Romanian Garlic Chicken Jelly

Romanian Garlic Chicken Jelly                 Ingredients:

 - Three to four pounds of chicken legs or wings (you need a lot of bones and skin to add taste, and some meat)
 - One head of garlic, peeled and mashed
 - One carrot
 - One parsnip
 - One onion
 - Two celery stalks
 - Three bay leaves
 - One tablespoon of black pepper seeds
 - Gelatin (a few packages, depending on soup quantity left after boiling)
 - Salt
 - For decoration and serving: bread, mustard, parsley, radishes, scallions, bell peppers

Preparation:
 - Boil the chicken in water on medium heat for about two and a half hours. Discard the foam periodically to keep the soup clear.
 - Add the carrot, parsnip, onion, celery stalks, bay leaves, and black pepper seeds. Boil for another hour.
 - Add the mashed head of garlic, and fix for salt. If the soup is too greasy, then a layer of fat will form at the top - feel free to remove and discard it.
 - Now to thickening the soup. The chicken bones and skin are most likely insufficient to make the soup coagulate. If you want to check this: take a bit of soup in a jar, place in the fridge until it cools, and check its consistency. Most likely, you will need to add gelatin to thicken it. Check the instructions on your gelatin package, and use about two thirds the recommended gelatin proportion for making jello. For example, if the instructions tell to combine a package with a cup of water, then you want to use about two packages for three cups of soup. Check how much soup you have: I ended up with six-seven cups, so I used four packages of gelatin. Check the instructions on the package: I initially added the gelatin to a cup of soup, let it sit for about a minute, then I thoroughly mixed this with the rest of the soup.
 - Separately, pick the chicken meat, shred it, and set it aside. Also, save the carrot (for color). Discard the chicken bones, skin, and all other solid ingredients in the soup.
 - Select a few deep bowls. Place parsley and carrot pieces on their bottom, then add chicken meat on top. Carefully add the soup over, but filter it through a tea strainer to make it as clear as possible.

 - Let it refrigerate overnight.                                                                                                                                         Presentation:

 - When ready to serve, remove one of more bowls with the dish from the fridge. Carefully flip them over onto flat plates: this upside-down soup with smooth edges is a most dramatic presentation.
 - Feel free to use extra parsley to garnish the dish.
 - Serve with bread, mustard, and fresh vegetables (radishes, scallions, or bell peppers).                                                            

Garlic Stinging Nettles

Garlic Stinging Nettles                                                         Ingredients:

  - Fresh stinging nettles (2-3 pounds)
  - 1 small onion (or half a big one)
  - 2 tablespoons olive oil
  - Spices: salt and pepper
  - 1 head of garlic
  - Half a cup of dill or parsley
  - Corn meal and eggs (for presentation)

Preparation:
  - Use a pair of gloves to separate the leaves of the stinging nettles from the stems.  Clean the leaves under cold water, and discard the stems.
  - Boil the stinging nettle leaves in water with a tablespoon of salt for 30 minutes.
  - Separate the leaves from the water.
  - Chop the leaves very small (or better use a mixer to puree them).  Feel free to add back a bit of the water to allow the mixer to run.
  - Finely dice the onion, then fry it in a large pan on medium heat until it turns yellow.
  - Add the pureed stinging nettle leaves mix, salt and pepper (to taste) and continue cooking for another 7 minutes.
  - Meanwhile, ground a head of garlic with salt and water (mujdei).  Also, finely chop the parsley or dill.  After the 7 minutes are gone, add them both to the mix in the pan, and remove from heat.
  - Note: if you don't like raw garlic that much, you can cook the dish for another 3-4 minutes.

Presentation:
  - Separately, prepare a polenta: fill a pan with a quantity of water equal to that of the polenta you need; add salt, and bring to a boil.  Slowly add the corn meal and mix.  Cook for as long as the corn meal package says (I love the quick 5-minute ready packages).  If you let it cool, you can easily slice it as desired.
  - Serve the with a fried egg on top.

Cajun Salmon with Arugula and Strawberries Salad

Cajun Salmon with Arugula and Strawberries Salad                                                                     Ingredients:

 - Salmon fillet and cajun spices (or Cajun Salmon from Trader Joe's)
 - One orange (or orange juice)
 - Arugula
 - Strawberries
 - Parmesan cheese
 - Balsamic vinegar

Preparation:
 - (if needed) Generously cover the salmon in cajun spices, and keep in the fridge for 24 hours
 - In a cooking dish, place a sheet of aluminum foil, put the salmon inside, and lift the edges of the foil. Squeeze the juice of an orange inside, and wrap the foil tightly around the salmon to keep the steam in.
 - Place the cooking dish in the over at 375F for 30 minutes.

Presentation:
 - Cover half of the serving plate with a bed of arugula.
 - Add sliced strawberries.
 - Sprinkle some good balsamic vinegar over the strawberries and the arugula.
 - Top with parmesan cheese.
 - Remove the salmon from the over (when ready), and place on the other side of the plate.

Peas Stew

Peas Stew                                                                                      Ingredients:

 - 1 bell pepper

 - 2 carrots

 - 1 parsnip

 - 1 onion

 - 1 pound of pork meat

 - 3 cans of peas (14.5 ounces each)

 - 1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)

 - 1 cup chopped dill or parsley

 - Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme, bay leaves

 - Cooking oil

Preparation:

 - Dice the onion and the bell pepper.  Shred the carrots and the parsnip.  Put all of them in a pan that's large enough to fit the whole recipe.  Add a tiny bit of cooking oil, and fry them for about 5-10 minutes (until the onion and bell pepper become softer and start to change color).

 - Dice the pork meat, and add to the flying pan.  Cook until the meat becomes white.

 - Add the peas (discard the water first) and the diced tomatoes.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, chili pepper, and thyme, to taste.  Also, add 2-3 bay leaves, and 3 cups of water.

 - Cover, and cook on medium heat for 1 hour.  Stir occasionally.

 - Remove from heat, and add the chopped dill or parsley.

Presentation:

 - We chose a black plate to help draw all the attention to the main dish.  The colors of the ingredients look so much more vivid when nothing else distracts the eye.

 - We sprinkled extra chopped dill on top.

 - A slightly opened pea pod further garnished the dish - a visually strong green reminder of the origin of the main ingredient in the recipe.

Mushroom Pizza

Mushroom Pizza                                                                        Ingredients:

 - 2 large portobello mushrooms (I buy mine from Trader Joe's)
 - 3-4 cherry tomatoes
 - 2-3 garlic cloves
 - 1 sausage (I prefer smoked or spicy)
 - Shredded cheese
 - Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper

Preparation:
 - Clean the portobello mushrooms, and remove the stipes (this will create more space for the ingredients).
 - Heat the oven to 400F.
 - Cover a large flat baking pan with aluminum foil, then place the mushrooms on top.
 - Cook the mushrooms in the over for 35 minutes.
 - Remove the mushrooms from the oven.  You may discard the liquid in the mushroom caps.
 - Finely chop the tomatoes and the garlic cloves, and add on top of the mushrooms.
 - Add salt, pepper, and chili pepper.
 - Slices the sausage, and place it on top of the mushroom pizza.
 - Cook for another 15 minutes if the sausage was pre-cooked, or 25 if it was not.
 - Remove from the oven, and top with shredded cheese. 

Pork Chop in Tomato Sauce

Pork Chop in Tomato Sauce                                                                                                                                    Ingredients:

 - 6 pork chops
 - One 18oz can of tomato sauce
 - One cup of wine
 - Spices: salt, pepper, chili pepper, thyme
 - One head of garlic
 - Finely chopped fresh parsley (for presentation)

Preparation:
 - Quickly fry the pork chops on high heat (one minute each side, or until they start to catch a bit of brownish color).
 - Preheat the oven to 325 F.  - Mix the tomato sauce, wine, and spices. Place a thin layer on a flat baking dish, then place the steaks, and cover with the remaining tomato mixture. Cover with aluminum foil.
 - Cook in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and cook for another 25 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, mix, and cook for another 5-10 minutes.                                                                                                                   Presentation:
 - Place the dish over a bed of mashed potatoes (or pasta).
 - Add a generous amount of sauce over each steak.
 - Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley for an adding bit of green.
 - The dish is greatly complemented by a side serving of pickles .

Fried Mushrooms in Butter with Rosemary                                                              

Ingredients:
 - Mushrooms
 - Butter
 - Rosemary
 - Ground medley pepper
 - Salt

Preparation:
 - Melt the butter, then add the mushrooms and rosemary.
 - Fry the mushrooms till they get a bit of color. Sprinkle sale and pepper.

Presentation:
 - Can be served to replace meat in various combinations. For example, it goes really well with hummus.
 - Keep some fresh rosemary on the side for extra colour.