Shrimps Cocktail

Preparation You'll need: If necessary, a small pot for cooking the shrimps A medium bowl
Ingredients (for 2 people, as a full course. As a snack or entrée: halve the ingredients). 400 g small shrimps/deep-sea crabs/North Sea crabs. 4 to 6 slices of toast 75 g mayo 75 g Miracle Whip 90 g ketchup (you could also use 4-5 Tbsp tomato paste) 3 tsp cognac (or 5 tsp German Chantré) A few dashes of Tabasco 1 tsp Worcester sauce 1 large organic lemon A few leaves of iceberg lettuce 1 ripe avocado Salt and white pepper
First steps Check that there is white wine in the fridge! Wash some nice leaves of iceberg lettuce, dry them and cut them into fine strips or pluck them into coarse pieces. Cut off one ⅓ of the lemon, cut 2 thin slices from it (for decoration). Squeeze the other part, set the juice aside. Halve the avocado and remove the pit. Defrost the shrimps if necessary. If pre-cooked, rinse only with cold water and pat dry. If not, cook briefly for a few minutes according to instructions and cool again in cold water.
The sauce In a medium bowl, mix 75 g each of mayo and Miracle Whip, and 90 g ketchup. Then mix in 1 tsp Worcester sauce and a few dashes Tabasco sauce, as well as 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
Arrangement First of all, put the toast in the toaster. Toast only until light brown! Traditionally, I see this served in a tall cocktail glass on a bed of lettuce. But since I like the avocado version: Put a few leaves of iceberg lettuce on a plate, place half an avocado on top. Spread the shrimps loosely on top and a few dabs of the sauce. Put the rest in a small glass bowl. Further decoration: thin slice of lemon or (if you have a spare one ;-)) lime, some dill or parsley, if you like. A well chilled sparkling wine or dry white wine (e.g. a Sardinian Aragosta) goes well with this.

Monk Fish with a Lemon Butter Sauce

 Preparation time a little more than 1 hour

Preparation You'll need: Large pan with high rim
Ingredients (for two persons) Monkfish: 450 g (as fillet) to 600 g (with bone) 50 g butter 3 Tbsp good olive oil 3 shallots, small to medium 200 mL fish stock 200 mL white wine, dry approx. 1.5 lemons for 100 mL juice 1 Tbsp. honey 100 g fennel bulb 2-3 generous pinches of saffron Cayenne pepper Salt and pepper Side dish: 300 to 400 g boiled potatoes
The Sauce Check that there is white wine in the fridge! Peel 3 shallots and chop finely. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over a good medium heat and melt 50 g butter in it. Then glaze the shallots. Deglaze with 200 mL each of white wine and fish stock. Add 100 mL lemon juice and 1 tbsp honey, stir and simmer for 10 minutes. . In the meantime, cut 100 g of the fennel bulb into not too small pieces and add to the stock after 10 minutes. After a further 5 to 10 minutes, start with the fish, more on that in a moment. Now let the stock simmer (without a lid ;-) until the sauce starts to thicken, which can take half an hour in total. As soon as the sauce starts to thicken, season well with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and put to one side until the fish is ready.
The Fish Wash the fish and pat dry. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Heat a small amount of oil well in a second pan and then sear the fish in it until the surface is lightly to medium brown. Since the fish releases a lot of water, you should take the fish out briefly after 2 or 3 minutes, pour away the liquid, add a small amount of oil again and continue frying the fish. When the fish has the right colour, add a little salt, and if the sauce is not yet thick, set the fish aside for a short time. As soon as the sauce has about the desired consistency, add 2-3 generous pinches of saffron and stir well. Now add the fish pieces and simmer gently for another 5 minutes with the lid on.

Crostini

 

 

Ich würde diese Crostini als "Gruß aus der Küche" servieren, jeweils ein oder zwei pro Person. Wichtige Zutat: Ich würde als Brot ein gutes Baguette empfehlen, mit einem nicht zu kleinen Durchmesser. In diesem Rezept kommen die restlichen Zutaten weiter unten...
Als erstes: Die Brotscheiben backen Backofen vorheizen (Umluft, 170℃) und ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen. Baguettescheiben auf Backblech legen und mit Olivenöl beträufeln. Mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen. Im Ofen ca. 5-6 Minuten rösten, mit einer Küchenzange wenden und nochmals 4-5 Minuten rösten. Beim Herausnehmen wieder wenden und auskühlen lassen. -> In der Zwischenzeit kann man die ganzen Zutaten sinnvoll in kleine Stücke schneiden/hacken/reiben - siehe unten!
Zutaten (Für 2 Crostini dieser Art) 2 Scheiben vom Baguette, ca. 1.5 cm dick 3-4 TL gutes Olivenöl Salz und Pfeffer Ca. 2 EL Frischkäse oder Ricotta 2 Scheiben Serrano 4 Kirschtomaten Etwas Kresse Etwas Parmesan Die fertigen Brotscheiben mit Frischkäse bestreichen, Serrano (in Stücken), Tomatenscheiben darauf und mit Kresse und Parmesanflocken bestreuen.
Zutaten (Für 2 Crostini dieser Art) 2 Scheiben vom Baguette, ca. 1.5 cm dick 3-4 TL gutes Olivenöl Salz und Pfeffer Ca. 2 EL Frischkäse oder Ricotta 2 Radieschen 4 Kirschtomaten 2 Kalamata-Oliven Etwas Kresse Die fertigen Brotscheiben mit Frischkäse bestreichen, Radieschen- und Tomatenscheiben darauf und mit Kresse und klein gehackten Oliven bestreuen.
Zutaten (Für 2 Crostini dieser Art) 2 Scheiben vom Baguette, ca. 1.5 cm dick 3-4 TL gutes Olivenöl Salz und Pfeffer 2 Scheiben geräucherter Lachs 2 EL Frischkäse 2 EL Meerrettich-Creme (nicht reiner Meerrettich) 1 Limette Die fertigen Brotscheiben mit einer Mischung aus Frischkäse und Meerrettichcreme (je 2 EL) bestreichen, mit Lachs belegen und mit Limettensaft beträufeln.
Zutaten (Für 2 Crostini dieser Art) 2 Scheiben vom Baguette, ca. 1.5 cm dick 3-4 TL gutes Olivenöl Salz und Pfeffer 6 mittlere Shrimps (vorgekocht!) 2 EL Butter 4 kleinere Knoblauchzehen 1 Kirschtomaten 1 Zitrone (zum Auspressen halbiert auf den Eßtisch stellen) Junger gemischter Blattsalat und Balsamico-Essig Die Butter in der Mikrowelle verflüssigen, fein gehackte Knoblauchzehen dazu geben. Die Kirschtomate in sehr kleine Stückchen schneiden. Die Shrimps etwas klein schneiden und auf die Brotscheiben legen. Dann mit dem Knoblauchbutter beträufeln und die Tomatenstückchen drüber streuen. Die Crostini auf einem Bett von Blattsalat mit Balsamico servieren.
Zutaten (Für 2 Crostini dieser Art) 2 Scheiben vom Baguette, ca. 1.5 cm dick 3-4 TL gutes Olivenöl Salz und Pfeffer 2 Scheiben geräucherter Lachs Etwas gutes Olivenöl Etwas gemischter Salat 1 Limette Ein wenig Salat mit Olivenöl mischen. Den Lachs in kleine Stücke reißen und mit dem Salat mischen. Auf den Crostini anrichten. Mit etwas Limettensaft beträufeln.

Clafoutis

ChezTeddy in the hands of HoneyBear.

Preparation: You'll need: A shallow large ceramic dish (diameter approx. 28 cm) for the oven A large bowl
Ingredients (for 6 servings) 750 g cherries in a jar (morello cherries) 100 g flour 100 g sugar 2 eggs 250 mL 1 tsp vanilla sugar 1 pinch salt 2 Tbsp. cherry brandy or rum (approx. 40% alcohol) Icing sugar Whipped cream 200 ml whipping cream and 12 g icing sugar Place whipping cream and whisk attachment of food processor in freezer for 10 minutes before preparing. Place whipping cream and icing sugar together in bowl. First let the cream stir on low speed, after 1 minute, turn to highest speed to whip until stiff (takes a few minutes). Do not let it beat too long, just until the desired consistency is reached!
Preparation Preheat the oven to 210℃. Drain the cherries from the jar through a sieve (you could also do something with the water, so maybe catch it in a container). In a large bowl, put 100 g flour through a flour sieve. Add 100 g sugar, 2 eggs and a little of the milk. Mix everything well. Then, in a few stages, while stirring, add the rest of the milk. add the rest of the milk. Mix until a smooth homogeneous dough. Then add 1 tsp. vanilla sugar, 1 pinch of salt and 2 Tbsp. rum. Mix again. Grease the oven dish completely (base and sides). Pour in the batter, then spread the whole cherries evenly. Attention: The idea is that the dough is only so high in the mould that the cherries still stick out of the dough a little bit! But do not pour the pastry over the cherries they should not be covered. Place in the preheated oven (middle shelf). Bake for 10 minutes at 210℃, then go down to 180℃ and bake for another 20 minutes (in the meantime you can make the whipped cream). After baking, sprinkle generously with icing sugar and cool. It is best eaten while still slightly warm with whipped cream.

Braised duck in a fine sauce

 

Very tasty duck drumsticks with a great sauce.

Attention!
Here red cabbage is a must (homemade). Make this the day before (tastes better).
Also Kartoffelknödel (potato dumplings) go well with it.
Preparation time for the drumsticks approx. 2.5 to 3 hours!

Preparation You'll need: An oven-safe pan with a lid, a roaster that seals well or a tajine (that's what I use). A small pan A small pot for the red cabbage from the previous day
Ingredients (for 2 people). 2 drumsticks of Barbarie duck (approx. 350 g each) We don't find duck breast so great with that sauce. 2 medium red onions 1 medium carrot (approx. 75-100 g) 1 small piece of celery root (approx. 75-100 g) just under 2 Tbsp. clarified butter/ghee (the fat from foie gras also fits perfectly) 1 tsp. brown cane sugar 50 mL port wine 300 mL red wine Approx. 350 ml broth (preferably duck, if you can't find that, game, or poultry in a pinch). 2-3 tsp plum jam 4 tsp redcurrant jelly 8 bay leaves 1 star anise 2-3 tsp Mondamin Gravy thickener for dark sauces or simply cornflour Salt and pepper from the mill Nutmeg, possibly some cinnamon
Preparation Roughly dice 2 medium red onions, 75-100 g carrot and 75-100 g celery root, set aside. Rinse the duck legs, pat dry, salt.Heat about 1 Tbsp clarified butter in pan/broiler and sear drumsticks briefly on both sides over medium-high heat until just lightly browned. Set aside. In the used pan, now sauté the root vegetables for a few minutes (for the roasted flavours of the drumsticks). Sprinkle with 1 tsp. cane sugar and caramelise. Deglaze with 50 mL port wine, continue to fry until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Preheat the oven to 140℃ (fan oven). Add 300 mL red wine and approx. 350 mL stock, bring to the boil briefly. Place the duck legs in the stock, add 8 bay leaves and 1 star anise. Then place in the oven, covered, and braise for 2 hours. 2 hours time for other things ☺
Last steps Now put the pan/roaster back on the cooker, put the duck legs on the side and tip the stock through a sieve back into the pan. Discard the collected root vegetables, as well as the bay leaves and star anise. Reduce the stock by half over a high heat. Now it would be time to warm up the red cabbage from the previous day in a small saucepan. Thicken the reduced stock with 2-3 tsp Mondamin (for dark sauces) or cornflour, reduce again slightly if necessary. Season well with salt, pepper, freshly grated nutmeg, a pinch of cinnamon and 2-3 tsp. of plum jam. As soon as everything is right with the sauce (taste and consistency), pour it back into the tajine, add the duck legs and grill in the oven (level 4, grill, 250℃) until the skin is a nice dark brown. Now serve with the side dishes, such as red cabbage and/or marrons and (separately) some redcurrant jelly.

Red Cabbage

 

 

Delicious side dish with poultry, game or Wiener schnitzel

Preparation You'll need: A medium pot with lid
Ingredients (for 3-4 people, as you can easily keep this in the fridge for a week, I wouldn't make less). 1 red cabbage (500 g are needed) 1 medium red onion 1 Tbsp. goose fat or ghee/butter fat ½ tsp. juniper berries 1 bay leaf 1 small cinnamon stick 100 mL red wine 4-5 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar 1 Tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. salt 1 tart apple (e.g. Boskop) 2 Tbsp. redcurrant jelly some freshly grated nutmeg Possibly some cornflour
Preparation Peel the red onion, halve it and cut it into fine strips. Can go straight into the pot. Remove the first leaves of the cabbage. Wash the cabbage, cut off approximately the required amount of 500 g from the cabbage (they are usually much larger) and cut out the stalk if necessary. . Cut into fine strips with a sharp kitchen knife or a vegetable slicer. Heat 1 Tbsp. lard in a saucepan. Sauté the onion until translucent. Add the red cabbage, 1 bay leaf, ½ tsp. juniper berries and 1 small cinnamon stick and mix well. Sauté for another minute or two, then deglaze with 100 ml red wine. Add 1 Tbsp. sugar, 3-4 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp. salt, mix well again. Bring the liquid briefly to the boil, then cover and simmer over a low heat (level 3) for 70 to 80 minutes, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes - you can check whether the liquid has (almost) evaporated and add a little water so that nothing burns. Meanwhile... Wash and peel the apple. Remove the core and cut into wedges, halve them. Add the apple 15 minutes later.
Final steps After approx. 70 to 80 minutes, remove the lid and cook until the liquid has almost completely evaporated (it doesn't take long for me, there isn't that much liquid). If you have more liquid or are in a hurry, you can help it along with cornflour. Remove the spices and stir in 2 Tbsp. redcurrant jelly. If necessary, season the red cabbage again with apple vinegar, salt, pepper or sugar. Add some freshly grated nutmeg and pepper. Stir well again.

Potato Dumplings

Delicious side dish for meat dishes that come with a nice sauce.

Preparation You'll need: A large pot
Ingredients (for 2 persons - 4 to 5 dumplings) 400 g floury (!) cooking potatoes 25-30 g flour 25-30 g cornstarch 1 egg Nutmeg ½ tsp salt
Preparation Boil 400 g potatoes unpeeled (because healthier) or peeled (because of burnt fingers afterwards ;-) until they are well done. While they are still hot (if necessary) peel and mash well with a potato masher or simply a fork. Leave to cool until lukewarm. In the meantime, bring a good amount (approx. 10 cm high) of salted water (1 tsp salt) to the boil in a saucepan. Add 25 g flour, 25 g cornstarch, 1 egg, some freshly grated nutmeg and ½ tsp. salt to the potato mixture and mix everything well with your hands. The dough should be quite firm, only slightly moist. ChezTeddy tip: Prepare a small dumpling to test. Especially if you haven't made potato dumplings often before, and you're not sure if the dumplings won't fall apart when cooked (hence floury potatoes, they have more starch - if there is too little, the dumplings will fall apart in the water) just make a small dumpling first and see if everything goes well - see the following section). Separate the mass into 4 or 5 parts with wet hands and shape them into round dumplings.As soon as the water boils slightly (it should not simmer or even boil), put the dumplings into the water and let them steep at low temperature until they come up on their own and float to the surface. Then simmer gently for another 5 to 7 minutes, i.e. turn the temperature up slightly. The dumplings taste best when you can serve them while they are still hot.

Spare Ribs

For real barbecues this is the wrong recipe :-)
This is more a reminder by recipe, when we look at ChezTeddy to see what we could eat.

Preparation You'll need: A large pot with lid A baking tray
Ingredients (for 2 persons) 1 kg spare ribs A good barbeque sauce (homemade, or bought - we like to buy this one: Mississippi Barbecue Sauce)
Prepare spare ribs for the oven Wash the spare ribs and put them into the big pot. Add enough water to cover them well, then bring them to a boil. Add 1 Tbsp. of salt, stir well. Put the lid on and simmer for about 35 to 40 minutes. After boiling, dump the water and let the spare ribs dry out for a few minutes. Preheat oven at 220℃. Then place on the baking tray (convex side up) and spread well with BBQ sauce.
In the oven Put the baking tray in the oven (middle shelf) and switch the oven to 220℃ convection grill. Continue grilling for some time (approx. 10-15 minutes) until golden brown, brushing once or twice with BBQ sauce.

Cream Sauce for Seafood

Preparation You'll need: A small pot or pan with lid A small sieve
Ingredients (for 2 persons) 35 g butter 2 shallots 1-2 bay leaves 75 mL white wine (dry) 1 sprigs thyme 150 g crème fraîche some sticks of chives A little bit of dill Some salt and coarse pepper
First steps Finely chop 3 shallots. Pluck the thyme leaves. Add to the pot together with 35 g butter, 1-2 bay leaves and 75 mL white wine. Coarsely chop a few sticks of chives and the dill. Put it on its side, it will be needed later.
Preparation Cover the pot over medium heat and let the contents simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add 150 g crème fraîche, mix and bring to the boil briefly. Filter the cream from the pot with a sieve that is not too fine, using a spoon to press the shallots well against the walls of the sieve. Add the chopped herbs (chives and dill) and stir.

This sauce goes very well with lobster or fish (e.g.: monkfish)

Oven Vegetables

 

It goes well with a bit of bread.
This is a side dish that goes well with fish and meat. See the large photos below.
If you add meat, you should do it separately in the pan.

Attention. Preparation time about 60-90 minutes!

Preparation You'll need: A high baking sheet A small pot
Ingredients (for 2 persons) This is one of those recipes where the principle is: Everything you like. Following is a suggestion. In general, this applies to all recipes, of course, but especially here. ½ small Bell pepper, red 1 small courgette 1 small aubergine 1 medium red onions 1 small garlic bulb approx. 250 g small potatoes 1 medium carrot 3 large, slightly hot, pepperoni 2 shallots 2 spring onions (for the leaves) A few thin pieces of fennel tuber (50 to 100 g) about 10-15 cherry tomatoes 20 Kalamata olives ½ lemon (juice) Lots of fresh thyme and rosemary Lots of olive oil Plenty of salt and pepper What else could you add to it? Parsley, mushrooms, a second half pepper (green or yellow), turnip, ... What doesn't fit: Ginger
First steps Check that there is white wine in the fridge! First of all, wash the aubergine, peel it partially (like a zebra), cut it into bite-sized pieces and put it in very salty water for 15 to 30 minutes. Wash the small potatoes briefly and then put them in a pot with water, add salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes, nothing more. Meanwhile, you can cut everything else into bite-sized, not too small pieces and simply throw them on the baking tray (leave the tomatoes whole and put them on the side with the olives, they will be needed later). Pluck thyme and rosemary and chop into small pieces. Garlic: Peel all cloves. Chop one half of them finely, leave the other half whole. Half a lemon is only needed at the very end.
Prepare vegetables for the oven Remove the aubergine pieces from the water and roughly pat dry. Cut the small potatoes into quarters. Add both to the vegetables in the baking tray. Add the garlic (chopped and whole cloves), thyme and rosemary (finely chopped), salt and pepper everything well and pour over plenty of olive oil. Then mix everything well with your hands.
Bake in oven Place the baking tray in a non-preheated oven (middle rack). Then turn on the oven and set it to 260℃ fan grill. Once the temperature is reached, continue to grill like this for another 20 minutes, but keep an eye on it for the last few minutes! Then mix everything well, go down to 220℃ and grill for another 15 minutes. Follow the intermediate steps below. If you want to make lamb cutlets to go with it (see one of the photos), you should start now at the latest. After about 5 minutes, add the olives and tomatoes and mix again briefly. Attention: If you want to put fish fillets on top, you should now add them as well.
Final Steps After the last 10 minutes, remove the tray from the oven (if you're doing fish fillets with it, remove it), squeeze half a lemon over everything, mix well again and serve.