Ruthie and Connie

Making Alfredo Sauce

admin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:03:49 +0000

Among Italy’s most well known pasta recipes Fettuccine Alfredo, is also a favourite in this country. Now a days people not only go to restaurants to enjoy this meal but they make it themselves for their family dinner. One key thing about Fettucine Alfredo is that for the recipe to be completed you need to mixed in the very tasteful Alfredo sauce. Since not everyone is good at or knows how to make this sauce here is possibly the most favourite recipe around.

Now this sauce is not only smooth, creamy, but also tasty and most importantly, it is easy to make!

Now from scratch the ingredients required for the sauce are

Grated Parsley

1/4 tbspn of salt

1 1/2 cups of grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 a cup of butter,

A pinch of pepper

Instructions:

Making the Alfredo Sauce:

Place a skillet on the burner an heat at low flame and put the butter in to melt; then you add in all of the cream mixing as you pour until cooked well. Once the cream simmers and the butter melts, take the skillet off the fire, then put in the Parmesan cheese to the tune of one and a half cup and next throw in the pepper and salt. Stir the mix until they have blended well.

As soon as the pasta has been cooked, you should drain it, then add the sauce to it. You then mix well until the fettuccine pasta has been well coated. You should sprinkle chopped parsley on top.

So there you have and it does not matter if you are a chef, lawyer, or a painter Fulham you will be able to do this with easy and little or no mess. You use substitutes for different ingredients to get the taste and texture you want.

Polish Winter Warmer – Fasolka Po Bretonsku

admin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:34:11 +0000

When looking for a winter warmer the whole family will simply relish, it of course makes perfect sense to look to those who know cold winters perhaps better than most of us ever will. An incredibly popular dish served across Poland and guaranteed to warm the proverbial cockles all winter long is Fasolka po Brentonsku, which is a bean and meat stew with a name that appears to offer no real clue as to its origins.

As such, we’ll let you ponder its moniker to your heart’s content, but in the meantime the following recipe comes highly recommended as a simple, satisfying and truly sumptuous winter stew for the winter months.

All measures are approximate as this dish is also mercifully forgiving!

Ingredients:

· Dried White Beans –500g

· Smoked Streaky Bacon –250g

· Smoked Sausage – 500g

· Onions – 2 Large

· Tomato Concentrate – 4 Tablespoons

· Flour – Optional as Thickener

· Salt and Pepper – To taste

· Marjoram, Oregano, Garlic – To taste

(The original version also uses a decent pinch of “Vegeta” all-purpose seasoning, which should be used if available for authenticity instead of salt)

Method:

Soak the dried white beans overnight in at least double the quantity of water required to cover them, draining the following day once their original size has been restored.

Transfer the beans to another large pot with a similar amount of water, which some recommend to keep as the same water used for soaking, though in my experience should be replaced at this stage in case of dirt/imperfections. Boil until soft.

In a separate pan, stew the bacon, sausage, onions and garlic (if using) until brown. Oil shouldn’t be necessary in light of that contained in the meat, though can be added if low-fat meat is being used instead.

Add the meat and onion mixture to the cooked beans and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Add the tomato concentrate to transform the water used to boil the beans into a rich sauce, at which time you may add as many or few seasonings as you like.

The sauce can be thickened to the desire consistency with the flour or any other conventional thickener – some enjoy their final product more like a soup, others so incredible solid that even the best builder and plasterer Surrey has to offer would find difficult in handle the stuff!

Serve with crusty bread and freeze any leftovers, which I have to say actually improve in flavor when reheated.

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Doing the Kitchen

admin — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:33:06 +0000

One of the things that is brilliant about being a food writer is that your friends come to you to solve their most hideous problems. My sister in Woking just had a massive leak in her house and the ceiling above her kitchen began to crumble. Its a terrible time of year to start doing internet searches for plasterer surrey but she had no choice and turned to me to give her some advice on how to keep the holidays festive while her kitchen ceiling was being plastered and she got new dry wall put in. All I could think of was putting up some kind of field kitchen in her garden and trying her best to do a combination of autumn barbecues and camp fire baking.

While the plasterer was working on stilts, my sister borrowed a gas barbecue and got this gorgeous lunch going. Grilled Red Pepper and Feta Cheese Quesadillas

take the seeds out of two red peppers, brush generously with olive oil and lay on a hot barbecue while you prepare the other ingredients
In a large bowl mix 200 grams of feta cheese with 2 cloves of crushed garlic
add in a tin of chick peas, tuna, or crumbled cooked chicken
brush a large tortilla generously with olive oil
place a scoop of the mixture in the middle, place a cooked pepper over the top
fold in half and place on barbecue
cook on both sides until brown

The video above gives some really great advice on serious outdoor winter cooking. It highlights camping favourites like hobo stew, which use a gas camp stove instead of a barbecue. Barbecue pizza is one of my all time favourites, you just need a few hints:

Roll pizza dough out to 2 cm thick
brush with lots of olive oil
cook on one side until it changes colour
flip it over, brush on sauce and top with cheese
remove when its melted

Tasty Foodstuffs Rich In Protein

admin — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 12:03:05 +0000

I get amused when I find people listing protein shakes as a source of protein in the diet. Supplements were restricted to athletes and sportsperson alone. However, most of us incorporate these shakes and supplement as a part of our daily diet. This is not a bad thing per se.

However, the biggest problem I face with such shakes is that they do not add any value to your diet as far as taste is concerned. Would it not be better to afford natural food products that added flavor to your diet and enhance its taste as well?

Well, why don’t you shred a bit of cheese on each and every dish you prepare? Some people simply love the idea of finding hot semi melted cheese on a dish. Others like to have cheese just as they would have a cake - using a fork and knife to cut cheese in pieces to be eaten along with a dish.

If you do not like cheese, you can opt for shredded tofu on your dish. Simply sprinkle a few layers on top and enjoy the dish. You will find extra flavor and can be satisfied that you have consumed in the proteins necessary for your body’s consumption.

If such an idea does not appeal to you, you can go in for snacks made of nuts. Avoid oil when making such snacks. Try boiling nuts or steaming them and have them as a snack to satisfy your hunger pangs. All these food products are very rich in protein and are perfect for your taste as well.

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Summer Time and Hearty Food

admin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 11:03:40 +0000

Summer cooking may seem boring to those of us who love hearty and wholesome food. It seems that all that food writers offer in the summertime is salad or barbecue. I thought it would be a good time to address the insufficiency of summer recipes available. The basic principle is that you need to use produce that is as local as possible. There are so many wonderful treats coming from gardens and small farms during the summer, and not a salad leaf among them.

I love new takes on classic recipes and the capresse salad is a wonderful place to start. The salad features tomatoes slices with fresh mozzarella cheese and dressed with fresh basil and olive oil. Salad figures heavily in the summer because people often don’t want to turn on the oven as it will heat the house up. You will need

4-5 large fresh vine ripened tomatoes
2 balls of fresh mozzarella
a handful of fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup of fresh white bread crumbs

Coat a baking dish with a generous amount of olive oil, cover the bottom with slices of fresh mozzarella, use another ball if necessary. Top with slice of fresh tomato and then a layer of basil. In a food processor blitz the bread crumbs with more fresh basil and some salt and pepper. Top the tomatoes with the bread crumbs, drizzle with more olive oil and then pop under the grill until the top is golden. You can serve this dish with crusty bread, rice, pasta, cous cous, or polenta.

Often in summer we find ourselves having to do fall tasks. I spent yesterday shopping for school clothes my daughter and suit fabrics for my husband. When I got home, it was boiling and I certainly didn’t want to turn on the stove, but I was immersed in greys and tweeds of fall so I wanted something warming. I was saved by Thai rice stick solution. Rice sticks don’t need to be boiled, just soaked in boiling water.

1 package Thai rice sticks
1 cup of fresh peas
2 garden fresh tomatoes
3 big leaves of swiss chard
2 eggs
soy sauce
thai sweet chilli sauce
sesame oil
2 limes
2 cloves garlic
small knob of fresh ginger

Soak your noodles in boiling water for 15 minutes with your fresh peas. finely dice the chard and briefly stir fry in the sesame oil. Scramble your eggs with soy sauce and sweet chilli, tip into the chard, cook till set, drain the noodles and tip into the pan. Quickly stir fry and season to taste with more soy and sweet chilli.

Summer Time and Hearty Food

admin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:08:34 +0000

4-5 large fresh vine ripened tomatoes
2 balls of fresh mozzarella
a handful of fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup of fresh white bread crumbs

1 package Thai rice sticks
1 cup of fresh peas
2 garden fresh tomatoes
3 big leaves of swiss chard
2 eggs
soy sauce
thai sweet chilli sauce
sesame oil
2 limes
2 cloves garlic
small knob of fresh ginger

French Salads

admin — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 21:33:06 +0000

The French uses classic cooking techniques and a variety of ingredients to make lip-smacking dishes out of them. Besides the cooked dishes, French salads are also quite popular. They have unique flavors, taste and also look very vibrant.

The European continent yields bountiful of fruits. Fruits like apples, melons, pears are widely produced in France. French fruits salads are quite famous. Some salads are served with citrus dressings and vinegar. Strawberries or raspberries are often served in French salads with a dash of balsamic vinegar. You can serve other fruits in a similar way. You can use black pepper and sugar to draw out the juice. Vegetable salads are also quite popular. The potatoes are served with a variety of herbs and nut butters.

Roasted beef with carrots and lemon is also a popular French salad. A variety of ingredients are used to make the salads mouthwatering like walnuts, blue cheese, fennel, cucumber, tomatoes, fresh mint and more. You can use beans and lentils to make French salads too.

Here, we will take a look at how to make Salad Nicoise with Seafood. You will need 16 romaine lettuce leaves, 4 hardboiled eggs, 12 oz salmon fillet, 1 zucchini, 16 black olives, 8 jumbo shrimp, 3/4 lb green beans, 8 sea scallops, 4 Roma tomatoes, 1 tablespoon capers, 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons French vinaigrette, 1 yellow bell pepper, and 8 leaves chopped fresh basil.

Now begin by cutting the salmon fillets, tomatoes and eggs in quarters. De-shell the shrimp and slice them in halves. The zucchini has to be cut in slices. The bell pepper has to be cut into strips. Cut the beans and steam them till they are soft. Baste the sea food, scallops and the zucchini with butter and grill it six inches above the coal. The heat should be medium.

Now place the eggs, lettuce, beans and olives, capers and tomatoes on a plate. Put the hot grilled sea food in it. Drizzle vinegar on it and it is ready for serving.

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Easy Moussaka

admin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:33:06 +0000

One of my all time favourite Greek recipes is moussaka. I have had it in restaurants everywhere from Chicago to Athens, but I was always intimidated to make it at home. After I made it the first time, I realized that it was much easier than it seemed. Many recipes include aubergine, which I detest. I have had the dish in Greece where potatoes take the place of aubergine and it was fantastic. I developed the below recipe and instructions for personal use:

Sauté 500-750 grams of mince in some olive oil with garlic and onion. You can use lamb and beef which is traditional or make an equally great dish with turkey or veggie mince.
Slice 4-5 large potatoes and steam, boil, or bake them until they are tender.
Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper and parsley to your mince and cook until the juices evaporate.
Key to an authentic Greek moussaka is the use of bread crumbs or friganies. You line the baking dish with these before you start layering the potatoes with the mince mixture.
Use a layer of grated the Greek cheese kefalotiri on top of the potatoes, you can substitute cheddar or a bit of crumbled feta if you can’t find it.
Top the layers with a bechamel sauce enriched with 2 egg yolks, a pinch of nutmeg if you like, and some more cheese. You will need roughly a litre of milk, four tablespoons each of butter and flour. You must remember to let the sauce cool before mixing in the egg yolks!
Cook in a medium oven for 30-40 minutes.

The Affordable Dinner

admin — Sat, 28 May 2011 11:03:05 +0000

I recently revisited a clipping I had saved from last year where Nigel Slater gives about fifteen different ideas (not recipes mind you, just suggestions) for VERY affordable dinners. It was a little more boring than I remember featuring noodle soup, macaroni and cheese and bubble and squeak. In my mind I had married the article with a great episode of Simple Suppers where he made dishes that featured one very flavourful ingredient. This is a brilliant strategy for saving money, think about highly spiced or flavoured ingredients where a small bit can flavour a whole soup or stew. Ham and sausage are obvious choices, but you can also think about things like coconut oil, sundried tomatoes, and roasted garlic. These are equally as effective when trying to make a lentil dish. All too often, when you try to save money with a simple lentil supper, you end up spending too much money on spices and other accompaniments. Try these following suggestions for affordable and creative stews:

Fry a head of garlic in a generous amount of coconut oil until it is golden brown and fragrant, add in yellow split peas or lentils that have been rinsed and cook until soft.
For a cheap and cheerful bean and sundried tomato spag bol, use cheap passata, add in two to three whole sundried tomatoes, blend with a hand blender until smooth, then add in a tin of beans, sweet corn, and chopped carrot, cook until all of the vegetables are soft and well combined.

White Wine and Wild Mushroom Lasagna

admin — Sat, 14 May 2011 10:33:06 +0000

I was a little worried when I decided to host a dinner for my sports partners and their spouses. This is both a health conscious crew and a group of hearty eaters. I decided to deconstruct a classic dish, giving it a new twist, thus making it more refined, and a bit healthier. Lasagna is different depending on which country it is being cooked in. In the United States it is layers of pasta and meat sauce with an absolutely necessary layer of ricotta cheese, the whole thing is topped with a melted layer of mozzarella. You will never find the use of bechamel sauce which is a given in most of the British versions. The following recipe for a white wine and wild mushroom lasagna combines the best of both worlds:

One box of lasagna pasta the type that you don’t need to cook ahead
2 containers of ricotta cheese
250 grams of mixed mushrooms
3 eggs
2 glasses of white wine
butter
6 shallots
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons of flour

Sauté the mushrooms in butter with the chopped shallots. Remove half and set aside, add another knob of butter to the remaining vegetables, and heat until melted, add the flour and stir, tip in the white wine, mix until bubbly, adjust the taste with some extra milk or cream to taste. Mix the remaining mushrooms with the ricotta, eggs, and a pinch of salt and pepper. In a large baking dish layer the sauce, pasta, ricotta mixture, ending with pasta and sauce on top. Bake in a medium oven according to the package directions.