Julia's Chicken Wings

Visits are always a special occasion... Especially if a sister is coming to stay!

When I asked Julia what she felt like having for dinner, she messaged back "chicken wings".
Apparently this was a hint for us just to go to McDonalds.... Next time: Spell it out hon!

I went into chicken wing research overdrive and muddled up this version, which turned out quite tasty indeed.

Ingredients:
Ca. 12 chicken wings
3 tblsp garlic olive oil
1 tblsp maple sirup
1 small lemon, juiced
chili to taste, finely chopped
2 cm piece of fresh ginger, shredded
1 tbsp soy sauce
salt to taste

1. Mix all of the ingredients for the marinade together. Mix in the wings and make sure they are evenly coated. Let them stand for at least 15 minutes.
2. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Prepare a baking sheet or a not too deep baking tray by lining it with aluminum foil (this will make the clean up ever so much easier). Spread out the wings in one layer and roast in the oven for 40 minutes.
3. Take them out of the oven and transfer to a serving platter with tongs (the foil might stick slightly). Enjoy!

Gyros with greek salad

This is a recipe that is unbelievably easy and low maintenance to make. With a few choice ingredients the marinade is assembled in minutes and after that its just a question of waiting long enough and frying it up quickly. I have adapted it from this (German) source.

Make it the night before and it will be even more worth the effort!

This marinade will suit beef, pork or chicken. As it is only cooked for a very short time it is worth it to invest in a more tender piece of meat...

For three people:
3 Tsp mild paprika
2 Tsp oregano
2 Tsp thyme
1/2 Tsp ground cumin
2 cloves of garlic, pressed or grated
ca. 2 Tsp mustard
salt to taste
a good squeeze of lemon juice
olive oil
500 gr. chopped beef
2 onions, sliced

1. Mix the ingredients for the marinade. Add olive oil bit by bit until the marinade is loose enough to coat the meat. A couple of tablespoons should do it.
2. Add the beef and onion slices making sure everything is well coated.
3. Cover with cling film and wait. :-)
Generally the longer the better. But I would say that half an hour should be the minimum. If you remember, stir everything a couple of times.
4. Heat a frying pan to high heat and fry the meat up in batches. In my experience the oil in the marinade and a nonstick frying pan will do just fine without any extra oil... but suit yourself.
5. Serve with a simple salad of cucumber, tomatoes, black olives and feta cheese.


I can imagine that this would be a good thing to serve up for a crowd with pita breads and extra salad, so that everyone could make their own flatbreads...

BBQ Marinade

Well, I don't know how closely you have been following the world cup. All I can say is that this past weekend has not gone to my liking...

It has brought back summery weather to Switzerland though. This inevitably brings out the Weber Grill in this part of the world. I have had BBQ for dinner two out of three dinners so far.

I am not a big fan of repetition. Although I am very well aware, that BBQing is not a specific dish but a preparation method, it does lend itself to just giving the favorite recipe another go... every weekend. :-)

The only thing that helps is having a vast array of standby marinades/sauces/what have you, to keep things from getting boring.

This variation covers two very important aspects; quick and easy. I love making it, when I am invited somewhere and want to give my protein a little bit of extra flavor.

It needs all of two ingredients:
a couple of cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped or even pressed
and liberal quantities of soy sauce.
That's it.



Make sure your meat is evenly covered with the mixture on both sides, let it marinate for at least 20 minutes and you're good to go.
Grill to your liking and enjoy.