Potato Gratin

Potato Gratins are always a personal favourite of mine. But I never quite knew how to make the perfect one…normally I would par-boil my potatoes, then finely slice them and place the cream sauce in the middle of the dish with more potatoes & cheese on top. It solved the gratin fix but I was not really happy with my efforts.

It all changed when I found this recipe. With this recipe the potato will cook in an even amount of cream & milk with a whole onion & some crushed garlic for flavour. The simplicity of the dish is in allowing the natural flavours to release while you cook them in a saucepan, before transferring to the oven to brown.

I like to use as many combinations of grated cheese as I have in my fridge on top to compliment all the flavours within the gratin.

Hot Whiskey (Hot Toddy)

With the change of season we all know the sniffles and aches are going to start. If you feel either coming on, a hot whiskey is a great way to make you feel better. Just remember to not over indulge as then it defeats the purpose of having one.

Many people use brown sugar as the sweetener but I like to use Honey as it will also help if you have a sore throat.

Spicy Steamed White Fish

The below recipe is super easy & very healthy as steaming food is perhaps the most healthiest way to cook, as the food will retain the majority of its nutrients. 

This fish below will go beautifully with my Egg Fried Rice recipe.

Egg Fried Rice

I discovered this recipe one night when eating Teppan’yaki. The key to this recipe is ensuring your rice is completely cold. 

What I like to do, is the night before cook up extra rice and keep half of it for the next night and make this egg fried rice.

Red Snapper on the BBQ

Cooking fish on the BBQ is so easy as you essientially will steam your fish in tin foil and all you need to prepare is the fish and the marinate. When cooking place the fish a hot BBQ, the coals should be burned through and the heat should be consistent throughout the process.

Check out this whole Red Snapper recipe for a Summer dinner on a BBQ. As with most of Food Devil dishes it is actually not that hard at all..

Tomato Chutney

I absolutely love chutney. The below recipe is really great as you can tailor it to your own taste. I like my chutney to have a spicy kick so I add some devil eye chillis to it. Others prefer a milder sweeter chutney so no chillis are added but sultanas instead.

Like with anything you do, practice makes perfect and once you make this I think you will always have some in your fridge as it will lighten up the dullest of sandwiches.

Greek Salad

After a short break after the World Cup Kitchen I am back with a very nice and tasty salad that is really versatile. It can be eaten as a lunch, with a BBQ, by itself as a dinner or to compliment your meal if you feel like something light & tasty.

The Dressing in the salad gives it a very tasty kick and it is all super easy to put together.   

Day 24: Calamari with Aioli Vs Bitterballen/Kroketten

Day 24: World Cup Final

Spain 1 The Netherlands 0  

Spain are World Champions

3rd Place playoff
Germany 3 Uruguay 2

For the final meal of the World Cup Kitchen I have decided to also have a food match between something from the 2 cuisines. Like the football match itself Spain would always be the favourites and like the match itself Spain did indeed win 1-0.

For the Dutch I tried my best to replicate the Dutch favourite: Bitterballen & Kroketten. Personally I am not a huge fan of either and cooking it has not overly changed my opinion but try them yourselves if you like, perhaps they might be for you?

On the Spanish side I went for Calamari. Given what our tentacled friend in Germany, Paul the Octopus said I felt drawn to Calamari with some lemon wedges. Calamari are of course squid but I am sure you will forgive me on this one. The secret to tasty calamari is to soak them overnight in milk and they turn out absolutely perfect.

Day 23: Jagerschnitzel with Bacon Mushroom Gravy

Day 23: Semi Finals

Spain 1 Germany 0

With its origins in East Germany this particular schnitzel is always served with a mushroom sauce. What is really interesting with this schnitzel dish is how the spices are mixed with flour and the egg emulsion is egg, milk & mustard. All combined with your breadcrumbs & pork offer you something very tasty 

Day 22: Pollo En Escabeche

Day 22: Semi-Finals

Holland 3 Uruguay 2

 

This is a very interesting dish, it is an authentic Uruguayan recipe for marinated chicken. It uses a combination of 2 parts vinegar and one part olive oil, so you could argue that it is more of a pickled chicken than marinated chicken.

Very simply you just brown your chicken pieces (I used de-boned thigh pieces) then you add in your onions, carrots, garlic & herbs/spices and mix together your vinegar & olive oil and simmer for 1 hour or until the chicken is done. You let the chicken completely cool and then you can eat it in a Salad or in a sandwich.

Its all very tasty and something I certainly never tried before, so why not try it!

Day 21: How to cook the perfect Steak

Day 21: Quarter Finals
Germany 4 Argentina 0
Spain 1 Paraguay 0

If Argentina are in a World Cup and you are doing a food related blog you simply have to do Steak for the Argentinian team. If you want to enjoy a steak you got to know how to cook it properly!

Some time ago I spent quite some time finding out how to cook the perfect steak…. steak was always a big let down when I use to cook it….never really got it the way I liked it but I now have it sussed so will break it down what you need to do and how you cook the perfect steak.

Day 20: Pannekoeken (Pancakes)

Day 20: Quarter Finals
The Netherlands 2 Brazil 1
Uruguay 1 Ghana 1 (Uruguay win 4-2 on pens)

Pancakes are most certainly not Dutch in their origin but when you live in a country with no apparent food culture you got to go with what you can get. The Dutch do however love their Pannenkoek especially at Dinner time, with Pannenkoek houses very popular offering a wide range of both sweet and savory options on pancakes.

Day 19: A Marinated Salmon Salad from Japan

Day 19
Paraguay 0 Japan 0 (Paraguay 5-3 on pens)
Spain 1 Portugal 0

For the World Cup Kitchen today it was an easy choice. I decided to go for this delicious Japanese Salmon salad. I had played with the idea of sushi but I will hold that one off for another day. The salad today can be eaten for a lunch or a light dinner. When buying your salmon for the best results try to buy a high quality piece of Salmon.

The centrepiece of this salad is the marinated salmon pieces which are marinated in a delicious Lime/Sugar/Soy/Sesame Oil marinade and is served with bean sprouts, grated cucumber & red chilli.

It is deliciously light and can be assembled quite quickly. When marinating the salmon try to leave it for at least 2-3 hours for best results.

Day 18: Slovakian Goulash Soup

Day 18
The Netherlands 2 Slovakia 1
Brazil 3 Chile 0

 

I have just returned from a weekend in Budapest and I had the below soup or a variation of it every day for my lunch. I know the paprika is Hungarian but the Goulash is also a very popular dish in Slovakia.

The rule of tongue with this soup is to really let the beef simmer away for as long as you can, as the longer you leave it the more tender it will become.

Day 17: Fish & Chips

Day 17
Germany 4 England 1
Argentina 3 Mexico 1

So England are out, but not without giving us one of their true classic dishes. Fish and Chips are enjoyed the length and breath of the country but as always whenever I take over a traditional dish I have a habit of tweaking it with other cuisines and using ingredients that you would not use traditionally.

Here I use a Beer batter that uses a Belgian dark beer (Trap Trip Dubbel). Also when making the batter I separate the egg and whisk up the egg white and fold this in just before you use the batter. This process makes the batter light and fluffy. 

Also when I am making my chips I do them the Belgian way, very simply half way thru the cooking process you want to remove the chips from the oil and dry them completely. You then place them back in to cook, the end result gives you the perfectly cooked chip that is crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked in the inside.

Day 16: The Hamburger

Day 16:
Uruguay 2 South Korea 1
Ghana 2 USA 1

With it origins from Hamburg, Germany but its widespread appeal coming from America there is nothing tastier than cooking up your own burger and of course your own favourite garnish.

A quarter pounder is a little over 100g so a safe bet is to give yourself 100g of mince per burger. Making the burger itself is just a matter of combining everything in the right order. Starting with the mince and the egg yoke, when you add the egg yoke you can straight away feel the change in the texture of the meat as the egg infuses around it.

Day 15: Tortilla de Patatas

Day 15
Portugal 0 Brazil 0
Ivory Coast 3 North Korea 0
Spain 2 Chile 1
Swizerland 0 Hondoras 0

Yet another one of my Tapas recipes for you to enjoy, this Spanish Tortilla recipe is very simple but the most important element to it is having a non-stick frying pan. As you are cooking the egg for long period on a low heat you want to be 100% sure that it will not stick to the pan otherwise you have a disaster on your hands.

This recipe is a perfect lunch/brunch on a weekend or serve with other accompanying tapas recipes.

Day 14: Pepper & Pesto Pasta

Day 14
Slovakia 3 Italy 2
Paraguay 0 New Zealand 0
Netherlands 2 Cameroon 1
Japan 3 Denmark 1

Disaster for the blog.......Italy are out of the World Cup. I was so confident they would get thru that tonight I prepared something Italian that is quick and easy, not one of my more complex meals that I could of done. Ah well, at least Japan are thru....food wise that is.

Day 13: West African Chicken Stew

Day 13

England 1 Slovenia 0
USA 1 Algeria 0
Germany 1 Ghana 0
Australia 2 Serbia 1 

Since I started this World Cup Kitchen idea I have wanted to try and cook something authentic from Africa….I had penciled in either an Ivory Coast or Ghana game for this recipe. From my reading and understanding of it, it sounds very authentic but also open for improvisation in its ingredients and will work well in a Western Kitchen as all of the main ingredients are readily available.

Day 12: Souvlaki

Day 12 
South Africa 2 France 1
Uruguay 1 Mexico 0
Argentina 2 Greece 0
South Korea 2 Nigeria 2

World Cup Kitchen for today is Greek Souvlaki.

Today was the last game for 4 teams at this World Cup. I had a choice of Greek or South African so I decided on the Greek option....in one of the off days later on in the tournament I will cook something from South Afica in homage to hosts of this World Cup.

Souvlaki can be eaten a number of ways….as a main course meal with accompanying salads or like I had it tonight in a fast food style wrap with chips, tzatziki and salad. 

When marinating your meat for best results leave it overnight to enhance the best flavour from the meat. Also when cooking over a BBQ wait until the coals have been burnt right through and the temperature is not searing hot so the chicken will cook slowly and will remain moist and tender