Cooking with Irena

Nothing, and I am really serious about this, nothing is more enjoyable than these Sticky Chicken wings. Even though I made them yesterday even remembering while writing on them makes me crave for them so bad. They are definitely somewhere on the top on my favorite recipe list. The explosion of bold and aromatic flavors work so perfectly with the chicken wings.

These Sticky Chicken wings are finger-licking good. Just don’t make them for your family while you are on a diet… I know I had slipped from one while cooking these.

Originally this recipe came from my mother cookbook, but little variations thru time resulted in this perfect balanced recipe …

Ingredients:

1kg chicken wings

2 tbsp Soy sauce

2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

1 Lemon, sliced thinly

4-5 Garlic cloves, cut on half and unpeeled

3 tbsp Honey

3 tbsp Parsley, chopped

Salt

2 tbsp Olive oil

Method:

Walnut coconut and sesame half-moon cookies coated with tons of icing sugar, melt-in-your mouth buttery cookies so easy to make, magnificently nutty and crunchy, just perfect for any occasion. Layers and layers of icing sugar build on top, gives this cookies some magical feeling. I don’t know, maybe because the sugar dust always reminded me on that magic fairy dust.

These are so easy, that as I mentioned in my previous post I prepare them together with Chocolate horns (horseshoe) cookies that are some sort of chocolate twist of a cookie of this type. Anyway, I use mostly walnuts when making them, but be free to choose your favorite.

They are made in almost same way as you’d make a shortbread or short-crust pastry. You will skip the chilling part here, so, all you need to do is to mix all of the ingredients, roll the “dough” and cut a half-moon shapes. Bake them and next as quickly as you can drown them into icing sugar.

When you want a buttery sweet and crunchy cookie, don’t hesitate and give them a try…

Ingredients:

600 g flour
250g butter
5 tbsp sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
½ water
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
100g coconut flour
100g sesame
100g walnuts (almonds or hazelnuts), chopped finely
Icing sugar, for dusting

Method:

So, it was an Oreo cookie week for me and it must be finished with this marvelous Oreo cheesecake. Since Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts I thought that I can’t go wrong with Oreo Cheesecake. I mean who doesn’t love Oreos, right?

I know I was so obsessed with Oreos lately that I’m afraid to step on the scale…Anyway, I made this for my friend party and everyone was impressed. They didn’t left a single peace…

What you will need:

24 Oreo cookies

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake:

12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

6 tbsp. sugar

6 tbsp. sour cream, room temperature

½ tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. salt

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

11 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

Method:

Tip: You may keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

This Mexican salad is something that I just can’t get enough of…Full of flavour it can be combined with any kind of pasta, used as a filling for tortillas or just like I love it, just as it is…

This is definitely easiest salad to make…It is so versatile and can be used as side as well as main dish.

Ingredients:

1 canned tuna (180g)

1 medium onion (shallot), cut on slices

Juice from 1 lemon

1 can red beans (250g)

250 gr corn

1 cup parsley (1 stalk)

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 tsp Salt

Method:

Lemon bars in my house or as we called them then lemon cake always happened on those warm spring days, when light breeze of still cold wind would make you think it’s summer already … I remember my mother baking for me lemon bars when I was a little girl. Flour bag, sugar box, brown egg ( it seems now they somehow disappeared ) nestled in the grooves between tiles. A yellow block of butter blurring at the edges. A shallow glass bowl of lemon peel. Lemon bars were actually one of my first “cake-baking” challenges. And now when I think of that, it wasn’t a challenge at all.

Anyway, it’s not spring jet, but the sun these days is brighter for the first time after so many cold and cloudy days, and I can’t find better moment to get back into those priceless careless days, and to travel across memory lane…

I hope my mother will be thrilled and not mad that I change hers recipe a little just by adding cherry jam in them. But, I can’t help that feeling I experience every time I have sour cherry jam in my house. And this one was homemade, prepared from my nanas cherry tree and delivered specially for me. My Nana always find a way to spoil me, even now after so many years.

On to these Sour Cherry Lemon Bars…Let me just say, it was the best idea ever! And of course, you can use store-bought sour cherry jam or cherry jam. I altered my mom’s old fashioned Lemon Bars recipe, by adding Sour Cherry jam between the crust and lemon crème and orange zest instead lemon zest…

Sour Cherry Lemon Bars, perfect way to say goodbye to winter, and to welcome spring…

Ingredients:

for the bottom layer

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour*

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

170gr butter

for the top layer

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 eggs, beaten

zest of one orange

5-6 tbsp. Sour Cherry jam

powdered sugar, for top

Method:

Lately I really miss those hot summer days and was craving for something that will bring me something summery in my kitchen. So, because I’m going through period called lemon obsession I’ve been looking for any recipe involving lemon…The decision fall on Lemon bars and anyway has been a long time since I’ve last made them…It seems that anything lemon is my cup of tea lately…

Ingredients:

for the bottom layer

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour*

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

170gr butter

for the top layer

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour*

4 eggs, beaten

zest of one lemon

powdered sugar, for top

Method:

There is no bad time for wine. But, when the temperature is below 0, there is nothing more comforting giving, like a mulled wine. That’ my winter classic… Warm, flavorful, with a side of nostalgia…

Cold weather…Always used as an excuse to prepare mulled wine. Really simple to prepare, just leave it to thick over a really low heat, and when guesses pop in pour some of that comfort into the glasses.

I like to prepare mine, with some sort of sugar syrup and then to pour the wine, so I can skip some danger of over boiling the wine. I would first add all of those lovely spices, honey and sugar, plus the water or juice and let it boil until the sugar dissolves or honey melt.

You can simmer the wine for more than 5 min- if you have the patience for that. And it will bring another plus with that-the amazing smell of comfort around your house…

Ingredients:

1 (750 ml) bottle of red wine

2 sticks Cinnamon

4 whole Cloves

2 star Anise

½ tsp. Black pepper

¼ cup orange juice

1 orange, cut into wedges

1 apple, cut into circles 

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp brown sugar

Method: