Finally... The long awaited Dutch Apple Pie is here.

For those of you that where waiting. I can proudly say that today, after a whole week threatening, I have finally cooked my Mom's famous Dutch Apple Pie (well, my version anyways).

It was a gorgeous and atypical winter Sunday today, Sunny, and just warm enough to go for long walks without working a sweat. Therefore and as you can imagine most of the day was spent outdoors.
First my girlfriend and I had breakfast at a Nature Deli, where the bread had the same yeasty smell of my Aunt's homemade bread. She used to bake the most wonderful bread loafs and that perfume triggered memories of my childhood and the hours spent in the kitchen just watching.
Then we headed out to San Telmo with a mission, buying some nice old dishes (some people call them antique, I just call them old). Walked, walked and then walked some more but finally found what we were looking for, eight old (and beautiful) English dishes. With a backpack full of dishes (that of course I was carrying) and tired of walking all day we headed back to her house starving. A crucial pit stop was made at the supermarket where we bought a tomatoes, a fresh baguette, ham and camembert (not the truly smelly one) and Voilà... minutes upon arrival we were feasting on delicious sandwiches (mayo, tomato, ham and camembert on the baguettes).

After this and watching TV for a while I felt the need to bake. I had all I needed (cloves included). So I lit up the oven and started with the baking pie.

This is all very simple, and everyone that tried my Mom's recipe loved it. So I urge you to try it as well.

You start with six green apples, peel them cut them in fourths and take out the core (the seeds and the hard tissue around them). Place them all in a pot, add a spoonful of sugar for each apple you use and a bit of water, like 1/5 cup or less (it's just for keeping the sugar and fruit from burning until the apples have released some of their water) add a pinch of ground cloves, cover with the lid and place on the stove at medium heat. Once it starts boiling I take the lid out to let the liquid evaporate.
While the apples are cooking, I mix 1 cup of regular flour, 4 spoonfuls of sugar a pinch of salt 100 grams of butter and 3 egg yolks (my Mom's original only calls for one, but I like my pie crust extra yellow). I mix everything right there on the pie mold, that way I there is less to clean afterwards. Once the dough is done (it holds together and doesn't fall apart) I stretch it on the mold making sure it goes all the way up the walls, then I pinch it with a fork and cook it in the oven at medium heat for 10-15 minutes (more or less depending on the oven) I take it out when its slightly golden.
If the timing is right the apples would be done at this point and I place them on the warm and golden pie crust (the apples just need to get a little soft, or not, depends on how you like them).
I flatten the apples down and add mixture of 1 cup cream, 2 spoonfuls of flour, 2 spoonfuls of sugar and a pinch of grounded cloves. This mixture gets in the gaps between the apples and solidifies after cooking.
Almost done, just one more step, in a cup mix 3 spoonfuls of sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle it over the pie evenly and covering it entirely. If done right it comes out caramelized after cooking and it tastes great (if not, don't worry, it will still taste great).
All set now. place it in the oven at medium heat (if the oven is too hot the crust burns and it tastes a bit bitter). After 45 minutes (more or less) the crust is brownish, the pie is bubbling and the crust looks caramelized.
You are done now... take it out of the oven and let it cool for an hour or so to let it set.
We were too anxious and had ours while still too hot (the pieces did not come out all that perfect but the taste was to die for)

Again as I said before, I urge you to try this at home and try it while it is still cold outside. Nothing like a warm kitchen with the oven on in winter and if something that smells great, tastes even better and you made yourself comes out of it, all the better.


Look at the pictures below, black tea, whipped cream and nice slice of my Mom's Dutch Apple Pie... not bad for tea time on a Sunday Afternoon, right?




Oops, I was wrong I used seven apples not six


Here you see the finished Pie right out of the oven.


A nice setting tea and pie for two


Check out the teapot, is made out of metal, it's the first time I see one like that.



Tea apple pie and cream, what else?



Close up on that pie... mmmmmm


Want some?
Ahh, check out the dish too, this is one we bought in San Telmo, nice right?




I'm waiting for your comments.
It is now easier to post, just click on comments and you'll be able to post your comment and see what other readers wrote at the same time.

Best regards,
Francisco

Soft Boiled Egg, perfection in a nutshell... I mean in an eggshell

It's not easy to come along an egg with two yolks. However I have my dealer in my barrio. Every Saturday there is a street market and there is were she works... My beloved "egg lady".

She sells small eggs, brown eggs, white eggs... basically eggs of all types; and some days if I get up really early and hit the market before the seasoned and gossip craving neighboring housewives do (viejas chismosas del barrio), I can get my hands on some nice eggs (that did not come out right) what I meant is that if you are an early bird you might get lucky and get the double yolked eggs.

Tonight I came home late and really did not feel much like cooking, so easy solution one soft boiled egg is just what I need.

Short and simple: Boiling water, one egg and four minutes of your time (this are very large eggs, normal eggs I cook for 3 1/2 minutes). Yes all simple or so it seems.
How many of you have tried boiling an egg right out of the fridge? and how many ended up with a broken egg spilling it's contents all over the boiling water? I know, frustrating.

The only solution I knew to this problem was using eggs at room temperature (difficult when you get home late and the eggs are in the fridge) I tried several things to get my eggs back to room temperature, even soaking them in lukewarm water (yes I'm a freak when it comes to eggs, I don't like them breaking). Solutions were ridiculous in some cases and all very unpractical.

Lucky for me (and my infatuation with the perfect soft boiled egg) about two months ago I came across the perfect solution...

The only thing you need to keep eggs from cracking is (drum roll)...
Poking the wide end of the egg with a small nail or needle.
The wide end of the egg has an air pocket, making a hole enables the air in that pocket to escape without generating pressure that would crack the egg upon contact with the hot water. Crafty, right?

So now you know it, for the perfect soft boiled egg you need is: boiling water, an egg, 4 minutes and a very small whole.

Se pics below




Here you see the eggs with the punctured wide ends.
For that I used a corncob fork.


A spoon helps to lower the eggs gently into the boiling water
(yeah that's me reflected in the kettle, hi mom!!!)


If you use your imagination you can see air bubbles escaping from the end of the brown egg.
Come on, try harder.


I'm about to eat your brains out...


The finished "dish".
In the background you can see part of my bar, my pride and joy.


Yes, as you can imagine, it was delicious!!!

Tuna & Salmon Sashimi

I know I said the next thing I was going to post was my Mom's Dutch Apple Pie recipe. I was actually going to make it yesterday a) because I really would like to have a piece and b) because I wanted pictures to share with you. I bought all the ingredients yesterday, as a matter of fact the only reason I went to the supermarket was to buy the ingredients. I came back home and was all set to prepare it, when I realized I didn't have Cloves (only a pinch is needed, but it makes all the difference in the world). So I'll make the pie when I get the cloves (don't worry any time now). with that said, there is one thing I wanted to share with you. Yesterday I bought a small piece of salmon and a slice of tuna got home and made Sashimi. Really no recipe needed here, just make sure the fish is fresh and the knife is sharp.

And finally some pics...


Here you can see the fish slices and the price; a grand total of 26 pesos for a nice plate of Sashimi for two.


On this one you can see the finished product (I'm sloppy with the presentation, I know) and if you look at the TV, you can see my Sunday afternoon guilty pleasure: A Simpsons Marathon.


This one has nothing to do with Sashimi. It's a picture of sea snails that are sold at the market in china town I took it for my friend Guy.
Guy are those snails anything alike the ones you used to eat in Côte d'Ivoire?

I'll make the Dutch Apple Pie as soon as I get my hands on some cloves.... I promise.

Chicken Liver Pate... What else?

A few weekends ago I was, as you could expect, shopping and having a blast at the supermarket; when I saw them, four trays of chicken livers. They looked nice and fresh and instantly came to me, why not make pate? I have wanted to make pate for quite some time and the last time was over 4 years ago. It was just about time.

The process is quite long, but I enjoy it so I don't mind it.
The night before cooking them I cleaned the livers (about 1 kilo in total), cut away the fat, placed them in a bowl with milk and let them rest in the fridge until the next day. Someone told me this takes the bitterness away from the livers; I like them either way, but I wanted it to turn out great, hence the extra step.

The next day I came back from work and in just 2 hours I was supposed to be at a friend’s house (I should have planned beforehand).

If you know me, you would be aware that I’m very, very, lazy by nature; my first instinct would be to let the livers sit in the fridge for one more day and maybe cook them the following day. So you’ll all be amazed (I even amazed myself) when I did the exact opposite I lit up the stove and started to cook.

I had less than an hour to make it, let’s get to it.

First I coarsely chopped a small bag of shallots (300 grams), two thick slices of smoked bacon and a tray of portobello mushrooms. I placed my beloved heavy bottom pot on the stove top, slapped some butter and started sautéing (is that properly said?) the shallots first, then added the bacon and finally the mushrooms. Once they are all nice and brown (brown, but not burnt) y set some of the mushrooms aside for latter and added the livers, which I had previously drained out of the milk. Ah, almost forgot, I added four or five twigs of thyme tied together (it’s the basic flavor of this pate).

The livers cook fairly quick, I would say in less than 10 minutes. Basically when they start breaking apart they are done. At that point I took out the thyme; I turned down the fire, and added almost a stick of butter (this helps harden the mixture when it cools) Once the butter had melted I turned the fire off and added cream (a lot of cream, about 300ml).

At this point it was time to use one of my kitchen favorites. My hand mixer (it’s a must have) I processed the mixture until it was nice and silky, almost done.

So, what is missing?

My lifetime friend …The salt

I almost forgot about it, but that’s ok. With this type of food, which is basically a pure, you can add the salt at any time. Once the whole thing is properly salted (and peppered) I chopped the mushrooms that I had previously cooked and added them to the mixture.

That is it. I placed all in one of my many tupperwares, putted it in the fridge and I still had time to shower before going to my friend’s house.

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Good thing about it is that once it is cool I can be cut in slices. I took those slices, individually wrapped them in plastic film and froze them.

If I’m having friends over, I just take one slice out of the freezer the night before, let it defrost in the fridge (this way it never has the chance to get too warm and spoil) and ask them to bring the bread.

Now I don’t want to toot my own horn, but all of those who tried it liked it, I’m talking about over 25 people (when you have 2 kilos of pate you have enough to share with everyone). Either that or they care enough about my feelings to tell me so. In any case, thank you guys.

So that is what you make with 2 pounds of chicken livers. How you enjoy it is up to you. I prefer nice warm bread and friends

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I hope you like sweet things. On the next post I’ll tell you about my Mom’s Dutch Apple Pie.

Lamb Roast an excuse to have friends over.

I'm an impulsive shopper (or is it compulsive? maybe I'm both), its my flaw and I know it; however this only takes place in the supermarket. If I'm to buy a jean it will take me forever to make up my mind, but when it comes to food it's really simple if I see something I like and I can picture myself cooking it I must have it. I'll tell you more about this latter, just remind me to.

Last Saturday morning at the supermarket a lovely lamb's leg winked at me (is it leg, or do you call it ham? I'm talking about the hind leg of the lamb). the day was gray and cold, so immediately it came to me, I'll roast this baby in the oven and invite some friends over. Bought some carrots, onions, potatoes and some fresh garlic and headed home.

For some reason or another, my friends couldn't make it that evening, all the better that bought me some time to marinate the lamb. I rubbed the leg with over a dozen of garlic cloves, and good pinch of salt, placed it in a ziploc bag and added a couple of fresh rosemary and thyme twigs, smashed peppercorns, drizzled it with olive oil and poured in 3/4 of a bottle of red wine,sealed it up and went into the fridge until the next morning.

You should have seen the colour that leg. I turned on the oven. sealed the lamb with some olive oil in a heavy bottom iron pot, then added the marinade, covered it with wax papper and let it roast in the oven for over 2 hours.
Ahh almost forgot I added a couple of carrots and onions cut in coarse pieces.

On a separate pan I a baked some the potatoes in the oven. I previously boiled them for a while (I hate when they come out half done) sliced them in fourths and added oil, sea salt and oregano.

On a pot on the stove y cooked glazed carrots. To do that you cut carrots in wheels and place them in the pot with about an inch of water salt, fresh ground pepper, sugar and butter, let it cook with the lid on for a while. When they are half done, take the lid of to let the water evaporate and the glazing begin (careful in this stage if left unstirred the sugar burns and you don't want that).

Enough about the process, I love to cook and I love to explain, but what I love the most is to eat.
I don't want to brag but it came out great, or at least that was what my friends said.

As soon as I get the pictures from my friends you'll see the finished dish.


Ahh one thing that I wanted to mention, the carrots that cooked with the lamb in the wine marinade turned out great, the taste amazing it triggered memories of another dish I tried years ago. Smells and flavours take me places and that is the beauty cooking, recreating a dish is recreating the past. (pretty corny right?)

Enough of this, on the next posting I'll tell you what I did with 2 pounds of chicken livers...