Breakfast egg salad on a crispy bread

It’s easy, piquant and not trivial! You can make it a night before serving .  It can also be served as an appetizer, make beautiful canapés on toasted rye bread with a half ring of fresh cucumber.

Serves 2:

5 hard-boiled eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Juice and zest of ½ lemon
½ tsp powdered paprika
Freshly ground white pepper
2 rye rolls or bread
10 grams butter
Salt

 
1)Peel and chop the eggs coarsely. 

2) Add mayonnaise, paprika, lemon zest, salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix everything thoroughly. Set aside in refrigerator for 1 hour or for the whole night, that is even better.

 
3) Brown  rolls parts or bread pieces in toaster. Smear it with butter and place egg salad on top.

 
Bon Appetit!

My signature salad with honey mustard dressing

Crusty meat, sour-sweet sauce perfectly coating salad leaves… This salad has become favorite among my closest people. It is good for breakfast, perfect for lunch and and suitable even for a light dinner.  

One of the best features of this dressing that You can skip adding salt. The eater will not even notice the absence of it because of the richness of the sauce.

Do not be confused if You have only one type of salad, make it with what You have!

Serves 4:

2 chicken breasts

4 tbsp olive oil

4 eggs

400 grams mixed salad

2 big tomatoes

2 short cucumbers

1 big white onion

2 tbsp carpers

For dressing:

1 tsp honey

6 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp mild European mustard (Dijon mustard is ok)

12 tbsp olive oil

Salt if You wish

 1)      Rub chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Cover in foil and beat them lightly.

2)      Heat up a frying pan with 4 tbsp of olive oil and fry chicken breasts from both sides till done (approximately 10-15 min). (If You have grill griddle frying pan, then perfect! Use it!)  Then set the breasts aside for resting cooling down a bit. Slice them afterward.

3)      Hard boil the eggs. Let them cool a bit and quarter.

4)      Wash and dry salad leaves property. Tear them with Your hands,  place them in a big bowl. 

 5)      Wash vegetables. Peel onion and cut in halves, then slice it thinly. Cut tomatoes into halves and slice it roughly. Cut both ends of the cucumbers. Slice them. Add vegetables to the salad.

6)      Make dressing: place all ingredients into separate little bowl and whisk energetically till the sauce is emulsified. 

7)      Place 2/3 of the dressing into the salad bowl with vegetables. Mix well.  Transfer salad into serving plates, place chicken slices on top and egg quarters on the sides. 1 egg per plate. Sprinkle with carpers and pour over the rest of dressing. Serve immediately! 

Ideal with a glass of chilled white wine!

Stock - as a basis of good cooking

It is often called for stock in so many recipes. As a soup base, or for risotto, also for creation of delicate fragrant sauce. It is absolutely simple to make it, the taste will be rich and harmonious, and you will completely forget about the stock cubes with synthetic aftertaste.

There are different stocks, made of  chicken, fish, veal, beef, vegetables, mushroom. Pork and other meats stocks are usually made only as a basis for a particular soup (for example in traditional Ukrainian cuisine, see Borsch), but not as  a common ingredient on a kitchen, because other kinds of meat  have too intense flavor to act as a neutral basis.

If bones and vegetables  are roasted before making a stock out of them, then the stock is called brown stock - if not, then it is white stock.

 
 Today I will give an example of my basic white chicken stock. Every cook has its own. You can change the proportions to your taste or add some additional ingredients. Just do not overdo with the carrots, they make stock sweet and that is not always desirable.

 My version is:

For 10 liters pot:

1 chicken (or  1,5 - 2 kg of bones, carcasses, legs)
2 onions
1 stalk of leek
1 large carrot
100 gr. celery root (can be replaced by stalks)
1 tsp salt

Bouquet garni (basic):
1 bay leaf
5 grains of black pepper
3 sprigs thyme (You can lose and replace some of your favorite herbs)
3 large parsley stems (stems and not leaves, leaves tend to make stock darker)

1)Wash chicken thoroughly, cut it into pieces. Wash and peel vegetables. Cut carrots, onions and leeks in half. Wash herbs.
2) If you are not sure in Your chicken quality, do this:
Place chicken parts in a pot, cover with cold water so that its completely covered, bring to a boil, then drain. Rinse chicken again, and wash the pot properly.  And follow the rest of the instructions in the recipe.
If You are sure of good quality of Your chicken,  then skip this step (like me).
3) Put chicken in a 10 liter pot. Add leek, carrot, 1 onion, salt and bouquet garni. Can you it up or place it loosely, stock has to be strained anyway.
4) Heat up a dry pan over high heat, do not add any fat. Put 2 halves of onions cut  side down, and fry. Onion must be literally burnt.  

This will give golden color to Your stock. When the onion is ready, put it in the pan to the other ingredients.

 5) Fill the pot with cold water. Place over medium heat, bring to a boil and reduce heat to a minimum, so the stock just gently simmers.

 
6) Regularly remove submerging  scum and filth with a skimmer and  fat with a spoon. Cook for 2-3 hours. This is sufficient time to dissolve chicken collagen into the water. That is exactly what gives body to the stock and makes it reach. 1 hour is not enough for this.

So here are the main NOTs of  making stock:

1) Do NOT cover it with a lid while cooking!
2) Do NOT let it boil! (Stock will taste bitter and becomes cloudy)
3) Do NOT  stir! (You will disturb impurities and cloud the stock)

7) When the stock is ready, cool it as soon as possible. (If you made stock from whole chicken, rather than bones, leave meat to cool along in the stock and then remove it. So the meat will soak a little bit of fluid and will be juicier). Strain stock through a fine sieve, you can also place a layer of gauze over it, for better result.

8) Divide stock into portions, leave the required amount in the fridge and freeze the rest.
Stock stays fresh in fridge for 2-3 days and 3 months in the freezer.

Good luck!

Cauliflower Cream Soup

      

Сauliflower is in season now. Not everybody loves it, but not everyone can cook it well. In this tender and creamy soup, there is no typical sulfurous aftertaste, that is so disliked by people. Delicate cheese neutralizes it completely and brings the dish on an entirely different level!  It's just a delight for Your stomach:-) Try it!

About pureed soups:

 
Pureed soups are easy and difficult to make at the same time.

 
Easy, because You cook all together, blend everything and the soup is ready.
 

Difficult because:

First, You have to find ingredients that are go well together and complement each other so that soup would not be as baby food, that nobody wants to eat. Think well what You are going to cook!

Second, consistency of the soup. Soup has to be rich and nourishing not like a tea. For this You have to remember, when vegetables are cooked, drain about 1 / 3 of the liquid into a separate bowl.  

Then, blend your soup and adjust the consistency with the same liquid.

The best way to make soup is to blend it with stand blender, it aerates  the soup, fills it with air, making it heaven like. Of course You can force it through the sieve or blend it in food processor.

Salt soup in the end of cooking, when the soup is already blended. Then you can evaluate the taste more adequately.

Reheat Your cream soup gently and slowly, over low to medium heat, stirring often, so soup does not stick to the pot walls, it spoils the taste a lot.
 

Good luck!

For 6 portions:

1 medium onion
25 gr butter
500 gr cauliflower
0.6 liters Water
0.6 liters chicken stock

400 gr paste-like processed cheese

½ tsp grated nutmeg
Salt to taste

1) Clean and slice the onion into half rings. Bring stock and water to the boil. Wash cauliflower and divide it into florets.

2) Heat the butter with a little bit of vegetable oil in a three-liter saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and fry for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. It has to be partially carmelized but not brown. You will feel pleasant aroma with mushroom-walnut notes.

3)   Pour hot water and stock over the onions. Add cauliflower florets. Cook until tender for 8-10 minutes. It  is ready when it's easy to pierce with a fork.

4)  Do not remove from heat,  take 2 cups of liquid from the soup. Set aside.

5)  Place the cheese in a soup pot and mix well. Cook for 2 minutes. Turn off  the heat and blend soup with blender  until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add a little of set aside liquid from the soup.

6)   Taste, add salt if necessary (cheese usually is already quite salty). Add the grated nutmeg and mix well. Cover with a lid and set aside for 10 minutes to infuse.

Serve warm with crusty bread. Bon Appetit!

P.S. Place remaining liquid in the refrigerator. Cream soup tends to thicken during the subsequent reheating. And if You do not eat the soup at once, you can dilute it with this same liquid to the desired consistency, when You reheat it  the next day.

IDEA: You can cut the bacon into small cubes and fry until crispy. When You will be serving the soup sprinkle it with crispy bacon.

Wiener Schnitzel with Potato Salad - delicious memories from Vienna

     Soft, thin Schnitzel meat, melting in Your mouth with a company of sourish  potato salad with smoked sausages… what a great meal to enjoy with a glass of good beer. It's "must do" in Vienna.

         

  Bohemian atmosphere,  hypnotizing music, interesting architecture - You have this all in old good Vienna!

 

City that makes You dream, city that makes You happier! City You want to be back to.... 

     Maria-Theresia beloved Austrian queen, Hubsburg dynasty, mother of Marie-Antoinette, she has been pregnant for 16 times!!! loved eating the same much as she loved making love:-)

   Vienna strikes with so many historical and cultural objects, side by side with modern life beating intensively in the big city...

  

Going back to the meal...

     Classic Wiener Schnitzel made of veal. I had really fine cuts of pork. And it worked really well! You can decide what You prefer. It is important to make it as thin as possible, but not by slicing it, but by beating …

     One more good thing about potato salad that You can make that salad even one night ahead and keep in closed tight container in the fridge till serving time. Then You can heat it up a bit, or serve it as it is – cold.

For 4

For Potato Salad:

600 gram potatoes

3 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 big onions

200 gram thin smoked sausages

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

150 ml chicken stock

6 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

For Schnitzel:

4 pork or veal scallops beaten lightly till thin

3 eggs lightly beaten

½ cup flour

1 cup white bread crumbs

Vegetable oil for frying

Salt and pepper to taste

1 lemon for serving

For potato salad:

1)      Wash and peel potatoes. Slice them approximately 0,5 cm and Cook In salted boiling water till done.

2)      In the meantime peel onions, halve and slice them. Slice sausages (quite thick slices app. 1 cm). Heat a deep frying pan, add vegetable oil and onions, fry till softening. Add sausages and fry 2 min more.

3)      Drain potatoes. Add the to the onion-sausage mixture, and fry 2 min more. Add hot stock, mustard, vinegar, freshly ground pepper , mix it well and boil everything together for 1 min.

4)      Turn off  the heat, cover with a lid and set aside at least for an hour.

P.S. You can make it also a day before. Serve cold or lightly warm, as a garnish or separate dish.

To make Schnitzel:

1)      Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in 3 individual shallow dishes. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, shake off excess, dip into egg, and last dredge in breadcrumbs. Shake off excess of breadcrumbs. 

2)      Heat the oil in large shallow frying pan. Add 1 Schnitzel at a time to the pan, brown from both sides about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to plate lined with paper towels and keep it warm. Repeat with other Schnitzel.

3)      Cut lemon into 4 wedge.

Serve with one lemon wedge at a plate accompanied with potato salad! Perfect match for beer! Mahlzeit! 

Crunchy Oatmeal Cookies

    I just felt like having some oatmeal cookies. After reading some recipes, pondering on what I really want, I made my own cookies. Just crunchy sweet treat to boost Your energy level . Perfect match for coffee or tea. Easy to make, easy to bake. Go ahead and make some!

120 gr butter
1 egg
40 grams of white sugar
40 grams of brown sugar
60 gram flour
90 grams of rolled oats
30 grams of dried cranberries (You can subtitute with raisings or any other dry fruits)
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
Preheat oven to 180 ˚C.

1) Beat together butter, sugar and an egg. Make it with a whisk in a bowl or in food processor. The mass should be light and fluffy.

2) Chop cranberries. In a separate bowl mix baking powder, cinnamon, flour, cranberries, oats.

Stir well and carefully transfer to the butter mixture. Mix well until all ingredients are combined.

3) Prepare a baking sheet smearing it thinly with melted butter. Drop spoonful of dough on the sheet and go on spoon by spoon making about 2 cm intervals.

4) Flatten the dough slightly with wet fingers. Place in the hot oven for 15-20 min.
Take out when cookies start getting slightly browned.

BE CAREFUL: Watch out not to burn cookies. Take them out when they are still soft and let them cool down on the baking sheet out of the oven. They will become crunchy in few minutes.

10 basic rules of good cooking

      Everybody happened to have some accidents at the kitchen, some unpleasant surprizes, some spoiled dishes. Only those who do not cook, do not have such situations. Though most of them You can prevent knowing the rules, and being attentive...

1) Read the recipe before You start. Analyze it! Imagine the whole preparation process.It's Your travel map in the kitchen.
2) Mise en place — literally “putting in place” that is, having all the ingredients gathered, measured, prepared and ready to go before you start actually cooking. It makes everything so much easier and You are more concentrated on what You cook.

Auguste Escoffier, French chef, maybe the most prominent person In culinary, implemented is as staple of work in the kitchen.
3) Taste as You go! Some ingredients can make the whole dish saltier, when You don’t even expect it. And not all the sugars are equally sweet. Don’t leave this out for the time before serving.
4) Do pre-heat the oven if it is indicated in the recipe! So the dish will be heat through from all the sides properly, and the cooking process will start at proper temperature.
5) Measure Your ingredients properly. Especially when baking something. Baking is more chemistry than art. Make exact measurements not to end with rubbery cakes, tough bread and deformed cookies.

6) Do not overcrowd the frying pan. Golden brown and crisp bits, that everybody likes, are essential for flavor and are impossible to get if the frying pan is overcrowded. You will just steam, not fry.
7) Get the frying pan hot enough before You start cooking, because You will end up with excessively greasy bits, or your food will simply stick to the pan in case of stainless steel frying pan. (These are the best to develop delicious crust and then to make sauce with the drippings)
8) When You cook meat or fish, no matter what cooking method You use, allow them to reach room temperature. The flesh will cook through evenly, and the cooking time will be shorter, what makes flesh more tender.
9) When You make a roasted chicken or goose, or any other bird and any roast or fried cuts of meat, let it relax before carving. It’s important to have juicy meat. If You carve it straight away, all the juices will be leaking out and Your end up with dry and tough meat. With steaks and birds parts 5 min is enough. For a whole bird and big roasts, 15-30 min are essential.

10) When You blanch vegetables, shock them in ice water (bowl filled with ice and cold water) or at least rinse them under cold running water, for few seconds. Your vegetables will be brighter, crunchier and not overcooked.
Good luck and tasty cooking!
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