The Dogzilla

Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long since my last post! I'm going to try updating this blog more often.
For today's recipe I tried to create an asian/japanese inspired hot dog. And boy did it turn out well. I present you : The Dogzilla. The emperor of hot dogs! Deep fried tempura wieners, shiitake mushrooms and a tangy wasabi mayo.

Ingredients

- a big handful of shiitake mushrooms (if you don't find shiitake, replace them with any other mushroom)
- vegi sausage (frankfurter style)
- zest of halve a lemon
- 2 tbs of mayo
- wasabi
- cucumber
- soy sauce
- a couple of radishes
- 2 tbs of corn starch
- 5 tbs of plain flour
- 15 cl of icecold sparkling water
- 1 tbs of sesame seeds
- 1 soft bun (I used multi grain) 
- olive oil

Preparation (wasabi mayo)

Take 2 big spoons of mayo, add the fine zest of halve a lemon, and mix in some wasabi according to your own taste (watch out, this stuff is hot!). Set aside in the fridge.

Preparation (mushrooms)

Finely dice the mushrooms into small cubes (around 0.5 cm). Heat up a pan on medium heat, add olive oil, and throw in the mushrooms. Add a dash of soy sauce and black pepper. The mushrooms don't take long to cook (about 5 minutes). Set aside.

Preparation (tempura batter sausages)

Heat up your deep fryer to 180 degrees celcius.
Take 2 spoons of cornstarch and mix with the icecold sparkling water. Now add the flour and whisk until you get a glue like paste. If it's not thick enough, just add some flour. Add a tbs of sesame seeds. Dunk the sausages into the batter, be sure to cover them completely and straight into the deep fryer. It takes about 2 minutes for the sausages to fry.

Preparation (The Dogzilla)

Cover the two sides of the bun with the wasabi mayo. Add the deep fried sausages, cover with the mushrooms and add finely sliced radishes and cucumber. Oishī!

The Dogzilla

Music
Music by legendary japanese dj Krush,  known for his atmospheric instrumental production which incorporates sound elements from nature and extensive use of jazz and soul samples.  The song is from his collaboration with Toshinori Kondo, a well known trumpeter specialising in avant-garde

DJ Krush

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaYy-ldpIXc

Maple Mushroom Mountain

Hey everyone! This week we'll be making a grilled mushroom burger with a Canadian touch. I recommend using the portobello mushroom. It's big, juicy and full of flavour.

Ingredients

- 2 Portobello mushrooms ( or another big mushroom)
- 1 clove of garlic
- Port Salut cheese ( or another type of creamy, subtle flavoured cheese )
- Fresh thyme
- Avocado
- Tomato
- Red onion
- Maple Syrup
- Apple cider vinegar
- Alfalfa sprout
- Olive oil
- Black Pepper
- Coarse sea salt
- Tomato ketchup
- Hamburger bun

Preparation

Preheat your oven on 200 °C. Finely slice the clove of garlic. Remove the stems from the mushrooms. Mix garlic with 4 tbl spoons of olive oil. Put the mushrooms in a baking tray with the side of the stem facing up. Cover them with the oil-garlic mixture. Drizzle some maple syrup and vinegar over the mushrooms, scatter thyme leaves, add salt and pepper. Put the mushrooms in the oven, and depending on your oven it should take about 15-20 minutes to cook the mushrooms until they are done.
Cut the hamburger bun in 2 equal parts. Cover the bottom part with alfalfa sprouts, add the mushroom, slices of cheese, ketchup, some avocado, red onion rings, a slice of tomato and the top part of the bun.

Maple Mushroom Mountain

Music

This week's music is by Canadian singer-songwriter Feist. While being a solo artist she is also a member of the band Broken Social Scene. The song is How Come You Never Go There from her fourth album Metals.

Feist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLj5FA0Dbks

Caesar's Sandwich

Hey everyone, it's been some time since my last post, but we're back with a delicious vegetarian spin on a classic recipe: The Caesar salad with chicken. The salad's creation is generally attributed to restaurateur Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant who operated restaurants in Mexico and the United States. In my version of the dish, I replaced the croutons with crunchy ciabatta bread, and to add some more crunch I added Parmezan crisp. 

Some of the ingredients

Ingredients

- 1 egg
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tbs of lemonjuice
- 1/2 tbs of mustard
- 7 cl peanut oil
- cayenne pepper
- black pepper
- salt
- roman salad
- 1 eschalot
- Parmegiano Reggiano ( Parmezan         cheese )
- ciabatta
- Quorn filet ( or another type of meat replacement)
- marinade ( olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, salt, black pepper, oregano, cayenne pepper )


Preparation ( Caesar dressing )

Put the egg yolk in a bowl. ( we don't use the egg white ). Peel the garlic clove and cut it into small pieces. Add to the egg yolk. Now add the lemon juice and the mustard. Mix it with a whisk. Now gently add a little bit of the peanut oil while you keep whisking. You need to give the egg yolk some time to absorb the oil. If you add too much oil at once the emulsion will part. Keep adding the oil until you have a nice, smooth dressing. Add cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt and a tablespoon of grated Parmezan cheese. Let it cool in the fridge.

Preparation ( Parmezan crisp )

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius. Put a piece of baking paper on a baking tray and make some circles with grated parmezan ( about 10 cm diameter ). Bake the cheese until golden brown, remove from oven and let them cool down.

Preparation ( Caesar's Sandwich )

Put the ingredients for the marinade in a plastic bag, add the filet and let it marinade for at least 2 hours. 
Rip the leaves from the salad ( I used the small leaves at the center because they tend to be the most crunchy ), and wash under cool water. Cut a piece from the ciabatta, cover the top side with some olive oil and put under a grill until crispy. Heat up some olive oil in a pan and fry the Quorn filet. When the filet is done, cut it up in slices. Cut the ciabatta in half, add some salad leaves, and cover with the dressing. Now add the slices of fried filet and some slices of eschalot. Top with the parmezan crisp, and close with the other half of the ciabatta.

Caesar's Sandwich

Music

A song by the " The King of Cool ". American singer, actor, comedian and allround cool cat Dean Martin. Born in America to Italian parents, he's a perfect match with the Caesar's Sandwich. See you next time and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz2cZx118P0

The French Connection

Hey everyone! For today's recipe I'm combining two classic French dishes with bread : The mushroom toast and the baguette with Brie and honey. On y va!

Ingredients

Ingredients
- Brie de Meaux
- French bread
- white mushrooms ( champignon de Paris )
- 2 eschalots
- 1/2 glass white wine
- 1 tbs honey
- fresh parsley
- a handful of walnuts
- olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- coarse sea salt
- black pepper





Preparation

Finely slice the eschalots in rings. Heat up some oil in a pan and cook the onions. Add a tbs of honey and let the eschalots caramelise. When they start to turn brown take them of the fire. Put a piece of baking paper on a baking tray and put the eschalots under a grill until they are crispy.

In the meantime cut the mushrooms in slices and chop the clove of garlic, the parsley and the walnuts. Heat up some oil and cook the mushrooms. Make sure your oil is hot enough and leave the mushrooms. They need to colour, so don't be to quick to turn them over. Add the white wine and let all the fluid cook out. Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped parsley.

Cut the bread in two parts, add slices of Brie, top with the mushrooms, walnuts and honey glazed onions.

The French Connection

Music

Chainsmoker, womaniser and musical innovator : Serge Gainsbourg. The song is from the filmscore of the movie " Cannabis ", composed by Serge Gainsbourg with the help of arranger Jean Claude Vannier with whom Gainsbourg would again collaborate the following year on  "Histoire de Melody Nelson". Bon appétit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gGXZ_wo9lg

Neapolitan Breakfast Bomb

Today's dish is made with some typical Neapolitan ingredients. The Neapolitan cuisine was influenced by the different cultures that controlled Naples. Some ingredients used in this recipe are very typical for the region. We're going to make a fresh, raw zucchini salad which works extremely well with the hearty, smokey flavour of the scamorza and the eggs. 
This is some excellent hangover food : quick, easy and greasy. ( Your liver probably won't think the same about it.)

Some ingredients

Ingredients

- 4 eggs
- scamorza ( smoked mozzarella, you can find this at an Italian delicacy store )
- fresh basil
- 1/2 zucchini
- ciabatta bread
- seasalt
- black pepper
- juice from 1 lime
- finely chopped fresh parsley
- extra virgin olive oil



Preparation

Finely shred the zucchini ( I used a cheese grater ), and toss it in a bowl together with the lime juice, parsley and season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Whisk the eggs, season with salt and pepper. Finely slice the basil ( julienne ). Heat up a tsp of oil in a non-stick pan and add half of the eggs and half of the basil. When the omelet is done, do the same with the rest of the eggs and basil. 
Grill the ciabatta until crispy. Cut it in half. Cover the bottom half of the ciabatta with the zucchini salad, add the basil omelettes, and end with the scamorza.

Neapolitan Breakfast Bomb

Music

Some fine relaxing music this week to get over that hangover. Harlem River Drive by American jazz flautist Bobbi Humphrey. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oxrWgmWmG4

Beginner's Falafel

Happy World Vegetarian Day! A perfect day to post a classic vegetarian recipe. Probably one of the oldest replacements for meat. Today's recipe is a homemade falafel with a spicy dill and yoghurt dressing. 

Some of the ingredients

Ingredients ( Falafel )
-400 gr chick peas ( I used canned ones, if you use dried ones you need to soak them overnight )
- 3 spring onions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tbs chopped parsley
- 1 tbs chopped coriander
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 50 gr white bread crumbs
- flour
- 2 tbs sesame seeds
- peanut oil for frying
- pita bread
- lettuce
- tomato
- red onion
( You can make 3 big falafel's with these ingredients )

Ingredients ( dressing )
- 125 gr Greek yoghurt
- 1 tbs chopped dill
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 chili pepper


Preparation ( Spicy Dill & Yoghurt Dressing )

Add the yoghurt to a bowl. Finely chop up 1 clove of garlic and the chili pepper ( if you don't like it too spicy remove the seeds). Add the dill, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper to the yoghurt. Put it in the fridge until needed.

Preparation ( Falafel )  

Finely chop the spring onions, crush 1 clove of garlic and add all the rest of the ingredients ( except sesame seeds and flour ) to a food processor. Add a little bit of water and mix it. If the mixture is to dry add some water. Roll balls with a handful of the mixture, and then flatten them so they have a hamburgerlike shape. Dip in the sesame seeds and flour. Fry in hot oil until crispy. 
Put the pita bread in the oven, cut it open and add the falafel. Top it with the dressing, onion rings, tomato and lettuce.

Beginner's Falafel

Music

This week's music is by one of my favourite contemporary electronic producers : Flying Lotus. The song Beginner's Falafel inspired me to do this easy falafel recipe. The song is from his first full album : "Los Angeles". Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBvOKbXEXJk

A Fistful of Eggplant Parm

Hey everyone! Last week I didn't find the time to make some scrumptious dish, so this week I'm  trying to make up for that with a sandwich that could feed a whole family. The Italian/American classic : " Eggplant Parmesan "

Some ingredients

Ingredients

- 6 Roma tomatoes

- 2 eggplants

- 1 eschalot

- 2 bayleaves

- a handfull of chopped basil

- thyme

- oregano

- 3 cloves of garlic ( I used smoked garlic )

- marjoram

- rosemary

- parsley

- Parmigiano Reggiano

- buffalo milk mozzarella

- 3 slices of Provolone cheese

- rocket salad

- panko or breadcrumbs (panko tends to be crispier)

- baguette

- 3 eggs

- plain flour

- 1 tbs of sugar

- rock salt

- black pepper

Preparation ( tomato sauce )

Boil water in a pot. While you wait for the water to boil you can start by finely slicing the eschalots and 1 clove of garlic. Cut a cross in the top of the tomatoes and drop them in the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Peel the tomatoes, remove the seeds an cut into small dices. Heat up oil in a pot and cook the eschalots and the garlic for about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, bayleaves, thyme, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, sugar and the chopped basil. Turn down the heat and leave it to simmer for at least 40 minutes. In the end add salt and pepper.

Preparation ( deep fried eggplant )

Start by whisking the 3 eggs in a bowl. Add flour on a plate. Finely slice the parsley, and mix it with the panko on a plate. Cut the eggplant in slices ( about 0.5 cm thick ). Heat up your fryer ( 130 degrees Celsius ) and add 2 cloves of crushed garlic to the oil. Flour the eggplant slice on each side, dip in the eggs and finally put the slice in the panko until each side is covered. Now repeat with all the slices. Deepfry the eggplant until golden brown and put them on some kitchen paper. 

Preparation ( A Fistful of Eggplant Parm )

Cut the baguette in 2 pieces ( put it under a grill first to make it more crispy ). Now the following part is how I assembled my sandwich but you can do it any way you like. 
Cover the bottom part with some tomato sauce
add parmesan
slices of eggplant
tomato sauce
parmesan
provolone cheese
slices of eggplant 
tomato sauce
parmesan
buffalo milk mozzarella. 
Put under a grill, and let the cheese melt. At the end put some rocket salad on the mozzarella and put on the top half of the baguette.

A Fistfull of Eggplant Parm

Music
The music that I chose for this dish was the result of the perfect marriage between Italian and American cinema. The Spaghetti Western. Made famous by Italian director Sergio Leone and composer Ennio Morricone. This is probably the most famous song by Ennio Morricone. Enjoy!

Ennio Morricone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6BQKFs3-VM