KBKabaret

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
• 4 yellow tomatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into chunks
• 1/3 cup chopped white onion
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 4 teaspoons minced fresh dill
• 4 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

Directions:

Combine the cucumber and tomatoes in a blender, reserving 1/4 cup of each for garnish.
Add the bell pepper, onion, vinegar, 1 teaspoon each dill and parsley, 1 clove garlic and the sugar; puree until smooth.
Pass through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
Season with 1 teaspoon salt. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the croutons:
Heat the remaining clove garlic with the olive oil in a skillet over low heat.
Add the bread cubes and the remaining 3 teaspoons each dill and parsley.
Cook, stirring, until golden and crunchy, 10 to 15 minutes.
Discard the garlic.

Pour the soup into chilled bowls. Dice the reserved cucumber and tomatoes; sprinkle into the soup. Garnish with the croutons.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups frozen strawberries
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons white sugar, or to taste

Directions:

1. Puree strawberries, milk, cream and sour cream in a blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Stir in sugar to taste.
3. Chill 8 hours or overnight in refrigerator before serving.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2.5 lbs piece boneless pork belly with skin, scored at 1/4 inch intervals all over
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 teaspoons caster sugar
• 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 1 small Lebanese cucumber, stripe-peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 long red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup mint leaves
• 1/4 cup coriander leaves
• 1/4 cup Thai basil leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Wipe the pork skin dry with paper towel, then rub well all over with 1 teaspoon sea salt. Place skin-side up on a rack in a deep roasting pan, then pour in enough boiling water to come just below the rack. Roast for 2 hours, topping up the water as necessary, until the skin is crisp and the pork is tender. Allow to cool. Cut the pork belly into bite-sized pieces.
3. Meanwhile, combine the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar in a large bowl, whisking to dissolve the sugar. Add the pork, spring onion, cucumber, chilli and herbs to the bowl of dressing and gently toss to combine.
4. Divide the salad among plates then scatter with peanuts and serve.

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a medium saucepot over medium-high heat, combine water, butter and salt. Heat until butter has melted and water is boiling.
3. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Stir until mixture begins to create a dough ball in the center of the pot and the dough is completely pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 2 minutes.
4. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. On low speed, add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl well after each addition and beating until the bowl feels cool (the mixture should be very smooth and silky). Add in the cheese after the last addition of the eggs.
5. Transfer the mixture to a plastic food storage bag and cut half an inch off of one corner to create a pastry bag. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, squeeze the mixture into small rounds and bake until golden brown and puffed, about 25 minutes.
6. The pastries can be made a day or two ahead of time and kept in an airtight container at room temperature. If they feel soggy when you take them out, pop them into a 400F oven for a couple of minutes until they crisp up again.

Servings: 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs Red Delicious apple, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
• water, to cover the apple
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 12 bread rolls
• 6 cups milk
• 6 eggs, separated
• 1 -2 teaspoon vanilla sugar blended with caster sugar
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 cup crushed walnuts
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup sugar, extra
• 3 -4 tablespoons apricot jam
• 1/4 cup butter + 1 tb extra to coat pan
• breadcrumbs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325°
2. Grease an ovenproof dish using 1 tsp butter and breadcrumbs.
3. Slice apples thinly and place in cold water with lemon juice until ready to use.
4. Slice the bread rolls and mix with the milk, the egg yolks, vanilla sugar and caster sugar.
5. Place a third in the greased ovenproof dish.
6. Pour 1/3 cup of wine all over soaked rolls
7. Place half apple slices on the top and sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tbs cinnamon 1/2 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup raisins.
8. Repeat layers and end with the last third of the bread on top
9. Pour last third of wine on top of entire mixture.
10. Place small dollops of butter on mixture.
11. Bake in oven for 30-40 minutes.
12. Beat the egg whites with 1/4 sugar and the apricot jam, and microwave on high for 1-2 minutes.
13. Spread egg white mixture on top of pudding (after baking) and bake for a few minutes more, until egg whites change to a light brown color.

Simply and Delicious (Simply Delicious)
TOTAL TIME: Prep: 20 min. Bake: 30 min. + cooling
YIELD:12-16 servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/4 cups 2% milk
• 10 tablespoons butter, cubed

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, beat eggs on high speed for 5 minutes or until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to batter; beat at low speed until smooth.
2. In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter just until butter is melted. Gradually add to batter; beat just until combined.
3. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.Yield: 12-16 servings.

TIPS:

• Salted butter really brings out the flavor of this subtle classic.
• Cube leftovers to layer into a trifle with berries and cream.
• Swap almond extract for the vanilla, and serve with whipped cream and toasted almonds.

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

CHICKEN FRIED STEAK BITES

• 1 1/2 lb. cube steak
• 3 Eggs, beaten
• 1 c. flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. Black pepper
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• vegetable oil (enough to fill pan 1 inch)

GRAVY

• 1/4 c. reserved vegetable oil
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. Pepper
• 1 1/2 c. milk

CHICKEN FRIED STEAK BOWL MIX-INS

• 3 c. Mashed potatoes
• 1 package green beans, steamed (12 oz)
• 1 can corn (15.25 oz)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the chicken fried steak bites: Tenderized Steak by poking fork holes all the way through (the more fork holes the better) the pound with a meat pounder (don’t flatten, a few wallops should do the trick).
2. Cut tenderized steak into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
3. Set up a dredging station: Place beaten eggs in a shallow bowl next to the oven. In a second shallow bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper, cayenne and garlic powder.
4. Place a skillet on the oven over medium-high heat. Add about 1″ of vegetable oil, giving it a few minutes to warm up (the oil will start to shimmer slightly once it’s ready for frying).
5. Using tongs, dip pieces of steak into the flour mixture, then the eggs, then back into the flour. Place the pieces, one by one, into the oil, frying them until golden brown (about 2 minutes). Place them on a plate lined with paper towels to drain off any excess grease.
6. Make the gravy: Drain most of the oil from the skillet, reserving 1/4 c to make the gravy. Reduce heat to medium, and slowly whisk in flour, one tablespoon at a time, until you’ve formed a light brown roux. Season with salt and pepper, then whisk in milk. Let it simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat.
7. Prepare mashed potatoes and warm green beans and corn. Layer mashed potatoes, green beans, corn and chicken fried steak bites into bowls, then drizzle with gravy and serve.

Many people don’t make soufflés because they are scared of failure. In reality, making a soufflé is easy as pie. All you need to do is : make a base, fold in whipped egg whites, and bake. If you’re doing a sweet soufflé, maybe your base is Grand Marnier. If you’re doing a savory version, maybe your base is a version of a bechamel sauce, creamy with flecks of herbs. In this sense, the technique for most recipes is the same. Here are a few tips to make sure you succeed each and every time you set out to bake this light, airy treat.

1. For Fail-Proof Meringue, Add Acid! This is not required by any means, but if you have trouble getting your egg whites or meringue to peak properly, you can always add a little lemon juice or cream of tartar to help strengthen the structure of the mixture.
2. Don’t Overfold: The tendency with many people is to really whip the whites into the base mixture. This is a mistake. You want to gently fold in the whites only until the point where the streaks of white disappear. Until you do this a few times, you’ll probably feel as though you’re under-mixing. Chances are: you’re not.
3. Use Fresh Room Temperature Eggs: Your eggs will act the way you want them to if they’re room temperature. Whipping cold eggs is harder work and you won’t get as much lift.
4. Level off the Top of Your Soufflé With a Knife:You don’t have to do this, but you know that magical flat top that soufflés have when you order them at restaurants? That’s achieved with the swipe of a flat knife on the top of your souffle.
5. Use the Bottom Oven Rack:Generally speaking (although each oven is certainly different), the bottom oven rack is what you want to use to achieve lift. So for anything light and airy that needs rise, bake on the bottom.

Weeknight Tip: Did you know that you can make a soufflé ahead of time and bake them off when you’re ready? This is a great party tip — make them the day before, cover and refrigerate them and take them to room temperature before you bake them off. They can be refrigerated for up 2 to 3 days.

Now Let’s Get Going… Here is my recipe for an awesome Cheese Soufflé

Cheese Soufflé

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 4 large eggs, separated, plus 3 large egg whites
• 3 tablespoons dry sherry
• 6 ounces (2 packed cups) Gruyère cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter a 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish and coat it with 2 tablespoons of the Parmigiano.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour to make a paste. Gradually whisk in the cream and bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking. Reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking, until very thick, 3 minutes. Transfer the base to a large bowl; let cool. Stir in the egg yolks, sherry, Gruyère, sour cream, salt, Dijon mustard, dry mustard, cayenne and the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmigiano.
3. Put the 7 egg whites in a large stainless steel bowl. Add the cream of tartar. Using an electric mixer, beat the whites until firm peaks form. Fold one-third of the whites into the soufflé base to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites until no streaks remain.
4. Scrape the mixture into the prepared dish. Run your thumb around the inside rim of the dish to wipe away any crumbs. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the soufflé is golden brown and puffed. Serve right away.

Makes 10-12.Prep time: five minutes.
Cooking time: five minutes
(plus eight hours freezing time).

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups fresh pineapple chunks
• 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 (270ml) can coconut cream
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup rum (optional)

Coconut Oil Shell:

• ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon shredded coconut

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add pineapple chunks and two tablespoons of coconut sugar and cook, stirring, until the sugar has melted and pineapple caramelized.
2. Transfer the caramelized pineapple to a blender and add coconut cream and vanilla extract. Process on high for two minutes or until the mixture is smooth and airy. Divide between 10-12 ice pop molds and freeze for eight hours or overnight.
3. Just before serving, mix melted coconut oil and shredded coconut in a small deep bowl. Dip each popsicle in the oil to create a shell. Serve immediately or place in zip lock bags and store in the freezer for up to three months.

Note: for a grown up version of this treat, stir ¼ cup rum into the mixture before freezing