FV23-10-1010

I know nothing about deviled eggs... until an old classmate of mine posted a photo of her deviled eggs in facebook. It got me all curious so here it is.

This is best prepared for gatherings, potluck and what not. I experimented on this on one occasionless day and I ended up eating most of it. It's not that morish-type dish and so thank goodness for appetite, I have a big one. 

Sure my kids think I was possess to finish them all but I seriously hate great tasting food go to waste. Don't worry, it took me quite awhile and some creativity to ensure it's consumed. I said big appetite not "magician". Even elephants will prolly take a rest.

Tip 1: Skip the hot paprika if you don't like spicy food.
Tip 2: This dish is so forgiving that you can play around with the flavours, add as many herbs and spices as you like, this will still end up a fantastic dish.
Tip 3: Since the mashed egg is so flavourful, you can use it as a dipping dish for toasted bread, bread sticks, veggies, etc.

30 minutes, not a minute more :P

8 large eggs
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons apple-cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons finely shredded Cheddar cheese
2 slices of crispy bacon
hot paprika, to taste

Boil eggs and peel off shells.

Fry the bacon on a skillet until it's really, really crispy. Using your chopper, break the bacon until it's the same size of your minced shallots.

Peel the eggs and cut each lengthwise. Scoop out yolks to a mixing bowl. Add everything except the hot paprika and mash them all together.

Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and pipe it into all cavities. 

To finish off, sprinkle the stuffed eggs with paprika.

Cover it with plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

FV11-09-0910

Original Recipe:
Nancy Hawley | January 1999

This was the last salmon I made for a three in a row salmon dish that has to be as inconspicuous as possible.

The third one has to be special, otherwise my boys will probably not even put it in their mouth.

This was perfect... the maple syrup aroma was all over the kitchen... my kids got so curious and even watched it with me while I make sure the oven temperature doesn't burn it to dryness.

Tip 1: Don't dip the salmon bites to pepper. Use your finger to control how much pepper you want on your salmon bite. Have just enough pepper to have a little kick...
Tip 2: Make half the portion without pepper. Kids will love it!
Tip 3: I think this will also work well with boneless chicken pieces.

I did this in a jif.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup soy sauce
700 grams skinned salmon fillet
1/8 cup freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable or canola oil spray

Cut salmon into bite-size cubes. Combine maple syrup and soy sauce in a medium-size bowl and add salmon. Make sure the fish is fully immersed in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Grease a sheet of aluminum foil with the oil spray. Preheat oven to 500°F. put pepper in small plate and using your finger tip, tap a little pepper on one side of salmon. Place each peppered piece on foil, then cook in oven for 3 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately. 

This is perfect appetizer for gatherings... even guests who are picky and not fish eaters will like this a lot. It's yum-my...

FV08-06-0910

I love pasta. I love everything about it. Pasta dishes rarely disappoints me, so it's a staple in my top 3 back-up food whenever we dine out.

I don't regard pasta the same way if I have to cook it at home though. Unless it's Macaroni and Cheese or Spaghetti Bolognese, I'll pass. Needless to say, baking Lasagna gives me chills.

I always have this worrying visual in my head whenever I think of baking lasagna,,, a huge baking dish that tastes awful and it was either going down the trash or I'm sitting on the kitchen floor, eating it all by myself because no one else will touch it. 

So, yes, I finally faced my fears and I'm quite happy to report that my first lasagna was a success. Only a small piece was left and got rave reviews. They said it's moist, not too salty, not too cheesy, the flavours didn't compete with each other, it was just perfect!

Tip 1: If you're using no-cook lasagna sheet (I used Barilla), don't leave it as is but also don't boil it, because it's thinner than normal sheets. Soak the sheets in pre-boiled hot water with 2 tablespoons butter for 10 minutes. Drain, pat dry and set aside. 
Tip 2: Make extra sauce if you want your lasagna with sauce on it.
Tip 3: Adjust the amount of dried pepper flakes as you wish.
Tip 4: Lasagna can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with cling film and keep it in the fridge.

This took me an hour and a half to bake... yes, yes, you'll take maybe an hour.

INGREDIENTS for Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped peeled carrots
2 tablespoons minced garlic
450 grams ounces lean ground beef
30-ounce crushed tomatoes with added puree
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried pepper flakes

INGREDIENTS for Lasagna
15 lasagna sheets/pasta
850 grams ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
2 large eggs, beaten
4 3/4 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Serves 6-8 hearty portions

Directions For Sauce:
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and garlic; saute until softened, about 12 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until flavors blend and sauce measures about 6 cups, stirring occassionally, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Cool.

Directions For Lasagna:
Preheat oven to 350F. Soak no-cook lasagna sheets in a pre-boiled water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Mix ricotta and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese in bowl. Mix in spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in eggs.

Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of 13x9x3-inch glass baking dish. Place 5 noodles over sauce, overlapping to fit. Spread half of ricotta-spinach mixture evenly over pasta. Sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella cheese evenly over ricotta-spinach mixture. Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce over cheese spreading with spatula to cover (careful, sauce will be thick). Repeat layering with 5 noodles, remaining ricotta-spinach mixture, 2 cups mozzarella and 1 1/2 cups sauce. Arrange remaining 5 noodles over sauce. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese evenly over lasagna. (May refrigerate at this stage)

Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake lasagna for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, about 10 more minutes. Let lasagna stand 15 minutes before serving.

Serve this with Garlic Toast on the side, Tabasco sauce and extra Parmesan cheese and let your guests enjoy!

Acoustic Chef, cookin’ one tune at a time!

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