Banana strudel

                                                    Banana strudel
Ingredients:
3 bananas peeled and sliced
1 cup or 200 grams brown sugar
1 cup or 340 grams golden raisins
1 sheet puff pastry
1/3 cup or 35 grams bread crumbs
1 table spoon cinnamon
1 tea spoon lemon zest
2 table spoon butter


Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200° C. Prepare a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Put the sliced bananas in a large bowl and stir together the brown sugar, golden raisins, bread crumbs, cinnamon and lemon zest. Place the puff pastry on baking sheet. Set the banana filling in the middle of the pastry lengthwise. Fold the pastry lengthwise around the mixture. Seal edges of pastry brushing them with some melted butter and press gently with your finger tips. Use the rest of the butter on top of the pastry.


Bake for up to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy

Herb crusted mustard pork loin

Creme Caramel

Apple pie

Ingredients:

35,3 ounces or 1 Kg apples

1 egg + 1 yolk

0,5 cup or 100 grams of sugar

1,25 cups or 150 grams of all purposes flour

0,75 cup or 18 centiliters of milk

1 dose of raising powder

1 pinch of salt

brown sugar and butter flakes

Preparation:

Peel, core and cut in pieces the apples.

In a mixing bow stir the eggs and the sugar, add the flour, raising powder, salt and milk. Mix everything together and add the apple pieces.

Cover with over paper a 9 inches diameter baking pan.

Pour the mixture in the pan, do not worry if it will result a little lumpt, during the cooking it will dispose well itself.

Spread on top some brown sugar and some butter flakes.

Preheat the oven up to 350°F or 180° C, use heat from below and not the venting mode.

Put the pan at medium height in the oven and bake for 1 hour.

Once cooked, let the cake rest and cool, set it on a serving plate and  sprinkle the top with icing sugar.

Enjoy

Red wine Ribs

Sunday Brunch

Homemade happy hour

Fruity smoked cuts

Hi,
here above are some of the greatest results of my smoking activity.
Since I came back from the States where my master is, my dad bought a great Oklahoma Joe's. First hits were more like slow grilling but very tasty anyway. After some practise and little study, I have converted my grilling into a low and slow cooking technique. Living in the countryside with plenty of land gives my family and I always the opportunity of having fruity woods coming from winter pruning to use: cherry, apple, pear...
The way I set the fire in my pit is having a medium bed of coal to keep certain heat and add every once and then, depending on the consume, small sticks of wood.

picture 1 Beef brisket just sliced
picture 2 Beef brisket as off the bbq
picture 3 Beef brisket and its rub before the smoking
picture 4 Pork ribs sweet and sour glazed, 5h cherry smoked
picture 5 Myself setting the fire

All your comments and suggestions are always very welcome, please leave yours here below helping me to better perfom my cooking.
Thanks
            Caicorri

Giant Thai Blue Shrimps

Langostino del rio blu is neither a true lobster nor a prawn.It's giant anyway and fanstatic in taste. These come from river culture of Thailand and grilled on my bbq with a lime, lemongrass, garlic butter flavorings.

All you comments and suggestions are always very welcome, please leave yours here below helping me to better perfom my cooking.

Thanks
     Caicorri

Burger

Some tips for a great burger. Meat is the most important ingredient so must be choosen with particoular care. Lean meat even if more appealing has not enought fat in it to garantee the patty to be tender after the cooking. Fat meat on the other hand tend to loose grease on the flame and your burger will end up flambè.

My personal suggestion is to mix half lean and  half fat ground  beef. To assure extra moisture and flavour I add 1 onion and 3 cloves of garlig for 3 patties (meat weight around 450 grams or in pounds around 1). Of course some salt can not be forgotten bu my recommandetion is to add just a tiny bit of salt as it dries out the meat. Salty taste can be given in a variety of way cheese, bacon, wocestre sauce etc. If you really need to add salt for your taste ,do add it once the burger are almost done. Black pepper is a must on the meat as a tiny bit of cayenne pepper. Combine all the ingredients gently, take your time when mixing. I use a wooden spoon, break the meat in parts a just stirr them. The goal is not having a compost bu be sure to distribute the ingredients in an equal way all around.

Done with the mix, devide the meat in 3 parts with the size of a tennis ball, gently press together your hands to flat down the patties. Reduce the height to 2 centimeters, 0,8 inch, making sure the edges are smooth and press them to give shape.

If you grill your burgers with the mentioned height on medium high temperature you will be sure they won't dry out too much. Place them on heat and leave for 5-7 minutes per side. Turn them just once and avoid to press them on the grill, they won't cook faster, you will just loose the great juices contained in them. Do press the gently to be sure all the surface of the patty is touching the grill, but plese gently.....This is I how I treat my burgers meat untill on fire.

Next time I will share with you how to add extra flavour and texture with cheese and bacon and how to dispose the extra filling and ingredients of the bun.

As usual please leave your comments and suggestion, I'll be pleased to share with you your opinions and ideas. 

The Gin Tonic

Best Gin Tonic ever drank was in Milan.

Composition 1/3 Gin (Tanqueray 10) 2/3 Tonic water (there is only one worlwide famouns brand and yes it is this one), a quarter of a lime.
Served in an icy baloon glass full of fine crushed ice.

Tomorrow thai curry

Small pieces of chicken stirred with onions and garlic. once well gold brown, chicken must be eaten really cooked, add coconut milk and some anacardi. after a short while just to tenderize the anacardi add yellow curry to your taste. for a visual presentation use red curry, sweeter but more appealing. to give a truly curry taste add a bit of masala.






















All your comments and suggestions are always very welcome, please leave yours here below helping me to better perfom my cooking.


Thanks

Caicorri