Easy Chicken

Ingredients

1 whole free-range or corn fed chicken, broken down into 8 pieces

(or 8 of your favorite chicken pieces, skin on and bone- in preferable)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp light brown sugar

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

3 tbsp olive oil

4 shallots, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Handful of fresh parsley

Salt and Pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 (220)

2. In a large baking dish, combine marinade and toss with chicken. Season well.

3. Place chicken pieces skin side up and roast for 30 minutes until it begins to brown. Remove and baste with marinade. Flip pieces and bake a remaining 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked.

4. Garnish with lots of fresh parsley

Read more at http://myfridgefood.com/ViewRecipe.aspx?recipe=21222#F3jHyF8jcmBmhoGB.99

Amazingly Tasty Plum Jam

How to Make Plum Jam:

Cooking the Preserves:1. Cut 12 lbs of plumbs in half, pit them and place in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle well with 4 1/2  cups sugar. Using a large spoon, stir plumbs with sugar until all are coated.  If your plums are overripe or already very sweet, you may only need 4 cups of sugar total. You can add more sugar to taste while its cooking. Let plumbs sit at room temp with the sugar for about 1 hour, or until sugar is somewhat dissolved.

2. Transfer plumbs/sugar mixture in to a large cooking pot.
3. Place it on the stove uncovered and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Make sure if you see a light boil to stir because the whole pot may not be boiling, just the center. If it stops boiling after you stir it, continue boiling until everything is uniformly bubbling, then simmer for 10 minutes and turn off the heat. Let the pot stand uncovered until it is just warm to the touch or reaches room temp.

4. As soon as it cools, repeat step 3. You will bring it to a boil a total of 4 times, stirring to prevent scorching the bottom. This is why it takes 2 days to make. It’s really easy though and so worthwhile!  There’s no “set” waiting time between boilings. If 2 days doesn’t work for you, by all means, take 3 days. Preserves have plenty of sugar so they won’t spoil at room temp if you leave it on the counter overnight. If you want the preserves to have an even thicker consistency, you can boil it 5-6 times if you wish. (Note: the fourth time you boil, bring it to a boil over a little lower heat and stir a few extra times to prevent scorching. Also, it thickens more as it cools.)
4. The last time you bring it to a boil you will want to transfer it to sterilised jars while it’s boiling hot.

Note: Current safety standards say that it’s best to put the jars in a boiling water bath with 1-2″ water covering the lid (instead of the baking method) for ten minutes after tightening the lids to preserve shelf life and kill any potential bacteria. 

Custard from scratch

Ingredients

570ml/1 pint milk
55ml/2fl oz single cream
1 vanilla pod or ½ tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, yolks only
30g/1oz caster sugar
2 level tsp cornflour

Preparation method

1. Bring the milk, cream and vanilla pod to simmering point slowly over a low heat.
2. Remove the vanilla pod (wash the vanilla pod, dry and store in jar with caster sugar to make vanilla sugar).
3. Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a bowl until well blended.
4. Pour the hot milk and cream on to the eggs and sugar, whisking all the time with a balloon whisk.
5. Return to the pan, (add vanilla extract if using) and over a low heat gently stir with a wooden spatula until thickened.
6. Pour the custard into a jug and serve at once.
7. To keep hot, stand the jug in a pan of hot water and cover the top with cling film to prevent skin forming.

Hot German Potato Salad

Ingredients

8 potatoes

8 slices of bacon

2 tablespoons plain flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

2/3 cup water

1/2 cup white wine vinegar 

1 cup chopped green onions

salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes; cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop.
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Reserve bacon fat.
3. Add the flour, sugar, water and vinegar to skillet and cook in reserved bacon fat over medium heat until dressing is thick.
4. Add bacon, potatoes and green onions to skillet and stir until coated. Cook until heated and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Old Fashion Rhubarb Pie

Serves 6

350g plain flour plus
3 tbsp extra
small pinch salt
130g butter plus
2 small knobs

120g lard (see Tips)
600g young pink rhubarb
200g caster sugar
milk for brushing

 

TO SERVE

• cream, crème fraîche or custard

 

• Have ready an oval pie dish or tin, 900ml-1 litre capacity, about 24cm long or similar. 
• Sieve the 350g flour with the salt into a bowl. Rub in the 130g butter and the lard until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then mix in about 4 tbsp cold water, and work to a smooth dough – adding a drop more water if it needs it. Divide into two balls, one slightly larger than the other, cover and chill for 30 minutes. 
• Preheat the oven to 200C/ 180C fan/gas 6. Lightly grease the pie dish using a knob of butter. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball of pastry to 5mm thick. Line the pie dish with the larger sheet, roughly trimming the edges (you will neaten these later).  
• Trim the rhubarb and cut into short lengths. Combine the sugar with the reserved 3 tbsp flour. Pile the rhubarb in the pastry case, sprinkling over
• the sugar mixture evenly and dotting with the remaining knob of butter as you go.  
• Brush the pastry rim with milk, cover with the remaining sheet of pastry, and press down lightly around the edge to seal. Using a small knife, neatly trim off the pastry, letting the blade follow the outside rim of the dish. Brush the pie with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar. Make three diagonal slashes across the top of the pie. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden (if the top browns too fast, move to the bottom shelf). Eat with cream, crème fraîche or custard.

TIPS If you don’t wish to use lard, use all butter in the pastry. If making the pie later in the year with more astringent summer rhubarb, add a little extra sugar.

VARIATION Add grated orange zest or a sprinkling of ground ginger to the filling.

CHEAT Use bought shortcrust pastry. And, rather than lining the bottom of the dish, make a pastry lid only.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1262084/Recipe-Old-fashioned-rhubarb-pie.html#ixzz2zmekRlEj
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Chicken Saute with Tomato (Domatesli Tavuk Sote)

1 chicken breast, cut in cubes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 cubanelle pepper, cut in small pieces
2 green onions, chopped
2 tomato, cut in cubes
2 tbsp crushed tomato, in can
1 tbsp red pepper paste
1 pinch crushed red pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp oregano
Salt
Pepper

In a medium sized pan, saute the chicken and garlic with olive oil until the garlic cloves lose their smell. Add all the remaining ingredients. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes with the lid covered. If necessary, add a little bit hot water.

Ragù alla Napoletana

Ragù is the traditional Sunday lunch for most southern Italian families: the tomato sauce dresses the pasta and the meat is served as a main course.

Ingredients

• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 500g/1lb 2oz topside of beef, chopped into medium-sized pieces
• 500g/1lb 2oz pork ribs
• 200g/7oz Italian pork sausages
• 2 tbsp tomato purée, diluted in 100ml/3½fl oz red wine
• 3 x 400g/14oz tins chopped tomatoes
• handful fresh basil leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• pasta or bread, to serve

Preparation method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until softened.
2. Add the beef, ribs and sausages to the pan and continue to fry until the meat is browned all over (you may need to do this in batches).
3. Increase the heat, stir in the diluted tomato concentrate and continue to cook until the volume of the liquid is reduced by one-third.
4. Add the tomatoes and basil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir well.
5. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook very gently for about two hours, or until the sauce is thick and silky. Stir from time to time, checking that there is enough moisture; if necessary add a little more wine or water.
6. Remove from the heat and serve with pasta as suggested above, or on its own with lots of good bread to mop up the rich tomato sauce.

Curry with Left-over Lamb

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp. oil

2 red onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 1/2 tsp. Turmeric 

1/8 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

2 tbsp. medium curry powder

1 tbsp. ground coriander

1 tbsp. tomato purée

200g+  lamb shoulder, diced

1 courgette sliced

200ml (7oz) water

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp. Schwartz Coriander Leaf 

1 tin/box 400 ml tomatoes

Sea Salt to season

Rice to serve

METHOD:

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan, add the onions and Garlic and cook for 10 minutes.

2. Add the Turmeric, cayenne pepper, Medium Curry Powder, Ground Coriander and the tomato purée and cook for a further minute.

3. Add the diced lamb, sliced courgette,water, tomatoes, lemon juice and Coriander.

4. Simmer for 15 minutes, then season to taste and serve with Pilau rice.

Yiouvetsi Kritharaki Kypriako – Cypriot Orzo Yiouvetsi (Γιουβέτσι Κριθαράκι Κυπριακό)

Ingredients:

1 lb. (450 gr.) ground veal
1 quart (1 litre) beef stock
1 ½ cups (375 ml.) of orzo pasta
1 cup (250 ml.) fresh strained tomato juice/sauce [or 2 tbsp. (30 ml.) tomato paste diluted in 1 cup of water]
1 onion, grated or finely chopped
2 garlic gloves, finely chopped or pressed
1 cinnamon stick (a couple inches in length will suffice)
4 spice cloves
3 tablespoons (45 ml.) Greek extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon (15 ml.) butter
Salt and pepper to taste

1.    Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan, then, over a medium heat, add the ground veal and breaking it up with a wooden spoon sauté the meat for 5-8 minutes stirring constantly until it is thoroughly browned.
2.    Once the ground veal has been completely browned, add the onion, garlic, tomato sauce, cinnamon stick, cloves, salt and pepper to the saucepan with the meat. Stirring the contents well, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes over a medium-low heat.
3.    In a separate pan/pot bring the beef stock to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low, so as to keep it hot until we need it.
4.    When the meat has cooked, remove the cinnamon stick from the pan. Add the uncooked orzo pasta to the hot beef stock for a couple stirs, then add the stock to the pan with the meat sauce and stir to mix thoroughly.
5.    Butter the sides and bottom of the casserole, then add the yiouvetsi mixture to the dish and bake uncovered at a moderate heat 350° F. (180° C.) for 50-60 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed by the pasta. Stir the yiouvetsi well with a wooden spoon only once at about the 25 minute mark (making sure to get into the corners of the dish) then let it cook undisturbed for the remainder of its allotted time. Look for the surface of the yiouvetsi to form almost a crust-like top layer, especially near the edges of the dish. Remove from the oven when done and let the casserole sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Variations on the yiouvetsi theme in Greek cuisine can include cuts of lamb or chicken, or it can be made without any meat whatsoever. Cheese (usually a dried Greek whey cheese known as myzithra) can also be grated and sprinkled overtop when serving; though I typically do not use cheese on the meat-based variations, it remains an option. Usually, the meatless version of this dish is referred to simply as manestra [pronounced "mah-NE-strah"]. NOTE: Other pasta noodles may also be used to make yiouvetsi, but the krytharaki (orzo) noodle is the most commonly used for this purpose in this Greek recipe.

Swedish Meatballs!

Ingredients

 400g lean pork mince
 1 egg, beaten
1 small onion, finely chopped or grated
85g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tbsp finely chopped dill, plus extra to serve
1 tbsp each olive oil and butter
 2 tbsp plain flour
 400ml hot beef stock (from a cube is fine)

 Method: In a bowl, mix the mince with the egg, onion, breadcrumbs, dill and seasoning. Form into small meatballs about the size of walnuts – you should get about 20. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and brown the meatballs. You may have to do this in 2 batches. Remove from pan, melt the butter, then sprinkle over the flour and stir well. Cook for 2 mins, then slowly whisk in the stock. Keep whisking until it is a thick gravy, then return the meatballs to the pan and heat through. Sprinkle with dill and serve with cranberry jelly, greens and mash.

 Note: I transfered the Meatballs to a large saucepan whilst frying the next lot. I then covered them all with the gravy and cooked them for awhile as they weren't cooked all the way through after frying them. I also used turkey mince rather than pork and doubled the recipe! The double recipe fed four adults for dinner, James and Jesse for lunch and I still had a portion large enough for me or Jes to put in the freezer. It was delicious!

Lemon Curd

This may be a bit late but this lemon curd would make great Christmas presents and the presence of apples would help the lemons go further!

1 lb (16 oz) cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 lb (16 oz) caster sugar
grated rind and juice of 3 lemons
4 oz (1/2 C) butter
4 eggs, beaten and strained

Instructions

1. Cook apples without water over a very low heat until soft.  Then beat the cooked apple to a pulp.

2. Add the sugar, lemon rind and juice, butter and the eggs.

3. Stir continuously over a very low heat until the mixture thickens, about 20 to 30 minutes.  Do not let it boil.

4. Have read some warm, clean jars.

5. When thick, pour into jars, cover, seal and label.  Store in refrigerator.