It's the Oscars!

Yesterday night was Oscar Night. Yes, that is one of the most important events of the year, only exceeded by my birthday, and possibly by the FYYFF Award. I was graced by the presence of my film-savvy friend Rosettli, and obviously, we had to eat. And for such a night - a night, such as this! - the food needed to be as stellar as the show. Enter... The Ribs.

Honey-glazed Spareribs with Baked Potatoes

1,5 kg spareribs

For the glaze:
4 tbsp honey
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 finely minced onion

Now, my undertaking seemed doomed from the beginning, when I couldn't find a roaster with a rack. In the US, those seem common enough, but I couldn't find one here in Switzerland. Not until my mom came to my rescue. Of course; that's what moms are for <3
I bought a huge roasting pan with a rack at Ikea, for 30 CHF. It's perfect. You want the rack, so the ribs don't lie on the flat surface. Of course, you can work around that by putting the ribs directly on the rack of your oven, but then you need something underneath to catch the inevitable drip. This roaster takes care of both problems.

Place the ribs, bone side down, in the roaster. Cover the pan with aluminium foil.  Yes, dear Americans, that's "aluminium" the world over. There is no such thing as "aluminum". Set the oven to 180° C, and let the ribs roast for about one hour.

For the glaze, simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Uncover the ribs, and generously apply glaze. Repeat every quarter hour or so, while the ribs roast uncovered for another hour.

Yes, that's what delicious pork looks like.

Baked Potatoes

3 huge potatoes
salt, pepper, vegetable oil

Topping:
Sourcream
Chives

Wash the potatoes in their skins. The skins stay on. Then - did you know potatoes can explode? I didn't. Then, you poke holes in the potatoes with a fork. Several deep holes all over the potatoes. So they don't explode all over you oven. Awesome. Exploding tubers.
Cover a baking sheet with aluminium foil. Place the potatoes on it, sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and a bit of oil. Put in the oven with the ribs when you uncover those. The potatoes take about one hour in the oven. The bigger they are, the longer it will take. As usual, you can tell by poking into one with a knife.
For the topping, simply cut the chives and stir them into the sourcream.

Also pictured: Samûm's sacred family recipe noodle salad. I could tell you, but I'd probably have to kill you.

Et voilà! For the perfect evening, simply add booze, Ben&Jerry's ice cream, and Academy Awards! Good lord, Angelina is SO beautiful!

The Roast

Remember that pork roast I mentioned a while ago? It's in the oven *right now*, and I will make sure I take appropriate pictures this time. I should tell you, though, it's not easy to show such restraint, when the odours from the oven have inundated your home for close to two hours.
The roast almost didn't make it, as it were. I saw the recipe on Jamie Oliver's show. I was reminded why I prefer him in book form, as that removes all the superfluous gesturing and pseudo-hip attire. (Jamie, you're almost forty. Deal.) I wrote everything down, but when I had readied all the relevant ingredients in the kitchen, I saw that my otherwise trusty recipe app had deleted all of its recipes. This version is, therefore, the one from memory.

Pork Roast

1 kg pork roast. Jamie uses the shoulder piece, I prefer one from the neck.
2 bell peppers, I like the red ones the most.
1 large red onion
1 jar (350g) roasted peppers in oil
2 tbsp paprika (sweet)
1 can (400g) tomatoes, skinned and cut up
5 dl meat broth
2 tbsp vinegar

Place meat in a roasting pan, fry on the stove until browned on both sides. Remove from pan. Cut peppers into strips, put in pan. Frantically search for the red onion you've totally forgotten about, cut into strips, add to pan. Add the roasted peppers, also cut up, the paprika, and finally the tomatoes. Place meat back in the pan on top of veggies, and cover with sauce. Add the broth - Jamie uses plain water, but I find the broth contributes to the overall flavour - and the vinegar.
Place in the oven, at 200° C. Roast for about 2 hours, depending on the dimensions of the meat. You can check at about one hour, and see how it comes along. According to Jamie, it's ready when it practically falls to pieces when poked with a spoon. I tend to take it out a wee bit earlier.

And this is what it looks like uneaten. A brief state of existence.

Raw, Part II

There was meant to be a Conversation with the Stoic Man here, as he pointed out this dish to me. Alas, my transitioning from one computer to the other has destroyed all record of said conversation. Maybe it didn't happen at all! Hm...

Wherever I got this idea from, it's a great one. Raw meat is the best. When getting the meat, ask the butcher (or the meat person in your supermarket) for the kind that you would use for steak tartare. By the way: I have never had the original Korean dish. I can't tell if this is close to how it's supposed to be. I only know it's tasty.

Yukhoe

200g beef. I had it cut right in the store, but the pieces need to be slightly more delicate than in the picture above. Think half a centimeter.
1 nashi (Asian pear), cut into matchstick-like pieces
pine nuts
1 quail egg. Not pictured, as I couldn't find any at my local Migros. I love raw eggs, so I'm sure it's delicious.

For the marinade:
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp of sesame oil
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 green onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp of toasted sesame seeds

Combine the ingredients of the marinade. Put the meat in the marinade. If you have to cut the meat yourself, it helps if you put it in the freezer beforehand, to give it stability. Cut up the nashi and arrange on a plate. Place the meat on top of the nashi structure, decorate with the pine nuts. If you want to add the egg on top of your meat, make an indentation for it on top with a spoon. 

Hmmmm, raw. Rawrrrr!

Advanced Level Cooking: Lamb

I omitted the obvious pun about silences and such. So, another experiment. I noticed that most of the meat I prepare is a) raw, b) in the form of a steak or similar, or c) cut into tiny pieces. Recently, I used one of Jamie Oliver's recipes to make a pork roast. It was surprisingly good. I'd have posted about it, if I hadn't forgotten to take pictures. I know, document before you eat! Which is why I'm starting the documentation of this lamb rack extremely early.

Part One: Marinating the Meat

1 rack of lamb, about 300g
4 sprigs of rosemary
6 leaves of peppermint
5 cloves of garlic
5 tbsp of oil. most people use olive oil, my personal preference is for sunflower.

Herbs in a bag.

I use a plastic bag for the marinating process. It's a very convenient receptacle, and it will take up a minimum of space in the fridge.

Chop up the rosemary and the mint, and place in the bag. Press the garlic, add oil. Then, add the rack of lamb. Allow to marinate for at least two to three hours. Which is what I'm going to do right now, as it's 4am.

Further updates as events warrant...




Update 1, 13:24h. I decided that the side should be

Mashed potatoes with garlic.

500g potatoes
20g butter
1 dl milk
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
salt

Peel potatoes and cut in half. This, because it makes the cooking a bit quicker. Cook in salted water for about 20 minutes. Remove from water, mash, add butter, milk, and garlic. Add salt to taste.
Now, I'm kinda lying to you. I don't use milk in mine, I use about twice the butter instead. But I figured that most people might prefer a slightly lighter consistency, as the absence of milk makes it a very compact thing.


Part Two: Cooking the Meat

2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
1dl of red port
1 tsp honey
some aceto balsamico

2 sprigs of rosemary for decoration

Preheat the oven to 200° C. Heat the oil and the butter in a frying pan. Remove the lamb from the marinade and dry with a paper towel. Put in the frying pan, and fry until crisp on both sides, but don't overdo it. Remember, we never go past "medium" on meat. Keep pouring the butter/oil mixture on it as you fry it.
Remove from pan and put in the oven for about 10 minutes.
Add the port and the honey to the pan, add a tiny bit of water if necessary. Season with salt, pepper, and balsamico.

So tasty. So pretty.

There. I imagined it to be harder. But, hell, this is one of the best things I've ever cooked. I'm totally awed by myself ;)

Meatballs. Meeeeeatbaaaaalls!

One of life's great pleasures: Meatballs. I have recently perfected them, and they look much better than in the picture. Not to mention the taste. The key? Easy. After all, why would you fry something, if you can also deep fry it? The best thing about these, though, is the sauce. Courtesy of my friend Paolo, a genuine Sicilian and chef extraordinaire!

Meatballs

500g mixed minced meat
salt, pepper, a little dried chili if you like
one carrot, grated
a bit of ginger, grated
a clove of garlic, one medium onion, a bunch of parsley, all finely chopped
a cup or so of bread crumbs
one egg

Knead everything into a mass. Form balls. Heat enough oil in a pan to deep fry. When pleasantly brown, remove from oil onto kitchen crepe, to remove excess oil.


Nameless and awesomely tasty sauce

one large onion
2 dl aceto balsamico
100g sugar

Okay, I'm guessing on the sugar. Think chutney; enough to make the liquid slightly thick, and create a sweet-sour taste. Anyway. Cut the onion into pleasing strips, sautee in butter. Add the aceto, then the sugar. Allow to boil for a moment. Let cool down, taste, add salt, pepper, and, if needed, more sugar. (If more sugar, bring to boil again.)

I used red onions. This is what it looks like when boiling.