Smashing Steak Sliders

country fried steak in a deliciouso burger form

THE MAYO

what you need:

4 tbsp of mayo

1.5 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp Tabasco (or chili sauce)

THE STEAK

marinade Steak in:

lemon Juice

turmeric

chili powder

curry powder

salt

worcestershire sauce

pepper

make sure your steak is sliced thin

marinade for one hour

after the hour, flour>eggwash>breadcrumb the steak

with a dash of chili powder

with salt and coarse black pepper

with dried parsley

coat the steak, and fry 

chop onion, tomato, lettuce

and serve:

A la cuisine!

MAKAI PAKA - Corn Coconut Curry

a savory and sweet east african dish

what you need:

frozen/fresh corn

 handful cilantro

2 tomatoes

2 onions

1 green chili

turmeric

chilipowder

1 can coconut milk

lemon juice

salt/pepper to taste

-

boil corn till cooked

in a grinder, place cilantro, onion, green chili and tomato

till a minced texture

in a wide pot, add oil (canola or olive) and garlic paste

then add the cilantro/onion mixture

and let it fry 

add the corn, and then the coconut milk

let cook: you will see the coconut milk thicken up a bit

for color add the turmeric and chilipowder

mix it around a bit, and its ready to serve

A la cuisine! - african style -

Seriously Awesome ChocolateChip BananaBread

what you need:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar 

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 or 4 bananas

1/2 cup of butter

1 tsp salt

1 cup of chocolate chips

a few drops of vanilla

a flattened cup full

brown eggs or white eggs, no difference.
and ripe bananas

start with dry ingredients: combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, 

baking soda, salt and chocolate chips 

 

to get the perfect taste of sugar reduce the one cup of sugar by a few teaspoons.

then add the eggs, butter, vanilla and bananas

mix it all up: you can use a wooden spoon, or your hands.

and mix until you get a thick, sticky, and dense texture

place in butter/oil coated bread pan:

and bake for about an hour, or until cooked

it should look something like this:

inside the texture should be fluffy 

A la cuisine!

Simple Vanilla Icing

what you need:

medium sized bowl or container

2 cup confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp milk

half a stick of softened butter 

optional: cream cheese 1 tbsp

and food coloring

mix together confectioners sugar and butter

add all other ingredients except the coloring, and vanilla

(if the mixture is too thick, just add more milk....too thin? add more sugar...

but be careful about the sweetness)

then add the vanilla and coloring

whisk. till smooth

add milk to get desired consistency, for my chocolate cake I wanted to drizzle my icing so I added more milk

A la cuisine!

FIOCCHI - gorgonzola and pear purses of pasta

There are three steps to this dish:
1) Making the Pasta
2) Caramelizing the Pears
3) The Mushroom White Sauce

and we start:
MAKING THE PASTA

what you need:
2 cups of flour
3 1/2 large eggs
1/2 tsp of salt
(for one pound of pasta)

Step:1
make a mound of the flour (with salt) , with a dip in the center. place the eggs in the center.

Step 2:
whisk the eggs in the dip without the flour

Step 3:
slowly incorporate the eggs and flour

Step 4:
blend well

Step 5:
form and dough ball and knead for 10 minutes

Step 6:
Separate into 3 balls, and cover for 20 minutes

Step 7:
Roll the pasta,  flatten the dough (very thin)  and cut

continue with: 

CARAMELIZING THE PEARS

what you need: 

 3 pears (green or red)

2 tsp sugar

1/4 cup fruit juice (I used berry juice)

Step 1:

dice two pears, and slice the other

Step 2:

place diced pears with 1 tsp of sugar in the pan. sautee and add fruit juice. and let cool.

Step 3:

place remaining sugar on the sliced pear and face down on the pan till you get nice color. and let cool on the side.

and finish with the: 

MUSHROOM WHITE SAUCE

what you need:

5 baby bella mushrooms

4 tsp of butter

1/2 tsp garlic power, or 1 clove of garlic, or 3/4 tsp of crushed garlic

pepper to taste

1 tsp of salt (leveled)

1/2 tsp of chili powder

1/2 cup of flour

1/4 cup of gorgonzola cheese

1 cup of milk (skim, whole, 2%, or even soy)

Step 1:

slice mushrooms

Step 2:

melt butter, and sautee mushrooms

Step 3:

add flour to make roux. then stir in garlic, pepper, salt (less salt if salted butter was used), chili powder, garlic,  and cheese. this will give you a paste in the pan.

Step 4:

slowly add temperate milk to the pan while stirring. It should look like this:

to make the 

PASTA PURSES:

take the cut pasta and place it in a cupped hand, then place a few crumbles of gorgonzola and the cooled caramelized pear mixture. 

fold over to create a "purse"

then boil until al-dente 

(this can take anywhere from 5 - 12 minutes)

SERVE: pasta with white sauce, and caramelized pear on top.

and a thank you to my friends, for joining me in the kitchen today. much love<3

A la cuisine!