Compliments to the chef

[Peasant Phill]

@Peasant Phill, did you ever try ras el hanout in your dishes ?

Not yet.
1) I have no idea how it tastes
2) I can't just buy it at the local supermarket
3) It wasn't in the recipe (yes, I still use a recipe)

[Andres]

If there's a grocery shop owned by people of North-African origin in the neighbourhood, then you'll surely find it there. Or at the market (very likely in Gent (I always thought you live in the vicinity, but in case you live in West-Flanders, I bought it once at the market in Bruges; you'll definitely find it in Antwerp or Brussels)).

I use recipes too, but always try a variation which comes down to adding more spices. When I first started cooking, I was afraid to add too much spices, but now I usually use a lot of different spices (both fresh and dried) when I cook; plenty of them too. It raises your dish to an higher level. But you have to accept that sometimes, the experiment will fail.

[Peasant Phill]

If there's a grocery shop owned by people of North-African origin in the neighbourhood, then you'll surely find it there. Or at the market (very likely in Gent (I always thought you live in the vicinity, but in case you live in West-Flanders, I bought it once at the market in Bruges; you'll definitely find it in Antwerp or Brussels)).

I use recipes too, but always try a variation which comes down to adding more spices. When I first started cooking, I was afraid to add too much spices, but now I usually use a lot of different spices (both fresh and dried) when I cook; plenty of them too. It raises your dish to an higher level. But you have to accept that sometimes, the experiment will fail.

I live near Kortrijk, so a good 45 min from Ghent and a full hour from Bruges. Besides, I'm more of a let's-see-what-I-have-in-the house-or-can-find-in-the-nearest-grocery kind of guy.

I'm always careful on my first try and then decide what would make it better for a second try.

[Peasant Phill]

My first Mojito of this year.

I know this isn't striclty cooking butyou can at least drink it as a aperitif.

[Fragony]

Smooth hands Peasant Phil!

[Peasant Phill]

Smooth hands Peasant Phil!

Apparently I photographed them from their best side.

[edyzmedieval]

This thread makes me hungry... Off to raid the fridge.

[classical_hero]

I don't like mushrooms, but cream and gorgonzola are great. Can't do wine for little one.

If it is cooked then you can, since all you are adding in are the flavours on the wine and not any of the alcohol, since it burns off when cooked.

[Fragony]

If it is cooked then you can, since all you are adding in are the flavours on the wine and not any of the alcohol, since it burns off when cooked.

You don't understand he's from Belgium he might drop the kid

[classical_hero]

I assume that is a joke, but i am not getting the reference.

[Montmorency]

I've only cooked 3 or 4 times before: frying up potatoes, frying up bologna, and frying up tilapia. Boiling doesn't count, I suppose.

Frozen dinners and prepared noodles, while not cheap, are certainly more affordable than this sort of thing; the ingredients in the dish alone are worth up to $30.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

This is maple syrup-seared chicken and rotini, on a bed of corn, mushrooms, chopped carrots, and chopped beets, all coated in sour cream. Sweet peas are spread throughout the rotini. For decoration are 6 cucumber slices and 6 cherry tomatoes. The sauce is a mixture of maple syrup, mushroom sauce, marinara sauce, and cocktail sauce.

To be honest, I think the flavor of the mushroom sauce was overpowered by the rest. And I should have microwaved it before pouring it onto the dish. My meat-cooking qualifications shall be judged by the lavatory over the next 24 hours.

[Scienter]

@Peasant Phill, I've updated it several times since I've last been on, go check it out. :)

[Moros]

@Peasant Phill, I've updated it several times since I've last been on, go check it out. :)

It really is a nice blog. :)

[Peasant Phill]

@Scienter

I think I'll try the Jade chicken
I have a small herb garden and I have so much mint, I can't drink enough Mojito's to keep the plant in check.


In the mean time, I've made a cold tomato soup that was also quite nice.
I've taken photographs but I never got round to posting them here.

[Andres]

I love your blog @Scienter.

I guess I should offer something in return for all the joy: pasta à la norma. It's very easy and perfect for your Meatless Monday.

You need (for 2 persons):

- one eggplant (decent sized, about 300 grams);
- 2 or 3 cloves of garlic;
- canned tomatoe (you can use fresh tomatoes and make fresh tomatoe sauce if you have the time, but canned tomatoes works just fine) or passata (1/2 liter);
- a few fresh leaves of basilicum (6 to 8);
- 150 grams of pasta of your choice (I prefer penne with this dish);
- half a cup grated salted ricota or Parmeggiano;
- olive oil (lots of it)
- salt and pepper

Now, for the eggplant, there are two ways of doing this: either you chop it in cubes and let them rest in salted water for about an hour or you don't bother with that and start right away (eggplant soaks up lots of oil, if you put them in salted water first, they soak up less oil).

Heat the olive oil (throw in quiet a lot), crush your garlic cloves (gives more flavour like that) and fry them for 30 seconds or so. Then throw in the chops of the eggplant. You'll notice they soak up a lot of oil; keep adding oil until all the chops have changed colour (make sure you use quality olive oil for better taste), after a minute or 5, add in the canned tomatoes (one or two cans) or the passata and let it cook on a low fire. In the meanwhile, cook the pasta (don't forget to add a pit of salt and some olive oil to the water). While the pasta is cooking, you can add a bit of salt and pepper to the sauce; I also add a few leaves of basilic already and keep some to put on each plate as decoration.

Once the pasta is ready, drain them, season with the eggplant-tomatoe sauce, add a bit of cheese on the top + a leave of basilicum for decoration, put the rest of the cheese on the table. Goes best with red wine, imo, but rosé is ok as well.

EDIT: sometimes I also add a chopped shalot to the sauce, but it's not really necessary.

[Andres]

This is what I prepared Monday :

For 2 persons:

- 200 à 300 grams of steak, chopped in medium sized pieces;
- 4 table spoons ras el hanout
- 1 table spoon of cinnamon
- 1 table spoon of red paprika powder;
- 2 small potatoes;
- 2 carrots;
- 2 shalots;
- 1 fresh tomatoe;
- two cloves of garlic (crushed)
- olive oil
- pepper and salt
- couscous (130 gram dry)
- a few spring onions
- water
- a tajine pot;

Cut all the vegetables in large pieces.

Put the tajine on the fire and warm it (it may take a while until it's hot); pour in about four tablespoons of olive oil, then throw in the meat. Once the meat is brown on all sizes, throw in the garlic toes, 4 table spoons of ras el hanout, a table spoon of cinnamon and a table spoon of paprika powder. Add a bit more oil, then put all the vegetables (except the spring onion) in the tajine pot. After a minute or so, you add 200 centiliters of water (a good glass of water), be sure everything is just under water). Wait until it starts cooking and then let it sudder on low fire for about an hour. Check every 15 minutes or so and add water if needed. Chop the spring onion in little pieces in the meanwhile.

When the tajine is almost ready, put the dry couscous in a pot, boil water and pour boiling water over the couscous until it's just under water. Let it rest for a minute or two and the couscous will be ready, add a bit of olive oil and the chopped spring onion. Once the tajine is ready, add some pepper and salt to your own taste.

We drank red wine with it.

[Ja'chyra]

You know you're an excellent cook when your audience starts crying and screaming when he sees there's nothing left Beat that, you Michelin star chefs

Overreact much?

[Scienter]

@Andres, those recipes sound awesome! I'll have to try the second one. @TinCow hates eggplant. :(

[Fragony]

Exchanging recepies yay!

Try this Scienter it doesn't get any simpler and it quite the kicker.

Tomatoe, onion, fresh(!) basilicum.

Yeah that's just about it. A subject of endless variation. These ingredients really compliment eachother. Perfect pasta sauce.

[Andres]

@Andres, those recipes sound awesome! I'll have to try the second one. @TinCow hates eggplant. :(

That's unfortunate. Pasta à la Norma is by far my favourite pasta. Discovered it for the first time in Sicily, in 2000. Was still a student then and not really into cooking, so kinda forgot about it, until my wife prepared years later. I've prepared it several times, always trying a few things in a different way, looking for the perfect recipe.

In fact, I said canned tomatoes or passata, but you shouldn't bother trying to make it with canned tomatoes. It's so much better if you use passata (the wiki I linked to sounds a bit ambiguous, when I say passata, I mean this part : "Tomato purée is sometimes referred to by its Italian name, passata di pomodoro, when it has been "passed" through a sieve to remove seeds and lumps. In this form, it is generally sold in bottles or aseptic packaging, and is most common in Europe").

It's only since this year I started cooking with the tajine (was inspired by an excellent meal at the local Morrocan restaurant) and it's just fun. Pretty simple, just throw stuff together and see what it gives; if you find an excellent combination, write it down somewhere ; I like this sort of experimenting.

@Fragony, I have a simple recipe for excellent tomatoe sauce in one of our cooking books; I'll post it later (you'll need a passe-vite (or food mill)).

[Fragony]

Another extremily simple one, bacon, an egg, cream, cheese. Bake the bacon, add mixture of egg cream and cheese to bacon. It's better with fresh pasta because it absorbes the moist in the sauce better. Mix sause with pasta when it's still in the pan (spelling?)

And yeah a tajjine is aweome, everything holds it's taste. Try serving the couscous cold with mint.

[Andres]

Flemish beef stew (traditional belgian recipe) (for 2 persons)

500 grams of beef stew meat, cut into medium sized cubes
salt
pepper
butter
a bottle of dark table beer (I use Piedboeuf, don't know if you have an equivalent abroad; just take any dark beer with low alcohol percentage that has a sweet, fruity taste (the beer has to be sweet, otherwise the sauce will be too bitter)) or Kriek beer
3 leaves of dried bay laurel
thyme (a tablespoon)
2 slices of bread
3 onions
2 tablespoons of flour
20 centiliter of milk
mustard
1 table spoon of brown sugar


1) Cut the onions in little pieces (but not too little) or ringshop them
2) Melt the butter, brown the meat and add salt and pepper
3) remove the meat
4) add the (ringshopped) onion and the flour and fry slowly for a minute or three.
5) do the meat back into the pan, together with the bay leaves and the thyme;
6) pour in the beer (start with about 30 centiler (0,3 liter)
7) put it on low fire and let sudder for about an hour, an hour and a half;
8) slather the slices of bread with mustard and put them on top, mustard side down.
9) let it cook for another 30 minutes, mix it from time to time;
10) let it cook for a long while, say 2 hours, you want the meat to get very tender;
11) about 30 minutes before it's ready, stir well, the bread will bind the sauce.
12) 5 minutes before it's ready, pour in the milk and mix a bit

Always keep an eye on the pan and add some extra water or beer if needed.


Serve with fries and lettuce with mayonnaise. The dish is traditionnally accompanied by beer (doesn't have to be the same as the on you used for the sauce).

[Peasant Phill]

Flemish beef stew (traditional belgian recipe) (for 2 persons)

500 grams of beef stew meat, cut into medium sized cubes
salt
pepper
butter
a bottle of dark table beer (I use Piedboeuf, don't know if you have an equivalent abroad; just take any dark beer with low alcohol percentage that has a sweet, fruity taste (the beer has to be sweet, otherwise the sauce will be too bitter)) or Kriek beer
3 leaves of dried bay laurel
thyme (a tablespoon)
2 slices of bread
3 onions
2 tablespoons of flour
20 centiliter of milk
mustard
1 table spoon of brown sugar


1) Cut the onions in little pieces (but not too little) or ringshop them
2) Melt the butter, brown the meat and add salt and pepper
3) remove the meat
4) add the (ringshopped) onion and the flour and fry slowly for a minute or three.
5) do the meat back into the pan, together with the bay leaves and the thyme;
6) pour in the beer (start with about 30 centiler (0,3 liter)
7) put it on low fire and let sudder for about an hour, an hour and a half;
8) slather the slices of bread with mustard and put them on top, mustard side down.
9) let it cook for another 30 minutes, mix it from time to time;
10) let it cook for a long while, say 2 hours, you want the meat to get very tender;
11) about 30 minutes before it's ready, stir well, the bread will bind the sauce.
12) 5 minutes before it's ready, pour in the milk and mix a bit

Always keep an eye on the pan and add some extra water or beer if needed.


Serve with fries and lettuce with mayonnaise. The dish is traditionnally accompanied by beer (doesn't have to be the same as the on you used for the sauce).

[Fragony]

Maybe I am having a Freudian slip but what is that you are doing there. It's a stew ffs. To each their own I guess

[Andres]

I think he's hungry and wants me to cook for him.

[Fragony]

That's one way to put it

[caravel]

I like it... not sure about the bread... but yes, i will give this a go at some point...

(talking about the food, not what the cartoon/smiley is doing...)

[Andres]

I like it... not sure about the bread... but yes, i will give this a go at some point...

You need to add in the bread with mustard to bind the sauce. The flour and milk are for the same purpose.

If you like to make the same dish, but with a different taste, you can use Madeira wine instead of beer; that's how my mother usually does it.

[Visor]

Hijacking thread.

I'm thinking about cooking some forequarter chops (lamb) and some steaks (eye). Any particularly interesting ways of cooking them that you know is tasty? There's casseroles, and steak burgers, and marinated steak, etc. But if you have a particular marinade or recipe, I'd sure love to hear it.

[Andres]

Did you already try steak with peppersauce? Or béarnaise sauce or mustard sauce? I also tend to like steak with pasta and some sort of pesto or tomato sauce. I'm not crazy about lamb myself, so I can't help you there.