Ingredients:

1 pound squid
salt
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/3 cup raw long-grain white rice
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoon white wine
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup black raisins
freshly ground pepper
4 peeled tomatoes, drained
1/3 cup white wine

Procedure:

Wash and clean the squid, separating the outer sacs from the heads and tentacles, removing and discarding the translucent cartilage, and small sand bag and ink. Rub salt on the outer sacs and rinse them inside and out with cold water. Heads and tentacles should be rinsed thoroughly and cooked along with the sacs after you stuff the latter. Drain and set aside. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a heavy frying pan, then add the onion and cook, without browning, until transparent. Stir in the rice and saute a few minutes, until golden. Blend in the parsley, mint, 2 tablespoons wine, pine nuts, and raisins, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add enough water to half cover and cook for a few minutes, then stuff the squid sacs with the mixture using a very small spoon and allowing enough liquid in each for the rice to cook. Seal opening with skewers or toothpicks. Place the stuffed sacs with the heads and tentacles in a baking-serving dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside. Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, 1/3 cup wine, and a little salt and pepper in a small saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the sauce over the squid and dribble the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over the top. Bake in a medium-slow oven (300 deg. F) for 1 1/2 hours or until the squid and rice are tender and the sauce has thickened. Serve warm or cold.

Ingredients:

4 duck legs
3 spring onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. soy sauce
pinch of sea salt & a few peppercorns (if you have a mixture of pink & black peppercorns so much the better, but just ordinary black will do)

Procedure:

Mix all the ingredients (except the duck, natch!) together, pour half into the bottom of a small dish (just big enough to hold all the duck legs in a single layer), and add the duck, wiping it in the dish so the bottom side gets coated. Then pour over the rest of the marinade, making sure all the duck is touched with it. Cover with clingfilm and pop in the fridge to steep for an hour or 3 (you could prob leave it overnight it you like, and if you have only 20mins to spare it probably wouldn’t suffer excessively for it). Preheat the oven to 180oC. Shake the duck from the marinade (but save it!) and put them on a rack over a baking dish, skin-side up and pour a few inches of water into the dish. This is important as a) the duck will drip lots of fat and you don’t want it swimming in it (remember, its a duck - not a fish!), and b) the marinade will drip too and it will BURN and you will never ever get your dish clean again if you don’t have the water there. Put the duck in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, but do not abandon it entirely, remember I said it needed basting? Periodically spoon a little of the reserved marinade over the duck. Halfway through the cooking time, turn the legs over so that the cut side can be basted as well. In a pestle and mortar bash together the salt and pepper to a fine powder and when there is only 10 mins cooking time left turn the legs again skin-side up, use up the last of the marinade (if there is any) and sprinkle the salt/pepper mix all over the skin and return to the oven. Makes 4 servings.

Curry powder in a traditional Scottish recipe? Yes, apparently it was a Scottish regiment serving in India that married local curry with smoked fish. “Finnan haddies” (smoked haddock from Glen Finnan in Scotland) are the best but most smoked fish is satisfactory.

Ingredients:

2 eggs, hard-cooked- peeled, chopped fine
1 1/2 cup flaked finnan haddie- freshened, boned, skinned,- (or any smoked fish)
3 cup cooked basmati rice -(try brown basmati rice)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
generous grindings of pepper
3 tablespoon lemon juice
lime wedges

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 325 deg. F. Put the eggs, fish and rice in a large mixing bowl; toss together lightly to mix. Put the cream in a small saucepan, add the curry powder and nutmeg, heat, stirring until the spices are blended. Add the cream mixture, pepper, and lemon juice to the rice mixture, and gently toss. Taste for salt and seasoning and adjust if needed (the dish won’t need any salt if the smoked fish is salty). Put the Kedgeree in a casserole and heat in oven only until piping hot. Serve on a platter surrounding softly scrambled eggs, and garnished with lime wedges.

Note: To freshen finnan haddie, soak it in cold milk for an hour, drain then poach it in fresh milk. The milk sweetens the fish and tames its saltiness. Makes 4 servings.

From the state of Bahia in northern Brazil, moqueca de peixe (moo-KAY-ka duh PAY-shuh) is a tropical fish stew fragrant with garlic and peppers, and enriched with coconut milk.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds boneless fillets of any firm whitefish
1/2 pound small shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
3 cups canned tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 cups chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced
1/2 cup fish stock or water

Procedure:

Cut the fillets into bite-size pieces. Cut the shrimp in half lengthwise. Place in a shallow, nonreactive bowl and set aside. Combine the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, garlic, chile, lime juice, oil, salt and pepper in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until
smooth. Pour over fish and allow to marinate for 1 hour. Place marinated fish in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the bell peppers and fish stock. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Serve immediately with rice, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Lomo Saltado is the most popular beef dish in Peru.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup bell pepper, red or yellow, chopped
1 1/2 cups potato, cubed and cooked
1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper, diced
1/2 pound sirloin steak, sliced thin
1 tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure:

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and saute onion, garlic and bell pepper. Add potato and cook, stirring occasionally, until potato just begins to brown. Add chilie and steak. Saute a few more minutes. Stir in tomato, oregano, salt and pepper.

Ingredients:

1 package fillo Sheets
1 lb. Butter, melted
1 lb. walnuts, chopped
3 c sugar, white granulated
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or
1/4 teaspoon ground and 1 stick cinnamon
9 x 13 pyrex baking dish
pastry brush

Procedure:

Chop walnuts to medium fine and mix with 1 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves. Melt butter. Cut fillo in half so that each sheet fits the bottom of the baking pan. Generously butter the bottom and sides of the baking pan and place the fillo, one sheet at a a time, in the baking pan. Generously spread butter on each sheet of fillo as it is placed in the pan. Every 6 to 8 sheets of fillo spread a layer of walnut mix. Continue layering fillo sheets and walnuts until fillo is complete. Pour any remaining butter over top of the baklava. The secret to good flaky baklava is to have each sheet of fillo well buttered so that the sheets do not stick together. With a sharp knife, cut the baklava diagonally to form diamond shaped pieces. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake the baklava for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Syrup:
Mix one cup water, two cups sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves and either 3/4 teaspoons cinnamon or the cinnamon stick in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Pour the boiling syrup over the cool baklava and allow to cool completely again. When cool serve individual pieces with strong (Turkish) sweet coffee and dried apricots for an exquisite dessert. Makes 24 servings.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. firm white fish (Mahimahi, Ahi, Ono)
1/2 lb. shrimp (21-25) or lobster
2 cups clam juice
21/2 cups water
1 cup white wine
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 lb. clams or mussels
1/2 cup olive oil
1 Maui onion, thinly sliced
1 cup celery, thinly sliced
1 cup julienne bell peppers (assorted colors)
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. minced ginger
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
pinch saffron taro - steamed and cut into chunks
sweet potato - steamed and cut into chunks

Procedure:

Cut fish into 1-inch cubes. Remove shell and devein shrimp. In a large pan add olive oil, garlic, ginger, and seafood. Saute briefly. Add tomato, onions, celery, bell peppers, white wine, clam juice, water, crushed chili peppers, and saffron. Bring to a boil. Add cooked taro and sweet potatoes. Bring back to another boil and cook about 10 minutes, until the seafood is just cooked.

Ingredients:

1 (60 to 100-pound) dressed pig
coarse salt
60 pounds charcoal briquettes, divided

Secret Sauce:
1 gallon apple cider vinegar
1 (28-ounce) bottle ketchup
2 3/4 cups firmly-packed brown sugar
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Procedure:

A live pig weighting 90 to 130 pounds will dress out a carcass approximately the desired weight. (Dressed means that the pig is prepared for pig pickin cooking.)

Split open the whole dressed pig and butterfly (slit the backbone to allow the pig to lay flat, being careful not to pierce the skin). Trim and discard any excess fat (excess fat may cause a flare-up during cooking). Sprinkle the cavity with salt, cover, and let pig sit overnight. Place 20 pounds of charcoal in the barbecue pit or pig cooker (add charcoal as needed during cooking process). Pour charcoal lighter fluid on the briquettes and ignite. Let the charcoal burn until a fine white ash covers the briquettes. Place a heavy gauge wire screen or rack about a foot above the coals. Place butterflied pig on rack (skin side up) and season with additional salt. Close lid of the cooker and cook 7 to 8 hours or until the internal temperature of the pig reaches 170 degrees F. Raise temperature of cooker slowly. It should take up to 3 hours to get external temperature to 200 degrees F. (meat will crust over if temperature is too high). Let external temperature rise to 250 degrees. Carefully watch the temperature to maintain the 250 degrees external temperature. When done, turn pig over (skin side down) and spread with Secret Sauce. Cover and cook an additional 1 hour until skin is crisp. Remove from cooker. Slice or chop the meat or allow guests to pull meat from the bones. Serve with additional Secret Sauce.

Secret Sauce Procedure:

In a large stainless-steel pot over medium-high heat, combine all the ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until crushed red pepper sinks. Remove from heat. It should be bottled hot, not boiling. Just hot enough that the bottles are hard to hold for more than a few seconds. Fill bottles within 1/2 inch of the top. By bottling hot, it will seal itself. Does not need refrigeration until after opening and then only to protect flavor.

Note: The sauce does not seem to have a problem with spoilage. I have used unopened bottles a year later and they have been very good. The sauce does get hotter with age.
If you like the sauce even hotter, add 1/4 cup of Tabasco before cooking.

Ingredients:

1 kg. tilapia fillets

Marinade:
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. iodized fine salt (or 1tbsp. iodized rock salt)
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. calamansi juice
1 piece egg white, beaten
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/3 cup oil

Sauce:
1 can (234 grams) Del Monte Fresh Cut Pineapple Tidbits
3 tbsp. Del Monte Sweetened Orange Juice 202 Drink
1 tbsp. calamansi juice
1/2 tbsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp. of sweetened orange juice drink
1/4 tsp. iodized fine salt (or 3/4 tsp. iodized rock salt)
2 tsp. sugar

Procedure:

Combine all marinade ingredients. Marinate fish in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Chill. Drain. Dip fish in egg white and press flesh side into sesame seeds. Fry fish, turning once, until tender. Set aside. Retain 1 tbsp. oil in pan. Pour Del Monte Fresh Cut Pineapple Tidbits with syrup, remaining Del Monte Sweetened Orange Juice, calamansi juice and dissolved cornstarch. Season with salt and sugar. Simmer until thick. Pour over fish. Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients:

1 small chicken (1-1.2kg)
2-3 slices of cooked ham, cut into 2cm x 5cm strips
4 iceberg lettuce leaves, cut into strips
300 ml. chicken stock
1.5 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tbsp. light soy sauce
dash of pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp. water

Procedure:

Place chicken into a large pot and cover with water. Add 1 tsp salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Cut the chicken into 2cm x 5cm pieces. Remove all bones, but leave skin. Districute the lettuce strips over the serving plate. Alternate the chicken and ham pieces over the bed of lettuce. Heat the chicken stock in a saucepan. Add the seasoning ingredients. When boiling, add cornflour paste and stir until thick. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.