Desperate Dishes

I've been busy at work and busy in the kitchen. You'd think working double digit hours every day and drowning in admin at night would keep my itchy little paws out of the kitchen but nooooooo. There's always time for cooking. There's always a need for cooking. I've been all-a-turmoiled emotionally so no matter how blistered my feet and my brain I research recipes till late at night with bleary eyes, drag my body through Pick 'n Pay's aisles and then, when I reach the kitchen ... I perk up like Hugh Hefner on Viagra!

Oh to replace the PC errors, the vile invoices, the aching emotions with meats and veggies and spices! I forget everything, I forgive everything. Hours later I leave the kitchen, which looks like it's been hit by Hurricane Cucina, and I can start again. (Which is more than can be said for poor old Hugh when he's done...)

The level of my desperation can be measured by not only the volume of my cooking but by the complexity and variety of it. A particularly bad week is also characterised by continent hopping, say, from Brazil to Japan to France to Russia.

So if I tell you that this week I made Feijoada, Sushi, Chicken Kiev and Beef Stroganoff ... do I really need to tell you that it hasn't been the best week emotionally? 

And if I tell you that this week I made Feijoada, Sushi, Chicken Kiev and Beef Stroganoff ... do I really need to tell you that I now feel soooooo much better? 

I didn't think so.

 

xx

J 

FEIJOADA

There's a lovely threesome living a couple of blocks away - Peter, his wife Angela and their happy dog Mack. Mack and I have a crush going. If he were a dog and I were a bitch... (OK scratch that...) 

Anyway, Angela got her sister to bring me a bag of Feijao Preto from Brazil - black turtle beans. It didn't take a lot of research to determine that the only real option was Brazil's national dish Feijoada. A simple peasant-like pork and bean stew. Eat in front of a hearth with a storm raging outside.

2c Dried black beans soaked for at least 8 hours (use any small bean if you're not friends with Angela, Peter & Mack)

1 Onion roughly chopped

6 Carrots roughly chopped

4 Cloves garlic crushed

2 Bay leaves

750g Pork leg cut in chunks (or pork ribs/stew meat/any pork really)
250g Chorizo roughly sliced

2 Chillis chopped

1t Smoked paprika

Fry onions, garlic and carrots until soft. Add the black beans, pork, 6c water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil then simmer covered for 2 hours. Add the paprika and spice. Simmer for another hour or until the beans are tender but not mushy. Add water/thicken as required.

SUSHI

OK, it's not cooked but it's my first ever homemade sushi and ain't it pretty?

 

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

6 Chicken breasts seasoned with S&P and pounded to 1/2cm (careful not to break the meat)

6 Slices ham

1c Mozzarella grated

1t Thyme

1t Paprika

2c Breadcrumbs

2c Flour

3 Eggs

Place the ham and a heaped tablespoon of cheese in the middle of the chicken. Roll and secure with a toothpick. Tuck in the sides and secure each with a toothpick. Try to encase the cheese and not to break the meat. Season the flour with S&P and paprika. Season the crumbs with S&P and thyme. Dip the chicken in flour, then egg, then crumbs. Wrap in clingwrap and leave in the fridge overnight if you can, half an hour at least. Bake at 180C for about 40 minutes.

BEEF STROGANOFF

500g Rump cut into strips (against the grain)

2 Red onions sliced

1 Red pepper sliced

250g Brown mushrooms sliced

1T Dijon mustard

1T Paprika

1c Beef stock

1/2c Brandy (or 3T brandy essence)

250ml Sour cream

Fry the onion and red pepper until soft. Add the mushrooms and cover, allowing the mushrooms to sweat out. Add the mustard, paprika and beef stock, bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Meanwhile fry the beef separately in a very hot pan until seared. Add the beef, brandy and sour cream to the vegetables and simmer for a few minutes. Thicken if required and serve on rice.