Posts on Everyday Chef

Fried chicken

Fri, 26 Feb 2016 10:24:53 +0100

Time for brine: 24h

Cooking time : 45minutes

Ingredients:

Brine:

1L milk
juice from 1 lemon
4-5 garlic cloves crushed with a garlic press
salt
pepper

Breading:

flour
3-4 eggs
mustard
honey
spices (paprika, salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, oregano)
oil, neutral (canola, sunflower, etc.), for deep-frying
5 chicken legs, separated in half, drumsticks and boneless thighs

Preparation:

Set the chicken drumsticks and thighs in a container, cover with the brine and refrigerate for 24h at least.

Take the chicken out of the brine and wipe with a cloth. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, if the chicken is too cold when puting it in the hot oil it will not cook evenly. Prepare the breading recipients, what you should have is 3 containers:

one with flour and spices mix
one with beaten eggs, mustard and honey
one with flour wnad spices mix

In the breading process you’ll have to pass the chicken through each of the containers, covering well, this is what will make a great crust on your fried chicken. I use ziploc bags for the flour mixes in the breading process(put the chicken piece inside and shake well to cover all over with the flour mix) and a deep dish for the egg mix, you should do what you feel is easier for you.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet or a Le Creuset casserole, it will maintain the oil at the temperature you want.

When the oil has reached 350°F (check with a thermometer), start frying your chicken pieces. Constantly check the temperature of the oil, it should be of 350°F in order to cook well. Check also the chicken pieces internal temperature, when it reaches 165°F, the chicken is done(takes about 15-18 minutes).

Set the fried chicken to cool on a wire rack and enjoy.

My test:

This is the first time I tested the full fried chicken recipe, with the brine and everything and it was a success. Of course I used milk and lemon for the brine because you can’t really find buttermilk in stores in France, so it’s a good replacement. You can play with your spices, your egg mix. I really enjoyed this fried chicken recipe, I highly recommend it.

Spanish tortilla with chorizo and sweet potato

Fri, 26 Feb 2016 10:24:40 +0100

Total time of the recipe : 45minutes

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
200 g chorizo sausages, cubed
4 shallots, peeled and very finely chopped
1 medium sweet potato, about 250g, cut in small chunks
1 medium potato, cut in small chunks
6 large eggs
2-3tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley, plus extra to garnish

Preparation:

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large frying pan (with about a 23cm base). Tip in the chorizo and fry for 4-5 minutes until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towel. Pour the chorizo fat into a heatproof bowl and wipe out the pan.

Put the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tsp of the chorizo fat into the pan. Add the shallots and fry for a couple of minutes, then drop the potato chunks in the pan and cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 6-7 minutes or until both are turning brown. Cover the pan with a lid and continue to cook on a low heat for a further 4-5 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender but still holding their shape.

Beat the eggs in a bowl, season with pepper and stir in the parsley. Return the chorizo to the pan with the potato, then pour in the eggs. Gently and briefly stir to combine, then leave to cook over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until starting to set and the bottom of the omelette is golden. Tip the pan occasionally so the raw egg can run to the edges of the pan to cook. Preheat the grill to high.

Put the pan under the grill for a couple of minutes to finish cooking the top of the omelette. Slide the omelette onto a board or flat serving plate, scatter with extra parsley and cut into thin wedges to serve.

My test: The tortilla was awesome, and easy to make.

Raspberry rhubard hand pies

Fri, 26 Feb 2016 10:24:10 +0100

Makes 8 pies.

Total time of the recipe : 2hours 30minutes

Ingredients:

For the dough

2 cups flour, plus more for dusting
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
2 tbsp. whole milk
2 eggs

For the filling

1 tbsp. unsalted butter
5 oz. raspberries
2 oz. rhubarb, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tbsp. sugar
¹⁄₂ tbsp. rice wine vinegar
¹⁄₄ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
¹⁄₄ tsp. lemon juice
1 pinch kosher salt

Preparation:

Make the dough:

Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Using a dough blender, two forks, or your fingers, cut butter into flour mixture, forming pea-size crumbles. Whisk milk and 1 egg in a separate bowl and add to flour mixture; work dough until smooth but with visible flecks of butter. (Alternatively, pulse ingredients in a food processor.) Flatten dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap; chill at least 1 hour before using.

Make the filling:

Melt butter in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium. Cook raspberries and rhubarb until soft and jamlike, 6–8 minutes. Stir in sugar, vinegar, pepper, lemon juice, and salt; cook 3 minutes more. Let cool to room temperature, then cover and chill at least 30 minutes before using.

Assemble and bake the pies: On a lightly floured surface, roll dough 1⁄4″ thick. Trim edges to make a 10″x12″ rectangle. Cut dough into six 4″x5″ rectangles; gather dough scraps, re-roll, and cut one more rectangle.

Place 2 tbsp. filling in center of each rectangle. Whisk remaining egg in a bowl and brush edges of rectangles; fold one short side of dough over the other, encasing the filling. Crimp edges using a fork. Transfer pies to parchment paper-lined baking sheets and chill 20 minutes. Beat remaining egg; cover and chill.

Heat oven to 400°F. Using a fork, prick tops of pies; brush tops with the remaining beaten egg. Bake pies until golden, about 20 minutes; let cool slightly before serving.

My test: The hand pies were very tasty, rhubarb and raspberry is a perfect mariage, and the dough was very good.

Banana Bread

Fri, 26 Feb 2016 10:23:27 +0100

Total recipe time : 1hour 20minutes

Preparation time : 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 ²⁄₃ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¹⁄₄ teaspoon cinnamon
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 eggs
¹⁄₂ cup oil
3 ¹⁄₂ bananas, very ripe, mashed
2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
²⁄₃ cups walnuts, toasted and chopped

Preparation:

Set oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, creme fraiche, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour into a lined loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

My test: The banana bread was awesome, my friends and I enjoyed it a lot during our picnic.

Brownie style bundt cake

Wed, 17 Feb 2016 17:17:04 +0100

Ingredients:

For the brownie

200g dark chocolate
200g lightly salted butter
120g sugar
40g flour
4 eggs
walnuts

For the topping

100g dark chocolate
15 cl cream
walnuts

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter and dark chocolate in a saucepan. Beat the sugar with the egg yolks and add the butter / chocolate melted. Beat the egg whites and incorporate them to the previous mixture. Add the walnuts and mix (keep a few pieces for decoration). Butter the Bundt Cake pan and pour in the mixture. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes depending on the oven.

Once the Bundt Cake cooked and removed from the mold, melt topping chocolate with the cream.

When the mixture is smooth, pour over Bundt Cake, and sprinkle with walnuts.

My test: The cake was very good, it takes 10-15 minutes to prepare, it’s easily unmolded and the topping is perfect. I sprinkled walnuts and peanuts on top, I had some left from a bundt cake I made with peanut butter.

Rye bread

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 18:40:52 +0100

Ingredients:

For the sourdough starter

1 tablespoon fresh or dried yeast
100 ml lukewarm water
100 g rye flour

For the bread

300 g rye flour
200 g cracked rye
100 g mixed seeds (pumpkin, linseeds, chia, poppy, sesame, etc.)
20 g salt
20 g dry malt extract
500 ml lukewarm water

Preparation:

Sourdough starter preparation

Activate the dried yeast: mix the dried yeast with hot water in a cup and cover. Wait until it has doubled at least, around 10 minutes. Mix thoroughly the ingredients, water, flour and activated yeast, scrape the sides of the bowl clean, and cover. Set to rest for about 1-2h, until puffed, see photo hereafter.

Rye bread preparation

Mix all the dry ingredients: flour, cracked rye, seeds, salt, dry malt extract.

Add the starter to the warm water and stir it up a bit Pour the water over the dry ingredients and mix it all together thoroughly with a spatula or wooden spoon

Transfer to a greased loaf pan like the one in the photo hereafter.

Sprinkle a tablespoon or so of sesame seeds over top of the loaf.

Let rise 3-4h in the war place, until risen like in the photo hereafter.

Put pan in oven, turn heat to 350F and let bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes, spritzing water into the oven periodically. Note: After about 1 hour, cover the loaf with aluminum foil to keep the top from burning. Turn off heat, remove loaf from the pan and let cool in the warm oven for about an hour. Remove from over, let cool completely, slice thinly with a good bread knife and enjoy.

My test: The rye bread was very good, I tasted it with smoked salmon and a soft cheese like Philadelphia with fresh herbs. It keeps well for up to 2 weeks.

Homemade miso soup

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 18:40:26 +0100

Ingredients:

kombu seaweed:
grated dried bonito
wakame seaweed
vegetables (poireaux, broccoli, etc.)
white miso paste
1 cube of miso
soft soja paste

Preparation:

For the dashi, put a few leaves of kombu in a pot of lukewarm water, make simmer for 20-30 minutes, but don’t bring to a boil, otherwise the dashi will become bitter.

Meanwhile,I put a few sheets of wakame in a bowl of water to rehydrate and I cut my vegetables and soy, leek into slices, broccoli into florets and soy into cubes.

When the wakame is ready, I slice it in small squares, removing the hard part in the middle of the leaves.

Remove the leaves from kombu when the time is up, and put the dried bonito in a sieve in the dashi. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and boil for 15 minutes.

Remove the sieve by pressing firmly on the bonito in order to keep the broth in the pot. Discard the bonito remaining in the sieve. Add a tablespoon of white miso and a miso cube, vegetables and soy and boil between 5-8 minutes. I prefer 5 minutes, I like the vegetables a little crunchy.

My test: This is a recipe that I make very often, fermented soybean paste is very good for the health and I love the taste. Miso contains all the essential amino acids and is rich in vitamin B and enzymes.

Fresh pasta

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 18:40:15 +0100

This recipe makes for ⁶⁄₈ portions.

Preparation time- 20 minutes, cooking time - 5 minutes and rest time - 1 - 2h

Ingredients:

400g flour
4 eggs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pinch of salt

Preparation:

Measure the flour and place in a bowl, make a well and break the eggs inside. Add salt and stir with a fork slowly the eggs into the flour. Add olive oil. Stir the remaining flour with the fingertips. Work the dough with the palm of the hand until a smooth. Form a ball and let stand 1 to 2 hours in a plastic foil. Take about 60 g of dough, flatten into a disk with the palm of the hand. Flour lightly, then pass through the pasta machine by opening the rolls at a maximum. Fold dough in three before passing it through the pasta machine again.

Repeat until you get a fairly regular rectangle. Then fold the dough in half pass through the pasta machine several times, tightening gradually the rolls in order to obtain a sheet of the desired thickness.

Prepare a clean towel and sprinkle with flour. Cut dough according to the type of pasta you want to make (I chose tagliatelles).

Set the pasta on the towel and sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking. They may be stored as is for two days.

To cook, bring to boil 1L of water per 100g of pasta with a pinch of salt and pour the pasta in. Count 3-5 minutes of cooking for fresh pasta. Drain and season right away, or they’ll stick.

My test: Recipe very easy to achieve, as seen on the photos, I chose the tagliatelle, they were very tasy.

Chocolate and pear galette

Sun, 17 Jan 2016 13:21:00 +0100

This recipe makes for 8 to 10 servings (depends on the size of the puff pastries).

Preparation- 20 minutes, cooking - 30 minutes, rest - 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 puff pastries (i made them myself, here is the recipe for puff pastry )
125 g ground almonds
100 g sugar
100 g butter
100 g dark chocolate
2 pears, fresh or canned
3 eggs
1 tbsp milk
1 trinket

In a bowl, mix the butter, softened and cut into small pieces with the sugar and ground almonds. Add one egg and mix until well incorporated. Repeat with a second egg. To give crunch to your cake, add a few pieces of crushed almonds. Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave (minimum power). Let it cool and then mix in the almond cream until mixture is well blended. Roll out a puff pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush on the edges (about 2 cm) with a brush and some water. Spread the cream in the center and cover with slices of pears and add a trinket if you wish. Cover with the second puff pastry. Press the edges with your fingers and fold them inward to seal the two pastes together. Using the back of a knife, press softly the edges of the pastry (see image below) to strengthen the seal between the pastries and decorate the cake. Mix one egg with a tablespoon of milk, and brush over the cake before putting it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Repeat the brushing after taking the cake out of the fridge, and then draw the shapes of your choice with the tip of a knife. Put in the oven, preheated at 240°C, for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven, preheat at 180°C and put the cake in the oven for another 20 minutes.

My test: The result was the best “galette des rois” I have ever tasted, the home made puff pastry contributes greatly to the quality of the cake and the almond, chocolate and pear mixture is perfect, here is a photo of the of the galette interior, hot from the oven.

British style red kidney beans

Fri, 08 Jan 2016 17:38:26 +0100

This recipe makes for 5 servings.

Total time for preparation : overnight, plus 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound dry red kidney beans
salt, pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons molasses (I replaced molasses with honey)
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 bay leaves
2 ¹⁄₂ cups tomato puree
6 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth

Preparation

In a large bowl, cover beans with 1 gallon of cold water. Add ¹⁄₄ cup salt and stir to dissolve. Let soak overnight on the counter. The next day, drain in a colander.

Recipe

In a large dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat until simmering. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft but not brown, about 4 minutes. Add soaked red kidney beans, brown sugar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, tomato paste, bay leaves, tomato puree, and 4 cups chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then cover and lower heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are cooked, about 4 hours, adding additional stock if the beans begin to look dry. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

My test:

This recipe was perfect, tasted a lot like the sweet english breakfast beans.

Baguettes

Fri, 08 Jan 2016 11:38:46 +0100

This recipe makes for 3 baguettes.

Ingredients:

25 cl water
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp sugar
1 dehydrated yeast bag
1 tsp salt
375 g flour

I placed all the ingredients in the bowl of the bread machine and stared the kneading program. It is also possible to knead by hand. Once the bread machine is over, flour hands and work surface. Remove dough, divide it into 3 and work each part for 5 minutes.

Roll out each ball of dough lengthwise, fold in half, and spread again, lengthwise. Repeat 3 times.

Once rolled lengthwise, roll each dough into a baguette.

Set on a baking sheet and place the in the oven, preheated at 100 ° C (th. 3-4). In the same time, put water in the drip pan. Let rise for 30 minutes, remove the baguettes and preheat the oven at 220 ° C (th.7).

Bake for 20 minutes, then remove them from the oven and let cool at room temperature.

My test:

I baked one baguette and put 2 in the freezer for later. To succeed freezing, take the dough balls after the kneading, work well to lower the temperature, or it continues to rise in the freezer. I wrapped the balls of dough in plastic film and placed in the freezer. J’ai cuit une baguette et mis 2 à congeler. Pour réussir la congélation, il faut prendre la boule de pâte sortie du pétrissage, la travailler bien pour baisser sa température, sinon ça continue à gonfler au congélateur. J’ai enveloppé les boules de pâte dans du film plastique et mis au congélateur.

Puff pastry

Fri, 08 Jan 2016 11:11:49 +0100

This recipe makes for 1 puff pastry.

Total time ~7 hours

Ingredients:

For the pastry

200 g flour
50 g butter
8 cl water
1 tsp salt

For the puff

A 150 g butter rectangle of about 12x10 cm

In a bowl, mix the ingredients for the dough and form a smooth ball of dough. Cut a cross on the top with a knife. Cover with a plastic wrap and set to cool for 30 minutes. Remove dough from fridge, roll it with the palm of your hand, then with a pastry roll. Let the center slightly plump. Place the cold butter rectangle in the center. Fold each side. Return and flour well. Roll out the dough into a rectangle. It should be 3 times longer than wide. Turn the dough horizontally and fold the right side, then the left side. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Flour the dough well. Keep your dough rectangle in the sense that you put it in the refrigerator. Roll out into a rectangle 3 times longer than wide, and then rotate the dough horizontally and fold the right side, then the left side. Set to cool for 1 hour. Repeat the same procedure 6 fold.

My test: The pastry was very successful, perfect.

Butter

Fri, 08 Jan 2016 11:11:14 +0100

Preparation time : 25 minutes

This recipe makes for about 125g of butter.

Ingredients:

40 cl heavy cream, at least 35% fat. Better the quality of the heavy cream, better the butter will be. I bought it at an organic food store, the cream was very fat and tasty, this made me about 140g butter.
Salt if you want to make salted butter, 2 good pinches of salt would be enough.
you can flavor it with herbs, garlic, my test was just for salted butter.

Take the cream out of the fridge 30 minutes before mixing it on high speed until having a nice firm whipped cream, then let rest 5 minutes before resuming.

When the mixture begins to turn yellow, lower the speed until small yellow grains form and the buttermilk (whey) appears. Stop beating.

Pour the butter grains in a colander to drain, loosely.

Pour the butter grains in a large jar, loosely, add cold water and 2 or 3 ice cubes. Close the jar and shake vigorously for 2-3 minutes.

Drain well, I had a strainer lid for my jar, it was very easy. Repeat the rinse until the water runs clear. Knead for 5 minutes with a wooden spatula (not by hand, otherwise it starts to melt with the heat of your hands). It’s also a good time to add the salt and / or spices. Place into ramekins and refrigerate.

The butter is good for about 4-5 days if kept in the refrigerator, more if it’s salted butter.

My test:

My cream was tasty and fat, the butter grains appeared very quickly, the buttermilk took 5 more minutes to appear. Salted butter was tasty, I tested this morning on toast, it was perfect.

English breakfast

Fri, 08 Jan 2016 11:10:57 +0100

This morning’s breakfast:

2 slices of fried bacon
1 fried egg
¹⁄₄ cucumber, sliced
black radish, sliced with a mandolin
red kidney beans english style homemade
2 slices of homemade baguette toasted, buttered with salted butter, homemade
1 cube of comté cheese

This was accompanied with tea-pot of english breakfast tea (kusmi tea). +++

After holidays detox remedies

Mon, 04 Jan 2016 19:18:16 +0100

Here are my very successful detox tricks after a heavy weekend with a lot of food and drinks. What I do for at least one week is the following :

the juice of half a lemon with a bit of warm water, before having breakfast (half an hour before at least)
a big glass bottle (75cl - 1L) with 2 tea bags from bio nutrisanté.

This diet is meant to help clean your liver and gallbladder, the liver being the filter of your body’s toxins. I have also tried the wandertea teas, the flawless skin is very effective. Another diet that I have tried that is very good is the orgnic 3 days juice cleanse from dietox, you can see your skin is healthier and you feel full of energy after the 3 days.