Aioli

Quick Herb Aioli
serves 2
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3746/open-swordfish-burgers-with-herb-aoli

Ingredients
4 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard (used regular mustard)
1 tbsp lemon juice
shallot, chopped (to taste)
garlic clove , crushed (to taste, I used a squirt of garlic paste)
3 tbsp tarragon, chives, parsley , use 1 or a mixture (used only 1 small bunch of parsley)

Method
Mix together all the ingredients for the herb aïoli in a small bowl and set aside. Serve at room temperature.

Cottage cheese spread { Körözött }

Körözöt is something that my FIL whipped up whenever we return to visit on weekends. He has kindly written down the recipe recently as below. Now I can make them at home !

 
Cottage cheese spread 

Simply mix together the ingredients :-

100-150gm Cottage cheese (I think Ricotta cheese should be fine ,too)
165ml sour cream
3-4 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1-2 tsp sweet / spicy paprika powder
pinch of cumin, ground or whole
salt & pepper, to taste

At this point, you've already made a basic Körözöt ; however, my FIL makes it special by adding ...

Hungarian green pepper, chopped finely
1-2 hard boiled egg(s)
1-2 tsp mustard
Onion, finely chopped , to taste
cold cuts, chopped finely

Garnish with dill , parsley or paprika powder. I think a drizzle of olive oil would be nice, too :)

Note that sour cream and butter (or margerine) are crucial in this recipe ; while the rest of the additions can be to your taste.

Left-over Pumpkin Soup as pasta sauce

Horrible photo; but the sauce and pasta combination was so moreish, I had to restraint myself !
The recipe is as per the title, it starts from cooking a batch of pumpkin soup (recipe below) spiced with dashes of curry powder for extra kick. Then use the leftover as pasta sauce for next day's main - just cook and mix in your favourite pasta, some grated cheese, pieces of fried chorizo, and finally sprinkle with chopped parsley - seriously good!
Pumpkin soup

Taste.com.au

serves : 6

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 leek, white part only, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp ground coriander (omitted - didn't have any in the pantry)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1kg peeled pumpkin, diced
1 large potato, peeled, diced
1L chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup (125ml) thin cream (omitted)
*added
curry powder, to taste

Method

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over low heat, add onion and leek and cook for 2-3 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Add garlic and spices and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add pumpkin, potato and stock and bring to the boil. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then blend in batches.
2. Return soup to pan, stir through cream and reheat gently. Season and add a little more nutmeg if desired.

Homemade peanut dipping sauce

By now, many have figured out the short cut in making peanut sauce. It's really not hard especially if you have peanut butter in your pantry. However, in my case, peanut butter is not regularly featured on my grocery list as I'm the only one who eats it and that's dangerous! :D
One day a dish really needed this sauce to make it complete, so I thought why not give it a go with  toasted peanuts in packet that I've got on hand. The recipe still needs tweaking but the result was very promising !

Homemade Peanut dipping sauce

Ingredients (estimate only)
Peanuts, toasted, it depend on how "peanutty" you want it
oil for cooking
onion, minced
dried red chillies, to taste
anchovy paste, to taste
salt and sugar, to taste
water, as needed

Method
1) Heat oil in sauce pan. Sauté minced onion until translucent. Add in the anchovy paste, dried chillies and peanuts. Stir it a bit. add water , not too much. you can adjust later. cook until peanuts are blendable.
2) Remove from sauce pan and blend to the preferred texture (smooth or chunky) , pour in back to pan . At this point, season with salt and sugar, also adjust water, if needed.
3) Serve room temperature or hot.

Tzatziki

Tzatziki
Ingredients
2 medium-sized cucumber, peeled and sliced thinly
1x175gm yoghurt
few tablespoon of sour cream, or to taste
salt
pepper
garlic powder
parsley, chopped finely
Method
1) Slice or julien cucumber thinly. Sprinkle liberally with salt and let it sit for 10-15 mins. not more
2) Meanwhile, mix together yoghurt, sour cream, garlic powder and finely chopped parsley. Check taste and adjust accordingly. *Leave out the salt for the time being.*
3) After 10-15 mins. squeeze and drain all the liquid from the cucumber and mix into yoghurt, then check seasoning. And it is ready!

Guacamole

The last time I had mexican food was about eight years ago (I think..). Although it was a nice experience , it didn't inspire me to cook it at home (also because I hardly cook those days!). Tortilla chips during movie sessions don't count ;)

The recipe for the dip is from Recipezaar. It was good! However, I'll probably leave out the onion the next time. It's just too overpowering for my taste.

Easy Guacamole

Ingredients
3 ripe avocados (ripe as in really dark in color and super soft when squeezed)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 medium tomato, diced
sour cream *optional
salt and pepper, to taste

Methods
1)Take avocados and cut into the avocado until you come to the large seed inside.
2)Cut around the circumference of the seed.
3)With both hands twist the two halves in opposite directions and pull apart.
4)Now if your avocados are ripe enough they will separate easily.
5)Now carve out each half with a tablespoon.
6)Place avocados into a medium bowl and mash and stir until moderately creamy.
7)Some people like the avocados more chunky than others-- either way it tastes great.
8)Add diced onion and tomatoes to the avocados.
9)Add your preference of salt and pepper and taste to see if salty enough.
10)In a separate small bowl put in 2 tablespoons of the dip.
11)Add 1 tbsp of sour cream and salt again.
12)Taste it.
13)And decide if you prefer your guacamole with or without sour cream.
14)If you like with sour cream add 4 tablespoons or more to the avocado mixture and salt again.
15)If not, do nothing and leave it like it is.
16)You can do the same with the Tabasco sauce if you like Tabasco sauce.
17)Serve chilled with chips or add a little to your taco salad.