DiabloFans

Don_guillotine's Tomato Soup:

You'll need

• about 800 grams of crushed tomatoes
• (a packet of) bacon
• a big onion
• (garlic according to your taste)
• a stock cube (or the equivalent you prefer yourself)
• Some white pepper
• salt
• (teaspoonful of sugar)
• 2 deciliters of cream

Put the crushed tomatoes into a pot. Chop bacon, onion and garlic into small pieces and brown them. Add them into the pot with the tomatoes.
Add the stock cube, white pepper, and if necessary - some salt. I also prefer to add about a teaspoonful of sugar.
Let it bubble slowly for at least two hours (do not burn it!). The time is the key ingredient for this, any less than two hours will diminish the taste.
Add the cream, boil it up quickly, and you're done.
Should serve for two.

Nektu's Demi Glace:

3 lb veal bones
4 small cans of tomato paste
1 lg white onion rough chopped
3 carrot peeled and chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
boutique garni consisting of a few whole garlic cloves, 6 dried bay leaves, 1/2 cup mixed pepper corns, i bunch fresh parsley, some fresh thyme

Preparation:

Alright, here it is, the best demi glace ever! You will need the following: 1 heavy bottom stock pot that holds about 4 gallons, a fine mesh strainer and some cheese cloth.

Get yourself about 3 pounds of fresh veal bones. Go to a butcher and tell them it's for making demi. You'll end up getting scrap bones, but that's what you want. Take the veal bones and wash them in a clean sink. Dry them with your not so favorite towel and place them on a sheet pan or two if you need it. Put them in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

While this is going you will need 3 carrots peeled and cut into quarters. 1 large white onion cut into large chunks and 3 celery stalks large cut also. In the stock pot drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom and saute the veg. About 20 minutes into the cooking of the bones, pull them out and smear tomato paste on them, return to oven for rest of the 25 minutes. Make sure you don't burn your veg.

Get together your boutique garni. It will consist of; Whole peeled garlic, 1/2 cup mixed pepper corns, a nice amount of fresh thyme still on stem, a few (6) dried bay leaves, and about 1 bunch fresh parsley still on stem.

Okay, now that the bones are done roasting take them out of the oven and scrap them directly into the stock pot. Use red wine to deglace the pan. A bit, not much, for the demi is alright. Put your boutique garni in. Fill stock pot with enough water to cover the bones. Bring up to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Now reduce to about half. About 6-8 hours.

Now, take the bones out of the pot and put onto the sheet pan and strain the rest through the cheese cloth that you took and lined the strainer with.(use a rubber band to keep it on if need be). put bones back into stock pot and fill with water again like before. Reduce by half again. This is called the remoulage. Strain like you did before and add the two reductions together. put into a large container and let cool. As it cools the fat will come to the top. Skim this dross off with a ladle. Freeze the demi.

When you need it, take a small sauce pan and put 4 Tbl diced shallots in and add 4 cups red wine. Reduce by half then add about 6 cups of the demi. You will get a nice dark color. Simmer for 5 minutes then thicken with a flour and oil roux(I mentioned this a few posts back). Not too thick now. Add some kosher salt and ground pepper for taste, just a pinch. Add some fresh sage chopped up or other things like mushrooms for a forestiere sauce. The list is endless.

Nektu's Bread Pudding:

Ingredients

* 6 slices day-old bread
* 2 tablespoons butter, melted
* 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
* 4 eggs, beaten
* 2 cups milk
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

*You can even use chocolate shavings and add them to the milk mixture, place it on stove and warm until chocolate is melted. But not long enough to get the milk boiling.*

Still under Construction.

Working Slowly.

Daemaro's Meatballs:

• About 3 pounds of ground sirloin - sirloin is important for the meatballs, if you use just plain ground beef it's going to end up a little more greasy and fall apart easier.
• 2 Large Eggs - Helps bind the balls a little more.
• 2 cups of Italian bread crumbs - Alternately you can use plain bread crumbs and season them how you like.
• 1 Large Onion or 2 Mediums - Depending on how much onion you like. Chopped fine, you don't want large onion pieces in the balls.
• 6 to 8 Cloves of Garlic - Make sure to crush the cloves before chopping them, I think it brings out the flavor a little more.
• 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of Red Pepper Flakes - Depending on how much spice you want them to have.
• About 4 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce - Great all around flavor.
• 1/2 cup of Freshly Chopped Parsley - You can use either Italian Parsley, or flat leaf. Where I live we only seem to have italian, it works but its a pain to chop, or maybe I just don't know the secret. Make sure to chop it fine, parsley between the teeth is never fun for people to look at.
• 1/2 cup of Romano Cheese - Fresh Parmesan works also. Not the stuff in a shaker.
• Fresh Ground Salt and Pepper - To your preference.
• Cook them on 450 for about 10-12 minutes - Cooking time can vary depending on the size, but generally that works. If you're not sure break one open.

Nektu's Ceviche:

• 1 lb halibut fillet or sea bass fillet or red snapper fillet (or use a mixture of fish and shrimp)
• 5-6 limes (Enough Juice to cover fish)
• 1 cup diced fresh tomato
• 1 green pepper, sweet, chopped
• 4 tablespoons chopped parsley or chopped cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (or more to suit your taste)
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 dash Tabasco sauce
• lettuce leaf (to line serving bowls)
• avocado (optional)
• black olives, sliced (for garnish) (optional)

Directions:

• Dice the fish (approximately 1/2-inch dice if using shrimp use cleaned shrimp).
• Marinate fish in the lime juice in the fridge overnight (this step cooks the fish).
• Stir often.
• Pour off most of the lime juice (just leave it moist).
• Add remaining ingredients except lettuce, avocado and olive. Do this preferably a few hours before serving & refrigerate.
• Toss well and arrange in individual serving bowls that are lined with the lettuce leaves.
• If you wish garnish with sliced avocado and sliced black olives.

Still under Construction.

Working Slowly.

• In a large bowl combine milk, Sriracha (hot chili paste), minced garlic, and slat.
• Place chicken breast strips in the large bowl and allow to marinate for 6-24 hrs.
• On a plate combine 2parts shredded Parmesan cheese and 1 part flour. Add a pinch of salt, garlic powder, crush red pepper and a pinch of pepper. Combine ingredients thoroughly.
• Heat up a pot of oil to 350F (176C for you non-Americans).
• Pull out chicken breast from marinade and dredge in cheese/flour mixture.
• Place in oil and cook for 6-10 mins or until golden brown.
• Remove from oil and place on paper towel while the rest of the chicken fingers cook.

Honey Mustard - (for chicken fingers): In a bowl combine 1 part mayonnaise, 1 part sour cream, one large swirl mustard, 1 large swirl of honey and a pinch of salt. (Add more honey or mustard to taste).

Still under Construction.

Working Slowly.

Nektu's Scones:

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
* 1/2 cup raisins (or dried currants)
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1 large egg

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in raisins.
3. In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.
4. Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
5. Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

Footnotes:

*Cranberry-Orange Scones

Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding a generous teaspoon of finely grated orange rind (zest) to the dry ingredients and substituting dried cranberries for the raisins.

*Lemon-Blueberry Scones

Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding a generous teaspoon of finely grated lemon rind (zest) to the dry ingredients and substituting dried blueberries for the raisins.

*Cherry-Almond Scones

Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding 1/2 tsp. almond extract to the sour cream mixture and substituting dried cherries for the raisins.

Still under Construction.

Working Slowly.

The reason the cookbook came about is a simple one. To organize all the recipes that are shared in Nektu's Cooking Corner which was created by our resident chef, Nektu. Also, thanks to Sixen's permission, I am able to organize the book even further by using separate posts for the major categories.

Table of Delicious Contents:

I: Breakfast Recipes
__ A: Nektu's Scones

II: Lunch Recipes
__ A: Scyberdragon's Chicken Fingers

III: Dinner Recipes
__ A: Daemaro's Meatballs
__ B: Nektu's Ceviche

IV: Dessert Recipes
__ A: Nektu's Bread Pudding

V: Snack Recipes

VI: Soups and Sauces
__ A: Don_guillotine's Tomato Soup
__ B: Nektu's Demi Glace

Still under construction... Yes I used green, deal with it.