Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 - Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan,the land of fire is our host country for today's Chow Down to Eurovision contestant. 

Following on from Azerbaijan's last entry of those char grilled beauties lulu kebabs we again have a dish that would be at home on a barbecue.

I'm hungry so let's head straight into today's plate of tender marinated chunks of chicken with a smoky hint of char goodness....

Azerbaijani Marinated Chicken
Ingredients

• 500g chicken (breast or thigh)
• 50g cream
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Handful of mint chopped
• 1 small brown onion grated
• 1 spring onion sliced
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• Big pinch of salt
• Cayenne pepper and extra mint to garnish 
• 1 onion sliced

Method

• Cut chicken into chunks
• Combine chicken, cream, lemon juice, mint, onion, spring onion and garlic in a bowl
• Let marinate for about 4 hours
• Remove excess marinade from chicken
• Cook in a really hot griddle pan for few minutes each side till cooked through
• Serve with sliced onion, mint and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper or sumac
• Can be barbecued on a skewer for that extra level taste sensation

The cheap cast iron grill pan has come in handy over the years

Mint can sometimes be forgotten about or kept with desserts but a I really love have it makes the chicken come alive. an added bonus with all the raw onion it's means you are probably still quite kissable....you know you are!

In 2015 Elnur Huseynov was back to try his luck for Azerbaijan this time a little less angel and little more twilight.

Azerbaijan has always place top ten in Eurovision finals apart from 2014 (22nd) and 2015 where Hour of the wolf finished 12th. 

 

Day and Day Azerbaijan 2008 debut performance placing 8th in the final.

Past Azerbaijan Chow Down to Eurovision:

 2014 Lulu Kebabs

2013 Zebra Cake

Chow Down to Eurovision 2014 - F.Y.R.Macedonia

добро вечер, dobro večer this is former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, ex-République yougoslave de Macédoine calling, and contestant number eleven in Chow Down to Eurovision 2014 Semi Final 2.

Last year former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia presented the easy to make and even easier to eat sugar ladened halva.

 

This year there is a touch less sugar with a very simple yet satisfying salad.

 

Sometimes we can get too fancy in fear of presenting a dish that could be labelled pedestrian that simple pleasures like this salad can be over looked, and that would be a greater tragedy.

 

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia always sends great voices to Eurovision and 2012 was no exception with Kaliopi and Crno I Belo.

 

While she hasn't replaced Karolina as my favourite from F.Y.R.M she comes a very close second.

She placed 13th in the final.

 

 

My Shopska salad

Ingredients

• 2 red onions
• 2 small cucumbers
• 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes
• 1 small red capsicum
• 1/2 cup fine grated Cheddar cheese
• Salt, pepper
• Olive oil

 

Method

• Peel cucumbers and dice to 1-2cm cubes
• Dice the rest of the vegetable the same size
• Season with salt and pepper and a splash of olive oil
• Top with grated cheese
• When I first read about this salad it said to serve in an oval, on further readings it may have been a translation issue and meant to serve in a bowl!
• Either way it is the most delicious simple salad and is perfect, in an oval, bowl, or jar as a work lunch.
• You may like to decorate the top with some additional red capsicum, but I advise stopping before you try and recreate F.Y.R. Macedonia's flag as you may have to spend time picking them out before you take the photo!

F.Y.R. Macedonia are sending another power house vocalist in Tijana who is heading To the Sky and possibly Saturday's final.

Will she be able to make the final top ten, a place F.Y.R. Macedonia hasn't been...yet.

 

If they win, their air force might even be able to afford shirts as well as gas masks! 

со среќа so sreḱa!

Nurse....NURSE!!

While I have come through this winter with a full bill of health (knock wood) poor AB has succumbed to "a sore phroat (throat) and I coughing"

 

My nursing treatments have included multiple lozenges, eucalyptus oil burning, ice cream to soothe the sore phroat and even a fruit jelly mostly due to the fact I'd eaten all the phroat soothing ice cream.

 

I would like to thinking that my doting attention towards the patient has conjured the essence of Florence Nightingale but in reality it's probably a little more Nurse Ratched.

 

This soup comes from my university days when before most exams or concerts I would end up with a throat infection. Probably exam stress, fear of failure or perhaps just working too hard in the pursuit of vocal perfection (read drinking at the uni bar).

 

I worked on the more is more principle thinking that if a bit of garlic was good a whole truckload must be bloody marvellous!

 

Shamefully my early student diet consisted largely of 2 minute noodles and beer so the higher the vegetable content per spoonful the better. With the pumpkin and onions providing I think they're called vitamins, low and behold after a bowl of this I was cured.

 

There is no scientific testing to back this claim apart from the fact I have been surrounded by sick people and the communal germ fest that is most offices with air-conditioning yet have managed to stay well.

 

I'm hopeful it will cure AB too and it doesn't turn into an life threatening case of Man Flu though I am a fair more pathetic and demanding patient allegedly.

 

Perhaps it is the amount of garlic that creates an invisible force field around you that makes all the coughing and spluttering people keep their distance........works for me!

 

"Miracle" Pumpkin Soup
This is a full flavoured soup, not for the faint hearted

• 2kg mixed pumpkin (kent, butternut, jap)
• 1kg mixed onions (red and brown)
• 2-3 whole garlic
• 250g bacon
• 5-6 small red chillies chopped
• 1.5-2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
• Large handful of flat leaf parsley
• Zest of 1-2 lemons

Method

• Peel and quarter the onions
• Peal garlic (I know it's a lot but you want to get well)
• Roughly chop bacon
• Chop pumpkin, the skin can be left on for a more nutty flavour
• Cut the pumpkin in varies sizes depending on how quickly they cook, e.g. Kent cooks faster that Jap so cut the kent into larger pieces
• Add a splash of olive oil to a boiler
• Fry off the bacon, onions, and garlic on a medium heat, a little browning will add to the flavour but too must will taste burnt.
• The onions need to be softened as boiling raw onions changes the texture
• Add the pumpkin and chillies and stir to coat
• Add the stock to just below covering the pumpkin
• Simmer on low for about 45 minutes
• Blend to smooth (for a thicker soup reserve 2-3 cups of liquid before blending)
• Serve topped with a gremolata of chopped parsley and lemon zest minus the garlic (we probably have enough already)
• Grab a box set of bad TV, get some eucalyptus oil going in the oil burner and stay at home so as to not continue infecting your co-workers, even though you got it from them!

 

If the symptoms persist a change in crockery may be in order. 

Chow Down to Eurovision 2013 - Albaina

Përshëndetje (hello) and welcome to Albania.
In 2012 Rona Nishilu took to the stage with Suss and for 3 minutes I was memorized. While there were a mired of jokes about her hair and the screaming I sat transfixed as I witnessed a moment of true musical artistry, and I wasn't even a judge on The Voice.

It just goes to show while I love all the bells and whistles and reveals of Eurovision it is hard to beat a stand and deliver out pouring of emotional vocal gymnastics.
Well unfortunately it wasn't that hard to beat she came 5th. Today I have keep the same simplicity in the cooking with my variation of the Albanian Turli Perimesh or mixed vegetables.

My Turli Perimesh
Ingredients

• 2 brown onions
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 large red capsicum
• 2-3 Lebanese eggplants
• 3 yellow squash
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes
• 1 zucchini
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Basil to garnish

Method

• Chop all the vegetables into roughly the same size, leave the tomatoes whole
• Add olive oil to a fry pan over a medium heat
• Add the onions and garlic and sweat for a minute or 2 without browning
• Add the eggplant, squash, zucchini, capsicum and tomatoes
• Cook the vegetable till on medium to low heat till they are tender and the tomatoes are bursting.
• If the pan gets too dry add a splash of water or stock
• Season to taste
• Serve with an extra splash of olive oil and garnish with basil leaves  

Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko will bring Identitet to Sweden this year.

Fat i mire!

 

Chow Down to Eurovision 2013 - Iceland

Hello, or as they say in Reykjavik Komið þið sæl og blessuð, and welcome to Iceland. Our dish of the day was going to be a pepper biscuit popular at Christmas in Iceland, but as you know the oven is another technical hitch. I have found a way better option though and it has the most awesome name, rúllupylsa. A rolled, stuffed, tied, boiled, pressed and sliced sandwich meat.

 The recipe is based on this video although I am grateful I don't have boxes of recently slaughtered lambs at my supermarket. This will definitely be a regular visitor to our table as it brings back all the memories of a Monday school lunch sandwich with last night's roast lamb.

In honour of the amount of rolling involved in the rúllupylsa our Eurovision bite has just as much rolling, well make that body rolling. Selma placed 2nd in 1999 which is the highest Iceland has ever come in a final. Yvonna won semi-final 1 in 2009 but also came in 2nd on the big night. My other favourite Icelandic entries would be Euroband (a Eurovision tribute band), the power house Hera Bjork, and the classic Paul Oscar all clad in PVC and bejewelled.

Weird trivia I almost won her dress on eBay years ago, I don't think it's my colour though.

Rúllupylsa-rolled sausage
Ingredients

• 2 lamb flaps or bellies
• 2 brown onions
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 2-3 sprigs rosemary
• 1 thumb ginger
• 1/2 tsp. all spice
• 1 glove garlic
• 2 tbsp. salt (see note)
• Kitchen string
• Weights or pot of water to press sausage

Method

• Remove the ribs from the flaps
• Remove as much fat as you want remembering it wont render away when boiling and will be part of the finished sausage.
• Lay the 2 flaps on top of each other skin side out, you can square them up but I didn't bother.
• Chop the onion, parsley, rosemary and put in a bowl
• Grate the ginger and garlic into the bowl
• Add the salt and all spice and combine
• Spread the mixture over the top of the flaps
• Roll the flaps tightly to form the sausage
• Tie with kitchen string at about 1-1.5 cm intervals
• Boil in a large pot of water for 1.5-2 hours
• Remove the sausage from the water and place in a baking tray
• Press the sausage overnight or up to 24 hours in the fridge
• You can use anything to weight it down, weights, or a pot of water etc.
• Slice thinly remembering to remove the string
• Serve on toast with mustard, it is delicious
• Note: I had made some salsa verde salt for a dear friend's birthday, and used some leftover for this recipe which I think added to the flavour. The salt is processed in a spice grinder with fresh parsley, basil, coriander, mint, and then dried in the oven.
• The next time I make this I will try and remove as much fat as possible although the mustard does cut through the fat. I will also try making the filling in the food processer to achieve a smoother texture. I'll report back if it's not as good.

 Finally 50 shades of Grey came in handy!

 Malmö will see Eythor Ingi perform Ég Á Líf  will I have another Icelandic performer to add to my list of favourites?

Gangi þér vel!

Mother Hubbards work lunch

As much as I would love it, like most people I don't have a Nigella sized pantry or a Master Chef store room that is restocked by the ingredient fairies overnight.
So there are time I stand in front of the fridge/pantry and say I have nothing to make. This quick post was the result of throwing some of the nothing together and ending up with a pretty good work lunch or side salad.

Rocket chickpea salad
Ingredients (or whatever you have on hand)

• rocket (washed)
• 1 can chickpeas (or soak dried)
• chopped capsicum
• chopped red onion
• chopped sweet chili
• Juice of 2 oranges
• good splash olive oil
• salt and pepper

Method

• Combine all ingredients and toss
• I didn't make the dressing separately I just added it all together.
• Serve and enjoy the pleasure of creating something from what seemed nothing.

It's a mystery

AB has been the inspiration for some of my best cooking triumphs, remember the meat lovers ice cream, well the chico ice cream was a success. No matter what is plated up there is always praise even though I may sit there and do my best Mary Berry or Manu Fieldel and over critic each element of the dish. "oh it's is verging on a soggy bottom" "mmm butter, but there needs to be more sauce" The only time I knew I had missed the mark and risked being eliminated is when I heard "it's a strong flavour". Really you couldn't buy support like that, although I will be in trouble for writing about it.
I will in the coming weeks bring myself to blog AB's favourite dish, Catfood, it will take some time. Till then he provided this mystery box challenge after I asked him to pick up some meat for dinner.
"what do you want?"
"i dunno surprise me"
"OK...I could make you do a masterchef mystery box?"
"bring it on!"

 

Pasta south of the border



serves 4-5 and on the table in 30 minutes
Ingredients as above

• 6 italian sausages
• 360g oyster blade steak
• 1 brown onion
• 1/4 of a pumpkin
• 200g green beans
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1 bag pasta
• 1 red chilli*
• 250ml sour cream*
• olive oil*
• bottle of pasata*

*pantry item

Method

• Add boiling water from the kettle to a boiler with a good dash of salt
• Put steak and sausages into food processor and mince
• Dice onion and saute with olive oil in fry pan
• Add meat to onions
• Dice pumpkin and add to boiler
• Add pasta to pumpkin, try to cut pumpkin the same size as pasta or smaller.
• Add pasatato meat and season
• Cut green beans into 2cm pieces
• Drain red kidney beans
• Just before the pasta is cooked, add green and red beans to sauce.
• Drain pasta and pumpkin
• Stir through sour cream, save a bit to garnish
• Add pasta and sauce to boiler and mix through
• Serve with dollop of sourcream and sliced chilli

There seems to be way too many steps but it really is just chop, add, cook, eat. Can't wait for the next mystery box, although I know you are all still thinking AB's favourite dish is catfood.

No soup for you.

Faced with the challenge of needing to devour any medicinal ingredient I could get my hands on, garlic, ginger, onions, chili, but it not being soup, I had to come up with a plan B.
Instantly rich curries and tagines come to mind, but lets not forget the man flu, it had to be ready in about 15mins and with a little effort as possible. So close to death you don't want to risk a delicious slow cook if there is a chance you won't live long enough to taste it.
The answer???

Man Flu Fried Rice

• Olive oil.
• 2 onions chopped (any colour)
• 4 cloves of garlic chopped (or as much as you or your beloved can stand)
• 4 cm ginger finely chopped
• 2 red chili sliced (seeds in or out it's up to you)
• 2 carrots grated
• 3 stalk celery sliced
• Garden fresh broccoli or any other vegetable you can get your hands on.
• 3 spring onions chopped
• 3 cups of cooked rice
• Salt and pepper
• Kecap Manis, as much as you like.

Method

• Saute onions, garlic ginger and chili with a good splash of olive oil in a fry pan.
• When the onions start to soften, add the carrot and celery and other vegetables and saute for about 5 mins, you can add a little bit of water or stock if it is too dry.
• Add the spring onions and rice.
• Add Kecap Manis, salt and pepper to taste.
• This version was meatless but you can add any meat of your choice...if you have the strength to go to the shops.
• grab a box of tissues, a blanket, pillow, boxed set of your favourite DVD and pray you have enough strength to eat.

50 shades of phlegm!

About a month ago our home was hit with a double dose of Man Flu.  A near death experience, I even had 2 days of work, not consecutively, 1 day a week times 2. This was pretty dire as I left my last job taking about 3 sick days in 2 years. Thankfully I can report that all is well and we have survived.

I'm blaming my incapacitation for the lack of blog updates, where as others may attribute it to my hoity toity laziness, but they would never say it to my face.
The staple diet of any man flu casualty is chicken soup, mothers milk. I guess you could add noodles but that would be dependant on the man patient having enough strength to chew.

This is my version, I drank it breakfast, lunch, and dinner till I mentioned having more soup and AB gave me a look that advised against it toot sweet. My solution will feature next post.

Clear Chicken Soup

• 500 grams chicken necks
• 2 large red onions (or any colour you have)
• 2 chilli
• half a bunch of celery
• 3-4 carrots
• 1 head of garlic
• 4cm ginger sliced
• small cinnamon stick
• salt and pepper to taste

Method
There are options here depending on your level of Hoity Toity laziness.
Options 1

• Brown the onions, peeled garlic and chicken necks
• Add the remaining ingredients and cover with hot water.
• Simmer for about 45mins-1hour.
• Strain through a sieve and serve.

Option 2 Lazy version

• Put everything in the pot and cover with water
• I don't even peel the garlic as it is strained anyway.

No glamour photo shop here, this pot only has 1 handle, I must replace it!