Pepper Coffee Steak Recipe

Steak

Tuna

Ingredients

• Coarse ground dark roast coffee beans (French Roast or Espresso)
• Coarse ground black pepper

Preparation

Mix about 1/3 coffee beans and 2/3 pepper

Instructions

1. Coat steaks with olive oil and Worcestershire sauce
2. Season with garlic powder
3. Coat steaks with heavy layer of coffee/pepper mixture.
4. Let sit for 30 minutes to 2 hours
5. Sear on a very hot grill and cook to your favorite doneness

This coffee/pepper mixture works well with grilled salmon or tuna replacing Worcestershire with lemon juice and garlic powder with dill.

Luxury Brownies (with secret recipe)

Ingredients:

230g Butter, roughly cubed
300g Sugar (Granulated or Castor)
200g Whole eggs (approximately four) whisked up
230g Dark Chocolate - in small pellet form or chopped finely so it melts quickly
140g Flour
40g Cocoa Powder
200g of nuts of your choice (pistachio, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans - You can use just one type or use all four types like I do. They add different crunchy textures to every fudgy bite, which makes the brownie interesting til the last bite)

20cm square baking tin
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Prepare:

a. Butter the baking tin. Then line the bottom & the sides with baking paper.

b. Sift together the flour & the cocoa powder.

c. Have the chocolates ready in a large mixing bowl.

d. Leave aside some nuts to decorate the surface of the brownies with (in my opinion, walnuts look best).

e. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

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Method:

1. Melt the butter completely in a large pot.
2. Add the sugar. Dissolve.
3. Pour the egg mixture & mix well with a whisk (make sure the hot butter doesn’t cook the egg in to an omlette).
4. Pour the hot mixture over the chocolates in a bowl. Mix thoroughly & make sure all the chocolates have dissolved (if you still have lumps of chocolates left, zap it at 10 second intervals in the microwave until it melts).
5. Spatula in the flour & the cocoa powder. Mix until no traces of flour can be seen.
6. Mix in the nuts. (Make sure you leave some aside for decorating the top with).
7. Pour the mixture in to the prepared tin.
8. Evenly decorate some more nuts on the top surface.(Make sure each slice would have a decorative nut)
9. Bake in the oven (that has been pre-heated at 180 degrees)for 25 - 30 minutes. It’s cooked when the edges have gone slightly dry, the top is shiny & has cracked. The centre of the brownie shoudn’t be wobbly when shook. Remember: the toothpick method won’t work on this fudgy brownie!
10. Leave aside to cool. Don’t cut until they’ve reached room temperature, or even better leave it untouched for a WHOLE DAY to rest - I can promise you, it’ll taste better tenfold.

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Note:

This recipe is versatile - instead of nuts, you can put pretty much anything in there - like dried fruit such as dried cherries, or fresh fruits like raspberry. Baking is meant to be fun & so don’t go out-of-your-way to buy the nuts if you haven’t got it (as nuts can be expensive). Use whatever that is in your store cupboard & experiment! like, be creative with sliced almonds & spell a letter on the surface!

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Dulce de Leche Recipe

makes about 1 cup / 250 ml

Ingredients:

4 cups / 1000 ml whole milk
1 1/2 cups / 375 ml granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 vanilla bean, split OR 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Special Equipment:

• A skimmer

Instructions:

1. In a heavy saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, and baking soda.
2. Slowly bring to a boil over medium heat without stirring. A foamy layer will develop on top as it reaches a boil.
3. Remove from the heat when it reaches a boil. Skim the foamy layer on top and return to the stovetop over medium heat.
4. If using the split vanilla bean, add it at this point.
5. Continue to simmer gently for 1 hour over medium heat, skimming the top as needed and stirring occasionally.
6. If using the split vanilla bean, remove and discard it at this point.
7. Continue to simmer gently for 1 to 1 1/2 hours over medium heat, stirring often. Once the dulce de leche reaches a deep caramel color and thick consistency, watch it closely. Stir continuously to prevent the bottom from scorching.
   
   Watch out for scorching when it gets to this stage
8. Reduce the heat to low when dragging a spatula across the bottom of the pan leaves trails.
   
   Happy trail
9. Fine-tune the consistency to your liking at this point, keeping in mind that dulce de leche will stiffen slightly as it cools. You can thin dulce de leche by adding small amounts of water if it gets too thick.
10. Strain the dulce de leche.
11. If using vanilla extract, add it at this point.
12. Cool to room temperature before storing.

Japanese cheesecake ~ recipe~

~ ingredients



~method :

1) soften butter & cream cheese at room temperature
2) mix them with spatula till well combined
3) add milk and stir
4) add yolks and stir
5) add lemon juice and stir
6) sift flour & cornstarch, incorporate them to cheese mixture
7) beat egg whites & sugar till soft peaks form. Incorporate delicately to the batter
8) pour the batter in a 22 cm springform tin (line based with parchment paper and wrapped with aluminium foil)



9) put the tin in a baking tray - fill with hot water (till half height of the cake tin)
10) bake in water-bath at 150°C for 60 minutes

Enjoy :)

Puerto Rican style stewed chicken and rice recipe

Stewed Chicken and Rice

The cuisine of Puerto Rico resembles that of Latin America and Spain, however the food is a blend of European, African, Taino Indian and American. Puerto Rican food is smoky, colorful and hearty. Many native dishes are stewed for long periods of time, many of which are paired with rice.

Before meeting my husband Pierre, I never knew the flavors of Puerto Rican food. Pierre is Puerto Rican and grew up in Hartford, Connecticut - home to a very large Boricua community. What I never knew is that chicken and rice is a very important part of Puerto Rican cuisine and it’s seen in multiple dishes, including the classic dish, arroz con pollo. On our second date, he made me stewed chicken over rice and I fell in love…with the food. According to him, he just made it up on the spot. Whether it was an impromptu recipe or he spent the whole day memorizing it, I always tell him that I only married him because of this dish. Since that date, I feel that I’ve mastered many Puerto Rican dishes, including his stewed chicken. This dish is a flavorful escape from the ordinary chicken and rice and I encourage you to take your mouth on a journey to beautiful Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rican Style Stewed Chicken and Rice

1 ½ lb chicken breast cut into 1” pieces
1 small green pepper, sliced
½ yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 hot pepper, either Anaheim or jalapeno, minced
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne (if the pepper isn’t hot enough for you)
2 8 oz cans Goya tomato sauce
15 oz can black beans, drained
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Yellow Rice

Begin first by preparing your yellow rice as directed on the packaging.

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Cook chicken, in batches if necessary, until brown on all sides but not cooked through; about 5 minutes. Once the chicken is brown, transfer to a plate and set aside.

Next, sauté green peppers, onion, garlic and hot pepper until soft; about 5 minutes. More oil may be added if needed. Add spices to the vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant; 1 minute.

Add tomato sauce along with 1 can of water to the mixture. Stir the tomato sauce to combine being sure to scrap up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and add the chicken back to the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 25 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the black beans.

Serve stewed chicken over yellow rice. Enjoy!