The Fear Factor

Have you ever watched the show called "Fear Factor"? On that show they make participants do crazy things, like eat worms, or lie in a sealed cage with rats or snakes for a few minutes. Obviously, the participants freak out when faced with the thing they dread the most. Well, my dreaded Saturday finally arrived, and after doing some grocery shopping, I finally set myself to the task of cooking. Up to that point I kept telling myself, "I can do this! I can do this! I can do this!", but when it was time to start cooking, I really panicked ("What in the world made me do this??? Can I just back out?"). To cut the story short, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce that I actually did it. Not only that, but somewhere between mixing the ingredients and laying them out for the photo shoot, I realized that my fear isn't as horrible as snakes or rats or worms. I can actually do this thing! In fact, tonight we feasted on a four-course meal! Well, I still lacked confidence in the process and kept bugging Matet with a thousand questions, but the end result was very gratifying. I guess confidence will come eventually, as I keep doing this. Confidence and habits are formed over time, so it's a good thing my therapy includes 52 Saturdays. Uhmmm, make that 51! I'm exhausted after a day of shopping, panicking and cooking, but... it feels good! So, let's cut to the chase and talk about tonight's dinner...

Dish # 1 - Crunchy Green Salad

Serves 4 Prep Time 5 minutes

1 bag of salad greens
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup store-bought herbed croutons
1/4 cup bottled bacon bits
1 bottle French salad dressing

1. Arrange salad greens on a bowl
2. Top with walnuts, croutons and bacon bits
3. Drizzle with enough dressing just before serving

My experience: Making it was a breeze and helped me to get going. We did not find any walnuts today, so instead we put some olives, and the croutons were just regular, not herbed.
Our verdict: Simple, easy to make, and has a great taste.

Dish # 2 - Cream of Corn Cheese Soup

Serves 4

1 cup corn kernels, drained
1 cup cream of corn
2 cups chicken stock or water
2 tablespoons cheese pimiento
1 cup cream

For garnish
1 teaspoon spring onions, finely diced
some nacho chips

1. Place corn kernels and cream of corn in a saucepan. Pour in stock and bring to a boil over high heat, and let simmer.
2. Stir in the cheese pimiento until dissolved.
3. In a bowl, temper the cream by adding some of the hot liquid from the soup into it. Take this warmed mixture and stir it into the soup. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
4. Serve in individual cups and garnish with spring onions and nachos.

My experience: Again, extremely easy to make. This was my very first soup ever made.
Our verdict: The finished result was a bit too watery, but tastes good. We loved it.

Dish # 3 - Sole Fillet with Butter Cream Sauce

Serves 2 Prep Time 5 minutes Cooking Time 15 minutes

2 pieces sole fillet
salt and pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup flour

For the sauce
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon chives, chopped
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon Spanish paprika

1. Season fish with salt and pepper. Dip both sides of the fish in egg, then dredge in flour. Fry on each side until golden brown.
2. For the sauce, melt butter chunks in medium heat then slowly pour in the cream, mixing until you a think consistency. Remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix.
3. Pour the sauce on top of the fish and garnish with chives. Serve with brown buttered beans (recipe below) and rice.

Brown Buttered Beans

Serves 2 Prep Time 5 minutes Cooking Time 10 minutes

400 grams Baguio beans, tips removed (not sure what would be the equivalent of these beans where you live, but I'm sure you will figure it out when you look at the photo)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of chili flakes

1. Blanche Baguio beans in hot water for a couple of minutes, making sure you maintain its crunchiness. Immediately dunk in a bowl of ice water to stop carryover cooking.
2. Melt butter on low heat. With a wooden spoon, mix constantly until it turns light brown. Remove from fire and add lemon juice.
3. Pour the butter (straining sediments as you pour) on the beans then toss and season with salt, pepper and chili flakes.

My experience: This was a challenge for me, and I had to get Matet's input quite a few times. I realized that when I panic over cooking, I tend to treat the recipe like a software development manual - everything has to be step-by-step and precise. So now I know I need to loosen up a bit. Oh, and we did not find any chives, so we just omitted that part :)
Our verdict: The main dish turned out to be absolutely incredible!!! The recipe is WOOOOW!!! The softness of fish, amazing sauce made this really special. Any five-star restaurant would be proud to serve this dish (and charge a fortune too!). If you want to impress your loved ones and/or guests, this is the recipe! I really did not expect this when I picked it out from a recipe book. Awesome!!!

Finally, the desert!

Dish # 4 - Watermelon and Yogurt Smoothie

Serves 2 Prep Time 2 minutes

2 cups frozen cubed watermelon (red or yellow), preferably seedless
1 cup chilled plain yogurt
1 spring mint leaves
2 tablespoons honey (optional)

Blend all ingredients together and serve in glasses.

My experience: The natural sweetness of the watermelon makes adding honey optional, and the addition of mint leaves makes it even more refreshing. I substituted yogurt with vanilla almond ice cream and added a little bit of water.

Our verdict: The ice cream instead of yogurt worked really well, while almonds gave an additional flavor to the mix. Yummy!

If you've read this far, thank you! I truly appreciate your support, and I would be even more delighted if you would give it a try and test any of these dishes in your kitchen.

Till next Saturday!