MEET PASCAL

I’ve known Paschal now for about 2 year (ish) and I’m pretty proud to call the guy a friend. He is an authority on all things strength, fitness and conditioning and if this is something that your into then you should check out his site: www.marathon-crossfit.com.

He also a dab hand in the kitchen and when he suggested guest blog I couldn’t refuse especially when the title was ‘How to get a wife in three courses for dummies’

Read on and enjoy!

Rory

 

This is a three course meal that anyone can do. I am not a particular good cook, but i perfected this one to the extent that the most people I fed with this was a party of 30 swabians and they liked it. What you have to know about swabians is, they are south west germans and even the germans consider them grumpy. If they do not complain about your food, you achieved a miracle. The ingredients are not expensive and the process is easy.

I made this for my future wife when she first came to my place. We are engaged for a year now after living together for 4 years before that with her children. If you like no non-sense tips on diet and fitness drop by my website @ www.marathon-crossfit.com. Enjoy the read and take the comments about wine with a grain of salt.

Dessert: Oreo Crumble cream with iced fruit blitz (part 1)

C/O cookingalamel.com

Ingredients:

• Roll of oreo
• 500g – 1kg of yogurt or quark
• 250g – 500g of cream
• ½ a cup to ¾ of a cup of sugar
• Berries or grapes of choice

This is one of my mothers recipes and it is super simple and yummy. Put the berries into the freezer and leave them there until you are about to serve the dessert up. Oreos also wait for their great moment in the cupboard.

Put the cream and sugar into a bowl and whisk until half stiff. That might take a while even if you don’t do it by hand. Once done mix the yoghurt or quark with the sugared cream. Put the cream into the fridge and let it rest.

 

Starter: Hawaii Toast deluxe

 

C/O irishpie.blogspot.com

Ingredients

• Bread of your choice
• 1 can of pineapple
• 1 packet of ham
• Roll of goats cheese
• Salt
• Pepper

 

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Meanwhile toast the bread until it is slightly brown, but not too much as you are going to stick it in the oven next. Put the ham, pineapple and one chop of goats cheese on the bread and put in oven. Wait until it the cheese melts and serve while applying salt and pepper out of a grinder. This is done with a swirl at the table. It will definetly be entertaining.

I basically lived of this when I was a student. It is easy to do, also works when your date is late to show up and still has a bit of class due to the goats cheese. Another winner is that this is super easy to scale once you have the bread toasted if instead of a candlelight dinner it turns out to be a party because she got skiddish and brought her two best friends along unannounced. It is also idiot proof so you do not emberass yourself.

When the doorbell rings stick these in the oven, tend to the jackets, show them where to be seated and let them choose a bottle of wine. Open, fill up the glasses (this is important, drunk people are more likely to give your food high marks) and have a bit of chat about how bad traffic was or the weather. When done go back into the kitchen and serve up. Congratulations you already saved yourself from messing up big by letting people starve to death because you chose to make a super complicated starter that is not ready for an hour.

 

Main course: Chicken in bacon coat with cheese & Rösti

C/O www.bite.co.nz

Ingredients Chicken in bacon coat:

• 4 – 8 chicken breasts
• 3 bacon rashers per breast
• Packet of grated cheese of your choice
• Net of big tomatoes
• 1 – 2 onions
• As much garlic as you and your guests can tolerate
• 250 – 500ml Cream
• Green herbs of your choice (parsley, oregano, rosemary)

Have an oventray and a plate ready. Take the chicken breasts and wrap them in the rashers after you have washed them.

Get a pan very hot with oil to put the chicken breasts into it while you preheat the oven or use the already preheated oven in which you made the Hawaii Toast. Be careful as this might get messy. The chicken breasts should be put into the hot pan to be turned white all around to seal the bacon to them. You are not cooking them through. While they sizzle away you chop up the onion and garlic. When the chicken breasts have been kissed by the heat to seal from all sides get them onto the plate and turn down the heat to a middle setting. Use the juices in the pan to take care of the onions and garlic until coloured.

While the onions are in the pan get the cream ready in a breakfast bowl, chop up the green herbs and mix as desired. While you are at it also chop the tomatoes into roughly equal sizes. Maybe make some more noise than necessary so your guest/s in the living / dining room hear that you are working hard for them.

Put the onions and garlic into the oventray when done to build a nest for the chicken breasts to rest on. Put the breasts on top of the bed, then the chopped tomatoes, followed by the grated cheese. Use the cream with the chopped herbs in it to finish off. Put tray into the oven and bake for 30 – 45 minutes until cheese gets slightly brown at 180 Celsius. Clean kitchen on the go now so that it does not look like the battle of waterloo.

Once this is done you head back to attend to your guest / s. By now she should have had a nose around in your living room. For that purpose you might intentionally have placed some strategic items in easily accessible places before anyone arrives that make you shine and are a conversation piece. Now it is time to chat. Keep an eye on the time and top up wine accordingly (important). Once you approach another 10 – 15 minutes invite her to prepare the röstis with you in the kitchen.

Wash and peel the potatoes and let her heat up the pan while doing so. Once peeled, grate the potatoes and do the hard work. Roll up your sleeves and show them muscles. Let her put salt and pepper into the grated potatoes, form the Röstis and then let her fry them in the pan with oil. You see, it is about you doing the hard, dirty work and letting her watch. This also avoids letting her alone for too long and by now the wine should have helped to bring barriers down so that she will feel comfortable being in your kitchen. Once the röstis are done the chicken should also be ready. Bring everything out together tot he living room / dining area to have your main.

This is a heavy dinner so it will take a while until it is digested. Spent time chatting away, maybe making plans for the next meet up depending on how wellt he evening went (if you followed my instructions and she likes wine, chicken and bacon chances are good based on my experience because she will be fed and watered with wine).

Next is dessert.

Dessert: Oreo Crumble cream with iced fruit blitz (part 2)

 

When she starts checking her phone again it is time to strike with „oh and one more thing, just wait here“.

Go back tot he kitchen and get the berries and/or grapes out oft he freezer which should be frozen by now. Put it all in the mixer to be chopped until you get a nice even mousse. Get the cream out oft he fridge and crumble the roll of oreo into it. Mix up.

To serve take a red wine glass and layer oreo cream and iced fruit. Top it with one full oreo on the top. Get spoons, serve and get a movie going. Done!

Summary

If you do not cook regularly and enjoy complex dishes do not try tob e a hero on your first date. Do not try something that you have never done before when the hords of friends arrive at your door step. Those are the biggest take aways during my student years. I perfected a few simple dishes so that I did not have to live off fast food anymore after my first year away from home. That I managed to make my beloved feel comfortable the first time she came around to my place is a big bonus resulting from keeping it simple.