Chocolate truffles

Week # 13 recipe # 12

Hey guys, so I made Chocolate truffles a couple of weeks ago on my live show, and now I'm gonna post the recipe, I'm sorry I haven't updated my blog in a while, I've been busy with exams. I love this recipe, It's so simple and it really impresses people when you hand them a nice little box or bag of pretty delicious homemade chocolate truffles.

What you will need:

- 1 and 1/4 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips.

- 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter

- 1/2 cup of heavy cream.

- 1/4 of brandy

- Cocoa powder, powder sugar, and chopped nuts.

Ok so when you got everything ready, pour you heavy cream in a saucepan and heat it until it simmers just a little bit. Meanwhile grab your chocolate chips and butter and pop them in the microwave for about 30 sec then take out and mix it, put back in for another 30 sec and mix until everything is nice and melted. After that pour your hot cream over the melted chocolate and stir until everything is uniform and smooth. Then pour in your brandy and give it another stir until smooth. Put the mixture into the fridge for at least an hour ( overnight is way better).Next take out the chilled mixture and using a spoon take a little bit and but it in your clean hands and quickly form a little ball before it starts to melt, roll the little ball in either cocoa powder, powder sugar or chopped nuts. Repeat until you finish all the mixture (it's about 30 truffles)

Serve, or pack in little bags and boxes and give out as Christmas gifts.

Ok guys, so there you have it an incredibly simple recipe with awesome results, if you are a chocolate lover be sure to try this recipe. By the way Sunday Dec 19 I'm gonna film a Live show from the beach, to be exact from a place in Tamarindo Costa Rica called Hacienda Pinilla be sure to watch, it's my Xmas special show and it's gonna be awesome! As always at 11AM (GMT -6) CST, Central US ( Costa Rica time)

Cuban sandwich made with thanksgiving turkey leftovers.

Week # 11 recipe # 11

Hey guys, so because lots of the people that read my blog live in the U.S, I was thinking about a recipe to post that had something to do with thanksgiving. On top of that my friend asked me to make something with a Latin influence for thanksgiving. So after giving it a little thought I got and idea. My idea was to make something with thanksgiving leftovers, because usually thanksgiving dinners are pretty traditional and I didn't want to mess with tradition. Then i was looking for a way to squeeze some Latin influence into the recipe for my friend, so i finally came up with this:

1- I wanted to make a sandwich ( you can make sandwiches with practically any leftovers)

2- I wanted some Latin influence in it.

3- I decided to give the old but famous Cuban sandwich a little twist.

The Cuban sandwich has always been a tradition in Cuban cafes, very famous in Miami. It's made with Cuban or French bread, thinly sliced ham and cheese, slow roasted pork, thinly sliced dill pickles and mustard. In my new version I'm going to change the roasted pork for roasted turkey. Here's how.

What you will need:

- A big loaf of good quality French bread, or as good as you can get.

- A few thin slices of ham ( it can be turkey ham or pork )

- One tablespoon of mustard, i like the French kind.

- A couple tablespoons of refried beans ( this is not traditional but i like the flavor it gives it)

- 2 slices of swiss cheese.

- A couple of thinly sliced dill pickles.

- Butter.

Ok guys, so when you got all your stuff ready, you want to cut a nice size piece of bread lengthwise, then simply spread the mustard on one side and the refried beans on the other side like it was a sauce. Grab your turkey meat and cut it into small pieces, if you have leftover gravy go ahead and get your turkey meat all full of it before putting it in the bread that will just give it more flavor, place it in the bread over the beans, add your dill pickles and the thinly sliced ham. Top it of with your cheese slices. Then close the sandwich with the other piece of bread. After you do that spread butter on the outside of your bread, on both sides. traditionally this sandwich is made in a sandwich press but if you don't have one just heat up a big pan and apply pressure on top of it with another pan or a spatula so it becomes compact and the bread gets crunchy.

Cut it in half diagonally and serve with some French fries or any other thanksgiving leftover.

Well there you have it guy's my Cuban sandwich with a thanksgiving twist, I hope you try and enjoy this simple recipe and remember Cooking keeps me sane.

Fresh tagliatelle in tomato & mussels sauce

Week # 11 recipe # 10

Hey guys, so this is the first picture recipe I'm gonna be doing so let me know if you like it, in my Facebook page. This a really good recipe and I hope it will open your eyes to see that making fresh pasta is incredibly easy and fast.

What you will need:

For the sauce:

- 4 or 5 big mussels per plate

-1 or 2 big ripe tomatoes

- One big onion choped into big pieces

- a piece of a hot chili pepper for spice.

- Some white wine.

- 2 garlic cloves

- olive oil.

- 1/4 cup of cream.

- A few leafs of fresh basil.

- Salt and pepper to taste.

For the pasta:

- 1 egg for every 100 grams of flour.

Ok guys, so when you got all your stuff ready do this:

1- Chop your tomatoes, almost all your onion ( save apiece for the end) garlic and hot chilli and put it in a sauce pan whit some olive oil over medium high heat until everything cooks for a little while. Let that cook and grab your flour make a little "volcano" and break an egg in the middle, then beat the egg with a fork.

2- Take your cooked vegetables and pour them in the blender until they become a thick liquid, Meanwhile start mixing your egg an flour to form a dough.

3- After that continue to kneed your dough until it becomes a ball like for about 5 minutes until it's smooth and has no bubles in the middle when u cut it in half.

4- Then it's simple guys, just roll out a sheet of pasta, try to do it as thin as you can. And then just fold add flor fold again and again till you get like a small little package.

5- then just cut the little package side to side thinly then use your hands to strech the tagliatelle pieces, make sure to add lots of flour so it doesn't stick. After you got your pasta made, heat up a pan pour some olive oil add some chopped onions and garlic and then add your mussels, cook for a few minutes. Then add the tomato sauce that you blended into the pan season with salt and pepper pour in some wine and let that simmer with the muscles over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile cook your pasta in salted boiling water. Take the sauce and muscles of the heat and pour just a splash of cream then the pasta and stir all together.

6- So there you have it guys, step by step to make delicious fresh tagliatelle. Give it a try at home it really deserves a chance. it's a cosy fresh and delicious meal, serve with some fresh basil if you want, and remember Cooking keeps me sane. recorded live show below.

Fresh tagliatelle pasta 1- Broadcast your self LIVE

Fresh tagliatelle pasta 2- Broadcast your self LIVE

Fresh tagliatelle pasta 3- Broadcast your self LIVE

Fresh tagliatelle pasta 4- Broadcast your self LIVE

Thai chicken curry

Week# 11 recipe # 9

Hey guys, so it's been a couple of weeks since I post a recipe. I just been very busy lately but I finally found some time so now I'm gonna post this very good chicken recipe I made in last week's live show. It's the way i like chicken curry, spicy well seasoned and juicy. Served over a bed of Jasmin rice to keep the Thai tradition. I's such a good meal and it's so simple to make. Here's how.

What you will need:

- 2 chicken breasts ( cut into strips )

- One can of coconut milk.

- Half a ginger root( peeled, half cut into little sticks and half grated )

- One large onion ( choped into squares )

- Half a really hot chili pepper. (chopped fine )

- About a tablespoon of red curry paste.

- One teaspoon of dry powder cumin, dry powder curry, dry coriander and turmeric.

- A couple cloves of garlic minced.

-salt and pepper to taste.

Ok guy so when you make sure you got all the stuff, get a nice large pan, pour some olive oil and throw in the chopped onion, the little ginger sticks and your hot chili, let everything cook over medium high heat for a couple of minutes till it gets soft. Meanwhile season you chicken strips with salt pepper and half of the other spices. When your onion and ginger are soft add your garlic and your chicken, cook your chicken until it becomes golden brown and delicious. After that, pour in you coconut milk and a little bit of water to create a sauce, lower your heat and add the rest of the spices and the curry paste, give everything a stir and simmer for about 5 minutes.Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Serve over a bed of freshly made Jasmin rice, you can also chop some fresh chilies and put the on top as garnish.

Ok guys, so there you have it. An Asian recipe My way... ha. Below is the video of the live Show if you haven't seen it. And remember that Cooking keeps me sane.

thai chicken curry - Broadcast your self LIVE

chicken curry 2 - Broadcast your self LIVE

thai chicken curry 3 - Broadcast your self LIVE

Tortilla Española BONUS recipe for my friend Jessica

week # 9 Bonus recipe

Hey guys, so the other day I was chatting with my friend, and she asked me to make a recipe with cheap ingredients and hopefully something with lots of eggs ( cause they are cheap... ha) so i'm including this recipe in my blog although it's not the recipe of the week. Tortilla Española, is a typical Spanish dish considered a " Tapa " it's delicious and very easy to make.

What you will need:

- 4 or 6 large eggs depending on how big your pan is.

- 1/2 a cup of milk.

- Lot's of olive oil. ( or vegetable oil )

- About 2 or 3 big potatoes( depending on how big your pan is) cut into thin slices.

- 1 big onion chopped finely and cooked till soft in a pan.

- a couple slices of bacon chopped finely. (optional)

- salt and pepper to taste.

-preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Ok so when you got all your ingredients ready, crack your eggs and beat them with the milk salt and pepper and put a side. After that grab a medium size pan ( hopefully one you can put in the oven) and pour enough olive oil to cover the surface of the pan, be generous but don't exaggerate when the oil starts to heat up add you potatoes, what you want to do is make a layer of potato slice in the pan, making sure almost all the slices touch the oil. Put the thicker slices closer to the oil, season with salt then add your cooked onions over the potatoes, wait about 5 min while the potatoes partially cook in medium heat on the pan, don't move or flip them remember we want a layer.

So after the potatoes have been chillin for a while in the pan add your egg mixture, the trick here is for the eggs to completely cover the potatoes, it should look like a huge pancake, if you can still see the potatoes then beat another egg and pour it in. Let it cook on the stove for a about 3 min or so, maybe 5 and then put it in the oven for about 15 min or until the egg mixture is completely cooked. Ok so the tricky part comes at the end, you have 2 choices you can either be brave and put a plate over the pan and flip the whole thing out, or you can be lazy and just eat it out of the pan. If you do decide taking it out of the pan it will look like a huge thick egg pancake with a layer of golden brown potatoes. Then just cut yourself a slice and eat hot or cold.

Ok guys, so there you have, it a traditional spanish dish that is extremely affordable. This one was for you jesse ;) haha.

By the way check out my LIVE show tomorrow at 11 AM Costa Rica time.

French toast my way LIVE show from sunday 7th

french toast my way # 1- Broadcast your self LIVE

french toast my way 2 - Broadcast your self LIVE

french toast my way # 3 - Broadcast your self LIVE

French toast my way

week # 8 recipe # 8

Ok guys, so I was craving breakfast for supper the other night and thought it was time to reinvent something i've never been a big fan of, French toast! lots of people love it but i've never really found some French toast that really blows my mind, so I made my own, the way i like it. I hope you like it as much as i did the other night.

What you will need:

- About 6 or 8 big slices of stale round French bread.

- 3 eggs beaten

- About 2 cups of milk

- A teaspoon of vanilla

- 1/4 cup of orange liquor or Limoncello.

- 1/2 cup of sugar.

- A small pack of strawberries

- More sugar for the strawberry sauce cut in halfs.

- Ricotta cheese.

- Honey.

- Butter.

Ok guys, so when you make sure you have all your stuff ready grab a bowl and add your milk, eggs, vanilla, orange liquor and mix everything well, then place on a double boiler ( put a pot with some water over medium heat and put a bowl over the pot so the mixture is not over direct heat) beat everything constantly for about 5 minutes until it starts to get thick like a custard, remember we don't wan't it too thick so when it is just a little bit thick like a light pudding take it of the heat and pour it over the slices of bread so they get drenched with the creamy mixture, let them soak for 5 min adding more as needed. Be sure to not drench to much because we don't want the bread to get too soggy. After that heat up a big pan and add plenty of butter than take your slices of drenched bread and let them get golden brown and delicious. While you are cooking the bread, take a sauce pan add the strawberries a little bit of water, sugar and some orange liquor and cook for 5 min or until a light strawberry syrup forms then take off the heat.

When you have your bread slices golden brown on both sides, place on a plate and crumble some ricotta cheese, then pour the strawberries over everything and drizzle with honey.

Serve warm, with a little whipped cream if you like.

So there you have it guys, a delicious breakfast alternative, and if you don't have strawberries you can use blueberries, raspberries or peaches. Hey on Sunday I'm gonna have a live show at 11 AM Costarican time so be sure to watch

Ricotta ravioli in spinach and fennel seed sauce

Week # 8 recipe # 7

Hey guys, so these past 2 weeks I been really busy, cause i started 2 new cooking classes so I've had much less spare time. That's why i didn't update the blog last week, but at least I had a live show to make up for it :) So when i was thinking about a recipe to post i remembered one I invented like 3 months ago like at 2 AM. I was pretty hungry and i was looking for a midnight snack (it was actually past midnight) So I open the fridge and find spinach and cream, and i open the freezer and find some frozen ravioli ( I like making my own fresh ravioli they're way better but 2 AM is pretty late to make fresh ravioli so frozen ones were good enough )

What you will need:

- A bag of frozen ricotta ravioli ( or fresh ravioli, way better )

- A couple handfuls of fresh spinach leaves.

- a teaspoon or so of dry fennel seeds.

- half a cup of heavy cream.

- half an onion ( finely chopped)

- olive oil.

-walnuts (chopped and toasted)

-1/4 cup of chicken stock .

- plenty of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

- salt and pepper to taste.

Ok guys, so when you got all you stuff ready the first thing you want to do is put a nice big pot full of water to boil with some salt, when that's boiling add your ravioli and cook till they are AL-dente. While your ravioli cook grab a sauce pan and pour some olive oil let it heat up a bit and then add the fennel seeds, move them around a little bit so that you flavor the oil and then add the onions, let them get soft and then add the spinach cook for about a minute. After that add the cream and the chicken stock let simmer for a few minutes. Finally add the toasted walnuts and a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. Take your ravioli out of the boiling water and put them in the sauce, take of the heat and serve.

Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Ok, so there you have it guys a very simple and delicious pasta dish that can be made at anytime. If you want to make fresh ravioli, here's how: 1 egg for every 100g flour, combine and kneed for at least 5 min till smooth then make a pasta sheet add filling leaving 2 fingers of distance between every spoonful of filling ( ricotta filling: ricotta a big pinch of salt and pepper,lemon and orange zest one egg mix well and use) place another sheet of pasta over it and shape the ravioli, cut and cook. Hey on Sunday I'm gonna have a live show at 11 AM Costarican time so be sure to watch.

Greek style shrimp over a bed of cous cous LIVE show from Saturday 30th

greek shrimp - Broadcast your self LIVE

greek shrimp 2 - Broadcast your self LIVE

Greek style shrimp over a bed of cous cous

week # 6 recipe # 6

Hey guys, so this week i went to a Mediterranean restaurant, and ate some really good shrimp, they were in a kinda spicy tomato sauce and topped with a bit of feta. They were delicious, so I decided to go buy some shrimp and make something similar to what i ate that night. So I got some stuff and inspired by the Greek dish I had, I made a recipe of my own.

what you will need:

- A pound of medium size shrimp ( Jumbo if you like them big )

- One big ripe tomato ( cut into small squares )

- One big onion ( chopped )

- a few hot chillies ( chopped )

- 2 Garlic cloves (minced )

- Olive oil and butter

- 250g Of cous cous

- One cup of water ( or stock )

- Lemon zest

- Sliced almonds

Ok so when you make sure you got everything ready, you are gonna grab your shrimp and peal them and clean them , but leave the tail so they don't shrink. What i like to do is to grab the shells of the shrimp and throw them into a pot with water and make shrimp stock for the cous cous. So when you got your shrimp ready, bring the shrimp stock ( remember to add salt and some olive oil ) to a boil and then add the cous cous, take of the heat and let it puff up and simmer for about 3-4 min on low heat with a few teaspoons of butter. At the end add some lemon zest and shaved almonds for texture. So when you have that done grab your shrimp and season it with salt, pepper and olive oil then throw into a very hot pan to quickly cook and brown the shrimp a bit. After cooking the shrimp for about 3 min take of the heat and save for later with their own juice. Meanwhile heat the pan up again with some olive oil and buter, throw in the onions and garlic along with the tomatoes and chillies, season well and let it become a nice and soft and flavorful sauce for the shrimp. Add the shrimp and their juice back into the pan with the tomato mixture cook on medium heat for about 3 min, taste it and season to taste.

Serve the shrimp over a bed of Lemon zest and Almond cous cous.

So there you have it guys. a restaurant inspired dish. really delicious and fresh. Just try to find the best and most fresh ingredients and you will have yourself a feast. Remember to leave questions as comments or send them as an email. Oh and by the way next Saturday i'm gonna have a live show, check it out by clinking this link at 11 AM USA central time: http://www.blogtv.com/people/cookingkeepsmesane

Tagliatelle in a healthy tomato and date sauce.

Week # 6 recipe # 5

Ok guys, so last week i made this really easy and simple dish, I just happened to open my fridge and use what i had to make a pasta dish for lunch that day. It turned out to be pretty healthy and delicious, so I'm going to do my best at explaining how i made it.

what you will need:

- One big bag of tagliatelle

- 4 Ripe tomatoes ( chopped )

- Half a jalapeño ( or as much as you want, chopped )

- A handful of dried dates ( chopped into small pieces )

-1 Garlic clove ( minced )

-1 Big onion cut into half moons.

- 1/2 a up of red wine.

- A couple tablespoons of olive oil.

- A few basil leafs.

- Salt and pepper to taste.

Ok guys, so when u make sure u have all your stuff ready, let the pasta cook in a pot of salted boiling water, while that's cooking you wanna heat up a pan and pour the olive oil, then add the onions and garlic and let them crystallize. After that add your tomatoes and let them cook on high heat while stirring for a few minutes. Once you've done that, add the dates along with the jalapeño and the pour in the red wine, let it all cook on medium heat for about 5 min or until most of the liquid is gone, season with salt and pepper. Finally take the cooked pasta and pass it to the pan with the sauce, mix it all and make sure the sauce covers the tagliatelle.

Serve immediately along with a glass of red wine and a couple of pieces of garlic bread.

So there you have it guys a very simple unusual but delicious dish that can be perfect when u have vegetarians friends over for supper, or if you just want to have something fresh and healthy. Remember to send me any questions to my email or post them as a comment.

Homemade PIZZA

Week # 4 recipe # 4

Hey guys, so as i said in my last post today I had a Italian epiphany. I made pizza and pasta, I love making pizza because it's not expensive it feeds a lot of people it tastes delicious and you really can be creative with it. One just has to know the pizza making basics and then pizza becomes like a blank canvas on which you can be creative.

For the dough, you will need:

- 2 cups of all purpose flour.

- 1 tablespoon and one teaspoon of fast active instant yeast.

- 1 teaspoon of salt.

- Enough warm water to make it all moist ( about 1 cup ).

- A drizzle of olive oil.

Ok guys so when you got all your stuff ready take a big bowl add in the flour, then make a like a hole in the middle so you can pour your warm water, add the yeast and with a fork start mixing the flour with the water and yeast until it all become moist ( if it's very dry add more water, if it's to moist add a little more flour ) after it all becomes like a big chunk add the salt, don't add the salt before because it will kill some of the yeast. Use your hands to continue incorporating the water, yeast, flour and salt . When the dough becomes a ball place it on a table drizzle it with a little bit of olive oil and kneed it strongly for at least 5 minutes to bring out the gluten and create good texture. After that give the dough a ball shape and press it a little bit with your fingers, if the dough bounces back then it's ready, if it doesn't then kneed it a little more. When you have done that, place the ball in a bowl cover with a cloth and let grow in a dark corner for about 30 min or until doubled in size. When the dough has grown cut it in to small balls and using your hands start stretching and making it thinner. You can try to make it into a round shape but it really doesn't matter, it could be square or uneven it's up to you.

Finally add your favorite toppings and cook in a 425 degree oven for about 8-10 min ( for thin pizza)

A good topping for pizza are caramelized onions.

Ok guys so that was my Italian epiphany for week # 4 i hope you try this homemade pizza at your home. If you have any questions leave them in the comments or send me an email. Be sure to check my blog next week for the new recipe.

Penne carretiera pasta

Week # 4 recipe # 3 ( because of delay )

Hey guys, I'm back in town, so the blog will go back to normal again, last week i wasn't able to post a new recipe so this week i'm posting 2. Well today i had an Italian epiphany so i made 2 Italian dishes, first of all i made penne carretiera pasta with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and bacon. It's my favorite, I've had it in a few restaurants and decided to try it at home so this is what i came up with:

what you will need:

- A big bag of penne pasta.

- 3 or big tomatoes, diced..

- 1 big onion cut into half moons.

- Half a pound of sliced mushrooms ( whatever kind you like, jut don't use can mushrooms )

- 2 garlic cloves, minced.

- 2 or 3 slices of thick bacon, depending on how much u like it.

- 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

- 1 teaspoon of tomato paste

- A few basil leafs

- salt and pepper to taste, plus a little bit of sugar.

Ok guys, so when u got all your ingredients, first you have to get a pot put some water to boil with lots of salt and then throw in the pasta, let it cook for about 10 -12 min and check to see if it's "al dente " meaning not too soft not hard, just right. while your pasta is cooking grab a big pan and pour the olive oil and the chopped slices of bacon along with the onions and garlic, let it all cook on high heat for a couple of minutes so everything gets happy and caramelized. then throw in the mushrooms while the pan is still pretty hot, move everything around and then lower the heat to medium low and add in the tomatoes along with a couple tablespoons of water and the tomato paste let that simmer for a few minutes until the tomatoes are very soft. Season to taste with the salt pepper and sugar and right at the end add the basil leafs. when your pasta is cooked pass it from your boiling water pot to your pan with the sauce, give it all a nice toss and drizzle some more olive oil on everything.

Serve with some garlic bread and garnish with some freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and basil leafs.

OK guys so there u have it a really simple Italian dish that is incredibly delicious. I recommend you try it at home. And remember if u have any questions or if u didn't understand something let me know in the comments or send me an email.

Sorry for the delay

Guys as I had said in my last post, I'm In Spain at the moment and it's been very difficult to be able to use the internet, i just got access to it now and it's 2:47 AM Spain time so i will not be posting a recipe today because i have a long trip tomorrow morning but i'll post it in the next few days along with my week # 4 recipe, Sorry about that.

Tasty Herb Chicken

Week # 2 - Recipe # 2

Hey guys, well I'm in Spain at the moment. I arrived on Wednesday so I've been eating a bunch of awesome things lately, i had some wine on the plane then some papas bravas when i arrived and all sort of hams and lots of sangria, overall a great time. But because I've been travelling i haven't had the time or kitchen to invent a new recipe, so I'm gonna share a pretty new recipe i came up with a few months ago. It's very simple but it's becoming one of my favorites.

Chicken and Herbs go hand to hand. Plain chicken can be boring but if you pair it with a few different flavors it pops out and becomes a great dish.

What you will need for this recipe:

- 4 nice chicken breasts ( or less if you don't wanna make so much, lol )

- 1 big handful of fresh tarragon, basil and rosemary. ( chopped very fine)

- the zest of one whole lemon or lime ( plus 2 teaspoons of the juice )

- 1 or 2 clove of minced garlic.

- 1 and 1/2 cups of flour.

- 3 big pinches of salt

- fresh cracked pepper.

- 1 or 2 teaspoons of ground cumin.

- enough vegetable or olive oil to pan fry the chicken.

- handful of chopped chives.

- 1 tablespoon of butter.

- 2 cups Approx, of chicken stock.

Ok guys so when u make sure u got all the ingredients, grab a chopping board chop all your fresh herbs, your chives and your garlic, add to that the lemon zest mix all together and set a side. Then take the chicken an cut it into strips not to thick not to thin. After that pour you flour in a bowl and season with the salt, cumin and pepper. Heat a big frying pan and add your butter and some oil to cover it lightly, when the pan is getting hot you wanna grab your chicken strips and toss them in the flour to lightly coat them ( we don't want a thick coat, just enough to get nice color ) when the oil and butter is hot, add just a little bit of the Herb mix to flavor it, then place your chicken strips so they pan fry. At this point you want to be using high heat because your pan is loaded and you want all your pieces of chicken to get nice and golden brown.

When all the strips in the pan are golden brown on both sides, lower the heat to medium low and add just enough chicken stock to reach half the thickness of the strips, immediately add in a nice amount of your Herb mix ( like half or so, or as much as you want ) also add the lemon juice.

Flip the strips over and over and if the liquid reduces a lot just add a little more chicken stock, then a few pinches of flour to give it sauce consistency, again if it gets to thick add more stock. let it all cook for 5 min or so turning the chicken and moving the pan. The idea is to get nice golden brown pieces of chicken and a delicious Herb sauce that covers them. Finish with a little more of the herb mix, taste the sauce and chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve along with mash potatoes if you wish.

So that's it guys a really simple and delicious chicken dish that can be made pretty fast, if i didn't explain something well or if you didn't understand something just leave it in the comments or send me a email. Next week i'll add a new recipe so be checking my blog!

Healthy Butternut squash soup

OK guys so this is the first recipe i'm adding to the blog, and i'm gonna do my best at explaining how to make it haha.

So today i opened my fridge and saw i had a nice butternut squash, and it was pretty rainy outside, something very common in Costa Rica around September lol. So what better for a rainy day than a nice bowl of hot soup? I included healthy in the name because these last days I've been trying to eat healthier, cutting out very fatty foods and including more veggies and fruits instead of carbs and this soup is really a reflection of that cause it contains a good amount of veggies and the only fat is olive oil ( and a little cheese.....) which is good for you .

So what you will need for this soup:

- one medium or big butternut squash

- one nice big onion ( chopped )

- 3 or 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil ( and a little more to drizzle over the squash )

- one handful of grated parmigiano regiano cheese ( or any other kind of Parmesan cheese)

-1 minced garlic

- approx 3-4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock ( add more if needed or the opposite )

- half a teaspoon of ground cardamom

- 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

- 1 teaspoon of sugar

- salt to taste (approx 2 big pinches)

- pepper to taste

So after you make sure u have the stuff, cut you butternut squash in half lengthwise ( remove excess seeds) place the half's on a cookie sheet drizzle a little olive oil on each one place in a 400 degree oven for about 40 - 60 min depending on size or until nice and soft, roasting the butternut squash allows it to keep all the flavors and nutrients inside, everything concentrates and it not only tastier but better for you. After you cooked the squash, using a spoon you want to remove all the "meat" from the skin and make a little puree, set that aside. In a medium sized pot, pour your olive oil let it warm up and add your onion chopped up along with your garlic, let it get all happy. At this point you want to be cooking with medium high heat and you want your onion to get nice and soft and crystallized. Next you wanna add your butternut squash puree and lower the heat down to medium, move it around with a spoon and then add the stock, do this kinda slow so u can see the consistency ( not to liquid not to thick ) add in the salt and spices along with sugar stir it up and try it ( ask yourself does it need more salt or sugar ? or maybe a little more spices to make it pop out more? ) if you think it needs more seasoning then add to taste. Cause in the end that's what cooking is all about, playing with flavors and being creative not just following a recipe. When you've done that grab a emerge blender and blend everything together till you get a nice smooth consistency if it needs more stock add more. Let it simmer for about 5 min take off the heat and add the freshly grated Parmesan cheese ( then stir ), it will give it a great finish.

Serve with croûtons, drizzle a little olive oil on top and if u wish a little more cheese.

Ok guys so that's my recipe for week 1 just at the end of the week haha i enjoyed making and eating that soup and i think u guys will too so give it a try. if u didn't understand something or just wanna ask me something leave it as a comment. I 'll be adding pictures soon.

Cooking keeps me sane project

I'm finishing culinary school and I've always loved to cook. i'm always in the kitchen inventing something so i decided to start a project, i'll be inventing a new recipe every week for a year, i'll also share recipes I've already invented. once i get a few followers i'll take suggestions on what kind of recipe to create and try, it could be a dessert a snack and appetizer, something for breakfast, lunch or supper, it doesn't matter. The whole deal behind this is to share ideas and new recipes with people cause cooking really does keep me sane.