Fennel Arancini w/ Piquillo Pepper Coulis

Recipe from: "Chef Gone Wild" Juicy Gossips.Recipes.Reviews.Experiments by Zen Chef

Ingredients:

For the Coulis:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
6 piquillo peppers, seeds removed
2 tablespoons unsalted chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method:
Warm the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender, but not colored. Add the piquillo peppers and chicken stock and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender, add the lemon juice and purée until smooth. Set aside.

For the Risotto Balls:
1 fennel bulb: leaves separated and bulb cut into 1/8-inch dice
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves only
7 cups unsalted vegetable stock or low-sodium vegetable broth
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 small onion, trimmed, and cut into 1/8-inch dice
2 cups Arborio rice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 pound fontina cheese, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon pastis or anise liquor
1 tablespoon mascarpone cheese

Piquillo pepper coulis (from above)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
Peanut oil for deep frying

Method:
1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fennel and blanch for 5 minutes. Add the parsley and cook 1 minute longer. Drain and hold under cold running water to cool. Squeeze the leaves to remove the excess moisture. In a blender, purée together the fennel and parsley leaves until bright green. Set aside.

2. Bring the stock to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and keep the stock at a slow, steady simmer.

3. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and fennel and cook, stirring, just until the onion is translucent but not colored, about 5 minutes. Add the rice, season with salt and pepper and cook, still stirring, for about 5 minutes longer. Add 1 cup of the hot stock. Cook, stirring often, until the rice absorbs most of the liquid. Add another cup of the hot stock and cook and stir as before. Continue cooking, stirring regularly and adding the stock 1 cup at a time, until 6 cups of stock have been added. At this point, taste the rice. Usually, the rice will need another 1/2 to 1 cup stock and a few more minutes to cook.

4. Stir in the fennel-parsley purée, the cheeses, fennel seeds, and pastis. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until cold.

5. With your hands, a spoon, or a small ice cream scoop, form balls 3/4- to 1-inch in diameter. Using your thumb, make a deep indentation in the center of each ball. Fill with 1/4 teaspoon piquillo pepper coulis, pinch the edges together to enclose the filling, and quickly roll between your palms to re-shape. Dip and coat each ball into the all-purpose flour, then into the eggs, and finally into the bread crumbs, making sure to coat them evenly and gently tapping off any excess. Place the balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze for at least 2 hours.

6. Pour 3 to 4 inches of peanut oil into a deep pot and heat the oil until it reaches 325 degrees F on a deep-fat thermometer. Fry the balls in batches until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes for each batch. Using a slotted spoon, carefully lift the balls out of the oil and onto a paper towel-lined plate. Pat off any excess oil and season with salt. Serve immediately.

nb. serves 50 amuse-bouche

NO... not that fennel!

Beef in Guinnes

Ingredients:

1 1/2lb shin of beef

1 large onions

3 medium carrots

1 tbsp seasoned flour

a little fat or beef dripping

1/4 cup dry cider

1/2 cup Guinness with water

sprig of parsley

Method:
Cut the beef into chunks and peel and slice the onions and carrots.

Toss the beef in the flour and brown quickly in hot fat. Remove the beef and fry the onions gently until transparent. Return the beef and add the carrots and the liquid. Bring just to the boil, reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer, cover closely and cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Check that the dish does not dry out, adding more liquid if necessary.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with plainly boiled potatoes.

It's a lovely day for a Guinness, don't you think?

Crescent roll

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. honey
6 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. lukewarm milk
1/4 c. lukewarm water
2 pkg. dry yeast
4 c. unbleached flour

Method:
Dissolve yeast in a little lukewarm water. Add remaining water, honey, butter, and milk, and then stir in flour, adding a few tablespoons more or less flour to make a somewhat sticky dough.

Let rise until double in size. Roll out, shape into crescents. Let rise and bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.

Aphrodisiacs filling:

Honey
Chocolate
Nutella
Vanilla cream

Filling cream

Vanilla Cream:

1/2 pint Milk
3 oz Sugar
4 Egg Yolks
1 Vanilla pod (or essence)

Method:
Put the milk and sugar into a saucepan and let it get hot over a low heat.
Beat the egg yolks, gradually adding the sweetened milk and flavour with vanilla pod.
Put the mixture into a jug and place this jug in a saucepan of boiling water.
Stir the contents with a wooden spoon one way until the mixture thickens, but do not allow it to boil or it will be full of lumps than remove from the heat.
Pour the cream into an oiled mould and put it in a cool place to set.

Chocolate cream:

¼ cake chocolate grated
½ cup milk
Yolk 1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon extract vanilla.

Method:
Boil sugar, chocolate, and milk till thickened, add egg yolk, cook two minutes; take from fire, add vanilla.

Method 2:
add 2 tbsp of cocoa powder while the vanilla cream (see recipe above) is still warm and stir till the powder as coloured all the cream

Nut Cream

¼ lb almonds blanched and minced
¼ lb English walnuts
½ lb pecans
½ wine glass of brandy or sherry
1 quart double cream
1½ cups sugar
½ cup milk

Method:
Dissolve sugar in milk When cool add the whipped cream, flavor with one teaspoon vanilla and fold in nuts When it begins to freeze add sherry or brandy Sherry and brandy can be left out if desired

Make those recipes more aphrodisiac, flavouring with other aphrodisiac ingredient like honey, ginger, coconut, truffle, saffron and other kind of this stuff.

Walnut burgers

Ingredients:

3 cups of walnuts, soaked for 2 hours
1 cups of carrots, topped and tailed
1/2 cup of fresh herbs, such as parsley, basil and coriander, tightly packed
1/2 cups of red onion
1 cups of portabello
1/4 red pepper, deseeded and destalked
3 sundried tomatoes, soaked for 2-6 hours
1 cloves of garlic
1/2 dessertspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of dried pizza herbs
1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley

Method:
Set aside the fresh herbs, the pepper and half the onions. Finely chop the sundried tomatoes. Blend all other ingredients in a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl and continue blending with a hand blender until you achieve a smooth consistency.

Very finely chop the remaining ingredients by hand (this ensures a good texture), and mix into the burger mix. Divide into 4 equal portions andform into burger shapes. You can eat it as it is, but we prefer to dehydrate for 4-24 hours for a much more intense flavour.

Raw foodism is a lifestyle promoting the consumption of uncooked, unprocessed, and often organic foods, as a large percentage of the diet. It's supposed that raw food contain a lot of enzymes and bacteria and many more micro-organism that help human body.

Maybe aphrodisiacs elements will work better...

Chilled chili

Ingredients:

1/4 cup honey plus

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup water

4 cup ruby-red grapefruit juice strained

1 ripe papaya

1/4 teaspoon minced chili pepper (Serrano or Jalapeno)

1 tablespoon chopped mint

1 tablespoon lime juice

Method:

For dessert, top a scoop of grapefruit ice with a spicy fruit salsa.

ICE: Combine 1/4 cup honey and the water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Cool.Whisk in juice and transfer to a shallow 1 1/2-qt. freezer proof container. Freeze at least 8 hrs.

FIRE (salsa): Peel papaya, halve and scrape out seeds. Cut flesh into l/2-in. chunks to make 1 1/2 cups.Combine half of papaya, minced chili, mint and lime juice in a medium bowl.

Drizzle with 1 tbsp. honey and toss. Refrigerate 30 min., mixing occasionally.

To serve, add remaining papaya to salsa. Remove ice from freezer and chop into fine chunks using a sturdy fork. Place a scoop of grapefruit ice in a bowl or stemware glass and top with salsa.

Chilled chili... what else?

Saffron bread

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon Saffron
1/4 cup Hot Water (120 to 130, degrees)
1 cup Milk
1/4 cup Margarine
1 tablespoon Lemon Rind, grated
1 tablespoon Active Dry Yeast
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
2 1/2 To 3 c Flour
1 cup Dried Currants -or- Dark, Raisins


Method:
Steep the saffron in the hot, water for 10 to 15 m
Meanwhile, combine the milk and margarine in a saucepan. Heat until the margarine has
melted. Cool.
Add the lemon rind. Sprinkle the yeast into the milk mixture when lukewarm. Let stand for 5
minutes to dissolve.
Add the sugar, nutmeg, 2 cups of the flour and the saffron mixture. Beat until smooth. Stir
in the currants (or dark raisins) and another 1/2 cup of the flour. Cover with a damp towel
and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Then punch down and knead on a
lightly-floured board until smooth.
Shape into a loaf and place in an oiled 4- by 9-inch bread pan. Let rise until doubled.
Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 1 hour. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning out
on a wire rack. When the bread is thoroughly cooled, it may be sliced.

Saffron, nutmeg, lemon... the hottest breakfast!

Potatoes and Bacon

Ingredients:

8 ounces sml red potatoes (washed well)
3 slices smoked bacon (thick-cut)
1 tablespoons butter
1/16 teaspoon kosher salt
black pepper
1/2 medium onion (yellow, white or red, peeled & sliced thin)
1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
3 ounces smoked gouda cheese

Method:
Boil potatoes in salted water til soft (about 25 min). Drain, cool slightly, quarter & set aside.
Place a lrg non-stick sauté pan over med heat & cook bacon to barely crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels, crumble slightly & set aside.
Place butter in the sauté pan over med-high heat & sauté the onions w/salt, pepper, cumin seeds & chili powder (stirring occ) till onions are soft & aromatic.
Add the quartered potatoes, combine & allow mixture to brown slightly.
Sprinkle crumbled bacon & cheese over the mixture, turn heat to very low & cover for 5 min allowing cheese to melt. Serve immediately.

Do not exceed in quantity!