Tuna Taco Tower

This idea is blatantly stolen from the restaurant The Bell Tower on Polk St in San Francisco - I dined there about 3 years ago and shared something similar as an appetizer.

Ingredients:
- 1 bowl guacamole
- 2 tuna steaks
- 6 tostadas

First I made the guacamole, then I pan seared the tuna steaks (in the original only the outer rim of the tuna was seared, but I wasn't sure I had sashimi grade tuna so I went for a more 'done' version). The tostadas were heated in the oven, and the towers were built after slicing the tuna steaks.

Potato Okra Pan 2

It's been quiet around here lately. Busy. Trying to graduate.

But of course one still needs to feed.

Took this recipe and added chilies and ground beef:

First chopped onion, finely cut serrano peppers and ground beef was cooked with salt till the meat was done. This was removed from the pan, and the sliced okra were fried (with salt and pepper) until the sticky juices had dried up, then added potato cubes and cooked on high heat with stirring till the potatoes were browned. The meat was put back in and everything was cooked on low heat till the potatoes were tender.

Served with slices of pickled beet.

Satay

It wasn't till relatively recently that I tried peanut dipping sauce, a concept I hadn't even considered before it happened upon me. But I liked it, and my muse insisted it would be the perfect side for chicken satay: Chicken grilled on bamboo skewers.

Ingredients: Cucumber salad
- 2 cucumbers
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 3 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- fresh cilantro
Peanut dipping sauce
- 130 g (4.5 oz) creamy peanut butter
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 serrano peppers [1]
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 1 dL (1/2 cup) warm water
Satay
- bamboo skewers
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 onion
- 1 red bell pepper

The cucumber salad was prepared first by mixing the liquid ingredients and adding thick slices of peeled cucumber and coarsely chopped cilantro - this should stand while preparing the rest.

The warm water is key for being able to stir the peanut butter together with the rest of the ingredients - the serrano peppers were cut finely.

The chicken breast was cut in pieces and put on bamboo skewer together with chunks of red bell pepper and onion. Grilled under the broiler in my gas oven.

Served immediately with parboiled rice on the side.

[1] This actually resulted in a peanut sauce less spicy then I had in mind.

Fastelavnsboller (Shrovetide Buns)

"Fastelavn" is related to Carnival, but in Denmark celebrated in a way that resembles in many ways Halloween - i.e. kids dress up and go pestering other people for sweets. Falling 7 weeks before Easter it comes pretty early this year. One the sweets traditionally eaten this time of year are glazed buns with custard or jam filling. We decided to make a few - although only for ourselves as no kids are likely to come knocking on our door this week around here.

Ingredients:
dough:
- 1 dL (2/5 cup) milk
- 14 g (1/2 oz, 2 packs) dry yeast^[1]
- 125 g (4 1/2 oz) shortening
- 1 egg
- 4 tbsp sugar
- (at least) 375 g (13 oz) flour
custard:
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 dL (4/5 cup) milk
- 1 1/2 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
glazing:
- 100 g (3 1/2 oz) powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp water

First the dough was prepared: The milk was heated to body temperature, then added the dry yeast and let stand for 30 minutes before mixing in sugar, flour, egg and shortening. After kneading to a homogeneous dough, it was covered and let stand to rise for an hour.

The custard was made by whipping all the ingredients in a small heavy (preferentially rounded) pan, then bringing the mix to a boil on high heat with constant whipping. With continued whipping the custard was boiled on medium heat until thickened (about 5 minutes). NB: DON'T BE LAZY WITH THE WHIPPING - THE CUSTARD WILL EASILY BURN, AND ONCE BURNED THE WHOLE BATCH IS RUINED. The custard was transferred to a bowl and allowed to cool.

The dough was kneaded thoroughly (using extra flour as needed) and rolled to square piece approx. 35 cm x 35 cm (14" x 14") which was cut into 9 squares of equal size. The custard was placed on the middle of each piece of dough and the edges of the squares were folded over the custard to make a closed bun around the custard. Care was taken to close them well, so the custard couldn't run out during baking. The buns were placed on a baking sheet (upside down) and allowed to rise for another 45 minutes before baking at 225 C (450 F) for 10 minutes.

The buns can be eaten warm or cold - best with freshly applied glazing (glazing made by stirring powdered sugar with a small amount of water).

^[1] If using fresh yeast, 50 g is a good amount - proceed as follows: melt shortening, then heat milk till lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm milk-shortening mixture and add sugar, flour and egg (no waiting required). Otherwise as above.

Greek Meatloaf

I remembered this as an old favorite from the dorm days - a quick way to easily make food for a large group of people (and a crowd pleaser too) - but as I got into making it I realized I must never have actually made it myself before.. the details of how to proceed were just too hazy for me. Luckily Mrs. Throat-Erator stepped up to show me how it was done.

Ingredients:
- 2.5 dL (1 cup) parboiled rice
- 4 dL (1 2/3 cup) water
- salt
- 500 g (1 lb) ground beef
- 500 g (1 lb) ground lamb
- 2 eggs
- 2 dL (4/5 cup) milk
- pepper
- 1 medium white onion
- 220 g (8 oz) feta cheese
- 1 bunch parsley
- 3 cloves garlic
- 50 g (half stick) butter

The rice was boiled in the water with added salt the day before.

In a bowl, the cold rice was mixed with the ground meats, eggs, milk, salt and pepper.

In a separate bowl, the medium-finely chopped onion, finely chopped parsley, diced feta cheese, diced butter, and mashed garlic was mixed.
A little less than half the meat was placed in an oven-proof tray as a flat layer, then the parsley and feta filling was placed on top. At last the rest of the meat was used to make a lid and the meat loaf was baked in the oven at 200 C (400 F) for 1 hour.

Served with baked potatoes and tzatziki.