Home-cooking

Short and sweet....WE LOVE TO COOK..so often we each (my grandmother, my mom and I) do one course...cooking wise...the main course sets the scence..the rest has to adapt....mains...starters and the one that is supposed to be doing dessert...has the option between dessert and aperitifo....so this meal was created one of the nights...

Mutti (my grandmother, Sofia's great-grandmother) had the honor of mains...me...starter...hence mom got to choose between making dessert or aperitifo...aperitifo it was....

So...what did mom do.....simple...but so effective...

Aperitifo

Guacamole brushetta, caprese bites, cold dried meat and marinated olives....with of course some bubbly and beer...great way to get your appetite going...we all enjoyed it...also it was light which was great cause it does not spoil the appetite for the next courses.

Up next....me...chicoree salad with a crispy bacon, walnuts and a blue cheese dressing....

Chircore salad

And yes...if i mY say so....absoloutely divine...good size portion cause blue cheese is quite heavy...great...here is the recipe:

For four people:

100g blue cheese or gorgolzola

2 large chicoree

2 T sour cream

2 T mayonnaise

10 whole walnuts

Salt and pepper

Mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, salt and pepper and blue cheese (80g) until it becomes creamy. Not all the blue cheesechunks need to be molten, chunks are allowed.

Crush the walnuts

Cut the chicoree...cut off the top...about 3cm...and then cut the rest into 1/2cm rolls (note, cut just before serving otherwise it goes brown).

Fry bacon until crispy and soak off fat on a paper towel

For serving....mix chicoree with dressing...then plate...add walnuts...add bacon...serve...and yes...it will be a hit...what i would do better...add a red leaf of salad underneath and place salad into it...or use a different colour plate...white plate is NOT ideal at all....

Now...let's move onto mains...Mutti's dish...piccate milanese with saffron rice and carrots....and yes...it was wow...it was truely amazing...she wanted to use veal, could not find, so she used pork, it was just beautifully cooked...what she decided was that she sould have used some parsley fo garnish or maybe she should have used beans instead of carrots for colour...but all in all...in tasted fabulous...here is a pic...

Main course

Recipe for four people:

600g pork fillet

2 eggs

2T flour

Dash of milk

1/2 cup rice

Little saffron

50g parmesan

Beans/ carrots (however much you love vegetables)

2T cream (if carrots)

1 cube bouillon

Dip the pork fillet pieces into flour then egg mixed with milk....fry them until golden...then place them into oven, 80 degrees for at least 30min...max 1 hr.

The carrots, peal....and cut into pieces...sprinkle with a cube of boullion and then cook in water (water should just cover carrots). When they get soft, switch off and add a touch of cream.

If beans then just cook them im water with some bouillon until tender (do not add cream, can add a diced onion if want...that would be at the beginning..meaning...sautee onion, then add beans and then water.

Rice...two to one quantity..hence one cup rice and two cups water...add saffron at the same time you add water. Bring to boil and then simmer until water has disappeared...then rice should be done....

Time to assemle....rice...piccate milanese and carrots/ beans....then decorate with parmesan sprinkles (give extra on the table for those that desire extra).....and taste...bloddy delicious....

I think our meal was a sucess...yes, there could have been some tweaks which we discussed amongst each other...but all in all...a very good meal...we truely enjoyed it...next time...i have to do mains...mom will do starters and Mutti has the choice between desser and aperitifo...hmmmmm....what will we do....but first...i am off to the States with Sofia...so, my next blog will not be written from Italy,..from where and about what...that i do not know yet..li guess you will have to wait and find out....but now...goodnite...we have to get up at 3am...so time to get a little bit of sleep...goodnite.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy