Pico de Gallo - very versatile!

Both pico de gallo and salsa are Mexican side dishes. However pico de gallo is often mistakenly called salsa. The basic difference is that pico de gallo is chunky and not blended. It can be used as a garnish for grilled steaks, a side dish for BBQ, a dip for tortilla chips, a topping for tacos, and be added into burritos. Mixing a few tablespoons of it into some mashed avocado, you have guacamole! Mmmh...

4-6 tomatos, diced
yellow onion, diced
cilantro, chopped
1/2-2 serrano or jalapeño chillies, seeded for less spicy and finely chopped
1-2 lemon or lime
salt

Note: I prefer to use roma tomato, because I think it tastes more flovarful.

Origin of Stir Fries

Stir fry is a typical Cantonese cuisine. Canton has a mild climate all year round due to it's located on the southestern coast of China, where an abundant of fresh food is available in general. Therefore Cantonese cuisine emphasizes on preservation of freshness and natural flavors.

The main idea of stir fries is to put food into a preheated cookware at high temperture and cook quickly (by stiring). Each ingredient is added in a strategic manner so nothing is overcooked, and whenever necessary, each ingredient is cooked separately then mix together at the end.

Related recipes:

Stir fried meat with vegetable

Stir fried zucchini

Blackened Salmon

for 2 people

You'll need the previous blog Blacken Spices to use this recipe. Not only it's flavorful, but it also perserves the original flavor of the meat within it. It looks very presentable too! Mmmmh...

The what's:

400-500 g (0.88-1.1 Lb / 14-17.6 oz) salmon filet, skinless or not depends on your personal perference

blacken spices

olive oil

The how's:

Cover salmon with oil. Rub spices on both sides of fish. Preheat frying pan on high heat, and pour remaining oil in pan. Add more oil as needed. Once it's hot, place fish in it. Cook each side until surface of fish is sealed and browned.  Turn heat to low and cook until fish is thoroughly cooked.

Suggestion: Great with a fresh salad! Please see my blog "All Natural Salad Dressing" for something healthy & refreshing to balance out the grease!

Blacken Spices

I keep a small bottle of this mix of spices to use for making a quick presentable meal. It's so helpful when I don't feel like going through the trouble of marinating. It tastes salty, spicy and a little garlicky. Here is a list of ingredients, and please see the next blog Backened Salmon for an example of how to use it!

The what's:

4 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp while pepper

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp thyme

1 tbsp salt

Pumkin Soup - cozy!

I probably should have posted this 2 months ago when pumpkin season began. Well, better late then never! It's more convenient to use a kabocha pumkin, since no peeling is necessary. However, I don't think it affects the flavor much if using a regular pumpkin. Then this would be one way to use that scraping from the Halloween pumpkin!

Part 1 - the soup:

1.5 kg pumpkin, peeled & cubed

or kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), cubed & no peeling needed

50 g butter

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, peeled

a pinch cumin

1 L chicken stock

1 L water

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp crème fraîche

salt & pepper

Put butter into a large deep pan at medium high heat. Cook (sweat) onion for 5 mins or until onion becomes transparent. Add garlic, cumin, chicken stock and water. Turn heat to medium. Once boiling, simmer at low heat for 20-30 mins. Add crème fraîche and maple syrup. Use a handheld blender to blend the soup, so all ingredients become liquidity.  Finally, salt & pepper to taste. Serve!

Alternative 1: Instead of using 1 L chicken stock and 1 L water, I cook a chicken with 2 L water for 2 hrs at low heat (first at medium high, then turn it down once water is boiling) the night before. Skim off the fat the following day, before use.

Alternative 2: If a handheld blender is not accessible to you, use a regular blender.  You'll need to do it in batches, since the blender is probably not large enough.

Part 2 - the croutons (optional):

2 slices whole wheat bread, cut into small cubes

a pinch nutmeg

a pinch cinnamon

1 tsp white sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven at 350°F (180°C or gas mark 4).  Prepare the baking tray by covering the tray with a sheet of aluminum foil and brush a thin layer of oil.  Spread the bread on the tray.  Sprinkle all ingredients one by one.  Gently mix them.  Bake for 7 mins or until slightly golden brown.

Garnish: mint (optional)

My favorite mix of peppercorns - just in case you don't already know about it...

I found this in the French & Belgium supermarkets.  Maybe it's actually very common, but it's new to us.  My husband and I are loving it! I use it in almost every recipe that calls for pepper.

In addition to the usual black & white peppercorns (poivre noir & poivre blanc), there're also:

green peppercorn (poivre vert)

pink peppercorn (baies roses)

allspice (poivre de la Jamaïque)

Duck Breast with Cassis

for 2 people

 

This dish is made with a sweet French wine Créme de Cassis.  If you like your meat pink, this is for you.

Part 1 - the duck:

1 duck breast (about 0.8-0.9 lb or 350-400 g)

salt & pepper

Season duck breast with salt & pepper on both sides.  Preheat a frying pan on low heat.  Place duck breast with the skin side facing down.  Turn heat up to medium.  Cook for 10-12 mins.  The fat under the skin will melt in this process, so pour it out into a little bowl from time to time.  (If the duck is more than 400 g, it would take longer than 12 mins.)  Once the fat is rended, turn the duck around and turn off the heat.  Leave it in the pan and on the stove for 10 mins. No lid is necessary in the entire time.

Note: I usually prepare the ingredients for the sauce after I season the duck.  It gives the seasoning a little extra time to settle into the meat.

Part 2 - the sauce:

2 tbsp shallot, finely chopped

4 tbsp (60 ml) créme de cassis

2 tbsp raspberry jam

4 tbsp (60 ml) balsamic vinegar

a generous knob of butter (optional)

In a different frying pan (a large one), put in the duck grease.  Preheat on high.  Saute shallot for a few mins.  Turn down the heat to medium.  Add créme de cassis and mix well.  When boiling, add raspberry jam and balsamic vinegar.  Mix well.  Simmer to reduce the sauce, so the sauce becomes thicker.  Keep stirring to keep from burning.  Once reduced.  Add butter if you like.

Attention: I find the part to reduce the sauce the trickiest step.  Don't try to save time by turning up the heat.  Be patient!  Try simmer it for about 8 mins.

Part 3 - serve:

Slice duck in about 5 mm (about 1/2 cm or 1/4").  Arrange the slices on a plate.  Spoon the sauce on the slices as if drawing some lines or circles.  Not so much as if drowing the slices.

Suggestion:  Serve with bread or rice, and a fresh salad.  May use the sauce also as a salad dressing.

Original source: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-duck-breasts-with-cassis