Friday 29 June 2007

Recipe - Reuben Sandwich

I really shouldn't admit to this but for years I have been cooking this recipe using the wrong ingredient. I was watching the Pickled Pink episode of Alton Brown's Good Eats show yesterday which made me realise my major mistake.

I have been using English corned beef which is a very different thing compared to the US version. But I must say that I still liked the sandwiches a lot. Now I must try and locate some 'proper' corned beef. If anyone reading this knows where to get it in the UK, please let me know.

Reuben Sandwich

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
8 slices rye bread
8 slices deli sliced corned beef (the American type)
8 slices Swiss cheese
250 ml sauerkraut, drained
125 ml Thousand Island dressing


Method
Preheat a large skillet or griddle on medium heat.

Lightly butter one side of bread slices. Spread non-buttered sides with Thousand Island dressing. On 4 bread slices, layer 1 slice Swiss cheese, 2 slices corned beef, 1/4 cup sauerkraut and second slice of Swiss cheese. Top with remaining bread slices, buttered sides out.


Grill sandwiches until both sides are golden brown, about 15 minutes per side. Serve hot.


Enjoy!

Thursday 28 June 2007

Serious Food Porn - Saveur's Steak Issue

The latest issue of Saveur is The Steak Issue. It's full on food porn for steak lovers like me. Some of the pictures just makes me salivate.

This issue is full of great recipes and some very useful and interesting information when it comes to steaks.

Mikey's advice: Go and get a copy!

Wednesday 27 June 2007

Recipe - Ham and Egg nests

This is a recipe that I have seen in many versions, I don't think you can make this in a wrong way somehow. So this is my interpretation of a very nice breakfast dish.

Ham and Egg nests

Ingredients
Per nest:
1 slice of ham (thin enough to drape easily but not so thin that it breaks)
1 tablespoon of shredded cheese, any kind will do so use your favourite
1 egg
Tabasco, to taste - leave it out if you don't like the heat

Method
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/Gasmark 4

Drape the ham into a nonstick muffin tray, covering the bottom and sides. It can be a bit hard to get purdy nests but practise makes perfect.

Once all the ham has been draped you can put the cheese in the bottom, add Tabasco to taste and then crack an egg into each nest.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the eggs are set to your liking.

Let them cool for a bit until you remove them from the muffin tray.

Serve with your normal breakfast favourites, like toast etc.

Enjoy!

Recipe - Lamby Goodness

I guess my first post really should tell a bit about me and the reasons behind this blog. However, I'll need some time to put that together so I thought I'd post a favourite recipe instead.

This is one of my own inventions. For once I haven't stolen someones recipe straight off or with modifications. This is a recipe I created for a friend and she keeps asking me to cook this for her. Which can get a bit boring when you want to try new dishes at times ;-)

I'm afraid that I don't have a photo of this dish, I'll try to add photos with all my future postings.

Well, here's the recipe....

Lamby Goodness (serves 2 - 4 depending on how hungry you are)

Ingredients
500g lamb mince
2 red onions, chopped
Garlic, to your taste and finely chopped
1 tablespoon Olive oil
2 tablespoons curry powder, or more if you want a stronger curry flavour
1 200 ml tub Crème Fraîche
1 200 g can Sweet Corn
Salt and pepper to taste
Pitta pockets

Method
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and the garlic and let them sweat until they start to soften. At this stage add the mince together with salt and pepper to taste. Let the mince fry until it's nicely browned. Now add the Crème Fraîche, curry powder and Sweet Corn. Bring to the boil and then adjust it to a simmer. Let this simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes, until the mixture is starting to thicken.

Serve in the pitta pockets. It's always nice to grill the pitta pockets slightly just before serving.

Enjoy!