there is a world out there

BBQ ribs

2011-05-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

Double goat cheese, fried bacon, pepper burger

2011-03-12T05:35:00.000-08:00

This is my latest attempt in burgers, it is a juicy combination of different tastes with a good variety of textures resulting in a delicious hardcore burger.

The burger has been mixed with onions, garlic powder, nutmeg, cayenne peppper, little salt, Worcestershire sauce and few drops of water. Than it has been smoked , heavily smoked with mesquite wood chips. I have cooked it on indirect heat but on a very hot grill to give the tipical stripes that any burger needs. Once it was almost done I have moved the burger over the hot coals to give the last flame and finished the cooking there.

In that burger I have combined two different goat cheese, a very fresh and creamy one to add a little sour, gerat with roasted red peppers and a semisoft one to give more body and melting compared to the previous. The result has been very impressive.

The composition and ingredients of the double goat cheese, bacon, pepper burger from the bottom are:

French mustard

two leaves of brasilian salad

beef burger (see coplete ingredients and detailed recipe)

semisoft goat cheese

fresh creamy goat cheese

crispy fried bacon

grilled red peppers, marinated in extra virgin olive oil, garlic and little oregano

uncooked white onion

chipolte sauce

For the first time after cooking the burger, after I have covered it with the goat cheese, I have wrapped it in aluminium foil and placed it in the oven (moderate temperature) for few minutes to let the meat absorb its own juices and the cheese melts. The result is great, the meat is firm and extremely tender, ready to be eaten ..... try it.

Definitely one of the best and complex burger I have ever eaten.

Buon appetito

Cotechino e lenticchie, Pork sausage and lentils

2011-01-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

A traditional new year's eve midnight dish. Cotechino e lenticchie, Pork sausage and lentils:

Cotechino is a rich Italian pork sausage from Modena.

It contains a lot of fat meats which allow it to be so tender, it really melts in your mouth.

The few slices shown in the pictures come from a medium sized cotechino, not precooked.

Cooking tips: set the cotechino in cold water in a capient soup pot and gently bring it to boil. Then cook for at least 2-2,5 hours. Once cooked gently remove it from the water and slice it not to thin as you want to feel its own texture, I would say half an inch or little less.

Serving suggestion: cotechino is usually served with lentils or mashed potatoes.

I have used green bio swiss lentils and here is how I have prepared them: soak the lentils for an hour in cold water, in a sauce pan heat some extra virgin olive oil and saute half onion and three diced slices of bacon over moderate heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the drained lentils, cover them with water add a couple of bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer covered for 1-1,5 hours or until lentils are tender.

Servings 4

Ingredients:

a Modena natural cotechino 500, 600 grams or 17-21 ounces, 250 grams or 9 ounces of green lentils (great also are lentils from Castelluccio di Norcia, these lentils are grown in the area of Castelluccio di Norcia in the park of Monti Sibillini, located between the regions of Central Italy, Marche and Umbria, these lentils have very small, round and flat seeds. These lentils are often striped and vary in color between speckled green to faded yellow to light brown. The lentils are sowed in the spring and then in July and August the plants are cut and dried in order to remove the seeds. Castelluccio lentils are quite different than the other varieties available on the market: the climate and soil of the area contribute to their thin skin and soft consistency, allowing for them to be cooked without having soaked first).

Buon appetito

Champions breakfast

2010-10-03T07:38:00.000-07:00

Tomatoes scrambled eggs, baked beans, hash browns and fried bacon.

Smoked Chicken

2010-06-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

Dry Rub:

1 table spoon paprika

1 table spoon sugar

1/2 tea spoon black pepper

1/2 tea spoon garlic powder

1/4 tea spoon cayenne pepper

Mix all the ingredients well and sprinkle over the chicken breasts (serves 2), massage gently and leave at room temperature for 1 hour.

Mop:

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup extra dry Martini

4 table spoons orange marmelade

1/2 tea spoon salt

1 tea spoon dried thime

Mix in a blender all the ingredients. Put a metal pot containing the mop sealed with aluminium foil in the smoker to keep it warm.

Preparation:

Carve the chicken with light rhombus cuts on the roud side, top, inject the meat with pineapple juice, massage the rub on the breast and let the meat rest for at least 1 hour. During this time I usually set the fire, prepare and enjoy a coktail, set the table.

Once the fire reaches the desired temperature 200-220° F or 90-110° C place the breasts round side up in the smoker. Cook for 2,5 hours depending on the wait of the breast. Chicken must be eaten well cooked, you might want to use an digital termometer to check its doneness.

Brush the chicken every half hour with the mop starting from the first hour.

I have used cherry wood to flavour the meat and smoked the chicken heavily, during the last half hour increase lightly the heat of the smoker to give an extraordinary brownish finish, be carefull with excessive heat as the sugar contained in the mop and rub might becomes black and ruins in seconds the hard work done....

Buon appetito

Carpaccio di bresaola

2010-05-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Cold pasta

2010-05-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Shell pasta 180 gr or 6 ounces

1 cup black olives cut in half

1 cup mozzarella diced

2 cups cherry tomatoes cut in half

6 leaves mint minced

black pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar to taste

serving 2

can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Suggestions:

this is a perfect spring-summer dish, refreshing, quick, cheap and very easy.

Once the pasta is cooked drain and set it under cold running water to stop the cooking process and to keep it "al dente".

Once cooled add the ingredients and finish with the proposed condiments.

Variations:

Replace the mint with fresh basil, add pickled onions and canned tuna.

Buon appetito

Mojito

2010-05-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
One small handful fresh mint about 6-7 large leaves
A quarter of fresh lime cut in half
One shot,1.5 oz, white rum
Two tablespoons of brown , raw sugar for a more authentic taste
Ice cubes and club soda to fill glass

Preparation:
Place mint and lime slices in cocktail glass. Muddle gently with muddler or wooden spoon. Though muddling is necessary to release the essential oils of the fruit. Add sugar and let it rest for a minute.
Fill the glass with ice, add rum, and enough soda water to fill the glass.
Stirr gently, garnish with an extra lime slice and sprig of mint, and 2 straws.

This Fiday night Mojito was made with Glacial mint, an extraordinary fresh, balsamic and limy mint home grown.

Enjoy

Country potatoes

2010-05-01T05:57:00.000-07:00

Spinach - ricotta beads

2010-04-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

for the beads:

1/2 kg or 1,1 pounds cleaned spinach
1/2 kg or 1,1 pounds fresh ricotta
200 gr or 7 ounces grated parmigiano
2 eggs
170 gr or 6 ounces plain flour
salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste

for the sauce:

1/2 cup mountain butter
5-7 leaves sage

Preparation:

Cook, squeeze and mince the spinach, add the ricotta, eggs, parmigiano, salt, pepper and nutmeg: mix well all the ingredients.

Add flour to the mix untill dense, consolidated.
Prepare beads of the size of a quarter and roll them in flour, place them over oven paper.

In a capacious soup pot bring water to boil, add a half hand full of cooking salt and put the beads in.

Fry the butter with the sage in a saucepan untill golden brown.

As soon as the beads bob up, a couple of minutes, drain them and place on a serving plate, cover with the butter sage sauce and sprinkle with parmigiano.

Buon appetito

Mozzarella di bufala and date tomatoes

2010-04-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

Linguine alla carbonara

2010-04-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

6,3 ounces or 180 grams of linguine

1 vacuum packed bacon (sliced)

2 egg yolks

1/2 red onion

2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil

3 table spoons milk or cream

1 handfull cooking sea salt

Parmigiano or Pecorino and black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Fill a deep saucepan with water and set it on high heat with cover on.

while the water boils, chopp finely the red onion, save 4 slices of bacon and chopp coarsely the rest of the bacon. In a wide saucepan over medium heat, add the extra virgin olive oil and cook the onions for 5 minutes then add the chopped bacon and keep cooking untill crispy. In another saucepan sauté or in the microwave toast the remaining 4 slices of bacon, we will use this for decorating the plate.

Once the water boils add a handfull of cooking seasalt and the linguine. Linguine usually cooks between 10 and 13 minutes depending on the brand of pasta you like. Check always the cooking time on the package but the most important thing you have to do is, reaching the cooking time, taste the doneness and the saltiness of the pasta every once and then.

In the meantime in a mixing bowl stirr together the egg yolks, Parmigiano or Pecorino, the milk or cream and black pepper.

By this time the onions and the bacon should be crispy, let them cool and rest in the saucepan. Heat from now on is not needed.

Once the linguine are done, drain and put the pasta in the wide saucepan with onions and bacon and stirr well. Then add the yolks mix and gently stirr untill nicely blended.

Use 2 forks to place the linguine on the plate, sprinkle some black pepper and garnish with the bacon slices.

Buon appetito.

Green peppercorn sauce

2010-04-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
1 table spoon of green peppercorns (preserved)
2 tea spoons of original grain mustard (Maille à l'Ancienne)
2 tea spoons white onions minced
1 table spoon cooking cream
1 table spoon of strong french mustard

Serves 3 burgers

Preparation:
Grind the green peppercorns with the onions in a mixer untilll very fine, add the french and grain mustard, the cooking cream and stirr well untill all blended.

Green peppercorn-scamorza burger

2010-04-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is a great and easy variation of a normal bacon cheeseburger, it is called green peppercorn - scamorza burger.

A good mix of spices and smoked tastes, you will love it!!!

I have added cherry wood on my brace to give extra flavour to this simple recipe, you'll be surprised on how the combination of these ingedients will blend perfectly together.

Treat the patties as for a normal hamburger (see previous post), but add 1 1/2 table spoons of preserved green peppercorns in the mix.

Once the burghers are done, add on each patty slices of smoked scamorza cheese and let it melt.

Place some lattuce leaves on the bottom of each bun, set the burger on it and distribute on the scamorza cheese the green peppercorn sauce.

Finish with a couple of slices of crispy bacon on top.

Buon appetito

Gin-ger Tonic

2010-03-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

Fill a baloon glass with crushed ice, pour 1/3 gin, 2/3 tonic water, add 1 tbs of finely grated fresh ginger root and 10 rosemary leaves finely cut.

Stirr well, add 2 staws, enjoy...

Gin suggestion: Tanqueray 10

Fiorentina - T-bone steak

2010-03-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

Here below is how I prepare my favourite cut of meat Fiorentina, T-bone.

The breed of the bovine for a steak to be called Fiorentina is Chianina, beef grown in Valdichiana.

Beef are big size animals used both for work both for meat. Nowadays mainly for meat. The coat after one year of age is white, cream.

T-bone has in it two sides divided by the bone the strip loin and the tenderloin.

Portehouse is nothing but a T-bone with a bigger tenderloin (fillet).

This cut contains the two most serious part of the beef, that is why it is so expensive.

T-bone usually are also thick cuts to be shared with more than one person.

The Fiorentina I cooked is a Porterhouse 7cm or 2,7 inches thick and weighted 1,3 kg or 2,8 pounds.

In the picture above you can see the thickness of the cut and its size. The photo is taken from the strip loin side. Below is the meat upside down with the extra fat removed I have left only the first membrane attached to the meat wich actually seals all the juices inside.That membrane is very gummy and removing it might result in damaging the cut.

I have covered the Fiorentina with Tuscan extra virgin olive oil (of course) and sprinkled on each side black pepper, cooking sea salt, dried garlic and onions flakes. Massage gently the meat.

As you can see the fillet is so tender that you can see the fiber spreading just touching it.

Above is a fillet detail so juicy and tender that can be cut by using a fork.

Put the meat over high heat (if you pass you hand over the grill and can't leave it on the same spot for more than 2 seconds, you know it is high heat) and cook 5-7 minutes per side (turning the meat upside down) than turn the meat 90° and cook again 5-7 minutes per side.

End its cooking on the bone for about 3 minutes just the time to heat well the thickest part.

Cooking time really depends on the thikness of the meat and how you like it done.

Fiorentina has to be raw inside so if you follow my suggestion you won't be disappointed.

The texture of the meat after the 90° flip.

Here above the doneness of the meat a very crusty outside perfectly grilled and the juicy raw inside.

To slice the meat set it vertically and start from the top next to the bone all way down, turn the kife orizontally untill the meat is totally removed. Repeat the process also for the other side.

Once the meat is removed from the bone, slice it against the grain of meat.

The meat is so tender you will enjoy 1 cm or 0,4 inch thick slices.

Above the plate composition: fillet on the left, strip loin on the right and to exalt the red-pinkness of the meat inside some pickled zucchini.

A close up of the fillet fiber.

How do you like T-bone steaks cooked ??

Midwestern BBQ Sauce

2010-03-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 white onion
1 1/4 cups ketchup

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot add the onions, finely chopped, and cook untill softened.

Add the other ingredients: ketchup, vinegar, sugar, water, salt and cayenne pepper. Stirr all the ingredients well and bring to boil. Cover the pan an cook for 10 minutes. Uncover and cook for other 5 minutes untill thickened.

Midwestern BBQ Sauce is great on ribs, brisket and poultry, it has a great hot and sweet touch that enrich your BBQ and grilled food.

Brush the meat just a couple of minutes before removing from the fire.

As it contains sugar a longer time will blackened the sauce and your meat will be ruined by the burned taste.

The Midwestern BBQ Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Try it also with fries and potatoes in general.

Enjoy

Black Pepper Grilled Beef Fillet with Balsamic Onions Chutney

2010-03-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

Ingerdients per person:

1 beef fillet 2,3 inches or 6 centimeters thick

1 red onion

1 orange zest

1/16 cup or 1,5 centiliters of Modena balsamic vinegar

1/16 cup or 12,5 grams of brown sugat

3 table spoon of olive oil

black pepper and salt

Preparation:

Rub the fillet with black peper and salt it.

Cut the onion in half and slice thinly each part .
In a medium sauté pan add the olive oil and heat untill very hot.

Add the onions and sauté for a couple of minutes, add 1/2 cup of water and let it slowly evaporate, this way the onions will become very tender. Once the water has evaporate, add the Modena balsamic vinegar and the brown sugar. Cook for an additional minute, remove from the heat and set aside.

On the grill over high heat set the fillet. Cook between 5 and 7 minutes per side for rare up to 10 per side for medium. Check the doneness of the meat by pressing on it.

Let the fillet rest for a couple of minutes.

Serve the fillet with the balsamic caramelized onions and a grated orange zest on the side.

Enjoy.

Mesquite

2010-03-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

A strong, heavy flavour commonly used for beef, lamb, game and any other flavoured meats. It is very good for grilling as it burns at high temperatures, not as much for smoking for same reason.
It' s smoke tends to a bitter flavour so do not exceed using it during whole cooking time or you will cancel the meat taste.

Spicy Fillet

2010-03-07T05:06:00.000-08:00

Here is my Saturday night spicy smoked beef fillet. Below I'll report some tips on the preparation process.

Ingredients:

the meat

1 inch thick beef fillet per person (0,77 pound)

the rub

3/4 cup of paprika

1/4 cup salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup chile powder

2 tbsp. garlic powder

2 tbsp. onion powder

1 tbsp. cayenne (if you want it really hot)

The fuel

beech brace

2 cups mesquite chips

Preparation:

take out the refrigerator the meat 1 hour before cooking it.

Brush the meat allover with mustard, gently spread on it the rub. Use your fingertips to assure the rub on the meat on each side.

Set the brace in 2 piles, 1 high temperature and one low.

on the low side place the mesquite chips(previously soaked) in the smoking box.

A fillet is a small piece of meat so in order to keep it juicy and tender you want to grill it for a minute over high brace on each side. Move it to the low fire area, close the cover of the pit and let it slowly cook for 5 minutes per side. At this time you want to be sure the flavouring mesquite chips you have added are smoking well, you only have few time to give your meat the desired flavour.

Mixed Salad

2010-03-06T05:31:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

green saland, gerkins, red onion, bread crumbs, black olives, fennel, carrots, haricots, Emmenthal cheese.

Dressing:

Tuscany extra virgin olive oil, Modena balsamic vinegar, salt.

Oriental surprise

2010-03-06T05:07:00.000-08:00

Risotto alla Milanese

2010-03-06T04:35:00.000-08:00

Banana strudel

2010-02-28T09:16:00.000-08:00

Banana strudel
Ingredients:
3 bananas peeled and sliced
1 cup or 200 grams brown sugar
1 cup or 340 grams golden raisins
1 sheet puff pastry
1/3 cup or 35 grams bread crumbs
1 table spoon cinnamon
1 tea spoon lemon zest
2 table spoon butter

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200° C. Prepare a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Put the sliced bananas in a large bowl and stir together the brown sugar, golden raisins, bread crumbs, cinnamon and lemon zest. Place the puff pastry on baking sheet. Set the banana filling in the middle of the pastry lengthwise. Fold the pastry lengthwise around the mixture. Seal edges of pastry brushing them with some melted butter and press gently with your finger tips. Use the rest of the butter on top of the pastry.

Bake for up to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy

Herb crusted mustard pork loin

2010-02-28T05:48:00.000-08:00