Gravlaxsosa The Real Deal Recipes

GRAVLAXSOSA (THE REAL DEAL)

Steps:

• In a 3 cup or larger bowl, whisk the 1st 8 ingredients to combine.
• Gradually add olive oil in a stream & whisk to combine well. Add salt & pepper to taste & refrigerate for 24 hrs to allow flavors to blend.
• NOTE: I use a wide-mouth jar w/screw-on lid + my immersion blender to make & store this in a single step.
• TO SERVE: Simplicity is the most-favored presentation - as a bruschetta-type appy where 1/2-in slices of baguette bread are spread w/cream cheese, topped w/very thinly sliced smoked salmon & then this sauce is spread over the salmon slices. A few tiny capers can be centered as an opt garnish.
• HINT: For never fail perfect slicing of smoked salmon, freeze the salmon to a near frozen state & use your sharpest knife to shave slices of desired thickness.

MARYLAND CRAB CAKES, THE REAL DEAL

Steps:

• Mix first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.
• CAREFULLY fold in crabmeat by hand into well blended ingredients, so as not to break up crab lumps.
• Add bread crumbs and, using hands, blend all ingredients -- still taking care to not break up lumps.
• Carefully form into 10 slightly flattened cakes.
• Refrigerate cakes several hours or overnight.
• Prepare by either frying in olive oil or butter, or broiling.
• Note: Frying in electric skillet in a little olive oil and butter for several minutes per side works very well for me.

BIG MAC SAUCE - THE REAL DEAL

Steps:

• Chop the garlic cloves roughly into about 4 pieces. In a small saucepan, combine the oil and garlic, and fry the garlic for 1-2 minutes in the oil. Be careful not to burn the garlic or let the oil smoke. The objective is to get the garlic flavor into the oil.
• Take the pan off the heat and remove the garlic pieces. Put the paprika into the oil and stir. Return to the heat for 1 minute until the oil is a deep red colour. Set the pan aside and allow it to cool.
• Finely dice the cup of pickles and a small onion. Place these into a new saucepan along with the sugar and the splash of vinegar from the dill pickle jar. Bring to the boil and simmer until the sugar just begins to stick to the pieces of pickle and onion. By this point, the onion should be softening but still have texture. Remove from the heat and allow to completely cool.
• Whilst waiting for the onions and pickles to cool, filter the paprika and garlic oil you made using a paper towel held over a cup, or a piece of cheesecloth. The filtered oil should be completely clear red and not contain any paprika powder. You will need 2-3 tablespoons of the filtered paprika oil.
• While you wait for everything to cool down, thoroughly clean a jar that can take about 3 cups of sauce.
• In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise and paprika oil with a whisk. The color should end up a light pink / orange. As the paprika oil combines with the mayonnaise it will turn darker after a few hours.
• Add the mustard and onion-pickle mix that you made earlier as well as salt which you can adjust to taste. Combine the ingredients with a whisk and place the mixture into the clean jar. Place into the refrigerator for at least one hour to allow the flavors to combine.

TORTA NEGRA COLOMBIANA -- COLOMBIAN BLACK CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375F/190C and grease/flour an 9" cake pan.
• Combine the red wine, butter, sugar, currants, walnuts, hazelnuts, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and cognac in a saucepan; bring to the boil.
• Boil for 3 minutes.
• Let mixture cool to room temperature.
• Next add the flour, the vanilla, and the baking soda that has been previously dissolved in a bit of warm water.
• Mix thoroughly and pour into a cake pan that has been buttered and floured.
• Bake for approximately 45 minutes.
• Turn the oven off and let the cake stand inside until it tests done.
• Remove from the oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

JULIA CHILD'S TRADITIONAL GRAVLAX

Steps:

• Trim the salmon fillet, cutting away any thin uneven edges and the thin end of the tail (which can be reserved for something else).
• Make sure all the pinbones are removed--run your fingers up the fillet; if you feel any bones, remove them with a tweezer or a needle-nosed plier.
• Cut the fillet in half crosswise so that you have two pieces of the same length and roughly the same width.
• Mix the salt and sugar together.
• Sprinkle half the mixture over each fillet and rub it in with your fingers.
• Place one fillet in a glass (or other non-reactive) baking dish big enough to hold it.
• Drizzle about two tablespoons of cognac over each half, rubbing it in with your fingers.
• Spread the dill over the salmon half in the baking dish.
• Lay the other half fillet on top (skin side up).
• Align the two halves.
• Cover closely with a sheet of plastic wrap.
• Place a board or pan on top of the fillets.
• Make sure it is resting on the fish and not on the sides of the baking dish.
• Weight the top with something heavy (a large can of tomatoes for example).
• Place in refrigerator.
• After one day of curing, remove weights and board and turn fillets over(so the top fillet is now on the bottom) and baste with the liquid that has accumulated in the dish.
• Replace weights and board and return to frig.
• On the second day, turn and baste again and slice off a tiny piece to taste.
• If it doesn't taste like it's getting there, add a little more salt and/or cognac on the fish.
• Return to the fridge.
• Cure for a third day, turn and baste again.
• On the fourth day, you can serve the gravlax.
• To serve, clean the dill away and wipe the fish dry with paper towels.
• Use a long thin-bladed slicing knife (sharpened) and start slicing a few inches from the narrow end of the fillet.
• Cut with a back and forth sawing motion toward the narrow end to remove a thin slice of fish.
• Start each succeeding slice a bit farther in from the narrow end; always cut at a flat angle to keep the slices as long and thin as possible.

CARNE ASADA - THE REAL DEAL

Steps:

• In a large ziploc bag, place beer, oregano (rub between palms to crush while adding), cumin, orange juice, sugar and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste, making it a bit on the salty side.
• Add red pepper flakes and achiote powder, if using. Achiote gives it a nice color and a subtle taste.
• Zip bag closed and shake or knead to blend all ingredients well.
• Add flank steak, zip closed and combine to saturate all sides of beef. Refrigerate at least one hour, turning and shaking bag from time to time.
• Drink rest of beer while meat is marinating.
• Place meat on hot grill, turning only once, about four minutes per side for medium well.
• When done to your liking, place meat on cutting board, let rest for a few minutes, then cut into small 1/2 inch pieces.
• Serve with warm corn and/or flour tortillas, guacamole, salsa and sour cream (or crema fresca). Beans and mexican rice on the side - see my recipe for the rice.

CHINESE FRIED RICE (THE REAL DEAL)

Steps:

• Prepare the jasmine rice. Combine 4 cups of jasmine rice and 4 cups of water in a rice cooker. Once the rice is cooled place in the refrigerator until chilled.
• Scramble eggs in seperate pan using whatever oil you normally cook eggs with. Make sure to fold the eggs over, so they can be cut into thin strips.
• Heat wok and 3-4 tablespoons of wok oil to medium heat.
• Saute the white onion until soft and partially transparent (usually takes me 3 minutes or so) along with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, frozen peas and/or carrots. ***If you opted for green onions skip this step and saute the peas/carrots in wok oil.***.
• Add the rice making sure to seperate the grains (with fingers) and mix with the vegetables. Add another 3 tablespoons of wok oil, sesame oil, egg strips, ginger, chicken stock, and sugar (green onions if you opted for these).
• Raise the heat to HIGH add soy sauce to desired darkness/taste and STIR-FRY. (I usually use anywhere from 1/2 to a full cup of soy)***it is crucial for the stove to be as hot as possible*****.
• Basically you are going to Stir-fry till all the liquids are dissolved and the fried rice has reached the dryness desired.
• While cooling salt to taste in order to enhance the flavor.