BRAISED RABBIT WITH HONEY & MUSTARD

   Rabbit meat is something that people are affraid to cook with. I was too at the beginning, because I ate very rarely rabbit and it was roasted and dry or in a stew which can never go wrong.

   Past year my girlfriend's dad started to grow rabbits and since then I had to learn and experience different ways to prepare it. Off course my very first try wasn't a succes and that meat was dry and chewy like a shoe. I kept on as my girlfriend's dad continue to gave us rabbits and it became better and better.

   For today's recipe I used a pretty small rabbit, around 1kg which I carve it in smaller pieces like this: front and rear legs, tenderloins and rib cage which also I divided it into two pieces.

  In order to achieve a juicy meat you need to braise the meat, so I made a sauce from mustard, oil, honey, sage, garlic and chicken stock. I poured all that over the meat in a baking dish and braised the rabbit in oven at 200 degree Celsius for 50 minutes and in the last 10 minutes I turned the grill so it will get a nice color.

Ingredients:

1 kg rabbit meat
3 cloves of garlic - minced
3 tsp mustard
1 tbls honey
1 tsp dried sage
200ml chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

   Start by cutting the rabbit in pieces and put them in the baking tray. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. While the oven is preheating combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk them. Pour the sauce over the meat and then bake it for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Flip the meat halfway through and in the last 10 minutes flip the meat again and broil to get a nice color.

CARROT AND GINGER SOUP

CARROT AND GINGER SOUP

serves 4

4-5 medium carrots

2 tablespoons minced ginger

3 garlic cloves minced

1 medium onion minced

1,5 litre of chicken stock (or vegetables stock)

100 ml of milk

salt and pepper

   Heat a little bit of vegetable oil in a pot and add the onion, garlic and the ginger. Fry them on low heat until the onion is translucent. Add the sliced carrots and boiling hot stock. Simmer it on low heat, covered for about one hour or until the carrots are very tender.

   When the carrots are cooked take it off from heat, add the milk to the pot and start to puree it with a blender until smooth and creamy, Check for seasoning.

   If you like your soup to be thicker you can take out some of the liquid before blending and add it gradually until desired consistency is achieved.

   Serve it hot with toasted bread.

PORK, BEAN & BEER CHILI

   I don't know what is happening with the weather outside but it became really cold. If I wouldn't know I would say that it's almost Christmas and I can't help myself singing carols. However, since today is sunday and I had some free time on my hand I decided to make a dish that it's more time consuming. I wanted something savory and spicy to warm me up so this chili recipe sound like the perfect choice.

   I usualy do chili with smoked pork shoulder or smoked sausage and I let the meat in chunks, because this is how my mother does it and this is the way how we, romanians, do it. This time although I decided to do it with minced pork and I wasn't disappointed.

PORK, BEAN & BEER CHILI
serves 6

600g minced pork
400g beans
1 big onion
1 can tomatoes
1 cup of beer - any beer you like
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 bell pepper - any kind you like, I used red
1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dry basil
2-3 tablespoons oil
salt and pepper

   If you're using dry beans like I did, put them the night before in water to hydrate. Next day, throw the water, cover them with fresh water, add one carrot, one onion, 2 bay leaves and salt. Boil it until is done, about 1.5 - 2 hours. (reserve the water)
   Chop the onion and fry it a little bit in a pot, add the minced pork, salt and keep stiring it and fry it until all the meat juice is evaporated. When the meat is fried and crumbled add the chopped bell pepper, minced garlic and all spices. Fry them a little bit then stir in the beer and tomatoes and bring it to a boil then reduce it to a low simmer for 30 minutes stiring occasionally. Add water if the mixture becomes too dry ( I added some water from beans).
   After 30 minutes, stir in the beans and add some more water if it needs until you reach your desired consistency. Let it simmer another 30 minutes and you're done!

   You can top it with chopped parsley and serve it with some sour cream.

APPLE CAKE

   It became a tradition in my family to make "something sweet" saturday. For years this happens almost every single weekend starting with my grandmother, my mother and now is my turn to continue it. Today was saturday and I was home alone so it was the perfect time to get in the kitchen and come with a dessert idea. But before get actually in the kitchen I started looking for inspiration around the web thats how I discovered this delicious and simple apple cake recipe on this blog .
 
   But, if you know me, I can't just take a recipe from the web and follow it. No, that's not me! I need to do something different, to add a least one extra spice just to make me feel better. So I did this time and it came out a very...very good and moist cake!

APPLE CAKE

Cake Batter:

250g flour
150g sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt
4 egg yolks (reserve the withes)
120g butter at room temperature
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 lemon zest

Filling:

5 apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon grated ginger
3 tablespoons flour

Meringue top:

4 egg withes
150g sugar


   I started to peel, remove the core and slice the apples, I added all the spices over them, the ginger, flour and lemon juice. Stir gently so all the apples get coat in that mixture then set aside,
   For the batter, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl mix the butter with sugar until well combined, add the egg yolks one at a time, sour cream, lemon zest and a little bit of milk ( you will add the rest later if the mixture is too dry). Fold in the flour mixture and stir until everything is well combined, but don't over mix it!
  Coat with baking paper the bottom of a pan ( I used a round one with a diameter around of 26 cm) and butter the sides and also the bottom. Pour the batter mixture into the pan, spreading it evenly and arrange on top the apple mixture.
   Bake it for 50-60 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius, make the toothpick test to make sure it is well baked in the middle.
   Meantime prepare the meringue top by beating the egg withes until foamy and then add gradually the sugar whiping it until it holds stiff peaks.
   After 50-60 minutes, remove the cake from the oven, add the meringue on top and then bake it for another 20 minutes or until it gets golden brown.

HUMMUS

   For a long time I wanted to try hummus, I didn't even knew what it is at first but the curiosity made me to search more about this egyptian superfood. Yes superfood! Why? Because it's a very simple, cheap, nutritious, adaptive, vegan, allergy-friendly and many other more qualities. After I find out how ridiculously easy is to make I discovered the taste...oh man, I can't stop eating it now! It's something about that creamy texture, the lemon and tahini which all results in this amazing dip. 

   

   It's perfect for a light dinner with some homemade pita bread and some fresh tomatoes, maybe some chili peppers if you like it more spicy like me or for a more healthier version you can replace pita bread with some fresh vegetables.

HUMMUS

serves 6

400g chickpeas (canned ones)

2-3 tablespoons tahini paste

1/2 lemon (zest and juice)

2 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons of fat yoghurt

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

   Combine all the ingredients without the oil in a blender or in a tall bowl like I did, season with salt and pepper to taste and blend all together until smooth or desired consistency. If is not smooth enough you can add gradually liquid from chickpeas and keep mixing until you achieve the texture you want. Pour the mixture in your serving dish and top with olive oil. Enjoy!

BEEFSTEAK AND CREAMY MUSHROOM RISOTTO

   Steak...the holy grail for any meat lover. Whether if it's pork, beef, venison or any kind of meat cut, steak will remain the ultimate and yet the simplest dish. I personally rarely cook steak in pan, I'm that kind of guy who likes his steak a little bit smoked so I keep it for summer days when I'm going on a picnic and I can cook it on a grill. Today was not one of those days, but still it turned out to be a very good decision!

   It started as an idea of a steak with mushroom sauce but after a few thoughts the mushrooms ended up in a creamy and delicious risotto which went perfectly with my spicy beef steak.

BEEFSTEAK AND CREAMY MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Beefsteak
serves 2

2 slices beef tenderloin ( 1 inch thick )
1/2 chili pepper
1 spring of rosemary
salt and pepper
1 knob of butter
2 tablespoons of oil

   Pat dry the tenderloin slices, season with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the oil in a pan until smoking hot and put one or both slices on frying (depends how big is your pan) and fry them at medium high until golden brown on one side, turn them on the other side and add the rest of the ingredients: butter, rosemary spring and chili pepper sliced. Let the butter melt and glaze the meat with aromatic sauce until is done.

Mushroom Risotto
serves 2

1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 cup rice (I used long grain rice)
300g of mushroom (I used porcini mushrooms)
chicken stock 
salt and pepper
parsley for seasoning 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 knob of butter

   Thinly slice the onion and fry it until translucent, add the garlic and the mushrooms chopped. Fry the mushrooms until all the liquid is evaporated and start to caramelize then add the rice and keep frying it a little bit (now is time to add a splash of white wine if you want). Add a little bit of chicken stock and stir (chicken stock must be hot/almost boiling) let the rice to absorb the liquid then add a little bit more continuing to stir. Repeat this process until the rice is done, add the butter, season with pepper, salt if it needs more (the chicken stock can be salty enough) and parsley.

CAULIFLOWER PUREE WITH CRACKERS

   I don't particularly like cauliflower,but I remember that being a child I totally hated it, which is a common thing among children to hate vegetables. Growing up, I started to eat it and now one of my favourite dish is cauliflower puree. 

  This recipe is perfect for hot summer days, when just the idea of staying in kitchen and cooking makes you sweat. You can enjoy it with crackers and fresh tomatoes like I did or even a side dish.

CAULIFLOWER PUREE WITH CRACKERS

Cauliflower puree

1 cauliflower (medium size)

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

1 small red onion minced

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 teaspoon mustard

   Cut the cauliflower in bouquets and wash it fairly well. Place a big pot of water to boil and when it starts to boil add the cauliflower. Let it simmer around 10 minutes or until soft. Meantime mix the mayonnaise and mustard together. 

  When the cauliflower is ready, drain it, place it in a food processor with garlic and onion and puree it until desired consistency. Then mix it well with the mayonnaise. 

Crackers

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup water

paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

   In a big bowl mix well the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the wet ingredients and continue mixing to form a dough. Roll the dough as thin as possible ( the more thinner your dough will be, the more crispy your crakers will get) and cut your crakers at desired shape. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. 

   Sprinkle on top with paprika and bake at 220 degrees celsius for 10-12 minutes or until golden.