Chinese style sweet and spicy chicken

I always like characteristic shiny dishes straight from Chinese cuisine! There is something beautiful in golden-red Peeking duck, don’t you think?
Homely way - faster than traditional marinating – I prepared chicken drumsticks in a sweet and spicy glaze.
Meet stewed this method is really soft and juicy. Next time I will prepare ribs this way . Just can’t wait for it!

Ingredients
750g chicken
1 can coca-cola
3 garlic cloves
¼ cup soy sauce
5 grains pimento
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon “five flavours” seasoning
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
chilli (fresh or dried) – the dish has to be hot
2 tbsp oil


Method
Put a couple small cuts into the meat of each drumstick, for the marinade to penetrate the meat. Heat a pan, add oil and fry drumsticks until the skin is golden. Put the chicken on a plate and keep it on a side. Pour all the sauce ingredients in a pan, add drumsticks. Bring it up to a simmer and turn the heat down just to keep the simmer going for about 2 hours, keep moving drumsticks. The amount of sauce should evaporate and the sauce itself should become sticky (remember when cold is more sticky). Be careful not to burn the sauce!

Roasted vegetable cream

When I’m asking Piotr what he would like to eat for a dinner, every second time the answer is” roasted vegetables”. It is a surprise how different is the taste of roasted veggies to boiled or fried ones. They become more aromatic and genuine sweet. Carrot, parsley root, potatoes, pepper – roast all!!
This time I combined few Mediterranean style vegetables, add herbs and mixed so I got a soft cream. It is perfect for sandwiches, for pasta and also (with minced fried meat) as a filling for crepes.

Ingredients
2 medium size eggplants
1 red pepper
2 onions
3 garlic cloves
few sings of thyme
1 tbsp tomato puree
About ¼ cup oil
salt, pepper


Method
Peel the eggplants and slice them. Cut pepper into small cubes. Cut onion in quarters. Leave the garlic clove in shell (after roasting it become creamy and sweet). Place all the vegetables on a baking tray, drizzle with oil, add salt and pepper. Make sure everything is well coated with oil, put thyme on top. Bake until the vegetables are golden brown, in preheated oven to 180 oC, stirring from time to time. When the vegetables are roasted and soft mix them with tomato puree (remember first peel the garlic clove). If you want you can add more salt or pepper. Serve with pasta, bread or i.e. as a meat sauce.

Chocolate and pear clafoutis

The renovation and move made me energy less. There was a long waited, special day on Saturday! We packed our belongings and overloaded we crossed the doorstep of our new apartment. I’m learning my new way to work and how to solve things in cabinets. Slowly I’m coming back to cooking because finally I have a kitchen!

I started with a dessert to make our living here sweet!
Recipe from atdownunder.com.

Ingredients (makes 4-5 portions)
3,5 oz (100 g) wheat flour
2,5 oz (70 g) brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup milk
2,5 oz (70 g) dark chocolate
1,7 oz (50 g) butter
2 – 3 medium pears
pinch salt
lemon


Method
Peel pears and cut them cores, drizzle with lemon juice to preserve from becoming dark. In a bowl mix together flour, cornstarch, salt and cocoa. In another bowl whisk eggs with sugar until fluffy, add the flour mixture and milk step by step whisking all the time. Add slightly cooled melted chocolate with butter. Pour batter into the small baking dishes, on top of each place a wedge of pear. Bake for 30 min. in preheated oven to 175 oC. Serve warm (not hot).

Rustic style fruit tart with thyme and rosemary

Considering the amount of fresh, ripe fruit you can now easily find everywhere, the end of summer is one of my favourite seasons! I mixed everything I had in my kitchen: pears, apples, raspberries flavoured with thyme and rosemary. This combination also works well with peach desserts – you have to try – herbs beautifully enhance the desserts taste.

Ingredients
Dough
4,5 oz (125 g) room temperature butter
3 oz (90 g) powdered sugar
1 egg
9 oz (250 g) wheat flour
pinch of salt
Filling
1 apple
1 pear
1 cup raspberries
lemon juice
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 sings of thyme
4 leaves of rosemary
2 tbsp almonds


Method
Dough: mix butter and sugar in a food processor, until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and whisk for about 30 sec. Add flour and mix until combined (not too long as the batter can’t become too hard). Wrap the dough in a cling film and for 30 min. keep it in the refrigerator. After 30 min. roll it out at about 5 mm. in thickness. Place it on the baking paper.
Peel the fruit and cut them cores. Cut into small pieces, drizzle with lemon juice – to preserve them from getting dark. Apple, pear and raspberries place in a bowl and mix with sugar and cornstarch, add chopped herbs. Place the fruit mixture in the middle of rolled dough, sprinkle with almonds. Fold the edges of the dough but leave the space in the centre. Bake it in preheated oven to 180 oC until golden brown. Serve slightly warm with i.e. ice creams or whipped cream.

Extra quick omelette with divine plums

I dream about mornings with a smell of freshly baked rolls. I could give a lot for a daily delivery of crispy baguettes and sourdough bread! As the world is not perfect, and I don’t have enough of strong will to regularly bake bread I’m left with “mornings alternatives”. Very often I start my day with different omelettes, pancakes or crepes. All you need is 2 eggs, a little bit of flour and something tasty on top! And as for the matter……

Ingredients
Favourite omelette – 2 beaten eggs, a little bit of flour, drop of milk and pinch of salt
10 sweet plums
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar muscovado
¼ cup water
big pinch cinnamon
big pinch pimiento (optional)
2 cloves


Method
Fry the omelette. Heat the butter in the pan, add the plums cut into quarters, sugar, water and spices. Fry for a few minutes until plums are juicy and soft and sauce thick. Warm plum sauce put on top of the omelette and enjoy your breakfast!

Tenderloin in a thyme - plum sauce

Who said that it has to be a dessert with a plum? I’m a huge fan of aromatic fruit sauces for meats. It can be cherries, raspberries or even back currant preserve, Add some red wine, spices and instantly your meal gains a flavour and… a class.

Ingredients
2 pork tenderloins
1 tbsp wheat flour
½ onion
1 garlic clove
few thyme sings
1 cup red table wine
8 plums ( Hungarian type)
1 tbsp molasses ( or honey)
1 tbsp cold butter
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
optionally you can add some balsamic vinegar for taste
salt, pepper
oil


Method
Cut the tenderloin clean from the membrane, lengthwise into 2 cm slices. Each smash slightly with the fist, dust with flour, salt and pepper and fry (briefly) until golden brown. Meat set aside in a bowl to cool down.
Pour a little bit of oil into the pan (do not clean it after frying tenderloin) add onion and garlic, fry. Add plums cut in quarters, cook covered until juicy. Pour in the wine with thyme, coriander and molasses and stir fry until the sauce gets quite thick. Pour some meat-sauce from the bowl with the tenderloin, add pinch of salt and pepper. When you take the pan from the heat, add cold butter – the sauce will gain creamy texture and beautiful sheen.

Christas time cranberry sauce with a flavour of oranges and gingerbread spices

Christmas preparations are almost finished. One of the last things I did this year is the cranberry sauce, which I will serve with pate and cold meat ( just before the moment I took the pork loin stuffed with cloves, garlic and apricot glaze from the oven – it smells insanely !)
To make the sauce ( or maybe “jam”) it takes just a few minutes, and it tastes sensational – sweet with a hint of bitterness.

Ingredients
1 ½ cups frozen cranberries
orange juice of 1 big orange
1 cup brown sugar (or less if you prefer savoury sauce)
1 big apple
5 g cloves
1 cinnamon stick
orange zest of 1 orange
pinch salt
lemon juice – to add taste
optional a little bit of water if the sauce is too thick


Method
Peel the apple, cut in small cubes. Together with cranberries, orange juice, sugar and spices put the apple cubes in the sauce pan. Cook over low heat for about 10 min., until most of the fruit will fall apart ( you can help fruit with potato masher). Add some lemon juice to add some sourness. Hot sauce you can put in jars and bottled. Served cold taste the best!