Belgian Cuisine

 

Gratin of Brussels Sprouts                               

                                                                              

2 lbs. brussels sprouts

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper

1 1/2 cups cream

1/2 cup gruyere cheese

Wash and pick off tough outer leaves of brussel sprouts bring to boil for one minute, turn off drain and rinse with cold water. Simmer cream and spices till 3/4 cup reduced, mix with brussel sprouts in pan a sprinkle cheese over the top. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes.

Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Shallots

8 medium potatoes quartered

3 shallots sliced thin

3 + 5 Tblsp. butter

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp. salt

2 Tblsp. parsley chopped

1 tsp. each nutmeg and pepper

Boil potatoes till soft, in separate pan caramelize shallots in 3 Tblsp butter-saute on high till golden brown.  Mash potatoes with remaining ingredients and sprinkle with shallots to serve.

Beer Braised Chicken

4 lbs. chicken breast chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp olive oil                   

2 Tbsp butter

3 shallots sliced

1 onion sliced

9 mushrooms sliced

1 tsp. sugar

3 cloves garlic sliced
3 medium carrots chopped
1 Tbsp. flour
1 bottle Belgium Beer
1/2 cup beef broth
1 generous tsp. dried thyme

1 lrg. bay leaf

1/2 cup cream

1 Tblsp. chopped parsley

 Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and butter in dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken and saute until golden brown. Remove and set aside. Add onions and mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add carrots. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir well. Add the beer and broth and stir. Add chicken, thyme and bay leaf. Cover the pan and simmer over the low heat until the chicken is tender 40 to 50 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Reduce sauce by 1/3 about 5 minutes. Add half and half. Simmer until sauce has thickened. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. I found all three of these recipes at http://recipes.wuzzle.org/index.php/32/268.

 I was the one who did the shopping for this meal. It was last minute and I needed quite a few things but I was in no hurry. I pottered along to the supermarket and meandered up one aisle and down the next comparing prices and creating a wish list of spices I thought I should have to be a perfect cook. When I got home it was late but most of my family was outside working so I had the kitchen to myself. I took great delight in every task. I didn't fly from pan to pan but leisurely watched the chicken pieces brown, stirred gently the golden mushrooms and onions bubbling in the delicious chicken broth. It was an exquisite delight to lift the lid and inhale the aroma of thyme, shallots, mushrooms, and beer all simmering together in a pot and then to know that as the rest of my family drifted in they too were enjoying the amazing fragrance. It was a delicious meal and we all enjoyed eating it together.

 I am very thankful for all the help my sister gave me. Belgian and French cuisine are famous, I think it is because they taste delicious but also because they are such fun to prepare.         

Belaruse-Halubcy

                                    Halubcy      

1 Large head cabbage gently boiled till soft
6 small potatoes boiled, peeled, and mashed
1 pound ground beef

1 cup chopped mushrooms1 cup chopped and sauted onion

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tblsp paprika

1 tblsp dill weed

2 tsp coriander

4 cups beef broth

1 can tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

Mix and mash all the ingredients except cabbage, broth and tomatoes in a large bowl. Take cabbage from water and peel of all leaves that are soft return head to water to continue boiling inner leaves. Lay out peice of cabbage and place a 1/3 cup of mixture on one end, fold sides over and roll up. Repeat until all the stuffing is gone. Then place rolls in large pot add beef broth and tomatoes. simmer for 2 hrs.

Serve hot with a sauce of 1 cup sourcream and 3 tblsp horseradish. I found this recipe on http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/POTATO_HALUBCY_WITH%20_MUSHROOMS

This recipe was really simple but made a delicious dinner and a hearty one. When I was making it I was very sure that this would be my first failure, it wasn't, although my brothers didn't like it my Dad did.

Dyushbara-Azerbaijan Soup

Dyushbara

1 recipe egg noodle dough                                                                           
3/4 lb ground lamb or beef                                                       
1 1/2 Tbl. ground coriander
5 minced cloves garlic
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Mix the meat and the next four ingredients very well.
In a large pot saute 1 1/2 onions in 3 Tbl. olive oil
Add ten cups water and enough beef bouillon to make a strong broth,
cover and simmer till needed.
Roll out the egg noodle dough on a floured surface to 1/8 an inch thick, cut into 1" by 1" squares.
Take a bean sized pinch of meat and place it in the middle of the dough fold over into a triangle and pinch the edges place on pan until ready to cook, sorry, but if you try making them bigger they will not cook right. Bring pot to boil drop in dumplings and cook for ten minutes.
Egg Noodle dough
3 cups flour
6 egg yolks
1/3 tsp. salt
1/3 tsp baking powder
beat together and then add water till a soft but not sticky dough forms let rest 20 min.
 I had wanted to have this dinner ready by 6:00 and recruited my sister to ensure that would happen. Oh, how little I knew. This recipe was absolutely delicious, which is good, because, my sister and I were at the counter 1 1/2 hours making enough dumplings for our family. I rolled out all the dough, cut it into the proper size and then we began. Piece of dough, lay it out flat, pinch of meat ,not too little, goodness, no, not too big, hmm, wish it could be bigger, fold it, pinch it, lay it on the pan. Sounds so simple, oh wait, I have to do this 199 more times. I never realized how long it takes to use up a pound of beef when you are working with pinches.
 I am so glad to have made this recipe, yes, despite all the work, the whole pot was devoured during dinner and my family said several times I should make it again for company. Yes, well it will be one of those dinner parties where you invite people over and everyone, sits around the table pinching ridiculously tiny morsels of meat into dumplings. I am sure they will find the work just as worth it as I have found it.

 Even though I enjoyed the outcome of my work,

 I am very certain that this was not daily fare in Azerbaijan, no housewife could do that: "Well, all I have done to day is weed the whole garden, milked the goats twice harvested the olives, swabbed the house, helped plow the fields, cleaned the stable, watched my 5 children, mended for them, washed for them, and now I am going to spend 1 1/2 hours making dumplings for dinner." I believe that this was a special occasion soup, but the soup makes you want to find a few more reasons for a special occaison.