How to make Thousand Island Dressing

Thousand Island Dressing is one of the more commonly used sauce poured on salads. Although Thousand Island Dressing now comes readily off the shelf of a grocery store, I'd still prefer one that comes out of my own kitchen.

This recipe makes 1 cup (250 ml) of Thousand Island Dressing.

Ingredients
3/4 cup (185 ml) mayonnaise
6 stuffed olives
1/4 of a small green capsicum
2 gherkins
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chopped chives
1/2 cup (85 ml) tomato sauce
1 hard boiled egg

Chop olives, capsicum and gherkins finely.

Place mayonnaise in a bowl and stir in olives, capsicum, gherkins, salt, chives, tomato sauce and mix well.

Chop egg finely, fold into the mixture and chill.

There you have it, your very own homemade Thousand Island Dressing.

How to make Avocado, Apple and Crab Salad

Avocado, Crab and Apple. How often have you found yourself look into your refrigerator and find an odd mix of items like Avocado, Apple and Crab?

Are you one to say "I've got nothing but fruits," or are you one that would say "what can I make with these?" As my grandmother always says - a good mix of flavors makes a good salad.

This Avocado, Apple and Crab Salad recipe serves 4 to 6 persons.

Ingredients
3 avocado pears, chilled
1 large apple, chilled
440 g can crab meat, chilled
4 large crisp lettuce leaves
2-3 crisp celery tops
salt and pepper
1/2 cup(125 ml) Thousand Island Dressing

Peel avocados, cut in half, discard seeds and slice.
Peel and slice apples.
Drain the crab.

Place lettuce leaves in a salad bowl, add sliced avocados, apples, crab meat and celery leaves, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Pour thousand island dressing over the salad.

Dig in and savor the rich mix of flavors in your Avocado, Apple and Crab Salad.

Suggestions: Serve Avocado, Apple and Crab Salad with barbecued pork or steak.

How to cook Spicy Barbeque Pork Chops

Cooking barbecues in the summer is very common. Growing up, my siblings and I always looked forward to weekend barbecues. One of the more common barbecues we had was Spicy Barbecue Pork Chops.

Spicy Barbecue Pork Chops use simple ingredients that are readily available all year round.

This Spicy Barbecue Pork Chops recipes serves 6 persons. The entire process takes 35-45 minutes. It is best to barbecue on the grid over medium coals.

Ingredients
6 pork loin chops 1" (2 1/2 cm) thick
2 tablespoons (40 g) butter, melted
salt and pepper

Ingredients for Spicy Sauce
3 tablespoons (60 ml) malt vinegar
1/2 cup (125 ml) tomato sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon mustard sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground bay leaves
salt and pepper

Making the Sauce
Combine the vinegar, tomato sauce, sugar, cloves, mustard, ground bay leaves, a dash of salt and pepper in a heavy based pan and place on the barbecue over low heat to simmer gently for 25-30 minutes.

Cooking the barbecue
While the sauce simmers, brush pork chop with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper; set aside for 8-10 minutes.

Place the chops on the grid over medium coals and cook for 8 minutes, turn and brush with the spicy sauce, cook a further 8 minutes, turn and baste.

Turn the chops once or twice more, basting each time.

Serve your Spicy Barbecue Pork Chops while hot, with the remaining spicy sauce on the side.

Suggestions: Serve your Spicy Barbecue Pork Chop with salad and hot bread.

How to cook a Ratatouille

When you saw the movie Ratatouille did you think to yourself "I never knew that was called a Ratatouille," or did you say "that's not how mom's Ratatouille looks?"

My grandmother's Ratatouille looks different. She always served it in a casserole with plenty of sauce, not on a dish to picked with a fork.

This Ratatouille recipe is for a serving of four to six persons. It cooks in 45-50 minutes. You can barbecue over a grid in a casserole, if you plan to serve it with barbecued meat.

Ingredients
1/2 cup (85 ml) olive or salad oil
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 large green capsicums, seeded and chopped
1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced
1 extra clove garlic, crushed
250 g (1/2 lb) zucchini, sliced
4 large tomatoes, peeled and sliced
salt and pepper

Heat half the oil in a flameproof casserole with the sliced garlic.

Add in layers the onions, capsicums, eggplant, extra garlic, zucchini and tomatoes. Sprinkle each layer with salt and pepper.

Pour the remainder of the oil over the top.

Cover and cook over low heat for 40-45 minutes to bring out the flavors.

Remove lid and cook for another 5 minutes to thicken the sauce.

There you have it, your very own Ratatouille, which looks different from the movie, but as rich in flavor as a spring day.

Suggestion: Serve your Ratatouile hot with barbecued meat.

How to make Chilled Ratatouille

This recipe is for a serving of four to six persons, and cooks in 40-45 minutes.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons (40 ml) cooking oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced
1 small green capsicum, seeded and sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 large tomato, peeled and chopped
3-4 small zucchini, sliced
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a heatproof casserole dish, add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add eggplant, capsicum, onion, tomato and zucchini in layers; season each layer with salt and pepper.

Ad a few more drops of oil to the surface, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Gently move the vegetables occasionally.

Uncover and simmer for another 10-15 minutes to reduce liquid.

Remove dish from heat and allow to cool.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and serve.

Note: Carton movies are fictional.

How to cook Saffron Rice Salad

There are many ways of cooking rice and serving it. Adding saffron to rice makes the rice taste a whole lot richer.

This Saffron Rice Salad recipe serves four persons.

Ingredients
1 cup rice
3 tablespoons (60 g) butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon saffron
salt and pepper
2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock
1/2 cup (125 ml) white wine


Heat butter in a casserole, add rice and garlic and stir until rice begins to color.

Remove from heat and stir in saffron, salt, pepper, parsley, chicken stock and wine.

Cover and cook over medium coals for 25-30minutes, until moisture is absorbed and rice is tender.

There you have it, your very own Saffron Rice Salad.

Suggestion: Serve Saffron Rice Salad hot with chicken barbecue.

How to make Coleslaw

Coleslaw is a very common side dish. Growing up I always see Coleslaw with almost every meat dish. Coleslaw with hamburger, coleslaw with barbecue, coleslaw with fried chicken...The list goes on and on.

And we we never tire of serving Coleslaw because its simple to make, the ingredients are readily available, and its a very colorful vegetable side dish - making the Coleslaw a very healthy dish.

This Coleslaw recipe serves four to six persons.

Ingredients
1/4 head of cabbage
3 young carrots
2 apples
2 stalks white celery
salt
pepper
4 tablespoons (80 ml) cream
4 tablespoons (80 ml) mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon chopped parsley


Shred the cabbage finely.
Grate the carrots.
Peel, core and chop the apples.
Chop the celery.
Place all in a salad bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss.

Combine mayonnaise and cream, mix well.
Pour over the salad, toss well, then cover and chill for 1 hour.

At serving, sprinkle salad with walnuts and parsley and toss.

There you have it, your very own homemade Coleslaw.

Suggestion: Coleslaw goes well with barbecues.

How to make Italian Style Barbecued Chicken

Its a chicken barbecue with tomato and cheese, thus its Italian Style Barbecue Chicken.

Italian Style Barbecued Chicken
This recipe serves 4 people.
The chicken barbecues in 30-35 minutes on grill over medium hot coals.
The tomato and cheese sauce takes about 10 minutes over hot coals.

Ingredients
1 1/2 kg (3 lbs) of 4 chicken halves
3 tablespoon (75 ml) of cooking oil
750 g ( 1 1/2 lbs) of tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of ground bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon oregano
3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
pepper
salt

Making the Tomato and Cheese Sauce
Pour the oil in a heavy pan and heat it over coals.

Once hot add tomatoes, garlic, ground bay leaves, thyme, oregano salt and pepper and cook. Stir and mash the ingredients until the tomatoes are pureed.

Fold in cheese and cook stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, then set pan aside.

Barbecuing the Chicken
Brush chicken halves generously with tomato and cheese sauce on all sides.

Place chicken on a grid over medium hot coals for 30-35 minutes, basting with the sauce, and turning the chicken two or three times.

There you have it, your Italian Style Barbecue Chicken, it is best served while hot.

Suggestion: Serve your Italain Style Barbecue Chicken with coleslaw or rice salad.