A nice slice of meat

I know: I'm neglecting this blog... I miss it!
I miss to have enough time and organization to blog at least three times a week...
But please: do not abandon me!!!!! :-)

To prove you I'm alive (besides my flickr pictures!!!), kind of, here it's one of our latest luch: a very nice slice of meat... But I won't tell WHICH kind of meat it is! ;-)


Before


After

My new belle

Few weeks ago was my birthday (for some insight of the crazy week-end we had, you can check out Robyn's pictures: she was visiting with some friends! And we had tons of fun!).
I received some presents (well, better to, as I cooked dinner for 20 of my closest friends!!!): some teas, delicious lip balms and macarons from Sara, a book about blogging form Susan, "Mastering the art of French Cooking" by Julia Child from Robyn (with the cutest birthday card ever!), a really nice pink bag from Rosa (once blogger!) and then the masterpiece, from a group of friends.
Here's the story about it!
My friends, whom they know me so well, love me so much and remember every time I bring them to one of my favourite kitchen stores and point all the silly and expensive dream equipments I would love to own, gave me my new belle!
Some time ago I went to the La Rinascente lower floor and pointed out to my friend G. a flamboyant orange Le Crueset, 22 centimetres.
Then my birthday came, and they handed me a huge pack. When I saw that flamboyant orange Le Crueset, 22 centimetres, coming out of the gift paper, I couldn’t believe it: I dreamt to cook with one of this for the last 5 years… And all my dreams, all my expectations were fulfilled! It’s one of the best cocotte I’ve ever used in my life…
And I cooked a chicken tajine, just to begin… (freely adapted from Tajine and pastillas, by Marie Chemorin, Marabout)... I'm in a huge tajine mood, lately...

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
3 onions
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of grounded ginger
4 chicken drumsticks
1 lemon, quartered

Peel and chop finely the onions. stir fry them slowly in the oil. Add the spices. Add the chicken drumstick, coat them with the onions and spices. Add two galsses of water, the quartered lemon (better if you have citron confit, if not it will be a bit bitter). Let it cook for half an hour.
Serve with cous cous or flat bread.

Guinness chicken

Ireland.
My first encounter with an English spoken country was Ireland, in 1992.
And it was even my first vacations with friends, without my parents. It was one of the most amazing experiences I ever had: being a teenager, in a foreign country, in one of the most amazing and lively European capitals, very different from now days Dublin (I mean, Dublin is still an amazing city, but completely different!). And, of course, my first encounter with beer. But Irish, black, thick, tasty beer: Guinness.
Even today, 15 years later, every time I take a sip of Guinness, my memory goes back at those days. And I feel 18 again (well, I was still 17 that summer, but I never told it to the bartenders!)…

Chicken breast, in stripes
Guinness

Marinate the chicken breast stripes in the Guinness for few hours. Grill the chicken pieces and serve it with a nice salad.

Simple, quick, satisfying…

Magic Tajine, on the table, who is the fairest one of all?

Magic Tajine: Over the seven jewelled restaurants, beyond the seventh pan, in the kitchen of the Seven Chefs, dwells Piperita, fairest of them all.
Queen [of food bloggers]: Piperita lies dead in the forest [you wish!]. The Envy Bloggers have brought me proof. Behold, her heart.
Magic Tajine: Piperita still lives, fairest in the land. 'Tis the heart of a pig you hold in your hand.
Queen [of food bloggers]: The heart of a pig! Then I've been tricked!

Oh, yeah! You've all been tricked!
I haven't post much in the last weeks, but I'm still here! Alive and kicking!
I'm just trying to recover form a very busy period, and a rather wild week-end!
But many days ago, I've cooked this quick tajine, mixing up two different recipes, so, here it is, thou magic tajine! So magic that I'm trying to remember how I did, but, nope, sorry, it's hiding any memory of it!

Lamb
Peppers
Potatoes
Onions
Olive oil

Spices: cumin, cinnamon, saffron, chilli pepper

Sesame seeds

Supposedly, I've stir-fried the minced onion in not so much oil, added the lamb, in bite size, then the spices, then the diced vegetables. Sure I added a glass or two of water, and I let everything cook...
I added some sesame seeds, just to have a "nice" picture...
Supposedly...

Maybe the Envy Bloggers have taken my brain...
;-)

Bouncing off clouds

[...] Make it easy
Make this easy
It's not as heavy as it seems...

And that's what this traditional Chinese recipe is: easy... Too easy! And too good home made to go back to the greasy/chemical restaurants versions (in Italy at least!).
Among the two or three different recipes I was consulting on my cook books to make Sweet&Sour pork, I came across this one from Recettes Chinoises Marabout chef I've bought last time I was in Paris.
What appealed to me was the fact that the pork stripes were dipped in plum sauce before to cover them with cornstarch and fry them in hot oil! And that's the real trick!!!
For the rest is quite easy, as I was saying! You slice some onions and some peppers. Even better if you have some pineapple, with its juice. Stir fry onion and pepper, add soy sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, pineapple, pineapple juice, and then the fried pork. Stir until thick and shiny.
Serve over a bowl of steamed rice.

Enjoy easiness! It's summer after all!

P.S. Have you notice the summer issue on the side bar? Run to buy it!!!

Canard aux poires

Do I have to stress again on how much I love duck? And ducks, of course: cute funny animals, but I prefer them directly from the oven! Oh, how cruel I am!!! (Add a very cruel laugh at this point)
This roasted duck is so simple that shouldn't need a recipe, but I know many people are afraid to roast whole animals. I found it rewarding!!!
My duck was 1. 7 kilos. It was stuffed with a diced pear and sprinkled with some salt. It cooked for 2 hours at 150° C, then 30 minutes at 220° C. I took it out of the oven when, piercing it with a skewer, the juices form the leg joint came out clear.
Allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes before to carve it.

It was juicy, but crispy on the outside. If I have to tell you the whole truth, I'm from the school that likes duck medium rare (rare for breasts alone), so if you prefer your bird well done, allow an extra 30 minutes at 150° C.

Serve it with the pear and some greenery.

Oh, yes, that's fat!

(And it's a pity you can't see it bubbling...)

That's the fat from merguezes! Better: those merguezes are home made by my Halal butcher just down the street! I love to buy my lamb at the Halal butcher because it has more taste that the lamb that is normally sell in Italy: too young for our fine palates... They have wonderful legs of lamb (which I normally roast), any piece from the lamb and merguezes, that sometime we buy even if we don't make couscous: they are just wonderful all by their own, grilled, served with some potatoes.
And this time I made them in a kind like pie.
I boiled some potatoes, then mash them, add some milk (goat milk in this case), some grated emmental, some butter, salt and pepper and cook it for a few minutes. Then I placed some cut merguezes in the bottom of a oven dish, covered everything with the mash, sprinkled with some grated emmental and cooked in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.
Delish!

Give me meat!

Petto d’anatra al mandarino

Pollo al lime e Mezcal

Tajine

Rogan Josh

Fiorentina ai fiori di salvia

Mussaman curry

Curry di pollo alla citronella

Salsicciette con miele e sesamo

Manzo marinato all'orientale

Verbena rabbit

Roast beef

Red wine rabbit

Grapefruit pork

Vietnamese pork

Chinese style pork



Recipes Index