oven.
(use a pan that you can also put in the oven, or just remove the ribs from the pan and place in an oven safe dish)
Drench them in your favorite BBQ sauce (i used three different kinds: Masterpiece, Jack Daniels, and Open Pit)
Keep them in the oven on about 350* to 375*, flipping them over and adding sauce for about 15 minutes.

Done!

Don't keep them in the oven too long so that they stay juicy.
Serve them as they are or add a salad, corn, whatever you're taste desires.

I put a bit of fruit on the side: its good to have something fruity and refreshing to go with the ribs.

Here you see some PASSION FRUIT and a BLACK APRICOT.

These ribs were amazing and everyone ate them up like crazy. And...you don't need a grill!

Enjoy!

French Onion

French Onion Soup

One of my favorite, easy, fast and tasty things to make and eat.

Slice a large Vidalia Onion into 1/4 inch rings.
Sautee in a pan with butter until brown and golden and delicious onion juice and butter have formed a nice coating on the bottom of the pan.

In a pot boil four cups of water.
Add five cups of stock or broth (chicken, beef or vegetable - your choice).
For that real full body taste add four or five beef scallops to the soup.
Add a small whole onion.
Add a small handful of white rice.
Add a Bay Leaf.
Throw in about three black pepper heads.
Salt.
Add a bit of chopped dill and parsley.

Let all of that boil.
Taste for salt.

When the onions are done in the pan:
Add those to the pot. Stir, boil.
And...you're done!

Toast a couple slices of french baguette.
Use the same pan from the onions.
Place the toast in your serving bowl.

Ladle the soup in. Make sure to get a good amount of onions in there and perhaps a piece of meat.

Grate some cheese over the top, or place a nice thin slice right over the bowl. Serve as the cheese slowly melts into the soup. Mmmmm!

(Add flavors and spices as you go: if it tastes to you like the soup could use more flavor, add some more stock or salt, and so on...be creative...don't be afraid.)

Sprats in Green

Sprats or Shprotty in Russian are small oily fish, a sardines of sort, that come in small, round, flat, cans. You can buy those at any grocery or at any Russian grocery store. Look for the Russian black and gold label - those are the best! The Cyrillic resembles these letters: Wnpomu.


Here I simply placed a few on a slice of sweet green pepper wrapped in a thin slice of ham. No big deal. Everyone invents their own snacks all the time.

People cook with these all the time: putting them in almost any kind of dish imaginable. The taste is somewhat smoky. Its delicious!

Buckweat Mushroom

Buckweat with a soupy mushroom sauce and beef scallops.

Icy Shiraz Lemonchi

Veggies with Couscous

Garlic and Coriander Sauce with Beef Bites

Slow boil beef, with black pepper corns, bay leaf, salt, parsley. Cool. Cut into 1inch pieces. Serve cold. The cutting razor of flavors from the Garlic-Coriander sauce and the soft and deep flavor of the meat make your mouth say "what just happend? ...that was awesome! ...i want more! ...mmm." Good with a rose wine or a red Ale beer.

The Lemon Beef

Beef Steak marinaded in oils, herbs, garlic and lemons, breaded and pan fried. Cauliflower with butter toasted bread crumbs. Carrot Fries. Passion fruit, kiwi, cucumber salsa.

Ingredients:

Salt, pepper
Beef
Cauliflower
Carrots
Cucumber
Kiwi
Passion Fruit
Parsley
Dill
Bread Crumbs
White Flower
Vegetable Oil
Butter
Lemons
Garlic

How to make this:

THE BEEF:

Marinade your steak or beef kabobs in a cup of oil, squeeze some lemon into it, add salt, pepper, rosemary, chopped garlic, and oregano. Let marinade for about an hour. Let sit over night in your fridge and its even better.

Take a cup of bread crumbs and mix with 1/2 cup of white flower. Add some freshly chopped parsley and dill, some salt and pepper and give it all a toss.
Break and beat an egg in a small bowl.

Dip the beef into the egg then roll it in the crumbs/flower mix.

Pre-heat a pan for about a minute. Place the crumbed beef onto the pan and pour all the leftover marinade (with all the herbs and lemons) onto the beef. Cover the pan. Let fry for about 2 minutes. Flip. Do the other side. It should smell fabulous. Little chunks of beef will cook quickly, especially the marinaded ones. Once they are golden/brown and the room is filled with awesome smells you can turn the heat down.

THE CAULIFLOWER:

Wash and cut into smaller portions.
Boil in water with some salt for about 3 minutes.
Melt about a tablespoon or two of butter in a pan, throw the leftover crumbs and flower mix, add some crumbs if need to. Toast the mix a little in the butter.
Remove the cauliflower from the water and place into the pan. Mix it with the crumbs and butter, heat, the cauliflower should golden and pic up the mix. Salt.

THE CARROTS:

Slice into thin, narrow strands.
Pre-heat about a cup of vegetable oil.
Place the carrots in the oil.
Deep fry like french fries.
Salt.
Once they turn bright orange and begin to get that crispy, fried look - they're done.

THE SALSA:

Chop a medium sized cucumber.
Chop a kiwi.
Mix everything in a small bowl.
Add two Passion Fruits (just the inside)
Add lemon or lemon juice.
Add some cranberry juice.
A dash of salt and white pepper.
A bit of olive oil if you prefer.

Its refreshing and interesting and great with your fried beef steaks.

Arrange nicely and serve.

Tomato Artisan

A quick, light snack of Grilled or Pan Friend Artisan bread with Olive Oil. Sliced fresh tomatoes with Garlic, Parsley, and Dill. Sautee some fresh baby Portabella Mushrooms with some Garlic and Olive Oil. Keep it on medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. Add to the tomatoes and mix it all up. Put a great big tasty portion on your toasty bread and serve.

Beef Couscous Stew

Beef Gnocchi Soup

Ingredients:

Beet juice.
Broth
Beef
White flower
Egg
Potato
Parsley
Salt, pepper
Onion
Bay leaf
Baby portabella mushrooms

Steps:

In a medium pot:
Boil about 3 cups of water
Add a cup of beet juice (you can get that from a can of sliced beets - grocery store)
Add about 1 1/2 or 2 cups of broth (home made or canned)
Add the beef (slice it into thin, narrow pieces about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch deep, 1/2 inch wide.
Add one sliced mushroom.
Add a small onion or half a large onion.
Add a bay leaf.
Add some parsley and dill.
Salt, Pepper.
Bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down, heat for about 10 more minutes. Turn the heat off. Your broth/beef soup is done.

THE GNOCCHI:

Boil a potato.
Mix flower, egg, riced potato. Make a nice dense dough. Cut into three portions. Roll into long rolls. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces (make shapes if you want). Drop into the soup, boil again until they float up.

Simple Veggie Stew

Melted Eggplant

Ingredients:

Eggplant
Polenta*

Cheese (in this picture I used sharp cheddar)

Fresh Baby Spinach and/or Basil

Tomato

Garlic

Olive Oil or Sunflower Oil
Parsley, Dill

Salt, Pepper, Spices

Steps:

Eggplant:
Take a medium sized eggplant.
It should be dark purple, firm, not bruised or soft, or wrinkly.

Slice it lenghtwise into 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch slices. (1/4 inch cooks faster)

Pre-heat a pan with oil, salt, some crushed garlic.
Lay the slices separately across the surface.
Keep the heat medium, or low.

Eggplants take about 12-20minutes to cook this way.
They should be golden brown on the outside and buttery inside.

It should smell like pan fried or sauteed veggies.
Keep adding oil accordingly as they soak up a lot of it.
When done, turn the heat off.
Place a thin slice of cheese on each eggplant and fold once.

Let sit for about a minute.

Polenta:

In a separate pan: Pre-heat with some oil, salt, garlic.
Slice the polenta into 1/4inch or 1/2 inch slices (1/4 inch looks nicer)

You can get pre-packaged polenta at the grocery store.

Gently place in the pan on medium heat.

Sprinkle some parsley and dill on top. Give it a squeeze of lemon juice.
Gently turn it over when it begins to golden on one side.

Be careful with the polenta because it can be fragile and you want it to keep its shape.

Golden on the other side.
You should know it is done when the whole thing turns yellow.

It should smell like cornmeal or grits.

Presentation:

On a little plate:
Lay out some Fresh baby spinach leaves (2 or 3)

Place the polenta on top.
Cut a Fresh slice of tomato (make sure its really red and juicy and smells good, otherwise it'll taste dull and watery and ruin the entire dish)
Take the eggplants off the pan and place on top of that.

Voila! Add a few leaves of fresh parsley for looks and taste and serve.

Wine: Shiraz, Malbec
White: Pinot Gris

Great appetiser or snack or light meal. Enjoy!

*polenta is a porridge or mush usually made of ground corn (maize) cooked in salted water. Cheese and butter or oil are often added. Polenta can be eaten hot or cold as a porridge; or it can be cooled until firm, cut into shapes, and then baked, toasted, panfried, or deep-fried. It is a traditional food of northern Italy.

Borsh

The first thing about real Ukrainian Borsh (or Borsch) is that only your Mama can make the best borsh. However, when you can't have your Mama's borsh, and the red menace takes hold of you, you've got to know how to do it yourself.

Here is how:

Ingredients:

(If you can, use only the freshest ingredients. In this recipe I'm going to tell you how to make a fast, affordable borsh)

Two cans of skinless tomatoes in tomato juice
A can of tomato paste
Two cans of broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable stock)
(real borsh is made with real beef)
Onion
3 Beets (or two cans of sliced beets)
Fresh Cabbage
Potato
Carrot
Fresh Parsley
Bay leaf
Salt, pepper, spices

Steps:

Add six or seven cups of cold water to a pot and set on medium heat
Add 2 cans of broth
Add 2 cans of tomatoes (open the can and pour the juice out into the pot, take the tomatoes out of the can and slice them on a cutting board then place into the pot)
Add a table spoon of tomato paste
Add a bay leaf or two
Add salt

Throw in a few black pepper heads
Clean and peal a medium sized onion, throw the whole thing in (don't chop)

Throw in a handful of fresh parsley
Let all that boil and heat

If you are using canned beets:
Open the cans
Pour the juice out into the pot
Take the beets out and cut into quarters
Throw those in

If you are using fresh beets:

I like to boil the beets first before even starting the borsh. But you can also just slice and cut into quarters and throw the raw beets in with all the other ingredients.
Beets can take up to an hour to cook. To check for when they are done: use a thin sharp knife. if it goes through the center of the beet without any resistance the beets are done.

Take a medium sized cabbage:

Cut in half.
Set it on its flat side.
Cut in half again.
Chop into slices (slices should be about 1/4 each)
Throw all that into the pot.

Peal a potato.
Cut into quarters.
chop into small squares.
Add to the pot.

Peal a carrot.

Cut in half lengthwise.

Chop.

Goes in the pot. Be creative with your vegetables. Add a celery for that extra fresh kick.

Stir it all up.
Let boil.

Once it boils: taste and add salt and pepper to taste.

Lower the heat and cook until all the ingredients are soft and cooked all the way.
The Cabbage should be completely soft and not crunch or chewy at all.

The borsh should be pretty dense because of all the cabbage and other veggies, this is good. If its too dense, feel free to add a bit of water or broth.

Serve hot. Mix in a teaspoon of sour cream and a nice slice of fresh bread on the side.

The borsh should have that fresh tomato soup taste and be a deep red color. If you add too much beets (which is ok) the color will be more purple than red. Everybody makes theirs different.

*For that real ethnic flavor: make some Garlic Sauce and Dumplings to go along with the Borsh, take a couple vodka shots with that and you’ll feel the full experience. I’ll tell you about the Garlic Dumplings in the next post. Enjoy!

The Frenchy

Shiitake!

Shiitake Mushrooms with Sauteed Onions, Sauce and Herbs

(great with pastas, rice, steak, or just the way it is)

Try with some cold or hot Sake

Poached Egg Scallions

This is one of my favorite things to make for breakfast!

Ingredients:

Egg

Piece of ham (Canadian Bacon)

Fresh tomato

Spinach leaf (or 2)

Slice of baguette, or toast

Bacon

Parsley

Scallions

Salt

Frying pan

Butter

How to make it:

Crack the egg over a boiling pot and smoothly slide it into the water.

It will start to make little white antenas in the water, thats ok.

Boil until white and round all over.

Meanwhile:

Cut a nice big round slice of your favorite tomato.

Cut a slice of Fresh French Baguette.

On a little pan:

Put a teaspoon of butter, let melt.

Toast the bread for a little on both sides until it looks golden and delicious.

It should still be a little soft and fresh inside, not cooked to a crisp, ok.

Chop up some bacon.

Take the toast off the pan.

Drop the bacon in the pan.

Fry the bacon a little, just enough so its toasty but not crispy.

Final Presentation:

Plase the toast on the plate

On the toast put down a few fresh Spinach leaves(add sause: optional: see sause below)

Put the tomato on top of that

Salt, Pepper

Take a fresh slice of Canadian Bacon, make a ring, place on top of tomato

Place the egg inside the ring

Sprinkle with fried bacon, choped scallions, parsley, (add your favorite fresh herbs)
Now serve with a delightfull proud grin as if you just created a masterpeice.

Enjoy.

Sauce:
(Don't add the sauce if you want to keep it light)

In the same little frying pan add some heavy whipping cream or half-and-half.

The frying pan should still have some butter and fried bacon juices on it.

Salt, pepper, herbs.

Mix in a teaspoon of Mayonnaise.

Stir while cooking.

Add a table spoon of your favorite melting cheese: chedar, swiss, mozzarela, jack, even romano will do.

Stir until it becomes slightly more dense.
Pour over the toast before all the other ingrediens go on it.

Or pour over the whole sandwich when its all put together. Its yummy!

Zucci Shtooki

Broccoli Salmon Dinner

This is so good for you!

Its full of vitamins and other great stuff.

Its fresh, its almost fat free.

Most importantly it is so easy to make.

The salmon cooks itself, you just add vegies, the oils and the spices, and cook the pasta.

Ingredients:
Salmon

Thin Spaghetti

Butter

Broccoli

Spinach

Parsley

Sunflower Oil or Olive Oil

Salt, Pepper, Spices

How to make it:
Boil the spaghetti, follow cooking directions on the box.

I like to cook it just a minute under for perfect al dente.

Also, I sometimes salt the water a little and sometimes add half of teaspoon of butter - it makes the pasta tastier and easier to serve later.

Salmon:Option 1 (Pan Fried):

Fresh Salmon should be pink, it should smell fresh.

Get a nice slice from your grocery store or fish market.

Pre-heat the pan on medium heat with a teaspoon of butter or oil.

Place the salmon in the pan, pink side down.

Add a piece of galic.Salt.A slice of lemon.

A couple black pepper balls.

Chop up a bit of parsley, throw it in.

Cook the salmon until the pink starts to brown and crisp and getting that fried look.

Flip it over.

Add a bit of oil.

Cover with Fresh Spinach and Broccoli.

Salt, Pepper, Squeeze some lemon.

Cook until the other side is is crispy.

The vegetables will cook themeselves.

One the skin on the salmon is crispy golden/brown - turn the heat of.

Option 2: (Steamed Salmon)

This is great. It doesnt use any oil or butter. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Usually makes the salmon more tender and soft, juicy, and the flavors are all there. This is my favorite way.

Presentation:

Place a desired amount of spaghetti on your plate.

Salmon goes on top.

All the vegies on top of that.

There should be a good amount of juices in the pan.

Grab a spoonfull and pour all over the entire dish.
Mmmm…..thats good.

Green Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:
Chicken, Beef, or Vegetable Stock or Broth (2 cans from the grocery store will do)SpinachMushrooms (any that you like - I used Shiitake in this soup)

Onion (or green onion - Scallions: use about six or eight)

Garlic

Butter

Parsley

Bay

Leaf

Dill

Spices

Rice

Tkemali (Georgian Sauce) *

How to Make it:
Pour about five or six cups of water into a pot.

Set on Medium Heat

Add two cans of broth or four to six cups of stock

Throw in an onion (or half of a large one)

Throw in a bay leaf

Take about six strands of parsley, tie them together with another strand and throw that in.(Parsley Flakes will work - but nothing beats the fresh stuff)

Throw in about six handfulls of fresh spinach

Salt, Pepper, Spices (add your of choice of spices, but salt and pepper is enough)

Throw in a handfull of rice (I used white rice in here)

Bring to a boil and turn the heat down a bit
Meanwhile: In a medium frying pan:
Chop up some onion and throw onto a pre-heated pan with a piece of butter in it.

Mix it up, salt, pepper.

Ladle a bit of the soup thats being cooked out of the pot into the pan.

This will make the onions soft and tasty.

Add some chopped parsley.

Throw in a handfull of spinach.

Add the mushrooms.

Add another half ladle.

Cover for a few minutes.

Sprinkle some dill.

Stir

Mix a couple times until the stuff is golden and brownish, yet moist and juicy.

Most, but not all of the soupy stuff should be absorbed into the vegies by now.
Your kitchen area should be filling up with awesome smells right about now.
Now throw all that into the soup.
Mix, stir.

Taste, add salt, pepper, whatever else you think will be good.

I thought some Tkemali would be great so I added a teaspoon of that.

Its a Georgian Sauce (made in Bulgaria) made of green plums, sugar, coriander, spices and other stuff.

Its all natural, its pretty potent and strong so just a bit will do.

The Tkemali added a wonderful little mistery flavor to the soup.
Serve hot or cold, with a toasty baguette or a slice of black german bread.

Wine Plater

Some necessary ingredients for a fast snack with some wine:

Cheese

Cheese

Cheese

Some type of Salami or Smoked Sausage

Fresh Baguette

Olives

My other favorite is: In a little or large plate: pour a decent amount of olive oil, add to that some soy sauce, sprinkle some oregano, some sundried tomatoes and cheese, dip the bread in and savor the flavors.

The 4th

BBQ pork baby back Ribs and BBQ Chickencomes with fresh boiled or BBQ corn on the cobb and a tall, cold beer

Red Wine Steak and Mushroom Dinner

BBQ Garden Plums and German Sausages

Magic Duck

Ingredients:

Duck

Potatoes

Salt

Sunflower Oil

Apples

Herbs

How to Make It:

1. The Easy Way (3 serving)

Buy pre-cooked duck. Preferably packaged and seasoned in French culinary style. Its delicious! I get mine from Costco sometimes. I recomend it.
Open the package (the Costco package has 3 legs each).

Take the duck out of there and place in a pan.

Put on stove.

Heat.

Cover with lid.

You don’t need to add oil or butter as the duck is full of its own yummy juicy oils.

(Optional: Add butter or oil to taste if you want.)

Add about six tablespoons of water while heating.

This makes the duck tender and soft, and heats faster.

Cut three aples into quarters.

Add to the duck.

Salt just a bit.

Add some fresh parsley.

Heat until the apples are spreadable and the pan has filled up with a thin layer of juices from the duck and the apples.

When the meat starts to pull away from the bone it is done!

Perfect!

It should smell meaty and a little like apples.

2. The harder way: how to make the duck into “magic duck” using raw duck: coming soon!

Meanwhile: the potatoes.

Medium sized potatoes: cut in half and then slice.

Large potatoes: cut into quarters, then slice.

Pre-heat the pan with sunflower oil for about 40 seconds.

Drop the potatoes in.

Heat, stir, and flip as they golden.

Use a sharp thin knife to check when they are done.

If the knife goes in like butter and the potato almost crumbles then its ready, maybe a little too ready.

It should smell like french fries.

Assemble nicely on a pretty place.

Add herbs and serve.

Cabernet Sauvignon is a great whine with this dish.

Shiraz Cabernet is another good one.

All together this is a magical dish.

Serve with a side of your favorite cheese.

I recommend a nice Bre or Romano.

Throw in a few fresh fruits on the side like grapes, raspberries, or fresh apricots and you are set for a mouth watering, slow eating, delightfull evening of yummy bliss. Enjoy!