New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients

200 Ml Chicken Stock (low sodium)
.5 L Milk
1 Can of Nestle Cream
3 Small Potatoes
1 Ear of corn
1 Onion
3 Slices of Bacon
50 g of Pork belly (precooked)
2 Big Celery Ribs
1 Lb of small fresh clams
Dash Oregano
Dash Basil
1/2 ts Black Pepper

Directions

Prep all of your ingredients.  Cut the potato, onion, pork belly and celery into 1 cm (appx) pieces and put them off to the side.  Also, remove the corn from the cob and put it off to the side.  Lastly, cut the bacon into lardons and also put it off to the side.  In a blender mix the milk, stock and cream.  Once they are blended place them in a large pot on low heat.  Add the spices to the creamy broth.  Also add the vegetables, pork belly and bacon.  Make sure to continue to stir the soup.  The vegetables shouldn't take too long to cook.  They will probably be thoroughly cooked in about 10 minutes, but taste to test.   

For the clams, make sure that they are thoroughly washed.  Then,  cook them in a medium pan with about 1 cup of water.  Cook the clams on high until they all are opened.  Then, remove the clam meat from the shell and place it in the soup pot.  Also, after discarding the shells, add the clam cooking liquid to the soup (you may want to strain this).

Heat the soup up to high and then you are ready to serve (of course with some oyster crackers). 

Braised Pork Belly in Fresh Tortillas

Ingredients
Braising Liquid
1 Cup Orange Juice
1/8 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tb Chili sauce
Pinch Salt

Protein
Pork Belly cut into individual pieces (about 1x1x2 inch slices)

Simple Slaw
Grated Carrot (and other root vegetables, cabbage, onion, etc. if you would like)

Tortillas
1 Cup Massa Flour
Pinch Salt
1 Tb Oil
½ cup (+ or -) Water

Other
Grated cheddar cheese

Directions
Pork
Pan Fry the pork belly in a frying pan on high with some olive oil. When the pieces are completely browned, place the pieces of pork belly in an 8 inch pyrex dish with the braising liquid.

Place the pyrex in the oven on low (300 degrees F) and allow to cook four about 1 to 1.5 hours until the pork is fork tender and soft.

I then cut the pork belly into lardoons so that they could be easily placed into the tortilla.

I also removed the fat from the braising liquid and reduced the liquid down, until thick, in a small pan to be used as a sauce in the tortillas.

Simple Slaw
Mix the Carrot with about 2 Tb apple cider vinegar and 2 tb olive oil.

Tortillas
I made my tortillas without a tortilla press which was quite cumbersome, but is possible. In a mixing bowl add the Massa flour, salt, oil and water together in a bowl to form a dough. The dough should be about a “play dough” consistency. For my tortillas I separated the dough into 1 inch diameter balls. Then, using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a round tortilla. You need to make sure you do this on a smooth, possibly greased surface. I then used a spatula to transfer my rolled, raw, tortilla into a frying, ungreased, on high. Each tortilla should then be cooked until brown on both sides. They will, ofcourse, need a flip in the middle of cooking to ensure browning on both sides.

Assembly
Place a tb of root vegetable on your tortilla, then the cheese, pork belly and lastly a little bit of the braising liquid on top.

You are now ready to enjoy!

Caesar Salad

Ingredients
50 Ml Mayonnaise
1 Anchovy Fillet
2 Tb Vinegar
3 Tb Olive Oil
2 Cloves of Garlic
¼ Ts of Hot Sauce (Mustard based preferred)
Few dashes of pepper
1 Tb of grated Parmesan

½ head of romaine lettuce

Directions
Add the mayonnaise, anchovy, vinegar, olive oil, garlic (make sure all of the skin is off the garlic cloves, hot sauce, pepper and parmesan into the blender.

Blend the mixture until emulsified and smooth.

Cut the lettuce lengthwise making slices every 1.5 inches across the leaves. Place the romaine into a large bowl and toss with the dressing. I suggest adding about half of the dressing at first and then topping up to your desired consistency.

If you want, you can add your protein of choice, more grated parmesan/ cracked pepper, and croutons.

Cacio e Pepe

Ingredients

Pasta

A little less than a pack of dried spaghetti; cooked to andante
1.5 Tbsp Butter (salted)
1.5 Tbsp Olive Oil
¼ cup of Shredded parmesan
1 tbsp pepper

Parmesan cup
¼ cup parmesan

Directions

Pasta
In a medium saucepan on medium head add the butter and melt it. Next, add the olive oil. Then toss the pasta with the butter/ olive oil mixture. Lasty toss in the pepper and Parmesan. The result is a rich, slightly spicy, slightly tangy pasta which originates from Rome.

Parmesan Cup
This pasta is often served in a bowl made out of parmesan. To make the the cup use a small frying pan on high heat. Place ¼ cup of parmesan in the bottom pan and let it melt and bubble. When the parmesan has melted together turn the heat off. Let the cheese congeal and cool into a disk. Then place the disk of parmesan on the bottom of a coffee mug and allow the cheese to form around the mug into a bowl shape.

Serve the pasta inside of the bowl.

Cajun BBQ Shrimp

Ingredients
3/4 Pounds Live (If Possible) Shrimp
1/2 Stick butter
1/4 Olive Oil
1 tbs of Chili Sauce
1 ts Cayenne Powder
1/2 ts Black pepper powder
2 tb Apple Vinegar
1/2 lemon squeezed
Dash Salt
3 Cloves of Garlic (crushed)

Directions

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan on medium heat.

When the butter is melted, add the olive oil.

Stir the liquids together and then add the spices, lemon, vinegar and garlic.

Turn the heat up to high, allow the mixture to simmer for a moment, and then add the shrimp.

Cook the shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes or until the shrimp has all turned pink.  Do not cook the shrimp for too long or the shrimp will become tough.

Serve the shrimp over some pasta or with a little bit of crusty bread to sop up the delicious liquid.

Lamb Shank Confit

Serves 3
Ingredients
3 Lamb Shanks
1 Tb Rosemary (Fresh is preferred)
6 Whole garlic cloves
1 Liter of oil (Olive oil is preferred)
1 Ts of salt
1 Tb of pepper corns
1 lemon sliced into rounds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C (about 310 degrees F)
Use a large pot which is oven safe.  Fill it with the oil, rosemary, garlic, lemon, peppercorns, salt, and lastly the lamb. Make sure that the lamb is completely submerged.  If it is not, add a little more oil.

Place the pot, in the oven, covered for 2 hours.

Lamb shanks are a tougher pieces of meat the process of cooking the lamb via confit at a low temperature will allow the tough tissue to break down and become very tender.

When the shanks are fork tender, it is an indication that they are ready to eat.

You will also notice that the meat will reduce in mass by a noticeable amount.  As a raw product, the shanks will be totally covered by meat, that will not be the case after they have cooked for 2 hours (as can be seen in the photo). 

After removing the shanks from the oil, you can briefly broil them to crisp the outside.

I have served my lamb with the cauliflower puree and a sweet red wine reduction sauce (wine (40 cl), tomato paste (1 ts), sugar (2 tb), (lemon 1 ts))

Cauliflower Mash

This is a great alternative to mashed potatoes with more flavor and less carbohydrates

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 Cauliflower head
Salt to Taste
1/4 Cup of milk
2 Heaping tbs of cream cheese
Dash Pepper
1 Tb Butter

Directions
Wash Cauliflower, remove stem and leaves and cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces.

Place cauliflower in a steamer and steam until soft.  This will probably take 10 to 15 minutes, but keep and eye on the cauliflower because it could be more and it could be less time.

Drain the cauliflower and place it into a large bowl.  Then, puree the cauliflower with an immersion blender.

Next, add all of the other ingredients and repeat blending and pureeing with the immersion blender.