Taking advantage that there was a holiday in the midle of the week we could get some friends over for dinner.

The menu again; quick, simple a bit tricky and delicious.

Funghi secchi Risotto and filet mignon medallions with chimichurri sauce.

But even more important than the food is the company. Since we were the 4^th couple to move to this building, we had the opportunity to meet people as they moved in. And what do you know, there are a lot of cooks in the building!! so we ended up having a group that is always creating something in the kitchen. Needless to say at least three times a week we get together and someone prepares a different recipe.

Tuesday was my turn again.

Playing around with dried mushrooms and arboreo rice is not difficult, just sometimes a bit tricky as I said before.

Put the mushrooms in water to rehydrate them for about 20 minutes .

Olive oil on the bottom of the pan with one small finely sliced onion

Once you start the risotto you can`t stop the stirring, keep adding hot water with meat or vegetable sauce and keep on stirring, suggestion, get a friend and take turns because if you are not used to it, after 5 minutes you’ll be tired and it takes around 15 to 20 min. don’t forget to add the salt. Once the rice is almost ready add the mushrooms and keep on stirring, ad some of the water you used to rehydrate then in the final 3 minutes on the rice, carefull not to overcook it or else you’ll very soggy rice instead of risotto.

For the medallions, round cuts from the middle of the fillet mignon, a big frying pan lots of butter.

Get the chimichurri herbs ready with vinegar, canola oil, olive oil, just enough to create a paste when the medallions are ready serve the risotto two medallions and spread the chimichurri on top of the medallions.

Don’t forget your red wine!!!

Taking advantage of what's in the fridge

I’m definitely a lame blogger, so much time without a post. But I decided to doo write when I feel like it and when there’s something relevant to write, still thinking it’s all worthwhile as long as we are having fun.

To my Brazilian friends, I asked My dad to translate the bog but so far he only had time to revise it.

Please don`t give up on me

Yes very, very lazy, but only to write, the kitchen is still going full blast.

I’m going for very simple pasta dishes, quick cook, or lazy cook as some might think.

During this time I made some tacos, on a Mexican night, some guacamole and several different dips.

It`s fun food, were everyone can do their own combinations with things you set in front of them.

Well today I took advantage of an antipasto with eggplant Rita made this weekend, the eggplant was the real star of the dish.

Just throw diced eggplant on a tray with lots of onions, bell peppers, green, red and yellow, garlic to your heart’s desire, black pepper and lots of virgin olive oil, put the tray in the oven on low heat. Soon you’ll start so smell the results and just let your mouth water.

When is it ready? You will know!! Everything starts to blend and get real soft and tender.

We usually use that for appetizers with slices of Italian bread.

Today I used some of the left overs mixed it with peeled tomatoes and made a great sauce for the pasta. It came out great!!

As I said before nature is great, just use the right combo and let the heat take it’s course.

No food like Mom's food

Watching my mom cook was the definite inspiration for the beginning of my kitchen adventures.

I t was so good, mom and dad came over for my bday yesterday, and she was responsible for lunch today, simply delicious.

Rice, black beans and pot roast, sometimes trying to sophisticate to much makes us forget the wonderful delicious simple meals.

Mom, thanks for this cooking class, luv ya.

Is bloody Mary just a drink?

It could be more than that, it may be a delicious cold soup.

How many times did you ask for a bloody Mary and got a plain tomato juice with vodka? eww.

Well we’ve got to turn on the heat!!

Take a tomato juice, squeeze in half a lemon, Worcestershire sauce, salt, ground black pepper, a dash of salt, a dash of Tabasco and a shot of vodka.

Shake it, and pour it over ice in a glass.

Drink it up like a good little person, and let it play with your tongue.

Easter lunch

Well, moqueca is an easy dish to make, it helps to have a clay or iron pan, but I`ve done it in regular pans too.

On the bottom of the pan goes a layer of tomato slices, a layer of red yellow and green bell peppers sliced and a layer of sliced onions.

Then comes the fish; it is best when it's firm and thick, preferably boneless, take your pick, I used pirarucu, which is nearly impossible to find in the US.

All the pieces were marinated in advance, the usual stuff: garlic, onions, black pepper, lemon and so on.

Add another layer of tomatoes, bell peppers and onions.

Turn on the fire, and let it do it’s magic.

Let the juices flow; once it starts to boil, add some coconut milk and parsley.

I also used octopus. Tricky little beast; you have to boil it just right, or you’re going to have some fishy gum in your dish. I'll tell you the trick later. Got lots of little clean shrimp as well. You may use big ones as well. The shrimp can go into the pan with the rest, but the octopus you have to add later, when the fish is almost done.

There is something I add, that is not commonly used, it's really expensive, but it’s worth it: Spanish saffron.

Very important!!! DON’T STIR!!

Garlic rice, and roasted potatoes go very well with the dish.

Have fun!!!

Tonight I gave the kitchen a break. I decided to do barbecue the fish.

I t was great to have all the family together. Instead of writing I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves

Simple quick and dreamy

Well today I’m working from home so instead of going out for lunch I decided to whip up something quick so I can finish everything I still have to do.

Spaghetti with shitake sauce.

How can something so quick to make be so good? Simply because nature already has it all prepared for you, we just have to be careful not to spoil it.

So just slice the shitake, throw it in a wok with as much butter as you see fit; I added a dash of black pepper, tiny bit of garlic and some chive stems. After a bit, put about 2 table spoons of soy sauce, stir, shake, sniff and drool.

Put the spaghetti, on the plate, pour the sauce on top, and if you like add grated parmesan on top.

This should take about 15 minutes or less.

Family holyday

This is going to be a great hollyday. It will be a family gathering for Easter.

Dad is bringing 3 big anchovies, from his last fishing trip, for us to barbecue tomorrow. On Sunday we are going to make a big Moqueca. It will be a seafood weekend. The weather forecast is good, so all systems are go!! Tonight I think I’ll take a break, away from the pans; but we’ll see…

Does good food have to be difficult to make and expensive?

In my opinion, absolutely not!!

Tonight I decided to do something simple, inexpensive and delicious.

I remember that I used to love, when my mom made fried meatball burgers.

So, that was what I made today.

There’s no recipe; just get ground beef in a bowl, an egg, and all the spices you like. I used parsley, chopped onions, chopped garlic, black pepper and salt.

Give the meatballs the shape your heart desires.

Get some oil in the frying pan, just enough to cover half of the meatball. Don’t overheat it, or it will burn the outside and remain raw on the inside.

Get a baguette or French bread roll, and put whatever your heart desires in it, with the meatballs, and have fun!!

See yall tomorrow.

Why do we cook?

I think there’s no right or wrong reason. Some guys or girls just do it to impress their possible mates. I confess, I've done it. Some just do it to feed their family; definitely and probably the best kind of cooking. If your mom and/or dad did thatfor this reason, there’s probably one dish they prepared, you will always remember, and it'll make your mouth water and memories wander, when you sniff it anywhere.

Today I just do it because I love food and it’s one of the best ways to show love and caring to the ones that you care for.

I love to eat what I cook, and definitely my roughest critic, but even when my crazy combos don’t work out so well, and believe me it happens more frequently than I’d like, I don’t beat myself up, just laugh it off and go straight to my next experience.

I decided not to do a recipe blog just share a cooking tips ingredients and experiences.

That being said, tonight it worked out.

The wine was Santa Alvara 2005 from Rapel Valley in Chile, inexpensive and it went really great with the dish that has the main character the filet mignon.

My fried Rodrigo gave a tip on a special sauce for pasta, stubborn as I am; I decided that it would go very well with meat.

I decided to make garlic rice with garlic and cashew nuts and raisins to go with the steaks.

You just slice the garlic very thin, golden fry them on olive oil, just be careful not to go overboard, too much and it will make it bitter.

Add the rice mix it, fry it a little and add the water and let it get ready, I’m not going to teach anyone to make rice, lol.

Spice the steaks with salt and ground black pepper put a descent amount of butter in the very hot frying pan, throw in the steaks don’t fiddle around wit then, when you see the 1/3^rd of the side of the steak get brown flip it and let it brown on the other side. Careful nobody likes a dry steak.

While you are doing all of this prepare the sauce, this is a bit tricky, I’m not going to give you exact measures, but you are going to have to mix gorgonzola and red wine and let it melt. Keep stirring get it to the thickness you feel is going to make the right consistence.

Once everything is ready make it look good on the plate.

Rice on one side steaks on the other, gently pour the sauce over the steaks and …

Dig in.

I hope it works as well for you as it did for us.

Have fun, now I’ll have to think something for tomorrow.

Honey, what's for dinner?

Usually you may hear this from the guys, but specially during this time of year, the kitchen is all mine!! As some of you may know, my wife is a chef chocolatier and has a small chocolate factory, plus two stores: a real life Willie Wonka and her Umpa Lumpas. So you can imagine how much she works during Easter time. Production starts in January, full blast, and goes 'til the beginning of April. This year she reduced the production considerably, but she is still producing 5 tons of all kinds of chocolate eggs and bunnies. She comes home exhausted, and one of the ways to make her smile, is to feed her.

Some people started to worry just because I started call the new kitchen “My prrrrecious!”

Well, tonight I got my first e-mail with a tip.

I’ll try it out and let you know how it went.

It involves filet mignon, red wine and gorgonzola cheese.

Got to hit the pans, but I’ll be back.

Spaghetti Carbonara, Simple and goooood

Well, just finished dinner, very simple spaghetti Carbonara, at least my version of it, quick and good.

Take about a handful of bacon bits, let it golden fry, reserve.

Beat two eggs spiced with ground black pepper, parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, and salt, using the oil that came out of the bacon, scramble the eggs, reserve.

Throw in some good virgin olive oil and fry a tablespoon of chopped garlic, reserve with the bacon.

When the spaghetti is al, dente get it into the frying pan, which by now has a little bit of this and of that, get all the reserved goodies on top of the pasta, toss it, spray it with olive oil to taste.

Serve it, put some basil leaves on top for extra aroma.

Now, what are you waiting for, open that bottle of red wine and dig in!

Let's get cooking

This journey started a long time ago, so did the adventures with pans, spices, meat, fish, pastas ovens and stoves.
Probably when I was a kid observing my mom cooking simple meals on our camping trips.
In no way I'm a great cheff and will probably never be one, but the truth is, I just love making food creating new dishes for my friends and family and they seem to enjoy eating as much as I enjoy making it, so it's a perfect partnership.
I don't know exactly where I'm going with this, and I expect that you who are reading this may help me out.
Inicially I'll start posting some pictures of the food from the past, since I never had the habit of following a recipe or writing down how I did what I did. this blog could be an act of self inflicted dicipline.
I just want to share good food and good wine, so participate anyway you can!!