Breaking Perceptions: Sushi for Beginners

Trying a new cuisine from somewhere you have never visited on holiday can be daunting. However, it can also be one of the most rewarding culinary experiences you will ever have. Those who have tried out Thai or Greek recipes will know what I’m talking about here, but another fantastic one to try when you get the chance is Japanese.

Contrary to popular belief, sushi does not entirely comprise of raw fish. There are many different varieties and some can even be made according to vegetarian recipes (not to be confused with fish-eating vegetarians or “pescatarians”). The basic ingredients to sushi are:

- Nori (the seaweed wrap)
- Shari (the short-grained sushi rice, often mixed with vinegar)
- Neta (the primary ingredient(s))
- Condiments

Sushi is an art; you are not going to perfect it on your first attempt. However, you really shouldn’t be put off by this. When you get into the rhythm, rolling the perfect sushi can provide such satisfaction and variety from your usual meals.

The ingredients are not too hard to find; there may not be entire isles dedicated to nori and shari but you can find them at supermarkets, or even find the more authentic, imported ingredients at Asian markets.

Putting together the ingredients is not the difficult part of the process; it is all in the roll. They are going to fall apart again and again and again but there are some techniques to help you through the learning curve.

To begin with, you are going to want to use a vegetable as the filling as this will be much easier. Start by laying the sheet of nori smooth side down; you will be able to feel which side is smooth and which side is slightly rough.

The shari is notoriously sticky, so you will need to keep your hands wet when handling, which will make your work a lot less frustrating. Put the rice into a bowl and grab a handful, gently rolling a ball in your hand. Place this ball in the middle of the nori and delicately spread it evenly across the sheet. It is very important not to overstuff the sushi roll, so make sure that there is only a light layer, removing some rice if necessary. The entire sheet should be covered by rice, except two centimetres at the top and bottom which will help you when it comes to rolling.

The next step is to put your neta into the roll. For beginners, I would recommend using asparagus or cucumber as they will be sturdier for when it comes to the time to roll. The cucumber would need to be sliced to fit and a width of about 1.5cm is ideal for the filling. Line the cucumber or asparagus along the edge of the nori, next to one of the margins we left in the previous step. For now, we’ll just leave it with the one ingredient.

Now comes the roll. It will be difficult but keep soldiering on. You will need to take the edge of the nori and close it around your ingredient, attempting to make a rectangular shape. The key here is the rectangular shape and trying to make a circular one will result in it falling apart a lot more. Once the nori is around the ingredient, make sure it is tight and fitting so there is no room to fall out. Make sure you are applying pressure from all three sides and continue with the roll, keeping it tight at all times. Once you have reached the end of the roll, it should be nice and compact.

To finish, use a wet knife to cut the roll in to six or eight pieces. Serve with some condiments on the side, such as soy sauce, wasabi and horse radish. Gari, a sweet ginger, also goes well with sushi.

Once you are confident with your abilities, you should try putting a light sprinkling of condiments on top of the vegetables in the roll or including more in it. Then, move on to putting fish it and combining it with vegetables. Here is a list of popular sushi rolls for you to try out:

- Salmon
- Tuna
- Prawn & Chive
- California Roll
· Avocado, Crab Stick, Cucumber
- Philadelphia Roll
· Raw/Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, Cucumber/Avocado

Recipes Blog of David Lebovitz

I’ve just found this amazing blog with interesting and easy making recipes – blog of David Lebovitz know as well as American in Paris.
I’d like to keep here this link to return and read more.
Another interested news I read in David’s blog that he organize Food Blogger Camp every year.
What is a great idea!
Everyone who loves cooking and takes it not only as daily boring obligation but more as art and creation process could be there, meet new friends and find new great recipes.

Labor Day recipes

Which dishes do you love to prepare to Labor Day? Actually it can be whatever you just want, right? But however there are some special diches you kove the most. Which one?

Perhaps this is Spinach-Stuffed Portobellos, Orzo-Stuffed Tomatoes, Chicken with Mango-Raspberry Salsa or Strawberry Tiramisu Trifle? Would you share with your recipes?

I prefer such recipes that make for easy labor like tomato salad and quick Italian-style burgers.

1 pound of ground beef
1/2 pound of hot or mild Italian sausage removed from casing.
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
¼ cup of freshly grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
1 egg
1 tsp of liquid smoke
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp of fresh ground pepper

Toppings

6 slices of provolone cheese
1 small red onion, sliced thin
1 beefsteak tomato, sliced thin
1 jar of roasted red peppers
10 fresh basil leaves
8 small loaves of foccacia bread sliced in half

PREPARATION

Mix all the burger ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
Shape into burger shaped patties.
Place directly on grill for 10 minutes.
Turn once and grill the other side for 10 more minutes.
Top with provolone cheese until melted, about 1 minute.
Remove burgers and toast the foccacio face side down for I minute or you can use regular hamburger buns.
Top with sliced onion, tomato, roasted red peppers and fresh basil leaves.

You may top with other favorites but it’s delicious just like this. Serves 8.

Summer’s cold soups recipes

Cold soups are best choice for summer! All my family love cold soups especially during these heat summer days. No doubt it’s satisfying and healthy dish may be prepared at any season you want it but it’s the number one at summer of coirse:) So, today you can find incredible number of recipes of cold soups from around the world. But I love the most cold soups my grandmother prepared, I remember tastiest Strawberry cold soup, beer soup -( zupa piwna in Polish), Creamed Beet Barszcz (Barszcz Zabielany in Polish), Cold Rhubarb Soup.

It’s so pity that I didn’t note my grandmother’s recipe but I found online the one that can really be up to the mark as a good Rhubarb soup by it’s quality and taste.

•1 pound rhubarb, trimmed, peeled, if necesssary, and chopped
•5 cups water
•2 tablespoons cornstarch
•1/2 cup whole milk
•1 tablespoon seedless strawberry preserves
•Sugar to taste
•Cooked “kluski” egg noodles or croutons
•Sour cream for garnish
Preparation:
1.Place rhubarb and water in large pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until rhubarb is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Puree with an immersion blender or in a conventional blender or food processor.

2.Dissolve cornstarch in milk, temper and whisk into hot soup. Add strawberry preserves to improve the soup’s color (or add a drop of red food coloring) and sweeten to taste with sugar. Return to heat, bring to a boil and simmer 3 minutes.

3.Chill soup in an ice bath and refrigerate until ready to serve. Portion “kluski” (or croutons) into bowls, ladle soup over and add a dollop of sour cream.

Frozen strawberry yogurt

I’ve found a video on how to make frozen yogurt without special machine but just with a help of regular mixer. Step by step – it’s really easy!

Homemade frozen yogurt

Frozen yogurt,a super delicious dessert is similar to ice cream, but made with yogurt and other pure dairy products. Sugar-free and fat-free frozen yogurts is the ideal alternative for fat content and calorie count ice cream. Similar to ice cream, frozen yogurt can be made in any flavor that you can think of instead of limiting your taste buds to a few varieties in your grocer’s freezer and finally homemade frozen yogurt is even easier to prepare than ice cream.

Low Fat Frozen Yogurt

2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
2 cups strawberries
1 medium sized banana (peeled and cut into chunks)
4 teaspoons sugar substitute
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons water

Just combine a small saucepan,gelatin and water then heat slowly and stir constantly till gelatin dissolves completely. Remove it from heat and cool down. Then take your electric blender, add what you want – strawberries, banana chunks and whatever you just want, add gelatin. Blend it all together for 2 – 3 minutes, or until you get a consistently smooth paste. Add yogurt, sugar substitute and vanilla extract, and process for another 2- 3 minutes. Pour it in ice cream maker and freeze according to directions.

French Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

1/2 cup of evaporated milk
2 teaspoons of unflavored gelatin, softened
2/3 cup of raw sugar
pinch of salt
2 egg yolks, beaten
2 cups of plain, whole milk yogurt
2 tablespoons of vanilla
2 egg whites

Heat the milk to just below boiling in the top of a double boiler. Next, add the gelatin, sugar, and salt, and stir these ingredients until they’re dissolved.

By the way you have not yet ice cream maker it’s not expencive to buy. Right now I’ve found wide choice of ice cream makes – from $26 to $36, for instance – Hamilton Beach 68330R 4 QT Bucket Ice Cream Maker for $26, new, makes ice cream, frozen yogurt, custard, sherbet & gelato. Fully automatic. plus over 20 recipes included you can buy on google.com/products.

Lasagna

it’s interesting that many people are unaware of the humble origins of the name for this popular Italian food. ‘Lasagna’ got its name from the Greek lasanon, which means “chamber pot.” The Romans borrowed the word to refer to cooking pots of a similar shape, and eventually the word came to be used to refer to the noodles which were traditionally layered in a lasanum, a Roman lasagna dish. Here is one of various recopes to prepare Lasagna easy and quick:

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 medium sweet white onion, diced
1/2 large green bell pepper, seeds and veins removed, diced
1/2 lb dry lasagna noodles (requires 9 lasagna noodles – unbroken)
1/4 cup sugar
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 28 oz can (16 oz) stewed tomatoes
1/2 6 oz can (3 oz) tomato paste
1 lb Ricotta cheese
1 1/2 lb Mozzarella cheese (large flat square slices)
3/4 lb freshly grated parmesan cheese
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Italian Spice
Salt
Garlic Salt
Parsley diced (fresh flat leaf preferred)
1 Garlic Cloves, minced
White wine vinegar

Find many useful pretty kitchen utensils for your kitchen.

Tuscan soup recipe I love the most

No doubt there are many recipes for Tuscan soups though it were vegetable, minestrones or seafood soups. I guess that each town and any area in Tuscany has an own recipe of Tuscan soup that has become their specialty and as a rule it’s prepared following located tradition. Of course, many recipes have spread and are no longer prepared just in Tuscany. But these is the
Tuscan soups I love the most especially along cold and frosty wonter season.

6 cups chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
3 (3.5 ounce) links spicy Italian sausage
3 large potatoes, cubed
1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and chopped
1/4 cup evaporated milk
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
Directions
1.Remove skin from sausage and crumble into frying pan. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. If you are trying to cut fat, remove meat from pan, place in a colander, and rinse under cold water.
2.Place meat in a large pot; add stock and potatoes. Boil until potato is cooked.
3.Add spinach. Continue boiling until spinach is lightly cooked.
4.Remove soup from heat, stir in evaporated milk, and season to taste. Do not add any salt if using canned stock.

New Year’s Eve Celebration Recipes

Probably all of us are looking now for New Year traditions, gifts, new recipes, party themes, decorations, games and activities for New Year’s Eve party celebration. Every year is the same goal – to spend it safely at home with friends and loved ones to keeping everybody in a party mood right up until the final countdown .

Here is the recipe I’ve never used before but want to try it now.
So, this classic recipe was found coming across NOLA’s recipe archive. I guess it’s wonderful one exactly for holiday entertaining. Just pay attention it needs to rest refrigerated at least 8 hours after baking so plan to make the day before serving. It will be not easy because its smell is so good:-) However

Ingredients (SERVES 12 )
2 lbs lean pork, coarsely chopped
2 lbs veal, finely chopped
1 lb pork liver, ground
1 lb pork fat, fresh (fat bacon fine too)
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/3 cup cognac
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
bacon, to line the terrine (salt pork fine too)
Directions
1Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the pork, veal, liver, pork fat or bacon, garlic, eggs, white pepper, cayenne, allspice, Cognac, basil, salt and black pepper. Mix well. (If you wish to test for seasoning, fry a small piece in a little butter or oil until it’s cooked through. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.).
2Line a 2 1/2-quart terrine or baking dish with the bacon or salt pork, reserving two or three strips. Spoon the pate mixture into the baking dish, then place the reserved bacon strips over the top. Cover the pan tightly with a sheet of aluminum foil and bake for one hour. Remove the foil and continue baking for 1 1/2 hours, or until the pate slightly shrinks away from the sides of the baking dish. Remove from the oven and carefully drain off excess fat. Cool.
3Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place a weight (I usually use a brick wrapped with heavy-duty foil) on top. Refrigerate for at least eight hours.
4To serve, cut the pate into 1/2-inch slices or small bite-size chunks and accompany with toast points.

Besides that I’d like to prepare 2 or 3 more new dishes by trusted recipes then if you have an idea please feel free to share with it here.
Thank you

Christmas Recipes

There are some of recipes I love and use often:
Christmas Float
1 can coke or Dr Pepper
3 scoops of ice cream – chocalote or vanilla
4 cherries
2 red and green gum drops
red and green M&M’s
whipped cream topping

Put ice cream in cup. pour soda on it. then add the whipped cream, cherries and candy.

Christmas Party Mints
1 (lb) pkg powdered sugar
1/2 C margarine, softened
2 T evaporated milk
4 to 5 drops of peppermint flavoring
Few drops of desired food coloring

1.Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat at high speed until well blended; then knead until smooth.
2.Shape mints in rubber candy molds, and place on baking sheets.
3.Cover with a paper towel, and let stand overnight to harden.

Makes: 8 1/2 to 9 dozen mints.

Father Christmas Salad
In traditional Christmas colors of green, white and red, this is full of seasonal good cheer.

1 can (15 oz/ 425 g) lychees in heavy syrup
1 can (15 oz/ 425 g) stoneless red cherries in syrup
4 tablespoons of Cointreau or Kirsch
1/2 oz/ 15 g unsalted pistachio nuts
Boiling water

1. Tip both fruits, with syrup, into a large dish; glass for preference so that the colors can show through.
2. Add liquer and toss gently yo mix.
3. Blanch pistachios by covering with boiling water and leaving for 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water.
4. Slide off skins then finely chop. Sprinkle over top of salad. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.