Welcome to Manje Mondays

Manje is to eat in Haitian Kreyole! Thats what Mondays are all about. New week, new attitude.

You'll find Recipes and Cooking Tips each week. Try new things. Submit ideas. Ask questions! But most of all...ENJOY
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Five Chefs’ Secrets You Should Know

1. Read your recipe: At least know what ingredients and how much you will need before you begin. I know it can seem tedious to measure out your ingredients and have a load of small white or clear bowls like you see on Food Network all spread out before you. But trust when you need to throw in two eggs, scrambled and all your ingredients take a "timeout" while you head back to the fridge to move out all the leftovers so you can reach all the way in the back to grab your eggs, you will be thankful for a little prep before hand.

2. Heat Up your Pan: Give your pan and oil a little time to heat up before adding any food. And I dont mean one minute. Heat encourages food to release whatever moisture they have. Thats Good. Otherwise, you end up with tough rubbery mushrooms. And on the other hand, dont overheat. Things just get burned, so simple

3. Stir Crazy-Stop It:  The heat from the pan or grill is transferred to the food through direct contact or touching. The food has to reach a certain temperature (depending on what you’re cooking) in order to reach “doneness.” Every time you stir/putz/flip the food, it loses contact with the pan and has to start the heating process all over again. So by over-tending, you’re actually extending your cooking time and you run the risk of altering the food’s texture and color by moving it around too much.

4. Taste the Food: Thats all their is to that one. You might seem like you're doing a great feat when you season and stir and present, only to find that the meal taste like mush... uncooked mush at that. so just give it a taste as you go along.

5.Recipes are Guides: Cooking times are most often listed as guides for cooking in the recipe but know that common sense is the best part of the recipe. Ovens vary, gas ranges and electric ranges are different. Check your food periodically, and do what your food needs.

Cooking is an art; the perfect mix of practice, common sense, and skill, in that order. So relax. Cook more often and have fun.

Saumon Grille (a standard Haitian meal)

Marinade
½ cup oil
¼ cup dry white wine
1 clove garlic crushed
2 teaspoons of herbs: parsley, tarragon, thyme

3 Lbs. Fresh Salmon Steaks

1/4 cup Lemon juice
4 Tbsp Butter, melted
1 Medium Red Onion, sliced
1 Red Bell Pepper, Julienne
Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Steps
1. Place Salmon Steaks in a large bowl, and pour lemon juice. Clean Salmon thoroughly and rinse in cold water.
2. Place in a nonmetallic dish just large enough that the liquid covers the steaks.
3. Mix all marinade ingredients and pour the marinade over the steaks.
4. Marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour in refrigerator. Turn the salmon occasionally.
5. Pour 1/2 of melted butter on Salmon Steaks.
4. Broil about 4 inches from heat source, turning the steaks after 3 minutes and basting often with marinade. Add Onion and Red Bell Pepper
Having toasted the second side 3 minutes, test with the knife. Continue cooking until the fish flakes easily.

See you back tomorrow for Taylor's Tuesday!