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Chili Lime Shrimp Cups

1/5/2016

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Crispy chili lime cups with greens and baked tomatoes
Hey there lovely people! I had a bit of time in the middle of the week to catch up on some cooking, and that means my husband gets to eat real, homemade food! Hurray!

This week's recipe is crispy spring roll cups with chili-lime shrimp.
Chili, lime and coconut is a fantastic combination in both the sweet and savoury kitchen, and works particularly well paired with shrimp. The flaky cup is filled with a cooling sour cream sauce and topped with a sweet baked cherry tomato, peppery arugula and those delectable shrimp.
Dinner time! Ready to eat!
Dinner time!
These super crispy cups are incredibly simple to make, too, which means this is great for weeknight meals, or as an addition to a barbecue or simple appetizer. The secret to the flaky cups are spring roll wrappers. Give them a light coating of oil, fold into squares, and bake in muffin forms. Simple, easy, quick. Bake for approximately 10 minutes until light golden and marvelously flaky.

Ingredients


24 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
12 cherry tomatoes
100 ml + 2 tbsp oil
2 red chilis
3 limes
100 ml coconut flakes
5 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
250 g sour cream
50 g arugula (one large handful, washed)

Instructions

For crispy spring roll cups:
  1. Spread out spring roll wrappers and lightly brush with oil. 
  2. Fold wrappers in half twice to make smaller squares.
  3. Press dough into muffin forms to create a cup shape.
  4. Bake 172°C/345°F approximately 10 minutes until light golden and crispy.
For chili-lime marinade, sauce, and baked tomatoes:
  1. Blend chili with seeds, lime juice, 100 ml oil, garlic and coconut together until smooth. Add a bit more oil if it becomes too thick.
  2. Add salt and pepper to taste, and adjust heat and sourness levels to personal taste.
  3. Coat shrimp with HALF of the mixture.
  4. Bake shrimp at 200°C/390°F approximately 7-10 minutes until just pink and firm or grill on skewers approximately 7 minutes.
  5. Mix the remaining half of marinade with sour cream for sauce. Spoon into cups.
  6. Rinse tomatoes and spread out in an oven-proof pan.
  7. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  8. Bake tomatoes at 200°C/390°F until they begin to shrivel and release their juices.

These cups are great for many occasions, or you could do like I did, and just eat like 6 of them until you're full. They can be served slightly warm or cool, so you can make them ahead of time. Prepare all ingredients and store everything but the cups in the fridge until ready to assemble. This recipe took around 45 minutes from start to finish. It was fast, easy and packed full of flavour, which made it a wonderful meal for my busy work days.
Needless to say, I'll be making this recipe again!

Remember to like and share this recipe, and leave a comment below to tell me what you think. I love to hear from you! You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as QuiteChefy.

Until next time, stay chefy!
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Thai Inspired Freshness

17/4/2016

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Hey there! The weather is finally improving from constant grey blandness to wonderful sunny goodness (at least a little bit). That means long walks, bike rides, and hiking. It also means that the gardens are growing, and we are slowing switching from heavy, hearty soups, stews and braises to light, fresh seasonal produce.
We've been trying to eat healthier around here, but that doesn't always have to mean steamed veggies and lettuce. Healthy food can still be delicious and packed with flavour. Today, I've chosen to take a little bit of Thai inspiration with a beautiful cucumber salad with peanuts and a sweet chili glazed salmon.
Thai Inspired Cucumber Salad
This salad combines lovely fresh cucumbers with a bit of onion, chili and cilantro (or coriander for some of you). Top this fresh salad with a lovely vinaigrette and top with crunchy peanuts and you have a wonderful healthy snack, or a healthy salad side. 

Ingredients and Instructions


Thai Inspired Cucumber Salad

For the salad:
​

2 cucumbers, cut lengthways and deseeded
1 red onion, cut into thin slices
100 ml/ 1/3 cup hopped cilantro/coriander (a handful leaves)
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
100 g salted roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

For the vinaigrette:

60 ml / 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1.5 tbsp honey
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
  1. Split the cucumbers lengthwise, and use a teaspoon to scrape out the seeds. 
  2. Cut cucumber into slices and place in a large bowl.
  3. Sprinkle cucumber with salt and mix well. Let sit for 45 minutes to an hours to draw some of the water from the cucumbers. Drain excess water from cucumbers, and place in clean bowl.
  4. Slice red onion thinly.
  5. Roughly chop cilantro and peanuts.
  6. Mix all ingredients together.
  7. Whisk vinaigrette ingredients together in separate bowl.
  8. Spoon vinaigrette over salad and mix well.
Sliced Cucumbers
Slice Onions
Salted cucumbers and onions

Salmon with sweet chili sauce
To serve with your delicious salad, try a piece of broiled salmon. Simply marinade salmon in sweet chili sauce for an hour, and broil for approximately 7-10 minutes. Brush with more sweet chili sauce, sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve with a bit of lime.

This meal is a perfect for busy weeknights where you just don't feel like putting a bunch of effort into the kitchen. It's fairly quick, healthy, and has buckets of flavour. Print or share a direct link to the recipe here.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please like and share with your friends using those handy buttons below. You can find more recipes at www.quitechefy.com/recipes and you can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as QuiteChefy. Feel free to leave a comment below telling me what you think, or leave a suggestion of what you'd like to see in the future, or you can simply click on the handy poll below.

Until next time, stay chefy and enjoy any good weather that comes your way!
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Danish Food: Romkugler

3/4/2016

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Danish Romkugler rolled in colourful sprinkles
Hey there! Welcome to my brand new series of posts on Quite Chefy all about Danish food. I've been living in Denmark for about 6 years now, and between every day living, holidays, and chef training, I've gotten to know the cuisine fairly well. There are some things I love, and other things....well...not so much. Regardless, I've decided to share some of these Danish recipes for you to try them out at home!

Romkugler aka Rum Balls

Romkugler (plural. approximately pronounced rum | kool | ah) is a Danish cake you can find just about everywhere. Directly translated, it means Rum Balls. It's not just any cake, though, it's the Frankenstein's monster of cakes. It uses leftover cake and scraps, a bit of jam, a bit of chocolate, and rum flavouring. This is all blended up together, rolled into balls, and covered with a colourful coating of crunchy sprinkles. Kind of like cake pops. They come in all sizes, too, from the usual bite-sized ball, to a lump the size of your head.
A regular sized rum ball vs a huge rum ball
Photo from http://dagbladet-holstebro-struer.dk
In my home, we can never finish off an entire cake ourselves since we're only two people, and I send food off to my husband's office fairly often. This is an excellent way to use up leftover cake other than freezing it for naughty late-night snacking, and it's also a clever way to reduce food waste. If you want to read more tips on how to reduce food waste in the home, check out a previous blog post here.

How to make Romkugler/Danish Rum Balls


400 g leftover cake or cutoff edges (you can also use store-bought cake)
4 tablespoons raspberry jam (or what you have on hand)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
100 g melted chocolate (milk or dark)
2 tbsp rum essence
1.5 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla sugar
1 tbsp cream
sprinkles of choice or flaked coconut

Break leftover cake into pieces.
Mix ingredients into a pliable dough.
Roll dough into balls and roll in sprinkles or other topping.
  1. Break up cake and place in a stand mixer with paddle attachment or food processor.
  2. Blend to crumbs.
  3. Mix in vanilla, jam, rum essence and cocoa powder.
  4. Finely chop chocolate, and melt over water bath.
  5. Mix melted chocolate and cream into cake until a dough forms, and you can roll it in your hands.
  6. Form dough into balls and roll in sprinkles or coconut flakes. Store in fridge.
Rum balls can be kept a few days in the fridge, or can be frozen up to a year, and thawed for a quick sweet treat.

My rum balls used the leftover Mini Egg Easter Layer Cake with some of the buttercream cut away. I also used the leftover strawberry-rhubarb jam plus an extra teaspoon of jarred strawberry jam. You can literally use any cake and jam combination for this recipe, and it will taste a little different every time.
If you like this recipe, remember to like and share with your friends! You can also find a printable version of the recipe here.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this Danish recipe. If you have suggestions for other recipes you'd like to see, feel free to comment below or write to me here. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as QuiteChefy.
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Easter PinterTest Special

25/3/2016

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Original vector art by carterart at www.vecteezy.com
It's been a while since my last post, but I've finally gotten a bit of time off for Easter vacation, and I'm taking advantage by trying out lots of recipes and ideas. I also don't have to get up at 5:30 morning to do it, which is just wonderful.
I was excited to make some Easter food while I had the free time, so I started scouring the internet, and particularly Pinterest for inspiration, and inspiration is exactly what I found. It was hard to narrow down my choices, but I managed to pick two pins to try out in this month's Easter PinterTest baking special. These recipes can also be super fun to make with your kids!
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The first PinterTest I attempted was for mini egg easter cake, which originally comes from Sainsbury's Magazine.
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Photo from http://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk
Sainsbury's beautiful cake is a combination of sponge cake, shortening-based icing, chocolate topping and chocolate mini eggs. You can find their recipes and instructions on how to make your own cake here.

Instead of copying their recipe, though, I decided to make my own version of their lovely cake, which you can see below.
I replaced their sponge cake with a plain vanilla cake, baked in layers. Instead of shortening-based icing, I made real buttercream with vanilla flavouring, which you can make by beating 250 g of butter and 500 -600 g powdered sugar and vanilla (or other flavour of choice) until light and fluffy.

The topping is a dark chocolate ganache, which is made with equal parts of cream and chocolate. Finely chop chocolate and add to a bowl. Heat cream to the boiling point, then pour over your chocolate. Allow the chocolate to melt and whisk together. Use as a topping, or refrigerate and roll spoonfuls in cocoa powder for homemade truffles!

I cooked down equal portions of strawberry and rhubarb (from frozen) with just a tablespoon of sugar, and a bit of lemon juice. I then blended it smooth, and cooked a bit of potato flour into the mixture until it was thick, and allowed the mixture to cool. I wanted this mixture to be really tart to cut through all the fat and sweetness of this cake.

I used mini marcipan eggs, which are super popular in Denmark, and added the fabulous sparkle of edible gold glitter to the top. The speckling on the cake is a mix of kirsch alcohol and cocoa powder, splashed on with a clean fan brush.

And there you have it! Remember that practice makes perfect, and cake decorating is an art form. My cake isn't nearly as pretty as the one found at Sainsbury's, but it packed a punch with flavouring.

Find the vanilla cake recipe I used below.

Vanilla cake recipe


215 g sugar
90 g butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
170 g all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
120 ml milk
Pinch salt
  1. Cream butter and sugar together
  2. Whip in eggs one at a time until smooth.
  3. Beat in milk and vanilla
  4. Stir in flour and baking powder until incorporated.
  5. Spread in greased springform pan and bake 175°C/347°F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Be careful not to overcook, else this cake becomes very dry.

Woven Bread Basket

No I don't mean a basket for my bread. I mean a basket MADE of bread. The next PinterTest is made using a simple bread dough, some aluminum foil, and a glass bowl to create a lovely little edible Easter basket.

Basket weaving is challenging enough, but you should really try it out with bread dough!
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Image from http://wonderfuldiy.com
Ok, so mine didn't quite turn out like the one above, but the instructions were a bit confusing, and I'm just so crap at weaving. Hey, I tried!
As you can see, I made a basket...sort of. It was a bit thin, and crooked because the dough stretched out while trying to weave it, but I really liked it regardless. I could see myself making a much larger version for thanksgiving rolls. Of course, as I stated earlier in this post, practice makes perfect. If you want to make your own bread basket, try out the recipe below, and check out Wonderful DIY for instructions for this and other great projects.

Basic Bread Recipe


165 ml lukewarm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dry yeast (4 g fresh yeast)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil
250 g flour, plus extra for dusting
  1. Mix sugar and lukewarm water together (no more than 38°C) and sprinkle dry yeast on top. Let it sit for 10 minutes, until frothy on top. If using fresh yeast, you don't have to let it sit.
  2. Mix all ingredients together and knead by hand or with a stand mixer and dough hook until mixture is soft and elastic in texture.
  3. Allow dough to rise 1 hr.
  4. Form, rise ½ hour and bake 200°C/392°F.

Thanks for joining me for this Easter PinterTest special. If you enjoyed this post, and would like to see more like it, feel free to leave a message below or find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as QuiteChefy.

Sharing is caring! Share this with your friends and family, and let me know what you'd like to see more of in the future!

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter holiday, and if you don't celebrate Easter, then just have a wonderful week!

Until next time, lovelies, stay chefy!
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Sweet Valentines Breakfast: Red Velvet Pancakes

13/2/2016

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Image by carterart at www.vecteezy.com
Hey there! Whether you love it or hate it, Valentines Day is upon us again, and that means being bombarded with cutesy merchandise, hearts, and all things red and pink. We usually just stay home, order in, and watch something cheesy on t.v. That's just a perfect evening for me! It's also a perfect excuse to try out some new recipes to surprise my hubby!
To start off the day on a sweet note, why not whip up some delicious, and colourful, red velvet pancakes with a drizzle of tangy, sweet cream cheese icing? Chocolately and fluffy, you can surprise your partner or eat the whole stack yourself and have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. Finely chop some chocolate and toast some nuts for a little extra crunch.
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Ingredients and Instructions

Pancakes:
475 ml flour/2 cups
2 tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
pinch salt
2 eggs
175 ml sugar/ 3/4 cup
300 ml buttermilk/ 1 1/4 cups
120 ml melted butter/ 1/2 cup
2 tbsp red gel colouring or a bottle of liquid red
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Icing:
100 g cream cheese
50 ml sour cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar

Instructions:
  1. Sift together flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
  2. In separate bowl, beat eggs and sugar until thickened and pale in colour.
  3. Whisk in buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla, food colouring and vinegar.
  4. Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients and carefully fold together until incorporated.
  5. Grease a nonstick pan or skillet and cook spoonfuls of pancakes on medium-low heat until bubbles form and pop on one side. Flip and cook a minute on the other side. They can burn quite easily, so keep an eye on them.
  6. Whisk together cream cheese, sour cream and powdered sugar. Drizzle over pancakes.
  7. Serve with toasted nuts, chopped chocolate or a drizzle of maple syrup.
Sift dry ingredients together
Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients and adjust colouring.
Fry tasty pancakes on medium-low heat.

If you like this recipe, leave a comment below and be sure to say what other recipes you'd like to see. I'm working on a couple of other projects at the moment, so check back, or follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend and Valentines Day!
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Foundations of Cooking: Knives

31/1/2016

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Japanese knives
German knives
Knives, for a chef, are more than tools. A knife becomes a part of you, an extension of the hand itself. You can spend money on an array of fancy equipment and tools that claim to make your work in the kitchen easier, but the most important piece of equipment you can ever own is your knife, so it's important that you make the right decision. But what is the right decision? What is the best knife for you?

Anatomy of a Kitchen Knife

Let's first look at the basic structure of kitchen knives:
Anatomy of a knife. Photo by kitchenjournals.com
Photo by Recipetips.com

Forged vs. Stamped

Forged knives
Forged knives
Stamped knife
Stamped knife
Forged and stamped are two general categories that knives fall into. The terms refer to the method in which the knives have been manufactured. A forged knife is made of a single piece of heated metal which is hammered and formed into the knife shape, while a stamped, or machined knife, is one that has been cut by passing a sheet of metal into a hydraulic press, which cuts the specified shape out cookie-cutter style. Stamped knives can also be cut via a CNC machine.

Although you'll run into heated debates and strong opinions on one side or the other, forged blades aren't necessarily or automatically better than a stamped blade, even though there is undeniably a high level of skill and craftsmanship involved. Precision engineering and modern technology can certainly provide an excellent, high-quality product in stamped blades, but beware of overly cheap products out there, and be sure to do your research before committing. A forged knife generally has more weight to it, while a stamped blade is often thinner and lighter. What you choose is down to personal preference. How does the knife feel in your hand? Handle different knives, and see what feels best for you.

Bolsters and Tangs

Another topic that can spark heated debate among the knife-obsessed is that of bolsters and tangs. A bolster is basically a byproduct of the forging process, which creates a thick band of metal at the heel of the blade before the handle. Sometimes, these bolsters are cut away for aesthetic reasons. Stamped knives don't have a bolster, and many fanatics will claim that a bolster is a sign of quality and safety. While the bolster can add weight at the top of the blade, which helps the balance, it's not a sign of quality nor safety. It's a sign of how the blade was manufactured.
Full tang, stick tang
Photo by Recipetips.com
The tang is the tail of the knife that fits inside the handle. Also hotly debated is that a "full tang", or metal tail that runs the entire length of the handle, is also a sign of quality and toughness. While not entirely untrue, unless you plan on using your knife as a crowbar, then this extra bit of toughness may not be necessary. A "stick tang" is a metal tail that only partially extends into the knife handle, as seen in the picture to the right.
The above points, as previously mentioned, are all a matter of personal preference. A good quality knife isn't solely dependent on if it's handmade, stamped or if the tang extends to the end of the handle. A good knife is one that feels comfortable in your hand, is sharp, and can hold its sharpness. If you're like me, and you have smallish hands, then a blade with a stick tang without a bolster may be the most comfortable grip.
Like everyone else as a newbie at culinary school, I bought a "Knife Starter Kit", much like the one shown in the picture below. The kit includes:
  1. Chef knife, 30 cm, a large universal knife for chopping, slicing, etc
  2. Boner knife, a meat knife used for butchering and removing bones
  3. Pallet knife, used for cooking, serving, flipping, and spreading
  4. Paring knife, used for peeling, small detail work
  5. Y-Peeler, used to cut paper thin slices or peel thinly
  6. Bird's beak paring knife, used for garnishes, fruit carving and tournee cuts
  7. Pincet/Tweezer tongs, used for handling hot foods while cooking, frying, etc
  8. Vegetable peeler, used for general rough peeling


Chef student beginner set from H.W. Larsen
Student starter set from H.W. Larsen. Photo by H.W. Larsen.
The above kit is one most culinary students at my institution begin with. Kitchen equipment is expensive, and this kit is around 475 dkk, which is less than $100 CAD/USD. Pretty affordable, right? And they do the trick! They''re sturdy and sharp. They're also cheap. While they tend to stay sharp for a while, they can quickly become dull with daily use, which is why it's a good idea to invest in a honing steel. You may even have one stashed in your knife block already. A steel is used to hone a knife, keeping an already sharp knife from degrading too quickly. However, a steel will not sharpen a dull blade, and if your knife is dull or pitted, take it to a professional for sharpening. Honing is considered non-destructive, while sharpening is not. To sharpen a blade, you need to remove bits of it. My former boss had a boning knife that's been sharpened so many times that it resembles a toothpick with a handle. 
There are three main types of honing steels:
Knife and honing steel
  • Steel - The most common variety. Basically a steel rod (hence the name) with a handle, and the one that typically comes with knife sets. Steel can be used with German knives (I will get to this point later), and not Japanese knives. Japanese knives have harder metal than the steel, but also more brittle. They tend to be damaged by a traditional steel.

  • Diamond - Diamond steels can be used on both German and Japanese knives. Since diamond is so hard, it has no problem cutting through any metal thrown its way. That also gives the steel more of a "sharpener" effect than other steels. What does that mean? This is a great quick fix for a knife that's starting to get dull. A few swipes and it's good to go, However, don't use this steel every day, else you won't have much knife left to work with as it's slowly grinded away.

  • Ceramic - Ceramic is the best of both worlds. It's less damaging than a diamond steel and great for maintaining an edge. This is the steel you should use with a japanese knife. The drawback is that if you drop it on the floor, it could break. So there's that. 
Check out this video on how to steel or hone your knife:

Other Types of Knives

You really only need a couple of good, universal knives in your kitchen: A chef knife, a serrated knife and a paring knife. These knives can tackle most jobs thrown your way.
There is a huge array of specialized knives and tools on the market, but I've selected some that I personally own and enjoy using, which you can see below.

Salmon knife
Photo by tojiro-japan.com
Japanese vegetable knife
Photo by H.W. Larsen
Tojiro santoku
Photo by H.W. Larsen

Salmon knife

Salmon knives are long, thin and flexible with indentations in the blade to easily release the meat. This knife is used for slicing thin pieces of smoked fish (particularly salmon), but can also be used for roast beef or ham. The picture to the left is the salmon knife I got for my birthday by Tojiro.

Vegetable knife/cleaver

This knife is more traditional in Asia, with a much straighter cutting edge than a classic curved western knife. They come in Chinese and Japanese varieties (Chinese has a much broader blade), and unlike a traditional cleaver, are much lighter and razor sharp. They are ideal for chopping vegetables, smashing garlic, scooping up chopped goods to transfer them to a bowl or pot, and much more. Personally, I love using mine for finely dicing onions, and the blade length is perfect for great control, especially if your hands are a bit on the small side.

Santoku knife

Santoku knives are Japanese chef knives. The blade is generally shorter than a Western knife, like the one pictured in my starter knife kit above. The knives have a "sheepsfoot" blade, which curves downward toward the tip. This results in a much smaller point, which makes it more difficult to accidentally pierce something while cooking (like yourself for example). I prefer the shorter blade for control. They are wonderful knives for slicing and dicing, but can't be rocked back and forth as well as a Western knife. You can get these knives with or without a granton edge (the grooves in the side that keep stuff from sticking).

Japanese vs. Western Knives

When I talk about Japanese and Western/German knives, there are a few differences that are about more than just style.

Without getting into a huge debate, the main differences between these knives are hardness, shape, blade thickness and steel used. Many would argue that one is better than the other, but it really comes down to preferences and how much you're willing to spend.

Japanese knives are known for their lightweight, hard steel, which can hold an edge (stays sharp) for longer. The drawback is that the blades can get notched, and if you drop one, it can break.

Western knives are known for being durable and heavier, with a softer steel. The weight of the knife can help in cutting through ingredients. The softer blade means it may not hold an edge for as long, but instead of notching or breaking, it may bend instead.

If you're interested in learning more about Japanese and Western knives, you can read this article at sharpen-up.com.

Knife Safety

Knives are one of the most important tools in the kitchen, but safety while using potentially hazardous tools is even more important for your own safety and well-being.

Here are some of my top safety tips:

1. The claw grip

Ok, the name may sound a bit silly, but it's accurate. You literally make a claw shape with the hand holding the food being sliced, which means tucking fingertips under your knuckles and keeping your thumb back and away from the blade. When slicing, the blade rests against your knuckles, keeping those soft fingertips on your fingers where they belong, instead of in the food.
The claw method for safely cutting food
Photo by foodmirth.com

2. Use a sharp knife

It may sound silly to say it, but a sharp knife, as scary as it may be, is much safer to use than a dull blade. Sharp blades don't take as much work to use, meaning that not only do you reduce strain to yourself, but you don't need to press as hard for the knife to cut. The harder you have to work to cut something, the more there is potential for that knife to slip, and for your to injure yourself. Unless you're clumsy like I am, and can trip over shadows.

3. Put a damp cloth under your cutting board

When you place a damp cloth under your cutting board, the cutting board is much less likely to move around or slide while using it. This gives better stability (just be sure that the cutting board isn't rocking on the cloth) and reduces risk of accidental cuts.

4. Cleaning knives

Never put a knife into a sink full of soapy water. The next person, or even you, may lose sight of it and cut your hand when reaching in. Place the knife on the side of the sink, wash it immediately, or place used knives into a separate bucket for separate cleaning. Remember to store your knives safely and out of reach of small children.

5. Never try to catch a falling knife

Even if you have superhero-like reflexes, and congrats if you do, never try to catch a falling knife. Put your hands up, step back, and let it fall. It's better to let the floor take a bit of damage rather than chopping pieces of yourself to bits.

Final Thoughts

A knife is an extension of the arm, and having the right tools to work with can make all the difference. However, you don't need to break the bank to have great knives. Buy the best you can afford, because they will last longer, but be sure to try them out first. It's important that the tools are comfortable in your hands.

Practice proper knife skills, but remember that practice makes perfect.

I hope you enjoyed this post on knives! If you like this content, and would like to see more, feel free to leave a message below or contact me via email, facebook, twitter or instagram. Tell me what you'd like to see next, and be sure to share with your friends.

Until next time, stay chefy!
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Panko Crusted Halibut

20/1/2016

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Panko and herb crusted halibut
Hey there! I hope that this new year is working out for everyone so far. For me, it's included a lot of apartment renovations and painting. I can say with pride that we have actual functioning lights in our hallway again! YAY! I'm also back to work again, so posts are up at random times now.
I may have started the year off with a cream-based dessert (check out the Raspberry Vanilla Panna Cotta recipe here), but now that my surgery is over and I can eat more-or-less normally again, it's time to start putting healthy things into my mouth.
Not too long ago I decided that we should have fish for dinner. I was never a huge fish lover, but I've learned over the years that it's really all in the preparation. As long as the fish is fresh and prepared nicely, it tastes great!
I chose to make halibut, which is a type of flounder/flat fish. Unlike salmon, it's a white fish with a very low fat content. It has firm, flaky meat with a delicate, slightly sweet flavour. I crusted the fish with a bit of spicy mustard, and a mixture of Panko (Japanese bread crumb) and chopped herbs. I pan fried the fish and served with a bit of lemon and some sides (potatoes and salad). I used panko because it tastes great and gets super crispy when fried. I found it in my regular grocery store in the asian foods aisle.

What you'll need

4 halibut fillets
4 tablespoons panko
2 tbsp chopped dill
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped chives
4 tbsp flour
4 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp oil for frying
Salt and Pepper
Lemon on the side

What to do

  1. Finely chop herbs and stir in with panko bread crumbs in a shallow dish
  2. Pat dry fish fillets and season lightly with salt and pepper
  3. Lightly dust fish fillets with flour
  4. Brush flour side of fish with dijob mustard
  5. Press mustard side of fish into the panko mixture
  6. In a frying pan, add oil and heat on medium-high heat
  7. Fry fish approximately 4 minutes on bread crumb side. When golden, turn off the heat and flip the fish, using the remaining heat in the pan to finish the fish.
  8. Serve with a squeeze of lemon, potatoes or a salad

If you're a fan of this recipe and want to see more, feel free to leave a comment letting me know what you'd like to see next. I'm especially on the lookout for new PinterTest recipes! Check out my other recipes, and share with your friends! You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. You can also email me here.

As always, stay chefy!
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Panna Cotta: The little black dress of desserts

11/1/2016

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Happy New Year everyone! This year, I'll be starting off with a dessert recipe. Yeah yeah we've all eaten too much over the holidays, but this isn't just any dessert. I like to think of it as "the little black dress of desserts". It's a simple little number that you can serve plain or dress up for a trendy black tie affair.
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What is Panna Cotta?

Panna Cotta is an Italian dessert meaning "cooked cream". The cream is thickened with gelatine and then set on a mould. It's typically turned out onto a plate and served with a sauce, but can also be served in portioned cups.

Panna Cotta can be served in virtually any flavour combination imaginable with toppings and layeres.

Helping out Friends

I had to make 100 of these little beauties for a copper wedding anniversary at the last minute. My husband's friends cried out for help on Facebook when their usual go-to cake lady cancelled due to work. meaning they needed a dessert and they needed it fast! I'm on sick leave since my jaw surgery, and had nothing else to do, so I agreed to help. It was just a couple days after Christmas, so the pressure was on. I needed something I could make after coming home after spending Christmas at my in-laws, and they were on a tight budget. I suggested Panna Cotta, and it was just the ticket, at just 8.50 dkk per serving (about $1.25 USD). We agreed that it should have white chocolate and raspberry. The rest was up to me. Playtime!!
The dessert I made for them was a vanilla panna cotta topped with a raspberry gel. Sprinkled onto the gel was granulated caramelized white chocolate, a shard of almond nougatine glass, two meringues, raspberry and licorice, and a fresh raspberry.

The dessert was a hit, and they had plenty left over, which was great because panna cotta freezes well and they could use it as their New Years dessert! 

If you want to read more ways you also can reduce food waste in the kitchen, you can check out some tips here.
Vanilla and raspberry panna cotta

Ingredients and Instructions


This recipe has been adjusted to give 6 portions of 150 ml each (which is the size you see in the photos)

Vanilla panna cotta:
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450 ml cream
450 ml full fat milk
90 g sugar
2 vanilla beans
6 leaves gelatine
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Boiled panna cotta mixture
  1. Split vanilla bean and scrape out seeds
  2. Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar and vanilla seeds together
  3. Add milk and cream to a pot
  4. Pour vanilla sugar, remaining sugar, and vanilla pod in with milk and stir
  5. Bring to a boil and reduce heat
  6. Soften gelatine in water for approximately 5 minutes
  7. Squeeze out excess water from gelatine, and stir it well into your milk mixture
  8. Remove from heat and allow to cool, letting the vanilla bean steep
  9. After 15 minutes, remove vanilla bean
  10. Let the panna cotta mixture cool down and thicken slightly before pouring into moulds or cups, else all your vanilla will fall to the bottom
  11. Refrigerate until set

Raspberry gel:
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2 bags (800 g) frozen raspberries
1 tbsp sugar
100 ml water
Squeeze of lemon
4 leaves gelatine
  1. Add all ingredients to a pot on medium and cook until berries break down
  2. Strain your berries by pressing them through a sieve, reserving liquid
  3. Soften gelatine approximately 5 minutes
  4. Heat raspberry juice until it simmers, then remove from heat
  5. Squeeze excess water from gelatine and add to hot raspberry juice and whisk well
  6. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature and pour on panna cotta
  7. The panna cotta MUST be set before adding another layer, and the new layer must be room temperature, else it will melt your panna cotta

Caramelized white chocolate
(Warning: this needs to be made a day ahead)
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Take a bar of your preferred white chocolate and melt carefully over warm water. Spread onto a parchment-lined baking sheet in an even layer, and bake 120° for approximately an hour until the chocolate turns a light golden brown. It will continue to caramelize after you remove from the oven, so don't let it get too dark, or it will become bitter!

Allow the chocolate to dry out 12 hours (depending on your chocolate) before hacking into pieces, or blending into granules. Chocolates vary, and the chocolate I used remained soft many hours after baking.


Mini meringues
2 egg whites
100 g confectioner's sugar
flavouring of choice (appx ½ tsp)
a pinch of cream of tartar or a few drops lemon
Beat your egg whites on high speed until they begin to froth. Add your sugar slowly, a bit at a time together with the cream of tartar or lemon juice. Continue to beat until the egg whites become thick and stiff enough to hold the bowl upside down and add flavouring at the last second. A half a teaspoon of flavouring should do.

Bake at 90° for approximately 1.5 hours until dried and crispy. They should not be chewy in the middle. Once oven dried, you can leave them in the open to further air dry and avoid sticking together. They don't last long in humid climates, so I had to make them the morning of the party to be sure they weren't sad, limp little puffs.

The Results

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The finished product was served to around 60 adults and children and received plenty of praise from the anniversary guests.

I had a lot of fun making these desserts, and if you like this recipe or have a suggestion for a future recipe, feel free to comment below or send me a message! Sharing is caring, so remember to share this recipe with your friends, or check out my other recipes. You can also find a printable version of the basic recipe here.

Until next time, lovlies, stay chefy!!
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Happy Holidays!

22/12/2015

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Background image, logo image and sleigh by freevector and NorasFed at www.vecteezy.com
Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas, Happy New Years and any other holiday you may celebrate at this time of year. 2015 may be coming to an end, but a new year is just around the corner, and that means new experiences and opportunities.

So stay safe out there, and I'll see you in the new year!

Lots of love

Lea
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Shepherd's Pie

13/12/2015

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Quite Chefy's Shepherds Pie
Shepherd's pie, as many of you well know, is a classic layered British dish, traditionally made with minced lamb and potato. Everyone and their grandmother has their own favourite twist on this recipe, and I'm no different.

This savory, moreish dish is a favourite for my husband and I during depressing Danish winters where it's typically rainy, windy and very dark. When I think about it, pretty much anything with mashed potato is a fan favourite here.

I kept the recipe simple with ground beef, carrot, celery, onion and garlic, with a bit of red wine, beef stock and spices, and then piled the buttery mashed potatoes high on top for a super tasty one-dish meal that took less than an hour to make.

What you'll need


Meat Filling
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil
500 g ground beef
2 onions, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced or crushed
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Pinch ground cloves
250 ml beef stock
150 ml red wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
Salt
Pepper

Mashed Potato Topping
6 baking potatoes
4 tablespoons butter
60 ml cream
Pinch ground nutmeg
Salt
Pepper

How to make it

  1. Peel and boil potatoes in unsalted water until tender.
  2. Drain potatoes and place back on low heat to steam dry.
  3. Mash potatoes with butter, cream, salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
  4. Preheat oven to 175°C/345°F and set potatoes aside.
  5. In a large sautee pan or or skillet, heat oil and butter.
  6. Sweat onions and garlic until softened, approximately 5 minutes.
  7. Add beef and brown.
  8. Add carrots, celery, thyme, oregano, cloves and cook approximately 10 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften.
  9. Add wine and reduce by half.
  10. Add stock, Worcestershire sauce and dijon.
  11. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for approximately 15 - 20 minutes until liquid reduces and becomes thicker.
  12. Spread meat mixture into a baking dish and layer mashed potato on top. If you choose to pipe the potatoes, allow them to cool slightly to avoid burning yourself. Safety first.
  13. Bake 20-30 minutes until potatoes are browned and mixture is bubbly.

Find a printable version of the recipe here.

Boil potatoes and mash
Sweat onions and garlic
Brown beef
Add vegetables and herbs
Layer meat and mashed potato
Bake and enjoy!

And there you have it! This dish gets extremely hot, so let it sit and cool off for about 5 minutes before serving to avoid burning your mouth.

If this recipe is right up your alley, then be sure to leave a like and share with your friends! Feel free to comment below or send me an email to tell me how it went, and as always, you can find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as Quite Chefy.
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    Hey there! My name is Lea, and I'm a Canadian Culinary student trying to survive chef life in Denmark. I want to share my journey, and some great food and experiences with others. I believe that anyone can be quite chefy!

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