Four great dishes for entertaining this holiday

Holiday season is fast approaching as the year winds down and there will be lots of entertaining to do. These recipes will impress anyone when they visit. One tip I use during festive times is to pick two quick recipes and stock the freezer/pantry with the raw ingredients or pre-cooked ingredients so that when visitors come I can whip it up in a short time.

ASUN RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
1kg Goat meat
2 Bulb onions
3 Tbs vegetable oil
3 Scotch Bonnet
1 Tsp Salt
1 Seasoning Cube

PREPARATION
Add seasoning, salt, and onion to the goat meat in a bowl, cover and place in the fridge for a few hours.
Boil goat meat for about 20 minutes just to start off the cooking process.
Transfer the goat meat to the oven and grill for another 30 minutes till soft.
Roughly blend pepper and onions.
In a wok preferably, or a pan alternatively, heat up a small amount of vegetable oil, add a lot of onions, peppers and add grilled goat meat.
Stir-fry for about 3 minutes, covering for 1 minute and take off the heat.

GIZDODO
INGREDIENTS
3 Bell Peppers (Green, Yellow and Red)
5 Tatashe
2 Scotch Bonnet Peppers
3 Medium Sized Onions
2 Cups Vegetable oil
1/4 Palm Oil
3 Ripe Plantains
1 kg Gizzards,
2 Seasoning Cubes
1 tbs Crayfish
1 tsp Thyme
4 Cups Water
1 tbs Salt

PREPARATION
•    Wash gizzards properly and add to pot, season as you normally would – with salt, thyme, onions and allow cook for about 40 minutes till the stock is almost dry.
•    Cut ripe plantain into cubes and deep fry.
•     Blend tomatoes, onions and scotch bonnet.
•    Cut cooked gizzards into smaller pieces to it can match cubed plantains, fry till it’s brown.
•      In the oil used to fry the gizzard, add some onions and crayfish, add tomato mixture and fry.
•      When it is cooked, add fried gizzards, add some of the stock. Taste for salt. Cover and allow the gizzard and stew to cook together for about 3 minutes.
•     Finally add the dodo, combine together, allow simmer.

OVEN GRILLED FISH
INGREDIENTS
1/2 Onion, chopped
1 teaspoon Pepper soup spice
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Seasoning Cube
3 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Ground Red Pepper
Tilapia Fish

PREPARATION
Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees
Gut and clean the fish, pat dry with a kitchen towel
Add all spices together and oil and mix together with a spoon to create a marinade. Separate some marinade for later.
Make vertical slices with a sharp knife on each part of the fish.
Rub in the marinade on the fish, also in the gut.
Place fish on the grill and allow to grill for 10 minutes on each side
After the first 10 minutes, using a cooking brush, rub marinade that was set aside around the fish and flip gently.
Take out of the oven after 20 minutes.

NKWOBI
INGREDIENTS
1 Kg Cow Leg
1/4 cup Palm Oil
Handful Ugba
Handful Utazi vegetable
2 Tbs Crayfish
1 Tsb Potash
4 Calabash Nutmeg (Erhe)
1 tsp Cameroon pepper
1 seasoning
1 tsp Salt

PREPARATION
•    Cow leg should already be cut into byte pieces and washed. Now you set it to boil in a pot adding some onion and seasoning. It is better to use a pressure cooker because cow leg can take up to 4 hours before it becomes soft.
•     Make sure when its getting soft you allow the stock dry up so that the cow leg absorbs every spice. It will be yummier!
•   Now we have to make the palm oil paste. Add enough palm oil in another pot, mix potash with a bit of water then sieve.
·•   Now pour the potash mixture into the palm oil while stirring, you will notice that the palm oil will become thicker and the colour will be bright orange/ slightly yellowish
•  Open up the calabash nutmeg, place on a pan or the cooker to get hot for about 3 minutes (till it becomes fragrant) blend then add to the palm oil. Add seasoning to taste, some Cameroon pepper, a bit of salt, enough crayfish and mix together. Make sure you taste it.
•    Now wash ugba and add it to the paste. Mix everything together.
•     Get the cow leg and add to the palm oil paste, when it is totally combined, put it back on the cooker till it heats up. Should not be more than 2 minutes if not the oil will melt and you don’t want that.
•      Serve nkwobi in a plate and garnish with sliced Utazi leaves and onion rings. Utazi is bitter so use sparingly by sprinkling on the top of the Nkwobi or combine it all.