SPICY ROAST

I make this recipe in two parts because it needs time to marinate. You need time to make this dish and it can’t be a last minute meal

3 ½ pounds minute roast

4-5 cloves of garlic – sliced

MARINADE:

1/3 cup vinegar

1/3 cup sweet chili sauce

½ cup pineapple juice

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup dry red wine

SAUCE

3 tablespoons oil

1 red pepper cubed into small pieces

4 cloves garlic – sliced

1 yellow pepper cubed into small pieces

1 green chili pepper – finely diced

salt & pepper to taste

With a sharp knife make slits in the meat and place the sliced garlic into it. Place it all around the roast so it gets flavor all over. Place the meat in a pot and cover with water. Cook over a medium flame for 2 hours. Get rid of the water and let the meat cool. Slice the meat and put into a large storage bag. Mix the ingredients for the marinade together and add to the storage bag. Make sure the marinade gets all over the meat. Put meat in the freezer.

This is where to stop the recipe until the day you serve it. On the day of or night before, take out the meat and let it defrost in the bag. While defrosting, make the sauce by heating the oil in a large lidded pot on a medium-high flame. Sauté the garlic slices until golden. Add the peppers, salt and pepper. Sauté another couple of minutes. Add the meat with the marinade into the pot with the sauce. You may need to add a little water, but just enough to cover the meat. Cook for at least one hour until the meat is soft. Taste and adjust seasoning (salt/pepper). Serve as a main or as an appetizer on top of mashed potatoes.

FRENCH ROAST

1 4-5 pound french roast

1 cup ketchup

1 cup water

¾ cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

3 onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons apricot preserves

Always wash the roast before you cook it. Put it into a clean plastic bag, and put the bag in a large foil pan. In a saucepan combine onions, garlic, brown sugar, ketchup, water, vinegar, soy sauce and preserves. Bring to a boil and mix all ingredients really well. When cooked, pour the sauce into the shopping bag with the meat. Make sure the meat gets all of the sauce, so mix it around in the bag. Tie the bag closed and let it sit overnight in the fridge or make this a couple of days ahead and then freeze it until you are ready to use it. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cook covered for 2 hours. Take it out after one hour and flip the roast. Cook it uncovered for the last 15-20 minutes so it gets a nice color. Slice and serve.

CHICKEN WITH DRIED FRUIT

1 tbs olive oil

½ cup prunes

½ cup apricot

¼ cup tart cherries or craisins

2 tbs. pine nuts

½ cup port

1 med. cinnamon stick

½ cup chicken stock

One roasted chicken cut into 8 pieces.

(Cooked, can be a roasted chicken from supermarket)

Heat oil in large skillet. Add fruit and pine nuts, cook over moderate heat, stirring until the pine nuts are golden and the fruit is browned in spots, about 3 minutes. Add port and cinnamon and cook until syrupy about 5 minutes. Add stock and chicken drippings and bring to boil. Add warmed chicken into fruit mixture and turn to coat

BRISKET

1 brisket

1 package onion soup powder

4 or 5 cloves of garlic, crushed

large onion – diced

1 package dried apricots

Brown brisket on all sides in large Dutch oven or other heavy pot with lid. Remove to a platter. To the pot, add onions and brown, stir in garlic. Replace brisketin pot, add onion soup powder, apricots, add water up sides of meat, cover. Add water if needed.

CHICKEN PAPRIKASH

chicken cut up (whole chicken, thighs, doesn’t matter)

chopped up onion

a few garlic cloves crushed

1 celery stalk – diced

2 – 3 carrots – diced, chopped, sliced (doesn’t matter)

½ green and red pepper (optional)

1 tlbs. good quality paprika

some chicken soup powder

1 to 2 cups orange juice

Additional water to almost cover the chicken.

It’s your choice to brown the chicken pieces first or not (it’s better if you do). Remove once browned. In the same pan, Brown the onion, garlic, celery, carrots (don’t let the garlic burn!) Add back the chicken and everything else. Cover and cook for about 2 hours or so. ½ hour before it is finished, you can add cubed potatoes