Liver.

Q: In italian restaurants the liver is always tender but mine is always tough. What am i doing wrong?
For a start, they always use calf's liver, which is the most tender liver.
But it also needs to be cooked correctly, and quickly toughens if it is overcooked.
For best results, slice the liver thinly and cook briefly over quite a high heat.
When the blood bubbles through on one side, turn it over and cook until it bubbles through on the other side, then serve it straightaway.
Try the recipe below for a truly tender dish.
RECIPE: Italian liver and onions.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons olive oil
675 g (1 lb 8 oz) large onions, thinly sliced
Salt and black pepper
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) calf's liver, prepared and very thinly sliced
METHOD
1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan.
Add the onions and a little salt and black pepper.
Cover the pan with a lid or a sheet of foil and cook gently, stirring from time to time, for 25-30 minutes until the onions are very soft.

2. Put a bowl and a plate to warm.
When the onions are soft, remove the cover from the pan, increase the heat to moderate and cook, stirring, until the onions are golden brown and caramelised, but be careful not to let them stick to the bottom of the pan.
Transfer the onions to the warmed bowl, using a slotted spoon, and leave the excess oil in the pan.

3. Add the remaining oil to the pan and heat over a high heat.
Add half the liver in a single layer and cook for 45 seconds-1 minute until it is just browned.
Turn the slices over using a fish slice and brown the other side for 45 seconds-1 minute; the liver should still be pink in the centre.
Using the fish slice, transfer the slices to the warmed plate.

4. Fry the remaining liver in the same way.
Return the onions and the first batch of liver to the pan alongside it and stir both over a high heat for 30-45 seconds to warm through.

Q: Is there any way to cook liver so that my children will eat it?
Most children dislike the strong flavour of liver, and will find it even less appetising if it is tough and overcooked.
To lessen both these problems, it is best to braise it very slowly in a casserole with vegetables and flavourings so it is very tender and the flavour is mellowed.
Or disguise it by combining the liver with other meats and flavourings.
Liver can be buried in meat loaves, patties, burgers, shepherd's pie or with pasta in a tomato sauce.
In any case, children should not eat liver too often; it is such a rich source of vitamin A that just 100 g (3½ oz) supplies more than ten times the daily adult requirement, which is too much for children.

Preparing liver
Very strongly flavoured liver, such as ox liver, can be soaked overnight in milk to make the flavour more mellow before it is to be cooked.
1. Carefully snip and peel away the fine membrane covering the liver.
2. With a sharp knife, cut the liver diagonally into even, thin slices.
3. Snip out any tough internal tubes with some sharp scissors.

- http://www.readersdigest.co.uk/food-drink/cooking-tips/cooking-liver-recipes-and-techniques

Rhubarb and orange cobbler.

Rhubarb cobbler.

Filling:
800 g rhubarb cut into 5cm
150g caster sugar
grated zest from 2 orange
juice from 2 orange
Topping:
150 g  self-raising flour
75 g caster sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 tsp demerara sugar
50 g softened butter
75 ml milk

In a shallow baking dish (I use my 20x30cm Pyrex dish), mix the rhubarb with sugar, half of orange zest and all thjuice. Leave to macerate.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius .

To make the topping, mix the dry ingredients together, then cut in the butter using two knives or your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in the milk and ½ zest with a fork until dough clings together when grabbed with your hand. If too dry, add a little more milk, until all the flour is moist enough to cohere.

Roll out the dough into about 1 cm  thick and cut out rounds using the cutter.

Arrange the scones on top of the rubab, sprinkle with the demerara sugar.

Bake until the fruit is cooked and bubbling around the edges and the topping is golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.

Чайно-медовый кекс без сахара и масла.

200 мл горячего крепкого чая (черный простой чай)
50 мл мёда (при аллергии заменить на густой сироп)
200 г муки
1 чай ложки соды
2 яйца
150 г чернослива
125 г изюм

Итак:

Смешала в миске горячий чай и мёд.
В другой миске смешала муку с содой.
Нарезала чернослив.
Смешала чернослив с изюмом.
Взбила 2 яйца в стакане.

Добавила чернослив и изюм к чайно-медовой смеси. Размешала.
Добавила яйца. Размешала.
Добавила муку с содой. Размешала.

Форму-кирпичик выстелила бумагой для выпечки.
Выложила тесто.
В духовку 160 град где-то на час.
Всё.

Mary Berry Cooks: plum and marzipan tarte tatin.

Mary Berry Cooks: plum and marzipan tarte tatin | Mail Online:

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Roasted Butternut Squash Salad.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette
Ingredients
1 butternut squash (600 g), peeled and diced (2 cm)
Good olive oil
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons dried cranberries
3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
150 g baby arugula, washed and spun dry
1/2 cup walnuts halves, toasted
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Place the butternut squash on a sheet pan. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the maple syrup, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss.
Roast the squash for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until tender.
Add the cranberries to the pan for the last 5 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, combine in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat:
- the apple cider,
- vinegar, and
- shallots

Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup.
Off the heat, whisk in
- the mustard,
- 1/2 cup olive oil,
- 1 teaspoon salt, and
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

Place the arugula in a large salad bowl and add the roasted squash mixture, the walnuts, and the grated Parmesan.
Spoon just enough vinaigrette over the salad to moisten and toss well.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

From here.

Книга недели: Mary Berry Cooks.

В двух словах.
Мэри Берри делится своими любимыми рецептами для семьи и друзей, теми, что она демонстрировала в новом сериале на ВВС.

Почему я купила эту книгу?
Потому что...

Buckwheat Kasha With Mushrooms – Гречневая Каша с Грибами.

Buckwheat Kasha With Mushrooms – Гречневая Каша с Грибами | Olga's Flavor Factory:

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Mark Bittman’s VB6 Pantry.

Mark Bittman’s VB6 Pantry | Williams-Sonoma Taste:
"It's simple: VB6 is just a set of rules for changing the proportions of foods in my (or your) diet, to emphasize plants and de-emphasize everything else.
I eat only minimally processed plants from dawn until dusk, and then whatever I want at night – within reason, of course. (Of course, I "cheat," too; that's part of the plan.)
The results have been amazing, and I still get to eat anything I want for part of every day."

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What's so super about chia?

What's so super about chia? - Telegraph:
Chia seeds are not new – this plant in the mint family (Salvia hispanica) was grown as a crop by the Aztecs. The difference is that the Aztecs never put them in a plastic pouch with the word 'antioxidants' on the front, retail price £19.29 per kilo. After spirulina, acai, goji berries, matcha and wheatgrass, chia seeds are the latest 'superfood' to arrive in Britain.
As for ways to eat them, the possibilities are endless – according to The Chia Co, anyway. They send me some recipes as eaten by 'Miranda Kerr, the Spielbergs and Gwyneth Paltrow': chia-crusted salmon, chia chicken burgers. I start more simply, mixing my recommended 15g daily portion into a bowl of porridge. It tastes gritty, but pleasant enough. Chia yogurt was less successful: the seeds sit on the surface like grey sand.
One thing is becoming clear: no one would eat chia for taste alone. The health benefits therefore should be spectacular to justify the price: around 48p for 15g (for a 150g pack), or more if you buy the 'super handy chia shots' to enjoy 'anywhere, any time'.

Fennel and potato gratin. By Mary Berry.

BBC - Food - Recipes : Fennel and potato gratin:
This is the perfect combination of potatoes and vegetables all cooked in one dish for a hearty dinner party or Sunday lunch.
It is so tasty I could eat it as a supper on its own!


You will need a shallow 2.4 litre oven proof dish, about 23x30cm.
Ingredients
50g butter, plus extra for greasing
3 large bulbs fennel
3 onions
600g large potatoes, peeled
2 garlic cloves, crushed
50g parmesan cheese, grated (or vegetarian equivalent)
Preparation method
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 (180C fan).
Butter the serving dish.
Trim the tops from the fennel and cut each bulb in half through the root, then cut each half lengthways into three wedges.
Cut the onions into six wedges too in a similar way.
Cut the potatoes into wedges the same size as the fennel wedges.

Boil the fennel and onions in a large pan of salted water for about five minutes, then add the potatoes and boil for a further five minutes, or until the potatoes and fennel are just tender.
Drain well.
Put the 50g butter and the garlic in the same large pan set over a low heat until just melted.
Return the potatoes and fennel to the butter, toss until coated then tip into the ovenproof dish.
Sprinkle with the parmesan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until piping hot.

Mary-Rosa Alleyne Berry, CBE (born 24 March 1935) is an English food writer and television presenter.
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German plum cake.

Here's the original Claudia Roden recipe for you.


German Plum Cake (Swetschkuchen)
Ingredients  
125g caster sugar 
175g self raising flour 
75g cold unsalted butter 
1 small egg, lightly beaten 
1 tbs cognac 
750g plums, pitted and cut in half 
Icing sugar 

Method
Mix half the sugar with the flour. Cut the cold butter into pieces and rub into the flour and sugar mix. Mix in the beaten egg (you may not need to use all the egg) and the cognac and work very briefly with your hand - just enough to mix it together - adding a little flour if it's too sticky. Take lumps of pastry and press into a 25cm/10 inch baking tray or tart pan. 

Arrange the fruit, tightly packed, cut side up on top of the pastry and sprinkle the remaining sugar on the plums. Bake in a preheated 375°F/190°C oven for 50 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the plums are very soft. The sugar draws out the plum juices, which run into the pastry and makes it rise up between the plums so that these are embedded in the light pastry. Serve hot or cold sprinkled with icing sugar.

Here!

Чанахи. Любимое блюдо.

Густой грузинский суп из молодого барашка...предпочтительно.

Итак:
- баранина.
Можно взять баранину без костей и ее порезать на куски.

Овощи:
- лук репчатый,
- баклажаны,
- картошка,
- помидоры
- чеснок.
Если овощи маленькие, можно класть их целыми.

Зелень - всякой и много:
- петрушка,
- киндза,
- базилик,
- лук зеленый,
- укроп,
- чабрец (немного),
- острый перчик.

На дно горшочка кладется слой мяса.
Затем лук.
Баклажаны.
Картошка.
Помидоры.
Зелень.
Посыпали солью, чесноком, киндзой и мелко порубленным перчиком.

И так слоями (это в зависимости от величины горшочка - мои небольшие и вместимостью лишь в один слой.)
Залить кипятком или бульоном, лишь слегка покрыть овощи.
Поставить в духовку на часа полтора, 15 минут на 200С и затем на час-полтора чуть выше 100С - томить.

Получившееся блюдо (полусуп-полужаркое) мы любим есть прямо из горшочков.

Вариант: можно предварительно обжарить все по-отдельности.
Среднего размера кусочки баранины обжарить на сильном огне (без масла) вместе с крупно порубленной большой луковицей.
Жареные баклажаны придают блюду совсем другой вкус.
Мясо можно заменить на телятину, или на говядину.
Можно добавить болгарский перец.
Можно зелень и чеснок добавить за 5 минут до готовности, или почти перед подачей на стол.

-------------
Подобные варинанты можно посмотреть здесь

а так же Chanakhi (in eng):
- Chanakhi - Georgian Lamb Stew with Eggplant and Potatoes.

Zucchini pasta with avocado cream sauce.

Zucchini pasta:
A no-cook, summery side dish of zucchini noodles with a creamy avocado sauce.
Author: Gina Matsoukas
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
4 small (or 2 large) zucchini, ends trimmed and spiralized with a julienne peeler or spiralizer
1 avocado
½ a cucumber, chopped
juice of ½ a lemon
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons almond or coconut milk
about 8 leaves of basil
salt & pepper
halved cherry tomatoes & basil leaves for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Place zucchini spirals in a large bowl.
In a food processor, combine the remaining ingredients and process until smooth.
Toss the zucchini with the avocado sauce until fully coated.
Garnish with cherry tomatoes and basil leaves, season with more salt & pepper to taste.
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Соус.

tastes are made, not born - Сырные супы и соусы:
100г сыра (Cheddar, Colby, Monterey Jack и им подобные)
1,7г лимонной кислоты
2,3г пищевой соды
150-200г жидкости (бульон, молоко, вода, пиво, вино, сидр и т.д.)

соль, перец, специи и прочие добавки по вкусу (дегидрированные и карамелизованные лук, помидоры (вяленные, например), перцы (сладкие и чили), чеснок и т.п.)
Чем больше жидкости, тем более жидкий конечный результат.
Суп на фото ниже приготовлен из Острого висконсинского Чеддера и копченого портера.

1. Растворить в пиве соду и лимонную кислоту, довести до кипения.
2. Всыпать натертый или мелко нарезанный сыр и довести его до расплавления. Расплавленный сыр активно перемешать венчиком или погружным блендером.
3. Вмешать вкусовые добавки, выправить на вкус.

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Guinea fowl with porcini and lardons.

Mary Berry Guinea fowl with porcini and lardons recipe on Mary Berry Cooks | TV Foods:
Mary says about her guinea fowl with porcini and lardons dish:
“This is a really smart main course, which is actually very simple to prepare in advance and reheat on the day. Guinea fowl (домашняя цесарка) are full of flavour, but not as big as chicken and the drumsticks are quite small, so use two birds to serve six.”


The ingredients Mary used for the sauce are:
- 10g dried porcini mushrooms,
- 2 tbsp olive oil, -
- 200g smoked bacon lardons,
- 4 banana shallots, 4 sprigs thyme,
- 300ml pale dry amontillado sherry or dry white wine ,
- 50g butter,
- 50g plain flour,
- 200g small chestnut mushrooms,
- 2-3 tbsp full-fat crème fraîche,
- small bunch fresh parsley, chopped.

Preparation method
To joint the birds, bend the legs and thighs away from the birds, then cut between the joint to separate them.
Cut between the thigh and leg joints to make two pieces. Bend back the wings and cut them off. Set aside the wings for the stock.
Cut either side of the breast bone and remove the breasts. Pull the skin off all the pieces of meat. Place the carcasses, skin and the wings in a pan with 900ml/1½ pints of water and bring to the boil to make stock. Simmer for 30 minutes, then remove from the heat.

Set the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 (160C fan).
Place the porcini mushrooms in a small bowl, cover with four tablespoons of boiling water and set aside to plump up.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the guinea fowl pieces for about five minutes, or until golden-brown on all sides. You may need to do this in two batches. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and place in a large roasting tin. Don't wash the frying pan, you will need it later.
Roast the guinea fowl in the oven for 25 minutes and then remove the guinea fowl breasts. Return the legs and thighs to the oven to cook for a further 15 minutes. Cut the breasts diagonally in half to give two portions. Set the meat aside once cooked and keep it warm for serving.

Add the lardons and shallots to the frying pan and fry gently for 10 minutes, or until the shallots are tender, but not browned. Add the thyme and sherry (or wine) and boil for a few minutes, or until the volume of liquid has reduced by a third.
Melt the butter in a small pan, add the flour and cook for a minute, or until thickened. Gradually pour in 500ml/18fl oz of the stock, stirring until thickened. Pour the sauce into the pan with the lardons and onions.
Strain the soaked mushrooms through a sieve, reserving the water.
Chop the mushrooms finely and add them to the sauce with the soaking water. Add the fresh mushrooms.
Cook for five minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender.
Season to taste. Stir in the crème fraiche, sprinkle with parsley. Serve the guinea fowl with the sauce alongside.

Recipes from Mary Berry Cooks.