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These are another of the dishes that transport me to my Grandparents house on the pond in summer. Mizeria means “misery ” in Polish . It is said it is because this was a peasant dish originally. I use burpless or marketmore, but you can use English/seedless. Serves 4 2 Cucumbers, washed and thinly sliced 1/2 cup/125ml/60g sour cream, creme fraiche or mayo (sub 1/2 mayo) 1/2 teaspoon/2ml salt 1/2 teaspoon/2mil ground black pepper 1/2 tablespoon/7ml chopped fresh dill 2 spring onions or 3-4 chives, thinly sliced (optional) In a medium sized bowl mix sour cream, salt, pepper, dill and onions. Gently fold in the cucumbers to evenly coat. Let sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. The “sauce” will become more runny as the salt draws liquid from the cucumbers. Place in the refrigerator to chill or eat at room temperature. private chefs and event catering Palm Beach + Boca Raton + Fort Lauderdale + Miami Beach info@yadachef.com | 954-367-YADA (9232) 561-285-7466 www.yada

Four to six servings 16 pitted soft prunes 1 cup/250ml Armagnac 1 cup/250ml whole milk 1 long vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise, giving four quarters—or 1 tablespoon/15ml pure vanilla extract 6 large egg yolks 1/2 to 3/4 cup/125-185ml natural wildflower honey to taste Pinch of salt 1 cup/250ml whipping cream Two weeks or more in advance, place prunes in a large clean jar or crock. Add Armagnac to cover. Cover jar or crock and set aside in a cool place to steep. When ready to make ice cream, measure out 1 cup moderately packed prunes and fill up remainder of cup with Armagnac; set aside. Use remaining prunes for garnish. Scald milk with vanilla bean (but not vanilla extract); set aside. Whisk egg yolks over very low heat in medium, nonreactive saucepan until warm. Continue whisking, adding honey gradually. When all honey is added and honey has begun to dissolve, remove saucepan from heat. Do not boil. Whisk in hot milk and salt. 4. Return saucepan to low heat. Cook

INGREDIENTS: 1 tablespoon/14g butter 2 teaspoons/8g white sugar 1/4 cup/32g all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon/16g applesauce, or as needed 1/8 teaspoon baking powder 2 drops vanilla extract, or to taste 1 pinch salt 2 teaspoons/5g all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon/5g butter 1 teaspoon/3g brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon/.5g ground cinnamon DIRECTIONS:  Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a microwave-safe mug until softened, about 10 seconds. Stir white sugar into butter until dissolved. Mix 1/4 cup flour, applesauce, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt into butter-sugar mixture until batter is smooth. Mix 2 teaspoons flour, 1 teaspoon butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl using your hands until the texture of lumpy sand is reached; sprinkle over batter. Cook in the microwave until coffeecake appears to be barely set, 50 to 80 seconds. Cool before eating. personal chefs and event catering Miami + Miami Beach + Fort Lauderdale + Palm Beach info@yadachef.com | 954

Make sure to use stove-popped popcorn for this recipe--not the microwave type--to ensure that your mu nch will be extra crisp and delicious. Ingredients: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/3 cup popcorn kernels Nonstick cooking spray, for spraying the bowl and spatula 1 cup salted cocktail peanuts 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter 1/4 cup light corn syrup 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups lightly crushed red and/or green apple chips Directions: Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottom pot over medium heat until very hot and shimmering. Add the popcorn and immediately cover with a lid. Shake the pot constantly, holding the lid on with a heatproof holder, until the popping starts, about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to shake the pot until the popping slows to just a few per 5 seconds, 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and let stand for another minute to allow any last kernels to pop. Spray a ve

Part I: Making the Lemon Curd (for about 1 and 1/2 cups) Ingredients: 1/2 cup/125ml of Lemon Juice 3 Tablespoons of grated Lemon Zest (or the grated zest of 2 large Lemons) 3 ounces/85g of Butter, cut in pieces 7 ounces/198g of Granulated Sugar 3 Large Eggs 1. Crack the eggs into a bowl , beat them well, and set them aside. 2. Put the lemon juice, zest, sugar and butter in the top of the double boiler: 3. Bring the water in the bottom of the double boiler to a simmer and heat the mixture, whisking it now and again, until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. 4. Pour in the eggs, now whisking all the while, and cook the mixture, whisking it continuously, over the simmering water without letting it boil: 5. Continue stirring. Steam will begin rising from the curd, and little bubbles will form on the surface. At first the curd will leave only a film on a spoon. It will taste thin. Gradually, you will see a change in its consistency as you continue to stir and cook i

It seems culinary terms are thrown about by every Tom, Dick and Harry now. Aioli is seen on almost every menu . The problem, is as with everything, even cooking terms have been “dumbed down” and abused. Any true chef worth their salt knows that there are distinct differences between Aioli and Mayonnaise. Aioli is not just a fancy name for garlic flavoured or infused Mayo. Aioli is an emulsion of garlic and the very best Olive Oil. The very name translates to garlic oil. Sometimes day old white bread and lemon juice are added. An egg yolk can be used to help stabilization. Mayonnaise is an emulsion of egg and a neutral oil along with mustard and lemon juice. A neutral oil is essential in a good mayonnaise whereas good Olive oil is essential for aioli. Unfortunately Escoffier added an egg, and well he is the “grandfather of modern sauces and cuisine”. The original Provencal recipe did not use it. Aioli is best used on fish dishes, seafood soups/stews and steamed vege

Red, yellow, and orange peppers get their good looks, as well as some of their most noteworthy health effects, from plant pigments called carotenoids. These pig ments act like sunscreen, protecting the ripening peppers from sun damage. As it turns out, those pigments have a similar safeguarding effect on us. Like other antioxidants, carotenoids also help boost immunity and fight cancer and heart disease. They're valuable for vision as well: Orange peppers are a top source of lutein and zeaxanthin, which guard against cataracts and macular degeneration. In fact, orange peppers contain more zeaxanthin than any other fruit or vegetable (with corn a distant second). Red peppers supply abundant amounts of beta-carotene, which your body converts to vitamin A, a nutrient crucial for night vision. Perhaps the most surprising nutritional pepper perk is its vitamin C. Just one small red, yellow, or orange pepper gives you up to three times your daily requirement of C (one small oran

You don’t eat meat? Not a problem. This recipe is all vegan. That is right, no animal products at all. Believe me, you will not miss them. Asparagus and Mushroo m Risotto (Pressure Cooker) Recipe Serves 4 2 tablespoons/30ml/30g olive oil 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite size pieces 1 medium onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp/5ml fennel seed 8 ounces/225 g baby portabella mushrooms, sliced 1 1/2 cups arborio rice or 1 1/2 cups/316g risotto rice ½ cup/125ml dry white wine 3 ½ cups/875ml vegetable stock (low sodium) 1 cup/225ml grated vegan Parmesan cheese zest of lemon In a pressure cooker, heat 1 tablespoon/15ml olive oil over medium heat. Saute asparagus 2-3 minutes; remove to a bowl. Add onion and garlic. Saute until translucent (2-3 minutes). Add fennel, mushrooms and rice. Stir until rice is coated with oil. Pour in wine and cook until most of the wine is evaporated, 3-4 minutes. Add stock, cover and bring up to high pressure. Lower heat and stabilize

There seems to be some confusion over our  baked goods, everyone. Tell the truth: if we asked you to tell us the difference between a crumble, cobbler, crisp, grunt, slump, buckle or brown Betty (without Googling it), could you tell us? Until we started working on this article, we definitely wouldn't have been able to swing it. All of these desserts have some common element. Nearly every one involves fruit, butter, sugar and flour in one way or another. The differences are definitely fewer than the similarities. A crumble is probably what you think of when you hear any of the names of the other desserts in this list. A crumble is a baked dish of fresh fruit (apples, berries, plums, etc.) that is topped with an oat-based streusel. Add ice cream and transport to summer heaven. A crisp is exactly like a crumble, except there are no oats in the streusel. That makes the crisp topping more like sweet, buttery, crumbled pie crust. If anyone ever serves you a "cobbler&

October 3 is National Caramel Custard  Day. Caramel custard, or crème caramel, is a caramel-coated baked egg custard.  It takes a little bit of practice to perfect, but the result is a creamy, flavorful dessert that’s well worth the dress rehearsals. Ingredients 1/2 cup/96g sugar 3 eggs, slightly beaten 1/3 cup/64g sugar 1 teaspoon/5ml vanilla 1/8 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups/625ml very warm milk Ground nutmeg Directions Heat oven to 350F/176C/Gas 4 Heat 1/2 cup sugar in heavy 1-quart/ 1 liter saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted and golden brown. Divide sugar syrup among six (6)ounce/180ml custard cups; tilt cups to coat bottoms. Allow syrup to harden in cups about 10 minutes. Mix eggs, remaining sugar, the vanilla and salt in medium bowl. Gradually stir in milk. Pour over syrup in cups. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Place cups in rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches/33 x 23 x 5 cm, on oven rack. Pour very hot water into pan to within 1/2 i

That tradition of cooking the day of the holiday will most likely continue this year in a number of households. Who wants to spend their time in the kitchen? There's a better way if families hire a personal chef for Thanksgiving. Not only can families remove stress from the holiday, but it presents a great opportunity to make the holiday special and unique in terms of the dishes you can ask the chef to prepare. Thinking outside of the box, instead of the Thanksgiving staples such as roasted turkey with mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce on the side, why not change things up? The prep time that many families endure before the holiday can be replaced by flipping through magazines or, let's face it, Pinterest, to find enticing offerings for dinner. One thing to consider is personal taste. This is your Thanksgiving after all and you should keep in mind that there is a special art in choosing dishes that work well together. You also do not want to get the same