One cold winter, the pretty pretty princess went skiing in Courchevel. The princess liked diamonds, so she followed signs to a black diamond slope. It sounded like it would be special. But oh la la la la la la...little did she know. The black diamonds were actually ominous signs! The princess fell and tumbled down the harsh slopes of the French Alps. And all she wanted was to be next to a flaming hot outdoor heater sipping on ice cold rose wine from Provence, maybe even eating a little nibble of some sort. The princess took out her mini magic mirror from her Moncler pocket and asked "magic mirror, where could I find such a place?" And the mirror replied, "a place like this exists next to the helipad my pretty pretty princess. In a wood cabin called Cap..." The princess fell face down and the mirror broke into a million little pieces before it could tell her the name of this place. The princess felt hopeless, but then she heard a loud noise over her head. It was a helicopter! Alas, she was saved. She followed the helicopter with all her might, and what do you know. A wood cabin called Cap Horn was standing right next to the helipad! There was outdoor seating with heaters and the music was pumpin'! The princess was ecstatic! She sat down and demanded immediate service. She was feeling dehydrated and really needed some rose wine. As she was waiting for her beverage, the princess was checking out the crowd and noticed the table next to her eating something from a can with such gratification. She had to know what this delicious canned good was. Because from her experience, there was nothing good coming out of a can. It was canned sardines in oil! Yuck! But she tried it anyways. The sardines came with some toast, chopped shallots, chives and butter. The princess buttered a piece of toast then topped it with a sardine, some shallots and chives. She closed her eyes and popped the dreadful looking thing into her mouth. But what a pleasant surprise this little thing...the melange of tastes were so very delightful. She couldn't stop eating and totally forgot to drink for the rest of the meal. Since then, the princess very much enjoys trying different brands of canned sardines!
Below is a sardine thang I prepared. This skinless, boneless sardine brand is Albert Menes and it was quite good. But so far, I prefer Rodel and Ramon Pena.
FOR 2 (apero)
INGREDIENTS:
1 can of skinless, boneless sardines
1/2 shallot, chopped very fine
1 tablespoon capers
Freshly ground black pepper
PREPARATION:
Arrange the sardines on a plate to your liking. Top with shallots, capers and pepper. Serve with some toast and good butter.
OH, how I love cake from a box! I know everybody secretly lurvs it but won't ever admit it. It's kinda like loving the Backstreet Boys. Everybody loves them, and knows all the lyrics, but pretends to hate em...My ultimate fav has definitely got to be the yellow cake from Betty Crocker. It's by far the most moistest brand with the little pudding sauce they give you to add into the batter. I still haven't been able to replicate that perfectly exquisite moistness. But honestly, do i really care to be able to make a cake that good from scratch? Not really. I mean...for $4 I can buy a pre-mixed cake mix that tastes better than any famous pastry chefs cake. The other day though, I wanted something chocolaty. So I got a box of Duncan Hines cake mix with Betty Crocker frosting. The cake was great but it once again confirmed my strong belief that Betty Crocker cake mix is superior.
I've been feeling real lazy these days and also been trying to get rid of all the dried goods in the cupboards. I had some super delicious artisanal sausages that were begging to be eaten, so I made some divine pork sausage stuffing! Um, um! Just look at that picture. Doesn't it make your mouth water? Could you guess it was semi-homemade? Probably yes, but who cares? Everybody knows Stovetop stuffing be one of the greatest American inventions of the century! Instant stuffing-wise, I really like both Pepperidge Farm and Stove Top. But for this recipe, I was forced to use Stove Top cause I be living in Paris at the moment and that's all we got. You could use either brand really.
Divine Pork Sausage Stuffing
FOR 3 (as a main course and the one and only course)
The package says the stuffing is for 6 people as a side dish. But who are they kidding, right? 2 of us ate the whole thing, with all the extra additions, and it was the perfect amount. But my posse be hogs so to split this as the main course among 3 seems plausible for the untrained stomach.
INGREDIENTS:
1 box of Stove Top stuffing
6 fresh artisanal pork sausage links, casings removed
7 pieces of dried cepe mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 celery ribs, chopped fine
2 carrots, chopped very fine
2 garlic cloved, chopped very fine
1 3/4 cups water
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
PREPARATION:
Boil the water in a small pot. Then add the dried cepes and set aside till the mushrooms have been resuscitated. While the mushrooms are resting, chop the celery, onion, carrot and garlic. In a saute pan, add 2 tablespoons of butter and cook all the chopped veggies and the thyme on medium/high heat for about 15 minutes. Remove the now moist mushrooms from the water and chop them into little pieces and add to the chopped veggies. Once the mushrooms have been removed from the water, add the remaining 2 tablespoon of butter and bring it back to a boil. In a big bowl, place the stuffing, then pour the buttery mushroom water on top and put a cover on top and let sit. Cook the sausages in a pan until completely cooked through. Cut the sausages into bite size pieces with a wooden spoon while its cooking. Once the stuffing has soaked up the liquid and looks spongy and moist, add all the sauted veggies, sausages and some freshly ground black pepper and mix all the ingredients with a fork. Work gently to keep the stuffing fluffy and serve immediately!
Like i mentioned several times before, i really don't like tomatoes. But I seem to be always receiving heirloom tomatoes. I really haven't cooked anything in a while, so here is another post of a gorgeous salad, which can be eaten all year round but is particularly attractive during the summer because of its light, crisp crunchiness. Very similar to my previous post on The Better Greek Salad, but this is a lot prettier looking. I'd say 2 michelin star pretty!
Below is a more detailed picture. I like pictures. It helps me visualize. Because I have a poor imagination.
FOR 2
1 Kirby cucumber (or Persian cucumber, whatever your store calls it, mine calls it Mini)
1 red heirloom tomato, sliced very thin
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
7 radishes, very thinly mandolined
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
PREPARATION:
Peel the cukes and mandolin them. In a bowl, add the cukes, vinegar, sugar and pepper. Set aside while preparing other ingredients. Slice the tomatoes, mandolin the radishes and prepare the cheese. When everything is ready, start stacking. Arrange the tomatoes on the bottom in a circle, then add the crumbled cheese in the middle and add some radishes. Top with the seasoned cucumbers in a nice pretty circle and serve!
Haven't posted anything in a while. This is because I've been traveling a ton without my heavy computer. It makes for more comfortable airport security passage. So, here is a salad I made about 3 weeks ago. It's kinda like a Greek salad but BETTER! Why? Because I made it. Just kidding. It's just better for me cause I took out all the things I don't like in a greek salad, like onions and olives. Then I added some stuff I actually like to eat that don't give me dragon breath or make me drink a gallon of water after, such as radicchio and radishes.
Basically, this salad is not really a Greek salad made better. It's just a really delicious crispy and crunchy salad. I didn't even go grocery shopping for any of the ingredients. I basically took whatever was about to go bad in the fridge, mandolined the hell out of them and took a picture. But it was still really very good.
FOR 2 (big portions)
INGREDIENTS:
1 cucumber, peeled and mandolined fine
15 radishes, mandolined fine
1/2 radicchio
1 cup feta cheese (I used those ones already cut into cubes in oil with provence herbs)
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Freshly ground pepper
PREPARATION:
Prepare the cucumber. In a big mixing bowl, add mandolined cukes with vinegar and sugar. Let sit while you prepare the other ingredients. Add the mandolined radishes to the cukes, then add the roughly chopped radicchio to the mix. crush the feta cheese with a fork and add to the salad. Toss and serve immediately!
FOR 2 (apero)
