Grilled Corn with Lime Chilli Butter

August 5th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

Spiky haired corn cobs dressed up in fresh and spicy butter. Looking hot.

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— Grilled Corn with Lime Chilli Butter —

8 ears corn, husked

100g butter, softened

1-2 teaspoons chilli powder (adjust chili to suit your taste)

Zest of 1 lime

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Some salt

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Place the butter, chilli powder, lime zest and fresh lime juice in a bowl. Mix until well combined.

Transfer the mixed butter on a sheet of parchment paper and mold into a log. Wrap the log with the paper and twist the ends to seal. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

Pull back hunks from ears of corn, remove and discard silks, tie husks together with string to form a handle.

Place corn on rack of an uncovered grill directly over heat with husks hanging over the edge or away from the heat.

Grill the corn for about 15 minutes until browned, turning occasionally to cook evenly.

Sprinkle with salt and serve with the lime chilli butter.

Nachos

July 1st, 2012 § 2 comments § permalink

Sunday, hangover, a couple of DVDs to watch, and this big heap of Nachos.

I won’t get off the couch today.

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— Nachos (serves 2) —

100g tortilla chips

50g cheddar cheese, grated

Some sour cream

Some black olives, sliced

Some romaine lettuce, shredded

*****

— for Tomato Salsa —

2 tomatoes (medium), chopped into small cubes

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

1 green jalapeno chilli, very finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped coriander

1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Salt to taste (optional)

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— for Chunky Avocado Dip —

1 ripe avocado, peeled and stoned, cut into small cubes

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

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To make the tomato salsa: mix all the salsa ingredients in a bowl.

To make the chunky avocado dip: mix all the dip ingredients in a bowl.

Arrange the tortilla chips on a heatproof plate. Sprinkle over the grated cheese.

Grill for about 3 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Top nachos with the shredded lettuce, sliced black olives, tomato salsa, avocado dip and sour cream.

Baked Cheesecake

June 27th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

This is a classic New York style cheesecake. Rich, creamy and dense.
Simply delicious.

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— Baked Cheesecake (7 inches round cake tin) —

100g digestive biscuits

50g unsalted butter, melted

300g cream cheese

150g sugar

200ml sour cream

2 eggs

100ml single cream

2 tablespoons corn flour

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

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Crush the biscuits until fine, add the melted butter and mix well to combine.

Spread the biscuit mixture onto the bottom of spring form cake pan, pressing down firmly. Refrigerate the biscuit base while making the filling.

Preheat the oven to 170C/340F.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth in a large bowl, add the sour cram and sugar, mix well. Add eggs 1 at a time, mix well. Add the single cream, lemon zest and lemon juice, mix well, and then add the corn flour and mix.

Pour the mixture through a strainer onto the biscuit base.

Place the cake pan inside a oven dish, pour hot water around the pan (wrap the pan first with aluminum foil to prevent water from leaking through the bottom).

Bake until set and golden on top about 1 hour.

Turn the oven off, and let the cake cool in oven with the door closed for a couple of hours.

Chill in refrigerator, preferably over night.

Baked Avocado

December 17th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Baked avocado has a delicious nutty flavour.

Drizzle with lovely honey mustard soy sauce .

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— Baked Avocado (serves 2) —

1 large avocado

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon whole grain mustard

1 teaspoon honey

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Cut the avocado in half, remove and discard pit.

Mix the olive oil, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard and honey in a small bowl.

Place the avocado on a baking try, cut side up. Drizzle the sauce over the top.

Preheat broiler, cook the avocado under the broiler about for 10 minutes until slightly golden.

Chilli con Carne

September 9th, 2011 § 2 comments § permalink

I always remember the French film ‘Betty Blue’ when I eat chilli can carne.

This is Betty and Zorg’s (main characters) favourite dish, and it perfectly fits the atmosphere of the film. Deep red colour, Spicy taste and hot temperature.

Betty looks so attractive and sexy when she was eating the chilli con carne straight from a pot in her hand with a large spoon, and this scene made me want to become a woman like Betty (unfortunately, I became a totally different type…).

I made a pot full of chilli con carne today, and tried to eat it like Betty, but it was too hot and I got burned.

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— Chilli con Carne (serves 4) —

1 onion

1 red pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ground paprika

1/2 tablespoon cumin powder

1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes

400g beef mince

200ml red wine

1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes

3 tablespoons tomato purée

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

1 beef stock cube

1 tin  (400g) red kidney beans, drained

Salt and black pepper

*****

Grated cheese, sour cream, boiled rice, to serve

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Finely chop the onion, cut the red pepper into small dice.

Heat the olive oil in saucepan (with a lid), add the chopped onion and stir-fry over medium heat until softened. Add the chopped red pepper, minced garlic, paprika, cumin and chilli flakes, stir-fry for about 3 minutes.

Brown the mince in a separate pan. Add the cooked mince to the onion mixture and mix well. Pour in the red wine and boil for 2-3 minutes.

Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and crumble in the beef stock cube. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for about 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture is thickened.

Add the kidney beans and cook for further 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Serve with boiled rice, grated cheese and sour cream.

Fried Cod with Mango Salsa

July 30th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Sweet and sour mango salsa. A little bit of cilli gives it a nice kick.

The white fish dressed up in a lovely yellow coloured summer dress today.

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— Fried Cod with Mango Salsa (serves 2) —

2 cod fillets

Some salt and pepper

Some plain flour

2 tablespoons butter

*****

— for mango salsa —

1 medium ripe mango, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons coriander leave, finely chopped

1/2 small red cilli, very finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

A pinch of salt and pepper

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Mix all the mango salsa ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

Sprinkle the cod fillets with salt and pepper. Lightly dust each side with flour.

Heat the butter in a frying-pan, sauté the cod fillets over medium heat on each side until cooked and golden.

Transfer to serving plates and pour the mango salsa over the cod fillets.