Lentil Soup...mmm...

Ingredients	Preparation
Soup base: ·         2 tablespoons of vegetable oil ·         1 medium onion, chopped ·         4 small carrots, chopped ·         3 celery stalks, chopped ·         100 grams of smoked meat, finely chopped	In a soup pot, make the soup base: ·         Heat 2 tablespoons of oil ·         Add finely chopped onions, celery and carrots ·         Sauté until transparent ·         Add smoked meet
·         2 cans of lentils, washed and drained ·         ½ liter beef stock ·         Salt and Pepper to taste	·         Add lentils and ½ of the stock ·         Add salt and pepper
Roux: ·         3 tablespoons of vegetable oil ·         2 tablespoon of flour ·         ½ liter beef stock	In a separate skillet make roux: ·         Heat oil until hot ·         Add 2 tablespoons of flour ·         Stir until medium brown ·         Quickly add the other ½ of stock ·         Stir vigorously to avoid lumps
	·         Pour roux into soup base mixture (pot) ·         Keep on stirring vigorously until all ingredients are well mixed
·         4 tablespoons white vinegar	·         Add vinegar ·         Stir ·         Let simmer for one hour ·         Adjust seasoning to taste (salt., pepper, vinegar) ·         Adjust consistency by adding broth if needed

Coming Soon: Grilled Tuna with Tomato Relish

Caesar Salad? *What* Caesar Salad?!

INGREDIENTS

• Romaine Lettuce cut in strips, washed
• Mayonnaise from the jar or made from scratch
• One Tablespoon of mustard
• Vegetable oil
• Anchovies, 3 or 4 or 5 or 8, canned, drained and chopped finely with a fork
• The juice of half a lemon
• 2 garlic cloves squeezed through the garlic pres
• A shot of Worcester sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt to taste (careful - the anchovies are salty)

Optional (not for Jenn): 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese

PREPARATION

• Place the mayo in a cup with one Tablespoon of the mustard to start with
• Whisk the oil in slowly
• Makes about 4-5 table spoons.

O.K now you got the base. Key to this dressing are anchovies.

• Add the parmesan cheese, the lemon juice, the garlic cloves, the Worcester sauce, pepper and salt to taste (careful the anchovies are salty.
• Whisk all well together.
• Now you are good to toss the dressing into the Romaine in a bowl. Make sure you toss well. Very, very well.

(Some people also add crrrrrrrrrrrroutons...)

Coming Soon: Mushroom Pasta

Rafi's Famous Curry Chicken

*Due to popular demand (Hi Georgia), this post is published ahead of having a photo available...
*Feeds 5 to 6 people (no joke about Rafi's appetite here)

INGREDIENTS
• 5 or 6 half chicken breasts (for the enumerate out there, this means 3 full chicken breasts), boneless and skinless
• 2 medium size onions
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 piece of fresh ginger, the size of a thumb
• 1 can of coconut milk
• Salt to taste
• Pepper – about ½ teaspoon
• 2 Tablespoons Curry powder (hot or mild; can add more or less)
• 1 Tablespoon Sambal Oelek (garlic free), it’s a crushed chilli sauce, spicy
• Vegetable oil – 4 -5 Tablespoons

Optional – for thickening if desired:
• Cornstarch
or
• Tomato paste

PREPARATION
• Cut each chicken breast into 4 or 5 equal-size pieces
• Sprinkle each piece with salt, pepper and curry powder
• By hand, mix chicken pieces in a bowl to make sure they are properly coated
• Chop onions into small pieces
• Crush garlic with garlic press
• Peel ginger and chop into small pieces

COOKING
• Use a large sauce pan or pot with a lid
• Heat oil in pan, to frying temperature
• Fry chicken pieces in small batches (so it doesn’t crowd in the pan), medium heat, until golden brown but not cooked through (a couple of minutes per side)
• Set chicken pieces aside in a bowl
• In the same pan (may need to add more oil), fry onions until golden brown
• Add garlic and ginger and spices (Curry powder, Sambal Oelek, salt, pepper) all at the same time and cook the mixture for 2 minutes or so, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn – at low to medium heat
• Add coconut milk
• Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, in low to medium heat for 10 minutes
• Add the chicken to the sauce, stir thoroughly
• Cook covered for 35 minutes
• The temperature should be high enough for the sauce to simmer
• Stir every 10 minutes or so.

OPTIONAL:
If you find the sauce is too runny for your taste, you can...
1. Add cornstarch mixed in cold water (like this: in a cup, ¾ of Tablespoon of cornstarch mixed in a ¼ cup of cold water) to the sauce until it reaches desired consistency.
or
2. Add ½ can of regular size tomato paste (changes the nature of the dish but it’s delicious)

SERVING:
• Serve with Basmati rice
• For decoration, add a sprig of cilantro or parsley

NOTE FROM RAFI: Since this blog isn’t really a cooking class per se, use common sense and read the instructions when they are available (e.g., cornstarch package; or how to cook the Basmati rice) or call me. Or better yet, come home,

Salmon a la Rafi

*Ideal for buffet dinners, can be prepared in advance but must be refrigerated (or your guests won't feel too happy after)
*Feeds 8 people (or 5 plus Rafi)
*Can be BBQ'd (at 375) or baked in the oven (at 375)
*Can be served hot or cold (tastes better cold)

INGREDIENTS

• Side of Salmon, about 4 lbs
  
• Mayonnaise, 4 to 6 Tablespoons
  
• 1 Onion Soup package (preferably, Knorr)
• Tin foil, longer than the salmon
• Olive oil (or Pam)
  

PREPARATION

• Brush tin foil with oil, or spray with Pam
  
• Place salmon on tin foil (double layered)
• Fold edges of tin foil to create a 'tray' (do NOT cover the salmon)
  
• Separately, mix onion soup with mayo and mix well
• With spatula, spread mixture evenly over the salmon

IF USING BBQ:

• Place tin foil directly on the grill
• Cook in indirect heat at 375 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes

IF USING OVEN:

• Place tin foil /salmon on cookie sheet
• Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees F
  

PRESENTATION:

• Place on platter
• Cut away edges of tin foil so it doesn't show
  
• Spend lots of time slicing cucumbers thinly and place around platter

BBQ Chicken Skewers *deluxe*

*Feeds 8 to 10 (or 5 plus Rafi)
*BBQ heated to 550 degrees F for searing and 350 F for cooking
*Serve with a dipping sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 8 to 10 wooden skewers soaked in water
• 4 whole chicken breasts (or 8 halves), skinless and boneless, cut in cubes
  
• 3 large yellow and/or red peppers, cut in even-sized cubes
• 3 medium onions, cubed
• Salt and pepper (or Hy's Steak Salt)
• Oil or Pam
  

PREPARATION

• Skewer chicken and peppers and onions alternating each until all ingredients are used up
• Spay with Pam or brush with oil
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper (or Hy's Steak Salt)
• Place skewers on hot grill and sear on high heat for about a minute per side (there are 4 sides, if you are picky or a math major)
• Reduce heat to medium
  
• Cook chicken for another 13 to 17 minutes, turning skewers every 2 or 3 minutes to another side, until evenly cooked

DIPPING SAUCE (or serve simply with ketchup for those "in the know")

• 3 Tablespoons of mayo
• 2 Tablespoons of ketchup
• 1 Tablespoon of mustard
• Hot sauce to taste
• Worcestershire sauce to taste
• MIX all together
  

Enjoy!

Why I am doing this...

Preface:

Frankly and this may come as a surprise I am not a great believer in recipes. Most of them are too complicated i.e. labour intensive, and list too many ingredients which do not add to the dish.

However on account of popular request and to satisfy my large audience in the world I have decided to go ahead and publish some of my recipes.

I will try to be specific as to quantities and proportion but would suggest to the prospective cook to use some common sense. Where I believe it would be up to the chef to decide how much of a particular ingredient to add I will write "to taste."

So here we start...

Don't buy Frigidaire. The worst appliances in the world n y experience. However if you are bored and have nothing better to do and like to be entertained by service technicians by all means go ahead and buy them. You will be able to kill a lot of hours. Frigidaire stands for : Failing, rotten, incompetent, garbage, incurable, disease, arsenine, insomnia inducing, responsive(not!!), exhausting!!