Sorry

Due to a large amount of school work, 2 a week must take a short break.

Week 8: Low(er) fat chicken parm

I don't have an oven so I had to do this on the stove. First start the sauce. You'll need:
A can of chopped tomatoes
A small jar of tomato puree
one onion
oregano, parsley and basil to taste
3 chopped garlic clove
2 tbsp olive oil

first cook the chopped onion in olive oil until soft. Then add the garlic until it is soft as well. Then add the rest of the ingrediants and cook on low for up to an hour.

For the chicken, dip it in egg and bread crumbs and instead of adding oil to the pan to cook, just brush a little bit on each side to cook. When it is cooked, if I had an oven a would pop it in the oven until the cheese melts but since i don't, put them on the frying pan on low with the cheese on top until it melts

Week 7: Chili

I forgot to take a picture of this one:

2 lbs. ground beef or ground chicken
1 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 16 ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 16 ounce can tomato puree
1 small can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon dried basil
j2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons steak sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt

This one is easy but not amazing (good, but not amazing.)
first cook the onions with the peppers and meat until cooked and drain
next add all other ingredients and cook for about 30 minutes.

Week 7: Thai Ginger Soup

I haven't posted anything in a long time, but that isn't because I haven't been cooking.
Here is my recipe for Thai Ginger Soup. SOOO good.

This serves 2 for an app or 1 for an entree

1 can cocanut soup
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp thinly sliced or diced galangal (or ginger)
4 tbsp lemon grass
1/4 cup lime juice
a splash of fish sauce
4-6 hot thai peppers
3-5 Kaffir lime leaves
a small bunch of cilantro
OPTIONAL
chicken cut into small pieces
1 serving of very thin rice noodles
I made mine without chicken and with the noodles

So, first boil the galangal and the lemon grass for a few minutes. At this point add the coconut milk. Once it is hot, add the chicken and all other ingredients except for the lime and cilantro and cook on low until the chicken is cooks. If you want to add the noodles, you need to cook them for about 4 or 5 minutes so add them accordingly. Once you remove the soup from the heat, mix in the lime and the cilantro
Remeber, don't eat the kaffir lime, the lemongrass or the peppers. If you eat the kaffir lime of the lemongrass, you won't die but if you eat the pepper, you might very well cry.

Week 6: Duck with honey sauce

This is really yummy!!
I am too tired to write too much about it, but here it is....

Ingredients

• 2 pretty large duck breasts

• 3 tablespoons honey

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• salt, pepper

Procedure

1. Notch the breast meat on the side of the skin, so that it will lose a maximum of fat while being cooked. Heat a large non-sticky pan and place the meat with the skin down, while keeping the heat high. Remove fat occasionally. Fry for 5 minutes. Turn them on the other side, lower the heat and cook also for 5 minutes. They have to remain rare.
   
2. Keep the meat warm covered with tin foil in oven at 120°.
   
3. During this time, deglaze the pan with vinegar and honey. Reduce to obtain a fine honey sauce. Check how seasoned it is.

Week 6: Fish and Chips

I did a not of cooking this weekend and it is all coming up today. On Friday, I decided to make fish and chips. Because the fish is really really friend with a decent amount of fat, I decided to make veggie chips instead of french fries.
They weren't as crunchy as french fries should be, but they were yummy none the less. I cut carrots, red peppers and zucchini into french fry size strips and threw them into a small amout of really hot oil so they would get a little bit crunchy on the outside, a little warm. but they were still naturally crunchy.
For the fish, I followed this recipe:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/74796/british-fish-and-chips.html

Enjoy!!!

Week 5: Ovenless Lasagna

This Lasagna is very good if you don't have an oven, but with the sligtly burned cheese on top and the crispy edges can only be done in the oven.

Nonetheless, it is really good.
I didn't really follow a recipe so here is my recipe:

sauce:
(you could always just buy it)
small sauteed onion
2 cloves sauteed garlic
small pack of chopped chirizo
2 cans of chopped tomatoes

Lots of mozz cheese (300 gms)
Lots of ricotta cheese (250 gms)
Lots of Parmisan cheese (50 gms)
Lasanga noodles (200 gms)
1/2 to 1 lb on ground beef

So, for the sauce, cook the onion until transparent then add the garlic and chirizo. when everything is slightly brown, add the tomatoes and cook for 15-30 minutes.

Use fresh Lasanga noodles or cook dried ones until a little harder than al dente

Cook the meat

When everything is cooked, layer them in a big pot, cover and cook on low for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!!!!

Week 5: Falafel

This recipe is a little delayed but I'm happy to post it. Michele and I decided to make falafels. Michele found the recipe on about.com. You can look at it here:

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/falafelrecipe.htm

It was interesting to make. The first batch completely fell apart in the oil, so we decided to add come egg, and it made all the difference.

We wanted to make some stuffed grape leaves, but we couldn't find the grape leaves, so we just cooked up come eggplant and ate the falafel with eggplant, tziki sauce, tomato and hummus.

Good eats... just don't forget the egg.

Week 4: Chicken Cordon Blue

This recipe was fun to make because it doesn't take too long and I love putting toothpicks in my food to make the right form.
I used this recipe from Squidoo, the "elegant" chicken cordon bleu.

http://www.squidoo.com/chicken-cordon-bleu

I didn't really read it before i started so there were a few suprized.

First of all, stuffing the chicken and closing it with toothpicks was fun, as I said, but it is actually really hard to take them out afterward!
Anyway, so i followed the recipe then realized that the chicken was supposed to cook for 30 minutes on low... and after about 20 I saw that the chicken was getting soggy, so i covered it with more flour and cooked it in oil, not in the sauce to make it nice and crispy. If I had been thinking, I would have put the mostly cooked chicken in eggs and breadcrumbs, but i didn't have any. I think it is important to cook it in the beginning as said because the wine gives it a nice flavor.
I continued making the sauce as said and I put it on the side.

Anyway, I liked it, Yvan liked it and we are both full... he's over there burping.

Week 4: Lapin a la moutarde

Lapin a la moutarde, or rabbit in a mustard sauce.
This meal takes hours to make, but you don't need to pay too much attention.
The prep time took maybe 45 minutes, then you just leave it for an hour and a half to two hours.
I got this recipe from The Frugal cook:

http://thefrugalcook.blogspot.com/2009/03/lapin-la-moutarde.html

The only difference is that I don't have an oven, so I left the 'lapin' covered on the stove for about an hour and 45 minutes on medium low heat. I just went to stir it every 20 minutes or so.

I recommend this recipe for anyone who wants a nice warm filling meal and who has time to make it! I am sure that it would be good with chicken as well if you're not so crazy about eating or cooking rabbit.

Nothing new

Hey! I just wanted to add my favorite way to cook green beans. I wouldn't call this a new recipe because I make it all the time-- on the same note, I don't really have measurements, but you can mix and match to cook it the way you like it.
I first boil frozen or fresh green beans until they are a little harder than how I like them... they will cook a little bit once you take them out.
Drain the green beans.
Then in a frying pan, I put a little bit of butter,just enough to cook the garlic (maybe a clove per serving) --so, cook the garlic until light brown and add the green beans and mix well. Then add a splash of white wine and a bit of black pepper, cook for a few minutes until the alcohol has evaporated, then add a little bit of lemon juice, take off heat and add some (or a lot in my case) salt and enjoy!!!
I like eating this with salmon which i cook on a frying pan on medium high heat for 4 minutes on each side (this leaves it slightly pink in the middle and very tender)

Enjoy!!

(these pictures were stolen from http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2009/webb_laur/images/salt-salmon-rs-640878-l.jpg and http://bestroominthehouse.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/09_22_13-green-beans_web.jpg)

Week 3: Poulet Rouge thailandais

Poulet Rouge thailandais, or in English, Red Thai chicken.

After my adventures in Belleville, I decided to dedicate at least a little while to Asian food, and I love thai.
I bought a cookbook which features mostly Asian meals, and this is the one that I chose.

It calls for a tablespoon on olive oil
two chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
4 Kaffir Lime leaves (I couldn't find fresh ones so I used 6 or 7 dried ones)
3 tablespoons of Ginger
2 tablespoons of Tamerin
2 tablespoons of red curry
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
600 ml of coconut milk-- which is about a can and a half
1 medium sweet potato, cut thin
a bunch of cilantro
a small container of cherry or grape tomatoes
I also added a little bit of cream and sugar to cut down the spice (it was a little much for Yvan.)

first cook the chicken with a little pit of olive oil, then when it is mostly cooked, add the Kaffir lime, ginger, tamerin, curry and garlic. let cook for a few minutes then add the potatoes and the coconut milk. let it simmer for about 20 minutes, then add the tomatoes and cilantro. cook for another 5 minutes then serve!!
I made some rice on the side, but i think rice noodles might be even better.
Be careful if you are sensitive to spice!!!!

Week 3: Pad Thai

Michele was the one who started making Pad Thai, and I kinda followed her. I didn't use her recipe, but I found one on the internet that appealed to me.

There are a few ingredients that you can't buy at your local grocery store, as i knew would be the case, so I took my huge pink backpack to Belleville, one of the two neighborhoods in Paris that I know of where you can buy Asian products.

It is 40 minutes away and I am never in the area, so I decided to buy everything that I could possibly need for a few additional recipes, so I filled my backpack with curry pastes and noodles and cans and sauces. I couldn't even find everything in the same store!
I really wanted to weigh my bag when I got home but I forgot-- let me tell you though.... IT HURT!!............

...............BUT... IT WAS WORTH IT!! This recipe for Pad Thai is AMAZING and my meal came out great!



I took the recipe from Chez Pim :

http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/2007/01/pad_thai_for_be.html

and I made few changes. I made the 'vegatarian' version (normal fish sauce, but no chicken, only tofu, but that is actually because I didn't releaze until I stated cooking that my chicken was expired!!) I also didn't use peanuts because I forgot to buy them, so I used peanut oil, instead of whatever oil she says to use, to make up for it! I also didn't make indiviual portions (note: the amount of sauce she says to add is for one portion, not the whole meal!)

I really recommend this one!

Week 2: Paella

This is something that I've wanted to make for a while. I always hesitated because saffron is really expensive, but I decided that it was time.
I followed a recipe from All Recipes.com:............

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Paella-I/Detail.aspx

But I made some changes. First of all, I didn't put in peas and I didn't add any of the seafood on the list (for a few reasons, I can't eat shrimp, I couldn't find good squid...) So, I ended up using a pound of bay scallops instead.

Nothing in the cooking of this meal went smoothly. The rice wasn't absorbing the broth as it should have, my pot wasn't big enough...



All in all, I was disappointed.

Week 2: Lemon Butter Chicken

I am slightly embarrassed but the amount of calories in this dish, but it is really good. I used less butter and I was very light on the sauce, but it tasted great anyway. I got the recipe from AllRecipes.com http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amazing-Italian-Lemon-Butter-Chicken/Detail.aspx

Week 1: Tempura!

I made veggie and chicken tempura. I used a recipe from about.com
http://japanesefood.about.com/od/tempura/a/cookingtempura.htm
My friend Michele and I made it together.

I used their batter recipe but with wheat flour because it was the only thing i had. It was yummy, but it was heavy. I would recommend this to anyone who likes fried veggies, but not so much if you want real Japanese tempura.

On the other hand, we made a tempura sauce that was to die for. It is not the original sauce that you would get from a restaurant, but it tasted about the same and was really easy to make, other than shredding the ginger and radish.
here is the link from Yahoo Answers for that one:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070927171127AAau00M

Week 1: Risotto!

I've never actually eaten risotto, but after hearing about it on Top Chef countless times, I decided to make it!
This is the recipe that I used:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/gourmet-mushroom-risotto/detail.aspx
It is from Allrecipes.com
I followed the recipe exactly except that I bought a variety of mushrooms and I didn't exactly measure.
Having never tasted risotto before, I'd say it was a great success, but I'd love someone with experience to come taste it one day.

I started a blog

I've decided to make two recipes a week that I've never made before.
I plan on posting these recipes on this page so that everyone can see what I did and how it came out. Please comment if you want and PLEASE leave a comment if you've tried it!