Crisp skin roasted chicken for St. Peter's day

Today is St. Peter's day - one of the most honored Orthodox feasts in Bulgaria. The rituals observed today aim to protect houses and farmer's land from fire. Traditionally, there is a rooster or chicken on the table. In the orthodox tradition roosters measure time and signify the power of sun. They are accepted as a symbol of fertility and harvest abundance. We are not huge chicken eaters in our home, but this is one of the recipes, which make chicken disappear in minutes. Think about crispy skin which crackles between teeth. Tender succulent meat which fills mouth with heavenly juices. A well roasted chicken does not need anything else. OK, probably the subtle additional flavor of rosemary for instance. Or thyme. According to the Internet, this recipe originated in Zuni cafe in San Francisco. I wish to go there in order to taste the original as soon as I can, but until then I will only use their know-how at home. 
There are some requirements to follow if you want to obtain a tasty chicken with a really crisp skin:

• Pat dry chicken very well after rinsing - the wet skin will make it steam into the oven and this will make the skin soft.
• Salt chicken a day or two in advance - this will 'lock' the moisture inside and will improve the taste (I never have the patience to obey this requirement and the chicken is also perfect, so you can skip this step). 
• Choose your favorite herb - rosemary, thyme or salvia and slip some sprigs under the skin of the chicken. This will provide it with lots of flavor. 
• Do not use any oil or butter for roasting the chicken - its own fat will do the things.
• Preheat the skillet into the oven very good, so to allow the chicken to sizzle when you put it into the skillet. This will prevent the skin from sticking to the pan.
• Put the chicken breast side up first.

Mussels saganaki (μύδια σαγανάκι)

Everytime I want to feel the taste of the sea, I buy blue mussels. I love to scrub and clean their dark blue shells, to check for broken ones, to put the good ones into the pot. I like the smell of my kitchen in the short 10-20 minutes of preparation and long hours after that. And I always enjoy sipping their juices from the shells and feel their salty broth as a juicy message from the sea. I know, female mussels are orange, male mussels are light yellow. Their colors match perfectly the red of tomato sauce and the white of Feta cheese. But this is not the main reason I prepare often mussels saganaki. The taste of this dish is unforgettable. Along with garides saganaki, this is a very popular dish in the fish restaurants of Northern Greece. And also in my home. As with many other dishes, I increase the spicyness by adding lots of hot peppers and chili flakes, but you can adjust it according to your taste. 

Tarte Tatin

'I burnt the apples!', she exclaimed. And that is how a long story began. Because this happened more than 100 years ago. And she was one of the two sisters Tatin. Probably nobody would know her name except of the few hunters and travelers who stayed at the hotel, owned by her and her sister, about 100 km south of Paris. But there were some clients in the restaurant at the hotel who were waiting for the apple tarts they had ordered. And she, who was responsible for the kitchen things, had to do something. What exactly was her mistake - probably nobody will ever know. Was she tired, distracted by something or just absent-minded? We will never know. But she lacked of time and she had to do something with the caramelized apples she had in the pan. So she put the tart pastry onto the apples, baked the cake and turned it upside down. Little bit frustrated, little bit nervous she served the upside-down apple tart to the clients. What was their reaction? They were fascinated and wanted more. Because the caramelized apples tasted far better than the ones used in the classical apple tart. 
How did the story continue? A man from French restaurant Maxim's heard about this little treasure and wanted to know the key to it. He found a way to take the recipe and that is how Tarte Tatin, named after the above mentioned lady, became part of Maxim's menu and made its official entrance to the golden culinary pages of the world. 
That is how a mistake turned into something appreciated all over the world. I like this idea very much. Not so exaggerating like turning lemons into lemonade but I suppose, sometimes there is opportunity even in the worst situations. In fact, being involved into the situation makes you some kind of blind to all the possibilities around. But they still exist.
I rarely admit I have made a mistake. But now I 'burned my apples'. Literally and figuratively. And I have to decide what to do with the 'pastry', with the 'clients' and how the story should continue. In other words, I should decide what my future steps should be. 
The things which are obvious in the pictures are that I am a little bit angry. And anxious. And that is why I was thinking I should not publish this post. But this is my place. And the tart is still tasty. So here is the recipe, taken from a book about the French cooking.

Bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise

I bet, you could not write the name of this dish if you are not french. Well, if you can, congratulations. I could not. I could not even pronounce it. But I can prepare it, I can enjoy it at lunch time, for dinner or even as a breakfast on early Saturday or Sunday mornings.   

Bouillabaisse is a French seafood stew, which home is supposed to be Marseille, but it is widely served in the coastal little ports of Southern France. It was once a cheap fishermen meal, which seafood ingredients depended on the daily catch. So, different kind of fish could be included, the most important thing is to put at least four varieties, every one of which delivers its own taste. Fish should be lean and fresh. The way I prepared the recipe is based  on the one from here. I added orange peel and wine.
There is a little rule conserning the serving of bouillabaisse - seafood in one dish and soup in another. But it all depends on you and your personal preferences. I like the fish to be hot, so I spoon a ladleful of soup onto it.

Chocolate mousse

Chocolate mousse should be perfect. It is one of those sweet treats which are supposed to make you say "Mmmmm!" when savouring it. Chocolate mousse lovers know - this is not something you eat when you lack of time, it needs proper attitude. It could bring a sexy end to an intimate dinner or be the perfect beginning of the weekend day served with a cup of coffee. So the recipe for chocolate mousse has to be perfect, the mousse should fill the mouth with creaminess and the mind with airy dreams.

I've wanted to make chocolate mousse since months, but just in principle. I had no idea which ingredients would make the best recipe. And one day I saw a recipe here and decision was taken.  A lot of heavy cream? OK, I agree.  Mascarpone instead of eggs? Well, this is my dessert. Luscious and fluffy, it is so good, that I think it should be served straight, no need of additional cream or fruit above. 

Vichyssoise (Leek and potato soup)

Vichyssoise is a thick soup, prepared from the white parts of leek, potatoes and heavy cream. If you call it a French soup, it will be a mistake, although you have to twist your tongue in a really French manner to pronounce its name. The soup was created in the kitchen of Ritz-Carlton in New York in the beginning of the 20-th century. By a french cook. But still american creation.
Originally is was intended to be served cold in the hot summer days in order to provide some relief from the heat, but it is very tasty and warming served hot. 
The most refined member of the onion family provides the soup with delicate sweetness.
Creamy and velvety in texture, vichyssoise has a tender and delicate taste, so you can enjoy it even for lunch in a busy day without worrying about your breath. You can play with the amounts of heavy cream you add and you can substitute apples for potatoes if you want to make it lighter and fruitier.

The flavour of the soup is even better the next day, so you can prepare it a day or two in advance and store it in the fridge. 

Steak tartare

Some years ago a friend of mine went to Paris with his family for two or three weeks . 

We met soon after he came back from his journey and he told me enthusiastically how much he and his wife liked the French cuisine. There was only one huge disappointment, he said. A kind of steak presented in the menu. 

'We ordered it and, Good Lord, the garçon brought us a heap of minced meat, some chopped onion, a raw egg yolk and some spices. We could not believe our eyes', my friend said, it was like somebody has stolen the ingredients from the chef before he was able to prepare the dish, even before he could mix them. 

So, in short, my friend and his wife sent the dish back to the kitchen angrily, asking the chef to prepare the tartare on the grill. 
Yes, this is a true story. I tried not to laugh when I heard it and I would have probably forget about it, but one of my colleagues came back from France this summer. He spent there some weeks with his friends and when they ordered Steak tartare…, well, you already know the end of the story.

So, the moral – if you don’t like the taste of raw meat, Steak Tartare should not be amongst your orders. But if you are a devoted meat lover like me and my three beloved ones, this is a good and easy to prepare dish which is best enjoyed with a glas of good red wine. 

It is not a good idea to prepare the mixture of the ingredients in advance and to put it in the fridge - everything should be mixed some minutes before serving or even like in the case of my friend - everybody should prepare their mixture in their own plate. Meat and eggs should be very, very fresh and from a trusted source in order to avoid any digestive complications. Classical recipe calls for hot pepper sauce as an ingredients, but we like it with fresh chopped hot peppers.

Chocolate lava cake

Same ingredients like yesterday's chocolate tart (except the salt), but different amount of them and different result. Chocolate lava cake is a popular French dessert, served worldwide. Its consistency makes it so popular, and namely the soft runny chocolate centre. 

Legend says it was a result of a chef's mistake - the cook took the individual chocolate cakes too early from the oven and the chocolate oozed out when cut in the middle. The right baking time which determines the consistency is around 10 minutes, but it depends on the oven you use and don't bother - if you overbake slightly, you will have just a moist cake.

Tiramisu

The name of the famous layered Italian dessert "Tiramisu" means "pull me up" in Italian and this effect is probably because of the two ingredients - strong espresso and cocoa powder. It does not have a very long history - according to different sources it was invented in the second half of the twentieth century.  In spite of being so "young", it has become a classics and could be ordered in many restaurants outside Italy. 

The original recipe includes raw egg yolks and whites, but there are some variations  concerning the amount of eggs or substituting the eggs with Zabaion or cream.

The type of added alcohol also varies - it could be the Sicilian Marsala wine, different types of brandy of liquor. I use Cointreau because I love its sweet orange flavor.