Aye Chef - Cooking with style

Bruschetta is an appetizer from central Italy whose origin dates to at least the 15th century. It consists of roasted bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Variations may include toppings of spicy red pepper, tomato, vegetables, beans, cured meat, and/or cheese; the most popular recipe outside of Italy involves basil, fresh tomato, garlic and onion or mozzarella. Bruschetta is usually served as a snack or appetizer. This was a way of salvaging bread that was going stale.

Ingredients (Yields 4)
600g Tomatoes
4 Bagette slices
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Garlic
50g Basil
Salt
Pepper
2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

Directions

1. Cut the tomatoes into quarters, de-seed and dice finely. Peel the garlic and cut in half.
2. Brush the bread slices with olive oil and place on a hot ribbed grill. Cook on both sides until toasted. Rub the bread with the garlic.
3. Pile the tomatoes on the bread. Season and garnish with basil leaves, then drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

This wonderful dish will complement a main serving on the side, or can be a dish on its own. I normally don't go for vegetarian dishes, being a carnivore myself, but my wife requested this so I thought, why not. The result was extremely tasty and was immediately added to my personal recipe book.


Ingredients (Yields 4)

360g Pumpkin
100g Zucchini
2 tsp Garlic
50ml Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
2 tbsp Honey

Directions

1. Wash the vegetables and peel the pumpkin.
2. Channel the zucchini and cut lengthwise into 3cm long strips. Dice the pumpkin into 1.5cm pieces.
3. Peel and crush the garlic.
4. Heat a frying pan and add the oil.
5. Season the pumpkin and fry. Toss in the pan for ~5 minutes, until it is evenly colored and cooked through.
6. Add the garlic and toss through briefly. Add the zucchini and toss through briefly. Add the honey and cook for another minute.

Café de Paris sauce is a complex butter-based sauce served with grilled meats. When it is served with a beef rib or sirloin steak, the resulting dish is known as entrecôte Café de Paris.

The sauce was first popularized in the 1940s by the Café de Paris restaurant in Geneva, then owned by Arthur-François (Freddy) Dumont, and entrecôte Café de Paris remains the restaurant's specialty. The Café de Paris attributes the origin of the sauce to Mr Dumont's father-in-law, one Mr Boubier. Today the restaurant also ships the sauce to several other restaurants which serve it under license: the Café de Paris in Lausanne, the À l'Entrecôte in Sion (Switzerland), the Brasserie L'Entrecôte in Lisbon, and the Entrecôte Café de Paris restaurants in Dubai, Kuwait, and Riyadh.

While researching the subject, I've stumbled upon many variations of this recipe, most listing ketchup as one of the ingredients. I have complete and utter confidence that no self respecting French recipe will EVER use ketchup as an ingredient, therefore, I went with the version presented below. It is worth mentioning that the actual recipe is trade secret and therefore unknown to the public. While I have never tasted the actual sauce, from the results of this recipe I can presume it comes quite close. And if not, I like the result all the same. Enjoy :)


Ingredients (Yields 32 servings)
500g unsalted Butter
3 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt
Pepper
3 tsp Capers
60g French shallot Onions
1 tsp Garlic
2 Anchovy fillets
1.5 tbsp Parsley
1.5 tbsp Chives
0.25 tsp Marjoram
0.25 tsp Dill
0.25 tsp Thyme
0.25 tsp Tarragon Vinegar
0.25 tsp Rosemary
2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Curry powder
0.25 tsp Cayenne pepper
0.5 Orange
0.5 Lemon
0.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1.5 tbsp Madeira
1.5 tbsp Cognac
2 eggs

Directions

1. Cut the butter into 1cm cubes and place into food processor or mixer with the mustard and seasoning.
2. Chop the capers, shallots, garlic, anchovies and herbs and add to the butter.
3. Zest the orange and lemon, then juice the lemon.
4. Add the spices, zest and juice to the butter and blend until it is light and aerated.
5. Work in the Worcestershire sauce, Madeira and Cognac.
6. Separate the eggs and add the yolks to the butter to emulsify it.
7. Place the mixture onto a greaseproof paper or tinfoil, roll it into a log or sausage shape and refrigerate.

Notes

• I didn't have Madeira or Cognac, so I've used a bit of Irish Whiskey instead, in my case, Jameson.
• You can substitute the Tarragon Vinegar for a Balsamic Vinegar and add a bit of tarragon as herb, if you like its flavor. I do not.
• Be careful with anchovies, if you put too much, even a little, the end result will be too salty. You can balance with a bit of white sugar, or some liquid honey, if you want to go sugar free.

The Amish, sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology. This is one of the recipes attributed to them, but of course, I have no way of knowing whether its true or not. Nevertheless, enjoy this delicious bread!

It is important to note that while I respect Amish way of life and everything, I use an electric mixer. If you want to go completely traditional, use only your hands to knead the dough.

Stromboli is a type of turnover filled with various cheeses, typically mozzarella, Italian meats such as salami, capicola and bresaola or vegetables. The dough is Italian bread dough.

Stromboli is reported to have originated in 1950 in Essington, Tinicum Township just outside of Philadelphia, at Romano's Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria, by Nazzareno Romano. There, William Schofield supposedly gave it the name, after the movie Stromboli, starring Ingrid Bergman. Other sources claim the stromboli was the brainchild of Mike Aquino, Sr., and that he created it in Spokane, Washington, in 1954.
Ingredients:
makes 1 loaf:

Dough
500 g/1 lb 2 oz strong white flour, sifted
6 g sachet fast-action dried yeast
2 tsp sea salt flakes
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing
350 ml/12 fl oz lukewarm water

Filling
85 g/3 oz thinly sliced Italian salami
175 g/6 oz mozzarella cheese, chopped
25 g/1 oz basil leaves
2 red peppers, roasted,
  peeled, deseeded and sliced
  (or ready-roasted peppers from a jar)
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
Combine all dough ingredients and knead for 10 minutes or until wet and elastic. Let it sit for 1 hour to double in size.

Knead some more and let rest for another 10 minutes.

Roll it to make 25x10cm rectangle.

Cover with salami, basil, peppers and cheese. Close the roll from the long side, on a greased baking sheet and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven for 200 degrees Celcius.

Make holes all over it with a toothpick and brush it will olive oil.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.