Oyster Mushroom

Ingredients:

2-3 cups oyster mushrooms

1 lb. chicken

1 tbsp garlic powder

2 shallots (white parts)

1/4 cup light soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

Instructions:
Heat some oil in a pan and some powdered garlic. Saute the mushrooms and chicken four about 5 minutes. Set aside the mushrooms and chicken. When its cool enough try to get the excess moisture out of them using a paper towel.

In the pan heat the following ingredients: 1 chopped shallot, soy sauce and oyster sauce.

Add the mushrooms and chicken into the pot. Make sure all of it is properly covered in the sauce. If you want more sauce add a little water to the pan. If you want it a little thicker add a tbsp of flour to the mixture. Serve with shallots on top.

Fancy Steak Mash & Alfredo

There are three parts to this elegant dish. The dish looks better if you grill it but since I don't have a grill I just used a skillet.

Meat: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Put a little olive oil in a 13 x 9 dish. Sprinkle some rosemary, salt and pepper on the oil. For the meat take a fillet and wrap it with bacon. Use toothpicks to secure the bacon. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Put olive oil on the grill or skillet. Brown both sides of the meat (about 3-5 minutes). You can do two at a time. Afterwards put the meat in the baking dish. When all of the pieces have been browned place the baking dish in the oven. Bake for 10-20 minutes depending on how rare you want your steak. You should flip the meat halfway through.

Wine Reduction: In a skillet mix a cup of red wine, a cup of your preferred broth, a tbsp of rosemary, and two minced garlic cloves. Simmer the sauce and stir every few minutes until it reduces to about 1/4 to 1/2 cup. This takes about 20 to30 minutes. Strain the sauce to get the rosemary and garlic out before serving. This can be made up to a day ahead.

Spinach Mash: Take 4-6 potatoes cut into pieces and boil them until they are mashable. Mince a garlic clove, one red onion and about a cups worth of spinach. In another pot put some oil and toss in the onions. After a minute put in the garlic. Make sure the onions and garlic don't burn! Put the spinach into the pot and stir until properly wilted. If it looks like it might burn add a tbsp of olive oil in there. Take the pot off the heat and add the potatoes. Mash the mixture together.  Put the pot back on the stove on a low setting. Add a carton of plain yogurt, salt, pepper, 2 tsp garlic powder and 2 tbsp of parmesan. Mix properly over the low heat for about 5 minutes.

Alfredo from scratch: Melt half a stick of butter. Add 3 tbsp of flour. Add a cup of grated parmesan cheese, 100 g of cream cheese and one cup of milk. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, parsley and merken (or whatever other flavoring you want). You need to stir the sauce constantly so it doesn't burn. Add more milk until you reach your desired consistency. Cook some fettuccine while you are making the sauce.

Here's another picture of the finished dish. You can drizzle the reduction sauce on the beef and/or the mash.

Basil Infused Fruit Salad

Sauce Ingredients:

• 10-15 fresh basil leaves
• Juice from one orange
• half a banana
• zest from 1 lime or lemon
• 2 tbsp of honey

Instructions:
1. Chop up about a kilos worth of fruit and put into a bowl.
2. Throw all of the sauce ingredients into a blender. Blend for a few seconds until you get a smooth consistency.
3. Pour sauce over the fruit and mix.
4. Let the fruit chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.