Guinness Tasting

Yeah, I conducted my own guinness tasting. After visiting the brewery and learning about what makes Guinness Guinness, I decided to try all three beers and see which one I like best. So the following are my tasting notes:

Guinness Draught (The one you find in bars all over the U.S.) In the picture this is the can all the way to the right:

This one is obviously what started it for me and was the one that got me hooked on the beer in the first place. However When I drink this one I taste notes of Creamy Chocolate. Very smooth as it goes down, definitely does have a bite to it, but rather makes you want to bite it back because it is so thick. The taste of roasted barley is what is noted the most i think. However if you have never tasted roasted barley you wouldn't know what to call it, the best you could really say is that it has a dark taste. That dark taste is the roasted barley, in my opinion. It affects the back two sides of my tongue when I take a drink, that is the point that it tends to linger on once it hits my tongue. Overall though it is a very good filling beer, definitely the kind that I recommend you order when out with some friends in a casual manner and you are looking to hang out and talk.

Guinness Extra Stout (Bottle in the Middle with the cream colored label):

Crispy is the first thing that comes to mind when I take a drink. Lighter then the original has a very crisp bite to it. Still manages to have that typical choco taste which I am starting to believe is part of the signature taste that a Guinness beer is going to have. Yet very nice, maybe not the kind of thing I would order on a cold day or at night but definitely something I would reach for on a hotter day.

Guinness Foreign Extra (Yellow label, all the way to the right):

This one is typical sold in the Caribbean, where the journey takes longer to finally reach it's destination. The are more hops in this select beer and they definitely are present in the taste. My first taste led me to think; Darker (WOW!)

I was not expecting that. A lot stronger, has more of a bite then the original Draught but still has that typical signature guinness taste lingering in the background. Much richer yet the balance of sweet and bitter is pretty good. It is definitely noticed but doesn't give the sense that it is to bitter or to sweet. In fact the sweetness is done really well with this beer, yet takes a little time to pick up on. Where the previous two are about 4.7% alcohol this one is at 7.5% and definitely shows. Maybe I wouldn't order this one all the time but definitely for special occasions with people and possibly paired with a heavier steak would be quite nice, something with a lot of pepper and spices to it.

Tri Colored Chicken Cacciotore

The Pasta, I must confess was not made by me although I plan on starting my experimentation with colored pasta soon. When I was asking about what is used for the coloring, some common responses that I would get were, obviously tomato juice to make the pasta red and Spinach juice to make the pasta green. Although to make the pasta black I got several answers that referred me to Squid ink. Though that was the only answer I got I'm sure that I could use really any kind of vegetable that would give me a black liquid because it doesn't really add much of a taste to the pasta but rather, simply a color. This pasta though that I made turned out really good. I also have been starting to realize what pasta noodles go with what kind of sauces. For example this sauce was particularly thicker and obviously had chicken in it, therefore it needed something more substantial then just spaghetti noodles. Therefore I used bow-tie pasta noodles or another one that would have been good would be simple tagliatelle pasta. Both of these types are thicker and give me to the sauce and the chicken which is obviously the main focus in this dish.

Beef Vegetable stir fry

Kind of like a stir fry, except that I was really using whatever I had. Seeing as how I don't have any really sauces or oil's to use I improvised with Lime juice, Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce and various other spices. The vegetables were eggplant, onion, Green Bell Pepper, Yellow Bell Pepper and the of course left over beef from the night before. Oh, I also put in some basil to but I didn't do it right and didn't stand out very well.

some random dutch cheese

So while I was walking through Dutchieland, I came across a cheese stand by a bunch of other food stands. Specifically I was in Amsterdam, anyway I had no clue what kind of cheese this would be and it was really cheap. The guy said he made alot of it, so i figured I would try it. I thought it would be a lighter cheese but got a completely different taste. The cheese is sharp like a cheddar and almost has the same consistency. Though it has a strong taste that I cannot figure out whether it is from goats milk or sheeps milk. I think it is leaning more towards goats milk, it had a rather sharp taste to it. However it melts well, and goes really good with eggs.

Meat it's whats for dinner!

Although, that doesn't mean that it has to be a boring tasteless meat. I have been experimenting with flavoring meats by stuffing them and then wrapping them up with some string. This one I specifically used a mixture of sauteed onion, garlic, salt& pepper, blue cheese, and rosemary. Put it all together then make some cuts in the meat, I recommend go deep so as to reach more of the meat rather then just the top. The rest of the dish were things that Complimented the meat but didn't take the attention away. Tomato is a great companion, it brings a nice salty, juicy texture to the meal. Green Bell Pepper is fresh, crispy and adds a nice crisp taste when put together. The basil leaf though small holds its own, even with this beef. The bread is obviously there to help soak up the tasty juices that come from every other part of the meal.

Chicken Parmigiana (minus the cheese)

Such an amazing dish. Though it is very simple and very common in restaurant's allover, there is just always this extra factor when it is made well and made in the house. Everything down to the last detail was carefully thought through and brought together in the end to perfect this dish. The noodles made by hand add a nice touch of substance to the dish that cannot be found with normal store bought noodles. The sauce, though it is very simple was the perfect touch because it does not take away from the flavor of the chicken. The breading on the chicken is toasted breaded crumbs mixed with a variety of spices. Rather then using just bread crumbs adding the extra spices brings that flavor to the meal that you cannot quite figure out, and keeps you thinking about it until you finally give up and enjoy the combination of flavors. This definitely is one for the menu.

Mushroom Risotto

Oh man I really got the technique down, this risotto came out perfectly. The rice was cooked well and there was a good amount of mushrooms to cheese to cream. The tomato is in there because I like it as a simple compliment to the risotto. It adds a good juicy texture to the rice that keeps things from getting overwhelming. I it makes me wonder about some type of tomato risotto?

Baked Lime Chicken with rosemary and creamed spinach

This was just a random put together whatever is in the fridge dinner. The other items listed are simply sliced avocado and mushrooms that were simmered in a chardonnay. The creamed spinach this time was pretty good except that I could have gone a little less on the cream, but it's getting there. The chicken actually turned out really good. I rubbed it down right before I put it in the oven with BBQ sauce, lime juice and threw some rosemary on it.

Baked Blue Cheese Chicken Roulade with Creamed Spinach & Tomato

I took the idea of the chicken roulade that I have been doing and figured out how to get the result that I have been looking for. I wanted to do a breaded chicken roulade however frying it in the pan turned out to be more of a hassle then I really wanted, and the result wasn't even there. But baking gives the perfect end result with none of the mess. I wasn't sure about the blue cheese with the chicken but figured I would try it anyway. The blue cheese that I have been getting here is different though from Point Reyes Blue cheese back in California. Their's is a lot stronger and at times or for some people is to strong. The blue cheese that I get here is mainly coming from Denmark. It is equally as tasty as the blue cheese from point reyes, but without the overwhelming strength. I have had two different blue cheeses from Denmark and both have been pleasantly surprising. They have a strong smell leading to an expected strong taste but instead giving a nice creamy taste, with a good finish. When rolled in the chicken it was also surprisingly good, the two paired quite well. i could see that if the cheese was to strong it would not pair well with the chicken but this blue was very nice. For the breading I couldn't support enough using crushed corn flakes. I think it makes a really good breading that is very easy. This particular breading I also added some paprika and kebab seasoning, which gave it a nice spice. The sliced tomato is something I have always been fond of no matter what I eat, I always like having a couple slices of tomato. The creamed spinach is coming along, I haven't quite figured out how much cheese to flour to cream to use but this time i definitely did not use enough spinach and to much flour. But it also went well with the chicken.

Chicken Roulade over Creamed Spinach and Paprika Potatoes

This was the main course of a 5 course meal that I prepared for a friend. To start off we had a simple cheese and crostini plate with Aged Pecorino cheese, Tomato/ Basil cheese and a Pesto cheese. Then for the first plate there was a green and red bell pepper tagliatelle cream pasta. For the main course was obviously what we see here in the picture. It is a rolled chicken breast stuffed with mozzarella, basil and tomato on top of some creamed spinach and some paprika potatoes. The potatoes were boiled then cooked the rest of the way in a sauce that I made out of butter, chicken stock and paprika. Great way to get the potatoes to take in the flavor. The dinner was finished off with a parfait of vanilla yogurt, honey, pineapple, pomegranate, banana, kiwi and granola. The entire meal was pleasantly paired with a bottle of 2008 Rueda wine from Spain.

SOOOOOOOOOOO good Breakfast Sandwich

It was a quickly put together sandwich because I didn't have much time and ended cutting my finger pretty bad, but it was all worth it. Fried egg, Spinach, sauteed onions, tomato, mustard & mayo and cheese. It was just to perfect.

Tiki Boat

I call this a tiki boat, because to me it looks like a little boat with people on it, some really cool, sophisticated, ornate paddle on the back, and the banana at the back of the boat that is holding the lingon berry is like the torch. The rest of the fruit I used was, obviously pineapple, kiwi and banana.

Jamaica's own twice Baked Potato and Creamed Spinach

This turned out amazing! Sooo incredibly good. The potato I put in red & green bell peppers with onion, garlic and chicken. Mixed it all around with the potato insides. The creamed spinach which turned out more like cheesy spinach , but still good. This was totally a perfect combination and a great meal. I couldn't say more. So good I had to put up two pictures. Yes, I know it looks like there is a lot of oil but it is mostly the juice from the spinach, so it's not bad.

Another cheese tastng

I saw these two cheeses at the cheese shop downtown and new they would be interesting to try. The red is a cows milk with tomato and garlic. Really great taste, I was surprised at how flavorful the cheese was. At first it seemed like it would be a bit waxy. But when I really tasted it, it was very thick with a great taste of tomato. The green one is a pesto cheese, basil cheese. This one was the same, very rich in flavor definitely not simple died with the colored water from the vegetables but really had great flavors to both of them.

amazing spaghetti

SOooo good, this turned out so much better then I had planned. I did a simple marinara sauce but also added some dried porcini mushrooms and let it simmer down, while a made the pasta. The bread has some great cheese on it. I picked it up from a cheese store that just opened up downtown, it is a tomato basil cheese. I believe it is a cows milk cheese but definitely is really good. It has a really thick rich tomato flavor. It was not simple dyed with coloring but actually dyed with the tomato juice. Turned out really well.

Corn Flake Fried Chicken with Carrot Rice and Roasted Dill Potatoes

I have done it before breading chicken with corn flakes but usually bake it. This time I fried it and because I used a quarter leg I think it would be better to bake and try just frying the breast of legs with a corn flake breading. The rice was really good with the carrots in it. There wasn't an over bearing carrot flavor to it at all. Dill always goes well with potatoes.

Chicken Roulade

I know they are small but I'm still only feeding just me for right now. The chicken is stuffed with Mozzarella di Buffala cheese and fresh basil leaves. One piece I also added tomato to and the other I used red bell pepper. The cheese was so good, it did not over power the meal in any way. I actually heard mention of using this kind of cheese with chicken and kind of went from there. It melts well and offers a really good taste, I can only imagine how much better the dish would get with even better mozzarella. I used a low quality cheese in this case and it still came out surprisingly well and had a good taste. The Basil, tomato and red bell pepper were all good choices as well. Of course I didn't really have much to put with the chicken so I made rice. Why? Because rice goes with everything! But I think that what would be a good pairing is the chicken then some potatoes that i have been cooked and simmered in a red wine reduction. For presentation I think that fingerling potatoes would work really well.

Shrimp Risotto

Finally I made my first seafood risotto. I have been wanting to for a while but just never really got around to it. This first picture is obviously while it is still cooking in the pan, I thought a shrimp head would be a nice touch to show that I was using fresh shrimp, not frozen. The following picture is the finale. The dish turned out so well. The flavor was really good. I couldn't not complain at all. There was a good shrimp taste, not over the top but noticeable. I guess the only thing I think would be that I should have more shrimps, but I ran out so oh well. The potatoes were a perfect side with the dish as well, I fried them a bit in the pan and tossed them with a sour cream pesto blend that I made. But definitely a success. I really cannot stop with this dish it was sooo good.

Lemon and Basil Garlic sauteed Shrimp Pasta

I stopped by the fish cart today that is at the market on Wednesdays and ended up walking away with shrimp. I have done this dish in the past but with the small little baby shrimp, these were whole bigger shrimp. Whenever I have cooked tiger prawns on the grill I leave there skin and heads on, so I tried the same thing here, realizing that I probably shouldn't have. So half way through cooking the shrimp errrrr actually when they were pretty much done I had to take them out and take the skins and heads off. However in the end once I tossed the pasta with the shrimp saute it turned out really well. There was a good lemon taste to the dish that was not over bearing. The small bits of white cheese are simply cut up Pecorino cheese that I added at the end. The bread is a simply covered with some Balsamic and Sliced tomato, which went with the meal really well.

The Actual Full Dinner

So it was a group of people that said to me, "rice goes with everything, if your not sure what else to have with it, just make rice." It is so true. Seeing as how I am not quite sure what to put with the chicken I ended up using rice. Then I took the leftover vegetable from the sauce and put them over the rice, sparing the sauce. Such a good meal. The flavors all seemed to meld together and nothing opposed the other at all.

Cilantro & Cheese stuffed Chicken with a Vegetable & Chanterelle Mushroom Cream Sauce

So this dish took inspiration from a number of people. Namely, Elaine, Marcy and David. I have never done a stuffed chicken roll before but have eaten it on two seperate occasions with Marcy & Elaine. Recently I had seen an episode on TV where someone made a cheese stuffed chicken that looked really good and suddenly a light bulb turned on in my head. From there I knew I wanted to try it and had the cheese in my fridge. I used a very common Swedish cheese that is similar to Jack but is alot sharper, has more of a bite. I wanted more but the only other thing I had in my fridge was Cilantro so I went ahead and added that. The only problem that I had left was the sauce. In my head the dish wasn't complete without a sauce and something else to eat with the chicken. So I decided to finally use a recipe for a sauce that I got from a friend, David. He used it before when the two of us collaborated on a dinner one night. His sauce was really good, but was primarily a mushroom based one. I unfortunately do not exactly have access to the same ingredients that he had so I had to alter the sauce a bit. I ended up adding carrots to the dish and used a chicken stock that i had made earlier in the day, that was also really good. As a pairing the two are phenomenal. Great combination. I really got inspired to try more things with chicken in terms of stuffing it, I think it is such a good concept for those times when all you have is chicken but you want to try something new.

Pecorino Cheese!!!

The wheel of Pecorino Cheese that I was able to bring back to Sweden from my visit in Italy. Soo incredibly happy, I picked it up in a small town outside of Siena, with a good price of merely 12 euros. It is a longer aged pecorino and has a really good strong taste.

Salmon Pesto Taglietelle

Last night there something in the air and I decided to make a three course dinner. It turned out really well. Starting off with two seperate kinds of brie cheeses and toasted breads for the appetizer. Then moved onto a cheese risotto similar to the one I made earlier. Followed by this dish, a Salmon Pesto pasta and finishing with more chocolate covered peanuts. This pasta was the high light though for my night. It is not used with a typical pesto sauce.

I went to the store and for the first time there was a truck vendor outside the store selling fish. He was a local fisherman and was trying out this new spot out in front of the store. His product was really good, and surprisingly cheap. Happened to be the best price I have seen for fish in Sweden so far. He said it is because he does it all himself and that he lives locally is how he can keep the prices down. Anyway, by pan frying the salmon with some Dill, salt & pepper and Lemon I then seperated the cooked salmon and tossed it in with the pesto sauce mix. The mix is actually a bag of dried Pesto sauce herbs that I picked up in Italy, it said to also mix the herbs with some sour cream however I didn't have any. But simply sauteeing the mixture with some olive oil then tossing it with the same and then the noodles turned out really well. It still had a really good taste to it, and turned out to be lighter then a typical pesto sauce.

Breakfast Open Faced

Taking a spin off my typical breakfast sandwich, I decided that I could very well just eat it with one piece of bread instead of two. So I just piled everything onto one slice of bread. I do like it this way especially if I use a fried egg then break the yolk over the bread. On top of the sandwich are some Chanterelle mushrooms as well.

Dark Chocolate covered banana & peanut bark

Why? Because I can! hahaha, I'm not really sure why it came up but I wanted some kind of a desert and had to use up the rest of the cream that I had in my fridge so I decided to melt down more of the dark chocolate that I had and this is what came out. SOOooooo good.

Balsamic Marinated Cilantro Meatball Sandwich

These are the meatballs that I just talked about in the previous entry. The sat overnight and through the morning. The first important part of this is having two good thick pieces of bread to soak up the sauce that you use yet not get to soggy. I pan fried the meatballs and also made a simple marinara sauce that simmered for about 45 minutes. The cheese is the same Swedish cheese that I have been using, that I STILL don't know what the name is, but it honestly is a really good melting cheese. The sandwich was better eaten, open face style. The meatballs were reallly good, the balsamic vinegar definitely made them a lot juicy and moist which was apparent when you ate them by themselves or in the sandwich. I think some of the things that would have made this sandwich even better would have been more sauce, unfortunately I didn't add enough tomato sauce at the beginning. Also simply adding an egg to the meatball mixture from the beginning would have been good. I didn't simply because I didn't have any eggs to use at the time. But in the past I have done it and really see the difference, the meat holds together a lot better. Another really good sandwich though int he end.

Second Batch of Meatballs round #2

I made these after dinner with the rest of the meat. However this one I took out the dried ingredients and simply had; Garlic, onion, salt & pepper, cilantro and then Balsamic Vinegar, then put them in the fridge, added more balsamic and will let them set and soak in the Balsamic over night. We will see how they turn out tommorow!

Home made meatballs

So I was going to eat the same typical thing I usually do, with the rice and then vegetables on top, but remembered that I had ground beef. So after thawing it out I decided to make meatballs, and the rest just fell into place. I wish I had a food processor, BUT I don't soooo typically I would have just put this all in the processor but instead just mixed it by hand. Ground Beef, Paprika, Salt & Pepper, Cilantro, Garlic, Onion and a season blend that I picked up in Italy that containing, all dried, tomato, garlic, salt, basil, chillies, chive and celery. Then I just fried the meat balls in a pan. They turned out really good, definitely would have been better if put in a processor though. The chillies in the blend really stuck out and added a good heat to the dish amongst the other things that I had as well. There were also sauteed carrots, onions, yellow bell pepper and potato, with some melted cheese.

Blue Cheese Breakfast

I have been waiting to do this for a few days now. I guess I could call this a blue cheese scramble served open face with Paprika potatoes, banana and a side of sweet mustard. It actually turned out really well. The blue cheese and egg was a good idea. When being served on the bread though it was a bit dry, so by adding the mustard it gave it a good balance, if anything I could have added more blue cheese to the eggs.

Yellow bell pepper and chanterelle mushroom tagliatelle pasta

This turned out so good. The pasta cooks really quick and blended with the vegetables well. The bell peppers and mushrooms were simply sauteed with some salt & pepper to bring out their own juices to add to the mix, along with a bit of cream to help give the pasta some creaminess. Turned out so good, awesome plate for lunch.

First time hand made tagliatelle

Since I bought my machine and came back from Italy this is the first time I have made fresh tagliatelle pasta. It is so easy and fun, and the best part is that it really doesn't take that long. Obviously I had to get creative therefore I'm using s piece of string from a sweater to hang it on. But yeah, totally cool.

3 Country Risotto

My first Risotto I have both ever made and eaten. Honestly, I have never had risotto in my life, though have been wanting to try it for a long time. The problem has always been that when I have the chance to order it I always go for something else. Anyway, This Risotto was amazing for my first time making it and not even knowing what it is supposed to taste like. Realizing that I can make this at this quality from nothing really was a big confidence booster, for some reason I was always a bit intimidated by making it. Know after making I realize where I can do better and make an even better risotto. This one was a simple cheese risotto with porcini mushrooms, however the mushrooms were dried, but turned out good in the end. The reason I named this dish 3 country Risotto is because I used 3 different cheeses from 3 different european countries. I used aged Pecorino Cheese from Florence, Italy, Gouda Cheese from Holland and Vaslerbotten cheese from Malmo, Sweden. The Pecorino being a stronger, bit harder cheese mixed very well with the creamier lighter tasting Gouda and Vaslerbotten. To be honest I was just kind of working with what I had. I still have about 6 different cheeses in my fridge however I knew I could not mix certain ones and came to the decision of these three cheeses which turned out to blend very well. Definitely a rich, creamy dish and is one of those things that I think would be a great starter dish in a restaurant served definitely served in a smaller portion then what I have depicted above.

Spaghetti a la Bolognese

After my return from Italy what is the first thing I do? MAKE THE SAUCE THAT I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT FOREVER! hahaha

I finally got it, and man did it turn out sooo good. I used so pecorino cheese slices since I don't have a grater. The best pasta... by far.

Something else that I was reminded of while I was in Italy was the simplicity in cooking. Italian cooking is known as one of those styles of cooking that everyone loves and all have there own version of. The funny thing is that as much as others try to duplicate it they keep getting farther and farther away from the simplicity behind it. I had a couple really good conversation of food, while eating food, with several people from around the world and several other italians. We were talking about the differences in cooking and how each of us usually make our food. I realized when eating the food that was made by the italian lady that everything was so simple. She told me that for most sauces the most important thing is the amount of time it's cooking. As obvious as it is and as many times as i have heard that it finally clicked in my head.

This will definitely be one of my main starters for my restaurant; simple, good and recognizable.

Pasta Pomodoro with Pecorino

As simple as it is This is actually

my first time making a simple pasta pomodoro. It is really as simple as it looks, My special touch was a saute of onions before and pecorino cheese shavings rather then grated Parmesan Reggiano. I don't have a grater or Parmesan cheese and I love Pecorino cheese and think it can be used as a perfect substitute. The fresh basil always adds a nice touch. Great lunch.

Cheese experimentation

So when I was in Copenhagen I had the perfect opportunity to pick up quite a lot of different cheeses in small amounts. I was very excited and even more excited to get to this point. Starting from the long skinny piece of cheese that is nearest to my camera lens and going clockwise: Pecorino Cheese from Italy, Blue Cheese whereabouts unknown, Camembert from Normandy, France, Coeur d'helene fromage au lait de vache pasteurise, translation ( heart of helene from pasteurized cow's milk), another camembert style obviously coming from France, Petit Tourtain, a camembert style which also comes from France, Fromage le Coq de bruyere, which is also a camembert style coming from France, Gouda cheese from Holland, and lastly a French Brie called "le rustique Jean Verrier. I obviously paired each of the cheeses by themsleves as well with the items I have in the middle of the plate, which are the olive, sun dried tomato and feta cheese mixture I picked up and some peppered salami. First the Pecorino, this one was already my favorite as I love Pecorino cheeses. Here are my notes, like a typical Pecorino it has a nice mealy fulfilling taste, great by itself, paired with wine or with really anything else you try. The salami and pecorino offered a great taste together and made a nice mixture with both the green olives and feta cheese. Next is the Blue Cheese, this one I was a little worried about because I could smell it the rest of the day after I purchased it, even though it was wrapped up. On the train it stunk up the whole cart we were in. However when I took my first bite I was extremely surprised. Creamy, not to powerfully overwhelming, definitely one of the best blue's I have ever had. However when it comes to pairing things didn't turn out to well, it did not pair well with the salami. The green olive and sun dried tomato it was ok. The Normandy Camembert is next, which right off the bat was a little thick to the touch, creamy in the mouth. A light mold taste that was good however it smelled heavily of mold and the after taste almost hit you with a bit of a mold taste as well. When it was paired with the salami it was pretty good, a nice creaminess and paired really well with the sun dried tomato. Next is Helene's cow milk cheese, it had a thick, sturdy body to the touch, no mold smell but there was a bit of a foot smell. Taste is great, very light, there was a bit of mold in the taste as well, but also light. When paired with the salami it was good, I really could taste the pepper in the meat. Did not pair well with the either of the olives and when paired with the tomato I got mostly a mold taste. The Petit Tourtain is next, to the eye it had a light orange outside and very light mold smell. Creamy though with a small sourness, light mold and the feeling was a bit squishy to the touch. When paired with the olives it wasn't all that great and the salami seemed to be ok. Next is the Chicken camembert, I call it this because there is a picture of a chicken on the box. It had as well a small mold smell and moldy taste a little intense in the after taste though. The salami proved to be interesting, I got an odd mixture of mold and meat taste and didn't pair well with the olives. The Dutch gouda was really good, creamy, definitely a nice gouda cheese. It paired really well with everything, the meat was a great combination. The sun dried tomato made for a great sweet creamy combination and the black olive taste great with the cheese. The Brie had a very intense taste like broccoli, but good, a little bit of a mold taste to it. When paired with the meat it actually went well, the mold and pepper blended nicely however not so good with the black olive or with sun dried tomato.

I definitely enjoyed this one and as I was going through it some other things that I knew would have been good to pair with them as well was honey, apples and bell pepper and obviously basil. Those are some other things that I will try with them later.

Baklava and Ice Cream

I picked up this Baklava in Copenhagen at the specialty market that was there. I love Baklava, but normally have it with tea. So this time I thought to try it with some ice cream. It's actually not to bad, I think just plain vanilla ice cream is not the right choice of flavor to pair with it, but as far as ice cream goes I think it cold work well if the right flavor was found.

Greek scramble

I went to Copenhagen the other day and there was a specialty farmers market. So I picked up a lot of different things there, mainly cheese, they had such great cheeses for sooo cheap!

But one of the booths were selling a variety of greek products. One of them was this mixture of feta cheese, Kalamata olives, green olives and sun dried tomatoes with olive oil and an herb mixture.

So I bought a small amount of the mixture to take home later. The following morning I mixed it in with some eggs, and it was just amazing. The flavors were great and the taste was sooo good. I have never had olives in an omelette before and must say it is soo good. The feta cheese and sundried tomatoes I already knew would be good. But yeah the next picture is the breakfast and it was really good, I only wish I could have eaten more. But I'm not worried there will be plenty other mornings. With the eggs I also fried up some potatoes & onions with paprika, salt & pepper. Obviously from the picture I am still eating apples left from when I went to go pick them.

Dark Apple Tower

Ok same thing pretty much as the last apple ice cream dessert however with chopped up dark chocolate shavings. I wanted chocolate syrup, didn't have it, so I just chopped up a bit of a chocolate bar. It was soooo good. This definitely was a good idea, and worked very well with each other. The fact that I used dark chocolate made me a bit worried however once I tried it together I was very surprised. The chocolate with the honey on the apple mixed very well. Obviously the ice cream just made for a nice finishing touch, I love ice cream, hahahaha. My only thought is maybe to heat up the apple some how, possibly in the oven first.

Apple Ice Cream Dessert

Don't really know what to call this one, but it turned out really good! Earlier I had done just apples and honey and it was good, but as a dessert was rather boring. I think that this completes the dish, especially if I could also drizzle a little amount of dark chocolate syrup. This is a peeled apple that is cut into rings. Then layered from the bottom up sandwich style with ice cream and finally drizzled with honey.

Basil Mozzarella Crostini

Here is a picture of those crostini's I was talking about earlier in my blog. They turned out really well, especially after i melted the cheese in the same pan I cooked a dinner in, which had the leftover flavoring from the paprika, tomato and onion. really good!

Dinner Service!

So pretty much the same thing I have been eating lately, but there are always ways of making little changes that can turn things around in a big way. This was again, rice with carrots, onion, potato and basil simmered in tomato sauce; then with a little paprika and salt & pepper. The fried egg on top was practically a last minute thing that turned out really well. I thought that I should get some protein on this dish and the only thing I had was eggs. It actually turned out well, making the food a little creamier once I broke the yoke.

Baked Apple

So i have never had or even seen a baked apple. I have heard about them and for some reason today when I was picking apples off a tree with a friend, June and it hit me that I should try making one, even though I don't really know much about them past the fact that you bake it, hahahaha. So this one I basically scooped out the insides and chopped them up very small. Then tried glazing them with some powdered vanilla sugar from my neighbor, Sara. I didn't have any sugar and originally thought that brown sugar would be good but I couldn't find any at the store, so luckily I could borrow some. After I tried glazing the apple insides I also added honey to the mixture and kind of melted that all together, which was a good touch. Afterward I stuck the mixture back inside the apple, put the top on and stuck it in the oven. It was in there for about 8 to 10 minutes , which I think next time I will bring it out a little earlier so as not to get so soft. However I added the vanilla ice cream which also was a good touch and drizzled the plate with honey.

All together it was pretty good, I think next time I will definitely try to use brown sugar and possibly maybe something that can mash the apple insides a little bit better. I thought about melting down some chocolate with cream and adding to the apple, however I thought it would be to overwhelming as I wanted to keep it simple and stay focused and the apple flavor. However I do think that drizzled chocolate would definitely work well next time, maybe not having it on the inside but on the outside might be a good option.

Poor Man's Pizza

So it basically is like a pizza with the idea of Bruschetta. I make a sauce, which is just basically a the same thing as my pasta sauce. Then cut two thick pieces of bread add the sauce the some mozzarella and you can put your toppings. In this case I only had onions so I just grilled some onions and put those on the cheese then just put them in the oven. At the end I put more sauce on top, the idea is to get the sauce to seep through the bread to moisten it up or at least that is what I like. But it's not bad for a simple dinner. The only thing I guess is to have a good sauce.