john cabrera

3 Totally Real Antarctic Recipes (seriously)

Roast Penguin

Ingredients:
Penguin breasts
Butter
Beef suet
Dried onions
Flour
Gravy granules
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Season the penguin breasts well with salt and pepper and dip each piece in melted butter. Roll in flour and fry in beef suet to seal the meat, turning once. When each side is crisp, place in baking tray and pour over the fat from the frying pan. Sprinkle with dried onion and cook in the oven on medium heat until tender. For the gravy – stir a teaspoon of flour into the cooking fat then add a spoon-full of gravy granules and sufficient water or stock to thicken.

Escallops of Penguin

Ingredients:
Penguin breasts
Dried onions
Milk
Batter mix
Flour
Beef suet
1 tin of condensed mushroom soup
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Cut the penguin breasts into thin slices and soak in milk for about two hours. Pat dry, season with salt and pepper and flour the penguin escallops. Mix the onions into the batter. Dip the meat in the batter and deep fat fry. Pour the heated soup over the battered penguin as a sauce.

Sautéed Penguin

Ingredients:
Penguin breasts
1 cup of dried onions
1 tin tomatoes
1 tin tomato soup
4oz. butter
Mixed herbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Cut the penguin breasts into small pieces and fry in the butter until brown then add the onion. Drain the tomatoes and mash half the tin into a purée, then stir into the meat and onion mixture. Add salt and pepper and some mixed herbs and the tomato soup. Simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce had thickened.

N.B. The meat of young shags, seals and penguins makes excellent eating, but in the natural state is rather too highly flavoured to be palatable. It should therefore be washed thoroughly and hung in the fresh air for a few days (in the case of shags, a couple of weeks), before cooking. The meat is further improved by blanching. Remove all blubber before cooking and replace the fat with beef suet when cooking.

(via museums.norfolk.gov.uk)

Penguin Kabobs

• 2 pounds ground or whole penguin
• 2 sliced onions
• 2 sliced green or red bell peppers
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 bottle Bud Ice (chilled)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 3 sharp skewers

Slice penguin into 1-inch cubes. Mix spices in with olive oil. Marinade cubes in spice mix. Refrigerate overnight, stirring occasionally. Slice onions and bell peppers into wedges. Place vegetables and penguin cubes alternately on skewers. Brush lightly again with marinade. Grill for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown outside. Turn and baste continually with Bud Ice. Douse lightly with brandy or lighter fluid and light before serving.

(via allegromedia)

Gratin de Chou-Fleur

imagine-ave:

Gratin de Chou-Fleur

One large head cauliflower, about 1.5 kg (3 pounds), trimmed and separated into florets (about 1 kg or 2 pounds when trimmed)
Coarse salt
Freshly grated nutmeg
60 grams (2/3 cup) freshly grated comté
25 grams (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
25 grams (3 tablespoons) flour
1/3 liter (1 1/3 cup) milk
Fine salt and freshly ground pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons bread crumbs (chapelure in French)

Serves 4 to 6. (The recipe can be doubled, but you may have to cook the cauliflower in two batches.)

Sprinkle the cauliflower with coarse salt and steam for 15 minutes, until soft; if you’re using a pressure cooker, it will take 5 minutes starting from the whistle. (The soft cauliflower is part of why I love the dish, but feel free to cook it to your liking.) The cauliflower can be cooked up to a day in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container.

Set an oven rack in the upper half of the oven and preheat to 180°C (350°F). Transfer the cauliflower in a medium gratin dish. (At this point, you can add strips of brine-cured ham or leftover chicken, if you have some lying around in the fridge.) Season with a subtle dash of nutmeg, and top with half of the cheese.

Prepare the béchamel. Have the butter, flour, and milk measured and ready. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. When the butter starts to sizzle, add the flour all at once and stir it into the butter with a wooden spoon (this is called a roux blanc). Cook for 3 minutes without coloring, stirring continually until the mixture turns creamy. Pour in the milk and whisk it into the roux blanc, making sure you don’t leave any clumps on the bottom and sides of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes, stirring with the wooden spoon or the whisk as the mixture thickens. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Season the béchamel with salt, pepper, and a whisper of nutmeg. Pour evenly over the cauliflower, top with the remaining cheese, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and slip into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, until heated through and well gratinéed at the top; you can switch to the broiler setting for the 5 final minutes. Let rest for five minutes and serve — you may want to warn your dining companions that the gratin will be very hot.

Any leftovers can be reheated for 10 minutes at 180°C (350°F) the next day.

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2007/01/cauliflower_gratin.php

Sables with goat’s cheese and strawberries

1/3-cup butter

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup blanched hazelnuts, lightly toasted and ground

2 tbsp superfine sugar

2 egg yolks beaten with 2-3 tbsp water

4 oz goat cheese

4-6 large strawberries cut into small pieces

Hazelnuts and fresh mint to decorate

Put the butter, flour, ground hazelnuts, sugar, and beaten egg yolks into a food processor and process to a smooth dough.  Scrape out the dough, shape into a log about 1 ½ in thick, wrap in plastic wrap and chill

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment.  With a sharp knife, slice the dough into ¼ in thick rounds and arrange on prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 7-10 minutes until golden brown.  Transfer to wire rack to cool and crisp slightly.

Crumble goad cheese with your finger into small pieces on a plate.  Mound a little goat cheese on to each sable, top with a piece of raspberry and sprinkle a few hazelnuts.  Decorate with a mint leaf and serve while still slightly warm.

Instead of the goat cheese, beat 3 oz cream cheese with 1 tbsp powdered sugar and a little lemon or orange ring.  Spear on the sable and top with kiwi, peach, nectarine, or raspberries.

Fig and Date Ravioli

3 oz packet short crust pastry

Milk for brushing

Confectioners sugar for dusting

2/3 cup ready to eat dried figs

1/3 cup pitted dates

1 tbsp chopped walnuts

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp clear honey

Preheat oven to 350F

To make the filling, put all ingredients into a food processor and blend to a paste

Roll out just under half of the short crust pastry on a lightly floured surface.  Place spoonfuls of the fig paste in neat rows at equally spaced intervals, as when making ravioli.

Roll out the remaining pastry to a slightly larger size.  Dampen all around each spoonful of filling, using a pastry brush dipped in cold water.  Place second sheet of pastry on top and press together around each mound of filling

Using a pastry wheel or pizza cutter, cut squares between the mounds of filling.  Place the cookies on non-stick baking sheets and lightly brush the top of each with a little milk.  Bake 15-20 minutes until golden

Transfer to a wire rack to cool, and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Stop Looking - I have the winner!

I love the competitiveness, it makes me laugh :)

If you are serious about winning, then this will take a lot of work but… this is the sexiest thing I have EVER seen:

http://www.masterchef.com.au/aria-chocolate-tart.htm

When done properly, the chocolate pipe is really glossy, just like in the picture - it will knock their socks off!

My Tip: Practice it all before hand, (of course) but especially practice the chocolate roll. Follow the recipe, DO NOT put it in the fridge to make it cool quicker, it will ruin the chocolate and have a very ‘dull’ appearance.

Good Luck :)